• 20 Nov 2021

Defense Equipment Unit and 600 MW Ultra Mega Solar Power Park

Why in News

• On November 19, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated projects worth Rs 3425 crore in the closing ceremony of the 'Rashtra Raksha Samarpan Parv-Jhansi Jalsa' program organized in the Jhansi Fort Complex on the birth anniversary of Queen Veerangana Laxmibai of Jhansi.

Key Points

• The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for the Defense Equipment Unit being set up by Bharat Dynamics Limited at the Jhansi node of the Uttar Pradesh Defense Industrial Corridor and 600 MW Ultra Mega Solar Power Park, Jhansi at Garautha in the district.
• These projects are being executed by Bharat Dynamics Limited with the aim of setting up a plant to produce propulsion systems for anti-tank guided missiles.
• The cost of these projects is Rs.400 crores and Rs.3013 crores respectively.
• On this occasion, the Prime Minister inaugurated Atal Ekta Park, Jhansi. The cost of this project is Rs 11.30 crore.
• Atal Ekta Park is named after Bharat Ratna awardee former Prime Minister Late Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The park is spread over an area of about 40,000 square meters. The park houses a library and a statue of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, built by renowned sculptor Ramsutar, who is the builder of the Statue of Unity.
• The Uttar Pradesh Defense Industrial Corridor to be built in Bundelkhand will be known as India's potential center in future.
• It is to be known that in the year 2021, the 193th birth anniversary of Veerangana Rani Laxmibai is being celebrated. Every Indian remembers with great reverence and respect the heroic saga of Maharani Laxmibai ji, who shook the foreign rule in the first independence war of 1857.

PM Inaugurated Various Projects in the State

Why in News

• On November 19, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Ratoli Dam Project, Bhavni Dam Project and Masgaon-Chilli Sprinkler Irrigation Projects along with Arjun Sahayak Project in Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh.

Key Points

• Through these projects, more than 4 lakh people of Maheba, Banda, Hamirpur and Lalitpur districts will get pure drinking water and lakhs of farmer families will get better irrigation facilities and their income will increase.
• Masgaon-Chilli Sprinkler Irrigation Project is a comprehensive project based on modern technology, which shows the modernity coming in irrigation. Its irrigation potential is about 600 hectares.
• At the same time, the total cost of Arjun Sahayak Project is Rs 2655 crore and its irrigation potential is about 44381 hectares. This will benefit the people of Maheba, Hamirpur and Banda districts.
• The Ratoli Dam project has been prepared at a total cost of Rs 54.28 crore, which has an irrigation potential of 1050 hectares.
• Bhavni Dam Project has been prepared at a total cost of Rs 512.74 crore, which has an irrigation potential of 3800 hectares and will benefit Lalitpur district in a big way.

28th Nimar Festival Begins

Why in News

• On November 19, 2021, Culture, Tourism and Spirituality Minister Usha Thakur inaugurated the 28th Nimar festival in the moonlight of Kartik Purnima on the banks of river Narmada in Maheshwar. The festival will be held till November 21.

Key Points

• Along with this, the 116^th issue of Chaumasa magazine published by Tribal Folk Kala and Boli Vikas Akademi and the route made for handloom walk were also released.
• On this occasion, Minister Usha Thakur said that soon a unique and cultural competition based on Shri RamcharitManas would be organized in the state. The winners of its four student category and 4 winners of the general public category will be given aerial views of Ayodhya.
• Nimar Utsav is organized every year by Tribal Folk Arts and Language Development Academy and District Archeology, Tourism and Culture Council Khargone under the Department of Culture, Government of Madhya Pradesh to honor excellence and best achievements in tribal folk and traditional arts.
• For the first time, demos of three innovative sporting disciplines - Malkhamb, Kayaking and Martial Art have been included in this Nimar festival.
• During this festival, the National Tulsi Samman for the years 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 and the National Goddess Ahilya Samman for 2019 and 2020 were conferred by the Department of Culture.
• The National Tulsi Samman for the year 2017 was given to the eminent painter Kailash Chand Sharma of Jaipur, the year 2018 to the eminent flute player Vikram Yadav, the year 2019 to the eminent Kabir singer Dr Bharti Bandhu and the year 2020 to the tribal artist Tilakram Pendram.
• The National Goddess Ahilya Samman for the year 2019 was given to Shanti Bai Maravi, a tribal artist of Mandla and the honor of the year 2020 was given to Malini Awasthi, a famous folk singer of Awadhi, Bhojpuri and Bundelkhandi style of Lucknow.
• The artists who were honored in the National Tulsi and Devi Ahilya Samman were given an honorarium of Rs 2 lakh, a plaque and a shawl-shriphal.
• National Tulsi Samman was established in 1983. Rashtriya Tulsi Samman is given twice in three years for performing arts and once for Rupankar arts. National Goddess Ahilya Samman was established in the year 1996 to honor women artists in the field of tribal, folk and traditional arts.

Swami Omananda Saraswati Archaeological Museum

Why in News

• On November 19, 2021, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has approved the proposal of giving HSVP land for the construction of a huge museum in the name of Swami Omanand Saraswati in Jhajjar.

Key Points

• Gurukul Jhajjar Archaeological Museum is a place of pride for the state. It is the biggest museum of Haryana. This museum came into existence in 1959 AD due to the commitment and efforts of Swami Omanand Saraswati in collecting antiquities from different parts of the country.
• About 2 lakh objects of archaeological importance preserved by Swami Omananda will be displayed in this museum.
• The present museum has a unique and matchless collection of rare coins, terracotta, sculptures, manuscripts etc.
• These heritages have been collected from all over the world by Gurukul Jhajjar during the last several decades. Thus the state government has decided to preserve this national heritage for future generations and to build a new museum to display this unique heritage.

Plant Genome Savior Award

Why in News

• On November 19, 2021, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar honored four farmers of Chhattisgarh with 'Plant Genome Savior Award' for conservation of traditional varieties of plants.

Key Points

• Awarded farmers include Linguram Thakur (Bijapur), Deendayal Yadav (Janjgir-Champa), Hetram Devangan (Janjgir-Champa) and Sanjay Prakash Choudhary (Balod).
• Along with the award, the Agriculture Minister presented Rs 1.50 lakh in cash and a citation to these farmers.
• Farmer Linguram Thakur has played an important role in preserving and promoting the endangered species of paddy in tribal dominated areas.
• Deendayal Yadav was awarded for conservation and promotion of 36 traditional varieties of vegetables, while Hetram Devangan was awarded for conservation and promotion of indigenous varieties of Sai Bitter gourd and Sai Gourd.
• Sanjay Prakash Chaudhary was honored for conservation of Arkar Dubraj (Paddy) by using innovative experiments for organic farming using traditional knowledge. They do organic farming of 11 traditional varieties of paddy, which are known for their aroma and taste in an organic way.
• This award is given every year by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to farmers for saving and promoting the production of those varieties.

Dr. Sunil Chamoli

Why in News

• Recently, Stanford University of America has released the list of top two percent scientists of the year 2021, in which Dr Sunil Chamoli of Uttarakhand has been included.

Key Points

• Dr Sunil Chamoli, included in the list for the year 2021 of Stanford University, is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, GBPant Institute of Engineering and Technology, Ghurdodi.
• Research work on food flow and heat exchanger has been done by Dr Sunil Chamoli.
• They are making important contributions in the field of thermal systems as well as energy conservation.
• His more than 50 research papers have been published in national and international journals.
• It may be noted that this year, on the occasion of Teacher's Day, Dr Sunil Chamoli was honored by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in a program organized at Uttarakhand Technical University.
• The report, released by Stanford University, has been prepared by an expert committee led by Prof. John Ioannidis.