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- The Union Minister for Commerce and Industry recently highlighted that the success of the Startup India initiative can largely be attributed to important funding initiatives, particularly the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS).
- About the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) Scheme:
- The FFS was launched in 2016 with an initial corpus of Rs 10,000 crore, with funding allocated across the 14th and 15th Finance Commission cycles based on the progress of its implementation.
- Objective: The primary aim of the scheme is to provide a significant boost to India’s startup ecosystem by facilitating access to domestic capital.
- Rather than investing directly in startups, the FFS contributes capital to SEBI-registered Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs), often referred to as daughter funds. These daughter funds, in turn, make equity and equity-linked investments in growing Indian startups.
- The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has been entrusted with managing the fund, selecting appropriate daughter funds, and overseeing the distribution of committed capital.
- A key requirement for the AIFs supported under FFS is that they must invest at least twice the amount committed under the scheme into startups.
- Life on the Great Barrier Reef is undergoing notable changes due to climate change and various human-induced factors, as highlighted by a recent study.
- About the Great Barrier Reef (GBR):
- The Great Barrier Reef is a vast complex of coral reefs, shoals, and islets located in the Pacific Ocean, off the northeastern coast of Australia in the Coral Sea.
- It holds the title of the world’s longest and largest reef system.
- As the largest living structure on Earth, it spans over 2,000 km in a northwest-southeast direction, with an offshore distance ranging from 16 to 160 km and varying widths between 60 to 250 km.
- Covering approximately 350,000 square kilometers, it constitutes about 10 percent of the world’s coral reef ecosystems.
- Visible from space, the reef comprises nearly 3,000 individual reefs.
- The GBR features a variety of reef types, from inshore fringing reefs to mid-shelf and outer reefs, showcasing all stages of reef development.
- The reef consists of two main types: platform reefs formed by radial growth and wall reefs resulting from elongated growths, typically in areas with strong water currents.
- Fringing reefs can also be found along sub-tidal rocks of the main coastline or continental islands.
- The ecosystem is home to 400 species of coral, 1,500 species of fish, and 4,000 types of mollusks.
- It is of significant scientific interest, particularly for its role as the habitat of endangered species like the dugong ('sea cow') and the large green turtle.
- A large portion of the Great Barrier Reef is a marine protected area, managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority of Australia.
- In 1981, UNESCO recognized the Great Barrier Reef as a World Heritage Site.
- The Krishna River is a 1,300 km long peninsular river in India.
- It ranks as the fourth-largest river in India in terms of water inflows and basin size, following the Ganga, Godavari, and Brahmaputra rivers.
- Originating in the Western Ghats of western Maharashtra, near the town of Mahabaleshwar, it is about 64 km away from the Arabian Sea.
- The river flows through the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, eventually emptying into the Bay of Bengal at Hamasaladeevi in Andhra Pradesh, on the eastern coast.
- Its major tributaries include the Ghatprabha, Malprabha, and Tungabhadra, which join from the right, and the Bhima, Musi, and Munneru, which join from the left.
- The Indravati River is a tributary of the Godavari River.