DAILY PIB 18th February 2023

Chhatrapati Shivaji:The founder of the Maratha Kingdom, Shivaji was born to be a natural leader and fighter on 19th February, 1630 in the prestigious Shivneri Fort.He was known as the Father of Indian Navy, Shivaji was the first to realise the importance of having a naval force, and therefore he strategically established a navy and forts at the coastline to defend the Konkan side of Maharashtra. The secular ruler was very accommodating of all religions. He had numerous Muslim soldiers in his army.Shivaji was a dependable supporter of women and their honour. Anyone under his rule caught violating woman’s rights was severely punished. He had a council of ministers (Asht Pradhan) to advise him on the matters of the state but he was not bound by it. He was called as the ‘Mountain Rat’ and was widely known for his guerrilla warfare tactics. He was called so because of his awareness in geography of his land, and guerrilla tactics like raiding, ambushing and surprise attacks on his enemies.

Gorakhpur Nuclear Power Plants: The Government is going to set up north India’s first nuclear plant in Haryana. It is located at Gorakhpur village of Fatehabad district in Haryana, which is about 150 km north of the national capital. It will have two units of 700 MWe capacity each of Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) indigenous design.

Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR):It is a nuclear power reactor, commonly using unenriched natural uranium as its fuel, that uses heavy water (deuterium oxide D2O) as its coolant and moderator. The heavy water coolant is kept under pressure, allowing it to be heated to higher temperatures without boiling, much as in a typical pressurized water reactor.

Bandipur Tiger Reserve :It was established in the 1930s as a wildlife sanctuary, which became a tiger reserve in 1973 under Project tiger. It is situated in two contiguous districts (Mysore and Chamarajanagar) of Karnataka and located at the tri-junction area of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Bandipur Tiger Reserve is surrounded by:Nagarahole Tiger Reserve (Tamil Nadu) in the North West (Kabini Reservoir separates the two).Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (Tamil Nadu) in the South.Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) in the South West.This area has the River Kabini in its north and River Moyar in its south. Along with River Nugu, that flows across it.

Flora: It comprises diverse vegetation of dry deciduous to tropical mixed deciduous It include rosewood, Indian kino tree, sandalwood, Indian laurel, clumping bamboo.

Fauna: It is a shelter for the largest population of wild Asian elephants in South Asia. It comprises other mammals such as Bengal tiger, gaur, sloth bear, golden jackal, dhole and four-horned antelope etc.

Sagar Parikrama:It is an initiative of Government of India, aiming to resolve the issues of the fishers and other stakeholders and facilitate their economic upliftment through various fisheries schemes and programs being implemented by the Government of India such as PMMSY.Sagar Parikrama is an evolutionary journey envisaged in the sea across the coastal belt demonstrating solidarity with all fisherfolk, fish farmers and concerned stakeholder’s as a spirit of 75th Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying.

Phase III program of ‘Sagar Parikrama’ will cover mainly the coastal areas of Maharashtra and Gujrat. The Phase –I and Phase- II programmes of ‘Sagar Parikrama’ has been organized in March 2022 and September 2022 respectively.