The New Educational Policy in India: Towards a Digital Future

New Education Policy was formulated by the Government via a consultation process. It emerges as an inclusive, participatory, and holistic approach of MHRD initiated in January 2015, MHRDA new National Education Policy (NEP) has been approved by the Union Cabinet, which makes modifications in the Indian system of education from school to college. The New Education Policy outlines India's goal of becoming a knowledge superpower. As part of the restructuring, the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) became the Ministry of Education. NEP promotes ideas, concepts, applications, and problem-solving activities. This policy calls for more interactive teaching-learning. A technology-based educational approach is emphasized in this policy. This policy demonstrates a greater use of ICT for remote and interactive education at school and in higher education. The study in this paper shows the impact of ICT tools on future education and various methods for building virtual infrastructure for learning

Effect of salinity stress on phytochemical characteristics of Centella asiatica

Salinity is one of the predominant abiotic stresses which affects plant growth by inducing excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that leads to oxidative damage of plant cells. Plants alleviate salinity stress by regulating intracellular concentrations of various phytochemicals like phenol, tannin, antioxidants, etc. The present work aimed to study the impact of salt stress on the production of various phytochemicals like phenol, tannin, flavonoids, antioxidants, total protein content, etc. The Salt stress response of the test plant Centella asiatica was studied by irrigating variant concentrations (50mM, 100mm, 150mm, 200mM, 250mm) of salt (NaCl). The phytochemical activity of the plants grown under salinity stress was estimated by using an appropriate biochemical assay. Comparative analysis of the photochemical activity of the test plants in comparison with the control revealed that various phytochemicals were increased in response to salt stress. Salt stress increased the levels of antioxidants from 10.79 to 14.31 μg/ml), phenol from 30.8 to 43.3 in μg/ml, flavonoids (from 490 to 683.33 in μg/ml), tannin from 55.5 to 64.5 in μg/ml, and proteins from 5720 to 6080 in μg/ml in the C. asiatica plants. To sum up, salt stress elicited phytochemical accumulation in the C. asiatica plant, thereby improving the plant's growth by enhancing its resistance to salt stress. This finding may play an important role in the sustainable cultivation of commercially important crops like C. asiatica

Evaluation of Phytoremediation Potential of Lantana camara for Heavy Metals in an Industrially Polluted Area in Bhopal, India

Soil contamination from industrial effluents and mining activities is a widespread concern all over the world. Generally soil act as the buffer zone between atmosphere and underground water, thus soil contamination creates a serious threat to soil and to the surrounding biosphere. This research program is aimed to make an in-depth investigation about the remediation of contaminated sites from various metal contaminants using specific plants. This study concentrates on the evaluation of phytoremediation potential of Lantana camara for the surroundings of industrial area of Bhopal, which is heavily affected by heavy metal pollution. The aim of our research was to identify some interesting accumulators which may associate an important biomass production with an effective absorption and translocation of heavy metals. The present study is focused on the ability of the native plant to accumulate and tolerate high concentrations of heavy metals on heavy metal supplemented M S medium in tissue culture, which are often associated in polluted areas

Microbial exopolysaccharides in the biomedical and pharmaceutical industries

The most significant and renewable class of polymeric materials are extracellular exopolysaccharides (EPSs) produced by microorganisms. Because of their diverse chemical and structural makeup, EPSs play a variety of functions in a variety of industries, including the agricultural industry, dairy industry, biofilms, cosmetics, and others, demonstrating their biotechnological significance. EPSs are typically utilized in high-value applications, and current research has focused heavily on them because of their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and compatibility with both people and the environment. Due to their high production costs, only a few microbial EPSs have been commercially successful. The emergence of financial barriers and the growing significance of microbial EPSs in industrial and medical biotechnology has increased interest in exopolysaccharides. Since exopolysaccharides can be altered in a variety of ways, their use is expected to increase across a wide range of industries in the coming years. This review introduces some significant EPSs and their composites while concentrating on their biomedical uses

Volume 2, Issue 2 Pages 43 -73 Impact of Nutrients, Aeration and Agitation on the Bioremediation of Crude Oil Polluted Water Using Mixed Microbial Culture Comparative in-vitro Studies on Native Plant Species at Heavy Metal Polluted Soil Having Phytoremedi

Abstract. Crude oil polluted water was treated using a bioremediation strategy encompassing natural attenuation and biostimulation using a mixed microbial culture of Aspergillus niger and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Four (4) samples of petroleum hydrocarbon polluted water; Control (no nutrient), A (nutrient from NPK 15:15:15), B (nutrient plus aeration), and C (nutrient, aeration and agitation) were monitored for 8 weeks for bioremediation indicating parameters such as Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Total Hydrocarbon Content (THC) and pH. The results obtained showed an increase in DO levels of 86.4, 87.0 and 87.5 % for samples A, B, and C respectively. The BOD of the samples was observed to decrease in the course of bioremediation with reduction levels of 98.6, 98.7 and 98.8% recorded for samples A, B, and C respectively. Reductions in THC corresponded to 92.3, 93.6, and 94.4% respectively for samples A, B and C. The pH of all samples fell within the acceptable limit of 6-9 as stipulated by regulatory agencies such as the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) and the department of petroleum resources (DPR). The final values of BOD and THC fell within the values of 30 and 10 mg/l respectively stipulated by FEPA and DPR with the exception of sample A which had a final THC value of 14 mg/l