NATIONAL NEWS
India’s Goa Shipyard Ltd delivered the 5th vessel ICGS ‘Saksham’
India’s Goa Shipyard Ltd delivered the 5th and final vessel of the 5 Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vehicle (CGOPV) Project ahead of contractual schedule. The vessel was named ICGS ‘Saksham’. The point to be underlined- all 5 vessels have been delivered before time to the Indian Coast Guard. The contract for 5 CGOPVs was signed by GSL with the Ministry of Defence on 26 August 2016. All the five CGOPVs will be the most advanced patrol vessels in service with the coast guard. Also, the 2,400 tonnes vessels are fitted with additional features including quick response boats for rescue and anti-piracy and gunnery simulators. The hull is designed to provide fuel efficiency, crew comfort and enhanced sea keeping qualities. With computerised control systems, they are the most advanced patrol vessels in service with the Coast Guard. It has an indigenous content of about 70% and weighs around 2400 tonnes.
SEBI restructured Advisory Committee on Investor Protection and Education Fund
Securities and Exchange Board of India has restructured its advisory committee on Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF), under the chairmanship of G Mahalingam. The advisory committee on IPEF is an eight-member committee that will take G Mahalingam, former Whole Time Member of SEBI, as its new Chairperson. Members of Committee: Vijay Kumar Venkataraman, Mrin Agarwal, A Balasubramanian, M G Parameswaran, GP Garg, N Hariharan and Jayanta Jash. In 2013, the committee was established by the SEBI to find out ways and means to best utilize the investor protection and education fund. Earlier the committee was headed by Abraham Koshy, former professor of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Gujarat. The committee is mandated to recommend investor education and protection activities for the utilization of the SEBI Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF).
A new book titled “India-Africa Relations: Changing Horizons” authored by Rajiv Bhatia
Ambassador Rajiv Kumar Bhatia, a Distinguished Fellow, Foreign Policy Studies Programme at Gateway House, has authored a new book (his 3rd book) titled “India-Africa Relations: Changing Horizons” which explores the emergence and assertion of Africa as a significant actor and stakeholder in global affairs and the transformation of the relationship between India and Africa. The book also provides a detailed exploration of India–the Africa partnership in all its critical dimensions. The book describes the historical backdrop and shared colonial past to focus on and contextualise the evolution of the India – Africa engagement.
National Women’s Day of India 2022
Indian National Women’s Day is observed every year on 13 February to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sarojini Naidu. This year Nation celebrates its 143rd Birth Anniversary. She was born on February 13, 1879. She was famous for her nickname ‘Nightingale of India’ or ‘Bharat Kokila’ because of her poems. Sarojini Naidu is well-known across the globe for her contributions to literature. Sarojini Naidu, born in Hyderabad and educated in Cambridge was the powerful face of Women in the Indian Independence struggle. Anti-imperialistic, Universal Suffragist, Women rights activist Mrs. Naidu paved the path for women’s movements in India. Indian Nightangle Sarojini Naidu shines both as an activist and as a poet. Sarojini Naidu was one of the forefront leaders who led the Civil Disobedience Movement and the Quit India Movement. For Women’s Rights, suffrage and representation in organizations and assemblies she established the Women’s India Association in 1917.
National Productivity Day observed on 13th February 2022
National Productivity Day is observed every year in India on February 12. The objective of the National Productivity Council is to stimulate and promote productivity and quality consciousness across all sectors in the country. The main observance of the day is to encourage all stakeholders in the implementation of productivity tools and techniques with contemporary relevant themes. The day is celebrated by the National Productivity Council (NPC) to promote productivity culture in India. National Productivity Council (NPC) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Government of India is a premier institution for propagating productivity movement in India. NPC works for providing solutions towards accelerating productivity, enhancing competitiveness, increasing productivity.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Indonesia to buy Rafale fighter jets, as US approves F-15 plan
Indonesia – an archipelago of 17,000 islands – is modernising its military amid increasing maritime and regional challenges. Indonesia is moving to upgrade its ageing airforce fleet with multi-billion-dollar orders for advanced fighters jets from France and the United States, amid increasing tension I the Asia Pacific. The agreement for 42 French Rafale fighters was announced as Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto met his French counterpart Florence Parly in Jakarta. Subianto confirmed a deal had been struck for the purchase of the planes, with a contract signed on Thursday in relation to the first six. France’s defence ministry said the contract for the 42 aircraft and their weapons was worth $8.1bn. Indonesia may also acquire two Scorpene diesel-electric attack submarines. Meanwhile, the Biden administration also approved the $13.9bn sale of the F-15 advanced fighter jets, engines and related equipment, including munitions and communications systems to Indonesia. The deal follows a mid-December trip to Jakarta by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who lauded close US-Indonesia ties despite human rights concerns that have delayed previous arms sales to the country.
NASA telescope detects high-energy light from Jupiter; could help solve this mystery
NASA says that the light detected by the telescope is X-ray radiation and is also the highest-energy light ever detected from a planet in the solar system. In a historic first, NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) space observatory has detected the highest-energy light ever emerging from Jupiter. According to NASA, the light detected by the telescope is X-ray radiation and is also the highest-energy light ever detected from a solar system planet other than Earth. The agency says that the new findings would answer why Ulysses, a joint mission between NASA and ESA, was unable to detect the X-rays when it flew past Jupiter in 1992. However, it is worth noting that it is not the first instance of X-ray detection from Jupiter. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, as well as the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton observatory, had previously made detections although they were low in energy.
