Rajasthan launches free coaching scheme for underprivileged students

 Coaching will also be provided for engineering and medical entrance examinations apart from Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). Students’ eligibility for the scheme will be based on marks scored in class 10 and 12.

Rajasthan has launched Chief Minister Anuprati Coaching Scheme to help underprivileged students prepare for entrance examinations to civil services and professional courses, with an aim to give them equal opportunity, said a circular issued by the state finance department.

Students belonging to scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, other backward classes (OBC), extremely backward castes, minority and economically weaker sections with annual family income less than ₹8 lakhs per annum will be able to avail the scheme run by the tribal area development, minority affairs, and social justice and empowerment departments. Children of government employees receiving Pay-Matrix level-11 will also qualify for the scheme, which can be utilised by every eligible student for a period of one year.

Under the scheme, free coaching will be provided for preparation for civil services examination, conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC),

Rajasthan Administrative services (RAS) examination and subordinate services joint entrance examinations organised by the Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC). It will also help students prepare for other RPSC examinations such as Rajasthan Teacher Eligibility Test (REET), Grade Pay-2400 or Pay-Matrix Level-5 services, constable examination, sub-inspector and 3600 Grade pay or Pay matrix level-10 jobs.

Coaching will also be provided for engineering and medical entrance examinations apart from Common Law Admission Test (CLAT). Students’ eligibility for the scheme will be based on marks scored in class 10 and 12. Effort will be made to include at least 50% girls.

Underprivileged students who will prepare for entrance examinations in coaching institutes located outside their home cities will be given ₹40,000 annually for accommodation and food. The social justice and empowerment department will be the nodal agency for the scheme.

After years of sniffing out land mines, rat named Magawa is retiring

After five years of sniffing out land mines and unexploded ordnance in Cambodia, Magawa is retiring.

The African giant pouched rat has been the most successful rodent trained and overseen by a Belgian nonprofit, APOPO, to find land mines and alert his human handlers so the explosives can be safely removed. Last year, Magawa won a British charity’s top civilian award for animal bravery — an honor so far exclusively reserved for dogs.

“Although still in good health, he has reached a retirement age and is clearly starting to slow down,” APOPO said. “It is time.”

Magawa has cleared more than 141,000 square meters (1.5 million square feet) of land, the equivalent of some 20 soccer fields, sniffing out 71 land mines and 38 items of unexploded ordnance, according to APOPO.

While many rodents can be trained to detect scents and will work at repetitive tasks for food rewards, APOPO decided that African giant pouched rats were best suited to land mine clearance because their size allows them to walk across mine fields without triggering the explosives — and do it much more quickly than people. They also live up to eight years.

Magawa is part of a cohort of rats bred for this purpose. He was born in Tanzania in 2014, and in 2016, moved to Cambodia’s northwestern city of Siem Reap, home of the famed Angkor temples, to begin his bomb-sniffing career

In retirement, Magawa will live in his same cage as before and follow the same daily routine, but won’t be going out to the minefields anymore, said Lily Shallom, an APOPO spokeswoman, contacted by phone at the organization’s operational headquarters in Tanzania.

He’ll be fed the same food, have playtime every day and get regular exercise and health checks. He eats mostly fresh fruit and vegetables, said Shallom, supplemented with small sun-dried fish for protein and imported pellets for vitamins and fiber. For 20-30 minutes a day, he is released into a larger cage with facilities such as a sandbox and a running wheel.

APOPO also works with programs in Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to clear millions of mines left behind from wars and conflicts.

More than 60 million people in 59 countries continue to be threatened by land mines and unexploded ordinance. In 2018, landmines and other remnants of war killed or injured 6,897 people, the group said.

Arvind Kejriwal likely to announce unlock plan for Delhi today

 NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is likely to announce on Saturday measures for unlocking the city, which has been under Covid-19 induced lockdown, according to sources.

With a dip seen in active Covid-19 cases, Delhi had begun the unlocking process from May 31 with factories and construction sector to resume operations.

The national capital has been under lockdown since April 19 in view of the massive surge in Covid-19 cases in the second wave of the pandemic. The city's healthcare infrastructure and crematoriums were hugely overburdened. The situation has however, improved significantly.

Currently, there is a lockdown in Delhi till 5am on Monday, June 7.

Late on Friday, Maharashtra issued a five level unlock plan in its districts beginning Monday which will be based on Covid-19 positivity rate and the availability of oxygen beds in the state.

Meanwhile, Delhi recorded 523 fresh Covid-19 cases and 50 deaths on Friday, said the health bulletin of the union territory.

However, the daily number was a bit higher than a day before when the national capital reported 487 Covid cases. The number of active cases in Delhi stands at 8,060. The new fatalities pushed the Covid-19 death toll in Delhi to 24,497.

Delhi unlock guidelines live: Markets, malls to be opened on odd-even basis, says CM Arvind Kejriwal

 Delhi unlock guidelines live: Markets, malls to be opened on odd-even basis, says CM Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced further lockdown relaxations from the next week amid a dip in the city's daily Covid-19 case count.

"Lockdown will continue with more relaxation in other activities. Markets, malls to be opened on the odd-even basis between 10am and 8pm," Kejriwal said.

Delhi Metro to resume services with 50% capacity.

"In government officers, all Group A officers will work while only 50 per cent staff of other categories will attend office," the CM said.

Shops selling essential commodities will open every day.

"If coronavirus situation remains under control after the resumption of these activities, more will be allowed in coming weeks," Kejriwal said.

"Delhi reported about 400 new Covid-19 cases while positivity rate is around 0.5 per cent," the chief minister added.

"We are preparing for third wave of Covid-19 keeping in mind that 37,000 cases may be reported at its peak. We're creating 420 tonne oxygen storage capacity to tackle another possible shortage, setting up 64 oxygen plants," he said.

"Two genome sequencing labs being set up at LNJP, ILBS to determine coronavirus variant attacking Delhi," Kejriwal added.