The State of India's Environment Report 2021
The State of India's Environment Report 2021 is released jointly by over 60 environmentalists of India.
India's rank has slipped by two places from last year to 117 on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted as a part of the 2030 agenda by 193 United Nations member states in 2015.
The overall SDG score of India is 61.9 out of 100.
Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh has the best overall score, while Jharkhand and Bihar are the least prepared to meet the SDGs by 2030.
The report also said that India ranked 168 out of 180 countries in terms of Environmental Performance Index (EPI).
According to the EPI 2020 report by Yale University, India ranked 148.
released by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
Environment
Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2019-20
Union Education Ministry approved the release of Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2019-20 to measure the performance of States and Union Territories in school education.
This relatively new index measures the performance of states in school education.
First published in 2019 with reference year 2017-18, the PGI : States/UTs for 2019-20 is the third publication in this series.
The PGI helps the States/UTs to pinpoint the gaps and accordingly prioritise areas for intervention to ensure that the school education system is robust at every level.
Punjab, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Kerala occupy the highest grade (Grade A++) for 2019-20.
Punjab has scored the maximum points for governance and management.
Bihar and Meghalaya have scored the lowest in terms of infrastructure and facilities.
Gov. Schemes
Niclosamide for treatment of Covid-19
CSIR in collaboration with Laxai Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., has initiated Phase-II clinical trial with anti-helminitic drug Niclosamide for treatment of Covid-19.
Niclosamide has been extensively used in past for treatment of tapeworm's infection in adults as well as children.
Science & Tech
NITI Aayog's SDG India Index 2020-21
Kerala has retained the top rank in NITI Aayog's SDG India Index 2020-21, while Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam were the worst performing states.
Chandigarh maintained its top spot among the UTs followed by Delhi.
It was First launched in December 2018 and is the primary tool for monitoring progress on the SDGs in India.
Read More: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Gov. Schemes
Clean Energy Ministerial's (CEM) - Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative (IDDI)
The 12th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) is being organised by Chile in virtual mode during May 31-June 6.
This year, India and UK launched a new workstream to promote industrial energy efficiency under the CEM's Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative (IDDI), coordinated by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
The IDDI initiative has been supported by Germany and Canada, with more countries expected to join soon. The objective is to infuse green technologies and stimulate demand for low-carbon industrial material.
Clean Energy Ministerial's (CEM)
The Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) are global forums held to promote policies and to share best practices with the aim of accelerating a transition to clean energy.The current 29 members of the CEM account for 90% of the world?s clean power and 80% of global clean energy investment.
It was established in December 2009 at the UN's Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference of parties in Copenhagen.
India is also a member country.
Environment
CBSE introduces coding and data science
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in collaboration with Microsoft is all set to introduce coding as a subject for students of Class 6-8 and data science curriculum for Class 8-12 as new skilling subjects in the 2021-2022 academic session.
Microsoft has designed supplementary handbooks in both coding and data science, aligned with NCERT patterns and structures.
Social Issues