PIB Analysis for UPSC CSE
Topics Covered
- Sri Vedanta Desikan
- Waste to Wealth Project
1 . Sri Vedanta Desikan
Context : Vice President releases a postage stamp to commemorate the 750th birth anniversary of Sri Vedanta Desikan
About Sri Vedanta Desikan
- Sri Vedanta Desikan was a Sri Vaishnava guru/philosopher and one of the most brilliant stalwarts of Sri Vaishnavism in the post-Ramanuja period.
- He was a multi-faceted personality– a scientist, a logician, a mathematician, a literary genius, a linguist, a military strategist and much more
- He was the disciple of Kidambi Appullar, also known as Aathreya Ramanujachariar, who himself was of a master-disciple lineage that began with Ramanuja
- Swami Vedanta Desika is considered to be avatar (incarnation) of the divine bell of Venkateswara of Tirumalai by the Vadakalai sect of Sri Vaishnavite.
Compositions
- 28 devotional poems in Sanskrit such as Hayagriva-stotram, Kamasika-ashthakam and Gopala-vimshati
- 24 devotional poems and treatises in Tamil such as Gitartha-sangraham and Charama-sloka-churkku
- 11 philosophical treatises such as Shata-dushani, Mimamsa-paduka and Tattva-mukta-kalapam
- 10 commentaries on the works of previous acharyas such as Stotra-ratna-bhashya , Chatus-shloki-bhashya and Tatparya-chandrika
- Desikan showed his knowledge of the arts and sciences through other works such as Silpartha-saram, a treatise on sculpture, and Bhugola-nirnayam – a research text on geography.
- 4 works that codified religious rites and practices such as Sri-vaishnava-dinasari and Bhagavad-aradhana-vidhi
- Other than the above he also composed narrative poems, esoteric texts and dramas
Sri Vaishnava Philosophy
- The Sri Vaishnava philosophy that Saint Ramanuja initially propounded got a much wider audience with Vedanta Desikann’s writings and preachings.
- One of the essential features of this philosophy was the aspect of inclusion.
- Anyone, irrespective of caste and creed could join the Sri Vaishnava fold.
- This is a truly democratizing movement that obliterated caste distinctions.
2 . Waste to Wealth Project
Context : To commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India and Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) have come together to bring the best of science and technology to implement waste management in India.
About Waste to Wealth Project
- The waste to wealth mission project has been approved under the recently constituted Prime Minister’s Science Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC), which is an overarching body for assessment, creation and implementation of major scientific, technology and innovation interventions for India.
- The partnership will provide an effective platform for stakeholders to bring together integrated approaches for effective recycle, reuse and resource recovery of waste.
- The immediate objective is to implement technologies that are available with various national and international academias, industries, research laboratories and other agencies by way of setting up pilot projects on-site effectively and successfully, and demonstrating the proof of concept of the technology under Indian condition.
- This will be carried out by creating a strong collaborating network between IIT Delhi, and other national and international stakeholders through the aegis of the office of the PSA.
- The long-term goal is to create circular economic models for waste management, by leveraging big data analytics and frontier technologies to streamline waste in India.
- The overall outcomes would involve treating waste and generating different forms of energy, thereby making India a waste free nation, with zero greenhouse gas emission and no health hazard.
- Under the initiative, a waste to wealth programme management centre will also be set up at IIT Delhi.