Japan awards Ex-PM Shinzo Abe country’s highest order posthumously
The Japanese government announced its decision to honour former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with the country’s highest decoration “the Collar of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum” posthumously. Shinzo Abe will be the fourth former premier to receive the honour under the postwar Constitution. Before him, former Prime Ministers Shigeru Yoshida, Eisaku Sato and Yasuhiro Nakasone were conferred with the same honour.
Notably, Emperor Meiji of Japan introduced the Grand Cordon of the Order in 1876. Later in 1888, the Collar of the Order was added to it. Unlike its European counterparts, Japan has the right to award it posthumously. The grand cordon is the highest honour that a Japanese national can receive in his/her lifetime. As of now, as many as 44 Japanese nationals have been awarded with the grand cordon, apart from the Imperial Family.
SpaceX: Cargo Dragon supply mission to the ISS launched
A hydrazine leak on a SpaceX cargo Dragon spacecraft caused the launch of the spacecraft to be delayed by more than a month. The spacecraft is now on its way to the International Space Station. Seven and a half minutes after takeoff, the Falcon 9 first stage landed on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean. The stage successfully launched the Turksat 5B communications satellite, as well as NASA’s Crew-3, Crew-4, and CRS-22 missions. This was the stage’s fifth flight overall. SpaceX has conducted 30 launches so far this year compared to 31 over the entirety of 2021.
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2,668 kilos of cargo are being carried by the Dragon spacecraft for the CRS-25 mission. This cargo includes scientific research as well as crew supplies, hardware for spacewalks, and science experiments. Included in that amount is equipment weighing 544 kilos that is housed in the spacecraft’s unpressurized trunk.
The Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation, or EMIT, is one of the science payloads and will be mounted on the outside of the station. It will be applied to research atmospheric mineral dust and how it affects ecosystems all around the world.
Early June had been assigned as the launch date for the CRS-25 mission. After finding what NASA referred to as “elevated vapour readings” of hydrazine in the spacecraft’s propulsion system, NASA and SpaceX decided to delay the launch.
As propellants for its Draco thrusters, which manage its approach to and departure from the ISS as well as deorbiting at the end of the mission, Dragon employs monomethyl hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide.
CM introduces e-FIR service and a police app for Uttarakhand
The e-FIR service and the Uttarakhand police app were introduced by chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. The State police’s five online services are all integrated into the police app. Dhami, who spoke at the event, asserted that the app will provide better services to the public. On behalf of the government’s policy of simplification, solution, and resolution, he noted that this is a commendable endeavour. This is a commendable effort to put Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s concept of smart policing into practise.
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The head of the police department The Uttarakhand police app now includes all of the online services that the State police offers to the general public, according to Ashok Kumar.
These are Lakshya Nasha Mukt Uttarakhand, Meri Yatra, Gaura Shakti, traffic eye, and public eye.
Additionally linked to this app are the cyber hotline number 1930 and the emergency number 112.
He added that with this software, residents will be able to report vehicle theft or lost documents online while at home using the citizens web portal or their mobile phone.
The report must be filled out according to the description given, and the cyber police station will receive the public’s information for registration as an e-FIR.
Bharti Airtel allotted 1.2% equity shares to Google for USD 1 Billion
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel has allotted over 7.1 crore equity shares to internet major Google for Rs 734 a piece. The allotment is part of Google’s commitment to invest USD 1 billion with Airtel, which included equity investment in the company worth USD 700 million, about Rs 5,224 crore. Google now holds a 1.2% stake in India’s 2 telecom service providers. The investment follows Google’s USD 4.5 billion investment in Reliance Jio in July 2020 for India Digitization Fund.
Google made the investment as part of its USD 10-billion India Digitization Fund. Google will hold approximately 1.2 per cent of the total post-issue equity shares of the company– approximately 1.17 per cent on a fully-diluted basis. Google has also invested Rs 33,737 crore (about USD 4.5 billion) to buy a 7.73 per cent stake in Jio Platforms just a couple of days after it made an announcement about the India Digitization Fund.
Google Parent Alphabet appoints Goldman Sachs Veteran, Marty Chavez to Board
Wall Street veteran Marty Chavez is joining the board of Google parent Alphabet Inc., adding significant finance muscle to the technology giant. His appointment marks the first change to the Alphabet board since 2020 when former Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt departed.
Chavez, a vice chairman and partner with Sixth Street Partners, has worked as an investor and software executive but is best known for his 20-year tenure at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chavez, 58, originally joined Goldman Sachs in the J. Aron trading unit. He then held various other roles at the firm, including chief financial officer, chief information officer, and head of its trading division, the bank’s largest unit.
Center extends State and Central Tax and Levies Rebate Program
The government has approved the continuation of the Scheme for Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) with the same rates as announced by the Ministry of Textiles for exports of apparel/garments and made-ups until March 31, 2024 in an effort to increase exports and create jobs in the textile industry. RoSCTL is a growth-oriented, forward-looking programme that has helped increase exports and jobs by establishing a stable and predictable policy environment.
The programme enhanced cost effectiveness and export competitiveness on the global market. Additionally, it has aided in the development of startups and entrepreneurs in the industry and encouraged a significant number of MSMEs to enter the garment export market. The RoSL (Rebate of State Levies) scheme was superseded by the new RoSCTL (Rebate of State and Central Taxes Levies) plan in March 2019 following the implementation of GST in 2017.