National
NIIO (Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation) Seminar 'Swavlamban'
⇒ Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the NIIO (Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation) Seminar ‘Swavlamban’ on 18 July 2022. The two-day NIIO Seminar ‘Swavlamban’ was held in New Delhi from 18th July to 19th July, 2022.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said that the goal of self-reliance in the Indian defence forces is very important for the India of the 21st century. Organizing the first ‘Swavlamban’ (self-reliance) seminar for a self-reliant Navy is an important step in this direction.
NIIO Seminar ‘Swavlamban’:
- The Seminar was aimed to engage Indian industry and academia towards achieving self-reliance in the Defence sector.
- The two-day Seminar provided a platform for leaders from Industry, Academia, Services and Government to come together on a common platform to ideate and come up with recommendations for the Defence Sector.
- Sessions dedicated to Innovation, Indigenisation, Armament and Aviation were held.
- The second day of the Seminar witnessed outreach to the Indian Ocean Region, in line with the government’s vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region).
SPRINT Challenges:
- A key pillar of Aatmanirbhar Bharat is attaining self-reliance in the Defence Sector.
- To further this endeavour, during the programme, the Prime Minister unveiled ‘SPRINT Challenges’, which are aimed at giving a boost to the usage of indigenous technology in the Indian Navy.
- As a part of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, NIIO, in conjunction with the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO), aims at inducting at least 75 new indigenous technologies/products into the Indian Navy.
- This collaborative project is named SPRINT (Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R&D through iDEX, NIIO and TDAC).
Member of UPSC
⇒ Lt. General (Retd) Shri Raj Shukla took the Oath of Office and Secrecy as Member, UPSC on 18 July 2022 in the Central Hall, Main Building of UPSC.
In a career spanning over four decades in the Indian Army, General Shukla has seen extensive service in the field. He commanded, an Infantry Brigade in Counter Insurgency Operations, the Baramulla Division along the Line of Control in the Kashmir Valley and a Pivot Corps along the Western Borders. He has also been Commandant of the Indian Army’s prestigious training establishment and think tank – the Army War College.
In recognition of his service of the most exceptional order, he was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal on Republic Day 2021.
Consultative Committee meeting of Ministry of Civil Aviation on ‘DIGI YATRA’
⇒ The Consultative Committee meeting of Ministry of Civil Aviation was held in New Delhi on 18 July 2022. The topic for discussion was ‘DIGI YATRA’.
In first phase, Digi Yatra was proposed to be rolled out at two Airports namely Varanasi and Bengaluru in August 2022 and at five Airports namely Pune, Vijayawada, Kolkata, Delhi and Hyderabad by March next year.
- AAI will identify their airports where Digi Yatra would be implemented in phased manner.
Giving the background of ‘DIGI YATRA’, the Union Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia said that it is a project conceived to achieve contactless, seamless processing of passengers at Airports, based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT).
- The project basically envisages that any traveller may pass through various check points at the airport through a paperless and contactless processing, using facial features to establish the identity which would be linked to the boarding pass.
- He said that the privacy issues have been taken care of in the system.
- It provides for decentralized mobile wallet-based identity management platform which is cost effective and addresses privacy/data protection issues in implementation of Digi Yatra.
About DIGI YATRA:
- Digi Yatra Foundation (DYF) has been set up as a joint venture (JV) company in 2019 under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 whose shareholders are AAI (26% shares) and BIAL, DIAL, GHIAL, MIAL and CIAL.
- These 5 shareholders equally hold the remaining 74% of the shares.
- The Foundation was formed, with the objective of creating the Digi Yatra Central Ecosystem (DYCE).
- Digi Yatra Foundation will be a pan-India entity and the custodian of the Passenger ID validation process.
- It will also develop consensus amongst the Aviation Stakeholders in India.
- It would also define the criteria for compliance and guidelines for the local airport systems.
- The JV will conduct regular audits, of the various compliances and guidelines (including guidelines on security, image quality, data privacy) defined by the Digi Yatra guidelines for the local Airport Biometric Boarding Systems (BBS).
Iconic Week Celebrations of the ‘Azadi Ki Rail Gadi aur Stations’
⇒ Chairman & CEO, Railway Board, Shri Vinay Kumar Tripathi inaugurated the Iconic Week Celebrations of the ‘Azadi Ki Rail Gadi aur Stations’ on 18 July 2022 in Rail Bhawan.
Highlighting the importance of 75 identified stations/27 trains in the freedom struggle, Indian Railways organized week long celebrations from 18th July to 23rd July 2022.
Key Points:
- The events of this Iconic Week celebration were focussed both on the Railway Stations and Trains having historical importance.
- For this, 75 Railway Stations were identified as Freedom Stations and 27 Trains for Spot Lighting.
- In all these 75 Stations across 24 states, besides lighting up and decorations, events such as Nukkad Natak in local language, light and sound shows, display of video films/ patriotic songs, etc were held, with a view to increase the outreach of Janbhagidari.
International
16th round India- China Corps Commander Level Meeting
⇒ The 16th round India- China Corps Commander Level Meeting was held at Chushul-Moldo border meeting point on the Indian side on 17th July 2022.
Discussion:
- Building on the progress made at the last meeting on 11th March 2022, the two sides continued discussions for the resolution of the relevant issues along the LAC in the Western Sector in a constructive and forward-looking manner.
- They had a frank and in-depth exchange of views in this regard, in keeping with the guidance provided by the State Leaders to work for the resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest.
- The two sides reaffirmed that the resolution of remaining issues would help in restoration of peace and tranquility along the LAC in the Western Sector and enable progress in bilateral relations.
- In the interim, the two sides agreed to maintain the security and stability on the ground in the Western Sector.
- The two sides agreed to stay in close contact and maintain dialogue through military and diplomatic channels and work out a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest.
Death
Renowned ghazal singer Bhupinder Singh
⇒ Renowned ghazal singer Bhupinder Singh passed away on 18 July 2022 in Mumbai. He was 82.
Bhupinder Singh was not only known for his ghazals but was also widely popular as a Bollywood playback singer with numerous chartbusters such as ‘Duniya Chhute Yaar Na Chhute’ from the classic ‘Dharam Kanta’ and ‘Huzoor Is Kadar’ from ‘Masoom’.
Bhupinder began his career with All India Radio and was also associated with Delhi Doordarshan Centre for some time.