Gist of The Hindu : JANUARY 2024

Gist of The Hindu: JANUARY- 2024

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Scheme for Residential Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) recently issued instructions for Residential Private Schools interested in joining SHRESHTA Scheme.

About Scheme for Residential Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas (SHRESHTA):

The scheme aims to provide access to the best private residential schools for meritorious students from Scheduled Caste (SC) communities.
It will provide scholarships to meritorious students from SC communities to study in private and NGO-run residential schools for Classes 9-12.
The scheme is expected to provide admissions to around 3,000 students in Classes 9 and 11 each year.
The core objectives of the scheme are to enhance the reach of the development initiatives of the government and fill in the gap in service-deprived SC dominant areas in the education sector.
The scheme will collaborate with voluntary organisations to provide an environment that can help create conditions for socio-economic upliftment and the overall development of the SC communities.
Implementation agency: The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
The scheme is being implemented in two modes.
First, there are SHRESHTA schools, which consist of the best CBSE/ state board-affiliated private residential schools.
Under SHRESHTA, outstanding students from SC communities, across states and UTs, will be selected annually through the National Entrance Test for SHRESHTA (NETS) and will be admitted to these schools for education in Classes 9 through 12.
The schools that will be part of this scheme will be selected based on a performance score of above 75 percent pass rate in Class 10 and 12 board examinations over the past three years.
The second mode is based on NGO and voluntary organisation-run schools and hostels. The institutions run by such organisations that run up to Class 12 will also be made part of the scheme.

Eligibility:

Students whose annual parental income is less than Rs 2,50,000 and who belong to SC communities are eligible to participate in this scheme.
Only those candidates who have passed or are appearing in Class VIII/X in the given academic session can apply for admission to Class IX/XI.
The scheme will cover the tuition fee, the hostel fee, and the mess fees for qualifying students.
Students will also be allowed to choose from a range of schools based on their merit.

National Essential Diagnostics List

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has begun the process of revising the current National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL) and invited relevant stakeholders to offer suggestions on adding or deleting diagnostic tests to the current list by the end of February.

About the National Essential Diagnostics List:

The NEDL lists the essential and most basic tests that should be available at various levels of healthcare facilities in the country, including at the village level, in sub-health centres, health and wellness centres, and primary health centres.
The ICMR had released the first NEDL in 2019 to make the availability of diagnostics an essential component of the healthcare system.
The list includes general laboratory tests for a broad range of common conditions for the diagnosis of communicable and non-communicable diseases, disease-specific tests for HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, dengue, malaria, and area-endemic diseases.
India is the first country to release the NEDL.
Since 2018, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends the development and implementation of a National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL) to facilitate the availability of In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVDs) across the various tiers of the healthcare pyramid, facilities with or without a laboratory onsite.

What are Essential diagnostic tests?

These are defined as those "that satisfy the priority healthcare needs of the population and are selected with due regard to disease prevalence and public health relevance, evidence of efficacy and accuracy, and comparative cost-effectiveness”.
The test should focus on conditions with a high disease burden or having significant public health relevance, where the introduction of a diagnostic test will have a clear impact on disease diagnosis and management.

Indian Tectonic Plate

Researchers recently unveiled new seismic data indicating that the Indian tectonic plate is splitting in two beneath the Tibetan plateau.

About Indian Tectonic Plate:

It is a minor tectonic plate.
It is bound by four major tectonic plates. North of the Indian plate is the Eurasian plate; to the south east is the Australian plate; to the south-west is the African plate; and to the west is the Arabian plate.
As the Indian plate moves northward relative to the Eurasian plate and collides with it, a convergent boundary is created.
On the opposite side, the Indo-African boundary is divergent.
The western Indo-Arabian boundary is lateral relative to each other, giving rise to a transform boundary.
It was previously thought that the Indian and Australian plates formed one single plate as there is no clear type of boundary but recent seismologic evidence suggests that the two plates will have a transform boundary, as the drift velocities of these two plates are different even if the general direction of motion of the two plates is similar.
The collision of the Indian plate with the Eurasian plate about 50 million years ago resulted in the erection of the Himalayan Mountains.
As the Indian plate is still active today and drifts at a velocity of about 5 cm per year, earthquakes occur in the northern part of the plate.

Nagara style

The Ram temple in Ayodhya will be inaugurated on January 22. The complex is in the Nagara style of temple architecture, designed by 81-year-old Chandrakant Sompura and his 51-year-old son Ashish.

About the Nagara style:

Nagara architecture is a classical architecture of temple design in northern India, contrasted with Dravida architecture in southern India.
Nagara temples have a shikhara (mountain peak) over the garbha griha (sanctum sanctorum), a circumambulatory passage around it, and one or more mandapas (halls).
Shikhara is a symbolic representation of the cosmic order and the divine presence.
There are five modes of shikhara design: Valabhi, Phamsana, Latina, Shekhari, and Bhumija.
Valabhi and Phamsana are Early Nagara modes, derived from barrel-roofed wooden structures.
Latina is a single, slightly curved tower with four equal sides, dominant for three centuries.
Shekhari and Bhumija are composite Latinas with attached sub-spires or miniature spires, creating a complex and ornate appearance.
These modes are scholastic classifications, not rigid categories. There is much variation and innovation within and across these modes.

Cabo Verde

Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has certified Cabo Verde (also known as Cape Verde) as a malaria-free country.
Cabo Verde has become the third country to acquire the status in the global health organisation’s African region. The country has now joined Mauritius and Algeria, who were certified in 1973 and 2019, respectively.

About Cabo Verde:

It is also known as Cape Verde which comprises a group of islands that lie off the west coast of Africa.
It is located nearby Senegal and is the nearest point on the continent.
This volcanic archipelago includes ten islands and five islets, divided into the windward (Barlavento) and leeward (Sotavento) groups.
Climate: Generally moderate, the climate is characterized by stable temperatures with extreme aridity.
The terrain of the Cabo Verde islands varies from the geologically older, flatter islands in the east and the newer, more mountainous islands in the west.
Population: The overwhelming majority of the population of Cabo Verde is of mixed European and African descent and is often referred to as mestiço or Crioulo.
Capital: Praia
Languages spoken: Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole

Chang'e 6 Mission

The China National Space Administration (CNSA) recently announced that the Chang’e 6 sample return mission is on track to land on the surface of the Moon in the first half of 2024.

About Chang’e 6 Mission:

The Chang'e 6 mission is a planned lander designed to return samples from the lunar south pole.
The mission aims to land on the Moon, collect samples from the lunar surface, and return them to Earth. This process will contribute crucial data to unravel the Moon's geological mysteries.
Representing the first attempt to retrieve samples from the far side of the Moon, Chang'e 6 is set to bring back up to two kilograms of lunar samples, adopting a configuration similar to the successful Chang'e 5 mission.
The mission involves international collaboration, with payloads from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the French space agency CNES.
ESA contributes a lunar surface ion tester, while CNES provides equipment for measuring radon gas and its decay products.
Additionally, an Italian laser corner reflector for radar instrument calibration and Pakistan's ICUBE-Q CubeSat will be part of the mission.
Chang'e 6 will consist of both a lander and a rover.
The lander will touch down on the lunar surface, while the rover will explore specific regions, conduct experiments, and aid in the sample collection process.
The returned samples will be made available to the global scientific community for study.