Fire Alarm system and Fire protection system in Passenger Compartment in buses

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, vide notification dated 27th January 2022, has introduced the Fire Alarm System and Fire Protection System in the Passenger (or, Occupant) Compartment in buses through an amendment in the AIS (Automotive Industry Standard)-135 for Type III buses [‘Type III’ Vehicles are those designed and constructed for long distance passenger transport, for seated passengers ] and School Buses.

At present, fire detection, alarm and suppression systems are notified for fires originating from the engine compartment, as per AIS-135. Studies on fire incidents indicate that injuries to passengers are mainly due to heat and smoke in the passenger compartment. These injuries can be prevented if the heat and smoke in the passenger compartment is controlled by providing an additional evacuation time to occupants by thermal management during fire incidents.

A water mist- based active fire protection system and a standalone fire alarm system for buses has been designed to manage the temperature in the passenger compartment within 50 degrees centigrade.

This amendment to the Standard has been undertaken in consultation with stakeholders and experts from the Centre for Fire Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES), a DRDO establishment, working in the area of fire risk assessment, fire suppression technologies, modelling and simulation etc.

Click here to see GSR Fire Alarm System

IREDA and Goa Shipyard Ltd signs MoU for Rooftop Solar Power Projects

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) to provide its techno-financial expertise to set-up a rooftop solar power project. The two companies are PSUs under the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy and the Ministry of Defence, respectively.

The MoU was signed by Shri Pradip Kumar Das, Chairman & Managing Director (CMD), IREDA and Cmde. Bharat Bhushan Nagpal, CMD, GSL in the presence of senior officials.

Under the MoU, IREDA will assist GSL to set-up a rooftop solar power project at the headquarter of the company situated in Vasco da Gama, Goa. IREDA will also extend its techno-commercial expertise to GSL for Environmental & Social (E&S) due diligence of rooftop solar and other RE projects as per the internationally accepted E&S standards. After setting up a rooftop solar power project at its building, GSL will be able to bring down the expenditure on electricity and reduce its carbon footprint as well.

Speaking on the collaboration, Shri Pradip Kumar Das, CMD, IREDA said, “We are pleased to partner with GSL in their pursuit towards adoption of a clean energy solution. The partnership is expected to bring in good practices by leveraging the expertise of both the companies and to push the vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister for sustainable development of the country through Green Energy. The Govt. of India aims to produce 40 GW of solar power through rooftop solar by the end of 2022, and these collaborations will enable us to contribute to meeting the targets set by the Govt. of India.

In order to cater to the increasing demand of the RE sector, a dedicated Business Development and Consultancy division was set up by IREDA one and a half years ago. Under the new division, this is the seventh MoU signed by IREDA within the last 14 months to provide its consultancy services for developers of RE and Energy transition. Earlier, IREDA had entered into MoUs with SJVN, NHPC, TANGEDCO, NEEPCO, BVFCL, and THDCIL to extend its Techno-Financial expertise for Green Energy projects.

IREDA is looking forward to extending its consulting services to other PSUs and private organisations for the overall growth of the RE sector.

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2nd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting

The 2nd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting with India held yesterday on a virtual platform. H.E. Shri Devusinh Chauhan, Minister of State for Communications (MoSC) and H.E. Admiral Tin Aung San, Ministry of Transport and Communications, Myanmar co-chaired the meeting.

The ADGMIN is an annual meeting of Telecom Ministers of 10 ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) countries -Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam and dialogue partner countries – Australia, Canada, China, EU, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia, UK and US. The meeting discussed and deliberated various matters relevant to strengthening regional digital cooperation in the spirit of digital inclusion and integration.

Addressing the august gathering of Digital Ministers, Shri Devusinh Chauhan emphasized that Information and Communication Technologies enable and strengthen democratic systems and institutions through enhanced engagement between citizens and the state. He added that use of ICTs promote free speech, human rights and the free flow of information besides expanding citizens’ opportunities to participate in decision-making process and have potential to transform lives of people living in rural areas.

The Minister recalled vision of our Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to leverage different technological solutions for development of the nation. In his address, Shri Devusinh Chauhan stated that COVID-19 is not only a challenge for the public health system, but it is also, shaking the economic and social orders of the countries. In this scenario, Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) have emerged as powerful tools to mitigate the effects of pandemic in different spheres of public life and they are foundations of the global economy.

The Ministers meeting approved the India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2022. The workplan includes system for combating the use of stolen and counterfeit mobile handsets, WiFi Access network interface for nationwide public internet, the capacity building and knowledge sharing in emerging areas in the field of Information and Communication Technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, Advanced Satellite Communication, Cyber Forensics, etc. The ongoing and proposed projects in ICTs, will strengthen collaboration between India and ASEAN by leveraging complementary strengths of each other.

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Implementation of New Education Policy

A number of action points/activities for implementation in school education as well as higher education are mentioned in the National Education Policy 2020 which inter-alia include following:-

Ensuring Universal Access at All Levels of schooling from pre-primary school to Grade 12;
Ensuring quality early childhood care and education for all children between 3-6 years;
Introducing New Curricular and Pedagogical Structure (5+3+3+4);
Ensuring no hard separations between arts and sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities, between vocational and academic streams;
Establishing National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy;
Emphasis on promoting multilingualism and Indian languages; The medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language.
Assessment reforms – Introducing Board Exams on up to two occasions during any given school year, one main examination and one for improvement, if desired;
Setting up of a new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development);
Equitable and inclusive education – Ensuring special emphasis to be given on Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups(SEDGs);
Establishing a separate Gender Inclusion fund and Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups;
Robust and transparent processes for recruitment of teachers and merit based performance;
Ensuring availability of all resources through school complexes and clusters;
Setting up of State School Standards Authority (SSSA);
Providing Exposure of vocational education in school and higher education system;
Increasing GER in higher education to 50%;
Introducing Holistic Multidisciplinary Education with multiple entry/exit options;
Introducing Common Entrance Exam for Admission to HEIs to be offered by NTA;
Establishment of Academic Bank of Credit;
Setting up of Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities(MERUs);
Setting up of National Research Foundation(NRF);
Framing ‘Light but Tight’ regulation;
Setting up of single overarching umbrella body for promotion of higher education sector including teacher education and excluding medical and legal education- the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI)-with independent bodies for standard setting- the General Education Council; funding-Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC); accreditation- National Accreditation Council (NAC); and regulation- National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC);
Expansion of open and distance learning to increase GER.
Internationalization of Education.
Professional Education will be an integral part of the higher education system. Stand-alone technical universities, health science universities, legal and agricultural universities, or institutions in these or other fields, will aim to become multi-disciplinary institutions.
Teacher Education – Introduction of 4-year integrated stage-specific, subject- specific Bachelor of Education.
Establishing a National Mission for Mentoring.
Creation of an autonomous body, the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration. Appropriate integration of technology into all levels of education.
Achieving 100% youth and adult literacy.
Introducing multiple mechanisms with checks and balances to combat and stop the commercialization of higher education.
All education institutions will be held to similar standards of audit and disclosure as a ‘not for profit’ entity.
The Centre and the States will work together to increase the public investment in Education sector to reach 6% of GDP at the earliest.
Strengthening of the Central Advisory Board of Education to ensure coordination to bring overall focus on quality education.
Ministry of Education: In order to bring the focus back on education and learning, it may be desirable to re-designate MHRD as the Ministry of Education (MoE).

A detailed consultation process with various stakeholders including educationists have been held before and after announcement of National Education Policy 2020. Suggestions have been invited from States / UTs Government and also from other stakeholders through MyGov platform. Department of School Education & Literacy has constituted subject-wise/theme-wise implementation committees of experts for implementation of National Education Policy 2020. Similarly, UGC and AICTE have also constituted Expert Groups on various themes of higher education sector for formulation of Implementation Plan of National Education Policy.

As per National Education Policy 2020, implementation of the Policy requires multiple initiatives and actions, which will have to be taken by multiple bodies in a synchronized and systematic manner. Therefore, the implementation of this Policy will be led by various bodies including Ministry of Education, CABE, Union and State Governments, education-related Ministries, State Departments of Education, Boards, NTA, the regulatory bodies of school and higher education, NCERT, SCERTs, schools, and HEIs. Since Education is in the concurrent list of Constitution of India, hence, State/UT Government will play a vital role in the implementation of the National Education Policy. Ministry of Education has communicated to all States/UT Governments for taking steps for implementation of NEP 2020. In this direction, Ministry of Education had organised ‘Shikshak Parv’ from 8th September to 25th September, 2020 to deliberate on various themes and implementation of NEP 2020 aimed at eliciting suggestions. Ministry had also organised a Conference of Governors on “Role of National Education Policy in Transforming Higher Education”. In the conference, Governors and Lt. Governors of State and Union Territories, Education Minister of State and UTs, Vice Chancellors of State Universities and other dignitaries participated. Majority of states have taken steps toward implementation of NEP 2020. Further, Ministry and other implementing agencies under its purview have started taking initiatives towards implementation of NEP 2020.

Webinar on ‘International Mother Language Day’

Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu today inaugurated the Webinar on the occasion of ‘International Mother Language Day’. The Webinar on ‘Fostering Multilingualism for Inclusion in Education and Society’ is being organised jointly by the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture and IGNCA. The Vice President also inaugurated the International Virtual Calligraphy Exhibition. Union Minister for Education, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’’; Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Culture Shri Prahlad Singh Patel; Minister of State for Education Shri Sanjay Dhotre and Member Secretary, IGNCA, Dr. Sachidanand Joshi were also present through the virtual medium. All the speakers spoke in length about the importance of the Mother tongue and the need for its preservation which will be a treasure for our future generations.

The Vice President, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu today called for making mother tongue the primary medium of instruction, at least until Grade 5. He suggested that educating a child in a language that is not spoken at home can be a big impediment to learning especially at the primary stage. Referring to multiple studies, Shri Naidu said that teaching through the mother tongue in the initial stages of education can boost a child’s self-esteem and enhance his or her creativity. Calling the New Education Policy a visionary and progressive document, he urged for implementing the Policy in letter and spirit.

Speaking at the inaugural session, the Vice President focused on five key sectors to promote the use of mother tongue. Apart from emphasizing the use of mother tongue in primary education, the other highlighted areas are the use of local languages in administration, court proceedings and to deliver judgments in them. He also wanted gradual increase in the use of indigenous languages in higher and technical education. The final emphasis was on everyone to proudly and preferably use their mother tongue in their homes.

Shri Venkaiah Naidu said that with hundreds of languages coexisting, linguistic diversity is one of the cornerstones of our ancient civilization. Observing how our mother tongues can evoke an emotional response in the people, Shri Naidu called them an ‘important link to our socio-cultural identity’, ‘a repository of our collective knowledge and wisdom’ and thus needs to be protected, preserved and promoted.

On this occasion, Shri Naidu appreciated various government initiatives for a multilingual society such as the National Translation Mission, the Bharatavani project and the proposed setting up of a Bharatiya Bhasha Vishwavidyalaya (BBV) and Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation (IITT).

In conclusion, the Vice President reiterated that languages are nourished only by constant use and that every day must be a Matribhasha Diwas. He called for all-round commitment and efforts to reclaim mother tongues and to ‘feel proud to speak freely and confidently in one’s mother tongue’ in homes, community, meetings and administration.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Pokhriyal said that the importance of language lies not only in national unity but also in strengthening the culture of the country. Research has proved that 90% of a child’s brain develops by the age of 6 and for the holistic development of our children, it is necessary that the knowledge is acquired in the mother tongue, he added.

Shri Pokhriyal highlighted that National Education Policy- 2021 has given maximum attention to the development of mother tongues. The Government has emphasized on promoting multilingualism with our policy so that our children can get acquainted with the vast wealth of languages of our country. He further said that it is the first education policy that empowers students with the subject and language of their choice. The policy recommends that as far as possible, the medium of instruction shall be, at least till class 5, (preferably up to grade 8 and beyond) mother tongue / vernacular / regional language. Shri Pokhriyal said that this education policy calls for many new initiatives that will help in building a truly multilingual society in India.

Shri Prahlad Patel said every mother tongue has a world of its own, has its own character, has its own expressions. While we have to learn other languages, the mother tongue on the other hand develops in us naturally. Everyone feels a sense of attachment and affinity while speaking their mother tongue. The way in which culture influences the development of our personality, in the similar manner one’s mother tongue also strengthens one’s personality.

Addressing the participants Shri Dhotre said that consequent to the declaration of 21st February as the International Mother Language Day, (Matribhasha Diwas) UNESCO in 1999, this day is being celebrated every year since 2015 in a grand manner by involving all the higher educational institutions/schools across the country to organize various activities like Debating, Singing, Essay Writing and Painting competitions, Music and Dramatic performances, Exhibitions etc. Shri Dhotre highlighted that the purpose of the celebrations is to promote the preservation and protection of all languages spoken by the people globally and also to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism of the languages. He further said that the Government has adopted a proactive approach to promote all Indian languages and strengthen the mother tongue in the Indian education system.

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IIT Kharagpur Wins the CoreNet Global Academic Challenge 6.0

A team of four undergraduate students from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur emerged as winners at the CoreNet Global Academic Challenge 6.0, sponsored by Cushman and Wakefield, KI and IA: Interior Architects. The team comprised of Siddhant Samarth (Third Year Undergraduate, Department of Civil Engineering), Pratim Majumdar (Third Year Undergraduate, Department of Chemical Engineering), Rishita Raj (Second Year Undergraduate, Department of Mechanical Engineering) and Utkarsh Agrawal (Third Year Undergraduate, Department of Manufacturing Science and Engineering), and were guided by Prof. Jenia Mukherjee (Department of Humanities and Social Sciences). The team from IIT Kharagpur was one of the four teams to progress into the final round out of 1300 teams all over the world and were pitted against the University of Washington, New York University and the University of Denver in the final round hosted online on 18th March 2021. This is the first time that a squad from India has emerged as winners in the CoreNet Global Academic Challenge since the inception of the competition in 2015.

CoreNet Global is a non-profit association, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (US), representing more than 11,000 executives in 50 countries with strategic responsibility for the real estate assets of large corporations. The organization’s mission is to advance the practice of corporate real estate through professional development opportunities, publications, research, conferences, designations and networking in 46 local chapters and networking groups globally. CoreNet Global’s mission is to advance the practice of corporate real estate through professional development opportunities, publications, research, conferences, and chapters and networking groups. CoreNet Global aims to broaden its network, raise the profile of corporate real estate, serve as the profession’s voice and thought leader and champion the profession’s development and maturity. Every year, Corenet Global invites students from around the world to think creatively about a problem facing real estate professionals for renowned companies like Google, Duke Energy, AstraZeneca, Whirlpool, and many others, institutions from all over the globe will compete to address challenges like creating an employee experience that attracts millennials while retaining all other generations of employees; or reducing the gap between the speed of business and the typical speed of real estate.

The team from IIT Kharagpur worked on a hypothetical case on developing an environmentally resilient Corporate Real Estate Portfolio while gauging the impact of the pandemic, for Blue Banc, a fictitious financial institution based in London, England.

“This was uncharted territory but appeared to be a really insightful field to all of us. Right from the start, we were careful to maintain an innovative approach and establish a wide paradigm of solutions in order to accommodate each and every aspect necessary for constructing a green real estate portfolio. We first developed a benchmarking mechanism, then went on to create an internal Carbon market for ensuring scrupulous investments, and then resorted to Real Options analysis to develop strategic timeframes, and then went on to address the issue of determining an ideal location for establishing a new branch using scoring methodologies, Haversine distancing and qualitative force analysis. Our solution culminated with the idea of introducing various innovative financial products and moulding our ideas according to the impact of the pandemic. Our Faculty Advisor, Prof. Jenia Mukherjee constantly bolstered us through the entire endeavour not only through her extremely encouraging words but also by throwing light on the social implications of each of our ideas, and minutely going through each ingredient of our solution and commenting on the loopholes. Your performance, of course, is automatically maximized if you have the support of such an outstanding professor”, the ecstatic team of Siddhant, Pratim, Rishita and Utkarsh mentioned right after they were announced as the winners of this esteemed competition.

Prof. Jenia Mukherjee from the department of Humanities and Social Sciences was elated after the win and said, “Right after the team shared the prospective ideas with me, I was quite confident that this squad had the potential to present something ingenious, and they just needed out to smoothen out the edges and counter the loopholes, since each and every aspect in itself was so innovational and widely applicable. Kudos to Siddhant for creating the Green Scoring model from scratch, to Pratim for setting up the internal Carbon market and creating a tactical timeline using Binomial Real Options, to Rishita for developing and working on the method of Haversine Distancing, Location scoring and force analysis and to Utkarsh for gauging each aspect through the lens of the COVID-19 Crisis and suggesting a plan of action accordingly. I am definitely sure that these pioneering ideas in themselves can be developed into full-fledged implementable models through further research, and it will not be long when one day, these hypothetical solutions are at last witnessed in action in the corporate ambit.”

The team would be awarded $5000, complimentary student membership in CoreNet Global (retail value: $25) and a copy of The Essential Guide to Corporate Real Estate (retail value: $49.99).

Prof. Mukherjee, Pratim, Siddhant, Rishita and Utkarsh have been personally congratulated by the Regional Experience Director, CoreNet Global (Mumbai) India. They have been asked to share the presentation to the members of the India Chapter in a webinar next month.

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Convocation Ceremony of Visva-Bharati University

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the Convocation Ceremony of Visva-Bharati University today through a video conference. Governor of West Bengal and Rector of Visva-Bharati, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and MoS for Education Shri Sanjay Dhotre were also present on the occasion.

The Prime Minister while addressing the convocation quoted the poem of Gurudev Ravindra Nath Tagore on Veer Shivaji which inspired him and called for unity of India. PM stressed that the students and the faculty were not just a part of a university, but also bearers of a vibrant tradition. He said Gurudev named the University as Visva Bharati meaning Global University since he expected that anyone who comes to learn in Visva Bharati will see the whole world from the point of view of India and Indianness. So he made Visva Bharati such a place to learn, which can be seen in the rich heritage of India. He gave a call for assimilating and researching about the Indian heritage and working towards solving the problems of the poorest of the poor. He said Visva Bharati for Gurudev Tagore was not just a knowledge imparting institution but an attempt to reach the topmost goal of Indian culture, which is to achieve oneself.

The Prime Minister said Gurudev believed that we have to discover ourselves among the varied Ideologies and differences. PM said that Tagore used to be proud of Bengal but at the same time, he was equally proud of India’s diversity. And it was due to Gurudev’s vision that humanity thrives under the open sky of Santiniketan. He praised Visva Bharati as an unending sea of knowledge in itself, the foundation of which was laid for experience-based education. He said there is no limit to creativity and knowledge. It was with this thought that Gurudev founded this great university. PM urged the students to always remember that knowledge, thought and skill are not static but a dynamic and continuous process. He said responsibility comes with knowledge and power. Just as one has to be restrained and sensitive while in power, every scholar also has to be responsible towards those who do not have knowledge.

Recalling the historical strength of the traditional Indian education system, the Prime Minister referred to Gandhian Shri Dharampal’s book ‘The Beautiful Tree- Indigenous Indian Education in the Eighteenth Century’. He said that the 1820 survey had said that there was more than one gurukul in every village which were linked with the local temples and literacy rate was estimated to be very high. This was recognized by the British scholars also. Shri Modi said, Gurudev Ravindranath developed systems in Visva Bharti which were the medium of modernising Indian education and freeing it from the shackles of slavery.

Similarly, the new National Education Policy also breaks old restrictions and allows students to realize their full potential. It allows flexibility in selection of subjects and medium of instruction. The policy promotes entrepreneurship and self employment; research and innovation. ‘This education policy is a major milestone in the making of an Aatmnirbhar Bharat’, said the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister informed that scholars have recently been given free access to lakhs of journals by the Government. This year’s budget has proposed 50 thousand crore in 5 years for research through the National Research Foundation. This Education Policy has made provision for the Gender Inclusion Fund that will give the girls new confidence. Higher dropout rate of girls was deeply studied and arrangements were made for entry-exit options and yearly credit in the degree courses.

Calling Bengal inspiration for Ek Bharat-Shreshth Bharat, the Prime Minister said that Visva Bharati will play a big role in the 21st century knowledge economy, taking Indian knowledge and identity to every corner of the world. Shri Modi called upon the students of the prestigious institute to prepare a vision document for next 25 years about the 25 biggest goals of Visva Bharati in 2047. The Prime Minister asked the students to spread awareness about India. Visva Bharati should lead all educational institutions to carry India’s message and enhance India’s image globally. The Prime Minister concluded by calling upon the students to find ways to make nearby villages Aatmnirbhar and taking their products globally.

Union Education Minister appreciated the academic activities that Visva-Bharati has undertaken during the COVIND 19 pandemic. The Minister dwelled in detail on the New Education Policy which, he also mentioned, is based on Gurudev’s idea of Education. He also suggested that Visva-Bharati is capable of taking lead in imparting learning as per the directions that the NEP has provided. In order to accomplish the goal, Shri Pokhriyal insisted on creating an effective task force by bringing together academic faculties from various fields. Speaking on the decision to create a new Visva-Bharati campus at Ramgarh, Uttarakhand, he informed that steps in this direction have already been taken.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Dhotre congratulated the passing out students and extended his best wishes for the future endeavours. On New Education Policy, he said it has adopted a multidisciplinary approach, emphasises on early childhood care and education and imparting learning in the local language, vocational education and focus on research and innovation. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, this policy will make India the global knowledge superpower of 21st century.

The Rector and Governor of West Bengal, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed his happiness by being part of this convocation at Amrakunja which has footsteps of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. He admired the strong leadership that the Prime Minister has been providing to come out the crisis that has emerged due to the pandemic. In his address, he also appreciated the role of the Union Education Minister and his colleagues in bringing out a New Education Policy for the country.

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attracting international students to India

The Ministry of Education is deliberating on measures to increase the number of international students coming to India for higher studies. In a review meeting of the Ministry’s Study in India Programme with partner institutions yesterday, Secretary Higher Education Shri Amit Khare said that the criteria for institutions partnering under the programme will soon be revised so that more institutions that have the necessary infrastructure and academic quality can join the programme. He also said that no distinction will be made between private and public institutions in matters of supporting internationalization.

Study in India is a programme of the Govt of India that aims to attract international students to higher education institutions in India . Select 117 institutions are partners under the programme that was launched in 2018. Admissions are merit based and done through a common portal. Around 7500 students from over 50 countries have come to Indian institutions so far under this programme.

The Government has also recognized the importance of creating a conducive, on- campus ecosystem for the international students, where they not only get quality academic inputs but can also feel safe, welcome, happy and hassle free. In this regard the Secretary called upon all partner institutions to set up world class hostels for international students. There is a provision for financial assistance for this under the Champion Services Sector Scheme that supports SII, which can be provided to some

institutions . In addition, there is an urgent requirement of setting up International Students’ Offices in every institution that takes in international students. This office should work as a single window support for anything that the international students may need, right from the day they get selected to join the institution. Besides this, avenues like networks of families, mentors etc should be developed, who can help the students to socialize so that they feel welcome in the country and have an enjoyable stay here, with memories that they can cherish, and positive experience to share with others.

In addition to this, the Ministry has also asked institutions that they should consider organizing orientation for international students when they join, as well as orientation for the faculty to sensitize them to teach using contexts that these students can relate to.

The Ministry is also looking towards enhanced academic collaborations between Indian and international institutions under Twinning, Joint and Dual degrees with credit transfer mechanism. UGC has already brought out draft regulations in this regard that have currently been put up for stakeholder consultation. There regulations will give a boost to student exchange programmes and short programmes of one or two semesters .

The Ministry has plans to take up the issue of allowing internship for international students with the concerned department of the Government. Many of the partner institutions pointed out that the absence of internship for international students was a big drawback for any programme of higher studies in India. The Ministry will iron out other issues of concern for international students, for example visa issues.

Learning with toys develop the creativity and sensitivity in students and give wings to their imagination

Learning with toys develop the creativity and sensitivity in students and give wings to their imagination said Dr Subhas Sarkar, Minister of State for Education while addressing the valedictory session of the International Webinar on ‘Toys and Games to Play, Make and Learn’ organized by the NCERT under the agies of Ministry of Education with an objective to promote Toy Based Pedagogy in school education for joyful learning.

Shri Sarkar said that toys teach children from being possessive to sharing, co-operative to empathy, exploring toys to make one on their own, inculcates among them imagination, creativity, and much more. It is the need of hour that parents teach their children through the toys as it will make things comprehensible for the students.

The Minister highlighted that we have a rich heritage of traditional toys which has originated in the subcontinent several thousand years ago in the Indus Valley civilization. Indian toys not only entertain, but also teach us scientific theories such as ‘Lattu’ teaches us gravity and balance, ‘Gullel’ teaches us potential and kinetic energy, he added.

He expressed that the International webinar is an important step towards reinventing a timeless tradition of toys and games. He hoped that the webinar has provided a roadmap for the school education which has been envisaged by the National Education Policy of 2020 to be based on India’s rich heritage and knowledge systems and prepare our youth for the challenges of the 21st century.

On the 2nd day of the webinar today, there were two technical sessions on Toys and Games to Play, Make and Learn, and Toys to address different societal concerns, mainly to address the concerns of Children With Special Needs and 9 scholars presented their papers. There was a panel discussion on Innovative Toys and Technology, where innovators, educationists and entrepreneurs from different countries shared their views on the need for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in toy making. There were 7 presentations by the practitioners and case studies on toys, toy design and startups.

The Session started with Prof. Sridhar Srivastava, Director, NCERT welcoming the dignitaries present on the occasion and the participants who had joined from different locations of various countries. Prof. Anupam Ahuja, Head, Division of International Relations, NCERT and a member of the Organizing Committee of the Webinar presented the brief report of two days of deliberations. Smt. L. S. Changsag, Joint Secretary (Instt), Ministry of Education shared the initiatives taken by the Ministry of Education in regard to Toy Based Pedagogy and the way forward. Prof. Anil D. Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE addressed the participants and enlightened them with his views.

Towards the closing of the 2 days deliberations of the International webinar, Prof. Jyotsna Tiwari, Head, Department of Gender Education, NCERT and the coordinator of the webinar proposed a vote of thanks to all the dignitaries, participants and invited audience.

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Agri-Food Techathon at IIT Kharagpur

Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ inaugurated the Agri-Food Techathon 2021 today virtually. He also laid the foundation for Agri-Business Incubation Centre (ABIC), which will incubate innovative ideas in the agriculture and food technology domain for creating ‘Agri-preneures.’ Prof. V.K. Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur, Mr. Dr. G.R. Chintala, Chairman, NABARD, and participants from across the country graced the occasion.

Addressing the inaugural event, Shri Pokhriyal congratulated IIT Kharagpur and NABARD for this unique initiative. He emphasized that the vision of incubating startups to create an ecosystem under the Agri-Food Techathon 2021 will bring together science and technology, and agriculture to support the farmers of our country. Such initiatives will help take the ‘Vocal for Local and Local for Global’ initiative to each corner of our country. Highlighting that the Agri-Food Techathon has immense possibilities, Shri Pokhriyal said this Techathon will lay the foundation of an Atmanirbhar Bharat and help India emerge as a Vishwaguru.

Stressing that New Education Policy 2020 (NEP) will make India a global leader, he was happy to note that IIT Kharagpur is taking progressive steps in furthering the vision of NEP. He called upon all the stakeholders to come to the forefront for the successful implementation of NEP.

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, in collaboration with NABARD, organised the ‘Agri-Food Techathon 2021’ (AFT 2021), a first-of-its-kind event to promote the participation of India’s youth in innovation and entrepreneurship in different domains of the Agri-Food sector.

For more information on AFT 2021 and ABIC, please visit:

https://kgpchronicle.iitkgp.ac.in/agri-food-techathon-aft-2021/

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ASEAN-India Hackathon is well aligned with the vision of APASTI 2016-2025

Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and Union Minister of External Affairs Shri Subrahmanyam Jaishankar attended the award ceremony of ASEAN- India Hackathon 2021 along with Ministers and dignitaries from ASEAN countries. The Hackathon concluded with more than 300 students, mentors, and officials participating from 10 ASEAN countries and India.

Addressing the participants of Hackathon, Union Education Minister said, “I would like to first congratulate all, for successfully completing the first ASEAN-India Hackathon. I am very thankful to all ASEAN countries for participating in this first-of-its-kind initiative. For the last 3 days, all 54 teams have worked really very hard on 11 problem statements and I was informed by juries and mentors that they are very happy with the quality of work done by participants during this Hackathon. The ASEAN – India Hackathon is well aligned with the vision of ASEAN – plan of action on science, technology and innovation (APASTI) 2016-2025”.

Shri Pokhriyal applauded the focus of the Budget on innovation and entrepreneurship and stressed on boosting the research ecosystem through the Prime Minister Research Fellowship, SPARC, STRIDE, IMPRINT and other research schemes.

Shri Pokhriyal said under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the bond between India and ASEAN countries in the field of education, science and technology has strengthened. One of the main objectives of this hackathon has been to encourage working for sustainable development while creating employment to make our nations Atma Nirbhar. Today India and ASEAN countries have become perfect examples of energy, synergy and international collaboration for other countries to emulate. If the human resources and natural resources of India and ASEAN countries are properly utilized, then a new dimension will open for the betterment of humanity and the world, he added.

The Minister of External Affairs Shri Subrahmanyam Jaishankar stated that “ASEAN India Hackathon offers a unique platform for our youngsters to put their minds and energies together. It is an excellent means to inculcate cooperative spirit among the participants and also exposes them to diverse viewpoints, cultures and work ethics. cutting across national boundaries.”

Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman AICTE said, “It is a moment of pride for us to successfully conclude the first-ever edition of ASEAN-India Hackathon. In the last four days, we have seen how students developed solutions to address the challenges in the ‘Blue economy’ and the education sector. Students meticulously designed innovative solutions in the field of Blue Economy with the help of Artificial Intelligence, Machine learning, AIS Data and Real-Time Data monitoring.”

The program concluded with the announcement of Prizes for the winning teams, runner ups and encouragement awards for other participating teams.

The following dignitaries from ASEAN countries also attended the award ceremony of ASEAN- India Hackathon.

⮚ H.E Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sulaiman, Minister of Education, Brunei.

⮚ H.E. Mr. CHEA Vandeth, Minister of Post and Telecommunications, Cambodia.

⮚ Her Excellency, Datuk Seri Dr. Noraini Ahmad, Minister of Higher Education, Malaysia.

⮚ H.E. Mr. Lawrence Wong, Minister of Education, Singapore.

⮚ H.E. Dr. Anek Laothamatas, Minister, Ministry Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation, Thailand.

⮚ H.E. Prof. Ir. Nizam, Director General of Higher Education of Ministry of Education and Culture, Indonesia.

⮚ H.E. Dr. Phout SIMMALAVONG, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education and Sports, Lao PDR

⮚ H.E. Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education and Training, Vietnam.

⮚ H.E. Gregorio B. Honasan II, Secretary, Department of Information and Communication Technology, Philippines.

“I congratulate the government of India for organizing an event that gave youngsters a platform to come together and to showcase their talent in these hard times” said Her Excellency, Datuk Seri Dr. Noraini Ahmad from Minister of Higher Education, Malaysia.

His Excellency Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Hamzah bin Haji Sulaiman, Minister of Education from Brunei expressed in his address that “India and ASEAN countries have established a longstanding partnership in many areas including Human Resource Development, Person to Person contact and Education”

“Today’s world faces problems that are on a different level altogether. Facing these problems requires equally novel technological solutions. We are living through a time of rapid change. With the increasing complexity of global relations and ever-changing global economy, we need new approaches to solve our problems.” Said H.E. Gregorio B. Honasan II, Secretary, Department of Information and Communication Technology (Minister rank), Philippines.

The Minister of Education from Singapore H.E. Mr. Lawrence Wong expressed that “At some point, this pandemic will be over. But the problems we face do not end there. Climate change remains a matter of concern for the world and especially for the ASEAN countries. We need to come together in the same spirit, as we did to fight against Covid 19”

The participating students from ASEAN and India were very happy with the opportunity provided by Indian Ministry of Education.

Syahshiyah Rohidah, a student participant from Indonesia said that “It was really an adventurous ride since past few days, I am getting to know new people and collaborating with them. His team proposed a solution on “Quantification of Marine Litter using Image Processing”

SEUN Siuphinga student from Cambodia said that “This hackathon has been a first of its kind experience for her”

Đinh Thanh Hiền, a student participant from Vietnam “I enjoyed this hackathon process and looking forward for more chances to participate in such international events”.

Clarisse Johanna Solis, a student participant from Philippines “The process was rigorous time consuming but interesting, It was truly a great and worthwhile experience” She expressed that wish to visit India when borders resume.

The ASEAN-India Hackathon-2021 aims at enhancing the cooperation between India and ASEAN countries in science, tech and education. All the ASEAN countries participated in this unique initiative of providing innovative solutions to overcome the challenges under two broad themes of Blue Economy and Education. Student teams from all the 10 ASEAN countries as well as India participated in this ASEAN-INDIA Hackathon. These teams comprised of 330 students and 90 mentors. The students were divided in 54 cross-country teams, where each team consists of six students and two mentors. These diverse teams competed on developing the best solution for 11 problem statements provided by various reputed organisations and government bodies.

The Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell and the All India Council for Technical Education in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and ASEAN countries organized the first ASEAN-India Hackathon. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Hackathon was conducted online using a digital platform, indigenously developed by the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell.

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Residential schools/hostels funded under Samagra Shiksha named as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose residential schools/hostels

In a befitting honour to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, the Ministry of Education has decided to name residential schools/ hostels funded under Samagra Shiksha of MoE, as “Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose residential schools/hostels”. The association of these schools with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose will act as an inspiration to the children and also motivate the teachers, staff and administration to enable them to achieve high standards of excellence. This will also help create awareness about the facility of these Residential Schools and Hostels in difficult areas and inspire these schools to achieve high standards of quality education.

The Ministry of Education under Samagra Shiksha provides financial assistance to states and UTs for opening and running of Residential Schools and Hostels in hilly terrain, small and sparsely populated areas for children who are in need of shelter and care, in addition to the provision of regular schools. The objective is to ensure universal enrolment and provide schooling facilities in areas which are sparsely populated (mostly tribal areas) where opening of schools may not be viable and for children in urban areas who are in need of care and protection.

The residential facilities are also provided to child labour rescued, migrant children who belong to poor landless families, children without adult protection, separated from their families, internally displaced persons, and children from the areas of social and armed conflict and natural calamities. Preference is given to EBBs, LWE affected districts, SFDs and the Aspirational districts identified by NITI Aayog.

In these residential schools and hostels, in addition to regular school curriculum, interventions for all round development of children such as provision of Specific Skill Training, physical self-defense, medical care, community participation, monthly stipend are also made available to children. A total of 1063 residential facilities (383 residential Schools and 680 Hostels) have been sanctioned to States and UTs so far.

Residential Schools and Hostels Approved under Samagra Shiksha (Cumulative )
S. No	STATE NAME	Residential Schools	Hostels
1	ANDHRA PRADESH	3	14
2	ARUNACHAL PRADESH	155	54
3	ASSAM	3	1
4	BIHAR	6	9
5	CHHATTISGARH	67	39
6	DELHI	0	3
7	HARYANA	4	3
8	JHARKHAND	25	16
9	KARNATAKA	5	0
10	KERALA	0	6
11	LADAKH	0	2
12	MADHYA PRADESH	11	390
13	MAHARASHTRA	3	8
14	MANIPUR	9	8
15	MIZORAM	4	11
16	NAGALAND	7	11
17	ODISHA	3	18
18	PUNJAB	0	5
19	RAJASTHAN	7	34
20	SIKKIM	0	1
21	TAMIL NADU	13	0
22	TELANGANA	33	8
23	TRIPURA	4	14
24	UTTAR PRADESH	9	0
25	UTTARAKHAND	0	6
26	WEST BENGAL	12	19
Total		383	680
Generated as on Thursday, December 03, 2020

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Recognition of children with intellectual disabilities

Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSE&L) runs SamagraShiksha Scheme from Class I to XII. It has a component called Inclusive Education (IE) for Children with Special Needs(CWSN). Under this Component, children with special needs are mainstreamed in regular schools in an inclusive manner. The CWSN being addressed under IE component covers all 21 categories of disabilities prescribed under RPwD Act-2016 which includes intellectual disability, Down syndrome and developmental delay. Under IE component, the support for CWSN is provided at two levels:

Activities under Student Oriented Component (SoC)
Resource Support (Special Educators)

Under Student Oriented Component, all States and UTs are provided financial assistance to Government and Government aided schools for various categories which includes development of teaching aids, teaching learning materials(TLMs), aids and appliances, Braille stationery materials, identification and assessment camps, assistive devices, aids and equipments, corrective surgeries, environment building programme, transportation, escorts, scribers, sports events and exposure visits etc.

In order to ensure quality of education of CWSN, qualified and trained special educators are provided who work in an iterant mode and provide services in all the schools alongwith the general teachers to address the diverse and specific need of Children with Special Needs(CWSN). These provisions have also been included in the National Education policy 2020.

Education of children with disabilities

The Department of School Education & Literacy supports inclusive education of children with disabilities. Under the Centrally sponsored scheme of Samagra Shiksha, various provisions for educational needs of children with disabilities have been made including, barrier free infrastructure through ramps with handrails and disabled friendly toilets in schools.

As per UDISE+ 2018-19 (prov.), there are 8,33,703ramps with handrails and 1,49,501 disabled friendly toilets for children with disabilities in government and government aided schools for classes I to XII.

The National Education Policy (NEP), 2020advocates full equity and inclusion as the cornerstone of education to ensure that all students are able to thrive in the education system. It also underscores within its framework, education of children with disabilities in order to ensure equitable quality schooling.

The policy specifies recommendations for quality home based education for children with severe or multiple disabilities through the support of resource centres and special educators. The NEP further specifies that,children under home-based education must betreated as equal to any other child in the general system.After the approval and announcement of NEP 2020, the States and UTs have been asked to prepare implementation plan based on the recommendations of the policy, including recommendations and provisions for access to school education for children with severe & multiple disabilities, in line with the RPwD Act, 2016.

Major boost to education sector

Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ lauded the Union Budget 2021-22 and expressed his gratitude to Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman for giving a major boost to education.

ShriPokhriyal highlighted that the Budget allocation for the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS), has been substantially increased from Rs. 175 Cr to Rs. 500 Cr in next FY 2021-22 for providing post-education apprenticeship, training of graduates and diploma holders in Engineering.He also said that an outlay of Rs. 50,000 Cr over next 5 years for National Research Foundation (NRF) will give a major boost to Innovation and R&D.

The Minister said in a big boost to education sector allocation of KVS has increased by Rs 362.32 crore and allocation of NVS increased to Rs. 320 crore w.r.t. RE 2020-21. The budget allocation of NCERT increased to Rs.110.08 crore from RE 2020-21.

Highlights of Budget 2021-22 –Department of Higher Education

1. In this FY 2020-21, the BE was Rs. 39466.52 Cr, which has been rationalised to Rs. 32900 Cr, due to Covid-19. BE for the next year 2021-22 has been kept at Rs. 38350.65 Cr, which is more than 5450.65 Cr more than the current year RE.

2. Out of the Total BE of Rs. 38350.65 Cr, Provisions for Establishment, Autonomous Bodies(ABs), and Schemes are as below:

(i)Establishment: Rs. 247.44 Cr

(ii)Autonomous Bodies(ABs): 29023.78 Cr

(iii) Schemes Total: Rs. 9069.43 Cr

(a)Centrally Sponsored Schemes: Rs. 3000 Cr [RUSA]

(b)Central Sector Schemes: Rs. 6069.43 Cr

3. In our flagship scheme RashtriyaUchchatarShikshaAbhiyan (RUSA), a budget provision of Rs. 3000 Cr has been kept for the next FY 2021-22, in comparison to Rs. 300 Cr in current year.

4. Budget allocation for the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS), has been substantially increased from Rs. 175 Cr to Rs. 500 Cr in next FY 2021-22 for providing post-education apprenticeship, training of graduates and diploma holders in Engineering.

5. Some New Initiatives like- Opening of BhartiyaBhasa University & Institute of Translation, Indian Knowledge System, Academic Bank of Credit, PM e-Vidya, Multidisciplinary Education and Research Improvement in Technical Education (MERITE) shall be implemented in line with the NEP recommendations, after approval of the competent authority. At present a Token Provision has been kept in the BE of FY 2021-22 for all the above initiatives.

Budget Announcements:

1. Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) -an Umbrella Body, which will have 4 verticals- Accreditation, Standard Setting, Regulation, and Funding. Legislation for HECI will be introduced this year.

2. In 9 cities where there are number of institutions supported by the GoI (like- Hyderabad etc.) we will create a formal umbrella structure– for better synergy, while retaining their internal autonomy.

3. A new Central University(CU) will be set up in Leh.

4. We will realign the existing scheme of National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) for providing post-education apprenticeship, training of graduates and diploma holders in Engineering. Over Rs. 3,000 crores will be provided for this in next 5 years.

5. For promotion of Innovation and R&D, an outlay of Rs. 50,000 Cr over next 5 years has been kept for National Research Foundation (NRF). Its major beneficiaries will be Higher Education Institutions including CFTIs like- IITs/IISc/IISERs/NITs etc.

Highlights of Budget 2021-22 – Department of School Education & Literacy

1. Budget allocation for BE 2020-21 was Rs 59845 crore which was rationalized to Rs 52189.07 crore in RE 2020-21 post covid-19 situation. This has now increased to Rs 54873 crore in BE2021-22.

2. There has been an overall increase of Rs. 2684.59 crore (5.14%) in Budget allocation of Department of School Education & Literacy in BE 2021-22 from RE 2020-21.

3. The overall Budget allocation in BE 2021-22 is Rs. 54873.66 crore out of which scheme allocation is 43648.66 crore and non-scheme allocation is Rs. 11225.00 crore. The scheme allocation has been increased by Rs 1895.08 crore and non-scheme allocation by Rs. 789.51 crore as compared to RE 2020-21.

4. Budget allocation in the Flagship scheme of SamagraShikhsa has been increased to Rs. 31050.16 crore in BE 2021-22 from Rs. 27957.32 crore in RE 2020-21 by Rs. 3092.84 crore i.e. increased by 11.06% in comparison to RE 2020-21).

5. The budget allocation in PadhnaLikhnaAbhiyan (PLA) is also increased from Rs. 95.25 crore (RE 2020-21) to Rs. 250 crore in BE 2021-22 (an increase of Rs. 154.75 crore) i.e. by 162.47%.

6. Rs. 485 crore is also provisioned in the new created Centrally Sponsored Scheme of STARS.

7. Allocation of KVS is increased by Rs 362.32 crore and allocation of NVS increased to Rs. 320 crore w.r.t. RE 2020-21. Budget allocation of NCERT was also increase to Rs. 110.08 crore from RE 2020-21.

Initiatives on Education as part of NEP

· Standards will be developed for all school teachers in the form of National Professional Standards for Teachers- NPST. This will enhance the capabilities of teachers and will be followed by all 92 lakh teachers of public and private school system in the country.

· Toys are both an expression of entertainment and learning. A unique indigenous toy-based learning – pedagogy for all levels of school education will be developed. This will transform classroom transactions from mundane and rote learning to an engaging and joyful experience.

· A National Digital Educational Architecture (NDEAR) will be set up within the context of a Digital First Mindset where the Digital Architecture will not only support teaching and learning activities but also educational planning, governance and administrative activities of the Centre and the States/ Union Territories. It will provide a diverse education eco-system architecture for development of digital infrastructure, a federated but inter operable system that will ensure autonomy of all stakeholders, specially States and UTs.

· For children with hearing impairments, the Government will work on standardization of Indian Sign language across the country, and develop National and State Curriculum materials for use by them.

· There are a number of senior and retired teachers. They will be used for individual mentoring of school teachers and educators through constant online/offline support on subjects, themes and pedagogy.

· Students have so far been evaluated on uni-dimensional parameters. There will be a complete shift from using assessments to not only judge the cognitive levels of the learner but also using it as an opportunity to identify the unique strengths and the potential of the child. To this effect, a holistic progress card is envisaged to provide students with valuable information on their strengths, areas of interest, needed areas of focus and thereby helping them in making optimal career choices.

· To enable increased access of resources, online modules covering the entire gamut of adult education will be introduced.

· During the year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we have trained more than 30 lakh elementary school teachers digitally, covering the whole gamut of education. Taking this further, in 2021-22, we will enable the training of 56 lakh school teachers through the National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers for Holistic Advancement (NISTHA).

· For the past few years our Prime Minister has been engaging with students every year before their Board Exams to help them overcome anxiety and stress. In this direction, we will introduce CBSE Board Exam reforms in a phased manner to be effective from the 2022-23 academic session. Exams will move away from rote-learning and students shall be tested on their conceptual clarity, analytical skills and application of knowledge to real life situations.

· To promote enhanced academic collaboration with foreign higher educational institutions, it is proposed to put in place a regulatory mechanism to permit dual degrees, joint degrees, twinning arrangements and other such mechanisms.

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