UPSC QUIZ 16.08.2023

Explanation:

• States have to have a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Center for the implementation of the new National Education Policy but some states are against the Prime Minister's Higher Education Campaign.
• The PM-USHA scheme is based on 60:40 funding between the Center and the States but has no additional provision for NEP reforms.

PM-USHA Scheme

• In the light of the National Education Policy , RUSA ( Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan) Scheme has been launched as “Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (PM- USHA)” in June 2023.
• RUSA, as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched in October 2013, aiming at providing strategic funding to higher education institutions throughout the country.

Explanation:

• India's rich cultural heritage is encapsulated in its ancient manuscripts, which hold invaluable knowledge and historical significance. However, the loss and dispersal of many of these manuscripts, even beyond the country's borders, have raised concerns.
• In a significant move, the Indian government is gearing up to address this issue through the introduction of the National Manuscripts Bill, 2023.

Main point

• The primary objectives of the Bill include documenting and cataloguing Indian heritage texts worldwide, maintaining accurate information, and specifying consultation conditions.
• The bill proposes the establishment of a 10-member National Manuscripts Authority (NMA), chaired by the Culture Minister and including representatives from Culture, Finance, Education, and private agencies.
• The NMA will oversee digitization, conservation, preservation, editing, and publication of manuscripts.
• The NMA will possess civil court powers to regulate manuscript access, investigate thefts, and ensure protection against damage or theft.

Explanation:

• India launched the first indigenously developed Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner.
• It is a next generation magnetic resonance imaging scanner with cost effective, light weight, ultra high intensity 1.5 Tesla high field.
• VoxelGrids Innovation Pvt Ltd has developed MRI scanner under National Biopharma Mission. In this scanner liquid nitrogen can be used instead of liquid helium.
• MRI is the best tool to provide three-dimensional images of tissues and identify tumours. A R&D organization of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology started a program called SAMEER in 2015 to build Indian MRI machines.

Explanation:

• NCERT to revise textbooks for classes 3 to 12 NIEPA Chancellor M.C. A 19-member National Curriculum and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC) has been set up under the chairmanship of Pant.
• These members include Sudha Murthy, Shankar Mahadevan, Sanjeev Sanyal and others. The committee aims to align the curriculum with the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
• Co-chaired by mathematician Manjul Bhargava, the committee will develop teaching materials and will be assisted by curriculum area groups.
• He is an academic and the Chancellor of the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA). He will be the chairman of this 19-member miscellaneous committee.
• Manjul Bhargava is a mathematician and professor at Princeton University. He has received many awards for his contributions to number theory and mathematics education.

Explanation:

• India, Japan and Sri Lanka are considering resuming trilateral cooperation after the cancellation of the joint India-Japan MoU for the East Container Terminal project in Colombo.
• However, the three countries have been working towards trilateral cooperation since India and Japan came to the rescue of Sri Lanka during last year's economic crisis and assisted in Sri Lanka's debt restructuring process.
• India and Japan share a vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region (FOIIP).
• India and Japan can work together on renewable energy and grid connectivity projects, development of Sri Lanka's Trincomalee as an oil pipeline hub, connectivity and people-centric projects like tourism and education.
• The Joint Economic Vision Statement between President Wickremesinghe (Sri Lanka) and the Prime Minister of India outlines transformative projects with private sector-led investment.