WHY IN THE NEWS?

Uttar Pradesh government has renamed a landmark freedom movement called “Kakori Train Conspiracy” as “Kakori Train Action” and paid tributes to the revolutionaries who were hanged for robbing a train at Kakori in Uttar Pradesh.

About:

• Revolutionaries had robbed the train in order to buy weapons in 1925.
• Family members of the freedom fighters were also honoured on this occasion.
• Those revolutionaries were some passionate people who were having a single goal of independence of India from British rule. So, the name was changed considering that, they did not commit any conspiracy as they were fighting for freedom.
• Freedom fighters Ram Prasad Bismil, Ashfaqulla Khan and Roshan Singh were hanged to death on December 19, 1927, for their involvement in Kakori robbery.

Kakori Train Action

It was a train robbery that took place on August 9, 1925, in a village called Kakori near Lucknow during the Indian Independence Movement against British Raj. The robbery was organised by Hindustan Republican Association (HRA). It was conceived by Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqullah Khan. HRA was established to carry out revolutionary activities against British Empire with the objective of achieving independence.

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• The 2nd Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Range Technology (ICORT-2021) is being held virtually.
• The conference has been organised by Integrated Test Range (ITR) Chandipur, a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• It was inaugurated by Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy. The event will host speakers from across the globe, who will present their technological achievements in multiple subjects related to Tests and Evaluation of defence systems.
• The conference will be a very effective platform for all the Range Technology enthusiasts to interact with each other and stay updated with recent developments in relevant fields.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Bhutan’s India-assisted Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Project was conferred with the Brunel Medal awarded by the London-based Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).
• The award was given as a mark of excellence in civil engineering within the industry and was handed over by the Indian envoy to Bhutan Ruchira Kamboj to the Chairman of Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Project Authority, Lyonpo Loknath Sharma.
• One of the reasons the Mangdechhu project was awarded was because of its social and environmental credentials.
• The project will reduce 2.4 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
• Bhutan and India in the past have collectively resolved to increase the hydropower energy capacity of Bhutan to 12000 MW.
• The Brunel Medal is historically given to major projects and organisations across the world.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Indian Wrestler Labhanshu Sharma won the Bharat Kesari Wrestling Dangal 2021 organised in Tamil Nadu. 20 years since the formation of Uttarakhand, Labhanshu has broken the drought and won the title of Bharat Kesari for the state.
• With 15 gold medals at the state level and 10 medals at the national level and 2 gold medals and 1 silver medal in the International Wrestling competitions; Labhanshu is already set to bring glory to the nation.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Two-times Olympian Shankar Subramaniam, alias “Babu” Nayaran passed away. He was India’s goalkeeper during the 1956 and 1960 Olympics. Besides representing Maharashtra in football and basketball, Narayan emerged as one of the most reliable goalkeepers in India.
• His decade-long career for the national team also included the stellar effort of India finishing fourth in the 1956 Olympics and representing India in the 1964 Asian Games.
• Subramaniam was born in Palakkad district in Kerala, Narayan was a star in Mumbai’s local circuit during his appearances for Matunga Students, Matunga Gymkhana, Caltex and Tata Sports Club. He was part of Maharashtra’s Santosh Trophy-winning campaign in 1964.

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• The government of West Bengal has received four SKOCH awards for its schemes under the Ease of Doing Business initiative. The State scheme ‘Silpasathi’-the online single window portal won the platinum award while the Auto-Renewal of Certificate of Enlistment through the online system for urban areas has received the gold award.
• Online issuance of trade licences in rural areas and the E-Nathikaran: the online system for registration, preparation and submission of deeds have won two silver awards.
• The state government will ensure that the ease of doing business in West Bengal continues to be one of the foremost in the country.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Ebrahim Raisi was officially sworn in as the new president of Iran on August 05, 2021. He won the 2021 Iranian presidential election in June, with 62 per cent of the vote. The 60-year-old Raisi succeeds Hassan Rouhani to begin his four-year term. He is also been the Chief Justice of Iran since March 2019.
• Raisi’s inauguration comes at a pivotal time, with Iran currently in indirect negotiations with the United States over how to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement.
• Raisi will also face the task of reviving his country’s economy, which has been battered in recent years by the previous US administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions. Tensions in the region are also high following a string of maritime provocations blamed by the West on Tehran.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Germany became the 5th country to sign the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement after amendments to it entered into force on 8th January 2021, opening its Membership to all Member States of the United Nations.
• Ambassador of Germany to India Walter J. Lindner deposited signed copies of the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement with the Ministry of External Affairs, the depositary of the Agreement.
• Membership to the ISA was earlier limited to 121 countries, which were partially or entirely located within the tropics. This didn’t allow major solar energy economies such as Germany to join the alliance that is being increasingly seen as a foreign policy tool.
• The initiative was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the India Africa Summit and a meeting of member countries ahead of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in November 2015. The framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance opened for signatures in Marrakech, Morocco in November 2016.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• India’s nuclear power capacity is expected to reach 22,480 Mega Watts by 2031 from the current 6,780 MegaWatts. There are presently 22 reactors with a total capacity of 6780 MW in operation and one reactor, KAPP-3 (700 MW) has been connected to the grid on January 10, 2021.
• Ten (10) nuclear power reactors with 8000 MW capacity (including 500 MW PFBR being implemented by Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited {BHAVINI}) are under construction.
• Additionally, the Government has accorded administrative approval and financial sanction of ten (10) indigenous Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) of 700 MW each to be set up in fleet mode.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Amid the ongoing covid-19 pandemic and approaching typhoon, Tokyo Olympics 2020 was finally concluded on August 8, 2021. Japanese capital pulled the curtains down on one of the most unique Games in history and handed over the flame of hope to Paris.

About:

Flame of hope or the flag was passed to Paris with the message of moving forward. It also remembered those who lost their lives to Covid-19 pandemic.

What is Flame of Hope?

Flame of Hope is the symbol of the Special Olympics Games. It is used much in the same spirit as the Olympic Flame is used at the Olympic Games. The Flame of Hope is lit during a traditional ceremony in Athens, Greece. After lighting, it is relayed on foot towards the organizing city by the members of law enforcement agencies comprising mostly policemen and policewomen along with Special Olympics athletes. The relay, officially the Law Enforcement Torch Run, is the flagship of an international fundraising effort.

2018 flame of hope

Flame of Hope was memorialized by Chicago Park District in 2018 that erected the 30 foot “Eternal Flame of Hope” to honour the Special Olympics.

Special Olympics

Special Olympics is world’s largest sports organization for children and adults with disabilities. It provides them a year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners across 172 countries. Special Olympics competitions are held every day across the world including local, national and regional competitions. Special Olympics organization is also recognized by the International Olympic Committee on the line of Paralympic Games. However, Special Olympics World Games are not held in the same year or in conjunction with the Olympic Games