17 September 2023

• Schemes: PM Vishwakarma Scheme launched on Vishwakarma Jayanti with an outlay of 13,000 crore rupees, providing support to 18 traditional crafts.
• Infrastructure: Yashobhoomi (India International Convention and Expo Centre Phase 1) inaugurated at Dwarka, New Delhi, the day before the special Parliament session.
• Polity: Parliament to shift from the old circular building to the new building during the special session starting 18 September.
• International: Santiniketan, established by Rabindranath Tagore in West Bengal, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

GS area: Economy (MSME, artisans), Government schemes

The PM Vishwakarma Scheme was launched on Vishwakarma Jayanti, 17 September 2023, at India International Convention Centre (Yashobhoomi), Dwarka, New Delhi. The scheme has an outlay of 13,000 crore rupees.

• Target beneficiaries: artisans and craftspeople from 18 traditional vocations such as blacksmiths (lohars), potters (kumhars), carpenters (barais), goldsmiths (sunar), weavers, sculptors, shoemakers (mochis), boat makers and toy makers.
• Benefits package:
  • Registration via biometric-based PM Vishwakarma portal at Common Services Centres.
  • PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card for recognition.
  • Skill upgradation: basic training (5-7 days) and advanced training (15+ days).
  • Toolkit incentive of 15,000 rupees (e-voucher for purchasing tools).
  • Collateral-free credit: concessional loans at 5 per cent per annum (up to 1 lakh rupees in first tranche, 2 lakh in second) against market rates of 12-18 per cent.
• Ministry: Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
• Vishwakarma Jayanti: observed on 17 September, the birthday of PM Narendra Modi. The day celebrates Vishwakarma, the deity of craftsmanship in Hindu tradition. The scheme's launch on this day was a deliberate symbolic choice.

Static linkage: government schemes (MSME, artisans), economy.

GS area: Economy (infrastructure, MICE tourism)

The first phase of the India International Convention and Expo Centre, named Yashobhoomi, was inaugurated at Dwarka, New Delhi. It is one of the largest convention and exhibition centres in the world.

• Scale: Phase 1 includes a convention centre with over 73,000 square metres of floor space, an exhibition hall of 5,000 square metres and a capacity for over 11,000 delegates.
• Location: Dwarka, New Delhi, connected to the Indira Gandhi International Airport by the Delhi Metro's Airport Express Line.
• MICE tourism: Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions. India's MICE sector is underdeveloped relative to Dubai, Singapore and Bangkok. Yashobhoomi and Bharat Mandapam (IICC at Pragati Maidan) are intended to capture this market.
• The day before Parliament: the timing of the inauguration, one day before the special Parliament session opened, was significant. The G20 University Connect Finale was also planned at Bharat Mandapam around this time.

Static linkage: economy (infrastructure, tourism), governance.

GS area: Culture (heritage, education)

Santiniketan, located in Birbhum district of West Bengal, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee.

• What Santiniketan is: an educational ashram established by Rabindranath Tagore in 1901, which became Visva-Bharati University in 1921. Tagore won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.
• Educational philosophy: Tagore rejected conventional classroom instruction. He favoured open-air teaching, arts integration, rural engagement and multilingualism. This philosophy influenced progressive education worldwide.
• OUV criterion: UNESCO recognised Santiniketan under criteria for outstanding universal value as a place that represents the synthesis of Indian and modernist European ideas and their embodiment in a distinctive educational movement.
• West Bengal's heritage: the state now has two UNESCO sites: Santiniketan and the Sundarbans (natural site). The Hooghly-Chinsurah Dutch-Armenian complex and the Bishnupur temples are on the tentative list.

Static linkage: culture (UNESCO, heritage), education.

GS area: Culture (heritage, architecture)

Three Hoysala temples were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Chennakeshava temple at Belur, the Hoysaleshwara temple at Halebidu, and the Keshava temple at Somanathapura, all in Karnataka.

• Hoysala architecture: the Hoysala style (12th-14th century) is characterised by star-shaped platforms, densely carved friezes of animals, gods and riders, and the use of chloritic schist (soapstone), which is soft when quarried but hardens on exposure.
• Halebidu (Halebeedu): the former capital of the Hoysala Empire. The Hoysaleshwara temple has a celebrated fringe of 651 elephants, representing steadfastness, around its plinth.
• World Heritage tally: India now has 42 World Heritage Sites (32 cultural, 7 natural, 3 mixed) following these inscriptions.
• Tourism potential: the three temples are in the Karnataka interior and relatively under-visited compared to Hampi. World Heritage status will boost tourism.

Static linkage: culture (UNESCO, Hoysala architecture), history (medieval India).

GS area: Science and Technology (defence)

The Pralay ballistic missile, developed by DRDO, was in the news in the context of India's missile arsenal and the Army's requirement for tactical surface-to-surface missiles.

• Profile: quasi-ballistic, surface-to-surface missile with a range of 150-500 km. Designed to strike high-value targets in enemy territory with high accuracy.
• Quasi-ballistic: the missile can manoeuvre in flight, making it harder to intercept than a purely ballistic trajectory.
• Significance: India has relied on the Prithvi series for tactical ballistic missiles. Pralay provides a longer-range, more accurate system.
• Export potential: India has been discussing export of Pralay to friendly nations including Belarus and several Gulf states.
• DRDO: the Defence Research and Development Organisation is the technical agency of the Ministry of Defence.

Static linkage: science and technology (DRDO, defence), international relations.

GS area: Environment (ozone, international agreements)

16 September is World Ozone Day, marking the anniversary of the signing of the Montreal Protocol in 1987. Coverage ran on 16-17 September.

• Montreal Protocol: the international treaty to phase out ozone-depleting substances (ODS). It entered into force in 1989 and is considered the most successful environmental treaty, with universal ratification (198 parties).
• Ozone layer: a layer of ozone (O3) in the stratosphere, 15-35 km above Earth, that absorbs ultraviolet-B and ultraviolet-C radiation. Depletion causes increased UV exposure leading to skin cancer, cataracts and ecosystem damage.
• Ozone hole: a region of severe ozone depletion over Antarctica, first detected in the 1980s. It peaks in the Southern Hemisphere spring (September-October). The ozone layer is recovering but the hole persists.
• Kigali Amendment (2016): expanded the Montreal Protocol to phase down HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons), which are potent greenhouse gases used as ODS substitutes but not ozone-depleting.

Static linkage: environment (ozone, Montreal Protocol, Kigali Amendment).

• Old Parliament Building: the circular Parliament building, completed in 1927 during the British Raj, is designed in the Lutyens Delhi style by Herbert Baker. Its sessions were ending as Parliament moved to the new building inaugurated in May 2023.
• Dhanush artillery guns: the indigenously developed 155 mm/45 calibre howitzer based on the Bofors design. It is under induction in the Indian Army for mountain and plains operations.
• Operation Polo (1948): 17-18 September 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of Operation Polo, the Indian military operation that ended the Nizam of Hyderabad's rule and integrated Hyderabad State into the Indian Union.