NCERT’s ‘Chandrayaan Utsav’ modules ascribe Modi for Chandrayaan-3 success, blend vedas with science
New Delhi: Special supplementary reading modules released by the National Council of Education Research and Training on Chandrayaan mission, on Monday have garnered special attention, after the modules attributed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the lunar mission’s success. Additionally, the copies incorporate mythological references blending it with science.
A module designed for the foundation stage named ‘Our Chandrayaan’ accessed from the NCERT’s website read as, “You know, due to the unsuccessful landing of Chandrayaan-2 on the Moon, the morale of all scientists shook, they were very sad. The Prime Minister of our country, Shri Narendra Modi, boosted the courage of our scientists and asked them to try once more. All scientists together tried and improved their work by learning from past experience so that the ‘lander’ could successfully land on the lunar surface by the launcher,” read an interactive module for nursery and Class I and II children.
Additionally, the module also includes pictures of Modi joining the live telecast of the launch, his interaction with the scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) headquarters in Bengaluru and a photo of the Chandrayaan-3 on the lunar surface.
According to the Telegraph a secondary stage module expressed praise for Modi, stating,“The leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi played a crucial role in the triumph of Chandrayaan-3 and landed our country’s name on the surface of the moon.”
However, this has raised concerns among space experts, citing a space expert the Telegraph mentioned , that it might incorrectly imply that the mission's success was solely due to the Prime Minister's involvement, which doesn't align with ISRO's history of bouncing back from failures.
The Expert pointed out that ISRO has a long history of learning from failures and succeeding in subsequent attempts, such as the examples of the Satellite Launch Vehicle and the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.
“After every failure, ISRO never gave up. However, the text in the NCERT module creates the impression that Chandrayaan-3 was launched only after the Prime Minister asked the scientists to try once more. This may not be matching Isro’s track record,” as quoted by the telegraph citing the space expert.
Additionally, another module designed for middle school students blends scientific achievements with mythology. It references ancient texts like the Vymaanika Shastra and the Vedas, suggesting that India had knowledge of flying vehicles in ancient times.
The module read as, “Did scientific achievement happen only now?… Literature tells us that it can be traced back through Vymaanika Shaastra: ‘Science of Aeronautics’, which reveals that our country had the knowledge of flying vehicles in those days.”
It adds, “The Vedas, the oldest of Indian texts, makes a mention of various gods being transported on wheeled chariots pulled by animals, usually horses, but these chariots could also fly.”
The module also mentions the Pushpaka Vimana from the Ramayana, linking it to mythology. “It was created by Vishwakarma, the chief architect of gods, out of the dust from the Sun for Brahma. Brahma gave it to Kuber. When Ravana took over Lanka from Kuber, it was used by Ravana as his personal vehicle,” says the module.
The supplementary reading material on India’s Lunar Mission ‘Chandrayaan’ was released by the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in the presence of ISRO Chairman S.P Somanath in New Delhi on Monday, October 17.
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Bank account in Ramgarh tracked for fraudulent fund transactions across 24 states, 4 arrested
Ramgarh (Jharkhand) (PTI): Jharkhand police on Thursday said it has unearthed a network of interstate cyber frauds and arrested four miscreants for fraudulent transactions through a bank account in Ramgarh district after complaints of 274 suspected transactions in 24 states.
The states where complaints for fraudulent transactions were registered included Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
The action followed inputs received through 'Samanvaya portal', a centralised, web-based platform launched by the Union Home Ministry to curb cybercrime.
"We arrested four cyber miscreants after a current account with Kuju (Ramgarh) branch of the State Bank of India was found to have registered suspected financial transactions in 24 states with the help of the Pratibimba portal of the Home Ministry through the Samanvaya portal," Ramgarh Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar Lunayat said.
During the probe, police found that the account was opened under the MSME Udyam Registration scheme in the name of Shree Ganesh Enterprises, he said.
The account had been linked to as many as 274 complaints from different states related to cyber fraud and illegal fund transfers.
The registered proprietors of the enterprise were identified as Rahul Gupta (37), Ravi Kumar Verma (34), and Ajay Sharma (33), all residents of Ramgarh district, a statement from the Ramgarh police said.
During interrogation, Rahul Gupta and Ravi Kumar Verma revealed that they had opened multiple current accounts at the behest of Ritesh Agrawal alias Munna (40) and Sonu Kumar Jha (34).
They admitted receiving Rs 1.2 lakh in exchange for facilitating the opening of these accounts.
"The accused further confessed to sharing OTPs, activating mobile banking services, and handing over control of the accounts to the main operators through WhatsApp and Telegram groups. These accounts were then allegedly used to route fraudulent transactions.
Police said mobile data analysis of the accused led to the recovery of crucial digital evidence, including details of SIM cards, bank accounts, passbooks, ATM cards, QR code scanners, Aadhaar cards, and PAN cards shared through messaging platforms.
A total of four accused have been arrested so far and sent to judicial custody.
A case has been registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 and Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Further investigation is underway, the police said.
