India’s First Trans-Polar Flight to the North Pole, by the IAF : June 2003

The Indian Air Force (IAF) was the first Indian mission to reach the true North Pole and complete ‘ Exercise Cooperative Cope Thunder 2003 ‘ .

A 14-member team of the IAF, led by the pilot on on the mission – Group Captain S R K Nair on the IAF’s IL-76 reached the true North Pole on June 19th, 2003.

The aircraft reached over the true North Pole on June 19th, 2003 at 18:45 GMT (June 20, 00:15 IST).

This unique feat has not yet been repeated by any IAF Pilot or IAF team till date.

Notes:

Subsequently a Boeing 777 of Air India achieved the same feat.

Short Film ‘Sleepwalkers’ wins Award at Palm Springs Int’l Short Fest, USA : June 2020

Actress Radhika Apte’s directorial debut short film ‘The Sleepwalkers’ has won the ‘The Best Midnight Short Award’ at Palm Springs International Short Fest, USA.

The short film stars Shahana Goswami and Gulshan Devaiah and is centred on the subject of sleepwalking.

British Indian Nikhil Rathi Appointed HM Treasury’s – Chief Executive of FCA : June 2020

Nikhil Rathi appointed Chief Executive Officer of UK’s financial watchdog – Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Assignments held:

  • Private Secretary to the UK Prime Minister
  • CEO – London Stock Exchange (LSE) plc
  • Director – International Development – London Stock Exchange Group

Pratishta Deveshwar – 1st wheel-chair bound Student from India to Study at Oxford : June 2020

Pratishta Deveshwar, Delhi University student to be the first wheel-chair bound Indian student to study at Oxford.

A final year student currently at Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University.

P Deveshwar is admitted to study her Master’s in Public Policy, at Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford.

India elected non-permanent Member of UN Security Council : June 18th, 2020

India was elected with 184 votes out of 193 votes of the General Assembly.

India won unopposed. Other members elected alongside India are Mexico, Ireland, and Norway. One seat still open.

The 2 year tenure starts on January 01st.

India becomes Founding Member of Global Alliance on AI (GPAI) : June 2020

India has joined leading nations of the world including USA, UK, Australia, EU amongst others as a founding member of a league of nations which has launched a Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) or Gee-Pay.

The other nations in partnership also include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Republic of Korea and Singapore etc.

GPAI will be supported by a Secretariat, hosted by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, as well as by two Centers of Expertise- one each in Montreal and Paris.

American-Indian Kshama Sawant leads ‘Black Lives Matter’ protest movement in Seattle : June 2020

Dr. Kshama Sawant – Seattle City Council Woman

Currently:

Seattle City Council Woman . First socialist elected in a major US city in decades

Education:

  • Ph.D – Economics, North Carolina State University
  • BS – Computer Science, Mumbai

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American / American-Indian