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To enhance employment opportunities for the youths of Jammu and Kashmir, the government started a special awareness drive for growers on the cultivation, processing of aromatic plants in Kashmir. As per the climate point of view, Kashmir Valley is suitable to produce a variety of fruit, vegetable crops and a good quantity of plant material that can be utilized in medicinal and aromatic activities. Growers from the valley participated in the programme. It aimed to create awareness among youth to involve them in the cultivation of aromatic plants. With the help of aromatic plants, growers especially young entrepreneurs can establish their own units and they will also engage other people to generate employment. Speaking to ANI, Sabdhar Wani, a grower said, “through this programme, we get knowledge about cultivation and processing. Scientists and scholars who participate in this programme share their knowledge so that we apply the right approach and avoid loss in production. The department of the Indian Institute of integrative medicine (IIIM) and the department of agriculture started special awareness programmes aimed to provide proper information to growers about the cultivation and processing of aromatic plants. Dr Shahid Rasool, Organizer and Scientist IIIM said, an awareness programme is very important so that growers can cultivate aromatic plants properly at a large scale. Under the CSR flagship programmes, it is providing knowledge to farmers. “This farming is different from the traditional method. Farmers don’t have much knowledge about this. This kind of programme enhances their knowledge about cultivation, processing and packaging so that they can apply the right approach.” In the coming time, the government is also going to distribute good quality medical plants among growers at subsidy rates so that they will produce a good quantity of plant material in future aimed to get benefits at large scale. Ghulam Mohiuddin Mir, Lavender grower said for the past four years I am associated with the aromatic plant’s programme. It helps growers to understand the right way of cultivation and processing. During this awareness drive growers participated at a large scale by following Covid guidelines and they demanded such types of programs should be continued in future. Source: ANI

Following a rise in Covid-19 cases, the Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday extended the closure of all schools and colleges in the state till January 23, 2022. On January 5, the Uttar Pradesh government had ordered to close all government and private schools for students up to class 10 till January 16. Several other states are also extending the closure of schools due to rising COVID-19 cases. Telangana on Sunday ordered the educational institutions to remain closed till January 30, 2022. Similarly, schools and colleges in Madhya Pradesh will remain closed till January 31. Schools in Bengaluru will remain closed till January 31 while schools in Kerala for students up to class 9 will remain closed for physical classes till January 21. In a statement, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that in view of changing circumstances and rising Covid-19 cases, all schools and colleges have been ordered to remain closed till January 23. However, online classes will continue, the statement said. Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister also chaired a meeting to review COVID situation. He also inspected arrangements related to COVID-19 management in King George’s Medical University (KGMU), Lucknow. Speaking to reporters, Yogi Adityanath informed that the state has around 1.03 lakh active cases. “Lucknow has reported 2,300 positive cases today, active cases stand at 16,300. Less than 1 per cent patients are admitted to hospital,” he added. “Vaccination drive has been so well that third wave hasn’t impacted us as much. UP vaccinated around over 22.87 crore people, of which 21.37 lakh are children aged between 15-18 tears and 3.87 lakh are people above 60 years of age or those with comorbidities with booster doses,” Yogi said. Source: ANI

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday invited students, teachers and parents to participate in the 5th edition of “Pariksha Pe Charcha 2022” and get a chance to be mentored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Valuable mantras to beat exam stress, excelling in career & life and much more! Here is your chance to get mentored directly by PM Shri @narendramodi ji. Inviting students, teachers and parents to participate in #PPC2022,” Pradhan tweeted sharing the registration link. The first edition of the prime minister’s interaction programme with school and college students “Pariksha Pe Charcha 1.0” was held at the Talkatora Stadium on February 16, 2018. In the subsequent editions of the programme, students, parents, teachers from across the nation and also from overseas interacted with him to discuss and overcome the stress emerging out of examinations in order to celebrate life. “The format of this programme is proposed to be in online mode like in 2021. An online creative writing competition is being conducted on various topics from December 28 to January 20, 2022, to select participants. Questions asked by selected winners will be featured in the Pariksha Pe Charcha programme,” a senior Ministry of Education official said. The topics for creative writing for students include — exam stress management strategies during COVID-19, Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a self-reliant school for self-reliant India; Clean India, Green India; digital collaboration in classrooms, environmental conservation and climate change resilience. Similarly, the theme for teachers is “National Education Policy (NEP) for Naya Bharat” while the themes for parents include — Beti Padhao, Desh Badhao; Local to Global – Vocal for Local; Lifelong Students’ Yearning for Learning. “About 2050 participants selected through competitions on MyGov will be presented with a certificate of appreciation from Director, NCERT and a special Pariksha Pe Charcha kit comprising ‘Exam Warriors’ book in Hindi and English, written by the prime minister,” the official said. Source: PTI

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Madras) has appointed Prof. V. Kamakoti as the new director of the institute. He succeeded Prof Bhaskar Ramamurthi, who is stepping down after completing two terms, an official release here said. An Alumnus of IIT Madras, Prof. Kamakoti, is currently the Associate Dean for Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research (ICSR), IIT Madras. He is also a member of the National Security Advisory Board, Government of India, the release mentioned. Speaking about his priorities, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Incoming Director, IIT Madras, said, “In the last two decades IIT Madras has focussed on Inter disciplinary translational research of relevance to our Nation. We have also reached out to large number of students through NPTEL, Swayam and On-line degree programs. With these gathered strengths, our immediate priority would be on augmenting the skill-set for indigenous technology development addressing local and global requirements aligning with the objectives of the National Education Policy.” Congratulating Prof. V. Kamakoti on his appointment, former director Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi said, “With Prof. Kamakoti at the helm, IIT Madras is poised to scale new heights in the coming years. He is an excellent teacher and researcher, and an able administrator. He has played key roles in many national projects, bringing to bear his deep expertise in computing and cybersecurity. The Institute and the country will benefit tremendously from his services”. Prof. Kamakoti, who is a faculty in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, led the Research team that designed and booted up India’s first Indigenously-developed Microprocessor ‘SHAKTI’ that can be used in mobile computing devices and networking systems. He was appointed by the Union Commerce Ministry in 2017 as the Chairman of a Taskforce on leveraging Artificial Intelligence for development across various fields. The professor has been conferred with various awards which includes, Abdul Kalam Technology Innovation National Fellowship, 2020, IESA Techno Visionary Award, 2018, IBM Faculty Award, 2016 and several others.

IIT Bombay Professor Rangan Banerjee has been appointed as the next director of IIT Delhi, the outgoing director of the institute Prof Ramgopal Rao announced on social media on Monday. Banerjee, a Forbes Marshall Chair Professor in IIT Bombay, is a B Tech (Mechanical) from the same institute. Later, he obtained a PhD (Mechanical Engineering), also from IIT Bombay. “I am happy to inform you that Prof. Rangan Banerjee from the Department of Energy Sciences & Engineering, IIT Bombay has been appointed as the next Director of IIT Delhi. Hearty congratulations and best wishes to Prof. Banerjee,” Prof Rao, who had taken charge in April 2016, posted on Facebook. JNU Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar and IIT Delhi professor at the Department of Applied Mechanics Santosh Kapuria were also shortlisted for the post. Prof. Rangan started his academic career as an assistant professor at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai in 1992 before joining IIT-Bombay in 1993. He became an assistant professor in 1997 and professor in 2003. He helped in starting the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at IIT-Bombay in 2007. Prof. Banerjee was a member of the working group on New and Renewable Energy for the eleventh and twelfth Five-Year Plans and a member of the Planning Commission’s Integrated Energy policy. He has been involved in advising the city, state regulatory commission and energy agency, the Planning commission, Niti Aayog, and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. He has co-authored books on several topics — planning for demand-side management in the power sector, energy cost in the chemical industry and engineering education in India. He has been honoured with Excellence in Teaching Award by IIT Bombay and is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering. He is also an adjunct faculty (honorary) in the Department of Engineering & Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University. Source: The Hindu

Delhi: Delhi Hight Court, on Thursday, said that there will no postponement in the current exam schedule of the UPSC Mains examination. The court heard a plea to postpone the Union Public Service Commission Mains exams scheduled from January 7 to 16, 2022. To defend the plea, the UPSC counsel said that they had distributed the admit cards and even the centres have been prepared for the students. They added further that they are adhering to all norms dictated by the district authorities and trying their level best to ensure safety and security during the examination. Advocate Kapadia, hearing the plea said, “The candidates need to survive the pandemic to get appointed. It’s very short-sighted to argue that appointments need to be made. Several other exams have been deferred during the second wave of COVID.” He added further, “There is a fundamental right to be safe and protect your health. This exam is a test of mind and not of survival of the fittest.” He opined that the colleges and schools are already shut in the light of the recent situation including public transport. It is safety of the students. Source: IndiaToday  

  After the ‘Yellow Alert’ declared by Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal in the capital city, Jawaharlal Nehru University on Wednesday issued a pronouncement of a night curfew on the campus from 10 pm to 5 am due to rising covid cases. On account of aggressive rise in the Covid19 tally and tremendously transmissible variant of the virus, Delhi government announced ‘Yellow Alert’ in order to curb the rising number of the cases. Soon after this JNU imposes night curfew. The order will be effective immediately, the university said. In its order, JNU said all offline academic activities will remain suspended and Dr B R Ambedkar Central Library will remain closed till further orders. JNU has also released certain guidelines to ensure safety. Persons who are in emergency services, medical emergencies and supply of goods are only allowed on production of valid I-Cards. Persons who are either going or coming from the airport, railway stations or ISBTs and coming from somewhere else are allowed to travel with the availability of a ticket. It has stated that authorised shops in shopping complexes, Tapti, Paschimabad, Poorvanchal complexes etc. are allowed to open between 10 am to 8 pm on an odd-even basis. Only outdoor yoga activity is allowed as per the order. According to the order, All authorised canteens are allowed to open with only 50 per cent capacity from 8 am to 10 pm only. The order stated that, “The security branch of the university shall ensure to check the movement of vehicles and persons on the campus”. It has also added that, the security forces have to ensure that everyone has strict adherence to guidelines who is on the campus premises. The residents of the campus are not allowed to go outside of the campus during the curfew hours and campus gates will remain closed for all during the curfew, except for any sort of emergency movement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asked IIT graduates to choose challenge over convenience and urged them to start working for the kind of India they want in the next 25 years, saying that a lot of time has already been wasted. Addressing the 54th convocation ceremony of the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur, Modi told the fresh graduates that they have to take over the reins of the country. He said India too had started its new journey after Independence. “By the time 25 years were completed, a lot of work should have been done for standing on our own feet but a lot of time has been wasted,” he said. “The country has lost a lot of time, two generations have gone by and so we should not miss even two moments now,” he said. He told students that they have to take over the reins of the country’s development and start work on it right now. “It is the responsibility of all of you to give direction to the country for the next 25 years, to give momentum to the country,” he said. He said the country is standing on the threshold of ‘immense opportunities’, and urged students to take up the responsibility of making use of them. The prime minister launched blockchain-based digital degrees at the ceremony, also attended by Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The students were issued digital degrees through an in-house blockchain-driven technology developed under the National Blockchain Project. These degrees can be verified globally and can’t be forged. Source: PTI  

The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) has declared the reduced syllabus for ICSE AND ISC exams 2022. Students applying for the CISCE board examinations 2022 can check and download the syllabus from the official website, cisce.org. The syllabus for ISE has been released by the CISCE board for subjects like Sociology, Psychology, Economics, Mathematics, Business Studies, Chemistry etc. According to the new syllabus, the portion and paper pattern for ICSE mathematics has been reduced. The new version will have two parts of the examination. They are as follows: Part 1: Theory of 80 marks Paper 1 will have three sections, in which A will be compulsory and will be of 65 marks Students will have a choice between Section B and C, which will be of 15 marks Part 2: Project work of 20 marks ICSE Class 10 has subjects such as English, History, Civics, Geography, Maths, Physics etc. The new pattern also says that the ICSE Class 10 English paper will be two hours and will have subjective type questions. In English, there will be two papers. The pattern is as follows: Paper 1: English language Paper 2: Literature in English Both of these assessments will be of 80 marks. Internal assessment will carry 20 marks. Source: The news has been published by India Today with a few edits by the ArdorComm News Network

Mumbai: According to officials from the Maharashtra Education Department, the minimum age criteria for admissions from nursery to class 1 for academic year 2022-23 will be relaxed. The government resolution (GR) dated September 18, 2020 states that the cut-off date for the minimum age for school admission is December 31. Due to the old cut-off date, children born in October, November, and December face issues while securing admission into different schools. So, to provide relief on the issue, the education department has changed the minimum age criteria for admission for the academic year 2022-23, a government circular stated on Monday. The New Admission Guide According to the Government Circular: Children born between October 1, 2018, and December 31, 2019, and completing the minimum age of three years as of December 31, 2022, can take admission to nursery. The children born between October 1, 2017, and December 31, 2018, and who have completed the minimum age of four years as of December 31, 2022, can take admission to junior KG (kindergarten). Children born between October 1, 2016, to December 31, 2017, and completed the minimum age of five years as of December 31, 2022, are eligible for senior KG admission. For Class 1 admission, the minimum age criterion is the completion of six years as of December 31, 2022. The children should have been born between October 1, 2015, and December 31, 2016. Apart from the abovementioned guidelines, the circular also states that the age criteria for pre-primary admissions can also be flexible and no institution can deny admissions citing cut-offs. In addition, no upper age limit has been decided as of yet and it can be kept flexible. Source: The article has been published by India Today with a few edits by the ArdorComm News Network Team.