PIB Summary- 30th March, 2021 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

State Day of Rajasthan

Context: PM greets the people of Rajasthan on its State Day.

About formation of Rajasthan

• Rajasthan Day is celebrated every year on March 30 to commemorate the day on which the state of Rajasthan came into existence.
• Rajasthan, earlier known as Rajputana, came into existence on March 30, 1949.
• The state mostly comprises lands of the Rajputs including the erstwhile nineteen princely states, two chiefships, and the British district of Ajmer-Merwara.
• The princely states were annexed to the union of India on August 15, 1947, but their unification could be accomplished only later.
• The four princely states of Alwar, Bharatpur, Dhaulpur and Karauli formed the Matsya Union and it was inaugurated on March 17, 1948.
• Rajasthan Union came into existence by the union of states namely Banswara, Bundi, Dungarpur, Jhalawar, Kishangarh, Pratapgarh, Shahpura, Tonk, and Kota on March 25, 1948.
• The Maharana of Udaipur decided to join the Rajasthan Union just three days after the formation of Rajasthan Union.
• The United State of Rajasthan was inaugurated by Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru on April 18, 1948.
• On March 30, 1949, the four states viz. Jodhpur, Jaipur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer joined this integration and the region came to be known as the Greater Rajasthan. The principalities of Neemra and Lawa also joined this. March 30th is now celebrated as Rajasthan Day.
• The Matsya Union got merged with the state of Rajasthan on May 15, 1949.
• The only state, Sirohi, had not joined the federation so far. Sirohi state joined the federation on January 26, 1950.
• During the states’ reorganisation in 1956, the Ajmer-Merwara region was fused with Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh’s Bhanpura Tehsil and Gujarat’s Abu Tehsil were also merged with Rajasthan at that time.

VAJRA PRAHAR 2021

Context: Indian and US Special Forces conclude Joint Training Exercise.

About Vajra Prahar 2021

• The 11th edition of the Indo-US Joint Special Forces Exercise VAJRA PRAHAR 2021 was conducted at Special Forces Training School located at Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh.
• The joint exercise by the Special Forces of both the countries is conducted alternatively between India and the United States to share the best practices and experiences in areas such as joint mission planning and operational tactics as also to improve interoperability between the Special Forces of both nations.

• Vajra Prahar X took place from 13th October 2019 to 28th October 2019 in Seattle (US).

Facts about Vajra Prahar Exercise

• It is a bilateral exercise between the special forces of India and the US
• The military forces that participate in Vajra Prahar are:
• The US – The Special Forces and
• India – The Southern Command of Indian Armed Forces
• 45-member troop of Special Forces from the Indian Military participated in the Vajra Prahar 10th Edition in 2019
• Operational tactics and Joint Mission Planning take place in Vajra Prahar
• The aim of Vajra Prahar is to enhance military cooperation between the two countries and also to capitalise on the rich repository of experiences of each other armies
  • By enhancing interoperability between the two forces
  • By mutually exchanging tactics between the two forces
  • By sharing the best military practices between the two forces
  • By developing joint strategies
  • By conducting operations in a counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism environment
• The exercise Vajra Prahar takes place alternately between the two countries – India and US
• In 2021, it took place in India. In 2019, the Vajra Prahar exercise took place in Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), Seattle (The US), while in 2018, it took place in Jodhpur, Rajasthan (India)
• The joint military exercise Vajra Prahar between India and the US started off in 2010

Note: Between 2012 and 2015, the exercise Vajra Prahar did not take place. In 2020, Vajra Prahar did not take place.

Vajra Prahar – What are Special Forces?

The following points should be noted for Special Forces in India:

Special Forces

• The Indian Special Forces are trained for special operations
• In the Indian military, there are three branches – Army, Navy and Air Force. These units have their own special forces –
  • Indian Army – Para Special Force
  • Indian Navy – MARCOS
  • Indian Air Force – Garud Commando Force
• Armed Forces Special Operations Division is a tri-service command of the Indian Armed Forces which deputes small units of special forces of the three units of military
• Special Group comes under Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) as the latter’s Special Forces
• Vajra Prahar is an exercise involving Indian Army special forces which is Para Special Force
• Para Special Force of the Indian Army was created in 1966

Vajra Prahar List

New Development Bank

Context: Finance Minister attends the 6th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of New Development Bank through video-conference.

About the New Development Bank

• The NDB was established by the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) in 2014, at the 6th BRICS Summit at Fortaleza, Brazil.
  • In the Fortaleza Declaration, the leaders stressed that the NDB will strengthen cooperation among BRICS and will supplement the efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global development, thus contributing to collective commitments for achieving the goal of strong, sustainable and balanced growth.
• The purpose of the Bank is to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging market economies and developing countries to complement the existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development.
• NDB has so far approved 14 projects of India for an amount of $ 4,183 million.
• The NDB’s President is K. V. Kamath (former chairman of ICICI Bank).
• The NDB is headquartered in Shanghai, China.