26-27.02.23 Daily [Assam] APSC Current Affairs

Basic reading ability and arithmetic skills have dropped at the primary level in schools inAssam, with not even 25% students in the age group of five to 16 being able to read simple English sentences, revealed the latest Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2022 published on school education in the country.

ASER last assessed children’s ability in English in 2016. In Assam, 24.3% of the Class V children can read simple English sentences in the 2022 survey. The proportion, however, registered a marginal increase from 22.3% in the 2016 survey. In Assam, of the 50.6% of children in Class VIII, who can read sentences in English, 69.6% of them can also tell the meaning of the sentences.

The survey byPratham Education Foundationestimated Learning loss between 2018 and 2022, showing diverse outcomes. ASER 2022 surveyors went to 26 districts in rural Assam where a total of 15,413 households and 25,502 children in the age group of three to 16 were surveyed.

In Assam, the Percentage of children in Class III in government or private schools, who can read Class II level reading matter, has dropped from 19.9% in 2018 to 17.9% in 2022. Nationally, too, the corresponding figure at the all-India level has declined from 27.3% in 2018 to 20.5% in 2022.

The survey showed nationally, 69.6% of children enrolled in Class VIII in government or private schools, can read at least basic text in 2022, a fall from 73% in 2018. But a reverse trend was visible in Assam in this category. The corresponding figure has increased from 60.8% in 2018 to 68.8% in 2022.

The All-India figure for children in Class III who are able to at least do subtraction dropped from 28.2% in 2018 to 25.9% in 2022. Steep drops of more than 10% points have been visible inMizoram(from 58.8% to 42%). For Assam this figure has dropped from 29.8% in 2018 to 24.5% in 2022.

India’s power regulator has approved a proposal to start a separate spot market segment for ‘expensive’ power, according to an order handed down to the Indian Energy Exchange (IEX), with record demand levels expected this summer.

The approval from the (CERC), given to the country’s largest spot power market, is for electricity derived from costlier sources of imported coal and gas, as well as battery storage.

Other power Plants operating on low-cost fuel will not be allowed to sell electricity on the new market segment, according to the order, a move seen as ensuring increased electricity availability.

The power regulator fixed a ceiling of 50 rupees ($0.6042) per unit of electricity (kWh), according to the order.

Most of the plants based on costlier fuel operate at low capacity for lack of buyers. However, until last year states purchased electricity at 20 rupees per unit to meet high demand during summer months and crop sowing seasons.

India currently ranks first in terms of AI skill penetration and AI talent concentration and fifth in AI scientific publications, aNasscomreport said.

India’s ‘AI Skills Penetration Factor’ has been reported to be 3.09 — the highest among all and OECD countries.

It shows that India’s tech talent is 3X more likely to have or report AI skills than other countries, according to the report by the National Association of Software and ServicesCompanies(Nasscom) in PARTNERSHIP with Salesforce and Draup.

India is also expected to witness high Growth in the demand for data science and AI professionals with an estimate of more than 1 million professionals by 2024.

More than 1,900 AI-focused startups are providing innovative solutions, primarily in the areas of conversational AI, NLP, video analytics, disease detection, fraud prevention and deep fakes detection.

Astronomersfrom McGill University in Canada and theIndian Institute of Science(IISc) in Bengaluru have used data from the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in Pune to detect a radio signal originating fromatomic hydrogenin an extremely distant galaxy.

The astronomical distance over which the signal was picked up is so far the farthest. This is also the first confirmed detection of strong lensing of 21 cm emission from a galaxy.

Israel’s parliament overwhelmingly approved a law to strip Arabs convicted in nationalistic attacks of their Israeli or residency and deport them if they have accepted stipends from the Palestinian Authority.

The decision, which could potentially affect hundreds of Palestinian citizens and residents of Israel, was condemned as racist by Arab lawmakers as well as Palestinian officials in the occupied West Bank.

The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority has long provided stipends to the families of Palestinians killed or imprisoned for attacks on Israelis.

Prisoners are widely seen as heroes in Palestinian Society, and the PA considers these payments as a form of welfare to needy families. But Israel says they reward violence and serve as an incentive for others to carry out attacks.