General Awareness

GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION - December 2018

Dec 2018

Dec 18, 2020

Tripura Plans to Conduct Madhyamik, Higher Secondary Exams from May 10

According to Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath, Tripura is eyeing to conduct its Madhyamik and Higher Secondary school board examinations from May 10 depending on the prevailing COVID-19 situation. The minister said that regular classwork for class 10 and class 12 board examinations were started December 7 with a set of restrictions in line of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the Health Ministry.
The minister informed that the board exams would be now conducted in CBSE style; minimum pass marks would be fixed at 33 for each subject.
Dual question papers would be set for the examinations next year based on the course curriculum and syllabus, which was earlier reduced by 30 per cent due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing affect on classes. Schools were now instructed to complete practical classes between March 15-30 while all classes would end by March 30.

Dec 17, 2020

India Drops to 131 in UN's 2020 Human Development Index

According to a report released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), India dropped one spot to 131 among 189 countries in the 2020 human development index.
Human Development Index is the measure of a nation's health, education, and standards of living.
The life expectancy of Indians at birth in 2019 was 69.7 years while Bangladesh has a life expectancy of 72.6 years and Pakistan 67.3 years.
India (131), Bhutan (129), Bangladesh (133), Nepal (142), and Pakistan (154) were ranked among countries with medium human development.
Norway topped the index, followed by Ireland, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Iceland, the report showed.

Dec 16, 2020

Edtech Startup upGrad Buys Recruitment Firm Rekrut India

Home grown online higher education company upGrad acquired Mumbai-based recruitment and staffing solutions company Rekrut India.
upGrad hopes that the acquisition of Rekrut will turbocharge its career engine by opening up wider placement opportunities and propelling accessibility of its learners to Rekrut's hiring partners.
Rekrut has built a wide reach through its multiple hiring models which allow simplified hiring.
It is currently working closely with many corporate start-ups, MSMEs, and large enterprises.

Dec 15, 2020

IBM and Telangana Govt. Join Hands for Skilling Students

Tech major IBM and the Telangana government have entered into a collaboration to provide curated online courses for the states' students that will enhance their technical and professional skills.
IBM will work with Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge (TASK) to offer Open P-TECH, a free digital education platform focused on emerging technologies and professional development skills. A total of 30,000 students of engineering, degree and polytechnic courses would benefit from the initiative over a period of one year.
Apart from providing access, IBM and its training partners will also train college teachers in using the platform so that they can guide their students and mentor them to learn these skills that will enhance their readiness for their future careers and workplace.

India's Population is Stabilising

India's population is stabilising as per the Fifth National Family Health Survey as the total fertility rate has decreased across the majority of the states.
Of the 17 states analysed in the NFHS-5 data, except for Bihar, Manipur and Meghalaya, all other states have a TFR of 2.1 or less, which implies that most states have attained replacement level fertility.
The first set of findings from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), conducted in 2019-20 were released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India four years after the last survey (NFHS-4, 2015-16).

BHU to Start Two-year Kashi Study Course from 2021

The Banaras Hindu University will soon introduce a two-year postgraduate course on 'Kashi Study' from the next academic session.
The course will help students decipher the mystique of the heritage city through academia.
Students from India and abroad who have an interest in understanding the mystery of Kashi can take admission in the course. This will teach them about the city which is one of the oldest in the world and is a symbol of life, and used to be known for its streets. The religious culture, musical tradition and sculpture art of Kashi always attracts and mesmerizes the world.
The first session of the course under the Faculty of Social Sciences will begin in July next year.
Dean of Social Sciences Faculty (BHU) Kaushal Kishore Mishra said that a committee will prepare a course structure by December 30.

Dec 14, 2020

Plea to Karnataka Govt. to Introduce Konkani as Medium of Education

Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy has urged Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa to introduce Konkani as a medium of education in the state.
The academy made the request in the context of the proposed national educational policy (NEP) that lays stress on education in the mother tongue.
The NEP states that the medium of instruction until at least Class V should be the mother tongue or regional language.
The academy also requested the government to include Konkani as a subject for courses like B.Ed and M.Ed and appoint more Konkani educators.
Konkani has already been added as a third language for interested students till Class X on an optional basis in both Kannada and Devanagari scripts.

Red Channel Agreement

The Red Channel Agreement was signed between the World Health Organisation and IFRC (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies) to implement the Emergency Medical Team Initiative.
The Emergency Medical Team Initiative will strengthen the delivery of health and emergency medical services during humanitarian crisis. This will enable the organisations to standardise emergency health response and also increase capacity building efforts.
The Agreement will allow WHO to provide increased support to Red Crescent Societies and National Red Cross societies.
The agreement will bring more synergies between the two international organizations particularly in standards, coordination and accountability.
IFRC is a humanitarian aid organisation that carries out relief operations assisting victims of disasters. It works to strengthen the capacities of its members. Around 192 countries are members of IFRC. The headquarters of IFRC are located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Assam Cabinet Approves Proposal to Shut Down Government-aided Madrasas, Sanskrit Tols

In a significant development, the Assam cabinet approved a proposal to close down all government-run madrasas and Sanskrit tols (schools) in the state.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said that a bill in this regard will be tabled by BJP-led government in the state during the upcoming winter session of the state Assembly.
In October, Assam Education and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had announced that the state government has decided to shut down all state-run madrasas and Sanskrit tols (schools) as it is not possible for Assam government to use public funds to teach religious scriptures.

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