Annpurna Devi

Koderma Lok Sabha constituency in Jharkhand had elections on May 20, with Smt. Annapurna Devi as a prominent candidate.

Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia talks about how difficult it was for him to turn down Baba’s offer to assist him in California.

Tamil film industry has played an important role since the beginning of Indian cinemas till date, said Union Minister of State for Education annpurna devi while inaugurating three-day Tamil Film Festival at the grand ‘Kashi Tamil Sangamam’ festival on Monday.

Ahead of the scheduled Uttar Pradesh state assembly elections next year, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday appointed Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan as the election in-charge for the state. Union ministers Anurag Singh Thakur, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Shobha Karandlaje, and annpurna devi, MPs Saroj Pandey and Vivek Thakur have been appointed as the election co-in charge of the UP polls.

The Union government sanctioned grants of 41.97 crore to Central Institute of Classical Tamil in Chennai towards promotion of classical Tamil in the last five years.The grants allotted for the last five years stood at 2,367.

The Union women and child development ministry is set to launch the seventh edition of Poshan Pakhwada from April 8-22, emphasizing malnutrition reduction and healthy living promotion. The campaign will prioritize the first 1,000 days of life, Poshan Tracker utilization, community-based malnutrition management, and childhood obesity prevention through lifestyle adjustments.

Internet connectivity in government schools in India has improved from 5.5% in 2017-18 to 24.2% in 2021-22. According to the ministry of education, apart from the UTs – Puducherry and Chandigarh which records 100% internet connections, Delhi is the only state in that list. Other states with high internet penetration are Kerala (94.6%) and Gujarat (94.2%). Rajasthan is the only other state where more than 50% of government schools have internet connections. Lowest in the rung are Bihar (5.9%), Mizoram (6%), Odisha (8.1%), and Telangana (9.2%).

The Union government has rejected the Supreme Court's suggestion to introduce a "Romeo-Juliet" clause for "genuine adolescent relationships" under the Pocso Act. Citing child safety concerns, the government stated that diluting the age of consent would increase exploitation risks and undermine child protection efforts.

The SHe-Box portal received 254 sexual harassment complaints last year, with 296 filed since its August 2024 revamp. The portal aims to streamline reporting and monitoring of the POSH Act, with 105 of the 296 complaints already disposed of. Over 1,48,700 workplaces have been onboarded, and automated notifications ensure timely complaint resolution.

The state government on Saturday launched five DTH television channels under the PM e-Vidya programme that would enable children to focus on studies at home and improve their learning outcomes.

Amid controversy over Ranveer Allahbadia's inappropriate comments on parents and sex, a parliamentary panel plans to address social media regulations. The National Commission for Women has summoned Allahbadia and other content creators for a hearing. Members demand stricter guidelines for content on social media platforms.

Union minister annpurna devi criticized West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee for failing to implement schemes crucial for the safety of women and children. Despite having 48,600 pending rape and Pocso cases, the state has not initiated 11 fast track special courts. Moreover, the state has not implemented the women helpline despite central government requests and reminders.

Six states/ UTs (Bihar, National Capital Territory of Delhi, Kerala, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal) have not signed the MoU for the Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme, while Punjab has proposed to withdraw from the MoU. So far, 29 States/ UTs along with KVS/ NVS have signed the MoU. The PM SHRI scheme aims to showcase the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 and establish exemplar schools. The scheme plans to set up more than 14,500 PM SHRI Schools by strengthening existing schools managed by the central government, state/UT government, and local bodies.

With pre-schools set to open by the New Year, the Centre has said that all educational institutions must follow the guidelines of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) for pre-school management.