PIB Summary- 4th July, 2022 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

Jagannath Rath Yatra

Why in News?
Lakhs of devotees thronged the coastal town of Puri town to witness the annual Rath Yatra with three decorated chariots of sibling deities Lord Balabhadra, Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra towed in front of the 12th century Shree Jagannath Temple.

About Jagannath Rath Yatra

• Ratha Jatra, the Festival of Chariots of Lord Jagannatha is celebrated every year at Puri, the temple town in Orissa, on the east coast of India.
• It involves a public procession with a chariot with deities Jagannath (Vishnu avatar), BalaBhadra (his brother), Subhadra (his sister) and Sudarshana Chakra (his weapon) on a ratha, a wooden deula-shaped chariot.
• The huge, colourfully decorated chariots, are drawn by hundreds and thousands of devotees on the bada danda, the grand avenue to the Gundicha temple, some two miles away to the North.
• It attracts over a million Hindu pilgrims who join the procession each year.

About Shree Jagannath temple

• The Shree Jagannath Temple of Puri is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Jagannath, a form of Vishnu, in Puri in the state of Odisha on the eastern coast of India.
• The present temple was rebuilt from the 10th century onwards, on the site of an earlier temple, and begun by King Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, first of the Eastern Ganga dynasty.
• The Puri temple is famous for its Annual Ratha yatra, or chariot festival, in which the three principal deities are pulled on huge and elaborately decorated temple cars. These gave their name to the English term Juggernaut.
• Unlike the stone and metal icons found in most Hindu temples, the image of Jagannath is made of wood and is ceremoniously replaced every twelve or nineteen years by an exact replica.

Architecture of Jagannath temple

• The Temple of Jagannath at Puri is one of the major Hindu temples in India.
• The temple is built in the Kalinga style of architecture, with the Pancharatha (Five chariots) type consisting of two anurathas, two konakas and one ratha. Jagannath temple is a pancharatha with well-developed pagas. ‘Gajasimhas’ (elephant lions) carved in recesses of the pagas, the ‘Jhampasimhas’ (Jumping lions) are also placed properly.
• The perfect pancharatha temple developed into a Nagara-rekha temple.
• The temple is built on an elevated platform, as compared to Lingaraja temple and other temples belonging to this type.
• This is the first temple in the history of Kalingaan temple architecture where all the chambers like Jagamohana, Bhogamandapa and Natyamandapa were built along with the main temple.
• There are miniature shrines on the three outer sides of the main temple.

Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator

Why in News?
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully carried out the maiden test flight of a new Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), an autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator, from the Aeronautical Test Range, Chitradurga, Karnataka.

About the Indigenous Drone

• A tiny turbofan engine powers the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
• It is being developed as part of the programme for unmanned combat aerial vehicles.
• It is created and developed by Bengaluru’s Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a top DRDO research facility.
• The Russian TRDD-50MT engine was intended for cruise missiles initially.
• To fulfil the demand, an indigenously produced tiny turbo fan engine is being created.

Significance of the development

• Operating in a fully autonomous mode, the aircraft exhibited a perfect flight, including take-off, way point navigation and a smooth touchdown.
• This flight marks a major milestone in terms of proving critical technologies towards the development of future unmanned aircraft.
• This is a significant step towards self-reliance in strategic defence technologies.