National
Prime Minister flags off five new Vande Bharat Express trains
⇒ The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi flagged off five Vande Bharat Express trains at Rani Kamalapati Railway Station in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on 27 June 2023.
- The indigenously made train, equipped with world class amenities and advanced safety features including KAVACH technology.
The five Vande Bharat trains are-
1. Bhopal (Rani Kamalapati) – Indore Vande Bharat Express
Bhopal – Indore Vande Bharat Express train departed from Bhopal Railway Station and reached Indore station the same day with stoppage at Ujjain Railway station.
2. Bhopal (Rani Kamalapati) – Jabalpur Vande Bharat Express
Rani Kamalapati – Jabalpur Vande Bharat Express train departed from Rani Kamlapati Railway Station and reached Jabalpur station the same day with stoppages at Narsinghpur, Pipariya & Narmadapuram Railway stations.
3. Ranchi – Patna Vande Bharat Express
Ranchi- Patna new Vande Bharat Express train departed from Patna and reached Ranchi station the same day, with stoppages at Gaya, Kodarma, Hazaribag, Barkakana & Mesra Railway stations.
4. Dharwad – Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express
Dharwad-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express train departed from KSR Bengaluru City and reached Dharwad station the same day, with stoppages at Yeshvantpur, Davangere & Hubballi Railway stations. This Vande Bharat train connects North Karnataka to South Karnataka.
5. Goa (Madgaon) – Mumbai Vande Bharat Express
The Madgaon (Goa)-Mumbai Vande Bharat express is Goa’s first Vande Bharat express. Goa (Madgaon)- Mumbai Vande Bharat Express train departed from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Station and reached Madgaon station the same day with stoppages at Dadar, Thane, Panvel, Khed, Ratnagiri, Kankavali & Thivim Railway stations.
Asia’s first demonstration for Performance-Based Navigation for helicopters
⇒ India conducted Asia’s first demonstration of performance-based navigation for helicopters for a flight from Juhu in Mumbai to Pune using GAGAN satellite technology, civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on 31 May 2023.
About GAGAN:
GAGAN — GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation — is a state-of-the-art space-based augmentation system which adds more accuracy to output of GPS Navigation system by providing local geographical positioning for better accuracy of location of aircraft for more efficient traffic management.
Developed by:
The technology was jointly developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
Key Points:
- The satellite technology helps aircraft/ helicopters with guided landing at airports that do not have instrument landing systems for low-visibility operations.
- All registered aircraft in India will have to comply with GAGAN — which was introduced in 2019 — by December 2025.
Sports
2023 Women's Hockey Junior Asia Cup
⇒ The 2023 Women’s Hockey Junior Asia Cup was held from 3 to 11 June 2023 in Kakamigahara, Japan.
- It was the eighth edition of the Women’s Hockey Junior Asia Cup, the women’s international under-21 field hockey championship of Asia.
- It was organized by the Asian Hockey Federation.
Winners:
- The Indian hockey team won the Women’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 title with a 2-1 win over South Korea in the final. This is the first time India have won the Women’s Junior Asia Cup.
- Japan finished third after defeating the People’s Republic of China 2–1.
» Top Goalscorer: Annu (India, 9 goals)
» The top three teams (Indian, South Korea and Japan) qualified for the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2023.
» FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2023 will be held in Santiago, Chile from 29 November to 11 December 2023.
Important Day
World Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Day 2023
⇒ World Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Day is observed every year on 30 May.
- World Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Day is marked to raise awareness and mobilise support for those living with multiple sclerosis, as well as their families and caregivers.
- World Multiple Sclerosis Day aims to increase understanding of MS, advocate for better access to treatment and care and foster a sense of solidarity among the global MS community.
- The Day brings the global Multiple Sclerosis community together and to raise awareness and campaigns with everyone affected by multiple sclerosis (MS).
Theme:
The theme for World Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Day 2020-2023 is ‘Connections’.
- The MS Connections campaign is all about building community connection, self-connection and connections to quality care. The campaign tagline is ‘I Connect, We Connect’ and the campaign hashtag is MS Connections.
- MS Connections challenges social barriers that leave people affected by MS feeling lonely and socially isolated. It is an opportunity to advocate for better services, celebrate support networks and champion self-care.
History:
- The history of World Multiple Sclerosis Day can be traced back to the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF), which was founded in 1967 as a network of national MS societies.
- World Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Day was first observed on May 27, 2009.
- It was initiated by the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF), an international non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and advocating for people with multiple sclerosis.
- In 2009, MSIF declared 30 May as World Multiple Sclerosis Day.
About Multiple sclerosis:
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord.