• Ram Mandir vyavastha

1. Ayodhya Ram temple: Construction behind schedule, testing on foundation pillars may conclude by October-end

Key points:

1. The Ram temple construction at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya is running behind schedule as the testing of the foundation pillars is ongoing and might get over by the end of October, Hindustan Times has reported.
2. According to the report, the construction was originally scheduled to begin before the start of Navratri.
3. “Testing work of the foundation pillars of Ram temple is still continuing. It is expected to be over by the end of this month,” said Mahant Kamal Nayan Das,  who is the successor- designate to Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, chairman of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
4. “Navratri is considered auspicious and saints wanted to start construction work of the Ram temple on this occasion,” Das added.
5. According to the report, the plan was to start the construction from Navratri, which began on October 17. About 12 foundation pillars have already been laid, and Larsen & Turbo, which is carrying out the construction of the temple is conducting the testing.

(Money Control, 18 October 2020) News Link

• Testing of foundation pillars for Ram temple continues, overshoots Navratri deadline

Key points:

1. The testing of the foundation pillars for the Ram temple continued at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya on Saturday as the work could not be completed before the start of Navratri when the construction of the temple was supposed to begin.
2. “The testing work of the foundation pillars of Ram temple continues. It is expected to be over by the end of this month,” said Mahant Kamal Nayan Das, the successor-designate to Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, chairman of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
3. “Navratri is considered auspicious and saints wanted to start the construction work of the Ram temple on this occasion,” Mahant Kamal Nayan Das added.
4. The trust had planned to start the construction work from this Navratri. The nine-day festival began on Saturday. About 12 foundation pillars have already been laid at Ram Janmabhoomi. Larsen and Toubro, the company carrying out the construction work, is conducting the testing under the guidance of experts from IIT-Madras

(Hindustan Times, 18 October 2020) News Link

• Views and statements on NEP

1. PU web lecture discusses NEP-2020

Key points:

1. The interdisciplinary center for Swami Vivekananda Studies in collaboration with Panjab University’s alumni association (PUAA) recently organized a web lecture on the topic of ‘NEP 2020: Paradigm shift in Idea of University’.
2. Various speakers Prof SK Singh, senior advisor, innovation council and university incubation centre, Aligarh Muslim University was there along with physicist, Prof Singh. Singh traced the history and development of universities and explained that the present model of universities was based on what British had implemented. He also quoted many excerpts from Macaulay’s document to prove his point. Later, a Q&A round also took place which saw participants discussing various aspects of NEP.

(Times of India, 17 October 2020) News Link

• NEP: AP must become a role model, says Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan

Key points:

1. Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan said the state should be a role model in the country in implementation of National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.
2. The Governor was addressing vice-chancellors of 20 State universities at a review meeting held through videoconference from Raj Bhavan on Friday. He said the State government was committed to implement the NEP in letter and spirit.
3. In this regard, the Governor said the VCs of all State universities should play a pivotal role in NEP 2020 implementation by overcoming challenges, if any.

(Indian Express, 17 October 2020) News Link

• GCOE organises national conclave on NEP

Key points:

1. Government College of Education Jammu under the patronage of Higher Education Department organised “National Conclave on National Education Policy (NEP)- 2020” in collaboration with Cape Comorin Trust, India.
2. The program began with the welcome address by Dr. Kulvinder Kour, Principal GCOE, Jammu. She highlighted the impact of NEP 2020 on present Education system and focused on the need of introducing this Education Policy, to make India a Global Knowledge Power.

(dailyexcelsior, 17 October 2020) News Link

• With its focus on equity and critical learning, NEP addresses present, future challenges

Key points:

1. The National Education Policy (NEP) is based on wide-ranging consultations, including reports of the TSR Subramanian (2016) and K Kasturirangan (2019) committees, deliberations in 676 districts, 6,600 blocks, 2.5 lakh gram panchayats and discussion with teachers and the common man
2. There is a refreshing move from periodic “inspections” to self-assessment and voluntary declaration with transparency, quality standards and positive public perception being the keywords. A single, lean structure with four verticals for standards-setting, funding, accreditation and regulation will provide “light but tight” oversight.

(Indian Express, 17 October 2020) News Link

• Book on NEP released

Key points:

1. Governor Banwarilal Purohit released a book on the ‘New Educational Policy 2020’ at Raj Bhavan in Chennai on Friday. The book, which discusses the challenges of access, equity, quality, affordability and accountability faced by the current education system in the country, is authored by former Anna University Chancellor E. Balagurusamy.
2. A press release said the book, authored by former Anna University Chancellor E. Balagurusamy, aimed to highlight important recommendations of ‘NEP 2020’ and their implications to make the Indian education system globally relevant and competent.
3. Prof. M.K. Surappa, Vice-Chancellor, Anna University; E. Balagurusamy, Chairman, EBG Foundation; and Anandrao V. Patil, IAS, Secretary to Governor of Tamil Nadu were present.

(The Hindu, 17 October 2020) News Link

1. All India Muslim Personal Law Board to seek public consensus about uniform civil code

Key points:

1. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) will work towards building public opinion against a uniform civil code, saying in a country like India with different cultures and civilisations such a move “will not be justified“.
2. A decision to this effect was taken in the executive meeting of the board held virtually a few days ago.
3. AIMPLB member Zafaryab Jilani told PTI on Saturday that “important decisions pertaining to common civil code and the Babri mosque demolition case” were taken in the meeting on October 11 and October 13.
4. “The board members are of the view that in the agenda of the ruling BJP, now only common civil code is left, and they will proceed in this direction,” he said.

(The Hindu, 17 October 2020) News Link

1. Highways ministry ‘flouting’ SC order in Char Dham project, top court takes suo moto cognisance

Key points:

1. The controversy surrounding the Rs 12,000-crore Char Dham project, aimed at improving road connectivity to the Hindu pilgrimage sites of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, refuses to die, with the Supreme Court now taking a suo moto (on its own) cognisance in the matter.
2. This threatens to delay the implementation of the highway project further at a time the government is focussing on bolstering border infrastructure.
3. The highways ministry had earlier followed its 2012 order, according to which, the road width of a two-lane road with paved shoulder was fixed at 10 metres.
4. The court had also directed that on stretches where excess hill-cutting has been done, the ministry will have to take mitigation measures like planting trees to protect the Himalayan terrain and provide a footpath for padyatris and local people as per the recommendation of the court-appointed committee.

(The Print, 17 October 2020) News Link

• Flamingos give a miss to TN’s Perungulam tank, birdwatchers blame illegal sand mining

Key points:

1. Rampant illegal mining at Perungulam tank has forced flamingos to move away, say birdwatchers, who counted none during this year’s bird survey. The activists also objected to TANGEDCO’s high tension towers coming up in the middle of the tank stating that it poses a threat to winged visitors.
2. Perungulam is the last of the 15 tanks fed by the Maruthur East canal (Keezhakal) and is one of the largest tanks in the Thamirabarani system, spread over 883 acres. The tank is surrounded by Sivagalai village panchayat and Perungulam town panchayat of Eral taluk.Birdwatchers say that several thousand birds of different species including migratory species visit the Perungulam, Arumugamangalam, Kadamba and Vellur tanks in Thoothukudi district from August.
3. Pearl City Nature Society Secretary J Thomas Mathibalan said, “Between August and October, the irrigation tanks in the lower riparian of the Thamirabarani river witness low waters which are suitable for the birds to find food.””I did not see any flamingos this year. In the last two years, the flamingos stopped coming in August itself as the tank had turned dry much earlier because of the drought and were not recorded in the mid-September surveys. However, the tank had a small quantity of water till now, but still flamingos had not arrived,” he said.
4. Writer Muthalankurichi Kamarasu said that the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court, while hearing his PIL petition on March 11, 2019, prohibited the state government from issuing any licence for mining activities in and around the Sivagalai archaeological site, as unauthorised mining would deface the relics and antiquities.
5. “Since the project has been funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the stipulations concerning the safety standards are very stringent,” she said. On the possible fatalities of migratory birds visiting the tank, the officer said it is “false propaganda” and the HT towers would not cause any trouble to the birds visiting the tank. The aggrieved patta land holders can contact the concerned department  (TANGEDCO Transmissions) for compensation, the officer said.

(New Indian Express, 17 October 2020) News Link

1. Quality improvements needed to attract foreign studentsKey points:
2. If India wants to stop the exodus of its students to other countries and attract foreign students to its higher education institutions, its own institutions must improve quality and infrastructure and enable more opportunities for short-term exchanges to foreign institutions, according to eminent experts from Indian and global academia.
3. The experts are proposing a preliminary roadmap to prevent talent streaming out of the country and make India attractive to foreign students. The proposals were made at a two-day international webinar on “India: The global destination for higher education: Post-NEP 2020 scenario” – referring to the wide-reaching National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, released in July.

(University World News, 16 October 2020) News Link

• SDNR Foundation to livestream talk on the NEP by Kasturirangan

Key points:

• Member of the erstwhile royal family and president of SDNR Foundation Pramoda Devi Wadiyar said, Kasturirangan, also Chancellor of Central University of Rajasthan, will deliver the keynote address on ‘Drawing From India’s Legacies’. Darshan Shankar, founder vice-chancellor of Trans-Disciplinary University (TDU), Yelahanka, Bengaluru, and managing director of Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT), founded with Sam Pitroda, former advisor to Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations, will introduce the keynote speaker.

(Deccan Herald, 16 October 2020) News Link

• Ram Mandir vyavastha

1. राममंदिर की नींव की खोदाई के लिए चेन्नई के विशेषज्ञों की रिपोर्ट का इंतजार

Key points:

1. राममंदिर के लिए नींव शुरू करने के लिए एलएंडटी के इंजीनियरों को आईआईटी चेन्नई के विशेषज्ञों की रिपोर्ट का इंतजार है। रिपोर्ट न आने से गुरुवार से राम मंदिर की नींव खोदाई शुरू नहीं हो सकी, हालांकि ट्रस्ट ने 15 अक्तूबर से राममंदिर के लिए 1200 स्तंभों को गलाने का काम शुरू करने की बात कही थी। इन्हीं स्तंभों पर राममंदिर की आधारशिला रखी जाएगी।
2. कार्यदायी संस्था एलएंडटी के विशेषज्ञों की मानें तो नींव के फाउंडेशन का निर्माण पूरा करने का लक्ष्य जून 2021 तय किया गया है। इसके तहत 13 हजार वर्ग मीटर क्षेत्रफल में एक मीटर व्यास के 12 सौ स्तंभ 100 मीटर गहराई में कंक्रीट गलाकर बनाए जाएंगे।
3. इससे पहले 30 सितंबर तक टेस्ट पाइलिंग के तहत 12 स्तंभ का निर्माण पूरा हो गया है। अब इसकी क्षमता का परीक्षण होना है। कार्यदायी संस्था के सूत्रों का कहना है कि नींव का काम बहुत पेचीदा है, क्योंकि राम मंदिर को हजार साल तक अक्षुण्ण रखने के लिए इसके अनेक तकनीकी पहलुओं का परीक्षण होना है।
4. ट्रस्टी डॉ.अनिल मिश्र ने बताया कि 10 अक्तूबर को आईआईटी चेन्नई से आई इंजीनियरों की टीम ने टेस्ट पिलर की भार क्षमता की जांच कर ली है। इंजीनियरों की टीम जांच कर चेन्नई लौट गई है। जहां विधिवत जांच के बाद वे अपनी रिपोर्ट सौंपेेंगे। विशेषज्ञों की रिपोर्ट आने व उनकी अनुमति मिलने के बाद ही तुरंत 1200 स्तंभों का निर्माण कार्य शुरू कर दिया जाएगा। उन्होंने बताया कि अभी यह नहीं पता है कि भार क्षमता की रिपोर्ट कब तक आएगी। बताया कि रिपोर्ट न आने के कारण 15 अक्तूबर से पिलर निर्माण का काम शुरू नहीं हो सका है।

(Amar Ujala, 16 October 2020) News Link

• Ram Mandir vyavastha

1. श्रीरामजन्मभूमि परिसर में पहुंचने लगीं तराशी गईं शिलाएं, शिफ्टिंग से पहले विधिविधान से किया गया पूजन

Key points:

1. भव्य राम मंदिर निर्माण के लिए विश्व हिंदू परिषद की कार्यशाला में तराशकर रखी गईं शिलाएं श्रीरामजन्मभूमि परिसर में पहुंचाने की कवायद शुक्रवार को भक्तिभाव से पूजन-अर्चन के साथ शुरू हुई। एलएंडटी के इंजीनियरों की टीम ने विशालकाय शिलाओं को क्रेन से सकुशल ट्रक पर लादने और परिसर तक ले जाकर उतारने में सफलता हासिल की। कलाकृतियों को कोई नुकसान न हो, यह सबसे बड़ी चुनौती थी, लेकिन पहले दिन ट्रायल में कंपनी की कुशलता के लोग कायल रहे।

(Amar Ujala, 10 October 2020) News Link

• POJK
• Gilgit-Baltistan not part of Pakistan, says former PoK PM

Key points:

1. Former Prime Minister of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan said that according to the United Nations, Gilgit Baltistan is part of Jammu & Kashmir and Pakistan has no locus standi on it. He said that Pakistan is violating the UN Resolution. Gilgit Baltistan is on boil since after Pakistan has announced to make it as its 5th province.

(Amar Ujala,10 October 2020) News Link