UN Convention on Climate Change

Warsaw : Poland Nov 2013

The annual climate talks begins at the National Stadium at Warsaw in Poland.This 19th conference of parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be crucial to ensure that sufficient technical and political ground is covered in order to meet the ambitious time frame set for a deal in 2015 in Paris.
Last year at COP18 in Doha, developing countries managed to get included a last minute

Env News: Nov 2013

Env & Ecology

1. The annual climate talks are all set to begin at the National Stadium at Warsaw in Poland.This conference of parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will be crucial to ensure that sufficient technical and political ground is covered in order to meet the ambitious time frame set for a deal in 2015 in Paris. More
2. Super Typhoon Haiyan hits Philippines.(speed is more than 310 km/hr).Haiyan was earlier reported to be the most intense tropical storm in this area since Super Typhoon Tip (1979), and may even have exceeded the force of Tip.
3. HONEYBEES play a crucial role in pollination, which lies at the crux of fruit formation and seed setting in plants. Unfortunately, anthropogenic activities (human activities)are increasingly threatening their survival like that of Diesel exhaust from automobiles. It was also noticed that of all the chemicals in the diesel exhaust, oxides of nitrogen (NOx) appeared to be the most damaging to floral scents. 

Trans Fats

Trans_Fats

Trans fats are a type of unsaturated fat which is uncommon in nature but can be created artificially.Trans fat is short for trans fatty acid.  They are created during hydrogenation of liquid vegetable oils, to solidify them.They are present in foods like French fries, baked food and doughnuts.

 

Effects on Health 

1. The consumption of these fats raises the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), known

News : 7-14 Nov 2013

NEWS

Appointments : 

1. Honeywell on Monday announced the appointment of Jim Bujold as President, Southeast Asia, and Anant Maheshwari as President, Honeywell India. 

Resignations/Retirements

Obituaries

Awards

1. Gabriela Isler, a 25-year-old television presenter and accomplished flamenco dancer from Venezuela, has been crowned Miss Universe 2013 in Russia.

CBI Formation

CBI

Gauhati HC verdict : 

The Gauhati High Court has quashed the Union Home Ministry resolution by which the Central Bureau of Investigation was constituted way back in 1963. The court held that the CBI was neither an organ nor part of the Delhi Special Police Establishment and thus could not be treated as a “police force” constituted under the DSPE Act.

Supreme Court : 

By staying the Gauhati High Court order that declared the Central Bureau of Investigation

Arogyasri Scheme

Arogyasri Scheme

Started on : 1 April 2007 

By the : then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

Rajiv Aarogyasri or Aarogyasri is a program of the Government of Andhra Pradesh. It covers those below the poverty line. The government issues a Aarogyasri card and the beneficiary 

News-Facts

1. Pre-COP (Conference of Parties) 2013, is organised to firm up the agenda for the meeting, where all member-countries of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change gather held at POLAND.
2. Wrestling schools in rural western Maharashtra are called taleems, not akharas.
3. Thailand’s embattled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra
4. 
   

India's Mars Mission

Introduction : 

India’s first interplanetary probe, the Mars Orbiter Mission, has left home on the first leg of a voyage of scientific discovery. Once again, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation performed its task with impeccable ease.

Facts : 

• ISRO’s next focus is Chandrayaan 2 and GSLV
• Mars orbiter mission would continue till 2015.
• India's Mars orbiter will travel 300 days through space to reach the orbit of Mars

Journey : 

A long and difficult trek now lies ahead of the spacecraft. It will circle Earth for the rest of this month, repeatedly firing an onboard liquid-propellant engine to gain velocity. Shortly after

Polity News

Polity

1. At least seven of the 29 MLAs belonging to the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), led by actor-politician Vijayakant, might cross vote in favour of the AIADMK-backed nominees in the June 29 poll for Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu, Election Commission sources said even if they do so the action would not attract disqualification under the 10 Schedule of the Constitution of India (Article 102 (2) and 191 (2).Political parties can issue instructions but it is left to political organisations

Terms-Health

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B 

• Individual Donor-Nucleic Acid Testing (ID-NAT) advanced screening technology.


• Doctors said that HBV, known as a “silent killer”, is more infectious than HIV and is the cause for liver cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer.


• Hepatitis (liver inflammation) occurs when the liver, in reaction to harmful elements (commonly drugs, alcohol and viruses), swells and slowly loses its ability to function.


• Hepatitis B Virus is not spread by contaminated food. It is transmitted through contact with blood or other body fluids of an infected person.

Land Swap Deal

LAND SWAP DEAL

Bill—the India-Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement is again pending to be introduced in  parliament legislation.Such roadblocks hamper gaining trust of neighbors .India often suffers a “perception problem” in the eyes of its neighbors, which often view India with suspicion because of its size, economy and military might. That in turn encourages them to turn to

Open Government Data

Open Data Index

Introduction : 

Opening up government data to free public access is a global trend that aims to foster better governance by improving transparency. India makes official data available through its portal launched about a year ago, but it has been ranked low in the just-published Open Data

C V Raman

Raman Effect

Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman (7 November, 1888 – 21 November, 1970), was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 for his work on the scattering of light, ‘Raman Effect’ - that when light traverses a transparent material, some of the deflected light changes in wave length.

Higher Education

Introduction

India has a huge pool of potential young population as compared to other countries of the world but still on a sad demise its been a fact that only every seventh children went to college.Also nation has both crippling quality as well as quantity in terms of higher education.

For instance :

• In QS World University Ranking 2013, Indian university is not able to make its place in top most 200 colleges / universities of the world.


• India is at second position in terms of enrollment in higher education institutions (25 million in 2011-12)but still  has poor Gross Enrollment Ratio(GER) .In 2011-12 it is just 17.9 % as compared to average 30% across the world.US,Russia,Australia to name a few has GER as high as 85%.Highest being the Finland having around 95%.For this India's Human Resources and Development Ministry has set a target to achieve GER to 30% by 2020.

Classification of HE

1. Form of presence (Universities,colleges,diploma granting institutions).


2. Field of study (General courses , Professional Courses)


3. Mode of Delivery (Classroom edu , Distance Learning).


4. Level of Study (UG ,PG , PhD , Diploma)

Challenge

• Expansion :
  
  
  
  • India has around 144 million population in the age group of 15-24.Of this around 25.9 enrolled in 2011-12 which is around 17.9 % GER.For achieving target of 30% enrollment should be around 45 million.
  
  
  • For today to accommodate around 25.9 million students there are in total 659 universities having 28% contribution of private institutions.Around 33 thousand colleges having 60% contribution by private players.
  
  
  • For achieving the target we need around 508 universities , 25 thousand colleges/institutions .


• Excellence : 
  
  
  
  • Faculty shortage
  
  
  • Less Accredited Institutions


• Equity 
  
  
  
  • There is wide disparity in the GER of higher education across states and the GER in urban and rural areas, and gender- and community-wise.

Cause of Deterioration condition

• Lack of private participation and lack of interest shown from government side is the root cause of this problem.


• Only 3% increase in percentage of pvt institutions in India between  2007-2012.

Achievements

• The private sector has played an instrumental role in this growth, with private institutions now accounting for 64% of the total
  number of institutions and 59% of enrollment in the country, as compared to 43% and 33%, respectively, a decade ago.


• The Government has planned expenditure of INR 1,107 billion on higher education during the Twelfth Five
  Year plan, 1.3 times higher than the planned expenditure in Eleventh plan.

Achievements in 11th Five Year Plan

In the Eleventh Plan, the planned expenditure on higher education was pegged at INR849.43 billion, a nine- fold increase over the Tenth Plan outlay of INR96 billion. However, actual expenditure on higher education was 45.6% (INR396.47 billion) of the planned expenditure

Access

1. Increase in GER


2. Increase in number of institutions


3. Increase in pvt institution

Equity :

1. Additional opportunities for minorities / low-income families


2. Support for backward areas

Quality

1. Overcoming some faculty shortages


2. Infrastructure development


3. Strengthening research and development activity.

Bills :

1. Higher Education and Research Bill, 2011 : The Bill aims to consolidate multiple regulations and improve transparency by the creation of a single super regulator, the National Commission for Higher Education and Research, in the place of existing regulators such as the UGC and AICTE.


2. The National Academic Depository Bill, 2011:The Bill seeks to establish a national database of academic awards in electronic format through an identified and registered depository.


3. The National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, 2010 : The National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill aims to make accreditation and rating of all higher education institutions mandatory in India.


4. The Educational Tribunal Bill, 2010 : The Educational Tribunal Bill aims to expedite and enable more effective litigation involving students, teachers, employees and the management of institutions.


5. Foreign Educational Institutions Bill, 2010 : The Foreign Education Institutions Bill aims to regulate the entry and operation of foreign institutes in India. The Bill is a key legislation to encourage private sector participation in India, given the absence of any regulatory framework for FEIs.
   

12th Year Plans 

Excellence :

1. The Twelfth Plan emphasizes on leveraging technology for inter-institutional collaboration,innovation and faculty development to address challenges relating to infrastructure and faculty in India’s higher education system


2. A dynamic and international approach will be adopted by redesigning curricula, focusing on technical knowledge, initiating employability programmes, and aligning Indian education with international standards


3. Promotion and enhancement of research and innovation is a key focus area of the Twelfth Plan, to align research with the national development agenda and better serve the needs of industry and society.

Expansion : 

1. Government’s initiatives will focus on strengthening the infrastructure of Central and state institutions and on establishing research-based institutions.


2.  Private sector participation in the higher education system will be encouraged to provide greater financial flexibility through the relaxation/introduction of laws and regulations. Furthermore, there would be a focus on expanding the realm of higher education through ODL and skill-based programmes

Equity :

1. The Twelfth Plan proposes schemes and initiatives targeted at disadvantaged groups to address equality-related issues. The Plan has a flexible approach to embrace diversity and learning in Indian languages.

Governance :

1. Institutional differentiation, greater autonomy to institutions, decentralization of responsibility, and enhanced transparency in higher education are the key tenets of governance in the Twelfth Five Year Plan

Financing ,Implementing and Monitoring

1. The Plan provides for more public funding, sustainable levels of tuition fees and a more conducive environment for institutes to tap alternative sources of revenue and endowments.


2. Evaluation and monitoring systems will be strengthened by the creation of new institutional mechanisms and national databases.