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The Indian Railways has taken up the renovation of the historic Paralakhemundi railway station, one of India’s oldest and the first in Odisha’s Gajapati district. Paralakhemundi Light Railway (PLR) Naupada (a small town, now in Andhra Pradesh) got rail lines in 1894, as part of construction of Cuttack-Khurda Road railway line extending up to …

The global warming trends over the Indian region are very different. An assessment of climate change over the Indian subcontinent, published by the Ministry of Earth Sciences in 2020, said annual mean temperatures had risen by 0.7 degree Celsius from 1900. This is significantly lower than the 1.59 degree Celsius rise for land temperatures across the world. Why is warming over India lower? The increase in …

MyGov, in collaboration with Ministry of Culture, launches ‘YUVA PRATIBHA – Singing Talent Hunt. To promote Indian music at the grassroots level on a national scale by identifying and recognising the new and young talent in various singing genres. Genres:  Folk Songs Patriotic Songs Contemporary Songs Eligibility: The contest is open to all Indian citizens. …

Context: The ongoing violence between the Kuki-Zomi tribals and the largely Hindu Meiteis in Manipur is the first time in three decades that the state has witnessed direct clashes between two ethnic groups. The Manipur valley is encircled by skirts of low hills that spread into Nagaland and Mizoram. In these hill areas live 15 Naga tribes and the Chin-Kuki-Mizo-Zomi …

Delhi’s first ‘Haunted Heritage Walk’ to kick off from Malcha Mahal. Organized by Delhi Tourism department. Among the other sites that the walk will cover include: Bhooli Bhatiyari ka Mahal, Feroze Shah Kotla and the Tughlaqabad Fort. Aim: The Tourism department is identifying “haunted” sites in the national capital to conduct heritage walks. A detailed plan on …

With the situation worsening in violence-hit Manipur, the state government authorised all District Magistrates to issue “shoot at sight orders” in “extreme cases”. A shoot-at-sight or firing order may be passed in terms of the statutory powers relating to the arrest or prevention of offences or for disbanding unlawful assemblies under the CrPC, 1973. Section 144 of the CrPC enables …

Odisha is preparing for the first cyclone of 2023, Cyclone Mocha. It is expected to form over the Bay of Bengal. Odisha is particularly vulnerable to cyclones. The 1999 super cyclone that hit Odisha was one of the deadliest natural disasters in Indian history. The cyclone made landfall with wind speeds of up to 260 kmph, causing massive destruction and claiming …

Since 2019, members of the Kondh tribe in Odisha have added one more event to their calendar of festivals and celebrations called Bihan Mela It is literally the seed festival. It includes both hybrid and indigenous varieties of paddy, millets, maize and sorghum. How is it celebrated? Women, who are at the helm of this festival, carefully collect seeds of the indigenous varieties and store …

Researchers recently embarked on a mission after which they claim to have shed new light on Shilabhattarika. The celebrated Sanskrit poetess of ancient India was established as the daughter of the famed Chalukyan emperor Pulakeshin II of Badami (in modern Karnataka). Shila-bhattarika was a Sanskrit poet. One of her poems mentions the Narmada River (Reva) and the Vindhya mountains. The …

Prime Minister of India praises “Abhilekh patal” a portal with over 1 Crore Pages of Historical Records of the National Archives Abhilekh is a Sanskrit term used in India for records since ancient times and Patal is a Sanskrit word meaning a board, platform, or a surface. A combination of both these words has been adopted as an acronym for Portal for Access to Archives and Learning. It is …