HIMACHAL PRADESH

 

• Soon, heli taxi service at 13,050ft-high Rohtang Pass

 

• Though high velocity winds posed challenge to the state government’s helicopter that was expected to land at 13,050ft-high Rohtang Pass as the trial sorties before starting heli taxi service, the 6-seater helicopter successfully landed at newly-built helipad at Vashisht Bihal, 2km from Manali.

 

• After starting heli taxi service between Shimla and Chandigarh with help of chief minister’s chopper, the government is all set to start the same service between Manali and Rohtang with small helicopter hired from a private company. While there are some formalities to be completed, the officials are conducting trial sorties before starting official flights carrying tourists.

 

• The low visibility, high velocity winds and unpredictable weather conditions on Rohtang would be the main challenges. Sources said that the technical teams, including pilot, had suggested some minor changes in landing site at Rohtang Pass.

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

• International Decade for Action: Water for Sustainable Development 2018-2028

 

• Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation and Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Shri Nitin Gadkari is scheduled to visit Republic of Tajikistan to represent India in the high-level Conference on “International Decade for Action: Water for Sustainable Development, 2018-2028” on 20-21 June 2018.

 

• United Nations and Government of Republic of Tajikistan are jointly organizing the Conference to discuss key water related issues of sustainable development goals adopted by UN member countries.

 

• Tajikistan is a strategic partner country in our extended neighbourhood.

 

• The country has a leading role in pioneering global water related issues.

 

·        US scientists unveiled worlds most powerful and smartest scientific supercomputer

 

• US scientists have unveiled the world’s most powerful and smartest scientific supercomputer named “Summit” that can complete over 200,000 trillion calculations per second.
• This supercomputer called Summit will be eight times more powerful than its previous top-ranked system, Titan.

 

 

NATIONAL

 

• Union HRD Minister dedicates the National Digital Library of India to the Nation

 

• The Union Human Resource Development Minister, Shri Prakash Javadekar launched the new digital initiative of HRD Ministry ‘National Digital Library of India’ on the occasion of National Reading Day in New Delhi.

 

• This National Digital Library of India (NDLI) is a project of the Ministry of Human Resource Development under the aegis of National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT).

 

• The objective of NDL is to make digital educational resources available to all citizens of the country to empower, inspire and encourage learning. National Digital Library of India is developed by IIT Kharagpur.

 

• NDL is the Single Window Platform that collects and collates metadata from premier learning institutions in India and abroad, as well as other relevant sources.

 

• It is a digital repository containing textbooks, articles, videos, audio books, lectures, simulations, fiction and all other kinds of learning media.

 

 

• Chief Ministers Subgroup Constituted for Agriculture and MGNREGS

 

• Government has set up a Chief Ministers Subgroup to Coordinate Policy Approaches for Agriculture and MGNREGS.

 

• Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh as the Convener and CMs of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Sikkim along with the Member NITI Aayog, Shri Ramesh Chand are its members.

 

• The move comes in the backdrop of the vision of the Prime Minister towards Doubling Farmers’ Income by 2022 which requires a multi-dimensional and inclusive approach.

 

·        Railways to become Net Zero Carbon emitter by 2030, announced by Union Minister Piyush Goyal

 

• Indian Railways will become a “net zero” carbon emitter by 2030, with the current action plans on anvil for 100 per cent electrification, coupled with renewable strategies.
• This has been announced by Railways Minister Piyush Goyal while addressing the Rail Contact 2018 conference organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

 

·        Three Day National Yoga Olympiad 2018 began in New Delhi

 

• For the third consecutive year, National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) organised three-day National Yoga Olympiad-2018 in New Delhi.
• In this, 500 students from 26 states and four regional educational institutions are taking part.
• Two books named “Joy of Theater” and “Music” were also released on this occasion.

·        ICGS Rani Rashmoni ship was commissioned at Vizag

 

• Additional Director General of the Coast Guard VSR Murthy commissioned the last of the five Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) project of Indian Coast Guard, ICGS  ‘Rani Rashmoni’, in Visakhapatnam.
• So far four such ships such as ICGS Rani Abbakka, ICGS Rani Avanti Bai, ICGS Rani Durgavati and ICGS Rani Gaidinliu, have been commissioned and are in active service at various locations on the eastern seaboard.