1) Russia to train Indian astronauts for Gaganyaan mission
•Russia will train four Indian astronauts for India’s ambitious manned mission to space, Gaganyaan. Indian astronauts will be trained at Russian facilities. A special ISRO unit will be established in the embassy in Moscow to facilitate increased cooperation between India and Russia in view of the Gaganyaan mission.
•Under the Gaganyaan Mission, Indian Space Research Research Organisation has outlined a road map to put a three-man crew in a low earth orbit for 5-7 days by December 2021.
2) Lt. Gen. Mukund Naravane took charge as Vice Chief of Army Staff
•Lieutenant General Manoj Mukund Naravane has assumed charge as Vice Chief of the Indian Army. He succeeded Lieutenant General D. Anbu.
•Before assuming charge as Vice Chief of the Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Naravane was heading the Eastern Command of the Indian Army which takes care of India’s border with China.
3) India ranks 9th on “Global Happiness Survey” by Ipsos
•According to a “Global Happiness Survey” by Ipsos, Indian has been ranked 9th on the happiness index among 28 global markets. For India, there has been a six per cent drop (from 83 per cent in 2018 to 77 per cent in 2019).
•Australia and Canada at the top spot (at 86 per cent) have emerged as the happiest nations of the world, While Russia (47 per cent) emerged at the bottom of the heap, among the 28 markets.
4) IPS Vivek Kumar Johri takes charge as BSF DG
•IPS officer Vivek Kumar Johri took charge as the Director General (DG) of the country’s largest border guarding force, BSF. He will replace Rajni Kant Mishra.
•VK Johri has been serving as the Special Secretary in the external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), under the Cabinet Secretariat. He will retire in September next year and is the 25th chief of the force.
5) GoI accepts SBI MD Anshula Kant’s resignation
•The Government of India has accepted the resignation of State bank of India Managing Director Anshula Kant. Now she has been appointed as the managing director and chief financial officer of the World Bank.
6) Jasprit Bumrah becomes 3rd Indian to register hat trick in Test cricket
•Indian pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah has become the third Indian to register a hat-trick in Test cricket. He took 3 wickets in 3 successive balls in the 2nd test against West Indies, held in Kingston, Jamaica. He dismissed Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks and Roston Chase to claim the hat trick.
