National
ALH Mk-III squadron, 840 Sqn (CG), commissioned in Chennai
⇒ In a major boost to further strengthening the Coast Guard Region East, 840 Sqn (CG), an Indian Coast Guard ALH Mk-III squadron, was commissioned by DG Shri VS Pathania at ICG Air Station, Chennai on 30 November 2022.
- The commissioning of 840 Sqn (CG) is indicative of the leap towards self-reliance in the field of helicopter manufacturing, in line with the government’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
- It will provide a major fillip to the abilities of Indian Coast Guard in the security sensitive waters off Tamil Nadu and Andhra region.
Manufactured by:
The Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Mk-III helicopters is indigenously manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
Features:
- The Helicopters are featured with state-of-the-art equipment including advanced RADAR as well as Electro optical sensors, Shakti engines, full glass cockpit, high-intensity search light, advanced communication systems, automatic identification system as well as search and rescue homer.
- This feature enables the helicopter to undertake maritime reconnaissance as well as carry out search and rescue at extended ranges while operating from ships, both by day and night.
- The aircraft has the ability to switch roles from an offensive platform with heavy machine gun to that of a benign one carrying a Medical Intensive Care Unit to facilitate transfer of critically ill patients.
» A total of 16 ALH Mk-III aircraft have been inducted in the Indian Coast Guard in a phased manner and four of these aircraft are positioned in Chennai.
Ministry of Civil Aviation launched Digi Yatra Policy
⇒ Union Minister for Civil Aviation Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia launched Digi Yatra from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi for three airports in the country, namely New Delhi, Varanasi and Bengaluru on 01 December 2022.
- Digi Yatra is conceived to achieve contactless, seamless processing of passengers at airports based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT).
Speaking about the Digi Yatra project conceived by Digi Yatra Foundation under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Minister said that to use this facility, one-time registration on Digi Yatra app is required using Aadhar based validation and a self-image capture.
- With Digi Yatra, India will now stand in the ranks of world class airports like Heathrow in London and Atlanta in United States of America.
Launched by:
Digi Yatra policy is an initiative launched by Ministry of Civil Aviation for biometric boarding system using Facial Recognition Technology.
- M/s Dataevolve Solutions has built FRT based Digi Yatra Central Ecosystem. It has been selected through a national start-up challenge run by NitiAayog under the Atal Innovation Mission.
Objective:
- Digi Yatra aims at providing seamless and hassle-free experience for passengers at airports.
- Its main objective is to enhance passenger experience by eliminating the need for verification of ticket and ID at multiple touch points and to achieve better throughput through existing infrastructure using a Digital Framework.
First Phase:
- Digi Yatra in the first phase, will be launched at 7 airports. However, it has been initially launched at 3 airports i.e., Delhi, Bengaluru and Varanasi, to be followed by 4 airports namely Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, and Vijayawada by March 2023.
- Later it would be implemented across various airports in the country. The service is presently being launched for domestic flights passengers only.
Other Points:
- Under Digi Yatra, passengers’ data is stored in their own device and not in centralized storage In the Digi Yatra process, there is no central storage of passenger’s Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data.
- All the passengers’ data is encrypted and stored in the wallet of their smartphone. It is shared only between the passenger and the airport of travel origin, where passenger’s Digi Yatra ID needs to be validated.
- The data is purged from the airport’s system within 24 hours of departure of flight. The data is shared by passengers directly, only when they travel and only to the origin Airport.
» The total number of passengers who have used the Digi Yatra process at the airports from 1st December 2022 to 14th February 2023 is 1.6 Lakh+. Total app user base of Digi Yatra on the Android Play Store & iOS Apple App Store is 422K.
8th National Photography Awards
» Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L. Murugan presented the 8th National Photography awards on 07 March 2023 in New Delhi.
- A total of 13 awards were presented during the ceremony including 6 each in the Professional and Amateur category.
Read More About 8th National Photography Awards
International
12th Edition of Exercise Agni Warrior
⇒ The 12th Edition of Exercise Agni Warrior, a bilateral exercise between the Singapore & Indian Army, concluded at Field Firing Ranges, Devlali, Maharashtra on 30 November 2022.
- The Exercise Agni Warrior had commenced on 13 November 2022.
Key Points:
- Exercise Agni Warrior, involved showcasing joint firepower planning, execution and use of New Generation Equipment by the Artillery arm of both armies.
- Exercise also included participation by both sides in a joint computer war-game as part of joint planning process.
- Both sides utilised niche technology and Artillery Observation Simulators as part of joint training phase.
- Expert academic discussions were conducted on modern trends in Artillery and refinement of Artillery planning process.
- Indigenously manufactured Artillery guns and howitzers also participated during the final phase of the exercise.
» The exercise achieved its aim of enhancing mutual understanding of drills & procedures and improving interoperability between the two armies.
Important Day
58th BSF Raising Day
⇒ India celebrated 58th BSF Raising Day on 1st December 2022.
Ceremonial parade:
Border Security Force (BSF) on 04 December 2022 organised a ceremonial parade at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, on the occasion of its 58th Raising Day.
- For first time in last 57 years, the ceremonial Raising Day Parade was organised in Amritsar, Punjab with traditional fervour and gaiety.
- 11 BSF Frontiers and a Mahila Contingent participated in the celebrations.
Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai took salute of the impressive parade as the chief guest.
- The minister felicitated the force personnel with Police Medals for Gallantry to next of kin (NoK) of soldiers and officers, who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty and to the serving BSF personnel. The minister also felicitated President’s Police Medals for Distinguished Service to serving and retired personnel for their services.
- The prestigious ‘General Choudhary Trophy’ was awarded to 66 Battalion BSF for their exceptional performance. He also released the annual ‘Borderman’ magazine of the force.
About BSF:
- The Border Security Force (BSF) is the first line of defence of India.
- It was on December 1, 1965 that the first sector of the Punjab Frontier of the BSF was raised with its headquarters in Jalandhar. The Western Frontier initially comprised of Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat and with its headquarters at Jalandhar.
- Initially in 1965, BSF was raised with 25 Bns and with the passage of time, was expanded as per the requirement of nation to fight against militancy in Punjab, J&K, North east region etc.
- At present BSF is holding 192 (including 03 NDRF) Bns and 07 BSF Arty Regiments guarding International Border with Pakistan and Bangladesh.