Transgender Rights in India.

Transgender is an umbrella term used for persons whose gender identity and gender expression does not align with those assigned at birth. It can also refer to those who reject the gender binary of masculine and feminine. In India, they are often called Hijras, Aravanis, Jogtas and so on. The transgender community has always been an integral part of historical India where their presence and blessings at ceremonies was considered auspicious. Under the Mughal rule, they enjoyed strong royal connections and held high positions. With the advent of British colonization, the status and acceptance of transgenders declined. The imposition of a Euro-centric world view led to transgenders being viewed as moral and sexual contagion to supposedly deviant Indian males. The passing of the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871 (CTA) sought to further isolate transgenders by vilifying them as ‘habitual criminals’ and ‘sexual deviants.’

Newly independent India did little to better integrate transgender people into mainstream society. The census process, the most reliable source for data on demographic and literacy, omitted transgenders for the first 64 years. To relay the significance of this exclusion in numbers, when given the chance to identify themselves as transgenders in 2011, almost half a million out of 1.2 billion identified as transgenders. Transgenders are usually rejected from any means of employment and hence, resort to entertainment, begging, extortion or prostitution. The culmination of low literacy rates, low skill levels and the reluctance to accept transgenders has pushed them further into sex work and has increased the probability of violence against them. In terms of healthcare, the transgender community is 49 times more likely to be living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The National Aids Control Organisation in (NACO) in India estimates HIV prevalence among transgenders to be 7.5%. The increased stigmatization makes it difficult for them to access adequate healthcare facilities.

The Ministry of External Affairs was the first official body that allowed transgenders to identify with a separate category ‘E’ while applying for passports. Not only was this categorization derogatory but it excluded a large spectrum of individuals who fell under the trans category. In case of competitive politics, transgenders are often provided positions as a means of tokenism rather than inclusion. 2014 was a turning point in the history of transgender rights in India. The Supreme Court in NALSA v Union of India guaranteed the fundamental rights of transgender persons and promised provision of equal opportunities under the constitutional framework. Notably, the Court held that they had the right to decide their self-identified gender and vowed to uphold the ideals liberty, equality and freedom of expression. The Constitution must be interpreted in such a manner so that it ensures a dignified life for transgenders. Other directions to combat the societal stigma and sexual health issues faced by transgender persons, were also conveyed by the Court.

However, the judgement was not backed by a capable legislative framework to centrally aid the transgender community. Hence, the ongoing efforts to do so fructified in the passing of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019 (hereafter ‘the Act’) which came into force on 10th January 2020. The Act aimed at providing a statutory basis to better protect the rights of transgender persons and establish procedures to orderly recognize their self-identified gender. Also, in the Act are provisions to prohibit discrimination against and secure the safety of the transgender community. Further, in April 2020, a Draft Transgender (Protections of Rights) Rules (hereafter, ‘the Rules’) under sub-section (1) and (2) of Section 22 of the Act was released by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The Rules aim at strengthening the Act as well as focusing on the socio-economic hardships faced by transgender persons in the country.

Since its enactment, the Act has been challenged multiple times on the grounds that it violates the constitutional ideals recognized NALSA. For example, Section 6 and Section 7 of the Act have been criticized by members of the transgender community as violating guarantees against requirements of medical interventions for recognition of gender identity in NALSA. Further, the Act discards forceful binary instead establishing a trinary where ‘transgender’ is the only other alternative. This does not take into consideration those transgenders who would identify as male or female, and those who may be gender queer. Not only this but the wording of the Act also seems to impose a binary with ‘son/daughter’ and ‘his/her’ rather than the gender neutral ‘child’ and ‘their’.

Even with specific laws to help ease the life of the transgender community into mainstream society, their interaction with the legal and justice system is still tainted with unfair power dynamics. Cases of harassment, intimidation and violence at the hands of police are plenty but they are rarely acted against and the NCRB fails to maintain a record of these atrocities against transgender persons. The community often live with unrevealed sexual identities and this is taken advantage of by law enforcement. A study by the National Institute of Epidemiology among 60,000 transgender people across 17 states revealed that the biggest perpetrators of violence against transgender people were police and law enforcing authorities. One of the exceptions is the case of Jayalakshmi vs. Tamil Nadu, where the police was held accountable for the wrongful death of a transgender.

Implementation gap is most definitely the reason for deprivation of individual rights in India. While the Judiciary and Legislature have made efforts towards inclusion, the biggest challenge lies in better social acceptance and their integration normal, daily lives. We must aim grass-root level education that teaches that transgenders are not deviants and in fact, integral parts of our diverse society.

Commercial advertising.

INTRODUCTION

Advertising is an important and legitimate means for the seller to awaken interest in his goods and services. The success of advertising depends on public confidence. Hence no practice should be permitted which tends to impair this confidence. The standards laid down here should be taken as minimum standards of acceptability which would be liable to be reviewed from time to time in relation to the prevailing norms of viewer’s susceptibilities.

Definition –

  In this code, unless the context otherwise requires: –

• “Government” means, Government of India.
•  “Director General” means, the Director General, Doordarshan or any officer duly authorized by him on his behalf and includes the Director, Doordarshan Kendra.
• “Advertiser” means any individual or organization including a commercial concern which has offered any advertisement to telecast over television.
• “Advertising Agency” means any organization which is accreditation to or registered with Doordarshan as such.
•  “Advertisement” includes any item of publicity for goods or services inserted in the programme telecast by Doordarshan with a view to increase sales.
•  “Spot Advertisement” means any direct advertisement mentioning products/ services, their merits and other related details.
• “Advertising Association” means an Association or Society or any other body of whose constituent members are advertising agencies registered or accredited to Doordarshan.

SCOPE: –

(a) The Director General, Doordarshan shall be the sole judge of the suitability or otherwise of an advertisement for telecast and his/her decision in this regard shall be final.

(b) Doordarshan time shall be sold to the Advertisers/ Advertising Agencies at the sole discretion of the Director General, Doordarshan according to the prescribed rate.

(c) The advertisement should be clearly distinguishable from the programme by using suitable wipes/blank, in order to avoid the message of the programme getting mixed up with the content and images of the advertisement.

The following standards of conduct are laid down in order to develop and promote healthy advertising practices in Doordarshan. Responsibility for the observance of these rules rests equally upon the Advertiser and the Advertising Agency.

All those engaged in advertising are strongly recommended to familiarize themselves with the legislation affecting advertising in this country, particularly the following Acts and the Rules framed under them:-

(1) Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

(2) Drugs Control Act, 1950.

(3) Drugs and Magic Remedies (objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.

(4) Copyright Act, 1957.

(5) Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958.

(6) Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.

(7) Pharmacy Act, 1948.

(8) Prize Competition Act, 1955.

(9) Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950.

(10) Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

(11) Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986.

(12) AIR/ Doordarshan Code.

(13) Code of Ethics for advertising in India issued by the Advertising Standards Council of India.

  THE CODE

General Rules of Conduct in Advertising

1. Advertising shall be so designed as to conform to the laws of the country and should not offend morality, decency and religious susceptibilities of the people.

2. No Advertisement shall be permitted which-

     (i) derides any race, caste, colour, creed and nationality;

    (ii) is against any of the directive principles, or any other provision of the Constitution of India;

    (iii) tends to incite people to crime, cause disorder or violence, or breach of law or glorifies violence or obscenity in any way;

     (iv) presents criminality as desirable;

     (v) adversely affects friendly relations with foreign States;

     (vi) exploits the national emblem, or any part of the constitution or respected leaders, state dignitaries, Gods and Prophets belonging to various religions

    (vii) relates to or promotes cigarettes and tobacco products, liquor, wines and other intoxicants either directly or indirectly.

   (viii) shows institutions like Armed Forces, Paramilitary Forces, Police, Traffic Police etc. in poor light.

Advertisement for services concerned with the following shall not be accepted. (i) Unlicensed employment services; (ii) Sooth-Sayers etc. and those with claims of hypnotism; (iii) Betting tips and guide books etc. relating to horse-racing or other games of chance.

6. Doordarshan accepts the advertisements of educational institutions/colleges. However, it must be ensured that the institutions/colleges are genuine so as to ensure that students do not get misled.

 Doordarshan will also accept advertisements relating to holiday resorts and hotels.

 Doordarshan also accepts the advertisements relating to real estate including sale of flats/land, flats for rent both commercial and residential.

 Doordarshan has also allowed the telecast of:

(i) Foreign products and foreign banks including financial services;

(ii) Jewellery and precious stones;

(iii)Mutual funds approved by SEBI; (iv) Hair dyes; (v)Matrimonial agencies.

“VIEWERS ARE ADVISED TO CHECK THE GENUINENESS OF THE CLAIMS MADE”

7. The items advertised shall not suffer from any defect or deficiency as mentioned in Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

8. No advertisement shall contain references which are likely to lead the public to infer that the product advertised or any of its ingredients has some special or miraculous or super-natural property or quality which is difficult of being proved.

9. Scientific or statistical excerpts from technical literature etc., may be used only with a proper sense of responsibility to the ordinary viewer. Irrelevant data and scientific jargon shall not be used to make claims appear to have a scientific basis they do not possess. Statistics of limited validity should not be presented in a way as to make it appear that they are universally true.

10. Advertisements shall not contain disparaging or derogatory references to another product or service.

11. Visual and verbal representation of actual and comparative prices and costs shall be accurate and shall not mislead on account of undue emphasis or distortion.

12. The picture and the audible matter of the advertisement shall not be excessively „loud‟. This is to ensure that between the programme and the advertisement there is a smooth change-over avoiding jerkiness or shock to the viewers.

13. Information to consumer in matters of weight, quality or prices of products where given shall be accurate.

14. Advertisements indicating price comparisons or reductions must comply with relevant laws.

15. No advertisement shall be accepted which violates AIR and TV Broadcast Code which is reproduced below: –

General AIR/TV Code

(1) criticism friendly countries;

(2) attack on religions or communities;

(3) anything obscene or defamatory;

(4) incitement to violence or anything against maintenance of law and order;

(5) anything amounting to contempt of court;

(6) aspersions against the integrity of the President and Judiciary;

(7) anything affecting the integrity of the Nation; and

(8) criticism by name of any person.

16. No advertisement for a product or service shall be accepted if it suggests in any way that unless the children themselves buy or encourage other people to buy the products or services, they will be failing in their duty or lacking in loyalty to any person or organisation.

17. No advertisement shall be accepted which leads children to belief that if they do not own or use the product advertised they will be inferior in some way to other children or that they are liable to be condemned or ridiculed for not owning or using it.

18. Any advertisement which endangers the safety of the children or creates in them any interest in unhealthy practices, shall not be accepted.

19. Children shall not be shown begging or in undignified or indecent manner.

20. No advertisement likely to being advertising into contempt or disrepute shall be permitted. Advertising shall not take advantage of the superstition or ignorance of the general public.

21. No advertisements of talismans, charms and character reading from photographs or such other matter as well as those which trade on the superstition of general public shall be permitted.

22. Advertisements relating to or promoting astrology, numerology, palmistry and similar other forms of predictions shall not be permitted on Doordarshan.

23. Advertising shall be truthful, avoid distorting facts and misleading the public by means of implications and omissions. For instance, it shall not mislead the consumer by false statements, as to: (i) the character of the merchandise, i.e. its utility, materials, ingredients, origin etc.

(ii) the price of the merchandise, its value, its suitability or terms of purchase.

24. No advertisement shall be permitted to contain any claim exaggerated as to lead inevitably to disappointment in the minds of the public.

25. Methods of advertising designed to create confusion in the mind of the consumer as between goods by one maker and another maker are unfair and shall not be used. Such methods may consist in:

(i) the imitation of the trademark or name of competition or the packaging or labelling of goods; or

(ii) the imitation of advertising devices, copy, layout Or slogans.

26. Indecent, vulgar, suggestive, repulsive or offensive themes or treatment shall be avoided in all advertisements. This also applies to such advertisements which in themselves are not objectionable as defined above, but which advertise objectionable books, photographs or other matter and thereby lead to their sale and circulation.

27. Advertisements shall not portray animals or birds in a cruel, insensitive, disturbing or obnoxious manner. Such advertisements shall conform to the prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, 1960.

28. No advertisement which promotes directly or indirectly production, sale or consumption of infant milk substitutes, feeding bottle or infant foods shall be permitted.

In this modern age, we see women leading at every possible front. They are now more informed and educated and are confident enough to make their own decisions. They are masters of multi-tasking with juggling their careers and households at the same time.

Women have never felt more empowered than we do today. Women are running for office in record numbers. More women are pursuing entrepreneurship. Women are earning more bachelor’s degrees than men. More working mothers are the primary or sole earners in their households. The list goes on and on.

While they make their continuous progress, women should also pay a special attention to financial planning. This is one area which often takes a back seat in a woman’s life. Financial planning for women is a critical aspect for them to reach their personal as well as professional objectives, without being dependent on anyone.

Improving Financial Literacy Among Women

Financial planning is not a rocket science. It is more down to habit and careful management of your hard-earned money. Because of the limited exposure, women previously were not aware of the simple ways that contributed in successfully managing the finances.

Today, one way to tackle this is taking more interest in the subject and being aware about the basic things that build a solid financial foundation. It can also be called as improving the financial literacy. One can read books, finance magazines, news etc. to keep themselves updated about the latest trends in the domain.

Women deserve economic equality

On average, a woman today earns between 80 to 82 cents for every dollar a man earns or $9,308 less annually. By understanding how to manage personal finances, women will be better able to make informed economic decisions over the course of their lives. Also, women will have a better grasp of their worth in the marketplace. Ultimately this information can help to reduce the gender pay gap.

Financial Independence

One of the biggest reasons why women need financial planning is to be financially independent. With a sound plan, they can march confidently towards their personal and professional objectives without worrying about the financial implications. Also, it prepares them for any crisis in the future as well as raises corpus for retirement. Thus, it is high time for all the women to take active role in financial planning and take complete control of their finances. It is the first step towards achieving that coveted financial independence.

It becomes difficult to fathom an equal world without empowering women with equal social and economic opportunities. Making them financially literate is one of the most important area.

The highlighted factors that profoundly influenced financial literacy among Indian Women, which are:

1. Lack of independence
2. Culture
3. General Literacy
4. Lack of Confidence
5. Access (to finance)

State Initiative

The situation has goaded the government to launch schemes aimed at boosting financial literacy among women. The rationale being, this would lead to greater financial inclusion in the country.. These schemes encourage women to take up personal finance activities as savings and investments. The programmes also spread awareness of financial of fundamental financial issues that impact their lives, and to design the address the key components of financial literacy such as:

• The need to save
• Benefits of investing
• The difference between saving and investment
• The need for insurance
• The need for a regular stream of income after retirement, or in their old age
• The necessity of saving or investing regularly
• The advantages of savings in bank

Depression is a severe clinical illness. It’s greater than only a feeling of being unhappy or “blue” for some days. If you’re one of the greater than 19 million young adults and adults withinside the United States who’ve despair, the emotions do now no longer pass away. They persist and intervene together along with your ordinary life.

Symptoms can include:

Feeling unhappy or “empty”
Loss of hobby in favorite activities
Overeating, or now no longer trying to devour at all
Not being capable of sleep, or slumbering too a good deal
Feeling very tired
Feeling hopeless, irritable, anxious, or guilty
Aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems
Thoughts of loss of life or suicide
Depression is a sickness of the mind. There are a number of reasons, together with genetic, biological, environmental, and mental factors. Depression can take place at any age, however, it frequently starts offevolved in young adults and younger adults. It is a good deal greater, not an unusual place in women. Women also can get postpartum despair after the start of a baby. Some humans get seasonal affective sickness withinside the winter. Depression is one a part of bipolar sickness.

Causes

The clinical network does now no longer completely apprehend the reasons of despair. There are many viable reasons, and sometimes, different factors integrate to cause signs.

Factors which are probable to play a position include:

genetic features
modifications withinside the mind’s neurotransmitter levels
environmental factors
mental and social factors
extra conditions, together with bipolar sickness
Treatment
Natural remedies
Some humans use herbal remedies, together with natural medicines, to deal with mild-to-mild despair.

However, because the FDA does now no longer reveal natural remedies, producers won’t be honest approximately the first-class of those products. They won’t be secure or powerful.

The following are a number of the greater famous herbs and plant life that humans use to deal with despair:

St. John’s wort: This isn’t always appropriate for humans who’ve or can also additionally have bipolar sickness. Learn greater right here.

Ginseng: Practitioners of conventional medicinal drugs can also additionally use this to enhance intellectual readability and decrease stress. Find out greater right here approximately ginseng.

Chamomile: This includes flavonoids which could have an antidepressant effect. For greater statistics approximately chamomile, click on right here.

Lavender: This can also additionally assist lessen tension and insomnia. Learn greater right here approximately lavender.

It is vital to talk to a medical doctor earlier than the use of any form of natural treatment or complement to deal with despair. Some herbs can intervene with the movement of medication or in any other case make signs worse.

Supplements
A character can also additionally take the herbs above as dietary supplements to deal with signs of mild-to-mild despair. Other varieties of dietary supplements may additionally assist deal with those signs.

It is crucial to don’t forget that the FDA do now no longer reveals dietary supplements to make sure that they’re powerful or secure.

Nonherbal dietary supplements which could assist deal with despair include:

S-adenosyl methionine (SAMe): This is an artificial shape of a herbal chemical withinside the body.

5-hydroxytryptophan: This can also additionally assist raise serotonin, the neurotransmitter withinside the mind that impacts a character’s mood.

Some studies have cautioned that SAMe can be as useful because the prescription antidepressants imipramine and escitalopram, however greater research is necessary.

Learn greater approximately how herbs and dietary supplements can also additionally assist relieve despair.

Food and food plan
Eating plenty of sugary or processed meals can result in numerous bodily fitness problems. Results of a 2019 take a look at endorse that a food plan that consists of a lot of those varieties of meals may want to have an effect on the intellectual fitness of younger adults.

The take a look at additionally discovered that ingesting greater of the subsequent meals helped lessen despair signs:

fruit
vegetables
fish
olive oil

Modern Organization
Many times, people say they can live without money. They define money as one of the tools that improve human habitation. However, in real life money is the most important thing in people’s lives. While it is possible that people in history may have lived on exchanges and did not rely on real money, today’s society cannot function without money. Money plays a vital role in society in various ways, such as business, social work, and education.

Higher level of education
People are very fond of education in their lives and quality education depends on the amount of money spent on this type of investment. Every single person in this country should invest in education to gain access to education. This education would include not only the schooling they received but also other external activities such as piano, art, and even dance. Most of the time, in order for people to have talents like playing the piano, they have to donate their money to a teacher who has a high degree of piano. Similarly, in school, people would like to be taught by a teacher who is high in their field

Business World
Money also plays an important role in our society and in our global business. In the business world, most of the interactions people have include big money. One common example of global business is investment. In the investment industry, people invest heavily in a particular market and as the market grows larger and builds a higher reputation, the amount of investment invested increases. In this investment, people earn a lot of money but often lose all of them with their luck. The money they earn from investment is often used to build other new businesses or even to invest in different markets. The importance of these businesses in our world is that it helps our economy to run smoothly.

Quality of life
Even if there is very little in the business, wages and wages are important when it comes to people. Reward is a testament to people’s efforts and dedication to the work they do. Earnings vary depending on the type of work done and the position in the company. People use the money they earn from their work in many ways. They buy the necessities of life, such as home, food, and a car. They eat nutritious food that helps maintain good health and use cars to move wherever they want to go. On the other hand, people who are unemployed and who have no income often have difficult times to support their health. They have nothing to support their health. And they do not have permanent shelter where they can live.

Total recoveries from COVID-19 in the country today inched closer to touch the one million mark.

A total of nine lakh 88 thousand 29 people have recovered in the country so far and 35 thousand 286 recoveries were reported during the last 24 hours.

With this, the recovery rate improved to 64.51 per cent in the country. The case fatality rate has declined to 2.23 per cent.

The Health Ministry said, 48 thousand 513 new cases of COVID-19 were registered in the country in one day taking the total number of cases to 15 lakh 31 thousand 669.

Presently, the total number of active cases in the country is five lakh nine thousand 447. In a single day, 768 deaths were reported taking the toll to 34 thousand 193.

Meanwhile, Indian Council of Medical Research said that a record four lakh eight thousand 855 tests were conducted by various laboratories in the last 24 hours.

So far, one crore 77 lakh 43 thousand 740 tests have been conducted.

AIR correspondent reports that Delhi stands at top position with 88.83 per cent recovery rate.

Ladakh, Haryana, Assam and Telangana are other top performing States and Union Territories wherein the recovery rate is above 73 per cent.

Nearly, 16 States and Union Territories have better recovery rates than the national average of 64.51 per cent.

Maximum number of people have recovered in Maharashtra followed by Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh.

In terms of fatality rate, there are 29 States and Union Territories which have lower fatality rates than the national average.

In the total active cases, around 70 per cent caseloads are from Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth will jointly inaugurate the new Supreme Court building of Mauritius today.

The inauguration is scheduled to take place through video conference in presence of senior members of Judiciary from Mauritius and other dignitaries from both the countries. The building has been constructed with Indian grant assistance and will be the first India-assisted infrastructure project within the capital city of Port Louis after the outbreak of Coronavirus pandemic.

The new Supreme Court building project is one of the five projects being implemented under the Special Economic Package of 353 million dollars extended by Government of India to Mauritius in 2016. The project has been completed within schedule and below expected costs. The building is spread over an area of more than 4,700 square metres with over 10 floors and a built up area of around 25 square metres.

In October 2019, Mr Modi and Prime Minister of Mauritius had jointly inaugurated the Phase-I of the Metro Express Project and the new ENT Hospital project in Mauritius, also built under the Special Economic Package. Under Phase-I of Metro Express project, construction of 12 kilometres of metro-line was completed in September last year, while work on its Phase-2 envisaging 14 kilometres of metro-line is ongoing. Through the ENT Hospital project, India assisted in construction of a 100-bed state of the art ENT hospital in Mauritius.

The new Supreme Court Building is expected to become an important landmark in the city centre symbolizing the strong bilateral partnership between the two countries.

In a tweet, Mr Modi said, it is another example of India-Mauritius friendship. He said, India is honoured to have assisted in this key project.

In Rajasthan, Governor Kalraj Mishra has given the approval of the proposal of Cabinet to convene the State Assembly Session. The Session will start from 14th of August. Before this, the Governor had returned three proposals of the State Cabinet for calling an Assembly Session.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan High Court will hear today the petition related to the merger of six BSP MLAs in Congress. The court yesterday accepted the writ petition of BJP MLA Madan Dilawar. Bahujan Samaj Party also challenged the merger in the Rajasthan High Court, which has also been attached with the Mr. Dilawar’s petition.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wholeheartedly welcomed the approval of the National Education Policy, NEP 2020. In a series of tweets, he said, this was a long due and much awaited reform in the education sector, which will transform millions of lives in the times to come. 

The Prime Minister said, NEP 2020 is based on the pillars of Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability and Accountability. He said, in this era of knowledge, where learning, research and innovation are important, the National Education Policy will transform India into a vibrant knowledge hub. 

The Prime Minister added, NEP 2020 gives utmost importance towards ensuring universal access to school education. There is emphasis on aspects such as better infrastructure, innovative education centres to bring back dropouts into the mainstream, facilitating multiple pathways to learning among others. .

An Academic Bank of Credit will be set up to enable digital storage of credits earned from different HEIs, which can also be transferred and counted as a part of the final degree. The Prime Minister said, respecting the spirit ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’, the NEP 2020 includes systems to promote Indian languages, including Sanskrit. Many foreign languages will also be offered at the secondary level. Indian Sign Language will be standardised across the country.

He said, aspects such as widening the availability of scholarships, strengthening infrastructure for Open and Distance Learning, Online Education and increasing the usage of technology have received great attention in the NEP. He added that these are vital reforms for the education sector. 

The Prime Minister said, framing of NEP 2020 will be remembered as a shining example of participative governance. He thanked all those who have worked hard in the formulation of the NEP 2020. The Prime Minister hoped that education would brighten our nation and lead it to prosperity.

The Cabinet yesterday approved National Education Policy 2020. A single regulator for higher education institutions, multiple entry and exit options in degree courses, discontinuation of MPhil programmes, low stakes board exams, common entrance exams for universities are among the highlights of the new National Education Policy.

Briefing the media in New Delhi last evening, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said, the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given approval to a New Education Policy for the 21st century.

He said, it is important, as for 34 years there were no changes in the education policy. 

Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said, New Education Policy 2020 will prove to be a milestone in the making of New India.

Mr Nishank said, the Cabinet also approved changing the name of the Human Resources Development Ministry to the Education Ministry.

Secretary Higher Education Amit Khare said, NEP 2020 aims to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education including vocational education from 26.3 per cent in 2018 to 50 per cent by 2035.

He said, at least 3.5 crore new seats will be added to higher education institutions.

Mr Khare said, the policy envisages broad based, multi-disciplinary, holistic Under Graduate education with flexible curricula, creative combinations of subjects, integration of vocational education and multiple entry and exit points with appropriate certification.

He said, Under Graduate education can be of 3 or 4 years with multiple exit options and appropriate certification within this period.

The Higher Education Secretary said, affiliation of colleges is to be phased out in 15 years and a stage-wise mechanism is to be established for granting graded autonomy to colleges.

Over a period of time, it is envisaged that every college would develop into either an autonomous degree-granting college, or a constituent college of a university.

Among the key reforms in the policy are a single regulator for all higher education institutions except for legal and medical colleges, common entrance exam for admissions to universities and colleges to be conducted by the National Testing Agency and common norms to be in place for private and public higher education institutions.

Secretary, School Education and Literacy, Anita Karwal said, Board exams will be low stake and the focus will be on testing concepts and knowledge application.

She said, Home language, mother tongue or regional language to be medium of instruction up to class 5. Ms Karwal said, school curriculum will be reduced to core concepts and there will be integration of vocational education from class 6. 

In May 2016, a ‘Committee for Evolution of the New Education Policy’ under the chairmanship of TSR Subramanian, former cabinet secretary, submitted its report. 

Based on this, the Ministry prepared a document called ‘Some Inputs for the Draft National Education Policy, 2016′. 

Then, a panel led by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Kasturirangan had submitted the draft of the new NEP to Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ when he took charge last year.

The draft was then put in the public domain to seek feedback from various stakeholders and over two lakh suggestions were received by the HRD Ministry about the same.

Maharashtra Government has extended the lockdown in the entire state till 31st of August in view of rising Coronavirus cases. A notification issued by Chief Secretary Sanjay Kumar said, the decision was taken as an emergency step to prevent and contain the spread of COVID-19.

The notification said that as part of the State Government’s Mission Begin Again initiative, malls and market complexes without theatres, food courts and restaurants will be operational between 9 AM and 7 PM from 5th of August. It said that large public gatherings and congregations will continue to remain prohibited and marriage-related gatherings will have only up to 50 guests. The maximum number of persons allowed at funerals will be 20.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray  directed officials  not to let their guard down and ramp up tracing COVID-19 patients and their contacts.

CM Thackeray told a Cabinet meeting that just lockdown is not important, but tracing of Cod -19 patients and their contacts should be the focus.He added that all municipalities across the state need to follow the rules strictly.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra’s COVID-19 case count has crossed the four lakh-mark in the last 24 hours. State Health Secretary Pradeep Vyas has informed that COVID-19 mortality rate in Maharashtra now stands at 3.62 per cent while the case doubling rate is 27 days, which has improved to 70 days in Mumbai.

Union Home Ministry has issued new guidelines for opening up of more activities in areas outside the Containment Zones. The process of phased re-opening of activities has been extended further in Unlock 3, which will come into effect from 1st of August. The new guidelines issued yesterday are based on feedback received from States and Union Territories and extensive consultations held with related Central Ministries and Departments.

AIR correspondent reports, restrictions on movement of individuals during night have been removed. Yoga institutes and gymnasiums will be allowed to open from 5th of August.

In this regard, Standard Operating Procedure will be issued by Health Ministry for ensuring social distancing. Independence Day functions will be allowed with social distancing and by following other health protocols. Schools, colleges and coaching institutions will remain closed till 31st of August.

International air travel of passengers has been permitted in a limited manner under the Vande Bharat Mission.  Further opening up will take place in a calibrated manner. All activities except Metro Rail, Cinema halls, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars shall be permitted outside containment zones.  

Social, political,  sports, entertainment, academic, cultural, religious functions and other large congregations will not be permitted.  With Diwaker, Suparna Saikia, AIR News, Delhi.

Activities in the Containment Zones shall be monitored strictly by State and UT authorities and the guidelines relating to containment measures in these zones shall be strictly implemented. The Health Ministry will monitor the proper delineation of Containment Zones and implementation of the containment measures.

States and UTs, based on their assessment of the situation, may prohibit certain activities outside the Containment zones or impose such restrictions as deemed necessary. However, there shall be no restriction on inter-state and intra-state movement of persons and goods.