IAF decommissions Kargil War hero MiG-27

The IAF has decommissioned the MiG-27 aircraft. The fleet of seven MiG-27 had their last sortie from the Jodhpur air base on December 27. The swing-wing fighter has been the backbone of the IAF’s ground-attack fleet for several decades and proved to be an “ace attacker” during the 1999 Kargil War. “The upgraded variant of MiG-27 has been the pride of the IAF strike fleet since 2006,” the defence ministry said. The aircraft earned the moniker ‘Bahadur’ from IAF pilots for its role in the Kargil War. The Number 29 Squadron is the only unit in the IAF operating the MiG-27 upgrades. The squadron was raised on March 10, 1958, at the Air Force Station Halwara with Ouragan (Toofani) aircraft. Over the years, the squadron has been equipped with fighters such as MiG-21 Type 77, MiG-21 Type 96, MiG-27 ML and MiG-27 upgrade.

Mobile internet services restored in Kargil

Mobile internet services were restored in the Kargil district of Ladakh on December 27  after remaining suspended for 145 days in the wake of the Centre abrogating provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, officials said. The services were restored in view of complete normalcy returning to Kargil, with no untoward incident taking place over the past four months, officials said. They said local religious leaders have appealed to people not to misuse the facility. Broadband services were already functional in Kargil. Internet services were suspended on August 5, when the Centre announced abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the state into the Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

Twelve killed as plane crashes in Kazakhstan

A passenger plane carrying nearly 100 people crashed near the city of Almaty in Kazakhstan on December 27 after takeoff, slamming into a house in an accident that killed 12 people and injured dozens. The Fokker 100 aircraft, operated by Bek Air, got into trouble shortly after departing from Almaty on a pre-dawn flight en route to the capital Nur-Sultan. It lost altitude during takeoff and broke through a concrete fence before hitting the two-storey building. It was not immediately clear what caused the crash. The plane had been carrying 93 passengers and five crew, and Kazakhstan’s interior ministry said the captain was among those killed. The Fokker 100 aircraft involved in the crash was built in 1996 and its most recent flight certificate was issued in May.

Railways to recruit aspirants through UPSC

All new recruits for the railways will be inducted through the UPSC civil services exams under five specialities, Railway Board chairman V.K. Yadav said on December 26, days after the Cabinet approved the merger of its eight services into one - the Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS). He said just like aspirants to the UPSC, candidates aspiring to join the railways will have to appear for their prelims after which they will indicate their preference for IRMS under five specialities - four of them engineering specialities for technical operations comprising of civil, mechanical, telecom and electrical, and one non-technical speciality that will recruit officers for accounts, personnel and traffic. The first batch will be recruited in 2021, while the five-member board with merged officers will be in place by the middle of next year.

Newsmaker

German singer and conductor Peter Schreier, widely regarded as one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th century, has died at the age of 84 after a long illness. Schreier was one of the few international stars to emerge from the former communist East Germany.

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