Uttar Pradesh State PCS

• 14 Sep 2023

Unity Mall will be Built in Lucknow, Agra, Varanasi

Why In News?

According to information received from the media on September 12, 2023, work on it has started after the Central Government announced to give a total of three Unity Malls to Uttar Pradesh.

Key Points:

• Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra has given instructions to identify the land in connection with the proposed Unity Mall in Varanasi, while the land in Agra has been identified.
• Food courts will also be opened to provide food and drink facilities to the people visiting the mall.
• It is noteworthy that in the Union Budget 2023-24 of the Government of India, a provision has been made to establish Unity Mall in all the states of the country.
• Unity Mall in Lucknow will be built in Awadh Shilp Gram, but before that the mall will be started in the 35 air-conditioned showrooms currently present there.
• The Chief Secretary said that in the second phase, the design and DPR of Unity Mall in Awadh Shilpgram will soon be sent to the Central Government by the Housing Development Department.
• Arrangements will be made by the states for exhibition and sale of their ODOP products, GI products, handicraft products and ODOP products of other states in Unity Mall.
• The main objective of Unity Mall is to promote national integration, Make in India, ODOP efforts and to promote local handicraft products and local employment generation.
• A joint committee will be formed regarding the operation of the unit mall. Housing Development and MSME departments will be included in the committee.

Under the New Education Policy, Studies will now Take Place only for 29 hours a Week in Schools of Uttar Pradesh.

Why in News?

On September 13, 2023, with the aim of implementing the new National Education Policy in letter and spirit, the State Government instructed the Education Department to prepare new rules for studies in schools under the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) of the new education policy. Under which now only 29 hours of teaching will be held in schools in a week.

Key Points

• Under the new education policy, it has been recommended to hold classes in schools for a total of 29 hours a week. Classes will be held for 5 to 5:30 hours from Monday to Friday and only for two to two and a half hours on two Saturdays of the month.
• There will be a holiday on two Saturdays. Similarly, the maximum time limit for classes of general subjects will be reduced from 45 to 35 minutes, while classes for major subjects will be held for 50 minutes.
• The normal time of school classes in the state will be a maximum of 35 minutes. The time of classes related to only the main subjects Mathematics, Hindi and Hindi Grammar, English and English Grammar, Science etc. will be fixed for 40 to 50 minutes.
• In the new National Education Policy, in order to give relief to children from the burden of studies, there will be permission to come without a school bag for a total of 10 days on different dates in the year. On school-free days, children will be taught verbally and through experiments.