Why in News?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram, Andhra Pradesh, and launched development projects worth over ₹17,900 crore in the state.
What are the key highlights?
- The airport, built at a cost of over ₹5,640 crore by GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited under a Public-Private Partnership, is the first greenfield international airport in Andhra Pradesh since the 2014 bifurcation.
- Designed to handle 6 million passengers annually in its first phase, it features a 3,800-metre runway capable of handling wide-body aircraft and is built to withstand cyclonic winds up to 275 kmph.
- The foundation stone was laid for the ASIP Technologies semiconductor plant at Tarluvada village, Visakhapatnam, with an investment of over ₹460 crore in collaboration with APACT (Republic of Korea). It is South India’s first assembly and test facility approved under the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), targeting 96 million chips per year.
- A performance by over 13,000 tribal dancers at the venue set a Guinness World Record for the largest Dhimsa dance.
Who was Alluri Sitarama Raju?
- Alluri Sitarama Raju was an Indian revolutionary who led the Rampa Rebellion of 1922 against the British Madras Forest Act of 1882. He is popularly known as Manyam Veerudu (Hero of the Jungles).
Exam Connect
Alluri Sitarama Raju → Leader of Rampa Rebellion (1922) against British forest laws
India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) → Launched in 2021; nodal ministry is MeitY