Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Overview of trade statistics
Mains level: India and China trade comparison; Strategy for trade policy
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PRAGYATA Guidelines
Mains level: Limitations of Digital learning
Union HRD Ministry has released PRAGYATA Guidelines on Digital Education through online medium.
Practice question for mains:
Q.Discuss the impact of the COVID induced lockdowns on the education system in India. Give some solutions for it.
PRAGYATA guidelines
- The guidelines include eight steps of online/ digital learning that is, Plan- Review- Arrange- Guide- Yak(talk)- Assign- Track- Appreciate.
- These guidelines have been developed from the perspective of learners, with a focus on online/blended/digital education for students who are presently at home due to lockdown.
- It provides a roadmap or pointers for carrying forward online education to enhance the quality of education.
- The guidelines will be relevant and useful for a diverse set of stakeholders including school heads, teachers, parents, teacher educators and students.
- It stresses upon the use of an alternative academic calendar of NCERT, for both, learners having access to digital devices and learners having limited or no access.
Major highlights
The guidelines highlight 3 modes of online education:
The guidelines outline suggestions for administrators, school heads, teachers, parents and students in the following areas:
- Need assessment
- Concerns while planning online and digital education like duration, screen time, inclusiveness, balanced online and offline activities etc level-wise
- Modalities of intervention including resource curation, level-wise delivery etc.
- Physical, mental health and wellbeing during digital education
- Cyber safety and ethical practices including precautions and measures for maintaining cyber safety
- Collaboration and convergence with various initiatives
Recommended screen time
| Class |
Recommendation |
| Pre Primary |
Not more than 30 minutes. |
| Classes 1 to 12 |
Recommended to adopt/adapt the alternative academic calendar of NCERT |
| Classes 1 to 8 |
Not more than two sessions of 30-45 minutes each on the days |
| Classes 9 to 12 |
Not more than four sessions of 30-45 minutes each on the days |
Guidelines for parents
- For parents, the guideline helps to understand the need for physical, mental health and wellbeing along with the cyber safety measures for children at home.
- Guidelines for physical health and mental wellness is stressed so that children do not get overly stretched or stressed, or get affected owing to prolonged use of digital devices.
- Also, it provides sufficient Dos and Don’ts regarding ergonomics and cyber safety.
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The NITI Aayog has recently presented India’s second Voluntary National Review at the UN’s High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, 2020.
Practice question for mains:
Q.Discuss the institutional approach adopted by NITI Aayog for the 2030 Agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.
About the UN Forum on SDGs
- The HLPF is the foremost international platform for follow-up and review of progress on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- The HLPF meets annually in July for eight days under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN.
- The VNRs presented by the Member States at the HLPF are a critical component of the review of progress and implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.
- The reviews are voluntary and state-led and are aimed at facilitating the sharing of experiences, including successes, challenges and lessons learned.
India VNR 2020
- NITI Aayog prepared and presented India’s first VNR in 2017.
- The report is a comprehensive account of the adoption and implementation of the 2030 Agenda in India.
- India’s VNR this year has undertaken a paradigm shift in terms of embodying a “whole-of-society” approach in letter and spirit.
- Apart from presenting a review of progress on the 17 SDGs, the report discusses at length the policy and enabling environment, India’s approach to localizing SDGs, and strengthening means of implementation.
- Leveraging science, technology and innovation for SDGs, and costing and financing of SDGs are the two levers of strengthening means of implementation which have been introduced this year.
Consultations made for the VNR 2020
From Global to Local -key steps of localisation of SDGs in India
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ex. Surya Kiran
Mains level: India-Nepal military ties
Soldiers from Nepal form a significant part of the Indian Army’s legendary Gurkha regiment. Here is a brief explainer on the origin and evolution of these ties.
Practice question for mains:
Q.“India has special and time-tested military ties with Nepal”. Analyse.
India’s military ties with Nepal: The origin
- India’s military connection with the Himalayan country goes back to the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh whose army in Lahore enlisted Nepalese soldiers called Lahure or soldiers of fortune.
- British India raised the first battalion of the Gurkha Regiment as the Nasiri regiment on April 24, 1815.
- By the time the First World War started, there were 10 Gurkha regiments in the British Indian Army.
- When India got freedom, these regiments were divided between the British and Indian armies as per the Britain–India–Nepal Tripartite Agreement signed in November 1947.
- Six Gurkha regiments with a lakh-odd soldier came to India, which went on to raise another regiment called 11 Gurkha Rifles who chose not to transfer to the British Army.
Can Nepali citizens join the Indian Army?
- Yes, any Nepali can join the Indian Army, both as a jawan and as an officer.
- A citizen of Nepal can take the NDA or CDS exams and join the Indian Army as an officer.
- Col Lalit Rai, who received a Vir Chakra for the bravery of his battalion, the 1/11 Gurkha Rifles, during the Kargil war, is one such officer of Nepalese descent.
- The Nepalese army also sends its officers for training to India’s military academies and combat colleges.
Do the soldiers from Nepal enjoy the same rights as the Indian troops?
- Yes, they enjoy the same benefits as the India troops both during service and after retirement.
- They get the same medical facilities as the Indian soldiers, and often medical teams from the Indian Army tour Nepal.
- Unlike the British, who started giving the Nepalese soldiers pension only a few years ago, the Indian Army has never discriminated against the Nepalese soldiers, who can avail of healthcare facilities in India as well.
- The Indian Army also runs welfare projects in Nepal villages, including small water and power projects.
The honorary chief of the Nepalese army
- Yes, this convention dates back to 1972 when then Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, a Gurkha regiment officer, fondly called Sam Bahadur by his troops, was made the honorary chief of the Nepalese army.
- Ever since the Army chief of India is the honorary chief of the Nepalese army and vice-versa.
Joint exercises
- Joint military exercise ‘SURYA KIRAN is an annual event which is conducted alternatively in Nepal and India.
- It is an important exercise in terms of the security challenges faced by both nations in the realm of changing facets of global terrorism.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Google for India Digitization Fund (GIDF)
Mains level: Digital India
Technology giant Google will invest $10 billion (₹75,000 crores) in India as part of the ‘Google for India Digitization Fund (GIDF)’.
Practice question for mains:
Q.Discuss the role of foreign investment in the digital transformation of India.
About GIDF
- The GIDF focuses on digitizing the economy and building India-first products and services.
- The plan is in line with big-tech’s bullish outlook on India. Earlier this year, Amazon said it would invest an additional $1 billion in India.
- This was followed by a marquee investment announcement of $5.7 billion by Facebook in the country’s largest telecom company Reliance Jio.
- Last month, Microsoft’s venture fund M12 said it would open an office in India to pursue investment opportunities focusing on B2B software startups.
Focus areas
The investment will focus on four areas important to digitization including:
- Enabling affordable access and information for every Indian in their own language,
- Building products and services that are deeply relevant to India’s unique needs,
- Empowering businesses in their digital transformation journey and
- Leveraging technology and AI for social good, in areas like health, education, and agriculture.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: APTTA
Mains level: India-Afghanistan trade facilitation
Pakistan has allowed Afghanistan to send goods to India using the Wagah border. The decision is a part of Islamabad’s commitment under the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA).
A statement based question can be asked upon the agreement on terms like:
1. Reciprocal trade with India
2. Railways/Road/Air transit whether allowed
About the agreement
- The APTTA is a bilateral trade agreement signed in 2010 by Pakistan and Afghanistan.
- It calls for greater facilitation in the movement of goods amongst the two countries.
- The 2010 agreement supersedes the 1965 Afghanistan Transit Trade Agreement, which granted Afghanistan the right to import duty-free goods through Pakistani seaports, mostly notably from Karachi.
Features of the agreement
- Trade-in goods smuggled into Pakistan once constituted a major source of revenue for Afghanistan.
- The 2010 APTTA allows for both countries to use each other’s airports, railways, roads, and ports for transit trade along designated transit corridors.
- The agreement does not cover road transport vehicles from any third country, be it from India or any Central Asia country.
- However, the signed Agreement permits Afghanistan trucks access to the Wagah border with India, where Afghan goods will be offloaded onto Indian trucks.
- This agreement does not permit Indian goods to be loaded onto trucks for transit back to Afghanistan.
- Instead, Afghan trucks offloaded at Wagah may return to Afghanistan loaded only with Pakistani, rather than Indian goods in an attempt to prevent the formation of a black market for Indian goods in Pakistan.
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