Delhi confidential: Poster Boy

The US embassy underwent a change at the top this week. As acting envoy Atul Keshap returned to the US after two months, Patricia A. Lacina, a career diplomat, assumed the role of Chargé d’Affaires. She will be in-charge until former Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti gets confirmed by US Congress and joins office in Delhi. After Garcetti joins as the full-time ambassador, Lacina will remain as the Deputy Chief of Mission. Lacina had served as consul general at the US Consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, most recently. Before that, she had worked in the office of US Secretary of State when John Kerry was in office. Incidentally, Kerry is likely to be in town next week as the US President’s climate envoy.

Making Space For Space

NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), in collaboration with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), has launched the ATL Space Challenge-2021 for school students across the country. Students of classes VI to XII can participate in the competition. It comes at a time when the World Space Week is scheduled to be observed from October 4 to 10. Speaking at the launch of the event, mission director, AIM, Dr Chintan Vaishnav said the ATL Space Challenge aligns with this year’s theme of celebrating 75 years of Independence as “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.”