PM inaugurates ‘lotus-shaped’ Shivamogga airport, launches slew of development projects

PM inaugurates ‘lotus-shaped’ Shivamogga airport, launches a slew of development projects

• The new airport has a lotus-shaped terminal and has been developed at a cost of around ₹450 crores. The passenger terminal building of the airport can handle 300 passengers per hour.
• Built on 775 acres of land, the airport has a 3.2 km long runway, and the passenger terminal has a built-up area of 4,320 sqft. The airport can handle aircraft ranging from the ATR 72 to the Airbus 320.  
• It is considered the second largest airport in the State, after Kempe Gowda International Airport in Bengaluru. The airport is expected to improve connectivity and accessibility from Shivamogga and other neighbouring areas in the Malnad region of Karnataka, officials said.
• The airport was named after Kuvempu, the first Kannada poet to get the Jnanpith award and who also hails from Shivamogga.

Italian PM Giorgia Meloni to be the chief guest at 8th Raisina Dialogue says MEA

• A bilateral defence cooperation pact is likely to be announced that will also have a framework for Government-to-Government deals
• In the first Prime Ministerial visit from Italy to India in five years, Giorgia Meloni will visit India and will also be the chief guest and keynote speaker at the 8th Raisina Dialogue, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced. A bilateral defence cooperation agreement is likely to be announced that will also have a framework for Government-to-Government (G-to-G) deals, according to official sources.
• “Prime Minister Meloni’s visit is expected to further strengthen and deepen the long-standing relationship between India and Italy,” the MEA said in a statement. Both sides will take stock of the progress on the key outcomes of the November 2020 Summit, strengthen security and defence cooperation, work towards closer economic ties, enhance the opportunity for the mobility of talent and give strategic guidance to ongoing collaboration in science and technology, it stated.