Defence Indigenous very short-range missile systems tested twice The DRDO conducted two consecutive successful flight tests of Very Short-Range Air Defence missiles at the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha. In another development, the maiden flight test of the Power Take off (PTO) Shaft was successfully conducted on Light Combat Aircraft (LCA-Tejas) Limited Series Production (LSP)-3 aircraft in Bengaluru. “The flight tests were carried out from a ground-based man portable launcher against high-speed unmanned aerial targets, mimicking approaching and receding aircraft. The targets were successfully intercepted, meeting all mission objectives.” Eminent Persons Surekha is first woman to operate Vande Bharat train Surekha Yadhav, Asia’’s first woman loco pilot, has become the first woman to operate the newly introduced semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express trains. A native of Satara district of Maharashtra, Ms. Yadav piloted the train between Solapur and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai. She was felicitated at the CSMT. “Vande Bharat – powered by Nari Shakti. Appointments Madhav Kaushik, a city-based writer and literary organiser, has been appointed as the president of the National Sahitya Akademi. vice president: Kumud Sharma About Sahitya Akademi Sahitya Akademi award established in 1954, is a literary honour that is conferred annually by Sahitya Akademi, India’s National Academy of letters. Akademi gives 24 awards annually to literary works in the languages it has recognized and an equal number of awards to literary translations from and into the languages of India. The Sahitya Akademi award is the second-highest literary honour by the Government of India, after the Jnanpith award.
