28th, August, 2022

 

Topic: 125 Units of Free Electricity Scheme

 

Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains

 

What is the news?

• Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur while presiding over the function organized by the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited to launch the Scheme, ‘125 Units of Free Electricity’ to the consumers of the State held at the famous Paddal ground at Mandi today.
• He said that the State Government has taken many such welfare decisions during the tenure of the present government to ensure direct benefits to the common people.
• State Government recently took a decision that 125 units of free power would be provided to the people of the State which has benefitted over 14 lakh electricity consumers of the State as they were now getting zero electricity bill.

State’s Power Status and Vision:

• State generates surplus electricity and it has about 24,567 MW power potential, out of which 11,138 MW stands harnessed.
• The State has set a target of harnessing 10,000 MW of additional power potential by the year 2030, out of which about 1500 to 2000 MW would be solar power.
• The State Government has changed policies from time to time to encourage project builders to invest not only in hydro power projects but also in solar, wind and hybrid cum pumped storage.
• Due to these efforts of the State Government, construction work of 24 hydroelectric projects has been completed in the state.

(Source: HP Government)

 

 

 

Topic: MOU

 

Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains

 

What is the news?

• Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Agriculture University (CSKHPAU) at Palampur and Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) signed an MoU.

Purpose:

• To promote and enhance scientific and academic interaction. The MoU was signed at Ludhiana to promote and enhance scientific and academic interaction between both farm universities in mutually beneficial areas.
• Both universities would undertake joint evaluation of crop varieties and other technologies of mutual interest at different locations in both states.

 

Focus Area:

• Screening of germplasm under epiphytotic conditions at the unique hotspots available in two states for the development of resistant material of field and horticultural crops like wheat rust, rice blast, sheath blight, bacterial wilt in brinjal, cold tolerance in pea will be the objectives of the joint research.
• Both universities have agreed to conduct joint experimentation to address common agricultural issues of the border districts of both states sharing similar crop profile as well as biotic and abiotic stresses, the VC said.
• He said the focus would be on crops of mutual interest and with complementary research strengths of the CSKHPAU in desi maize, red rice, ginger, herbs, medicinal plants, organic farming, their processing and marketing and PAU in wheat, rice, canola sarson, sugarcane, vegetables.
• There will be collaborating in the research programs of postgraduate students in different disciplines of agriculture and allied fields with the inclusion of advisory committee members from the partner university.

 

About Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya (CSKHPKV), Palampur:

 

1)The foundation for the establishment of the Agriculture University named as ChaudharySarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya (CSKHPKV), Palampur came into being after August 1, 1966 when a junior College of Agriculture was established at Palampur under the aegis of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.

2) Prior to it College of Agriculture, Solan under Punjab University was established to cater the needs of hilly areas of erstwhile Punjab.

3) After the reorganization of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh in 1966, Colleges of Agriculture at Palampur and Solan were transferred to Himachal Pradesh University on July 22, 1970 as a part of its Agricultural Complex. The University came into existence on November 1, 1978.

4) The Agricultural Complex comprising the Colleges of Agriculture at Palampur and Solan and the agricultural research stations in different agro-climatic zones of Himachal Pradesh formed the nucleus of the newly established University.

5) In 1985, a separate University of Horticulture and Forestry named as Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry at Solan was carved out of CSKHPKV. The College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Palampur was established in 1986 as a constituent second faculty of Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidayalaya. The departments of Home Science and Basic Sciences and Humanities of College of Agriculture were similarly upgraded to the full-fledged College of Home Science and Basic Sciences in May, 1991.

6) In addition to the four constituent colleges, the University has at present a network of three regional research stations, eleven research sub stations and eight Krishi VigyanKendras in different agro-climatic zones of the state to carry out its teaching, research and extension education activities. The university is duly accredited with Indian Council of Agricultural Research and has got ISO 9001:2000 Certificate.

(News Source: The Tribune)

 

 

 

Topic: Education Sector

 

 

Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains

 

What is the news?

• In order to provide better educational facilities to children of the state studying in government schools, Himachal Pradesh government has decided to introduce pre-nursery classes in five thousand more schools.
• About 4,000 schools in Himachal Pradesh have started pre-nursery classes.

 

Education Minister Govind Thakur Shared:

 

National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, was being implemented in the state.

• The education policy will work to make children global citizens. This will strengthen the base of the child. The new education policy will also eliminate the difference between government and private schools. Vocational education will be included from class IX onwards.

Phase 2:

• In the second phase, these classes will be started in 5,000 more schools, said the Education minister, adding that in the new education policy, skill hands would be an important part of education.
• By the year 2030, about 50 percent of the youth of the country will earn employment by their own skills, the minister said.
• In government schools, at the age of three, the child will get admission in Pre-Nursery, in four years in Nursery and in five years in KG, and in the sixth year in the first class.

 

About National Education Policy (NEP), 2020:

• National Education Policy 2020 has been announced on 29.07.2020. The National Education Policy 2020 proposes various reforms in school education as well as higher education including technical education. A number of action points/activities for implementation in school education as well as higher education is mentioned in the National Education Policy 2020.

 

Details of the salient features of NEP 2020 are as follows-

 

1) Ensuring Universal Access at all Levels of schooling from pre-primary school to Grade 12.

2) Ensuring quality early childhood care and education for all children between 3-6 years.

3) New Curricular and Pedagogical Structure (5+3+3+4).

4) No hard separations between arts and sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities, between vocational and academic streams.

5) Establishing National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy.

6) Emphasis on promoting multilingualism and Indian languages; The medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language.

7) Assessment reforms – Board Exams on up to two occasions during any given school year, one main examination and one for improvement, if desired.

8) Setting up of a new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development).

9) Equitable and inclusive education – Special emphasis given on Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs).

10) A separate Gender Inclusion fund and Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups.

11) Robust and transparent processes for recruitment of teachers and merit based performance.

12) Ensuring availability of all resources through school complexes and clusters.

13) Setting up of State School Standards Authority (SSSA);

14) Exposure of vocational education in school and higher education system.

15) Increasing GER in higher education to 50%.

16) Holistic and Multidisciplinary Education with multiple entry/exit options;

17) National Testing Agency  to offer Common Entrance Exam for Admission to Higher education institutions (HEIs)
.

18) Establishment of Academic Bank of Credit.

19) Setting up of Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERUs);

20) Setting up of the National Research Foundation (NRF).

21) ‘Light but Tight’ regulation.

22) Single overarching umbrella body for promotion of higher education sector, including teacher education and excluding medical and legal education- the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI)-with independent bodies for standard setting- the General Education Council; funding-Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC); accreditation- National Accreditation Council (NAC); and regulation- National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC).

23) Expansion of open and distance learning to increase Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER).

24) Internationalization of Education.

25) Professional Education will be an integral part of the higher education system. Stand-alone technical universities, health science universities, legal and agricultural universities, or institutions in these or other fields, will aim to become multi-disciplinary institutions.

26) Teacher Education – 4-year integrated stage-specific, subject- specific Bachelor of Education.

27) Establishing a National Mission for Mentoring.

28) Creation of an autonomous body, the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration. Appropriate integration of technology into all levels of education.

29) Achieving 100% youth and adult literacy.

30) Multiple mechanisms with checks and balances will combat and stop the commercialization of higher education.

31) All education institutions will be held to similar standards of audit and disclosure as a ‘not for profit’ entity.

32) The Centre and the States will work together to increase the public investment in the Education sector to reach 6% of GDP at the earliest.

34) Strengthening of the Central Advisory Board of Education to ensure coordination to bring overall focus on quality education.

NEP, 2020 aim to increase the GER to 100% in preschool to secondary level by 2030 whereas GER in Higher Education including vocational education from 26.3% (2018) to 50% by 2035.

• The Central Sector Scheme Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching (PMMMNMTT) was launched in 2014 to address comprehensively all issues related to Teacher Training/ Capacity Building and Professional Development of Teachers. Under the components, the total 95 centers were established throughout the country through which faculties/Teachers have been trained. Currently, The Standing Finance Committee has appraised the Scheme and recommended for continuation till 2025-2026 with the total outlay of Rs 493.68 crore. Under the PMMMNMTT Scheme Centres are established on the basis of the proposals received from education institutions, their screening by the Screening Committee and approval by the Project Approval Board.
• The information was given by the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Subhas Sarkar in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

(News Source: Pib amd uniindia)

 

 

 

Topic: Work on Warning of natural disasters: CM to IIT Mandi

 

 

Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains

 

What is the news?

• Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur today inaugurated the 6th edition of Himalayan Startup Trek 2022 – an annual startup event of IIT-Mandi on its campus at Kamand.

New inauguration at IIT Mandi:

• The Chief Minister also inaugurated the IIT-Mandi Catalyst Co-Work space and iHub and HCI Foundation Office on the campus.

 

Addressing an audience, the CM said:

• Researchers should work on early warning of natural disasters in the Himalaya region to avert human tragedies. Every year, due to natural disasters, many people lost their lives. Through technology advantage, it would be possible to ensure the early warning of disasters.
• “Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his Independence Day speech from Red Fort this year, has given a slogan ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan and Jai Anusandhan’, underlining the importance of technology and research to make India forge ahead on the path of progress and prosperity,” he added.
• “The Himalayan Startup Trek was symbolic of the emerging startup ecosystem in Himachal with immense support from the state government over the past several years. Top startups from the event will be handpicked for incubation support by the IIT Mandi Catalyst. Several startups will get an opportunity to pilot their solutions with the help from state departments and explore collaboration,” he said.
• He said the Department of Science and Technology, Startup India and the government had provided Rs 70 crore for supporting the startup. Of which, Rs 10 crore had been provided to the IIT.

 

During Exhibition:

• In Himachal Pradesh, now the twigs coming out during pruning of apple plants will not go to waste. These will make plates, bowls and packing boxes for eating food. At the same time, T-shirts and bags can be made from the fibers of cannabis plants. Some such startling experiments were presented during the exhibition of Himalayan Startup Trek 2022 at IIT Mandi. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur inaugurated the exhibition. Products prepared from apple twigs will also retain the nutritional value of the food items. These products will automatically decompose in 30 days after use and will also be used as fertilizer.
• This will also help in making the state pollution and plastic free. This experiment of Shimla Kotkhai’s post graduate couple Bhanuuday and Devangani was appreciated at IIT Mandi. It has been approved by Research Institute Kerala and IIT Mandi and its unit will soon be set up at Theog, Shimla. Four to sixteen rupees per product will be priced. At the same time, the startup of making T-shirts and bags from hemp fibers and grains belongs to Vishal Vivek. It has been started under the name of HAP Foundation.

(Source: The Tribune)

 

 

 

Topic: State’s second flower market

 

Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains

 

What is the news?

• After Parwanoo, the state’s second flower market will be set up in Una district of Himachal Pradesh.
• This announcement was made by Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Virendra Kanwar during the Kisan Sammelan in Takka Panchayat.
• The present government has promoted asafoetida cultivation in Kullu and Mandi and saffron cultivation in Lahaul.
• Rs 1010 crore JICA phase-2 project for crop diversification.
• The phase-II of the JICA aided crop diversification project would be implemented in all the 12 districts of state and would give a big boost to the socio-economic status of farmer’s families.

About JICA:

• The Japan International Cooperation Agency is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in developing countries, and the promotion of international cooperation.
• The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is advancing its activities around the pillars of a field-oriented approach, human security, and enhanced effectiveness, efficiency, and speed.

 

Mission:

JICA, in accordance with the Development Cooperation Charter, will work on human security and quality growth.

Vision:

• Leading the world with trust.
• JICA, with its partners, will take the lead in forging bonds of trust across the world, aspiring for a free, peaceful and prosperous world where people can hope for a better future and explore their diverse potentials.

 

Actions:

Commitment: Commit ourselves with pride and passion to achieving our mission and vision.
Gemba: Dive into the field (“gemba”) and work together with the people.
Strategy: Think and act strategically with broad and long-term perspectives.
Co-creation: Bring together diverse wisdom and resources.
Innovation: Innovate to bring about unprecedented impacts.

Where is state’s first flower market?

• Parwanoo

(News Source: HP Government and Amar Ujala)