ASPIRE Scheme Context : India’s ASPIRE scheme is helping transform rural livelihoods by supporting aspiring entrepreneurs with training, incubation and business development assistance About Aspire scheme Launched in 2015. Implemented by the Ministry of MSME. Aims to promote entrepreneurship, innovation, and job creation, especially in rural and agro-based sectors. Provides financial, technical, and mentoring support through incubation centres and cluster development. Key Features Promotes rural entrepreneurship through incubation support. Sets up Livelihood Business Incubators (LBIs) in rural and underdeveloped areas. Encourages agro-based and rural enterprises with high job potential. Supports Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) for innovation and start-ups. Provides capital grants to establish incubation centres. Government institutions and PSUs can receive up to ₹1 crore support. Private or PPP incubators can receive up to ₹75 lakh support. Offers up to ₹1 crore operational assistance for incubators. Provides seed funding for early-stage entrepreneurs. Supports cluster-based development to improve productivity and market access. Bharat Taxi Context: The 'Bharat Taxi' service was launched in Delhi under the Union Ministry of Cooperation—a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country. This ride-hailing service was introduced to challenge the dominance of corporate entities like Ola and Uber. The Union Home Minister inaugurated the Bharat Taxi service at an event held yesterday in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Private ride-hailing companies currently in the market systematically exploit their workers. To counter corporate dominance, the government has established a cooperative framework modeled after the 'Amul' milk cooperative. This new alternative model ensures a fair system where neither the customer nor the service provider (driver) faces any form of exploitation. Kisan Sarathi Context: Kisan Sarathi, launched in July 2021, is India’s largest integrated digital agro-advisory platform. It provides timely, authentic, and multilingual agricultural advisories along with weather updates, government scheme information, and expert consultations. Implementing Agencies A joint initiative of the Ministry of…
NATIONAL – DIARY OF EVENTS
Bharat Taxi Bharat Taxi’ service launched in Delhi from January 1st. It is India's first cooperative taxi service, an alternative to Ola, Uber, and Rapido. Bharat Taxi is a digital platform that provides taxi services across India. It is operated by Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited. The leading organizations are the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) and Digital India Corporation (MeitY) Kerala’s Model Electric Truck (E-Truck) Corridor Initiative Kerala plans to develop a model electric truck (e-truck) corridor along NH-66. Part of the State’s efforts to promote freight electrification. Initiative aligned with the PM Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE) scheme of the Centre. PM E-DRIVE PM E-DRIVE (Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement) Aim is to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), establish charging infrastructure, and build a robust EV manufacturing ecosystem in the country. Target beneficiaries: Commercial and private electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers with advanced batteries e-ambulances, e-trucks with scrapping certificates electric buses for public transport. SabhaSaar – AI Tool for Grama Sabha Meetings Context: The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has launched SabhaSaar, an AI-enabled voice-to-text meeting summarisation tool, to strengthen transparency and efficiency in grassroots governance. SabhaSaar is built on AI-enabled cloud infrastructure. Portal functions under the India AI Mission of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). India AI Mission acts as the nodal agency for governance of: AI infrastructure Data generated through SabhaSaar
