Assam Current Affairs & GK – June 22 – 28, 2020
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of June 22 – 28, 2020 )
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June 22, 2020
DoNER sanctioned Rs 190 crore to boost NE healthcare facilities
- Union DoNER Minister Jitendra Singh said Rs 190 crore has been sanctioned for augmentation of healthcare facilities in the eight Northeastern states, especially for the management of infectious diseases like COVID-19.
- In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of DoNER has decided to sanction Rs 190 crore for augmentation of healthcare facilities in the eight Northeastern states for developing infrastructure for management of infectious diseases.
- Through a scientifically designed mechanism, each 14 ‘aspirational districts’ of the Northeast was to focus on improving these key indicators and raise its rating viz-a-viz the best performing district of the state and the country in the given indicators.
- The Ministry of DoNER has given the Northeastern states the option to send proposals for health-related projects to be funded from Rs 500 crore under the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NEISDS).
- Proposals have been received from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Sikkim, Mizoram and Nagaland, while the proposal from Tripura was awaited.
- The DoNER Minister complemented Assam’s ‘aspirational districts’ Goalpara and Dhubri for having achieved Ayushman Bharat coverage of nearly 100 per cent and 85 per cent respectively. Goalpara has within six months raised its rating from the 68th position to 16 in the all-India list of 150 ‘aspirational districts’.
Glenmark launches new coronavirus medicine ‘Favipiravir’
- After recieving the manufacturing and marketing approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), drug firm Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has launched antiviral drug Favipiravir, under the brand name FabiFlu, for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 patients.
- Price at ₹103 per tablet, the prescription-based drug will be available as a 200 mg tablet at an MRP of ₹3,500 for a strip of 34 tablets.
- Glenmark is producing the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) for the drug at its Ankleshwar plant, while the formulation is being manufactured at its Baddi plant.
- Favipiravir can be used for coronavirus patients with co-morbid conditions such as diabetes and heart disease with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms.
- It offers rapid reduction in viral load within four days and provides faster symptomatic and radiological improvement.
- Favipiravir is backed by strong clinical evidence, showing encouraging results in patients with mild to moderate Covid-19. As it has shown clinical improvement of up to 88 per cent in mild to moderate COVID-19 cases.
- Glenmark was the first company in India to receive the drug regulator (DCGI)’s approval to conduct phase-3 clinical trial of Favipiravir antiviral tablets for Covid-19 patients.
Point2Remember
- Favipiravir is a generic version of Avigan of Fujifilm Toyama Chemical, Japan, a subsidiary of Fujifilm Corporation.
FACTFILE – Glenmark Pharmaceuticals
- Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Mumbai, India that was founded in 1977 by Gracias Saldanha as a generic drug and active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturer.
- The company went public in India in 1999, and used some of the proceeds to build its first research facility.
- By 2011 Glenmark had worldwide sales of $778 million and the growth was driven by Glenmark’s entry into the US and European generics markets.
- The company took down the path of seeking innovation and focused on new drugs and biosimilars in the fields of cancer, dermatology and respiratory diseases, which it sought to monetize by partnering with major pharmaceutical companies.
- For the financial year 2016–2017 its sales were around 81 billion INR, making it the fourth-biggest Indian pharmaceutical company.
June 23, 2020
Tea exports declined by 5.6 per cent in fiscal year 2019-20
- Tea exports have declined marginally in the last fiscal to 240 million kg from 254.50 million kg from the previous fiscal year of 2018-19. This dip is mainly due to economic slowdown across the globe.
- Exports to Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, the biggest importer of India tea, dropped to 59.40m kg in the last fiscal from 60.72 million kg in 2018-19.
- Iran is the second largest importer of Indian Tea, which imported 46.47 million kg in 2019-20, up from 41.02 million kg in the 2018-19. Simimlary China also imported 12.71 million kg in the last fiscal year as compared to 10.58 million kg in the previous year.
- Exports to Pakistan,saw a significant drop, from 14.6 million kg in 2018-19 to 3.3 mkg the previous fiscal.
- The US, the UK and the UAE are the other three destinations where the exports had touched double digits in 2019-20.
- The production of tea in March 2020, witnessed a steep fall to 43.45 million kg from 74.59 million kg in the corresponding period of 2018-19, mainly due to Covid crisis.
India retains position as third-largest economy on PPP
- India has retained and consolidated its position as the third-largest economy after China and the US in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) for 2017, as per the World Bank data.
- PPP of the rupee per dollar at the gross domestic product (GDP) level rose to 20.65 in 2017 from 15.55 in 2011, while the exchange rate of a dollar to a rupee rose to 65.12 from 46.67 during the period.
- Price Level Index (PLI), the ratio of a PPP to its corresponding market exchange rate, which is used to compare the price levels of economies, improved to 47.55 in 2017 from 42.99 in 2011.
- In 2017, India retained and consolidated its global position, as the third-largest economy, accounted for 6.7 per cent (USD 8,051 billion out of world total of USD 119,547 billion) of global GDP in terms of PPPs as against China (16.4 per cent) and the US (16.3 per cent), respectively.
- India is also third-largest economy in terms of its PPP-based share in global actual individual consumption and global gross capital formation, as per a release from National Statistical Office (NSO).
- The World Bank has released new PPPs for the reference year 2017, under the International Comparison Program (ICP) that adjust for differences in the cost of living across economies of the world.
- As per the release, in 2017, India retained its regional position, as the second-largest economy, accounted for 20.83 per cent of the regional gross domestic product (GDP) in terms of PPPs where China was at 50.76 per cent (first) and Indonesia at 7.49 per cent (third).
FACTFILE – List of countries by GDP (PPP)
- GDP comparisons using PPP are more useful than those using nominal GDP when assessing a nation’s domestic market because PPP takes into account the relative cost of goods, services and inflation rates of the respective country, rather than using one standard market exchange rates for all countries.
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Punjab cabinet approves fast-track clearance of MSMEs
- To ease the regulatory burden on micro, small and medium enterprises and fast-tracking setting up of MSMEs, the Punjab cabinet approved the Punjab Right to Business Rules, 2020.
- The new rules have been drafted under provisions of the Punjab Right to Business Act.
- Sanctions and approvals pertaining to building plan, completion certificate, trade licence registration, land-use change, factory building plan, as well as registration of shops or establishments, will be granted by the district-level nodal agency, headed by the Deputy Commissioner.
- For setting up of units in the approved industrial parks, the certificate of in-principle approval would be issued within three working days after the submission of declaration of intent.
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June 24, 2020
Deccan Development Society received the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Award
- Hyderabad-based Deccan Development Society has received the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation Award, one of probably the most coveted environmental awards on this planet for the year 2020.
- This is in recognition of the individuals who dedicate their actions and organisations for their deep commitment to preserving our planet, in each of the Foundation’s three priority areas: limiting the effects of climate change, preserving biodiversity, managing water resources and fighting against desertification.
- The award of 40,000 Euros has been given to the society in recognition of the work of DDS women to rehabilitate degraded lands and promote biodiversity.
- The Prince Monaco Award is available in a sequence of particular awards for DDS introduced by varied teams within the final 12 months, on prime of which was the UNDP’s prestigious Equator Award adopted by Shinning World Protection Award for “its noble, gracious and loving efforts to improve our world”.
10 MPs to be conferred with Sansad Ratna award
- Eight sitting Lok Sabha members and two Rajya Sabha members will be presented the Sansad Ratna Awards 2020 under various categories, based on their performance during the first year of the 17th Lok Sabha.
- The departmentally related Standing Committee on Agriculture headed by BJP MP P.C. Gaddigoudar has been chosen for the Sansad Ratna Awards 2020 for their performance in the 17th Lok Sabha.
- NCP MP Supriya Sule gets the Sansad Ratna Award 2020 for her overall performance in initiating debates, the number of questions asked and the Private Members Bills in the first year of the 17th Lok Sabha.
- BJP MP Subhash Ramrao Bhamre, Heena Gavit and NCP MP Amol Ramsing Kolhe will be receiving the Sansad Ratna Award 2020 for Questions, Women and First-time MPs categories respectively.
- Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey), Ajay Misra and TDP MP Ram Mohan Naidu have been nominated for the ”Jury Committee Special Award” for their overall qualitative performance and individual efforts.
- The awardees were selected by a three member Jury Committee of Arjun Ram Meghwal, N. K. Premachandran and Shrirang Appa Barne.
PM CARES allocates funds for 50000 ‘Made in India’ ventilators
- The PM CARES Fund Trust has allocated Rs 2,000 crore for the supply of 50,000 ”Made in India” ventilators to the government run COVID-19 hospitals in all states and Union Territories (UTs).
- Of the total ventilators, 30,000 are being manufactured by the Bharat Electronics Limited. The remaining 20,000 ventilators are being manufactured by the AgVa Healthcare (10,000), AMTZ Basic (5,650), AMTZ High End (4,000) and Allied Medical (350).
- So far 2,923 ventilators have been manufactured, out of which 1,340 have already been delivered to the states and UTs. The prominent recipients include Maharashtra (275), Delhi (275), Gujarat (175), Bihar (100), Karnataka (90), Rajasthan (75). By the end of June 2020, additional 14,000 ventilators will be delivered to all states and UTs.
Amazon launches $2 billion fund to invest in climate change mitigation
- Amazon has announced a $2 billion venture capital fund to invest in companies whose products and services will facilitate the transition to a zero carbon economy.
- The announcement is part of the Climate Pledge – a commitment to reach the Paris Agreement ten years early and be net zero carbon by 2040 which was co-founded by Amazon and non-profit Global Optimism last year.
- Companies like Verizon, Reckitt Benckiser (RB), and Infosys recently joined the pledge.
- The Climate Pledge Fund will look to invest in the visionary entrepreneurs and innovators who are building products and services to help companies reduce their carbon impact and operate more sustainably.
- Each prospective investment will be judged on its potential to accelerate the path to zero carbon and help protect the planet for future generations.
ICMR allows rapid antigen test for Covid-19 detection
- The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recommended newer additional strategies for Covid-19 testing, allowing the use of an antigen test to fast-track testing and tracing of positive cases and ease burden on the current RT-PCR test.
- It has recommended to use Standard Q Covid-19 Ag detection test as a point of care diagnostic assay for testing in the containment zones as well as hospitals in combination with the gold standard RT-PCR test.
FACTFILE – Rapid Antigen Detection Test For Covid-19
- It is a test on swabbed nasal samples that detects antigens that are found on or within the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
- It is a point-of-care test, performed outside the conventional laboratory setting, and is used to quickly obtain a diagnostic result.
- ICMR has allowed the use of antigen detection kits developed by the South Korean company S D Biosensor. The kit, commercially called Standard Q COVID-19 Ag detection kit, comes with a with an inbuilt Covid antigen test device, viral extraction tube with viral lysis buffer and sterile swab for sample collection.
ISRO gets Indian patent for liquid cooling and heating garment
- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has got an Indian patent for its liquid cooling and heating garment (LCHG) that is suitable for space applications. The patent is valid for 20 years from the date of application.
- While ISRO is the patentee, the four inventors are Srirangam Siripothu, Reshmi Balachandran, Saraswathi Kesava Pillai Manu, and Gurumurthy Chandrasekaran.
- The garment made of biocompatible fabrics and parts to provide comfortable body temperature and removal of sweat. These garments find use in manned space flights and also for earth-bound operations such as firefighting.
June 25, 2020
Highlights of India TB report 2020
- Union Ministerof Health Harsh Vardhan released the ”India TB report 2020” and assured that the country can win the fight against TB even before 2025. The Annual TB Report is prepared and published by the Central TB Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GOI.
- In 2017, the Central Government had developed the National Strategic Plan (NSP) for eradication of Tuberculosis with a goal of ending it by 2025.
- Some states/UTs have made a commitment to eradicate it even before 2025. Himachal Pradesh aims to get rid of it by 2021 and Sikkim and Lakshadweep by 2022.
- Over 24.04 lakh patients were notified in 2019, an increase of 14 per cent over the previous year.
- The report highlights that out of the 10 lakh missing cases across the country, 7.81 lakh cases were found and up to 2.9 lakh are missing or failed to be picked up.
- Gujarat was accorded the best performing state for its work on eradication of TB, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.
- Provision of HIV testing for all notified TB patients increased from 67% in 2018 to 81% in 2019.
- 12% improvement in the treatment success rate of notified patients. For 2019, it is 81% compared to 69% in 2018.
FACTFILE – National Tuberculosis Elimination Program
- Centrally Sponsored Scheme being implemented under the aegis of the National Health Mission with resource sharing between the State Governments and the Central Government.
- The goal of the program is to achieve a TB-free India with zero deaths, disease and poverty due to tuberculosis.
Andhra Pradesh partners with ISB for post-Covid economic revival
- The Andhra Pradesh government has partnered with the Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad as a nodal agency to revive economic growth in the state post Covid-19 and to formulate a roadmap for sustainable development.
- Minister for Industries, Information Technology and Skills, M. Goutham Reddy interacted with key professors to discuss strategies to revive economic growth in the state and come up with a long term roadmap for sustainable development in the state through data-driven policy making.
- Various key areas of engagement were identified to be taken up as project mode including Andhra Pradesh Pulse, an advanced data analytics application using near real-time digital data on citizen interactions with government schemes and systems.
- It will also try to use the skills of returning migrants workers who can be deployed productively in local jobs requiring similar or adjacent skills, which will also contribute to local economic recovery.
- ISB would contribute towards building a system to record the skill sets of returning migrants in order to assess the gap between skills and available jobs in post-pandemic times.
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved setting up of Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved setting up of Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) worth Rs. 15000 crore.
- Government has been implementing several schemes for incentivizing the investment made by dairy cooperative sector for development of dairy infrastructure.
- Government realizes that even MSMEs and Private companies also need to be promoted and incentivized for their involvement in processing and value addition infrastructure.
- Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) would facilitate much needed incentivisation of investments in establishment of such infrastructure for dairy and meat processing and value addition infrastructure and establishment of animal feed plant in the private sector.
- The eligible beneficiaries would be Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), MSMEs, Private Companies and individual entrepreneur with minimum 10% margin money contribution by them. The balance 90% would be the loan component to be made available by banking sector.
- Government of India would also set up Credit Guarantee Fund of Rs. 750 crore to be managed by NABARD. Credit guarantee would be provided to those sanctioned projects which are covered under MSME defined ceilings.
Cabinet approval for additional investment of Rs.900 in oil & gas project in Myanmar
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved additional investment of about Rs.909 crore by ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) towards further development of blocks A-1 and A-3 Blocksof Shwe oil & gas project in Myanmar.
- ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL) has been associated with exploration and development of Shwe project in Myanmar since 2002, as part of consortium of companies from South Korea, India and Myanmar.
- OVL has invested US$ 722 million till 31st March 2019 in this project. The first gas from the Shwe Project was received in July 2013 and plateau production was reached in December 2014. The participation of PSUs in oil & gas exploration and development projects in neighbouring countries is aligned with India’s Act East Policy, and also part of India’s efforts to develop Energy Bridges with its immediate neighbors.
FACTFILE – ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL)
- ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) is the international arm of ONGC.
- The primary business of ONGC Videsh is to prospect for oil and gas acreages outside India, including exploration, development and production of oil and gas.
- Presently, it has 38 projects in 17 countries.
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June 26, 2020
Vivekananda Yoga University (VaYU), World’s first Yoga University outside India was launched at US
- World’s first yoga university outside of India has been launched in Los Angeles, offering programmes that combine scientific principles and modern research approaches to the ancient Indian practice of yoga.
- The Vivekananda Yoga University (VaYU) was jointly launched by Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan and Chairperson of the Standing Committee on External Affairs P P Chaudhary during a virtual event held at the Consulate General of India in New York.
- Eminent Indian yoga guru Dr. H R Nagendra, Chancellor of Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (SVYASA) is the first Chairman of the Vivekananda Yoga University.
- Founded on the principles of Swami Vivekananda’s preion for universal welfare, VaYU will offer online graduate programmes based on scientific principles and modern research approaches to yoga.
IBM announces free digital learning platform ‘SkillsBuild Reignite’ for jobseekers in India
- IBM announced a free digital learning platform ‘SkillsBuild Reignite’ as part of its SkillsBuild initiative to help jobseekers and provide new resources to business owners in India.
- The platform will give access to free online coursework and mentoring support, designed to help people reinvent their careers and businesses.
- IBM launched SkillsBuild in collaboration with the Directorate General of Training under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), which has already benefited 14,135 learners who have completed 40,000 courses and 77,000 hours of e-learning.
- The SkillsBuild Reignite will include more coursework and personalised coaching for entrepreneurs seeking advice to help establish or restart their small businesses. The courses include financial management, business strategy, digital strategy etc.
Australia and New Zealand to host the 2023 Women’s Football World Cup
- Australia and New Zealand were handed the right to host the 2023 Women’s World Cup football tournament by a comfortable margin after a vote by the FIFA Council.
- They beat a rival bid from Colombia to host the tournament which is being expanded to 32 teams.
- The report highlighted the infrastructure and organisational advantages of the Australia/New Zealand bid which FIFA believed would make for a commercially successful tournament.
June 27, 2020
MF projects India’s economy to contract by 4.5% in FY21
- International Monetary Fund said the India’s economy is projected to contract by 4.5 per cent this fiscal, on the back of a longer lockdown and a slower recovery than anticipated.
- India’s economy will contract in FY21 from an expansion of 4.2 per cent in FY20. And for fiscal 2021-22, IMF projected a growth of 6 per cent for the country.
- India has unveiled a liquidity support programme worth 4.5 per cent of GDP through loans and guarantees for businesses and farmers and equity injections into financial institutions and the electricity sector.
- IMF also projected a -4.9 per cent contraction in global growth during 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a more negative impact on activity in the first half of 2020 than anticipated, and the recovery is projected to be more gradual than previously forecast.
President clears ordinance to bring cooperative banks under RBI
- The Centre has brought urban and multi-state cooperative banks under the direct supervision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with President Ram Nath Kovind promulgating the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.
- The government had issued ordinance to operationalise new provisions of the Act quickly in the interest of millions of depositors who use the cooperative channel to undertake banking transactions.
- The Ordinance aims to protect the interests of depositors and strengthen cooperative banks by improving governance and oversight by extending powers already available with RBI in respect of other banks to Co-operative Banks as well for sound banking regulation, and by ensuring professionalism and enabling their access to capital.
- The amendments does not affect existing powers of the State Registrars of Co-operative Societies under state co-operative laws. It will not be applicable on Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) or co-operative societies whose principal business is long-term finance for agricultural development, and which do not use the word “bank” or “banker” or “banking” and do not act as drawees of cheques.
36th ASEAN summit starts via video conference
- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) opened its 36th summit with the theme “Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN”, chaired by Vietnam via video conference, which focused onthe COVID-19 epidemic response, post-pandemic recovery and further cooperation with partners.
- On the opening ceremony of the summit, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said he expected the summit to be an opportunity to once again affirm the strong solidarity, political will, and determination of ASEAN member countries to overcome difficulties.
- The ASEAN needs to continue to effectively control the COVID-19 epidemic and overcome the consequences of the epidemic while recovering and keeping on economic development.
- The summit will discuss the regional comprehensive post-pandemic recovery plans, implement initiatives including establishing the ASEAN COVID-19 response fund, setting up a reserve for medical supplies to meet urgent needs during epidemics, building the ASEAN standard procedures of epidemic response in case of health emergency.
FACTFILE – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional intergovernmental organization comprising ten countries in Southeast Asia, to promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration among members and other countries in Asia.
- A major partner of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, ASEAN maintains a global network of alliances and dialogue partners and is considered by many as a global powerhouse, the central union for cooperation in Asia-Pacific, and a prominent and influential organization.
- Established in 1967, the ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Bengaluru International Airport becomes India’s first airport to install AWMS technology on runway
- The Bengaluru International Airport Ltd (BIAL), which operated the Kempegowda International Airport, has installed an indigenously-developed Aviation Weather Monitoring System (AWMS) at its new runway.
- BIAL has become the first airport in the country to install indigenous AWMS technology developed by Bengaluru-based CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) at both ends of the new runway.
- The airport has also installed four Drishti transmissometers, which is also developed by NAL, in association with the India Metrological Department (IMD) to measure the Runway Visibility Range (RVR).
- The Drishti transmissometer is acclaimed for precise reporting, helping pilots with an accurate runway visual range. It is suitable for all categories of airports such as CAT I, CAT II, CAT III A & B and measures RVR down to 25 meters.
- With AWMS and RVR integrated, the data is displayed on one single display screen. With the web-enabled feature, the data can be accessed, and maintenance carried out from any location.
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JUNE 28, 2020
Amartya Sen wins 2020 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade
- Nobel prize-winning economist and philosopher Amartya Sen has won the prestigious Peace Prize of the German Book Trade for the year2020.
- The 86-year-old Harvard professor and Nobel laureate was granted the peace prize for his decades-long work addressing global social injustice.
FACTFILE – Peace Prize of the German Book Trade
- The Peace Prize of the German Book Trade comes with a cash prize of €25,000 euros.
- The prize has been awarded annually since 1950.
- Its aim is to honor individuals “who have made an outstanding contribution to the realization of the idea of peace, primarily through their activities in the fields of literature, science and art.”
Union Govt approves the Action Plan of Rajasthan for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission
- Rajasthan presented the Annual Action Plan on Jal Jeevan Mission. Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has earlier written to the Chief Minister of Rajasthan expressing his concerns over the slow progress of Jal Jeevan Mission in the State.
- Central Govt has approved fund of ₹2,522.03 Crore for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Rajasthan in 2020-21, which is a considerable increase from ₹ 1,051 Crore in 2019-20.
- Out of 1.1 Crore rural households in the Rajasthan, 12.36 Lakh households have already been provided with tap connections (FHTCs).
- In 2019-20, only 1.02 Lakh tap connections were provided. In 2020-21, the State is planning to enable 20.69 Lakh households with tap water connections.
- The state plans to provide potable water to 57.77 Lakh population of the State residing in 5,864 villages affected by Fluoride, salinity, Nitrate and Iron.
Shantanu Moitra becomes WWF India’s Harmony and Hope ambassador
- Famous music composer Shantanu Moitra was announced as the WWF India”s Ambassador for Harmony and Hope for Human-Wildlife Co-existence.
- Through Moitra’s association with the cause, WWF India will highlight the stories of local communities who reside in forest fringe areas across the country and are stewards of conservation.
- Shantanu, through his association, will tell stories of positive stories of co-existence between people and wildlife in the country.
Virgin Galactic inks pact with NASA for private passenger trips to ISS
- Virgin Galactic announced the signing of an agreement with NASA to encourage commercial participation in orbital human spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS).
- Virgin Galactic said that these trips may not be limited to people for space tourism purposes only.
- Under this Space Act Agreement agreement, Virgin Galactic will develop a new private orbital astronaut readiness programme. This programme will include identifying candidates interested in purchasing private astronaut missions to the ISS, the procurement of transportation to the ISS, on-orbit resources, and ground resources.
- NASA is seeing greater demand for use of the ISS for scientific and technological research and development, commercial activity, and international collaboration.
- NASA will leverage Virgin Galactic’s commercial expertise and industry knowledge.
- Virgin Galactic will also contribute end-to-end programme management and integrated astronaut training packages for private passengers, tailored to meet the needs for a commercial orbital space flight experience.
- The space tourism company has already developed a customised Future Astronaut Readiness programme for its customers flying out of Spaceport America in New Mexico.
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