pib releases 29-04-2021

PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU (PIB)

Paper	Topics	Subject
PT Pickups	Thotlakonda Buddhist destination	Art and Culture
PT Pickups	SUPACE Portal	Governance

PT Pickups : Art and Culture

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Thotlakonda Buddhist destination

Historians and biologists campaign to protect the ancient Buddhist site of Thotlakonda - Home to around 90 species of birds. The site is found at a hill of Mangamaripeta Village, Bheemunipatnam Taluka of Visakhapatnam District, Andhra Pradesh.

Significance of the site - In 1976, during a helicopter survey by the Indian Navy to set up a naval facility, ruins of the Buddhist site were spotted. Subsequently, the entire hill was declared as an area comprising a protected monument under the Andhra Pradesh Ancient and Historical Monument and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1960.

The State Archaeology Department’s excavation (1988-1992) found,

1. Ancient pottery such as tan ware, black red ware,
2. Coins from the Satavahana period and Roman coins,
3. Labels with Brahmi inscriptions, Inscribed Chhatra pieces,
4. Terracotta and glass beads, bangles,
5. Stuccos and stone sculptural remains.

It gave a clear indication that the area housed remnants of a flourishing monastery, practising Hinayana Buddhism, which was most active for 400 years from 200 BCE to 200 CE.

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Source: PIB

Governance

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SUPACE Portal

The Supreme Court unveiled its Artificial Intelligence (AI) portal, the Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court’s Efficiency (SPACE). A pet project of Chief Justice of India S A Bobde, SUPACE is a tool that collects relevant facts and laws and makes them available to a judge.

The portal is not designed to take decisions, but only to process facts and to make them available to judges looking for input for a decision.
It is designed to make research easier for judges, thereby easing their workload.

Initially, it will be used on an experimental basis by the judges of Bombay and Delhi High Courts who deal with criminal matters.