Month: August 2023

Wagner Chief, Who Led Putin Revolt, among 10 killed in Plane Crash: Russia

Manish Kumar

Plane crashes north of Moscow  Wagner’s Prigozhin on board and no survivors – authorities  Telegram channel linked to Wagner says Prigozhin dead  He led a mutiny against army top brass in June.  There was no official comment from the Kremlin or the Defence Ministry.  “I don’t know for a fact what happened, but I’m not surprised,” US President Joe Biden said.  Russia’s most powerful mercenary Yevgeny Prigozhin was on board a plane that crashed on Wednesday evening north of Moscow with no survivors, the Russian authorities said, two months to…

Chandrayaan-3: India’s historic landing near Moon’s south pole; read to know foreign media reactions

Manish Kumar

India has made history as its Moon mission becomes the first to land in the lunar south pole region.  India joins an elite club of countries to achieve a soft landing on the Moon, after the US, the former Soviet Union and China.  From The New York Times to BBC and The Guardian to The Washington Post, ISRO made headlines in all major international news sites across the globe.  BBC called the achievement a ‘massive moment for India’ and ‘it bumps them up the space superpower list.  The Guardian writes…

The Brains Behind Chandrayaan-3 Mission

Manish Kumar

India’s Chandrayaan-3 satellite has been in the making for four years and many teams worked even as the country faced the Covid-19 pandemic. ISRO Chairman S Somanath says almost 1,000 engineers and scientists would have worked to get the nearly ₹ 700 crore mission up and running. Let’s name a few who were critical to the making of Chandrayaan-3. S Somanath, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)  S Somanath, an aerospace engineer, helped in the design of the rocket the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 or the Bahuballi rocket that lifted Chandrayaan-3…

Russia wants to end “war unleashed by West,” says Putin at BRICS summit

Manish Kumar

The BRICS leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, arrived at the Sandton Convention Centre to attend the plenary sessions.  Addressing the plenary session of the 15th BRICS Summit via video conferencing, Putin called for de-dollarization.   Vladimir Putin on Wednesday told a summit of the BRICS grouping that Moscow wants to put an end to the “war unleashed by the West”.  Putin also announced that Russia as chairman of BRICS next year plans to hold the summit in Kazan in October 2024.  This is the first in-person BRICS Summit after…

Joe Biden to visit India for G20 Summit; to push for IMF, World Bank reforms

Manish Kumar

India is hosting the G20 Summit on September 9-10 in New Delhi.  US President Joe Biden will be in India from September 7-10 for the G20 Summit.  White House National Security Adviser (NSA) said that President will push for IMF and World Bank reforms at the G20 summit.   President Biden and G20 partners will discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues.  The summit is likely to be attended by 29 heads of states as well as top officials of the European Union and invited guest countries…

Chandrayaan-3 to propel India in lunar mining exploration race

Manish Kumar

Following the news that Chandrayaan-3 is all set to land successfully on the south polar region of the Moon around 6.04pm IST on 23 August 2023; “Moon’s south pole is thought to be rich in water ice, which could be used to produce fuel for spacecraft, as well as other resources such as metals and minerals. Chandrayaan-3, if successful in landing at the south pole, gives India a head start in developing the infrastructure and technology needed to mine these resources. “3D printing is increasingly being implemented in emerging space technologies, as it can localize…

Board Exams Twice a Year, Class 11, 12 Students to Study 2 Languages, can choose subjects irrespective of streams

Manish Kumar

Board Exams Twice a Year  Students will be allowed to retain the best scores of the board exams  Union education ministry launched the new curriculum framework for school education on August 23,   Class 11 and 12 students will need to study two languages.  The choice of subjects in classes 11 and 12 will not be restricted to streams such as arts, science, and commerce to give students the flexibility to choose.  President Droupadi Murmu said the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is drafted to integrate skill development, industry connect…

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: lost life and billions, read to know the impacts

Manish Kumar

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has left tens of thousands of dead, displaced millions and sown economic turmoil across the world in the 18 months since its launch on Feb. 24, 2022.  The war has caused death on a level not seen in Europe since World War Two.  The war has left nearly 500,000 troops either dead or injured, according to the New York Times.  About 14,000 people were killed there between 2014 and the end of 2021, according to the OHCHR, including 3,106 civilians.  Since the 2022 invasion, millions of…

33 % sitting Rajya Sabha members have criminal cases against them and 12% Billionaires, Says Report

Manish Kumar

The report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW) said that 41(18%) Rajya Sabha sitting MPs have declared serious criminal cases.  “Out of the 225 Rajya Sabha sitting MPs analyzed, 75, which is 33 percent MPs have declared criminal cases against themselves.”  The report further said that four MPs have declared cases related to crimes against women.  “Out of the four MPs, K.C. Venugopal from Rajasthan has declared a case related to rape (IPC Section-376),” it said.  The report also highlighted that Maharashtra has the maximum number…

All eyes on Chandrayaan-3 Landing: India will be the fourth country to land a rover on the moon

Manish Kumar

India is keeping its fingers crossed as moon mission Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the lunar surface this evening. Parties and prayers are being held with equal fervour, with scientists predicting “20 minutes of terror” before the touchdown. Let’s go through the top 10 points in this big story: The landing – due at 6.04 pm – will be telecast live across the country. Schools will be open for the event and space enthusiasts are organizing parties in anticipation of the historic moment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is…