Blog
PIB
Daily PIB
Daily PIB/ 10 March
General Studies- I
Topic- Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
Chrome Ias
Share
Trending
Latest Courses
Sun Temple at Konark
Context:
Several steps have been taken by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to mitigate the impact of saline action, water logging, erosion and vegetative intrusions.
Conservation work of monuments, including Sun Temple, Konark is a continuous process and the said monument, also a World Heritage Site, is in a good state of preservation due to regular care by ASI.
About the Sun temple:
- The Konark Sun temple is dedicated to the Hindu sun god Surya, and, conceived as a giant stone chariot with 12 wheels, it is the most famous of the few sun temples built in India.
- It is located near the city of Puri on the coastline in the state of Odisha.
- It was built c. 1250 CE by King Narasimhadeva I (r. 1238-1264 CE) of the Eastern Ganga dynasty (8th century CE – 15th century CE).
- The temple in its present state was declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site in 1984 CE.
- Konarak stands as a classic example of Hindu temple architecture, complete with a colossal structure, sculptures and artwork on myriad themes.
Eastern Ganga Dynasty
- The Eastern Gangas established their kingdom in the Kalinga region in eastern India at during eighth century CE to eleventh century CE onwards.
- The greatest king of this dynasty was Anantavarman Chodaganga (1077 – 1147 CE), who ruled for about 70 years.
- The great temple of the god Jagannatha at Puri, begun by him, ‘stands as a brilliant monument to the artistic vigour and prosperity of Orissa during his reign’.
- His successors Narasimhadeva I who not only completed the construction of the Jagannatha temple but also the temple at Konarak.
The Architecture of Konark:
The word ‘Konark’ is a combination of two Sanskrit words kona (corner or angle) and arka (the sun).
- It thus implies that the main deity was the sun god, and the temple was built in an angular format.
- The temple follows the Kalinga or Orissa style of architecture, which is a subset of the nagara style of Hindu temple architecture.
- The Orissa style is believed to showcase the nagara style in all its purity.
- The nagara style is characterized by a square ground plan, containing a sanctuary and assembly hall (mandapa).
In terms of elevation, there is a huge curvilinear tower (shikhara), inclining inwards and capped.
General Studies- II
Topic- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
National Land Monetization Corporation
Context:
The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up National Land Monetization Corporation (NLMC).
- The NLMC will be a wholly owned Government of India company with an initial authorized share capital of Rs 5000 crore and paid-up share capital of Rs 150 crore.
- NLMC will undertake monetization of surplus land and building assets of ‘Central Public Sector Enterprises’ (CPSEs) and other Government agencies.
- The proposal is in pursuance of the Budget Announcement for 2021-22.
Key functions of NLMC:
- NLMC is expected to own, hold, manage and monetize surplus land and building assets of CPSEs under closure and the surplus non-core land assets of Government owned CPSEs under strategic disinvestment.
- This will speed up the closure process of CPSEs and smoothen the strategic disinvestment process of Government owned CPSEs.
- These assets may be transferred to NLMC to hold, manage and monetize these assets.
- NLMC will also advise and support other Government entities (including CPSEs) in identifying their surplus non-core assets and monetizing them in a professional and efficient manner to generate maximum value realization.
- In these cases, NLMC will undertake surplus land asset monetization as an agency function.
- It is expected that NLMC will act as a repository of best practices in land monetization, assist and provide technical advice to Government in implementation of asset monetization programme.
Composition:
NLMC will have necessary technical expertise to professionally manage and monetize land assets on behalf of CPSEs and other Government agencies.
- The Board of Directors of NLMC: will comprise senior Central Government officers and eminent experts to enable professional operations and management of the company.
- The Chairman, and non-Government Directors of the NLMC will be appointed through a merit-based selection process.
Need for:
- At present, Central Public Sector Enterprises’ (CPSEs) hold considerable surplus, unused and under used non-core assets in the nature of land and buildings.
- For CPSEs undergoing strategic disinvestment or closure, monetization of these surplus land and non-core assets is important to unlock their value.
- NLMC will support and undertake monetization of these assets.
Benefits:
- With monetization of non-core assets, Government would be able to generate substantial revenues by monetizing unused and under-used assets.
- This will also enable productive utilization of these under-utilized assets to trigger private sector investments, new economic activities, boost local economy and generate financial resources for economic and social infrastructure.
General Studies- II
Topic- Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2020-21
Context:
Ministry of Education released a detailed report on Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2020-21 on school education of India.
About it:
The UDISE+ system of online data collection from the schools was developed by Department of School Education & Literacy in the year 2018-19.
- It was aimed to overcome the issues related to erstwhile practice of manual data filling in paper format and subsequent feeding on computer at the block or district level in the UDISE data collection system since 2012-13.
- In UDISE+ system, improvements have been made particularly in the areas related to data capture, data mapping and data verification.
Highlights of the report:
Students and Teachers in schools:
- In 2020-21 total students enrolled in school education from primary to higher secondary stood at 25.38 crore.
- There is an increase of 28.32 lakh enrolments as compared to the 25.10 crore enrolment in 2019-20.
The GER:
- Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) which measure the general level of participation has improved in 2020-21 at all levels of school education compared to 2019-20.
- Level wise GER in 2020-21 as compared to 2019-20 are: 92.2% from 89.7% in upper primary, 99.1 % from 97.8% in elementary, 79.8% from 77.9% in secondary and 53.8% from 51.4% in higher secondary respectively.
- 96.96 lakh teachers are engaged in school education during 2020-21.
- This is higher by about 8800 in comparison with number of teachers in school education in 2019-20.
The Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR):
- In 2020-21 the Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) stood at 26 for primary, 19 for upper primary, 18 for secondary and 26 for higher secondary, showing an improvement since 2018-19.
- The PTR for primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary was 28, 20, 21, and 30 respectively during 2018-19.
- In 2020-21 over 12.2 crore girls are enrolled in primary to higher secondary showing an increase of 11.8 lakh girls compared to the enrolment of girls in 2019-20.
School Infrastructure:
- Schools with functional electricity have made impressive progress during 2020-21 with net addition of 57,799 schools provided electricity.
- Now 84% of the total schools have functional electricity facility in comparison with 73.85% in 2018-19 showing remarkable improvement of 10.15% during the period.
- Percentage of the schools with functional drinking water has increased to 95.2 % in 2020-21 from 93.7 % in 2019-20.
- Percentage of the school with functional girl’s toilet facility has increased to 93.91 % in 2020-21 in comparison with 93.2 % in 2019-20 by adding the facility in additional 11,933 schools during the year.
- Number of schools having functional computers increased to 6 lakh in 2020-21 from 5.5 lakh in 2019-20 showing an increasing of 3 %. Now, 40% of the schools have functional computers.
- Number of schools having internet facility increased to 3.7 lakh in 2020-21 from 3.36 lakh in 2019-20 with an increase of 2.6%.
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on enrolment:
During 2020-21, 39.7 lakh students of government aided, private school students shifted to Government schools.
Chrome facts for Prelims
Exercise SLINEX
The Ninth Edition of India – Sri Lanka Bilateral Maritime Exercise SLINEX (Sri Lanka–India Naval Exercise) is scheduled at Visakhapatnam from 07 Mar to 10 Mar 2022.
- SLINEX aims to enhance inter-operability, improve mutual understanding and exchange best practices and procedures for multi-faceted maritime operations between both navies.
- The Harbour Phase would include professional, cultural, sporting and social exchanges.
- Exercises during Sea Phase will include surface and anti-air weapon firing exercises, seamanship evolutions, and special forces operations at sea.
- These will further enhance the high degree of inter-operability already existing between the two navies.
- SLINEX exemplifies the deep maritime engagement between India and Sri Lanka and has grown in scope over the years to strengthen mutual cooperation, in consonance with India’s policy of ‘Neighbourhood First’ and Hon’ble PMs vision of ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)’.
Special Entrepreneurship Promotion Drive for Women -“SAMARTH“
Recently, on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2022, the Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), launched a Special Entrepreneurship Promotion Drive for Women -“SAMARTH”.
Under the Samarth initiative of the Ministry, following benefits will be available to aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs:
- 20% Seats in free Skill Development Programs organised under skill development schemes of the Ministry will be allocated for Women.
- 20% of MSME Business Delegations sent to domestic & international exhibitions under the schemes for Marketing Assistance implemented by the Ministry will be dedicated to women owned MSMEs.
- 20% Discount on annual processing fee on National Small Industries Corporation’s (NSIC) Commercial Schemes.
- Special Drive for registration of women-owned MSMEs under Udyam Registration.
International Election Visitors Programme (IEVP)
ECI hosts International Election Visitors Programme 2022.
- The Election Commission of India (ECI) hosted the virtual International Election Visitors Programme (IEVP) 2022 for Election Management Bodies (EMBs) from nearly 32 Countries and four international organizations.
- India has been hosting the International Election Visitors Programme (IEVP) since 2012 elections where International delegates are invited to visit the Polling stations and see the electoral processes in practice for themselves in person.
Chrome Ias
Trending
Latest Courses
For Daily Updates
Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Chrome IAS news.
