
Winners of state-level photo journalism contest announced
Eerappa Naikar, photojournalist with Kannada Prabha, Hubballi, bagged the first prize for his entry. The second prize went to M.S. Basavanna of Kannada Prabha, Mysuru, while Udayashankar, Principal Photographer of The Indian Express, Mysuru, secured the third prize.
Two entries received special jury mentions—photographs by senior photojournalist M.S. Manjunath and Indrakumar Dastenavar, both from Prajavani, Bengaluru.
The awards will be presented later today during the Golden Jubilee.inaugural ceremony of the journalists' association at the Kudmul Ranga Rao Town Hall in Mangaluru.
The competition focused on the news photography category. The award details were: First Prize: ₹10,000 and a plaque, Second Prize: ₹5,000 and a plaque and Third Prize: ₹3,000 and a plaque. The results were announced in a press release by Satish Ira, convenor of the photography competition.
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Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Indian Express
Grp Capt Parulkar, IAF legend known for daring POW camp escape during 1971 war in Pak, passes away at 82
Speaking to The Indian Express back in 2017, Group Captain Dilip Parulkar (Retd) said, 'If we hadn't been mad enough, we wouldn't have escaped,' as he recounted the thrilling episode when he and two fellow Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter pilots had escaped from a prisoner of war (POW) camp in Rawalpindi after being captured by Pakistani forces following a bombing operation in the 1971 Indo-Pak War. Grp Capt Parulkar, a decorated fighter pilot of the IAF who fought in both the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan, passed away in Pune on Sunday. He was 82. Parulkar, who had been ailing for some time, breathed his last at his home in Pune on Sunday morning, his family members said. He is survived by his wife Rajlaxmi and two sons Aditya and Sachin. He was also a legend of the 1965 war when his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire, and a bullet struck him in the shoulder, yet he continued to fly in that operation. He was recipient of the prestigious Vayu Sena Medal (Gallantry) and the Vishisht Seva Medal. Paying tributes to him, the Indian Air Force said in a post on X, 'Gp Capt DK Parulkar (Retd) Vayu Sena Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal — 1971 War hero, who led a daring escape from captivity in Pakistan, embodying unmatched courage, ingenuity and pride in the IAF — has left for his heavenly abode. All Air Warriors of the IAF express their heartfelt condolences.' In the post, the IAF also shared the citation for Parulkar when he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal. The citation read, 'During the Indo-Pak conflict in 1965, his aircraft was hit by enemy fire and had injured his right shoulder. Despite the advice from his leader to eject he flew the crippled aircraft back to base, for which he was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal.' The citation added, 'During 1971 Indo-Pak War, Wg Cdr (He was Wing Commander at the time he was given the award) DK Parulkar while a Prisoner of War in Pakistan displayed initiative, pride in his nation and in the Indian Air Force of an exceptional degree. He was the leader of an escape attempt in which he along with two colleagues escaped from the POW Camp. This attempt carried out in the face of a hostile, treacherous and unpredictable enemy required relentless hard work, determination and valour which was in the highest tradition of the IAF. This act compelled the enemy to respect the calibre of the IAF not only in the air but on the ground also, as well as our great nation.' Grp Capt Parulkar was commissioned in the IAF in March 1963. During his illustrious career he held varied command and staff appointments and also flew a range of fighter jets. He was posted as Flying Instructor at Air Force Academy, Dundigal and was also on deputation to Singapore for two years as a training instructor for Republic of Singapore Air Force. He also served a ground tenure as Battalion Commander at National Defence Academy in Pune. In an interview with The Indian Express in 2015, while recalling the episode from the 1965 war, Parulkar had said, 'We knew that we had to face the fire from the anti-aircraft guns mounted on the Patton tanks of the Pakistan Army. While we were flying back, one bullet hit the cockpit from below and further grazed my shoulder. It then passed through the head-rest of my seat and then went out the cockpit. I started bleeding profusely. My team leader asked me to eject but I did not and I continued to fly till we landed back at the base. We later came to know that the head-rest which was hit by the bullet had a crucial part of the parachute. Imagine what would have happened if I had ejected.' Grp Capt Parulkar had also spoken in support of women being inducted into the fighter stream of the IAF. In 2015, he said, 'Questions of inhuman treatment in case a pilot is taken prisoner by an enemy, are being raised as an argument. But these questions are based on a baseless assumption that women can not protect themselves. I would ask, what is human about any war. Wars are inhuman. And the women pilots who will volunteer for the job are well aware of it.' Sushant Kulkarni is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express in Pune with 12+ years of experience covering issues related to Crime, Defence, Internal Security and Courts. He has been associated with the Indian Express since July 2010. Sushant has extensively reported on law and order issues of Pune and surrounding area, Cyber crime, narcotics trade and terrorism. His coverage in the Defence beat includes operational aspects of the three services, the defence research and development and issues related to key defence establishments. He has covered several sensitive cases in the courts at Pune. Sushant is an avid photographer, plays harmonica and loves cooking. ... Read More


Indian Express
20 hours ago
- Indian Express
For Class 9, CBSE clears open-book exam from next year
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has approved a proposal to integrate open-book assessments in Class 9 from the 2026-27 academic session, after a pilot study showed 'teacher support' for such assessments. The CBSE's Governing Body, the board's highest decision-making authority, approved the proposal at a meeting held in June. According to the minutes of the meeting, the proposal involves integrating open-book assessments in Class 9 'as part of three pen-paper assessments per term', covering core subjects like language, mathematics, science and social science. This is in line with the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCFSE) 2023, which is based on the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. NCFSE mentions open-book tests as a possible form of assessment. 'An open-book test is one where the students have access to resources and references (e.g., textbooks, class notes, library books) while answering questions. These tests assess the ability to process or use available information and apply the same in various contexts. These tests shift the focus from recall to application and synthesis,' the NCFSE states. The minutes of the meeting noted that the NCFSE underscores the need to transition from rote memorisation to competency-based learning, with open-book assessments serving as a catalyst for this shift. As first reported by The Indian Express in February 2024, the Board had, in December 2023, approved a pilot study on open-book assessments for Classes 9 to 12. The pilot was meant to examine aspects like completion time, and stakeholders' perceptions. On the pilot study, the minutes of the meeting stated: 'Analysis of student performance revealed scores ranging from 12% to 47%, indicating challenges in effectively utilising resources and grasping interdisciplinary concepts.' 'Despite these hurdles, teachers expressed optimism about OBAs (open-book assessments), noting their potential to foster critical thinking. Feedback highlighted the necessity for structured guidance to help students navigate reference materials and apply knowledge contextually,' it said, adding that the pilot study focused on 'cross-cutting themes' from the curriculum, and avoided additional reading material. The pilot study revealed 'performance challenges but also teacher support for OBAs,' the governing body noted. The CBSE's plan now involves developing standardised sample papers to ensure question quality and promote critical thinking. Open-book assessments are not necessarily easier than traditional pen-and-paper exams; they are designed to test understanding beyond facts and definitions. For teachers, the challenge lies in framing questions that go beyond direct recall. With this, a framework will be created for open-book exams to be part of the internal exams that schools have in Class 9, a source said. While this is unlikely to be mandatory for schools, the framework will suggest how they can offer it, if they choose to do so, the source said. Since open-book exams will test higher-order thinking skills, it requires capacity in schools, the source added. 'The initiative aims to reduce exam stress, encourage real-world application of knowledge, and shift from rote learning to conceptual understanding,' the minutes stated. The NCFSE calls for a move away from testing rote memorisation, and focus instead on conceptual understanding, problem-solving abilities, and critical thinking. Open-book exams aren't new for the Board. In 2014, CBSE brought in an Open Text Based Assessment (OTBA) to ease the load of rote learning and push students towards processing information. It was tried in Class 9 for Hindi, English, Mathematics, Science and Social Science, and in the final exam of Class 11 for Economics, Biology and Geography. Students got the reference material four months ahead. The Board dropped it in 2017-18, saying it hadn't helped build 'critical abilities' among students.


Indian Express
3 days ago
- Indian Express
This school in Gujarat village has just one student, and two teachers
Bhurbhendi village in the tribal dominated Dang district of Gujarat has a population of around 200 residents. The village also has a three-roomed primary school run by the district panchayat. The main room of the school is accessed by a narrow pathway. Here, a student is seated on the floor, intently listening to the teacher, Dilip Patel, who is sitting on a chair. This child is the only student at this school, which, apart from Patel, has one more teacher. The village is situated on the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra with most villagers working as farm labourers in different districts and talukas. The school, which imparts education from nursery (Bal Vatika) to Class 5 in Gujarati medium, used to be flooded with students earlier. However, with the parents of the students moving to other places for work, the student strength started trickling down over the years, reducing to only one student, who studies in Class 5, this academic year, said authorities. At present, both the teachers impart education to this lone student. On the other hand, there is a staff crunch of over 150 teachers in several government primary schools in Dang, said a source in the district primary education office. Dang district has a total of 377 government primary schools in different villages, with 39,000 students. There are 1,107 teachers serving in the primary section schools, from Class 1 to 5, and 508 in upper primary schools, from Class 6 to 8. 'Last year, there were five students – two in upper primary and three in lower primary. Two students shifted to the ashram school in Vaghai while two others had moved to other talukas. Presently, there is a single student, Krunal Bhoye. There are two teachers. We will have to transfer one of the teachers to a neighbouring village school,' District Primary Education Officer Vijay Deshmukh told The Indian Express. Deshmukh said the authorities had asked Mukesh Bhoye, Krunal's father, to get his son shifted to the neighbouring Nagarpada village school, around one-and-a-half kilometres away, but he refused. 'So, in this academic year, there is only one student in Bhurbhendi village school at present. For the last two years, there have been no new admissions in Balvatika. The school was built a long time ago. Earlier, a large number of students used to study here, but as time went by, people migrated to different talukas and districts, and the strength of students also went down,' said Deshmukh.