What's the NEWS

• Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister has announced several initiatives to boost education sector

Highlights

• The "One nation , one digital platform" and "one class one channel" will ensure that quality education material will reach the students present in farthest areas of the country.
• The initiatives will boost the access and equity in education and improve the gross enrolment ratio in the times to come.
• Due consideration is being given to the Divyang children also

Know! the immediate set of initiatives in this direction includes
PM e-VIDYA

• A comprehensive initiative called PM e-VIDYA will be launched which unifies all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education.
• This will enable multi-mode access to education, and includes: DIKSHA (one nation-one digital platform) which will now become the nation's digital infrastructure for providing quality e-content in school education for all the states/UTs
• TV (one class-one channel) where one dedicated channel per grade for each of the classes 1 to 12 will provide access to quality educational material:
• SWAYAM online courses in MOOCS format for school and higher education
• IITPAL for IITJEE/NEET preparation
• Air through Community radio and CBSE Shiksha Vani podcast
• Study material for the differently abled developed on Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY) and in sign language on NIOS website/ YouTube.
• This will benefit nearly 25 crore school going children across the country.

Manodarpan initiative

• In this time of global pandemic, it is vital that we provide psychosocial support to students, teachers and families for mental health and emotional wellbeing.
• The Manodarpan initiative is being launched to provide such support through a website, a toll-free helpline, national directory of counselors, interactive chat platform, etc.
• This initiative will benefit all school going children in the country, along with their parents, teachers and the community of stakeholders in school education.

Expanding e-learning in higher education

• Government is expanding e-learning in higher education - by liberalizing open, distance and online education regulatory framework.
• Top 100 universities will start online courses. Also, online component in conventional Universities and ODL programmes will also be raised from present 20% to 40%.
• This will provide enhanced learning opportunities to nearly 7 crore students across different colleges and Universities.

National Curriculum and Pedagogical Framework

• There is a need to promote critical thinking, creative and communication skills, along with experiential and joyful learning for the students focussing on learning outcomes.
• It has been decided to prepare a new National Curriculum and Pedagogical Framework for school education, teacher education and early childhood stage to prepare students and future teachers as per global benchmarks.

A National Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Mission

• It will be launched, for ensuring that every child in the country necessarily attains foundational literacy and numeracy in Grade 3 by 2020
• This mission will cover the learning needs of nearly 4 crore children in the age group of 3 to 11 years.

Index/Report
Energy Transition Index 2020

Relevance IN - Prelims (about energy transition index and its important takeaways) + Mains ( GS III infrastructure development - energy sector)
What's the NEWS

• India has moved up two positions to rank 74th on a global ‘Energy Transition Index' with improvements on all key parameters of economic growth, energy security and environmental sustainability
• Sweden has topped the Energy Transition Index (ETI) for the third consecutive year and is followed by Switzerland and Finland in the top three.
• The index benchmarks 115 economies on the current performance of their energy systems across economic development and growth, environmental sustainability and energy security and access indicators and their readiness for transition to secure, sustainable, affordable and inclusive energy systems.

Know! the findings of ETI (World Specific)

• The energy systems have globally become less affordable and less environmentally sustainable than they were five years ago, though access to energy has improved with less than 1 billion now living without access to electricity.
• Only 11 out of 115 countries have made steady improvements in ETI scores since 2015. Argentina, China, India and Italy are among the major countries with consistent annual improvements.
• The results for 2020 show that 75% of countries have improved their environmental sustainability.
• It is a result of multifaceted, incremental approaches, including pricing carbon, retiring coal plants ahead of schedule and redesigning electricity markets to integrate renewable energy sources.
• Its study measuring readiness for clean energy transition in 115 economies showed that 94 have made progress since 2015.
• The greatest overall progress is observed among emerging economies.

Know! the findings of ETI (India Specific)
India has moved up two positions to rank 74th with improvements in all three dimensions of the energy triangle namely:
1. Economic development and growth.
2. Energy access and security.
3. Environmental sustainability.

• For India, gains have come from a government-mandated renewable energy expansion programme i.e. to add 275 GW by 2027.
• India has made significant strides to improve energy access in recent years, and currently scores well in the area of regulation and political commitment towards energy transition,
• India has also made significant strides in energy efficiency through bulk procurement of LED bulbs, smart meters and programs for labelling of appliances. Similar measures are being experimented to drive down the costs of electric vehicles (EVs).

Know! about World Economic Forum

• The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.
• The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
• It was established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• It is independent, impartial and not tied to any special interests. The Forum strives in all its efforts to demonstrate entrepreneurship in the global public interest while upholding the highest standards of governance.

The World Economic Forum publishes a comprehensive series of reports which examine in detail the broad range of global issues it seeks to address with stakeholders as part of its mission of improving the state of the world.

• The Global Competitiveness Report
• The Global Risks Report
• The Global Gender Gap Report
• The Global IT Report
• The Global Travel and Tourism Report

Environment
40 gharials released in Ghaghara river amid lockdown

Relevance IN - Prelims ( all about gharials and its conservation programme)
What's the NEWS

• Forty gharials (Gavialis gangeticus) were released in the Ghaghara river for the conservation and protection in natural habitat.
• The animals were brought from the Kukrail Gharial Rehabilitation Centre in Lucknow after being tagged.

Know! all about Gharials

• Gharials are critically endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Species.
• The species is also listed under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
• A major chunk of gharials in India is found in the Chambal river, which has about 1,000 adults.
• The primary habitat of gharials is the Chambal Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Ghaghra and Gandak river, Girwa river (Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh), the Ramganga river in Jim Corbett National Park and the Sone river are the secondary habital of Gharials
• Gharials are a good indicator of clean river water
• Gharials prefer sandbanks as suitable habitats.
• Like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar too is releasing gharials in the Valmiki Tiger Reserve as part of restocking the wild population.
• Unlike crocodiles, gharials do not pose any danger to humans.

India has three species of Crocodilians namely:

• Mugger crocodile : IUCN- Vulnerable
• Saltwater crocodile : IUCN- Least Concern
• Gharial : (IUCN)- Critically Endangered.
• Breeding centres were established in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (Kukrail Gharial Rehabilitation Centre )in Lucknow, and in Madhya Pradesh (National Chambal Sanctuary, Gharial Eco Park) as a conservation efforts

Know! about Chambal river

• The Chambal River is a tributary of the Yamuna River in central India, and thus forms part of the greater Gangetic drainage system.
• The river flows north-northeast through Madhya Pradesh, running for a time through Rajasthan, then forming the boundary between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh before turning southeast to join the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh state (in Etawah District of UP)
• The chambal originates at the Singar Chouri peak in the northern slopes of the Vindhya mountains situated near Indore, Madhya Pradesh
• Banas, Kali Sindh, Parbati are the tributaries of Chambal river
• The National Chambal Sanctuary is located along river Chambal on the tri-junction of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
• It is known for critically endangered gharials, the red-crowned roof turtle, and the endangered Ganges river dolphin.

Defence
Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS) + Mains ( GS III Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
What's the NEWS

• Defence Minister approved a Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS) with an outlay of Rs 400 crore to provide private sector defence and aerospace companies affordable facilities to test and validate weaponry they are designing.

Facilities now for private sector also

• Over decades, the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), the 41 Ordnance Factories (OFs) and eight Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) have created sophisticated and costly testing facilities for firearms, ammunition, electronics and radar at government expense.
• The private sector will have access to such facilities too.
• This is directed towards promoting indigenous defence capability, specifically amongst micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and start-ups.

Know! the role of Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme

• Defence Testing Infrastructure is often capital intensive requiring continuous upgradation, and it is not economically viable for individual defence industrial units to set up in-house testing facilities.
• The Scheme aims at setting up of Greenfield Defence Testing Infrastructure... as a common facility under private sector with government assistance, mainly in DICs (Defence Industrial Corridors).
• While majority of test facilities are expected to come up in the two DICs (one in Tamil Nadu and the other in Uttar Pradesh), the scheme is not limited to setting up test facilities in the DICs only
• The DTIS scheme, which will run for five years, envisages setting up six to eight test facilities in partnership with private industry.
• Each such project will receive 75 per cent of its cost as government funding, while the remaining 25 per cent will be borne by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) composed of Indian private entities and concerned state governments.
• The SPVs, which will be registered under the Companies Act 2013, will be mandated to operate and maintain all the testing facilities, in a self-sustainable manner by collecting user charges. The equipment/systems tested will be certified as per appropriate accreditation.

International
India joins 61 nations to seek source of coronavirus
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the resolution and its objective ) + Mains ( GS II Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests +Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's interests
What's the NEWS

• India has taken a position for the first time in an international forum on the origin of the virus and the need for an independent evaluation of WHO's response to the crisis.

Know! about the proposal

• India is among 62 countries that have moved a proposal at the World Health Assembly to "identify the zoonotic source" of the coronavirus and asked for an "impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation" of the WHO's response to Covid-19.
• China and the US are not part of the resolution.
• The proposal is part of a seven-page draft resolution moved by 35 countries and the 27-member European Union
• The resolution is being backed by three of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - UK, Russia and France - along with Japan, Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, South Africa and Turkey, among others.
• But Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Afghanistan are not signatories to the resolution. From the SAARC nations, only India, Bangladesh and Bhutan have signed up.
• The draft resolution asks WHO to work with the World Organisation for Animal Health to conduct scientific and collaborative field missions" and "identify the zoonotic source of the virus

World Organisation for Animal Health

• The organization was formerly called the OIE (Office International des Epizooties).
• It is an inter-governmental organization that supports, coordinates and promotes animal disease control.
• The Zoonotic sources are animals from which the diseases can transmit to humans.
• Other decision to be taken at the assembly
• The Assembly will also hold a vote to determine whether to grant observer status to Taiwan. China is opposing the move, while the US is leading a group of powerful countries in support of Taiwan's claim. India has not made its decision public.

Know! about World Health Assembly

• The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of WHO.
• It is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States and focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board.
• The main functions of the World Health Assembly are to determine the policies of the Organization, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget.
• The Health Assembly is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland.

KEEP Learning KEEP Evolving
TEAM CL IAS