16th January Daily Current Affairs – English

India, the world’s maritime power:

• Prime Minister Modi dedicated 3 warships – INS Surat, INS Nilgiri and INS Vaghsheer – to the nation at the Naval Shipyard in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• This is the first time that a large-scale attack ship (INS Surat), a small-scale frigate (INS Nilgiri) and a state-of-the-art submarine (INS Vaghsheer) have been dedicated to the nation at the same time.
• India has always supported openness, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.
• India has emerged as a major player in the Indian Ocean.
• In the last 10 years, 33 ships and 7 submarines have been commissioned into the Indian Navy.
• Out of these 40 ships, 39 ships have been built in India.
• INS Surat, INS Nilgiri and INS Vaghsheer are all indigenously built warships, built under the ‘Self-Reliant India’ initiative.
• INS Surat, the fourth and final ship under the ‘P15B’ missile destroyer project, is one of the largest and most advanced attack warships in the world.
• The ship is 75 per cent indigenously designed.
• INS Nilgiri is the first ship built under the ‘P17A’ stealth Frigate project.
• Equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, the ship can operate various types of helicopters, including the MH-60R helicopter.
• Both the warships were designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Division and built by Mazagon Shipbuilding.
• The sixth and final submarine of the ‘P75’ Scorpene project, INS Vakshi, was designed in collaboration with the French Navy and built by Mazagon Shipbuilding.

Remote uninhabited islands named after Raja Raja Chola:

• Remote uninhabited islands in the Indian Ocean have been monitored and named over the past 10 years.
• Similarly, under India’s initiative, deep-sea mountains in the Indian Ocean have been named after emperors Raja Raja Chola, Ashoka, Harshavardhana and Chandragupta.

‘Samudrayaan’ project:

• Samudrayaan is a project to explore the depths of the ocean to a depth of 6,000 meters.
• Samudrayaan is India’s first manned mission to explore the deep sea.
• The project is being designed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai.
• Through this project, humans will be sent to the deep sea in a submersible vehicle for research.
• The project is expected to be completed by 2026.

National Turmeric Board launched for the first time in India:

• The National Turmeric Board has been launched for the first time in India.
• Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurated the National Turmeric Board in Nizamabad.
• Palle Ganga Reddy has been appointed as the chairman of the Turmeric Board.
• 70 percent of the global turmeric production is done in India.
• 30 varieties of turmeric are produced in India.
• The National Turmeric Board has been launched in Nizamabad, Telangana, with the aim of paying special attention to the welfare of turmeric farmers in the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Meghalaya.

Nag Mk 2 Anti-tank missile test success:

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully tested the new version of the indigenously developed anti-tank missile ‘Nag MK-2’.
• The missile’s ability to accurately hit and destroy long-range and short-range targets was tested in Pokhran, Rajasthan.
• With this, the entire package of this missile has reached the stage of being ready for introduction into military use.

January 15: Indian Army Day

• January 15 is observed as Indian Army Day every year.
• On this day in 1949, Field Marshal Kodandera M Cariappa took over as the first Chief of the Indian Army from the last British Commander, General Sir Francis Butcher.

January 16: National Inauguration Day

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared January 16 as National Inauguration Day in 2021.

Important Facts:

1. Army Day is observed on January 15 every year to commemorate the assumption of office of the first Chief of the Indian Army by General K.M. Cariappa in 1949.
2. Malayalam music composer and lyricist Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri was conferred with the Harivarasanam Award.
3. The third annual Kashi-Tamil Sangamam event will be held in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, from February 15 to 24.
4. Narayanan took over as the new chairman of ISRO after the term of Somnath, who was the 10^th chairman, ended.
5. Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who is in Spain, has announced that a Spanish embassy will be opened in Bangalore, Karnataka.
6. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin inaugurated the Integrated Higher Research Institute for Veterinary and Zoological Sciences, set up at a cost of Rs 564 crore in Thalaivasal, Salem.
7. Chief Minister Stalin presented the Thiruvalluvar Award for the year 2025 to the great poet Senthamil Semmal M. Padikaramu, the Perarignar Anna Award for the year 2024 to L. Ganeshan, the Perunthalaivar Kamaraj Award to former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president and former Union Minister K.V. Thankgabalu, the Mahakavi Bharathiyar Award to poet Kabilan, the Pavendar Bharathidasan Award to poetry luminary Pon. Selvaganapathi, the Tamil Thendral Thiru.V.K. Award to Doctor G.R.Raveendranath, and the Muthamizh Kalvar K.A.P. Viswanatham Award to V.M.Pothiyaverpan.
8. A resolution has been introduced in the US Congress demanding that January be declared as Tamil Language and Heritage Month.
9. SpaceX, the space exploration company owned by American businessman Elon Musk, launched two private spacecraft to land on the moon and conduct research.
10. Jasprit Bumrah has won the ICC Player of the Month award for December.