TITBITS:
1. The National Green Tribunal
(NGT) directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to prepare detailed
pan-India guide- lines for silica sand mining and silica washing plants within three
months. The green court was hearing a petition on illegal silica sand mining in
Uttar Pradesh.
2. In the context of the
'existential crisis' facing classic liberal arts programmes, questions have
often centred on their relevance and whether they offer tangible 'real-world'
skills, resulting in a diverse range of outstanding career outcomes.
3. While generally undesirable,
centralisation promised to be a boon vis-à-vis public access to research
through India's 'One Nation, One Subscription' (ONOS) plan. ONOS was first
proposed in the country's fifth draft National Science, Technology, and Innovation
Policy (2020) in response to the hefty fees research journals charged and still
do for scholars and the people at large to access the papers they
published.
4. Approximately 14 lakh
Ayushman Vay Vandana cards have been created for senior citizens aged 70 and
above under the expanded Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana
(AB-PMJAY) to provide free treatment benefits irrespective of their
socio-economic status, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare
Prataprao Jadhav informed the Lok Sabha.