Students looking to earn an honours degree in undergraduate courses will have to pursue four-year programmes under new regulations likely to be announced by the University Grants Commission this week, PTI reported.
“Students will be able to get a UG [undergraduate] degree in three years on completion of 120 credits (measured through the number of academic hours) and a UG honours degree in four years on completion of 160 credits,” the news agency quoted from the draft Curriculum and Credit Framework of the University Grants Commission.
At present, students get an honours degree after completing three years of undergraduate programmes. Under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, universities and colleges will offer four-year undergraduate degrees with multiple exit and entry options. Several universities, including DU, and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), have already adopted the programme.
A senior UGC official, requesting anonymity, said, “There will be only one honours degree, that is four-year UG with honours or honours with research. The regulations will be applicable for students who will be enrolled under the new norms from this year onwards.”
The Dutch are the people of Holland (now the Netherlands). The Dutch arrived in India shortly after the Portuguese. The Dutch have long been experts in sea trading. The Dutch government granted the United East India Company of the Netherlands license to trade in the East Indies, including India, in 1602. Dutch India was more of a geographical location than a political authority. In comparison to the Portuguese and the English, the Dutch had the shortest presence in India of all the European colonial powers.
Dutch history in India The Dutch East India Company was founded in 1602 and signified the Dutch entrance in India. They arrived in Andhra Pradesh’s Masulipatam (now Machilipatnam). From 1605 to 1825, they occupied the Indian subcontinent. Given the growing demand for Indian spices from Asia in Europe, the Dutch arrived to India with the intention of trading. The establishment of the Dutch East India Company marked the beginning of the modern multinational company (MNC). Following a pact between the Zamorin of Calicut and the Dutch chief, Steven Van der Hagen, Dutch trading in India began on November 11, 1604. The goal was to force the Portuguese off the Malabar Coast, but this was never achieved. The Dutch, on the other hand, soon built commercial facilities in various parts of India and traded cotton, textiles, silk, Indigo, and Golconda diamonds. In 1661, the Dutch conquered the Portuguese and took control of all of Malabar. They had now mastered the pepper trade and made tremendous profits selling pepper, which was known in Europe as “Black Gold.” In the 17th century, nothing could stop the Dutch from capturing Pondicherry from the French in 1693. In the East Indies, the Dutch became a large producer of sugar and coffee, as well as a big exporter of spices and textiles. During their time in India, the Dutch tried their hand at currency manufacture as well. They established mints in Cochin, Masulipatam, Nagapatam Pondicherry, and Pulicat as their trade grew. Furthermore, the Pulicat mint issued a gold pagoda with an image of Lord Venkateswara (god Vishnu). The Dutch minted coins that were all based on local coinages.
The Decline of Dutch power The Dutch East India Company began to fade in the mid-eighteenth century. It was characterised by poor corporate practices, corruption, and political upheaval. Martanda Verma, the formidable monarch of Travancore, defeated the Dutch in 1741 and reclaimed control of Malabar. The fourth Anglo-Dutch war, in which the British navy sunk Dutch ships and seized trading ports, resulted to their bankruptcy in 1799. Finally, the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1825 ended the Dutch dominance in India by transferring all Dutch assets to the British.
The Portuguese State of India was a Portuguese colonial state on the Indian Subcontinent. Vasco De Gama was the first Portuguese to set foot in India in 1498. However, Portuguese control in India is considered to have lasted from 1505 until 1961. Although Portuguese colonialism outlasted its English counterpart, it had little influence outside of its territories. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in India and the last to go.
Portugal’s Early Years in India When Vasco da Gama arrived in Calicut on the Malabar Coast on May 20, 1498, Portuguese colonialism began in earnest. He met with the ruler of Calicut, the Zamorin, and received permission to trade in Calicut. But Vasco da Gama was unable to pay the customs duties and the cost of his merchandise. The Zamorin’s officials detained some of Vasco da Gama’s soldiers when the duties were not paid. This enraged him so much that he kidnapped some Indians and fisherman. However, the voyage was a success in the eyes of the Portuguese authorities in Lisbon. A sea path around the Ottoman Empire was discovered, and the expedition made a profit well in excess of its initial cost.
Expansion of Portuguese Colonialism Vasco da Gama established a base of operations on the Malabar coast after further conflict with the Zamorin Kingdom. Francisco de Almeida, the first viceroy, placed his headquarters in what is now Cochin. Alfonso de Albuquerque, the second governer of the Portuguese territories in the East, was appointed in 1509. Off the coast of Calicut, a Portuguese fleet led by Marshal Fernão Coutinho arrives. Their orders were quite clear: destroy the Zamorin. The city was levelled and the palace of the Zamorins was taken, but the local soldiers rallied and attacked the invading Portuguese, forcing them to retreat and wounded Albuquerque. In 1510, Afonso de Albuquerque defeated the Sultanate of Bijapur, establishing Goa as a permanent settlement. It would later become the viceroy’s seat and the headquarters of the Portuguese colonial conquests in India. Modern-day Mumbai was likewise a colonial possession until 1661, when it was handed over to the British. From 1799 until 1813, the British conquered Goa for a brief while, eradicating the final vestiges of the inquisition. The capital was moved to Panjim, which was later renamed Nova Goa, in 1843, when it became the administrative center of Portuguese India. For the next century, Portuguese control would be limited to Goa and the enclaves of Diu and Daman.
Cause of Decline of Portugal in India While the British granted independence to most of India, the Portuguese retained colonial colonies in India. Local anti-Portuguese demonstrations in Goa were violently suppressed. Despite repeated pleas from the Indian government, the Portuguese government, led by dictator António de Oliveira Salaza, refused to hand over its colonial holdings, saying that they were an intrinsic part of Portuguese territory. The invasion of Goa by the Indian troops took place in December 1961. The Portuguese attempted to resist against overwhelming odds, but were quickly crushed by the Indian Army. On December 19, 1961, the Governor of Portuguese India signed the Instrument of Surrender, freeing Goa after 450 years of Portuguese domination in India.
Oceanography is one of the largest areas of geography as it deals with the largest form on earth, Ocean. More than half of the earth’s surface is covered with water and it mainly consists of oceans. Even though it looks similar when we look from above, there are deep structures inside the water. Just like the land forms we daily see around us; oceans also have a wide variety of structures. In order to gain a clear idea about those, let us look into it in detail:
Major structures
Continental shelf
A continental shelf is the edge of a continent that lies under the ocean. Continents are the seven main divisions of land on Earth. A continental shelf extends from the coastline of a continent to a drop-off point called the shelf break. From the break, the shelf descends toward the deep ocean floor in what is called the continental slope. Even though they are underwater, continental shelves are part of the continent. The widths of the continental shelves vary.
Continental shelf
Continental slopes are regions of steeply sloping seafloor that lie between continental shelves and the deep ocean basins. Regional gradients are typically 2–5°, but locally slopes may be much steeper. Their large-scale morphology is a consequence of tectonic processes: the different elevations of continental crust and oceanic crust, the details of the original rift tectonics on passive continental margins, and the styles of subduction and accretion on convergent margins.
Continental rise
continental rise, a major depositional regime in oceans made up of thick sequences of continental material that accumulate between the continental slope and the abyssal plain. Continental rises form as a result of three sedimentary processes: mass wasting, the deposition from contour currents, and the vertical settling of clastic and biogenic particles.
Abyssal plane
The term ‘abyssal plain’ refers to a flat region of the ocean floor, usually at the base of a continental rise, where slope is less than 1:1000. It represents the deepest and flat part of the ocean floor lying between 4000 and 6500 m deep
Minor structures
Abyssal hills
An abyssal hill is a small hill that rises from the floor of an abyssal plain. They are the most abundant geomorphic structures on the planet Earth, covering more than 30% of the ocean floors. Abyssal hills have relatively sharply defined edges and climb to heights of no more than a few hundred meters. They can be from a few hundred meters to kilometers in width.
Trenches
Ocean trenches are steep depressions in the deepest parts of the ocean, where old ocean crust from one tectonic plate is pushed beneath another plate, raising mountains, causing earthquakes, and forming volcanoes on the seafloor and on land.
Submarine canyons
A submarine canyon is a steep-sided valley cut into the seabed of the continental slope, sometimes extending well onto the continental shelf, having nearly vertical walls, and occasionally having canyon wall heights of up to 5 km, from canyon floor to canyon rim, as with the Great Bahama Canyon.
Ocean has several other wonders hid under its deep waters. If we go deeper new structures unfold.
There are many people around us of different age groups that are either diagnosed or have underlying symptoms of autism. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by challenges with social communication, and by restricted and repetitive behaviours. is now considered part of the wider autism spectrum. People with autism have trouble with communication. They have trouble understanding what other people think and feel. This makes it hard for them to express themselves, either with words or through gestures, facial expressions, and touch. People with autism might have problems with learning. Their skills might develop unevenly. For example, they could have trouble communicating but be unusually good at art, music, math, or memory. Because of this, they might do especially well on tests of analysis or problem-solving. More children are diagnosed with autism now than ever before. But the latest numbers could be higher because of changes in how it’s diagnosed, not because more children have a disorder.
Autism is known to affect every one in every 60 individuals and boys are said to have more risk of developing it than girls. It can be hard to get a definite diagnosis of autism. Your doctor will focus on behaviour and development.
A developmental screening will tell the doctor whether a child is on track with basic skills like learning, speaking, behavior, and moving. If a child shows signs of a problem on these screenings, they’ll need a more complete evaluation. This might include hearing and vision tests or genetic tests. Your doctor might want to bring in someone who specializes in autism disorders, like a developmental paediatrician or a child psychologist. Some psychologists can also give a test called the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS).parents can also find some symptoms and unusual behaviour
Common symptoms of autism include:
A lack of eye contact
A narrow range of interests or intense interest in certain topics
Doing something over and over, like repeating words or phrases, rocking back and forth, or flipping a lever
High sensitivity to sounds, touches, smells, or sights that seem ordinary to other people
Not looking at or listening to other people
Not looking at things when another person points at them
Not wanting to be held or cuddled
Problems understanding or using speech, gestures, facial expressions, or tone of voice
Talking in a sing-song, flat, or robotic voice
Trouble adapting to changes in routine
What Are the Types of Autism Spectrum Disorders?
These types were once thought to be separate conditions. Now, they fall under the range of autism spectrum disorders including:
Asperger’s syndrome. These children don’t have a problem with language; in fact, they tend to score in the average or above-average range on intelligence tests. But they have social problems and a narrow scope of interests.
Autistic disorder. This is what most people think of when they hear the word “autism.” It refers to problems with social interactions, communication, and play in children younger than 3 years.
Childhood disintegrative disorder. These children have typical development for at least 2 years and then lose some or most of their communication and social skills.
Pervasive developmental disorder (PDD or atypical autism). Your doctor might use this term if your child has some autistic behavior, like delays in social and communications skills, but doesn’t fit into another category.
What Causes Autism?
Exactly why autism happens isn’t clear. It could stem from problems in parts of your brain that interpret sensory input and process language.. It can happen in people of any race, ethnicity, or social background. Family income, lifestyle, or educational level doesn’t affect a child’s risk of autism. Autism runs in families, so certain combinations of genes may increase a child’s risk. A child with an older parent has a higher risk of autism. Pregnant women who are exposed to certain drugs or chemicals, like alcohol or anti-seizure medications, are more likely to have autistic children. Other risk factors include maternal metabolic conditions such as diabetes and obesity. Research has also linked autism to untreated phenylketonuria (also called PKU, a metabolic disorder caused by the absence of an enzyme) and rubella (German measles).There is no evidence that vaccinations cause autism.
How Is Autism Treated?
There’s no cure for autism. But early treatment can make a big difference in development for a child with autism. If you think your child shows symptoms of ASD, tell your doctor as soon as possible.What works for one person might not work for another. Your doctor should tailor treatment for you or your child. The two main types of treatments are:
Behavioral and communication therapy to help with structure and organization. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is one of these treatments; it promotes positive behavior and discourages negative behavior. Occupational therapy can help with life skills like dressing, eating, and relating to people. Sensory integration therapy might help someone who has problems with being touched or with sights or sounds. Speech therapy improves communication skills.
Medications to help with symptoms of ASD, like attention problems, hyperactivity, or anxiety.
Complementary treatments may help boost learning and communication skills in some people with autism. Complementary therapies include music, art, or animal therapy, like horseback riding and even swimming with dolphins.
It is high time that people start to embrace autism and not ostracize such individuals but give more support and kindness. Young children must be taught about it and it’s not a topic to shy away from but accept and cherish that its ok to be different because that way you are special.
Eduindex News 
You must be logged in to post a comment.