Karnataka leads in MSME funding from Self-Reliant India fund
Bengaluru: Karnataka has emerged as the top beneficiary of the government's Self-Reliant India (SRI) fund, with 151 investee companies, the highest in India.
According to a reply in the Lok Sabha by Shobha Karandlaje, Minister of State for MSMEs, as cited by Deccan Herald on Friday, the state has outpaced others in benefitting from the fund.
The SRI fund was launched under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative in 2020, as part of a Rs 50,000 crore equity infusion for MSMEs through the Fund of Funds. While most states and Union Territories have seen limited participation, Maharashtra follows closely with 144 investee companies. Overall, 577 companies across India have benefited from the SRI fund since its inception.
Under the operationalisation of this central sector fund, sixty daughter funds have been empanelled including Tata Capital, IDBI Capital, SIDBI Venture, ICICI Venture, amongst others, the report added. As of now, Rs 10,979 crore has been invested, assisting 577 companies across the country.
However, approximately 35,567 MSMEs registered on the Udyam Portal have shut down during the current financial year (2024-25), as of February 28. Several factors, including complex and unfavourable policies, shortage of raw materials, and skilled labor, have been cited as contributing to the closures.
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Strikes on 3 more alleged drug boats kill 11 people, US military says
Washington (AP): The US military said Tuesday that it carried out strikes on three boats accused of smuggling drugs in Latin American waters, killing 11 people in one of the deadliest days of the Trump administration's monthslong campaign.
The series of strikes conducted Monday brought the death toll to at least 145 people since the administration began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” in small vessels since early September.
Like most of the military's statements on the 42 known strikes, US Southern Command said it targeted alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. It said two vessels carrying four people each were struck in the eastern Pacific Ocean, while a third boat with three people was hit in the Caribbean Sea.
The military did not provide evidence that the vessels were ferrying drugs but posted videos that showed boats being destroyed.
President Donald Trump has said the US is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narcoterrorists.”
