2 inscriptions, written in Tamil from the 11th century and the 13th century C.E., were found in Tirupati district.

Tamil inscriptions in Tirupati

• It is found from the ruins of an old Lord Shiva temple at Tondamanadu village in Tirupati district.
• One of the inscription is engraved on a stone, written in the Tamil language and characters of 11th century C.E..
• It is a record of a gift of land for a koneri (a square pond with steps from all the sides).
• It further mentions some taxes such as kudivaram, pathuvaram and aayathinel (paddy).
• The other is a Sundara Pandya inscription that is written in the Tamil language and characters of the 13th century C.E.
• This is also an incomplete inscription and recorded the sale of land owned by Akkanayan and Thikkanai, sons of Tiruvenkadudaiyar and Avvaiyan, residents of Tondaiman Arrur, for 100 panam.
• It further states that the land was located at two different places— Tondailasvamikoyil and Tirukkalathiyarsomapandin in Tondamanadu of Ariurnadu in Thiruvenkadu-Kottam.

Palghat Gap

• It is a low mountain pass in the Western Ghats between Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Palakkad in Kerala.
• The Bharathappuzha river flows through it.
• In contrast to the tropical rainforests of the Western Ghats, the vegetation in the Palghat Gap is classified as dry evergreen forest.
• Several species of frogs are found only on one side of the Gap.
• Elephant populations on the Nilgiris side differ in their mitochondrial DNA from elephants in the Anamalai and the Periyar sanctuaries.
• The Western Ghats in north of the Palghat Gap receive more rain annually, but the south gets rain more evenly throughout the year.

Geological Upheaval

• The Gap is a geological shear zone that runs from east to west.
• Shear zones are weak regions in the earth’s crust this is the reason why tremors are sometimes felt in the region Coimbatore.

PM-led panel picks Karnataka DGP Praveen Sood as next CBI Director.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

• The CBI was established on the recommendation of Santhanam Committee on Prevention of Corruption.
• CBI is not a statutory body.
• Powers - It derives its power to investigate from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
• Composition - CBI is headed by a Director and assisted by a special director or an additional director.
• Functions - CBI is the main investigating agency of the Central Government.

Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

• The CBI Director is an IPS officer with the rank of Director General of Police.
• It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
• The CBI Director was appointed on the basis of the DSPE Act, 1946 till 2014.
• After 2014, Lokpal Act provided a committee for the appointment of the CBI Director.
• The appointment committee consists of the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition/ Leader of the single largest opposition party and Chief Justice of India/ a Supreme Court Judge.
• CBI is exempted from the provisions of the Right to Information Act.
• CBI is India's officially designated single point of contact for connection with the Interpol.

Recently, Pipavav Port is connected to the Western DFC (WDFC) through a double-stack rail network

A dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC)

• It is a high-speed and high-capacity railway corridor that is exclusively meant for the transportation of goods and commodities.
• With seamless integration of world-class technology, DFC ensures faster transit, reduced logistics costs, higher energy efficiency and environment-friendly operations.
• It is built to affirm a higher throughput per train and a more significant share in the freight market.
• Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) project was conceived in 2005.
• 6 DFCs
  • Eastern DFC (EDFC) – Sanctioned.
  • Western DFC (WDFC) – Sanctioned.
  • East-Coast Corridor – Approved for preparing DPRs
  • East-West Corridor -  Approved for preparing DPRs
  • North-South Sub-corridor  - Approved for preparing DPRs
  • Southern DFC - Yet to be approved.
• Besides a world-class infrastructure, DFC also ensures:
  • High energy efficiency
  • Reduced unit logistic cost
  • Faster transit
  • Employment generation
  • Real estate expansion
  • Environment-friendly operations

Double-stack savings

• The average speed of goods trains in India is 25 kmph, while on DFC route it is more than double at 60 kmph.

Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL)

• It is a public sector undertaking which undertakes planning, development, and mobilisation of financial resources of the Dedicated Freight Corridors.
• It has been designated by the Government of India as a Ministry of Railways Enterprise.

The CEIR system, is scheduled for pan-India launch.

Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) System

• It is to ease reporting of stolen and lost mobiles and block the use of mobiles all over the country.
• It enable the tracing of the stolen and lost mobiles to the police, detection of cloned or counterfeit mobiles.
• It will restrict the use of such cloned mobiles, as well as protect the interest of the consumers by making them aware of the information related to fake and cloned mobile phones.
• The CEIR system is equipped with an in-built mechanism that allows it to detect the use of cloned mobile phones across all telecom networks.
• It aids the government in preventing revenue loss to the exchequer.
• The government has mandated that the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number (15-digit unique numeric identifier) be disclosed prior to the sale of mobile devices in India.
• The mobile networks will have access to the list of approved IMEI numbers and entry of any unauthorised mobile phones on their network.