27th International Congress of Vedanta

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Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi hosted the 27th International Congress of Vedanta from January 3-5, 2025. 

More on the News:

• The main theme of the 27th Congress is ‘Re-imagining Vedāntic World Order’.
• The focal point of the congress is a meeting of scholars specializing in all aspects of Indian philosophy especially Vedanta and the philosophy of religion.

Vedant Philosophy 

• "Vedanta" is a combination of two Sanskrit words: "veda" (knowledge) and "anta" (end), denoting the knowledge obtained from the end of the Vedas. It thus refers to the culmination of the last portions of the Vedas and the Upanishads.

• The Upanishads are not philosophical systems but are only narratives of the experiences of sages and their insights into reality.

• Vedanta is one of the six systems (darshans) of Indian philosophy. 

• Over the centuries, several schools of Vedanta developed, differentiated by their conceptions of the nature of the relationship, and the degree of identity, between the eternal core of the individual self (atman) and the absolute (brahman). 

International Congress of Vedanta

• It was founded in 1986 at Miami University (Ohio, USA) by Prof. Rama Rao Pappu and is now located at the Center for Indic Studies, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, USA.

• The Congress of Vedanta is held at Jawaharlal Nehru University every fourth year.

359th Birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh

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The President and the Prime Minister of India paid tributes to Guru Gobind Singh on his 359th birth anniversary.

Guru Gobind Singh (1666-1708)

• The birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh is observed as 'Prakash Utsav’.
• He was born on 22nd December 1666, in Patna Sahib, Bihar.
• He was the tenth and last Guru of Sikh, he was the son of Guru Teg Bahadur (9th Guru of Sikh).
• He incorporated the hymns of Guru Teg Bahadur in the Holy Granth and installed Guru Granth Sahib as the living Guru.

• He also founded the principles of Khalsa (1699) or the Five ‘K’s.

• The five emblems prescribed for the order of the Khalsa are: - keshas, kangha, kachha, kirpan and kara.
• He regarded the Panj Pyare (Five Beloved Ones) as the first members of the Khalsa.

• The Guru bestowed the title of "Singh" (lion) to male Sikhs and "Kaur" (princess) to female Sikhs.

• He Passed away in 1708 (age - 41) following a battle with Mughal forces.

• His Literary work:

• Jaap Sahib 
• Benti Chaupai
• Amrit Savaiye
• Gian Probodh
• Zafarnama (1705)

Sashakt Beti & e-drishti Projects

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The University of Delhi Foundation distributed laptops and tablets to the needy students during ‘Samarpan Samaroh’ event.

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• During the event, the Minister of Education launched the Sashakt Beti and e-Drishti projects.

• Sashakt Beti: It is aimed at empowering female students who are either orphans or from single-parent families with an annual income of less than ₹4 lakh. Eligible students receive laptops to support their educational endeavours.
• e-Drishti: It is designed to enhance the learning and research capabilities of visually impaired students by providing them with tablets equipped with necessary accessibility features.

University of Delhi Foundation is a not-for-profit company established in 1922 by the University of Delhi under Section 8 of the Indian Companies Act 2013. 

FIU-IND and IRDAI sign MoU for Cooperation

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Recently, an MoU was signed between the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) for effective implementation of the Money Laundering Act and its Rules.

Key highlights of MoU:

• FIU-IND and IRDAI will cooperate in the following areas: - 

• Appointment of a nodal officer and an alternate nodal officer by each party to the MoU.
• Laying down the procedure and manner in which the regulated entities/ reporting entities report to FIU-IND under the PML Rules.
• Assessment of Anti-Money Laundering/Combating Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) risks and vulnerabilities in the insurance sector.
• Supervising and monitoring the compliance of regulated entities / reporting entities with their obligations under PMLA, PML Rules and IRDAI Guidelines.

Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND):

• It was established in 2004 as the central national agency under the Ministry of Finance.
• FIU-IND is an independent body reporting directly to the Economic Intelligence Council (EIC) headed by the Finance Minister.
• It is responsible for receiving, processing, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions. 

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI):

• It was established in 1999 as a statutory body under the IRDA Act, 1999.
• It is responsible for the overall supervision and development of the Insurance sector in India. 
• The powers and functions of the Authority are laid down in the IRDA Act, 1999 and Insurance Act, 1938.

Dr V Narayanan appointed as the New ISRO Chairman

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Recently, Dr V Narayanan has been appointed as the new chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro). 

Dr V Narayanan

• He will take over from the present Chairman of ISRO, S. Somanath on January 14, 2025, for a two-year period.
• He is currently the director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) and has been appointed for a period of two years.
• He joined ISRO in 1984 and has been involved in the indigenous development of cryogenic engines.
• He was the Project Director Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III) C25 Cryogenic Project.
• He was also involved in the development of Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3 missions.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

• It is the space agency of India formed in 1969 and superseded INCOSPAR (Indian National Committee for Space Research), set up under the Dept of Atomic Energy in 1962 as envisioned by Dr. Vikram Sarabhai.
• The Department of Space (DOS) was set up and ISRO was brought under DOS in 1972.
• The secretary of DOS is the ex-officio chairman of ISRO.