Prelims Focus- 7th October 2023

1.Bekal Fort

In News: The first public sector caravan park in Kerala to be established at Bekal Fort.

• Bekal Fort is shaped like a giant keyhole; the historic Bekal Fort was built in the 17th century. 
• Originally built by the rulers of the ancient Kadampa dynasty, the fort changed hands over the years with the Rajas of Kolathiri, the Vijayanagara Empire, Tipu Sultan and finally the British East India Company. 
• Near the fort there is an old mosque built by Tipu Sultan of Mysore. 
• Today, Bekal Fort and its picturesque surroundings are fast becoming an international tourist destination and a preferred filming location for filmmakers.

2.Project Veer Gatha 3.0

In News: The Ministry of Defence (MoD) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MoE) will launch Project Veer Gatha 3.0.

• • Being a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, it was launched in schools to create awareness about  Gallantry Awards. 
  • Purpose: To create awareness among school children about the brave deeds and sacrifices of the Gallantry Award winners. 

• Activities performed: 

• Projects can be interdisciplinary and take different forms, such as poems, paintings, essays, videos, etc. 

• • Schools undertook various projects/activities and uploaded four best entries from each school to the MyGov portal. 
  • Virtual/face-to-face outreach programs/sessions for schools across the country. The two versions of Veer Gatha project 1.0 and 2.0 were launched in 2021 and 2022 respectively. 
  • The Ministry of Defense will award the best project nationwide on the upcoming Republic Day. 
  • In the previous two parts, 25 winners (Super 25) were chosen. 
  • However, in the Veer Gatha (3.0) project, 100 winners (Over 100) will be selected.  Each winner will receive a cash prize of Rs 10,000.

3.PUSA-44

In News: Recently, the Chief Minister of Punjab has announced that the state will ban the cultivation of the PUSA-44 paddy variety from next year onwards.

• It is a paddy variety, developed in 1993 by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
• By the end of 2010s, it had gained vast popularity among cultivators across the Punjab, covering approximately 70 to 80% of the area under paddy cultivation.
• Farmers claim that PUSA-44 yields nearly 85 to 100 mann (34 to 40 quintals) per acre, while other paddy varieties’ yield average is 28 to 30 quintals per acre.
• It is a long-duration variety, taking around 160 days to mature.
• This is around 35 to 40 days more than other varieties, requiring 5-6 extra cycles of irrigation.

4.Protein binders

In News: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) clarified that addition of protein binders in milk and milk products are not permitted.

• Protein binders are biological agents which have emerged as an important and required class of ingredients to manufacture a wide range of new food products, especially semi-solid or solid foods.
• These binders are known to affect the digestibility of the protein bound and thus can affect the biological and nutrition value of milk proteins.
• It also influences the bioavailability and distribution of active compounds.

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