Ministry of Culture to Undertake Research and Study in the Tribal Culture

Why is it in news?                                    

Ministry of Culture, employing several of its autonomous bodies, viz., CCRT (Centre for Cultural Resources and Training), Sangeet Natak Akademy, and Sahitya  Akademy has undertaken research and Study in the Tribal Culture specifically focusing upon the tribal art and literature.

Highlights

·        The  training programmes organized by CCRT aim at creating awareness about the Indian culture in various schools across the  nation.  The programmes also include several activities to impart significant knowledge about the tribal culture to the school students.

·        CCRT also operates various centres in the regional areas with a fairly considerable share of the tribal population. These centres include:

ü Regional Centre Guwahati (Assam),

ü Regional Centre Udaipur (Rajasthan),

ü Regional Centre Hyderabad, and

ü Regional Centre  Damoh (Madhya Pradesh).

·        It should  be noted that tribal experts and artists are also involved in the training programmes conducted at these regional centres.

Make in India Mission to Encourage the Clean Coal Technologies

Why is it in news?

70% of the electric generation in India is coal based. Besides, various other sectors also make use of coal as an important ingredient and fuel. These include steel, sponge iron cement, paper etc.

Highlights        

·        There is a high probability for an increase in the demand for coal in the years to come.

·        However, the coal based power generation (70% at present) is likely to be reduced to 50%.

·        Mission Coking Coal has been launched to augment coking coal production and supply and to meet the demand of steel sector. Under this mission, 12 coking coal washeries are being constructed having capacity of ~30 MTY.      

·        Government has launched coal gasification mission with a target to gasify 100 MT by 2030. Under this mission, Surface Coal/Lignite Gasification projects are being constructed.

·        Government is producing CBM gases from Coal bearing areas. 4. Government has also working on Coal to Hydrogen Mission. All these efforts will contribute in future energy security of the Country.

·        Under "Make in India mission", Government is making all efforts to encourage to develop indigenous clean coal technologies in the country.

MOE Draws Foreign Students

Why is it in news?

The Study in India  Programme   launched  by MOE  (Ministry of  Education)  on  18.04.2018 aims  at  drawing the foreign students to study in India. It encourages the foreign students to get enrolled in the HEIs (Higher Educational Institutions) by means of the systematic  brand building, marketing, social media and digital marketing campaigns.

Highlights

·        The programme involves partnership with 160 plus select Indian institutes/universities (based on NIRF Ranking and NAAC grading).

·        A skill test  called PAGATII (Performance Rating of Applicants through Global Aptitude Test for Indian Institutions) is conducted to offer Study in India Scholarships to meritorious students. 

·        However, the focus lies upon  48 countries across the Middle East and Africa and the South-East Asia under the flagship programme to grant scholarships to the foreign students.

·        Study in India has been reaching out to international students through Indian missions abroad and with extensive brand building exercise through Newspapers, Radio, Facebook, Instagram, Google Display & Search Network, Twitter, Emailers, WhatsApp, telegram etc.

11^th Agriculture Census Launched

Why is it in news?

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare launches the 11th Agriculture Census in the country.

Highlights

·       Prime Minister's focus is on increasing farmers income and empowering them by organizing small farmers - Shri Narendra Singh Tomar

·       For the first time, data collection for agricultural computations will be done on smart phones and tablets.