Cyclonic storm ‘Hamoon’ has intensified into a severe cyclone, but no major impact is expected in Odisha, as it crosses the state’s coast from a distance of about 200 km, the Met Department said.

“It is likely to intensify further into a very severe cyclonic storm in a few hours as the system moves in the Bay of Bengal at a speed of 21 kmph,” the IMD had said earlier in a bulletin.

Thereafter, it is likely to weaken gradually while moving northeastwards and cross Bangladesh coast between Khepupara and Chittagong around Tuesday evening as a cyclonic storm with wind speed of 65-75 kmph gusting to 85 kmph, the weather office said.

‘Hamoon’ lay centered at 5:30 am at about 230 km east-southeast of Paradip (Odisha), 240 km south-southeast of Digha (West Bengal), 280 km south-southwest of Khepupara (Bangladesh) and 410 km southwest of Chittagong (Bangladesh), it said.

“The cyclone, which passes in the sea, will remain about 200 km from Odisha coast and therefore, no major impact is expected in the state other than light to moderate rainfall in the coastal areas,” a Met Department official said.
 

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has set up five zonal committees to facilitate universities in developing a roadmap for the effective implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP 2020). The five committees cover the northern, northeastern, eastern, western, southern, and central regions, and comprise vice-chancellors from central, state, private, and deemed universities. Maharaj Sayajirao University of Baroda, Gujarat, is organising the first conference on the implementation of the NEP 2020 for the Western Zone on October 26, 2023. The conference will be held from 9am to 5pm.

“As the conference is of high relevance and significance to all stakeholders, the UGC requests that universities and colleges join the live stream of the conference for the benefit of faculty, students, and staff,” the university body said.

Here’s the link to the official notice

The Western Zone vice-chancellors’ conference will be streamed live on the following platforms:

Vande Gujarat Channel No. 1
Facebook.com/TheMSUBaroda
Conferencewz.gujgov.edu.in

The UGC stated, “The decision to constitute the zonal committees has been made to fulfil the vision of NEP 2020 and ensure that the benefits reach a large section of aspirational youth in a time-bound manner. This decision was taken to facilitate universities in developing a roadmap for the effective implementation of significant initiatives.”

The foundation of NEP 2020 is based on five fundamental principles: accessibility, fairness, excellence, cost-effectiveness, and responsibility. Its objective is to equip young individuals to confront the wide-ranging challenges of both the current and future global and national landscapes.

The Uttar Pradesh government has made amendments to the financial aid rules of the Project Alankar with an aim to benefit and improve the condition of government-aided secondary Sanskrit schools in the state.

As per the previous mandate, the school management was required to bear the cost of renovation of old buildings for up to 50 per cent. The remaining cost was to be borne by the state government. The government has now reduced the financial cost to be borne by the government to just 5 per cent. In addition, it has also allocated a budget of Rs 100 crore for the renovation projects.  

Following this the Directorate of Education in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh has received proposals from various schools who wish to take advantage of the scheme and renovate their schools. The government has received proposals for a total of around Rs 22 crore to enhance and develop their school buildings. The proposals have been received from government-aided Sanskrit schools in districts such as Basti, Muzaffarnagar, Sonbhadra, Ambedkarnagar, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Balrampur, and Maharajganj.

The move was introduced to address the lack of adequate provision and funds in the budget that is resulting in the government schools’ building turning dilapidated.

In the 2022-23 academic year, the state government has made a provision of Rs 100 crore under for reconstruction, expansion, electrification etc of dilapidated buildings of government schools of the state. A major portion of the fund remained unused as not many schools approached the Uttar Pradesh government for renovation.