Indian-American named World Agriculture Prize laureate

Indian-American named World Agriculture Prize laureate

Indian-American professor R Paul Singh has been named as the 2015 Global Confederation for Higher Education Associations for Agriculture and Life Sciences World Agriculture Prize laureate.

• The award was announced at the annual GCHERA conference, held last week at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Jounieh, Lebanon.
• The award will be formally presented on September 20, during a ceremony at Nanjing Agricultural University, Jiangsu Province, China.
• R Paul Singh is known for niche research areas of agricultural sector such as freezing preservation, energy conservation, post-harvest technology and mass transfer in food processing.
• Under a NASA contract, his research group has created food- processing equipment for a manned mission to Mars. He had also contributed in establishing and evaluating food-engineering programs at various institutions throughout the world including in Brazil, Portugal, Peru and Thailand.

About the World Agriculture Prize:

The World Agriculture Prize will be awarded to an academic/faculty member from a higher education institution working in the disciplines relating to the agricultural and life sciences – including but not limited to agriculture, forestry, natural resources, food, bio based products, bioenergy, rural development and the environment. Such disciplines are inclusive of both the natural and social sciences.

• The World Agriculture Prize will be awarded in recognition of the academic/faculty member’s life time achievements.
• The Prize aims to encourage the global development of the mission of higher education institutions in education, research and innovation in the agricultural and life sciences by recognizing the distinguished contribution of an individual to this mission.
• The Prize was proposed by Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU) on 20 October 2012 on the occasion of the 110th anniversary of Nanjing Agricultural University and was established by the Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for the Agricultural and Life Sciences (GCHERA) Board on 28 October 2012.
• Nanjing Agricultural University generously sponsors the GCHERA World Agriculture Prize. The prize will be 50,000 USD.

Sources: TOI, gchera.

National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015

The Union Cabinet recently gave its approval for the India’s first integrated National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015.

• The Policy acknowledges the need for an effective roadmap for promotion of entrepreneurship as the key to a successful skills strategy.
• The previous National Policy on Skill Development was formulated by the Ministry of Labour and Employment in 2009 and provided for a review after five years to align the policy framework with emerging national and international trends.

Details:

• The Vision of the Policy is “to create an ecosystem of empowerment by Skilling on a large Scale at Speed with high Standards and to promote a culture of innovation based entrepreneurship which can generate wealth and employment so as to ensure Sustainable livelihoods for all citizens in the country”.
• To achieve this Vision, the Policy has four thrust areas. It addresses key obstacles to skilling, including low aspirational value, lack of integration with formal education, lack of focus on outcomes, low quality of training infrastructure and trainers, etc.
• The Policy seeks to align supply and demand for skills by bridging existing skill gaps, promoting industry engagement, operationalising a quality assurance framework, leverage technology and promoting greater opportunities for apprenticeship training.
• Equity is also a focus of the Policy, which targets skilling opportunities for socially/geographically marginalised and disadvantaged groups.
• Skill development and entrepreneurship programmes for women are a specific focus of the Policy.
• In the entrepreneurship domain, the Policy seeks to educate and equip potential entrepreneurs, both within and outside the formal education system.
• It also seeks to connect entrepreneurs to mentors, incubators and credit markets, foster innovation and entrepreneurial culture, improve ease of doing business and promote a focus on social entrepreneurship.

Sources: PIB.

National Skill Development Mission

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the institutional framework for the National Skill Development Mission in keeping with the commitment made during the Budget Speech for 2015-16.

About the National Skill Development Mission:

The National Skill Development Mission aims to provide a strong institutional framework at the Centre and States for implementation of skilling activities in the country.

• The Mission will have a three-tiered, high powered decision making structure. At its apex, the Mission’s Governing Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, will provide overall guidance and policy direction. The Steering Committee, chaired by Minister in Charge of Skill Development, will review the Mission’s activities in line with the direction set by the Governing Council. The Mission Directorate, with Secretary, Skill Development as Mission Director, will ensure implementation, coordination and convergence of skilling activities across Central Ministries/Departments and State Governments.
• The Mission will also run select sub-missions in high priority areas.
• The National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and the Directorate of Training will function under the overall guidance of the Mission.
• The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) provides a natural home for the Mission, organically linking all three decisions making levels and facilitating linkages to all Central Ministries/Departments and State Governments.