Today's Current Affairs 16th July 2023

INTERNATIONAL

India-Mongolia joint military exercise Nomadic Elephant – 2023 to commence at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

• Indian Army contingent comprising of 43 personnel left for Mongolia today. The contingent will participate in the 15th edition of bilateral joint military exercise “NOMADIC ELEPHANT-23”. The exercise is scheduled to be conducted at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from 17 to 31 July 2023. Exercise NOMADIC ELEPHANT is an annual training event with Mongolia which is conducted alternatively in Mongolia and India, the last edition was held at Special Forces Training School, Bakloh in October 2019.
• Soldiers of the Mongolian Armed Forces Unit 084 from and Indian Army soldiers from the JAMMU AND KASHMIR LIGHT INFANTRY Regiment will be participating in the exercise. Indian Army contingent reached Ulaanbaatar on 16 July 23 by an Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft. The aim of this exercise is to build positive military relations, exchange best practices, develop inter-operability, bonhomie, camaraderie and friendship between the two armies. The primary theme of the exercise will focus on counter-terrorism operations in mountainous terrain under United Nations mandate.

Saudi Arabia Becomes 51st Country to Ink ASEAN's Amity Treaty

• Saudi Arabia officially inked ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia -- commonly shortened as the TAC -- during the group’s ministerial meeting in Jakarta.
• The Middle Eastern country sent its senior diplomat Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud to sign the non-aggression pact. Saudi Arabia also became the 51st nation to accede to the TAC.
• “The [signing] reflects Saudi’s strong commitment to abide by ASEAN values and principles as enshrined in the TAC,” Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said when kicking off the TAC signing ceremony.
• “A commitment to cooperate and collaborate. A commitment to contribute to upholding international laws. A commitment to contribute to peace and stability in Southeast Asia and beyond,” she added.

NATIONAL

Delhi’s IGI becomes India’s first airport to have four runways

• Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Friday became India’s first airport to have four runways as the civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia inaugurated its fourth runway and hinted at the opening of the airport’s new terminal by October this year.
• Pointing that the new runway along with the new terminal will allow Delhi airport to cater to 109 Million passengers yearly, Scindia said that the country’s civil aviation sector is witnessing the beginning of the growth phase and that the civil aviation sector is contributing to the rise of the economic power of India.
• This runway along with the terminal expansion will add to creating capacity to serve more than 109 million people throughput which would crest and beat even Atlanta in its capability,
• Scindia also inaugurated India’s first eastern cross taxiway (ECT) that will connect the Northern part of the airfield to the southern side, thus reducing taxi time for aircraft and help passengers deplane within 12 minutes of landing.

Indian Army signs contract for procurement of Tactical Access Switch with Tata Advanced Systems Limited

• Continuing with the commitment towards 'Make in India' initiative the Indian Army has signed the second procurement contract through Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) on 09 June 2023. The contract with M/s Astrome Tech Pvt Ltd, Bangalore for procurement of indigenously developed ‘Tactical LAN Radio' was signed in presence of Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar, the Vice Chief of Army Staff at New Delhi. With this initiative, the Indian Army has taken a lead by signing two contracts under iDEX till date.
• Tactical LAN solution is being developed indigenously for creating secure tactical LAN in remote and difficult terrain. ‘Tactical LAN Radio' is a state of the art high bandwidth backhaul wireless radio equipment for provisioning of reliable and failsafe communication. The solution offers an enhanced range of communication and embedded frequency hopping mechanism to preclude chances of interception and long-range point-to-multipoint high-bandwidth communication. The system also incorporates the enhanced safety features and can operate continuously for 48 hours on a single set basis without any breakdown.

OPPO India sets up first PPP-model Atal Tinkering Lab in Kerala

• OPPO India in collaboration with NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) as its knowledge partner has announced the establishment of an Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) in Kerala. This collaboration marks the establishment of the first-ever Atal Tinkering Lab, based on the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model.
• The lab at St Paul’s CEHSS in Kuriachira, Thrissur, was inaugurated on July 10, 2023 by Rajeev Chandrashekar, the Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and Information Technology. The primary objective of this initiative is to create an empowered future-ready workforce and nurture entrepreneurship and technological skills among the youth
• Till 2022, 10,000 ATLs were established across 35 States and UTs in India though government grants. “The establishment of the first PPP Atal Tinkering Lab in collaboration with OPPO India is a significant milestone in India’s School Innovation journey.

SPORTS

Yashasvi Jaiswal became the 17th Indian to score a century on Test debut and the third designated opener

• Yashasvi Jaiswal rewrote the history books by becoming first-ever Indian opener to score a Test century on debut away from home. The left-hander, who was handed the Test cap by captain Rohit Sharma on Wednesday, reached the landmark on Day 2 of the first Test against West Indies at Windsor Park in Dominica. Jaiswal got a single off fellow debutant Alick Athanaze to complete his century in the 70th over of India's innings late on Thursday. He got there off 215 balls.
• Overall, Jaiswal became the 17th Indian to score a century on Test debut and the third designated opener. However, he is the first Indian opener to get to three figures in his maiden Test away from home. Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw had registered their debut Test centuries at Mohali and Rajkot against Australia and West Indies respectively

Marketa Vondrousova beats Ons Jabeur to become first unseeded woman to win Wimbledon title

• Marketa Vondrousova becomes the Wimbledon championship 2023 by beating last year’s runner-up Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 in the finals. Jabeur held the break of serve lead twice in the opening set of the women’s singles final or Centre Court before the unseeded Marketa Vondrousova bounced back to win 16 of the last 18 points, and four straight games, to grab the opening set 6-4. She set three times in the first set. In 2023, Wimbledon will award an all-time high of 44.7 million pounds.
• Marketa Vondrousova becomes Wimbledon champion, the first unseeded player to do so in the Open Era. She beats last year’s runner-up Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 in the final. Marketa Vonddrousova is the first unseeded player to do so in the Open Era.
• About: Marketa Vondrousova - Marketa Vondrousova was born on June 28, 1999. Currently, she is 24 years old. She hails from the Czech Republic and is a Czech. Marketa was born in Sokolov, a small town located in the Karvolvy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. Her parents are David Vondrousova and Jindriska Vondrousova. She married her longtime partner Stepan Simek on July 16, 2022. The couple got engaged after Tokyo Olympics 2021.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Adani Transmission Wins Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2023

• Adani Transmission Limited has received ‘Golden Peacock Environment Management Award 2023 (GPEMA) in the ‘Power Transmission Sector’ from ‘Institute of Directors.’
• In 2023, an assessment group comprising Environment, Health and safety, Energy and Climate Change experts assesses over 520 applications.
• These applications were approved by Justice M.N. The review was done by an eminent jury committee headed by Venkatachaliah.
• About: Golden Peacock Environment Management Award - The award is given for reducing its ecological footprint through programs such as zero waste in landfills, single-use plastic free, water-positive operations, promoting renewable energy integration and implementation of best-in-class environmental management strategies.
• Steel Authority of India (SAIL) has been awarded with the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award in 2021 in the steel sector by the Institute of Directors. SAIL has been the winner of this award for three consecutive years.
• Adani Tranmission Limitied (ATL) was declared Winner by its B2C arms i.e. Adani Electric Mumbai Limited for its unique strategic initiative of increasing renewable energy in bulk power purchase for distribution in Mumbai region.