Prelims Factoids
Statue of equality

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• Prime Minister will visit Hyderabad on February 5 to dedicate to the nation the 216-foot-tall statue of the 11^th century Vaishnava saint Sri Ramanujacharya at the Chinna Jeeyar Swamy Ashram at Muchintal on the outskirts of the city.

• The statue of the Vaishnava saint - called the statue of equality - is being unveiled to commemorate his 1,000th birth anniversary and celebrate his efforts to reform Hinduism. The saint was born in 1017 CE.
• The Statue of Equality is made of panchaloha - an alloy of five metals namely gold, silver, copper, brass, and zinc - and is among one of the tallest metallic statues in sitting position in the world.
• It is mounted on a 54-foot-high base building named ‘Bhadra Vedi', which houses a Vedic digital library and research centre, ancient Indian texts, a theatre, an educational gallery on the works of Ramanujacharya.
• It was conceptualised by Sri Chinna Jeeyar Swamy of Sri Ramanujacharya Ashram.

• Born in 1017 in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, Ramanujacharya is revered as a Vedic philosopher and social reformer.
• He travelled across India, advocating equality and social justice.
• Ramanuja revived the Bhakti movement, and his preaching inspired other Bhakti schools of thought.
• He is considered to be the inspiration for poets like Annamacharya, Bhakt Ramdas, Thyagaraja, Kabir, and Meerabai.
• From the time he was a young budding philosopher, Ramanuja appealed for the protection of nature and its resources like air, water, and soil.
• He went on to write nine scriptures known as the navaratnas, and composed numerous commentaries on Vedic scriptures.
• Ramanuja is also credited with establishing the correct procedures for rituals performed in temples throughout India, the most famous being Tirumala and Srirangam.
• Ramanuja was an advocate of social equality among all sections of people centuries ago, and encouraged temples to open their doors to everyone irrespective of caste or position in society at a time when people of many castes were forbidden from entering them.
• He took education to those who were deprived of it. His greatest contribution is the propagation of the concept of "vasudhaiva kutumbakam", which translates as "all the universe is one family".
• He travelled across India for several decades, propagating his ideas of social equality and universal brotherhood from temple podiums.
• He embraced the socially marginalised and condemned, and asked royal courts to treat them as equals.
• He spoke of universal salvation through devotion to God, compassion, humility, equality, and mutual respect, which is known as Sri Vaishnavam Sampradaya.

• Prior to inaugurating the statue, the Prime Minister will also kick-start the 50^th anniversary celebrations of Icrisat (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics) and inaugurate two research facilities - Climate Change Research Facility on Plant Protection and Rapid Generation Advancement Facility - on the campus.
• The two facilities are dedicated to small farmers of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

• The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is an international organization which conducts agricultural research for rural development, headquartered in Patancheru (Hyderabad, Telangana, India) with several regional centers (Bamako (Mali), Nairobi (Kenya) and research stations (Niamey (Niger), Kano (Nigeria), Lilongwe (Malawi), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Bulawayo (Zimbabwe).
• It was founded in 1972 by a consortium of organisations convened by the Ford and the Rockefeller foundations.
• Its charter was signed by the FAO and the UNDP.
• Since its inception, host country India has granted a special status to ICRISAT as a UN Organization operating in the Indian territory making it eligible for special immunities and tax privileges.
• ICRISAT is managed by a full-time Director General functioning under the overall guidance of an international Governing Board.

• It is characterised by highly variable, low-to-medium rainfall and poor soils, further characterised by lack of irrigation.
• In general, the historical average annual rainfall in the SAT is below 700 mm.
• In agricultural policy terms, this region is considered to be a less favored area

• To use crop improvement research as the basis to improve food availability in drought-prone areas of the tropics.
• ICRISAT founded the Smart Food Initiative in 2013 with the Vision to create a world where food is ‘Smart' - good for you, the planet and the farmer.
• A key objective is to diversify staples across Africa and Asia, with the initial focus on millets and sorghum.
• ICRISAT performs crop improvement research, using conventional as well as methods derived from biotechnology, on the following crops: chickpea, pigeonpea, groundnut, pearl millet, sorghum, finger millet, teff, and small millets.
• ICRISAT conducts its research under four themes: Agro-ecosystems development, Harnessing plant biotechnology and bioinformatics, Crop improvement and management, and Institutions, Markets, policy and Impacts.
• The ICRISAT genebank serves as a repository for the collection of germplasm of the six mandate crops - sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, chickpea, pigeonpea and groundnut; and five small millets - foxtail millet, little millet, kodo millet, proso millet and barnyard millet.
• The collection has over 128,446 germplasm accessions assembled from 144 countries.

• The Prime Minister has remembered Pandit Bhimsen Joshi on his 100th birth anniversary.
• February 4 marks the birth centenary of one of the greatest vocalists of Hindustani classical music.

Know! about Pandit Bhimsen Joshi

• Pandit Bhimsen Joshi is touted as one of the greatest vocalists of all time having profoundly contributed to the Indian classical music field for more than four decades.
• The late musician, who hailed from Karnataka, is popularly known for his soulful renditions of devotional music in Hindi, Kannada as well as Marathi languages.
• Born on February 4, 1922, this day marks the birth anniversary of the late legendary artist, who received the Bharat Ratna in 2008.
• Pandit Bhimsen Joshi pursued his love for music at a very young age under the guidance of Sawai Gandharva in his hometown.
• In 1953, Joshi started the Sawai Gandharva music festival where his voice got recognised by thousands of people in Pune in memory of his Guru.
• Along with the Bharat Ratna, the late Pandit Bhimsen Joshi was conferred with Padma Shri in 1972, Padma Bhushan in 1985, Padma Vibhushan in 1999 and Karnataka Ratna in 2005.

• ABCD project aims to highlight, promote and celebrate the products that have the Geographical Indication sign, as it signifies a specific geographic origin infused with unique features of that region.
• Through this initiative, Economic Value Addition to GI products is envisioned and can pave way for GI products from India towards a success story of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• This centre (ABCD) will not only exemplify the most rare and unique crafts of India, but will also provide a collaborative space between the karigars and the designers, to enable design interventions in sync with an exclusive and niche market for the artifacts produced at the Red Fort.
• The Centre will create a rich legacy for future generations, embedded in centuries old traditions.
• The ABCD project is being implemented by IGNCA, an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture.
• Ministry of Culture through National Culture Fund, a trust notified on 28th November, 1996 under charitable Endowments Acts, 1890 has a primary mandate to nurture & establish partnerships in the field of heritage and mobilize resources for the restoration and protection of tangible and intangible heritage.
• All contributions to NCF are given 100% tax exemption under Section 80G (2) of the Income Tax Act of 1961.
• NCF approached State Bank of India to support the project, SBI has agreed to sponsor the project under CSR with a contribution of Rs. 10 crore for the implementation of ABCD Project.
• A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between State Bank of India, Indira Gandhi Centre for the Arts and National Culture Fund for Development of Atmanirbhar Bharat Centre for Design at L1 Barrack, Red Fort, Delhi.

• The Department of School Education and Literacy has launched an Integrated Centrally Sponsored Scheme for School Education- Samagra Shiksha with effect from the year 2018-19.
• The Scheme subsumes the three erstwhile Centrally Sponsored Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE).
• It is an overarching scheme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class XII and aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels of school education.
• The scheme treats school education as a continuum and is in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal for Education (SDG-4).
• Samagra Shiksha scheme has been aligned with the recommendations of NEP 2020 to ensure that all children have access to quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment which should take care of their diverse background, multilingual needs, different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process.
• The scheme has been continued for a period of five years with effect from 01.04.2021 to 31.03.2026.

1. Support States and UTs in implementing the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020);
2. Support States in implementation of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009;
3. Focus on Early Childhood Care and Education;
4. Emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy;
5. Thrust on Holistic, Integrated, Inclusive and activity based Curriculum and Pedagogy to impart 21st century skills among the students;
6. Provision of quality education and enhancing learning outcomes of students;
7. Bridging Social and Gender Gaps in School Education;
8. Ensuring equity and inclusion at all levels of school education;
9. Strengthening and up-gradation of State Councils for Educational Research and Training (SCERTs)/State Institutes of Education and District Institutes for Education and Training (DIET) as nodal agency for teacher training;
10. Ensuring safe, secure and conducive learning environment and maintenance of standards in schooling provisions and
11. Promoting vocational education.

• Government implements Ujjawala Scheme for prevention of trafficking and rescue, rehabilitation and re-integration of victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.
• Swadhar Greh Scheme caters to primary needs of women in difficult circumstances.
• Ujjawala and Swadhar Greh Schemes have been evaluated by the NITI Aayog.
• The major recommendations of this evaluation inter alia include integration of Swadhar Grehs and Ujjawala Homes, revision of the salary norms of the staff and use of information technology tools in the implementation of the Schemes.
• These schemes are now part of the new Mission Shakti, which has life cycle continuum approach to women related issues.
• The recommendations have been duly incorporated in Mission Shakti.
• Both the schemes have provisions of shelter, food, clothing, counseling, medical aid, legal aid and vocational training to rehabilitate such women economically and emotionally.
• The schemes have provisions for trained staff and professionals for providing counseling and vocational training.
• A phased approach is adopted for re-integration into the society by way of establishing Half-Way Home which is a home within the community, where a group of victims, ready for reintegration, live and work out of this place.
• To ensure proper implementation, Schemes have provisions for monitoring at District, State and Central levels.

• The National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC) was established to support adaptation activities in the States and Union Territories (UTs) of India that are vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.
• NAFCC is implemented in project mode and till date, 30 projects are sanctioned in 27 States and UTs.
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has demarcated the Hazard Line for the entire mainland coast of India under its Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) project.
• Further, Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2019 has been notified to conserve and protect the unique environment of coastal stretches and marine areas to promote sustainable development.
• The NAFCC projects implemented in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh include activities relating to coastal areas and these projects are-

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