Exp. Bhupendra Yadav launches Clean the Beach Campaign 2024 in Mumbai

The Union Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupendra Yadav, led the country in this year’s Clean the Beach Campaign on the occasion of the International Coastal Clean-up Day on 21 September 2024.  The minister participated in an event to clean the beach at Juhu in Mumbai.

The campaign is part of the government of India’s “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” and “Swachh Sagar Abhiyan,” which call for a mass cleanliness and sanitation campaign in the country with public participation.

The campaign is being organized by the Ministry of Earth Sciences in collaboration with the Maharashtra State Government. The beach cleaning initiative will take place at over 100 beaches across India’s coastal states and union territories.

The Ministry of Environment launched a Beach Cleaning Drive in 2018 with the campaign ‘#IamSavingMyBeach’ on World Environment Day, under the theme ‘Beat Plastic.’ Since then, the Ministry has been organizing regular beach cleaning activities with the support of state governments and local bodies.

The Clean, the Beach Campaign was undertaken along the beaches of the following States/Union Territories of India: Gujarat, Union Territory of Daman and Diu, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Union Territory Lakshadweep, Union Territory Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, and the Union Territory Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Exp. ARIES and BEL collaborate to enhance India’s Space Situational Awareness

In a major development for India’s space technology sector, the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology (DST), GoI, has signed an MoU with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).

The partnership aims to develop critical technologies for tracking space objects, particularly near-Earth objects and artificial satellites, as part of India’s growing focus on Space Situational Awareness (SSA).

Under the terms of the MoU, ARIES and BEL will leverage advanced image processing techniques and data analytics solutions. These will be supported by observations from ARIES’s cutting-edge telescopes, including the 4m International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT).

Additionally, the two organizations will collaborate on the development of specialized instruments and laboratories. To further enhance expertise in SSA, ARIES and BEL plan to conduct a series of training workshops focused on capacity building.

SSA is crucial for predicting, warning, and avoiding potential collisions between space objects, which is essential for ensuring the safety of satellites and their users.

Exp. Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo elected President of NRAI

Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo has been elected as the new president of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) in a tightly contested election, winning 36-21 over V.K. Dhall.

His victory marks a pivotal moment in Indian shooting, as it brings an end to Raninder Singh’s 12-year tenure, which concluded due to National Sports Code restrictions.

Kalikesh will serve as president until the next NRAI general body meeting in 2025.

During his interim leadership, India made a significant breakthrough at the Paris Olympics, securing three bronze medals and ending a dry spell from Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

About National Rifle Association of India (NRAI)

• Founded- 1951
• Headquarters- New Delhi
• President- Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo (replace Raninder Singh)

Exp. Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh appointed as next Chief of Air Force

Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh has been appointed the next Chief of the Air Staff. He is currently the Vice Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and will take over the top post on September 30 when the incumbent Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari retires on superannuation.

An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College and National Defence College, Air Marshal Singh was commissioned into the Fighter Stream of the IAF on December 21, 1984.

He is a qualified flying instructor and an experimental test pilot with more than 5000 hours of flying experience on a variety of fixed and rotary wing aircraft.

He served as the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Central Air Command before taking over as the Vice Chief on February 1, 2023.

The Air Marshal is a recipient of Param Vishisht Seva Medal and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.

Recent Appointment in Defence Sector

• DG of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) -Amrit Mohan Prasad
• DG of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) – Rajwinder Singh Bhatti
• Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command – Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit
• Deputy Chief of Air Staff – Air Marshal Tejinder Singh
• DG of Project Seabird – Vice Admiral Rajesh Dhankhar (replace Tarun Sobti)

Exp. Nikhat Zareen, India’s star boxer, joins Telangana Police as DSP

Renowned boxer Nikhat Zareen joined the Telangana Police as a Deputy Superintendent of Police (Special Police).

The two-time world boxing champion submitted her joining report to the Director General of Police, Jitender.

A native of Nizamabad district, Nikhat Zareen has an illustrious career in boxing, having won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and a bronze medal at the Asian Games. She also represented India at the recently concluded Olympics in Paris.

Competing in the women’s 50 kg category, she lost to China’s Wu Yu in the pre-quarterfinals. Zareen, who contested as an unseeded boxer, acknowledged that this was the hardest loss she has faced.

Exp. IAEA General Conference Elects Korean Ambassador as Conference President

The Republic of Korea’s Permanent Representative has been elected as the President of the IAEA’s 68th General Conference.

Sang Wook Ham was appointed as the Republic of Korea’s (ROK) Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in Vienna in 2022 after an extensive service with the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The General Conference elects a President at the beginning of each annual session, following consultations among Member States before the conference.

They hold office for the duration of the conference. Last year the position was held by Thailand’s Vilawan Mangklatanakul.

Recent Appointment in Foreign

• First Indian President of Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) – Raja Randhir Singh
• First Female Government Spokesperson of Iran – Fatemeh Mohajerani
• CEO of Nestlé – Laurent Freixe (replace Mark Schneider)
• India’s Permanent Representative to UN – Parvathaneni Harish (replace Ruchira Kamboj)
• CEO of Boeing – Robert “Kelly” Ortberg (replace Dave Calhoun)

Exp. Dhruvi Patel from US wins Miss India Worldwide 2024

Dhruvi Patel, a Computer Information System student from the USA, has been declared the winner of Miss India Worldwide 2024, the longest-running Indian pageant outside of India.

Dhruvi aspires to be a Bollywood actor and UNICEF Ambassador.

Lisa Abdoelhak from Suriname was declared the first runner-up, while Malvika Sharma from the Netherlands was adjudged the second runner-up in the same race.

In the Mrs category, SuAnn Mouttet from Trinidad and Tobago was the winner, with Sneha Nambiar the first and Pawandip Kaur from the United Kingdom the second-runner up.

In the Teen category, Sierra Suret from Guadeloupe was crowned Miss Teen India Worldwide.

Shreya Singh from the Netherlands and Shradha Tedjoe from Suriname were declared the first and second runners-up.

The beauty pageant is organised by New York-based India Festival Committee and is headed by Indian-Americans Neelam and Dharmatma Saran.

Exp. Jaipur to host 25th edition of IIFA Awards

The 25th International Indian Film Academy Awards will be held in Jaipur from March 7 to March 9, 2025.

The announcement comes in the run-up of the 2024 edition of the awards, set to begin in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, for the third consecutive year from September 27.

An MoU was signed between Rajasthan Tourism Department and the IIFA for the silver jubilee celebrations of the IIFA Awards, to be held in the state capital next year.

IIFA 2025 will promote tourism in Rajasthan, it is for the second time that the event is taking place in India. First such event was held in Mumbai in 2019.

The 2025 ceremony will also host the inaugural IIFA Digital Awards that would honour the best performances in digital entertainment, films and OTT content.

Exp. Magnus Carlsen, Judit Polgar felicitated at FIDE 100 Awards

Magnus Carlsen and Judit Polgar were felicitated with the best male and female player awards, respectively at the FIDE 100 Awards ceremony in Hungary.

Carlsen, ranked world number one, is a part of the Norway team in the ongoing Chess Olympiad 2024.

Carlsen has held the No. 1 position in the FIDE world chess rankings since July 1, 2011, trailing only Kasparov in time spent as the highest-rated player in the world.

Polgar, on the other hand, announced retirement from competitive chess in 2014.

Recent Award

• Olympic Order in gold – French President Emmanuel Macron
• Ramon Magsaysay Award 2024 – Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki
• Best Airport at the India Travel Awards – Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad
• Global Finance Central Banker Report Cards 2024 – Shaktikanta Das (A+ grade); 2nd year
• Hilal-e-Imtiaz Award (Pakistan 2ndhighest civilian award) – Arshad Nadeem

Exp. ADB approves Rs 530 Crore to boost drinking water supply in 12 cities of Tripura

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) would provide financial assistance of Rs 530 crore to the Tripura government to upgrade the drinking water supply in the state’s 12 cities benefiting around four lakh people.

12 cities, where the ADB-funded ambitious scheme would be implemented include, Udaipur, Amarpur, Belonia, Melaghar, Bishramganj, Khowai, Ranir Bazar, Mohanpur, Dharmanagar, Kailashhar, Kumarghat and Ambassa. Of the 12 cities, seven are district headquarters — Udaipur, Belonia, Bishramganj, Khowai, Dharmanagar, Kailashahar and Ambassa.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha laid the foundation of the ‘Mukhyamantri Nagar Unnayan Prakalp’ (Chief Minister’s urban development scheme) at a function in southern Tripura’s Gomati district headquarters Udaipur.

Under the scheme, a 305 km water pipeline would be laid, 25 deep tubewells, 18 Iron Removal Plant, four water treatment plants and 19 water reservoirs would be constructed.

After the completion of the ambitious plan within three years, a major drinking water problem of over 75,000 families in 12 cities in the state would be resolved.

Recent Loan approved by ADB

• India and ADB sign $500 million to improve healthcare in Maharashtra
• India and ADB sign $200 million to improve solid waste management and sanitation in 100 cities across eight states in the country
• India and ADB sign $200 million to expand metro rail corridors and improve transport connectivity in Nagpur
• India and ADB sign $240.5 million to rooftop solar system in India
• India and ADB sign $170 million to strengthen pandemic preparedness and response

Exp. Indigenous Aircraft carrier INS Vikrant joins Western Naval Fleet

The country’s indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant joined the western naval fleet, in a significant enhancement to maritime power in the Arabian Sea.

With this, the Indian Navy has two aircraft carriers INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya on its western front.

INS Vikrant is designed by Indian Navy’s in-house Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, a Public Sector Shipyard under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways.

INS Vikrant has been built with state-of-the-art automation features and is the largest ship ever built in maritime history of India.

The 262.5 m long and 61.6 m wide Vikrant displaces approximately 43,000 T, having a maximum designed speed of 28 Knots with endurance of 7,500 Nautical Miles.

The ship has around 2,200 compartments, designed for a crew of around 1,600 including women officers and sailors. The carrier is designed with a very high degree of automation for machinery operations, ship navigation and survivability. The carrier is equipped with the latest state of the art equipment and systems.

The ship is capable of operating air wing consisting of 30 aircraft comprising of MiG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31, MH-60R multi-role helicopters, in addition to indigenously manufactured Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) (Navy).

Using a novel aircraft-operation mode known as Short Take Off But Arrested Recovery (STOBAR), INS Vikrant is equipped with a ski-jump for launching aircraft, and a set of ‘arrester wires’ for their recovery onboard.

Exp. Jasprit Bumrah becomes 10th Indian Bowler to reach 400 International Wickets

Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah completed 400 wickets in international cricket, becoming the 10th bowler from his team to do so.

Bumrah reached this milestone during India’s first Test against Bangladesh at Chennai.

In 196 international matches, Bumrah has taken 401 wickets at an average of 21.01, with the best bowling figures of 6/19.

He is the only sixth Indian pacer to reach this milestone. In 37 Tests, Bumrah has taken 163 wickets at an average of 20.49, with the best figures of 6/27. He has 10 five-wicket hauls in the long format.

The top three wicket-takers for India in international cricket are: Anil Kumble (953 wickets), Ravichandran Ashwin (744 wickets), and Harbhajan Singh (707 wickets).

Exp. 21 September – International Day of Peace

International Day of Peace is observed every year on 21 September. It is also known as World Peace Day.

Established in 1981 by a unanimous United Nations resolution, Peace Day provides a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to Peace above all differences and to contribute to building a Culture of Peace.

Theme 2024 – Cultivating a Culture of Peace.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace.

Exp. Cabinet gives nod to ₹2,602 crore Wildlife Habitats Development scheme

The Union Cabinet has approved the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats scheme for the 15th Finance Commission cycle for an overall outlay of ₹2,602.98 crore.

The centrally sponsored scheme includes critical components such as Project Tiger, Project Elephant and Development of Wildlife Habitat.

The scheme envisages to boost technological interventions in different thematic areas over the current and next financial year in tiger and other wildlife habitats.

According to the overally outlay, the Centre allocated ₹1,575 crore for Project Tiger, ₹182.58 crore for Project Elephant and ₹845.4 crore for Development of Wildlife Habitat.

Project Tiger currently uses technology such as the M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers, Intensive Protection and Ecological Status) mobile application for day-to-day management practices. It is extensively used for collection of field level ecological data during the 5th cycle of the All-India Tiger Estimation in 2022.

The Project Dolphin under the Development of Wildlife Habitat component is proposed to be supported by provisioning equipment such as Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and passive acoustic monitoring devices for enumeration of dolphins as well as their habitat.

Project Lion, also under the ambit of the Development of Wildlife Habitat, will be strengthened as per activities envisaged in the document titled “Lion @ 2047: A vision for Amrut Kaal”.

Exp. Chess Olympiad 2024: Indian teams make history, bag gold in both categories

India has struck historic double gold medals in the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary. Both men and women teams emerged on top.

In the open section, India’s maiden title win was secured following Arjun Erigaisi’s victory over Jan Subelj of Slovenia in the final round of the competition.

At the same time, second-placed China dropped crucial points against the USA in their fixture, and India officially clinched the title. The Indian team for the open category included Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa R, Arjun Erigaisi, Vidit Gujrathi, Pentala Harikrishna, and Srinath Narayanan.

In the open section, India’s best performances prior to this year have been the bronze medals in 2022 and 2014.

In addition, in the women’s section final, the Indian women’s team defeated Azerbaijan 3.5-0.5 to clinch the gold. The team comprised Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, Tania Sachdev, and Abhijit Kunte (captain).