Steps taken by the government to promote IT based education

A comprehensive initiative called PM eVIDYA has been initiatedas part of Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan on 17th May, 2020, which unifies all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable multi-mode access to education. The initiative includes:

DIKSHA (one nation, one digital platform)is the nation’s digital infrastructure for providing quality e-content for school education in states/UTs and QR coded Energized Textbooks for all gradesare available on it.
One earmarked Swayam Prabha TV channel per class from 1 to 12 (one class, one channel).
Extensive use of Radio, Community radio and CBSE Podcast- Shiksha Vani.
Special e-content for visually and hearing impaired developed on Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY) and in sign language on NIOS website/ YouTube.

In order to promote online education, UGC has notified necessary regulation, which facilitates the Universities to offer full-fledged Online Program. Further, the current provisions of 20 per cent Online courses in a programme, as per provisions of UGC SWAYAM and ODL Regulations to be enhanced up to maximum 40 per cent for implementation considering “National interest during COVID-19” and also to ensure effective utilization of e-resources.

Various digital initiatives are also undertaken by Ministry of education viz. SWAYAM (“Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds”), SWAYAM Prabha, National Digital Library (NDL), Virtual Lab, e-Yantra, NEAT (National Education Alliance for technology), FOSSEE (Free Open-Source Software for Education) etc to ensure quality education to the students.

To improve the internet connectivity in rural areas the CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd (CSC-SPV) of MEITY has been assigned the task of providing Fibre to the Home (FTTH) connectivity to the Government Institutions, including schools.

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has launched a ‘Cyber Security Handbook’ to ensure safe and healthy digital habits among students. The ‘Cyber Security Handbook’ can be accessed at this link:

http://cbseacademic.nic.in/web_material/Manuals/Cyber_Safety_Manual.pdf.

An Integrated Teacher Training Programme called NISHTHA has been launched it is a capacity building programme for “Improving Quality of School Education through Integrated Teacher Training“.NISHTHA can be accessed from the below link:https://itpd.ncert.gov.in//

Schemes of the Government to ensure education for all Citizens

During COVID-19 Pandemic, Government of India has held various consultations with the States and UTs at different levels. Also, a brain storming session was held with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in January, 2021 for taking their views/ perspectives to assess and to bridge the learning gap in the Covid-19 pandemic period.

Education is in the concurrent list of the Constitution and majority of the schools are under the domain of respective State and UT Governments. However, to ensure thatevery student gets continued access to education, a multi-pronged approach has been adopted. A comprehensive initiative called PM e-VIDYA has been initiated as part of Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan on 17th May, 2020, which unifies all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable multi-mode access to education. The initiative includes:

DIKSHA (one nation, one digital platform) is the nation’s digital infrastructure for providing quality e-content for school education in states/UTs and QR coded Energized Textbooks for all grades are available on it. 35 of the 36 states and UTs have on boarded on DIKSHA platform and contextualised the content as per the local need.
One earmarked Swayam Prabha TV channel per class from Class 1 to 12 (one class, one channel).
Extensive use of Radio, Community radio and CBSE Podcast- Shiksha Vani.
Special e-content for visually and hearing impaired developed on Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY) and in sign language on NIOS website/ YouTube.

Besides, the Ministry has undertaken a proactive initiative, named, ‘MANODARPAN’ covering a wide range of activities to provide psychosocial support to students, teachers and families for Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing during the COVID outbreak and beyond.

The Central Government is constantly advising States/UTs through guidelines and meetings with respect to interventions for reducing impact of pandemic on education. The guidelines issued so far are given below:

S.No.	Interventions	Links of Guideline
1.	Guidelines for Children of Migrant Labourers	https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/Migrant%20labour%20guideline.pdf
2.	Guidelines for Out of School Children and Mitigation of Loss of Learning	https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/guidelines_oosc.pdf
3.	PRAGYATA Guidelines on Digital Education	https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/pragyata-guidelines_0.pdf
4.	Learning Enhancement Guidelines for Continuous Learning	https://ncert.nic.in/pdf/announcement/Learning_%20Enhancement_Guidelines.pdf
5.	Covid-19 Related Health and Safety Sop/Guidelines for School Re-Opening	https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/SOP_Guidelines_for_reopening_schools.pdf
6.	Covid Action Plan for School Education	https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/Covid_Action_Plan.pdf
7.	Alternate Academic Calendar	Secondary- https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/Academic%20Calender%20-%20Secondary%20-%20Eng.pdf Primary- – https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/Eight_Weeks_AAC_Primary_%28English%29%5B1%5D_0.pdf
8.	Guidelines for JNV –Residential Schools	https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LAc4iKQTqTJkNVDGc5glEDsrDGdAXwC8/view
9.	Guidelines for parents on Home Based Education	https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/MoE_Home_Learning_Guidelines.pdf
10.	Guidelines for orphaned Children	In this regard, a joint DO letter No. 13-10/2021-IS-11 dated 16.06.2021 from Secretary DoSEL, MoE and Secretary, MWCD has been issued to all States and UTs.
11.	Guidelines for developing E-content for CWSN	https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/CWSN_E-Content_guidelines.pdf
12.	CBSE competency-based assessment framework	http://cbseacademic.nic.in/web_material/Manuals/Safal_handbook.pdf
13.	NCTE Guidelines for TEIs	https://ncte.gov.in/WebAdminFiles/RecentAnnouncement/0_20_08_2020_637335320672297662.pdf

The details of the major schemes to promote education in the country implemented by the Government of India are as follows:

(I) Samagra Shiksha: The Government of India launched Samagra Shiksha-an Integrated Scheme for school education, w.e.f 2018-19, as an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class XII, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels of school education, across the country including the rural areas. The scheme has now been aligned to NEP, 2020 recommendations and extended till 2025-26. The scheme provides support to States and UTs for strengthening of infrastructure in schools, universal access, bringing gender equality, promoting inclusive education, quality of education, financial support for teachers’ salary, digital initiatives, entitlements under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 including uniforms and textbooks, pre-school education, vocational education, sports and physical education and strengthening of teacher education institutions.

(II) Mid-Day-Meal (MDM): Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS) is an on-going Centrally-Sponsored Scheme which provides nutritional supplement to all school children studying in Classes I-VIII of Government, Government-Aided schools, Special Training Centres including Madarsas and Maqtabs.

(III) Padhna Likhna Abhiyan: A centrally sponsored scheme of Adult Education namely, “Padhna Likhna Abhiyan (PLA)” was implemented during 2020-21 with a physical target of imparting functional literacy to 57 lakh adult illiterates in the age group of 15 and above under basic literacy programme. The scheme was extended upto 31.07.2021.

(IV) Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA): Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) is an overarching scheme, operating in mission mode for funding the State Government Universities and colleges to achieve the aims of equity, access and excellence.The funding to states being made on the basis of critical appraisal of State Higher Education Plans, which describe each state’s strategy to address issues of equity, access and excellence in higher education.

Further, in order to improve the education standards in the country, the Government has taken several steps:-

Central RTE Rules have been amended on 20th February, 2017 to include reference on class-wise, subject-wise Learning Outcomes at Elementary level.
National Achievement Survey (NAS) is conducted to enable States/UTs to identify gaps in learning outcomes, and take remedial steps.
A 70 indicator based matrix Performance Grading Index (PGI) has been developed to grade the States/UTs.
NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement), an Integrated Teacher Training Programme has been introduced.
Learning Outcomes for Secondary level have been notified.
The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) was entrusted to conduct teachers training through ODL (Open Distance Learning) mode, which has been completed by about 9.58 lakh teachers.

Also, the National Education Policy, 2020 focuses on improving the standard of education through various measures such as introduction of New pedagogical and curricular structure, Early Childhood Care and Education, Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, Transforming Assessment for Student Development, Experiential and Competency based Learning etc.

Sexual undercourse under deception

According to ancient Hindu laws, marriage is a sacred union between two individuals. It does not merely establishes the physical relationship but also establishes the emotional aspect and spiritual bonding between the couples. It is performed to pursue Dharma(Duty), Artha(Possessions) and Kama(Physical Desires). It is in this regard that anything done in this ritual or performed in the institution should be pure and sacred and done with the mutual consent. It should not involve any kind of cheating, scam or deception. Apart from sacredness and wholliness, it is the right of the every individual to decide whether she wants to engage herself in consummation or not. Their consent is very important and it matters a lot.

As it can be seen in many cases, women are deceived under the false promise of marriage with the malafide intention. According to the accused, he is safe because to not charged with the offence of rape, consent should be given and in these cases consent is provided by the victim but where the accused lacks is that the consent was not that of free consent. If a person taking the consent under the pretext of marriage or under the guise of any lie, it violates the principle of free consent because here woman does not know the validity of the words spoken. The consent was given under the ‘misconception of fact’ and if she would have known, she could have avoided that. Thus, the consent does not hold it’s validity in the eyes of law and the person who did misconception will be charged under the Section 375 of IPC,1860 ( sexual intercourse with a woman against her will, without her consent, by coercion, misrepresentation or fraud or at a time when she has been intoxicated or duped, or is of unsound mental health and in any case if she is below 18 years of age).

But to hold the person guilty under this regard, it is very important that the section 375 of the IPC,1860 be interpreted in a wider sense. Right now, the law does hold the person guilty who had a sexual intercourse under a fake promise of marriage but to come under the ambit of section 375 of IPC, the strict interpretaion of the provisions enshrined is very important in this regard.

Lastly, I want to conclude with the fact that these kind of cases are increasing day by day in the society. Hence it should be taken into account and a proper framework should be established for these kind of offences.The accused should be punished who is out to exploit innocent girls in the society and have sexual intercourse with them under the pretext of false promise of marriage. Thus, the accused should be under the 376 of the IPC because rape have tortorous effects on the woman both physically and mentally. Their mental and emotional well being gets affected a lot. It reduces a woman to an animal as it shakes the very core of her life. Therefore, anyone undermining the reputation and well being of the woman should be punished.

The Metaphysical School of poetry

The term ‘metaphysical’ was first applied to Donne by Dryden and later extended to a group of poets by Dr. Johnson. It has been used to describe the special characteristics of the poetry of John Donne and his followers in the 17th century. John Dryden first used this term in connections to the poetry of John Donne and the same was confirmed by Dr. Samuel Johnson. At the beginning of the 17th century, there appeared a group of poets who reacted against the conventions of Elizabethan love poetry and wrote more colloquial, witty, passionately intense, and psychologically probing poetry. This group came to known as the metaphysical poets. They include John Donne, Andrew Marvell, George Herbert, Abraham Cowley, Richard Crashaw, and Henry Vaughan. They were men of learning, but wrote colloquial and often metrically irregular lines filled with unusual metaphors, similes, and conceits.

Dr. Johnson thought that from the Aristotelian point of view they were not poets at all. Though their learning and subtlely were high, they were wholly concerned with something unexpected and surprising. Johnson says that their attempts were analytic and they broke every image into fragments. “The most heterogeneous ideas are yoked by violence together; nature and art are ransacked for illustrations, comparisons, and allusions”. Dr. Johnson was certainly not impressed by them. However, T.S. Eliot in the present century discovers several beauties in the metaphyscial. He sees in their Poetry “a direct sensuous apprehension of thought, or a recreation or thought into feeling”. Eliot places them in the direct current of English poetry and points to their ‘quaint and pleasant taste’.

John Donne, Founder of Metaphysical poetry

The metaphysical style was established by John Donne. Dryden pointed out that Donne ‘affects the metaphysics not only in his satires but in his amorous verses’. Donne inspired a host of others like Suckling, Cleveland, Crashaw, and Cowley.

Metaphysical poetry resolves itself into two broad divisions amorous verse and religious verse. The amorous verse was generally written by the courtly poets like Carew, Suckling, and Lovelace and religious verse by Herbert, Crashaw, and Vaughan. Donne wrote amorous, devotional, and satirical poems. In his poetry sensuality and cynical wit mingle at times. He excelled in reflective imaginations and sober meditation. Herrick wrote amorous and religious verses and several epigrams. Crashaw was best in his religious verse. Abraham Cowley’s lyrics were sweet and graceful.

In conclusion, the age of metaphysical poetry successfully presented great educational benefits and presented significant value to English literature. The significance of this age is quite clear as it presented new aspects of value and new methods of expression that were not known before the seventeenth century, the language and concepts used in metaphysical poetry are unique and present significant cleverness. It also focuses on driving the audience to imagine what they have not thought of before and capture their imaginations. Most metaphysical poets suffered from different struggles, but the one they almost all had in common was self anxiety, presented in the fear of the future of the human soul, which is what lead them to speak and express their thoughts on the journey of life and turning points. Also, most of the metaphysical poets were born in the seventeenth century and raised into religious families and therefore carried out a religious mindset, and some of them even held religious positions during his lifetime, which explains the majority of religious poetry over other types of poetry, other topics such as love was also present, and it shared the common point of desiring reciprocity results whether from God or the loved one.

Samagra Shiksha Scheme to improve the access, infrastructure and quality of education

The major features and interventions of Samagra Shiksha for improving the access, infrastructure and quality of education throughout the country are (i) Universalizing access to quality school education by expansion of schooling facilities in the uncovered areas through up-gradation of schools up-to senior secondary level (ii) Ensuring availability of adequate infrastructure to ensure that schools conform to the prescribed norms (iii) Annual Grant of Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 20,000/- per school for strengthening of Libraries (iv) Composite school grant of Rs. 25,000-1 Lakh to be allocated on the basis of school enrolment, out of which at-least 10% is to be spent on Swachhta Action Plan (v) Annual Grant for sports equipments at the cost of Rs. 5000-25000 per school (vi) Allocation for children with Special Needs (CwSN) of Rs. 3,500 per child per annum including a stipend of Rs. 200 per month for CWSN girls to be provided from Classes I to XII (vii) Allocation for uniforms at the rate of Rs. 600 per child per annum at elementary level (viii) Allocation for textbooks at the rate of Rs. 250/400 per child per annum at elementary level (ix) Running and Upgradation of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) from Class 6-8 to Class 6-12 (x) Strengthening Teacher Education Institutions like SCERTs and DIETs to improve the quality of teachers (xi) Enhanced use of digital technology in education through smart classrooms, digital boards and DTH channels (xii) Support States & UTs for implementation of provisions of RTE Act, including reimbursement under Section 12(1)(c) of the Act (xiii) Setting up of residential schools and hostels for difficult areas and for children in difficult circumstances.

The details of funds released and expenditure incurred by the State of Assam are as under:

(Rs. In crore)

Year	Releases	Expenditure*
2018-19	1570.72	1619.42
2019-20	1521.00	1783.38
2020-21	1594.29	1892.96
2021-22 (Adhoc Release)	413.13	0.00

* As reported by the State on PRABANDH Portal.

The achievements of Samagra Shiksha are as follows:

During 2018-2019 to 2020-2021, 1160 schools have been upgraded at Elementary, Secondary and Higher Secondary level, 54 new residential schools/ hostels have been opened, 41180 schools have been strengthened (including Additional classrooms), 13.51 lakh schools have been provided library facilities,13.14 lakh schools have been provided sports equipment facility, 12633 schools have been covered under ICT & Digital initiatives, 5579 schools have been covered under vocational education, 783 KGBVs have been upgraded from class VIII to class X, 925 KGBVs have been upgraded from class VIII to class XII and 11562 separate girls toilets have been constructed.
In addition, during 2018-2019, 4.78 lakh out of school children have been provided special training at elementary level, 4.24 lakh children have been provided transport and escort facility, 16.76 lakh children have been covered under Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act, 6.96 cr children have been provided free uniforms, 8.72 cr children have been provided free textbooks at elementary level, 0.74 cr children have been provided remedial teaching, 14.58 lakh teachers have been trained, 69173 schools provided self defence training to girls, 3.79 lakh CWSN girls have been provided stipend and 23183 special educators have been provided financial assistance.
Also, during 2019-2020, 5.07 lakh out of school children have been provided special training at elementary level, 6.78 lakh children have been provided transport and escort facility, 21.58 lakh children have been covered under Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act, 6.89 cr children have been provided free uniforms, 8.78 cr children have been provided free textbooks at elementary level, 1.76 cr children have been provided remedial teaching, 28.84 lakh teachers have been trained, 166528 schools provided self defence training to girls, 3.22 lakh CWSN girls have been provided stipend and 24030 special educators have been provided financial assistance.
Also, during 2020-2021, 3.23 lakh out of school children have been provided special training at elementary level, 2.41 lakh children have been provided transport and escort facility, 32.67 lakh children have been covered under Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act, 6.57 cr children have been provided free uniforms, 8.84 cr children have been provided free textbooks at elementary level, 1.44 cr children have been provided remedial teaching, 14.32 lakh teachers have been trained, 81288 schools provided self defence training to girls, 3.52 lakh CWSN girls have been provided stipend and 22990 special educators have been provided financial assistance.

Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education launched a National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat) on 5th July 2021, for ensuring that every child in the country necessarily attains foundational literacy and numeracy by the end of Grade 3, by 2026-27. The Mission under the aegis of the centrally sponsored scheme of Samagra Shiksha focuses on providing access and retaining children in foundational years of schooling, teacher capacity building, development of high quality and diversified Student and Teacher Resources/Learning Materials and tracking the progress of each child in achieving learning outcomes. An approval of Rs 2688.18 crore has been given under Samagra Shiksha scheme to the States and UTs for implementation of the various interventions for Foundational Stage in 2021-22.

Reduction in syllabus

The Government have announced the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, which,inter-alia, in para4.5 provides that curriculum content will be reduced in each subject to its core essentials, to make space for critical thinking and more holistic, inquiry-based, discovery-based, discussion-based, and analysis-based learning. The mandated content will focus on key concepts, ideas, applications, and problem-solving. Teaching and learning will be conducted in a more interactive manner; questions will be encouraged, and classroom sessions will regularly contain more fun, creative, collaborative, and exploratory activities for students for deeper and more experiential learning. Para 4.31 provides that the reduction in content and increased flexibility of school curriculum – and the renewed emphasis on constructive rather than rote learning – must be accompanied by parallel changes in school textbooks. All textbooks shall aim to contain the essential core material (together with discussion, analysis, examples, and applications) deemed important on a national level, but at the same time contain any desired nuances and supplementary material as per local contexts and needs. Where possible, schools and teachers will also have choices in the textbooks they employ – from among a set of textbooks that contain the requisite national and local material – so that they may teach in a manner that is best suited to their own pedagogical styles as well as to their students and communities’ needs. Further, para 4.33 provides that concerted efforts, through suitable changes in curriculum and pedagogy, will be made by NCERT, SCERTs, schools, and educators to significantly reduce the weight of school bags and textbooks.On the basis of these provisions, funding under SamagraShiksha for school improvement, teacher training, development of new curriculum framework, focus on foundational learning & numeracy are ongoing.

Digital educational resources for children with disabilities

To facilitate the online learning by all students a comprehensive initiative called PM eVIDYAhas been initiated as part of Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan on 17th May, 2020, which unifies all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable multi-mode access to education. The initiative includes:

DIKSHA (one nation, one digital platform)is the nation’s digital infrastructure for providing quality e-content for school education in states/UTs and QR coded Energized Textbooks for all gradesare available on it.
One earmarked SwayamPrabha TV channel per class from 1 to 12 (one class, one channel).
Extensive use of Radio, Community radio and CBSE Podcast- ShikshaVani.
Special e-content for visually and hearing impaired developed on Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY) and in sign language on NIOS website/ YouTube.

All these schemes/programmes are available to all the students across the nation.

World Bank Group and the Consumer Technology Association's Global Women's HealthTech Awards

NIRAMAI Health AnalytixPvt. Ltd. and InnAccel Technologies Pvt. Ltd., two start-ups supported by DBT-BIRAC), have received the World Bank Group and the Consumer Technology Association’s Global Women’s Health Tech Awards, which recognises innovative startups that leverage tech to improve women’s health and safety in emerging markets.

NIRAMAI Health AnalytixPvt. Ltd, a recipient of BIRAC’s Women in Entrepreneurial ResearchAward 2019, was selected for its novel software-based medical device that detects early-stage breast cancer in a simple and private way on women of all age groups and breast densities, addressing a critical unmet need in cancer screening. The solution developed is a low cost, accurate, automated, portable, contactless, radiation-free, and painless cancer screening tool with no known side effects. The core innovation is a machine learning and AI-based Computer Diagnostic Engine called Thermalytix that uses artificial intelligence algorithms to interpret thermal images and generates a quantitative report for breast health and likely abnormalities. So far, over 45,000 women have been screened through the startup’stie-ups with over 30 hospitals and diagnostic centres across India. The product can help 2 Billion women in the world to regularly screen for cancer and can potentially save 90,000 lives every year in India alone.

InnAccel Technologies Pvt Ltd., a recipient of DBT and BMGF’sGrand Challenges Exploration-India 2019, was adjudged a winner of the Global Women’s Health Tech Awards for Fetal Lite, a next-generation, AI-powered fetal heart rate (FHR) monitor based on fetal ECG signal extraction technology for mothers in labour or post 37 weeks of gestation. Fetal Lite has next-gen ECG signal processing and is more accurate, reliable, and easier to use thanthe conventional Doppler-based devices while being comfortable for the mother. Fetal Lite is European CE Certified and has completed 2 clinical trials of 60+ patients with excellent results and completed the demo in 30+ Hospitals. The device can be used for both active and remote monitoring in the in-hospital and in-home settings. So far, the device has helped doctors to monitor 5000 cases, including in tribal areas, and has the potential to save 1.2 million lives per year across the world.

“We are pleased to receive this recognition from World Bank. It’s a validation of the applicability of our Indian innovationto the world,” said Geeta Manjunath, Founder,NIRAMAI.”The support from BIRAC has been crucial for our journey of idea to benefitting the patients with European regulatory approval. It is not just funding but mentoring and handholding that has helped us mitigate risks,” said Nitesh Jangir, Co-founder, InnAccel.

“I am delighted to hear about this global recognition to two of the startups supported by the Department. As a funding agency, these success stories are a validation about the impact we have created by nurturing a vibrant startup ecosystem for solving the pressing challenges being faced by humanity,” said Dr Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, DBT

As per a statement by the World Bank, this year, the Awards attracted over 70 companies from 35 countries, which submitted their innovative products and services under three categories: reproductive health and pregnancy, general women’s and adolescent health, and women safety and security.

About Department of Biotechnology:

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), established in 1986, is an Indian Government department under the Ministry of Science and Technology. DBT is responsible for administrating development and commercialisation in modern biology and biotechnology in India. The Department has made significant achievements in the growth and application of biotechnology in the broad areas of agriculture, health care, animal sciences, environment, and industry. The proven technologies at the laboratory level have been scaled up and demonstrated in the field. For more information, visit, http://dbtindia.gov.in/

About BIRAC:

Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) is a not-for-profit Section 8, Schedule B, Public Sector Enterprise, set up by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India as an Interface Agency to strengthen and empower the emerging Biotech enterprise to undertake strategic research and innovation, addressing nationally relevant product development needs. For more information, visit, https://birac.nic.in/

Emergence of Lok Adalat as the most efficacious tool of Alternative Dispute Resolution

National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) is committed to deliver prompt and inexpensive justice to the citizens. Recently, it has decided to lay more emphasis on contribution of National Lok Adalat in effectively reducing the number of pending cases through Alternative Dispute Mechanisms.

To achieve this goal, the Legal Services Authorities shifted to dynamic preparation strategies for organization of the Lok Adalats. As a preparatory measure, NALSA started organization of prior consultative and review meetings with all the State Legal Services Authorities to guide them towards the maximum disposal during such Lok Adalats. Before the organization of each National Lok Adalat, multiple interactions were organised with the Executive Chairpersons of all the State Legal Services Authorities, wherein one-to-one interactions were made to take a stock of the preparations as well as to boost the morale of the stakeholders tasked to organize the Lok Adalats.

A cumulative effect of all the preparatory and mobilization measures resulted in extraordinary disposal figures during the year 2021. Across the country, a total number of 1,27,87,329 cases were disposed of in four National Lok Adalats, which included a huge number of pending cases i.e., 55,81,117 and a record number of pre-litigation cases i.e., 72,06,212. Through these activities the Legal Services Authorities disposed off a large number of cases giving relief to the common citizens by ending or preventing long lasting legal battles.

Achieving these unprecedented disposal figures was not an easy task. A major contribution to this success can be attributed to the technological advancements. In June 2020, the Legal Services Authorities integrated technology with the conventional modes of dispute settlement and introduced virtual Lok Adalats also called as ‘E-Lok Adalats’. Since then, all the Lok Adalats including National Lok Adalats are organized through virtual and hybrid modes. To provide an unhindered experience during the proceedings, the Legal Services Authorities across the country are continuously upgrading their digital infrastructure.

Due to these technological advancements, Lok Adalats have reached to the doorsteps of the parties. The parties are now able to join the Lok Adalat proceedings from their homes or workplaces, saving them the hassle of travelling and reserving a full day for an affair, which gets over within minutes. The Authorities have witnessed that a large number of persons joined the virtual proceedings sitting hundreds of kilometers away from the physical location where the Lok Adalat was organized. Technology has also provided effective ways of supervision and monitoring of Lok Adalats.

The other major factor in the success of Lok Adalats was the formulation of decisive strategies at the National level. Under these strategies, the State Legal Services Authorities were instructed to conduct meetings with various stakeholder across every level with an objective to ensure their full cooperation and coordination. The authorities were guided to follow a litigant friendly approach as well as to persuade such litigants to settle the cases involving settled propositions of law.

Moreover, certain areas of law having greater possibilities of settlement such as NI Act cases, Bank recovery cases along other financial matters were highlighted and authorities were instructed to explore all the possibilities of compromise in such cases. The authorities were advised to proactively monitor the issuance and completion of processes in such financial matters as well as to conduct pre-Lok Adalat sittings to take a matter to a settlement.

There is no doubt regarding the fact that the number of pending cases surged during the ongoing pandemic. However, with a large number of disposals through Lok Adalats, a balance was created by the Legal Services Authorities in the judicial administration of the country. There is no gainsaying that the Lok Adalats settled greater number of cases than any other dispute resolution mechanism and emerged as the most efficacious tool of Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism.

During the year, the category wise list of the disposed cases was topped by the Criminal Compoundable Cases, wherein a total number of 17,63,233 such pending cases and 18,67,934 pre-litigation cases were disposed. The second in line were the Revenue cases consisting of 11,59,794 pre-litigation and 14,99,558 pending cases. Apart from these, the other disposed of cases were cheque bounce cases under NI Act, Bank Recovery Cases, Motor Accident Claims, Labour Disputes, matrimonial cases, etc.

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Enhancing supply chain management by Community Based Organizations (CBOs)

In the rural areas, challenges such as scattered market, irregular demands, and transportation bottlenecks often impede farmers and entrepreneurs from getting the right value for their products. In order to overcome these challenges, North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Society (NERCRMS) and the Changlang Community Resource Management Society (CCRMS) formed the Community Based Organizations (CBOs). At present, these CBOs are working towards enhancing the supply chain management at the district level.

Replacing the vicious chain of middlemen, the CBOs source raw spices such as ginger, turmeric directly from the individual farmers. This gives the farmers a ready platform to sell their produce at competitive market prices. As the raw materials are sourced directly from the field to the processing unit, their quality and freshness also remains intact, giving the final products an edge over the other competition in the market.

Post production and labelling, CCRMS in collaboration Changlang Co-operative Society Ltd. market the products through networks of local vendors and also through Rural Marts & Haats of NABARD. Adding to the campaign of Vocal for Local, the initiative is giving a major boost to the promotion of local products & strengthening the business eco-system at the district level.

Collection of Ginger by Community Based Organizations (CBOs) at Spice Processing Unit, Neotan Village, Namphai Circle, Miao – Khagam Block

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Promoting Investor Education and Financial literacy among youth through Gyan Darshan channel

The Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) under the aegis of Ministry of Corporate Affairs has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) through a virtual event here today. The objective for signing the MoU is to achieve the mandate of Investor Education, Awareness and Protection by utilizing the tele-lecturing facility of Gyan Darshan Channel.

This association with IGNOU/Gyan Darshan channel will help in propagating the message of Investor Education and Awareness among a large group of present and prospective stakeholders. The panel of resource persons for the lecture series would include experts from professional institutions such as ICAI, ICSI & Senior officials from IEPFA, Ministry of Corporate Affairs and other regulators. The proposed lecture series of 75 episodes will be live tele-lecturing series on 24×7 Gyan Darshan TV channel and is a part of the ongoing celebration of the yearlong activity commemorating the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence under “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”.

26 Episodes of the tele-lecturing series were earlier rolled out in the year 2021 which were appreciated by all stakeholders. The repository of the tele-lectures is available on IEPFA’s official YouTube channel.

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Shri Rajesh Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and ex-officio Chairperson of IEPFA in his keynote address said, “All of us are here with the common goal of educating people. The entire nation is celebrating 75 years of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav to celebrate the spirit of a self-reliant, progressive nation, India has become. This day is also celebrated as National Youth Day to commemorate the birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the youth ICON and influencer of global stature. With all these noble events falling together, today’s event has become even more apt and relevant. Both IEPFA & IGNOU have the common objective of imparting education and making people aware about subjects affecting their lives. IEPFA intends to create awareness among all the stakeholder groups and specially the youth”.

Prof. Nageshwar Rao, Vice Chancellor, IGNOU, in his remark stated that IGNOU and IEPFA with this initiative shall reach out to youth and other stakeholders at large which would be productive in fulfilling the vision and mission of both the organizations.

Sh Manoj Pandey, CEO IEPFA Authority, Prof. Satyakam, Pro-VC Vice Chancellor, IGNOU, Sh Nihar Jambusaria, President ICAI, Sh Nagendra D. Rao, President ICSI and other Senior officials from IEPFA, IGNOU and Ministry of Corporate Affairs also graced the occasion.

Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) has been established under Section 125 of the Companies Act 2013 for administration of the IEPF fund as per section 125 (3) of Companies Act 2013. The main objective of the authority includes to promote Investor Education, Awareness & Protection, refund unclaimed shares, dividends and other amounts transferred to it under sections 124 and 125 of the Companies Act 2013 to the rightful claimants. IEPFA works under the administrative control of Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

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Initiatives of Government in ensuring Safety in Online Education

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has launched a ‘Cyber Security Handbook’ to ensure safe and healthy digital habits among students. This module covers topics in cyber safety, such as cyber bullying, including social exclusion, intimidation, defamation, and emotional harassment, online sexual abuse, cyber radicalisation, online attack and frauds, and online enticement. The ‘Cyber Security Handbook’ can be accessed at this link:http://cbseacademic.nic.in/web_material/Manuals/Cyber_Safety_Manual.pdf

Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) under Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology has prepared guidelines to handle the security concerns about various video conferencing apps, which can be found at this link:

https://www.cert-in.org.in/s2cMainServlet?pageid=PUBWEL01

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has also issued advisory to all secretaries at school education department of all states to ensure safety of students in online classes.

PRAGYATA guidelines for school heads and teachers describe the need assessment, planning and steps to implement digital education while ensuring cyber safety and privacy measures. The guidelines can be accessed at:

https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/pragyata-guidelines_0.pdf

National Webinar on ‘Indian Knowledge System, Languages, Art & Culture’

As part of the celebration of one year of transformative reforms under National Education Policy, 2020, Government of India is organising a series of theme-based webinars on different aspects of National Education Policy, 2020. Indian Knowledge System, Language, Arts & Culture being one of the innovative thrust area of NEP, Indian Knowledge System at AICTE under Ministry of Education organised a National Webinar on Transforming Education in the Light of Indian Knowledge System, Language, Arts & Culture today. Union Minister of Education and Skill Development and Employment Shri Dharmendra Pradhan was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Member of Parliament Shri Tejasvi Surya; Secretary, Higher Education Shri Amit Khare Senior officials from Ministry of Education and AICTE were also present.

Speaking on the occasion Shri Dharmendra Pradhan discussed the relevance of traditional knowledge systems & ancient wisdom in contemporary times and their role in the making of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. He stated that there is a need to synergise knowledge with art, culture, language with a spirit of Bharatiyata.

The Minister said that no society can thrive without connecting to its roots. Our past is filled with examples of architectural grandeur, engineering marvel and artistic excellence, he further added. He called for conservation, promotion and dissemination of this cultural wealth of India should be the top priority of the country because it is crucial for the country’s identity.

Shri Pradhan highlighted that the National Education Policy has laid down a roadmap for 21st century India and lays emphasis on our traditional knowledge systems. By taking Indian knowledge traditions forward, we can sow seeds for starting a new era. We must recreate our traditional knowledge with contemporary, contextual relevance to connect with the youth, he added. Shri Pradhan stated that solutions to many of contemporary challenges lie in our traditional knowledge systems

Shri Amit Khare, Secretary, Higher Education in his address shed light on the formulation and fundamentals of National Education Policy, 2020. Shri Khare said that NEP is the medium to fulfil the aspirations of New India and it will play an important role in realising the Prime Minister’s vision of attaining self-relaince.

Shri Tejasvi Surya expressed his views on the need of new NEP 2020 with respect to Traditional Indian Knowledge in 21st century. He said that Science, Culture, Civilization, Art, various ancient learnings, History etc. are an important part of our glorious tradition and our young generation should we be aware and respect these traditions. He stressed upon value-based education to learners.

Shri Surya also highlighted different aspects of traditional Indian wisdom with respect to NEP 2020 which is being reintroduced in Indian Education. He added that through this NEP 2020, a strong effort is being made to strengthen the departments and institutions of various languages across the country.

The theme wise sessions were conducted followed by the Inaugural Session where the first session of the Webinar was on the theme “Indian Knowledge System” and was addressed by Dr.Shailendra Raj Mehta,President and Director, MICA, Ahmedabad; Dr. A. S. Nene,Board Member, Civil Engg. Dept., Jagatguru Shri Devnath Institute of Vedic Science and Research, Nagpur;Prof. M. D Srinivas,Chairman, Centre for Policy Studies, Chennai.

The second session of the Webinar was on the theme “Languages” and was addressed byShri. Chamu Krishna Shastri, Secretary, Sanskrit Promotion Foundation; Prof. Santosh Kumar Shukla, Dean, School of Sanskrit and Indic Studies, JNU, New Delhi;Dr.Sudha Seshayyan,Vice- Chancellor, The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R Medical University, Chennai.

The third session of the Webinar was on the theme “Arts & Culture” and was addressed by Dr.Sonal Mansingh, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, Indian classical dancer and Guru Bharatanatyam and Odissi dancing style; Dr. Anil Joshi, Environmentalist, Green Activist, and the Founder of Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization, Dehradun; Dr.Shashibala,Dean, Centre of Indology, Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi.

The Valedictory session was conducted by the concluding remarks of Prof. Anil D. Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE. He motivated with the thought that the upcoming NEP 2020 by the Ministry of Education is the golden opportunity to awaken the self-respect and self-reliance for all the students.

Educational Infrastructure in North-Eastern States

University Grants Commission (UGC) is implementing schemes, awards, fellowships, chairs and programmes under which financial assistance is provided to institutions of higher education as well as faculty members working in North Eastern States to undertake quality research covering areas of knowledge across disciplines. Some of the initiatives taken for improving quality of higher education are (i) Choice Based Credit System (CBCS); (ii) Universities with Potential for Excellence; (iii) Centre with Potential for Excellence in particular area; (iv) Consortium for Academic Research and Ethics(CARE) (v) Basic Science Research (vi) Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research for India’s Developing Economy (STRIDE) (vii) Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) Kaushal Kendras (viii) Scholarship Scheme (ISHAN UDAY) for North-Eastern Region; (ix) New Methodology of Grading by NAAC (x) UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedure for award of M.Phil/Ph.D Degree) Regulations, 2016; (xi) UGC (Credit Framework for Online Learning Courses through SWAYAM) Regulation, 2016.

All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has taken several steps over the years for framing appropriate policies on technical education needed to design and implement various schemes for educational advancement and achieving the objective of creating favorable environment to ensure speedy socio-economic development in North East States. This includes equipping all necessary infrastructure upgradation of colleges, special coaching, educational concessions, better teaching learning material and infrastructure for North East region students. Some of the Schemes are (i) Research Promotion Scheme for North East Region; (ii) Short Term Training Programme for NER; (iii) Faculty Development Programme for NER; (iv) Scheme of Funds for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI); (v) Post Graduate Scholarship Scheme; (vi) Doctoral Fellowship; (vii) Pragati Scholarship Scheme; (viii) Saksham Scholarship Scheme; (ix) Campus Accommodation & Facilities Enhancing Social Experience; (x) Grant for Augmenting Infrastructure in NER; (xi) Scheme for Promoting Interests, Creativity and Ethics among Students; (xii) Grant for Organizing Conference; (xiii) Establishment of Idea Development, Evaluation & Application Laboratory in Institutions; and (xiv) E-Shodh Sindhu (Subscription to e-Journals).

January a Great month in the world: 12 January Birthday day of Swami Vivekananda also National Youth Day

January month is popular across the world for various reasons. January is celebrated across the world as the English New Year. Also all over the Ramakrishna Missions in the world, this day (1 January) is celebrated as Kalpataru Day. In the world, many Orthodox Christians celebrate 7 January as Christmas by following the Julian calendar. When I worked as Associate Professor in Eritrea I had observed they celebrate 7 January as Christmas.
Across India on 14/15 January is celebrated in different names. In Assam, the celebration is known as Magh Bihu; Lohri is celebrated in Delhi/New Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu; and Makar Sankranti in other parts of the country. It is pertinent to mention that the celebration is the same only the name of the celebration differs. On 26 January 1950, our constitution came into effect so we became a Republic. Also in this month, two great persons were born in India. They are Swami Vivekananda and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Swami Vivekananda and master were born on 12 January 1863. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was born on 23 January 1897. Anyway, in history, we have read the contribution in the freedom movement of India to only two families’ names as if only for the two families we have got independence, but my salute to all who contributed to the freedom movement in India.
A few lines about Swami Vivekananda are presented here as his birthday tribute.
As mentioned already, Swami Vivekananda was born on 12 January 1863 in Kolkata then Calcutta. His real name in school/college was Narendranath Dutta and his pet name was “Biley”. By this (“Biley”) name parents used to call him. Although he is considered a key personality in the introduction of Vedanta philosophy and Yoga to Western countries mainly in the USA and Europe, humanity was his only consideration. Swami Vivekananda was intelligent from childhood. He was the only student to have received first division marks in the Presidency College entrance examination. He was a positive and broad-minded person with a feeling for all human beings irrespective of caste, creed, and religion. This paragraph will say many things “All power is within you, you can do anything and everything. Believe in that; do not believe that you are weak. You can do anything and everything, without even the guidance of anyone. Stand up and express the divinity within you. Arise, Awake, and Sleep no more. Within each of you, there is the power to remove all wants and all miseries. Believe in this, and that power will be manifested”.
Love and affection towards others are reflected from his saying, “All expansion is life, and all contraction is death. All love is expansion, all selfishness is contraction. Love is, therefore, the only law of life”. His positive feeling towards different religions is realised by this discourse, “The Christian is not to become a Hindu or a Buddhist, nor a Hindu or a Buddhist to become a Christian. But each must assimilate the spirit of the others and yet preserve his individuality and grow according to his own law of growth”. He further said, “Feel like Christ, you will be a Christ; feel like Buddha and you will be a Buddha. It is the feeling that is life, the strength, the vitality, without which no amount of intellectual activity can reach God.”
His patriotic fervour can be understood through this line, “The soil of India is my highest heaven, the good of India is my good and repeat and pray day and night…….O Thou Mother of Strength, take my weakness, take my unmanliness and make me a man!”
Vivekananda passed away on 4 July 1902 but no Indian can forget him as his thought-provoking lecture in Chicago in 1893 at the Parliament of the World’s Religions conquered the hearts of millions of the people of the World. In 1984 the Government of India declared this day (12 January) as National Youth Day and since 1985 the event has been celebrated in India every year.

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