Important Facts for Prelims (14th September 2018)

Swadesh Darshan Scheme

• First tribal tourism circuit project under Swadesh Darshan Scheme has been inaugurated in Chhattisgarh. It covers 13 sites in Chhattisgarh: Jashpur, Kunkuri, Mainpat, Kamleshpur, Maheshpur, Kurdar, Sarodadadar, Gangrel, Kondagaon, Nathiya Nawagaon, Jagdalpur, Chitrakoot and Tirthgarh.
• Swadesh Darshan scheme is one of the flagship schemes of the Ministry of tourism launched in 2014-15, for development of thematic circuits in the country in a planned and prioritised manner.
• Aim of the scheme is to develop theme-based tourist circuits on the principles of high tourist value, competitiveness and sustainability in an integrated manner to enrich tourist experience and enhance employment opportunities.
• Under the scheme, fifteen thematic circuits have been identified- Buddhist Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Desert Circuit, Eco Circuit, Heritage Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Krishna Circuit, North East Circuit, Ramayana Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Sufi Circuit, Tirthankar Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Wildlife Circuit.

Exercise KAKADU

• Indian Naval Ship Sahyadri participated in Exercise KAKADU 2018.
• Exercise KAKADU started in 1993, is a multilateral regional maritime engagement exercise hosted by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and supported by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The exercise is held biennially in Darwin and the Northern Australian Exercise Areas (NAXA).
• It aims to foster and strengthen effective security and humanitarian partnerships across the Indo-Pacific region through a series of training and engagement activities.
• Indian Navy’s participation provides it an excellent opportunity to engage with regional partners and undertake multinational maritime activities ranging from constabulary operations to high-end maritime warfare in a combined environment, aimed at enhancing interoperability and development of common understanding of procedures for maritime operations.