India's political landscape is ablaze with activity! From the ongoing debates surrounding the new farm bills and their impact on rural India, to the upcoming state elections shaping the national narrative, the stakes couldn't be higher. Key political figures are maneuvering strategically, with alliances shifting and power dynamics constantly in flux. The opposition's challenge to the ruling party is intensifying, sparking vigorous debates on crucial policy matters including economic reforms and social justice initiatives. Parliamentary proceedings are filled with heated exchanges, reflecting the deep divisions within the nation. This evolving political climate directly impacts the lives of every Indian citizen, influencing everything from economic opportunities to social welfare programs. Stay informed about the latest developments in Indian politics, from crucial legislative decisions to grassroots movements, by exploring Abtak.com for in-depth analysis and breaking news updates. Understanding the intricacies of our political system is crucial; stay engaged, stay informed, and stay ahead.
Lucknow: A new school pairing initiative in Uttar Pradesh aims to address longstanding challenges in rural education by linking small, under-resourced government schools with better-equipped institutions nearby. The move is intended to ensure access to improved facilities, smarter classrooms, and stronger teacher-student ratios for all children, without closing down any existing schools. Under the plan, schools with enrollments below 50 students will be paired with larger institutions within a 1-km radius for primary schools and 3 km for upper primary ones. Pairing will be based on three criteria: low enrollment, proximity, and inadequate infrastructure or teaching staff. The state has clarified that no teaching or kitchen staff posts will be removed, and existing schools will remain operational with provisions to reopen fully if enrollment increases. The initiative also integrates Operation Kayakalp parameters to develop basic infrastructure such as clean drinking water, toilets, boundary walls, libraries, playgrounds, and smart classrooms. Schools involved in the pairing will be upgraded to meet all 19 criteria under the programme. Currently, many small government schools in the state face low attendance and a high burden on single teachers managing multiple classes. The pairing model seeks to address these issues by optimizing resources, enabling peer learning, and creating a more conducive academic environment. Safety audits are being conducted in all affected areas. Factors like busy roads, rail lines, and water bodies are being considered before pairing decisions are finalized to ensure student security during travel. The plan aligns with the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which encourages integration of under-resourced schools to improve learning outcomes. A letter from the Ministry of Education, dated June 5, 2024, supports the pairing approach for schools with fewer than 50 students. Following this, state authorities were directed to begin implementation from October 2024. While outcomes of the initiative will take time to assess, early indicators such as higher attendance and improved academic proficiency suggest the potential for meaningful change, provided implementation remains inclusive, safe, and responsive to local conditions.
Bhubaneswar: In a landmark step to strengthen early childhood education, the Odisha government has announced the introduction of 'Sishu Vatikas' across all government primary schools starting from the Academic Year (AY) 2025-26. The notification was issued by the Commissioner-cum-Secretary to the Government of Odisha, School & Mass Education Department on Monday and will be published in the Odisha Gazette. As part of this new initiative aligned with the National Education Policy 2020, children aged 5 to 6 years will be enrolled in pre-school education at these specially created centers. The ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) YouTuber Samay Raina appeared before the National Commission for Women (NCW) in Delhi on Tuesday, months after he was summoned in connection with allegedly offensive and sexist content aired during his show "India's Got Latent", officials said. Raina was also among the five social media influencers who appeared before the Supreme Court in a case seeking action against them for ridiculing persons suffering from disabilities. Raina submitted his statement in response to the allegations to NCW officials. Officials said further steps will be considered after reviewing his ...Read More >
New Delhi, July 9 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Ministry of Education will host a two-day Vice Chancellors' Conference of Central Universities in Kevadia, Gujarat from July 10-11, bringing together top academic leadership from across the country to mark five years of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and strategise its future course. Union Minister for Education Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar, and senior ministry officials will participate in the event, which will see wide-ranging deliberations on the role of Central Universities in shaping a Viksit Bharat ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], December 16 (ANI): Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday defended the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, stating that there was a need to establish a "uniform pattern" in regulation, standard-setting, and university accreditation, aligning it with the National Education Policy (NEP). Pradhan introduced the Bill in Parliament on Monday, and it was later referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee amid opposition. Also Read | Hyderabad Shocker: Mentally Unstable Woman Pushes 7-Year-Old Daughter From 3rd Floor of Residential Building in Telangana. Addres ...Read More >
New Delhi, April 1 (SocialNews.XYZ) Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday launched a CBSE curriculum on Computational Thinking (CT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for students of Classes 3 to 8, to be introduced from the 2026-27 academic session. The initiative, themed "AI for Education, AI in Education", aims to build foundational digital and analytical skills among young learners by integrating future-ready competencies at an early stage. The launch event in New Delhi was attended by Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary, along with senior officials from the ...Read More >
New Delhi, September 3: The Central Government on Wednesday released a set of guidelines for the co-location of Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) with primary schools, outlining the minimum infrastructure requirements and operational criteria necessary for effective implementation. India currently has over 14.02 lakh Anganwadi Centres, of which 2.9 lakh are already co-located with schools. This new initiative aims to expand co-location to ensure better utilization of resources, enhanced school readiness among children, and improved convergence between education and nutrition services. The guidelines h ...Read More >
New Delhi: The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has been granted deemed-to-be-university status, enabling it to award its own degrees, officials said on Friday. "The Ministry of Education, on the advice of the University Grants Commission (UGC), has declared NCERT along with its six constituent units as a deemed-to-be university under a distinct category," an official notification said. Six Institutes Brought Under New Status The status will cover NCERT's key institutions, including the Regional Institutes of Education (RIEs) in Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Mysur ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday participated in the state-level Pravesh Utsav and Khadi Chhuan programme, symbolically initiating young children into formal education and reaffirming the government's commitment to universal enrolment. The event was held at a government upper primary school near Raj Bhavan in Bhubaneswar, where the Chief Minister personally guided children to write their first words -- " Maa" (mother) and "Bapa" (father) -- on slates using chalk, marking the traditional beginning of their academic journey. Interacting warmly with the children ...Read More >
Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government will organise a mega parent-teacher meeting (PTM) 2.0 on July 10. As many as 2,28,21,454 participants from 61,135 institutions, including government and private schools, are expected to take part in the mega PTM 2.0. The state government termed the meeting as a unique initiative to strengthen the school-parent relationship. Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh are scheduled to participate in the parent-teacher meet 2.0 at Puttaparthi. As a step towards community-driven schooling, the first edition of mega PTM was success ...Read More >
New Delhi, April 1: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday launched a CBSE curriculum on Computational Thinking (CT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for students of Classes 3 to 8, to be introduced from the 2026-27 academic session. The initiative, themed "AI for Education, AI in Education", aims to build foundational digital and analytical skills among young learners by integrating future-ready competencies at an early stage. The launch event in New Delhi was attended by Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary, along with senior officials from the Ministry of Educ ...Read More >
Lucknow: The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court on Monday upheld the decision of the state govt to pair primary and upper primary schools, which have less than 50 students, with nearby institutions.The court said that the state govt is bound to ensure that no child is left out because of any action taken by it.Pronouncing the verdict reserved on July 4, 2025, the bench of Justice Pankaj Bhatia dismissed two separate writ petitions filed by Krishna Kumari and others. The petitioners had demanded the cancellation of the state govt's June 16 order in this connection.The petitioners had ple ...Read More >
New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday dispelled the opposition's concerns that the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025 would undermine institutional autonomy and said the states would retain similar powers as they have presently. Earlier on Tuesday, Pradhan moved a resolution to refer the Bill proposing to set up a 13-member body for regulating higher education institutions to a joint committee of both Houses of Parliament. The proposal was approved by voice vote in the House. "There is no threat to institutional autonomy and even if the oppos ...Read More >
Ahmedabad, June 27 (SocialNews.XYZ) Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah visited the Information and Library Network (INFLIBNET) Centre in Gandhinagar on Friday where he reviewed the institution's operations and shared key inputs to boost its accessibility and impact. HM Shah also launched the mobile application of Sastu Sahitya Vardhak Karyalaya during the visit. Calling himself "a child of the library", HM Shah underlined the role of libraries in shaping young minds and said they remain a vital tool in nation-building. He stressed the need to make library services more accessible ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Cabinet Monday approved an outlay of Rs 12,000 crore to set up 2,200 primary schools under the Godabarish Adarsha Vidyalaya (GAV) scheme in three years from 2025-26, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said. The state Cabinet meeting, chaired by CM Majhi, also approved three other proposals including beautification of the Maa Tarini Temple at Ghatagaon in Keonjhar district at a cost of Rs 226 crore. Briefing media persons after the meeting, the Chief Minister said at least one model primary school will be developed at each Gram Panchayat (GP) under the GAV scheme. Targetin ...Read More >
PRNewswire Chandigarh [India], July 15: Chandigarh University, India leading private university, in collaboration with job platform Apna and investment firm Venture Catalysts (VCats) have launched Campus Tank, India first university-led Startup launch-pad for young innovators below the age of 30 to pitch their ideas and get funding of $1 Million to launch their startups along with expert venture guidance, strategic ecosystem alliances and immersive startup incubation. APNA which is India largest early talent platform, trusted by over 6 Crore users and AICTE while Venture Catalyst is India lea ...Read More >
Dehradun: The 24-hour ban on Char Dham Yatra was lifted on Monday, stated officials. While speaking to ANI, Garhwal Divisional Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said, "The 24-hour ban on Char Dham Yatra has been lifted." The commissioner further stated that the District Magistrates of all districts along the Yatra route have been instructed to stop vehicles in view of weather conditions in their respective districts. About The Suspension This comes after the Char Dham Yatra was suspended on Sunday following a heavy rain alert, as per officials. The suspension of the Yatra was followed by a ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI) India's higher education ecosystem has undergone a fundamental transformation making it flexible, interdisciplinary, inclusive and innovation driven, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Thursday. Inaugurating two-day Vice-Chancellors' Conference of Central Universities in Gujarat's Kevadia, Pradhan also said the total student enrolment has touched 4.46 crore, a 30 per cent increase since 2014-15. "...the female enrolment has grown by 38 per cent and female GER (gross enrolment ratio) now exceeded male GER...PhD enrolment has almost doubled and female P ...Read More >
T'puram: Sidestepping CPI's political arguments and protests, the state govt on Thursday signed an agreement with the Union govt to join the PM SHRI (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) scheme. General education secretary K Vasuki signed the agreement on behalf of the state govt in New Delhi. Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK) director Supriya A R also accompanied the general education secretary to New Delhi.Earlier, state govt had opposed the scheme and refused to become a signatory to the projec ...Read More >
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced a structured curriculum on Computational Thinking (CT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Classes 3 to 8, aimed at building AI-readiness among students from an early age. Launched by Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Wednesday, the curriculum recommends 50 hours annually for Classes 3 to 5 and 100 hours for Classes 6 to 8, ensuring a gradual and age-appropriate progression for a phased int ...Read More >
BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Sunday announced to appoint Shishu Sevikas (child caregivers) in Sishu Batikas (childcare centers) of the state. A decision in this regard was taken by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. The Shishu Sevika will assist the children in the Sishu Batika and help reduce the non-teaching workload of teachers, allowing them to focus on education. The chief minister said this move is expected to improve the quality of education for children in pre-primary classes. The decision comes as part of the implementation of the National Education Policy, which gives prior ...Read More >
Marking a major shift, the Centre will also ensure that the new regulator is divested of all funding/grant mechanisms, which will instead be handled by the Union education ministry. New Delhi: The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, set to be introduced in the Parliament this week, will do away with existing regulators AICTE and UGC (allowing a transitional role) and instead bring in a new 12-member regulatory council (Viksit Bharat Shiksha Viniyam Parishad). It will be backed by an acc ...Read More >
The Centre has granted the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) the status of an "Institution deemed to be University under distinct category", enabling it to independently offer degree programmes as part of efforts to strengthen teacher education and educational research in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. With the new status conferred by the Union ministry of education, NCERT will now be able to offer higher education programmes in education across d ...Read More >
The Odisha Cabinet on Monday approved an outlay of Rs 12,000 crore to set up 2,200 primary schools under the Godabarish Adarsha Vidyalaya (GAV) scheme in three years from 2025-26, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said. The state Cabinet meeting, chaired by Majhi, also approved three other proposals including beautification of the Maa Tarini Temple at Ghatagaon in Keonjhar district at a cost of Rs 226 crore. Briefing media persons after the meeting, the chief minister said at least one model pr ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar : The Odisha Cabinet on Monday approved an outlay of Rs 12,000 crore to set up 2,200 primary schools under Godabarish Adarsha Vidyalaya (GAV) scheme in three years from 2025-26, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said. The State Cabinet meeting, chaired by Majhi, also approved three other proposals including beautification of Maa Tarini Temple at Ghatagaon in Keonjhar district at a cost of Rs 226 crore. Briefing mediapersons after the meeting, the Chief Minister said at least one model primary school will be developed at each Gram Panchayat under the GAV scheme. Targeting the erst ...Read More >
VIJAYAWADA: Minister for HRD and IT Nara Lokesh on Monday met Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi at his residence and sought the Centre's support for strengthening education standards across the state. During the meeting, Lokesh briefed the Union Minister on the initiatives being undertaken by the coalition government in Andhra Pradesh to improve learning outcomes at all levels. He highlighted the launch of the Guaranteed Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) programme, aimed at ensuring that primary school students achieve essential reading and numeracy skills. Lok ...Read More >
Dharmendra Pradhan described autonomy as the central pillar of the Bill. File photo Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday outlined the government's rationale behind the proposed Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, saying the legislation aims to simplify higher education regulation, eliminate overlapping authorities and grant institutions the autonomy needed to meet global standards. Addressing a press briefing, Pradhan said India's higher education system has expanded rapidly ...Read More >