Reservations for differently abled
- Recently union government has opened government jobs to differently abled with learning disabilities, Down syndrome, intellectual disabilities, autism and victims of acid attacks.
- The department of personnel and training (DoPT) has framed rules for reserving, advertising and filling up of government vacancies across all ministries to follow them from 2018.
- The employment rules also specify a procedure to exempt a cadre or establishment from reservation for differently abled.
Institutions of Eminence
- To improve performance of Indian higher educational institutions in the world rankings union government has proposed “Institutions of Eminence”.
- Educational institutes which wish to become a part of Institutes of Eminence need to submit a proposal providing their tangible action plan and milestones that they would work to achieve in a period of 5 years as well as 15 years.
- The Institution of Eminence will be ranked under National Institutional Ranking Framework and International Ranking index of repute.
National Institutional Ranking Framework
- The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) was approved by the MHRD and launched in 2015.
- This framework outlines a methodology to rank institutions across the country.
- The methodology involves various parameters for ranking universities and institutions such as
- Teaching, Learning and Resources.
- Research and Professional Practices.
- Graduation Outcomes.
- Outreach and Inclusivity.
- Perception.
Maitreyi Yatra
- It is an exclusive student exchange programme for J&K organized by Ministry of Human Resource development.
- It provides a good opportunity for the youth of J&K to be acquainted with culture, language and development story of different parts of the country.
Toll free number to report accidents
- National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is about to launch 1033 as national toll-free number to report road accidents on national highways (NHs).
- The aim is to provide quick help, rescue any accident victim, and take him/her to the nearest hospital.
- This number can also be used to lodge grievances regarding highway maintenance issues.
Global centre for Cyber Security
- Recently the World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced a new Global Centre for Cybersecurity.
- It will be an autonomous organization under WEF, based in Geneva, Switzerland.
- It will serve as a laboratory and early-warning think tank for future cybersecurity scenarios.
Delhi declaration
- It was adopted at the recently concluded ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit.
- ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit was held to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of sectoral dialogue between two sides.
- The declaration urges countries to strengthen cooperation and collaboration in combating transnational crimes, including people smuggling, trafficking in persons, illicit drug trafficking, cybercrime.
Source: PIB, Economic times, the Hindu
