Current Affairs – February 18, 2021

 

INDIA

3^rd edition of Indian Sign Language Dictionary launched

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot on February 17, 2021 virtually released the third edition of the Indian Sign Language Dictionary. The Dictionary has been brought out by the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC), an autonomous Institute under the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. The new dictionary contains 10 thousand terms of everyday use including academic, legal, administrative, medical, technical and agricultural terms.

Cabinet approves Amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015

The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Women and Child Development to amend the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. The amendments include authorizing District Magistrates to issue adoption orders under Section 61 of the Juvenile Justice Act, in order to ensure speedy disposal of cases and enhance accountability.

Mallikarjun Kharge granted recognition as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu has accorded recognition to Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge as the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha with effect from February 16. Kharge was named Congress leader in the House to succeed Ghulam Nabi Azad whose term has ended.

Ethiopian Deputy PM Demeke Mekonnen Hassen arrives on 4-day visit

Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen Hassen arrived in New Delhi on February 16, 2021. Hassen will inaugurate the new Chancery and Residence at Ethiopian Embassy in New Delhi along with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar.

No contempt case against Rajdeep Sardesai, says Supreme Court

The Supreme Court’s public relations department on February 16, 2021 clarified that the court had not initiated any criminal contempt proceedings against senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai. It clarified that information on the court’s website showing the case status was placed “inadvertently” and “appropriate action to rectify the same is under process”.

PM addresses first-ever virtual Nasscom India Leadership Forum

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 17, 2021 addressed the first-ever virtual Nasscom India Leadership Forum. He exhorted the country’s burgeoning startup ecosystem to move beyond focusing on the valuations and exit strategy and rather create world-class institutions.

Economy & Corporate

Cabinet approves PLI scheme for telecom and networking products

The Union Cabinet on February 17, 2021 approved a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme worth Rs 12,195 crore for telecom and networking products. The eligibility for the scheme will be subject to achievement of a minimum threshold of cumulative incremental investment and incremental sales of manufactured goods net of taxes. Financial Year 2019-20 will be treated as the Base Year for computation of cumulative incremental sales of manufactured goods net of taxes. The scheme will be operational from April 1, 2021.

Cabinet approves signing of trade agreement between India and Mauritius

The Union Cabinet has approved signing of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) between India and Mauritius which is aimed at liberalizing norms to boost two-way commerce. The India-Mauritius CECPA will be the first trade Agreement to be signed by India with a country in Africa. The Agreement is a limited agreement, which will cover Trade in Goods, Rules of Origin, Trade in Services, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, Dispute Settlement, Movement of Natural Persons, Telecom, Financial services, Customs Procedures and Cooperation in other Areas.

PM inaugurates Ramanathapuram – Thoothukudi natural gas pipeline in Tamil Nadu

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 143-km long Ramanathapuram – Thoothukudi natural gas pipeline and Gasoline Desulphurisation Unit at Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) on February 17, 2021. CPCL is a subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation. He also laid the foundation stone of Cauvery Basin Refinery at Nagapattinam.

Govt approves proposals worth over Rs 363 cr in food processing sector

The Union Food Processing Industries Ministry on February 17, 2021 cleared 20 projects worth Rs 363.4 crore under two central government schemes. The proposed projects have been cleared for Creation of Infrastructure for Agro-Processing Cluster (APC) and the scheme for Creation/ Expansion of Food Processing and Preservation Capacities (CEFPPC) under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY). The government will provide a grant-in-aid of Rs 102.91 crore for these projects. A decision in this regard was taken in the Inter-Ministerial Approval Committee (IMAC) meeting chaired by the Food Processing Industries Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

Armed forces: Enhanced financial powers for capital procurement approved

Cabinet on February 17, 2021 approved enhanced delegation of Financial Powers under Capital Procurement to levels below Vice-Chief of Armed Forces. Under Other Capital Procurement Procedure of Defence Acquisition Procedure-2020, financial powers up to Rs 100 crore has been delegated to General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Services Command and Regional Commanders, Indian Coast Guard. Powers up to Rs 200 crore has been delegated to Deputy Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Material, Air Officer Maintenance, Deputy Chief Integrated Defence Staff and Additional Director General Indian Coast Guard.

Ministry of Earth Sciences invites suggestions on blue economy policy

The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has rolled out the draft blue economy policy in the public domain, inviting suggestions and inputs from various stakeholders, including industry, NGOs, academia and citizens. The draft policy document outlines the vision and strategy that can be adopted by the government to utilise the oceanic resources in the country.

Sri Lanka to re-acquire Trincomalee port oil tanks leased out to Indian Oil

Sri Lanka will re-acquire the World War II-era oil storage tanks leased out to Indian Oil Corporation in the eastern port district of Trincomalee. Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila said that talks with the Indian High Commissioner in Colombo on this issue concluded on February 14. Sri Lanka in 2003 had leased out 99 oil tanks to the IOC for 30 years for an annual payment of USD 100,000. The IOC was also given one third share of the Sri Lankan government entity, Petroleum Storage Limited.

World

“Iran-Russia Maritime Security Belt 2021” exercise held in the Indian Ocean

India joined Iran and Russia in a two-day navy exercise dubbed “Iran-Russia Maritime Security Belt 2021” in the northern part of the Indian Ocean on February 16-17, 2021.

IIM-Ahmedabad launches centre for transportation and logistics research

 Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad established a Centre for Transportation and Logistics, co-chaired by Dr Debjit Roy and Dr Sandip Chakrabarti, faculty at the institute. Through the centre, the institute aims to facilitate research in transportation, logistics, and allied areas.

IIM-A Director Dr Errol D’Souza said that the goal of the centre would not only be to find ways of reducing transportation and logistics operating costs, but also to promote social inclusion and to address environmental sustainability issues.

The IIM-A Centre for Transportation and Logistics plans to organise a series of webinars, workshops and panel discussions periodically throughout the year. The centre will also have rolling opportunities for postdoctoral research and distinguished visiting scholar positions.

Speaking about the initiative, Dr Debjit Roy, faculty and one of the co-founders of CTL at IIMA said, “Our objective behind establishing the CTL is to contribute to improving the efficiency of multi-modal transportation systems and supply chain logistics, thereby promoting economic growth and fostering sustainable development. We have faculty coming in from across the institute that have joined the centre as members. A group of internationally-acclaimed professors with outstanding research accomplishments from North American, European and Asian universities have joined the centre’s research advisory committee for providing guidance in centre development and supporting a range of academic activities.”

Recently, the Centre for Transportation and Logistics organised a virtual inauguration with a panel discussion on the topic “Trends and Innovations in Transportation and Logistics” with distinguished panelists spanning academia, industry, and government.

Source: Indian Express, 17/02/21

UGC asks varsities to encourage students to take ‘cow science’ exam

 The University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked all universities to “encourage” students to enrol for the Kamdhenu Gau-Vigyan Exam slated to be held later this month.

In a letter to the vice-chancellors of all universities, UGC Secretary Prof Rajnish Jain said, “I write this to request you, to give wide publicity to this initiative and encourage students to enroll/register themselves for this examination.”

He also asked universities to inform colleges affiliated to them about the exam.

The letter comes days ahead of the exam, scheduled to be held online on February 25. The nationwide exam is being conducted by Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog, an agency established for protection of cows under the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying. It will be conducted in four categories – primary level (up to Class 8), secondary level (Class 9 to 12), college level (after Class 12) and for general public.

Apart from English and Hindi, the exam will be conducted in 10 regional languages — Gujarati, Sanskrit, Punjabi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Bengali, Telugu and Odia.

Earlier, the Aayog had uploaded a 54-page “reference material” for those who want to appear in the exam. The material described cow dung as “antiseptic”, “tooth polish” and having “anti-radioactive” properties.

The document, which went viral soon after it was uploaded, is no longer available on the Aayog’s website.

On January 5, the Aayog had announced its plan to conduct a nationwide online examination on cow science to “infuse curiosity” among people about the importance of cows, and to “sensitise and educate” them.

In a statement, the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying had said, “Certificates will be given to all. Successful meritorious candidates will be given prizes and certificates…”

Source: Indian Express, 18/02/21

Employed learners must exceed full-time learners for higher education justice

 The ugliest word for teacher is lecturer because education needs instruction diversity — adhyaapak (information provider), upadhyay (combiner of information and knowledge), pandit (deep-subject knowledge), acharya (imparts specific skills), drushta (visionary view of a subject) and guru (awakens potential). Improving India’s higher education justice and worker productivity needs the broadening of our education ambition of Gross Enrollment Ratio (proportion of our 15 crore university-age kids getting degrees) to include Employed Learner Ratio (proportion of our 55 crore labour force in formal learning). I make the case that enrolling five crore new employed learners needs five regulatory changes.

Rabindranath Tagore said we don’t learn from experience but from reflecting on experience. So, let’s reflect on recent global and domestic education experiences. Multi-decade structural changes include a new world of organisations (less hierarchical, lower longevity, shorter employee tenures, higher competition), a new world of work (capitalism without capital, soft skills valued more than hard skills, 30 per cent working from home), and a new world of education (Google knows everything, so tacit knowledge is more valuable than codified or embedded knowledge and the notion of life as 25 years each of learning, earning and retirement is dated). These shifts are complicated by a new world of politics (tensions between global and local, tradition and modernity, spiritual and material), third-party financing viability (50 per cent of the outstanding US $1.5 trillion student debt may have to be written off), and fee inflation (the average cost of a US college degree rising by roughly 500 per cent over the last 30 years challenges the model of a sage on stage delivering full-time learning in a physical classroom on a beautiful campus).

The specific experience of a large, poor, and diverse country like India — we have 3.8 crore students in 1,000-plus universities and 50,000-plus colleges — is also instructive. We confront a financing failure in skills: Employers are not willing to pay for training or candidates but a premium for trained candidates; candidates are not willing to pay for training but for jobs; financiers are unwilling to lend unless a job is guaranteed, and training institutions can’t fill their classrooms. The social signalling value of a degree matters — IIMs and IITs are good places to be at but better places to be from.

Many people can’t pay for education out-of-pocket. The income support of learning-while-earning is crucial to raising enrollment. Many students lack employability and workers lack productivity because learning is supply-driven. Learning-by-doing ensures demand-driven learning. Employers running formal apprenticeship programmes have evidence that suggests these programmes aren’t dead weight costs but pay for themselves via lower attrition, higher productivity, and faster open-position closure.

The de facto ban on online degree learning with only seven of our 1,000-plus universities licensed for online offerings means only 40 lakh of our 3.8 crore university students are learning outside physical campuses. Most tragically, high regulatory cholesterol creates an adverse selection among entrepreneurs — most educational institutions are started by criminals, politicians, or landlords rather than principals or teachers.

In 1973, economist Arun Shourie wrote in the Economic and Political Weekly that “India is not held back by one control or one licensing procedure. We are being held back by the premises, the unverified assumptions, and the attitude that underlie all controls.” He could be writing about education today: Regulations sabotage the creation of a fertile habitat for employed learners that needs flexible admission criteria, rolling admissions, continuous assessments, degree modularity, and four classrooms (online, onsite, on-campus, and on-the-job).

We need five changes. First, modify Part 3 of the UGC Act 1956 (UGC Rules regarding Fitness of Universities) and Part 8 of the UGC Act (UGC Regulations 1985 regarding the minimum standards for grant of the first degree) by including skill universities as a new category focused on creating employable graduates. Second, remove clauses 3(A), 3(B), and clause 5 of UGC ODL and Online Regulations 2020 that restrict licencing and prescribe a discretionary approval process and replace them with a blanket and automatic approval for all accredited universities to design, develop and deliver their online programmes. Third, modify clause 4(C)(ii) of UGC online regulations 2020 to allow innovation, flexibility, and relevance in an online curriculum as prescribed in Annex 1-(V)-3-i) that allows universities to work closely with industry on their list of courses. Fourth, modify clauses 13(C)(3), 13(C)(5), 13(C)(7), 18(2) of UGC online regulations 2020 to permit universities to create partner ecosystems for world-class online learning services, platforms, and experience. Fifth, introduce Universities in clause 2 of the Apprentices Act 1961 to enable all accredited universities to introduce, administer and scale all aspects of degree apprenticeship programs.

These five changes would enable enrolling five crore incremental employed learners — 1.5 crore employer-paid degree apprentices, one crore employer-paid online degree programmes, 50 lac employer-paid onsite degree programmes, and 2 crore employee-paid degrees pursued part-time online.

Half Lion, the wonderful biography of Narasimha Rao by Vinay Sitapati, describes a note handwritten by the newly-appointed education minister where Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s quote, “A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral”, is followed by Rao’s thoughtful rumination on education: “Women and Child Development. Health. Youth Affairs. Culture. Labour?”

The insight of Rao’s 1985 note — education is organised vertically in government but reforming it requires thinking horizontally, holistically, and imaginatively — is a project that NEP 2020 takes forward with vigour. But the 15-year “Purna Swaraj” road-map for Indian universities under NEP needs acceleration because more employed university learners will be a sword and a shield for India. A sword because it could catalyse learning, skills and advancement for five crore workers. And a shield because it could catalyse higher productivity for the more than 20 crore Indian workers who toil in “employed poverty” across agriculture, informal employment, and informal self-employment. Completing the proposed five flick-of-pen reforms will take months not years. Any takers?

This article first appeared in the print edition on February 18, 2021 under the title ‘Reform lessons for education’.  The writer is co-founder of Teamlease Services

Source: Indian Express, 18/02/21

Quote of the Day

 

“Circumstances are beyond human control, but our conduct is in our own power.”
Benjamin Disraeli

“परिस्थितियां मानव नियंत्रण से बाहर हैं, लेकिन हमारा आचरण हमारे ही नियंत्रण में है।”
बेंजामिन डिसरायलि

What is Glacial Lake Outburst Flood?

 Recently, a massive glacier burst occurred at Chamoli in Uttarakhand. The exact reason for the burst is not yet known. But the incident has brought the focus again to the dangers of climate change.  This incident is also being seen as the Glacial Lake Outburst flood.

Glacial Lake Outburst Flood

• A type of the outburst flood which occurs when the dam comprising a glacial lake gets fail.
• The failure of the dam can happen because of water pressure, erosion, earthquake, avalanche in rock or heavy snow or volcanic eruptions under the ice.
• It can also occur because of the huge displacement of water in a glacial lake because of collapse of any glacier into it.
• Other reasons for the glacial burst include the construction activities, anthropological activities and climate change.

Subglacial Lake

It is a lake found under a glacier. It is usually formed beneath an ice cap or ice sheet. It is formed at the boundary between ice and the underlying bedrock. At this boundary, the gravitational pressure decreases the pressure melting point of ice.

Proglacial Lakes

The Proglacial lakes are the lakes formed at the tips of the glacial as a result of the retreating glaciers. They are often bound by sediments and boulders In the Himalayas, majority of the glaciers are known to be receding. So, there are several proglacial lakes in the regions.

Concerns

Breach in the boundaries of the proglacial lakes can lead to large amounts of water to rush down to nearby streams and rivers. The water gains the momentum on its way by coming in contact with the sediments, rocks and other materials. This causes flooding downstream.

Avalanche

The falling masses of snow and ice for which the speed increases as they move down the slope is called as an Avalanche.

Current Affairs – February 12

 

INDIA

India, China reach pact to pull back troops in Pangong lake areas in Ladakh

India and China have agreed on disengagement in the North and South bank of Pangong lake in eastern Ladakh. The agreement mandates both sides to cease forward deployment of troops in a “phased, coordinated and verifiable” manner.

PM Modi, Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau discuss vaccine, farmers’ protest

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau spoke on February 10, 2021. The discussion dealt with bilateral and global efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic through vaccine production, multilateral cooperation, and the “recent protests” by farmers in India.

‘Respect Indian laws if you want to do business in India’: Centre tells Twitter

The Central government has conveyed to Twitter officials that the manner in which the platform allows fake, unverified, and automated bot accounts to be operated on its platform, raises doubts about its commitment to transparency and healthy conversation on the platform. This meeting took place in view of the order issued by the Centre directing Twitter to remove tweets and accounts using hashtag related to “farmer genocide” and accounts supported by Khalistan sympathisers and backed by Pakistan.

Centre for Land Warfare Studies organises webinar Divya-Drishti 2021

Indian Army National Seminar-cum-Webinar, named as Divya-Drishti 2021 on Multi-Domain Operations: Future of Conflicts was organised by Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS) on February 11, 2021. Participants included Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), General MM Naravane.

Unani Day celebrated on February 11

The Unani Day was celebrated on February 11, 2021. Unani day marks the birth anniversary of Hakim Ajmal Khan (11 February 1868-29 December 1927) of Delhi. The Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM), Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India organized a hybrid virtual National Conference on Unani Medicine. The conference was themed on ‘Unani Medicine: Opportunities and Challenges in times of COVID-19’.

TIFAC launches job portal SAKSHAM (Shramik Shakti Manch)

Two new initiatives of Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) —SAKSHAM (Shramik Shakti Manch)- a dynamic job portal for mapping the skills of workers & facilitate placement of 10 lakh blue-collar jobs and a Seaweed Mission for commercial farming of seaweeds and its processing for value addition towards boosting national economy were launched on February 10, 2021.

Rajnath Singh inaugurates water structures in MP under ‘Jalabhishekam’ campaign

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on February 11, 2021 virtually inaugurated more than 57,000 water structures constructed in Madhya Pradesh under ‘Jalabhishekam’ water conservation campaign from New Delhi.

Economy & Corporate

Will support 62,000 e-cars, buses, e-bikes through subsidies: Nitin Gadkari

To boost electric mobility, the government aims to support through subsidies about 62,000 electric passenger cars and buses, besides 15 lakhs electric three- and two-wheelers. The focus is also on creating electric charging infrastructure, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told the Lok Sabha in a written reply. Phase-II of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) Scheme is being implemented with a total budgetary support of Rs 10,000 crore.

Airfares raised, to be in force till March 31

Air travel has become costlier, with the Union government on February 11, 2021 increasing the minimum and maximum fares an airline can levy on a given route. The minimum fare on a route has gone up by 10% and the maximum by nearly 30%. The government has been regulating airfares from May 25, 2020, when domestic flights resumed after the nationwide lockdown. The fare for the shortest flight (40 minutes) will now vary from ₹2,200 to ₹7,800, and the longest flight (nearly four hour 40 minutes) will cost between ₹7,200 and ₹24,200.

Shanghai-based NDB to invest USD 100 million in NIIF FoF

National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) on February 11, 2021 said that Shanghai-based New Development Bank has committed to invest USD 100 million (around Rs 728 crore) in NIIF Fund of Funds (FoF). NDB joins the Government of India (GoI), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) as an investor in the FoF. The FoF was established in 2018 with the objective of providing homegrown Indian private equity fund managers access to an India-focused institutional investor that operates at scale.

‘The India Toy Fair-2021’ website inaugurated

Union Ministers Smriti Irani, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Piyush Goyal jointly inaugurated the website of ‘The India Toy Fair-2021’on February 11. The Toy fair will be held from February 27 to March 02 in a virtual mode.

India’s first diesel Tractor, converted to CNG, to be launched on Feb 12

India’s first-ever diesel Tractor, converted to CNG, will be formally launched by the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari on February 12, 2021. The conversion has been carried out jointly by Rawmatt Techno Solutions and Tomasetto Achille India.

World

Pakistan Navy organising Exercise Aman off the coast of Karachi

Pakistan Navy is organising Exercise Aman off the coast of Karachi from February 11 to 16, 2021. A total of 46 countries including US, China, Russia, UK, Turkey, Iran, Indonesia are participating. The exercise seeks to develop and practice Response Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (RTTP) for maritime infrastructure, assets and forces against traditional and non-traditional threats.

Pakistan test fires surface-to-surface cruise missile Babar of 450-km range

Pakistan on February 11, 2021 said it had conducted a successful training launch of ‘Babar’ surface-to-surface cruise missile which can strike targets up to 450 kilometres.

Saudi Arabia: Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted Abha International Airport

Yemen’s Houthi rebels targeted the Abha International Airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia on February 10, 2021, causing a civilian plane on the tarmac to catch fire. The kingdom’s state television reported that the group used four bomb-laden drones to target the airport.

Steven Spielberg wins Israel’s Genesis Prize for films, philanthropy

Steven Spielberg has been awarded Israel’s prestigious 2021 Genesis Prize in recognition of his contribution to cinema, his philanthropic works and his efforts to preserve the memory of the Holocaust, organizers announced on February 9, 2021. The USD 1 million award is granted each year to a person for their professional achievements, contributions to humanity and commitment to Jewish values.

Myanmar coup: New Zealand severs diplomatic, military ties with Naypyidaw

New Zealand has officially suspended all diplomatic ties with Myanmar as it does not recognise the legitimacy of the new military-led government. These ties include aid and funds that were intended for the country.

Tsunami watch for New Zealand, Fiji issued after massive undersea earthquake

A tsunami warning was issued after a massive undersea earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck a region between Australia and Fiji and north of New Zealand.

International Day of Women and Girls in Science observed on Feb 11

International Day of Women and Girls in Science was observed on February 11, 2021 with its theme as ‘Women Scientists at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19’. According to UNESCO data (2014 – 2016), only around 30% of all female students select STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields in higher education.

China celebrating Lunar New Year on Feb 12

China is celebrating Lunar New Year on February 12, 2021 as it ushered into the Year of the Ox. It is one of the most important Chinese festivals, also known as the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival.

Sports

Asian Games gold medallist athlete Hima Das appointed DSP in Assam

Athlete Hima Das has been appointed as a Deputy Superintendent of Police by the Assam government. She won a silver in women’s 400m in the 2018 Asian Games, was also part of the gold-winning women’s 400m relay and mixed 400m relay quartets in the quadrennial event in Jakarta.