Shri Anup Chandra Pandey takes over as new Election Commissioner

In News: Shri Anup Chandra Pandey assumed charge as the new Election Commissioner (EC) of India.

Context:

  • Shri Pandey joins the Election Commission of India as second Election Commissoner in a three- member body headed by Chief Election Commissioner Shri Sushil Chandra and Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar.
  • Born on 15th February 1959, Shri Anup Chandra Pandey has been a 1984 batch Indian Administrative Service Officer.
  • Shri Pandey has held diverse portfolios during his deputation with the central government. 
  • Shri Pandey has a keen interest in writing and has authored a book titled “Governance in Ancient India” which explores the evolution, nature, scope, functions and all related aspects of ancient Indian Civil Service from the Rig Vedic period to 650 AD.

Indo-Thai Coordinated Patrol (Corpat)

In News: The 31st edition of India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) between the Indian Navyand the Royal Thai Navyis being conducted.

Context:

  • Indian Naval Ship (INS) Saryu, an indigenously built Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel is participating in the CORPAT.
  • The two navies have been undertaking CORPAT bi-annually along their International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) since 2005.
  • CORPAT builds up understanding and interoperability between navies and facilitates institution of measures to prevent and suppress unlawful activities like Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing, drug trafficking, maritime terrorism, armed robbery and piracy.
  • As part of Government of India’s vision of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region), the Indian Navy has been proactively engaging with the countries in the Indian Ocean Region towards enhancing regional maritime security.

ISRO to assist development projects in the Northeast through Space Technology

In News:

  • Dr Jitendra Singh said that ISRO will assist development projects in the Northeast through Space Technology and will contribute by offering optimum utilization of Satellite Imaging and other Space Technology applications.
  • North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) at Shillong has received a number of proposals from North Eastern states. It would be discussing the feasibility and desirability of all such projects, one by one with each of the States in the next fortnight.
  • The North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) is an autonomous organisation under Department of Space at Shillong and provides dedicated service to the North Eastern Region (NER) of India comprising of eight states viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura.
  • The Centre was set up with a vision to play the catalytic role in holistic development of North Eastern Region of India.

Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2022

In News: IIT Bombay has secured first position in India and 177th rank this year in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings (2022). 

Context:

  • Three Indian universities- IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi and IISc Bengaluru achieve top-200 positions in QS World University Rankings 2022.
  • The results were released by QS, a British company.  This is the 18th edition of world’s International University rankings.
  • IIT Bombay secured overall score of 46.4 out of 100. Among the six parameters, Employer Reputation indicated the strongest one for IIT Bombay with a rank of 72 globally.
  • IISc Bengaluru ranked 1st in the World for research.
  • Union Education Minister said that the initiatives such as National Education Policy – 2020 and Institute of Eminence are instrumental in ranking our colleges and institutes globally.

Demand Based Tele Agriculture Advisories to farmers

In News: In order to facilitate farmers by providing location specific ‘Demand Based Tele Agriculture Advisories’, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Digital India Corporation (DIC), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology  have signed an MoU.

Context:

  • The objective of the MoU is to integrate the existing Interactive Information Dissemination System (IIDS) platform of DIC with the proposed Kisan Sarathi program of ICAR and its implementation through ICAR network to reach a large number of farmers across the country.
  • ICAR and DIC have agreed to collaborate to develop and deploy ICT platforms to establish and operate a multi-media, multi-way advisory and communication system for supporting various agricultural activities at local level.
  • The DIC will be providing the entire technical solution with support for development, hosting and managing the requisite ICT platform.
  • The ICAR will be managing & monitoring the entire operations through their extension services network in the form of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), various domain specific research Institutes and network of agricultural universities etc., in a phased manner.

Indian Archers set off for Paris for World Cup Stage 3

In News: NTPC Ltd has partnered with Archery Association of India (AAI) for holistic development of archery across India.

Context:

  • NTPC Ltd, India’s largest integrated power company, has partnered with Archery Association of India (AAI) for holistic development of archery across India and to further promote Indian archery on the global platform.
  • A nine-member Women’s Recurve Team comprising of Indian Archers DeepikaKumari, Komalika Bari, AnkitaBhakat and MadhuWedwan along with Dronacharya Awardee Purnima Mahato have set off for Paris to participate in the Final Qualification Tournament for the Tokyo Olympic Games to be held in Paris and the World Cup Stage 3.
  • The Men’s Recurve team comprising ace archers Atanu Das, Tarundeep Rai and Pravin Ramesh Jadhav who have brought home the Team Silver medal after an excellent performance in the World Championship in Netherlands are also set to depart for Paris to take part in the World Cup Stage-3.
  • In the recent past, Indian Archers DeepikaKumari, Atanu Das, AnkitaBhakat and Komalika Bari had put up a stellar performance during the Archery World Cup (Stage-I) at Guatemala.
  • NTPC has supported the development of sports in India and the step towards sponsoring the Archery Association of India is one of the milestones in the long cherished journey.