Jagadguru Basaveshwara
Syllabus: GS1/ History and Culture
Context
- PM Modi remembered the profound wisdom of Jagadguru Basaveshwara on the occasion of Basava Jayanthi.
Jagadguru Basaveshwara
- Jagadguru Basaveshwara (also known as Basavanna or Basaveśvara) was a 12th-century philosopher, poet, and social reformer, primarily active in the Kalyana region of Karnataka.
- He served as a minister under King Bijjala II of the Kalachuri dynasty, and played a pivotal role in shaping the Lingayat religious tradition.
- Lingayats had been classified as a Hindu subcaste called “Veerashaiva Lingayats” and they are considered to be Shaivites.
Contributions of Basaveshwara
- Women Empowerment: He promoted gender equality, encouraging women like Akka Mahadevi and others to become spiritual leaders and poets.
- Equality: Basavanna rejected the caste system and ritual hierarchy. He established the Anubhava Mantapa, a spiritual parliament where men and women from all castes participated equally in discourse.
- Literature: Basavanna’s thoughts were expressed through Vachanas, short and profound Kannada verses written in the vernacular, making spiritual knowledge accessible to all.
Source: AIR
Thrissur Pooram
Syllabus: GS1/ History and Culture
Context
- The Thrissur Pooram has officially begun with the ceremonial flag hoisting (Kodiyettam) marking the start of festivities at the participating temples.
Thrissur Pooram
- Location: The Thrissur Pooram is an annual Hindu temple festival held in Thrissur, Kerala.
- Timing: Celebrated during the months of April-May.
- It was started by Shakthan Thampuran, Maharaja of Kochi and includes the participation of 10 different temples from Paramekkavu, Thiruvambadi Kanimangalam, Karamucku, Laloor, Choorakottukara, Panamukkampally, Ayyanthole, Chembukkavu and Neythilakavu.
Key Highlights of the Festival
- Poorams: Processions of caparisoned elephants, accompanied by traditional percussion ensembles.
- Kudamattom Ceremony: A synchronised and competitive display of colourful parasols changing atop elephants, drawing massive crowds.
- Ilanjithara Melam: A traditional percussion orchestra performance held at Vadakkumnathan Temple, featuring hundreds of artists and drawing euphoric participation from spectators.
Source: TH
Zojila Pass
Syllabus :GS 1/Geography
Context
- Zojila Pass, reopened early this year, enabling tourist access to the Siachen base camp without prior authorization.
Zojila Pass
- It is one of the most critical and challenging high-altitude passes in the world .
- It is located at 3,528 metres in Jammu and Kashmir.
- It is a vital link between the Kashmir Valley and Ladakh.
- It is known for its strategic importance and stunning Himalayan scenery.
Zojila Tunnel Project
- It is an under-construction tunnel situated at an altitude of 11,578 ft (around 3,500 metres) on the Srinagar-Leh Highway in Jammu and Kashmir.
- It will be India’s longest road tunnel, and Asia’s longest bi-directional tunnel.
| Do you know? – During the 1947–48 Indo-Pakistani War, Pakistani forces captured the pass, prompting Operation Bison by the Indian Army. 1. In a landmark move, tanks were deployed at high altitude, surprising the enemy and reclaiming the pass. 2. This operation, led by Lt Col Rajinder Singh ‘Sparrow’, was crucial in reopening access to Kargil and Leh, and is remembered as a remarkable feat in military history. |
Source :ET
International Workers’ Day
Syllabus: GS2/Governance/GS3/Economy
Context
- May 1 is observed as the International Workers’ Day, commonly known as Labour Day.
About
- Also referred to as May Day, in some regions it is observed on the first Monday of May.
- The day serves to acknowledge the social and economic contributions of workers and to draw attention to the continuing fight for workers’ rights and fair labour conditions globally.
- The origins of International Labour Day date back to the late 19th-century labour movement in the United States.
- On May 1, 1886, workers across America launched a strike demanding an eight-hour workday, May 1 was chosen to commemorate the strike.
- In India, the first Labour Day celebration was held in Chennai (then Madras) in 1923 by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan.
- Canada’s first Labour Day celebration took place in 1872, nearly a decade before the United States officially recognised it.
International Labour Organisation (ILO)
- It is an United Nations Agency established in 1919 as part of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I, and it became the first specialized agency of the UN in 1946.
- India became a founding member of the ILO in 1919, even before gaining independence.
- It has 187 Member states.
- It sets labour standards, develops policies and devises programmes promoting decent work for all women and men.
- It is the only tripartite U.N. agency that brings together governments, employers and workers.
- It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
Labour Laws in India
- The Indian government has consolidated 29 central labour laws into four labour codes:
- Code on Wages, 2019: Regulates wages, bonus payments, and equal remuneration.
- Industrial Relations Code, 2020: Deals with trade unions, employment conditions, layoffs, and dispute resolution.
- Code on Social Security, 2020: Merges laws on provident funds, pensions, insurance, maternity benefits, and gratuity.
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020: Consolidates regulations on safety, working hours, health, and welfare.
- Labour laws in India apply to both organized and unorganized sectors, although enforcement in the unorganized sector remains a challenge.
- Enforcement agencies include the Ministry of Labour and Employment, state labour departments, and specific boards (e.g., EPFO, ESIC).
Source: TH
Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of Sugarcane
Syllabus: GS3/Economy
Context
- The Centre has approved an increase in the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of sugarcane to ₹355 per quintal for the 2025-26 sugar season, up from ₹340 per quintal in the previous season.
About
- FRP was introduced by the government in 2009 by an amendment to the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966.
- It replaced the Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) on the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) consultation.
- Aim: To ensure remunerative returns to farmers and a stable supply of sugarcane to mills.
- The FRP system assured timely payment to farmers, irrespective of the profit and loss to sugar mills.
- It made it mandatory for sugar mills to pay the farmers within 14 days of delivery of sugarcane.
- The FRP system also introduced grading on the basis of sugar recovery rate from sugarcane wherein a premium was paid to the farmer on higher recovery and a reduction in rates on lower recovery.
- It is recommended by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP); fixed by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
Source: TH
Locust
Syllabus: GS3/Environment
In News
- A recent study reveals that locusts swarm using cognitive decision-making based on visual cues, not random movements like gas particles.
- This behavior-based model helps explain how individual locusts align with others, improving the understanding of swarm dynamics.
Locust
- Locusts belong to the Acrididae family within the Orthoptera order
- Locusts are large grasshoppers that live on almost every continent of the world and are known for their propensity to gather in large, destructive swarms.
- They grow larger and change colour in response to their environment.
- In a process called gregarisation, they transition from solitary creatures to a swarm, congregating in large numbers and travelling together over several leagues at time.
- The 2019–2022 desert locust outbreak, the worst in decades, devastated crops across East Africa and India.
- Historically, these ‘outbreaks’ have led to widespread famine and economic devastation, earning them the name “locust plagues”.
Source :TH
Cholistan Canal Project
Syllabus: GS3/ Infrastructure
Context
- The Cholistan Canal Project has been temporarily suspended by the Pakistani government following protests in Sindh.
Green Pakistan Initiative
- It is a $3.3 billion project, launched by Pakistan in 2023.
- GPI seeks to “modernise” Pakistan’s agriculture sector by introducing new technologies, providing farmers high-quality inputs, and creating irrigation infrastructure.
The Cholistan Canal Project
- The Cholistan Canal is one of the six strategic canals envisioned under the Green Pakistan Initiative (GPI).
- It is designed to irrigate approximately 5,000 sq km (1.2 million acres) of land in the arid Cholistan region of southern Punjab.
- The project is expected to cost around $800 million and will primarily use water from the Sutlej River.
Source: IE
Shiv Shakti Point
Syllabus: GS3/Space
Context
- India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission has uncovered critical evidence of primitive lunar mantle materials at the Moon’s Shiv Shakti Point.
About
- The findings reinforce the Shiv Shakti Point’s value as a site for sampling primitive mantle materials, which could clarify the timing of lava crystallisation and volatile distribution during the Moon’s early evolution.
Shiv Shakti Point
- It is the internationally recognized site of the Chandrayaan 3’s moon lander at the Moon’s South Pole.
- Planetary nomenclature is like naming places on Earth.
- It helps to identify and talk about specific features on planets and moons.
- This list, created by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), includes all the names given to different spots on planets, moons, and even some ring systems since 1919.
Source: TH
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