Dr K. Kasturirangan Committee submits the Draft National Education Policy to the Union HRD Minister                                                                                               

Nilgiri tribals tense as trekkers trash priceless rock art                                          

College student in Kochi suspected to have Nipah infection                                  

Navy steps up anti-piracy patrol                                                                                 

Cabinet clears pension scheme for traders                                                               

Government notifies extension of PM-KISAN scheme to all farmers                     

Union Cabinet clears new initiative to control Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis to support the livestock rearing farmers                                        

INDA Government offers pension coverage to crores of farmers                            

Dr K. Kasturirangan Committee submits the Draft National Education Policy to the Union HRD Minister

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Context :

• Recently,Dr K. Kasturirangan Committee has submitted the Draft National Educational Policy to the Ministry of Human Resource Development((MHRD).

Key Highlights of the Recommendations :

• The Draft Policy has recommended extension of Right to Education Act 2009 to cover children of ages 3 to 18 which currently applies to the age group of 6-14.

• It has also proposed to rename MHRD as Ministry of Education (MoE).

• The draft policy also proposes a 5+3+3+4 curricular and pedagogical structure based on cognitive and socio-emotional developmental stages of children which are

  • Foundational Stage (ages 3-8 yrs): 3 years of pre-primary plus Grades 1-2

  • Preparatory Stage (8-11 years): Grades 3-5

  • Middle Stage (11-14 years): Grades 6-8 and

  • Secondary Stage (14-18 years): Grades 9-12.

• It  also proposes the Establishment of a Rashtriya Shiksha Aayog (National Education Commission as a constitutional body with the Prime Minister as its Chairperson.Further,Rajya Shiksha Ayog/State Education Commissions may be constituted in each state.

• It has proposed the restructuring of higher education institutions with three types of higher education institutions

  • Type 1: Focused on world-class research and high quality teaching

  • Type 2: Focused on high quality teaching across disciplines with significant contribution to research and

  • Type 3: High quality teaching focused on undergraduate education.

• The policy has proposed the establishment of National Research Foundation which will be an apex body for creating a strong research culture and building research capacity across higher education.

• It has also proposed the four functions of Standard setting, Funding, Accreditation and Regulation to be separated and conducted by independent bodies

  • National Higher Education Regulatory Authority as the only regulator for all higher education including professional education

  • Creation of accreditation eco-system led by revamped NAAC

  • Professional Standard Setting Bodies for each area of professional education and

  • UGC to transform to Higher Education Grants Commission (HEGC).

                                                                                                                                                                      Source :- PIB

Nilgiri tribals tense as trekkers trash priceless rock art

GS PAPER - 01 ART AND CULTURE - Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Context :

• The rock paintings in Karikiyoor at Kil Kotagiri in the Nilgiri forests have withstood the forces of nature for some 5,000 years, but in just the last few years, close to 40% of the paintings have been destroyed by trekkers, tourists, and vandals.

More about the news:

• Members of the Irula tribal community, who have an ancestral link to the site, said they were extremely angered and disturbed at the damage by illegal trekkers, who have painted over religious symbols using whitener pens and political messages with chalk, while couples have carved their names on the rocks, permanently disfiguring the priceless pre-historic site.

• The site remained undisturbed till very recently, when a spurt in the number of tourists has led to many people organising illegal treks to the rock art site.

• Former director of the Tribal Research Centre in Udhagamandalam, said the society that painted the symbols onto these rocks were contemporaneous with the Indus Valley civilisation.

• The rock paintings in Karikiyoor contain analogous-Indus script, meaning they resemble the script found in Indus civilization sites of northern India.

                                                                                                                                Source :- The Hindu

College student in Kochi suspected to have Nipah infection

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Context :

• The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is investigating a sample from a man in Kerala who is suspected to be carrying the Nipah virus.

Nipah Virus :

• Nipah Virus is a zoonotic virus i.e. transmitted from animals to humans.

• It is a member of the genus Henipavirus in the family Paramyxoviridae. Fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are the natural host of Nipah virus.

• It was first recognised in 1998-99 during an outbreak among pig farmers in Malaysia and Singapore.The disease also surfaced in Siliguri, West Bengal, in 2001 and again in 2007.

• The virus can be transmitted to humans from animals (such as bats or pigs).

• It can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people.

• Nipah virus infection in humans causes asymptomatic infection, acute respiratory infection and fatal encephalitis.  It has a high case fatality rate estimated to range between 40 and 75%.

                                                                                                                                                      Source :- The Hindu

Navy steps up anti-piracy patrol

GS PAPER - 03 SECURITY - Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized crime with terrorism Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate

Context :

• In an expansion of its Mission Based Deployments (MBD) in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), the Navy deployed its P-8I long-range maritime surveillance aircraft for anti-piracy sorties from Salalah in Oman to patrol the Gulf of Aden.

P-8I long-range maritime surveillance aircraft :

• P-8I is a long-range, multimission maritime patrol aircraft manufactured by Boeing for the Indian Navy.

• It is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon operated by the US Navy.

• It is armed with deadly Harpoon Block-II missiles, MK-54 lightweight torpedoes, rockets and depth charges.

• These sensor and radar-packed aircraft are the country’s intelligent hawk eyes over the Indian Ocean Region(IOR) that is increasingly getting militarized.

Background :

• Since 2008, India has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the commercially crucial Gulf of Aden.

• This was the second time the P-8I operated from Salalah for anti-piracy this year. It was operated from there first January.

Navy’s Mission Based Deployment:

• Mission-Based Deployments(MBD) policy was adopted by the Navy in 2017.The mission-ready ships and aircraft are deployed along critical sea lanes of communications and choke points from Malacca straits to the Persian Gulf.

• These ships are deployed to meet any eventuality across the spectrum of operations ranging from acts of maritime terrorism and piracy to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief(HADR) missions.

• The areas where these ships and corvettes and surveillance aircraft are being deployed include the Malacca Strait, North Andaman Sea, Andaman Sea, Andaman Sea including Bangladesh and Myanmar, Lakshadweep islands and Maldives, besides Madagascar and Persian Gulf.

India’s cooperation with Indian Ocean littoral states :

• As part of expanding engagement maritime engagement, India has stepped up cooperation with Indian Ocean littoral states and maritime neighbours.

• Under the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, the Navy undertakes Joint Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) surveillance with Maldives, Seychelles and Mauritius and Coordinated Patrols (CORPAT) with Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia.

• Search and rescue and capability-enhancement activities have also emerged as major areas.

                                                                                                                         Source :- The Hindu

Cabinet clears pension scheme for traders

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes

Context :

• The Union Cabinet has approved a new scheme that offers pension coverage to the trading community.

Key Highlights :

• Under this scheme all shopkeepers, retail traders and self-employed persons are assured a minimum monthly pension of Rs. 3,000/- month after attaining the age of 60 years.

• The scheme will be available to all small shopkeepers and self-employed persons as well as the retail traders with Goods and Services tax(GST) turnover below Rs. 1.5 crore and age between 18-40 years.

• Further,the Government of India will make matching contribution in the subscribers’ account.The scheme is based on self-declaration as no documents are required except Aadhaar and bank account.

• Interested persons can enrol themselves through Common Service Centres(CSC) spread across the country.This scheme is expected to help more than 3 crore small shopkeepers and traders.

                                                                                                                   Source :- PIB; The Hindu

Government notifies extension of PM-KISAN scheme to all farmers

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes

Context :

• The Union Cabinet has approved to extend the ambit of the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana.

Key Highlights :

• This scheme can now be availed by all land holding eligible farmer families (subject to the prevalent exclusion criteria) under the scheme irrespective of the size of land holdings.

• The revised Scheme is now expected to cover around 2 crore more farmers increasing the coverage of PM-KISAN to around 14.5 crore beneficiaries.

PM - KISAN Scheme :

• The PM KISAN scheme was announced in the interim Budget 2019-20.

• PM KISAN is a Central Sector scheme with 100% funding from Government of India

• Under the scheme an income support of Rs.6000/- per year in three equal instalments will be provided

• State Government and UT Administration will identify the farmer families which are eligible for support as per scheme guidelines.

• The fund will be directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

• There are various Exclusion Categories for the scheme.

                                                                                                                                               Source :- PIB ; The Hindu

Union Cabinet clears new initiative to control Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis to support the livestock rearing farmers

GS PAPER - 03 ECONOMY - Economics of animal-rearing.

Context :

• The Union Cabinet has cleared a new initiative to control Foot and Mouth Disease(FMD) and Brucellosis to support the livestock rearing farmers.

Key Highlights of the scheme :

• The entire cost of the scheme is to be borne out by the Central Government.

• The scheme includes vaccination coverage to 30 crore bovines, 20 crore sheep or goat, and 10 million pigs.

• Further,the Brucellosis control programme will be extended to cover 100% vaccination coverage of 3.6 crore female calves.

• Foot-and-mouth diseases are very common amongst the livestock – cow-bulls, buffaloes, sheep, goats, pigs.If a cow/buffalo gets infected with FMD, the milk loss is upto 100% which could last for four to six months.

• Further,in case of Brucellosis the milk output reduces by 30%, during the entire life cycle of animal.Brucellosis also causes infertility amongst the animals. The infection of brucellosis can also be transmitted to the farm workers and livestock owners.

Foot-and-mouth disease  :

• Foot-and-mouth disease is an infectious and viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids.

• The virus causes a high fever for two or three days followed by blisters inside the mouth and on the feet that may rupture and cause lameness.

Brucellosis :

• Brucellosis is a zoonotic infection caused by the bacterial genus Brucella.

• The bacteria are transmitted from animals to humans by ingestion through infected food products,direct contact with an infected animal or inhalation of aerosols.

• It is also known as undulant fever, Malta fever, and Mediterranean fever.

                                                                                                                                                                   Source :- PIB

NDA Government offers pension coverage to crores of farmers

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes;

Context :

• The Union Cabinet has approved a new Central Sector Scheme to provide pension cover to farmers.

Key Highlights of the Scheme :

• The pension scheme will be voluntary and contributory scheme for all Small and Marginal Farmers (SMF) across the country.

• There will be an entry age of 18 to 40 years with a provision of minimum fixed pension of Rs.3,000/- on attaining the age of 60 years.

• A beneficiary farmer is required to contribute Rs 100/ – per month at median entry age of 29 years.

• The Central Government shall also contribute to the Pension Fund an equal amount as contributed by the eligible farmer.

• After the subscriber’s death the spouse of the SMF beneficiary shall be entitled to receive 50% of the pension received by the beneficiary as family pension, provided he/she is not already an SMF beneficiary of the Scheme.

• Further,farmers can opt to allow his/her monthly contribution to the Scheme to be made from the benefits drawn from the PM-KISAN Scheme directly.

• Alternatively, a farmer can pay his monthly contribution by registering through Common Service Centres(CSCs) under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology(MeitY).

• This scheme is estimated to benefit 5 crore small and marginal farmers in the first three years itself.This scheme in addition to PM-KISAN monetary support will ease economic burden and lead to greater efficiency for farmers.

• The government has defined a small and marginal landholder family as the one comprising of husband, wife and minor children up to 18 years of age, who collectively own cultivable land up to 2 hectare as per the land records of the concerned states.

                                                                                                                                                              Source :- PIB

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