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Guidelines for identification, admission and continued education of migrant children

 In order to mitigate the impact of challenges thrown by the COVID-19 pandemic for out of school children, it was felt necessary for every State/UT to devise a proper strategy for preventing increased drop outs, lower enrolments, loss of learning and deterioration in the gains made in providing universal access, quality and equity in the recent years.

Thus the Ministry of Education had issued guidelines for identification, admission and continued education of migrant children.

In order to ensure that school going children have access to education with quality and equity and to minimize the impact of the pandemic on school education across the country, the Ministry of Education has prepared and issued detailed guidelines on steps to be taken by the States and UTs during school closure and when the school re-open.

The main features of the Guidelines are :      

A.        Continued Education for Out of School Children (OoSC) and Children with Special Needs (CWSN)

 

  • Continuation of non-residential training for identified Out of School children through volunteers, local teachers and community participation.  
  • Continuation of home based education for CWSN children through Volunteers/ Special Educators.

 

B.        Identifying Out of School Children

 

  • States and UTs to carry out proper identification of OoSC for 6 to 18 years age group through a comprehensive door to door survey and prepare action plan for their enrolment

 

C.        Enrolment Drives and Awareness Generation

 

  • Enrolment drives may be undertaken at the beginning of academic year such as Praveshotsav, School Chalo Abhiyan etc.
  • Undertake awareness generation among parents and community for enrolling and attendance of children
  • Create awareness on practicing 3 Corona appropriate behaviors – wear mask, six-feet distance and washing hands with soap for which IEC material shared on 06.11.2020 with the States & UTs.

 

D.        Student Support while Schools are closed

 

  • Students to be provided support including counseling, large scale awareness & targeted home visits
  • Using Manodarpan web portal and tele-counseling number for counseling services and psycho-social support.
  • Distribution of educational material and resources, supplementary graded material, workshops, worksheets etc to support home-based education
  • Exploring option of classroom on wheels and classes in small groups at village level
  • Increasing the access of children to online/digital resources, TV Radio etc. to reduce learning loss
  • Ensuring easy and timely access to the provisions of uniforms, textbooks and MDM
  • Timely disbursement  of stipend to enrolled CWSN girls through DBT
  • Strengthening of Child protection mechanism at local level

 

E.        Student Support on School Reopening

 

  • Preparation and running of School readiness modules/Bridge course for initial period when the schools re-open so that they can adjust to the school environment and do not feel stressed or left-out.
  • Identification of students across different grades based on their learning levels
  • Relaxing detention norms to prevent drop out this year.
  • Ensuring reading with comprehension and numeracy skills by encouraging children to  read books beyond syllabus and creative writing & problem solving.
  • Large-scale remedial programmes/Learning Enhancement programmes to mitigate learning loss and inequality.

 

F.         Teacher Capacity Building

 

  • Effective utilization of the online NISHTHA training modules and online training module for Corona responsive behavior to be launched on DIKSHA portal soon.
  • Use of alternative Academic Calendar prepared by NCERT for joyful engagement of children in learning.

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Rejuvenation of River Yamuna

 Yamuna is largest tributary of Ganga River.Under Namami Gange Programme,National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has sanctioned 23 projects costing Rs. 4290 crore for creating / rehabilitation of 1840 Million Litres per Day (MLD)Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) capacity in Yamuna basin. These 23 projects are spread in Himachal Pradesh (1 project), Haryana (2 projects), Delhi (12 projects includes consultancy project & public outreach project) and Uttar Pradesh (8 projects). Out of these 23 projects, 6 projects have already been completed. Upto December 2021, NMCG has released an amount of Rs. 1593.32crore for all the ongoing 23 projects for river Yamuna.

 The cleaning of river is an ongoing process and this Ministry is supplementing the efforts of the States for checking the rising level of pollution of river Yamuna by providing financial assistance to States of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The aforementioned projects are in different stages of planning/construction/completion. Close monitoring is being done to ensure timely completion.


two-day Virtual International Akhand Conference ‘EDUCON-2020’

 Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ today inaugurated the two-day Virtual International Akhand Conference ‘EDUCON 2020’ through video conferencing. This two-day International Conference is being organized by Central University of Punjab, Bathinda (CUPB) in collaboration with the Global Educational Research Association (GERA) under the patronage of Prof. (Dr.) Raghavendra P. Tiwari, Vice Chancellor, CUPB & Padma Shri Dr. MahendraSodha (Patron, GERA). The focal theme of EDUCON-2020 is Envisioning Education for Transforming Youth to Restore Global Peace.

Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ appreciated CUPB for choosing the appropriate and relevant theme for the conference. He stated that this two-day Akhand Conference will pass on the message to the researchers and students across the globe that the research is a 24X7 exercise and requires strong perseverance. He opined that this international conference will help the prospective teachers to become familiar with different technologies and their functioning to bring transformational change in the field of education. He expressed hope that deliberations made during EDUCON2020 by internationally-acclaimed speakers & young researchers will certainly prove to be significant in preparing a roadmap for effective implementation of NEP-2020 and developing necessary skill-set among youngsters to enable them to contribute towards building an AtmaNirbhar Bharat.

Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ emphasized that the National Education Policy, 2020, is revolutionary in all aspect, as it focuses on multiple aspects of promoting mother language at primary level education, imparting vocational skills training for students at the secondary level & other innovative reforms. He further stated that NEP emphasizes on the interdisciplinary studies & integrated course curriculum in higher education for wider learning opportunities, with an aim to provide value-based holistic education, development of scientific temper and imparting skill training to youngsters. He further added that this policy also considers the need to design framework for extended use of technology in the teaching-learning process, development of online course contents, the introduction of Academic Bank of Credits and establishment of National Research Foundation (NRF) and National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), which would benefit the Indian scholars to compete at the global level. He gave the mantra of ‘Perform, Reform and Transform’ for successfully implementing all new imperatives of NEP-2020 essential for changing the society and transforming the life of youth for evolving global peace.

In his opening remarks Prof. Raghavendra P. Tiwari, Vice-Chancellor, CUPB said that CUPB is committed to quality higher education and cutting-edge research, this Conference will provide a platform to researchers and educationists to share their views on drawing strategic-plan for implementing the recommendations of the student-centric National Education Policy-2020, which is rooted in our Indian Culture and Value System. He informed that the Conference will focus, from the global perspectives, on various paradigms of NEP-2020, intended to transform the ‘learning system of our nation’ to meet world standard by empowering youth with the global competencies- thereby realizing the vision of the Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi. He said that deliberations of the conference would bridge out the connection between our past heritage and future education system to re-establish Bharat as the Vishwa Guru in the field of education.

 

In this International Conference, scholars from United Kingdom, Canada, Thailand, USA, Australia, Bhutan and India would be continuously discussing on the ten subthemes of the focal theme ‘Envisioning Education for Transforming Youth to Realize Global Peace’ for 31 hours. This conference is the first of its kind in India where scholars across the world would be continuously having a non-stop marathon dialogue sessionsfor 31 hours exploring the possibilities of the use of ICT in the higher education to promote the equitable quality education in India. Further, the conference will also provide a platform for discussions on emerging trends in education viz., likely scenario of higher education and school education by 2050, developing disruptive technologies for STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) Education, training youth for strategic future jobs in Universities, skill training programme for future graduates and relevance of ancient education system in 21st century.

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FLOOD MANAGEMENT SCHEME

 Flood management including erosion control falls within the purview of the States. Flood management and anti-erosion schemes are formulated and implemented by concerned State Governments as per their priority. The Union Government supplements the efforts of the States by providing technical guidance and also promotional financial assistance for management of floods in critical areas. The Government of India had launched a centrally sponsored scheme viz. Flood Mangement Programme (FMP) during XI Plan to provide central assistance to states for taking up works related to flood management, anti-erosion, flood management works, anti-sea erosion etc. which continued during XII Plan period as a component of  “Flood Management  and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP)” for subsequent period.

 In the State of Assam, 141 projects were included for central assistance under FMP. The 111 completed projects have given protection to an area of around 7.2 lakh ha and protected a population of about 17.71million. Central Assistance amounting to the tune of Rs. 1286.39 Crore has been given to the State of Assam under FMP.

In the State of Bihar, 18 projects were included for central assistance under FMP. The 15 completed projects have given protection to an area of around 28.67 lakh ha and protected a population of about 22.34 million. Central Assistance amounting to the tune of Rs. 924.41 Crore has been given to the State of Bihar under FMP.

In the State of West Bengal, 18 projects were included for central assistance under FMP. The 15 completed projects have given protection to an area of around 0.32 lakh ha and protected a population of about 1.96 million. Central Assistance amounting to the tune of Rs. 1007.81 Crore has been given to the State of West Bengal under FMP.

 The State Governments face issues like problem in land acquisition, encroachment of land, costs overrun, contractual disputes etc. in the implementation of projects under Flood Management Programme and regular review meetings by central monitoring agencies are held to expedite implementation of projects. 

The central assistance released to States under FMBAP during recent years to the States of Assam, Bihar and West Bengal is at Annexure-I

 This Information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Bishweswar Tudu in a written  reply in Lok Sabha today.

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BY

Annexure-I

Central assistance released under FMBAP during last four years to the States of Assam, Bihar and West Bengal

 

S. No.

State

Funds released during FY (Rs. In Crores)

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

1

Assam

245.49

142.12

85.03

–

2

Bihar

52.57

132.28

65.29

42.49

3

West Bengal

65.03

89.31

117.12

–

 

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Eligibility criteria of 75 % in Class 12th relaxed for IIT admissions

Considering the decision taken for IIT JEE (Advanced) and in line with the decision taken for the last academic year, the Ministry of Education had decided to waive off the 75% marks (in class 12 exam) eligibility criteria under Joint Entrance Examination (Main) for the next academic year 2021-2022 in respect of NITs, IIITs, SPAs and other CFTIs, whose admissions are based on JEE (Main).

The admissions to various Under Graduate (UG) programmes of the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), Shibpur (West Bengal) and other Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs – excluding IITs) are made on the basis of ranks / merit secured by the candidates in Joint Entrance Examination (Main) conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

For the candidates to qualify for admission in the IITs / NITs / IIITs and such other CFTis whose admissions are based on the JEE Ranks, they should have secured at least 75% marks in the 12th Class exam, or be in the top 20 percentile in the 12th Class exam conducted by the respective Boards. For SC/ST students, the qualifying mark in 12th Class exam is 65%.

While declaring the date of JEE (Advanced) exam, the Education Minister has announced to waive off the 75% marks (in class 12th exam) eligibility criteria for admissions to the academic year 2021-2022 for the ease of students.

 

River Cities Alliance

 The River Cities Alliance (RCA) has been launched with the objective to provide the member cities with a platform to discuss and exchange information on aspects that are vital for sustainable management of urban rivers, sharing best practices and supporting innovation. The alliance has been launched initially with 30 cities namely Dehradun, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Srinagar, Varanasi, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Farrukhabad, Mirzapur, Mathura, Bijnor, Ayodhya, Patna, Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Munger, Sahibganj, Rajmahal, Howrah, Jangipur, Hugli-Chinsurah, Behrampore, Maheshtala, Aurangabad, Chennai, Bhubaneshwar, Hyderabad, Pune, Udaipur and Vijaywada.

 

The Alliance is open to all river cities of India. Any river city can join the Alliance at any time.

 

 State Governments are implementing Action Plans for restoration of water quality of the identified polluted river stretches. The implementation is being monitored regularly at State level by Chief Secretary of the respective State/UT and at Central level by the Central Monitoring Committee under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti.

 

In addition, under Namami Gange Programme, the progress and activities are reviewed regularly by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), State Governments and District Ganga Committees.

 

RCA is envisaged as a facilitatory platform for initiating river-sensitive planning and development. Namami Gange through its integrated and comprehensive framework has been working towards rejuvenating Ganga river basin. As cities start to implement the river-sensitive development agenda, the River Cities Alliance will support them to learn from each other and inspire others to take up progressive action on this front.

 

 For adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter-State rivers and river valley thereof, the Parliament has enacted the Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956. When any request under the said Act is received from any State Government in respect of any water dispute on the inter-State rivers and the Central Government is of the opinion that the water dispute cannot be settled by negotiations, the Central Government constitutes a Water Disputes Tribunal for the adjudication of the said water dispute. Currently, 5 such water disputes Tribunals are active, the details of which are given at Annexure. In addition, Inter State Water disputes has been raised by Government of Bihar in respect of Tilaiya-Dhadhar Diversion scheme concerning States of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal and by Government of Tamil Nadu (TN) in respect of use, distribution and control of Pennaiyar river and its tributaries concerning States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and UT of Puducherry.

 

This Information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Bishweswar Tudu in a written  reply in Lok Sabha today.

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BY

ANNEXURE

Status of active Inter-State Water Disputes Tribunals relating to the sharing of
river water

 

S. No

Name of Tribunal

States concerned

Date of constitution

Present Status

1.

Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal – II(KWDT-II)

Karnataka, Telengana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra

April, 2004

Report and decision given on 30.12.2010. Further report given by the Tribunal on 29.11.2013.

 

However, as per Supreme Court Order dated 16.9.2011, till further order, decision taken by the Tribunal on references filed by States and Central Government shall not be published in the official Gazette. As such, matter is sub-judice. Term of the Tribunal was extended for a period of two years w.e.f. 1st August, 2014 to address the terms of reference as contained in section 89 of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. Thereafter, the term of the Tribunal has been extended six times for period of one year latest being w.e.f. 01.08.2021.

2.

Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal

Odisha and Chhattisgarh

12th March, 2018

The Government of Odisha had filed a complaint dated 19.11.2016 with the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation under Section 3 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 read with Inter-State River Water Dispute Rules, 1959.

 

The Central Government has constituted Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal vide Notification dated 12.03.2018. Subsequently, the reference was made to the Tribunal under Section 5(1) of the ISRWD Act, 1956 on 17.04.2018. The matter is thus under adjudication in the Tribunal. The Central Government, vide Notification dated 3rd June, 2021 has extended the tenure of the Tribunal for a period of two years upto 11th March, 2023 or till the submission of report, whichever is earlier.

3.

Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal

(MW DT)

Goa, Karnataka

and Maharashtra

16th November, 2010 However, vide notification dated 13.11.2014 date of reckoning of the constitution of the Tribunal is w.e.f. 21.08.2013

The MWDT submitted its report under Section 5(2) of the ISRWD Act, 1956 to the Central Government on 14.08.2018. Further references under Section 5(3) have been filed by the party States and the Central Government before the Tribunal. The matter is subjudice. The term of the Tribunal has been extended for a further period of one year w.e.f. 20.08.2021 to submit its Further Report under Section 5(3) of ISRWD Act, 1956.

 

The Central Government has notified the Award and Final Decision of the MWDT given on 14.08.2018 in the Gazette of India vide notification No. S.O. 888(E). dated 27.02.2020.

4.

Ravi & Beas Water Tribunal

(RB WT)

Punjab, Haryana

and Rajasthan

April, 1986

Report and decision under section 5(2) given in April, 1987. Clarification/explanation sought from the Tribunal under File No.H-11016/134/2021-BM Section-MOWR I/53475/2021 25 Section 5(3) of the said Act by the party States. Presidential Reference 1 of 2004 was made on the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act, 2004. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has pronounced the judgement on Presidential Reference in negative. Further, Government of Haryana has filed IA No. 6 of 2016 in OS No. 6 of 1996 in the matter. The matter is subjudice.

 

5.

Vansadhara Water Disputes Tribunal

(VW DT)

Andhra Pradesh &

Odisha

February, 2010 However, as per the Supreme Court order the date of reckoning of the constitution of the Tribunal is w.e.f. 17.9.2012

The Tribunal has submitted its report to the Central Government under Section 5(2) of the ISRWD Act, 1956 on 13.09.2017. Further, State of Odisha and the Central Government filed reference under Section 5(3) of the ISRWD Act, 1956 on 11.12.2017 and 12.12.2017 respectively. The State of Odisha has also filed I.A. No.1 of 2019 before the Tribunal and the Tribunal gave its judgement in the matter on 23.09.2019. Subsequently, the State of Odisha has filed SLPC(C) No.27930/2019 before the Supreme Court against Order dated 23.09.2019 which is subjudice. Now, the Tribunal has furnished its Further Report dated 21.06.2021 under section 5(3) of the ISRWD Act.

 

 

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Toycathon aims to tapIndia’s one billion USD toy market

 Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and Union Minister WCD and Textiles Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani jointly launched Toycathon-2021 today. Shri Praveen Kumar, Secretary, Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE and Dr Abhay Jere, Chief Innovation Officer, MoEwere present on the launch event of Toycathon-2021. The Union Ministers also jointly launched the Toycathon Portal on the occasion. This Toycathon is aimed to conceptualize innovative toys based on the Indian value system which will inculcate the positive behaviour and good value among the children.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Pokhriyalsaid that Toycathon is being organized to develop India as the global Toy manufacturing hub. He said size of toy market in India is about one billion USD but unfortunately 80% of the toys are imported. The launch of Toycathon today, is an endeavor by the government to create an ecosystem for the domestic Toy industry and the local manufacturers, tapping the untapped resources and utilizing theirpotential. Recalling the vision of Prime MinisterShri Narendra Modi of 5 trillion-dollar economy and considering the huge potential of our toy market, he exhorted all to make India ‘Atmanirbhar’ in Toy industry. He further stated that National Education Policy-2020also lays emphasis on innovation and research in learning, starting from the primary education. Aligned with the goals of National Education Policy, the Toycathonaims to capture innovative prowess of 33 crores students across the country, he added.

Addressing a press conference Smt. Smriti Z Irani stated that India imports 80 per cent of toys and the government is working towards promoting the indigenous toy industry for making the country self-reliant in this sector. She said that the collaboration with Ministry of Education paves the way for the students, faculties from all schools, colleges and universities of the country to answer to the clarion call of Atmanirbhar Bharat though this Toycathon. Appreciating the initiative, the Minister said, “This is the first time when school children will innovate, design and conceptualize toys also for especially abled ‘divyang children’. The Minister informed that students and faculty members participating in Toycathon can get prizes upto 50 lakhs.Commerce Ministry and MSME Ministry have taken various steps to protect the toy manufacturing industry and to make it competitive and to create awareness about safe toys which are not harmful chemically, Ministry of Education and Ministry of WCD will adopt special measures, she said.

 

About Toycathon 2021:

Taking a giant leap in the path of becoming ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), Ministry of Textile, Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Ministry of MSME, Ministry of I&B and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have jointly launched Toycathon-2021.

This is a special kind of hackathon where students and teachers from schools and colleges, design experts, toy experts and startups will get together to crowd source ideas for developing toys and games that are based on Indian culture and ethos, local folklore and heroes, and Indian value systems.While this will greatly help India develop into a global hub for toys and games, it will also help our children to understand the ethos and values of Indian culture as envisaged in the National Education Policy 2020. 

The Toycathon is based on nine themes viz. Indian Culture, History, Knowledge of India and Ethos; Learning, Education and Schooling; Social and human values; Occupations & specific fields; Environment; Divyang ; Fitness and sport; Out of the box, creative and logical thinking and Rediscovering/redesigning traditional Indian toys

The Toycathon will have 3 variants of tracks of Junior Level, Senior Level and Start up Leveland will allow participation of students and teachers from schools, colleges and universitiesapart from startups and toy experts. Participants will have two options for ideasubmission; they can either submit ideas for the published problem statements or undernovel toy concepts category. This is the high time we utilize brightest creative minds andcarve out games based on our Indian culture, tradition and heritage and stories of ancientIndia showcasingthe beliefs and traditions of people.

For participation in Toycathon 2021, please visit https://toycathon.mic.gov.in.The Proposals can be submitted online from 5th January to 20th January, 2021.

Click here to access the PPT on Toycathon-2021

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Indian Footwear and Leather Development Programme (IFLDP)

 Indian Footwear and Leather Development Programme (IFLDP) (erstwhile IFLADP) has been approved for continuation from 2021-22 with an approved financial outlay of Rs. 1700 crore. IFLDP has been approved by the Union Cabinet on 19.01.2022 as continuation of the erstwhile IFLADP till 31.03.2026 or till further review, whichever is earlier.

Indian Footwear and Leather Development Programme(IFLDP) aims at development of infrastructure for the leather sector, address environmental concerns specific to the leather sector, facilitate additional investments, employment generation and increase in production.

1. The following sub-schemes have been approved under IFLDP during 2021-26:-

(i) Sustainable Technology and Environmental Promotion (proposed outlay Rs.500 crore):- Special Purpose Vehicle constituted for each CETP would be provided assistance @ 80% of the total project cost for Northeastern Areas with industry’s/beneficiary share to be 20% of the project cost and @ 70%  of the total project cost for other areas with industry’s/beneficiary share to be 30% of the project cost with a limit of Rs.200 crore.

(ii) Integrated Development of Leather Sector (IDLS) sub-scheme (proposed outlay Rs.500 crore):- Assistance would be provided to the sectoral units for their modernization/capacity expansion/technology up-gradation on or after 01.01.2020 @30% to MSME units and 20% to other units. Financial assistance is being proposed to North Eastern Areas also @40% of cost of plant & machinery to MSME units and 30% of the same to other units with additional 5% financial assistance for the domestically manufactured plant and machinery. Maximum assistance will be provided upto Rs.15 crore per product line keeping in view 5 times increase in upper limit of investment in Plant and Machinery by MSME 

(iii) Establishment of Institutional Facilities (proposed outlay Rs.200 crore):- Setting up of International Testing Centre, Sports Complex, replacement of conventional light fixtures with LED lights and construction of girls hostel in FDDI campuses are planned.   

(iv) Mega Leather Footwear and Accessories Cluster Development (MLFACD) sub-scheme (proposed outlay Rs.300 crore):- The sub-scheme aims at world-class infrastructure and to integrate the production chain in a manner that caters to the business needs of the leather and footwear industry so as to cater to the domestic market and exports. 

Graded assistance is proposed to be provided @50% of the project cost or @70% of the project cost in Northeastern areas, for land development, core infrastructure, HRD and social infrastructure, production facilities including ready to use sheds with plug and play facility, R&D support and export services  excluding cost of land with maximum Government assistance being limited to Rs. 125 crore.

(v) Brand Promotion of Indian Brands in Leather and Footwear Sector (proposed outlay Rs.100 crore):- The GoI assistance is proposed to be 50% of total project cost subject to limit of Rs 10 crore for each brand in next three year to promote 10 Indian brands in the International Market in 3 years. The designated agency to implement the sub-scheme is being proposed to be selected amongst institutes like NID, NIFT, IBEF, IIFT or Institutes of similar standing.

(vi) Development of Design Studios (proposed outlay Rs.100 crore):- This is a new sub-scheme. Assistance would be provided to develop 10 Indian design studio. The studios will promote marketing/export linkages, facilitates buyer- seller meets, display designs to international buyers and work as interface for the trade fairs.  Design Studios will be kind of ‘one-stop- shop’ providing a wide range of services: design, technical support, quality control etc. Institutes like FDDI, CLRI, NID, NIFT, IBEF, IIFT or institutes of similar standing or any large units of the industry or group of industry would be the implementing agencies.

2. Total approved outlay (Component –wise and Year-wise)

(Rs. In crore)

Sl. No. Name of Sub-scheme 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25

2025-26 Total (upto 2021-26)

1 Mega Leather Footwear and Accessories Cluster Development(MLFACD) 50.00 50.00 50.00 50.00 100.00 300.00

2. Integrated Development of Leather Sector (IDLS) 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 500.00

3. Sustainable Technologyand Environmental Promotion (STEP) 140.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 60.00 500.00

4. Promotion of Indian Brands in Leather and Footwear Sector 16.00 24.00 33.00 18.00 9.00 100.00

5. Development of Design Studios 16.00 24.00 33.00 18.00 9.00 100.00

6. Establishment of Institutional Facilities 90.00 25.00 25.00 30.00 30.00 200.00

  Total 412.00 323.00 341.00 316.00 308.00 1700.00

4. Achievements of erstwhile IFLADP 2017-21 

The sub-scheme wise details of activities undertaken under erstwhile IFLADP (as on date) is summarized as below:-

(a) Human Resource Development sub-scheme-During the period 2017-18 to 2019-20, primary skill development training has been provided to 3,24,722 unemployed persons and 2,60,880 trainees provided placement in leather & footwear sector. 12947 workers were provided skill upgradation training in 2019-20.No training could be conducted during 2020-21 due to COVID-19 Pandemic.

(b) Integrated Development of Leather Sector-During the period 2017-18 to 2020-21, financial assistance amounting to Rs. 307.84 crore provided for modernization and technology up-gradation of 714 units in leather & footwear sector. 

(C ) Mega Leather Footwear and Accessories Clusters sub-scheme-The Department has approved the project for setting up of MLFAC at Calcutta Leather Complex, Bantala, Kolkata with project cost of Rs. 178.84 crore and GoI assistance of Rs. 89.42 crore. ‘In-principle’ approval has been accorded for the proposal for setting up of MLFAC at Ramaipur, Kanpur Nagar, Uttar Pradesh with tentative proposed cost of Rs. 451 crore.

(d) Leather Technology Innovation and Environmental Issues sub-scheme- Approval has been accorded for upgradation of twelve Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) at Dindigul, Ranipet, Ambur, Vaniyambadi, Vellore, Pallavaram, Trichy, Erode districts of Tamil Nadu, Jalandhar (Punjab) and Bantala (Kolkata). As on date, financial assistance amounting to Rs. 132 crore has been released in respect of ten CETP projects with total GOI assistance of Rs.284 crore. Rs.152 crore is the committed liability which would be released in the coming years. 

(e) Establishment of Institutional Facilities sub-scheme- Approval has been granted for up-gradation of seven Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) campuses located at Noida, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jodhpur, Patna, Kolkata and Rohtak into Centres for Excellence (CoEs) with total project cost of Rs. 129.62 crore. First installment of funds amounting to Rs 38.88 crore (30% of total project cost) has been released to Footwear Design and Development Institute. Rs.90.76 crore is the committed liability which would be released in the coming years. 

(f) Promotion of Indian Brands in Leather and Footwear Sector- Five applications for financial assistance were received by the Department. The ‘Designated Agency’ for evaluation of proposals could not be appointed as no specific criteria were mentioned in the guidelines and hence the scheme could not take off.

(g) Additional Employment Incentive in Leather, Footwear and Accessories sector

An online portal has been implemented for receiving applications. Total 48 applications have been received under the sub-scheme by the implementing agency i.e. Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI). After physical inspection and financial vetting, reimbursement of Rs. 92,27,971/- in respect of eligible 48 units/applications has been released to FDDI.

5.  Impact of erstwhile IFLADP 

The programme has a direct benefit towards quality employment generation especially for women, skill development, decent work, making the industry more environment friendly and prompting sustainable production system. The leather clusters located in different parts of the country have accrued benefit in terms of reduction of poverty, gender equality, sector specific skill/education, etc., thus touching many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Most of the National Development Plans (NDP) also align with the SDGs. NDPs such as economic growth, reduction in poverty, generation of employment, quality education/skills, gender equality, good health and well-being, infrastructure development, affordable and clean energy and other environmental benefits are well-served by the IFLAD Programme.

 

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50th Anniversary Celebrations of ICRISAT

 The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi visited the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) campus in Patancheru, Hyderabad and kickstarted the 50th Anniversary celebrations of ICRISAT. The Prime Minister also inaugurated ICRISAT’s Climate Change Research Facility on Plant Protection and ICRISAT’s Rapid Generation Advancement Facility. These two facilities are dedicated to the smallholder farmers of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Prime Minister also unveiled a specially designed logo of ICRISAT and launched a commemorative stamp issued on the occasion. Governor Telangana  Smt Tamilisai Soundararajan, Union Ministers Shri Narendra Singh Tomar and Shri G. Kishan Reddy were among those present on the occasion.

The Prime Minister noted the auspicious occasion of Basant Panchami and congratulated ICRISAT for 50 years. Underlining the importance of next 25 years for both the country and also for ICRISAT, the Prime Minister stressed the need for new goals and working for them. The Prime Minister lauded ICRISAT for their contribution in helping agriculture in large part of the world including India. He appreciated their contribution in water and soil management, improvement in crop variety, on-farm diversity and livestock integration. He also praised their holistic approach in integrating farmers with their markets and promoting pulses and chick pea production in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. “Your research and technology have helped making agriculture easy and sustainable”, Shri Modi said.

The Prime Minister said that the worst affected by climate change are the people on the last rung of development with little resources. That is why, the Prime Minister reiterated India’s request to the world to pay special attention to the climate changes. He talked of LIFE- Lifestyle for Environment; P3 – Pro planet people movements and India’s net zero target by 2070. “Pro planet people is a movement that connects every community, every individual with climate responsibility to tackle the climate challenge. This is not limited to just words, but is also reflected in the actions of the Government of India”, he added.

Referring to 15 Agro-Climatic Zones and 6 seasons of the country, the Prime Minister highlighted the depth of ancient experience of Indian agriculture. He pointed out that India’s focus is on the fusion of ‘back to basic’ and ‘march to future’ to protect its farmers from climate challenge.  “Our focus is on our more than 80 per cent farmers who are small and  needs us the most”, the Prime Minister said.

He mentioned another dimension of changing India i.e. digital agriculture which he termed as India’s future and stressed that talented Indian youth can contribute a great deal in this. He listed areas like crop assessment, land records digitization, spraying insecticides and nutrients by drones which are witnessing increased use of technology and artificial intelligence. “India’s efforts are increasing relentlessly for empowering farmers through digital technology”, he said.

The Prime Minister emphasized that in the Amrit Kaal, India is focussing on inclusive growth along with higher agriculture growth. Women in agri-sector, are being supported through self-help groups. “Agriculture has the potential to take a large chunk of population out of poverty  and take them towards better life-style. This Amrit Kaal will also provide new means to the farmers of geographically difficult areas”, he said.

The Prime Minister said that India is working on a dual strategy. On the one hand, a large part of the land is being brought under irrigation through water conservation and connecting of rivers. Water use efficiency through micro irrigation is being encouraged in areas with limited irrigation, on the other.

The Prime Minister said that National Mission for self-reliance in edible oils indicates India’s new approach. The Mission aims to increase palm oil area by 6 lakh hectare. “This will help Indian farmers at every level and will prove very beneficial for the famers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana”, the Prime Minister pointed out.  He also dwelled on the steps taken to strengthen post-harvest infrastructure like creating cold chain storage capacity of 35 million tonnes and creation of 1 lakh crore rupees Agriculture Infrastructure Fund.

India is also focusing on establishing FPOs and Agriculture value chain. “We wish to create an alert and potent market force out of small farmer by organizing them into thousands of FPOs”, he said.

The Prime Minister said that India’s goal is not just increasing food grain production. India has enough surplus food grain to run one of the world’s big food security programme. “We are focusing on food security as well as nutrition security. With this vision, we have developed many bio-fortified varieties in the last 7 years”.

ICRISAT is an international organisation that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia & sub-Saharan Africa. It helps farmers by providing improved crop varieties and hybrids and also helps smallholder farmers in the drylands fight climate change.

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CONSTRUCTION OF DAM AT MEKEDATU

 The Feasibility Report (FR) of Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir cum Drinking Water Project was submitted to Central Water Commission (CWC) by Government of Karnataka for according “in principle” clearance for preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the project. The Screening Committee of Central Water Commission in its meeting held on 24.10.2018 accorded “in-principle” clearance for preparation of DPR by project authority (Government of Karnataka) subject to certain conditions including that: “As the main objective of this scheme as stated in the FR is to implement the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal(CWDT) Award as modified by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, acceptance of Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) would be a pre-requisite for consideration of the DPR by the Advisory Committee of MoWR, RD & GR”.

Subsequently, DPR of Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir cum Drinking Water Project was submitted to CWC by Government of Karnataka in January 2019 and copies of the same were forwarded to Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).

The State of Tamil Nadu has requested the Central Government to advise the Government of Karnataka not to take up the Mekedatu project.

Discussion on the DPR of the above project was included as an agenda item during various meetings of CWMA. However, discussion on this issue could not take place due to lack of consensus among party States on this agenda item.

School of Engineering and AtalBihari Vajpayee School of Management and Entrepreneurship at J.N.U

 Union Education Minister of India, ShriRameshPokhriyal ‘Nishank’ laid the foundation stone of the buildings for School of Engineering and Atal Bihari Vajpayee School of Management and Entrepreneurship at Jawaharlal Nehru University today through a virtual program.Vice Chancellor, JNU, Prof. M. Jagdish Kumar,Rector I Prof.ChintamaniMahapatra, Rector II Prof. Satish Chandra Garkoti, Rector III Prof. Rana Pratap Singh and the deans of the new schools, Prof. UnnatPandit and Prof. SatyavratPatnaik were present on the occasion.

ShriPokhriyal expressed his delight at the  naming the School of Management on the name of late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was not only an efficient and visionary Prime Minister of India, but an inspiring author too. The Minister mentioned that engineering and management education will complement each other and willinspire the youth to become entrepreneurs and self-reliant.He hoped that the proposed building with world-class facilities will be endowed with technology-based pedagogy and development of learners.

ShriPokhriyalalso congratulated Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar for taking the University to new heights of progress and initiating realization of National Education Policy 2020 with new initiatives.

New method can efficiently transform phenol to a key ingredient for manufacturing food preservatives, pharmaceuticals & polymers

 Indian researchers have found that electrolysis using surface-modified electrodes for efficient large-scale transformation of phenol to 1,4 hydroquinone used as intermediate in the manufacturing of food preservatives, pharmaceuticals, dyes, polymers. India currently imports 1,4 hydroquinone at a heavy cost due to lack of efficient processes for conversion of phenol to 1,4 hydroquinone.

Phenol and it’s oxidized products like 1,4-hydroquinone, catechol, or resorcinol are vital and primary building blocks used in the synthesis of many medicinal and industrially used organic compounds. Especially products like 1,4 hydroquinone are used as intermediates in the manufacturing of food preservatives, pharmaceuticals, dyes, polymers, etc. In addition, oxidation of phenol leads to a huge value addition. India imports phenol worth 23.6 million USD while India spends US$56.5M for importing 1,4-hydroquinone. Conventionally, phenol oxidation is carried out by chemical methods using catalysts involving precious metals, metal oxides, and enzymes along with hazardous oxidants. But these methods suffer from many disadvantages, including incomplete conversion of starting material and lack of product selectivity along with environmental hazards.

In this background, researchers from the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences led by Dr. Bhagavatula Prasad and CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory regarded electrolysis as an effective way to carry out the oxidative transformation of phenol to 1,4 hydroquinone. This work has been published in the ‘New Journal of Chemistry’ recently.

Electrochemical organic transformations are being looked at with great interest these days because of the economic and environmental advantages they offer over conventional chemical transformation methods. As these transformations are typically carried out in an aqueous medium by just passing electricity through the substrate (in this case phenol), no environmentally hazardous oxidants/reductants are involved in this process. Though electrochemical transformations offer so many advantages, there are several practical issues, especially with respect to phenol oxidation.

For example, the conventional metal-based electrodes could not be used for this transformation as they start losing the activity over time due to the adsorption of the oxidized products on their surfaces. Furthermore, many times they lead to over oxidation of phenol resulting in lack of product selectivity and unwanted product formation (tar). Additionally, some of the electrodes also suffer with issues like physical stability and durability of the electrodes with time.

Through detailed cyclic voltammetric studies, the NCL and CeNS researchers established all these difficulties could be overcome using electrodes having disordered graphene-like structures with desired number of oxygen-bearing surface functional groups such as hydroxyl (-C-OH), carboxyl (-COOH), and carbonyl (-C=O) groups. The surface modification could be achieved again by electrochemical treatment of the electrode in an acidic environment. Based on systematic studies using techniques like Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the researchers established optimum conditions for this surface modification. With such appropriately surface-modified carbonaceous electrodes, the conversion of phenol was excellent (99%) with 87% selectivity to 1,4-hydroquinone.

The researchers are currently looking at other industrially relevant processes that could be accomplished by such environmentally benign electro-organic transformations.

 

                   

Publication link:

DOI: 10.1039/d1nj04640c

LABORATORY FOR CHECKING THE QUALITY OF DRINKING WATER

 As reported by States/UTs, so far 2021 drinking water quality testing laboratories at different levels viz. State, district, sub-division and/or block level, has been set up in the country. State-wise details of drinking water quality testing laboratories is at Annex-I.

 To make provision of potable tap water supply in adequate quantity, of prescribed quality and on regular & long-term basis to every rural household by 2024, since August, 2019, Government of India in partnership with States, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – Har Ghar Jal. Thus, as of date, out of 19.27 Crore rural households in the country, 8.88 Crore (46.09%) households are reported to have provision of tap water supply in their homes. State-wise details is at Annex– II.

 The State/UT, district & village-wise status of tap water connection in rural households, schools and anganwadi centres as reported by States/ UTs is in public domain and available on JJM dashboard at:

https://ejalshakti.gov.in/jjmreport/JJMIndia.aspx

Definition under State of Forest Report

 As per decision 19/Conference of Parties (CP) 9-Kyoto Protocol, the forest can be defined by any country depending upon the capacities and capabilities of the country as follows:-

Forest- Forest is defined structurally on the basis of

  • Crown cover percentage: Tree crown cover- 10 to 30% (India 10%)

 

  • Minimum area of stand: area between 0.05 and 1 hectare (India 1.0 hectare) and

 

  • Minimum height of trees: Potential to reach a minimum height at maturity in situ of 2 to 5 m (India 2m)

India’s definition of forest has been taken on the basis of above three criteria only and very well accepted by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for their reporting/communications. The forest cover is defined as ‘all land, more than one hectare in area, with a tree canopy density of more than 10 percent irrespective of ownership and legal status. Such land may not necessarily be a recorded forest area. It also includes orchards, bamboo and palm’. The definition of forest cover has clearly been defined in all the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) and in all the International communications of India.

In ISFR 2021 recently published by the Ministry on 13th January, 2022, the forest cover figures are divided as ‘Inside Recorded Forest Area’ and ‘Outside Recorded Forest Area’. Those ‘Inside Recorded Forest Area’ are basically natural forests and plantations of Forest Department. The Forest cover ‘Outside Recorded Forest Area’ are mango orchards, coconut plantations, block plantations of agroforestry. Thus data of mango plantations etc. is automatically getting separated out as Forest Survey of India is reporting the figures of ‘Outside Recorded Forest Area’ separately.

The Interpretation of satellite data for classifying Very Dense Forest (VDF) is also supported by the ancilliary data like field inventory data of FSI, ground truthing data and high resolution satellite imagery wherever required.

At present, there is no plan to change the definition of forest cover and very dense forest. The definition of forest cover in ISFR represents true picture as described. 

All India State of Forest Reports having state wise forest cover maps and district wise forest cover figure are available at FSI website. 

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National afforestation programmes to improve the forest cover

 The year-wise details of budgetary allocations and expenditure on national afforestation programmes, through the Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) of the Ministry, National Afforestation Programme (NAP) and National Mission for a Green India (GIM) from 2017-18 to 2021-22, are  as under:

(Amount in Rupees in crore)

Year

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

(as on  24th January,2022)

Budget Allocated

NAP 80.00

GIM

47.80

 

176.94*

 

193.63*

 

160.00*

 

220.00*

Expenditure

80.00

46.99

176.73*

193.63*

158.04*

200.13*

*Combined allocation and expenditure for Green India Mission-National Afforestation Programme.

NAP has been the flagship afforestation scheme of the Ministry, implemented since year 2000 on pan India basis, for afforestation in identified degraded forest areas with people’s participation and decentralised forest governance. GIM activities were started in 2015-16. NAP and GIM, along with other afforestation schemes, have been contributing in restoration of degraded forest areas in the country. This has helped in stabilization and increase in the extent of forest cover, which is evident from the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) published by Forest Survey of India (FSI). The latest India State of Forest Report (ISFR 2021) revealed that the total forest and tree cover of the country is 8,09,537 square kilometres (which is 24.62 percent of the geographical area of the country) compared to 7,94,245 sq km (24.16 percent) in ISFR 2015. This is an increase of 15,292 sq km of forest and tree cover of the country. The ISFRs also pointed out that the positive change could be attributed to conservation measures or management interventions such as afforestation activities, participation of local people for better protection in plantation areas as well as in traditional forest areas, expansion of trees outside forests, tree plantation drives etc.

In order to achieve the targeted objectives of national afforestation programmes, the Ministry has approved merger of NAP into Green India Mission (GIM) and accordingly financial allocation for both the schemes is provided under one budgetary head so that the overall greening efforts are augmented. The budget allocation for the merged scheme has increased from Rs. 160 crore in the year 2020-21 to Rs. 220 crore during the year 2021-22. Besides, the funds under Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), inter-alia, is used for forest and wildlife management related activities including compensatory afforestation.

The Ministry also promotes tree plantation as people’s movement through School Nursery Yojana and Nagar Van Yojana. Tree plantation/afforestation being the multi-departmental effort, taken up cross sector by various departments of the Centre and State Governments, Non-Government Organizations, civil society, corporate bodies etc. also contributes in achieving the targeted objectives of national afforestation programmes.