Swavlamban 2023: 2nd edition of Indian Navy’s NIIO Seminar held in New Delhi
Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Ministry of Defence(MoD), launched Swavlamban 2023 (Swavlamban 2.0),
the 2nd edition of the Indian Navy’s Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) seminar, in
New Delhi, Delhi. The 2-day seminar was held from 4th to 5th October 2023.
During the seminar 5th Positive
Indigenisation List (5th PIL) of the
Department of Military Affairs
(DMA), MoD comprising 98 items
was released.
defence minister launched the 76
challenges for the industry under the
10th Defence India Start-up
Challenges (DISC 10) and DISC 10
PRIME of Innovations for Defence
Excellence (iDEX).
He also launched the Indian Navy’s
updated Indigenisation Roadmap
‘Swavlamban 2.0’
About Ministry of Defence
Union Minister – Rajnath Singh (Constituency – Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh)
Minister of State (MoS) – Ajay Bhatt (Constituency – Nainital–Udhamsingh Nagar, Uttarakhand)
India-UAE Sign MoU in 7 Areas, with Emphasis on Space Technology, Renewable
Energy, and AI
- United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the
11th India-UAE high-level joint task force on investments in Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab
Emirates (UAE).
- India and the UAE have signed an MoU in
seven areas such as supply chain resilience,
renewable energy and energy efficiency, health
and life sciences, space systems, AI, Industry
4.0 and advanced technologies, as well as
standardisation and metrology.
- These MoUs align with the UAE-India
Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement (CEPA), which aims to strengthen
the UAE’s role as a trade and logistics hub.
- NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL)
and Al Etihad Payments (AEP) entered into an
agreement to implement a Domestic Card
Scheme (DCS) in the UAE. This partnership is set to revolutionize e-commerce, digital payments, and
financial inclusion in the UAE, leveraging India’s expertise in secure payment systems and its widely
acclaimed RuPay card network.
- NIPL: a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
- AEP: an indirect subsidiary of the Central Bank of UAE (CBUAE)
North America’s First Gandhi Museum Opens in Houston
- Eternal Gandhi Museum Houston(EGMH), North America’s first Gandhi Museum opened in Houston,
Texas, United States of America (USA).
- The ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Museum
was held on 2nd October on the occasion of
the 154th birth anniversary of Gandhi While
the museum officially opened to the public
on 15th August 2023.
- Dr Rajmohan Gandhi(grandson of Mahatma
Gandhi), Isaac Newton Farris Jr(nephew of
Martin Luther King), and Consulate General
of India(CGI) Houston D Manjunath were
the special guests amongst several at the
event.
- The architecture of the 13,000-square-foot
museum is inspired by Gandhi’s twentyfour-spoke Chakra spinning wheel and the
statue of Gandhi placed in front of the
museum.
- The semi-circular museum’s outside walls depict notable peace activists such as Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson
Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., and Betty Williams.
- The exhibits are interactive and interesting, portraying the tale of Gandhi’s life in three parts: “His
Journey,” “Our Journey,” and “My Journey.”
Iran’s Narges Mohammadi awarded Nobel Peace Prize 2023
- Nobel Peace Prize 2023 was awarded to 51-year-old Narges Mohammadi from Iran “for her fight
against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all”
- With this win, she became the 2nd
Iranian woman to win the Nobel Peace
Prize after Shirin Ebadi (also the first
Muslim woman) who won the award in
2003.
- Notably, Narges Mohammadi is currently
serving a 10-year, 9-month jail sentence
in Evin Prison in Tehran on various
charges, including spreading propaganda
against the state.
About Iran:
Capital– Tehran
Currency– Iranian Rial
President– Ebrahim Raisi
RBI Appoints Muneesh Kapur as New Executive Director
- RBI has appointed Muneesh Kapur as Executive Director (ED) with
effect from October 3, 2023.
- As executive director, Muneesh Kapur will monitor the Department of
Economic and Policy Research.
- Prior to his appointment as ED, he was serving as Adviser-in-Charge of
Monetary Policy Department and secretary to the Monetary Policy
Committee(MPC).
- He also served as an adviser to the executive director of the International Monetary Fund(IMF) during
2012-15.
Amazon Launched First Test Satellites for Project Kuiper Satellite System
Amazon.com, Inc.(AMZN.O) has launched the first two prototype satellites KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2
to low Earth orbit (LEO) at the height of 500 kilometers (311 miles) as part of “Protoflight” mission of
Project Kuiper.
The satellite was launched by United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch
Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, United States of America (USA).
Key Points:
- Project Kuiper satellite system is a network of satellites in LEO. The Kuiper System will operate at
altitudes between 590 and 630 kilometers
(roughly 367 to 391 miles).
- The project aims to provide fast and
affordable internet to more than 10
million of underserved communities
around the world.
- To make it feasible, Amazon planned to
launch 3,236 satellites that make up a
satellite constellation to LEO
- To reduce the overlap of the satellites,
each one of them will operate within 9
kilometers of their assigned altitude.
- To launch the satellite Amazon has
signed contracts with three commercial
space companies namely Arianespace, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance.
- To launch the satellite Amazon has
signed contracts with three commercial
space companies namely Arianespace, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance.
- The half of the planned satellites must be operational by 2026, and all of them must be operational by
2029.
- This project is competing with SpaceX’s Starlink project.
About Amazon.com, Inc.:
President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Andy Jassy
Headquarters – Seattle, Washington, United States of America(USA)
Established in – 1994
KCP Delivers Integrated AirDrop Test – Crew Module Structure to ISRO for
Gaganyaan Mission
- The Chennai-based KCP Heavy Engineering (KCP HE) hands over the first Integrated Air Drop Test
-Crew Module (IADT-CM) structure to the Indian
Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the
purpose of assessing technology readiness for the
Gaganyaan spacecraft
- ISRO designed the IADT-CM structure, which was
built in Thiruvotriyur, Chennai, by KCP-Heavy
Engineering Unit for heavy casting, machining, and
fabrication.
- This was the first IADT-CM out of two orders by
ISRO to KCP while the second IADT-CM is set to
be delivered by March 2024.
- The IADT-CM weighs 3,120 kg, has a diameter of 3.1 metres, and a height of 2.6 metres.
- It accommodates major subsystems like parachute systems, pyros, avionics, and buoyance augmentation
systems.
- The IADT-CM system will be tested using an Indian Air Force helicopter at an altitude of 3.6 to 4
kilometres to assess the performance of the deceleration system (parachute and pyro’s).
World Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day 2023- October 8
World Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Day (H2FC Day) is annually observed on October 8 to recognise the
importance of the chemical element,
Hydrogen, and its role in the transition
towards a cleaner and more equitable energy
future.
The day aimed at promoting awareness and
understanding of hydrogen as a clean and
sustainable energy source, along with the
versatile technology of fuel cell
Key Points:
- In June 2015, the Senate of the United
States of America (USA) designated the 8th
October of every year as ‘‘National Hydrogen
and Fuel Cell Day’’.
The idea of the observance was initiated by
the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA), the trade association for the fuel cell and
hydrogen energy industry in the USA.
- The first H2FC Day was observed on 8th October 2015
Indian Air Force(IAF) Day 2023 – October 08
Indian Air Force(IAF) Day is annually observed across India on October 8 to commemorate the
establishment of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 1932.
8th October 2023 marks the celebration of
the 91st Anniversary of the Indian Air
Force.
The Indian Air Force is also known as
Bharatiya Vayu Sena
- The Air Force Day parade (a showcase
of the IAF’s personnel and equipment) and
Air Display(display of aerial acrobatics
and aerobatics) are two of the most
important events.
- A woman officer, Group Captain Shaliza
Dhamia (a helicopter pilot), led the Indian
Air Force Day parade for the first time
ever
- As part of the events, Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari unveiled the new IAF Ensign.
- The legendary Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG)-21 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) took its final air
display flight on IAF day 2023.
About Indian Air Force (IAF):
Chief of the Air Staff – VR Chaudhari
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi
Established in – 1932
Motto – Touching the sky with Glory
World Post Day 2023 – October 9
United Nations (UN) World Post Day is annually observed across the globe on 9 October to mark the
anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union’s (UPU) in 1874 in Bern, Switzerland.
The day aims to bring awareness about the role of the postal sector in everyday lives of people and
businesses, as well as its contribution to global
social and economic development.
The theme of World Post Day 2023 observed on
9th October 2023 is “Together for trust:
Collaborating for a safe and connected future”.
Key Points:
- In 1969, the UPU Congress held in Tokyo,
Japan adopted the resolution C 11/1969 and
recommended that the 9th of October (the
anniversary of the founding of the UPU) each
year be observed as UPU Day.
- UPU Day” has been renamed ‘World Post
Day’ by resolution C 32/1984 at the Hamburg
Congress in Germany
- The first World Post Day was celebrated in
1969