National
Director General Naval Operations (DGNO)
⇒ Vice Admiral Atul Anand, AVSM, VSM assumed charge as the Director General Naval Operations on 01 April 2023.
About Vice Admiral Atul Anand:
- Vice Admiral Atul Anand was commissioned on 01 January 1988 into the Executive Branch of the Indian Navy.
- A recipient of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal, he has held several key appointments in his naval career including the command of torpedo recovery vessel IN TRV A72, missile boat INS Chatak, corvette INS Khukri and the destroyer INS Mumbai.
- As a Flag Officer, he has served as Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Foreign Cooperation and Intelligence), Deputy Commandant and Chief Instructor at the National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla, Flag Officer Commanding Maharashtra Naval Area and the Flag Officer Commanding Karnataka Naval Area.
ISRO successfully conducts the Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission
⇒ ISRO joined by DRDO and Indian Air Force successfully conducted the Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX) at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, Karnataka on April 2, 2023.
Key Points:
- The RLV took off by a Chinook Helicopter of the Indian Air Force as an underslung load and flew to a height of 4.5 km (above MSL).
- Once the predetermined pillbox parameters were attained, based on the RLV’s Mission Management Computer command, the RLV was released in mid-air, at a down range of 4.6 km.
- Release conditions included 10 parameters covering position, velocity, altitude and body rates, etc. The release of RLV was autonomous.
- RLV then performed approach and landing maneuvers using the Integrated Navigation, Guidance & control system and completed an autonomous landing on the ATR air strip.
- With that, ISRO successfully achieved the autonomous landing of a space vehicle.
- The autonomous landing was carried out under the exact conditions of a Space Re-entry vehicle’s landing “high speed, unmanned, precise landing from the same return path” as if the vehicle arrives from space.
International
International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI) 2023
⇒ The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the 5th International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI) 2023 via a video message on 04 April 2023.
Host:
The 5th edition of the International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure was hosted by the India-led Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) during April 4-5, 2023 in New Delhi.
Thematic Focus:
- The theme for the conference was “Delivering Resilient and Inclusive Infrastructure”.
The theme for the conference was driven by three pillars:
- Pillar 1: Delivering Resilient Infrastructure – Inclusive and Risk Informed Systems
- Pillar 2: Delivering Resilient Infrastructure – Providing Reliable Services through Resilient Infrastructure Assets
- Pillar 3: Delivering Resilient Infrastructure – Realising Finance and Investments for Infrastructure Resilience
The objectives of ICDRI 2023 were:
- To provide a platform for Member Countries to engage and contribute to DRI solution pathways.
- To bring together infrastructure actors for building partnerships, knowledge sharing and fostering complementarity on DRI solutions.
- To convene DRI stakeholders for enhanced collective action on infrastructure resilience.
Key Points:
- ICDRI 2023 brought a purposeful focus on demonstrable solutions towards a call for action to realize resilience of infrastructure.
- The conference included panel discussions, case studies and stakeholder engagements, and updates on the Biennial Report on Global Infrastructure Resilience and Infrastructure for Resilient Island States.
- The conference also focused on exploring and identifying solutions and actions for mainstreaming resilience into policies, processes and practices.
About ICDRI:
- The International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI) is the annual conference of Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and its partners.
- It brings together Member Countries, organizations, institutions and infrastructure actors and stakeholders to strengthen the global discourse on disaster and climate resilient infrastructure.
Important Day
National Maritime Day 2023
⇒ National Maritime Day is celebrated every year on 05 April in India.
National Maritime Day is dedicated to the pivotal role of maritime trade in the development of the Indian economy and its strategic location in global trade.
- To mark the importance of the day, the government observed National Maritime Week from 30 March 2023 to 05 April 2023, paying tribute to services of seafarers.
- On the occasion of the 60th National Maritime Day, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) & Ayush, Shri Sarbananda Sonowal flagged off the ‘Maritime Awareness Walkathon’ on 05 April 2023.
Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of National Maritime Day 2023:
» The Grand Finale function of Diamond Jubilee of National Maritime Day was organised at Domestic Cruise Terminus, Mumbai on 05 April, with ‘Amrit Kaal in shipping’ as its theme.
During this program, the following Sagar Samman Awards were conferred upon the meritorious persons.
The MoPSW recognised the services of seafarers and services of other persons connected with it. MoPSW presented awards to the eminent personalities who have excelled in the maritime sector which are as follows:
- Sagar Samman Varuna Award: Varuna Award is to recognize and honour persons for their sustained and outstanding contribution to Indian Shipping and/ or allied Maritime Industries.
- Sagar Samman Award for Excellence: To recognize and honour persons for their lifetime exceptional and distinguished achievements or performance at the senior functional level in Indian Shipping or Indian Maritime Industries in the areas of Management of Shipping Business, Commercial Operations, Human Resource Development, Management of Maritime Technology and Industrial Relations.
- Sagar Samman Award for Gallantry: Gallantry at Sea award to Indian Seafarers (including officers) in recognition of their exemplary acts of Gallantry in the Merchant Navy in India or elsewhere.
- To recognize and honour the outstanding Maritime Training Institute, outstanding Indian Shipping Company, outstanding Indian Employer of Seafarer, outstanding Foreign Employer Seafarer, outstanding Indian Port and outstanding Indian Terminal for their sustained contribution to the cause of Indian Shipping and Indian Seafarers and at the same time motivate and encourage them to maximize their efforts towards this cause.
» Moreover, 14 maritime organisations were recognised for their outstanding performance in different fields.
History:
On April 5, 1919, for the first time, the Indian company Scindia Steam Navigation Company Limited’s ship namely S.S. Loyalty went from India to London to trade. In his memory, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways celebrates 5th April every year as National Maritime Day.
Death
Former Indian Cricketer, Salim Durani
⇒ Former India all-rounder Salim Durani passed away on 02 April 2023 in Jamnagar, Gujarat. He was 88.
About Salim Durani:
- Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1934, he was raised in Jamnagar and learnt his cricket there.
- A flamboyant all-rounder in the 1960s and 70s, Durani played 29 Tests for India from 1960 to 1973, scoring 1,202 runs at an average of 25.04, with one century (104 against West Indies in 1962) and seven fifties. As a left-arm spinner, he claimed 75 wickets at 35.42 apiece.
- In the early 1960s, Durani became the first cricketer to win the Arjuna Award, then the highest sporting honour of the country.
- He was also honoured by the Indian cricket board with the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award at a BCCI award function in Mumbai in May 2011.