12 August 2013 Current Affairs
India Launched First Indigenous Aircraft Carrier ‘ INS Vikrant ‘
On 12 August 2013, India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was launched by the Defence Minister A K Antony’s wife Elizabeth at Kochi shipyard . Other nations capable of designing and building a ship of equivalent size are the US, the UK, Russia and France.It carries upto 37,000 tonnes of weight. Vikrant come into operations by 2018.The weight of this aircraft was 40 tonnes. The launch of warship, which has a length of 260 metres and is 60 metres wide, is behind schedule by three years. It is set to go for extensive trials in 2016 before being inducted into the Navy by 2018 end. Fighter aircraft–Mig-29K, Light Combat Aircraft and Kamov-31 helicopters–will deployed on board the carrier which will also carry an array of other weapons systems.
India Successfully Test Fired Nuclear Capable ‘ Prithvi-II ‘ Missile
On 12 August India has successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable ‘ Prithvi-II ‘ missile from a mobile launcher in salvo mode from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at (Odisha) Chandipur.Prithvi-II missile was launched by the personnel of the Strategic Force Command (SFC) from ITR’s Launch Complex-III as part of routine user training. The missile scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO) monitored the launch operations.The missile, with a range of 350 km, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) .The missile, 9 metres in height with a launch weight of 4.6 tonnes, is capable of carrying a warhead of more than 500 kg.The last users trial of Prithvi-II was successfully carried out from the same base on on December 20, 2012
Ibrahim Boubacar Keita Wins Mali Presidential Election
On 12 August Former Prime Minister Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has won the Mali’s Presidential elections , after his opponent and Ex-Finance Minister Soumaïla Cisse, conceded defeat. He was Prime Minister of Mali from 1994 to 2000 and President of the National Assembly of Mali from 2002 to 2007. He founded a political party, Rally for Mali (RPM), in 2001 and he has led the party since then.In addition to serving in the National Assembly, Keita was a member of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States.