Ramappa Temple

Art and Culture

News

Heritage conservationists in Telangana are apprehensive about an impending threat to Ramappa temple from the proposed deep opencast coal mining project.

Ramappa Temple

Official name: Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple
Location: Palampet, Telangana, about 200 km northeast of Hyderabad.
Dedicated to: Lord Shiva — presiding deity Ramalingeswara Swamy.
Built: 1213 AD, during the reign of Kakatiya King Ganapati Deva.
Builder: Recharla Rudra, a Kakatiya general.
Name: Called Ramappa Temple after Ramappa, the sculptor associated with its construction.
UNESCO World Heritage Site: 2021.

Architectural Features

Built on a 6-foot-high star-shaped platform.
Intricate carvings on walls, pillars and ceilings.
Constructed mainly using sandstone, with carved granite and dolerite elements.
Distinctive pyramidal Vimana made using lightweight porous bricks, popularly called “floating bricks.”
Famous bracket figures and sculptures carved from hard dolerite, displaying exceptional Kakatiya craftsmanship.

Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)

Polity

News

An Indian Parliamentary Delegation, led by the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Harivansh, has departed for Tanzania, to participate in the 153rd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)

- Global organisation of national parliaments promoting parliamentary diplomacy, democracy, human rights and international cooperation.
- Established: 1889, Paris.
- Founders: William Randal Cremer (UK) and Frédéric Passy (France).
- Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
- Membership: 183 Member Parliaments + 15 Associate Members.
- India: Member of the IPU and uses it as a platform for parliamentary diplomacy.

Key functions:

Promotes dialogue among parliamentarians.
Builds international consensus.
Strengthens democratic institutions and human rights.
Facilitates discussion on peace, terrorism, climate change and governance.

153rd IPU Assembly: Held in Tanzania, with an Indian delegation led by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh.

PM-SETU- One Year of Transforming India’s ITIs

Government Schemes

Context

The PM-SETU (Pradhan Mantri Skilling and Employability Transformation through Upgraded ITIs) scheme marks one year of implementation.

PM-SETU

Launched: 2025
Full form: Prime Minister’s Scheme for Upgradation of ITIs
Type: Centrally Sponsored Scheme
Ministry: Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship
Aim: Transform 1,000 Government ITIs into modern, industry-aligned skill-training institutions.
Focus: Modern infrastructure, smart classrooms, advanced labs, digital content and new-age industry-oriented courses.
Industry participation: Anchor Industry Partners through Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) for industry-led governance.
Centres of Excellence: 5 National Skill Training Institutes at Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kanpur and Ludhiana.

AI Accord of the U.S

Science and Tech

News

U.S. President Donald Trump announced the “White House Accord on Super Intelligence: Joint Commitment on Frontier Responsibilities,”

AI Accord

Nature: Voluntary agreement among major US-based AI/technology companies to promote safe AI development and public trust.
Key participants: Leaders associated with Google, Anthropic, Meta, OpenAI, xAI and Nvidia.
Objective: Strengthen AI safety, corporate accountability and public trust.

Four Key Measures

Robust internal controls to prevent unintended AI-related hacking/security incidents.
Create an internal AI safety team to manage safety operations and resolve concerns.
Engage an independent external auditor for safety assessments.
Establish an independent board committee to address safety reports.

Significance

Addresses concerns over:
- AI safety and alignment
- Privacy risks
- Child safety
- AI agents attempting unauthorised/harmful actions
- Need for greater corporate accountability.

Key Limitation

Voluntary and non-legally binding.
No penalties
for violations.

Rabies

Science and Tech

In News

An ICMR-led study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases estimated that India has about 5,726 human rabies deaths every year.

Rabies

- It is a zoonotic viral disease (Disease Transmitted from Animals to Humans).
- Pathogen – It is caused by the Rabies virus, of the Lyssavirus genus, within the family Rhabdoviridae.

It is a Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) virus that is present in the saliva of a rabid animal (dog, cat, monkey, etc).

Rabies is 100% fatal but 100% vaccine-preventable.

33% of global rabies deaths are recorded in India.

Common Vectors/ Reservoirs of Virus

Most mammals can carry the virus and hence can cause the disease.

In South Asia and Africa, the most common reservoir of the virus is the domestic/street dog.

In developed nations like the USA, animals that transmit rabies are bats, foxes, raccoons, and skunks.

Symptoms

Anxiety, Confusion, salivation, seizures, hallucinations and paralysis.

National Action Plan for dog Mediated Rabies Elimination by 2030 (NAPRE)

Under this, the union will encourage all the States and UTs to make Rabies a notifiable Disease.

A notifiable disease is any disease that is required by law to be reported to government authorities.

“Joint Inter-Ministerial Declaration Support Statement” for Elimination of Dog mediated Rabies from India by 2030 was also launched.

World Rabies Day

Celebrated on 28 September which marks the anniversary of Louis Pasteur’s death.

Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist, who developed the first rabies vaccine.
He also discovered Pasteurisation, Vaccines for Anthrax and Cholera and Chamberland filters.

Agnipath Scheme

Government Scheme

Context

The first batch of Agniveers is approaching the completion of its four-year service tenure.
In this backdrop, the Army, Navy and Air Force have submitted their feedback and recommendations on the implementation of the Agnipath Scheme to the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) .

Agnipath Scheme

- Introduced: 2022
- Also known as: Tour of Duty scheme.
- Nature: Short-term recruitment scheme for the Indian Armed Forces.
- Recruits: Called Agniveers.
- Service tenure: 4 years.
- Retention: Up to 25% of each batch can be selected for regular service of 15 years.
- Exit: The remaining 75% exit after four years with a Seva Nidhi package.
- Age: 17.5–21 years (subject to applicable recruitment notifications).