Prelims Focus- 5th December 2023

1.Dr. Rajendra Prasad

In News: The President and  Prime Minister of India paid tribute to  the first President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad on his birthday.

• • He was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, academic and later the first President of India, serving from 1950 to 1962.  

• Role in the freedom movement 

• • He was instrumental in founding the Bihar Students’ Conference in 1906.  
  • He was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi and  formally joined the Indian National Congress in 1911 when the congress was held again in Calcutta.  
  • He was known for his role in Champara satyagraha.  He was imprisoned by the British authorities during the Salt Satyagraha in 1931 and the Quit India movement in 1942.  
  • He was elected  President of the Indian National Congress (INC) at the Bombay Session in October 1934. 
  • After the resignation of Subhash Chandra Bose in 1939, he again became the president of the INC. 
  • He presided over the Constituent Assembly that drafted the Constitution of India.  
  • He also chaired the Constituent Assembly’s Food and Agriculture Committee. 
• Legacy: 
  • His legacy as a freedom fighter, statesman and  first President of India continues to inspire.  
  • His humility, dedication and deep commitment to the principles of democracy continue to be the touchstone of the Indian civil service. 
• Famous books: 
  • Satyagraha at Champaran (1922), India Divided (1946), his autobiography Atmakatha (1946), Mahatma Gandhi and Bihar, Some Reminiscences (1949) and Bapu ke Kadmon Mein (1954) 

Honors and recognition: In 1962, he was  awarded the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award.

2.Hauz-i-Shamsi

In News: The Ministry of Jal Shakti organised a ‘Jal Itihas Utsav’ in Hauz-i-Shamsi to raise public consciousness about safeguarding water heritage sites.  

• Located near Jahaz Mahal in Mehraul, Hauz-i-Shamsi, also known as  Shamsi Talab, is a water tank built  by Sultan Iltutmish between 1211 and 1236 AD. 
• Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq later repaired it  and refilled it with water. 
• The tank is also mentioned in the works of the famous traveler Ibn Batuta, who  described Hauz-i-Shams as a rectangular tank spread over an area of ​​one mile by two miles.

3.Anthrobots

In News: Recently, researchers have developed miniature robots called anthrobots using human cells.

• Biorobots built from human tracheal cells have the ability to self-assemble. 
• Bronchial cells originate from the lining of the bronchi/trachea, which are the tubes that carry air to the lungs. 
• Able to move and heal nerve cells in a laboratory environment. 
• Measure between the width of the hair and the tip of the sharpened pencil.

4.Kra Isthmus

Recent news:The Kra Isthmus in Thailand is becoming strategically significant because of a planned transportation route that would link the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand.

Details:

• The narrow isthmus has the potential to greatly impact global trade and security, similar to the historical significance of the Suez and Panama Canals. 
• The Thai Prime Minister has recently introduced a multi-billion-dollar land-bridge project.
• An isthmus is a thin piece of land that links two bigger land masses and is surrounded by water on two sides.
• The Kra Isthmus in Thailand is the narrowest section of the Malay Peninsula, with the Andaman Sea on its western side and the Gulf of Thailand on its eastern side.

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