National
Air Officer-in-Charge Administration (AOA)
⇒ Air Marshal Rajesh Kumar Anand, Vishisht Seva Medal took over as Air Officer-in-Charge Administration (AOA) on 01 June 2023.
About Air Marshal Rajesh Kumar Anand:
- An alumnus of National Defence Academy, the Air Marshal was commissioned in Administrative Branch of the Indian Air Force as an Air Traffic Controller on 13 Jun 1987.
- In a career spanning over 36 years, the Air Marshal has held various field and staff appointments. Prior to his present appointment, he was Director General (Administration) at Air Headquarters, New Delhi.
- For his distinguished service, he was awarded Vishisht Seva Medal in January 2022 by the President of India.
Director General of Naval Armament (DGONA)
⇒ Shri P Upadhyay, INAS has taken over as Director General of Naval Armament (DGONA) at IHQ MoD (Navy) from Shri KSC lyer, who superannuated on 31 May 2023. He assumes the charge of Director General of Naval Armament on 01 June 2023.
About Shri P Upadhyay:
- Shri P Upadhyay, belongs to 1987 batch of Indian Naval Armament Service. He joined Naval Armament Organization of Indian Navy on 12 Jul 1989.
- In a span of 34 years, he has held various important assignments at NAD (Visakhapatnam), NAD (Karanja), NAD (Trombay), NAD (Alwaye) and IHQ, MoD(N). He is an alumnus of Naval Defence College of NDC-53.
- The officer specialises in Missile and Torpedo Maintenance besides having vast knowledge on disposal of ammunition.
Change of Command of Air Force Station Hindan
⇒ Air Commodore Sanjay Chopra took over command of Air Force Station Hindan from Air Commodore Vinay Pratap Singh on 01 June 2023.
About Sanjay Chopra:
- Air Commodore Sanjay Chopra was commissioned as Helicopter Pilot in the Indian Air Force in December 1995.
- The Air Officer has commanded a Helicopter Unit, a Flying Station and has held various operational appointments. He is a recipient of the Vayu Sena Medal.
Launch of Agni-1 ballistic missile
⇒ A successful training launch of a Medium-Range Ballistic Missile, Agni-1 was carried out by the Strategic Forces Command from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha on June 01, 2023.
- The missile is a proven system, capable of striking targets with a very high degree of precision.
- The user training launch successfully validated all operational and technical parameters of the missile.
International
India and Nepal sign MoU for development of Phukot Karnali Hydro Electric Project (480MW) in Nepal
⇒ NHPC Limited (A Govt. of India Enterprise) and Vidhyut Utpadan Company Limited (VUCL), Nepal signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) in New Delhi on 01 June 2023 for development of Phukot Karnali Hydro Electric Project (480MW) in Nepal.
- The MoU was signed in the presence of Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Nepal Shri Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.
Key features:
- The project will use the flow from the Karnali River for power generation and the generated power will be fed into integrated power system of Nepal.
- The installed capacity of the project shall be 480 MW with average annual generation of about 2448 GWh.
- The key features of the project are a 109-metre high RCC dam and an underground power house where the 06 turbines of 79 MW each shall be housed.
- Additionally, to utilize minimum environmental release one Surface Power House of 6 MW capacity i.e. two machines of 3 MW each is also planned.
- This project is conceived as a Peaking Run-of-River (PRoR) type scheme.
About NHPC and VUCL:
- NHPC Limited, a Schedule ‘A’ Enterprise of the Government of India with ‘MINI RATNA’ status, is a premier PSU in India for development of hydropower.
- Vidhyut Utpadan Company Limited (VUCL), Nepal is responsible to develop, build, own and operate large-scale hydropower projects in public-private partnership model in Nepal.
Important Day
International Day for Biological Diversity 2023
⇒ The International Day for Biological Diversity is celebrated every year on 22 May to raise awareness and promote the conservation of biological diversity.
- This day is celebrated to raise awareness about the environment and all species that live on this planet.
- This day serves as a reminder of the importance of biodiversity and the need to protect and restore it. The term Biodiversity refers to the diversity and variability of life on Earth.
Theme:
The theme of the 2023 International Day for Biological Diversity was “From agreement to action: Build back biodiversity”.
- This theme is a continuation of the outcomes from COP 15, where the world witnessed the establishment of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, signifying a significant milestone. Now, the urgency lies in swiftly transitioning from mere agreement to concrete action in implementing this framework.
History:
- International Day for Biological Diversity came into existence in 1993 when it was formed by the Second Committee of the United Nations General Assembly.
- From 1993 till 2000, World Biodiversity Day was celebrated on 29th December. It was on 29th December that the Convention on Biological Diversity went into effect.
- The United Nations General Assembly, by its resolution 55/201 of 20 December 2000, designated 22 May as the International Day for Biological Diversity as the new date to celebrate the International Day for Biological Diversity.
- May 22 marked the adoption of the Convention on May 22, 1992, at the Rio Earth Summit.
Biological diversity:
Biological diversity is often understood in terms of the wide variety of plants, animals and microorganisms, but it also includes genetic differences within each species — for example, between varieties of crops and breeds of livestock — and the variety of ecosystems (lakes, forest, deserts, agricultural landscapes) that host multiple kind of interactions among their members (humans, plants, animals).