ODISHA
Odisha govt to develop 101 schools as centre of excellence
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik announced to develop 101 government schools in 30 districts of the state as centre of excellence. These schools will have special infrastructure for soft skill training of students where spoken English will be introduced from class I.
Each of these schools will get financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh for developing soft-skills infrastructure in the schools, official sources said. Apart from introducing spoken English in schools, Aadhar seeding of students in these schools will be ensured. Teachers will be positioned as per the requirement in all schools from primary to secondary level.
The government will provide escort allowances to students who will be shifted to other schools under the Right to Education Act. Apart from escort allowances students can be given transfer allowance up to Rs 5000 per child.
The state government has also decided to formulate a policy to merge all block grant, aided and newly-aided schools with the nearby government schools and to close the non-performing block-grant schools and to depute block grant and government teachers on the basis of requirement.
INTERNATIONAL
Brazil to open new Antarctic research base
Brazil has announced that it is to open a new research base in Antarctica. Brazil’s original scientific outpost was destroyed by fire 8 years ago. It is expected that Vice President Hamilton Mourao and Science and Technology Minister Marcos Pontes will attend the official opening ceremony.
The Brazilian government has invested nearly $100 million in the reconstruction of the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station.
It is a 48,500-square-foot complex on King George Island, the largest in the South Shetland archipelago.
NATIONAL
Postal Ballot now for PwDs and super Senior Citizens too
People with disabilities (PwDs) and people over 80 years of age can now cast their vote in Delhi Assembly Election through postal ballot.
For the first time, Delhi Metro, Northern Railway Employees and media persons covering polling can also use postal ballot facility to cast their votes.
Till now, voting through postal ballot was available to armed forces and those assigned in poll duties.
Employees of essential service can fill out the form 12(D) and submit before 19th of this month to avail the postal ballot facility.
Mega campaign on fuel conservation ‘Saksham’ launched
Saksham, a people centric fuel conservation mega campaign of Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) has been launched.
One month long mega campaign was inaugurated by Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi.
During this campaign, PCRA along with Oil and Gas companies will carry out various activities like ‘Saksham’ cycle Day, cyclothons, seminars for housewives on adopting simple fuel saving measures.
This campaign aims to spread the message of fuel conservation and greener environment across India.
Ladakh hosts first ever Food Processing Summit to attract investors
Union Territory Ladakh is hosting the first ever Food Processing Summit to attract investors to the region.
With the help of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, the UT Administration of Ladakh is organizing the Summit.
Ladakh region has vast scope for investment in food Processing Industries in horticulture products like Apricot, SeabuckThorn, Apple and agricultural produce like buckwheat and barley.
Over a hundred entrepreneurs from Leh and Kargil are participating in the Summit.
The event is aimed at encouraging the entrepreneurs to begin a StartUp to tap the potential in the Food Processing Industries in Ladakh.
India successfully launches high power communication satellite GSAT-30
India’s high power communication satellite GSAT-30 was successfully launched onboard Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said the GSAT-30 is aimed at providing high-quality television, telecommunications and broadcasting services.
The 3,357-kg GSAT-30 derives its heritage from ISRO’s earlier INSAT/GSAT satellite series, and is equipped with 12 C and 12 Ku band transponders.
GSAT-30 will serve as replacement to the aging INSAT-4A spacecraft services with enhanced coverage.
WHO released 2020 Global Health Challenges report
The World Health Organization (WHO) released the list of Global Health Challenges of the forthcoming year on 13 January 2020.
Report Highlights:
The list of Global Health Challenges highlighted 13 potential threats.
The top among the listed threats was Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) and climate crisis.
As per the report, around 7 million people are affected because of climate change.
The report said that climate change has increased malnutrition and is fueling the spread of infectious diseases such as malaria.
Following these 2, the other threats mentioned in the list include the influenza epidemic and the spread of infectious diseases such as HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis.
The report stated that most of the death is due to stroke, chronic respiratory disease, heart attack, and lung cancer. These diseases are increased by raising levels of air pollution.
For the first time, Lack of Access has entered the list.
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