GS PAPER II NEWS
Savitribai Phule
Why in News
- The country’s first female teacher and society Savitribai Phule’s 191st birth anniversary is on 03 January. Who devoted his life only in educating girls and uplifting the society?
About Savitribai Phule
- Savitribai Phule was born in a Dalit family.
- Savitribai Phule fought for the education of girls and women during her time. He was born on 03 January 1831 in a small village named Naigaon located in the Satara district of Maharashtra.
- The country and society will always be indebted to Savitri Bai Phule for her incomparable contribution to education.
- Savitribai Phule, along with her husband, Jyotirao Phule, was instrumental in reforming women’s rights in India during the British rule.
- Savitribai started educating girls at the very young age of 17.
- In addition, he started the country’s first girls’ school for girls at Bhide Wada in the year 1848. She was illiterate at the time when Savitribai Phule was married.
- She was the first principal of India’s first girls’ school and the founder of the first farmer’s school.
- When she was just 9 years old, she was married to 13 year old Jyotirao Phule.
- Savitribai opened a school for girls in the era when it was not considered right to teach girls.
- On the basis of his dedication and hard work, he opened 18 schools for girls.
- In the year 1848, the country’s first girls’ school was established in Pune, Maharashtra.
- Savitribai opposed such evil practices prevalent in the society which was especially against women. She raised her voice against the prohibition of Sati, child marriage and widow marriage and fought for the same throughout her life. Savitribai died on March 10, 1987.
GS PAPER II
‘National Air Sports Policy’
Why in News
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- Ministry of Civil Aviation has released the draft National Air Sports Policy (NASP) to get feedback from the people.
Key point
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- India has the potential to be among the leading nations in the world of air sports. It has a large geographical spread, varied geographical location and favorable climate. The country has a large population especially of youth.
- There is an increasing interest in exciting sports and aviation. Apart from the direct revenue from the air sports activities, there can be manifold benefits in terms of development of travel, tourism, infrastructure and local employment especially in the hilly regions of the country.
- By making air sports hub across the country, air sports professionals and tourists from all over the world will also come here.
- Therefore the Government of India plans to promote the country’s air sports sector by making it safe, affordable, accessible, enjoyable and sustainable.
- There is a need to make systems and processes simpler and more transparent; The focus needs to be increased on quality, safety and security; And there is a need to facilitate investment in infrastructure, technology, training and awareness building.
- The draft National Air Sports Policy (NASP 2022) is a step in this direction.
- It has been built on the basis of inputs received from policy makers, air sports practitioners and general public. This is an emerging area and will be amended from time to time.
- The salient features of the draft National Air Sports Policy are:
The key features of the Draft National Air Sports Policy are:
- NASP 2022 covers sports like aerobatics, aeromodelling, amateur-built and experimental aircraft, ballooning, drones, gliding, hang gliding and paragliding; microlighting and paramotoring; skydiving and vintage aircraft.
- The vision is to make India one of the top air sports nations by 2030. The mission is to provide a safe, affordable, accessible, enjoyable and sustainable air sports ecosystem in India.
- NASP 2022 seeks to leverage India’s huge potential for air sports given its large geographical expanse, diverse topography and fair weather conditions.
- An Air Sports Federation of India (ASFI) will be established as the apex governing body. Associations for each air sport will handle day to day activities e.g. Paragliding Association of India or Skydiving Association of India etc.
- The air sports associations shall be accountable to ASFI with respect to the regulatory oversight and for providing safe, affordable, accessible, enjoyable and sustainable conduct of their respective air sport.
- ASFI shall represent India at FAI and other global platforms related to air sports. Greater participation and success of Indian sportspersons in global air sports events will be facilitated.
- Domestic design, development and manufacturing of air sports equipment will be promoted in line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
- The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland is the world governing body for air sports. All competitions in India will be conducted as per the guidelines laid down by FAI.
- Air sports by their very nature involve a higher level of risk than flying a regular aircraft. NASP 2022 places strong focus on ensuring international best practices in safety.
- Inability to enforce safety standards by an air sports association may lead to penal action by the ASFI against such association including financial penalties, suspension or dismissal.
- All persons and entities providing air sports services shall be required to register as members of the respective air sports associations.
- An airspace map of India has been published on DGCA’s DigitalSky Platform (https://digitalsky.dgca.gov.in). The map segregates the entire airspace of India into red zone, yellow zone and green zone. Air sports practitioners may rely on this easily accessible map for guidance.
- For air sports centred around a fixed location – for instance, Bir-Billing in Himachal Pradesh, Gangtok in Sikkim, Hadapsar in Maharashtra or Vagamon in Kerala – the said location can be declared as a ‘Control zone’ for air sports with necessary permissions from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Ministry of Defence (MoD), State Government and the local Air Traffic Control authority.
- During peak winters, the level of air sports reduces in Europe and North America and the air sports aficionados migrate to milder climates. ASFI and the air sports associations will work towards developing a hassle-free process to enable their movement to India.
Import of air sports equipment without any import duty for a particular number of years. Import of previously used air sports equipment may also be allowed free import, subject to laid down norms of airworthiness.
- Schools, colleges and universities will be encouraged to have air sports included in their curriculum.
- Long term funding for development of air sports in India shall come from corporate investors, sponsors, membership fees, events and media rights.
- ASFI may seek financial support from Government of India for promotion of air sports, especially in the initial years.
- To make air sports affordable to the common public, the Government will request the GST Council to consider rationalising the GST rate on air sports equipment to 5% or less.
GS PAPER II
Major Dhyan Chand Sports University
Why in News
- Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Major Dhyan Chand Sports University in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. The sports university will be set up at an estimated cost of about Rs 700 crore and will include synthetic hockey field, football field, basketball/volleyball/handball/kabaddi ground, lawn tennis court, gymnasium hall, synthetic running stadium, swimming pool, multipurpose hall and a cycling velodrome. Modern and state-of-the-art sports infrastructure including
Key point
- The university will also have facilities for shooting, squash, gymnastics, weightlifting, archery, canoeing and kayaking. The university will have the capacity to train 1080 sportspersons including 540 female and 540 male players.
- Addressing a public meeting, the Prime Minister said that Meerut and the surrounding region have contributed significantly in giving a new direction to independent India.
- He said that be it sacrifices on the border for national defense or respect for the nation in the playground, this area has kept the flame of patriotism burning.
- The Prime Minister said, “Meerut has been an important center of culture and power in Indian history, not just a city.” The Prime Minister expressed his happiness on realizing the spirit of the Independence Museum, Amar Jawan Jyoti and the temple of Baba Aughar Nath ji.
- Prime Minister remembered Major Dhyan Chand, who was active in Meerut. He said that Meerut has also been the work place of another great child of the country, Major Dhyan Chand ji.
- The Prime Minister said that a few months back the Central Government had named the country’s biggest sports award after Dadda. Prime Minister Modi said that today the Sports University of Meerut is being dedicated to Major Dhyan Chand ji.
GS PAPER II
District Good Governance Index (DGGI)
- Why in News
- Jammu and Kashmir will soon become the first Union Territory in the country to have a District level Good Governance Index.
Key point
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- It will enable each of the 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir to rise to the level of some of the best administered districts in the country, with time bound disposal of office files and other matters, increased transparency, increased accountability and ensured citizen participation. Will be
- The DGGI framework has 58 indicators drawn from various aspects of development and covers all 10 sectors such as agriculture and allied sectors, commerce and industry, human resource development, public health, public infrastructure and utilities, economic governance, welfare and development, public security and judiciary and citizen-centred governance.
- These indicators were finalized after a series of consultations with district officials, academicians, subject experts, etc., of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir.
- The set of indicators has been drawn from a large list of 135 to 58, taking into account the availability of authentic published data and other key principles.
- To calculate the index and rank, the districts conducted an exhaustive exercise of data aggregation by observing their performance on the basis of the last 58 indicators, after which the appropriate data was segregated. The final index calculation process is underway using standard and tested data normalization and scoring methods.
- This will result in division-wise and district-wise ranks of the districts.
- While there will be a comprehensive rank of the districts based on the overall 10 zones, DGGI will also release a window on the indicator-wise performance of the districts.
GS PAPER II
‘Padhe Bharat’
Why in News
- The Union Education Minister launched a 100-day reading campaign ‘Padhe Bharat’.
Key point
- The 100-day Reading Campaign has been launched in line with the National Policy on Education (NEP) 2020 to promote a joyful reading culture for children by ensuring availability of age-appropriate reading books for children in local/mother tongue/regional/tribal language. Emphasizes giving.
- Padhe Bharat Abhiyan will focus on children studying from Balvatika to Class 8.
- Pathan Abhiyan is being organized for 100 days (14 weeks) from January 1, 2022 to April 10, 2022.
- The objective of the Pathan Abhiyan is to increase the participation of all stakeholders at the national and state level including children, teachers, parents, society, educational institutions etc.
- One activity per week per group designed with a focus on making reading enjoyable and creating a lifelong association with the joy of reading.
- This campaign is also aligned with the vision and goals of the Basic Literacy and Numerology Mission.
- The 100-day reading campaign will also focus on Indian languages including mother tongue/local/regional languages.
- In this regard, 21st February is celebrated as International Mother Language Day, which has also been integrated with this campaign.
- The day will be celebrated across the country with the activity of “Read the story in your language” by encouraging children to read in their mother tongue/local language.
- This will help in promoting the local language and culture of our society.
- Therefore, the 100 Day Reading Campaign is envisioned to support and encourage students as well as their schools, teachers, parents and communities in every possible way and encourage children to read for a joyful learning experience has been.
- Department of School Education & Literacy invites all stakeholders to wholeheartedly participate in this campaign to build a strong foundation for our children.