Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 30 September 2015

:: National ::

HRD Ministry will now rank top engineering, management institutes

The days of ranking Indian educational institutions by private agencies might soon become history as the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) came out with an indigenous ranking framework for engineering and management institutes on Tuesday.
The first ranking list which will cover government as well as private institutes would be completed by early April next year.
Mail Today was the first to report that the MHRD had decided to rank educational institutions in the country.
Irani had earlier told Mail Today that a ranking system for Indian institutions of higher learning is significant as it would empower students as well as parents to make a conscious choice-based on the rankings, removed from the hubris surrounding these institutions.
The ranking system has been opened to institutions in the private sector too, though participation has been kept voluntary.
The system itself would put pressure on educational institutions to perform well and provide what they promise in their prospectus, Irani had told Mail Today. While ranking methods have been worked out for engineering and management institutions, those for other domains, including pharmacy, architecture and universities, could be announced in the next one month.
The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) outlines a methodology to rank institutions across the country. The methodology had been prepared by a core committee set up by the ministry to identify the broad parameters for ranking.
The parameters broadly cover 'Teaching, Learning and Resources,' 'Research, Professional Practices and Collaborative Performance (RPC)', 'Graduation Outcomes(GO)', 'Outreach and Inclusivity (OI)', and 'Perception'.

:: India & world ::

Madhesi border blockade sparks anti-India feelings in Nepal

The disruption in cross-border trade between India and Nepal following protests by Madhesis has affected markets and citizens across both sides of the un-demarcated border.
Long convoys of trucks carrying supplies are stuck amid protests in Nepal over the country's newly adopted Constitution that keeps Madhesis, the Indian-origin inhabitants of the Terai plains, ting Nepal into seven provinces, and who claim they've been left out of the power structures. Demonstrators in the region have blocked two main border crossings from India, shutting off vital supply lines.
With hundreds of trucks stranded, supplies of essential commodities like sugar, salt and cooking gas cylinders has been hit.

:: Miscellaneous ::

India's deadliest warship - INS Kochi - set to join fleet today

Naval warship INS Kochi, the stealth guided missile destroyers, will be commissioned by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The warship is designed by the Navy's in-house organisation, Directorate of Naval Design, and it is constructed by Mazagon Dock Ship builders Ltd in Mumbai. It has displacement of 7,500 tons and it is 164 metres in length and 17 metres at the beam.
The ship is propelled by four gas turbines and designed to achieve speeds in excess of 30 knots. The ship has a complement of about 40 officers and 350 sailors.
INS Kochi is packed with an array of state-of-the-art weapons and sensors, with a significant indigenous component. The ship has many lethal weapons to its credit which include the successful fitment of vertically launched missile system for long distance engagement of shore and sea-based targets.
The ship is one of the few warships of the world and the second in the Indian Navy to have Multi-Function Surveillance and Threat Alert Radar to provide target data to Long Range Surface to Air Missile system.