Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• The Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Human Resources Development and All India Council for Technical Education in collaboration with Forge and InnovatioCuris launched a mega online challenge - Samadhan - to test the ability of students to innovate.
• Under this, the students and faculty will be motivated for doing new experiments and new discoveries and provide them with a strong base leading to a spirit of experimentation and discovery.
• Here, the students will search and develop such measures that can be made available to the government agencies, health services, hospitals and other services for quick solutions to the Coronavirus epidemic and other such calamities.

Explanation :

• Samagra Shiksha is an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class 12, prepared with the broader goal of improving school effectiveness measured in terms of equal opportunities for schooling and equitable learning outcomes.
• The vision of the Scheme is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education from pre-school to senior secondary stage in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for Education.
• It subsumes the three schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE).
• The major objectives of the Scheme are provision of quality education and enhancing learning outcomes of students; Bridging Social and Gender Gaps in School Education; Ensuring equity and inclusion at all levels of school education; Ensuring minimum standards in schooling provisions; Promoting Vocationalisation of education; Support States in implementation of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 and Strengthening and up-gradation of SCERTs/State Institutes of Education and DIET as a nodal agencies for teacher training.

Significance

• The Scheme will help improve the transition rates across the various levels of school education and aid in promoting universal access to children to complete school education.

Explanation :

• Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has announced a new scheme in Public-Private Partnership basis, National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT), for using technology for better learning outcomes in higher education.
• The objective is to use Artificial Intelligence to make learning more personalised and customised as per the requirements of the learner.
• HRD would create and maintain a National NEAT platform that would provide one-stop access to these technological solutions and it would act as a facilitator to ensure that the solutions are freely available to a large number of economically backward students.
• AICTE would be the implementing agency for NEAT programme. The scheme shall be administered under the guidance of an Apex Committee constituted by HRD.

Explanation :

• On July 19, 2091, Deeksharambh: Guide to Student Induction Programme (SIP) was released by HRD to help new students adjust and feel comfortable in the new environment at higher education institutions. It has been prepared by University Grants Commission (UGC).
• It is intended to empower aspirant learners to face competitive world with confidence, open new horizons of life leading to character building based on universal human values and assist in developing self-awareness, compassion and oneness.

It helps new students to learn about the institutional policies, processes, practices, culture and values, and their mentor groups are formed

Explanation :

• On July 19, 2091, Deeksharambh: Guide to Student Induction Programme (SIP) was released by HRD to help new students adjust and feel comfortable in the new environment at higher education institutions. It has been prepared by University Grants Commission (UGC).
• It is intended to empower aspirant learners to face competitive world with confidence, open new horizons of life leading to character building based on universal human values and assist in developing self-awareness, compassion and oneness.
• It helps new students to learn about the institutional policies, processes, practices, culture and values, and their mentor groups are formed.

Explanation :

• Deficiency of micronutrients is often called as ‘Hidden Hunger’.
• Fortified foods are generally marked with +F logo and not +FF logo.

Explanation :

• Increase in carbon emission has led to change in the nutritional profile of crops.
• People in India prefer rice over coarse grains, which is another cause leading to deficiency of Zinc.
• Zinc deficiency is found more in southern states and north eastern states as rice is a staple food of these states (Zinc is found more in coarse grains and less in rice etc.)

Explanation :

• On 26th March, 2019, the Government notified the New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019, reducing the time for approving applications to 30 days for drugs manufactured in India and 90 days for those developed outside the country.
• The new rules give regulatory freedom to launch Orphan Drugs and not to restrict it.

Source: CSC May 2019