General Awareness

GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION - January 2019

Jan 2019

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.

Dec 13, 2020

IIT Madras, Wipro GE Healthcare Join Hands to Foster Industry-academia Collaboration

Wipro GE Healthcare Private Limited (WGE) had announced a fellowship partnership with Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), Chennai to provide increased opportunities for Research Scholars to build and further improve the innovation ecosystem.
Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro GE Healthcare said that the world of healthcare is getting transformed through use of digital technologies which can address some of the toughest healthcare challenges. This transformation can be accelerated by building a collaborative ecosystem of industry and academia partners. Through this partnership with IITM, we wish to mentor the students and their ideas, and help them develop affordable healthcare solutions for those in need across the country.
Wipro GE Healthcare aims to develop an innovation mindset in students with engineering skills by providing industrial exposure in healthcare domain and other technology areas of the company through close collaboration with technical experts.
The partnership will further evangelise the concept of local innovation in affordable Medical Technology and other related areas through activities such as student hackathons, guest lectures, product teardowns and lecture demonstrations.

IGNOU Promotes Intermediate/ Semester UG, PG Students Without Exam

The Indira Gandhi National Open University, IGNOU has promoted the intermediate/ semester students of the undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) programmes of the June batch. The students of first year BA (general), BCom (general), BSc, BSW, BTS, BAVTM, BBA (retailing), 2nd Year BA, BCOM, BSC, BSW, BTS, BBA (retailing) of the July session, BCA 1st/ 2nd/ 3rd/ 4th/ 5th semester of the January session will be promoted.
While for the postgraduate (PG) programmes, the courses are- 1st year MCOM, MEG, MHD, MPS, MAH, MSO, MAPC, MEC, MPA, MAAN, MGPS, MARD, MSCDFSM, MSCCFT, MSW, MSWC, MAEDU, MADE, MAAE, MTTM, MAPY, MAVDS, MAWGS, MAGD, MATS, MAJMC, MBA, MBA (B& F), MSCMACS (1st and 3rd semester), MCA 1st/ 2nd/3rd/4th/5th semester. Meanwhile, the scheme will not be applicable to the following programmes- BED, BLIS, MLIS, BHM, MHA, BSC(N), BCOMAF, BCOMCAA, BCOMFCA, BBA (Services Management), MCOMMAFS, MCOMFT, MCOMBPCG.

Dec 12, 2020

All Higher Education Regulators Including UGC, AICTE Will be Merged in 2021

Looking to accelerate education reforms, the union government said that it will merge all the higher education regulators including the University Grants Commission (UGC) and All Indian Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to create a single education commission in 2021.
Higher education secretary Amit Khare said that structural reform in the education sector will happen in 2021 and several reforms including the merger of education regulators, and introduction of a single entrance test for admission into all central universities, will be executed.
The merger of the higher education regulator, considered a big reform in the education space was being debated for years. And authorities and academics have been arguing, how multiple regulatory system in the education sector is fostering red tape, and hindering its growth. Even the new education policy announced in July had touched upon the need for it. Besides, the merger of the education regulators was also an election agenda of the ruling BJP during the 2014 general elections.

Dec 11, 2020

Govt. May Hold JEE Multiple Times from Next Year

The Union education ministry is exploring the possibility of holding the marque Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) three or four times a year and a proposal is being evaluated on reducing the number of questions that students can attempt in JEE (Main) 2021.
Regarding the concerns raised by students relating to syllabus and dates of JEE, Pokhriyal said that the suggestion of JEE (Main) 2021 to be held four times in a year will be examined positively, beginning in the end of February (thereafter in March, April and May 2021) for three to four days each time.
The syllabus for JEE (Main) 2021 will remain the same as the previous year and a proposal is under examination where students will be given the choice of answering 75 questions (25 questions each in physics, chemistry and mathematics) out of 90 questions (30 question each in physics, chemistry and mathematics).

Maharashtra Govt. Signs MoU with Cornell University

The Maharashtra government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Cornell University in New York to set up a world-class incubation centre in Maharashtra to provide the necessary infrastructure and conducive environment for new entrepreneurs and innovative start-ups.
The MoU was signed in an online event held in the presence of Industries Minister Subhash Desai and senior officials. "This is the first time that a state in India is setting up an incubation centre through a MoU with an international university.
As per reports, 60 entrepreneurs will receive training, guidance and financial and administrative support every year at the incubation centre from the university. Entrepreneurs holding a domicile certificate in Maharashtra will be able to take part in the programme. Those participating will get a certificate from Cornell University.
The scheme will be implemented on a pilot basis for the first three academic years and is estimated to cost around Rs. 7 crore per year.

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