1. World’s Tallest Nataraja Statue

Current Context: The world's tallest Nataraja statue has been installed at Bharat Mandapam, the venue of the G20 summit in Delhi.

About the statue

• The 28-foot-tall statue weighing 20 tonnes was made in a record time of seven months by sculptor Radhakrishnan Sthapathy and his team at Swamimalai in Thanjavur District of Tamil Nadu. 
• The statue was built in Ashtadhatu (8 metals) using the traditional ‘lost-wax’ casting method, indigenous to the Chola era. 
• The design draws inspiration from three revered Nataraja idols of Chola era at the Thillai Nataraja Temple in Chidambaram, the Uma Maheswara Temple in Konerirajapuram, and the Brihadeeswara (Big) Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Thanjavur.

2. 'Banglar mati, Banglar jol'

Current Context: The West Bengal Assembly on September 8 has passed a resolution to declare Rabindranath Tagore’s Banglar mati, Banglar jol as the state anthem.

About

• Rabindranath Tagore penned 'Banglar mati, Banglar jol' in 1905, in response to Lord Curzon's partition of Bengal.
• Tagore endorsed the Swadeshi movement through his songs and poems.
• The song calls for unity for all Bengalis by invoking the beauty of Bengal — its natural environs, its language, its people, and its soul.
• In 1905, Curzon partitioned Bengal on communal lines which Rabindranath Tagore opposed strongly, and wrote a hymn for communal harmony, brotherhood, and a united Bengali identity.

3. Poila Baisakh

Current Context: The West Bengal Legislative Assembly has passed a resolution declaring ‘Poila Baisakh’, the first day of the Bengali calendar, as ‘Bangla Dibas’ or West Bengal Foundation Day.

About

• Along with this decision, State Assembly also passed a proposal of making Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Banglar Mati Banglar Jol’ (Bengal’s soil and Bengal’s water) the official song of West Bengal.

Poila Baisakh

• Poila Boisakh or Pohela Baisakh is an important festival celebrated by Bengali communities across West Bengal, Tripura, Jharkhand and Assam. 
• It signifies the Bengali New Year and is celebrated on April 15, 2023. The festival holds great significance as it is considered to be an auspicious day to start new ventures, make new purchases, and organize get-togethers. 

4. First meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council

Current Context: Recently, the leaders of Saudi Arabia and India co-chaired the 1st summit-level meeting of the “India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council” on the sidelines of the State visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohommed Bin Salman to India, a day after culmination of G-20 Summit. 

India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council

• The Pact related to the establishment of SPC was signed during in October 2019 during PM Modi’s state visit in Saudi Arabia. 
• SPC has an objective to establish a “high-level council to steer the Indo-Saudi relationship”. 

It has two key pillars namely, 

• the Committee on Political, Security, Social and Cultural Cooperation; and 
• Committee on Economy and Investments.

Each of these sub-committees include four functional levels of engagements: 

• Summit level (or apex level, i.e., between Prime Minister & Crown Prince); 
• Ministerial-level; 
• Senior Officials’ Meetings; and
• Joint Working Groups (JWGs).

With this India became the 4th nation to establish such relations with Saudi Arabia after UK, France, and China.

5. Nechifu Tunnel 

Context: The 500-meter Nechiphu Tunnel, which is located on the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang Road in Arunachal Pradesh, was one of the significant infrastructure projects that the Raksha Mantri officially inaugurated.

About

• The Nechiphu Tunnel is an unusual 500-meter-long "D-shaped, Single Tube Double Lane Tunnel" on the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) Road in West Kameng District, located at a height of 5,700 feet.
• This tunnel was built by BRO under Project Vartak.

Construction of the tunnel 

• Using the desired tunnel support system and 3D surveying, BRO constructed this tunnel to penetrate the sensitive Himalayan mountains. BRO used the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM) for rapid construction.

About BRO 

• In the border regions of India, BRO plays a fundamental role in building and managing road networks and infrastructure, including areas with hard terrains and unfavorable weather conditions, Under the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India.

It started operations in May 1960 with just two projects which were: 

• Project tusker in the east 
• Project Beacon in the west