16 July 2024, The Indian EXPRESS
3 opp states say no to PM-SHRI, Centre stops school scheme fund
Page no- 1
GS2- Issues and Challenges Pertaining to the Federal Structure
- The Education Ministry has stopped funds under the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the flagship school education programme, to Delhi, Punjab and West Bengal because of their reluctance to participate in the Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI) scheme, The Indian Express has learnt.
- The scheme, with a budget of over Rs 27,000 crore for the next five years — the Centre is supposed to shoulder 60% of the financial burden and the states 40% — aims to upgrade at least 14,500 government schools into “exemplar” institutions to showcase the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
- States have to confirm their participation by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Education Ministry.
Chauhan to release 40 technologies to boost innovations in agriculture
Page no- 8
GS3-E-technology in the aid of farmers
- Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will release 40 agricultural technologies on Tuesday during a function to mark the 96th Foundation Day of Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR), according to a statement.
- The ICAR statement said, “To encourage innovations in agriculture, 40 selected technologies will be released and the developer’s efforts will be recognized.”
In SC verdict on Assam man, humanising of citizenship law
Page no- 13
GS2- Indian Constitution—Historical Underpinnings, Evolution, Features, Amendments, Significant Provisions and Basic Structure
- The Supreme Court last week declared Assam resident Md Rahim Ali a citizen of India, throwing out the decision of a Foreigners’ Tribunal in the state.
- The historic judgment written by Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah for himself and Justice Vikram Nath also clarified the law in cases of allegations of foreign nationality, and discharge of the burden of proof by the person under scrutiny.
Rules for civil servants
Page no- 13
GS4-Codes of Ethics, Codes of Conduct
- The Centre last Thursday constituted a single-member committee under the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to examine all documents submitted by probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar to secure her candidature in the civil services.
- Khedkar secured a rank of 821 in the 2022 UPSC Civil Services Examination, and was allotted the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Physically Handicapped (PH) quotas.
- Questions have been raised about her appointment under these categories.
Why does government of Pakistan want to ban Imran Khan’s political party
Page no- 13
GS2- India and its Neighborhood- Relations
- Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will be banned for allegedly trying to create unrest in the country, the Pakistani government announced on Monday (July 15).
- It also said that Imran, the jailed former Prime Minister, Arif Alvi, a founding member of the PTI who served as President of Pakistan from 2018-24, and Qasim Suri, a PTI member who was Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly from 2018-22, will be charged with treason.
Exports stays in the green; traders worried over ‘extraordinary’ logistics challenge
Page no- 15
GS3-Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development
- India’s goods exports in June grew 2.55 per cent year-on-year to $35.2 billion amid continued demand recovery in key export markets such as the US and the European Union (EU) on the back of inflation easing slightly in the West.
- A 20 per cent jump in petroleum import bill year-on-year in June widened the trade deficit to $20.98 billion from $19.19 billion during the previous year, data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Monday showed.
- However, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO)president Ashwani Kumar said that exporters are going through “extraordinary logistics challenges” such as lack of container availability, shipping space, irregular shipping schedule and ships skipping Indian ports and that the exports would have recorded close to “double-digit growth” in June 2024 in the absence of these disruptions.
India should identify body to promote digital public infra in Global South
Page no- 15
GS3-Infrastructure: Digital
- Recognising India as a “leader” in the digital public infrastructure (DPI) sector, a G20 task-force has said that if the country wishes to retain its “leadership” role, it has to take on added responsibility so that these digital solutions can reach countries around the world, especially the Global South.
- The final ‘Report of India’s G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure’ by ‘India’s G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure for Economic Transformation, Financial Inclusion and Development’ released Monday said that the country needs to identify an existing body to harness the DPI ecosystem across various regions and countries especially Global South countries.
