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Modern History
Acharya Vinoba Bhave
Syllabus : GS 1/Personalities
In News
- The Prime Minister paid tribute to Vinoba Bhave on his birth anniversary.
About
- Vinayak Narahari Bhave was born in 1895 in a high-caste Brahman family.
- He abandoned his high school studies in 1916 to join Gandhi’s ashram (ascetic community) at Sabarmati, near Ahmedabad.
- Gandhi’s teachings led Bhave to a life of austerity dedicated to improving Indian village life.
- He was one of India’s best-known social reformers and a widely venerated disciple of Mohandas K. (Mahatma) Gandhi.
- He was given the honorific title acharya (“teacher”).
- In 1982, Bhave fell extremely ill and stopped taking food and medicines. He died on 15 November 1982.
Image Courtesy:mkgandhi.org
Contribution
- His writings and teachings revolutionised Sarvodaya social order, one that emphasised the importance of non-violence, goodwill and equality in society.
- He was the founder of the Bhoodan Movement(“Land-Gift Movement”).
- He dedicated his life to propagating Gandhian values and is particularly known for “Bhoodan”
- His mass movements were aimed at ensuring a better quality of life for the poor and downtrodden.
- His emphasis on collective spirit will always continue to inspire generations
Awards and Honours
- In 1958, he received the first Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, for his dedication to the “propagation of a new kind of social revolution in India”.
- He was awarded India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, in 1983.
- The same year, the Government of India also released a postage stamp in his honour.
Bhoodan Movement
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Source: TH
Defence
Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk2
Syllabus : GS 3/Defence
In News
- The configuration for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk2 and Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) has been frozen. The first flight is expected to be ready by 2023.
- In February 2021 the Defence Ministry signed a ?48,000-crore deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) to supply 83 LCA-Mk1A to the Indian Air Force.
About Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk2
- The aircraft features enhanced range and endurance including an onboard oxygen generation system, which is being integrated for the first time
- Heavy weapons of the class of Scalp, Crystal Maze and Spice-2000 will also be integrated on the Mk2.
- The LCA-Mk2 will be a heavier and much more capable aircraft than the current LCA variants.
- The Mk2 is 1,350 mm longer featuring canards and can carry a payload of 6,500 kg compared to the 3,500 kg the LCA can carry.
Image Courtesy: HT
Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA)
Light Combat Aircrafts (LCA) ‘Tejas’ Mk-1A Variant
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Source: TH
Polity and Governance
National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)
Syllabus:GS 2/Statutory, Regulatory & Various Quasi-judicial Bodies
In News
- Recently, the government has appointed 31 people as judicial, technical and accountant members at the NCLT and the ITAT, amid the Supreme Court flagging concerns about vacancies in various tribunals.
About
- NCLT
- The Central Government has constituted National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under section 408 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013) w.e.f. 01st June 2016.
- It is a quasi-judicial body in India that adjudicates issues relating to Indian companies.
- Decisions of the NCLT may be appealed at the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). The NCLAT decisions can be challenged at the Supreme Court on a point of law.
- ITAT
- ITAT is a quasi-judicial institution set up in January 1941 and specializes in dealing with appeals under the Direct Taxes Acts.
- The orders passed by the ITAT are final, an appeal lies to the High Court only if a substantial question of law arises for determination.
- It was started in 1941 with six Members constituting three Benches – one each at Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta) and Mumbai (Bombay), the numbers of Benches have progressively increased and presently ITAT has 63 Benches at 27 different stations covering almost all the cities having a seat of the High Court.
- Difference between NCLT and ITAT
- The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) deals with matters mainly related to companies law and insolvency law while the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) deals with income tax matters.
Source: TH
Health
Saline Gargle RT-PCR Technology
Syllabus: GS2/Health
In News
- National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) has transferred the technology of indigenously developed saline gargle reverse transcript polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique for testing Covid-19 samples to the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) for commercialising.
- NEERI is an institute under the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
Need
- This would result in faster testing, especially in resource-poor regions like rural and tribal areas.
About Saline Gargle RT-PCR Technology
- The Saline Gargle RT-PCR technology is simple, fast, cost-effective, patient-friendly, and comfortable.
- It provides instant test results and is well-suited for rural and tribal areas, given minimal infrastructure requirements.
- Working:
- The patient has to gargle the solution and rinse it in the tube.
- The sample is taken to the laboratory where it is kept at room temperature for about 30 minutes in a special buffer solution prepared by NEERI.
- An RNA template is produced when this solution is heated and then processed for RT-PCR.
Source: HT
Art & Culture
Samvatsari Parva 2021
Syllabus: GS1/ Ancient History
In News
- Recently, the Prime Minister has greeted the people on the occasion of Samvatsari.
About Samvatsari
- It is the annual festival marked by people of the Jain community.
- This festival is celebrated on the last day of ‘Parva Paryushana’ which is the holiest festival for the Shwetambara sect of Jainism.
- It falls on Shukla Panchami each year in the Jain calendar month of Bhadrapada (somewhere between the middle of August and September in the Gregorian calendar).
- Samvatsari is also known as the Day of Forgiveness.
- On this day, Jains beg forgiveness from all living beings for faults they have made, whether deliberately or unknowingly.
Source: PIB
Geography
Subansiri Hydroelectric Project (LSHP)
Syllabus: GS3/ Infrastructure/ GS1, Geography
In News
- Work on the 2000 MW Subansiri Lower project resumed after being stopped in 2011 following protests amid fears of ecological damage and loss of livelihoods.
Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project (SLHEP)
- It is located on the Subansiri River ( largest tributary of Brahmaputra River), which is on the border of India’s two northeastern states, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
- Subansiri River (gold river), originates in the Tibet Plateau and enters India through Miri hills in Arunachal Pradesh.
- River Subansiri flows from Arunachal Pradesh into Assam where it joins the Brahmaputra.
- The project is being developed by the state-run National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC).
Image Courtesy: researchgate
Source: TH