National
INS Nishank and Akshay Decommissioned
⇒ Indian Navy Ships Nishank and Akshay were decommissioned on 03 June 2022 after rendering 32 years of glorious service to the nation. The decommissioning event was conducted at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai in a traditional ceremony.
Background:
- While INS Nishank was commissioned on 12 September 1989, INS Akshay was commissioned a year later on 10 December 1990 at Poti, Georgia.
- INS Nishank and INS Akshay were part of the 22 Missile Vessel Squadron and 23 Patrol Vessel Squadron respectively under the operational control of Flag Officer Commanding, Maharashtra Naval Area.
- The ships were in active naval service for more than 32 years and during their illustrious journeys, participated in several naval operations including Op Talwar during the Kargil War and Op Parakram in 2001.
MoU signed between Union Territory of Chandigarh and Indian Air Force
⇒ An MoU has been signed between UT of Chandigarh and IAF for setting up the IAF Heritage Centre at Chandigarh on 3 June 2022.
Shri Banwarilal Purohit, Governor of Punjab and Administrator of UT of Chandigarh and Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Chief of the Air Staff witnessed the ceremony.
About Heritage Centre:
- This Heritage Centre will have artefacts, simulator and interactive boards to highlight various facets of IAF.
- It will also showcase the vital role played by the Service in various wars and assistance rendered for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
- This joint project of Administration of UT Chandigarh and IAF is planned to be completed by October 2022.
- It will attract and encourage the local youth to join the armed forces.
Sagarmala Young Professional Scheme for engagement of Young Professionals
⇒ Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has formulated ‘Sagarmala Young Professional Scheme’ to engage talented, forward-thinking and dynamic young professionals in various divisions of the Ministry.
» This scheme focuses on active on-the-ground learning for young professionals. The professionals will have the opportunity to learn about the functioning of the government as well as developmental policy concerns.
Key Points:
- Initially, more than 25 young professionals will be hired under this scheme.
- Professionals will be required to deliver high-quality inputs in areas such as infrastructure, data analysis, project management, start-up, innovation, skill development, digital transformation and the environment, among others, in order to meet Ministry’s needs.
- Professionals will be required to have qualification in BE/ B.Tech, B. Planning and/or MBA or equivalent degree in relevant subject/ field and minimum three year of relevant work experience.
- Professionals in Accountancy, Finance, Legal, Statistics, Economics/Commerce, Data Analytics will also be engaged based on requirement of the Ministry.
- The initial period of engagement shall be 2 years which can be extended to additional 2 years on the basis of performance.
India’s first Vertical Lift Railway Sea Bridge
⇒ The new Pamban bridge in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, is all set to become India’s first Vertical Lift Railway Sea Bridge.
Key Points:
- The new upcoming bridge would be nearly 2.07 km long.
- The new Pamban railway bridge in Mandapam, will connect Rameswaram to the mainland in Tamil Nadu.
- The New Pamban Bridge, for which an amount of around Rs 280 crore is being invested.
- The New Pamban Bridge is being developed by Railway Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL).
» The upcoming new bridge is expected to give a boost to the tourism industry in this region, especially for pilgrimage purposes as a large number of devotees, every year, visit Rameshwaram Temple and Jyotirling.
International
Gardener Perumal Venkatraman gets honorary British Empire Medal
⇒ Perumal Venkatraman, head gardener at the Madras War cemetery, has been awarded with an honorary British Empire Medal for his outstanding work.
Perumal Venkatraman has been awarded for taking care of 2,000 plants at the cemetery. Thousands of people visit the Madras War Cemetery to pay their respect to their loved ones. Despite the searing heat and sudden floods and severe damages, one man and his small team goes to great lengths to maintain this cemetery.
British Deputy High Commissioner Oliver Ballhatchet presented the award to him on 01 June 2022.
Important Day
World Milk Day 2022
⇒ World Milk Day is observed every year on 1st June. World Milk Day has been established to recognize the importance of milk as a global food, and to celebrate the dairy sector.
In 2022, the celebration started with the Enjoy Dairy Rally May 29 – May 31, culminating with World Milk Day on 1 June.
Theme:
This year’s theme highlighted the work already being done to accelerate climate action and help reduce the dairy sector’s impact on the planet.
The aim here is to achieve ‘Dairy Net Zero’ by cutting down on the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions over the next 30 years.
Background:
- In 2001, World Milk Day was established by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.
- Each year since, the benefits of milk and dairy products have been actively promoted around the world, including how dairy supports the livelihoods of one billion people.
Death
Santoor maestro Pandit Bhajan Sopori
⇒ Santoor maestro Pandit Bhajan Sopori passed away on 2 June 2022 in Gurugram.
Pandit Bhajan Sopori was a performer, composer, musicologist, teacher, writer and poet. Pandit Bhajan Sopori is hailed as the “Saint of the Santoor” and the “King of Strings”. Sopori composed music for over 6,000 songs in almost all Indian languages, including Hindi, Kashmiri, Dogri, Sindhi, Urdu and Bhojpuri, as well as Persian and Arabic.
Sopori received multiple awards through his career, including the Padma Shri in 2004, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1992 and the Jammu and Kashmir State Lifetime Achievement Award. For his contribution to Indian music and culture, he has been also honored with J&K Government Civilian Award, Doctorate of Literature by Utkal University (Odisha), National Flag Honour of the Arab Republic of Egypt, etc.
In 2011, Sopori was honored with a Rs 5 stamp for his extraordinary work in the field of art and culture.
