PIB Summary- 20th June, 2021 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

Auction of coal mines

Details:

• The Coal Ministry had launched the auction process of 38 coal mines in the first tranche of the auction for Sale of Coal (commercial mining).

Ganga Quest 2021

Context:

Results of Ganga Quest 2021 Announced on Occasion of Ganga Dussehra.

About Ganga Quest:

• Ganga Quest, a national online quiz on Ganga, rivers, and environment was first conceptualized in 2019 as an educational program to sensitize children and youth towards the River Ganga to strengthen the Namami Gange program of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India.
• Ganga Quest is a competitive knowledge-building platform, an awareness initiative and scientific baseline determination exercise to assess the knowledge gaps and attitude orientation about Ganga and Rivers.
• Ganga Quest is an international bilingual (Hindi and English) online quiz on Ganga being organized by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and TREE Craze Foundation (TCF), a not for profit organization committed to Ganga, Rivers, and Environment.
• Anyone above 10 years of age can participate in the quiz.

NISHTHA Capacity Building Programme

Context:
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs and NCERT jointly organised a NISHTHA Capacity Building Programme for teachers and principals of the Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS).

Details:

• 120 teachers and principals from the EMRS completed the 40-day NISHTHA-National initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement Program.
• The capacity building program is aimed to build competencies among teachers and school principals and Improving Quality of School Education through Integrated Teacher Training.
• The teachers were from the three states of Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
• The program will be conducted for more EMRS teachers from across the country.

NISHTHA Scheme

The National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) is a capacity building programme for “Improving Quality of School Education through Integrated Teacher Training”.

It was launched by Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ in August 2019.

Overview of the NISHTHA Scheme

The participants will be trained on integrated learning outcomes, school-based assessment, and new techniques in education that will address the multiple needs of students. This will be organized by the National Resource Groups (NRGs) and State Resource Groups (SRGs) at the national and state level.

The ultimate aim of the NISHTHA Scheme is to motivate and strengthen the teachers skills in critical thinking and handling of diverse situations while at the same time enabling them to act as first level counsellors. Along with this, they will also develop skills on Learning Outcomes, Competency Based Learning and Testing, School Safety and Security.

Likely Outcomes of the NISHTHA Scheme

Upon the completion of the NISHTHA Scheme the following are the likely outcomes:

1. Improvement in learning for students.
2. Creation of an inclusive classroom environment.
3. Teachers will be attuned to the social, emotional and psychological needs of the students.
4. Teachers will be trained to develop social qualities for the student’s holistic development.
5. Fostering and development of a healthy and safe school environment.
6. Inclusion of ICT in learning and development.
7. Creation of a stress-free assessment based on learning competencies.
8. Phasing out of rote learning and adoption of competency and activity based learning.
9. New initiatives will be more noticeable by teachers and school heads alike.
10. School heads will be better able to implement new initiatives and create an environment for academic and administrative leadership.