Anti-Satellite (ASAT) missile capability displayed to the world as the ASAT weapon, Mission Shakthi
- developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
- On March 27, 2019 the DRDO shot down a live satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) of 300 km using a modified interceptor of the Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system in ‘hit to kill’ mode with 10-cm accuracy.
India chose Russia for Gaganyaan astronaut Training
- Isro, which was in talks with space agencies from at least three countries including the US, finally decided to partner with Russia for astronaut training because of the tight schedule it had to meet for Gaganyaan.
- deadline set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to put Gaganyan in space by 2022.
India, Brazil ink 15 pacts
- India and Brazil on Saturday drew up an ambitious plan to boost their stuttering economies by expanding cooperation in oil, gas and minerals sectors, and set a target of $15 billion in bilateral trade by 2022.
- India and Brazil, the two large economies with a combines GDP of around $4.5 trillion and having a total population of 1.5 billion.
- The two countries also concluded 15 agreements and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) including on investment cooperation and facilitation treaty, mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, bioenergy and cyber security.
‘Shiv Bhojan’ scheme
- Maharashtra government on Sunday launched its much-awaited ‘Shiv Bhojan’ scheme, which is aimed at providing a meal to the poor for just Rs 10, on the occasion of the 71st Republic Day.
- The ‘thali’ consists of two chapatis, one vegetable, rice and dal. The thalis would be available for people between 12 noon and 2 pm
- The state government is expected to incur an expenditure of Rs 6.4 crore for the pilot ‘Shiv Bhojan’ thali project that will run for three months.
- similar canteens have been started in Tamil Nadu — Amma Unavagam and Karnataka — Indira Canteen.
