General Awareness

GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION - January 2019

Jan 2019

Aug 28, 2019

Health Ministry Signs MoU For Enhanced HIV/AIDS Outreach

Union Minister Harsh Vardhan stressed the need for a "sub-department of health" in all the ministries as the Health Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry for enhanced HIV/AIDS outreach.
As health is the responsibility of all Government departments, there is a need for a 'sub-department of health' in all the Ministries for health impact assessment of the policies/initiatives of these Ministries right from the conceptual stages.
The National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare signed an MoU with the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment (DoSJE) under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE).

Govt To Launch FIT India movement

Yoga plays a significant role in keeping people fit and healthy. The government is going to launch FIT India movement on 29 August, 2019. Yoga has a distinct role in this campaign.
Director of Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, Dr. Ishwar Basavaraddi lauded the campaign. He said people need to be made aware about healthy food and diet as well as detoxification along with physical activities.

Mobile Application-"Janaushadhi Sugam" Launched For Locating Outlets And Searching Generic Medicines

Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda launched a mobile application "Janaushadhi Sugam" and had announced that "Jan Aushadhi Suvidha Oxo-Biodegradable Sanitary Napkin" will now be available at only One Rupee per pad. Minister of State for Shipping (IC) and Chemicals & Fertilizers, Shri Mansukh L. Mandaviya also graced the launch event.
Making the announcement on the Jan Aushadhi Suvidha Oxo-Biodegradable Sanitary Napkins, Shri Gowda said that the assurance by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on this aspect about a year ago has been fulfilled now.
He said that the "Janaushadhi Sugam" will enable people to search Janaushadhi generic medicines and the stores at the tip of their fingers.

Wing Commander S Dhami Becomes First Female Officer To Become Flight Commander

Indian Air Force's Wing Commander S Dhami has become the first female officer in the country to become the Flight Commander of a flying unit.
Dhami took over as Flight Commander of a Chetak helicopter unit at Hindon airbase.
She is a permanent commission officer of the flying branch in the Air Force and has been flying choppers.
Flight Commander is the second in command of the unit meaning that she is the number two in the unit after the commanding officer.
Her elevation in the flying branch is moving a step closer towards women officers commanding units and formations in the service.

Aug 27, 2019

Tamil Nadu Government Launches Education TV Channel 'Kalvi Tholaikkatchi'

Tamil Nadu government launched its exclusive education TV channel, aimed at benefiting students of classes I to XII.
An initiative of the School Education Department, 'Kalvi Tholaikkatchi' (Education TV) was launched by Chief Minister K Palaniswami.
The channel's content will include shows aimed at school children, besides those on jobs and related issues.This channel will be available on TN Arasu Cable TV network.
In 2016, Punjab Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema made the revelation of launching a dedicated TV channel, Vidya TV, showing educational content.

On July 9, 2017, the Union HRD ministry launched a scheme called Swayam Prabha, allowing 32 direct-to-home (DTH) television channels to broadcast programs for school and university students on 24X7 basis using the GSAT-15 satellite

HRD Ministry Launches National Digital Library Of India

Human Resource Development Ministry under its National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology, NMEICT has launched the National Digital Library of India project to develop a framework of virtual repository of learning resources with a single-window search facility.
As of now, there are more than 3 crore digital resources available through the National Digital Library. The contents cover almost all major domains of education and all major levels of learners. More than 50 lakh students have registered themselves in the National Digital Library with about 20 lakh active users.
National Digital Library has been integrated with UMANG App and users can register through www.ndl.gov.in or through the mobile app.

Aug 26, 2019

Nicotine Is Now a Class A Poison In Karnataka

Karnataka Government steps in to curb illegal sale, smuggling of nicotine cartridges, e-cigarettes
To strengthen enforcement of the ban on production and sale of electronic cigarettes, the State government has amended the Karnataka Poisons (Possession and Sale) Rules 2015, notifying nictoine as Class A poison under the rules.
Highly toxic chemicals, which even in very small quantities as gas or vapour in the air are dangerous to life (such as cyanogen, hydrocyanic acid, nitrogen peroxide, and phosgene), are notified under Class A. A gazette notification was published in July 2019 and the new rules are now called the Karnataka Poisons (Possession and Sale) Rules 2019.
Electronic cigarettes are small battery-operated devices that vapourise liquid nicotine to provide the same experience as smoking tobacco.

Aug 24, 2019

KIIT And Cambridge Sign MoU For Academic Cooperation

KIIT deemed to be university and University of Cambridge signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for academic cooperation in the presence of Dr Achyuta Samanta, Founder, KIIT & KISS and Dr Subrat Acharya, Pro-Chancellor, KIIT deemed to be university.
The MoU was signed between KIIT School of Architecture & Planning and Department of Land Economy and Center of Development Studies of University of Cambridge.
Both the universities will jointly develop appropriate educational programmes for faculty and students.

Lieutenant Governor Launches 'QR Code Scheme' On Himmat Plus App For Women Safety And Security

Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal launched a 'QR Code Scheme' on the Himmat Plus app which can be used by cab or auto-rickshaw passengers to verify the identity of the driver and raise an alarm, if needed.
Around 3,000 taxis and auto-rickshaws plying outside airports, railway stations and metro stations in the city have been registered under this scheme of the Delhi Police Transport Range and can be verified by scanning the QR code of the card pasted on the back of the headrest of the driver's seat.
An user can scan the QR code using the Himmat Plus app. On pressing the 'Report Journey' button, the app sends the location with driver's unique ID to the Himmat dashboard working at Himmat stations of the Police Head Quarters (PHQ).
If driver is not registered, the user receives the pop-up notification on the application. In this case, the passenger can call the control room or press the SOS button from the application, they added.

Microplastics In Water Pose 'No Apparent Health Risk'

Microplastics in drinking water do not appear to pose a health risk at current levels, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
In its first report on the issue, the WHO found that larger particles, and most smaller ones, pass through the body without being absorbed.

Aug 22, 2019

New body to rank colleges soon

The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry is considering setting up a specialised body, India Rankings Society, to rank Indian education institutions and help them improve in areas where they are found lagging.
The All India Council of Secondary Education approved this in a meeting.
In 2015, the HRD ministry launched the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) to address the need for an authentic ranking mechanism for educational institutions.
In the absence of a specialised body, the National Board of Accreditation was given the task(NBA).

HRD Minister Launches Teachers Training Programme 'Nishtha'

Human Resources Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' launched the Integrated Teachers Training Programme, NISHTHA, National Initiative for School Head's and Teachers' Holistic Advancement, in New Delhi.
The integrated programme aims to build the capacities of around 42 lakh participants covering all teachers and Heads of the school at the elementary level in all government school, faculty members of state councils of Educational Research and Training and other educational departments of all States and Union Territories.
The integrated training will motivate and equip teachers to encourage and foster critical thinking in students, handle diverse situations and act as first level counsellors.

Saudi Women Can Travel Abroad Without 'Permission' From Male Guardian

Women in Saudi Arabia over the age of 21 will be able to receive passports and travel abroad without permission from a male "guardian", as the country starts implementing the landmark reform.
The reform in the highly conservative country was announced on July 31, 2019. Under the new rules, Saudi women would be able to travel abroad without needing to seek approval from their male guardians.
They are also allowed to be able to apply for a passport by themselves upon turning 21. The reforms place Saudi women at par with men with regard to freedom to travel.
The passport department has already started receiving applications for women to issue or renew passports and to travel outside the kingdom without permission.

Kerala: In a First, Women Can Drive Govt Vehicles

The Kerala government decided to appoint women drivers in government departments and public sector undertakings, a post so far reserved for men.
Directions have given to all government departments and PSUs to make the driver post gender neutral. This has been done in accordance with the state government's policy on gender equality. This will benefit many women.
In Kerala, barring the State Road Corporation, women were not allowed to apply for driver posts in any other department and many women's organisations have asked the government to lift this ban.
In contrast, women were driving private buses, cars registered with taxi aggregators and autorickshaws in the state.
Many organisations like All India Democratic Women's Association and Mahila Congress have hailed the move. Of 400 autorickshaw drivers here, only 24 are women.

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