03 Jan 2024 PIB
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Savitribai Phule and Rani Velu Nachiyar 2. Kochi-Lakshadweep Islands Submarine Optical Fibre Connection 3. Green Cover Index 4. Prelims Facts
1. Savitribai Phule and Rani Velu Nachiyar
Syllabus: GS-1, History
Prelims: Savitribai Phule and Rani Velu Nachiyar
Context:
PM paid tributes to Savitribai Phule and Rani Velu Nachiyar on their Jayanti.
Savitribai Phule:
- Savitribai Phule was a 19th-century social reformer who pioneered the education of girls and worked for the upliftment of the oppressed classes.
- Read more on Savitribai Phule in the link.
Rani Velu Nachiyar:
- Rani Velu Nachiyar is remembered as the first queen from India to fight against the British East India Company.
- She was a princess of Ramanathapuram.
- Born in 1730, Velu Nachiyar was the only child of Raja Chellamuthu Vijayaragunatha Sethupathy and Rani Sakandhimuthal of the Ramnad kingdom.
- She was trained in martial arts and was also a scholar with proficiency in many languages.
- She was drawn into battle when her husband, the king of Sivaganga was killed by Company soldiers.
- Velu Nachiyar inherited the kingdom from her husband and ruled it for ten years more.
- She sought an alliance with Hyder Ali of Mysore to launch a campaign against the East India Company.
- The queen arranged a suicide attack on a place where the Company stored its ammunition and blew them up.
- Her daughter succeeded her in 1790.
- She passed away in 1796.
- She is remembered as ‘veeramangai’.
2. Kochi-Lakshadweep Islands Submarine Optical Fibre Connection
Syllabus: GS-3, Infrastructure
Prelims: Kochi-Lakshadweep Islands Submarine Optical Fibre Connection
Context:
Kochi-Lakshadweep Islands Submarine Optical Fibre Connection (KLI-SOFC) inaugurated by the Prime Minister.
KLI-SOFC Project:
Image source: PIB
- The project connects Kochi with Lakshadweep Islands through a submarine optical fibre connection.
- For the first time since independence, Lakshadweep will be connected through Submarine Optic Fibre Cable.
- This will lead to an increase in internet speed unlocking new possibilities & opportunities for the UT.
- This is expected to benefit government services, medical treatment, education, tourism and digital banking.
- In the Kochi-Lakshadweep Islands Submarine Cable (KLI) project submarine cable connectivity from Mainland (Kochi) to eleven Lakshadweep Islands namely, Kavaratti, Agatti, Amini, Kadmat, Chetlet, Kalpeni, Minicoy, Androth, Kiltan, Bangaram and Bitra has been extended.
- The project is funded by the Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF), Department of Telecommunication.
- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) was the Project Executing Agency.
- Total link distance: 1,868 kilometres.
- Total cost of project: Rs 1072 crore plus taxes.
Syllabus: GS-3, Infrastructure, Environment
Prelims: Green Cover Index, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)
Context:
NHAI signed MoU with NRSC for Development and Reporting of “Green Cover Index” for National Highways of India.
Details:
- The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) under the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for three years to develop and report a “Green Cover Index” for the extensive network of National Highways in India.
- Since the initiation of the Green Highways Policy in 2015, the greening of Highway Corridors has been prioritised by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and NHAI.
- The NRSC will undertake a comprehensive pan-India estimation of green cover, referred to as the “Green Cover Index” for National Highways using high-resolution satellite imagery.
- The overarching endeavour of the project is to capture the Green Cover Index region-wise for National Highways in the first assessment cycle.
- Subsequent annual cycles will focus on estimating the growth patterns of green cover for National Highways using scientific techniques.
- The findings of the index will facilitate the comparison and ranking of various National Highways for timely and periodic intervention.
National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC):
- NRSC is mandated with the establishment of ground stations for receiving satellite data, generation of data products, and development of techniques for remote sensing applications including geospatial services for good governance among other things.
- It is headquartered in Hyderabad.
SMART 2.0:
- The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) along with the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) has launched ‘SMART 2.0’ (Scope for Mainstreaming Ayurveda Research among Teaching Professionals) program to promote robust clinical studies in priority areas of Ayurveda with Ayurveda academic institutions/hospitals across the country through mutual collaboration.
- Read more on the SMART Program in PIB dated Jan 2, 2023.
- The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) is an autonomous body of the Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy), Government of India.
- It is an apex body in India for the formulation, coordination, development and promotion of research on scientific lines in the Ayurveda and Sowa-Rigpa systems of medicine.
Read previous PIB articles here.
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