Daily PIB 18th January

• Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace (ABCP): It was founded in 1970 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, as a voluntary movement of followers of Buddhism with both monastic (monks) and lay members.  Its aim is to bring together the efforts of Buddhists in support of consolidating universal peace, harmony, and cooperation among people in Asia. It is currently headquartered at the Ganden Tegchenling Monastery in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and the Supreme Head of Mongolian Buddhists is the ABCP President. The roots of founding of ABCP lay in the Cold War politics of peace movements, and consolidation of allies, and building popular outreach among the masses through various organisations. 

Most Venerable Gabji Samaagiin Gombojav, Khambo Lama of Mongolia, Venerable J. Gomboyev from Buriat, Khambo Lama of the former Soviet Union, Venerable Kushok Bakula Rinpoche from India, and Buddhist leaders from Sri Lanka and Nepal came together and officially founded the Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace (ABCP) in 1970 with a permanent headquarters in Ulaanbaatar. It drew active participation from Mongolia, Japan, India, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bhutan, Russian Far East, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and other regional countries. ABCP was registered as an observer to the UN’s Economic and Social Council in 1988 in recognition of its contribution to the well-being of humanity. 

• Chang’e 6 Mission: The Chang’e 6 mission is a planned lander designed to return samples from the lunar south pole. The mission aims to land on the Moon, collect samples from the lunar surface, and return them to Earth. This process will contribute crucial data to unravel the Moon’s geological mysteries. Representing the first attempt to retrieve samples from the far side of the Moon, Chang’e 6 is set to bring back up to two kilograms of lunar samples, adopting a configuration similar to the successful Chang’e 5 mission. The mission involves international collaboration, with payloads from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the French space agency CNES.  

ESA contributes a lunar surface ion tester, while CNES provides equipment for measuring radon gas and its decay products. Additionally, an Italian laser corner reflector for radar instrument calibration and Pakistan’s ICUBE-Q CubeSat will be part of the mission. 

Chang’e 6 will consist of both a lander and a rover. The lander will touch down on the lunar surface, while the rover will explore specific regions, conduct experiments, and aid in the sample collection process. The returned samples will be made available to the global scientific community for study. 

• Thiruvalluvar Day: It is usually observed either on January 15 or 16 in Tamil Nadu and is a part of Pongal celebrations. He was a poet and philosopher, is regarded as a cultural icon by Tamils. He is fondly referred to as Valluvar by Tamils. His most popular work is Thirukkural, a collection of couplets on ethics, politics, economy and love. Thiruvalluvar’s primary work Thirukkural contains 1330 couplets (kurals) that are divided into 133 sections of 10 couplets each. The text is divided into three parts with teachings on dharma, artha, and kama (virtue, wealth and love).Each section covers a wide range of topics andimparts moral, ethical, and practical guidance to the readers. The couplets are composed in a concise and poetic form, making them easily memorable and quotable