Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Report

Dr. Bibek Debroy, Chairperson of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) announced the publication of the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) report's second edition.

Regarding the FLN report:

• It is the capacity of a young child (between the ages of 3 and 8 years old) to read and solve simple addition and subtraction mathematical equations.
• The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 includes it as one of its primary components.
• It serves as a benchmark to measure how well states and UTs are doing in providing universal basic education by 2026–2027.
• Its conclusions address the importance of nutrition, digital technology access, and language-focused training.
• This report emphasizes the value of language as a fundamental ability and the development of early literacy.
• It was created by Harvard Business School's Institute for Competitiveness, India.
• It conveys the key ideas kids need to develop as proficient readers and underlines the unique difficulties encountered in a multilingual context.
• The study includes a section on the different programs being carried out at the federal and state levels to accomplish the NIPUN's basic learning objectives.

Report Findings:

• The importance of language in education and the specific difficulties encountered in a bilingual setting are both highlighted.
• The foundational ideas kids need to develop reading proficiency.
• Using the right evaluations and teaching methods to improve learning results.

Recommendations:

• Integration of the teaching method and use of kid-friendly terminology is necessary.
• Make a variety of assessments of the linguistic system, which includes phonology, vocabulary, and syntax, and the orthographic system, which includes symbols and mapping principles, as well as the writing mechanisms.
• On the pedagogical framework and education in India, there is a need for data monitoring coupled with precisely specified outcome-based measures.

Initiatives to promote FLN:

• Established in 2017, DIKSHA, or the Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing, is a nationwide portal of the NCERT where teachers may access interactive and intriguing teaching resources to spice up their lessons.
• The NIPUN Bharat Mission was established in 2021 with the goal of guaranteeing that by the conclusion of the third grade in 2026–2027, every child in the nation has acquired fundamental literacy.
• NISHTHA: A brand-new training program (in FLN) that the NCERT has established for both teachers and school administrators.
• The National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Skills 2022: help enhance pupils' fundamental skills, one of the NEP 2020's primary priority areas.
• Recently, the learning and teaching resource "jadui pitara" for the early stages of schooling was introduced.

About NIPUN Bharat Scheme (National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy):

• Commenced as a component of NEP (National Education Policy) 2020.
• It aims to meet the educational needs of kids between the ages of 3 and 9.
• It focuses on ensuring access and student retention during the formative years of schooling, improving teacher capacity, creating high-quality, diversified student and teacher resources/learning materials, and monitoring each child's progress in reaching learning objectives.
• The Department of School Education and Literacy administers NIPUN Bharat.

About Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister:

• It is an independent agency that provides economic and policy advice to the government, in particular the prime minister.
• Established in September 2017 with a two-year tenure to replace the former PMEAC,

Function:

• Examining any issue—economic or otherwise—that the Prime Minister refers to it and providing advice to him on it.
• Handling macroeconomic concerns and providing the Prime Minister with thoughts thereon, either on its own or in response to a reference.
• Reports on "macroeconomic events and issues with consequences for economic policy" are occasionally presented to the PM.

Law Commission

• The 22nd Law Commission's mandate will now remain in effect until August 31, 2024, following recent approval by the Union Cabinet.

About Law Commission:

• Legal changes are the main responsibility of the Law Commission of India, an executive entity.
• The government created the Law Commission as an executive body with a set term. It serves as an advisory council to the Law Ministry.
• It is neither a statutory nor a constitutional organization.
• It was established by a notification from the Ministry of Law & Justice, Department of Legal Affairs, of the Government of India.
• It is mostly made up of legal professionals.
• In 1955, the first law commission in India was established, with M. C. Setalvad, the country's attorney general at the time, serving as its Chairman.
• Every new Law Commission is being established under the direction of the Law Ministry.

Members of the Law Commission:

• The Commission is made up of judicial and legal professionals. The Commission has a chairperson and additional members. Ex-officio members include the Law Secretary and the Secretary (Legislative) for the Law Ministry.

Law Commission Background:

• In India, law commissions date back to the country's colonial era. The Charter Act of 1833 led to the creation of the first Law Commission, which TB Macaulay presided over.
• The Criminal Process Code and the Penal Code were codified as a result of the first commission's recommendations.
• The British government created three further law commissions before independence.
• The statute books have benefited greatly from the contributions of all four pre-independent law commissions.
• Following independence, the first Law Commission was established in 1955, continuing the history of using law commissions to bring about legal reforms in the nation.
• It provided the government with 14 reports.

The 22nd Law Commission's Report:

• Former Chief Judge of the Karnataka High Court Rituraj Awasthi is in charge of the Commission.

Functions of the Law Commission:

• The Law Commission's primary responsibility is to analyse current laws and undertake legal research in order to propose revisions. The following list includes a few of the Law Commission's other duties.
• Examination or repeal of outdated laws.
• Identifying legislation that can be quickly repealed since they are no longer necessary.
• Identifying laws that need to be changed because they are out of touch with the present economic liberalisation environment.
• Identifying laws that need to be changed and offering suggestions for the adjustments.
• Reviewing recommendations for law change or amendment made to it by other ministries or departments.
• Recommending legal action be taken to quickly resolve citizens' complaints.
• Conducting post-analysis of socioeconomic laws as well as researching laws that have an impact on the poor.
• Propose the adoption of any additional laws that may be required to carry out the DPSPs and realize the goals set forth in the Preamble of the Constitution.
• Offer its opinion on any topic relating to the law and judicial system that the Law Ministry may refer to it.
• for removing technicalities and simplifying processes.
• to raise the bar for justice administration norms.
• Take into account requests for research assistance from foreign nations that the government has forwarded to it via the Law Ministry.

India's 21st Law Commission:

• The most recent to be established was India's 21st Law Commission. It was in place from 2015 to 2018.
• Balbir Singh Chauhan, a former Supreme Court justice, served as the chairman. It provided the government with 15 reports. Report 277, titled "Wrongful Prosecution (Miscarriage of Justice): Legal Remedies," was the most recent report.
• Further studies the committee provided covered a range of topics, including human DNA profiling, hate speech, the review of court disobedience, the requirement for marriage registration, the BCCI, sports betting, etc.