07-02-23 Daily-Punjab-PPSC Current Affairs

Punjab Cabinet accorded approval to Electric Vehicle Policy-2022 with a move to check the vehicular pollution.

The policy desires to reduce vehicular emission, create , manufacturing, research and development, job creation, ensuring sustainability besides to establish Punjab as a favored destination for manufacturing of electric vehicles, components and batteries. The policy seeks to incentivize those buying electric vehicles by up to 15 per cent in road tax.

The Cabinet also approved allowing open mining at 18 sites in the state. The common man can extract sand at Rs 5.5 per cubic feet by taking his tractor trolley. The cost of transportation is over and above this rate, Housing Minister Aman Arora told media persons after the Cabinet meeting.

The National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) has released Indias first national assessment regulator, PARAKH, which will work on setting norms, standards, and guidelines for student assessment and evaluation for all recognized school boards in the country.

The PARAKH regulator aims to set up assessment guidelines for all boards to help remove disparities in the scores of students enrolled with different state boards. PARAKH stands for The Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development. It is established within the education survey division of the NCERT.

PARAKH has been launched as a part of the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

It has envisaged a standard-setting body to advise school boards regarding the new assessment patterns and the latest research and promote collaboration between them.

PARAKH will work in three major assessment areas including large-scale assessments, school-based assessments, and examination reforms.

An earthquake with a magnitude 7.8 hit Turkey and Syria. More than 4,000 people died in Turkey and Syria as a result of an earthquake. As rescuers search the debris of collapsed buildings for trapped victims in the bitter cold and snow, the death toll is anticipated to grow.

On June 22, 2022, an earthquake of a magnitude of 6.1 killed over 1,100 people in Afghanistan.

On August 14, 2021, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, killing almost 2,200 people.

On September 28, 2018, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 struck Indonesia, killing almost 4,300 people.

More than 300 people were killed on August 24, 2016, by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake in central Italy.

On April 25, 2015, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Nepal killed around 8,800 people.

On August 3, 2014, a 6.2-magnitude earthquake close to Wenping, China, claimed the lives of around 700 people.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has extended a concessional USD 40 million Line of Credit for developing sporting in the Maldives. It is a part of New Delhis efforts to bring Prime Minister Narendra Modis flagship projects such as fit India and Khelo Indiainto the stretch of the Neighborhood First Policy. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is on a visit to the Maldives to further expand bilateral engagement with the key maritime neighbor of India.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has inaugurated the community center with his Maldivian counterpart Abdulla Shahid.

Sports infrastructure across islands will be developed through the dedicated concessional USD 40 million Line of Credit.