• The Prime Minister, offered prayers at the Mahaprinirvana Stupa at Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, on the occasion of Buddha Purnima
• The Prime Minister also visited Lumbini, Nepal, the birthplace of Lord Buddha and offered prayers at Maya Devi Temple.
• India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage
• Prime Minister of India along with Prime Minister of Nepal performed the shilanyaas ceremony for construction of the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage in the Lumbini Monastic Zone, Lumbini, Nepal.
• The Centre will be constructed by the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), New Delhi, on a plot allocated to IBC by the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT), under an agreement between IBC and LDT signed in March 2022.
• After the shilanyaas ceremony, which was performed by monks belonging to three major Buddhist traditions, Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana, the two Prime Ministers also unveiled a model of the Centre.
• Prime Minister also attended the 2566th Buddha Jayanti Celebrations at International Convention Center and Meditation Hall at Lumbini along with the Prime Minister of Nepal.
• This was Prime Minister's fifth visit to Nepal and first to Lumbini.
• Both the Prime Ministers visited the Mayadevi temple, within which lies the birth place of Lord Buddha.
• The two Prime Ministers also lit lamps near the Ashoka Pillar located adjacent to the temple.
• The pillar, which was erected by Emperor Ashoka in 249 BC, bears the first epigraphic evidence of Lumbini being the birthplace of Lord Buddha.

• Maya Devi Temple is an ancient Buddhist temple situated at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lumbini, Nepal and very close to the Indo-Nepal border.
• It is the main temple at Lumbini, a site traditionally considered the birthplace of Gautama Buddha.
• The temple stands adjacent to a sacred pool (known as Puskarni) and a sacred garden.
• The archaeological remains at the site were previously dated to the third-century BCE brick buildings constructed by Ashoka.
• A sixth-century BCE timber shrine was discovered in 2013.
• International Buddhist Confederation
• The International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), India- with its headquarters in New Delhi, was formed in 2013 as an international Buddhist umbrella body to serve as a common platform for Buddhists worldwide.
• It has the honour of being instituted under the patronage of the Supreme Buddhist religious hierarchy.
• The aim is to create a platform for various Buddhist organisations and traditions worldwide to preserve, propagate and promote shared Buddhist values and principles.
• The objective is also to find shared solutions to global problems.
• The IBC has been actively involved in engaging Buddhist organisations in Nepal and has a strong relationship with several senior Buddhist monks.

• Prime Minister of Nepal invited Indian companies to undertake the development of West Seti hydropower project in Nepal.

Holy Vaishakha Buddha Purnima Divas.

• The significance of the timing of Prime Minister's visit to Nepal is to coincide the inauguration of Lumbini Buddhist Centre with the Holy Vaishakha Buddha Purnima Divas.
• The day is recognized as the thrice blessed day that marks the Birth, Enlightenment and Mahaparinirvana of Lord Buddha.
• While Buddha was born in Lumbiniin Nepal, he attained enlightenment in Bodhgaya in Bihar, preached his first sermon at Sarnath and attained Nirvana in Kushinagar, in Uttar Pradesh.
• Lumbini is the holy place where according to Buddhist tradition, Queen Mahamayadevi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama at around 623 B.C.
• Lord Buddha, was born in the famous gardens of Lumbini, which soon became a place of pilgrimage.
• Among the pilgrims was the Indian emperor Ashoka, who erected one of his commemorative pillars there.
• Some of the other Viharas and Monasteries in the area are the Myanmar's Golden Temple, Tara Foundation Temple, The Sri Lanka Monastery, the Korean Temple (Dae Sung Shakya), the Cambodian Monastery and the Vietnamese Phat QuocTu Temple.
• Lumbini is one of the holiest and most important places in Nepal as a result of which it was included in the list of World Heritage areas by UNESCO.

Prelims Factoids

IN-MDL Cup 2022
What's the NEWS

• The participants from Indian Navy's Sailing and Windsurfing teams exhibited a stellar performance in the recently concluded YAI Multiclass Sailing Championship (IN-MDL Cup 2022) by winning two Gold (Nacra 17 and 470 mix classes), one silver (470 mix class) and two Bronze medals (49er and iQFoil classes).
• The event was conducted at Indian Naval Watermanship Training Centre (INWTC) Mumbai under the aegis of the Yachting Association of India (YAI) and Indian Navy Sailing Association (INSA) for senior Olympic classes of boats from 08 - 15 May 22.
• The event was sponsored by M/s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and was a YAI ranking event as well as selection trials for the Asian Games.

Factoids
Kanheri Caves

What's the NEWS

• Minister of Development of the North Eastern Region (DoNER) inaugurated the Kanheri Caves on the occasion of Buddha Purnima.

• The Kanheri caves comprise more than 110 different rock-cut monolithic excavations and is one of the largest single excavations in the country.
• Kanheri consists of excavations primarily undertaken during the Hinayana phase but also has several examples of the Mahayana stylistic architecture as well as few printings of the Vajrayana order.
• The name Kanheri is derived from ‘Kanhagiri' in Prakrit and occurs in the Nasik inscription of the Satavahana ruler Vasisthiputra Pulumavi.
• Kanheri was mentioned in the travelogues of foreign travellers.
• The earliest reference of Kanheri is ascribed to Fa-Hein who visited India during 399-411 CE and later by several other travellers.
• Its importance is heightened by the fact that it is the only centre where a continuous progression of Buddhist faith and architecture is observed as an unbroken legacy right from 2nd century CE (cave no. 2 stupa) to 9th century CE are observed here.
• Kanheri flourished under the patronage of Satavahana, Traikutakas, Vakatakas and Silaharas and through donations made by the wealthy merchants of the region.

• The Kanheri Caves are a group of caves and rock-cut monuments cut into a massive basalt outcrop in the forests of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, on the former island of Salsette in the western outskirts of Mumbai, India.
• They contain Buddhist sculptures and relief carvings, paintings and inscriptions, dating from the 1st century CE to the 10th century CE.
• Kanheri comes from the Sanskrit Krishnagiri, which means black mountain.
• Government Bodies

• Prime Minister will address a programme marking silver jubilee celebrations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
• Prime Minister will also launch a 5G Test Bed, developed as a multi institute collaborative project by a total of eight institutes led by IIT Madras.
• The other institutes that participated in the project include IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IISc Bangalore, Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering & Research (SAMEER) and Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWiT).
• The Test Bed will enable a supportive ecosystem for Indian industry and startups which will help them validate their products, prototypes, solutions and algorithms in 5G and next generation technologies.
• TRAI was established in 1997 through the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997.

Defence and Security
LAUNCH OF YD 12707(SURAT) & YD 12652 (UDAYGIRI)

What's the NEWS

• Two frontline indigenous built warships of Indian Navy, Surat, a Project 15B Destroyer and Udaygiri, a Project 17A Frigate will be launched concurrently at Mazgaon Docks Limited, Mumbai.
• The Project 15B class of ships are the next generation stealth guided missile destroyers of the Indian Navy being built at the Mazgaon Docks Ltd, Mumbai.
• Under the P17A program, a total of seven ships, with 04 at MDL and 03 at GRSE are under construction.
• Both 15B and P17A ships have been designed in-house by the Directorate of Naval Design (DND)
• Around 75% of the orders for equipment and systems have been placed on indigenous firms including MSMEs which is a true testament of ‘Atmanirbharta' in the country.
• Surat
• ‘Surat' is the fourth ship of Project 15B Destroyers which heralds a significant makeover of the P15A (Kolkata Class) Destroyers
• The ship Surat has been built using the Block construction methodology which involved hull construction at two different geographical locations and has been joined together at MDL, Mumbai.
• The first ship of this class was commissioned in 2021. The second and third ships have been launched and are at different stages of outfitting/ trials.

• ‘Udaygiri', named after a mountain range in the state of Andhra Pradesh, is the third ship of Project 17A Frigates.
• These are follow on of the P17 Frigates (Shivalik Class) with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems.
• The first two ships of P17A Project, were launched in 2019 and 2020 at MDL and GRSE respectively.