Current Affairs 31 July 2024

CONTENTS

1. Celebrating the 4th Anniversary of NEP 2020
2. Mekedatu Project
3. PARAKH Report Recommends Inclusion of Class 9-11 Performance in Class 12 Final Marks
4. Phase IV of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)
5. Quad Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo
6. Saffron Crop
7. Charles Darwin’s frog

Celebrating the 4th Anniversary of NEP 2020

Context:

Recently, the Union Ministry of Education celebrated the 4th anniversary of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 with a week-long campaign called “Shiksha Saptah.” This campaign is designed to promote and celebrate the achievements and objectives of NEP 2020.

Relevance:

GS II: Education

Dimensions of the Article:

1. Initiatives Under Shiksha Saptah
2. Initiatives under NEP 2020
3. Key Initiatives under NEP 2020

Initiatives Under Shiksha Saptah

Vidyanjali Program:

• Launch Year: 2021
• Initiative By: Department of School Education and Literacy
• Objective: Connects community members and volunteers with government and government-aided schools through an online portal.
• Function: The portal allows alumni, teachers, scientists, and other professionals to contribute services, materials, or expertise to schools across India. It aims to enhance the learning environment by integrating schools, volunteers, and the community, in alignment with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 objectives.

Tithi Bhojan:

• Community Engagement: This initiative encourages community members to celebrate special occasions like childbirth, marriage, and birthdays by contributing to the Mid Day Meal Scheme.
• Role: Tithi Bhojan acts as a supplement or complement to the existing Mid Day Meal program.
• Additional Activities: Cooking competitions are organized at Block, District, and State levels to encourage innovative meal ideas.

National Education Policy 2020

Introduction and Historical Context:

• The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisions India as a global knowledge hub, marking the third major education policy overhaul since independence.
• The earlier policies were introduced in 1968 and 1986, setting the stage for this comprehensive transformation.

Salient Features of NEP 2020:

• Universal Access: Ensuring access to education at all levels, from pre-primary to Grade 12.
• Early Childhood Care: Focusing on quality early childhood care and education for children aged 3-6.
• Curricular Structure: Adopting a new 5+3+3+4 curricular structure that aligns with age groups.
• Four Schooling Stages: Dividing education into Foundational, Preparatory, Middle, and Secondary stages.
• Integrated Learning: Breaking barriers between arts and sciences, curricular and extra-curricular activities, and vocational and academic streams.
• Multilingualism: Emphasizing multilingualism and promoting Indian languages.
• Performance Assessment: Introducing PARAKH, the National Assessment Centre for holistic development evaluation.
• Gender Inclusion and Special Education: Establishing a Gender Inclusion fund and Special Education Zones.

Key Initiatives under NEP 2020

PM Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI):

• Objective: Provide high-quality, equitable, and inclusive education in a joyful school environment.
• Launch: September 2022.
• Scope: Upgrading over 14,500 schools across India.
• Allocation: Rs. 630 crore for school enhancement.

NIPUN Bharat:

• Vision: Achieve universal foundational literacy and numeracy by Grade 3 (2026-27).
• Focus: Develop enabling environment for essential reading, writing, and numeracy skills.

PM e-VIDYA:

• Aim: Promote online education and digital learning.
• Platforms: Utilizes DIKSHA and provides e-books and e-content nationwide.

NCF FS and Jadui Pitara:

• Launch: National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage and Jadui Pitara for play-based learning.
• Audience: Tailored teaching materials for children aged 3 to 8.

NISHTHA:

• Focus: Capacity-building program for teachers and school principals.
• Enhancement: Aims to foster holistic advancement in school heads and teachers.

NDEAR:

• Blueprint: National Digital Education Architecture for technology-based education applications.
• Guiding Principles: Lays foundations for digital technology integration in education.

Academic Frameworks:

• NcrF: National Credit Framework for enhanced credit transfer.
• NHEQF: National Higher Education Qualification Framework for academic flexibility.

Increased Investment in Education:

• Advocacy: Recommends 6% of combined GDP allocation by Central and State Governments.
• Budget Allocation: Ministry of Education budget increased to Rs. 1,12,899 crore in 2023-24, a 13.68% rise from 2020-21.

International Campuses and Partnerships:

• Support: NEP 2020 encourages Indian universities to establish campuses abroad and invites foreign institutions to operate in India.
• MoUs: Agreements signed for IIT campuses in Zanzibar and Abu Dhabi, fostering global educational connections.

Educational Innovation in GIFT City:

• GIFT City Hub: Foreign universities authorized to offer specialized courses in Gujarat’s GIFT City.
• Objective: Cultivate high-end human resources for financial services and technology sectors.

-Source: The Hindu

Mekedatu Project

Context:

Karnataka Chief Minister(CM) has highlighted the Mekedatu balancing reservoir project as a key solution to address water-sharing issues with Tamil Nadu during monsoon distress years, asserting that the project would benefit both states, particularly in times of water scarcity.

Relevance:

GS-II: Polity and Governance (Intra-State Relations, Functions & responsibilities of the Union and the States, Issues and challenges of federal structure)

Dimensions of the Article:

1. About the Cauvery River
2. Mekedatu
3. About the Mekedatu Project:
4. Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA)
5. Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC)

Mekedatu Multi-Purpose Project

• Objective: The project aims to construct a balancing reservoir near Kanakapura to provide drinking water to Bengaluru and generate 400 MW of power.
• Location: Mekedatu is a deep gorge at the confluence of the Cauvery and Arkavathi rivers.
• Water Sharing Agreement: According to a Supreme Court ruling, Karnataka must release 177.25 thousand million cubic (tmc) feet of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu during a normal year, not during deficit rainfall years. Tamil Nadu’s entitlement is also 177.25 tmc ft, dependent on a normal monsoon.
• Karnataka’s Stance: The Karnataka Chief Minister emphasizes that the Mekedatu reservoir would help meet Bengaluru’s drinking water needs and allow Karnataka to release water to Tamil Nadu during distress years, with the capacity to store 65 tmc ft of water, which might otherwise flow into the sea.
• Tamil Nadu’s Opposition: Tamil Nadu opposes the project, arguing that the Mekedatu dam would significantly reduce water flow downstream, adversely affecting agriculture and water supply in the state. The Cauvery tribunal and Supreme Court order require consent from the lower riparian state, Tamil Nadu, for any projects on the Cauvery river.

About the Cauvery River

• The Cauvery River (Kaveri), designated as the ‘Dakshina Ganga’ or ‘the Ganga of the South’, flows in a southeasterly direction through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and descends the Eastern Ghats in a series of great falls.
• Before emptying into the Bay of Bengal south of Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu the river breaks into a large number of distributaries forming a wide delta called the “Garden of Southern India”
• The Cauvery basin extends over states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, and Union Territory of Puducherry draining an area of 81 thousand Sq.km.
• It is bounded by the Western Ghats on the west, by the Eastern Ghats on the east and the south, and by the ridges separating it from the Krishna basin and Pennar basin on the north.
• The Nilgiris, an offshore of Western ghats, extend Eastwards to the Eastern ghats and divide the basin into two natural and political regions i.e., Karnataka plateau in the North and the Tamil Nadu plateau in the South.
• Physiographically, the basin can be divided into three parts – the Westen Ghats, the Plateau of Mysore, and the Delta.
• The delta area is the most fertile tract in the basin. The principal soil types found in the basin are black soils, red soils, laterites, alluvial soils, forest soils, and mixed soils. Red soils occupy large areas in the basin. Alluvial soils are found in the delta areas.
• It is almost a perennial river with comparatively fewer fluctuations in flow and is very useful for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation because its upper catchment area receives rainfall during summer by the south-west monsoon and the lower catchment area during the winter season by the retreating north-east monsoon.
• Harangi, Hemavati, Shimsha, and Arkavati are the tributaries on the left bank (north) and Lakshmantirtha, Kabbani, Suvarnavati, Bhavani, Noyil, and Amaravati are the tributaries on the right bank (south).

Mekedatu

• Mekedatu is a location along Kaveri in the border of Chamarajanagar and Ramanagara Districts. Sangama is the place where Arkavati merges with Kaveri.
• At Mekedaatu, the Kaveri runs through a deep, narrow ravine of hard granite rock.
• The water flows very fast through the gorge, gouging pits in the rocky riverbed.

About the Mekedatu Project:

• The Mekedatu dam project is located in Ramanagaram district, approximately 100 km south of Bengaluru, near the entry point of the Cauvery River into Tamil Nadu. The project has been a subject of controversy for several years.
• The proposed dam has a capacity of 48 TMC (thousand million cubic) feet and an estimated cost of Rs 6,000 crore. Its primary objectives are to provide drinking water to Bengaluru and recharge the regional groundwater table.
• In November 2014, the Karnataka government, under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, invited expressions of interest for the project and allocated Rs 25 crore in the 2015 Budget for a detailed project report.
• The Mekedatu dam is planned to be larger than the Krishnaraja Sagar project on the Cauvery River. The Central Water Commission (CWC) approved a feasibility study for the project in 2018.

History of Opposition to the Project:

• Tamil Nadu witnessed widespread protests against the dam in 2015, including a statewide bandh supported by various stakeholders. The state Assembly passed unanimous resolutions against the project in December 2018 and January 2022.
• Prior to the 2016 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Captain Vijayakanth of DMDK led a delegation of Opposition leaders to meet the Prime Minister to raise concerns about the project. Siddaramaiah, the then Chief Minister of Karnataka, also led an all-party delegation from Karnataka seeking the Centre’s cooperation for the project.
• In August 2021, Tamil Nadu approached the Supreme Court against the project, arguing that Karnataka’s plan to construct two reservoirs on the Cauvery River would alter its flow and violate the final award of the Cauvery River Water Tribunal (CRWT). Tamil Nadu contended that the project would impede the flow of water downstream, affecting areas such as Billigundulu along the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border.

Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA)

• CWMA has been created as per the Cauvery Management Scheme framed by Centre and approved by Supreme Court.
• The Cauvery Management Scheme deals with release of water from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.
• It will be implemented by Cauvery Management Authority (CMA).
• CMA will be sole body to implement CWDT award as modified by Supreme Court.
• The Central Government will have no say in implementing of the scheme except for issuing administrative advisories to it.
• The authority will comprise a chairman, a secretary and eight members.
• Out of the eight members, two will be full time, while two will be part time members from centre’s side. Rest four will be part time members from states.
• The main mandate of the CMA will be to secure implementation and compliance of the Supreme Court’s order in relation to “storage, apportionment, regulation and control of Cauvery waters”.
• CMA will also advise the states to take suitable measures to improve water use efficiency.
• It will do so by promoting use of micro-irrigation, change in cropping patterns, improved farm practices and development of command areas.
• The CMA will also prepare an annual report covering its activities during the preceding year.

Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC)

• The Central government constituted the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) as per the provisions in the Kaveri Management Scheme laid down by the Supreme Court.
• While the CWMA is an umbrella body, the CWRC will monitor water management on a day-to-day basis, including the water level and inflow and outflow of reservoirs in all the basin states.

-Source: The Hindu

PARAKH Report Recommends Inclusion of Class 9-11 Performance in Class 12 Final Marks

Context:

A recent report by PARAKH, a unit established within NCERT to standardize assessments across school boards, recommends that students’ performance in Classes 9, 10, and 11—based on exams and continuous classwork—should contribute to their final marks at the end of Class 12. This recommendation aligns with the National Education Policy and aims to ensure common assessment standards, develop capacity, conduct achievement surveys, and establish equivalence among different school boards.

Relevance:

GS II: Government Policies and Interventions

Dimensions of the Article:

1. PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development):

PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development):

Overview:

• Establishment: PARAKH was set up as the National Assessment Centre within the NCERT in 2023.
• Objective: To act as a national single-window source for all assessment-related information and expertise, aiding both national and global learning assessments.

Key Objectives:

• Setting Norms and Standards: To create and implement norms, standards, and guidelines for student assessment as per the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Major Focus Areas:

• Capacity Development in Competency-Based Assessment (Project Vidyasagar):
  • Workshops: PARAKH organizes workshops across India to align educators with the National Curriculum Framework 2023.
  • Goal: To address gaps in implementing competency-based learning and teaching.
• Large-Scale Achievement Survey:
  • Survey Details: Conducted the State Educational Achievement Survey in November 2023, assessing students in Grades 3, 6, and 9 across 30 States/UTs.
  • Purpose: To monitor and evaluate educational competencies in foundational literacy, numeracy, language, and mathematics.
• Equivalence of School Boards:
  • Standardization: Working on standardizing examination reforms across all Indian school boards.
  • Workshops and Reports: Data collection on administration, curriculum, assessments, and infrastructure. National workshops were held to draft policy recommendations for equivalence.
  • Goal: To align credit points for academic, vocational, and experiential learning.
• Holistic Progress Cards (HPC):
  • Evaluation Method: Moving away from marks or grades, HPC will use a 360-degree evaluation approach.
  • Assessment: Regular assessments through class activities that require active student participation and application of diverse skills and competencies.

Significance:

• Addressing Score Disparities: Aims to mitigate score differences among students from various boards, impacting college admissions.
• Technical Standards: Establishes standards for test design, administration, analysis, and reporting at all schooling levels.
• 21st Century Skills: Encourages schools to adapt assessments to meet modern skill requirements.

Recommendations:

• Performance Weightage:
  • Classes 9-12: Incorporate performance from Classes 9, 10, and 11 into the Class 12 report card with specified weightages: 15% for Class 9, 20% for Class 10, 25% for Class 11, and 40% for Class 12.
• Assessment Combination:
  • Formative Assessments: Continuous assessments (e.g., holistic progress cards, group discussions, projects).
  • Summative Assessments: Term-end examinations.
• Weight Distribution by Class:
  • Class 9: 70% formative, 30% summative.
  • Class 10: 50% formative, 50% summative.
  • Class 11: 40% formative, 60% summative.
  • Class 12: 30% formative, 70% summative.
• Credit System:
  • Credits: Students can earn 40 credits in Classes 9 and 10 each, and 44 credits in Classes 11 and 12 each.
  • Subject-Specific Credits: In Classes 9 and 10, 32 credits are subject-specific (e.g., 12 credits in languages, 4 in mathematics).
• Credit Transfer System:
  • Recommendation: Development of a credit transfer system aligned with the National Credit Framework.

-Source: Indian Express

Phase IV of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)

Context:

Finance Minister announced Phase IV of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) to connect 25,000 villages with all-weather roads, and allocated an outlay of Rs 19,000 crore for the financial year 2024-25.

Relevance:

GS II: Government Policies and Interventions

Dimensions of the Article:

1. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)

• The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) is a nationwide plan in India to provide good all-weather road connectivity to unconnected villages.
• This Centrally Sponsored Scheme was introduced in 2000.
• The PMGSY is under the authority of the Ministry of Rural Development.

PMGSY – Phase I

PMGSY – Phase I was launched in 2000 as a 100 % centrally sponsored scheme with an objective to provide single all-weather road connectivity to eligible unconnected habitation of designated population size for overall socio-economic development of the areas.

PMGSY – Phase II

• The Phase II of PMGSY was approved in 2013, and while the ongoing PMGSY – I continued – under PMGSY phase II, the roads already built for village connectivity was to be upgraded to enhance rural infrastructure.
• For the 12th Five Year Plan period a target of 50,000 Km length under PMGSY-II. 75 per cent of the cost of the upgradation was by the Centre and 25 per cent by the state.
• For hill states, desert areas, Schedule V areas and Naxal-affected districts, 90 per cent of cost was borne by the Centre.

PMGSY – Phase III

• The Phase III was approved by the Cabinet in 2019.
• It involves consolidation of Through Routes and Major Rural Links connecting habitations to Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs), Higher Secondary Schools and Hospitals.
• Under the PMGSY-III Scheme, it is proposed to consolidate 1,25,000 Km road length in the States, and the duration of the scheme is 2019-20 to 2024-25.
• The funds would be shared in the ratio of 60:40 between the Centre and State for all States except for 8 North Eastern and 3 Himalayan States (Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh & Uttarakhand) for which it is 90:10.

PMGSY – Phase IV

• Announcement: Phase IV of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) was introduced in the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2024-25.
• Objective: To connect 25,000 villages with all-weather roads.
• Budget Allocation: Rs 19,000 crore has been allocated for this phase for the financial year 2024-25 (FY-25).

-Source: Indian Express

Quad Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo

Context:

A recent Quad Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo featured key diplomats: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar of India, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa. Following the meeting, they issued a joint statement expressing anticipation for the upcoming Quad summit in India. The statement emphasized the summit’s role in strengthening collaborative efforts and reiterated their commitment to a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. The ministers highlighted the importance of their partnership in tackling regional and global challenges, underscoring the shared values and strategic interests of the Quad nations.

Relevance:

GS II- International Relations

Dimensions of the Article:

1. About QUAD
2. What were the objectives of the grouping?
3. Quad Initiatives
4. What are the future plans of the Quad?

About QUAD

• The Quad is an informal strategic forum comprising four nations, namely –India, United States of America, Australia and Japan.
• One of the primary objectives of the Quad is, to work for a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
• The group for the first time met in 2007 on the side lines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
• It is considered an alliance of maritime democracies.
• The forum is maintained through meetings, semi-regular summits, information exchanges, and military drills of all the member countries.
• The motive behind the Quad is, to keep the strategic sea routes in the Indo-Pacific, free of any military or political influence.
• The core objective of the Quad is, to secure a rules-based global order, freedom of navigation and, a liberal trading system.
• The coalition also aims to offer, alternative debt financing for nations in the Indo-Pacific region.

Purpose of Quad:

• Recently the U.S. has clarified that Quad is not a security or military partnership.
• Its purpose is to advance cooperation on key priorities in specific sectors that is consistent with international law
• It promotes shared values of its members and underpins peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
• A U.S. State Department spokesperson said that “We work to support the rule of law, freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, democratic values, and territorial integrity through open dialogue and information sharing on a diverse set of issue areas, including Maritime Security”.

Significance of Quad:

Quad is becoming a powerful mechanism and its significance is given below:

• Helping to vaccinate a big part of the world and getting a lot of vaccines out there,
• Strengthening maritime security to push back against aggression and coercion in the Indo-Pacific region,
• Working together on emerging technologies and making sure that they can be used in positive ways and an increasingly broad and deep agenda.
• It also supports many activities/platforms as part of its shared approach to the Indo-Pacific.

What were the objectives of the grouping?

• Coming together to foster a free and open Indo-Pacific formed the bedrock of cooperation.
•  Emphasis was laid on “rule of law, territorial integrity, freedom of navigation and overflight, peaceful resolution of disputes, and democratic values” in the region.
• The other areas of immediate focus were the pandemic through strengthening equitable vaccine access for the Indo-Pacific, combating climate change, sharing critical technologies, cyber security, supply chain resilience, and infrastructure and connectivity projects.
• Now it commits to promoting the free, open, rules-based order, rooted in international law and undaunted by coercion, to bolster security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

Quad Initiatives:

• Quad leaders launched the Quad Vaccine Initiative (QVI) with the aim of manufacturing and distributing at least a billion COVID-19 vaccines for the Asia region by the end of 2022.
•  As for emerging technologies, the four countries aimed to work on the development and diversification of 5G telecommunications and the creation of supply chains for critical minerals and technologies for making semiconductors used in smartphones, another area where China is a leader.
• Quad nations had also agreed to build joint connectivity projects and transparent infrastructure funding for countries in the region.
  • The emphasis on connectivity saw the Quad challenge China in another sphere: a coordinated effort to provide financing and sustainable alternatives to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has led many nations to take loans and accept infrastructure bids from Beijing.
• The Quad also created a working group for combating climate change which would oversee efforts to foster green shipping by decarbonising maritime supply chains and promoting the use of clean hydrogen.

What are the future plans of the Quad?

• The Leaders will review the progress of Quad initiatives and Working Groups, identify new areas of cooperation and provide strategic guidance and vision for future collaboration.
• The Quad summit is expected to discuss the Russian war in Ukraine, and the impact of three months of Western sanctions.
• US also unveiled the ‘Indo-Pacific Economic Framework’ (IPEF) which is a programme to bind countries in the region more closely through common standards.
• Quad members also launched a maritime monitoring plan to curb illegal fishing in the Indo-Pacific.

-Source: The Hindu

Saffron Crop

Context:

The erratic weather patterns have led many farmers to convert their saffron fields into apple orchards or to grow mustard crops in Kashmir.

Relevance:

GS III: Agriculture

Saffron Crop

• Overview:
  • Saffron is known as one of the costliest herbal spices globally, often referred to as “Red Gold” or the “Golden Condiment.”
  • The commercial part used from the saffron flower is the stigma, also known as saffron filament, thread, or stigmata.
• Botanical Characteristics:
  • Saffron seeds, called corms or bulbs, regenerate the plant through vegetative multiplication.
  • The plant contains key compounds such as crocin, picrocrocin, and safranal, which are valued for both medicinal and aesthetic purposes.
• Distribution:
  • Native to Greece and Asia Minor, saffron is now cultivated in various parts of Europe (notably Italy, France, and Spain), China, and India.
  • In India, approximately 90% of saffron production is concentrated in Kashmir, where it has a long history of cultivation.
• Climatic and Soil Requirements:
  • Elevation: Saffron thrives at elevations of 1,500-2,000 meters above mean sea level.
  • Temperature: It requires specific climatic conditions, with summer temperatures not exceeding 35°C to 40°C and winter temperatures as low as -15°C to -20°C.
  • Climate Types: Suitable for dry, moderate, and continental climates.
  • Soil: Saffron grows best in loamy, sandy, and calcareous soils, with a preference for acidic conditions, thriving in soil pH ranging from 5.5 to 8.5.

-Source: The Hindu

Charles Darwin’s frog

Context:

Researchers said the lack of adequate breeding sites due to habitat loss and competition for limited resources may be driving the Charles Darwin’s frog to breed in unnatural sites.

Relevance:

Facts for Prelims

Charles Darwin’s Frog

• Habitat: This species is endemic to the Andaman Islands.
• Family: Belongs to the family Dicroglossidae, a large group of Asian frogs with over 220 species.
• Reproductive Behavior:
  • Both male and female frogs adopt an inverted position on the walls of tree cavities during mating and egg-laying, keeping their bodies above the water.
  • Males produce three types of ‘complex’ calls to attract females.
  • When faced with competition from other males, they may engage in aggressive behaviors such as kicking, boxing, and biting, sometimes resulting in significant injuries.
• Conservation Status: Classified as “Vulnerable” by the IUCN.
• Current Concerns:
  • The species is increasingly using artificial objects, such as plastic sapling bags and human trash, as breeding sites. This shift is likely due to the loss and fragmentation of forest habitats, forcing the frogs to adapt to a rapidly changing environment on these small islands.

-Source: The Hindu