1. Committed to deepen strategic ties with Mongolia: Rajnath Singh
Tags: Defence Person in news International News
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh who is on an official visit to Mongolia said that New Delhi is committed to further deepening multifaceted Strategic Partnership with Mongolia.
Rajnath Singh is on a five-day visit to Mongolia and Japan beginning 5 September 2022 with an aim to expand India's strategic and defence ties with the two countries.
IMPORTANT FACTS -
Visit to Mongolia :
His visit to Mongolia from 5-7 September 2022 is the first-ever tour to the East Asian country by an Indian defence minister.
He met the Mongolian defence minister Saikhanbayar Gursed in Ulaanbaatar on 6 September 2022.
The Minister also met President of Mongolia, U. Khurelsukh.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
India Mongolia relationship :
India and Mongolia share warm and cordial bilateral relations. Mongolia regards India as its “third” and a “spiritual neighbour”.
The bilateral relationship was upgraded to a Strategic Partnership in 2015 during the historic visit of Prime Minister Modi to the country.
India has provided a loan of USD 1.236 billion to Mongolia to build a 1.5 million metric tonnes oil refinery near Sainshand in southern Dornogovi province of Mongolia.
It is being constructed by India’s public sector Engineers India Limited.
Mongolia :
It is located in North Central Asia.
Capital: Ulaanbaatar
Currency: Tugrik
President: Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh
2. US Navy ship docks in India for the first time for repairs
Tags: Defence National News
American Naval Ship Charles Drew arrived in India for the first time on 7 August for repairs and maintenance at L&T Kattupalli Shipyard at Ennore near Chennai.
Important facts
This will be the first time that a US Navy ship is being repaired at an Indian shipyard.
India had proposed during the 2+2 dialogue in April that the US Navy could leverage the services and expertise of the Indian shipyard.
The repair of US Navy ships at the Indian shipyard has been enabled due to the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016.
LEMOA facilitates the exchange of goods and munitions between the two navies.
The USNS Charles Drew will be at Kattupalli shipyard for 11 days and undergo repairs in various areas.
It is a new dimension to the fast expanding Indo-US strategic partnership.
Major Shipyards in India
Cochin Shipyard Limited - Cochin/Kochi - Kerala
Hindustan Shipyard Limited - Visakhapatnam - Andhra Pradesh
Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers - Kolkata - West Bengal
Goa Shipyard Limited - Goa - Goa
L&T Shipbuilding Limited - Hazira - Gujarat
ABG Shipyard Limited - Mumbai - Maharashtra
Largest Shipyard in India and the world
Cochin Shipyard is the largest shipyard in India.
In terms of revenue, the largest revenue generated by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers is ₹1,658.79 crore.
INS Vikrant, India's first indigenous aircraft carrier is being built by Cochin Shipyard.
Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea is the largest dockyard in the world.
Seawise Giant is the largest ship ever built in history. It was made in Japan by Sumitomo Heavy Industries.
INS Vikramaditya is India's largest aircraft carrier and warship.
3. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched indigenously built Y-3023 Dunagiri
Tags: Defence
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched a Project 17A frigate named Dunagiri on 15 July 2022 from Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited, Kolkata in the Hooghly River.
Important facts
The fourth vessel of the P-17A frigate class has been named after a mountain range in the state of Uttarakhand.
It is a P-17 Frigate (Shivalik) class ship equipped with modified stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management system.
Doonagiri, a modified version of the erstwhile Doonagiri (Leander) class ASW frigate, served 33 years from 5 May 1977 to 20 October 2010 and witnessed various challenging operations and multinational exercises.
The first two ships of the P-17A project were launched at MDL and GRSE in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
The third vessel (Udayagiri) was launched this year on 17 May 2022 at MDL.
The launch of this fourth ship in such a short span of time is proof that the country is moving towards self-reliant shipbuilding with a focused approach.
The P-17A ships have been indigenously designed by the Directorate of Naval Design (DND) of the Indian Navy and have successfully designed various indigenous warships in the past as well.
This is the result of the country's tireless efforts towards 'Self-reliant India' and under this 75 percent orders for equipment and systems are being placed to various indigenous firms including MSMEs.
4. Indian Naval Ships visit Singapore
Tags: Defence
Indian Naval Ships - Sahyadri and Kadmat - going to be deployed in South-East Asia visited Singapore.
Both the ships under the command of Rear Admiral Sanjay Bhalla, Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Fleet, visited Singapore from 1 to 3 July.
During the visit the Navy crew participated in professional interactions with the Navy of the Republic of Singapore towards enhancing mutual cooperation and interoperability.
During this, social and informal exchanges were also held with the aim of strengthening the ties and mutual understanding between the navies.
The ships' visit to Singapore on July 1 on the 'Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Day' helped enhance maritime cooperation and further cement the strong ties of India's friendship with Singapore that will contribute to security and stability in the region.
Earlier, on February 4, 2021, Singapore's Defense Minister Ng Ing Hen attended the inaugural session of the Defense Ministers' Conference (DMC) of the Indian Ocean Region.
On the occasion, he also announced Singapore's support to India's leadership in promoting a rules-based maritime order in the Indian Ocean region.
Simbex- 2021
The Singapore Navy and the Indian Navy conducted the annual Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) from September 2 to 4, 2021.
A virtual scheme was also included in Simbex- 2021.
This was followed by a 'contactless' sea phase in the southern part of the South China Sea in international waters.
INS Sahyadri
It is an indigenously built stealth frigate.
It participated in the tripartite vernacular Malabar War with Japan and the United States off the coast of Guam.
INS Kadmatt
It is the second of four anti-submarine warfare corvettes built for the Indian Navy by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers of Kolkata under Project 28.
It is an indigenously built ASW corvette.
It was inducted into the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy.
Its role is in anti-submarine warfare.
5. GRSE launches Indian Navy survey vessel ‘INS Nirdeshak’
Tags: Defence
'Nirdeshak', the second of the four Survey Ship (SVL) projects under construction for the Indian Navy, was launched on 26 May 2022 at Kattupalli, Chennai.
Nirdeshak is the second ship in the four survey vessel project under construction by Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in association with L&T Shipbuilding.
The first class ship 'Sandhyak' was launched on 5 December 2021 at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.
Of the four SVL ships, three are being partially constructed at L&T at Kattupalli under a collaborative approach between GRSE and L&T Shipbuilding.
The ship was launched by Sarbani Dasgupta, wife of Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command.
It is named after the erstwhile Nirdeshak , who retired from the Indian Navy in December 2014 after 32 years of illustrious service.
These ships are built from indigenously developed DMR 249-A steel by Hull Steel Authority of India Limited.
With the capacity to carry four survey motor boats and an integrated helicopter, the primary role of the ships will be to undertake full scale coastal and deep water hydrographic surveys of ports and shipping channels.
About Indian Navy
The Indian Navy was organised in the year 1612 AD as the war-fighting army of the East India Company under the name Indian Marine.
In 1685 AD, it was renamed as "Bombay Marine".
On 8 September 1934, the Indian Legislative Council passed the Indian Naval Discipline Act and the Royal Indian Navy emerged.
Navy Chief - Admiral R Hari Kumar
Deputy Chief of Naval Staff- Vice Admiral Satish Namdev Ghormade
Indian Navy Day - 4th December
Recently the Navy's indigenous warships INS Surat and INS Udayagiri have been launched at Mazagon Dockyard in Mumbai.
6. National Technology Day
Tags: National Important Days
National Technology Day is observed every year on 11 May to honour the contributions of India's scientific community including scientists, researchers and engineers.
Significance of the day
It reminds people of the scientific achievements of the country.
It is a day to honour all those who have contributed to the advancement of science.
It honours the hard work and efforts of all those who have contributed to the technological progress of our country.
Theme of the year 2022 - An Integrated Approach to Science and Technology for a Sustainable Future.
The theme was launched by Union Minister Jitendra Singh.
History of the day
National Technology Day was first officially celebrated on 11 May 1999.
The primary goal of this day was to recognize scientific and technological achievements.
On May 11, 1998, India successfully carried out nuclear tests at the army’s Pokhran test range in Rajasthan.
In doing so, India became the sixth country to join the 'nuclear club'.
The test was led by the late APJ Abdul Kalam, an aerospace scientist who became the eleventh President of India.
On the same day in 1998, India test-fired its first indigenous aircraft Hansa-3 which took off in Bengaluru.
On that day, the surface-to-air missile Trishul was also successfully test fired.
With many technological advancements in a single day, the Government of India announced the celebration of May 11 as National Technology Day.
It was officially signed by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Since then, the Technology Development Board (TDB) which is a statutory body under the Department of Science and Technology at the Centre is celebrating this day.
7. Tesla to accept dogecoin as payment for merchandise
Tags: International News
Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Friday said the electric carmaker will accept meme-based digital currency dogecoin for merchandise.
- Products such as the "Cyberwhistle" and "Cyberquad for Kids" could be bought using the cryptocurrency, according to the Tesla website.
- Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency invented by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, who decided to create a payment system.
8. President Kovind presents Vir Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra:
Tags:
Why in the news?
Recently, President Ram Nath Kovind presented Gallantry Awards and Distinguished Service Decorations in Defence Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Key highlights:
- Gallantry Awards have been instituted by the Government of India to honour the acts of bravery and sacrifice of the officers/personnel of the Armed Forces as well as other lawfully constituted forces and civilians.
- The order of precedence of these awards is Vir Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra.
- These gallantry awards are announced twice in a year , first on the occasion of the Republic Day and on the occasion of the Independence Day.
- During the awards ceremony, President Kovind accorded several gallantry awards like the Shaurya Chakra, Kirti Chakra and the Vir Chakra.
- The Vir Chakra was conferred to Balakot Airstrike hero Indian Air Force Wing Commander (now Group Captain) Abhinandan Varthaman.
- President Kovind accorded the Shaurya Chakra (posthumously) to Naib Subedar Sombir for killing an A++ category terrorist during an operation in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal was also accorded the Shaurya Chakra (posthumously).
- President Ram Nath Kovind accorded the second-highest peacetime gallantry award Kirti Chakra (posthumously) to Sapper Prakash Jadhav from the Corps of Engineers.
- President Kovind also conferred the Shaurya Chakra gallantry award to Major Maheshkumar Bhure who is an alumnus of Sainik School Satara.
Param Vir Chakra:
- Param Vir Chakra or PVC is India's highest military decoration which is awarded for most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, in the presence of an enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air.
- It was introduced on 26 January, 1950 on the first Republic Day.
- This award may be given posthumously.
- 'Param Vir Chakra'. In Sanskrit, Param means Ultimate, Vir (Pronounced as Veer) which means Brave and Chakra means wheel.
- First awarded: to Maj.Somnath Sharma.
'Kirti Chakra:
- It is an Indian military decoration awarded for bravery, self-sacrifice away from the field of battle.
- Kirti Chakra may be awarded to civilians as well, in addition to the military personnel.
- Kirti Chakra is the second-highest peacetime decoration of India and is equivalent to Maha Vir Chakra.
- On January 4, 1952, Kirti Chakra was established as the 'Ashoka Chakra, Class II' by the then President of India, w.e.f. from August 15, 1947. On January 27, 1967, the decoration was renamed as 'Kirti Chakra'.
Shaurya Chakra:
- It is an Indian military decoration awarded for gallantry, otherwise than in the face of the enemy.
- It may be awarded to civilians, also as military personnel, sometimes posthumously.
- On 4 January, 1952, it was established as the Ashoka Chakra, Class III by the Government of India, with effect from 15 August, 1947.
On 27 January, 1967, the decoration was renamed as 'Shaurya Chakra' awarded for gallantry.
