11 June 2024: PIB Summary for UPSC

2. Prelims Facts

1) Chief of the Army Staff

• Vice Chief of the Army Staff Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi appointed as next Chief of the Army Staff w.e.f. June 30, 2024.
• Lt Gen Dwivedi was commissioned into the Army’s Infantry (Jammu & Kashmir Rifles) in 1984.
• In his career spanning 40 years, he has served in a variety of Command, Staff, Instructional and Foreign appointments.
• He has been decorated with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM), Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) and three GOC-in-C Commendation Cards.

Also read: Chief of the Army Staff

2) National Highways Infra Trust

• The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has unveiled a new corporate identity with the launch of a logo of its infrastructure investment trust, National Highways Infra Trust (NHIT). 
• NHIT was registered as a trust with SEBI in October 2020, to support the Government of India’s National Monetization Pipeline (NMP). 
• NHIT currently has 190 investors and over 12,000 retail bondholders of its Non-Convertible Debentures. 
• It operates a diversified portfolio of fifteen toll roads with an aggregate length of approximately 1,525 kilometres, spread across nine states of Assam, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
• The units of NHIT are listed on both NSE and BSE.
• Under the NMP for FY 2024- 25, NHAI intends to monetize projects worth Rs. 15,000 – 20,000 crore through NHIT.

3) ATL Tinkerpreneur 2024

• The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog has announced the commencement of applications for the ‘ATL Tinkerpreneur 2024’.
• It is a flagship summer boot camp under AIM’s Atal Tinkering Labs program open to all schools across India including non-ATL schools.
• Over 40 days, from June to July, participants will embark on a virtual journey aimed at equipping them with essential digital skills and frameworks. By the end of the boot camp, students will have the tools and knowledge to conceptualize and develop their online ventures.
• The top 100 teams from the last edition received coveted internship and funding opportunities from the prestigious Indian School of Business (ISB).
• Programs include a ‘Mentor India Initiative’ wherein students can engage in expert sessions covering digital, product, and entrepreneurship skills, supplemented by tailored handholding sessions for a more focused approach.
• Other initiatives include the Tinkerpreneur Comic Book series.

Read previous PIB articles here.