LAUNCH OF PRADHAN MANTRI KAUSHAL VIKAS YOJANA 3.0
The third phase of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana will be launched on January 15, 2021 in 600 districts across all states of India.
The third phase will be spearheaded by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). It will focus on new-age India and COVID-related skills.
Based on the learnings gained from the first and second phase of the mission, the Ministry has improved the newer version of the scheme to match the current policy doctrine and energize the skilling ecosystem affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana’s third phase (PMKVY 3.0) will focus on training eight lakh candidates during the scheme period of 2020-2021 with an outlay of Rs. 948.90 crore.
Around 729 Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras (PMKKs), empaneled non-PMKK training centers and over 200 ITIs under Skill India Mission will be rolling out training under PMKVY 3.0 to build a robust pool of skilled professionals.
The mission will train eight lakh candidates in localised, demand-driven skills, over a period of one year with an investment of about ₹950 crore.
The third phase of the mission will be rolled out in all states and Union territories simultaneously except five, where either election-related rules or covid-19 lockdown rules are in place.
ODISHA TO HOST 2023 FIH MEN’S HOCKEY WORLD CUP
Hockey India and the Odisha government are gearing up to host the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup in 2023 for a record fourth time since the inception of the tournament in 1971.
The 2023 FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup is scheduled to be held in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela in Odisha from January 13-29, 2023.
The hosting of the tournament in 2023 holds great significance, as India will be completing 75 years of independence in 2023 and Hockey India did not want to miss out on the opportunity to showcase the growth of the sport in the country in the landmark year.
India had also hosted the 14th edition of the Men’s Hockey World Cup in 2018, when all the matches were held at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
NEPAL’S FOREIGN MINISTER GYAWALI TO VISIT INDIA
Nepal’s Foreign Affairs Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali is scheduled to visit India from January 14-16, 2021. He will be participating in the sixth India-Nepal Joint Commission Meeting during the visit.
He will also meet his Indian counterpart External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar and is expected to discuss various issues including territorial issues that had triggered tension between the two nations last year.
Nepal had published a new political map last year that showed three Indian territories -Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh as a part of Nepal.
Earlier in November 2020, Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla had visited Nepal to resettle bilateral ties with Nepal.
During his visit, he had extended an invitation to the Nepalese Minister on behalf of the MEA for the next round of the India-Nepal Joint Commission Meeting.
The visit of Nepal’s Foreign Minister was originally planned to take place in December 2020 but got postponed due to political tension in Nepal.
SNAPCHAT BANNED US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP
In yet another social media lash back, Snapchat has permanently banned US President Donald Trump’s account over his role in inciting violence at the US Capitol riots.
This follows bans by Twitter, Facebook and Instagram on the personal account of the President.
Snapchat had announced an indefinite suspension of President Trump’s Snapchat account last week.
The platform said it took the decision of permanently banning the President’s account after it repeatedly violated the company’s community guidelines over the past several months.
TASK FORCE TO SET UP FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF NEP
Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal recommended setting up of a task force to coordinate the implementation of the National Education Policy between educational institutions.
The Minister suggested the formation of a review committee and an implementation committee headed by Higher Education Secretary to ensure speedy implementation of NEP.
The Minister further emphasised on the need to shift the focus from package culture to patent culture.
He also called upon the stakeholders to ensure synergy between NEP implementation and the existing government policies.
CABINET APPROVED ACQUISITION OF 83 LCA TEJAS
The Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the largest indegenous defence deal worth Rs 48,000 crores to procure 83 LCA Tejas fighters for the Indian Air Force.
Under the deal, 73 LCA Tejas Mk-1A fighter aircraft and 10 LCA Tejas Mk-1 Trainer aircraft will be procured at the cost of Rs. 45,696 Crore along with design and development of Infrastructure sanctions at Rs 1,202 Crore.
The deal is expected to be signed in the next few days with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It will provide a major boost to the Make in India initiative in defence sector.
The deal will serve as a game-changer for self-reliance in Indian defence manufacturing.
It would strengthen the Indian Air Force’s fleet of homegrown fighter jet ‘LCA-Tejas’ and the overall combat capability of the force.
WHO SETS UP GLOBAL STOCKPILE OF EBOLA VACCINES
The World Health Organization along with partner agencies informed that they are establishing a global stockpile of Ebola vaccines to control future outbreaks.
Four leading international health and humanitarian organisations-WHO, UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said in a statement that they are establishing an emergency reserve of about 500,000 doses of Ebola vaccine.
Almost 7,000 Ebola vaccine doses are available now and more will be added throughout the year. The GAVI Vaccine alliance will be providing financial support for the vaccine stockpile to ensure outbreak response.
The International Coordinating Group (ICG) on Vaccine Provision had led the effort to establish the stockpile.
The Ebola vaccines being stockpiled have been manufactured by Merck, Sharp & Dohme (MSD) Corp and developed with financial support from the US government