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21st, Feburary, 2022

Education Minister launches Nipun Himachal Mission to enhance foundational skills of students.
Education Minister Govind Singh Thakur today virtually launched Nipun Himachal Mission for foundational literacy and numeracy under the aegis of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.

Nipun Bharat Yojna in an innovative initiative of Union Government.
The minister said that successful implementation of Nipun Himachal Mission was ensured in the state.
Foundational literacy is the base of education and this Mission aims to prepare the students for upcoming challenges in the education sector.
He said that skilled environment would be provided to students of first to third class under the Mission and foundation literacy and numeracy would be provided to the students.

Under the Mission ability of reading, writing and numeracy would be developed in the students.
This Mission would prove beneficial in the development of the students.
This would provide knowledge of foundational literacy and numeracy along with mental and physical development of the students.
The education Minister said that under the Mission schools performing well would be declared as Nipun Vidyala and the Head Master and teachers of the school would be honored.
The education Minister also released Shikshak Margdarshika on this occasion.

(Source: HP Government)

To promote commercial rearing of high-demand cold-water trout, the government imported eight lakh of genetically modified brown and rainbow trout.

Denmark.
Salmo Trutta Fario (brown trout) and Oncorhynchus Mykiss (rainbow trout) eyed ova from Denmark.

The imports will not only help replenish the old bloodstock with the Fisheries Department, but will also boost fish production in the state in order to meet the growing demand of the Indian markets.
Fisheries department is also creating awareness in the state and helping youth know the benefits of trout fish farming. In addition, it will also provide marketing support to future entrepreneurs in addition to seeds and grants to manage fish farming enterprises.
The import will also help the state meet the target of approximately 1,200 tonnes over the next five years, compared with 700 tonnes it currently produces.
The trout is sold in the state and in Chandigarh, Delhi, Punjab and Haryana, Kanwar said. With the import, the department has raised table size trout fish at Koldam (Bilaspur) in eight months, which, under conventional system of trout raceways in cold water regions, take approximately a year.

“A total of 32 trout hatcheries have been set up, with an initial investment of Rs 8.75 crore under various Centrally sponsored schemes in the private sector, to meet the growing demand of trout-eyed ova within the state,” Fisheries Minister Virender Kanwar stated.
The ease of availability of imported fish encourages more people to take to raise fish, especially trout, which fetch a good price outside the state. The 32 hatcheries include nine each in Kullu and Mandi, five in Chamba, three in Kinnaur and two each in Kangra, Shimla and Sirmour.
The genetically modified, imported eye ova seed is being reared at trout farms in Hamni and Batahar (Kullu), Barot Mandi, Thalla (Chamba), Dhamwari (Shimla) and Sangla (Kinnaur). “These are reared at farms up to fingerling stage and then distributed among growers. Some stock is kept in departmental farms to prepare brooders for breeding,” the he said.

The department has been successful in rearing trout fish in cages in Govind Sagar dam for the first time in 2018-19 and has reared around eight tonnes trout fish valuing around ₹72 lakh in cages in Govind Sagar during the year 2021-22,” said the minister.
He said the HP government is also investing funds to develop fisheries infrastructure in the state, under which the department has spent around ₹ 90 crore from 2017-18 up to 2020-21 on construction of hatchery, pond development and trout units. So far, a total of 32 hatcheries are functional in the state and five more are being setup, he added.

(Source: HP Tribune and Hindustan Times)