China’s Chang’e 6 sample return mission to Moon to launch in first half of 2024.

• The China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced that the Chang’e 6 sample return mission is on track to land on the surface of the Moon in the first half of 2024.
• The Chang''e 6 mission is a planned lander designed to return samples from the lunar south pole.
• The mission aims to land on the Moon, collect samples from the lunar surface, and return them to Earth. This process will contribute crucial data to unravel the Moon''s geological mysteries.
• Representing the first attempt to retrieve samples from the far side of the Moon, Chang''e 6 is set to bring back up to two kilograms of lunar samples, adopting a configuration similar to the successful Chang''e 5 mission.
• The mission involves international collaboration, with payloads from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the French space agency CNES.
• ESA contributes a lunar surface ion tester, while CNES provides equipment for measuring radon gas and its decay products.
• Additionally, an Italian laser corner reflector for radar instrument calibration and Pakistan''s ICUBE-Q CubeSat will be part of the mission.
• Chang''e 6 will consist of both a lander and a rover.
• The lander will touch down on the lunar surface, while the rover will explore specific regions, conduct experiments, and aid in the sample collection process.
• The returned samples will be made available to the global scientific community for study.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurates 12th General Assembly of the Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace.

• The Indian Vice President recently inaugurated the 12th General Assembly of the Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace in New Delhi.
• Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace (ABCP) was founded in 1970 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, as a voluntary movement of followers of Buddhism with both monastic (monks) and lay members.
• Its aim is to bring together the efforts of Buddhists in support of consolidating universal peace, harmony, and cooperation among people in Asia.
• It is currently headquartered at the Ganden Tegchenling Monastery in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and the Supreme Head of Mongolian Buddhists is the ABCP President.

History:

• The roots of founding of ABCP lay in the Cold War politics of peace movements, and consolidation of allies, and building popular outreach among the masses through various organisations.
• Most Venerable Gabji Samaagiin Gombojav, Khambo Lama of Mongolia, Venerable J. Gomboyev from Buriat, Khambo Lama of the former Soviet Union, Venerable Kushok Bakula Rinpoche from India, and Buddhist leaders from Sri Lanka and Nepal came together and officially founded the Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace (ABCP) in 1970 with a permanent headquarters in Ulaanbaatar.
• It drew active participation from Mongolia, Japan, India, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bhutan, Russian Far East, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and other regional countries.
• ABCP was registered as an observer to the UN’s Economic and Social Council in 1988 in recognition of its contribution to the well-being of humanity.

Remains of 2,800-year-old settlement found in PM Modi''s village in Gujarat.

• The remains of a 2,800-year-old human settlement have been recently discovered in Gujarat''s Vadnagar.
• Vadnagar is a town and municipality in the Mehsana district of North Gujarat.
• As a historical city, it was known by various names, such as Vridhanagar, Anandapur, Anartapur, and Nagar.
• The town represents a continuously evolving historic urban landscape/area that played a major role in the hinterland trade network of Western India.
• It is mentioned often in the Puranas and even in the travelogue of the great Chinese traveller, Hieu-en-Tsang (7th century), as a rich and flourishing town.

Features:

• The ancient town of Vadnagar is an L-shaped town with Sharmishtha Lake located on its northeastern edge.
• The whole ancient town of Vadnagar is built over an ancient mound. The topography of the mound is gently rising, with its highest point in the middle of the settlement, also called Darbar Ghat.
• Vadnagar town is divided into several blocks, also called Mohallas or Madhs. These mohallas are named after a temple, a community, or an occupation.
• The town’s fortifications, arched gateways (toranas), temples, wells, residential structures (kothis), and excavated sites like Buddhist monasteries and dedicated stupas showcase the architectural influence of various cultural periods.
• The current residential layer of the town is from the late Gaekwad period (late 18th Century CE).

CBSE Issues Instructions For Private Schools Joining 2023-24 SC Student Scheme.

• The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) issued instructions for Residential Private Schools interested in joining SHRESHTA Scheme.
• Scheme for Residential Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas (SHRESHTA) scheme aims to provide access to the best private residential schools for meritorious students from Scheduled Caste (SC) communities.
• It will provide scholarships to meritorious students from SC communities to study in private and NGO-run residential schools for Classes 9-12.
• The scheme is expected to provide admissions to around 3,000 students in Classes 9 and 11 each year.
• The core objectives of the scheme are to enhance the reach of the development initiatives of the government and fill in the gap in service-deprived SC dominant areas in the education sector.
• The scheme will collaborate with voluntary organisations to provide an environment that can help create conditions for socio-economic upliftment and the overall development of the SC communities.
• Implementation agency: The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.

The scheme is being implemented in two modes.

• First, there are SHRESHTA schools, which consist of the best CBSE/ state board-affiliated private residential schools.
• Under SHRESHTA, outstanding students from SC communities, across states and UTs, will be selected annually through the National Entrance Test for SHRESHTA (NETS) and will be admitted to these schools for education in Classes 9 through 12.
• The schools that will be part of this scheme will be selected based on a performance score of above 75 percent pass rate in Class 10 and 12 board examinations over the past three years.
• The second mode is based on NGO and voluntary organisation-run schools and hostels. The institutions run by such organisations that run up to Class 12 will also be made part of the scheme.

Eligibility:

• Students whose annual parental income is less than Rs 2,50,000 and who belong to SC communities are eligible to participate in this scheme.
• Only those candidates who have passed or are appearing in Class VIII/X in the given academic session can apply for admission to Class IX/XI.
• The scheme will cover the tuition fee, the hostel fee, and the mess fees for qualifying students.
• Students will also be allowed to choose from a range of schools based on their merit.

Who are the shankaracharyas — and who was Adi Shankara?

• The four Shankaracharyas said that they will not attend the inauguration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
• Shankaracharya, literally ‘teacher of the way of Shankara’, is a religious title used by the heads of the four Hindu maths (monasteries) that were established by the eighth-century Hindu saint Adi Shankara.
• Adi Shankara established these maths to impart knowledge. These maths consist of religious shrines, temples, libraries, and residences.
• These maths are located in Dwarka (Gujarat), Joshimath (Uttarakhand), Puri (Odisha), and Sringeri (Karnataka).
• The Shankaracharyas also oversee the Dashanami Sampradaya, an order of renunciates.

Who was Adi Shankaracharya?

• Adi Shankaracharya, or Shankara, as he was known, was an ancient Indian philosopher and theologian who lived in theearly 8th century CE.
• Birth: He was born in Kalady, a village in present-day Kerala.
• Revered as an avatar of Lord Shiva, it is believed that he mastered the Vedas when he was just 16.

Philosophical Contributions:

• At a very young age, Shankara started criss-crossing the length and breadth of India to spread his commentaries on the Brahma Sutras, Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita amid a rise in Jainism and Buddhism.
• He is best known for his role in the development and propagation of Advaita Vedanta, a non-dualistic school of Hindu philosophy.
• The fundamental philosophy of Advaita Vedanta lies in the unity of atma (soul), or individual consciousness, and brahma or the ultimate reality.
• According to this philosophy of non-duality, God and humans are not two and the material world is an "illusion".