30th July 2024

Explanation - The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education has

launched the National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy

(NIPUN Bharat). The vision of NIPUN Bharat Mission is to create an enabling environment to

ensure universal acquisition of foundational literacy and numeracy, so that every child

achieves the desired learning competencies in reading, writing and numeracy by the end of Grade

3, by 2026-27. NIPUN Bharat will be implemented by the Department of School Education and

Literacy and a five-tier implementation mechanism will be set up at the National- State-

District- Block- School level in all States and UTs, under the aegis of the centrally sponsored

scheme of Samagra Shiksha.

Explanation - PARAKH is an initiative under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. It aims to

transform the educational landscape of India. It aims to standardise and assess the school

education system across India.

PARAKH’s primary goal is to create a standardised assessment framework to ensure a uniform

evaluation system across different states and education boards. PARAKH focuses on assessing

the school education system, particularly the performance and learning outcomes of students,

rather than evaluating teachers directly.

Explanation - The GDPR is indeed a regulation in EU law that focuses on data protection and

privacy within the EU and the EEA. The GDPR applies to any company that processes personal

data of individuals residing in the EU, regardless of where the company itself is based. GDPR

grants individuals rights to access their personal data and request its deletion under the "right to

be forgotten.”

While GDPR does require explicit consent for processing sensitive personal data, it is not the only

basis for processing such data. Other legal bases include fulfilling legal obligations or protecting

vital interests.

Explanation - Agarwood is an economically important and fast-growing evergreen tree species

native to North East India. Apart from India, the Agar tree’s distribution ranges from the foothills of

the Himalayas to Papua New Guinea. The most expensive raw material in the world, fragrant

Agarwood is formed due to complex biotic, abiotic and stress-induced resin on the Aquilaria

trees. In the formation of oils, the wood of the tree must first become infected with mold named

Phialophora Parasitica. This fragrant dark resinous wood, Agarwood is used in incense,

perfume, and small carvings. It is said that the state capital of Tripura, Agartala has derived its

name from Agarwood. Agarwood is described as a fragrant product of wealth and luxury in one

of the world’s oldest written texts of Vedas. Tripura AgarWood Policy 2021 aims to double

AgarWood plantation by the year 2025. The policy attempts to make Rs 20 billion industry by

2025.

Explanation - The Right to be Forgotten falls under the purview of an individual’s right to

privacy, which is governed by the Personal Data Protection Bill that is yet to be passed by

Parliament. In 2017, the Right to Privacy was declared a fundamental right by the Supreme

Court in its landmark verdict. The court said at the time that, “the right to privacy is protected as

an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and as a part of the

freedoms guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution”.