Today's Current Affairs 15th August 2023

INTERNATIONAL

Bahrain: INS Visakhapatnam and Deepak reach Port Mina Salman

• Indian Navy ships INS Visakhapatnam and Deepak are visiting Port Mina Salman, Bahrain from August 14 to 17.
• The visit is aimed at strengthening ties between the Indian and Bahraini navies.
• The visit includes sharing best practices to enhance cooperation between the two navies.
• INS Visakhapatnam and INS Trikand recently conducted a bilateral exercise ‘Zayed Talwar’ with the UAE Navy.

 NATIONAL

President to launch advanced frigate Vindhyagiri in Kolkata on 17 Aug

• President Droupadi Murmu will launch Vindhyagiri, a Project 17A Frigate, on 17 August 2023 in Kolkata.
• Vindhyagiri is the sixth ship of the Project 17A Frigates, which are follow-ons of the Project 17 Class Frigates.
• Under the Project 17A program, the first five ships of the project have been launched by MDL and GRSE between 2019-2022.

SPORTS

Neymar quits PSG to sign for Saudi Arabias Al-Hilal on two-year deal

• Brazil forward Neymar Jr has signed for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), the clubs announced, joining Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. Neymar, 31, scored 118 goals in 173 matches for PSG in six injury-plagued seasons. He won five Ligue 1 titles and three French Cups, but was on the losing side as PSG were beaten by Bayern Munich in the 2020 Champions League final.
• Neymar joined PSG from Barcelona in 2017 for a world record fee of 222 million euros ($242 million), a few weeks before they recruited Kylian Mbappe. The Brazilian scored 118 goals in 173 matches for PSG, winning five Ligue 1 titles and three French Cups, but his time at PSG was blighted by a catalogue of injuries. Although he helped the club to the 2020 Champions League final, which they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich, he was sidelined for key games. Last month Al-Hilal made a 300-million-euro bid for Mbappe, though the striker reportedly refused to meet with officials from the team.

 SCIENCE & TEHNOLOGY

India's first long-range revolver 'Prabal' to be launched this week on August 18

• In a significant stride towards indigenous manufacturing and innovation, the state-owned company Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWEIL), based in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, is all set to unveil ‘Prabal‘, India’s first long-range revolver. The launch date is marked for August 18, ushering in a new era of personal defense firearms.
• Designed and manufactured by AWEIL, this lightweight 32 bore revolver boasts an exceptional range, capable of accurately hitting targets up to 50 meters away. This remarkable range is more than double that of other revolvers currently in production, establishing Prabal as a frontrunner in the field of long-range handguns.
• A remarkable feature that sets Prabal apart from its counterparts is the incorporation of a side swing cylinder. This innovative design element eliminates the need to fold the firearm for cartridge insertion, simplifying the reloading process and enhancing user convenience.
• With a mere weight of 700 grams (excluding cartridges), a barrel length of 76 mm, and an overall length of 177.6 mm, Prabal is ergonomically designed for ease of use. Its trigger pull is designed to be effortless, enabling a wide range of individuals, including women, to handle it confidently.

 OBITURY

Centre clears appointment of R. Doraiswamy as LIC MD

• Government of India had appointed R. Doraiswamy as the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) managing director. He is currently executive director at the central office in Mumbai. He has been appointed as managing director of LIC in place of Mini Ipe with effect from the date of assumption of charge of office on or after September 1, 2023, and up to the date of his superannuation August 31, 2026, or until further orders, whichever is earlier, the national insurer said in a regulatory filing.
• The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB), the headhunter for directors of state-owned banks and financial institutions, had in June recommended the name of Mr. Doraiswamy as MD. The FSIB is headed by Bhanu Pratap Sharma, former secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). Other members of the headhunter are the Secretary, Department of Financial Services; Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises; IRDAI Chairman Debasish Panda, former LIC managing director Usha Sangwan, and former Oriental Insurance managing director A.V. Girija Kumar.
• Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is an Indian multinational public sector life insurance company headquartered in Mumbai. It is India’s largest insurance company as well as the largest institutional investor with total assets under management worth ₹45.7 trillion (US$570 billion) as of March 2023. It is under the ownership of Government of India and administrative control of the Ministry of Finance.

 IMPORTANT DAYS

Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Death Anniversary:16th August

• As the nation observed the solemn occasion of the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, leaders from various political backgrounds and affiliations converged at the ‘Sadaiv Atal’ memorial in Delhi. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, Praful Patel, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister, Anupriya Patel and HAM’s Jitan Ram also paid tribute to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Former PM Atal Bihari’s foster daughter Namita Kaur Bhattacharya pays floral tribute at ‘Saidav Atal’ on his death anniversary.

 AWARDS & RECOGNITION

President approves 76 Gallantry awards including four Kirti Chakras, 11 Shaurya Chakras to Armed Forces and CAPF personnel

• President Smt Droupadi Murmu has given her approval for 76 Gallantry awards to members of the Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Forces on the occasion of Independence Day 2023. Among these honors are four Kirti Chakra awards (awarded posthumously), 11 Shaurya Chakra awards (including five posthumous), two Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry), 52 Sena Medals (Gallantry), three Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry), and four Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry).
• Additionally, the President has sanctioned 30 Mention-in-Despatches awards to Army personnel, including a posthumous award for Army dog Madhu, and one for an Air Force member. These recognitions acknowledge their significant contributions in various military operations, such as Operation Rakshak, Operation Snow Leopard, Operation Casualty Evacuation, Operation Mount Chomo, Operation Pangsau Pass, Operation Meghdoot, Operation Orchid, Operation Kalisham Valley, Rescue Operation, and Operation Evacuation.

Following is the list of Gallantry awards approved by the President:

KIRTI CHAKRA

S No	Name and Rank	Service	Award
1	Late Shri Dilip Kumar Das	Insp/GD	CRPF (Posthumous)
2	Late Shri Raj Kumar Yadava	HC/GD	CRPF (Posthumous)
3	Late Shri Bablu Rabha	Constable/GD	CRPF (Posthumous)
4	Late Shri Sambhu Roy	Constable C/GD	CRPF (Posthumous)

SHAURYA CHAKRA

S No	Name and Rank	Service	Award
1	IC-76052K Major Vijay Verma	The Rajput Regiment, 44th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
2	IC-76877P Major Vikas Bhambhu, Sena Medal (Posthumous)	252 Army Aviation Squadron	Army
3	IC-81741P Major Mustafa Bohara (Posthumous)	252 Army Aviation Squadron	Army
4	IC-79120X Major Sachin Negi	The Grenadiers, 55th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
5	SC-00905H Major Rajendra Prasad Jat	The Dogra Regiment, 62nd Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
6	SC-00971L Major Ravinder Singh Rawat	The Armoured Corps, 44th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
7	16013482F Hav Vivek Singh Tomar (Posthumous)	5th Battalion, The Rajputana Rifles	Army
8	16022160H Naik Bhim Singh	The Rajputana Rifles, 9th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
9	13779235X Rifleman Kulbushan Manta (Posthumous)	The Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, 52nd Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
10	Late Shri Saifullah Qadri, Sg. Constable (Now Posthumous)	J&K Police	MHA
11	Shri Gamit Mukesh Kumar, Constable 61 CRPF	–	MHA

BAR TO SENA MEDAL (GALLANTRY)

S No	Name and Rank	Service	Award
1	IC-76180F Major Nitish Tyagi, Sena Medal	12th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (Special Forces)	Army
2	IC-80201K Major A Ranjith Kumar, Sena Medal	The Parachute Regiment, High Altitude Warfare School	Army

SENA MEDAL (GALLANTRY)

S No	Name and Rank	Service	Award
1	IC-64244P Lieutenant Colonel Yogesh Kumar Sati	523 Intelligence and Field Security Unit	Army
2	IC-71048X Lieutenant Colonel Dhruv Rajan	The Grenadiers, 29th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
3	IC-74633H Major Abhimanyu Repswal	The Armoured Corps, 22nd Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
4	IC-75393H Major Neikhotso Secu Angami	3rd Battalion, The 8th Gorkha Rifles	Army
5	IC-76219H Major Vikas Giri	The Parachute Regiment, 50th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
6	IC-77779F Major Abhishek Tyagi	The Grenadiers, 55th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
7	IC-78013K Major Borawake Apoorv Suhas	The Corps of Engineers, 3rd Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
8	IC-78151L Major Aashish Dhonchak	The Sikh Light Infantry, 19th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
9	IC-78779N Major Navdeep Goswami	6th Battalion, The Jat Regiment	Army
10	IC-79029F Major Rishabh Negi	The Corps of Engineers, 3rd Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
11	IC-80202M Major Sanjay Singh Jamwal	4th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (Special Forces)	Army
12	IC-80568K Major Abhishek Katoch	5th Battalion, The Rajput Regiment	Army
13	IC-81592M Major Saurabh Kumar	15th Battalion, The Kumaon Regiment	Army
14	IC-81775H Major Ranjit Kumar	The Brigade of the Guards, 50th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
15	IC-83008H Major Santosh Kumar	11 Gorkha Rifles, 1 Sikkim Scouts Battalion	Army
16	IC-83108N Major Rishabh Kumar Nashine	9th Battalion, The Dogra Regiment	Army
17	IC-85077X Major Ronish Kumar	19th Battalion, The Punjab Regiment	Army
18	SC-00943Y Major Dhumal Rohan Shahaji	The Rajput Regiment, 44th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
19	SS-46282H Major Maanas Narla	The Corps of Engineers, 30 (Independent) Reconnaissance and Observation Flight	Army
20	SS-46286Y Major Jaiveer Yadav	2nd Battalion, The Bihar Regiment	Army
21	SS-48532X Major Thakre Akash Ashok	61 Engineer Regiment	Army
22	SS-48926W Major Vikas Lamba	12th Battalion, The Mahar Regiment	Army
23	IC-82947Y Captain Aayush Chauhan	The Rajputana Rifles, 9th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
24	IC-85483X Captain Saurabh Gupta	12th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (Special Forces)	Army
25	SS-50195M Captain Chetan Singh	The Corps of Signals, 34th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
26	JC-247925L Risaldar Sanjay Kumar	55 Armoured Regiment	Army
27	JC-551984N Naib Subedar Dipti Kumar Hazwari	5th Battalion, The Assam Regiment	Army
28	3202898H Havildar Manoj Kumar	The Jat Regiment, 34th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
29	4008286N Havildar Arun Kumar	The Dogra Regiment, 62nd Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
30	4193965P Havildar Ranveer Singh	The Kumaon Regiment, 50th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
31	4199936W Havildar Pradeep Kumar Singh	15th Battalion, The Kumaon Regiment	Army
32	13630562K Naik Sovindra Kumar	12th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (Special Forces)	Army
33	18005135A Naik Dharmvir	The Corps of Engineers, 3rd Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
34	19002538L Naik Hardeep Singh	24th Battalion, The Sikh Regiment	Army
35	2706631X Naik Munish Kumar	The Grenadiers, 55th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
36	3012008F Naik Satyendra Singh	The Rajput Regiment, 44th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
37	3012377Y Naik Khemchand	5th Battalion, The Rajput Regiment	Army
38	4486359P Naik Harjinder Singh	The Sikh Light Infantry, 19th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
39	9114169H Naik Rafiq Ahmad Mir	The Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, 50th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
40	20004865Y Lance Naik Abhishek	The Dogra Regiment, 62nd Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
41	3018169A Lance Naik Sanwra Choudhary	The Rajput Regiment, 44th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
42	20007762L Sepoy Yashwant Singh	The Dogra Regiment, 62nd Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
43	2518207X Sepoy Akashdeep Singh	18th Battalion, The Punjab Regiment	Army
44	3016460N Sepoy Sateram	The Rajput Regiment, 44th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
45	3018182K Sepoy Lakshmi Narayan Adhana	The Rajput Regiment, 44th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
46	3018252X Sepoy Dhan Singh Gurjar	The Rajput Regiment, 44th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
47	3211310X Sepoy Vikash	The Jat Regiment, 34th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
48	12975042N Rifleman Shaheen Husain Gan	162 Infantry Battalion (Territorial Army)	Army
49	15511217Y Sowar Ravi Sharma	The Armoured Corps, 22nd Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
50	16123961L Sapper Vishal Yadav	The Corps of Engineers, 44th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
51	2713315F Grenadier Salim Khan	The Grenadiers, 29th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army
52	15251500W Gunner Ramalingam K	The Regiment of Artillery, 19th Battalion, The Rashtriya Rifles	Army

 NAO SENA MEDAL (GALLANTRY)

S No	Name and Rank	Service
1	Lieutenant Commander Paneerselvam Vishnu Prasanna (08495-F)	Navy
2	Commander Kaustab Banerjee (06158-W)	Navy
3	Commander Hanish Singh Karki (05093-Z)	Navy

VAYU SENA MEDAL (GALLANTRY)

S No	Name and Rank	Service
1	Wing Commander Shiv Kumar Chauhan (28472) Flying (Pilot)	Air Force
2	Wing Commander Shrey Tomar (30170) Flying (Pilot)	Air Force
3	Squadron Leader GL Vineeth (31529) Flying (Pilot)	Air Force
4	Flight Lieutenant Pradeep Murugan (36071) MET/GARUD	Air Force