14 Feb 2022: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Digital learning should not lead to digital divide: Vice President
2. Global Summit on ‘Reimagining Museums in India’
3. Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana

1. Digital learning should not lead to digital divide: Vice President

Syllabus: GS2: Polity and Governance: Issues relating to development and management of Education

Mains: Digital learning and digital divide in education

Context: The Vice President stressed that taking measures to promote digital learning is important to ensure that there is no digital divide. 

What are the Significant Aspects of Digital learning?

• Emphasis on digitisation
  • The new National Education Policy (NEP) puts emphasis on digitisation besides the use of technology in education. 
  • It also focuses on ed-tech for furthering education, particularly in rural areas. 
• Bridging the digital divide
  • The shift to digital learning also brings forward the conversations around the digital divide and the digital readiness of every stakeholder and institution. 
  • Work is needed to make education accessible through digital means for all school students, irrespective of their location, and internet and bandwidth connectivity. 
• Industry-ready students
  • The aim to make the students industry-ready by assessing their competencies can be achieved by bringing research and innovative digital learning.
  • This indicates that e-learning is the future and will shape the way for advanced learning methods in ed-tech.
• Latest tools, methodologies
  • Digital learning with the latest teaching tools and methodologies is helping teachers connect with several students spread across several locations simultaneously. 
  • Interactive digital media also is a great solution to the shortage of teachers in the country. To facilitate the same, it plans to use technology to upgrade the skills of teachers through the online portal DIKSHA. 

How digital learning helps reduce the digital divide in education?

• Improved international portfolio: Digital learning has enabled Indian institutes to further improve their portfolio of higher education internationally.
• Improved accessibility: Further, increasing digital education in India is also helping the government to improve accessibility in rural areas.
• Improved Quality: It also imparts quality education to students in small towns and villages. 
• Availability of resources: Rising adoption of digital learning in India is also attracting global key players to offer online courses to students and extend opportunities to learn new skills.

Recommendations: 

• Corrective action is needed to upgrade the skills of teachers in e-learning. 
• Ensure increased access to the internet especially in rural areas and remote places and to ‘keep inclusivity at the heart of the educational experience’. 
• Institutes should focus on developing a constructive and positive attitude among the students.
• Teachers should adopt innovative strategies to address important national and global challenges and opportunities in an intellectually vibrant, collaborative environment.
• Emphasis should be on promoting and preserving Indian languages.
• Teachers should impart an ‘experiential learning’ methodology that helps in promoting creativity and innovative outcomes.

2. Global Summit on ‘Reimagining Museums in India’

Syllabus: GS1: Indian Culture: Salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Prelims: Reimagining Museums in India

Context: The Ministry of Culture has organized a Global Summit on ‘Reimagining Museums in India’.

Global Summit on ‘Reimagining Museums in India’:

• The Summit was organized by the Minister of Culture under the aegis of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• Objectives: To discuss best practices and strategies of museum development and management from India and around the world.

3. Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana

Syllabus: GS2: Polity and Governance: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Center and States and the performance of these schemes

Prelims: Assistive Devices, ADIP, Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana’ (RVY Scheme)

Context: 

The distribution of aids and assistive devices to ‘Divyangjan’ under the ADIP Scheme and to Senior citizens under ‘Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana’ (RVY Scheme) were organized by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Assistive Devices: 

• Assistive devices are external devices that are designed, made, or adapted to assist a person to perform a particular task. 
• Many people with disabilities depend on assistive devices to enable them to carry out daily activities and participate actively and productively in community life.

Scheme of Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fitting of Aids and Appliances (ADIP Scheme)

• The ADIP Scheme has been in operation since 1981 with the main objective to assist the needy disabled persons in procuring durable, standard aids and appliances that can reduce the effects of disabilities and enhance their economic potential. 
• Assistive devices are given to Persons with Disabilities with an aim to improve their independent functioning and to arrest the extent of disability and occurrence of secondary disability. 

‘Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana’ (RVY Scheme):

• Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY) is a scheme for providing Physical Aids and Assisted-living Devices for Senior citizens belonging to the BPL category. 
• This is a Central Sector Scheme, fully funded by the Central Government. 
• The expenditure for implementation of the scheme will be met from the “Senior Citizens’ Welfare Fund”. 
• Under the scheme, physical aids will be provided only to the senior citizens of the nation. 
• Eligibility:
  • Senior Citizens, belonging to the BPL category and suffering from any of the age-related disabilities.
  • The Scheme is expected to benefit all Senior Citizens across the country.

Read previous PIB here.

February 14th, 2022, PIB:- Download PDF Here