NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. C-DOT and IIT Jodhpur sign agreement for “Automated Service Management in Network of 5G: C-DOT, the premier Telecom R&D Centre of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur have signed an agreement for “Automated Service Management in 5G and Beyond Networks Using AI”. The agreement is signed under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) of the DoT, which is designed for providing funding support to domestic companies and institutions involved in technology design, development, commercialization of telecommunication products and solutions to enable affordable broadband and mobile services in rural and remote areas.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Indonesia commission formally declares Prabowo next President: Indonesia's election commission formally declared Prabowo Subianto (72-years) as the next president of the world's third-largest democracy, after the country's constitutional court shot down challenges to his first-round majority victory. Subianto, who is currently defence minister, will succeed Joko Widodo in October. He noted that the elected pair secured a total of 96,214,691 votes, or 58.59 percent of the total national valid votes.
2. Ministerial Round Table Conference at World Energy Congress 2024: A Ministerial Round Table Conference was held at the ongoing 26th edition of World Energy Congress in Rotterdam, Netherlands The Round Table Conference discussed how the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai was a game changer The Ministerial Round Table also discussed energy innovation and collaboration, and implications in managing the evolving energy trilemma trade-offs During the conference, the Union Power Secretary highlighted India’s pivotal role in COP28.
3. International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure begin in New Delhi: The International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure’s 6th edition has begun in New Delhi. The conference’s theme is “Investing today for a more resilient tomorrow”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed the importance of investing in infrastructure that can withstand disasters for a better tomorrow. The need to incorporate resilience into both new infrastructure projects and post-disaster reconstruction efforts. Furthermore, in a world where disasters know no borders, he urged the necessity for collective resilience among nations.
4. 25 April – World Malaria Day: World Malaria Day is observed every year on 25 April. Objective – To raise awareness about the global effort to control and ultimately eradicate Malaria. Theme 2024 – Accelerate the Fight Against Malaria for a More Equitable World It was first held in 2008, and the day was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) Member States during the World Health Assembly of 2007.
5. 25 April – World Penguin Day: World Penguin Day is observed every year on 25th April. This day is significant because it coincides with the start of the northern migration of Adelie penguins. Adelie penguins are one of the 17-20 species of penguins recognized worldwide. The southern hemisphere is home to most of the penguins, with a total of about 20 species known to humans.
OTHER UPDATES:
DEFENCE
1. India Fourth Largest Arms Spender in World in 2023: SIPRI: According to a Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report, India was the fourth largest military spender in the world in 2023 after the United States, China and Russia. The Indian expenditure on military 2023 was $83.6 billion. In the interim Union Budget of 2024-25 the government of India allocated Rs 6.21 lakh crore for defence spending. The 2024-25 allocation for defence accounts for 1.89% of India's GDP.
2. DRDO develops lightest Bullet Proof Jacket of country for protection against highest threat Level: A unit of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully developed the lightest bulletproof jacket in the country for protection against the highest threat level 6. This jacket is based on a new design approach where novel material along with new processes has been used. DRDO’s Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment (DMSRDE), Kanpur has successfully developed the lightest bulletproof jacket in the country for protection against 7.62 x 54 R API (level 6 of BIS 17051) ammunition. Recently, this bulletproof jacket was successfully tested at TBRL, Chandigarh as per BIS 17051-2018.
SPORTS
1. Usain Bolt named ICC T20 World Cup 2024 Brand Ambassador: Legendary Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has been named by the International Cricket Council (ICC) as the ambassador for the 9th ICC Men’s T-20 World Cup, which will be hosted by the West Indies and the United States of America jointly from 1 to 29 June 2024. As a brand ambassador, Usain Bolt will promote the World Cup event, attend T20 World Cup matches in the West Indies, and participate in fan engagement events to promote the cricket sport within the United States.
2. Narsingh Yadav elected chairman of WFI’s seven-member athletes’ panel: Former Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Narsingh Pancham Yadav was elected chairman of the Wrestling Federation of India’s Athletes’ Commission. A total of eight candidates were in fray for the seven positions and after polling, conducted on ballot paper, seven members got elected. They then chose Narsingh as chairman of the commission. Ahead of the 2016 Olympics, the Games-bound Narsingh had grabbed headlines when two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar, who missed the qualification event due to an injury, requested for a trial bout against him.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Microsoft launches lightweight artificial intelligence model Phi-3-mini: Microsoft has launched Phi-3 Mini, a freely available, lightweight small language AI model. The company plans to further release two other models in the same scale. The model is meant to be simpler and cheaper compared to other heavyweight large language models like OpenAI’s GPT-4 Turbo. This is the smallest model that Microsoft has released yet and can be run locally, which means it can run for free on a smartphone without requiring an internet connection.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. RBI bars Kotak Mahindra Bank from onboarding new customers via online: The RBI directed Kotak Mahindra Bank to stop onboarding of new customers through its online and mobile banking channels and also barred it from issuing fresh credit cards, with an immediate effect. The bank was found to be deficient in its IT Risk and Information Security Governance for the years 2022 and 2023. In the past two years, the RBI has been in continuous high-level engagement with the bank on all these concerns with a view to strengthening its IT resilience.
2. SBI Card introduces inaugural travel-centric core credit card ‘MILES’: SBI Card introduced its inaugural travel-centric core credit card, ‘SBI Card MILES’. The card promises comprehensive travel benefits, including the conversion of Travel Credits to Air Miles and Hotel Points, enhanced rewards on all travel bookings, and access to airport lounges. The bank has partnered with more than 20 leading airline and hotel brands such as Air Vistara, Air India, SpiceJet, and IHG Hotels & Resorts.
3. Razorpay launches UPI Switch with Airtel Payments Bank: Digital payments platform Razorpay has launched its own Unified Payments Interface (UPI) infrastructure, or UPI switch, in partnership with Airtel Payments Bank. The company will now provide its UPI Switch service to Airtel Payments Bank, enabling it to manage UPI transactions on the payments bank’s platform. The solution can handle up to 10,000 transactions per second (TPS). Razorpay received a final approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in December last year to operate as a payment aggregator, enabling it to onboard new merchants after a nearly one-year-old regulatory ban.
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