International Organizations, Defence, Books & Authors, World History

Notes:
The book “Veerappan: Chasing the Brigand” has been authored by K. Vijay Kumar, the Senior Security Adviser in the Ministry of Home Affairs. The book is a source of valuable inspiration offering insight into the tactics that went into the wiping out of the dreaded forest brigand on whom a prize money of Rs. 5 crores had been declared more than a decade back.

Notes:
Under Project 75, six Scorpene submarines are being built with assistance and technology transfer from DCNS of France under deal signed in October 2005. The Project 75I-class submarine is a follow-on of the Project 75 Kalvari-class submarine for the Indian navy.

Notes:
The International Organization for Standardization is an international standard-setting body. It comprises of representatives from various national standards organizations. Its headquarters is located in Geneva.

Notes:
Buddhist monk Dhammapiya from Tripura has been elected as the new secretary general of the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) in New Delhi. The IBC is a global Buddhist forum for preservation and development of heritage sites of the religion in India and other parts of the world.

Notes:
The proposal to celebrate Gandhi’s birth anniversary as International Day of Non-Violence was taken to UN by Iranian Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi. United Nations General Assembly voted to establish 2 October as the International Day of Non-Violence in 2007.

Notes:
Sagarmal Gopa was a freedom fighter and patriot from Rajasthan, India. He took active part in the non-cooperation movement in 1921. He was the author of Jaisalmer ka Gundaraj.

Notes:
Pinaka is a multi-barrel rocket launcher developed by the Indian Army’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It is designed to be used for long-range artillery support and can fire a variety of rockets, including high-explosive, incendiary, and smoke-producing rounds.

Notes:
Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic (UAR) in 1958. The UAR was a sovereign state that was intended to be the first step toward a pan-Arab union. The union was short-lived, ending in 1961 when Syria seceded. Egypt continued to be known as the United Arab Republic until 1971.  The UAR was formed as a single political unit with Gamal Abd al-Nasser as its president. Nasser gave each province two vice-presidents. The provisional constitution of 1958 was adopted. The United States recognized the UAR on February 25, 1958.

Notes:
National Voters Day in India is celebrated on January 25th. This day is celebrated to promote participation of the citizens in the political process. It was first celebrated in the year 2011 to mark the commission’s foundation day. Prioritizing the participation of the youth in the electoral process is the main focus of this celebration as the Indian Election Commission was established on this day in 1950.

Notes:
The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) is a joint venture between India and Russia. The plant is located in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. It is the largest nuclear power station in India.
The plant was built as a result of an inter-governmental agreement signed in 1988 by then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The agreement called for the construction of two reactors of 2 GW. The first concrete for unit 1 was poured in March 2002, and for unit 2 four months later.
The reactors are pressurised water reactors of Russian design. The thermal capacity is 3,000 MW, the gross electrical capacity is 1,000 MW, and the net capacity is 917 MW.