Day: November 1, 2012

MNS:- The Minister of Human Resource Development Dr M M Pallam Raju released CBSE’s Values Education Kit in New Delhi today. CBSE brought out the innovative kit as part of its efforts in the area of promoting values in education.
In his keynote address the Minister said instilling values in children was crucial to a rounded education. Dr Pallam Raju said moral education is essential for all children today, and praised CBSE for putting together a kit for teachers to guide their students. He pointed out that values such as harmony, peace, compassion and humility have for centuries been a part of the discourse of every religion in the world and their need and importance is universally accepted and felt, more so in the current social and political context.
Sh Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for Human Resource Development said education is more than producing well-filled minds. It is also about well- formed minds. He observed that in order to cope up with challenges because of lack of ethical education among students, CBSE is bringing about reforms in its curriculum.
Sh Pradeep Kumar, Chief Vigilance Commissioner , and Sh Vineet Joshi, Chairman , Central Board For Secondary Education (CBSE) also spoke on the occasion. The Value Education Kit consists of a Values Education Teachers Handbook and a CD with 8 songs symbolizing values of peace, solidarity and respect for nature. The kit also has activity cards for students from nursery to standard 12. The Values Education curriculum will help in providing a number of exciting learning experiences through the Values Education Kit .The Values Education Teachers’ Handbook is a valuable resource for teachers to easily draw ideas for conducting lively and interactive sessions in their classes. The activities, designed by experts in the field of education, allow for more critical thinking about economic, social and moral issues as well as about universal human values. The materials offered are highly interactive, addressing current issues with opportunities for critical thinking.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/cbses-values-education-kit/

MNS:- Following is the text of Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh’s opening remarks at the meeting of Council of Ministers in New Delhi today: “My Cabinet Colleagues and Members of the Union Council of Ministers, I welcome you to this meeting of the full Council of Ministers. Since a number of new colleagues have joined the Council following the recent reshuffle, I thought it opportune to convene this meeting to welcome them and also to share with all of you a few thoughts on the agenda of our Government. The UPA Government is now in its ninth year. We should take pride in the fact that, during this time, we have notched up significant achievements in the field of social and economic policy-making. Flagship initiatives like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the setting up of the Unique Identification Authority of India to provide every resident with an “Aadhaar” number to access social support services, Rural Health Mission, Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission, Skill Development Mission and legislation bringing into effect the Right to Information and the Right to Education – these are only a few examples of the UPA Government’s work in order to realize its fundamental objective of inclusive growth. We have also, during most of this time, enjoyed sustained and robust economic growth, which in turn has made possible the enhanced social sector spending necessary to support our initiatives in the fields of health, education, employment, agriculture and rural development and other vital areas. While we should take justifiable pride in our successes, it is important to recognize that we are now also experiencing the fallout of difficult economic conditions worldwide. As a result, our growth has decelerated, our exports have fallen and our fiscal deficits are expanding. Of particular concern is the fiscal deficit, which is too high and acts as a deterrent for domestic and foreign investment. These issues have a rippling effect across the economy and on the work of many departments that are represented here. In order to have a clearer appreciation of the macro-economic picture that we are faced with, I have also requested Finance Minister Shri P.Chidambaram to share an assessment of the economic situation with us. My own view is that while we need not be unduly gloomy about our prospects, we certainly need to redouble our resolve to meet the challenges before us and rise to the task of governance. One area that is at the top of our agenda and will require particular attention and effort at multiple levels across government is infrastructure. During the Twelfth Plan, we have set ourselves a target of realizing nearly 1 trillion dollars of investment in infrastructure sectors. To do so, we will have to overcome the constraints that currently deter or slow down this investment. Fuel supply arrangements, security and environmental clearances and financing difficulties are among these constraints. The growing gap between demand and supply of energy has emerged as a major constraint on our development. It is a major factor in widening the deficit on current account of our balance of payments as well as the fiscal deficit. It is imperative that we come to a common understanding on these issues and work out mechanisms and remedial measures that will enable us to tackle these critical deficiences on a priority basis. Friends, I am of the firm belief that the future holds great promise for India. We can achieve the targets we have set for ourselves, provided we approach the task with courage and with conviction. I am aware that we are working against the political calendar, but we should not lose sight of the fact that we are also involved in the task of nation-building. Our responsibilities and our commitment therefore need to transcend other considerations. I have no doubt that, in the time that is available to us, each one of you will bring your best efforts to complete the unfinished task before us and extend your support to all our colleagues across government in achieving the objectives we have set for ourselves. In addition, since a number of energetic and younger colleagues have now joined the Council of Ministers, I would also request my senior Cabinet colleagues to make full use of the capacities and capabilities of their Ministers of State by assigning them substantive tasks.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/pms-opening-remarks-at-the-meeting-of-council-of-ministers/