Today's Current Affairs 1st June 2023

NATIONAL

Defence ministry inks contract worth Rs 2,971 Cr with BDL to procure Astra missiles

The defence ministry sealed a contract worth Rs 2,971 crore with Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) to procure several batches of the Astra MK-I beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missiles and associated equipment.

The missiles are being procured for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Navy, The Astra MK-I BVR AAM has been indigenously designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) based on the requirements issued by the IAF.

The air-to-air missile with BVR capability provides large stand-off ranges to the IAF's fighter jets. The Astra MK-I missile and all associated systems for its launch, ground handling and testing have been developed by the DRDO in coordination with the IAF. The missile, for which successful trials have already been undertaken by the IAF, is fully integrated on the Su 30 MK-I fighter aircraft and will be integrated with other fighter jets in a phased manner, including the Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas). The navy will integrate the missile on the MiG 29K fighter aircraft.

OBITURY

Padma Shri awardee Vellayani Arjunan passes away

Eminent scholar, linguist, academician and writer Vellayani Arjunan passes away at a hospital here following a brief illness, He was 90.

A Padma Shri awardee, Arjunan had been a prominent figure in the academic, cultural and literary sphere of Kerala for decades and a recipient of three D-Litt degrees.

An author of over 40 books of different genres, including poetry, short stories, children's fiction, essays, literary criticism, research articles and so on, Arjunan had the credit of having post graduations in Malayalam, English and Hindi and PG diplomas in Telugu, Kannada and Tamil.

Singer KK passes away at 53

Singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK, who made people groove to his melodious songs, like ‘Pal’, ‘Yaaron Dosti’, ‘Tadap Tadap’ and ‘Aankhon Mein Teri’, passes away due to a sus-pected cardiac arrest shortly after performing to a packed audience at a college fest in south Kolkata’s Nazrul Mancha, He was just 54 years old.

About: Krishnakumar Kunnath / KK - Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK, was an Indian playback singer. He recorded songs in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati. KK began his career by singing advertising jingles and made his film debut in 1996 on an A. R. Rahman soundtrack.

Prof Ved Kumari Ghai passes away

Veteran Sanskrit Scholar and Padma Shri awardee, Ved Kumari Ghai passed away at the age of 91 after a brief illness.

She was born on December 16, 1931, in Pratap Garh Mohallah, Jammu and after completion of her school education in Jammu, she did her MA in Sanskrit from Punjab University in 1953 and PhD in Sanskrit from Banaras Hindu University in 1960. She married to Dr Ram Pratap, also a Sanskrit scholar.

She was head of Sanskrit Department in Jammu University until her retirement on December 31, 1991.

She was also involved in social work and Government of India awarded her Padma Shri in 2014. She was also awarded Gold Medal by Jammu and Kashmir Government for social work, President’s Award for Sanskrit and Dogra Ratan award etc

APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

Government appoints Ashwani Kumar as UCO Bank MD & CEO

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Ashwani Kumar, Executive Director, Indian Bank as Managing Director and CEO of UCO Bank.

Kumar will replace Soma Sankara Prasad, who is due to superannuate on May 31. It may be recalled that Centre had in December 2021 appointed Prasad as MD & CEO of UCO Bank.

Ashwani Kumar will lead the public sector bank for period of three years, from June 1.

Kumar will also be eligible for extension of the term of office, after a review of his performance, by two years or until further orders, whichever is earlier, according to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training.

Retired SBI senior executive Natarajan Sundar appointed as MD and CEO of NARCL

Former State Bank of India (SBI) executive Natarajan Sundar has been appointed MD & CEO of the National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL) with effect from May 30. Another former SBI employee, Karnam Sekar, who also headed Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) till June 30, 2020, has been appointed non-executive chairman of the bad bank. Sundar retired on April 30 as deputy managing director and chief credit officer at the bank, after having worked there for over 37 years.

Malvika Sinha, who retired as executive director of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), also joined the NARCL board as an independent director last week. In addition to the three new appointees, the board has five nominee directors from shareholder banks and another independent director is expected to join the board shortly.

About: NARCL - NARCL, a special purpose vehicle set up as a joint initiative of Public and Private Sector Banks, is expected to take over bad loans from banks and focus on resolution and recoveries.

Ajay Yadav takes charge as the MD of SECI

Ajay Yadav, a seasoned IAS officer from the 2005 batch of the Bihar cadre, has assumed the charge of Managing Director at Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI), effective immediately.

About: SECI - SECI, a Miniratna Category-I Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) established in 2011, serves as the primary implementing agency for renewable energy schemes and projects under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India.

With over 58 GW of Renewable Energy (RE) project capacities awarded to date, SECI has played a pivotal role in driving the growth of India’s renewable energy sector. The corporation has been instrumental in promoting solar energy projects and facilitating investments, contributing significantly to the nation’s sustainable energy goals.

SECI’s remarkable achievements include trading over 35 billion units (BU) of renewable energy (RE) power during the FY 2022-23, representing a substantial 59 percent increase compared to the previous year. This surge in trading volume propelled SECI’s revenue from power trading to surpass the Rs. 10,000 crore mark for the first time since its inception.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Milk Day

Every year, World Milk Day is observed on June 1. The purpose of the event is to raise awareness of the value of milk as a food on a worldwide scale and to highlight the contribution of the dairy industry to boosting nutrition and sustaining livelihoods.

History - In 2001, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation established World Milk Day on June 1st to recognise the importance of milk as a global food and also to celebrate the dairy sector and its constant efforts towards the same.

For 2023, the theme for World Milk Day will focus on the importance of dairy in the reduction of carbon footprints as well as providing nutritious foods and livelihoods

Fact - In 2022, India consumed the most milk worldwide, which was 85 million metric tons of milk followed by the European Union at 23.8 million metric tons and the United States at 20.975 million metric tons. This data shows the importance of milk in life.

SUMMIT'S & MOU's

Two-Day National Education Ministers’ Conference Begins In Gujarat Today – June 1

The National Education Ministers' Conference started in Gujarat from today, June 1, with the focus on implementation of the new National Education Policy (NEP), Education Ministers of states and Union Territories will be participating in this two-day conference.

The conference is expected to witness deliberations on strengthening the education ecosystem in the country with focus on implementation of National Education Policy 2020, skilling in schools and digital initiatives like NDEAR, NETF,

The ministers will also be visiting Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK), Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG), National Forensic Science University (NFSU) and International Automobile Centre of Excellence (IACE) on June 1,Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan along with Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State (MoS) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and Information Technology; MoS for Education Annapurna Devi and Subhash Sarkar and senior officials of the education ministry participate in the meeting.

India-EU Connectivity Conference begin in Meghalaya - June 1

The Ministry of External Affairs, EU Delegation to India and the Asian Confluence have jointly organized the India-EU Connectivity Conference in Meghalaya from starting June 1,

The objective of the two-day conference is to explore possibilities of boosting connectivity investments in India’s North Eastern States and with India’s neighbours - Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

The Conference is an outcome of the India-EU Connectivity partnership which was launched during the India-EU Leaders’ Meeting in May 2021. It’s inaugurated by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, and Minister of State fir External Affairs Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh. Senior officials of the Government, EU Commission, North Eastern states, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh and stakeholders from the private sector are expected to participate and provide their insights and views on the subject.