Bengaluru, July 10: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan on Saturday said the number of smart classrooms in the State would be increased to 8,500 this year.

"The government is giving importance to digital education to ensure students are not affected in times of the Covid-19 crisis," he said.

The government has set a target of converting 8,500 classrooms of higher education into smart classes.

Out of this, 2,500 smart classrooms have been launched, he was quoted as saying by his office in a press release.

As part of digital learning, 1.10 lakh laptops were given to degree students last year at a cost of Rs 330 crore.

This year, about 1.6 lakh Tablet PCs were being distributed to students of first grade degree, polytechnic and engineering colleges, he said.

To make digital education a reality, the government created an alternate effective teaching- learning system.

This comprises the best of the contents on each topic and 3.5 lakh classes developed by the faculty of the college education department have been uploaded, he said, adding that this involved an expenditure of Rs 4 crore.

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Pilibhit (PTI): A 19-day-old elephant calf, brought from Bijnor, was placed under care at the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) on Sunday, an official said and added that the calf got separated from its mother in the forest area of Bijnor.

The calf was born on December 2 in the Bijnor forest area and got separated from its mother shortly after birth, the official said.

The forest department made several attempts to reunite it with its mother, but without any success. To ensure the calf's safety and better care, it was decided to transfer it to the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve on the instructions of senior officials.

On Saturday, Deputy Director Manish Singh received the calf. Special arrangements have been made in the reserve for its care. It has been kept in a safe and clean environment to provide it with a natural setting and protect it from external noise and disturbances.

Singh told reporters that raising an 19-day-old calf is challenging.

It requires a special diet as a substitute for mother's milk and constant monitoring.

He said a special team has been formed to provide 24-hour care. Since the calf is very young, it is being cared for like a newborn baby.

According to Singh, the primary responsibility for monitoring the calf's health has been entrusted to PTR's veterinarian, Dr Daksh Gangwar. Under his supervision, a complete record of the calf's health checkups, diet, and body temperature is being maintained. The team is ensuring that the calf does not contract any infection.