RAJASTHAN

• Rajasthan learning model added as case study by Harvard

• An educational programme to improve learning outcomes in Rajasthan government schools has been added as a case study by the Harvard Business School and Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
• The programme is based on artificial intelligence and ICT intervention in regular studies. It was validated by the think tank Abdul Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J Pal) in 2018 and 2019 by Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo.
• The programme was initiated by Educational Initiatives in association with the state government to test the impact of classroom-based ICT programme in October 2017. It has spread in 100 schools catering to 15,000 students in 13 districts. The case study is meant to demonstrate the impact of technological intervention in bettering learning outcomes.

• The programme earned praises for its advance cost-effective technological interventions. Under the programme, Mindspark Lab has been established in Aadarsh Schools working on specially designed software. Every school has an average of 20 chromebooks and one server. It begins by taking a base line test of every student and prepares the customised pedagogies accordingly.

• The programme incorporates several interactive questions, different learning materials such as video formats, etc. Engagement with students training them on how to start the server, use a chromebook, handle connectivity errors, sync the data and navigate the Mindspark.

INTERNATIONAL

·       Bangladesh holds the first phase of Bishwa Ijtema

• Bangladesh is to hold the first phase of Bishwa Ijtema, the second largest congregation of the Muslim community after Hajj. Bishwa Ijtema will be held from 10-12 January 2020 in Dhaka. The second phase of the Ijtema will be held from 17 to 19 January 2020.

• Bishwa Ijtema is an annual event held in Bangladesh. It is held in a 160-acre field on the bank of the Turag River at Tongi on the outskirts ofDhaka since 1967.

• Bishwa Ijtema means world congregation. It draws in Muslims from about 150 countries. In 2010, 5 million people were estimated to take part in the Bishwa Ijtema.

·       Philippines to buy Indias BrahMos missile

• The Philippines revealed its plan to buy India’s BrahMos missilewhich can be launched from all four platforms, ship, a plane, submarine, or on land. The announcement was made by the Vice Commander of the Philippine Army Major General Reynaldo Aquino during his visit to India.
• The Philippine Army is to acquire BrahMos missile as its First Land-Based Missile System Battery (1LBMS). The country aims to strengthen its coastal defences. BrahMos missile is considered as one of the world’s fastest supersonic missiles.

• As a part of the wider ties, India and the Philippines have a strong defense relationship. The aim of collaborating with India by buying Brahmos will deepen the defence ties.

NATIONAL

• India to play its first-ever Day-Night Test

• The Indian cricket team will play its first-ever Day-Night Test match against Bangladesh.

• The Test is scheduled to be held at the Eden Gardens from November 22-26 and will be the second game of a two-match series.

• The match will start at 2 pm (IST) and will comprise a Tea and Dinner break.

·       India to open 100 additional airports in the next five years

• The government of India is planning to open100 additional airports by 2024. The decision was made at a meeting that was held to review the infrastructure that is needed by 2025. The move is towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement to double the infrastructure projects in a bid to revive growth and achieve a target of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2025.

• The aim is to revive economic growth in Asia’s third-largest economy.The proposal included starting1,000 new routes connecting smaller towns and villages. The proposal also includes boosting the number of locally trained pilots to 600 a year and double the domestic aircraft fleet to 1,200 during the period. The government has allocated 1 trillion to build airports in the next 5 years.

·       Indian Railways expanded e office system

• Indian Railways has expanded thee-office system in the sector. It has adopted to make it paperless, efficient, transparent, and expeditious.

• The e-office system will bring absolutetransparency,as anything, once written on the file, will be archived. It will also have a monitoring mechanism to check as to where the files are held up. This would enable quick disposal of files and systematic, timely monitoring of pending files.

• Indian Railways will change the work culture for providing better services to the public. The e-Office system will lead to a paperless culture, which will save operational costs and reduce the carbon footprint.

• The implementation of phase-I of the NIC e-office suitewas completed ahead of time by It was implemented under a MoU with Indian Railways in March 2019. The phase-I was mandated to complete the work by March 2020. RailTel has created 50000+ users in 58 establishments of Indian Railways that have adopted to paperless work culture as of 30.10.2019. It had also trained all the executives to handle the platform.

·       Anup Kumar Singh took charge as the Director General of NSG

• Former Ahmedabad city Police Commissioner and Senior IPS officer Anup Kumar Singhhave taken charge as the Director-General of the National Security Guard (NSG). He was appointed by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The recommendation of the Ministry of Home Affairs for Singh’s promotion was sent on 10 October to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). The appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• After the retirement of Sudeep Lakhtakia,the post was lying vacant for over months. Lakhtakia is a 1984-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Telangana cadre.

• NSG was established in It is the Counter-Terrorism Unit of the government of India. It was raised as the federal contingency force.