The index is jointly released by the NITI Aayog, the Ministry of Human Resource Development, and the World Bank.
It is to evaluate the performance of States and UTs in the school education sector.
It assesses States based on learning outcomes, access, equity and infrastructure and facilities, using survey data, self-reported data from States and third-party verification.
The ranking is based on 30 indicators in 2 broad categories,
Outcomes that consisted of learning, access, infrastructure & facilities, and equity outcomes
Governance processes aiding outcomes
Some of the parameters are,
The number of schools with the largest number of toilets for girl children
The average score of students in mathematics and language in classes III, V, and VIII,
The transition rate of students from primary to upper primary levels and also from upper primary levels to secondary level
It used 2016-17 as the reference year and 2015-16 as the base year.
Performance of States - Among 20 large States, Kerala was the best performer with a score of 76.6%, while Uttar Pradesh came in last with a score of 36.4%.
Among smaller States, Manipur emerged as the best performer, while Chandigarh topped the list of UTs
Top performers –
Tamil Nadu was the top performer in access and equity outcomes
Karnataka led in learning outcomes
Haryana had the best infrastructure and facilities.
Haryana, Assam and Uttar Pradesh showed the most improvement in their performance.
Karnataka, along with Uttarakhand, saw the biggest drop.
West Bengal refused to participate in the evaluation process and has not been included in the rankings.
Paleochannel
A Paleochannel is an old or ancient channel, which are filled with younger sediments.
It can store and transmit groundwater and therefore developed as a source of water.
A paleochannel in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) that linked the Ganga and Yamuna rivers was recently excavated.
The aim is to develop it as a potential groundwaterrecharge source.
It is around 4km wide, 45km long and consisted of a 15-metre-thick layer buried under soil.
These paleochannels reveal the course of riversthat have ceased to exist.
It will play a very crucial role in planning of Ganga cleaning and protecting safe groundwater resource.
The discovery was made by a team of scientists from the CSIR-NGRI (National Geophysical Research Institute) and the Central Groundwater Board.
The genesis of the palaeochannel’s discovery followed a 2016 report of a committee headed by K.S. Valdiya commissioned by the Water Resources Ministry.
This report concluded that evidence from palaeochannels suggested that the mythological Saraswati river did indeed exist.
Apprenticeship Rules
The government has notified changes in Apprenticeship Rules (1992).
The rules envisage to increase skilled manpower in the country, and raise monetary compensation of apprentices.
The new rules notified will come into effect from September 25.
The Amendment Rules, 2019 seeks to raise hiring limit of apprentices to 15% of total strength of an establishment.
The minimum amount of stipend prescribed ranges from Rs 5,000 per month for school pass outs between Class 5th and 9th.
The stipend can be up to Rs 9,000 per month to graduate or degree apprentices in any stream.
It has also lowered size-limit of an establishment with a mandatory obligation to engage apprentices on an optional basis from 40 to 30.
It reduced the size-limit of an establishment wanting to engage apprentices from 6 to 4.
INS Nilgiri
It is the first ship of the Project-17A frigates, designed indigenously by the Indian Navy.
It has a launch weight of 2,650 tonnes with enhanced stealth features, weapons and sensors.
It was launched at the dockyard of the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai for sea trails.
Launching is a process when a dockyard releases a warship into the sea for the first time and it undergoes various tests.
Project-17A is a deviation from the existing Shivalik class of frigates and it incorporate new design concepts for improved survivability, sea keeping, stealth and ship manoeuvrability.
Maitree – 2019
It is the joint military exercise between India and Thailand.
It was recently conducted in Meghalaya.
Its scope encompassed joint training in various facets of counter terrorism operations in urban and jungle environments.
