PIB Summary- 22th November, 2022 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

Draft National Credit Framework

Why in News?
Union Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, participated in the stakeholders’ consultation on draft National Credit Framework (NCrF) at IIT Delhi. 

What are ‘credits’ in the education system?

• Credits are essentially a “recognition that a learner has completed a prior course of learning, corresponding to a qualification at a given level”, according to the draft document.
• In other words, it is a way of quantifying learning outcomes.

How does the credit system work?

• Take for example the Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) followed by many universities in India.
• Under the CBCS, students need to earn a certain number of credits for completing a degree.
• While doing so, it offers them the opportunity to mix and match a wide variety of courses, enabling interdisciplinary and intradisciplinary education.
• This is not possible under the conventional marks or percentage-based evaluation system.
• At a time the University Grants Commission (UGC) is encouraging provisions such as the four-year undergraduate programme with multiple entry and exit options, a credit-based approach has become imperative.

World Fisheries Day

Why in News?
Recently, Department of Fisheries celebrated ‘World Fisheries Day’ in Daman.

About World Fisheries Day

• World Fisheries Day is celebrated on 21st November every year to demonstrate solidarity with all fisher folk, fish farmers and concerned stakeholders throughout the world.
• It started in 1997 where “World Forum of Fish Harvesters & Fish Workers” met at New Delhi leading to formation of “World Fisheries Forum” with representatives from 18 countries and signed a declaration advocating for a global mandate of sustainable fishing practices and policies.
• The event aims to draw attention to overfishing, habitat destruction and other serious threats to the sustainability of our marine and freshwater resources.
• The celebrations serve to focus on changing the way the world manages global fisheries to ensure sustainable stocks and healthy ecosystems.

About India’s Fisheries Sector

• India is the second-largest fish producer in the world with a total production of 13.7 million metric tonnes in 2018-19 of which 65 per cent was from the inland sector. China is at rank 1 with 60 million tonnes per annum (almost 5 times as much as India).
• Fish & fish product exports emerged as the largest group in agricultural exports & in value terms accounted for Rs 47,620 crore in 2018-19.
• Fisheries provide employment to more than 14.5 million people.
  

Kashi Tamil Sangamam

Why in News?
Prime Minister of India inaugurated the month-long Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

About Kashi Tamil Sangamam

• The Kashi Tamil Sangamam commemorates a variety of characteristics of the North and South of India’s shared history and culture.
• The overarching goal is to strengthen the bonds between the peoples of the North and the South by bringing their respective knowledge systems and cultural traditions closer together.
• It is being put on by the Ministry of Education in association with the Government of Uttar Pradesh and other ministries including Culture, Textiles, Railways, Tourism, Food Processing, Information & Broadcasting, etc.
• The project is in line with the National Education Policy (NEP), which places a strong emphasis on fusing the richness of Indian Knowledge Systems with contemporary knowledge systems by the year 2020.
• The program’s two implementing organisations are IIT Madras and Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

Cultural Significance

• In order to construct a temple for Lord Shiva, King Parakrama Pandya of the area around Madurai in the 15th century travelled to Kashi (Uttar Pradesh) and brought back a lingam.
• He took a break under a tree while travelling back, but when he tried to move on, the cow carrying the lingam stood still.
• When Parakrama Pandya realised that this was the Lord’s intention, he put the lingam in the area, which later became known as Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu.
• The Pandyas had constructed the Kasi Viswanathar Temple for devotees who could not go to Kashi at what is now Tenkasi in southern Tamil Nadu, near to the state’s border with Kerala.