NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
India to be ‘Country of Honour’ at Cannes Marche’ Du Film in France: Union Minister
for Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur has announced that India will
be the official Country of Honour at the upcoming Marche’ Du Film, organized
alongside the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, in France. The Country
of Honour Status thereby ensured India’s presence as Focus Country at the
Opening Night of Marche Du Films being organized at the Majestic Beach with a
spotlight on India, its cinema, its culture & heritage.
Key Points:
a)
India
is also a “Country of Honour at the Cannes Next, under which 5 new Start-Ups
would be given an opportunity to pitch to the Audio-Visual Industry. Ten
professionals will participate in the Animation Day networking.
b)
In
another highlight of India’s participation at this edition of the Cannes Film
Festival is the World Premiere of the Movie “Rocketry” produced by Shri. R.
Madhavan. The movie would be showcased at the Palais des Festivals of the
market screening on the 19th of May 2022.
c)
India
has been given an opportunity to pitch 5 selected movies at the “Goes to Cannes
Section”. These movies are part of the Work In Progress lab under the Film
Bazaar :
Baghjan by Jaicheng Zxai Dohutia –
Assamese, Moran
Bailadila by Shailendra Sahu – Hindi,
Chhattisgarhi
Ek Jagah Apni (A Space of Our Own) by Ektara
Collective – Hindi
Follower by Harshad Nalawade – Marathi,
Kannada, Hindi
2.
Telangana govt extends insurance coverage under ‘Nethanna Bima’ scheme: Telangana State
Government has announced the extension of insurance coverage to handloom and
power loom weavers under the ‘Nethanna Bima’ (Weaver’s Insurance) Scheme. The
State Government has issued orders to extend insurance coverage of 5 lakh
rupees for weavers under the Insurance Scheme on par with farmers’ insurance
schemes.
Under the Scheme:
a)
Over
29 crore rupees have been sanctioned for implementing the scheme during the
current year. The Cabinet Sub Committee had proposed to cover over 55 thousand
handloom and power loom and ancillary weavers in the State.
b)
The
insurance coverage will be extended to weavers in the age group of 18 to 59
years. The insurance benefits would be extended to the family of the death of
the weaver or ancillary worker. The scheme is likely to be launched next month.
c)
The
department has been directed to prepare draft guidelines and submit to the
government for implementation of the scheme, said a senior official from the
Handlooms department.
3.
Hyderabad hosts India’s first-ever unique kind of Flow Chemistry Technology
Hub:
At Dr. Reddy’s Institute of Life Sciences (DRILS), a multi-industry-supported
Flow Chemistry Technology Hub (FCT Hub) has been launched. While inaugurating
the hub, Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of the Industries and Commerce
(I&C) and Information Technology (IT), said that this is the first of its
kind in our country and an enabler for the pharma business in India.
Key Points:
a)
This
hub would usher in a paradigm shift in the pharmaceutical sector, including
current methodologies from R&D through manufacturing and migrating to more
environmentally friendly and sustainable procedures.
b)
This
hub is a groundbreaking endeavour by the Telangana government, in collaboration
with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and Laurus Labs, to incorporate and promote
efficient and sustainable technology in the pharmaceutical industry.
c)
The
FCT Hub houses a variety of state-of-the-art flow chemistry equipment to
provide hands-on training and promote scientific capability building, ensuring
greater inclusion of flow chemistry techniques throughout pharma R&D and
greater adoption of constant synthesis for active pharma ingredients (APIs)
manufacturing.
d)
Last
year, the state administration took the lead in bringing together numerous
collaborators to help the state implement the latest flow chemistry
technologies.
4.
Maharashtra’s ‘Jivhala’ scheme to offer credit to jail inmates: A loan scheme
named Jivhala has been launched by the Maharashtra Department of Prisons for
the inmates who are serving sentences in various jails across Maharashtra. The
scheme, implemented by the Department of Prisons and Maharashtra State
Cooperative Bank, has been started in Pune’s Yerawada Central Jail. Bank and
prison officials believe the credit scheme could be the first of its kind in
India for inmates who are still serving their sentences.
The credit scheme, named Jivhala, which
means affection in Marathi, is primarily for inmates who are undergoing a
prison sentence of more than three years. In the initial phase of this scheme,
a Rs 50,000 loan will be given. The interest rate that will be applicable is
7%. Out of the interest that will be earned by the bank, 1 per cent will be
contributed by the bank to the prisoners’ welfare fund. For issuing this loan
no guarantor or mortgage is required.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Nand Mulchandani named as 1st-ever chief tech officer of CIA: Indian-Origin,
Nand Mulchandani has been appointed as the first-ever Chief Technology Officer
(CTO) of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the first line of defence for
the United States. Prior to this, he served as the CTO and acting director of
the Joint Artificial Intelligence Centre under the US Department of Defence. He
served as the CEO of multiple successful startups like Oblix (acquired by
Oracle), Determina, OpenDNS, and ScaleXtreme. Before joining the CIA,
Mulchandani most recently served as the CTO and acting director of the US
Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center.
Note: Central Intelligence Agency Founder:
Harry S. Truman; Central Intelligence Agency Founded: 26 July 1947; Central
Intelligence Agency Headquarters: Langley, McLean, Virginia, United States;
Central Intelligence Agency Director: William J. Burns; Central Intelligence
Agency Deputy Director: David S. Cohen.
2.
Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2022: India ranked 4th: The Times Higher
Education (THE) has released the 2022 edition of its Impact Rankings. 8
Universities from India are placed in the top 300 universities in the world.
The ranking is topped by Western Sydney University (Australia); followed by
Arizona State University (The US), Western University (Canada). This year, a
record 1,524 institutions from 110 countries participated in the rankings.
Australia’s Western Sydney University secured the top position globally in the
overall ranking.
Key points:
a)
India
is the joint fourth most-represented nation across the rankings, with 64
universities featuring in total (the same number as Turkey).
b)
In
South Asia, India breaks through into the world’s top 50, with Amrita Vishwa
Vidyapeetham claiming 41st place in the overall table. Lovely Professional
University makes the top 100 at joint 74th place in the overall table.
c)
Calcutta
University has been ranked first among all the central and state-aided public
universities in the country by Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings
2022. Calcutta University grabbed 14th position globally in the ‘Decent Work
and Economic Growth’ sub-category.
3.
International No Diet Day: 6th May:
‘International No Diet Day 2022’ is celebrated all over the world on 6
May. On this day, people are made aware of body acceptance, leaving aside
behaviour like body shaming, which includes people of all shapes and sizes.
Forgetting problems like obesity, increasing weight, weakness, and belly fat,
people express their love towards themselves on this day.
History of International No Diet
Day:
In the year 1992, International No Diet Day was celebrated for the first time
in the UK by British lady Mary Evans. Mary’s purpose was to convince people
that they should accept themselves as they looked. Mary wanted people to become
aware of the harm caused by dieting.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
BCCI bans journalist Boria Majumdar for 2 years in Wriddhiman Saha case: The Board of
Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has banned journalist Boria Majumdar for
two years after an internal inquiry found him guilty of an attempt to “threaten
and intimidate” wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha. The BCCI apex council, during its
meeting last week, considered the report of a three-member committee and
decided to ban Majumdar from being involved in any cricket or interviewing
cricketers for two years. The BCCI Committee considered the submissions by both
Mr Saha and Mr Majumdar and concluded that the actions by Mr Majumdar were
indeed in the nature of threat and intimidation. The BCCI Committee recommended
the following sanctions to the Apex Council of BCCI.
The Apex Council of BCCI agreed with the
recommendations of the BCCI Committee and imposed the following sanctions:
a)
2
(two) year ban on getting any accreditation as a member of the press in any of
the cricket matches (domestic and international) in India;
b)
2
(two) year ban on getting any interview with any registered players in India;
and
c)
2
(two) year ban on access to any of BCCI and members associations owned cricket
facilities.”
2.
24th Deaflympics: Dhanush Srikanth won gold in men’s 10m air rifle: Shooter Dhanush
Srikanth has won gold and Shourya Saini has won the bronze in the men’s 10m air
rifle competition in the 24th Deaflympics at Caxias do Sul, Brazil. Later, the
Indian badminton team also won gold after beating Japan by 3-1 in the final to
make it a double celebration for the country. Ukraine is leading the chart with
19 gold, six silver and 13 bronze medals. With two gold and one bronze medal,
India has placed eighth on the medals table.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
Canara Bank tied-up with ASAP to launch skill loans: Canara Bank has
launched ‘skill loans’ in association with the Additional Skill Acquisition
Programme (ASAP), Kerala, the government company under the Higher Education
Department. Under this facility, the loan is ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 1.5
lakh. This loan can be availed of by students who are pursuing skill training
programmes which are offered by ASAP Kerala or any other Central or State government-recognised
agencies.
Collateral free loans will be provided to
students and have a repayment period of three to seven years. Students can also
avail themselves of a moratorium on repayment for the duration of the course
and for an additional 6 months.
Note: Canara Bank Establishment: 1 July
1906; Canara Bank Headquarters: Bangalore, Karnataka; Canara Bank CEO & MD:
Lingam Venkat Prabhakar; Canara Bank Tagline: Together we can.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
InterGlobe Aviation appointed Venkataramani Sumantran as chairman, Board of
Directors:
InterGlobe Aviation announced that Venkataramani Sumantran hasAppointments been
named chairperson of the IndiGo board. Sumantran is a corporate leader,
technocrat, and academician with a 37-year career spanning the United States,
Europe, and Asia. Sumantran is the managing director and chairperson of Celeris
Technologies, a strategic advising firm. At IndiGo, he will succeed Meleveetil
Damodaran.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
World Food Prize 2022 received by NASA’s Cynthia Rosenzweig: A senior research
scientist and head of the Climate Impacts Group at NASA’s Goddard Institute for
Space Studies (GISS) in New York City, Cynthia Rosenzweig has received the 2022
World Food Prize from the World Food Prize Foundation. Rosenzweig was selected
for the award for her research to understand the relationship between climate
and food systems and forecast how both will change in the future. Her modelling
work has provided a foundation for decision-makers around the world to create
strategies to mitigate climate change and adapt our food systems to a changing
planet, which has helped communities worldwide address the consequences of
Earth’s changing climate.
About the Cynthia Rosenzweig: Rosenzweig has
been a research scientist at NASA GISS and head of the Climate Impacts Group
since 1994. Her research focuses on improving models and assessments of how
climate change will affect agriculture and the food supply in the future. She
uses data from NASA satellites and models to study agricultural regions around
the world and how they are changing.
About the World Food Prize: According to the
World Food Prize Foundation, the World Food Prize is a prestigious
international award conceived as the “Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture”
with a mission to elevate innovations and inspire action to sustainably
increase the quality, quantity and availability of food for all. Reward(s): A
diploma, a commemorative sculpture and a monetary award of US$ 250,000.
OBITUARIES
1.
Last Surviving F1 Race Winner from 1950s Tony Brooks Passes Away: Tony Brooks, a
British racing driver who won six Formula One Grand Prix in the 1950s and was
nicknamed the “Racing Dentist”, has passed away. Tony retired from the sport at
the age of just 29 after driving for four teams – BRM, Vanwall, Ferrari, and
Cooper. Brooks was the most successful driver of his era after Juan Manuel
Fangio, Alberto Ascari, and Moss. His most famous victory was perhaps at the
1957 British Grand Prix at Aintree, a home win he shared with his compatriot
Moss.
Brooks made his debut for BRM at the 1956 British Grand Prix before going on to drive for Vanwall in 1957 and 1958. The year after he was picked by Enzo Ferrari, the season he also came agonizingly close to winning the world title, only to lose it by four points to Jack Brabham.
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