26.06.21

Recovery rate in Mizoram low due to rigid discharge protocol: IMA

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Indian Medical Association (IMA)Mizoramstate branch attributed the lowrecovery rateofCovid-19infected people in Mizoram to thestate government’s refusal to change the Covid-19 discharge protocol. Mizoram’s recovery rate was 78.21% as against 96.80% in India.

IMA’s Mizoram state branch president Dr Rosangluaia said that the IMA, Mizoram state branch had repeatedly asked the to change the discharge protocol, but the government has stuck to its guns.

There is not a single data which indicated that those who were discharged after ten days, not having symptoms for 3 days, spread the coronavirus, he said.
The irony in Mizoram is that the state government, without consulting medical experts, used to make decisions on the pressure from outside agency.

Scrap ‘absurd’ clause in evaluation norm for board exams: Aasu to govt

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he All Assam Students’ Union (Aasu), an influential student body, demanded the scrapping of a clause in the evaluation criteria formulated by the expert committees for High School Leaving Certificate (Class X) and Higher Secondary (ClassXII) examinations. The clause states that the marksheets and certificates under the new evaluation formula will be applicable for admissions in higher classes but not valid for jobs.

The student body warned the state government not to “play with the lives and future of students” with such an “absurd” clause in the evaluation criteria. The union urged the government and both the boards – Board of Secondary Education Assam (which conducts class X exams) and Assam Higher Secondary Education Council (which conducts class XII exams) to take an immediate decision to withdraw the clause.

Puri International Airport likely to be commissioned in 2022-23: Odisha govt

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Though the land for the proposed international airport in Puri has not been finalised yet, the on Sunday said the ambitious project is likely to be commissioned in the next two years.

If everything goes as planned, the flight operations to and from Puri may commence in 2022 or 2023. The land will be finalised soon as the process of identification has already begun. The government will leave no stone unturned to fast-track the project.

The proposed land, owned and acquired by the state government, near the Girala and Mangala rivers under the Sipasarubali mouza, does not have any encroachment nor is it entangled in legal disputes. The Puri District Administration said the proposed site will not violate the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms as the land is located more than 500 metres from the beach.

Puri is one of the four holy dhams in the country. Its famous Rath Yatra attracts lakhs of pilgrims and visitors from across the globe every year. Rath Yatra is celebrated in 192 countries. The proposed international airport will help bring devotees from across the world to Puri and promote the Jagannath culture globally.

New insect species discovered in biodiversity-rich Nilgiris

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Researchers from themolecular laboratoryin the department of Zoology and Wildlife Biology in the Government Arts College in Ooty have discovered a newwingless insectin the Nilgiris.

A research paper on the new species has been published in international journal Biologia published by Springer Nature. The 1mm-long flightless insect has been named Bionychiurus tamilensis as it was recorded in Tamil Nadu, said associate professor and laboratory head R Sanil. There are only six species under this genus reported so far across the world and reported only from cold high-altitude regions of Switzerland, China and Korea.

The insect was first observed in 2018 in the Soil samples collected fromOoty Government Arts Collegecampus. Further surveys showed its presence in grasslands and unpolluted humus soil samples.

DNA profiling was conducted and details are deposited in the NCBI Database. None of the similar specimens obtained from other parts of the world are barcoded till date.

Kerala: Higher education department to promote digital LMS in colleges

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The higher Education department is on a mission to pivot on the devastating Covid-19 pandemic to recast the way academic transaction and evaluation of students andteacherstakes place in higher education institutions in the state.

As a first step towards ushering in change in the sector, the government has taken an in-principle decision to encourage the use of customised and computer-basedLearning Management System(LMS) in all higher education institutions. At least 300 colleges, irrespective of the government/aided distinction, would soon be given access to the computer-based Learning system that would hopefully stave off the adverse impact of rote learning system entrenched in the academic discourse.

Sources said the higher education council has agreed to take forward the initiative to make customised LMS available to at least 300 select colleges on a pilot basis. It would also ramp up the teacher training process to help college/ university faculties to learn how to use thedigitalmedium for mentoring students.

Karnataka: MSMEs grapple with surge in raw material cost, manpower crunch

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The Covid-induced lockdown imposed for prolonged periods has dealt a massive blow to the fortunes of thousands of Micro, Small and Medium enterprises (MSMEs), with many of them staring into endless pits of despair.

Despite the restrictions being eased gradually and the government permitting the units to resume operations, these enterprises continue to face a host of other problems, ranging from lack of skilled manpower to the inflated price of raw materials. In Dharwad, Dakshina Kannada andMysurudistricts, more than 40,000 MSMEs have been identified whose productivity has suffered.

Although some MSMEs involved in the food and condiments sector registered a spurt in demand for their products, they were unable to exploit the opportunity to their benefit owing to the labour crunch.

Telangana: 95% locals to get govt jobs, says KT Rama Rao

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Minister for IT and industries KT Rama Rao said 95% of locals inTelanganawould get government jobs under the new zonal system approved by the TRS government.
He said under the new seven zones and two multi-zones, people from all regions would get equal opportunities in the Education and EMPLOYMENT sectors.

The government issued a GO a couple of days ago implementing the new zonal system after the Centre cleared the zonal system in the state. While some new zones like Vikarabad and were created, the multi-zones were created for some departments such as Police.

Andhra Pradesh government buys more mobile medical units to bring medical services to doorstep

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TheAndhra Pradeshgovernment is purchasing 539 new mobile medical units (MMUs), in addition to the existing 676, at a cost of Rs 89.72 crore to drive the family physician concept in Conjunction with the 1,145 primary Health centres (PHCs).

Till July last year, there was one MMU for every 2.27 mandals in the state, covering a Population of 1,30,136.

With the addition of 539 new vehicles, every mandal will have a mobile medical unit to cover a population of 56,213.

Each PHC has two doctors, both of whom will tour villages under their jurisdiction in turns, in the MMUs and render medical Services to villagers.

The government is also building village clinics with required to expand medicare services upto the grassroots level.

Besides the visiting doctors, the MLHPs andASHAworkers will render their services to the villagers.

This apart, the government recruited gynaecologists to cover 12 PHCs in a week and offer specialist services to Women patients.

Agricultural departments boost to cultivation of turmeric in Goa

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Farmersin Goa have been showing interest in growingturmericgiven its viability as a commercial spice crop. In a bid to boost turmericcultivationin Goa the directorate of Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture is taking up the initiative of urging farmers to grow turmeric as an intercrop along with cashew. Besides being used as a common kitchen ingredient, turmeric also has a demand for its medicinal properties as well as pharmaceutical value.

Other than arecanut and black pepper, farmers in Goa do not usually opt for other spice crops. Most farmers in the state grow turmeric only in a few pockets with the total area cultivated not exceeding two to three hectares. This is usually organic turmeric that is grown without using Fertilizers. It is planted in the hilly areas of Goa but can be grown in any type of as long as there is no waterlogging in the area.

Maharashtra Assembly extends deadline for Joint Committee on Shakti Bill

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TheMaharashtraAssembly extended deadline for theJoint Committeeon Shakti Bill till the last day of the nextAssembly session.

The committee is preparing the final draft of the Shakti Bill and it has 21 members from all parties -14 members from theLower Houseand seven from the Upper House.

Notably, the Shakti Bill was drafted on lines of Andhra Pradesh’s Disha Act. The Bill was introduced on the first day of the two-day special Assembly Session called to pass the law pertaining to the safety of Women and children.

The Disha Act 2019, allows stringent punishment for crimes committed against women and enables the death penalty for rape and reduces the judgment period in such cases to 21 working days.