Prelim Bits 25-03-2022 | Daily UPSC Current Affairs

Demand for the Ahir Regiment

The demand for a full-fledged Infantry Regiment named after Ahir has found support from politicians seeking leverage with them.

• Ahirs community was brought into national limelight after the story of the bravery of the Ahir troops of Haryana in the Battle of Rezang La in 1962 (India-China war) was widely known.
• Most of the soldiers of C Company of the 13th Battalion of the Kumaon Regiment perished fighting the Chinese onslaught, but broke the enemy’s advance to Chushul.
• Ahirwal region includes the southern Haryana districts of Rewari, Mahendragarh, and Gurgaon.
• This region is associated with Rao Tula Ram, the Ahir hero of the 1857revolt, and has traditionally contributed soldiers to the Indian Army in large numbers.
• History of Ahirs in the Indian Army - Ahirs are recruited in the Indian Army in various regiments and corps including
  1. Fixed class regiments (one or more castes in fixed numbers) like Kumaon, Jat, Rajput,
  2. Mixed class regiments (of all castes) like the Brigade of the Guards or The Parachute Regiment in the Infantry and other regiments,  
  3. In Corps like Artillery, Engineers, Signals, and Army Service Corps.
• Ahirs were initially recruited in sizable numbers in the Indian Army’s 19 Hyderabad Regiment, which was the predecessor of Kumaon Regiment.
• In 1930, the class composition was changed to one company each of Kumaonis, Jats, Ahirs, and Mixed Class.
• In 1945, the name of the Regiment was changed to 19 Kumaon. Following Independence, it was named the Kumaon Regiment.
• The 13th Battalion of the Kumaon Regiment, which gained fame in Rezang La, was the first battalion to be raised after Independence.
• It was raised in 1948 with Kumaonis and Ahirs in equal proportions.
• In 1960, after the transfer of Ahirs from 2 Kumaon and 6 Kumaon, 13 Kumaon became the first pure Ahir battalion in the Kumaon Regiment.

Reference

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-the-ahir-regiment-demand-7833461/
2. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/why-the-ahirwal-region-wants-an-army-regiment-named-after-it/articleshow/90406899.cms
3. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/protests-demanding-ahir-regiment-in-indian-army-7831711/

Bappanadu Sri Durgaparameshwari Temple

Denying reports that Muslim traders were sent away from having their stalls at the ongoing temple fair, Bappanadu Sri Durgaparameshwari Temple authorities said that traders have themselves left the place.

• Sri Durga Parameshwari temple was built in the Bappanadu village of Mulki town at a distance of 22.5km away from Mangalore, Karnataka.
• This temple is situated on the banks of Shambhavi River.
• The Goddess here is in the form of Linga and is believed to have emerged in conjunction of the rivers Nandini and Shambhavi at the border of Mulki.
• History - The temple has been believed to be built by a Muslim merchant from Kerala called Bappa Beary with the help of Mulki Swantha (Jain ruler).
• Hence, the name of the village is called Bappanadu and the temple is famous as Bappanadu Durga Parameshwari.
• The date of inception of the temple is unknown. However, the temple architecture style resembles the 14th century.
• Specialty - Uniquely, along with the Hindu devotees, the temple also has Muslim devotees who come here to seek blessings from the Goddess, who is also called ‘Ulladi’.
• Another specialty of the temple is the, beating of drums which is followed during the annual festival celebrations.

Reference

1. https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/bappanadu-temple-trustees-deny-sending-away-muslim-traders/article65257982.ece
2. https://www.nativeplanet.com/travel-guide/bappanadu-durgaparameshwari-temple-built-a-muslim-merchant-002970.html
3. https://manavektamission.org/spirituality-in-india/built-by-a-muslim-an-800-year-old-temple-in-karnataka-is-fostering-communal-harmony/

National Recruitment Agency

The Budget for the year 2020-21 made an announcement to set up the National Recruitment Agency (NRA).

• The NRA would be set up as an independent, professional and specialist organization for conduct of a computer-based online Common Eligibility Test (CET) for recruitment to Non-Gazetted posts.
• It would conduct the prelim exams for certain categories of posts in the Central Government for which recruitment is carried out through
  1. Staff Selection Commission (SSC),
  2. Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) and
  3. Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS).
• Based on the screening done at CET score level, final selection for recruitment shall be made through separate specialized tests/ exams, to be conducted by the respective recruitment agencies.
• An Expert Advisory Committee has since been setup by NRA to recommend, inter-alia, the common Syllabus and scheme for the CET.

Reference

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1809083
2. https://www.livemint.com/news/india/national-recruitment-agency-warns-of-fake-websites-advertisements-offering-govt-jobs-11644714485053.html

Upper Bhadra Project

The Central Water Commission has ascertained that the water utilization proposed under Upper Bhadra project by Karnataka is well within the allocations made to the State by Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal - I.

• Upper Bhadra Project is a major lift irrigation scheme under implementation in Karnataka.
• This project was launched with the objective of providing sustainable irrigation facility in Kharif season.
• It was launched with the aim of irrigating the lands of drought-prone districts of Karnataka (Chitradurga, Chikkamagaluru, Davangere and Tumakuru) by means of micro-irrigation.
• Its other objectives include recharging groundwater table and diluting chemical contaminants of which Fluoride is predominant.
• This project is being undertaken by Visvesvaraya Jala Nigam Ltd.
• Stages - In the first stage, this project would lift water, from Tunga to Bhadra.
• In second stage, it would life water from Bhadra reservoir and provide it to a tunnel near Ajjampura.
• Water will be provided through gravity canal in Tungabhadra sub-basin of Krishna basin.
• Status - The status of national project was given to this project by the high-powered committee of the Central Water Commission.
• This is the first project from state to get this status.
• This status will speed up the ambitious irrigation project.

Reference

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1809259
2. https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2021/dec/02/upper-bhadra-project-set-to-get-national-project-status-239067html
3. https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2022/feb/17/upper-bhadra-gets-national-project-status-2420355.html

GSAT 7B

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister has given the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for procuring a GSAT 7B satellite, along with equipment like Night Sight (image intensifier), etc.

• Launched in 2013, the GSAT 7 series satellites are advanced satellites developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
• They were developed to meet the communication needs of the defence services, which includes low bit voice rate to high bit rate data facilities, including multi-band communications.
• This satellite has a footprint of nearly 2,000 nautical miles in the Indian Ocean region.
• Rukmini - Named Rukmini, the satellite is mainly used by the Indian Navy for its communication needs.
• It carries payloads in UHF, C-band and Ku-band, and helps the Navy to have a secure, real time communication link between its land establishments, surface ships, submarines and aircraft.
• The satellite was injected into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).
• Role of GSAT 7B - Currently, the Indian Army is using 30% of the communication capabilities of the GSAT 7A satellite, which has been designed for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
• So, GSAT 7B will primarily fulfill the Army’s communication needs.
• It will also help the Army enhance its surveillance in border areas.

GSAT 7A Satellite

• Launched in 2018, GSAT 7A has gone a long way in boosting the connectivity between the ground radar stations, airbases and the airborne early warning and control aircraft (AEW&C) of the IAF.
• It also helps in satellite controlled operations of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which gives a great deal of reliability to the operations as compared to ground controlled operations.
• It has 10 channels in Ku band with switchable frequency for mobile users, a fixed Gregorian or parabolic antenna, and 4 steerable antennae.

GSAT 7C Satellite

• A GSAT 7C satellite is on the cards for the IAF, and a proposal to this effect was cleared by the DAC in 2021.
• It would facilitate real time communication with IAF’s software defined radio communication sets.
• It will increase the capability of the IAF to communicate beyond the line of sight in a secure mode.

Other Military Satellites of India

• EMISAT - An Electromagnetic Intelligence Gathering Satellite (EMISAT), developed by ISRO, was launched in 2020 through a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C45).
• It is Indian reconnaissance satellite under Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) project Kautilyas.
• Kautilya is an Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) package, which allows the interception of ground-based radar and also carries out electronic surveillance across India.
• It provides the capability in direction-finding of radar and fixing their locations.
• Placed in a 748-km orbit, EMISAT is based on the Israeli satellite system.
• It circles the globe pole-to-pole, and is helpful in gathering information from radars of countries that have borders with India.
• RISAT 2BR1 - Launched in 2019, RISAT 2BR1 is India’s synthetic aperture radar imaging satellite.
• It has the capability to operate in different modes including very high resolution imaging modes of 1×0.5m resolution and 0.5×0.3m resolution with a swath of 5-10 km.

Reference

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-the-gsat-7b-and-indias-other-military-satellites-7834659/
2. https://www.news18.com/news/india/communication-is-key-how-armys-own-upcoming-satellite-gsat-7b-will-give-fresh-wings-to-its-uavs-4906169.html