West Bengal launch open-air classroom programme Paray Shikshalaya
- West Bengal government has launched an open-air classroom programme Paray Shikshalaya (Neighbourhood Schools) for primary and pre-primary students.
- Under the ‘Paray Shikshalaya’ project, primary and pre-primary students of government schools will be taught in open spaces.
- The state government will also provide mid-day meals to the students of
‘Paray Shikshalaya’.
- The para teachers and primary school teachers would be part of this project. They will provide elementary education to children of Class 1-5.
- Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit named as first woman Vice Chancellor of JNU
- The Ministry of Education (MOE) has appointed Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit as the new Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
- She is the first women Vice-Chancellor of JNU. The 59-year-old Pandit has been appointed for a period of five years.
- Pandit replaces M Jagadesh Kumar, who has been appointed as Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC).
- Before this appointment, Pandit was serving as the Vice-Chancellor of
Savitribai Phule University in Maharashtra.
- China wins AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 Football Tournament
- China PR (People’s Republic) defeated South Korea (Korea Republic), 3-2, to win the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 final title at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
- This is the record-extending 9th AFC Women’s Asian Cup title won by China.
- India is hosting the 20th edition of the football AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 from January 20, 2022, to February 06, 2022. China now qualifying for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand.
Appointments
- Sri Lankan fast bowler Suranga Lakmal announces retirement
- Veteran Sri Lankan fast bowler Suranga Lakmal has announced to retire from international cricket, after Sri Lanka’s upcoming tour of India.
- The 34-year-old right-arm fast bowler and right-handed batsman aim to join the English county club Derbyshire after retirement.
- The Derbyshire County Cricket Club has signed up Lakmal on a two-year contract. Lakmal has represented Sri Lanka in 165 international matches across formats, in his international career spanning over 12 years.
REPORT AND INDEX
J&K topped in India Press Freedom Report 2021
- The India Press Freedom Report 2021 was recently released by the Rights and Risks Analysis Group. According to the report, 13 media houses and newspapers were targeted in the country, 108 journalists were attacked, and 6 journalists were killed.
- Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Tripura topped the list of States and Union Territories where journalists and media houses were targeted in 2021.
- 24 Journalists were attacked physically, obstructed, threatened, and harassed for doing their work. All these attacks were made by public officials. This includes police attacks as well.
- 17 of these attacks were police attacks. 44 FIRS were registered against journalists in 2021. Of this 21 were registered under Section 153 of IPC.
NATIONAL NEWS
- Salesforce Global Index: India leads in digital skills readiness
- Salesforce, a leading player in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), published the Global Digital Skills Index 2022 which highlights the growing global digital skills crisis and the need for action.
- India has scored 63 out of 100, leads the digital skills readiness, and has the highest readiness Index among the 19 countries.
- The average global readiness score was 33 out of 100.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS:
- NASA will retire International Space Station in 2031
- According to NASA, the International Space Station will continue its operation until 2031 and then crash into an uninhabited area in the Pacific Ocean known as Point Nemo.
- It will be replaced with three free-flying space stations to continue the work after ISS’s retirement. NASA also selected Houston-based Axiom Space to provide the ISS’s first commercial module.
- For over two decades, the International Space Station (ISS) has been orbiting Earth at a speed of about eight kilometres per second, while an international crew of astronauts and cosmonauts onboard conducted Ground breaking scientific investigations that have thrown open the doors for deep space exploration.
- But now NASA has announced that the spacecraft will cease operations in 2031, after which it will fall out of orbit and plunge into the waters of the South Pacific Ocean.
Queen Elizabeth II marka 70th anniversary of her rule 2022
- The United Kingdom has marked the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s rule, the queen looked to the future of the monarchy.
- She surpassed Louis XIV of France as the longest-reigning monarch of a sovereign state.
- She became the longest-lived British monarch on 21 December 2007. In 2017, she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee.
- Elizabeth II is the Queen of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth realms. On 6 February 1952, Elizabeth became queen after the death of her father King George VI.
SPORTS:
Africa Cup of Nations: Senegal Beat Egypt 2022
- Senegal has defeated Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations championship winning the continental championship for the first time on penalty kicks at Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
- Sadio Mane scored the winning spot-kick as Senegal claimed a first-ever Africa Cup of Nations title with a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over seven time winners Egypt. The final had ended 0-0 after extra time.
- Senegal had lost two finals previously, including at the last African Cup in
- Egypt in 2019, when Mané was left inconsolable. This time he delivered the winning moment.
NATIONAL NEWS:
SR Narasimhan takes additional charge as CMD POSOCO 2022
- S. R. Narasimhan, Director (System Operation) has assumed the additional charge of the post of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO) w.e.f. 1st February 2022 at New Delhi.
- He has a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) in Finance.
- He has over three decades’ experience in Power System Operation spread across CEA, POWERGRID and POSOCO after an initial stint with BHEL.
- SR Narasimhan has contributed to several Expert Committees at the Government and regulatory levels in different areas ranging from system operation, grid integration of Renewable Energy (RE) resources and optimization to institution building.
