• Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (IC), Shri Prahlad Singh Patel attended Commemoration of 77th Year of Formation of Azad Hind Government recently at Red Fort, Delhi.

Azad Hind Government

• On October 21, 1943, Netaji Subash Chandra Bose announced the formation of the Provisional Government of Free India (PGFI), Arzi Hakumat-e-Azad Hind, or, in short, Azad Hind Government, an Indian government-in-exile.
• Bose was convinced that it was armed struggle that would help the countrymen to achieve independence. 
• The leadership of Bose pulled Indians, who united with thousands of soldiers, along with former-prisoners and other expatriates who were living in Malayasia and Burma.
• Under the provisional Government, Bose was the Head of State, Prime Minister and Minister of War.
• Captain Lakshmi headed the women’s organisation while SA Ayer headed the publicity wing in the newly-formed government.
• Revolutionary leader Ras Behari Bose was designated as the supreme adviser by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
• The government was supported by the Axis powers of Imperial Japan, Nazi Germany, the Italian Social Republic, and their allies.
• It started functioning from Singapore with 11 ministers and eight representatives from the INA.
• The PGFI was a culmination of the political movement originating in the early 1940’s outside India with the purpose to liberate her from the British rule.
• The government of Azad Hind soon had its own currency, court, civil code and national anthem ‘Subh Sukh Chain’.
• The INA had its motto, ‘Ittehad, Itmad aur Qurbani’ (unity, faith and sacrifice) and its national greeting ‘Jai Hind’.
• Its existence gave greater legitimacy to the independence struggle.
• Immediately after the formation of the government-in-exile, Azad Hind declared war against the Britishers and allied forces on the Indo-Burma Front. 

• The Labour and Employment Ministry has recently revised the base year of the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) from 2001 to 2016.
• It aims to reflect the changing consumption pattern, giving more weightage to spending on health, education, recreation and other miscellaneous expenses, while reducing the weight of food and beverages. 

CPI-IW

• It is the single most important price statistics, which has financial implications.
• Labour Bureau, an attached office of Ministry of Labour & Employment, has been compiling and releasing CPI-IW numbers since its inception in 1946.
• Earlier to this revision, the series were also revised from the year 1944 to 1949; 1949 to 1960; 1960 to 1982 and 1982 to 2001 since inception of Labour Bureau. 
• It is primarily used to regulate the dearness allowance of government employees and the workers in the industrial sectors. 
• It is also used in fixation and revision of minimum wages in scheduled employments besides measuring the inflation in retail prices.

• INS Kavaratti (P31), Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) stealth corvette built under Project 28 (Kamorta Class) was recently commissioned into the Indian Navy by General Manoj Mukund Naravane, Chief of the Army Staff at a ceremony held at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam.
• It has been named after the capital of the Lakshadweep group of islands.
• The ship is propelled by four Diesel engines.
• The ship has enhanced stealth features resulting in reduced Radar Cross Section (RCS) achieved by X form of superstructure along with optimally sloped surfaces.
• The ship’s advanced stealth features make her less susceptible to detection by the enemy.
• The unique feature of this ship is the high level of indigenisation incorporated in the production, accentuating our National Objective of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.
• The ship has high indigenous content with the state of the art equipment & systems to fight in Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) warfare conditions.
• Also, the weapons and sensors suite onboard is pre-dominantly indigenous and showcases the Nation’s evolving capability in this niche area.
• Some of the major equipment/systems developed indigenously include Combat Management System, Torpedo Tube Launchers and Infra-Red Signature Suppression System etc.
• The ship is the reincarnation of the erstwhile Arnala Class missile corvette of the same name (INS Kavaratti – P 80).

• Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (I/C) Shri Prahlad Singh Patel virtually launched “Life in Miniature” project recently.
• It is a collaboration between the National Museum, New Delhi, Ministry of Culture, and Google Arts & Culture.
• Under the project, several hundred miniature paintings from the National Museum, New Delhi can be viewed online on Google Arts & Culture by people around the world.
• The project uses technologies like machine learning, augmented reality and digitization with high-definition robotic cameras, to showcase these special works of art in a magical new way.

• 5th General Council meeting of Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE) was held recently.
• The council deliberated the recommendations of the Y. S. Malik Committee to enhance the scope of the IAHE and decided to take further necessary action to transform IAHE into a world-class premier institute in highway sector.

Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE)

• It was created in 1983 to provide training at entry level/refresher courses/ training on specialised areas of highway, bridge & tunnel engineering/ orientation programmes/management development programmes/strategic training programmes etc. to highway engineers and professionals working in Central Government, State Governments, PSUs, Local Bodies, Contractors, Consultants etc.
• The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways constituted a committee under the chairmanship Shri Y. S. Malik, former Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) to give recommendations to transform IAHE into a world-class premier institute in highway sector.