International Yoga Festival 2023 Held on Banks of Ganges in Rishikesh

·         The International Yoga Festival 2023 will be held in Rishikesh from 1st March to 7th March 2023. The International Yoga Festival 2023 is the main attraction of Bharat Parv this year.

·         The International Yoga Festival 2023 will be held in Rishikesh from 1st March to 7th March 2023. The International Yoga Festival 2023 is the main attraction of Bharat Parv this year.

·         The six-day event of the International Yoga Festival 2023 will promote the rich heritage and diverse natural wonders of the state and it is a significant point of discussion among those visiting the Uttarakhand Tourism pavilion at the event held in Red Fort.

·         The International Yoga Festival 2023 will address guests from worldwide with a six-day session.

·         The visitors will be able to participate in sessions led by Yogacharyas from revered yoga schools, such as the Isha Foundation, Kaivalyadhama, Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, and Art of Living, among others.

·         The festival seeks to promote Uttarakhand’s rich legacy of yoga and the importance of leading a holistic and spiritual way of life. Apart from these sessions, there will also be free medical sessions, expert-led consultation sessions, and pulse tests by Ayurvedacharyas.

·         The Uttarakhand Tourism department also gained many visitors at Bharat Parv, attended by thousands of people, with their unique culinary offerings and cultural performances.

·         The performances at the International Yoga Festival 2023 celebrated the extensive Devbhoomi cultural legacy with music and dance, and the local cuisine–featuring dishes like Jhangore Ki kheer, Mandwe ki roti, Gahat Ke paratha, etc.

SpaceX launches NASA Crew-6 mission

·         SpaceX launched NASA's Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station from Florida as Elon Musk’s company begins the final of the original six missions it was awarded by NASA.

·         SpaceX launched NASA’s Crew-6 mission to orbit en route to the International Space Station, with a Russian cosmonaut and United Arab Emirates astronaut joining two NASA crewmates for the flight.

·         The SpaceX launch vehicle, consisting of a Falcon 9 rocket topped with an autonomously operated Crew Dragon capsule called Endeavour, lifted off at 12:34 a.m. EST (0534 GMT) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

About Crew-6 mission:

·         The mission is launching 2 US astronauts, one Russian Cosmonaut, and a UAE astronaut. This is Crew Dragon’s fourth flight.

·         Previous flights of Crew Dragon were as follows:

o   Demo-2 Crew Test flight

o   Crew-2 flight in 2021

Private Axiom Mission-1

·         The landing site of the mission is the Atlantic Ocean. It is a part of the Commercial Crew Program of NASA. The program provides crew transportation services, that is, carrying cargo and astronauts from and to ISS.

Significance of Crew Dragon :

·         It is a reusable spacecraft. It supplies cargo to the International Space Station. Earlier, the crew dragon was called the Dragon rider.

Need of Crew-6 Launch:

·         The Crew-6 launch comes after Russia is preparing to send Soyuz MS-23 to replace Soyuz MS-22. Due to a coolant leak in Soyuz MS-22, the astronauts were stranded in space.

Asian Chess Federation confers D Gukesh with Player of the Year award

·         Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh has been honoured with Player-of-the-Year award by the Asian Chess Federation (ACF).

·         Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh has been honoured with Player-of-the-Year award by the Asian Chess Federation (ACF) for clinching the gold medal with a record-breaking score of 9/11 in the 44th Chess Olympiad at Mahabalipuram. Gukesh became only the sixth Indian to break the 2700 Elo-rating mark, and the youngest Grandmaster from the country to be rated above 2700.

Other awardees

·         The All India Chess Federation (AICF) bagged the ‘Most Active Federation’ award conferred during the ACF annual summit, which is underway here.

·         Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has been conferred with Man-of-the-Year award for his effort in the successful hosting of the FIDE Chess Olympiad in August last year within a short notice of four months.

·         The Indian women’s team, comprising of Koneru Humpy, D Harika, R Vaishali, Tania Sachdev and Bhakti Kulkarni, was adjudged the ‘Best Women’s team of the Year’ for its bronze-winning effort.

·         Grandmaster R B Ramesh bagged the men’s Coach-of-the-Year award and Grandmaster Abhijit Kunte won the Women’s Coach-of-the-Year awards.

Godrej & Boyce, Renmakch sign MoU to develop a ‘Make-in-India’ value chain for Indian Railways

·         Godrej & Boyce announced that its business Godrej Tooling has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Renmakch for developing workshop equipment for Indian railways.

·         Godrej & Boyce, the flagship company of the Godrej Group, announced that its business Godrej Tooling has partnered with Renmakch, to collaborate on Machinery & Plant (M&P) projects for Railways and Metro Rail, offering world-class equipment that is ‘Made in India’.

·         With this alliance, Godrej & Boyce will now be able to offer a complete value chain ranging from design to build for the Railways and also bid on larger projects. The Company has been a trusted partner of the Indian Railways for over 15 years.

Significance of The MoU Between Godrej & Boyce, Renmakch:

·         Godrej Tooling has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Renmakch for developing workshop equipment. The collaboration will introduce the latest technology for the Rail industry from Europe and other developed countries and indigenize it for India.

·         With the Indian Railways announcing their plans to invest in new generation trains such as Vande Bharat and subsequently new workshops and depots, Godrej & Boyce aims to harness this opportunity by offering a turnkey solution to the Indian Railways.

·         This will not just fuel India’s self-reliance but also improve the speed, quality, and safety of railway and metro coaches during maintenance. The Company expects to acquire a 20-30% market share in this sector over the next 5 years.

Make in India and: Godrej and Renmakch:

·         Godrej Tooling and Renmakch will have a ten-year-strong partnership. The association will contribute to the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiatives by developing depot equipment, which is an import substitute.

·         Godrej Tooling supplies jigs & fixtures, automation solutions, and workshop equipment for Railway workshops & Metro depots.