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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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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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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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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.


34th Convocation of IGNOU

 Union Minister of Education Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ addressed at the 34th Convocation of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) through virtual mode. The University awarded 2, 37,844 degrees, diplomas and certificates of different programmes to the successful students at 34th convocation today. The Convocation function was held virtually from the IGNOU Headquarter in light of the surge in COVD-19 cases.

Congratulating the successful students Union Minister of Education lauded the role played by IGNOU since its inception in making quality higher education accessible to all through the affordable Open and Distance Mode. The Minister in his speech stressed on the need to provide education that could make one self-reliant. He further said that Self- Reliance is the key-highlight of the New Education Policy that integrates vocational education bringing constructive changes in the education system. In order to achieve the goal of 50% GER (Gross Enrolment Ratio) by 2035, the university will have to be a crucial contributor, he added.

Highlighting the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) which is a key part of the New Education Policy, 2020, the Minister said that it provides learners with the flexibility to choose his bouquet of courses and also letting him/her to complete it even after a gap. He urged the university to revamp the existing undergraduate and postgraduate programmes while working on the new programmes according to the needs of the country which not only provide education but also employment to accrue the demographic dividend. On the occasion, he congratulated the University for getting NAAC A++ grade. The Minister also congratulated the meritorious students for their performance.

29 Medals were awarded to the meritorious students at the ceremony virtually. 55 PhD and 13 MPhil Degree certificates were also conferred to the successful students in different streams at the convocation. This time female students have excelled and out of total 29 medals, 21 were awarded to female students and of the total Phd and MPhil degrees awarded, 37 were to female students.

Prof. Nageshwar Rao, Vice-Chancellor of the university in his welcome address presented and apprised the Minister and others present there (and also virtually across India) of the last year report summing up the activities undertaken by the university in the trying times of Corona pandemic. He informed that the university through its network of 56 Regional Centers and 21 schools provided non-stop academic support to learners through Digital technology. He highlighted that apart from the online sessions held by the Regional Centers during the pandemic more than 300 sessions were conducted by IGNOU faculty through the Facebook platform of the university. He reiterated the vision and mission of the university to provide affordable, accessible quality higher education to all sections of society irrespective of their backgrounds increasing the Gross Enrolment Ratio.

The Convocation ceremony was streamed live on ‘YouTube’ and Swayam Prabha Channels for Higher Education Managed by IGNOU in addition to ‘Gyan Darshan, channel of the University, the 56 Regional Centers and the learners across the country.

 

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Decision on CBSE Board Exams

 The Hon’ble Prime Minister chaired a high-level meeting today to review the examinations to be held at various levels in view of the developing Corona situation. Union Education Minister, ShriRameshPokhriyalNishank, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Cabinet Secretary, School and Higher Education Secretaries and other top officials attended the meeting.  

The Prime Minister reiterated that the well being of the students has to be the top priority for the Government.  He also stated that the Centre would keep in mind the best interests of the students and ensure that their health is taken care of at the same time their academic interests are not harmed. 

An overview was given on the X and XII board exam to be held from next month.  The Board exam for class X and XIIconducted by CBSE are scheduled to begin from 4th May, 2021.  The pandemic situation in the country is seeing a resurgence of COVID 19 positive cases in many states, with a few states having been affected more than others. In this situation, schools have been shut down in 11 states. Unlike State Boards, CBSE has an all-India character, and therefore, it is essential to hold exams simultaneouslythroughout  the country. Looking to the present situation of the pandemic and school closures, and also taking in account the safety and well-being of the students,it is decided as follows:

  1. The Board Exams for Class XIIthto be held from May 4thto June, 14th, 2021 are hereby postponed. These exams will be held hereafter. The situation will be reviewed on 1st June 2021 by the Board, and details will be shared subsequently. A notice of at least 15 days will be given before the start of the examinations.

 

  1. The Board Exams for Class Xth to be held from 4thMay to June 14th, 2021 are hereby cancelled. The results of Class Xth Board will be prepared on the basis of an objective criterion to be developed by the Board. Any candidate who is not satisfied with the marks allocated to him/her on this basis will be given an opportunity to sit in an exam as and when the conditions are conducive to hold the exams.

 

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EdCIL pays a highest ever dividend of Rs 12.5 Crore for the year 2019-20.

 EdCIL (India) Limited, a Mini Ratna Category-I CPSE under Ministry of Education, paid a highest ever of Rs 12.5 Crore for the year 2019-20.

Union Minister of Education, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’received the dividend cheque from Shri Manoj Kumar, CMD – EdCIL, in the presence of Dr. Rakesh Ranjan, Additional Secretary (Technical Education) and other officials of the Ministry and EdCIL.

The company registered a turnover of Rs. 326 Crore and a PBT of Rs. 56 Crore during the year 2019-20.

EdCIL offers Project Management and Consultancy solutions across education verticals covering ICT/IT Solutions, Online Testing and Assessment Services, Advisory Services, Infrastructure, PMC, Procurement and Overseas Education Services.The company is executing a mega-project of Ministry of Education called “Study in India” to increase the number of inbound foreign students to India. The program includes setting-up of a large portal, call centre, social media campaign, branding, event management and setting-up of facilitation centres.

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Portable tech-traditional eco-friendly mobile cremation system

 Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar has developed a prototype of a moveable electric cremation system which claims to be using first of its kind technology that involves smokeless cremation despite using wood. It uses half of the wood otherwise required for the cremation and still is eco-friendly because of the technology that uses combustion air system.

 

It is based on wick-stove technology in which the wick when lighted glows yellow. This is converted into smokeless blue flame with the help of combustion air system installed over the wicks.

 

IIT Professor Dr Harpreet Singh, Dean, Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research and Industry Interaction (ICSR&II) who has developed the system said that the cremation system or incinerator heats up at 1044 degree Celsius which ensures complete sterilization.  

 

  

The cart-shaped incinerator has wheels and can be transported anywhere without much efforts. The cart is equipped with combustion air for primary and secondary hot air system. “The disposal of the body is completed within 12 hrs including cooling time as against 48 hours required in the normal wood-based cremation”, Prof. Harpreet added. Use of less wood can also reduce the carbon footprint by half. He said it requires less cooling time in the absence of refractory heat storage. It has stainless steel insulation on both sides of the cart for no heat loss and less wood consumption. It also has a tray beneath for easy removal of ashes.

 

 

Dummy-testing of the Prototype of electric cremation system.

 

He said that he has adopted tech-traditional model for cremation as it also uses wood. That has been done keeping in view our beliefs and traditions of cremating on wood pyre. 

 

Keeping in view the present pandemic situation “if this system can be adopted, may provide respectable cremation to the near and dear ones of those who cannot afford the financial burden of arranging wood”, said Harjinder Singh Cheema, MD, Cheema Boilers Ltd. who has made the prototype. He said that since this is portable, it can be taken to any place with the permission of the concerned authorities. This will also help people to avoid space crunch in crematoriums as is the case in present context. 

 

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Safety and academic welfare of students

 Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ chaired a meeting with School Education Secretaries of all States & UTs through video conferencing discuss the various measures adopted for management of education system during COVID and the different strategies adopted for online and offline learning in Schools so far and the way forward. Minister of State for Education Shri Sanjay Dhotre; Secretary, Higher Education Shri Amit Khare; Secretary, School Education and Literacy Smt Anita Karwal and senior officials of the Ministry were present in the meeting. Representatives from almost all the States and UTs attended the meeting including additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and Secretaries Education Department; and with other State officials such as the State Project Directors, Director SCERT, etc. This is the biggest meeting held on School Education during the pandemic.

Addressing the meeting Union Minister said that the current situation of COVID-19 is unfortunate, but Government is committed to turn the situation into opportunity by doing new experiments to ensure safety and academic welfare of students.

The Minister emphasized the need to continue the coherent efforts made by the states and UTs in previous year and underscored the importance of reaching out to most vulnerable and marginalized children in this pandemic period. He further stated that the Department has taken up several Initiatives in 2020-21 for facilitating continuing learning during the pandemic. These include: expansion of DIKSHA under PM eVIDYA; DTH TV channels under the bouquet of SWAYAM PRABHA TV channels; launch of online NISHTHA training for teachers at DIKSHA; Launch of Manodarpan to cater to the socio-emotional and psychological needs of the students, etc. Also, several initiatives have been taken to reach out to children without access to digital education. He also underlined the importance of involving various stakeholders for effective implementation of the National Education Policy 2020. 

Shri Pokhriyal noted all the problems and suggestions made by the States. The States also appreciated the efforts made by the Ministry of Education providing all possible help to States to ensure academic welfare of students. The Union Minister thanked all the States for their commendable work in the field education and assured them that the Ministry will extend its full support in this difficult time and together we will fight this problem.

Acknowledging that the Government has adopted new and innovative methods in Indian education system to address the challenges arising due to covid pandemic, MoS Shri Sanjay Dhotre stressed upon exploring ways to provide hybrid education comprising of both offline and online teaching methods. For this we would need new learning methodologies, quality learning content and evaluation assessment model, he added. He emphasised that scientific temperament of students will play a deciding role in post covid world therefore education system of our country should focus on developing critical thinking ability, logical reasoning ability and scientific temper among students. He called upon everyone to work together as a team in furthering the spirit of NEP 2020 and effectively implementing it to achieve the desired goals.

A comprehensive COVID Response document has been issued by the Department on 4th May, 2021 and it delineates detailed action plan with corresponding timelines for all Stakeholders involved on Access, Retention, Continuous Learning, Capacity Building and Stakeholder engagement.

The major areas identified for intervention are: Identifying and mainstreaming of Out of School Children and ensuring sustained Enrolment, Retention and Transition; Academic learning & cognitive development of students; Capacity building- with specific focus on blended and home-based learning including student assessments and data use; Nutritional, socio-emotional support; Digital education and monitoring, tracking and remediation.

Further, the following components of Samagra Shiksha have been built into special and focused interventions in view of the present pandemic situation:

  • Learning enhancement/enriching programme to provide supplementary material to children
  • Library grant for ensuring availability of reading material to students
  • Special Training for Out of school children and Children With Special Needs.
  • Support for out of school children of age group 16 to 19 years through NIOS/State open schools.
  • SMC training to be utilized for ensuring community participation, parental support
  • Teaching learning Material at ECCE and primary grade
  • Setting-up a help desk at Panchayat level and creating awareness through use of mass media. It can also be used for conducting online learning and content dissemination over electronic media.
  • Child tracking funds may be utilized for preparing student registry
  • Special Grants to schools for sanitization and hygiene
  • Teachers grants for awareness on safety and security in online mode and for enabling them to use online means of education.
  • Grants for online content development and dissemination.
  • Grants for teachers for accessing NISHTHA training over DIKSHA platform.
  • Composite school grants to ensure continuity of learning and at least 10% of it to be used for Water, sanitation and hygiene in schools.

 

The Department has started conducting the meetings of the Project Approval Board for approval of Annual Work Plan and Budgets of the states under Samagra Shiksha in the virtual mode, so that the states and UTs can get timely approvals for implementation of the above interventions.

Further, ad-hoc grants to the tune of Rs 5228 crore have already been released to the states under Samagra Shiksha and an amount of Rs 2500 crore will be released soon to ensure continuity of various educational initiatives by the states and UTs.

All states and UTs have shared their strategy for continuing the learning process during the pandemic. It was reported that most of the children have received the textbooks and apart from this, various supplementary graded material has also been prepared by the states. Haryana and Gujarat shared the details about the assessment being done by the state while schools are not opened. Many states such as Jharkhand, Ladakh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have made digital apps to promote learning. The pivotal role of parents and communities have been highlighted by all the states and UTs. States and UTs also shared the details to promote online learning through digital devises, Doordarshan and Radio etc.

 

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Virtual Imposters Beware of ‘FakeBuster’

 Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar in Punjab and Monash University, Australia have developed a unique detector named ‘FakeBuster’ to identify imposters attending a virtual conference without anybody’s knowledge. It can also find out faces manipulated on social media to defame or make a joke of someone.


In the present pandemic scenario when most of the official meetings and work is being done online, this standalone solution enables a user (organizer) to detect if another person’s video is manipulated or spoofed during a video conferencing. That means the technique will find out if some imposter is attending a Webinar or virtual meeting on behalf of one of your colleagues by morphing his image with his own. 

 “Sophisticated artificial intelligence techniques have spurred a dramatic increase in manipulation of media contents. Such techniques keep evolving and become more realistic. That makes detection difficult which could have far reaching security implications”, said Dr. Abhinav Dhall, one of the key members of a four-man team that developed the ‘FakeBuster’. “The tool has achieved over 90 per cent accuracy” assures Dr. Dhall. The other three members include Associate Prof. Ramanathan Subramanian and two students Vineet Mehta and Parul Gupta.

Byte of Dr. Abhinav Dhall

A paper on this technique – FakeBuster: A DeepFakes Detection Tool for Video Conferencing Scenarios – has been presented in the 26th International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces, in USA, last month. 

Dr. Dhall said that the usage of manipulated media content in spreading fake news, pornography and other such online content has been widely observed with major repercussions. He said such manipulations have recently found their way into video-calling platforms through spoofing tools based on transfer of facial expressions. These fake facial expressions are often convincing to human eye and can have serious implications. These real time mimicked visuals (videos) known as ‘Deepfakes’ can even be used during online examinations and job interviews. 

This software platform is independent of video conferencing solutions and has been tested with Zoom and Skype applications.

 

The Deepfake detection tool-‘FakeBuster’ works in both online and offline modes. Since the device can presently be attached with laptops and desktops only “we are aiming to make the network smaller and lighter to enable it to run on mobile phones/devices as well”, informed Associate Prof. Subramanian. He said the team is working on using the device to detect fake audios also.

The team claims that this software platform ‘FakeBuster’ is one of the first tools to detect imposters during live video conferencing using DeepFake detection technology. The device has already been tested and would hit the market soon.

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IISc,IITs,IIITs,IISERs and NITs to review the situation of COVID management and imparting online education

 Union Minister of Education Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ today chaired a meeting with Directors of IISc/IITs/IIITs/IISERs and NITs through Video Conferencing. Minister of State for Education Shri Sanjay Dhotre also attended the meeting. During the meeting, Shri Amit Khare, Secretary, Higher Education Ministry of Education and Directors of IITs, IISc, IISERs, NITs, IIITs were also present.

Union Minister exhorted that there is a need to maintain the quality education in these Institutes of National Importance besides taking adequate safety measures for managing COVID-19 situation. The status of imparting online education, virtual laboratory courses by these Institutes was also reviewed by the Minister. Directors of the institutes mentioned that they have already started online teaching since the commencement of initial lockdown in March’20.  Some of the institutions have also developed their own app for online teaching and evaluation.  They also informed that for students facing connectivity issue, the lecture contents were made available even for later use which they can download from anywhere and study. Teachers have interacted through online classes with their students and guided them.

The status of COVID cases in the campus of these institutions and handling of situation arising thereon by these Institutes was also discussed. The Minister impressed that the positive thinking and positive reactions to the current situation could avoid unnecessary anxiety among the students and teaching community.  An effort by the Institutes would be helpful in creating positive atmosphere in the Society. 

Shri Dhotre appreciated all the institutions for ensuring continuation of academic sessions during the covid period. He urged them to focus on science and technology and work on new innovations to tackle the unprecedented challenges caused due to covid. He spoke about the importance of emphasizing on hybrid learning to cater to the education needs of the students. He also stressed upon the need of implementing the National Education Policy to provide world class education to students.

The Institutes detailed their COVID-19 management strategy and also voluntary service extended to local administration for awareness and supply of necessary support for management of the situation in the respective State. The Institutes also briefed about the vaccination drive undertaken for the campus residents in consultation with local administration and as per the guidelines.

The main discussion was on the Research undertaken by these institutions of National importance in tackling Covid situation. Union Education Minister commended the institutes in developing low cost RT-PCR machines, kits, ventilators, mathematical modelling of predicting the trend of COVID-19 and successfully placing them at the disposal of State Health Departments.  Many of the research products have been commercialised through the Incubation Cells and Start ups set up by these Institutes.

Few of the notable research work done by these institutions includes development of Corona testing kit ‘Corosure’, research for development of vaccine which can be stored at room temperature, Genome sequencing to identify the variants of Corona Virus, ‘COVIRAP’ device for rapid diagnostic of pathogenic infection, methods to optimize use of Oxygen in ventilators, development of Oxygen concentrators, low cost portable ventilators, etc.

With regard to National Education Policy, 2020, it is noted that many of the institutions have already started new department/ multi- disciplinary programs. IISc Bangalore and IIT Kharagpur are soon to start courses in Medical sciences. Emphasis has been put by the institutions on teachers training/ mentorship and Internationalisation as well as academia- industry interaction.

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IIT Ropar develops "AmbiTAG"- India's first indigenous temperature data logger for the cold chain management

 Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar (IIT Ropar) in Punjab has developed a first-of-its-kind IoT device – AmbiTag that records real-time ambient temperature during the transportation of perishable products, vaccines and even body organs and blood. That recorded temperature further helps to know whether that particular item transported from anywhere in the world is still usable or perished because of temperature variation. This information is particularly critical for vaccines including Covid-19 vaccine, organs and blood transportation. 

 

Shaped as USB device, AmbiTag continuously records the temperature of its immediate surroundings “from -40 to +80 degrees in any time zone for a full 90 days on a single charge. Most of the similar devices available in the international market record data only for duration of 30- 60 days”, said AWaDH Project coordinator, Dr. Suman Kumar. He said it generates an alert when the temperature goes beyond a pre-set limit. The recorded data can be retrieved by connecting the USB with any computer. The device has been developed under Technology Innovation Hub – AWaDH (Agriculture and Water Technology Development Hub) and its Startup ScratchNest. AWaDH is a Govt of India project. Prof. Kumar said that the device is certified with ISO 13485:2016, EN 12830:2018, CE & ROHS.

 

Besides perishable items including vegetables, meat and dairy products it can also monitor the temperature of animal semen during transit. “So far, such devices are being imported by India in a massive quantity from other countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Ireland, and China,” said Amit Bhatti, one of the founders and directors of ScratchNest. 

 

AWaDH Project Director, Professor Pushpendra P. Singh informed that IIT Ropar Technology Innovation Hub is gearing for mass-production of AmbiTag. “The device will be made available to all companies involved in COVID vaccine transportation from production facilities to the last mile vaccination centers in the country at the production cost of Rs. 400. This device is our small contribution to the Nation for coming out of the never-seen-before-pandemic and a push towards the Atma Nirbhar Bharat”, said Prof. Singh. 

 

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