11 November 2018: UPSC Exam PIB Summary & Analysis

Read the daily PIB update and stay up-to-date on current affairs for the UPSC exam

PM pays tributes to Indian soldiers who fought in First World War 

Context

• 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

Background

• World War I officially began on July 28, 1914, after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and lasted until 1918.
• During the World War I, the Central Powers made up of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire fought against the Allied Powers which consisted of Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan and the United States

Details

• Over one million Indians served overseas during the First World War who rushed to the Western Front, Indian soldiers fought tenaciously to stop a German breakthrough
• Being a British colony, the Indian Army contributed a large number of soldiers to the European, Mediterranean and the Middle East conflicts of war in World War I.
• The Indian Army fought against the German Empire in East Africa and also on the Western Front
• They served in places as diverse as France and Belgium, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Gallipoli, Palestine and Sinai.

Victoria Cross

• The Victoria Cross is the highest award for gallantry that a British and Commonwealth serviceman can achieve.
• A total of 11 Victoria Crosses were won by Indian soldiers.
• Khudadad Khan became the first Indian to be awarded a Victoria Cross. He was a machine gunner with the 129th Baluchi Regiment.
  • Darwan Singh Negi was among the earliest Indian recipients of the Victoria Cross (VC)
  • He was awarded the medal on the same day as Khudadad Khan VC; but the latter’s VC action was of earlier date, so that he is regarded as the first Indian recipient.
• Others are Mir Dast, Shahamad Khan, Lala, Gabbar Negi, Karanbahadur Rana, Badlu Singh, Chatta Singh, Gobind Singh and Kulbir Thapa who won Victoria Cross for their role in World War I.

India Gate

• In 1931 British commemorated the war by constructing the arch known as India Gate.
• India Gate was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and is at New Delhi’s Raj Path.
• The India Gate was originally named All-India War Memorial and it was built to pay homage to the soldiers of the Indian Army who lost their lives fighting for the British Empire in World War I and the Third Anglo-Afghan War.

Global IT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities 2018

• The objective of the Global ICT Challenge for Youth with Disabilities is to leverage IT skills among youth with disabilities and also to spread awareness about the application of Information and Computer Technology (ICT) in enhancing the quality of life of persons with disabilities especially in Asia-Pacific region.
• It is a capacity building project that helps youth with disabilities to overcome their limitations and challenge themselves for a better future by providing them with access to ICT and related experiences, improving their ability to leverage information and social participation while setting ICT agendas for participant countries related to disabilities and boosting international cooperation and exchange.
• It is being held with a total of four events including e-Tool Challenge to evaluate the skills of using the MS Office programme and e-Life Map Challenge to evaluate the online information searchability in specific situations.

To ace UPSC current affairs section, read more PIB articles here.

Also See: