• An American commercial cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station has been named after fallen NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla, the first India-born woman to enter space, for her key contributions to human spaceflight.

• Northrop Grumman, an American global aerospace and defence technology company, announced that its next Cygnus capsule will be named the “S.S. Kalpana Chawla”, in memory of the mission specialist who died with her six crewmates aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 2003.

• The S S Kalpana Chawla capsule is scheduled to launch on the NG-14 mission atop a Northrop Grumman Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on September 29. The spacecraft will arrive at and be attached to the space station two days later.

• For the NG-14 mission, the Cygnus spacecraft will deliver approximately 3,629 kg of cargo to the space station.

• Chawla was born in Karnal, Haryana on March 17, 1962. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from Punjab Engineering College in India in 1982.

* Father of India’s Radio Astronomy, Prof Govind Swarup passed away.

* He was born on March 23rd, 1929 in Thakurdwara, United Provinces, British India ( Now in Uttar Pradesh).

* He was the founding director of National Centre for Radio Astrophysics of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.

* He is well known for his many important research contributions in several areas of astronomy and astrophysics.

* He served as president of the Astronomical Society of India during 1975-77.

* A strong group in radio astrophysics was formed under his leadership at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, which is comparable to the best in the world.

* He has received Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (SSB)(1972); TWAS Prize in Physics (1988); H. K. Firodia Award (2001)and the Grote Reber Medal (2007) among others

• Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited has launched ‘Smart Assist’, a 1st of its kind technology service in the insurance industry.

• Through a secure screen sharing feature, the service allows the customers to connect with the company to avail real-time assistance on completing the purchase anywhere.

• It helps the customers to know about product details while enjoying virtual assistance and maintaining social distance protocol.

• It is the latest in the series of initiatives by Bajaj Allianz Life to enhance the customer experience by digitizing its operations, making them easy-to-use and completely secure

• Smart Assist co-browsing service enables personalised engagement with customers in a 100% secure environment, with end-to-end encryption.

* The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has created & launched an in-house mobile Application (app), ‘Pensioners Corner’to get in touch with the pensioners and to bring them to the digital platform as a one stop solution.

* It will also cater to the needs of its pensioners.

* It is a part of its ‘e-karyalay’, an electronic office app launched in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

* Through Pensioners Corner app, the pensioners will be connected to the CISF units across the country.

* The app will have an SMS(Short Message Service) invitation system, which will notify the pensioners on important events happening at their nearest CISF unit.

• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, has launched the Aatmanirbhar Bharat ARISE-Atal New India Challenges.

• The programme will spur applied research and innovation in Indian MSMEs and startups.

• The initiative will help identify and promote innovations necessary for boosting the MSME sector.

• The programme will be driven by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), four ministries including Ministry of Defence; Ministry of Food Processing Industries; Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs along with associated industries to facilitate innovative solutions to sectoral problems.