Union Minister of State (I//C) for Culture and Tourism Shri Prahlad Singh Patel,  participated in the 17^th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Culture Ministers’ Meeting held on September 10, 2020.

Discussion was held on the role and place of culture during the global epidemiological crisis and on the prospects for developing multilateral cultural cooperation within the SCO. The Minister of State for Culture addressed participants of the meeting and presented India’s perspective to strengthen the cultural cooperation within SCO by using digital technology as an effective medium for dissemination and awakening with regard to customs, culture and traditions in the prevailing conditions.

A two-day Conclave on “School Education in 21^st Century” organised by Ministry of Education as part of Shikshak Parv 2020 virtually commenced today. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will be addressing the Conclave under the National Education Policy- 2020 (NEP-2020) at 11 AM tomorrow through video conferencing. Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and Minister of State for Education Shri Sanjay Dhotre will also be present on the occasion. Shikshak Parv is being celebrated from 8th September- 25th September, 2020 to felicitate the Teachers and to take New Education Policy 2020 forward.

Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy Smt Anita Karwal inaugurated the Conclave today. The discussions were held in two technical sessions on six subjects of New Education Policy 2020. The Principal and Teacher practitioners discussed how they have already implemented certain themes of the NEP in creative ways.

The first technical session started with a discussion on the subject of ‘Foundational Literacy and Numeracy’ from the perspective of practitioner’s was held from 1000 hrs today. ShriRakesh Gupta, IAS, Nodal Officer-Saksham Haryana; Shri Satinder Kumar Sorat, Principal, Govt. Sr. Secondary School, Faridabad, Haryana and Shri Sarvesh Kumar, Principal, Basti, UP, (Winner of National Awards for Teachers 2018) were the key speakers in the session.

The discussion started with opening remarks of Shri Rakesh Gupta emphasizing the importance of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy as also stressed upon in NEP: 2020. He summarized the experiences of both the states, UP and Haryana urged to make whole hearted efforts to make children creative, confident and equipped to face the challenges of the 21^st century.

Shri Sorat informed that Saksham Haryana is an initiative by the Government of Haryana to improve the learning levels of Haryana Government school students. He emphasized the need of competency based learning instead of rote learning. He also spoke about the need of learning enhancement programs and third party assessment of foundational skills.

Shri Sarvesh Kumar informed about Mission Prerna which is the flagship program of the Uttar Pradesh government to improve the quality of education in 1.6 lakh schools under the Basic Shiksha Department across the state. Under initiatives for pedagogy, ‘PrernaSoochi’ a list of all learning outcomes mapped with competencies  across grades 1-5 for Hindi and Maths has been created to provide clarity to teacher on outcomes associated with curriculum in each grade. These outcomes are assessed quarterly and reported to parents through a student report card.Sh. Kumar also spoke about the need of change in assessment patterns, he said that assessment should not only be based on academic knowledge but also include cognitive, psychomotor abilities of the students.

The discussion on the subject ‘Art Integrated and Toy Integrated Pedagogy’from the perspective of practitioner’s was held from 1050hrs today. The Session was coordinated by Dr. PawanSudhir from NCERT. The two speakers were Ms. Sunitha S. Rao, Principal, Delhi Public School, Secunderabad and DrAnjuKauwrChazot, founder of the Mahatma Gandhi International School (MGIS), Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat.

In her introductory remarks, Dr. Pawan Sudhir stated that the new National Educational Policy, (NEP) 2020 stresses the need for holistic, integrated, enjoyable, experiential and engaging learning. She particularly referred to the provisions of Chapters 4 and 22 of the NEP, which provide that in all stages, experiential learning will be adopted, including arts-integrated based pedagogy, among others, as standard pedagogy within each subject, and with explorations of relations among different subjects.  As a part of the thrust on experiential learning, art-integrated education will be embedded in classroom transactions not only for creating joyful classrooms, but also for imbibing the Indian ethos through integration of Indian art and culture in the teaching and learning process at every level. This art-integrated approach will strengthen the linkages between education and culture.           

Ms. Sunitha S. Rao, gave a presentation on Art Integrated learning. She said that Art Integration learning gives a true way for experiential and joyful learning development of enquiry and aesthetic skills. Art Integrated learning helps in numeracy, learning the basic shapes, learning logical skills, environmental awareness, develops creative thinking, develops fine motor skills imagination and improves cognitive skills and linguistic understanding, etc. She also informed that the NCF 2005 has recommended Art as a subject at all stages covering all four major spheres, music, Dance, Visual arts and Theatre and CBSE board has made Art integration with education mandatory to spread awareness of India’s vast and diverse art and culture.

Dr Anju Kauwr Chazot gave a presentation on Toy integrated pedagogy. She stressed on the importance of co-creative experiential learning with Toys. She indicated that there are four stages of learning with toys, these are (i) exploration & discovery of existing indigenous toys (ii) pedagogical use (iii) making new toys (physical & digital) and (iv) Using the new toys for self & others.She explained a museum project done by the students of 4^th standard, wherein they collected the toys used by their grandparents and categories them on the basis of the material used, their shapes and sizes, etc. It helped them in developing their history and geography knowledge, data collections, material classification, aesthetic senses, etc.

The discussion on the subject ‘Early Childhood Care and Education’ was held at 1150 hrs today. The session on ECCE was moderated by Dr. Vinita Kaul, the subject Expert.Duringthe session two speakers – Mrs. Nisha Sharma, Teacher, Kotkhai, Shimla and Mrs. KalpanaChaudhry, Principal, N H Goel World School, Raipur spoke about the subject & made their individual presentations.

In the opening remarks, Dr Kaul, Coordinator of the session stated that ECCE has been well covered in the New Education Policy 2020framed by Ministry of Education which will go a long way in strengthening the ECCE.The main thrust of the session was to acknowledge the ideas, aims and recommendations of ECCE in the New Education Policy 2020. Based on their personal experiences, the speakers dwelt upon the various significant issues regarding the subject. The importance of Quality ECCE in school education to improve learning outcomes among children was elaborated by the two worthy speakers.The importance of maximum brain development in the early years and how appropriate pedagogy can be used in the learning processes was explained in a comprehensive manner.

It was also emphasized during the discussion to develop school readiness among children, work needs to be done on all three dimensions of readiness namely school readiness, children readiness and family readiness. The role of families, parents and community as a whole in the smooth transition of children from pre-school to primary education was also discussed. The session ended with the highlighting of the importance of delivering ECCE by using holistic approach, so that overall development of child can be ensured.  The session was very useful and educative especially with regard to early education and nurturing children in a complete manner. The session was highly appreciated in the social media.

The second technical session started with a discussion on Holistic Report Card. Smt Anju Kauwr Chazot chaired the session and Dr. Hannah Yonzan, Principal Govt Sr Sec School, Rangpo, Duga, Sikkim and Shri Chenraj Roychand, Chairman Jain International School, Bengaluru were the speaker for the session.  

Smt Anju Kauwr Chazotwelcomed all the participants and mentioned that assessment is key to the quality education.  Evaluation is a very important factor in our learning process and appreciated the way assessment has taken vital part in the new Education Policy 2020.

Dr. Hannah Yonzan made a presentation on Holistic Report Card. She explained on transforming assessment for student development, 21^st century skills, 360 degree holistic progress card, assessment reforms, restructuring of board exams and also described performance chart which has been implemented in her school. She mention about importance of how peer-assessment, self-assessment and teacher assessment will be helpful. She also gave recommendations which include class size to be made 25 students per class and to 20 students per class in Grade 1 & 2, development of resources for Self, Peer to peer & Teacher assessment, blended learning / integrated teaching-learning to be made mandatory, pre-service basic computer knowledge and in-service basic computer training should be made mandatory. Chenraj Roychand quickly brief about the nine important parameters he named as ‘navratna’ which includes inclusiveness, equity, quality, life-long learning, sensitivity, synergy, interdisciplinary, rootedness and flexibility.

The discussion on the subject ‘Teaching in Mother Tongue’ was coordinated by Dr. Shakeela T. Shamsu. The two speakers were Dr. Ashok Kumar Pandey, Director Ahlcon Group of Schools and Smt. Sandhya Pradhan, I/C Headmistress, MS Adityapur Jharkhand.

Dr Ashok Kumar Pandey welcomed the policy decision to impart education on students at primary level in home language/mother tongue/local/regional language as the children learn and grasp concepts more quickly in their home language/mother tongue. He added that while it may be implemented smoothly in government schools, some problems may be encountered in private schools, for which a decision needs to be taken before this recommendation is taken up for implementation.

Smt. Sandhya Pradhan said that in Tribal areas, the first two years of schooling should be in their local tribal language. She added that there are States having more than one local language.  Therefore, we should go for multilingualism for promotion of other Indian languages listed in the VIII Schedule of the Constitution. She further said that the initial schooling must be done in mother tongue/local language with smooth transition to English/other languages in the later years.

The discussion on ‘No hard separation’ was coordinated by Prof. Manjul Bhargava. The two speakers were Ms. Manu Gulati, Teacher, Delhi and Ms. Remya Parameswar Iyer, PGT, KV, IIT Guwahati.

The speakers made the some observations like the flexibility of curriculum and subjects allowed in the Policy is a very good move as it allows development of creative potential in each individual. They said that the Policy lays emphasis on flexibility on choosing subjects and courses not at school level but at college level also.  There will be no rigid separation of steams, subjects, curricular and co-curricular activities and Students will be given wide range of choices for choosing subjects of their choice, need and passion. It was also highlighted that the concept of allowing two attempts at the Board examination would reduce the stress level to a great extent.

The felicitation was conferred by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, for Professor Rao’s “path-breaking contributions in the field of statistics, for recognising and facilitating the critical role of data and computing to handle scientific and social challenges, for mentoring inspiring and nurturing generations of students and researchers and for developing world-class statistical infrastructure in India”.   

The doyen of statistics whose work has influenced not just statistics, but has had far-reaching implications for fields as varied as economics, genetics, anthropology, geology, national planning, demography, biometry, and medicine, continues to contribute to his field as actively today.

“Prof C. R. Rao’s contribution in the data field is enormous, and it has immensely benefited the Country. Some of Prof. C.R. Rao’s work has had deep impacts on genetics, and that has great influence on the work we do now. It is amazing to see the breadth of work Prof. C.R. Rao has taken on,” said Principal Scientific Advisor Professor K. VijayRaghavan, one of the distinguished guests at the felicitation ceremony.

He also added that the C.R. Rao Advanced Institute of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science set up by him has truly transformed the data collection and analysis in India in every area.

“Data is the new water, and the future is going to revolve around it. Industry 4.0 and beyond is all about creating data, analysing data, building on data and making great discoveries with it.Padma Vibhushan Prof C R Rao was working on the science of data 70 years ago and was much ahead of his times. He is not only a scientist but also an institution builder. The country and the world will always be indebted to Prof Rao for his pioneering contributions to the field of statistics”, said DST Secretary Professor Ashutosh Sharma while felicitating Professor Rao.

While Professor Shekhar C. Mande, Director General Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), conveyed his warm greetings to Prof. C.R. Rao for his 100^th birthday on behalf of the entire CSIR family, Professor Bimal Roy, Chairman National Statistical Commission, recalled Prof. Rao’s understanding of statistics as a subject not limited to studying the subject to solve problems in the same subject but to solve problems in other disciplines.

The symposium also brought together leading statisticians to discuss Professor Rao’s contributions to the field and future directions in Statistics. They included Rajeeva L. Karandikar, Director, Chennai Mathematical Institute; Katherine B. Ensor, Rice University, President-Elect of the American Statistical Association; B.L.S. Prakasa Rao, Former Director, Indian Statistical Institute; Partha Pratim Majumder, President, Indian Academy of Sciences; Shyamal D. Peddada, Senior Investigator and Branch Chief, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; James L. Rosenberger, Director, National Institute of Statistical Sciences; Simo Puntanen, Visiting Researcher, Tampere University; and M. B. Rao, Professor, University of Cincinnati.   Members of the Organizing Committee,  Dr. S K Varshney, Head International Division, DST, Dr. Nandini Kannan, Executive Director, Indo-U.S. Science, and Technology Forum (IUSSTF), Dr. N. Balakrishanan, Distinguished Professor, McMaster University, and Professor Debasis Kundu, Dean of Faculty Affairs, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur also participated in the discussions.

An Expression of Interest cum Request for Proposal (EOI cum RFP) for engaging a Consultancy Agency for providing strategic and implementation management consulting services to assist the Ministry of Defence in the process of corporatisation of the Ordnance Factory Board was issued by the Department of Defence Production on 06.07.2020. 

Consequent to evaluation of the Technical and Financial proposals of the bidders, the Department has selected M/s KPMG Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd. (Lead Consortium Member) with M/s Khaitan & Co. Ltd. as Consortium Member, as the Consultancy Agency for the said project. The contract with the Consultancy Agency would be signed shortly and subsequently, the Consultancy Agency would commence its services as per the Terms and Conditions of the contract.

Vice Admiral S R Sarma – COM & CWP&A of the Indian Navy and Shri V L Kantha Rao Additional Secretary (Defence Production) laid the keel of the third ship (Yard- 12653) of the prestigious P17A class stealth frigates on 10 Sep 2020. The keel laying ceremony was conducted through an e-platform in the presence of Vice Admiral R B Pandit, Chief of Staff, HQWNC and Vice Admiral Narayan Prasad (IN Retd.) – CMD MDL.    

Seven frigates under P17A series will be constructed of which four are being constructed in MDL and three in GRSE with MDL as the lead yard. The P17A class frigates are being built using indigenously developed steel and fitted with weapons and sensors along with Integrated Platform Management System. These ships are having stealth features. 

Construction of P17A ships differ in the very concept of warship building by way of adoption of the modern technology ‘Integrated Construction (IC)’ where the blocks are pre-outfitted before joining to reduce the build period of warships. When commissioned the platforms will enhance the combat capability of the Indian Naval fleet. 

The function was attended by Rear Admiral G K Harish, DGND, Commodore T V Thomas (IN Retd.), Director (CP&P), MDL, Rear Admiral A K Saxena (IN Retd.), Director (Shipbuilding), Commander Jasbir Singh (IN Retd.), Director (S&HE), MDL, Shri Sanjeev Singhal, Director (Finance), MDL , Shri Mahesh Chandra, CVO, MDL alongwith senior executives from MDL & Navy through an e-ceremony including the Warship Overseeing Team.

Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and MSME Shri Nitin Gadkari has said that the policy of the government is to ensure reduction in road construction costs and improve its quality. Addressing the two-day Virtual Conference and Exhibition for the Bitumen and Road Construction – ‘BITU-CON 2020’, organized by FICCI today, Shri Gadkari said, the government is working on it but more needs to be done.

The Minister urged the industry to increase the use of plastic and rubber wastes in road construction, which also helps the environment. Apart from this, the use of waste products like oil slags from steel plants and flash should also be encouraged. He suggested use of local produce, like jute or coir, and waste products in road construction, which not only increases the life of the road but also gives a better riding experience. He said, the government will come up with a pattern design system for precast.

Elaborating on the use of technology, Shri Gadkari asked the industry to adopt world-class technologies in road construction. He called upon the industry to come up with a plan with a 10-year Defect Liability period for constructing bitumen roads, which currently is for 5 years.

Assuring the industry of full support, Shri Gadkari said, the government is open-minded, transparent, time-bound, result-oriented, and committed to quality. He called up the industry to come and cconvince the government, as it is ready to give permissions. He emphasized that if the quality od roads is improve, the share of bitumen roads will increase from gram panchayats to district roads, state highways, and national highways.

Shri Gadkari further stated that despite COVID-19, the government has been constructing roads at a fast pace and is speedily awarding the contracts. He said, the construction speed has not diminished even during this difficult period.

Applauding the pace of road construction, Dr Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI said that despite the challenges faced by COVID-19, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has surpassed its target for the construction of highways in the country.

Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah inaugurated and dedicated to the people development schemes in Gandhinagar district and city worth Rs. 15.01 crores via video conferencing today. He also laid the foundation stone of various developmental projects worth Rs. 119.63 crores. This includes Smart City projects, upgradation of gardens, road widening and new classrooms in Girls School. These development projects will give a boost to the development of Gandhinagar. Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Nitin Patel also attended the function via video conferencing from Rupaal village.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Amit Shah said, “I am confident that under the leadership of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, we all will endeavour to make Gandhinagar a model Lok Sabha constituency.” The Union Home Minister also said that “the nation is fighting a battle against Corona epidemic under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji”. Besides, the fight against Corona is being waged in Gujarat under the leadership of Chief Minister Shri Vijay Rupani. As a result of these continuous efforts, there has been a decline in Casualty Rate and the Recovery rate has also improved.

The Union Home Minister said that “public awareness is the only solution in the fight against Corona”. He also appealed to the people to strictly observe Social Distancing. Shri Amit Shah expressed gratitude to the volunteers in Gandhinagar who are serving humanity by providing rations, mask, sanitizers and medicines to the needy under the leadership of PM Shri Narendra Modi.

Various concerns have been raised during the proceedings of the ongoing hearing in Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, in the matter of Gajendra Sharma Vs. UoI and Others, of the matter regarding the relief sought in terms of waiver of interest and waiver of interest on interest and other related issues.

Government has accordingly constituted an Expert Committee for making an overall assessment so that its decisions in this regard are better informed.

The Expert Committee shall be as under:

(i)  Shri Rajiv Mehrishi, former CAG of India – Chairperson

(ii)  Dr. Ravindra H. Dholakia, former Professor, IIM Ahmedabad & ex- Member, Monetary Policy Committee of Reserve Bank of India

 (iii)  Shri B. Sriram, Former Managing Director, State Bank of India & IDBI Bank

The terms of reference of the committee shall be as under:

(i)  Measuring the impact on the national economy and financial stability   of waiving of interest and waiving of interest on interest on the COVID-19 related moratorium

(ii) Suggestions to mitigate financial constraints of various sections of society in this respect and measures to be adopted in this regard

(iii) Any other suggestions/observations that may be necessary given the current situation.           

The committee will submit its report within one week. State Bank of India will provide secretarial support to the committee. The Committee may consult banks or other stakeholders, as deemed necessary, for the purpose.

Honorable Prime Minister ShriNarendraModishares his written address to the nation’s trainers for their remarkable efforts in building the skilling ecosystem during the second edition of KaushalacharyaSamadar 2020 (Kaushalacharya Awards)

92 skill trainers awarded under the five categories- Long term training, short term training, Jan ShikshaSansthan, apprenticeship and entrepreneurship training

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) today organized a digital conclave for the second edition of KaushalacharyaSamadar 2020 (Awards). The trainers across different sectors were felicitated for their exceptional contribution in building country’s skilling ecosystem and preparing a future-ready workforce. The occasion had a written address shared by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s message for the country’s trainers, appreciating their persistent hard work and the tenacity in ensuring that the aspirations of today’s youth are kept alive, with apt skill training for their bright tomorrow.

The Government is working with states & local bodies to deregulate and make it easier to start a business.  Addressing the students of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade through virtual interaction today,Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri PiyushGoyalsaid that India’s own ease of doing business ranking has improved significantly in the five years.

Talking about India’s mammoth potential, Shri Goyal said that the real unique selling point  of India should be around High Quality, Good Service and  Good Pricing. “India should get recognised the world over for its quality & competitiveness. Quality will have to be integral for the planning of our future. We believe in Transparent pricing, Transparent trade, Free Market, No price controls, and No hidden subsidies”, he said

Explaining the concept of AatmaNirbharBharat, Shri Goyal said that it is not about closing India’s doors to international trade & engagement.“In fact, it is about opening it wider looking for greater engagement in global trade. Now India has to engage with global economies from a position of strength with highly cost-competitive products of high quality”, he said

On India being a huge and much-sought after market, the Minister said “It’s a market that businesses around the world want to engage with. The businesses will not only get a large Indian market but can also leverage this market to get economies of scale. Trading relations between 2 countries rest on the pedestal of high reciprocity & equilibrium. More & more countries are moving towards balanced trade. India also will have to engage with other countries to expand our trading relationships but on the strength of our own competitiveness.”  He said that if other countries want access to the market of 130 crore Indians then they will have to give us equal access to their market. India is not going to be a patient receiver of unfair trade practices.

Stating that India had not been a gainer from the past FTA’s, the Minister said that historical wrong will have to be corrected by our generation.Lauding the strong and decisive leadership of the Prime Minister Shri NarendraModi, Shri Goyal said that RCEP deal was not signed as it was not properly addressing India’s concern. He said that India, Japan and Australia, all three true democracies, trusted partners and believers in rule-based trading, have recently agreed to have a supply chain initiative.

Quoting His Holiness Dalai Lama who said, “Open your arms to change but don’t let go of your values”, he said that this is the spirit in which India wishes to engage with the rest of the world. Shri Goyalsaid that India wants to do FTAs with developed countries like the US, the UK and EU. He said that India is ready to sign a limited trade deal with the US at the earliest. He assured that deal will entail substantive gains for the country. All the forthcoming trade deals will be undertaken after discussions with all the stakeholders, and the interests of dairy, agriculture, MSMEs and indigenous manufacturers will be properly safeguarded, he said. The Minister said that the trade with the US is increasing rapidly, and the withdrawal of GSP by the US has not made much impact.

Calling upon active partnership between the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and IIFT, Shri Goyal called upon the students of IIFT to help in identification of new products and areas of export. He asked them to do research, analysis and mine data so that policymakers can learn from the world’s best practices, and work in the spirit of providing better future for India and its citizens. He said, “Our trade policies are up for debate, discussion, review, relook & consideration by students.I hope all of you will deliberate on the future of Indian trade policy and how we can sail through the COVID pandemic & come out resilient:

On the question of promoting indigenous production of toys, Shri Goyal said “We have introduced quality control order on toys, and BIS has come up with standards. As we improve local toys’ quality & increase scale of production, automatically people will prefer local toys, suited to the country.” He said that the Government is helping the industry with enablers, to make them competitive, which include setting up clusters, anchor investors. With digital technologies & startups bringing newer ways of entertainment & creating new toys, India will be able to compete with any country.

Talking about India’s resilience, Shri Goyal said that Indian exports have started showing upward trajectory recently. “In the first week of September, our exports were 13% more than the corresponding period of last year, despite lockdowns and covid related issues.” He said that our services exports have done well, but now we have to ensure that merchandise exports also flourish. The Minister said that for promoting domestic production and exports of goods, the government has identified sectors, and working with the industry to help them overcome the bottlenecks.

Lauding the Indian industry’s hardwork and tenacity, Shri Goyal said that from nowhere, in just 5 months, India has evolved in terms of becoming self-reliant in the production of PPE kits & masks. He said that India has not only become self-sufficient in these items, but is exporting them in large numbers.