26 February - 4 March 2018 - 16-new-min

26 February - 4 March, 2018 7
Delhi/NCR News
SDMC kicks
off project
‘Buniyaad’ to aid
underperforming
students
T
◆◆By NDT Bureau
@NewDelhiTimes
info@newdelhitimes.com
he south delhi municipal corporation
launched its project ‘Buniyaad’ to help
its underperforming students.
The decision was taken after the National
Achievement Survey (NAS) found that most
Class 3 and 5 students in Delhi’s government
and aided schools performed abysmally in
science, mathematics and language.
The nation-wide survey included nine
districts of Delhi, of which south district
finished at the bottom. Of the south district
schools, 52 schools fall under the South
Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).
Under the project, teachers will be trained
and students will be assessed on their
performance and as per the assessment,
extra classes will be organised by SDMC.
Project Buniyaad, which works along the
lines of Delhi government’s Chunauti
I
NEW DELHI TIMES
Delhi sets in motion anti-smog tower trials
◆◆By NDT Bureau
@NewDelhiTimes
info@newdelhitimes.com
n a bid to curb air pollution in the city,
the Delhi government started the trial
of “anti-pollution towers”.
It installed an ‘anti-pollution tower’ under
the Indraprastha Marg flyover, near ITO, to
fight air pollution that has reached alarming
levels, especially during the winter months.
Environment minister Imran Hussain said
that these anti-air pollution towers have been
put up on an “experimental basis”. They will
be monitored and the results obtained will
be evaluated for their efficacy and utility.
“Accordingly, a decision will be taken on
whether they should be installed in other
parts of the Capital,” Imran said.
The anti-pollution tower is fitted with exhaust
fans to suck in polluted air. A machine inside
the tower then removes nearly 90% of the
particulate matter, helping to bring down
pollution levels and spews fresh air out.
Delhi government has been undertaking a
number of steps to combat air pollution and
improve the quality of air for the residents
of Delhi
Trump Junior Address on
Indo-Pacific Ties Renamed
Following Criticism
A
business conference in India has
renamed an address by Donald Trump
Jr. after criticism that the original title of the
talk suggested he was speaking on foreign
policy issues that should be left to diplomats
and government officials.
The talk was initially titled “Reshaping Indo-
Pacific Ties: The New Era of Cooperation,”
before it was rebranded as a “Fireside Chat.”
The conference, which Trump, Jr., executive
vice president of the Trump Organization,
attended on 23rd February 2018 was organized
by the prestigious The Economic Times
newspaper in New Delhi and attended by the
Indian business and political elite.
of the U.S. president, told the audience that
he rarely talked politics with his father any
more. “We see him so little that when we are
together, it’s really about being a family.”
He accused American journalists of unfair
criticism and praised the Indian media,
saying they “are so mild and nice.”
Conflicts on interest
Controversy about Trump Jr.’s visit erupted
before he landed in India on 19th February
after newspaper advertisements offered
buyers properties licensed by the Trump
Organization “dinner and conversation”
with the president’s son, sparking concerns
of ethics and conflict of interest.
Avani Chaturvedi
becomes first
Indian woman to
fly fighter jet
A
◆◆By NDT Bureau
@NewDelhiTimes
info@newdelhitimes.com
vani Chaturvedi created history as she
became the first Indian woman to fly
a fighter aircraft, an Indian Air Force (IAF)
official said.
“Chaturvedi became the first Indian woman
to fly a fighter aircraft solo when she flew
a MiG-21 bison in her first solo flight,” the
official.
mission, will begin next month with
workshops for selected teachers.
These teachers will then assess the basic
learning status of the students in Class 2 and
4 (in maths and language).
The programme will be implemented with
the help of teachers from Sarv Siksha
Abhiyan, representatives of NGOs and
trainee of Delhi government’s District
Institute of Education and Training. Under
Buniyaad, students will be divided into three
categories.
Those who perform at par will be taken in
to the ‘Ujjawal’ group; those who score
medium-level marks will be placed in
‘Utkarsh’; and those who are behind their
peers will be placed in ‘Udyam’.
“The weak students in last two (Utkarsh
and Udyam) categories will be given extra
classes in maths, general knowledge and
language. We assess them after period
of time,” said Meeta Singh, additional
commissioner, SDMC.
In speaking with an Indian journalist, the
younger Trump steered clear of all policy
issues and tried to rest criticism that has
dogged his trip. “I am here as a businessman.
I am not representing anyone. I have been
coming to India for over a decade,” he said
at one point.
Deputy director of the Wilson Center’s Asia
program Michael Kugelman told VOA the
“damage control” done by changing the
speech to something innocuous” was a wise
move, though given the backlash and outcry
that had already ensued, that change may
have come too late.”
In a letter sent to the American ambassador
in India earlier this week, U.S. Senator
Robert Menendez, the ranking Democrat on
the Foreign Relations Committee, expressed
concern that the speech could “send the
mistaken message” that Trump Jr. is speaking
on behalf of the U.S. government. Trump Jr.,
who spoke about his experiences as the son
The Trump Organization has licensed its
name to five projects being built by local
developers in India, the company’s largest
market outside the United States. One
luxury apartment complex is complete in
Pune, while four others, are in varying
stages of construction in Mumbai, Kolkata
and Gurugram.
In Delhi and Kolkata, customers who paid
the booking fee of $ 38,000 were invited to
dine with Trump Jr.
Kugelman said there certainly is “something
questionable about the president’s son
inviting buyers of his father’s properties to
meet with him.”
The head of one of the companies building
the Trump Towers in India, Kalpesh Mehta,
told reporters $15 million was put down by
buyers on 19th February. He said over $100
million worth of real estate has been sold
in the towers coming up in Gurugram, near
New Delhi.
Trump Jr. has dismissed claims that his
family business is benefiting from his
father’s presidency and told an Indian
television channel that his family had gotten
no credit for business it has lost because of
self-imposed restrictions President Trump
has applied to stay away from any new
foreign business deals during his term in
office.
Credit : Voice of America (VOA)
She undertook the sortie from IAF’s
Jamnagar base on 19th February, he said.
Ms Chaturvedi was one of the first three
female fighter pilots to be inducted into the
Indian air force.
The air force tweeted a photo of her standing
next to the aircraft after her flight. It took
place on 19th February but the news was not
made public until 22nd February.
Growing up in a small town named Deolond
near Rewa in Madhya Pradesh, Avani
Chaturvedi never in her wildest dreams
imagined she would one day become the
first-ever Indian woman to break the sound
barrier with resounding sonic booms in a
supersonic fighter all alone.
But Avani, who likes to play the violin
and paint, has done precisely that to create
history.
Among the first three women fighter pilots
being trained by the IAF, shattering the deeprooted
combat-exclusion policy for their
gender in the Indian armed forces, Avani flew
a 30-minute solo sortie in a MiG-21 at the
Jamnagar airbase on 19th February afternoon.
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