ASSAM

Rs 1,000 Cr-Assam varsity will upskill NE youths: Himanta

by

Assam Chief MinisterHimanta Biswa Sarmaon Sunday asserted that the Rs 1,000 crore-Assam Skill University will upskill youths of Northeast. Performing ‘bhumi pujan’ for the institute at Darrang district headquarters Mangaldai, around 70 km from Guwahati, Sarma said that the institute will harness the demographic dividend of Assam, which has a very young Population.

“The Rs 1,000-crore institute will have multiple schools and centres of excellence that will play a huge role in upskilling the youths in Northeast. The university will have various campuses across Assam,” he said.

Sarma said a target has been set to complete the construction of the entire campus by August 2025 but an interim complex is expected to start functioning from 2024 itself.

The skill university, first-of-its-kind in Assam and third such institute in the country, will impart Education for Skill development in different sectors such as and innovation, life skills and languages, and design and creativity, through its various schools and courses.
It is being partially funded by the Asian Development Bank.

Call for steps to restore ecosystem

by

Environmental experts have called for immediate steps for ecosystem restoration, which was the theme for this years World Environment Day celebrated.

Guwahati city is a key example which is witnessing rapid ecosystem degradation, where surrounding hillocks with forest cover has been destroyed and altered from the original FOREST ECOSYSTEM. Deepor Beel, Assams lone Ramsar site situated adjacent to the city, now faces sheer magnitude of the challenges due to the human interventions. In the past 20 years, Guwahati lost key wetlands like part of Silsako Beel, part of Deepor Beel and Sola Beel in Paltan Bazar almost gone.

The blowout in Baghjan village last year had a significant negative impact on the ecosystem and the experts have continued to warn against human interventions in the environmentally sensitive areas and asked authorities to remain alert so that such incidents dont happen again.

Peaceful Assam forging in development, asserts Governor Kataria

by

Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, said with peace being restored in Assam, the state has witnessed remarkable Growth and development in along with significant improvement in law and order situation in the state in the past one decade. The Governor reached Silchar as a part of his three-day visit to Barak Valley districts. While taking to reporters after meeting with the officials of the Cachar District Administration and taking review of the implementation of the various schemes floated by the government, Kataria said, Situation in Assam has changed in the past one decade. I am happy to see that the state has made commendable development in the infrastructure front in terms of road and rail connectivity. Also, the law and order situation has improved significantly which is a positive sign. I am sure with peace being restored, development will accelerate in the state.”

Student enrolment in non-pvt schools in Assam rises during pandemic

by


The total number of students in all government, aided and non-private schools across Assam has increased by over 63,000 during the 15-month period since September 2020, according to official data. The Education Department has recently collated the enrolment figures of all students from Classes I to XII and found that the total number has increased despite apprehensions of dropout due to the impact of the pandemic.

According to a datasheet, which is available with PTI, the grand total of students in government, aided, tea garden managed and venture (established by the people of a locality) schools have increased to 56,84,487 in November 2021 from 56,21,203 in September 2020. The figures showed an increase of 63,284 students, registering a Growth of 1.13 per cent in total enrolments. Out of this, the highest rise has been witnessed in the elementary section, comprising Classes I to VIII, with 72,097 more enrolments in the 15-month period. There were 44,92,085 students in the elementary section of all the non-private schools of Assam in September 2020, which increased to 45,64,182 in November 2021.

‘More than 4,000 schools shut in Assam during Covid’

by

More than 4,000 schools, from primary to secondary levels, mostly under private management, shut down inAssambetween April 2021 and March 2022. The Education ministry has attributed this to the impact of Covid-19.

The Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) report by the ministry published earlier this week shows that the impact of the pandemic forced 20,000 schools to close down across the country during the same period.

Sources in the state education department pointed out that the ‘s policy of amalgamation of government schools has also contributed to a noticeable decline in the number of schools in the state.
A decline in the number of schools has been reported from all the northeastern states.

The closure of the schools has also reduced the teacher strength both nationally and at the state level.

The teacher strength in the country from the primary to the higher secondary level, reduced from 96.96 lakh in 2020-2021 to 95.07 lakh in 2021-2022.
The number of teachers in Assam declined to 3.52 lakh in the latest report from 3.7 lakh, which accounts for nearly a 10% reduction in teacher strength in the country.

Eviction drive to clear forest land of encroachment in Assam’s Lumding forestThe Assam government launched a two-day eviction drive to remove illegal settlers from Lumding reserve forest in Hojai district in compliance with a Gauhati High Court order, officials said. This comes a month and a half after an anti-encroachment exercise in the Gorukhuti area of Darrang district in which two people were killed and over 20 injured. The eviction drive was peaceful on Monday as most of the people had left the place in the last few days following counselling by the district administration about the high court order to make the forest encroachment-free, Hojai Deputy Commissioner Anupam Choudhury said. Tight security measures were in place with the deployment of seven additional companies, including four CRPF and three Assam Police battalions, to prevent any untoward incident during the exercise.

by

The forest, a major habitat for elephants, is spread over 22,403 hectares of land out of which 500 hectares are under encroachment at present, an official said. In the first phase, the drive was conducted in Kamarpani and Betnala areas of the forest, Choudhury said. The District Administration has engaged elephants of the forest department and requisitioned excavators to clear the land. The illegal settlers belong to a mixed Population of the minority and tribal communities. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters in Guwahati that most of the illegal settlers have land in different places and they mostly encroach for Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture or business purposes.

Assam to give scooters to nearly 36,000 meritorious students

by

TheAssam governmentwill distribute scooters among nearly 36,000 meritorious students, mostly girls, who have passed this year’s higher secondary examinations.

A proposal for implementing the programme at a cost of Rs 258.9 crore was passed by the state cabinet on Wednesday,Education Minister Ranoj Pegutold reporters after its meeting chaired byChief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Total 35,800 students — 29,748 girls who secured first division and 6,052 boys who secured 75 per cent marks — will get the scooters, he said.

The Department of Higher Education will also provide financial assistance for registration and Insurance to the students, he added.

Ramsar Site tag sought for Chandubi lake

by

Environment researchers have requested theAssamgovernment to send a proposal to the Centre to designate the famousChandubi lakeas a Ramsar Site wetland of international importance as the recognition can transform the waterbodys socio-economical and environmental needs. The wetland has rich https://exam.pscnotes.com/natural-Resources“>Natural Resources and the potential to generate livelihood.

The Ramsar Convention On Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. Assam has only one Ramsar site wetland, the Deepor Beel.

Rs 250 cr agri fund launched in Assam to boost agribusinessAn Rs 250 crore fund has been created in Assam by multiple stakeholders, including World Bank, to promote small and medium units in the agriculture sector, officials said. Venture capital fund Caspian Impact Investment Adviser said it has joined hands with the Assam Rural Infrastructure and Agricultural Services (ARIAS) Society to roll out the agribusiness investment firm.

by

The Hyderabad-based company said that according to the agreement, ARIAS will be the nodal agency for establishing and implementing a contributory and determinate trust the Assam Agribusiness Investment Fund (AAIF).

ARIAS is designated as the anchor investor for the AAIF, which will be managed by Caspian Equity as the fund manager.

World Bank Group Finance Sector Specialist Toshiaki Ono said that agribusiness SMEs play a vital role in this transformation but external finance, especially long-term and patient capital for their Growth, is extremely limited.

The Assam government is exploring to revive theCacharpaper mill and use the site of the defunctNagaonpaper mill for expansion of the state capital. Meanwhile, as per the agreement between the government and employees of theHindustan Paper Corporation Limited(HPCL) to resolve the long-pending issues of their salaries and dues on September 29 last year,Sarmaon Thursday formally launched the relief package of Rs 810 crore for 2,751 employees of the now-defunct paper mills of the HPCL.

by

The Cachar paper mill atPanchgramhas remained non-functional since October 2015, while the Nagaon paper mill at Jagiroad has remained shut since March 2017.

Out of the Rs 810 crore, banks will have to be paid Rs 150 crore and theAssam Power Distribution Company Ltdaround Rs 60-80 crore, while the remaining amount will be distributed among the employees of Nagaon and Cachar paper mills.