Misogyny: dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women.
Resolve: firm determination to do something.
Nepotism: the practice among those with power or influence of favouring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs.
Audacious: showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risk
Graft: to gain dishonestly.
Impromptu: done without being planned
Stalemated: having reached a situation in which further action or progress by opposing or competing parties seems impossible.
A strategic partnership is a business partnership that involves the sharing of resources between two or more individuals or companies to help all involved succeed
- Bru or Reang is a community indigenous to Northeast India, living mostly in Tripura, Mizoram and Assam. In Tripura, they are recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group.
- In Mizoram, they have been targeted by groups that do not consider them indigenous to the state.
- In 1997, following ethnic clashes, nearly 37,000 Brus fled Mamit, Kolasib and Lunglei districts of Mizoram and were accommodated in relief camps in Tripura.
- Since then, 5,000 have returned to Mizoram in eight phases of repatriation, while 32,000 still live in six relief camps in North Tripura.
- In June 2018, community leaders from the Bru camps signed an agreement with the Centre and the two state governments, providing for repatriation in Mizoram. But most camp residents rejected the terms of the agreement.
- The camp residents said that the agreement didn’t guarantee their safety in Mizoram.
- Quadripartite Accord:
- The Centre, the governments of Mizoram and Tripura and leaders of Bru organisations signed a quadripartite agreement in January (2020).
- Under the pact, the Home Ministry has committed to incur the whole expenditure of settlement in Tripura.
- A package was assured in the accord that each refugee family would get:
- A plot, fixed deposit of Rs. 4 lakh, free ration and a monthly stipend of Rs. 5,000 for two years.
- In addition, each family will also be provided Rs. 1.5 lakh to construct a house.
- Birth: Born on 28th May,1883 in Bhagur, a village near Nashik in Maharashtra.
- Related Organisations and Work:
- Founded a secret society called Abhinav Bharat Society.
- Went to the United Kingdom and was involved with organizations such as India House and the Free India Society.
- He was the president of Hindu Mahasabha from 1937 to 1943.
- Savarkar wrote a book titled ‘The History of the War of Indian Independence’ in which he wrote about the guerilla warfare tricks used in 1857 Sepoy Mutiny.
- He also wrote the book ‘Hindutva: who is hindu?’.
- Trial and Sentences:
- Arrested in 1909 on charges of plotting an armed revolt against the Morley-Minto reform (Indian Councils Act 1909).
- Arrested in 1910 for his connections with the revolutionary group India House.
- One of the charges on Savarkar was abetment to murder of Nashik Collector Jackson and the second was waging a conspiracy under Indian Penal Code 121-A against the King emperor.
- Following the two trials, Savarkar was convicted and sentenced to 50-years imprisonment also known as Kala Pani and transported in 1911 to the Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- Death: He died on 26th February 1966 due to fasting on his own wish of death.
Dornier-228
The Dornier-228, a made-in-India aircraft, has taken to the skies on its maiden commercial flight to Arunachal Pradesh from Assam.
- Dornier-228 (Do-228) or Hindustan aircraft is a 17-seater non-pressurised aircraft that has a turboprop engine.
- It is capable of day and night operations, short take-off and landing, and can land and take off from semi-prepared runways.
- Dornier 228 was designed and first manufactured by Dornier GmbH.
- After securing product licence, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) started the manufacturing Do-228 in India.
- [Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is a Central Public Sector Unit under Ministry of Defence.]
- Move – Dornier-228 aircraft has been used by the armed forces till now.
- Alliance Air had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with HAL to operate Dornier aircraft.
- [Alliance Air is a public sector airline company.]
- This MoU was signed under UdeDeshKaAam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme to boost connectivity in the northeast. As per the MoU, HAL handed over the first multi-purpose Dornier -228 aircraft to Alliance Air.
- With this flight, Alliance Air has become India’s first commercial airline to fly the Indian-made aircraft for civil operations.
- HAL built Dornier-228 to specifically meet the manifold requirements of utility and commuter transport, air-taxi operations, coast guard duties and maritime surveillance.
The policy on Strategic Partnerships in Defence sector was approved by Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) in May, 2017.
The policy is intended to institutionalise a transparent, objective and functional mechanism to encourage broader participation of the private sector, in addition to DPSUs / OFB, in the manufacture of defence platforms and equipment such as aircraft, submarines, helicopters and armoured vehicles. It will serve to enhance competition, increase efficiencies, facilitate faster and more significant absorption of technology, create a tiered industrial ecosystem, ensure development of a wider skill base and trigger innovation, leading to reduction in dependence on imports and greater self-reliance in meeting national security objectives. The following four segments have been identified for acquisition under Strategic Partnership (SP) route:
- Fighter Aircraft
- Helicopters
- Submarines
- Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs) / Main Battle Tanks (MBTs).
What is the partnership being about?
- The policy is intended to engage the Indian private sector in the manufacture of hi-tech defence equipment in India.
- It is an establishment of long-term strategic partnerships with qualified Indian industry majors through a transparent and competitive process.
- The Indian industry partners would tie up with global OEMs (original equipment manufacturer) to seek technology transfers and manufacturing know-how to set up domestic manufacturing infrastructure and supply chain.
What is action plan of SPM?
- SPM will kick start the process by selecting strategic partners for four segments, namely, fighter aircraft, submarines, armoured vehicles, and helicopters.
- In a separate process, MoD will also select the foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) who could supply a particular platform required by MoD with transfer of the requisite scope, range and depth of technology for its manufacture in India.
- The process of selecting the platform would have to follow the same procedure as laid down in the Defence Procurement Procedure, which, among other things, entails lengthy field trials.
PEN: Promote literature and defend freedom of expression worldwide
PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous International PEN centers in over 100 countries.
About Sixth Schedule of the Constitution
It provides for the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram to safeguard the rights of the tribal population in these states. This special provision is provided under Article 244(2) and Article 275(1) of the Constitution.