national level office-bearers of Unorganised Workers’ Unions and Associations

In afirst of its kind unique initiative, the Union Minister for Labour and Employment, Shri Bhupender Yadav today interacted over video Conference with national level office-bearers of Unorganized Workers’ Unions and Associations on the problems and issues of unorganized workers.

The representatives of construction workers, domestic workers, textile workers, municipal workers, transport workers, street vendors, brick-kiln workers and railway malgodam workers participated in the meeting.

The Unorganised Workers’ representatives appreciated the Ministry’s initiative of eShram Portal and stated that not only this has given an identity but also dignity to the workers and will help in alleviating the sufferings of the unorganized workers. The Trade Union leaders put forth their problems and issues very candidly.

While interacting with the Union leaders, Shri Yadav stated that the Government has been working relentlessly and sincerely for the welfare and upliftment of unorganised workers in particular and for the working class in general.

The Minister particularly thanked all the Trade Union leaders for their whole hearted cooperation for motivating and mobilising the workers to register in eShram portal and said that it has already turned into a public movement with full jan-bhagidari. The Minister informed that in just over 200 days nearly 23croreunorganised workers have already registered themselves.

Acknowledging the problems faced by workers employed in brick kiln, forestry, plantations etc. in getting themselves registered on the E-shram portal, the Minister said that special camps will be organized for them.

The Labour Minister stated that the Government is aware of the fact that without ensuring safety, security and welfare of the working class, we cannot not imagine the fruition of concept of Atma-Nirbhar Bharat which is the dream of our Prime Minister, Shri NarendraModi.

“The Government has undertaken several social security schemes for the unorganized workers. Besides, the all India survey of Domestic and Migrant workers is also undertaken with full earnestness and soon the Government will take meaningful and constructive action on the report, keeping in view the aspect of social security and welfare of the working class.”, further stated Shri Yadav.

Union Minister also highlighted on more than 400 occupations and sub occupations, comprising unorganized sector. He also stated that it is the endeavor of the Government to implement the proviso of ESIC all over the country. After survey of migrant and domestic workers, the data shall be linked to e-Shram portal. The NCS portal shall also be linked to eShram.

The Minister informed that In view of the resurgence of COVID-19 and subsequent imposition of certain restrictions by State Governments, the ministry of Labour and Employment has re activated the 21 Monitoring Centres (Click here for Details) from 5th January 2022 in order “to mitigate the problems of migrant workers through co-ordination with various state governments” under the Office of Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) across the country.

Shri Yadav furher stated that once the pandemic situation is eased, he and his colleague, Shri Rameshwar Teli, Minister of State would travel extensively, interact with the working class and the labour union members and take their views on implementation of various welfare and social security measures.

Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Shri Rameshwar Teli gave a brief account of the welfare facilities extended to non-coal mine workers and Bidi workers on health, housing and education.

Shri Sunil Barthwal, Secretary, Labour and Employment while setting the context of the virtual meeting, stated that the Government is very much concerned about providing social security and welfare schemes to all unorganised workers. Government is running various schemes and the meeting is to understand the issues so that the schemes can be implemented more effectively.

SmtPratibha R, President, Garments and Textile Workers Union, Bengaluru; S/Shri Ramendra Kumar, General Secretary, National Platform for Domestic Workers; Ashok Agyani National Chief Convener for Municipal Workers; Arvind Singh, National President of All India Unorganised Workers Congress; Shri S K Mittal, Chairman and Navin Kumar Gupta, President and Secretary-General of All India Motor Transport Congress; Promod Patel of Trade Union Coordination Centre for Construction Workers, Lucknow; Gautam Kumar, General Secretary, Railway MalgodownShramikSangh; and SudhirKatiyar, Brick Kiln Workers Association and Ms Anita for Domestic Workers Union represented the unorganised workers’ unions.

Assam On Track To Become ‘Har Ghar Jal’ State By 2024

The Secretary, Department of Drinking water and Sanitation (DDWS) Smt. Vini Mahajan today reviewed the progress of Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission with Chief Secretary of Assam, Shri Jishnu Barua. Smt. Mahajan appreciated the progress made by Assam in providing tap water supply to rural homes during the review meeting on implementation of the two key missions in the State. She said “the State of Assam is well on track to achieve the target of providing clean tap water supply to every home by 2024 and the Centre is providing full assistance to the State to achieve the goal.” Shri Arun Baroka, Additional Secretary, DDWS, Shri S Abbasi, ACS in-charge SBM and JJM, Assam, Shri Samir Sinha, Finance Secretary, Assam and officers of DDWS were also present during the online review.

Smt. Mahajan in her opening remarks said, “Jal Jeevan Mission is a decentralized, demand-driven, community-managed water supply scheme which aims to improve the lives of rural people by providing clean tap water supply to every home. She appreciated the work carried out by the State in the past six months.”

Speaking on the implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission, Smt. Mahajan said, “While the districts have self-declared themselves Open Defecation Free, but this is not a one-time effort. Efforts under the programme are being made to bring about social and behaviour change for sustainability of the ODF status of villages at all times.” She also emphasized on urgent need to prioritize supply of tap water in all schools and anganwadi centres of the State.

At the announcement of Jal Jeevan Mission on 15th August, 2019, only 1.11 lakh (1.76%) households out of total 63.35 lakh households in the State had access to tap water supply. In about 28 months, 17.46 lakh households have been provided with clean tap water. In last six months alone, clean tap water supply has been provided to more than 8.5 lakh households.

Shri Jishnu Barua, Chief Secretary, Assam while presenting the state performance said, “good progress has been made if we look at the point from where we started with just 1% tap water coverage in the biggest north-eastern state. We progressed well in the last six months. As the State started on a low base it took time to streamline the procedure for implementation of the programme. Now the remaining work will be carried out expeditiously.”

Working in line with ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas’, Jal Jeevan Mission’s motto is ‘no one is left out’ and it aims at universal access to potable tap water supply. At the start of the mission in 2019, out of a total of 19.20 Crore rural households in the country, only 3.23 Crore (17%) had tap water supply. Despite Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns disruptions, Jal Jeevan Mission has been implemented with speed and during the last 28 months, 5.59 Crore rural households have been provided with tap water supply. Presently, 8.83 Crore (45.88%) rural homes across the country have tap water supply. States of Goa, Telangana, Haryana and UTs of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry, D&NH and D&D have ensured 100% household tap connection in rural areas. At present, every household in 90 districts and more than 1.31 lakh villages are receiving tap water supply in their homes.

To ensure transparency and accountability in implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission, all information about Jal Jeevan Mission is in public domain and the JJM dashboard can be accessed at https://ejalshakti.gov.in/jjmreport/JJMIndia.aspx

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Winners of Vande Bhartam, Nritya Utsav competition gearing up to enthrall audiences

The winners ofVande Bhartam, Nritya Utsav Grand Finale are gearing up to enthrall the audiences at the Republic Day 2022 parade at Rajpath, New Delhi on 26th January. The rehearsals for the grand performance have been taking place with full enthusiasm at Rajpath and Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium , New Delhi.

The winners are being trained by the four renowned choreographers. These include Kathak Dancer Ms. Rani Khanam, along with Ms. Maiyetree Pahari, Ms. Tejaswini Sathe, and Mr.Santosh Nair who are giving training to 36 teams who have come from different states.

The 480 performers have been selected by the Ministry of Culture through a four level Vande Bharatam-Nritya Utsav competition. The Grand Finale of the Vande Bharatam-Nritya Utsav, a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav was held in New Delhi on 19th December, 2021

The Vande Bharatam competition began at the district level on November 17 and saw the participation of more than 3,870 contestants in 323 groups. Those who cleared the screening at the district level took part in the state-level competition from November 30, 2021. More than 20 virtual events were conducted for the state-level competition over a span of 5 days till 4th December 2021

Over 2,400 participants from 200 plus teams were short-listed for the zonal level competition. The zonal finals took place at Kolkata, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi from 9th to 12th of December where 104 groups displayed their dance prowess before an august jury and applauding fans. Participating groups performed specially choreographed acts in various dance categories like classical, folk, tribal, and fusion. They will now give a performance on Republic Day where all the groups will merge into a one whole, yet retaining the identity of individual dance forms, in the true spirit of Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat.

Of these 104 groups,73 groups comprising 949 dancers from all 4 zones made it to the Grand Finale, which was held in Delhi at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Auditorium on 19th of December.

Top 480 dancers were declared as winners from the Grand Finale and they will perform on the Republic Day Parade to be held at Rajpath, New Delhi on 26th January 2022.

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This is the first time that teams are selected for Republic Day Performance at Rajpath through an All India dance competition with the aim of enhancing Jan Bhagidari.

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Webinar on ‘Women in Leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 world’,

Union Minister of Education Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ addressed the Webinar on Women in Leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 world, organized today on the occasion of International Women’s Day. The Webinar was conducted by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in association with Ministry of Education. Shri Sanjay Dhotre, MoS, Education, Secretary Higher Education Shri Amit Khare, Secretary School Education and Literacy Smt. Anita Karwal, Prof. D P Singh, Chairman, UGC, Prof. Rajnish Jain, Secretary, UGC, senior officials of the Ministry were also present. 43 women Vice-Chancellors and 25 Principals of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) also joined the webinar online.

Shri Pokhriyal highlighted the importance of women leaderships during Covid 19 pandemic by stating that the best role played by anyone in pandemic is none other than the “Mothers”. He further added that women are performing exceedingly well in science, technology, research, literature and social services showcasing highest quality of leadership potential. Speaking on National Education Policy (NEP) -2020, the Minister stated that the Policy has a potential to empower the women in society. He appreciated the fact that women enrolment has increased in IITs and NITs.

Shri Sanjay Dhotre, MoS for Education stated that the celebration of the contributions made by Women and girls should not be restricted to just one day. He appreciated the role of women in maintaining health, immunity, hygiene, sanitation of their family members during covid-19. He mentioned that the ‘Gender-Inclusion Fund’ in the National Education Policy 2020 will be constituted to build the nation’s capacity to provide equitable quality education for all girls.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. D P Singh, Chairman, UGC observed that the theme of the webinar “Women in Leadership- Achieving an equal future in a covid-19 world” has been announced by UNDP and is also aligned with the priority theme of the 65th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. He also highlighted the flagship Generation Equality campaign of UN which calls for women’s right to decision making in all areas of life, equal pay, equal sharing of unpaid care and domestic work, an end to all forms of violence against women and girls, and health care services that respond to their needs.

Smt Anita Karwal, Secretary emphasized that women need access to resources to be able to progress and play leadership role in different areas. Shri Amit Khare, Secretary , Higher Education highlighted that Gender Parity Index has increased during the last 4-5 years from 1% to 1.01 % at present, which is a commendable achievement also appreciated by UNESCO. He further suggested that Women Deans & Heads of Departments should be imparted training to take up future leadership roles as Vice-Chancellors.

Women of four universities, Prof Najma Akhtar, Vice-Chancellors, Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), Prof. Sushma Yadav, Vice-Chancellor, Bhagat Phul Singh (BPS)Women’s University , Prof. Balwinder Shukla, Vice-Chancellor Amity University, Noida and Prof. Shalini Bharat, Director, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) also spoke on the webinar theme and shared their experiences during the covid -19 period. The programme was also viewed live by a significant number of VCs, Principals, faculty members and students.

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girl students on the occasion of International Women's Day

Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ today interacted virtually with girl students on the occasion of International Women’s Day. Select Girl students from classes 6th to 12th from various schools across the country participated and shared their views on women empowerment and their role in nation building. Smt. Anita Karwal Secretary School Education and Literacy and Senior officials of the Ministry were present on the occasion.

Gargi from KV dehradun, Aradhana Baruah, from Gurukul Grammar School, Guwahati, Dhruva Patel from JNV Mehsana, Nakia Malak from Holy Hearts Educational Academy, Raipur, Arya Manoj, from KV 2 Naval Base Kochi and Padma Angmo from JNV Leh, shared their aim in life, their vision for the country and the way in which they would contribute to the development of our country.

Addressing the girl students, Shri Pokhriyal said that, “If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a nation. Education is an integral part of every individual’s life & when girls are educated, countries get empowered. He further asserted that students should be the Brand ambassadors of the National Education Policy 2020. NEP will empower the women and enable them to lead from the front, he added.

On the occasion, Shri Pokhriyal also declared Padma Angmo from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Leh as the ‘Khushiyon ki Brand Ambassador’. Appreciating the girl students for expressing their dreams and aspiration of serving the country, the Minister said India’s young minds are ready to take on the world & make it a better place through their hardwork & dedication. He further asserted that the youth of today is the future of tomorrow.

Union Minister acknowledged and appreciated all the young girls for aspiring to become Atmanirbhar. He expressed confidence in them that these young girls will take country to new heights.

On the occasion today, 3 Graphic Novels developed by schools affiliated to CBSE were also released by the Union Minister of Education. These novels are based on the NCERT curriculum from classes 3 to 12 and have been prepared to promote 21st century skills among students.

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Unveiling of QS World University Rankings by Subject

Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ today addressed at the unveiling of QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021. Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog; Chairman, UGC, Prof Dhirendra P Singh; Chairman, NAAC, Dr Virendar S Chauhan, Chairman, AICTE, Dr Anil D Sahasrabudhe; Vice President, QS Rankings, Mr Ben Sowter, Head of Evaluation, QS Rankings, Leigh Kamolins, Head of Institutions being felicitated today and other dignitaries were also virtually present on the occasion.

Addressing on the occasion, the Minister expressed his happiness and congratulated 12 Indian Institutions on securing position in top 100 in the QS Subject Rankings for the year 2021. He said, over the last few years the Government’s continuous focus on improvement and reform in Indian higher education has resulted in significant improvement in the representation of Indian institutions in globally acclaimed and reputed rankings like QS. These rankings and ratings have fostered healthy competition amongst Indian Institutions motivating them towards global excellence, he added.

12 Indian institutions have made it to the top 100 of the world – IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur, IISC Bangalore, IIT Guwahati,, IIM Bangalore, IIM Ahmedabad, JNU, Anna University, University of Delhi, and O.P Jindal University .

Amongst these top 100 ranked institutions, IIT Madras has been ranked 30th in the world for Petroleum Engineering, IIT Bombay has been ranked 41st and IIT Kharagpur has been ranked 44th in the world for Minerals and Mining Engineering, and University of Delhi has been ranked 50th in the world for Development Studies.

Union Minister said India’s higher education system plays a vital role in driving the nation’s competitiveness. Today, India is a leading nation with the highest number of higher education institutions across the globe with significant progress in the last few years in terms of enrolment in higher education which now stands at 37.4 million. He also highlighted the achievements of the Government in addressing the gender gap in higher education, wherein now women constitute 48.6% of the total enrolment.

Shri Pokhriyal said new reforms have been brought through NEP 2020 in the Indian Education system under the able leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Speaking on NEP, he said it stresses on transforming Indian Higher Education into a knowledge superpower in the 21st century. It also has a forward-looking vision for holistic and multidisciplinary education, eliminating the rigid separation of streams. It paves the way towards internationalisation of education and encourages top world-ranked universities to open campuses in India. The future roadmap for the implementation of the policy needs active participation of all stakeholders, he added.

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‘Harnessing Education, Research and Skill Development for an Atmanirbhar Bharat’

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the Inaugural session of Webinar on ‘Harnessing Education, Research and Skill Development for an Atmanirbhar Bharat’. The webinar was organized jointly by the Ministries/ Departments of Education, Science & Technology, Biotechnology, Earth Sciences, Skill Development, Space, Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals & Petrochemicals, with the department of Higher Education as the nodal Ministry. The objective was to brainstorm and discuss ways for effective implementation of Budget provisions regarding education sector, with experts and industry representatives.

Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers Shri Sadananda Gowda, MoS Education, Communications, Electronics & IT Shri Sanjay Dhotre, MoS Ports, Shipping & Waterways (IC), Chemicals & Fertilizers Shri Mansukh Mandviya graced the occasion. Principal Scientific Adviser Dr. K. Vijay Raghavan, Former Chairman, ISRO and Chairman, drafting committee of NEP Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Chairman ISRO Dr. K Sivan, Chairman AICTE Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe and Secretaries to the Government of India including other dignitaries participated in the Webinar virtually. Secretary, HE Shri Amit Khare and Secretary, DoSEL also attended the meeting.

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In the Inaugural address, the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi pointed out that to build a self-reliant India, confidence of the youth of the country is equally important. Confidence comes only when the youth has complete faith in their education and knowledge. Confidence comes only when they realize that their studies are giving them the opportunity to do their work and also the necessary skills. He said that the new National Education Policy has been made with this thinking. He stressed the need to implement all the provisions of the National Education Policy from pre-nursery to PhD quickly and said that the Budget will be of immense help in this regard.

The Prime Minister said the second biggest focus after health in this year’s budget is on education, skill, research and innovation. He called for a better synergy between Colleges and Universities of the country. He said the emphasis placed in this budget on skill development, upgradation and apprenticeship is unprecedented. This budget has further expanded the efforts made to link Education with Employability and Entrepreneurial Capabilities over the years. As a result of these efforts, he said, today India has come in the top three countries in terms of scientific publications, number of PhD scholars and start-up ecosystem. He said India has joined the top 50 ranks in Global Innovation Index and is continuously improving. He said new opportunities are growing for the students and young scientists with the constant focus on higher education, research and innovation.

The Prime Minister said for the first time, the focus is on issues ranging from Atal Tinkering Labs in schools to Atal Incubation Centers in higher institutions. A new tradition of Hackathons for start ups has been created in the country, which is becoming a huge force for both the youth and industry of the country. He further informed that through the National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovation, more than 3500 start ups are being nurtured. Similarly, under the National Super Computing Mission, three supercomputers: Param Shivay, Param Shakti and Param Bramha have been established in IIT BHU, IIT-Kharagpur and IISER, Pune. He informed that more than a dozen institutes in the country are proposed to get such supercomputers. Three Sophisticated Analytical and Technical Help Institutes (SATHI) are serving from IIT Kharagpur, IIT Delhi and BHU, he said.

The Prime Minister said with the thinking that restricting knowledge and research is a great injustice to the country’s potential, many avenues in sectors like space, atomic energy, DRDO and agriculture are being opened for talented youth. He said for the first time, the country has met the international standards related to Metrology which leads to R&D and improving our Global Competency a lot. Geo-spatial data has been opened up recently and this would lead to immense opportunity for the space sector and the youth of the country. The entire ecosystem will benefit immensely. He said the National Research Foundation is being built for the first time in the country. 50 thousand crore rupees have been allocated for this. This will strengthen the governance structure of the research related institutions and will improve linkages between R&D, academia and industry. The Prime Minister said, more than 100 per cent increase in Biotechnology research is indicative of the Government’s priorities. He called for increasing the scope of Biotechnology research in the service of food security, nutrition and agriculture.

Noting the demand for Indian talent, the Prime Minister emphasized the need for mapping of skill sets and preparing the youth accordingly through adoption of best practices, inviting international campuses and industry ready skill upgradation. Ease of Doing Apprenticeship Program envisaged in this Budget will be of great benefit for the youth of the country, The Prime Minister said.

Shri Modi said Future Fuel and Green Energy are essential for our self reliance on Energy. For this Hydrogen Mission announced in the Budget is a serious pledge. He informed that India has tested Hydrogen vehicle and called for concerted efforts for making hydrogen as a fuel for transport and to make ourselves industry ready for this.

The Prime Minister said the new National Education Policy has encouraged the use of more and more local language. He added now it is the responsibility of all the academics, experts of every language, how the best content of the country and the world should be prepared in Indian languages. This is completely possible in this era of technology. National Language Translation Mission proposed in the Budget will go a long way in this regard, he asserted.

The Webinar included following 6 parallel Break away sessions:

Promoting Research & Innovation in a multidisciplinary Environment
Using Glue Grant to Develop Education Hubs
Deep Ocean Mission
Making India Skill Capital of The World
Reinvigorating Human Capital Through Excellence In Education And Multilingualism
Augmenting Learning Through Digital Education

Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ chaired the Valedictory Session of webinar on ‘Harnessing Education, Research and Skill Development for an Atmanirbhar Bharat’ Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, MoS Education, Communications, Electronics & IT Shri Sanjay Dhotre, including other dignitaries participated in the Webinar virtually.

Addressing the Valedictory Session Shri Pokhriyal said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has laid the foundation of AtmaNirbhar Bharat. As envisioned by the Prime Minister the idea of “Jai Anusandhan” will lead to a Shresth, Swasth and Saksham Bharat. The Minister stressed on the need to encourage the initiatives of ‘vocal for local’ and ‘local to global’. The idea behind these initiatives is to promote local culture, languages and nurture skills of people at a local level and to take it the global platform. He called for concerted and collaborative effort of all the ministries, universities, faculty and students for the smooth implementation of New Education Policy.

Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey said that strengthening Skill development will empower the youth of the country. Skilling, reskilling and upskilling will help in realizing the vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat. The Minister informed that Skill Development Centres are actively working in 69 districts. This network of skill development centres will be further extended nationwide, he added. He further stated that Skill Development Ministry and Ministry of Education will collaborate for successful implementation of NEP 2020.

Shri Sanjay Dhotre expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister for sharing his vision on holistic transformation of education sector. He said that the NEP 2020 encourages use of local languages on a larger scale. It is the responsibility of educationists and language experts to ensure that the best educational content is available for our students and technology can make this happen, he added.

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Kendriya Vidyalayas displaying educational toys in the India Toy Fair

Students of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan are participating enthusiastically in the India Toy Fair 2021. The total number of registrations from KVS is approx. 3.5 lakhs.

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the India Toy Fair on 27th February 2021. While inaugurating the Fair Prime Minister Said, there is so much strength hidden in the toy industry of our country. Increasing this strength and increasing its identity is a big part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign.

Three KendriyaVidyalayas from all over the country have been selected to display their Stalls in the Fair. KV JNU from Delhi Region, KV No. 1 AFS Gurugram and KV IIT Kanpur are displaying their unique toys in this fair.

KVs are present in Hall No. 9, where Learning and Educational Toys are being displayed. KV JNU can be visited at stall no i347, while KV IIT Kanpur is displaying its toys at stall No. i1550 and KV No. 1 AFS Gurugram is present at stall no. i361.

KV JNU is showing 25 toys including animal puppets used to narrate various stories, dancing acrobat skeleton, lungs balloon, nose bug etc.

KV IIT Kanpur is displaying 33 toys on its stall having board games, digital games, mechanical games and Science Activitygames including Rolling Joker, Paper Puppets, Dynamic Doll, Knowledge Express, Way Maker, Touching Slate, COVID Rakshak, Toy Parachute etc.

KV No. 1 AFS Gurugram has incorporated 14 toys on its stall having Addition Machine, Word Housie, Hydraulic Brake System, JodGadi, NalTarang, Probino etc.

In the first-of-its-kind initiative where all types of Traditional and Modern Toys are being displayed taking children into a unique world of Indian Toys, the Students of KendriyaVidyalayas are actively participating.

The India Toy Fair is being held from February 27 to March 2, 2021. It is an opportunity for children to participate in various activities, including craft demonstrations on traditional toy-making and virtual visits to toy museums and factories.

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School Education and Literacy to celebrate iconic week from 17th January – 21st January,2022

Department of School Education and Literacy will be celebrating the iconic week under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav from 17th January – 21st January,2022.

As part of the iconic week, the Department of School Education and Literacy will organize a series of events . These will include a two-day International webinar on Toys and Games to Play, Make and Learn, 27th National Annual Conference of Sahodaya School Complexes and a webinar on Inclusive Education.

The Webinar on Inclusive Education will be organised in partnership with Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), on 17.01.2022 through virtual and physical mode. The theme of the webinar will be ‘Ed Tech start-ups focused on children with special needs’. Senior Officers of the Ministry of Education, Principals State IE coordinators, parents and other Stakeholders will participate in the event. The main objective of the webinar is to make parents and teachers aware about the technology and assistive devices available for children with Special Needs.

CBSE will organize the 27th edition of National Conference of its Sahodaya School Complexes on the theme ‘PUNARNAVA – REDISCOVERY OF INDIA @75’ in collaboration with the Sahodaya School Complex, Gwalior on 17th and 18th January 2022 in a hybrid mode.The conference aims to engage participants in co-creating and contributing towards a sustainable future. It also aims at enabling the Principals and Management of CBSE affiliated schools to understand the new policies and innovative practices that have been launched by the Board in pursuance of NEP 2020.

A two day International Webinar will be organised on 20th and 21st January 2022, with the aim of rediscovering the role of toys in cognitive development of children and to promote the art of creating toys with help of low/no cost materials which are not only environmentally sustainable but ignite creativity collaboration and problem-solving skills in children. During two days of the Webinar, focus will be on different aspects of toys at all stages of school education across all subjects and their mapping; pedagogical implications of toys; toys and games as learning through play and make; living/ local tradition of toy making; courses for designing toys and games as skill courses in school Education etc. The outcome of the Webinar will lay a roadmap for infusion and integration of toys and games in education at all stages.

The Department of Higher Education is also being organized from 10th January – 17th January, 2022 under the name ‘National Innovation Week’. The Innovation week highlighted the various initiatives undertaken to spread awareness to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in India. An E-Symposium on ‘Building Innovation Ecosystem in Educational Institutions’, webinar on cyber security empowerment of Higher Education Institutions, virtual launch of capacity building of faculty as master trainers for Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) as part of Unnat Bharat were organized during the iconic week.

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Assistive Technology Innovation Showcase for Inclusive Education

Minister of State for Education Shri Subhas Sarkar today addressed the Assistive Technology Innovation Showcase for inclusive Education organised by Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education in association with Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog.

Shri Subhash Sarkar highlighted the provision of NEP-2020 that mandates equitable & inclusive education so that every citizen has an equal opportunity to dream, thrive and contribute to the growth of the nation. He stated that schools & school complexes are working to provide all Children with Special Needs (CWSN) accommodations and support mechanisms tailored to suit their needs, ensuring their full participation and inclusion in the classroom.

Stressing on the need for innovation in the assistive tech space Dr. Abhay Jere, Chief Innovation Officer, AICTEmentioned about the textbooks conversion into Indian Sign Language (ISL) and ministry’s innovation ecosystem to take forward assistive-tech innovations through incubation and acceleration support.

Shri Manoj Kumar, Founder Social Alpha highlighted that assistive technology for education should not only be considered as a social venture but it has a solid business model of its own and the same needs to be developed further.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr Chapal Khasnabis, Head of Assistive technology, Medical Devices and Diagnostics, WHO highlighted access to assistive technology and global best practices and stressed how India can become truly inclusive.

The highlight of the event was presentation by 12 start-ups, having compilation of top solutions in the form of applications or devices which have been created by young entrepreneurial minds of India. These young minds are leveraging frontier technologies such as AI to provide socially relevant solutions to aid the learning of children who suffer from various disabilities such as Autism, Dyslexia, Hearing and Speech impairment disorder, Visual impairment disorder, Cerebral Palsy etc.

The event also featured innovations from young innovators from schools. Children from Atal Tinkering Labs presented their innovations ranging from innovative device to convert sign language to speech to a device that scans and converts printed text in any book or newspaper into an audio clip.

A panel moderated by Prof PVM Rao of IIT Delhi and consisting of Prof. Anupam Basu, NIT,Durgapur, Prof. Anil Prabhakar and Prof. Sujata, IIT Madras participated in the discussion about research and innovations and partnership required for an inclusive education. Prof. Rao focused on the need for promotion of research in assistive devices and its inclusion in curriculum. He talked about the need of flexibility in examinations and assessments and of taking different aspects into consideration for a true inclusive education. Prof. Prabhakar expressed his concerns that while as a country we have several solutions in assistive technologies, we need to reach scale and focus on functional disabilities to make solutions acceptable at scale. He also talked about the need to foresee the needs of students in colleges and universities who are presently in schools. Prof. Sujata provided details on the assistive device landscape where the solutions are concentrated on the ends of spectrum- one end with low tech and low-cost devices, on the other hand hi-tech and expensive assistive devices. The research at R2D2 center at IIT Madras has focused on challenges such as affordability, awareness, access and appropriateness of the solutions.

Dr Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission commended the innovators and highlighted how can an Innovation Ecosystem be built for assistive technology in education. He stressed upon support through AIM’s innovation network of incubation centres and community innovation centres.

Closing the event Shri Santosh Sarangi, Additional Secretary, MoE highlighted the challenges and way forward in mainstreaming the assistive technology innovations. He highlighted the role of the ministry to scale-up and institutionalize solutions.

The Event designed to promote and give start-ups a platform to showcase innovations received an overwhelming response. Youtube views crossed 2+ lakh views before the event culminated.

Ms Ritu Sain, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Education, gave the closing remarks and as an end note called upon continued work to leverage tech-based interventions for early identification and support to children with special needs in rural and remotest part of the country. She also stressed that Ministry of Education will work with these start-ups to get product pilot in place on merit and indicated upcoming similar events to solve sectoral challenges.

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Online workshop for Universities and Colleges on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)

University Grants Commission today organised online workshop for Universities and Colleges on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) under the iconic week of Ministry of Education. Smt. Neeta Prasad, Joint Secretary (ICC & Vig.) Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Shri Rajendra Ratnoo, Joint Secretary, DPIIT & CGPDTM, Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Prof. Rajnish Jain, Secretary, UGC addressed the Inaugural session.

Delivering the welcome address, Prof. Rajnish Jain, Secretary, UGC highlighted the importance of IPR and its importance in the image of the country and its relevance in building the knowledge pool of the country and its legal aspects. He shed light on the historical aspect of India’s position as creator and innovator. He expressed hope in the day’s deliberations in creating awareness about IPR.

Delivering the Special Address, Smt. Neeta Prasad, Joint Secretary (ICC & Vig.) Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education stressed upon importance of Intellectual Property as foundation of innovation, research and creativity. She focused shared that necessary steps have been taken in India to create a robust innovation and IPR culture in the country which has resulted in significantly improving the relevant innovation and IP numbers, be it the IP filing, IP grant and IP disposals. However, inspite of all changes India is behind a lot of countries in terms of IPR. She stressed that the reason could be a lack of awareness in students for filing of patents.

She shared about the Government’s initiative in the areas like the KAPILA programme launched for IP literacy and awareness in October 2020, the reduction in the fee for filing the patent. She concluded by suggesting that the way forward was by proactively protecting knowledge and inventions by respective IPRs not only in India but also in other countries.

Keynote address was delivered by Shri Rajendra Ratnoo, Joint Secretary, DPIIT & CGPDTM, Ministry of Commerce & Industry who said that there is a need for converting energy into synergy by coming together. He said that there was a need to collaborate instead of working in silos. He further stressed that innovation and creation in both art and science that need to be promoted and that collective cultural heritage needs to be protected.

He further said that partnership between industry, academia and registry of IPR is importance.

The inaugural session was followed by the technical session which was addressed by experts from the field of IP that gave an overview on the theme.

Dr. Usha Rao, Assistant Controller of Patents & Designs presented an overview of Intellectual Property Rights. She provided an insight into the need and importance of IPR and the different types of IP and their governing bodies. She also shed light on the various acts and rules of IPR in India. She also discussed the various ways of filing the patent processes.

The second expert for the technical round was Shri Sukhdeep Singh Assistant Controller of Patents & Designs. He addressed the various schemes and privileges for Educational Institutes in the field of IPR. He concluded by stating that the way forward involved the establishment of IP management cells in Universities, have master trainers and establishing TISCs.

The webinar ended with the vote of thanks by Dr. Surender Singh, Additional Secretary UGC. The webinar discussed pertinent aspects of IPR for HEIs and was an important step towards IPR awareness.

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Teachers Eligibility Test qualifying certificate extended from 7 years to lifetime

Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ announced that Government has decided to extend the validity period of Teachers Eligibility Test qualifying certificate from 7 years to lifetime with retrospective effect from 2011. The respective State Govts. /UTs will take necessary action to revalidate/issue fresh TET certificates to those candidates whose period of 7 years has already elapsed, he added.

Shri Pokhriyal said this will be a positive step in increasing the employment opportunities for candidates aspiring to make a career in the teaching field.

Teachers Eligibility Test is one of the essential qualifications for a person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher in schools. The Guidelines dated 11th February 2011 of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) laid down that TET would be conducted by the State Governments and the validity of the TET Certificate was 7 years from the date of passing TET.

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MC/KP/AK

solve Oxygen shortage by converting Nitrogen Generator into Oxygen Generator

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has come up with a creative and ingenious solution to addressing the shortage of medical oxygen for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in the country. The pilot project which has been tested successfully relies on a simple technological hack: conversion of PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption) Nitrogen Unit to PSA Oxygen Unit!

Initial tests done at IIT Bombay have shown promising results. Oxygen production could be achieved at 3.5 atm pressure, with a purity level of 93% – 96 %. This gaseous oxygen can be utilised for COVID-related needs across existing hospitals and upcoming COVID-19 specific facilities by providing a continuous supply of oxygen.

How can the nitrogen unit be converted into an oxygen unit? ” It has been done by fine-tuning the existing Nitrogen Plant setup and changing the molecular sieves from Carbon to Zeolite” says Prof. Milind Atrey, Dean (R&D), IIT Bombay, who led the project.

“Such nitrogen plants, which take air from the atmosphere as raw material, are available in various industrial plants across India. Therefore, each of them could potentially be converted into an oxygen generator, thus helping us tide over the current public health emergency”, he added.

The pilot project is a collaborative effort between IIT Bombay, Tata Consulting Engineers and Spantech Engineers, Mumbai, who deal with PSA Nitrogen & Oxygen plant production.

A PSA Nitrogen plant in the Refrigeration and Cryogenics Laboratory of IIT was identified for conversion, to validate the proof of concept. To undertake this study on an urgent basis, an MoU was signed between IIT Bombay, Tata Consulting Engineers and Spantech Engineers to finalise a SOP that may be leveraged across the country.

Spantech Engineers installed the required plant components as a skid at IIT Bombay for evaluation using IIT Bombay’s infrastructure at the IITB Nitrogen facility at the Refrigeration and Cryogenics lab. This setup for the experiment was developed within three days, and the initial tests have shown promising results, as mentioned above.

Prof. Milind Atrey acknowledges and thanks Mr. Amit Sharma, Managing Director, Tata Consulting Engineers; along with Mr. Rajendra Tahiliani, Promoter, Spantech Engineers and alumnus IIT Bombay (1970); Mr. Raj Mohan, MD, Spantech Engineers; and their passionate team members for their collaboration and partnership on this project.

Congratulating the teams on the successful pilot in a timely manner amidst several constraints, Mr. Amit Sharma said: “We are delighted to partner with IIT Bombay and Spantech Engineers, and contribute towards an innovative solution for emergency oxygen generation using existing infrastructure towards helping the country tide over the current crisis. Such partnerships between industry and academia can accelerate our vision towards the Atma-Nirbhar Bharat.”

Prof. Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director IIT Bombay, congratulated all the involved parties and said that such partnership between academia and industry is highly desirable and essential for the growth and success of our nation.

Annual Convocation of IIM Rohtak

Union Minister of Education Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’virtually addressed the annual Convocation of IIM Rohtak today. A total of 480 students from MBA programme and 12 students from doctoral program attended the convocation ceremony.

Shri Pokhriyal congratulated the graduating students for their success. He encouraged the students to work hard and contribute to the nation, and society at large. The Minister urged the students to use their talent in the best possible manner and contribute meaningfully in realizing India@75 mission and wished them all the best for their future endeavors.

The Minister congratulated IIM for doing exceptionally well in improving gender and academic diversity in its students population. The efforts of the institute in this direction will help in realizing Prime Minister’s vision of “Beti Bachao and Beti Padhao” mission, he added. Shri Pokhriyal congratulated IIM Rohtak for opening up a new campus in Gurugram, new programs and empowering women in management education in last few years and appreciated its efforts in providing impetus to research and policy work.

Shri Pokhriyal stated that government in the last few years has increased the number of IIMs, IITs, and Central Universities to provide greater opportunities for the youth to get high quality education. He mentioned that Indian educational institutions are improving their position in world rankings and IIM Rohtak has also improved in educational rankings.

Five Year Integrated Programme in Law (BBA-LLB), will be offered by the institute this year. IIM Rohtak is the first and only IIM to have started this programme.

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“World 1st affordable and long-lasting hygiene product DuroKea Series

Union Minister of Education Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ virtually launched “World 1st affordable and long-lasting hygiene product DuroKea Series”, developed by IIT Hyderabad researchers. Researcher from Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad led Dr. Jyotsnendu Giri, Associate Professor in Biomedical Engineering and founder EaffoCare Innovation Pvt. Ltd incubating at iTIC, IIT Hyderabad has developed innovative DuroKea long-lasting technologies to combat COVID-19 virus spreading. Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT Hyderabad, Shri B. V. R. Mohan Reddy; Prof. Founder Dean ESIC Medical College and Hospital, Hyderabad, M. Srinivas; Director IIT Hyderabad, Prof. B. S. Murty and other officials from IIT Hyderabad were present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Pokhriyal said that Durokea Product is aligned with the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to attain self reliance. This next generation DuroKea antimicrobial technology starts at Rs. 189, kills 99.99% of germs instantly and leaves behind the long-lasting protective nanoscale coating up to 35 days till next wash, he said.

The Minister informed that the unique property of DuroKea range is to ensure instant killing (within 60 sec) and prolonged protection which is an immense necessity during this current pandemic situation. This revolutionary antimicrobial property of DuroKea products has been tested and certified by Indian Government accredited lab and field-tested at the IIT Hyderabad campus, he added.

He congratulated Durokea Technology team for this attainment and urge the researchers and students of IIT Hyderabad to continue doing great work and bring the name to the country.”

Congratulating the Durokea Team, Director IIT Hyderabad, Prof. B. S. Murty said, “IIT Hyderabad is always at the forefront of the cute-edge research. It has proven time and again, especially during this pandemic time. IITH has delivered many solutions, including Low-cost Ventilators, Effective Mask, Mobile Apps and Fast COVID-19 Test-Kit. Durokea is one such unique invention to come out of IIT Hyderabad to fight against COVID-19. I define IITH as Invent and Innovate in Technology for Humanity and confident that IIT Hyderabad will continue to deliver many such novel innovations.”

Durokea S, DuroKea M, DuroKea H, and DuroKea H Aqua using innovative “Durokea Technology”, is an adhesive Nano formulation. “Durokea Serious products provide instant killing with prolonged protection against wide range of germs including COVID-19 Virus.Each product has been extensively tested through field trial and validated in different Indian Government accredited laboratories.
Read more about each product in the enclosed document or visit www.keabiotech.com

This is a highly effective and affordable research innovation from IIT Hyderabad, developed by a team led by Dr. Jyotsnendu Giri, Department of Biomedical Engineering, IIT Hyderabad. Dr. Sunil Kumar Yadava, Dr. Qasim M, Ms. Meenakshi Chauhan, and Ms. Ruby Singh, Ms. SuparnaBasu, Ms. Uzma Hasan, Mr. Jayakkumar and Dr. PurandhiRoopmani has a common vision with this innovation.

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