Personalities in NEWS/India's Freedom struggle/GSI
Sri Aurobindo's 150^th birth anniversary

What's the NEWS

• India is all set to celebrate the 150^th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo
• As we are celebrating the 150^th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo this year, a high-level committee was constituted by the government to commemorate the event.
• The prime minister spoke of the two aspects of Sri Aurobindo: ‘Revolution' and ‘Evolution'. While the first is relatively well-known, the second is practically unknown, even in India.

• Born on August 15, 1872, Aurobindo Ghose was an Indian philosopher, yoga guru, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist.
• He was first a revolutionary leader, The Prophet of Indian Nationalism
• He prepared for the Indian Civil Service examinations at King's College in Cambridge, but unconvinced that it was his future, he refused to attempt the last horse-riding examination, renouncing a brilliant carrier as a civil servant.
• After returning to India; Sri Aurobindo started working for the Maharaja of Baroda, but soon jumped into nationalist politics.
• He joined the Indian movement for independence against British rule and went on to become one of its influential leaders.
• During these years, his articles in Bande Mataram, Karmayogin and other revolutionary papers fired up the youth of India.
• Aurobindo Ghose's political endeavour in India began in the 1890s when he rebuked the Congress for taking a moderate stance.
• His ideology evolved during the Swadeshi movement of the early 1900s when he urged people to follow the path of passive resistance.
• For Aurobindo Ghose the struggle to free the motherland was above all and some scholars would refer to him as a matrist.
• At the 1907 Surat session of the Congress, Ghose along with other extremists had a major showdown with the moderate wing of the party.
• Soon after the Congress split. By then, he was already leading radical youth organisations in Kolkata including the Anushilan Samiti
• The Anushilan Samiti had been challenging British rule through militant tactics since 1902.
• In 1908, he along with few other members of the Anushilan Samiti were arrested in the Alipore bomb case.
• In May 1908, he was arrested on a suspicion of preparing bombs and he faced charges of treason in the Alipore Conspiracy Case.
• He was acquitted on 6 May 1909 after a brilliant defence by his counsel Deshbandu Chittaranjan Das
• The one-year solitary confinement in Alipore Jail radically changed Sri Aurobindo's views; he saw his task going far beyond the service and liberation of his country.
• In his early days, Aurobindo Ghose worked as a journalist, editing newspapers such as Bande Mataram.
• At Pondicherry, where he lived from 1910 to 1950, Sri Aurobindo developed a spiritual practice he called Integral Yoga.

• Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways flagged off an inland waterway vessel MV Lal Bahadur Shastri from Patna to Guwahati

• The vessel started its journey from Patna and is carrying 200 Metric Tonnes of foodgrains headed for Pandu in Guwahati & will travel via Bangladesh to reach the destination by early March, 2022.
• The vessel starts its sail on National Waterway-1 (river Ganga) through Bhagalpur, Manihari, Sahibganj, Farakka, Tribeni, Kolkata, Haldia, Hemnagar; Indo Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route through Khulna, Narayanganj, Sirajganj, Chilmari and National Waterway-2 through Dhubri, and Jogighopa covering a distance of 2,350 km.
• The vessel will take about 25 days to cover the entire voyage and is expected to reach Pandu in Guwahati by early March.
• This 2,350 km voyage will open a new gate to the ‘Gateway of North East' (Assam) and ensure seamless waterways connectivity to NE Region through Ganga & Brahmaputra rivers.
• This first food grain movement will be an integrated IWT movement via National Waterway-1 (river Ganga), NW-97 (Sunderbans), Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route and NW-2 (river Brahmaputra).
• The minister also laid the foundation stone for construction of Kalughat intermodal terminal at Saran in Bihar on National Waterway - 1 (river Ganga).

• The waterways not only remove this geographical hindrance on the road of progress in the region but also provides an economical, swift and convenient transportation for the businesses and people of the region.

• In line with the "Act East" policy of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) has taken up several infrastructure projects on National Waterway-1, Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route, and NW2, through the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
• These steps will improve the connectivity with North Eastern Region (NER) through waterways.
• The Government has undertaken the ambitious Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) with an investment of about Rs. 4600 crore for the capacity augmentation of NW-1 (river Ganga) for safe and sustainable movement of vessels upto 2000 tonnes.
• IWAI aims at running regular scheduled services on these routes.

• The Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWTT) between India and Bangladesh allows mutually beneficial arrangements for the use of their waterways for the movement of goods between the two countries by vessels of both countries.

• National Waterway-1 (River Ganga) is connected to National Waterway-2 (River Brahmaputra) and National Waterway-16 (River Barak) through Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) routes.
• To improve the navigability, two stretches of IBP routes, i.e., Sirajganj-Daikhowa and Ashuganj-Zakiganj are also being developed at a cost of Rs. 305.84 crores on an 80:20 share basis (80% being borne by India and 20% by Bangladesh).
• The development of these stretches is expected to provide seamless navigation to NER via the IBP route.
• The contracts for dredging on the two stretches for providing and maintaining requisite depth for a period of seven years (from 2019 to 2026) are underway.

• The govt. has undertaken Jal Marg Vikas Project with Rs. 4,600 cr for capacity augmentation of NW-1 (Ganga) for safe movement of vessels upto 2,000 tn.
• This Project includes construction/setting up of multi-modal terminals at Varanasi, Sahibganj and Haldia, Ro-Ro terminals, jetties, vessel repair & maintenance facilities, etc.
• The Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) for capacity augmentation of navigation on National Waterway-1 (NW-1) is being implemented by the support of World Bank.
• One of the major problems for a commercially viable and safe navigation on NW-1 is low depth upstream of Farakka barrage due to low discharges from tributaries and difficult hydro morphological characteristics of the river Ganga.
• The project will contribute in bringing down the logistics cost in the country and will provide an alternative mode of transport which will be environment friendly and cost effective.
• It is being implemented by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (Ministry of Shipping).
• The project envisages fairway development through performance based contract for least assured depth of 2.2 metres to 3 metres and bottom channel width of 45 metres, bank protection works, and provisions of navigation aids.
• The states that are being covered under the Project are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal.
• The Project is expected to be completed by March, 2023.
• Eighty connectivity projects are in progress under Sagarmala to connect commercial hubs with ports.
• 106 new waterways in 24 States have been declared as National Waterways, taking the total no. to 111.

• MV Lal Bahadur Shastri carrying food grains from Patna to Pandu.
• Inland vessel MV Lal Bahadur Shastri carrying 200 Metric Ton of food grains belonging to Food Corporation of India was flagged off from Inland Water Terminal Gaighat Patna
• This is the first food grain movement on this Inland Water Transport (IWT) route.
• The 25-30 days voyage will be an integrated IWT movement via National
• Waterway-1 (river Ganga), NW-97 (Sunderbans), Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route and NW-2 (river Brahmaputra).
• While on the voyage from Patna to Pandu (Guwahati), the vessel Lal Bahadur Shastri will traverse through Bhagalpur, Manihari, Sahibganj, Farakka, Tribeni, Kolkata, Haldia, Hemnagar, Khulna, NarayanganjSirajganj, Chilmari, Dhubri and Jogighopa.
• The 2350 km long route will movement is expected to establish the technical and commercial viability of IWT mode using these multiple waterways.
• The IWT movement is also aimed at providing a fillip to North East Region's industrial development by opening up an alternate route for transportation of goods.

• The site is located on river Ganga at Saran Distrcit in Bihar (~25 km by Road from Patna main city) and the terminal is directly connected to NH 19.

• West Jaintia Hills witnessed the first-of-its-kind Fly-Off Event to demonstrate the use of novel and innovative Drone/UAV technology for payload delivery, that could serve as a model of solving the 1st mile connectivity issues for Lakadong Turmeric farmers from the hinterland.
• ODOP partnered with AGNIi Mission, one of the nine technology missions under the Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council to identify Indian innovative technologies that can play a transformative role in the end-to-end processing of Lakadong Turmeric, starting with leveraging payload drones (UAVs) to transport the turmeric in large quantities.
• ODOP is a transformational step forward towards realizing the true potential of a district, fuelling economic growth and advancing the goal of Vocal for Local.

• It has been identified under The One District, One Product (ODOP) Initiative under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, as a product with excellent potential for growth and export for West Jaintia Hills.
• Lakadong Turmeric from West Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya, one of the world's finest turmeric varieties with the highest curcumin content of 7-9% (in comparison to 3% or less in other varieties), is fast becoming a game changer in the economy of the district.
• The State of Meghalaya has applied for a Geographical Indication tag for Lakadong turmeric.
• The percentage of curcumin and oleoresin content in turmeric determines the demand by the industry along with the price.
• India is the largest producer and exporter of turmeric (APEDA, 2019).
• India exported US$ 236.5 million worth of turmeric in 2018 from US$ 182.53 million in 2017.
• Turmeric is a positive crop; it improves health and is not water guzzling.
• India produces 78 per cent of the world's turmeric

• Indian Footwear and Leather Development Programme (IFLDP) (erstwhile IFLADP) has been approved for continuation from 2021-22 with an approved financial outlay of Rs. 1700 crore.
• IFLDP has been approved by the Union Cabinet on 19.01.2022 as continuation of the erstwhile IFLADP till 31.03.2026 or till further review, whichever is earlier.

• Indian Footwear and Leather Development Programme(IFLDP) aims at development of infrastructure for the leather sector, address environmental concerns specific to the leather sector, facilitate additional investments, employment generation and increase in production.

• The programme has a direct benefit towards quality employment generation especially for women, skill development, decent work, making the industry more environment friendly and prompting sustainable production system.
• The leather clusters located in different parts of the country have accrued benefit in terms of reduction of poverty, gender equality, sector specific skill/education, etc., thus touching many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Most of the National Development Plans (NDP) also align with the SDGs.
• NDPs such as economic growth, reduction in poverty, generation of employment, quality education/skills, gender equality, good health and well-being, infrastructure development, affordable and clean energy and other environmental benefits are well-served by the IFLAD Programme.

What's the NEWS

• Cabinet has recently approved 3 important Umbrella Schemes of the Ministry to be implemented in mission mode, viz., Mission Poshan 2.0, Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya.
• All 3 Missions will be implemented during the 15th Finance Commission period 2021-22 to 2025-26.