Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 10 December 2020

::NATIONAL::

Policy on School Bag 2020

The new ‘Policy on School Bag 2020’ of the Union ministry of education also recommends that the weight of the bag needs to be monitored on a regular basis in schools.
They should be light-weight with two padded and adjustable straps that can squarely fit on both shoulders and no wheeled carriers should be allowed. The policy even recommends that the weight of each textbook may come printed on them by the publishers.

Key highlights:

School bags should not be more than 10% of the body weight of students across classes I to X and there should be no homework till class II.
The recommendations have been arrived based on various surveys and studies conducted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). The policy stated that data collected from 3,624 students and 2,992 parents from 352 schools, which include KendriyaVidyalayas and state government schools were analysed.
The ‘Policy on School Bag 2020’ made 11 recommendations on the weight of the bags, including adequate good quality mid-day meal and potable water to all the students so that they need not carry lunch boxes or water bottles.
The policy also recommended that children with special needs be provided a double set of textbooks, through book banks in schools and lockers in classes for storing and retrieving books and other items.
The policy said there should be no bags in pre-primary. For classes I and II the bag weight range should be between 1.6 kg to 2.2 kg. Like-wise it should be 1.7 kg to 2.5 kg, 2 kg to 3 kg, 2.5 to 4 kg, 2.5 kg to 4.5 kg and 3.5 kg to 5 kg for classes III to V, classes VI and VII, class VIII, classes IX and X and classes XI and XII respectively.
Recommending that total study time should be accounted for while planning the syllabus, the policy said while there should be no homework upto class II and a maximum of two hours per week for classes III to V, homework duration for classes VI to VIII should not exceed one hour a day and two hours a day for classes IX and above.

Department of Integrative Medicine

• Ministry of AYUSH and AIIMS have decided to initiate work on setting up a Department of Integrative Medicine at AIIMS.

About:

This was decided in a joint visit and review by Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, AYUSH and Dr.RandeepGuleria, Director, AIIMS of the Centre for Integrative Medicine and Research (CIMR) at AIIMS, New Delhi.
The CIMR receives notable support through the Centre of Excellence Scheme of the Ministry of AYUSH.
It was decided that the Centre for Integrative Medicine and Research, CIMR, AIIMS may develop an integrated protocol with Ayurveda and Yoga for study on Post COVID treatment.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL CURRENT AFFAIRS (Only for Course Members)

JOIN Full Online Course for UPSC PRE Exam

UPSC IAS Exam Complete Study Materials

::INTERNATIONAL::

Mount Everest

Nepal and China jointly certified the elevation of Mount Everest at 8,848.86 metres above sea level — 86 cmhigher than what was recognised since 1954.
Mount Everest rises from border between Nepal and China. It is believed to be 50-60 million years old.
It isformed out of the collision of Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

Economy

KLI Project

The Union Cabinetgave its approval for Provision of Submarine Optical Fibre Cable Connectivity between Mainland (Kochi) and Lakshadweep Islands (KLI Project).

Key highlights:

The Project envisages the provision of a direct communication link through a dedicated submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) between Kochi and 11 Islands of Lakshadweep viz. Kavaratti, Kalpeni, Agati, Amini, Androth, Minicoy, Bangaram, Bitra, Chetlat, Kiltan, and Kadmat.
The estimated cost of implementation is about Rs 1,072 crore including operational expenses for 5 years. The Project would be funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund.
As per an official release, the submarine connectivity project will have a vital role in the delivery of e-governance services at the doorstep of citizens, potential development of fisheries, coconut-based industries and high-value tourism, educational development in terms of the education and in health care in terms of telemedicine facilities.
It will help in the establishment of numerous businesses, augment e-commerce activities and provide adequate support to educational institutes for knowledge sharing. The Lakshadweep Islands have the potential to become a hub of logistic services.
The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has been nominated as Project Execution Agency and Telecommunications Consultant India Limited (TCIL) as the Technical Consultant of the Project to assist Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
The project is targeted to be completed by May 2023.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL CURRENT AFFAIRS (Only for Course Members)

Sports

Bala Devi

Bala Devi scored her first goal for the Rangers FC in a 9-0 decimation of Motherwell FC in the Scottish Women's Premier League.
She thus became the first Indian woman to score in a top-tier professional league in Europe.
Bala Devi was born in Manipur in 1990.
Bala also won Rangers their second penalty in the 68th minute as she was taken down in the box. Bourma scored Rangers' eighth goal from that penalty.
The 30-year-old Indian had become the first Indian to sign a professional contract in a top-tier club in Europe in January.