ETEN Enlightens-Daily current capsules

(Prelims Prominence) – 08th Feb 2018

SOCIAL REFORMS
Digital Gender Atlas
The low performing geographic pockets for girls

 Digital Gender Atlas has been developed to identify the low performing
geographic pockets for girls, particularly from marginalised groups such as
scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and Muslim minorities, on specific gender
related education indicators.
 The Atlas is designed around the two broad areas of performance of girls'
education and vulnerabilitie
 All the states have been mapped in the Digital Gender Atlas. The states have
been using it as a planning tool to come up with strategies for inputs for the
state SSA and RMSA annual plans.

EDUCATION
Improving Quality Education
Institutions of Eminence (IoEs)
  (UGC) issued / notified enabling regulatory architecture in the form of UGC
(Declaration of Government Educational Institutions as Institutions of
Eminence) Guidelines, 2017 and UGC (Institutions of Eminence Deemed to
be Universities) Regulations, 2017 to enable 10 public and 10 private
Institutions to emerge as World Class Teaching and Research Institution
 These Institutions shall be called as ‘Institutions of Eminence (IoEs)’.

 The aim of the scheme is to bring higher educational institutions selected as

IoEs in top 500 of world ranking in the next 10 years and in top 100
eventually overtime.

Enlighten about the specifications -

 The salient features are available in the UGC Guidelines and the UGC
Regulations under which greater autonomy viz. to admit foreign students up
to 30% of admitted students; to recruit foreign faculty upto 25% of faculty
strength; to offer online courses upto 20% of its programmes; to enter into
academic collaboration with top 500 in the world ranking Institutions
without permission of UGC; free to fix and charge fees from foreign
students without restriction; flexibility of course structure in terms of
number of credit hours and years to take a degree; complete flexibility in
fixing of curriculum and syllabus, etc. has been provided to IoEs.

 Under this scheme, IoEs will have freedom to choose their own path to
become world class institutions. Institutions shall be selected as IoEs by the
Empowered Expert Committee (EEC), constituted for this purpose.

 Each Public Institution selected as IoE will be provided financial assistance

up to Rs. 1000 Cr over a period of five years.
HEALTH CARE
CCRAS developed and commercialized Ayurvedic Drugs

 The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), an

autonomous body under the Ministry of AYUSH is actively involved in
scientific process of drug development
 CCRAS has developed and commercialized the following two drugs:

1. AYUSH 82 An Anti Diabetic Ayurvedic Formulation

2. AYUSH SG An Anti-Rheumatoid Arthritis preparation.

DEFENCE
Agni – 1 Missile

Successfully test fired

as part of a periodic training activity by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of the Indian
Army to consolidate operational readiness.

Enlighten about Agni – 1

 An indigenously developed intermediate range surface-to-surface, single-

stage missile.
 It was developed by Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) in collaboration
with Defence Research Development Laboratory (DRDL) and Research
Centre Imarat (RCI).

 ASL is the premier missile development laboratory of DRDO.

 The missile weighs around 12 tonnes and is propelled by a solid rocket

propellant system. It is 15-metre-long and can carry both conventional as
well as nuclear payloads (warheads) up to 1,000 kg.
 It has strike range of over 700 km. It is equipped with specialised
navigation system that ensures it reaches target with high degree of
precision.
 The missile already has been inducted into the armed forces (service) in
2004. It has proved its performance in terms of range, accuracy and
lethality.
Sources – Pib, the hindu,livemint