Kannada actor Puneeth Rajkumar dies 

• Kannada cinema’s reigning star Puneeth Rajkumar, popularly known as ‘Power Star’, died following a massive heart attack. He was 46. 

• He was the youngest son of matinee icon late Dr. Rajkumar and younger brother of actor Shivarajkumar.

• He began his career as a child artist appearing in movies such as ‘Thayige Thakka Maga’ and ‘Bhagyavantha’. After a stint as a child actor, Puneeth made his debut as a leading man in the 2002 movie ‘Appu’ and followed it up with a string of successful movies, including ‘Abhi’, ‘Maurya’, ‘Ajay’ and ‘Arasu’. 

• Puneeth was also a popular host on television. He hosted the first two seasons of ‘Kannadada Kotyadhipati’, the Kannada version of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’. 

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Coast Guard’s offshore patrol vessel Sarthak commissioned in Goa

• The Indian Coast Guard’s new offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Sarthak was commissioned into service in Goa. 

• Sarthak is fourth in a series of five OPVs being built by the Goa Shipyard Limited for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG). These OPVs are multi-mission platforms capable of undertaking concurrent operations.

• Sarthak will be based at Porbandar in Gujarat, and operate on India’s western seaboard under the operational and administrative control of the Commander, Coast Guard Region (Northwest). 

• The 105-metre-long ship is propelled by two 9,100 kilowatt diesel engines designed to attain a maximum speed of 26 knots.  

• The ship is fitted with state-of-the-art equipment, machinery, sensors and weapons which enables it to function as a command platform and undertake mandated ICG charter of duties including search and rescue, combating maritime crimes and preserving and protecting the marine environment. 

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Surat wins Centre’s award for city with the best public transport system

• The Union government awarded Surat the city with the best public transport system and Kochi for the most sustainable transport system.

• According to the ministry of housing and urban affairs, Delhi was awarded the best non-motorised transport system for the redevelopment project of Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation.

• The awards were given away by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri at the Urban Mobility India Conference.

• Delhi Metro has been awarded ‘Metro Rail with the Best Passenger Services and Satisfaction’.

• Indore has been awarded ‘City with the Most Innovative Financing Mechanism’.

• Nashik was awarded ‘City with Best Record of Public Involvement in its Transport Planning’.

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DRDO, IAF jointly conduct successful flight test of long-range bomb

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Air Force (IAF) jointly conducted a successful flight test of a long-range bomb (LRB) in Odisha.

• The LRB, after release from the IAF fighter aircraft, guided to a land-based target at a long range with accuracy within specified limits. All the mission objectives were successfully met.

• The flight of the bomb and the performance were monitored by a number of range sensors, including electro optical tracking system (EOTS), telemetry and radar.

• The LR Bomb has been designed and developed by Research Centre Imarat (RCI), a DRDO laboratory in Hyderabad.

What is Electro Optical Tracking System?

• Electro Optical Tracking System is a high performance electro optical stabilized gimbal system integrated with video tracker which facilitates battlefield surveillance, target acquisition and auto tracking during day as well as night on a static and dynamic platform. 

• It consists of Thermal Imager, Day TV and Eye-Safe Laser Rangefinder and beam directing optical channels as payloads. 

• Continuous target tracking capability facilitates high precision pointing on the target. The system is capable of tracking targets like UAVs and drones at a range of 5 km.

• EOTS has a unique feature of autonomous tracking of the target after receiving a cue command from an external source like radar.

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India, UK conduct mega tri-services wargame in Arabian Sea

• India and the UK conducted a bilateral tri-service exercise, Konkan Shakti 21, in the Arabian Sea. 

• The UK’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG) led by its largest warship HMS Queen Elizabeth and several other frontline ships of the two navies participated in the week-long exercise. A carrier battle group or carrier strike group is a mega naval fleet comprising an aircraft carrier, accompanied by a large number of destroyers, frigates and other ships.

• The UK is only the third country after the US and Russia with which India is conducting a tri-services exercise.

• Indian Navy’s MiG 29K jets, the Royal Navy’s F-35B aircraft and Indian Air Force’s SU-30 and Jaguar fighters were among the key assets deployed for the exercise.

• The exercise provided both forces the opportunity to share best practices and experiences with each other in a collaborative spirit that is particularly important in the complex and unpredictable global security environment. 

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Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission publishes 6th edition of National Formulary of India 

• Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya launched the sixth edition of the National Formulary of India published by Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) to promote rational use of medicines in the country.

• The sixth edition of NFI 2021 has been drafted by adopting the principle ‘do not miss critical and do not overload’ the information by revising the appendices, chapters and drug monographs.

• The chapters such as analgesics, antipyretics and anti-inflammatory drugs, antiepileptics, antacids and antiulcer drugs, antiallergics and drugs used in anaphylaxis, antidiarrhoeals and laxatives, antidotes and substances used in poisoning, antimigraine drugs, basics of medical emergencies, dermatological drugs and Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDs) were revised thoroughly by involving subject-specific experts or specialists in the country.

Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission

• The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) is an autonomous institution of the ministry of health and family welfare. It became fully operational from January 1, 2009.

• The IPC was created to set standards of drugs in the country. Its basic function is to regularly update the standards of drugs commonly required for treatment of diseases prevailing in this region.

• It publishes official documents for improving quality of medicines by way of adding new and updating existing monographs in the form of Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP).

• It further promotes the rational use of generic medicines by publishing the National Formulary of India.

• The IPC’s mission is to promote public and animal health in India by bringing out authoritative and officially accepted standards for quality of drugs, including active pharmaceutical ingredients, excipients and dosage forms, used by health professionals, patients and consumers.

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Govt launches phase-2 of Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship

• Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched the second phase of Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship, a two-year programme to create opportunity for youth and enhance skilling at the grassroot level.

• The fellowship seeks to combine classroom sessions by academic partner IIMs with on-field exposure at the district level to create credible plans and identify barriers in raising employment, economic output, and promote livelihoods in rural areas.

Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship

• To operationalise the mission and strengthen the skill training delivery mechanism in the country, Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP), a World Bank loan assisted programme, was launched by the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship in January 2018.

• SANKALP engages with District Skill Committees (DSCs) to effectively reduce the mismatch between the supply and demand of skilled manpower in the country, thereby creating decent opportunities for the youth to work and earn.

• The Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) programme under SANKALP was designed to provide a cadre of professionals at the district level.

• During the fieldwork (District Immersion), the fellows shall work within the district with DSC officials on skilling challenges facing the district. Along with the DSC officials, they shall put together District Skill Development Plans and implementation road maps.

• MGNF is an opportunity for young women and men in the age group of 21-30 years who already possess some level of academic or professional expertise for providing catalytic support to the district administration to improve the skill development programme delivery.

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Indian-origin Anita Anand appointed as Canada’s new defence minister

• Indian-origin Canadian politician Anita Anand was appointed as the country’s new defence minister in a Cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, over a month after his Liberal Party returned power in the snap polls and amid calls for major military reforms.

• Anand, 54, will replace long-time defence minister Indian-origin Harjit Sajjan.

• Anand was declared the winner in Oakville with a nearly 46 per cent vote share. She was first elected as a rookie Member of Parliament in 2019 representing Oakville in Ontario province and served as procurement minister throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. She quickly became in charge of the country’s efforts to secure COVID-19 vaccines.

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