Why is in news? PM pays homage to Thiru K. Kamaraj on his Jayanti
Kumaraswami Kamaraj was an Indian independence activist and politician. He was known for his simplicity and integrity.
Kamaraj was born on 15 July 1903 in Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, to Kumaraswami Nadar and Sivakami Ammal.
His name was originally Kamatchi, later changed to Kamarajar.
He served as the Chief Minister of Madras State (Tamil Nadu) from 1954 to 1963.
He was widely acknowledged as the "Kingmaker" in Indian politics during the 1960s.
He also served as the president of the Indian National Congress for two terms.
As the president of the INC, he was instrumental in steering the party after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru.
He joined in the Indian National Congress in 1919. He participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920.
S. Sathyamoorthy, a Congress leader, who was his Political Guru.
He participated in the Vaikom Satyagraha (1924) and Susindram Temple Entry Movement.
He became a member of the Madras Provincial Congress Committee in 1925.
He was awarded with India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, posthumously in 1976.
He worked hard to alleviate poverty and human suffering. He also focused on improving health and education.
K Kamraj was responsible for bringing free education to the disadvantaged and introduced the free Midday Meal Scheme.
Kamraj Plan:
In 1963, he suggested to Nehru that senior Congress leaders should resign from ministerial posts to take up organisational work.
This suggestion came to be known as the Kamaraj Plan, which was designed primarily to dispel from the minds of Congressmen the lure of power, creating in its place a dedicated attachment to the objectives and policies of the organisation.
Why is in news? Participants at a mass Surya Namaskar organised to mark Ratha Saptami in Mysuru
It was celebrated on 28 January across the country.
Ratha Saptami or Rathasapthami is a Hindu festival that falls on the seventh day (Saptami) in the bright half (Shukla Paksha) of the Hindu month Maagha.
It is symbolically represented in the form of the Sun God Surya turning his Ratha (Chariot) drawn by seven horses (representing seven colours) towards the northern hemisphere, in a north-easternly direction.
It also marks the birth of Surya and hence celebrated as Surya Jayanti (the Sun-god’s birthday).
Ratha Saptami is symbolic of the change of season to spring and the start of the harvesting season.
For most Indian farmers, it is an auspicious beginning of the New Year.
The festival is observed by all Hindus in their houses and in innumerable temples dedicated to Surya, across India.
Ratha Saptami also marks the gradual increase in temperature across South India and awaits the arrival of spring, which is later heralded by the festival of Gudi Padwa, Ugadi or the Hindu lunar New Year day in the month of Chaitra.
There are Surya temples all across India where Ratha Sapthami is fervently celebrated. However, the most famous one is the World Heritage Site of the Konarak Sun Temple, in Konark, Odisha.
Besides Konark, there is another sun temple in Odisha, the Biranchinarayan Temple, Buguda, Ganjam District.
There are sun temples in Modhera, Gujarat, created by king Bhimdev of the Chaulukya dynasty, in Arasavalli, Andhra Pradesh and in clusters of Navagraha temples in Tamil Nadu and Assam.
The Sun Temple at Martand (Jammu and Kashmir) and Sun Temple of Multan are temples, which were destroyed during Muslim conflicts in the past.
Why is in news? PMKVY 3.0 to help preserve & revive Namda craft of Kashmir
The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 3.0 and its component, Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for upskilling of artisans and weavers of Kashmir will tremendously help in preserving and reviving the Namda craft of Kashmir.
The RPL initiative targets to upskill around eleven thousand artisans and weavers of Jammu and Kashmir.
Namda craft is a rug made of sheep wool through the felting technique instead of the normal weaving process.
The Central Government through this special project under PMKVY, of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, has designed a short-term training curriculum to preserve this endangered craft.
The Namda project will be an industry-based training program with beneficiaries involved in Namda Crafts Production who will contribute towards preserving and reviving the rich heritage associated with Namda craft in Kashmir.
This will also improve the access of existing artisans of Namda crafts cluster in Kashmir and will improve their prospects of employability.
The objective of these projects is to boost and preserve the traditional Namda craft of Kashmir and upskill the local weavers and artisans to enhance their productivity through RPL assessment and certification.
The vision of the Central Government is to revive and promote traditional and heritage skills and to give artisans support to make them economically sustainable.
The Government is also offering artisans exposure to the international markets so that the world becomes aware of the vibrant culture of Kashmir.
The programme will also focus on the skilling, upskilling, and reskilling of Kashmiri youth to create a ladder of career progression and make them strong pillars of Prime Minister’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana:
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) implemented by National Skill Development Corporation launched in 2015.
The objective of this Skill Certification Scheme is to enable a large number of Indian youth to take up industry-relevant skill training that will help them in securing a better livelihood.
Individuals with prior learning experience or skills will also be assessed and certified under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).
Eligibility: In line with the scheme objectives, the scheme is applicable to any candidate of Indian nationality who: an unemployed youth, college / school dropout, Has a verifiable identity proof - Aadhaar / Voter id and a bank account.
PMKVY is a skill training scheme that was started to offer industry-related skills to about 10 million young Indians, between 2016 and 2020.
Why is news? Over 6,000 trees illegally cut for tiger safari project in Corbett Reserve, says FSI report
Jim Corbett National Park is a national park in India located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand state.
The first national park in India, it was established in 1936 during the British Raj and named Hailey National Park after William Malcolm Hailey, a governor of the United Provinces in which it was then located.
In 1956, nearly a decade after India's independence, it was renamed Corbett National Park after the hunter and naturalist Jim Corbett, who had played a leading role in its establishment and had died the year before.
The park was the first to come under the Project Tiger initiative, one of the national park which as the high tiger population.
The core area forms the Corbett National Park while the buffer contains reserve forests as well as the Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary.
The entire area of the reserve is mountainous and falls in the Shivalik and Outer Himalaya geological provinces.
Ramganga, Sonanadi, Mandal, Palain and Kosi are the major rivers flowing through the Reserve.
Corbett has 600 species of plants - trees, shrubs, ferns, grass, climbers, herbs and bamboos. Sal, Khair and Sissoo are the most visible trees found in Corbett.
Apart from tigers, Corbett also has leopards. Other mammals such as jungle cats, barking deer, spotted deer, sambar deer, sloth etc. are also found there.
Other Major Protected Areas of Uttarakhand: Nanda Devi National Park, Valley of Flowers National Park - Valley of Flowers National Park and Nanda Devi National Park together are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Rajaji National Park, Gangotri National Park, Govind National Park.
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