Newdelhi:14/8/21:Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Dr. Virendra Kumar launched an online portal TAPAS (Training for Augmenting Productivity and Services), developed by the National Institute of Social Defence, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowermentin the presence of Ministers of State, Shri RamdasAthawaleand SushriPratimaBhoumik.
The idea of TAPAS was conceptualised at a time when exploring the online medium for work and education had become imperative due to the outbreak of Covid 19 pandemic. What fuelled it further was the Ministry’s vision of ensuring maximum participation of stakeholders and volunteers working in the field of social defence for better training and capacity building.TAPAS is the initiative of National Institute of Social Defence (NISD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, to provide access to lectures by subject experts, study material and more, but in a manner that it supplements the physical classroom without compromising on the quality of teaching. The main objective of introducing the course modules is to impart training and enhance the knowledge and skills for the capacity building of the participants. It can be taken up by anyone who wishes to enhance his or her knowledge on the topics and there is no fee for joining. The five basic courses are on Drug (Substance) Abuse Prevention, Geriatric/Elderly Care, Care and Management of Dementia, Transgender Issues and on comprehensive course on Social Defence Issues.
Mr. R. Subrahmanyam, Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, informed that TAPAS is a standard MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) platformwith course material such as filmed lectures and e-study material. It also includes discussion forums to support and encourage interactions among students and course coordinators.
Ms. Radhika Chakravarthy, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, further highlighted the components of TAPAS. T
This was followed by the release of TAPAS prospectus and an informative video on Online Learning Management System. Dr.Veerendra Mishra, Director, NISD, proposed the vote of thanks.