1) Assam CM Himanta Biswa assures govt jobs for National Games Medalists
•The Assam State Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma has assured jobs for all National Games medalists of Assam from now on. He also mentioned that all those who won medals in National Games so far for Assam would be given Sports Pension by the State Government. He hoped that this decision would help the sportspersons of the state.
•The Chief Minister also announced that the house would send a goodwill message to boxer Lovlina Borgohain who will be vying for a medal in Tokyo Olympics. The Chief Minister stated about the increase of sports pension on the sixth day of the Assam Assembly cabinet meeting. Further, the minister also said that the government is planning to increase the pension of sportsperson from Rs. 8000 to Rs. 10,000.
2) OFT hands delivery of 25 remote control guns to Navy
•Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli hands over Fifteen 12.7 mm M2 NATO Stabilized Remote Control Gun to Indian Navy & 10 to Indian Coast Guard. It is manufactured with the transfer of technology agreement from Elbit Systems, Israel.
•This gun is equipped with an inbuilt CCD camera, thermal imager & a laser range finder for observation & tracking of targets through the day and night operations. The gun is meant for marine applications and can remotely engage targets.
3) NMGC approves new projects for rejuvenation of 6 rivers in Uttarakhand
•The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in its 36th Executive Committee has approved new projects for the rejuvenation of six rivers in Uttarakhand. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), there are a total of nine polluted stretches in Uttarakhand and six of them are in the Udham Singh Nagar district on various tributaries or small rivers such as Bhela, Dhela, Kichha, Nandor, Pilankha and Kosi.
•The projects shall cover the six polluted river stretches in the Kumaon region. Out of the rest three polluted stretches, the project of Ganga at Jagjeetpur, Haridwar has already been commissioned and on the remaining two, Namami Gange projects are already under execution. It also approved Sewerage (I&D) scheme (Dhela River) Phase-1 of District Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand under Namami Gange Programme at a sanctioned cost of Rs 199.36 crore.
4) Govt to set up Indian Institute of Heritage at Noida
•The government has decided to set up the Indian Institute of Heritage at Noida, Gautam Buddha Nagar. This will impact higher education and research in the field of rich Indian heritage and its conservation, leading to Masters and PhD courses in History of Arts, Conservation, Museology, Archival Studies, Archaeology, Preventive Conservation, Epigraphy and Numismatics, Manuscriptology as well as conservation training facilities to in-service employees and students of the institute.
•This institute is being set up is deemed to be a university by integrating Institute of Archaeology (Pt Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology), School of Archival Studies under National Archives of India, New Delhi, the National Research Laboratory for Conservation of Cultural Property (NRLC), Lucknow, National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology (NMICHM) and Academic Wing of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi.
5) Jeff Bezos launches to space aboard New Shepard rocket ship
•Billionaire Jeff Bezos has made a short journey to space, in the first crewed flight of his rocket ship, New Shepard. He was accompanied by Mark Bezos, his brother, Wally Funk, an 82-year-old pioneer of the space race, and an 18-year-old student. They travelled in a capsule with the biggest windows flown in space, offering stunning views of the Earth. On this flight was the oldest person who has been to space, Wally Funk and the youngest, student Oliver Daemen.
•When the capsule touched back down after the 10-minute, 10-second flight, Jeff Bezos exclaimed: “Best day ever!”. New Shepard, built by Bezos’ company Blue Origin, is designed to serve the burgeoning market for space tourism.
6) China unveils 600 kph maglev train makes public debut
•China unveiled a maglev train capable of a top speed of 600 kph. The maximum speed would make the train, self-developed by China and manufactured in the coastal city of Qingdao, the fastest ground vehicle globally. Using electromagnetic force, the maglev train “levitates” above the track with no contact between body and rail. China has been using the technology for almost two decades on a very limited scale.
7) Perumkulam is Kerala’s first ‘Book Village’
•Perumkulam, in Kollam District, has been bestowed with the title Kerala’s first ‘Book Village’. This claim to fame results from years of concerted efforts aimed at encouraging the habit of reading. Perumkulam is a small village in Kulakkada near Kottarakkara in Kollam district. Bapuji Smaraka Grandhasala’, a library in the village is at the forefront in this effort of making it the first book village of the State.
