The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind has conferred the ‘Nari Shakti Puraskar’ for the years 2020 and 2021, on the occasion of International Women’s Day on March 08, 2022, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. Overall 29 women have been conferred the award for the years 2020 and 2021 in recognition of their outstanding and exceptional work towards the empowerment of women, especially the vulnerable and marginalised. There were a total of 28 awards which included 14 awards each for the years 2020 and 2021. The award ceremony for the year 2020 could not be held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Iran successfully test fire second military satellite Noor-2


Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) successfully launched a military satellite, Noor-2, into orbit at an altitude of 500 kilometres (311 miles) from the earth. This is the second military satellite launched by the Islamic Republic. The first military satellite, Noor, was launched in April 2020 at an orbit of 425km (265 miles) above the earth’s surface. Noor means light in the Persian language.
Putting the second satellite in space would be a major advance for Iran’s military, raising concerns about the country’s nuclear and missile programs. The three-stage Qased, or “Messenger”, the carrier launched the Noor 2, from the Shahroud spaceport.

India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra) expects gross domestic product (GDP) to grow 7.6 per cent in fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23), helped partly by continued government spending and a favourable global trade outlook, the ratings agency said on Thursday.
“After two years, the Indian economy will show a meaningful expansion, as the real GDP in FY23 will be 9.1 per cent higher than the FY20 (pre-Covid level) GDP level. However, the size of the Indian economy in FY23 will be 10.2 per cent lower than the FY23 GDP trend value,” said Sunil Kumar Sinha, principal economist with Ind-Ra.

Guinness World Records are saddened to hear that Saturnino de la Fuente García (Spain) has passed away at his house at the age of 112 years and 341 days.
The news has been confirmed by Senior Gerontology Consultant Robert Young, who also helped confirm Saturnino’s record as the oldest person living (male) in September 2021.
The record holder was announced as the oldest man living at exactly 112 years and 211 days.

The first BRICS Sherpas meeting of 2022 was held virtually on January 18-19 under the Chinese chairship with the members thanking India for its BRICS chairship in 2021.
Programme and priorities for the year were discussed at the first BRICS Sherpas Meeting of 2022 held virtually on January 18-19, under the Chinese chairship, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Twitter.
Members thanked India for its BRICS Chairship in 2021, he said.

Chanchal Kumar has been appointed as the Managing Director, National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL), under the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH). He is appointed in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary. He is a 1992 batch IAS officer of Bihar cadre, presently Principal Secretary of Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has also approved the extension in the central deputation tenure of Ashutosh Jindal, Additional Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat for 1 year beyond 16th February 2022 to 16th February 2023.

Jahnavi Dangeti:

In this row, taking the name of India high on the world stage, Jahnavi Dangeti, a second-year engineering student has created history by becoming the only Indian to undergo and complete the International Air and Space Program (IASP) at NASA Launch Operations’ Kennedy Space Centre in Alabama, the U.S. In an exclusive interaction with PBNS, Jahnavi, walks us through her experience and explains in detail the process she went through during her intense training at NASA.

The Amar Jawan Jyoti flame at India Gate has been merged with the Eternal Flame at the National War Memorial, barely 400 metres away. This merger was accompanied by a military ceremony in New Delhi on Friday.
Inaugurated on January 26, 1971, by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi, the Amar Jawan Jyoti was constructed as a memorial for Indian soldiers who were killed in action in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. India's victory at the end of this war led to the creation of Bangladesh.

The Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) of the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) in Israel’s Ministry of Defense, together with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Israeli Defense Forces, conducted today (Tuesday) a successful flight test of the Arrow Weapon System (AWS) and the Arrow 3 interceptor, which is designed to intercept ballistic missiles outside of the earth’s atmosphere. The test was performed at a test site in central Israel, and led by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
AWS operational radars array detected the target and transferred data to the battle management control (BMC), which analyzed the data and established a defense plan. After the defense plan was established, two Arrow-3 interceptors were launched toward the target and successfully completed the mission.

Chandigarh: By shortlisting Lieutenant General Manoj Pande as the Indian Army (IA)’s next Vice Chief of Staff, the Union government appears also to be advancing the inter-related appointment of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) to succeed General Bipin Rawat, who died in a helicopter crash last month.
The Wire had earlier reported that the CDS’s appointment had been postponed since it was predicated on the government deciding on the next Chief of Army Staff (CoAS), as the incumbent General Manoj Naravane was almost certain to be elevated to the country’s top military post.