General Awareness

GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION - January 2019

Jan 2019

Nov 28, 2019

From 2021, JEE (Main) in 11 Languages

Now engineering aspirants from the vernacular medium can have a shot at the JEE. The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE Main) will be offered in 11 regional languages from January 2021. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to prepare for conducting the test in at least 11 languages which include Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Odiya, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.
Earlier conducted by the CBSE, the computer-based test has now been passed on to NTA.
The ministry stated that this would help students continue their schooling in their mother tongue instead of shifting to English or Hindi medium. According MHRD sources, it has asked NTA to also explore possibilities to offer the competitive exams in as many languages as possible.

Nov 27, 2019

New AIDS Infections Falling Globally

According to a new report by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), there were 37.9 million people living with HIV in 2018 worldwide, up from 37.2 million in 2017.
The report also says 24.5 million infected people using antiretroviral therapy (ART) are living healthier and longer lives, indicating that there has been a drop in death rate.
Annual new infections, which indicate whether an epidemic is growing or ebbing, reduced to 1.7 million in 2018, down from 1.8 million the year before, according to the report.
Though new infections have declined by 40% worldwide since the peak of the AIDS epidemic in 1997, it is critical to reach out to all, including high-risk groups, to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
In India, new HIV infections declined by 27% between 2010 and 2017, the last year for which data is available. The number people living with HIV fell from 2.30 million to 2.14 million during that period despite a 1.24% annual rate of increase in the country's population that stands at 1.36 billion.

CBSE Moots New Question Paper Pattern

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) would introduce major changes in the pattern of question papers for classes 10 and 12 by 2023 to boost creative, critical and analytical thinking among students.
While this year, students of Class 10 will get 20% objective questions and 10% questions based on creative thinking, by 2023, question papers for classes 10 and 12 will be based on creative, innovative and critical thinking. Vocational subjects do not find takers in India.
There is also a need to promote proper linkages and bonding among key stakeholders in the schooling system including infrastructure, teachers, parents and students.
As per CBSE Secretary Anurag Tripathi, the new education policy, he said it aims at bridging the gap between vocational and main subjects.

Nov 26, 2019

Management, IT, Engineering Studies Losing Steam

Engineering, information technology and management — the most sought after professional courses seem to be losing their popularity among students in India.
And the cost of school education is rising at a faster rate than that of higher education — a clear indication that private schools are tapping into the growing desire of parents of all economic classes to make early investments in their children's education. These are among the findings of a report released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

Food Samples Analysed in 2018-19 Found Unsafe

Food regulator FSSAI said that over 1.06 lakh food samples were analysed last fiscal, of which 3.7 per cen were found to be unsafe and 15.8 per cent sub-standard.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) reported 36 per cent rise in civil cases to 2,813 and 86 per cent increase in criminal cases to 18,550.
FSSAI released the data on enforcement efforts by states/UTs in the country. The released data includes samples analysed, non-conforming samples, cases launched, convictions and penalties by states/UTs during the year 2018-19.

Nov 25, 2019

Women Fared Better as Salaried Workers: NSO

The share of regular wage earners and salaried employees in the urban workforce increased marginally between April-June 2018 and January-March 2019—from 48.3% to 50%—with women faring better, the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by National Statistical Organisation shows.
According to data released, the rising trend has been maintained over the last four quarters, with women salaried workers, representing organised sector workers, seeing a 2.1 percentage point increase, compared to 1.5 percentage points for male workers.
In all, over a fifth of youths in cities available in the job market were unable to find employment in the last quarter of 2018-19, the PLFS data says. In January-March 2019, for which latest data is available, the survey estimates 22.5% unemployment rate in people aged 15-29 years.
Women fared poorly in the labour force participation rate. While it slowed to a three-quarter low of 36% during January-March 2019, women seeking work or in employment (15%) during this period were just around quarter of their male counterparts (56.2%). In both the segments, the slowdown was more pronounced in the 15-29 years bracket.
The labour force participation rate is defined as the percentage of population in the labour force and, according to the current weekly status, it is the number of persons either employed or unemployed on an average during a full week preceding the survey period.
Gender wise analysis of the data shows that the unemployment rate was significantly higher among women seeking employment. In Q4 2018-19, unemployment rate was 29% among women which was 8 percentage points higher than joblessness among men. This is despite the fact that women have a far lower share in the overall labour force.

Nov 24, 2019

58.2 Pc Of Rural, 80.7 Pc Of Urban Households Have Drinking Water Facilities Within Their Homes: NSS

Only about 58.2 per cent of the households in the rural and about 80.7 per cent in the urban areas had drinking water facilities within the household premises during July-December 2018, according to the findings of National Sample Survey (NSS).
These findings are part of the report titled 'Drinking Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Housing Conditions in India'.
The National Statistical Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation conducted the survey on drinking water, sanitation, hygiene and housing condition as a part of 76th round of NSS.

All India Institute Of Ayurveda Signs Mou With Western Sydney University Australia

All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Western Sydney University, Australia at New Delhi. The MoU will promote the collaboration in research and developing guidelines for integrating Ayurveda principles with modern medicine.
Professor Barney Glover, Vice Chancellor, Western Sydney University, Australia and Prof. Tanuja Nesari, Director, All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) signed the Memorandum of Understanding on 22nd November during the visit of the delegation led by Dan Tehan, Minister for education, Australian Government. The signing ceremony took place at Ministry of AYUSH.
The memorandum was agreed and exchange on the occasion of the event "India Australia International Education and Research Workshop" at Ambedkar International Center, New Delhi. The exchange took place in presence of Shri Ramesh Pokharial, Human Resource Development Minister and Dan Tehan Minister for Education, Australian Government along with H.E Ms. Harinder Sidhu Australian High Commissioner to India.

NSS Report On Persons With Disabilities In India NSS 76th Round (July - December 2018)

The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has conducted a Survey of Persons with Disabilities during July 2018 to December 2018 as a part of 76th round of National Sample Survey (NSS). Prior to this, survey on the same subject was carried out by NSO during the 58th round (July-December 2002).
The main objective of the Survey of Persons with Disabilities conducted by NSO in its 76th round was to estimate indicators of incidence and prevalence of disability, cause of disability, age at onset of disability, facilities available to the persons with disability, difficulties faced by persons with disability in accessing/using public building/public transport, arrangement of regular care giver, out-of pocket expenses relating to disability, etc. In NSS 76th round survey, for classification of disabilities, all the specified disabilities as stated in The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 have been considered.

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