The Gujarat government is about to implement a new “real-time technology-enabled” surveillance plan to monitor government school teachers. This action will begin with the new academic session in June. The primary goal of this initiative is to enhance the quality of education by ensuring that teachers adhere to their daily assigned tasks.
Operations will be managed from a tech-savvy “command and control centre” being established in Gandhinagar. Both teachers and monitoring staff will receive GPS-enabled tablets and be monitored via geofencing, which will trigger an alert upon entry or exit from a specified area.
Call centre executives will question teachers using a template regarding their location, task, and assignee. If a teacher is absent, they must provide details including the leave duration and the approving authority. Input data will be recorded in Excel sheets. The data collected by the call centre will be cross-verified with online data collected by other means.
Along with teachers’ whereabouts and assignments, suggestions for innovative teaching methods will also be recorded. Officials believe this tracking system will have a positive effect on the teaching fraternity.
India Update Standards for Measuring Kilograms
The CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (NPL), India’s official reference keeper of units of measurements, recently released recommendations to revise the definition of kilogram. This update aligns the kilogram with other standard units of measure such as the second, metre, ampere, Kelvin, mole and candela, which are no longer decided by physical properties. These units are now defined by constant universal physics constants.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2018 | General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) in Versailles votes to redefine kilogram in terms of Planck constant |
| Present day | CSIR-NPL working on creating ‘Kibble Balance’, a device used to measure Planck Constant |
Vayoshreshtha Samman Awards for Senior Citizens
The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment is accepting nominations for the Vayoshreshtha Samman. This national award recognises senior citizens who have made significant contributions and institutions that work towards the welfare of older people. The Vayoshreshtha Awards are presented annually on October 1, the International Day of Older Persons.
Mount Thinchinkhang’s Natural Beauty and Bio-diversity
A team of 20 NCC girl cadets has been chosen for a mountaineering expedition to Mount Thinchinkhang. Located in Western Sikkim, Mount Thinchinkhang (6010m) is part of Khangchendzonga National Park, known for its natural beauty, biodiversity, sacred lakes and snow-capped mountains.
IIT Bombay Creates Wearable Supply Capacitors
Researchers at IIT Bombay have developed a supercapacitor that can be stitched into fabric to generate energy ranging from microwatts to milliwatts. This energy can charge GPS devices, LED lamps or small electronic devices. When integrated with a piezoelectric generator, the supercapacitor can function independently without requiring external power.
Ongole Cattle Breed
The Vice President of India has voiced concern over the neglect of the Ongole cattle breed and called for measures to protect and promote this globally renowned breed. Named after the geographical area in Andhra Pradesh where it originates, the Ongole breed is also known as the Nellore breed. It is a dual-purpose breed known for milk production and use in fieldwork. The breed is admired for its toughness, high milk yield, tolerance to tropical heat, and resistance to diseases.
