2 July 2016

International Day of Co-operatives observed today

·        The International Co-operative Day / International Day of Co-operatives is celebrated on the first Saturday of July every year.

·        To be celebrated on the 2nd of July 2016, this year’s theme is ‘Co-operatives: The power to act for a sustainable future’.

·        Its aim is to increase awareness on co-operatives and promote promote the movement's successes and ideals of international solidarity, economic efficiency, equality, and world peace.


·        The International Day also aims to to strengthen and extend partnerships between the international co-operative movement and other actors, including governments, at local, national and international levels

First squadron of LCA Tejas inducted into Indian Air Force

The first squadron of indigenously designed and manufactured Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas was inducted into Indian Air Force (IAF). State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) handed over the first two Tejas aircrafts to IAF as part squadron at the Aircraft System Testing Establishment in Bengaluru.
 Key Facts 
The first squadron of LCA Tejas has been named as ‘Flying Daggers’. Its base will be located in Sulur, Tamil Nadu. It will have total 20 aircrafts, including 4 trainers. However, the two aircrafts will be operated initially by the squadron at Bengaluru for nearly two years. Remaining 18 aircraft including 4 trainers will be inducted at Sulur base in 2018.

About LCA Tejas 

• Tejas is a single-engine lightweight multi-role fighter jet. It has been pegged as world’s smallest and lightest supersonic fighter. 
• It is outcome of India’s LCA programme, which began in the 1983 to replace country’s aging MiG-21 fighters. 
• It is a tailless and having compound delta wing design. It is powered by a single engine. It is mounted with inbuilt MultiMode Radar (MMR), Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) systems.
• It is equipped with a quadruplex digital fly-by-wire flight control system in order to ease handling by the pilot. LCA Tejas has a limited reach of a little over 400-km.
• It will be mainly used for close air-to-ground operations.

Amul to officially sponsor Indian contingent at Rio Olympics 2016

India’s largest food products marketing organization Amul has become the official sponsor of Indian contingent to the 2016 Rio Olympics. In this regard, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which sells its product under the brand Amul has inked an agreement with Indian Olympic Association (IOA). 
Key Facts

•  By sponsoring Indian contingent, Amul seeks to engage with youth and leverage the connection between the energy of milk and sports. 
• In this regard, GCMMF will launch a series of advertising campaigns for milk and various dairy products to promote this association. 
• Amul will use its famous tagline, Amul Doodh Pita hai India to cheer the Indian contingent. It also has embarked upon an “Eat Milk with Every Meal” campaign to highlight the importance of milk and dairy products like cheese, yogurt, butter, ghee, paneer, etc.

President Pranab Mukherjee presents BC Roy National Awards for 2008, 2009 & 2010

• President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday presented the Dr BC Roy national awards for 2008, 2009 and 2010 at Rashtrapati Bhavan. These awards were presented on the occasion of National Doctors’ Day observed on July 1 to pay honour and tribute to India’s most famous physician Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy. 
• The awardees are
•  2010: Nikhil C. Munshi, O.P. Kalra, Tejinder Singh, Subash Gupta, Amrinder Jit Kanwar, Rajendra Prasad and Glory Alexander.
•  2009:H. Sancheti, Renu Saxena, Atul Kumar, A.K. Kriplani, Kanan A. Yelikar, H.S. Bhanushali, G.V. Rao, Moti Lal Singh, C.N. Purandare and C.V. Hari Narayan.
•  2008: Rajeshwar Dayal, Mammen Chandy, Neelam Mohan, Rohit V. Bhatt, Mohan Kameswaran, Harsha Jauhari, Gopal H. Badlani and Yash Gulati.

High-speed OPV INS Tarasa launched by Indian Navy

Indian Navy has launched INS Tarasa, the fourth and last ship in the series of the Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC). It is being built by Kolkata (West Bengal) based Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE), for the Indian Navy. The WJFACs are ideally suited and used for interception of fast-moving surface craft.

About INS Tarasa 

• INS Tarasa like the previously launched ships of WJFACs series has been named after the picturesque island in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago in Bay of Bengal. 
• It is an improved variant of the Car Nicobar-class high-speed offshore patrol vessels (OPVs).
•  It is powered by the latest 4,000-series MTU engines and has displacement capacity of 315 tonnes. It is fitted with advanced machinery control system. 
• It has been designed to attain maximum speed of 35 knots and for an endurance of nearly 2,000 nautical miles at 12-14 knots. 
• The ship will be fitted with CRN-91 indigenous 30mm gun with optronic pedestal. It will also have the latest communication equipment and radars to enable effective surveillance. 
• INS Tarasa will perform anti-smuggling, fishery protection and search and rescue operations.