CIVILS WEEKLY

  JOYMOTI KONWARI Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Assam on January 23. The venue for Modi’s programme is the historic Jerenga Pothar in Upper Assam’s Sivasagar district. About: Formerly known as Rangpur, Sivasagar was the seat of the powerful Ahom dynasty, who ruled Assam for six centuries (1228-1826). Jerenga Pothar, an open field in Sivasagar town, is popularly connected to the valour of 17th century Ahom princess Joymoti. The place Joymoti was tortured to death was Jerenga Pothar. HARIPURA A day before his Kolkata visit for the launch of ‘Parakram Diwas’ celebrations to mark the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reminisced about Haripura in Gujarat, a significant venue in Netaji’s political journey. About: Haripura is a village located near Kadod town in the Surat district of Gujarat. Haripura is located on the banks of the Tapti River. SREE NARAYANA GURU Vice President of India launched a book of poems, “Not Many, But O

  OPTICAL GROUND WIRE (OPGW) To improve telecom connectivity in hilly areas, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID), has recently signed an agreement with Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Ltd. (HPSEBL) in Shimla (H.P.) for utilization of 500 Kms of OPGW Telecom network. About: Through this OPGW Network, Telecom Service providers will be able to provide uninterrupted mobile/Internet services to the people of the state. An optical ground wire is also known as an OPGW or, in the IEEE standard, an optical fiber composite overhead ground wire. It is a type of cable that is used in overhead power lines. Such cable combines the functions of grounding and communications. Construction of OPGW: OPGW is optical fiber composite ground wire. This cable contains a tubular structure having one or more optical fiber and surrounded by layers of aluminium and steel wires. This layer of aluminium and steel wires serves to connect the tower to the ground. The optical fiber within the

  RAKSHITA DRDO hands over Motor Bike Ambulance ‘Rakshita’ to CRPF. About: Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), Delhi based DRDO laboratory, handed over Rakshita, a bike-based casualty transport emergency vehicle to Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) . Rakshita is fitted with a customized reclining Casualty Evacuation Seat (CES), which can be fitted in and taken out as per requirement. The bike ambulance will help in overcoming the problems faced by Indian security forces and emergency healthcare providers. It will provide life-saving aid for evacuation of injured patients from low intensity conflict areas. This bike ambulance is useful not only for the paramilitary and military forces but has potential civil applications too. FIRST ROAD SAFETY MONTH The first-ever National Road Safety Month was inaugurated, to build awareness about road safety and reduce road accidents in India. The campaign for the same will continue till February 17. About: During the last few

  STARTUP INDIA SEED FUND Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced launching of Startup India seed fund with 1,000 crore rupees so that there is no shortage of seed money for startups. About: This was announced during the ‘Prarambh: Startup India International Summit’. This will help in starting and growing new startups. Fund of funds scheme is already helping startups raising equity capital. The Government will also help the startups in raising capital through guarantees. IRON-ORE POLICY 2021 The Ministry of Railways has approved a new iron-ore policy governing the allocation of rakes and transportation of iron-ore. About: This new policy has been named as Iron-ore Policy 2021 and shall come into effect from February 10, 2021. The provisions of the new policy will be updated in the rake allotment system module by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS). Scrutiny of documentation by Railways has been removed. Executive Director Rake Movement of Railway Board (EDRM) office, Kolk

  ASMI India’s first indigenous 9mm Machine Pistol has been jointly developed by DRDO and Indian Army. About: The weapon is named “Asmi” meaning “Pride”, “Self-Respect" & “Hard Work”. Infantry School, Mhow and DRDO’s Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune have designed and developed this weapon. The Machine Pistol fires the in-service 9mm ammunition and sports an upper receiver made from aircraft grade Aluminium and lower receiver from carbon fibre. 'DIFFICULT FOUR’ COUNTRIES (FOR UK) On January 11, Chatham House, the century-old UK-based policy institute published a report titled “Global Britain, Global Broker”, proposing a blueprint for Britain’s future foreign policy after Brexit. About: The report groups India on the other side of a “new divide in international affairs — between open societies where citizens have the capacity to fight for their rights and those where these rights are denied”. Along with Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, India is