India’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier, INS Vikrant was commissioned and incorporated into the Indian Navy by M/s Cochin Shipyard Ltd in 2022. This addition accelerated the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ vision of the Indian government, setting it one step closer to reality. At present, the Aircraft Carrier is immersed in Air Certification and Flight Integration Trials. These trials include Rotary Wing and Fixed Wing aircraft and aim to reach complete combat readiness as swiftly as possible. The most recent milestone achieved during these trials was the successful day landing of the MiG-29K and the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). Another significant achievement was the initial night landing of the MiG-29K.
Winner of International Booker Prize 2023
The prestigious International Booker Prize 2023 was awarded to Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov, and translator Angela Rodel. Their winning work, Time Shelter, is a dark comic novel exploring the dangerous allure of nostalgia. The award includes prize money of 50,000 pounds, distributed equally between author and translator. Never has a Bulgarian-published novel won this award before. Given annually, the award recognizes translated fiction published in English in the United Kingdom over the past year. Furthermore, Time Shelter also received acclaim as the winner of Italy’s Strega European Prize for literature in Italian translation.
Launch of PCIM&H ‘e-office’ & Online Portal
The Union Minister of Ayush recently inaugurated the “e-Office portal of PCIM&H” and “Online portal” during his visit to the Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H). PCIM&H, under the Ministry of Ayush, is actively involved in Standardization and Quality Control of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, and Homeopathy (ASU&H) drugs. The standards are published in the form of Pharmacopoeias. The online portal has been designed to sell soft copies of pharmacopoeia monographs, simplifying their accessibility for stakeholders worldwide.
Introduction of UDAN 5.1 for Helicopter Routes
The Ministry of Civil Aviation recently unveiled UDAN 5.1, further improving connectivity to remote areas in the country through helicopters. Introduced as part of the Regional Connectivity Scheme – UDAN, this is the first round specifically designed for helicopter routes. Now, only one of the origin or destination locations needs to be in a priority area, unlike previously. Moreover, airfare caps have been decreased by 25%, making helicopter travel more affordable. Viability Gap Funding (VGF) caps for the operators have also been increased substantially for both single and twin-engine helicopters. This new round of the UDAN scheme reflects two emerging phenomena in Indian civil aviation: deeper democratization of air travel focusing on last-mile connectivity and an increasing appetite for helicopters in supporting tourism. As of now, 46 helicopter routes have been operationalized under previous rounds of the scheme, benefiting several hilly and Northeast states. This round intends to cover an even larger number of routes.