• The Uttarakhand education department launched an e-governance portal “Samarth”.
• This portal provides all administrative and educational updates including information about entrance exams, salary structures, and appointments from five state universities and 140 public schools.
• The initiative has been taken in a bid to make the education system more transparent in the state.

About the portal:

• The portal also provides access to 40 academic study modules.
• 200 assistant professors of science subjects will be sent to the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru for special training, while teachers of state universities will be given training at IIM Kashipur.
• The new education policy (NEP-2020)will be also implemented in the state from this session in September.
• In addition, to provide quality education to students, a teacher-sharing format that will connect multiple private and government schools across the country will also be introduced soon.

• The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers said nano urea, a liquid fertilizer developed by IFFCO to reduce farmers’ dependence on packaged urea, had been allowed for commercial use based on existing rules that provisionally allow fertilizers to be used based on data from only two cropping seasons.
• The usual practice for recommending (or rejecting) a new fertilizer for commercial use required three seasons of independent assessment by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) , but in the case of nano urea this was reduced to two.
• The established and existing procedure for registration of any fertilizer for notification as per Fertiliser Control Order (FCO), 1985.
• Nano Urea has been provisionally notified under FCO based on encouraging results and feedback received from scientists of ICAR and State Agricultural Universities.
• Central Fertilizer Committee (CFC), Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA & FW) has also recommended it based on data and due deliberations in this regard.

• Tripura becomes the first state in India to have the first modified bio-village.
• The Daspara village of Tripura is converted into a nature-based lifestyle and livelihood and reduced the use of chemical fertilizers.
• Dasapara is a home for 64 families which depends on agriculture and fishery.
• Daspara is one of the five successful bio-village 2.0 conceptualized in Tripura.

About:

• Tripura Government has aimed to set up a total of100 bio villages in the state.
• 10 bio villages are completed, and the first bio village has been set up at Dasapara in Charilam constituency of Sepahijala district.
• The bio village project aims to provide sustainable livelihood and food security to ensure holistic socio-economic development among rural communities.
• The project supports the development of solar-powered agricultural equipment, energy-saving electrical devices, biogas, and biofertilizers at the local level.
• The main objective of the project is to promote green technology like solar water pumps, biomass cook stoves, and biogas plants for sustainable production of agricultural and allied sector-related products.

• Bharat Biotech’s ChAd36-SARS-CoV-S COVID-19 (Chimpanzee Adenovirus Vectored) recombinant nasal vaccine has been approved by Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for primary immunization against COVID-19 in 18+ age group for restricted use in emergencies.
• This is India’s first intranasal vaccine for COVID-19.

About iNCOVACC

• The product – iNCOVACC – is stable at 2-8°C for easy storage and distribution.
• Bharat Biotech has established large manufacturing capabilities at multiple sites across India including Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana with operations pan-India.
• iNCOVACC has the double benefit of enabling faster development of variant-specific vaccines and easy nasal delivery that enables mass immunisation to protect from emerging variants of concern.
• “iNCOVACC is a recombinant replication-deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a pre-fusion stabilized spike protein. This vaccine candidate was evaluated in Phase-I, II and III clinical trials with successful results.
• iNCOVACC has been specifically formulated to allow intra-nasal delivery through nasal drops. The nasal delivery system has been designed and developed to be cost-effective in low- and middle-income countries.
• iNCOVACC was developed in partnership with Washington University St. Louis, which had designed and developed the recombinant adenoviral vectored constructs and evaluated them in preclinical studies for efficacy.

• The Sardar Patel University, Mandi signed MoUs with the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi (IIT-Mandi), Thakur Ram Singh Itihas Shodh Sansthan NERI, Hamirpur, GB Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Almora (UK), CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT) Palampur, Chettinad Academy of Research and Education, Kelambakkam, Tamil Nadu, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, for higher education academic partnership.
• Prof DD Sharma, Vice-Chancellor of the Sardar Patel University in Mandi said the relation between the SPU and these institutes assumes importance particularly when education is undergoing a transformational change though the mandate of the National Education Policy (NEP-2020).
• Prof Sharma said the overall objective of these MoUs is to promote collaboration for cooperation in research, education and faculty/student exchange.

About Sardar Patel University

• Sardar Patel University has been established as a second state University by an Act passed by Himachal Pradesh Vidhan sabha in the year 2021.
• It is situated in Mandi District.
• The University started its operations with effect from 1st April 2022.
• The University is established for the purpose of affiliating, teaching and ensuring proper and systematic instructions, training and research in the Higher Education system.

• Himachal Pradesh Government announced to start Mukhya Mantri Shodh Protsahan Yojna wherein monthly fellowship of Rs 3000 would be given to research scholars for a period of three years from the date of registration.
• The decision was announced after a state cabinet meeting held in Shimla under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.
• This initiative has been taken to motivate the youth for quality research in different fields.

Research Institute in Himachal Pradesh

• The Indian Institute of Advanced Study(IIAS) is a research institute based in Shimla.
• It was set up by the Ministry of Education, Government of India in 1964 and started functioning from 20 October 1965.

• In Kerala, the 68th edition of the prestigious Nehru Trophy Boat Race will be held at Punnamada lake in Alappuzha district.
• 20 snake boats (chundan valloms) will be competing for the coveted trophy, which bears the signature of the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
• The event is marked by vigour, sportsman spirit and revelry.
• Competitions are held in nine categories in which nearly 77 boats including snake boats will take part. The heat rounds are being held.
• 24 shikara paddlers from Dal Lake in Srinagar are also participating in the boat race this time.
• They will be part of the snake boat St Pious Tenth, paddled by Kumarakom Town Boat Club.
• Nehru Trophy is also associated with

• The International Day of Charity is observed on September 5. On this day, philanthropic and humanitarian efforts of any kind are honoured.
• September 5 was chosen to celebrate the day because it is Mother Teresa’s death anniversary.
• She devoted her life for charity and helping people in need. Her compassion and giving nature had made her a revered figure worldwide.
• Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979for “work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitute a threat to peace.”

International Day of Charity: UN resolution

• September 5 was declared as the International Day of Charity, by a resolution adopted by United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), on December 17, 2012.
• The resolution was co-sponsored by 44 UN member nations.

History 

• Mother Teresa became an emblem of Christian generosity as a result of her work with Kolkata’s impoverished people.
• It made her an instantly recognizable figure around the world.
• In 1950, the celebrated nun established Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, which rose to prominence for its assistance to the poor.
• The great personality passed away on 5 September 1997, at the age of 87.
• The International Day of Charity was first marked by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012.

• Four organisations of the Indian Chakma tribal communities demanded India and Bangladesh fully implement the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) Accord, signed in 1997, for the development and peace in the southeast region of the neighbouring country.
• The demand came as Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina arrived in New Delhi on a four-day visit, during which she would hold talks with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
• The Chakma tribal organisations, in a joint memorandum to both Prime Ministers, urged them to take joint measures for full implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) Accord, signed on December 2, 1997 and declare the CHTs as a “region of peace”.
• Founder leader of the Chakma Development Foundation of India Suhas Chakma emphasized on the importance of implementation of the CHT Accord for regional peace and security, especially for Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar.

About Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT) Accord

• The indigenous people of Bangladesh have demanded quick implementation of the Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT) Accord signed in 1997.
• The government signed CHT accord in 1997 with Parbatya Chattogram Jana Sanghati Samity (PCJSS) representing Jumma indigenous people to end decades of armed conflict in the South Eastern region of the country.
• Protection of the land rights of Jumma people, rehabilitation, self-government and withdrawal of military from the region were the key points of the accord.
• The CHT Accord provided recognition of CHT region as a tribal-inhabited region, introducing a special governance system based on an institutional structure formed by the CHT Regional Councils and three Hill District Councils (HDCs), and transferring competencies on general administration, law and order, police (local), land and land management, development, education, health, environment and forestry’s, demilitarization of the region, resolution of land disputes, rehabilitation of returnee Jumma refugees and internally displaced persons, and the setting up of a CHT Affairs Ministry at national level.

Discontentment of Chakma leaders with implementation of the CHTs Accord

• Prominent Chakma leader and former Mizoram MLA Rashik Mohan Chakma said that though the CHTs Accord was signed 25 years ago, key provisions of the accord especially handing over of law and order and supervision of the three Hill District Councils of Bandarban, Khagrachari, and Rangamati to the CHTs Regional Council was not yet done.
• The other provisions of the accord which are not yet implemented include withdrawal of the Bangladesh Army camps established during the armed conflicts into the cantonments within the CHTs, resolution of the land disputes through the functioning of the CHTs Land Commission, and resettlement of the tribal refugees.

CHITTAGONG HILL TRACT (CHT)

• The CHT in the south-eastern part of Bangladesh comprises a total area of 13,189 sq. km. encompassing three hill districts: Bandarban ,Khagrachari and Rangamati.
• It shares borders with Myanmar on the south and southeast, India on the north and northeast, and the Chittagong district of Bangladesh on the west.
• It is one of the most diverse regions in the country.
• Home to eleven indigenous ethnic groups, collectively known as the Jumma people, these indigenous groups are distinct from the majority Bengali people of Bangladesh in respect of race, language, culture, heritage, religion, political history, and economy.
• This ethnic and religious differences that separate the Jumma people of the rest of the Bangladeshi population has been a source of permanent conflict in the region.
• After an armed conflict that lasted more than 20 years, the signing of the 1997 “CHT Accord” was regarded as the cornerstone of a new period of peaceful coexistence between the inhabitants of the Chittagong Hills Tracts and Bangladesh.

• Bhartaul has become the first village in Uttar Pradesh to achieve the distinction of supplying RO water to every household.
• Bhartaul is located in Bithiri Chainpur block of Bareilly. It has around 7,000 people and every household is provided with clean and safe RO water.
• The installation of RO has been under the Adarsh Gram Panchayat initiative enabling the Village to get access to clean drinking water.
• Till now, four RO plants have been installed in the village and more ROs are underway. These RO plants have been connected to the main supply tanks which helps to provide clean water to every household.
• The village head Pravesh Kumari is in charge and has been taking care of the installation of the RO plants in the village.
• The Chief Development Officer, Bareilly, Jag Pravesh said that the installation of ROs in the village will decrease water-borne diseases.

About Reverse Osmosis

• Reverse Osmosis is a technology that is used to remove a large majority of contaminants from water by pushing the water under pressure through a semi-permeable membrane.
• An RO membrane rejects contaminants based on their size and charge
• Reverse Osmosis is also used to produce water that is suitable for many industrial applications that require demineralized or deionized water

Issues with RO System

• Wastage: RO systems now recover only 20 per cent of water while 80 per cent go waste.
• Can remove beneficial mineral: The process can cut the levels of calcium and magnesium, which are vital nutrients.