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Kathak

Why in News?

The Prime Minister has expressed deep grief over the passing away of legendary Kathak dancer Pandit Birju Maharaj. 

About Kathak:

• The word Kathak has been derived from the word Katha which means a story. It is primarily performed in Northern India.
• It was primarily a temple or village performance wherein the dancers narrated stories from ancient scriptures. It is one of the classical dances of India.
• Kathak began evolving into a distinct mode of dance in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries with the spread of the Bhakti movement.
• These are  the people who narrate stories largely based on episodes from the epics, myths and legends.
• The Radha-Krishna theme proved immensely popular alongwith the works of Mirabai, Surdas, Nandadas and Krishnadas.

Salient features of the dance form

• The weight of the body is equally distributed along the horizontal and vertical axis.
• The technique is built by the use of an intricate system of foot-work.
• As in Bharatnatyam, Odissi and Manipuri, Kathak also builds its pure dance sequences by combining units of movement. The cadences are called differently by the names tukra, tora, and parana– all indicative of the nature of rhythmic patterns used.
• Kathak has emerged as a distinct dance form. Being the only classical dance of India having links with Muslim culture, it represents a unique synthesis of Hindu and Muslim genius in art.
• Kathak is the only form of classical dance wedded to Hindustani or the North Indian music. Both of them have had a parallel growth, each feeding and sustaining the other. (Odissi dance uses Odissi music which is blend of Hindustani and Carnatic).

Dance Style:

• Usually a solo performance, the dancer often pauses to recite verses followed by their execution through movement.
• The focus is more on footwork; the movements are skillfully controlled and performed straight-legged by dancers wearing ankle-bells.
• The tatkaar is the fundamental footwork in kathak.
• Kathak is the only form of classical dance wedded to Hindustani or North Indian music.

Instruments

• A Kathak performance may include a dozen classical instruments depending more on the effect and depth required for a particular performance. Such as- the tabla that harmonizes well with the rhythmic foot movements of the dancer and often imitates sound of such footwork movements or vice-versa to create a brilliant jugalbandi. A manjira that is hand cymbals and sarangi or harmonium are also used most often.
• The metrical cycle (tala) of 16, 10, 14 beats provide the foundation on which the whole edifice of dance is built.

Other Classical Dances in India

• Bharatanatyam from Tamil Nadu
• Kathakali, from Kerala.
• Kuchipudi, from Andhra Pradesh.
• Odissi, from Odisha.
• Sattriya, from Assam.
• Manipuri, from Manipur.
• Mohiniyattam, from Kerala

National Technical Textiles Mission

Why in News?

Ministry of Textiles cleared 20 strategic research projects in the areas of Specialty fibres and Geotextiles. These strategic research projects fall  under the Flagship Programme ‘National Technical Textiles Mission.’ 

About Technical Textiles

• The Technical Textiles are defined as Textile material and products manufactured primarily for their Technical performance and functional properties rather than aesthetic and decorative characteristics.
• The Technical textiles include textiles for automotive applications, medical textiles (e.g., implants), geotextiles (reinforcement of embankments), agrotextiles (textiles for crop protection), and protective clothing (e.g., heat and radiation protection for fire fighter clothing, molten metal protection for welders, stab protection and bulletproof vests, and spacesuits).

Significance and Potential Applications of Technical Textiles

• The Technical Textiles are being used globally for last several decades. These materials have provided innovative projects.
• Even while Technical Textiles have been extensively used in developed as well as many developing countries, India has yet to capitalize the technical, economical and environmental benefits on large scale.
• The Various parts of India are subjected to floods and environmental degradation. In some of the terrains, the flood management and control can rely on Technical Textiles tubes, containers and bags.
• The Technical Textiles have been found to perform better than concrete as water protection component because of permeability, flexibility and ease of underwater placement.

About National Technical Textiles Mission

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the establishment of a National Technical Textiles Mission to help India position itself as a “global leader“ in technical textiles.
• The Cabinet has approved a total outlay of Rs 1,480 crore for the project, which will be implemented over four years (2020-2024) and aims to promote research, export and skill development in this sector.
• An Export Promotion Council for Technical Textiles will be set up for export promotion of technical textiles and ensuring 10% average growth in exports per year upto 2023-24.

Objectives:

• The main aim is to get India the highest position in Technical Textiles at a global level.
• This mission also aims at improving the penetration level of the technical textiles in the country. It must also be noted that the penetration level of technical textiles is low in India at 5-10%, against 30-70% in advanced countries.
• The authorities aim at increasing the global market for Indian technical textiles.
• To simplify the objectives of the mission, it has been divided into four component as well.
• The Mission will focus on the usage of technical textiles in various flagship missions, programmes of the country including strategic sectors.

National Startup Awards 2021

Why in News?

Recently, the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry presented the second edition of National Startup Awards 2021.

Details:

• It was also announced that 16th January (Startup India Initiative was launched on this day in 2016) will be celebrated as National Start-up Day, to take the Startup culture to the far flung areas of the country.
• The ‘Blockchain-enabled verification for Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) tax incentive certificates’, ‘Digilocker enabled DPIIT Startup recognition certificate’ were also launched.

About National Startup Awards 2021:

• It is Designed by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
• Its Aim is to recognize and reward outstanding Startups and ecosystem enablers that are building innovative products or solutions and scalable enterprises, with high potential of employment generation or wealth creation, demonstrating measurable social impact.
• The second edition of the awards invited applications across 15 sectors and 49 sub-sectors.
• The 2021 edition of the awards also recognized exceptional Startups innovating solutions to promote Indic languages and to compliment national efforts to combat Covid-19 pandemic.
• All applicants were evaluated against six broad parameters namely Innovation, Scalability, Economic Impact, Social Impact, Environmental Impact, and Inclusiveness and Diversity.
• The winning startup founders will get a cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh and an opportunity to present their solutions to relevant public authorities and corporates. Incubators and accelerators will get Rs. 15 lakh as the winning amount.
• 46 startups along with 1 incubator and 1 accelerator were honoured with the award.

Startup India Initiative:

Objective: 

To build a strong eco-system for nurturing innovation and Startups in the country that will drive sustainable economic growth and generate large scale employment opportunities.
Further to this, an Action Plan for Startup India was unveiled by the Prime Minister of India in January 2016. The action plan comprises of 19 action items spanning across areas such as

• “Simplification and handholding”
• “Funding support and incentives”
• “Industry-academia partnership and incubation”. 

Provisions

• There is no provision under Startup India initiative for sanctioning of funds to startups directly.
• However, Government of India has established a Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) with corpus of Rs. 10,000 crores, to meet the funding needs of startups.
• DPIIT is the monitoring agency and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is the operating agency for FFS.
• The total corpus of Rs. 10,000 crores is envisaged to be provided over the 14^th and 15^th Finance Commission cycles based on progress of the scheme and availability of funds.
• Fund of Funds does not directly invest into startups but provides capital to SEBI-registered Alternate Investment Funds (AIFs), known as daughter funds, who in turn invest money in growing Indian startups through equity and equity-linked instruments. Thus, there is no direct fund allocation from DPIIT to States/UTs under Startup India initiative.

Startup India is an ongoing initiative. Necessary measures are being taken based on continuous consultations with all stakeholders.

Salient features of Startup India action plan

• Compliance Regime based on Self-Certification with an objective to reduce the regulatory burden on Startups thereby allowing them to focus on their core business and keep compliance cost low.
• Startup India Hub with an objective to create a single point of contact for the entire Startup ecosystem and enable knowledge exchange and access to funding.
• Rolling out of Mobile App and Portal with an objective to serve as the single platform for Startups for interacting with Government and Regulatory Institutions for all business needs and information exchange among various stakeholders.
• Legal Support and Fast-tracking Patent Examination at Lower Costs with an objective to promote awareness and adoption of IPRs by Startups and facilitate them in protecting and commercializing the IPRs by providing access to high quality Intellectual Property services and resources, including fast-track examination of patent applications and rebate in fees.
• Relaxed Norms of Public Procurement for Startups: with an objective to provide an equal platform to Startups across sectors vis-à-vis the experienced entrepreneurs/ companies in public procurement.
• Faster Exit for Startups: with an objective to make it easier for Startups to wind up operations.
• Providing Funding Support through Fund of Funds with a Corpus of Rs. 10,000 crores with an objective to provide funding support for development and growth of innovation driven enterprises.
• Credit Guarantee fund for Startups with objective to catalyze entrepreneurship by providing credit to innovators across all sections of society.
• Tax Exemptions on Capital Gains with an objective to promote investments into Startups by mobilizing the capital gains arising from sale of capital assets.
• Tax Exemptions to startups for 3 Years with an objective to promote the growth of Startups and address working capital requirements.
• Tax Exemption on Investments above Fair Market Value with an objective to encourage seed-capital investment in Startups.
• Organizing Startup Fests for Showcasing Innovation and Providing a Collaboration Platform with an objective to galvanize the Startup ecosystem and to provide national and international visibility to the Startup ecosystem in India.
• Launch of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) with an objective to serve as a platform for promotion of world-class Innovation Hubs, Grand Challenges, Startup businesses and other self-employment activities, particularly in technology driven areas.
• Harnessing Private Sector Expertise for Incubator Setup with an objective to ensure professional management of Government sponsored / funded incubators, Government will create a policy and framework for setting-up of incubators across the country in public private partnership.
• Building Innovation Centers at National Institutes with an objective to propel successful innovation through augmentation of incubation and R&D efforts.
• Setting up of 7 New Research Parks Modelled on the Research Park Setup at IIT Madras with an objective to propel successful innovation through incubation and joint R&D efforts between academia and Industry.
• Promoting Startups in the Biotechnology Sector with an objective to foster and facilitate bio-entrepreneurship.
• Launching of Innovation Focused Programs for Students with an objective to foster a culture of innovation in the field of Science and Technology amongst students.
• Annual Incubator Grand Challenge with an objective to support creation of successful world class incubators in India.

Thiruvalluvar

Why in News?

The Prime Minister of India paid tributes to the Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar on Thiruvalluvar Day.

About Thiruvalluvar:

• Thiruvalluvar is fondly referred to as Valluvar by Tamils was born during 4th -5th century CE.
• In the present time, Thiruvalluvar Day is usually observed either on 15th or 16th January in Tamil Nadu and is a part of Pongal celebrations.
• The period when he lived is debated, as is his religious identity.
• He is thought to be linked to Jainism. However, Hindus have also claimed that Thiruvalluvar belonged to hinduism.
• It holds importance in the same way the Bhagavad Gita or the Ramayana are in traditional North Indian Hindu households.
• Thiruvalluvar is revered as an ancient saint, poet, and a philosopher by Tamils, irrespective of their religion.
• Dravidian groups also count him as a saint, as he dismissed the caste system.
• He had contributed the Tirukkural or ‘Kural’ to the Sangam literature.
• Tirukkural is comprised of 133 sections of 10 couplets each is divided into three books:
  (i) Aram (virtue),
  (ii) Porul (government and society), and
  (iii) Kamam (love).
• The Tirukkural has been compared to the great books of the world’s major religions.