Additional Information

• • Indian classical languages, also known as Shastriya Bhasha, refer to languages with a deep historical background, rich literary traditions and a unique cultural heritage. These languages have significantly contributed to the intellectual and cultural development of the region, with their texts offering valuable insights into various domains like literature, philosophy and religion.
• Recently, the criteria for classical language was revised.
• Revised criteria:
• High antiquity of (its) is early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500- 2000 years.

• • • A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a heritage by generations of speakers.
    • Knowledge texts, especially prose texts in addition to poetry, epigraphical and inscriptional evidence.
    •  The Classical Languages and literature could be distinct from its current form or could be discontinuous with later forms of its offshoots
• Government has accorded classical language status to Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Pali, and Prakrit, doubling the number of classical languages in India to 11.
  • Earlier in India, 6 languages enjoyed the ‘Classical’ status: Tamil ( 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).

Additional Information

• The mandarin orange is apparently the most grown among citrus fruits in India. It occupies over 40 percent of the total area under citrus cultivation here. The most important commercial citrus species in India are the mandarin (Citrus reticulata), sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) and acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia) sharing 41, 23 and 23 percent respectively.
• Oranges are grown mostly in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Orissa, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. 
• Citrus crops are sensitive to both excessive rainfall and drought, making them more susceptible to diseases such as ‘root rot’ and ‘mildew’, which can destroy entire orchards.

Additional Information

• Functions of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority
  • To implement and enforce the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order in accordance with the powers delegated to it. 
  • To deal with all legal matters arising out of the decisions of the Authority. 
  • To monitor the availability of drugs, identify shortages, if any, and to take remedial steps. 
  • To collect/ maintain data on production, exports and imports, market share of individual companies, profitability of companies etc., for bulk drugs and formulations. 
  • To undertake and/ or sponsor relevant studies in respect of pricing of drugs/ pharmaceuticals. 
  • To recruit/ appoint the officers and other staff members of the Authority, as per rules and procedures laid down by the Government. 
  • To render advice to the Central Government on changes/ revisions in the drug policy. 
  •  To render assistance to the Central Government in the parliamentary matters relating to the drug pricing. 

Additional Information

• NPR is a database containing a list of all usual residents of the country.
  • A usual resident for the purposes of NPR is a person who has resided in a place for six months or more and intends to reside there for another six months or more.

• • Its objective is to have a comprehensive identity database of people residing in the country.
  • It includes both Indian citizens as well as a foreign citizen.
  • It is generated through house-to-house enumeration during the “house-listing” phase of the Census.
  • The NPR was first collected in 2010 and then updated in 2015.
• Legal Backing:

• • The NPR is prepared under the provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.
  • It is mandatory for every “usual resident of India” to register in the NPR.

• Freedom fighter referred to in the above paragraph is Anjalai Ammal.

Additional Information

• Anjalai Ammal, ‘South India’s Rani of Jhansi’
• She was born in 1890 in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, to a family of weavers and became entrenched in activism early in life. After her marriage to Murugappan in 1908, the couple joined the freedom struggle.
• In 1921, Anjalai Ammal joined the Non-Cooperation Movement (1919-22), deeply driven by Gandhian principles. This marked the start of a political career that saw her involvement in the Neil Statue Satyagraha — protesting a statue of Colonel James Neil, who had committed atrocities to suppress the 1857 revolt — as well as the Salt Satyagraha (1930) and the Quit India movement (1942). She also presided over the All India Women’s Congress in Madras in 1931.
• She courted arrest on multiple occasions for inciting rebellion against the British and gave birth to her youngest son while serving a six-month sentence for protesting the salt laws. Although she was released on bail for her delivery, she was sent back to prison within two weeks of her son’s birth.
• The British government barred her from meeting Mahatma Gandhi on his 1934 visit to Cuddalore. However, she wore a burqa and travelled in a horse-drawn carriage to meet him. He is believed to have then called her “South India’s Rani of Jhansi”.
• Anjalai Ammal was the first woman to be elected to the Madras legislature, representing the Congress party, and remained politically active until she died in 1961.