Rajpath Will Now be Kartavya Path – The Name Change & The History
New Delhi’s iconic Rajpath, the road from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate, is all set to be renamed Kartavya Path (the Path of Duty), in line with PM Modi’s stress on the abolition of symbols relating to the colonial mindset. As the revamped ceremonial boulevard gets ready along with the Central Vista lawns to be unveiled to the public next week after a 20-month gap.
Why Kartavya Path:
The new name – Kartavya Path – comes in line with PM Modi’s thrust on shedding names and symbols reminiscent of the British era and the last vestiges of colonialism. On August 15, 2022, addressing the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort on India’s 75th Independence Day – Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav – PM Modi emphasised doing away with names and symbols which stemmed from the colonial mindset. Even before that, the government has been renaming iconic landmarks, including the address of the Prime Minister’s official residence. While it was earlier on Race Course Road in New Delhi, it was changed to Lok Kalyan Marg. Just days ago, the PM had unveiled the Indian Navy’s new ensign which had shed the St George’s Cross. Kartavya Path stresses PM Modi’s emphasis on “duty” in the run-up to 2047 as India marks 100 years of Independence.
Before Rajpath:
In 1911 the British Imperial Government and the Viceregal administration determined that the capital of the British Indian Empire should be moved from Calcutta to Delhi.
Accordingly, construction in that year began on the district of New Delhi, which would serve as the purpose-built administrative capital of the Indian Empire. The British Raj duly turned to Sir Edwin Lutyens to construct the new city.
Lutyens conceived of a modern imperial city centred around a “ceremonial axis”, such axis being the large boulevard now called the Rajpath. Lutyens wanted a panoramic view of the city of Delhi from the viceregal palace.
Consequently, the view from Raisina Hill runs unhindered across Rajpath and the India Gate, and is obstructed only by the National Stadium. Most of the buildings surrounding the Rajpath were designed by Lutyens and the second architect of the project, Sir Herbert Baker. The importance of such buildings in the government of India ensures the road’s importance.
From Kingsway to Rajpath to Now Kartavya Path:
The Kartavya Path, which translates to “Boulevard of Duty” runs all the way from Rashtrapati Bhavan (President’s House) on Raisina Hill, through Vijay Chowk to India Gate. It stretches westward from the National Stadium through the War Memorial arch (India Gate), to the Central Secretariat buildings.
When built the road was named King’s Way, or Kingsway, in honour of the Emperor of India George V, who had visited Delhi during the Durbar of 1911, and where the Emperor formally proclaimed the decision to move the capital.
The name was similar to Kingsway in London, which had been opened in 1905, and which was also a custom-built arterial road, and which had been named in honour of George V’s father, Edward VII (as King of the United Kingdom).
Following the independence of India the road was given its Hindi name, ‘Rajpath’, in place of its English designation. This represents a mere translation more than a substantial renaming, since ‘Rajpath’ in Hindi is broadly analogous in meaning to ‘King’s Way’.
It’s Constituents:
The Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the President of India. It was the Viceroy’s residence before India got its independence from Britain.
North Block and South Block, also called the Secretariat Building. North Block houses the offices of Finance and Home ministries. South Block hosts External affairs and Defense ministries. Other important offices like some of the Prime Ministers Offices are also in the Secretariat Buildings.
Vijay Chowk is a spacious plaza and the site of Beating the Retreat ceremony, which takes place on 29 January each year, which marks the end of Republic Day celebrations, in which Military Bands, Pipes and Drums Bands, Buglers and Trumpeters from various Army Regiments besides bands of the Navy and Air Force take part, with the President of India as the Chief Guest.
India Gate is India’s war memorial arch in honour of those who died in the First World War and the Second Anglo-Afghan War. It is also India’s memorial of the unknown soldier.
National War Memorial (India), Since Independence, more than 25,000 soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces have made the supreme sacrifice to defend the sovereignty and integrity of the country. It stands as testimony to the sacrifices made by the Indian Armed Forces during various conflicts, United Nations Operations, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response Operations since Independence.
PM Modi to unveil statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, dedicate Kartavya Path
PM Modi to unveil statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The newly named Kartavya Path, which runs from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate and features red granite walkways with vegetation all around, renovated canals, state-specific food stalls, new utility blocks, and vending kiosks, will be unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The government claims that it represents a change from the former Rajpath, which served as a symbol of power, to Kartavya Path, which serves as an illustration of public ownership and empowerment.
PM Modi to unveil statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose : Key Points
At India Gate, Modi will also dedicate a statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. In Amrit Kaal, the prime minister outlined his second “Panch Pran” for New India, which calls for “removal of every remnant of colonial thinking.”
In downtown Delhi, where there are limitations in place due to the event, the traffic police have made plans to ensure smooth vehicular flow. From 6 pm until 9 pm, several highways will be closed to general traffic, according to officials.
The CPWD has established five vending zones with a maximum of 40 vendors each, as well as two blocks close to the India Gate with a maximum of eight stores each. A few states have expressed interest in setting up food stands.
PM Modi to unveil statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose : Central Vista renovation project
Under the massive Central Vista renovation project of the Modi administration, the entire stretch has been renovated.
The prime minister’s office stated in a statement that over time, Rajpath and surrounding parts of Central Vista Avenue had seen pressure from an increase in visitor traffic, placing stress on its infrastructure.
Basic necessities including drinking water, street furniture, public restrooms, and enough parking were absent. Additionally, there was shoddy parking, bad signage, and poorly maintained water features.
PM Modi to unveil statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose : Kartavya Path
Additionally, it was considered that less obtrusive planning was required for other major events, such the Republic Day parade, in order to allow for as much public movement as possible.
“Kartavya Path” will feature landscapes that have been upgraded, lawns with walkways, more greenery, renovated canals, new amenity blocks, better signage, and vending kiosks.
Other enhancements that will improve the public experience include new pedestrian underpasses, better parking spaces, new exhibition panels, and upgraded night lighting.
Tamil Nadu Government launched “Pudhumai Penn Scheme” for girl students
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has launched the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Higher Education Assurance scheme titled ‘Pudhumai Penn’ at a function in Chennai, in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Mr Kejriwal also unveiled 26 schools of excellence and 15 model schools set up by the Tamil Nadu government emulating the model by his AAP government in Delhi.
Under Pudhumai Penn:
Pudhumai Penn scheme, girl students, who studied from Class V to Class XII in state government schools would be paid monthly assistance of Rs 1,000 till they complete their graduation or diploma.
The scheme aims to benefit six lakh girls every year and Rs 698 crore has been allocated in the budget for its implementation.
Stalin said after his government came to power, keeping in mind changing needs, the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Marriage Assistance scheme was converted into the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Higher Education Assurance scheme, now implemented as the Pudhumai Penn scheme, for the benefit of economically-weaker families who are not able to send their girl children to colleges due to financial constraints.
Stalin also said Rs 25 crore will be allocated to Bharathi Women’s College for constructing new classrooms and developing infrastructure facilities.
NASA’s Experiment MOXIE successfully creates oxygen on Mars
NASA’s Experiment MOXIE: An gadget the size of a lunchbox (MOXIE by NASA) is demonstrating its ability to consistently carry out the work of a tiny tree on the red and dusty surface of Mars, some 100 million miles from Earth. Since April 2021, roughly two months after it landed on the Martian surface as part of NASA’s Perseverance rover and Mars 2020 mission, the MIT-led Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, or MOXIE, has been producing oxygen from the Red Planet’s carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere.
NASA’s Experiment MOXIE: Key Points
Researchers say that by the end of 2021, MOXIE was able to manufacture oxygen on seven experimental runs, in a variety of atmospheric circumstances, including day and night and throughout the Martian seasons, according to a paper published in the journal Science Advances.
The instrument produced six grammes of oxygen per hour on each run, or roughly the same amount as a small tree on Earth.
According to researchers, a scaled-up MOXIE may be transported to Mars before a human trip to create oxygen continually at the rate of several hundred trees.
At that capacity, the system should be able to produce enough oxygen to support people once they arrive as well as power a rocket for astronauts returning to Earth.
As of now, MOXIE’s consistent output represents a positive first step in that direction.
This is the first instance of utilising materials from the surface of another planetary body and chemically converting them into something useful for a human mission.
NASA’s Experiment MOXIE: Authors and Co-authors
The MOXIE team members Jason SooHoo, Andrew Liu, Eric Hinterman, Maya Nasr, Shravan Hariharan, Kyle Horn, and Parker Steen are among the co-authors from MIT alongside Hoffman and Hecht. Additionally, there are contributors from various other institutions, such as NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which oversaw MOXIE’s development, flight software, packaging, and testing before launch.
NASA’s Experiment MOXIE: Current Design
The current MOXIE is built to run for brief times, starting up and shutting down with each run, depending on the rover’s exploration schedule and mission tasks. It is compact by design to fit within the Perseverance rover. A complete oxygen factory, however, would include larger units that ideally ran continually. MOXIE has demonstrated that, despite the inevitable trade-offs in its current architecture, it is capable of reliably and effectively converting Mars’ atmosphere into pure oxygen.
India’s first RRTS corridor to use an app-based token-free ticketing system
India’s first RRTS corridor: The nation’s first Regional Rapid Transit System (India’s first RRTS corridor), the Delhi-Meerut RRTS line, would incorporate an automatic fare collection (AFC) system and tickets with QR codes for riders. In order to purchase the AFC system, the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) recently announced that it has requested bids in accordance with the Modi administration’s “Make In India” standards.
India’s first RRTS corridor: Key Points
The contactless method of entry and exit will be seamless, comfortable, simple, and quick with the AFC system. The NCRTC will also offer QR code tickets, which can be generated digitally on a website or mobile application. Commuters will be able to purchase paper QR tickets from ticket vending machines for a single trip between two stations, similar to the token system used by the Delhi Metro.
India’s first RRTS corridor: App-based token-free ticketing system
EMV (Europay, Mastercard, Visa) Open Loop contactless cards based on NCMC standards will also be accepted on the Delhi-Meerut RRTS route. All NCMC cards issued by Indian metro networks, transportation authorities, and banking institutions would be accepted by RRTS passengers. NCRTC claims that the Hybrid Annuity Model is the foundation of the bid for the AFC system. In HAM, the system integrator will be chosen initially for installation tasks, and a financial institution will be chosen later for service issuance and acquisition.
India’s first RRTS corridor: Older System
According to the corporation, the installation of the AFC system and the issue of cards were handled by a consortium of system integrators and financial institutions in other metro systems where the procurement was handled through the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
HDFC ERGO to build online insurance platform on Google Cloud
HDFC ERGO General Insurance has roped in Google Cloud to build an online platform for selling insurance. HDFC ERGO plans to completely migrate to the cloud by 2024. This online platform for selling insurance, offering tailored digital experiences to customers, responding to regulatory changes faster, and identifying insurance risks using data analytics and machine learning (ML).
Google Cloud will also assist the insurance provider with IT systems integration and building new applications. Google will also provide them AI/ML technologies to build predictive insights and mitigate insurance fraud. Google Cloud enables us to efficiently unlock the full potential of HDFC ERGO’s wide insurance solutions. This partnership underscores our commitment to delivering a seamless user experience by digitising the customer journey end-to-end.”
Ministry of Education launches Shikshak Parv to advance NEP
Ministry of Education launches Shikshak Parv: Shikshak Parv was launched by Union Ministers Annapurna Devi and Rajkumar Ranjan Singh to honour teachers and advance the new National Education Policy (NEP). An inaugural colloquium hosted by the Ministry of Education, CBSE, AICTE, and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship marked the beginning of Shikshak Parv.
Ministry of Education launches Shikshak Parv: Key Points
According to Minister of State (MoS) for Education Annapurna Devi, under NEP 2020, teachers will have to work on the future action plan as per the notion of an integrated and interdisciplinary approach.
Teachers are vital in developing students’ characteristics and building a value-based society, aligning with the NEP.
The teacher’s strong coordination and cooperation are the key to helping pupils develop their abilities and character.
The ministers gave 19 principals and teachers from CBSE-affiliated schools the “CBSE Honour for Excellence in Teaching and School Leadership 2021-22 awards.”
Teachers, whether in schools or higher education, have a shared mission, according to MoS Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, and the goal of these honours is to acknowledge exemplary practises, academic leadership, and institution building.
Ministry of Education launches Shikshak Parv: Prize and Awards
The prize recipients were chosen based on their academic and professional achievements, community service, creative teaching methods, effects on students’ overall growth, and an interview with the national screening and selection committee.
The National Technical Instructors Award was established by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in order to recognise and honour exceptional teachers, teaching quality, institutional leadership, innovation, and originality.
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