UTTARAKHAND
Arrangements being made for online darshan
The State’s Tourism and Culture minister Satpal Maharaaz greeted the devotees on the occasion of Yamunotri shrine being reopened for the summer. Stating that the government had postponed the Char Dham Yatra to mitigate the Covid-19 risk, he said that considering the sentiments of the devotees, the Char Dham Devasthanam Board has been directed to facilitate online darshan of the shrines for the devotees.
The government will be able to open the Char Dham Yatra once the situation normalises.
It is pertinent to mention here that apart from the Char Dham Yatra being postponed, various Covid guidelines have to be followed by the limited number of priests allowed in the shrines to conduct the daily ritual worship of the deities in the Char Dham shrines.
INTERNATIONAL
Google Cloud Joined with SpaceX For Providing Satellite Internet Service
Google Cloud and SpaceX signed an agreement to provide Internet services through Starlink satellites.
Google will provide Cloud infrastructure for this connection project, and Space X will install ground terminals in Google’s cloud data center to connect to Starlink satellites. This will help provide fast Internet services in rural areas. This service will be available to customers before the end of the year 2021.
The first Starlink terminal will be set up in a Google datacentre in Ohio, United States. Earlier, Microsoft has signed a comparable settlement with SpaceX to connect its Azure cloud to Starlink.
NATIONAL
SAMVEDNA Tele-Counselling to Children
SAMVEDNA is providing Tele Counselling to children affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic.
The SAMVEDNA remote counselling service aims to provide children with psychological support to solve their stress, anxiety, fear and other problems during the coronavirus pandemic.
The National Commission for the Protection of Children’s Rights provides this service (NCPCR).
Provide children with the following three types of consultations over the phone:
Persons in quarantine/isolation/covid care centres.
People whose parents or close relatives have tested positive for COVID.
Persons who have lost their parents due to COVID.
The service is available in a variety of regional languages and was introduced in September 2020.
The counsellors were taught by a renowned professor from the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and his NIMHANS team.
SAMVEDNA is the acronym for “Sensitive action on mental health vulnerability through emotional development and necessary acceptance.”
Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Microsoft Signed MoU
The memorandum of understanding was signed by the Ministry of Education and Microsoft to digitally transform tribal schools, especially Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS) and Ashram School.
Microsoft will make AI curriculum accessible to tribal students in both English and Hindi at all EMRS schools under the Ministry as part of an affirmative action programme to train educators and students in next-generation technologies such as Artificial Intelligence.
The aim of the programme is to bridge the gap between tribal students and other students in this area.
Teachers in Indian states will receive phased training to use productivity technologies such as Office 365 and AI applications in their teaching, helping them to provide students with a deliver blended or remote learning experiences in a more personalized, efficient and safe manner.
Students will be mentored on projects involving AI for social benefit and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Article 311 of the Indian Constitution
Article 311 states that no government employee, whether from the central government or a state government, may be fired or suspended by a subordinate authority to the one who appointed him or her.
Section 2 of the article states that no civil servant shall be dismissed, suspended, or demoted from his or her position unless and until he or she has been told of the charges and has been given a fair opportunity to be heard on those charges.
If a government employee is convicted in a criminal case, he may be fired without DE under Article 311 (2) (a).
Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme – RBI
In collaboration with the RBI, the Central Government has decided to issue Sovereign Gold Bonds.
The Bonds will be offered through Scheduled Commercial Banks (excluding Small Finance Banks and Payment Banks), specified post offices, Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited (SHCIL), National Stock Exchange of India Limited, and Bombay Stock Exchange Limited.
The minimum investment will be one gramme of gold.
Investors will be reimbursed at a fixed rate of 2.50 percent per year on the nominal value, payable semi-annually.
Bonds will be sold only to individual residents, Hindu indivisible families, trusts, universities and charities.
The bond has a maturity of 8 years. After the fifth year, you can opt out and exercise the right on the next interest payment date.