National
Y- 3023 Dunagiri, Project 17A frigate
⇒ Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh launched Y- 3023 Dunagiri, Project 17A frigate built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders Limited (GRSE) into the Hooghly River in Kolkata on July 15, 2022.
About Dunagiri:
- Christened after a mountain range in the state of Uttarakhand, ‘Dunagiri’ is the fourth ship of P17A Frigates.
- These are follow-on of the P17 Frigates (Shivalik Class) with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems.
- ‘Dunagiri’ is the reincarnation of the erstwhile ‘Dunagiri’, the Leander Class ASW Frigate, which in her 33 years of service from 05 May 1977 to 20 October 2010, had witnessed various challenging operations and multinational exercises.
- Seven P17A Frigates are under various stages of construction at Mazagaon Dock Limited (MDL) and GRSE.
Other Points:
- The first two ships of P17A Project, were launched in 2019 and 2020 at MDL and GRSE respectively.
- The third ship (Udaygiri) was launched at MDL on 17 May 2022 earlier this year.
National Conference of State Agriculture & Horticulture Ministers
⇒ To commemorate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare organized a two days’ National Conference of State Agriculture & Horticulture Ministers in Bengaluru on 14-15th July, 2022.
Organized by:
The two-day National Conference of Agriculture and Horticulture Ministers of the States was organized by the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India in coordination with the Government of Karnataka.
On the basis of extensive deliberations in various sessions during the conference:
The States agreed to increase their contribution in areas such as Natural Farming, Digital Agriculture, Crop Insurance, promotion of Farmer Producer Organizations and Agricultural Infrastructure Fund towards achieving the Central Government’s efforts for Sustainable Agriculture Development. It will be a concrete step towards achieving the goal of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s ‘AatmaNirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India).
During the two-day conference, discussions were held with the States on important topics for the overall development of Agriculture in the country.
Consultations held with the State Agriculture and Horticulture Ministers and senior Agriculture officers will facilitate the Central Government to develop a roadmap and smooth action plan for effective implementation of all the schemes in the interest of the farming community.
Technical sessions:
Technical sessions were conducted during the conference focusing on nine thematic areas, viz. Digital Agriculture, Pradhanmantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Natural Farming, FPO, e-NAM, Pradhanmantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, National Food Security Mission, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, New Technology by ICAR.
- A separate session on the best practices in the agriculture & allied sector adopted in various states across the country was integrated with the technical sessions during the conference.
» One of the major interventions of this conference was launching of e-NAM Platform of Platform by Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare to promote trade & marketing of agriculture produce for getting better prices of agriculture commodities to farmers.
About Platform of Platforms (PoPs) under e-NAM:
- Government of India has taken a novel initiative for participation of the all stakeholders through this “Platform of Platforms under e-NAM” towards next level revolution in Agri- Produce Marketing which will facilitate the Indian Farmers to sell their produce beyond their state boundaries.
- This will enhance farmers’ accessibility digitally to multiple numbers of markets, buyers, service providers and to bring transparency in trade transactions with the intent to improve price discovery mechanism for better price realization of farm produce to the farmers.
- The e-NAM as Platform of Platforms will pave way to create an efficient and effective “One Nation One Market” ecosystem.
International
Meeting of the BIMSTEC Expert Group on Cyber Security Cooperation
⇒ The National Security Council Secretariat, Government of India organized a two-day Meeting of the BIMSTEC Expert Group on Cyber Security Cooperation on 14-15 July 2022 in New Delhi.
The Meeting was based on the agreement made during the meeting of the BIMSTEC National Security Chiefs held at Bangkok in March 2019 that the BIMSTEC Expert Group will formulate an Action plan to deal with Cyber Security challenges in the BIMSTEC Region.
Chaired by:
The in-person meeting was chaired by the National Cyber Security Coordinator Lt General Rajesh Pant and saw the participation of delegates from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Key Points:
- All the delegates were experts in Cyber Security from their respective Government organization.
- India as a lead Country for Security Sector in BIMSTEC forum organized this meeting on Cyber Security Cooperation and developed a Plan of Action on cyber security.
- The BIMSTEC Member States were represented by the senior officials of their respective Government organisations which deals with cyber security and incident response.
- The main objective of this BIMSTEC Expert Group meeting was to formulate the Action Plan which will bolster coordination and collaboration amongst the BIMSTEC Member States for strengthening Cyber Security in the use of ICTs.
- This Action plan covered the mechanisms for the exchanges of cyber related information, cybercrime, protection of critical information infrastructures, cyber incident response and international developments related to cyber norms.
- The Action Plan has been proposed to be implemented within the time frame of 5 years after which the Experts Group on Cyber Security will review the Action Plan.
Sports
Host City of Formula E Racing
⇒ The Telangana state capital Hyderabad, is the first Indian city to host Formula E racing and the event is scheduled for February 11, 2023. Formula E is the apex motorsport in the Electric Vehicle arena. The Hyderabad track will be a street race track and is tentatively 2.5 kms long.
About Formula E:
- Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars.
- The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, who is also the current chairman of Formula E Holdings. Since 2020, the series has FIA world championship status.
Important Day
National Postal Worker Day
⇒ National Postal Worker Day is observed every year on July 1.
National Postal Worker Day is celebrated to appreciate the work and diligence of the postal workers. The day celebrates the efforts of people working in the postal service department.
Background:
July 1 was declared National Postal Worker Day in 1997 by a Seattle-area postal carrier to honour fellow employees and since then it is celebrated every year on this day. The day was first commemorated by a Seattle-area postal carrier to honour his fellow employees.