National
Various projects of Shrimad Rajchandra Mission, Dharampur in Valsad
⇒ Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various projects of Shrimad Rajchandra Mission, Dharampur in Valsad district, Gujarat on 4th August 2022 via video conferencing.
About the project:
» Prime Minister inaugurated Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital at Dharampur in Valsad.
- The cost of the entire project is around Rs 200 crores.
- It is a 250-bed multispecialty hospital with cutting edge medical infrastructure that will provide world class tertiary medical facilities especially to the people of Southern Gujarat region.
» Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of Shrimad Rajchandra Animal Hospital.
- The 150-bed hospital will be built at a cost of around Rs 70 crores.
- It will be equipped with top class facilities and a dedicated team of veterinarians and ancillary staff.
- The Hospital will provide holistic medical care alongside conventional medicine for care and upkeep of animals.
» Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of Shrimad Rajchandra Center of Excellence for Women on the occasion.
- It will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 40 crores.
- It will have facilities for recreation, classrooms for self-development sessions, rest areas.
- It will employ over 700 tribal women and provide livelihood to thousands of others subsequently.
DRDO successfully test fires laser-guided ATGMs
⇒ Indigenously developed Laser-Guided Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) were successfully test-fired from Main Battle Tank Arjun by DRDO and Indian Army at KK Ranges with support of Armoured Corps Centre & School Ahmednagar in Maharashtra on August 04, 2022.
Key Points:
- The all-indigenous Laser Guided ATGM employs a tandem High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) warhead to defeat Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) protected armoured vehicles.
- The ATGM has been developed with multi-platform launch capability and is currently undergoing technical evaluation trials from 120 mm rifled gun of MBT Arjun.
Indian Navy's All Woman Aircrew Creates History
⇒ On 03 August 2022, five officers of the Indian Navy’s INAS 314 based at Naval Air Enclave, Porbandar, created history by completing the first all-women independent maritime reconnaissance and surveillance mission in the North Arabian Sea onboard a Dornier 228 aircraft.
The aircraft was captained by the Mission Commander, Lt Cdr Aanchal Sharma, who had pilots, Lt Shivangi and Lt Apurva Gite, and Tactical and Sensor Officers, Lt Pooja Panda and SLt Pooja Shekhawat in her team.
About INAS 314:
- INAS 314 is a frontline Naval Air Squadron based at Porbandar, Gujarat and operates the state-of-the-art Dornier 228 maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The squadron is commanded by Cdr SK Goyal, a Qualified Navigation Instructor.
- The women officers received months of ground training and comprehensive mission briefings in the run up to this historical sortie.
» This first-of-its-kind military flying mission was, however, unique and is expected to pave the way for women officers in the aviation cadre to assume greater responsibility and aspire for more challenging roles.
International
1st session of India-Mauritius High-Powered Joint Trade Committee
⇒ India and Mauritius held the 1st session of India-Mauritius High-Powered Joint Trade Committee on 01-03 August 2022 in New Delhi.
Chaired by:
The meeting was co-chaired by Dr Srikar K Reddy, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India, India and Mr Narainduth Boodhoo, Director, Trade Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mauritius.
The High-Powered Joint Trade Committee had been constituted as per the mandate of the India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership agreement (CECPA), to review the general functioning and implementation of the India-Mauritius CECPA which entered into force on 1st April 2021.
- CECPA is the first trade Agreement signed by India with a country in Africa.
Discussion:
» Both sides agreed to the inclusion of the General Economic Cooperation (GEC) Chapter and Automatic Trigger Safeguard Mechanism (ATSM) in CECPA.
- The GEC chapter will enable enhancement of export competitiveness and enlarging the existing scope for collaboration, inter-alia, in the fields of Investments, Financial Services, Textile, Small and Medium Enterprises, Handicrafts, Gems and Jewellery, Information and Communication Technology, Film Production, Space Technology, Blue Economy, Port Infrastructure, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals & Bio-technology, Competition Policy, Renewable Energy etc.
» Both the sides expressed willingness to enter into a Customs Mutual Administrative Assistance Agreement (CMMA) and agreed to initiate discussions on the Agreement soon.
» Affirming mutual keenness in diversifying and expanding trade basket, the two sides discussed additional market access issues and agreed to discuss bilateral recognition arrangements of equivalence on SPS and TBT measures.
» Both sides also agreed to identify bilateral focal points to further strengthen bilateral institutional cooperation.
» Both sides agreed to hold the next session of India- Mauritius High Powered JTC meeting in 2023.
Sports
World Athletics U20 Championships 2022
⇒ The Indian mixed 4×400 relay team won the silver medal at the World Athletics U20 Championships 2022 in Cali, Colombia on 02 August 2022.
- The quartet of Priya Mohan, Bharath Sridhar, Kapil and Rupal Chaudhary clocked 3:17:76s to finish behind the USA.
- It was India’s second consecutive medal in the mixed 4x400m relay at the junior world championships. Kapil, Bharath Sridhar and Priya Mohan were part of the race last year in Nairobi when they won bronze.
Other Indian winners:
Rupal- Women’s 400 metres- Track events – Bronze Medal
Selva Thirumaran – Triple jump- Field events – Silver Medal
» The 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships was held in Cali, Colombia from 1 to 6 August 2022.