VISION

Monday, September 13, 2021

Daily Current Affairs, 13th September 2021

aditya 17:16

1) United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation: 12 September

•International Day for South-South Cooperation is observed globally on 12th September every year. The day celebrates the economic, social and political developments made in recent years by regions and countries in the south. It also highlights the UN’s efforts to work on technical cooperation among developing countries.

2) BJP’s Bhupendra Patel named as new Gujarat Chief Minister

•Bhupendra Patel has been chosen as the new Chief Minister of Gujarat at the BJP legislature meeting. He is a BJP MLA from the Ghatlodia assembly seat in Ahmedabad. This comes after the resignation of Vijay Rupani from the post of CM of Gujarat.

3) India’s first long-range nuclear missile tracking ship INS Dhruv commissioned

•India’s first nuclear-missile tracking ship, named INS Dhruv, has been commissioned from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. The 10,00 tonnes satellite and ballistic missile tracking ship has been built by the Hindustan Shipyard Limited in collaboration with the DRDO and National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO).

4) India-Australia holds inaugural 2+2 ministerial dialogue

•NEW DELHI, SEP 11 (UNI):- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External AFfairs Minister S Jaishankar with their Australian counterparts Peter Dutton and Marise Payne before the inaugural session of 2+2 ministerial dialogue in New Delhi on Saturday. UNI PHOTO-3U

•India and Australia are undertaking their first-ever 2+2 ministerial dialogue at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi. The high-level foreign and defence ministerial-level dialogue will further ramp up the overall defence and strategic cooperation between the two countries, including in the Indo-Pacific cooperation amid China’s increasing military assertiveness in the region.

•The Indian delegation at inaugural ‘two-plus-two’ talks is being led by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with their Australian counterparts Marise Payne and Peter Dutton, respectively. India has a 2-2 Ministerial-level meetings framework with very few countries, including the USA and Japan.

5) PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Sardardham Bhavan

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Sardardham Bhavan in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, via video conferencing. He also performed the “Bhoomi Pujan” of the Sardardham Phase-II Kanya Chhatralaya (girls’ hostel) project. Both these establishments are dedicated to the “Iron Man of India,” Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The project is developed by the Vishwa Patidar Samaj.

6) India’s largest open air fernery opened in Uttarakhand

•India’s largest open-air fernery has been inaugurated in Ranikhet of Uttarakhand. The new centre will serve the dual objective of ‘conservation of fern species as well as ‘create awareness about their ecological role and promote further research. The fernery is home to a large number of fern species, some of which are endemic to the state, some hold medicinal value while some are threatened species that demand care and conservation.

7) Jeev Milkha Singh becomes first golfer in world to be granted Dubai Golden Visa

•Star Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh has become the first professional golfer in the world to receive the prestigious 10-year Dubai Golden Visa in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the sport. The 49-year-old Jeev has had a long association with Dubai, having featured in several tournaments and making many friends in the city.

•During the 2001 Dubai Desert Classic, Jeev had established a world record at that time when he completed the four rounds with just 94 putts while finishing tied sixth. Jeev, winner of four titles on the European Tour, four on Japan Golf Tour and six on the Asian Tour, has received the 10-year ‘Gold card’ for being an elite professional athlete.

8) Yahoo Appoints Jim Lanzone as its new CEO

•The web service provider, Yahoo has named Jim Lanzone as its new chief executive officer (CEO). He was currently serving as the CEO of the Dating app Tinder. Jim Lanzone will replace Guru Gowrappan, to the post of Yahoo CEO. As for Tinder, Renate Nyborg has been appointed as the new CEO of the dating app to replace Lanzone.

•Prior to his stint as CEO of the dating app Tinder, Lanzone had led the digital operations of CBS Corporation as Chief Digital Officer and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Interactive. He had joined CBS after its acquisition of Clicker Media in 2011, where he was co-founder and CEO. He served in multiple executive roles at search engine Ask.com, including as CEO after the company’s acquisition by IAC/InterActiveCorp from 2001 to 2008. Lanzone is also a member of the board of directors of GoPro.

9) Vijay Goel named as Vice Chairman of Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti

•Former Union Minister, Vijay Goel has been appointed as the Vice-Chairman of Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti (GSDS). It is the site of the Martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation. Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti (GSDS) was formed in September 1984 as an autonomous body. It is functioning under constructive advice and financial support from the Ministry of Culture. It is located in New Delhi.

•The Prime Minister of India is the Chairperson of Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti (GSDS). The objective of the Samiti is to propagate the life, mission and thought of Mahatma Gandhi through various socio-educational and cultural programmes.

10) Pawan Goenka appointed chairperson of In-SPACe

•Former managing director of Mahindra & Mahindra Pawan Kumar Goenka has been appointed as the chairperson of the Indian National Space Promotion Authorization Centre (In-SPACe). During his R&D tenure in M&M, he led the development of the Scorpio SUV. IN-SPACe functions as an independent nodal agency under the Department of Space, Government of India.

•Goenka, an IIT alumnus, had been associated with two major automobile companies – General Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra – in his professional career that spanned over four decades. He retired as the MD of the company on April 1, 2021, after spending 27 years with the Mahindra Group.

11) Daniel Ricciardo wins Italian Grand Prix 2021

•Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren, Australian-Italian) has won the Formula One Italian Grand Prix 2021 title held at Autodromo Nazionale Monza track, Italy. This is the first victory for McLaren in 9 years. Lando Norris came second while Valtteri Bottas came third in the F1 race. Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen crash out of Italian Grand Prix 2021 due to collision.

The HINDU Notes – 13th September 2021

the hindu notes

aditya 17:03

📰 LCA-Mk2 to roll out next year, first flight in 2023, says scientist

‘Detailed design has been completed and metal cutting is to start shortly’

•The configuration for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk2 has been frozen and steel cutting is expected to begin soon while configuration for the fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) has been frozen and preliminary design completed, a senior scientist from the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) has said.

•“The detailed design is complete. In fact, we are in the critical design review stage and metal cutting should start very shortly. Roll-out of the aircraft (Mk2) is planned next year and the first flight in early 2023. We are well on track to achieve these goals,” Girish S. Deodhare, Programme Director (Combat Aircraft) & Director, ADA, said at an event by the Centre for Air Power Studies and Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers.

Enhabced range

•The aircraft features enhanced range and endurance including an onboard oxygen generation system, which is being integrated for the first time, Dr. Deodhare said.

•Heavy weapons of the class of Scalp, Crystal Maze and Spice-2000 will also be integrated on the Mk2. The LCA-Mk2 will be a heavier and much more capable aircraft than the current LCA variants.

•The Mk2 is 1,350 mm longer featuring canards and can carry a payload of 6,500 kg compared to 3,500 kg the LCA can carry.

•In February, the Defence Ministry signed a ₹48,000-crore deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) to supply 83 LCA-Mk1A to the Indian Air Force. In August, the HAL signed a $716 million deal with GE Aviation of the U.S. for 99 F404 aircraft engines and support services to power the Mk-1A. The Mk2 will be powered by a more powerful GE-414 engine.

•The Indian Air Force (IAF) has one squadron of the LCA in initial operational clearance and deliveries of the second squadron in final operational clearance configuration are under way.

•The HAL has already set up a second assembly line to ramp up production from eight aircraft a year to 16. Order for 83 Mk-1A is expected to be completed by 2028-29, Dr. Deodhare said.

Stealth aircraft

•Stating that the initial design of the AMCA was started way back in 2009, Dr. Deodhare said that it would be a twin engine stealth aircraft with an internal weapons bay and a diverterless supersonic intake, which has been developed for the first time for which the design is complete.

•It will be a 25-tonne aircraft with internal carriage of 1,500 kg of payload and 5,500-kg external payload with 6,500 kg of internal fuel.

•On the current status of the AMCA, Dr. Deodhare said the configuration had been frozen, preliminary service quality requirements finalised and preliminary design review completed.

•“We are moving to critical design review by the middle of next year with the roll-out planned in 2024 and first flight planned in 2025.”

•The AMCA will have stealth and non-stealth configuration and will be developed in two phases, AMCA Mk1 with existing GE414 engine and an AMCA Mk2 with an advanced, more powerful engine to be developed later along with a foreign partner, Dr. Deodhare added.

•The manufacturing and production of the aircraft will be through a special purpose vehicle, which will also have participation of private industry.

•Simultaneously, the project for development of a twin-engine deck-based fighter jet meant to fly from the Navy’s aircraft carriers is also making progress. On the various programmes under way, Dr. Deodhare said there was commonality of systems and technologies.