National
Launch of the fourth ship of the Survey Vessel (Large) Project ‘SANSHODHAK’
⇒ ‘Sanshodhak’, the fourth of four ships of Survey Vessels (Large) (SVL) Project, being built by L&T/ GRSE for Indian Navy was launched on 13 June 2023 at Kattupalli, Chennai.
- The chief guest of the Launch Ceremony was VAdm Adhir Arora, Chief Hydrographer to Government of India.
Ship Name:
The ship named ‘Sanshodhak’, meaning ‘Researcher’, signifies the primary role of the ship as a Survey Vessel.
Background:
- The contract for building four SVL ships was signed between MoD and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata on 30 October 2018.
- As per the build strategy, the first ship would be built at GRSE, Kolkata and construction of the remaining three ships upto outfitting stage, has been sub-contracted to M/s L&T Shipbuilding, Kattupalli.
- The first three ships of the project, Sandhayak, Nirdeshak and Ikshak were launched on 05 Dec 21, 26 May 22 and 26 Nov 22 respectively.
About Ship:
- SVL ships will replace the existing Sandhayak Class survey ships, with new generation hydrographic equipment, to collect oceanographic data.
- The Survey Vessel (Large) ships are 110 m long, 16 m wide with a displacement of 3,400 tons.
- The hull of these ships is made from indigenously developed DMR 249-A steel manufactured by Steel Authority of India Limited.
Role of the Ship:
- With a capability to carry four Survey Motor Boats and an integral helicopter, the primary role of the ships would be to undertake full scale coastal and deep-water hydrographic surveys of Ports and navigational channels.
- The ships would also be deployed for collecting oceanographic and geophysical data for defence as well as civil applications.
- In their secondary role, the ships are capable of providing limited defence, HADR, and can serve as Hospital ship during emergencies.
» The Survey Vessels Large will have over 80% indigenous content by cost, ensuring defence production by Indian manufacturing units with a spin off in employment generation and warship building capability in the country.
Geological Survey of India Training Institute (GSITI), Hyderabad gets Accredited as “Athi Uttam”
⇒ Geological Survey of India Training Institute (GSITI) has been awarded with the accreditation by the National Accreditation Board of Education and Training (NABET) in recognition of the yeomen services it has rendered and high standards maintained in the field of earth science training.
- Geological Survey of India Training Institute (GSITI) is functioning under the Ministry of Mines.
- The assessment was made on the basis of the inspection of all standard operating procedures and methodologies followed by the institute in different levels.
- The team from Capacity Building Commission (CBC), NABET and Quality Control of India conducted the on-site assessment and awarded the Certificate of Accreditation with the grading of ‘Athi Uttam’.
About GSITI:
- Established in 1976, GSITI with its headquarters at Hyderabad, has six Regional Training Divisions (RTD) located at Hyderabad, Nagpur, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kolkata and Shillong.
- Four Field Training Centers (FTCs) are also established at Chitradurga (Karnataka), Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Zawar (Rajasthan) and Kuju (Jharkhand).
- These Centers are established as per the vision of the Ministry of Mines to impart various trainings to geoscience professionals, teachers, researchers and students in various subjects of geology.
International
India-Maldives Joint Military Exercise “EKUVERIN”
⇒ The 12th edition of joint military exercise “Ex Ekuverin” between the Indian Army & the Maldives National Defence Force was conducted at Chaubatia, Uttarakhand from 11 to 24 June 2023.
- Ekuverin meaning ‘Friends’ is a bilateral annual exercise conducted alternatively in India and Maldives.
- A platoon strength contingent from Indian Army and Maldives National Defence Force participated in 14 days long exercise.
Aim:
- The aim of the exercise was to enhance interoperability in Counter Insurgency/ Counter Terrorism Operations under the UN mandate and carry out joint Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations.
- The focus was to share best practices, enhance coordination and cooperation between both the forces at tactical level.
Last edition:
- The 11th edition of the exercise was held in Maldives in December 2021.
- The defence cooperation between the two countries extends from joint exercises to assisting Maldives with defence training and equipment requirements. ‘Ex Ekuverin’ assisted in further bolstering of these ties between the two nations.
Sports
ISSF Junior World Championships 2023
⇒ The ISSF Junior World Championships 2023 was held from July 16 to 24 at Changwon Shooting Range, Republic of Korea.
- The junior shooting world championships saw 90 Indian shooters vie for medals in pistol, rifle and shotgun competitions in the under-21 age category. It was the 3rd edition of junior shooting world championships.
- China topped the medal tally with 28 medals including 12 gold, 9 silver and 7 bronze.
Performance of India:
- India finished second in the medal tally at the ISSF Junior World Championships 2023 with 17 medals – 6 gold, 6 silver and 5 bronze.
- Seven Indians managed to bag more than one medal.
India’s Medal Winners at ISSF Junior World Championships 2023
Gold Medal:
- Shubham Bisla – 10m air pistol men
- Sainyam – 10m air pistol women
- Abhinav Shaw and Gautami Bhanot – 10m air rifle mixed team
- Abhinav Shaw, Srikanth Dhanush and Parth Rakesh Mane – 10m air rifle men’s team
- Kamaljeet – 50m pistol men
- Yashita Shokeen, Veerpal Kaur and Tiyana – 50m pistol women’s team
Silver Medal:
- Shubham Bisla, Amit Sharma and Abhinav Choudhary – 10m air pistol men’s team
- Uttam Sonam Maskar, Gautami Bhanot and Swati Chowdhury – 10m air rifle women’s team
- Raiza Dhillon – Women’s skeet
- Harmehar Singh Lally and Sanjana Sood – Mixed team skeet
- Sameer, Mahesh Anandakumar and Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu – 25m rapid fire pistol men’s team
- Bakhtyaruddin Malek, Shardul Vihan and Arya Vansh Tyagi – Trap men team
Bronze Medal:
- Abhinav Chaudhary and Sainyam – 10m air pistol mixed team
- Sainyam, Urva Chaudhary and Anjali Chaudhary – 10m air pistol women’s team
- Umamahesh Maddineni – 10m air rifle men
- Unish Holinder, Randeep Singh and Akshay Kumar – 25m standard pistol men’s team
- Yashita Shokeen, Prarthana Khanna and Tiyana – 25m standard pistol women’s team