Bihar Affairs
Enrolment in govt schools up in 2022
Despite prolonged closure during the pandemic, enrolment of children in 6-14 age group in the government schools inBiharhas increased by 4.1% from 78.1% in 2018 to 82.2% in 2022, according to the Annual Status of <a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/Education“>Education Report (ASER) 2022.
When compared to other states, the reading ability of Class VIII students, who can read the Class II text, in Bihar remained steady at 69.7% in 2022, up from 69.5% in 2018. The Percentage of Class V students who know division has increased slightly from 29.9% in 2018 to 35.6% in 2022. While Bihar leads the way with 58% of Class VIII pupils who can do division.Manipurcomes second with 53.7% in this category.
The report also indicated that Class VIII enrolment in Bihar has increased dramatically over time, with more girls enrolling than boys. The percentage of students of both government and private schools who took paid tuition classes increased significantly from 61.6% in 2018 to 71.7% in 2022. It included 71.6% of pupils in government schools and 72.4% of students in private schools.
The report was based on a survey of 6,99,597 children from over 19,060 villages in 616 districts, covering 374,554 households.
Although 92.4% of schools still do not have computers for students, this figure has decreased from 96.6% in 2018.
Electricity connection in 92.5% of schools is up from 69.5% in 2018. Physical education classes have also been allocated weekly in 70.7% of upper primary schools and 49.0% of primary classes. There were no such provisions earlier.
National and International Affairs
Budget will enable higher disposable income: FM
Affirming that the union Budget astutely balancesthe requirement of development imperatives within the limits of fiscal prudence, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the new tax regime, which offers a rebate on annual income of up to Rs 7 lakh, will leave higher disposable income in the hands of people.
Sitharaman hailed the government’s economic policies during the reply to the Budget 2023 debate in Lok Sabha and asserted despite of global slowdown India is still the fastest-growing major economy.
The government chose capex route to revive the economy as it has a great multiplier effect, she added.
The finance minister said the new tax regime announced in the Budget is “very attractive” as the tax exemption limit has been hiked to Rs 3 lakh, from Rs 2.5 lakh earlier. Besides, a standard deduction of Rs 50,000 too has been allowed under the scheme.
This new tax regime will benefit the majority of middle-class taxpayers, she said, adding that the rebate has been provided on an income of up to Rs 7 lakh.
IIT Kanpur develops energy-efficient system to transport coal, minerals
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has developed an energy-efficient compressed air-based pipeline system for transporting coal and Minerals, offering round-the-clock monitoring with considerable in time and costs.
An energy efficient pipeline system for evacuating coal, which accounts for almost 75 per cent of Indias power consumption, will not only save transportation time, but also reduce dust pollution at the mining sites and loading points.
The system is designed to transport coal or slurry from one point to another with compressed air as its energy source. The robot travels at around 120 km an hour and can transport the loaded block to the designated receiving or unloading sub-section continuously.
Country’s first waste-to-hydrogen plant to be set up in Pune
The country’s first solid waste-to-hydrogenplant will be set up inPuneat a cost of over Rs 430 crore.
The plant will be set up by sustainability solutions provider The Green Billions Ltd (TGBL), who has entered into a 30-year-long agreement withPuneMunicipal Corporation (PMC).
The company will invest Rs 350 crore in setting up the plant and an additional Rs 82 crore will be spent to construct the Storage Facility and support.
The project aims to demonstrate the technological and financial feasibility of waste to hydrogen generation.
Russian Arms Supplies to India Worth $13 bn in past 5 years
Russian state news agencies reported that India received arms worth around $13 billion from Russia in the past five years. Moreover, New Delhi has further placed orders with Moscow for weapons and military equipment exceeding $10 billion.
India accounts for around 20 percent of Moscows current order book and is the worlds biggest buyer of Russian arms. While New Delhi has not openly condemned Russias invasion of Ukraine, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for dialogue and diplomacy to solve the conflict.