* A cyber organisation recognised by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation will undertake the world’s largest and most complicated “live-fire” cyber defence drills. The biennial Locked Shields event, according to the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Estonia, is designed to improve the skills of cyber security experts protecting national IT systems and vital infrastructure against real-time attacks.

* The participants are sent to help a fake country deal with a massive cyber attack.

 

* Over 2,000 people from 32 countries, including Ukraine, are expected to take part in the event.

 

* The Locked Shields event this year takes place in the midst of the ongoing war in Ukraine, in which hacking has played a steady, albeit minor, role in Russia’s invasion. Hackers linked to the Russian government have been accused of assaulting Ukrainian government offices and attempting to break into the power infrastructure.

 

* According to government officials, Ukrainian enterprises have also been subjected to regular cyber attacks.

 

* Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government has aided in the organisation of a group of hacktivists who have carried out cyber attacks in Russia.

 

* Concerns about cyber attacks, though, have expanded well beyond the battlefield. Finland reported a cyber-attack on government websites earlier this month, just as rumours grew that the Nordic country may apply to join NATO. As a result, US President Joe Biden has advised American firms to brace for retaliatory cyber attacks. 

The Tripura state government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the NIXI-CSC Data Services Centre to develop an international grade Data Centre in the state. To establish the projected Data Centre, the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) and CSE e-governance services Ltd have formed a joint venture called NIXI-CSC Data Services Centre.

 

* On behalf of the state government, AK Bhattacharjee, in-charge director of the IT department, signed the MoU, while NIXI-CSC Data Services Centre CEO Anil Jain was the signatory.

* The MOU signing event was also attended by IT Principal Secretary Puneet Agarwal and CK Dhar, the head of the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

* The joint venture company will invest Rs 150 crore in the Data Centre, while the state government will simply supply space.

* The NIXI-CSC Data Services Centre will begin operations in the next one or two months, despite the fact that it will take a year to turn the Data Centre to a world-class level.

The joint venture will allow the state government to host all of its data in the projected Data Centre, as well as offer data to the state at no cost, according to the MoU. In addition to the state, the corporation will charge for data exchange with other government and private players.

Government’s social security scheme Atal Pension Yojana (APY) has crossed total enrollments of 4.01 crore as on March 2022 out of which more than 99 lakh APY accounts were opened during the last financial year itself.

 

The scheme had seen this tremendous success due to the active participation of all categories of Banks, a government statement highlighting the latest dat on the pension scheme said. 

 

According to the latest APY data, around 71% of the enrolments into the scheme has been done by Public-sector banks, 19% by Regional Rural Banks, 6% by Private Sector Banks, 3% by Payment and Small Finance Banks.

 

State Bank of India, Indian Bank, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Central Bank of India achieved annual target in the Public-sector Bank category..

Source : Live Mint

* Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth Sikh Guru, often venerated as the ‘Protector of Humanity’ (Srishti-di-Chadar) by the Sikhs.

* Known as a great teacher, Guru Tegh Bahadur was also an excellent warrior, thinker, and poet, who wrote detailed descriptions of the nature of God, mind, body, and physical attachments among other spiritual things.

* His writings are housed in the sacred text, ‘Guru Granth Sahib,’ in the form of 116 poetic hymns.

* He was also an avid traveler and played a key role in setting up preaching centers throughout the Indian subcontinent.

* During one such mission, he founded the town of Chak-Nanki in Punjab, which later became a part of Punjab’s Anandpur Sahib.

* In the year 1675, Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed in Delhi under the orders of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.

Source : Indian Express

* Nitin Gadkari (Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways) has inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 33 National Highway projects in Raipur, Chhattisgarh worth Rs 9,240 crore.

 

* These road projects will ease the connectivity of Chhattisgarh with the states of Odisha, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

 

* The road network connects the backward areas with the developed areas of the state and cultural and tourist places..

Source : PIB

* Amit Shah (Union Home and Cooperation Minister) inaugurated the 48th All India Police Science Congress at the Central Police Training Academy, Bhopal. Dr. L Murugan (Union Minister of State for I&B) will also attend the event.

* He also attends the conference of forest committees and bonus distribution program to the Tendupatta pluckers at Jamboori Maidan, Bhopal.

* He will also start the process of transformation from forest village to revenue village.

* Mr. Shah also disclosed various programs like Police Technology Mission, Forensic Science University, and Finger Print Based NAFEES system launched for modernization of police..

Source : News On Air

Every year, April 22th is celebrated as International Mother Earth Day. The day is observed to create awareness about the rampant increase in pollution and other activities which directly or indirectly harm the environment and result in the destruction of the planet. The idea about the day came into existence after several challenges like pollution, and smog became major reasons for environmental damage. In the 1970s, EarthDaywas founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson to promote ecology and raise awareness of the concerns surrounding the earth.

History : Senator Gaylord Nelson was concerned about the deteriorating conditions of the planet so he decided to combine the student anti-war protest energy with an emerging public consciousness regarding air and water pollution. Senator Gaylord Nelson thought about coining Earth Day after he, just like the rest of the world, saw the horror of a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California.

 

Significance : The day is celebrated to shed light on the environmental issues which are surrounding our planet and take actions to save the environment.

 

International Mother Earth Day 2022 Theme :  The theme for this year’s International Mother Earth Day - ‘Invest in our Planet.’ Given that the time is short, the theme highlights the need for people to come together and start taking measures to protect biodiversity and the planet. Climate change is no longer a distant thing of the future and with increasing incidents of floods and fires, it is important to take stock of the situation and act accordingly..

Source : News18

California-based Biliti Electric Inc (Biliti) announced that it intends to setup the world’s largest electric three-wheeler factory in India’s "Telangana" state, with a production capacity of 240,000 electric vehicles each year. The new plant is estimated to drive private investment of $150 million and expected to create over 3,000 jobs in the State.

 

Biliti currently operates through an exclusive manufacturing partnership with Hyderabad- based Gayam Motor Works (GMW) for manufacturing its three-wheelers. 

 

Biliti’s Taskman is a popular last-mile delivery vehicle which is deployed in 15 countries across the globe including Japan, USA, UK, France, Portugal, Germany, Lebanon, Uganda, Kenya, Senegal, Nepal, Bangladesh, Dubai and India, and has covered over 20 million miles. 

 

In addition to the manufacturing facility, it has assembly plants in the US, Portugal, and Kenya. Taskman is being used by Amazon, IKEA, Wasoko (Sokowatch), BigBasket (Tata), Zomato, Flipkart (Walmart), Grofers among others.

 

The facilities will be built in two phases over an area of 200 acres. Phase I will be developed over 13.5 acres with the capability to produce 18,000 vehicles per year and is expected to be operational in early 2023. 

 

The larger facility spread across 200 acres will be operational in 2024 and have the capability to produce 240,000 vehicles per year..

Source : Live Mint

Senior IAS officer "Naresh Kumar" has been appointed as the chief secretary of Delhi, a home ministry order issued on Tuesday(19th Apr 2022) said.

 

Kumar, a 1987-batch AGMUT cadre IAS officer, has been transferred from Arunachal Pradesh to Delhi. He was holding the post of chief secretary of Arunachal Pradesh before the transfer.

 

"Consequent upon voluntary retirement of Vijay Dev, IAS (AGMUT:1987) , Naresh Kumar IAS (AGMUT:1987) is hereby appointed as chief secretary of GNCTD with effect from April 21, 2022 or with effect from date of joining, whichever is later," stated the order.

 

Kumar had earlier held the posts of chairman of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and managing director of the Delhi Transport Corporation(DTC) in his previous stint in Delhi.

 

Dev, who took voluntary retirement from the post of Delhi chief secretary, will take charge as the State Election Commissioner of Delhi on April 21.

 

The Home ministry order also said that Puduchery Chief Secretary Ashwini Kumar (Arunchal Goa Mizoram Union Territories (AGMUT): 1992) had been transferred to Delhi..

Source : India Today

Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, and AYUSH, said that the 1st Incredible India International Cruise Conference-2022 will be hosted in Mumbai.

 

The two-day event in Mumbai is being organised by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Mumbai Port Authority, and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

 

The Minister noted during a news conference in Mumbai that the Indian cruise market had the potential to develop tenfold over the next decade, owing to increased demand and disposable incomes.

 

According to the minister, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship Sagarmala programme connects the ports of Chennai, Vizag, and Andaman with Goa, which attracts the most tourists.

 

Sarbananda Sonowal also revealed the Conference’s brochure, logo, and mascot, Captain Cruzo. During the press conference, he also launched the event website, www.iiicc2022.in. The focus of the conference will be on Developing India as a Cruise Hub.

Source : Times Of India