Himachal Pradesh
- Himachal Pradesh launches Samarth to improve school education standards
- To improve education standards in around 15,000 elementary schools, Himachal Pradesh government has introduced Samarth programme as part of a state-wide transformation programme that aims to institutionalize a review and monitoring mechanism with the objective of identifying problems and challenges and finding solutions to them.
- So far, the state government has been able to review over 5,000 schools, visited over 11,000 classrooms and covered 2.91 lakh students.
- In each school visit, a reviewing officer assesses the school on well-defined parameters in five categories: basic school infrastructure, classroom observations, school management, assessment results and funds utilisation.
- Unlike the earlier system, the optical mark reading (OMR) forms now allows immediate digitisation. As a result, a school visit in the first month is followed up with meetings based on digitised information at the state and district levels. Problem areas as well as well-performing schools are identified.
- This year, the state government has also embarked on an ambitious mission for on-time distribution of free textbooks among all students across the state.
- Himachal Pradesh’s hill town Bakloh justifies demand for separate state for Gorkhas
- Unrest over Gorkhaland movement in hills of Darjeeling, West Bengal, which led to killing of three persons in police firing.
- It has evoked sharp criticism from the tiny hill town of Bakloh in Himachal Pradesh, home town to 4 Gorkha Rifles.
- The local Gorkha population is throwing its weight behind the agitators and justifying the demand of a separate state for Gorkhas to protect their identity. Bakloh is a tiny hill village bordering Punjab’s Pathankot district with over a settlement of 4,000-5,000 Gorkhas.
INTERNATIONAL
- NASA Jupiter Probe to Fly Over Great Red Spot.
- NASA’s Juno spacecraft is about to get the best-ever look at Jupiter’s famous Great Red Spot. Jupiter’s mysterious Great Red Spot is probably the best-known feature of Jupiter.
- It became first space probe to complete flyby of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.
- The Great Red Spot on Jupiter is a massive storm (cyclone) measuring about 16,000 km in diameter. It is largest known storm in the solar system.
Gk byte – Juno Space craft
- NASA had launched unmanned spacecraft Juno on August 5, 2011 from Cape Canaveral, Florida as part of its New Frontiers program. It has been orbiting Jupiter, solar system’s largest planet from July 2016. The spacecraft has been named from Greco-Roman mythology. It is orbiting Jupiter from pole to pole, 5,000 kilometers above planet’s cloud tops. It has mission life istill February 2018.
NATIONAL
- Tax department launches ‘Aaykar Setu’ for taxpayers
- The Income Tax Department has introduced a mobile app, named ‘Aaykar Setu’ which aims to facilitate taxpayers with solutions to a range of tax-related issues. The app which was formally launched by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, will also let people link their PAN with the 12-digit unique identification number, Aadhaar.
- The app is currently available on the Android platform but the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) plans to make it available as a desktop service as well.
- It provides ease of use of all the services related to tax payment including tax payment, tax calculation. Also if a taxpayer has a problem, this app will help in lodging his grievance in the e-Nivaran module of the CBDT.
- The app will also have a section as ‘tax gyaan’ which will be a multiple choice question web-based game to provide knowledge to the youth accessible from mobile as well as desktop.
- National Green Tribunal bans use of nylon and synthetic manja.
- NGT imposed a ban on nylon and synthetic ‘manja’ the string used to fly kites as it poses a threat to the lives of birds, animals and humans.
- State governments have been directed to prohibit the “manufacture, sale, storage, purchase and use” of synthetic ‘manja’ or nylon threads and all other synthetic threads used for flying kites.
- The NGT passed the order after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) moved it for a nationwide ban on all forms of sharp kite-flying strings called
- Ravi Shastri appointed new head coach and Zaheer Khan bowling coach
- Ravi Shastri to become Indian cricket team’s new head coach where the appointment was confirmed by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
- He was chosen by the BCCI’s Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) that includes former captains Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and veteran batting star VVS Laxman.
- Zaheer Khan is appointed as the Bowling coach of Indian Cricket Team and Rahul Dravid is appointed as Batting Coach (Overseas).
- Odisha to set up International Standard Sports City
- Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced to set up an International Standard Sports City
- Kalinga International Sports City will be set up in Bhubaneswar and will be eligible to bid for most international competitions including Commonwealth and Asian games.
- The state government also signed an expression of interest with the International Association of Athletics Federation(IAAF) and the Athletics Federation of India for setting up of a high-performance academy inside the Kalinga Stadium.