UPSC PRELIMINARY MOCK TEST 98

Activities which fall under the prohibited category include commercial mining, setting up of saw mills, setting up of industries causing pollution, establishment of major hydro electric projects, discharge of effluent and solid waste into natural water bodies or areas, use or production of any hazardous substances,etc.

While activities like felling of trees, establishment of hotels and resorts, widening of roads, protection of river banks and hill slopes,etc. comes under regulated category.

Some of them are as follows:

1. Admission or establishment of new states.
2. Formation of new states and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing states.
3. Abolition or creation of legislative councils in states.
4. Second Scheduleemoluments, allowances, privileges and so on of the president, the governors, the Speakers, judges, etc.
5. Conferment of more jurisdictions to the Supreme Court.
6. Elections to Parliament and state legislatures.
7. Delimitation of constituencies.
8. Union territories.
9. Fifth Scheduleadministration of scheduled areas and scheduled tribes and Sixth Scheduleadministration of tribal areas. Etc

The initiative is an Integrated Teacher Training Programme of the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of HRD as part of its National Mission to improve learning outcomes at the Elementary level under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha during 2019-20.

The programme aims to build the capacities of around 42 lakh participants covering all teachers and Heads of Schools at the elementary level in all Government schools, faculty members of State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs), District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) as well as Block Resource Coordinators and Cluster Resource Coordinators in all States and UTs.

The objectives of Nishtha mega-training programme are:

• To equip all the elementary stage teachers on learning outcomes, school based assessment, learner -centred pedagogy, new initiatives in education and addressing diverse needs of children through multiple pedagogies, etc.
• To monitor and provide extensive support to the teachers using multiple modes up to the classroom level, in view of improving learning outcomes of the students.
• To orient state functionaries and school principlas on learning outcomes, national achievement survey, learner- centred pedagogy and new initiatives in school education so that they are able to monitor schools and extend support to schools for the implementation of new initiatives.

It is well-known that urea prices in India are among the lowest in the world (hovering around $ 86 per tonne). Urea prices in neighbouring countries in South and Southeast Asia, including China, are at least two to three-times higher.

• Also, the price ratio of urea to DAP and MOP is highly skewed. No wonder, Indian farmers are using higher doses of urea (nitrogen) compared to phosphate (DAP) and potash (MOP), and not getting the best results in terms of yields.
• Also Indian soils are deficient in micronutrients, especially zinc (about 48 per cent) - a fallout of which is zinc deficiency in wheat and rice, which, in turn, contributes to stunting in children.

The imbalanced use of N, P and K, therefore, needs urgent correction. Extremely low prices of urea also lead to its diversion to non-agricultural uses - as well as smuggling to neighbouring countries - that needs to be checked.

Source: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/from-plate-to-plough-for-farmers-the-next-big-idea-4987307/ ;

For additional reading: http://www.who.int/whr/2002/chapter4/en/index3.html ;

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