National
Air Officer in Charge Personnel at Air HQ
⇒ Air Marshal Suraj Kumar Jha Ati Vishisht Seva Medal assumed the appointment of Air Officer in Charge Personnel at Air HQ on 01 August 2021.
The Air Marshal was commissioned in the Fighter stream of IAF on 08 June 1984.
Website on the 75th Independence Day Celebrations 2021
⇒ Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar launched a website on the 75th Independence Day Celebrations 2021 (IDC 2021), (indianidc2021.mod.gov.in), in New Delhi on August 03, 2021.
It is a platform to connect Indians from world over to celebrate the National Festival. For the first time ever, the platform live streamed the Independence Day Celebrations from the majestic Red Fort on August 15, 2021 in Virtual Reality (VR) 360 degree format.
Revised Samagra Shiksha Scheme
⇒ The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for continuation of the revised Samagra Shiksha Scheme for a period of five years i.e., from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
During this period, Scheme was approved with a total financial outlay of Rs 2,94,283.04 crore which includes Central share of Rs 1,85,398.32 crore.
Benefits:
The scheme covers 1.16 million schools, over 156 million students and 5.7 million Teachers of Government and Aided schools (from pre-primary to senior secondary level).
About Samagra Shiksha scheme:
The Samagra Shiksha scheme is an integrated scheme for school education covering the entire gamut from pre-school to class XII.
The scheme not only provides support for the implementation of the RTE Act but has also been aligned with the recommendations of NEP 2020 to ensure that all children have access to quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment which should take care of their diverse background, multilingual needs, different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process.
International
UNSC Presidency for August 2021
⇒ India had assumed the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), a 15-nations UN body, for a month i.e. August 2021. India took over the presidency of UNSC from France.
This was India’s first presidency in the UNSC during its 2021-22 tenure as a non-permanent member of the UNSC. The two-year tenure of India as a non-permanent member of the UNSC began on January 1, 2021.
During the presidency, India focused on maritime security, peacekeeping, and counterterrorism.
8th Meeting of Ministers of Justice of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States
⇒ The Union Minister of Law & Justice, Shri Kiren Rijiju attended the Eighth Meeting of Ministers of Justice of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States on 6th August, 2021.
Second meeting of the Experts Working Group:
The meet was preceded by the second meeting of the Experts Working Group on 4th and 5th of August, 2021.
The Experts Working Group discussed and share their experiences, practices and the role in countering corruption; providing free legal aid and other related activities of the Ministries of (Law and) Justice including firming up of Agenda and Joint Statement of the Justice Ministers’ Meeting.
Host Country:
Tajikistan was the host country for these meetings.
Discussion:
In the 8th Meeting of the Ministers of Justice of the SCO, Member States further deliberated on areas of cooperation:
- The role of coronavirus laws in the pandemic
- Providing free legal aid to citizens in accordance with national legislation
- Role of ministries of (law and) justice in countering corruption and other allied areas of cooperation and assistance in legal services
Participants:
The Ministers of (Law and) Justice and senior officials / experts from the Ministries of Law & Justice of India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan participated in the in the three days’ Meeting. The next meeting shall be hosted by Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Highlights of the Union Minister’s Address:
» Addressing the 8th Justice Ministers Meet of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Shri Rijiju highlighted the initiatives taken by the Indian Government for providing affordable and easy access to justice for all.
» He also said, the approach of the Indian Government under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is of Zero Tolerance to Corruption and Black Money and the country has a sound legal framework backed by strong institutional mechanism to deal with corruption.
MoU between IIST and TU Delft
⇒ The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Memorandum of Understanding between Indian Institute of Space science and Technology and The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), signed on 09 April 2021 and 17 May 2021 at respective institutes.
The MoU has been signed for carrying out the Academic programmes and Research activities involving students and faculty members in each institution.
Details of MoU:
- Students exchange programme
- Dual Degree/Double Degree programme
- Internships and project work
- Faculty exchange
- Joint Research
- Signing of this Agreement shall enable pursuing the following potential interest areas of cooperation such as, exchange of faculty members, students and researchers, scientific materials, publications and information, Joint research meeting, PhD program, Dual Degree/Double Degree programme.