VISION

GS SCORE Prelims 2022 Fact File Polity: Important Amendments PDF

 What is the issue?

The National Education Policy, 2020 has highlighted the importance of early childhood care and education (ECCE) but the NFHS-5 finds only 13.6% of children enrolled in pre-primary schools.

What is the significance of early childhood care and education?

According to UNESCO, early childhood is defined as the period from birth to 8 years old, a time of remarkable growth with brain development at its peak.

• During early childhood, children are highly influenced by the environment and the people that surround them.
• Early childhood care and education (ECCE) is more than preparation for primary school.
• It aims at the holistic development of a child’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical needs in order to build a solid and broad foundation for lifelong learning and wellbeing.
• ECCE has the possibility to nurture caring, capable and responsible future citizens.
• For disadvantaged children, ECCE plays an important role in compensating for the disadvantages in the family and combating educational inequalities.
• The Sustainable Development Goal 4 aims to ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education by 2030.

Does every child have the access to ECCE?

 Why in news?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted the first India-Central Asia Summit in virtual format which was attended by Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

How has the India-Central Asia relation evolved?

History

• Ancient kingdoms like the Kushana Empire had territory in parts of both regions creating historical and civilizational linkages.
• The relationship strengthened in the medieval ages with the advent of Islam and establishment of Muslim rule in India, many of whose rulers had their origins in Central Asia.
• Modern Central Asia consists of five nations: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan which became independent after the collapse of the USSR in 1991.
• The Central Asian region is considered to be the part of India’s “extended neighbourhood.”

Geostrategic importance

• Central Asia is strategically positioned as an access point between Europe and Asia and offers extensive potential for trade, investment, and growth.

Geoeconomic Importance

• The region is richly endowed with commodities such as crude oil, natural gas, cotton, gold, copper, aluminium, and iron.
• India is working to invest in the region in the IT and education sectors as India has a very big IT sector and qualified working professionals.

Geo Security Cooperation

• Security cooperation includes conducting joint research on military-defence issues, coordinating on counterterrorism measures, and a special focus on the issue of Afghanistan.

Soft Power

• The people-to-people contact has been a defining feature of India’s Connect Central Asia Policy.
• Indian cultural products have been extremely popular in the region since the time of the USSR.

What is the summit about?

1)  Data Privacy Day observed on 28 January 2022

•Data Privacy Day is celebrated on January 28, every year across the world. The objective of the day is to sensitize individuals and disseminate privacy practices and principles. It encourages everyone to own their privacy responsibilities to create a culture of privacy. Observance of the day is “an international effort of creating awareness on the importance of respecting privacy, enabling trust and safeguarding data”.

•The theme for this year is ‘Privacy Matters’. It instils a sense of accountability that Privacy is integral to every individual’s life.  Data privacy has been one of the hot topics of discussion in a digitally connected world. The issue has become pertinent at the time of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic when more and more people are forced to spend time in the online world.

2)  PM Narendra Modi Hosts First India-Central Asia Virtual Summit

•Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has hosted the first India-Central Asia Summit, through the virtual platform. It was the first of its kind engagement between India and the Central Asian countries at the level of leaders. The central Asian region has five recognized countries. The Summit was attended by the Presidents of these five Central Asian countries.

•These are the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan), Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan. The first India-Central Asia Summit coincided with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Central Asian countries. During the summit, the Leaders agreed to hold the Summit every 2 years (biennial). The summit is symbolic of the importance attached by the leaders of both sides to a comprehensive and enduring India-Central Asia partnership.

3)  Lok Sabha secretariat launches Digital Sansad app

•Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has launched the official mobile application of the Parliament named ‘Digital Sansad App’ on January 27, 2022, to allow citizens to access live proceedings of the House, including the Union Budget 2022 live. The app will make the Parliament and Parliamentary proceedings accessible not only to the members but also to the public of the country.

4)  GoI appoints Anantha Nageshwaran as chief economic advisor

•The Government of India has appointed Dr V Anantha Nageswaran as the new Chief Economic Adviser. The announcement came days ahead of the presentation of the 2022 Union Budget on February 1 and the tabling of the 2021-22 Economic Survey on January 31. This post was lying vacant since December 17, 2021, when KV Subramanian left the office. He is a former member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC).

5)  India’s largest EV charging station opened at Gurgaon

•India’s largest electric vehicle (EV) charging station with a capacity of 100 charging points for 4 wheelers, was opened at Delhi-Jaipur National Highway in Gurugram. Previously, India’s largest EV charging station was situated in Navi Mumbai with 16 AC & 4 DC charging ports for EVs. The new EV charging station has been developed by tech-piloting company Alektrify Private Limited.

•This EV charging station will not only boost the electric vehicles industry in the region but will also act as a benchmark for large EV charging stations across the nation in future. The electric vehicle charging station of this size and magnitude is rare and will be instrumental for the industry to experience actual Ease of Doing Business in smooth ‘Certification Compliance’ and ‘Safety Standards’.

6)  World’s-largest canal lock unveiled in Netherlands

•The world’s largest canal lock has been inaugurated at Ijmuiden, a small port city, in the Port of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The sea lock was inaugurated by Dutch King Willen-Alexander. The Ijmuiden sea lock is 500-meter (1,640-feet) long and 70-meter wide. Construction on the massive infrastructure project began in 2016 and was meant to be done by 2019. It also went over the initially planned budget by around €300 million ($338 million).

•The Ijmuiden lock was designed to allow large, modern cargo ships to reach the port of Amsterdam. The structure is also deep enough that ships will no longer have to wait for a favourable water level to enter the canal. With almost nine meters above the sea leave, the structure is also a defence against the threat of flooding.

7)  A new book titled “The $10 Trillion Dream” author by Subhash Garg

•The former finance secretary of India, Subhash Chandra Garg has announced his debut book named “The $10 Trillion Dream”. The book is scheduled to hit stands towards the end of February 2022. The new book explores the critical policy issues that India faces today and suggests reforms for it to become a USD 10 trillion economy by the mid-2030s. It is published by Penguin Random House India (PRHI).

•Garg, a member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) for over 36 years, has served in various key positions for both the Union government and the government of Rajasthan. He was designated finance secretary in March 2019.

8)  WGC: Global gold demand rises 10% to 4,021 tonnes

•According to the World Gold Council (WGC) report ‘Gold Demand Trends 2021’ has informed that the global gold demand rose 10 per cent in 2021 to 4,021.3 tonnes. The overall gold demand during 2020, which was impacted following Covid-19 related disruptions, stood at 3,658.8 tonnes.

•The demand for the yellow metal was mainly driven by Central bank buying during the fourth quarter of 2021, recovery in jewellery consumption, mainly in India and China. India’s gold consumption surged to 797.3 tonnes in 2021, on the back of the recovery in consumer sentiments and pent-up demand post Covid-19-related disruptions and the bullish trend is set to continue this year as well.

9)  Pushp Kumar Joshi named to be new chairman and MD of HPCL

•Pushp Kumar Joshi has been named to be the new chairman and managing director of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), the nation’s third-largest oil refining and fuel marketing company. Joshi, who is currently Director – Human Resources at HPCL has been on the board of HPCL for almost a decade now. He will replace Mukesh Kumar Surana, who superannuates on April 30 this year.

•The recommendation will now go to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by the Prime Minister (PM) of India. ACC will decide on his selection after getting reports from anti-corruption agencies such as CVC (Central Vigilance Commission) and CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation).

10)  ‘A Little Book of India: Celebrating 75 years of Independence’ authored by Ruskin Bond

•A new book titled “A Little Book of India: Celebrating 75 years of Independence” authored by Ruskin Bond was released, marking 75 years of India’s Independence. The book is the blend of “physical and spiritual” attributes of India and also highlights the last 75 years of India’s progress as a nation. It is published by Penguin Random House India (PRHI). It is a record of some of my memories and impressions of this unique land — of its rivers and forests, literature and culture, sights, sounds and colours — an amalgamation of the physical and spiritual.

 UPSC TOPPER Utkarsh AIR-55, 2020 COMPLETE NOTES PDF

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1)  India’s first graphene innovation center to be established in Kerala

•India’s first innovation centre for graphene will be set up in Kerala by the Digital University Kerala (DUK), along with the Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET) in Thrissur, for Rs 86.41 crore. This will be the first graphene Research and Development (R&D) incubation centre in the country. Tata Steel Limited is set to be the industrial partner of the centre.

•The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, has given approval for the project. The project, which will be implemented with the support of the Kerala government, is expected to accelerate the state’s growth in the knowledge industry sector.

What is Graphene?

•Graphene is known for its extraordinary electrical and electronic properties, and as per latest research, it could replace indium and thereby bring down the cost of OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screens in smartphones. Graphene has good chemical stability, high electrical conductivity and a large surface area while being transparent and lightweight.

2)  Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve bags TX2 award

•Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (Erode district, Tamil Nadu) has been given the prestigious TX2 award after its tiger numbers doubled to 80 since 2010. Apart from the STR, the Bardia National Park in Nepal has won this year’s TX2 award for doubling the population of wild tigers. Sathyamangalam wildlife sanctuary was declared a tiger reserve in 2013 and the reserve that spread across 1,411.60 sq km is an important link between the Nilgiris and Eastern Ghats landscape. The Nilgiri biosphere landscape that this reserve is part of is currently the home to the largest tiger population in the world. It is connected to other well-established tiger habitats like Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Bandipur Tiger Reserve and BR Hills Tiger Reserve.

3)  J&K Police Bags Highest 115 Police Medals For Gallantry

•Jammu and Kashmir Police has bagged 115 Police Medals for Gallantry (PMG), out of a total of 189 awarded this year. They more than doubled their last year’s tally of 52 PMGs. J&K Police won awards for conducting several counter-insurgency operations in 2019-20. Police personnel from Jammu and Kashmir have been awarded 115 Police Medals for Gallantry, the highest number from any police force this year, followed by CRPF with 30, Chhattisgarh Police with 10, Odisha Police with nine, and Maharashtra Police with seven. 

4)  India pays $29.9 million in UN regular budget assessments for 2022

•India has paid USD 29.9 million in UN regular budget assessments for the year 2022. As of January 21, 2022, 24 Member States have paid their regular budget assessments in full. India is currently a non-permanent member of the 15-nation Security Council and its two-year term will end on December 31, 2022.

•“#India proud to pay again in full! India joins the 2022 Honour Roll of 24 Member States out of 193 that have paid their @UN RegularBudget Assessments in full,” India’s Permanent Mission to the UN tweeted.

5)  Pencilton Launches Teen-Focused Debit and Travel Card

•A teen-focused Fintech startup based in India, Pencilton has recently launched PencilCard, a debit card that is compliant with National Common Mobility Card standards. It has been launched in partnership with Transcorp. The National Common Mobility Card was developed by India’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in early 2019. It allows the user to pay for travel, toll duties, retail shopping and withdraw money.

6)  Meenakashi Lekhi launches pictorial comic book ‘India’s Women Unsung Heroes’

•Union Minister of State for Culture, Meenakashi Lekhi has released a pictorial comic book titled ‘India’s Women Unsung Heroes’, as a tribute to the forgotten women freedom fighters of the country. The book has been prepared by the Ministry of Culture in partnership with Amar Chitra Katha, an Indian publisher of Indian comics and graphic novels. India will be celebrating 75 years of independence this August 15. And so, the book celebrates the lives of 75 unsung women freedom fighters of India, including Chakali Ilamma, Padmaja Naidu, Durgabhai Deshmukh, among others.

•The book is a fitting tribute to the forgotten heroes of our freedom struggle as it celebrates the lives of women who led the charge and lit the flame of rebellion throughout the country. It contains stories of queens who battled imperialism and dedicated their lives for Maa Bharati.

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