GS PAPER II NEWS
Shri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor
Why in News
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- The Central Government, led by the Prime Minister, has decided to resume operation of the Shri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor from November 17, 2021, keeping in mind the better situation of Kovid-19.
Key point
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- This corridor was suspended with effect from March 16, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- A large number of Sikh pilgrims will benefit from this decision of the Modi government.
- Pilgrimage facility through Shri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor will be provided as per extant procedures and following COVID protocols.
- India had signed an agreement on 24 October 2019 with Pakistan on the modalities of operation of the Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor at Dera Baba Nanak at Zero Point, International Boundary.
- Representatives of the Government of Punjab along with representatives of the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Home Affairs were also present during this.
Background
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- The Union Cabinet on 22 November 2018 passed a resolution to celebrate the historic occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Shri Guru Nanak Devji in a grand manner throughout the country and across the world.
- In this historic decision, the Union Cabinet had approved the construction and development of the Sri Kartarpur Sahib Corridor from Dera Baba Nanak to the International Border to facilitate pilgrims from India to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur and make the journey smooth and smooth throughout the year. way to walk.
GS PAPER II
United Nations world tourism organization
Why in News
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- Pochampally village in Telangana state has been adjudged as one of the best tourism villages by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The prestigious award will be presented on the occasion of the 24th session of the UNWTO General Assembly in Madrid, Spain on 2 December 2021.
Key point
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- The flagship initiative of the UNWTO Best Tourism Villages aims to reward villages that are excellent examples of rural destinations and demonstrate good practices in line with its designated nine assessment areas.
- It aims to help villages enhance their rural tourism potential through access to training and improvement opportunities.
- The Ministry of Tourism had recommended three villages from India for UNWTO Best Tourism Village entry.
- These were Kongthong in Meghalaya, Ladhapura Khas in Madhya Pradesh and Pochampally in Telangana.
- Pochampally has been awarded by UNWTO.
Pochampally, Telangana
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- Pochampally, 50 km from Hyderabad, is a town in the Nalgonda district of Telangana and is often recognized as the Silk City of India for its exquisite sarees,
- Which is woven through a unique style called Ikat. The Ikat style of Pochampally was granted a Geographical Indication (GI status) in 2004.
- Pochampally is also known as Bhoodan Pochampally, which commemorates the Bhoodan movement started by Acharya Vinobha Bhave from this village on April 18, 1951.
- Presently a two-roomed Vinobha Bhave temple exists within the village, this was the place where Vinobha Bhave lived when he visited the village.
Ikat
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- Ikat is a Malaysian-Indonesian word meaning “tie and die”.
- Ikat involves the process of wrapping (or tying) and dyeing portions of thread tied into a bundle in a predetermined color pattern before being woven.
- The dye penetrates the exposed parts while the wrapped area remains uncoloured. In this process this pattern produced by yarn is woven into the fabric.
- Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the first National Handloom Day on 7 August 2015 as a tribute to the formal declaration of the Swadeshi Movement, to recognize the diversity of weaving techniques and our rich handloom tradition.
- The formal declaration of the Swadeshi Movement was made in Calcutta in 1905 at a meeting of the Town Hall on 7th August.
GS PAPER III
Hot air balloon
Why in News
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- A hot air balloon program is being organized in Varanasi from November 17 to 19.
Key point
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- These balloons, which can go up to a maximum height of 1 thousand feet, will be able to fly 30 people at a time.
- There will be 11 hot air balloons which will be part of the hot air balloon event in Varanasi.
- Four hundred tourists will fly in it daily. These balloons will be flown by pilots from UK, Poland, Europe including India.
- Domri, CHS Sports Ground, BLW Sports Ground and Sigra Stadium have been made stations in front of Raj Ghat for flying and unloading balloons. 8 pilots have come to Kashi to fly the balloon, out of which 7 are foreigners.
Hot air balloon in varanasi
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- These balloons, which can go up to a maximum height of 1 thousand feet, will be able to fly 30 people at a time.
- The tourism department has kept a ticket of Rs 500 per person for this.
- People can get tickets for the Hot Air Balloon Festival offline from the office of the Tourism Department. This ticket will be available from 10 am on November 16 to 5 in the evening of November 17.
- A total of four stations have been built around Varanasi to facilitate take-off and landing of hot air balloons.
Background
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- A ten-day long Hot Air Utsav was organized on the banks of river Ganga in December 2017.
- After Deepotsav in Ayodhya, the color of Devdeepawali is also going to brighten in Kashi.
- Along with various cultural events, Hot Air Balloon Festival is being organized this time.
- Through this, tourists will be able to see the view of the grand panoramic tableau of Devdeepawali from the sky.
GS PAPER III
Visakhapatnam and Vela
Why in News
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- November will be a historic month for the Indian Navy with the commissioning of Project 15B’s first stealth guided missile destroyer ‘Visakhapatnam’. The commissioning of Vela, the fourth submarine of Project-75, is also scheduled on November 2021. After this, in early December 2021, the first ship of the Survey Vessel large project, Sandhyak, will be launched.
Visakhapatnam
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- Visakhapatnam is constructed using indigenous steel DMR 249A and is one of the largest destroyers built in India with an overall length of 163 meters and a carrying capacity of over 7400 tonnes.
- The ship has about 75% indigenous material which will contribute to self-reliant India.
- The ship is a powerful platform capable of carrying out a wide variety of tasks and missions spanning the full dimensions of maritime warfare.
- Visakhapatnam is well equipped with weapons and sensors, including supersonic surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, medium and short range guns, anti-submarine rockets and advanced electronic warfare and communications suites.
- The ship is propelled by powerful combined gas propulsion which enables it to reach speeds of over 30 knots.
- The ship has the capability to operate two integrated helicopters to further enhance its reach.
- A very high level of automation including a sophisticated digital network, combat management system and integrated platform management system makes the ship proud.
Project-75 and Vela
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- Six submarines are being constructed under Project-75. With the commissioning of Vela the project would have passed half way.
- These submarines are being built at M/s MDL and the construction is based on the design of the French Scorpene class. The French partner for this project is M/s Naval Group. The submarine is slated to join the submarine fleet of the Western Naval Command.
- Indigenous construction of submarines is a sign of maturity of Indian manufacturing capability as well as attainment of ‘self-reliance’.
- Vela is the fourth submarine and has completed most of its trials and is combat-ready and operationally tasked.
- ‘Sandhayak’
- ‘Sandhayak’ is the first of the four Survey Vessel (Large) (SVL) projects being built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata for the Indian Navy.
- The contract for construction of four SVL ships was signed between Ministry of Defense and GRSE on 30 October 2018.
- These large survey ships being designed to replace the existing Sandhayak class survey ships will be equipped with new AUVs, ROVs, 11 meter survey boats and an advanced indigenous data acquisition system for collecting and analyzing oceanographic and geophysical data in the Indian Ocean region. Generation hydrographic equipment.