ASSAM

Tezpur University (TU) students have designed an IoT (Internet of things) based portable ventilator to fight Covid-19, which can be life saving in case of respiratory failure.

As shortage of ventilators have been haunting the country since breakout of the Covid crisis, the electrical engineering department of TU has undertaken an initiative to design a portable ventilator- an essential instrument for patients who are unable to sustain the level of ventilatory necessary to maintain the gas exchange functions.

The Assam government has forwarded a draft agreement to resolve the inter-state border dispute withArunachal Pradeshfor its approval. Once signed, the agreement will pave the way for signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to bring an end to the longstanding row between the two states within this month. The two states share an 804 km-long border.

Confirming the development, Assam border area development minister AtulBorasaid, The draft of the MoU was discussed threadbare and given a final shape. The copy will now be shared with them (Arunachal Pradesh) and if they approve it, we can proceed to the signing stage, which we expect would be within this month.

The draft agreement was finalised after a review meeting by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday evening, said. All members of the 12 regional committees of Assam, local MLAs, MPs and District Administration officials were present at the meeting to finalise the draft MoU.

Notably, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have been engaging in discussions to resolve the border disputes with Sarma and his Arunachal counterpart Pema Khandu signing the Namsai Declaration on July 15 last year. In the declaration, both the chief ministers pledged to find solutions to the disputes soon. The two northeastern states also decided to restrict the number of disputed villages to 86, instead of the previous 123.

The decision of the Northeast Frontier https://exam.pscnotes.com/RAILWAY“>RAILWAY (NFR) to resume passenger train service on a regular basis for the first time since last years lockdown may ease inter and intra-state passenger movement but will certainly pinch the pockets of travellers because of a near three-fold hike in passenger fare.

To start plying the five pairs of passenger trains again, the NFR has published special restoration notices recently. However, the train status showing unreserved mail/express ticketing has surprised local passengers, who were expecting some relief from the exorbitant fare that they have been paying for months in private commercial passenger vehicles for their journey in the absence of passenger trains. After the lockdown was withdrawn last year, only one pair of passenger trains between New Bongaigaon-Guwahati was operating on a pilot basis in the NFR zone.

This project will be launched to provide guidance to students and boost their skills.

For this project, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma met Anita Rajan, CEO of Tata STRIVE, to sought their cooperation on this project.

Tata STRIVE is a Skill development programme of Tata Trusts.

Tata STRIVE

Tata STRIVE is an initiative of the TCIT. It was launched with the aim of Tata STRIVE started working under the parent head of Tata Trusts in FY 2017-18. It was started working a result of strategy of SIMPLIFICATION, synergy and scale of Tata Group. This move recognises close synergies between Tata STRIVE and broader community interventions of Tata Trusts. This initiative is skilling youth from underprivileged backgrounds by means of innovations in technology, methodology and pedagogy. Since 2014, 6.5 Lakh Individuals have experienced the advantage of Tata STRIVE.

:AssamandMeghalayahave agreed in principle to divide about 36 sqkm of disputed land at six places between them in almost equal parts to partially end the 50-year-old border row between them.

The disputes in six other remaining areas, which are termed as complicated, will be taken up for settlement in the next phase.

The two states have, however, agreed that the disputes will be limited to only these 12 areas based on the claims made by Meghalaya till 2011 and that Meghalaya cannot make any further claims.

The Assam-Meghalaya proposal will be sent to MHA for approval as inter-state boundary is a central subject, which will have to be then approved by parliament as Meghalaya became a full-fledged state in 1972 under the North Eastern Region (Re-organisation) Act of 1971 and then ratified by the legislative assemblies of both states.

Smartphone availability at Home for schoolchildren has doubled to 71% during the Covid pandemic in Assam and for the two northeastern states of Manipur and Nagaland it went up to 92% this year. But their access to smartphones for purposes of study remains a concern. For more than half of the schoolchildren, smartphones are available sometimes or not accessible at all.

This was revealed in the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2021 published on Wednesday, covering 581 districts across 25 states and three Union Territories in the country.

In the five northeastern states, where the survey was conducted, the smartphones were available at homes of 36.1% of the surveyed children of Assam in 2018. The corresponding figure in Manipur went up to 92.9% in 2021 from 53.4% in 2018. In Nagaland also smartphones were available with 92.9% children at home in 2021, though the same was 50% in 2018. For Meghalaya, the corresponding figures were 41.3% (2018) and 77.9% (2021) respectively.

In Assam, 51.4% of the surveyed children got access to smartphones for purposes of study sometimes, whereas for 22.9% it was not accessible despite being available at home. In Manipur, 39.9% got access only sometimes and for 24.5% it was not accessible. The corresponding figures for Meghalaya were 34.2% and 30.7% respectively.

ASER 2021 was a household rural survey conducted via phone. At an all India level, 67.6% children were found to have a smartphone at home.

CM Himanta Biswa Sarmaon Wednesday urged the heads of Indian and American companies to join hands with theAssamgovernment and explore the opportunities offered by the state, especially in tea, trade and tourism. He was addressing an event hosted by theUS-India Strategic PARTNERSHIP Forum(USISP) in New Delhi.

“Our inherent strengths – geographical, https://exam.pscnotes.com/natural-Resources“>Natural Resources, Flora and Fauna, coupled with the enabling policy push guided by the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi – have made Assam a powerhouse of opportunities. From tea to trade and tourism, we offer enormous possibilities for businesses,” Sarma said. He added that the Assam government has been working tirelessly to create a robust Environment for investments through a bouquet of policies, including investments in higher Education.

Union Minister for Social and Empowerment Virendra Kumar said the Centre has been extending all possible cooperation to border states in fighting the menace of drug trade and abuse. Setting up rehabilitation centres to help the drug users give up their addiction is a part of the fight against drugs in which his Ministry is directly involved, he said. Addressing a press conference here, Kumar said, “In border states like Rajasthan, Assam, Punjab and Sikkim, among others, the problem of drugs is a major issue. The government here (in Assam) is already fighting it and the Central government has been extending its full support.”

The minister said he visited the rehabilitation centre for addicts run by the Committee on Social Economic Health Development-ICRA at Khetri on the outskirts of the city earlier in the day and interacted with inmates there.