| India’s Memorandum of Association (MoA) for the establishment of the BIMSTEC TTF in Colombo, Sri Lanka has been approved by the Union Cabinet. | At the 5th BIMSTEC Summit, the BIMSTEC member nations reached an agreement to create the BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility (TTF). On March 30, 2022, the 5th BIMSTEC Summit was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Forum strives to encourage and improve technology transfer collaboration among BIMSTEC Member States. The TTF will have a Governing Board that will be in charge of overseeing the TTF’s activities. Each Member State will have one representative on the Governing Board. |
| The Union Cabinet has authorised the ‘AGNIPATH’ plan, which will recruit ‘Agnives’ into the Armed Forces. | The ‘AGNIPATH’ initiative aims to attract young people into the military. Agniveers will be the name given to the kids chosen under the ‘AGNIPATH’ programme. This year, 46,000 Agniveers will be recruited. In 90 days, recruitment rallies will begin. Agniveers will be registered for four years under their separate Service Acts. Agniveers will get a monthly stipend, as well as risk and hardship allowances. Agniveers will receive a one-time ‘Seva Nidhi’ gift (Rs 11.71 lakh) at the end of the four-year engagement period. Income Tax will not apply to the ‘Seva Nidhi.’ There will be no entitlement to benefits such as gratuities or pensions. For the term of their involvement in the Indian Armed Forces, Agniveers would receive a non-contributory Life Insurance Coverage of Rs 48 lakhs. Individuals chosen for enlistment as regular cadres in the Armed Forces would be expected to serve for a minimum of another 15 years. Applicants must be between the ages of 17.5 and 21 to be considered for the Agnipath programme. |
| IoTechWorld Avigation Pvt Ltd, situated in Gurugram, has been issued the first Type Certificate (TC) under the Drone Rules, 2021. | After submitting an online application on the DGCA’s DigitalSky Platform, the First Type Certificate (TC) was issued in just 34 days. The Drone Rules of 2021 give the Quality Council of India (QCI) or Certification Bodies 60 days and the DGCA 15 days to provide the Type Certificate (total 75 days). Three internationally recognised Certification Bodies have been accepted by QCI. TQ Cert, UL India, and Bureau Veritas are the three companies. On August 25, 2021, the Drone Rules for 2021 were published. On January 26, 2022, the ‘Certification Scheme for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (CSUAS)’ was announced for acquiring a Type Certificate (TC) for drones. IoTechWorld Avigation Pvt Ltd. is a major kisan drone maker in India. |
| The Union Cabinet adopted an agreement on cooperation in the sphere of youth work between the authorised bodies of the SCO member states. | Following the acceptance of the agreement on 17 September 2021 by the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on cooperation in the field of youth work, the agreement was signed by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of India. Russian and Chinese are the official working languages of the SCO Secretariat. The purpose of the agreement is to develop mutual trust, cordial ties, and collaboration among young people in SCO member nations. The following are the areas of collaboration: Enhance collaboration with youth and public youth organisations (associations) in the implementation of state youth policy. Encourage activities that aim to improve international youth collaboration. Professional staff training in the field of juvenile work. Conducting cooperative research and initiatives on a variety of youth policy and cooperation topics. |
| The four Holy Kapilvastu Relics of Lord Buddha have arrived in Mongolia for an 11-day exposition. | Mongolia’s Culture Minister, H.E Ms Ch Nomin, received the holy relics at Ulaanbaatar International Airport with great reverence and ceremony. The transport of antiquities from India to Mongolia, according to Shri Kiren Rijiju, would strengthen historical links between India and Mongolia. These relics are part of a collection of 22 unique relics housed in the National Museum of the Ministry of Culture. In 2015, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi presented the people of Mongolia with the largest Buddha statue in the Gandan Monastery, which was placed in 2018. |
| World Wind Day 2022 | The 15th of June is designated as Global Wind Day. Its goal is to draw attention to wind energy’s potential and potential for altering our energy systems. WindEurope and the Global Wind Energy Council are putting up the event (GWEC). The inaugural Global Wind Day was held in 2009. Wind energy is a non-conventional and environmentally friendly type of electricity that can assist to reduce carbon emissions. The kinetic energy generated by moving air is utilised to generate electricity in the wind. |
| The development of a new greenfield airport in Dholera, Ahmedabad, has been authorised by the Union Cabinet. | The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has accepted the proposal for the building of Phase I of the New Greenfield Airport in Dholera, Gujarat. The project is projected to cost Rs 1305 crore and be completed in 48 months. The project is being implemented by Dholera International Airport Company Limited (DIACL). It is a joint venture business owned by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Government of Gujarat (GoG), and the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust in the proportions of 51:33:16. (NICDIT). The airport is projected to open in 2025-2026 with a passenger flow of 3 lakhs per year, which is expected to increase to roughly 23 lakhs during the next 20 years. In 2025-26, the annual cargo flow is estimated to be 20,000 tonnes, with a 20-year increase to 2,73,000 tonnes. The Indian government has given preliminary clearance for the construction of 21 greenfield airports around the country. |
| Due to higher food and crude oil costs, wholesale price-based inflation reached a new high of 15.88 percent in May 2022. | Inflation was 15.08 percent in April and 13.11 percent in May of last year, according to the Wholesale Price Index. In May 2022, prices of mineral oils, crude petroleum, and natural gas, as well as food, non-food metals, chemicals & chemical products, and food goods, all increased considerably compared to the same month the previous year. WPI inflation has been in double digits for the 14th month in a run, and has been on an upward trend for three months in a row since April 2021. In May, food inflation was 12.34 percent, with prices of vegetables, grains, fruits, and potatoes rising dramatically compared to a year before. For the sixth month in a row, retail inflation exceeded the RBI’s inflation goal of 7.04 percent. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is used to calculate retail inflation. To combat excessive inflation, the RBI hiked the repo rate by 40 basis points in May and 50 basis points in June. The central bank raised its 2022-23 inflation prediction by 100 basis points to 6.7 percent last week. |
| The Sugamya Cane Gadget is an assistive device that aids in movement and direction-finding for visually impaired people. | Sugamya Cane Sensor and a Standard Foldable White Cane are included. It identifies impediments that fall inside the sensor’s detection zone. It is equipped with ultrasonic sensors. Sugamya Cane has sensors with two detection ranges: short-range and long-range detection. A larger range can be useful while travelling in an outside area, while a lesser range might be useful when moving indoors. A rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery powers the Sugamya Cane. It is advised that you utilise the ALIMCO charger. A good-quality smartphone charger can also be used to charge the battery. The Sensor is fixed on the top section of the White Cane, which is made up of four pieces of pipe. Sugamya Cane has a total weight of 348 grams. |
| On 14 June 2022, President Ram Nath Kovind attended the Lokarpana ceremony of Sri Rajadhiraja Govinda Temple at Vaikuntha Hill in Vasanthapura, Bengaluru. | The President, speaking on the occasion, stated that temples are one of Hinduism’s most essential symbols. The President spoke on A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s role in disseminating the message of the Gita throughout the world. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness’s Founder-Acharya is A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (ISKCON). The President was given a copy of the book ‘Sing, Dance, and Pray: The Inspirational Story of Srila Prabhupada’ on this occasion. Shri Chanchalapathi Dasa Dr. Hindol Sengupta, Senior Vice President of ISKCON Bengaluru, wrote the book. |
| The Union Cabinet has accepted the proposal to sign a ‘Way Finding Application’ agreement between India and the United Nations. | The Way Finding Application will be utilised in the United Nations Office in Geneva, Palais des Nations (UNOG). The ‘Way Finding Application’ development project was conceived as a gift to the UN by the Indian government in honour of the UN’s 75th anniversary in 2020. The App’s financial impact is projected to be $ 2 million. The project entails the creation, implementation, and maintenance of a ‘Way Finding Application’ to aid travel within UNOG’s Palais des Nations. The App’s development has been delegated to the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT). |
| The Russian state corporation Rosatom delivered the first shipment of highly efficient nuclear fuel to the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu. | The new nuclear fuel, the TVS-2M, is more efficient and dependable than the current one. Nuclear fuel is a type of fuel used in nuclear reactors to keep the chain reaction going. Uranium-235 and Plutonium-239 are two examples. Rosatom’s TVEL fuel firm has completed a full engineering project with NPCIL that involves the introduction of TVS-2M fuel and an increase in the fuel cycle from 12 to 18 months for both VVER-1000 reactors. TVS-2M nuclear fuel has the following advantages: Increased uranium capacity, anti-debris filter that protects bundles from debris damage, and it’s dependable and cost-effective. The Kudankulam plant is being built by Russia under an intergovernmental agreement signed in 1988, with follow-up agreements signed in 1998 and 2008. In 2013 and 2017, the first stage (Unit No. 1 and 2) was commissioned. Units 3 and 4 are the nuclear plant’s second and third stages, respectively. Units 5 and 6 are the plant’s fourth and fifth stages. The second and third stages are currently being built. |
| The CEO of NATGRID’s tenure has been terminated by the Ministry of Home Affairs. | Ashish Gupta’s term as CEO of NATGRID was set to expire in September 2022. He has been a member of NATGRID for eight years. In the BSF, he has been promoted to the post of Additional Director General. The position of NATGRID CEO was raised to the level of Additional Secretary earlier this year, and he was offered an extension. The Home Minister inaugurated NATGRID’s data recovery centre in Bengaluru on May 3rd. |
| The public is asked to provide feedback on the draught National Policy for Persons with Disabilities. | The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has produced a draught policy. It is a reworking of the previous PwD policy from 2006. It calls for action in areas such as disability prevention, education, healthcare, social security, and accessibility. According to the 2011 census, there are 2.68 crore individuals with disabilities (about 2.21 percent of the overall population). The National Disability Prevention Program of the Ministry of Health focuses solely on conventional causes of disability; nevertheless, there are additional causes of disability, including malnutrition, medical negligence, social and cultural issues, and impairment induced by catastrophes. The RPD Act (Rights of Persons with Impairments Act of 2016) also increased the number of disabilities from 7 to 21. In 2007, India ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Anjali Bhawra is the chairperson of the committee that drafted the policy. |
