- Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission Society (KRTMS)
- A tourism initiative in Kerala, India, aimed at empowering women entrepreneurs in the tourism sector
- This program is facilitated by the Kerala Responsible Tourism Mission Society (KRTMS), a coordinating agency under the government
- In 2022, it launched a project to connect women entrepreneurs across India and the world, promoting women-led tourism in the state
- Key aspects ○ Women entrepreneurs manage farm-tourism enterprises and host travellers, particularly women, to explore Kerala’s cultural offerings
- The initiative has helped create a network of 2,680 women entrepreneurs running tourism-related businesses in Kerala
- Experiential tourism activities, like coir making and toddy tapping, are highlighted
- The initiative aims to identify tourism locales that are women-friendly and implement a gender audit
- Efforts are being made to publicise the women-friendly network through the development of a mobile app and familiarisation trips
- The goal is to enhance these women-led enterprises and potentially provide employment to at least 30,000 women by 2025
2. INDIA AND FRANCE
- India and France have agreed to intensify their cooperation in the southwest Indian Ocean
- France is the first major Western military power with which India has conducted joint patrols with Indian Navy’s P-8I maritime patrol aircraft — deployed on the French island territory of La Reunion
- The two countries also welcomed the progress in bilateral dialogue and identification of specific opportunities.
- Using India “as a base” for the manufacture and export of defence equipment for friendly countries in the region
3. Political shifts in Bihar
- Nitish Kumar has taken an oath as the Chief Minister after switching political sides again
- Marking his return to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance
- The Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor who also appoints other ministers on the advice of the Chief Minister
- The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to legislative assembly of the State
4. World Health Organisation recommends that at least 70% of women should get tested
- Many southern States and select States in the Northeast have shown initiative in testing more women
- Tamil Nadu — 7% for cervical cancer and 3.8% for breast cancer — the highest among the two types across States
- Kerala, Mizoram, Manipur and Maharashtra crossed the 1% mark under these two types Andhra Pradesh — 5% of women screened for oral cancer, the highest for this type of cancer across States
- Only 0.1% of women were screened for any type of cancer in West Bengal, the lowest in India and, 0.2% in Gujarat
- In contrast, the share of women screened for cervical cancer in advanced economies such as Sweden, Ireland, the U.S. and the U.K. was more than 70%
5. RBI guidelines on State Guarantees
- A ‘guarantee’ is a legal obligation for a State to make payments and protect an investor/lender from the risk of default by a borrower
- The RBI suggests that while guarantees are generally safe, they can pose significant financial risks during fiscal stress
- The working group recommends that state governments should not offer guarantees for more than 80% of a project loan and should limit it to state-owned enterprises
- They propose adding risk weights to these guarantees and advise against government guarantees exceeding 5% of Revenue Receipts or 0.5% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), whichever is less
- The group also calls for better data management and disclosure of all extended guarantees
ONE LINER
- Halidar Preeti Rajak becoming the Army’s First women Subedar. She is ranked 6th in India (Trap Women Event) and is training at Army Marksmanship Unit, preparing for Paris Olympics 2024.
- Maritime Giant AneMaersk has revealed its container ship fueled by Green Methanol and its fuel is derived from Green Hydrogen
- Mirror and Lens based apparatus installed in Ram Mandir with Surya Tilak Mechanism. Its highlight is the Sunlight will fall directly on forehead of the ram lalla idol.
