TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022 2. National Educational Policy, 2020 3. Bilateral Air Service Agreement (ASA)
1. Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022
Syllabus – GS 2, International Relations; Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving IndiaÂ
Prelims – Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022, Antarctic Treaty
Context – The bill aims at having India’s own national measures for protecting the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystem.
Details
- Parliament passed the Indian Antarctic Bill. The bill was moved by the Minister of Earth Sciences.
- The minister said that the bill is pursuant to India’s accession to the Antarctic Treaty, the Protocol on Environment Protection (Madrid Protocol) to the Antarctic Treaty and to the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.
- The main aim of the Bill is also to ensure the de-militarization of the region along with getting it rid of mining or illegal activities. It also aims that there should not be any nuclear test/explosion in the region.
- The Bill provides a harmonious policy and regulatory framework for India’s Antarctic activities through well-established legal mechanisms and will help in efficient and elective operations of the Indian Antarctic Programme.Â
- It will increase the credibility of India in polar governance leading to international collaboration and cooperation in scientific and logistics fields.
- The Bill also proposed to set up the Indian Antarctic Authority (IAA) under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, which shall be the apex decision-making authority and shall facilitate programmes and activities permitted under the Bill.
- Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences will be the Chairperson of the IAA and the IAA will have official members from the concerned Indian Ministries and decisions will be by consensus.
- India has two operational research stations in Antarctica named Maitri (Commissioned in 1989) and Bharati (Commissioned in 2012). India has successfully launched 40 annual scientific expeditions to Antarctica. With Himadri station in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, Arctic, India now belongs to the elite group of nations that have multiple research stations within the Polar Regions.
Read more on the Indian Antarctic Bill 2022 in the link.
2. National Educational Policy, 2020
Syllabus – GS-2, Education; Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Education
Prelims – NEP, 2020
Context – Salient features of National Educational Policy (NEP), 2020.
Details –
NEP was announced in 2020. It proposes various reforms in school education as well as higher education including technical education. Some of its important features are:
- Universal access from pre-primary school to Grade 12.
- Quality early childhood care and education for all between 3-6 years.
- New curricular and pedagogical structure (5+3+3+4).
- Emphasis on promoting multilingualism and Indian languages.
- Assessment reforms – Board Exams on up to two occasions during any given school year, one main examination and one for improvement, if desired.
- Setting up of a new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development).
- Special emphasis given to Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs).
- Robust and transparent processes for recruitment of teachers and merit-based performance
- Setting up of the State School Standards Authority (SSSA).
- Exposure of vocational education in school and higher education system.
- Increasing GER in higher education to 50% (GER- Gross Enrolment Ratio).
- Setting up of Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERUs)
- Setting up of the National Research Foundation (NRF).
- Single overarching umbrella body for the promotion of the higher education sector. HECI (Higher Education Commission of India) with independent bodies for standard setting, the General Education Council; Funding -HEGC (Higher Education Grants Council), Accreditation NAC (National Accreditation Council) and regulation NHERC (National Higher Education Regulatory Council).
- Expansion of open and distance learning to increase Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER).
- Internationalisation of Education.
- Professional Education will be an integral part of the higher education system.
- Teacher Education – 4-year integrated stage-specific, subject-specific Bachelor of Education.
- Creation of an autonomous body, the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, and administration.
- The Centre and the States will work together to increase the public investment in the Education sector to reach 6% of GDP at the earliest.
The Central Sector Scheme Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching (PMMMNMTT) was launched in 2014 to address comprehensively all issues related to Teacher Training/ Capacity Building and Professional Development of Teachers
The information was given by the Minister of State for Education in the Lok Sabha.
Also read – AIR Spotlight – NEP – Opening new avenues
3. Bilateral Air Service Agreement (ASA)
Syllabus – GS 2, International Relations; Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving IndiaÂ
Prelims- India signed ASAs with 116 foreign countries.
Details –
- A bilateral air service agreement is an agreement between 2 countries to allow international commercial air transport services between the signatories. It is usually founded on the principle of reciprocity with airlines from both countries enjoying equal opportunities in terms of flight operations.
- Any designated foreign airline can operate to/from a point in India if it is designated as a point of call in the bilateral Air Services Agreement (ASA) signed between India and the country which has designated the airline. India has signed ASAs with 116 foreign countries.
Read previous PIB here.
August 1st, 2022, PIB:- Download PDF Here
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