Passage 1
Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap, and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla are India’s astronauts-designate for Gaganyaan, India’s first crewed space mission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Tuesday.
All four Indian Air Force officers have had extensive experience as test pilots and are currently in training for the mission. Modi, who bestowed them with the prestigious astronaut wings, described them as “four forces” who represent the aspirations and optimism of 1.4 billion Indians.
The announcement was made at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thumba, Kerala, days after the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said it had successfully tested the human readiness of the cryogenic engine that will be used on the Gaganyaan mission vehicles.
Source – https://indianexpress.com/article/
Passage 2
Former Supreme Court judge A.M. Khanwilkar was appointed as the chairperson of the anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal on Tuesday, nearly two years after the post fell vacant.
A communique issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said that retired justices Lingappa Narayana Swamy, Sanjay Yadav and Ritu Raj Awasthi have been appointed as judicial members of the anti-corruption ombudsman. The appointed former Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Ritu Raj Awasthi, who is at present the chairperson of the Law Commission of India, former Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court Lingappa Narayana Swamy and former Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court Sanjay Yadav as the judicial members in the Lokpal.
Sushil Chandra, Pankaj Kumar and Ajay Tirkey will be non-judicial members, the communique stated.
These appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their respective offices, it added.
Source- https://www.thehindu.com/news/