Page 6 - NIS English 16-31 August 2025

Piprahwa relics of Lord Buddha

returned to India after 127 years

Another feather has been added to the cap in India’s endeavour to bring back its cultural
heritage from foreign countries. The Piprahwa relics related to Lord Buddha, which were
to be auctioned in Hong Kong, have been brought back to India after 127 years. About
two and a half thousand years ago, after the Mahaparinirvana of Lord Buddha, a part of
his remains was found by the people of Kapilvastu. They were kept safe in a stupa in
Piprahwa. According to historians, British engineer William Claxton Peppe retained these
relics, excavated in the year 1898, with him under colonial policy. His descendants were to
auction them in Hong Kong in May this year, but after the intervention of the Government
of India, they were brought back to the country. PM Narendra Modi himself shared this
information in a post on X and wrote that it also reflects our commitment towards the
preservation and protection of various aspects of our glorious culture. It is worth noting
that since 2014, a total of 640 ancient heritages have been brought back to India, whereas
before this, between 1947 and 2014, only 13 heritages could be brought back.

Boost To Digital Literacy... More DRDO Test Successful,
People Trained Than The Target India Fired Missiles From Drone
Whether it is government services or the private sector, India, which is steadfastly moving forward on the path of
digitization has made the lives of common people development of indigenous technology with self-reliance,
easier and has also promoted transparency in services. has achieved another success in its military preparations.
Especially in rural and backward areas, the government The Defence Research and Development Organization
is making the lives of the common man easier through (DRDO) conducted
digital literacy. In the year 2017, in this direction, the successful flight trials
Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyaan was of the Precision Guided
started with the target of making 6 crore people digitally Missile-V3 through a drone
literate in rural areas. Going far beyond its target, 6.39 at the National Open Zone
crore people have been trained so far in this campaign. Range in Kurnool, Andhra
This includes 1.17 crore people from Scheduled Caste, Pradesh. The drone from which it was fired was made
56 lakh from Scheduled Tribe and 2.55 crore from by Bengaluru-based startup NewSpace Research and
OBC. Not only this, out of the 5 lakh Common Service Technologies. The missile is available with three types
Centers started so far with the aim of providing digital of modular warhead options, including an anti-armour
services near home, 2.92 lakh Centers have been opened warhead with the capability to destroy modern tanks, a
in SC/ST dominated areas. More than 2.14 lakh Gram pre-fragmentation warhead, along with an anti-bunker
Panchayats have also been connected with high-speed warhead with the special capability to penetrate fortified
broadband under the BharatNet program. targets and underground structures.

4 NEW INDIA SAMACHAR || August 16-31, 2025