GS PAPER I NEWS
Rani Velu Nachiyar
Why in News
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- Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has paid tribute to Rani Velu Nachiyar on her birth anniversary.
Key point
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- Rani Nachiyar was the queen of the princely state of Sivaganga during the years 1780- 1790.
- She was the first heroine to fight against the British colonial power in India (East India Company). He is also known as Veeramangai in Tamil Nadu.
- Velu Nachiyar was born on January 3, 1730 in the royal family of Ramanathapuram.
- His father was Raja Chelamuttu Vijayaragunda Sethupathi and mother was Queen Sakkandimuthal Nachiyar.
- The only child of the parents, Velu was born with a unique talent.
- The king raised him like a son. Apart from reading and writing, Velu was also fond of wielding weapons in his childhood.
- So within a short span of time he had mastered martial arts such as fencing, archery, horse riding, valari (laughing), silambam (sticking) and javelin throwing.
- By the time she was a teenager, she had acquired knowledge of Tamil, French, Urdu, Malayalam, Telugu and English languages.
- By studying great Tamil texts at an early age, he had proved himself to be a worthy successor to his father.
- Seeing Velu’s talent and dedication, his parents had forgotten the worry of not having a son.
- In the year 1780, with the help of Hyder Ali, the Sultan of Mysore, he took on the British with the army.
- Nachiyar had come out of his kingdom very valiantly from the clutches of the English East India Company.
- Rani Velu Nachiyar was the first woman revolutionary queen who fought for independence against the British.
- After that, she had prepared a strong women’s army to fight the British powers and in memory of her daughter, who died during the battle with the British.
- It is believed that he was the first to use the human bomb.
GS PAPER II
Kalpana Chawla Center for Research in Space Science and Technology
Why in News
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- Defense Minister inaugurated the Kalpana Chawla Center for Research in Space Science and Technology (KCCRSST) at Chandigarh University on January 3, 2022.
Key point
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- Apart from this, he also started a scholarship scheme of Rs 10 crore for the children of defense personnel of the three services.
- The state-of-the-art KCCRSST, set up to train students in space science and satellite development and to meet the future challenges in space research, will be the ground control station for the Chandigarh University Student Satellites (CUSAT).
- It is an in-house developed nano-satellite being designed by university students and is a geospatial center for research among other projects.
- CUSAT will also be one of the 75 student-built satellites to be launched into space on the eve of 75th Independence Day in 2022. Chandigarh University joins the list of 13 institutes like Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, IIT Bombay.
- Also, has become the first university in North India to design and develop its own satellite. For this project, 75 students of the University are working on the Chandigarh University Students Satellite Project under the guidance of renowned Indian scientists.
- With the launch of CUSAT, Punjab will become the first border state in India to have its own satellite in space. It will collect data related to cross-border infiltration, agriculture, weather forecasting, natural disaster forecasting, which will be helpful in research and study of various problems in these areas.
- In view of this, the launch of the University’s Nanosatellite – CUSAT will prove to be an important step for the country. In addition, GCS will help develop satellite research facilities and launch satellites in countries that do not have developed satellite technology.
- Chancellor of Chandigarh University, Mr. S. Satnam Singh Sandhu, scientists, teachers and students were present at the inauguration of KCCRSST.
- The Defense Minister told the students present on the occasion, “India’s future in the 21st century can be secure only when there is a light in your eyes to reach the stars and planets. If you look at different planets and constellations, more Indians like Aryabhatta, Vikram Sarabhai, Satish Dhawan and Kalpana Chawla will come out from among you all.”
- Underscoring the importance of the space sector at present, saying that it is deeply involved with mapping, visualization and connectivity facilities as well as rapid transport, weather forecasting, disaster management and border security.
- He further added that it has played a vital role in keeping the entire world connected during the COVID-19 pandemic, from testing to data-transfer and analysis.
- The government understands the potential of the space sector. Raksha Mantri mentioned the four major pillars envisaged by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for reforms in this sector.
- These are the grounds: freedom to innovate for the private sector, the role of the government as an enabler, prepare the youth for the future, and view the space sector as a resource for progress.
- He expressed hope that the works identified under these foundations will take the space sector to new heights and give a new direction to the progress of the country.
- Raksha Mantri called for an active and long-term public-private partnership to take education and science sectors to global level and make India a knowledge economy.
- Reiterating the government’s commitment to strengthen the private sector for the overall development of the nation, he said, “Today the private sector is in search of opportunities in the field of space in large numbers. Be it defense or space, we belong to the private sector. “
GS PAPER II
World braille day
Why in News
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- Every year 4 January is celebrated as World Braille Day all over the world.
Key point
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- World Braille Day is celebrated every year on 04 January to commemorate the birthday of Louis Braille. On this day, there is talk on the subject of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, identification, prevention and rehabilitation of eye diseases.
- According to the United Nations, about 39 million people worldwide cannot see, while 253 million people have some form of vision disorder.
- The main objective of World Braille Day is to provide rights to visually-impaired people and to promote Braille script. Louis Braille discovered the Braille script when he was only 15 years old.
Objective
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- World Braille Day is celebrated to spread awareness about the importance of Braille as a means of communication.
- The first International Braille Day was celebrated across the world on 04 January 2019.
- The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution for World Braille Day on 06 November 2018.
What is braille script?
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- Braille is a writing method. It was created for blind persons.
- Braille is a tactile writing system. It is written on a special type of raised paper.
- It was designed by French blind teacher and inventor Louis Braille. This method has been named Braille after him.
- Braille has raised dots. These are known as ‘cells’.
- There are small bumps at some points. The arrangement and number of these two determine the specificity of the different characters. The mapping of Braille may be different in each language.
- Texts like Ramayana, Mahabharata are printed in this script in addition to textbooks for school children. Many books also come out in Braille script.
- After the invention of the Braille script, the lives of blind, visually impaired or partially blind people around the world have become much easier. With the help of this many such people could stand on their feet.
Louis braille
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- Louis Braille was born on 04 January 1809 in Coupeur, France. He is known for inventing ‘Braille script’ for visually impaired people.
- This script, made in the year 1824, is used in almost all the countries of the world today.
- Louis Braille lost both his eyesight due to an accident in childhood.
- Braille became known in the year 1821 about the system of military communication of Charles Barbier of the French Army.
- Dots were also used in this system, but this code of Charles was very complex.
- Louis Bell then began work on his script. By the year 1824, Louis Braille had almost perfected his script.
- He was only 15 years old at that time. The script created by him is considered very simple.
GS PAPER II
‘AYUSH Aahar’
- Why in News
- Ministry of AYUSH has made a new beginning by providing ‘AYUSH Aahar’ in its canteen located at AYUSH Bhawan, promoting nutritious diet and a healthy life.
Key point
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- It has been started as a pilot project. This ‘AYUSH diet’ includes vegetable poha, bhajani vada, gajar ka halwa and kokum drink.
- All the dishes are very popular among the people and their nutritional level is quite high.
- The AYUSH diet provided in the canteen is healthy and easily digestible.
- Ministry has partnered with various states in 2021 and has done some commendable work under National AYUSH Mission.
- During this meeting the officials also discussed their action plan to promote AYUSH lifestyle in the year 2022.
- On this occasion, Shri Pramod Kumar Pathak, Special Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH said that a form would be given to the buyers of AYUSH diet to give their feedback.
- On the basis of these feedbacks, new diet will be regularized in the canteen.
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