Correct Answer :   R. Dinesh

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TVS Supply Chain Solutions Executive Vice Chairman "R. Dinesh" on Thursda (25th May 2023)y assumed office as the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) President for 2023-24 while ITC Managing Director Sanjiv Puri named President-designate.

* The CII National Council, which met in New Delhi to elect new office-bearers for 2023-24, also named EY Chairman India Region Rajiv Memani as Vice-President.

* Mr. Dinesh is a fourth-generation TVS family member. He has been engaged with CII for many years at the state, regional and national level. He succeeds Bajaj Finserv Ltd, CMD Sanjiv Bajaj, CII said in a statement.

* Mr. Dinesh started TVS Supply Chain Solutions (erstwhile known as TVS Logistics) in 1995. The company, under his leadership has grown multifold to become a billion-dollar company. The company has a presence across continents making it a truly global company and serving customers in over 50 countries.

* Mr. Dinesh has won many awards including ‘Icon of the Year’ from ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu for the year 2018, Entrepreneur of the Year Award for ‘Services’ category by Ernst & Young in 2017. He is also the recipient of TiECON’s “Next Gen Entrepreneur of the Year 2014” award and ‘Emerging Entrepreneur’ award by CII in 2010..

Source : The Hindu

Correct Answer :   Suman Sharma

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Senior bureaucrat Suman Sharma was on Thursday (25th May 2023) sworn in as the member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

* Sharma is a 1990-batch Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax) officer.

* UPSC Chairman Manoj Soni administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly appointed member, a statement issued by the Personnel Ministry said.

* The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, had on 18 May 2023, approved repatriation of Sharma, who was working as Managing Director of Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) Ltd. under Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, to her parent cadre.

* During her stint as MD, SECI, the company witnessed significant growth in its revenue and profits and also received ‘Mini Ratna’ status during her tenure.

* Sharma, in her illustrious career of more than 30 years, has held several important positions and has been closely involved with the subject matters of international taxation, transfer pricing, power trading agreements and new foreign trade policy in India, the statement read.

* In the income tax department, she has worked in the Central Board of Direct Taxes where she received “Award for the best search” while working in the investigation wing of the department.

* A graduate in Organic Chemistry from Meerut University (Bronze medalist), she did her Master of Business Administration from University of Hull, United Kingdom.

Sharma has also attended mid-career course on budget forecasting in Duke University, North Carolina, USA and management courses in MDI, Gurugram, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore and IBFD, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

* The Commission is headed by a chairman and it can have a maximum of 10 members.

* With her appointment, there exists a vacancy of five members.

* A UPSC member is appointed for a term of six years or until attaining 65 years of age.

* The UPSC conducts civil services examination to select officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) among others..

Source : The Print

Correct Answer :   ₹75

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The Ministry of Finance has announced the launch of a special ₹75 coin to commemorate the inauguration of India’s new parliament building.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil the coin on Sunday(28 May 2023), coinciding with the celebration of India’s 75 years of independence.

The Design and Symbolism :

* The newly minted ₹75 coin will feature the iconic Lion Capital of the Ashoka Pillar on one side, with the words “Satyamev Jayate” below it. The coin will bear the inscription “Bharat” in Devanagari script on the left side and “India” in English on the right.

* It will also display the rupee symbol and the denomination value of 75 in international numerals beneath the Lion Capital. On the reverse side, an image of the parliament complex will be depicted, with “Sansad Sankul” written in Devanagari script on the upper periphery and “Parliament Complex” in English on the lower periphery.

Significance of the Coin : The issuance of the ₹75 coin holds great symbolic importance as it pays tribute to India’s 75 years of independence. The Lion Capital, a national emblem of India, represents strength, courage, and righteousness. The inclusion of the parliament complex highlights the significance of the new building and its role as a center of democracy.

Specifications and Composition : The circular coin will have a diameter of 44 millimeters and 200 serrations along its edges. It will weigh 35 grams and be composed of a four-part alloy, consisting of 50% silver, 40% copper, 5% nickel, and 5% zinc. The use of silver in the composition adds a precious and commemorative element to the coin.

Controversy Surrounding the Inauguration : While the inauguration of the new parliament building is expected to be a momentous occasion, it has faced opposition from several political parties. The Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, Left, Trinamool, and Samajwadi Party, among others, have announced their decision to boycott the event. They argue that the focus should be on preserving the “soul of democracy” rather than constructing a new building.

Opposition’s Criticism and BJP’s Response : The opposition parties have expressed their disapproval of Prime Minister Modi inaugurating the new parliament building instead of President Droupadi Murmu. They perceive it as a departure from democratic norms and an affront to constitutional values. In response, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has labeled the opposition’s decision to boycott the inauguration as a “blatant affront to democratic ethos and constitutional values of our great nation.”

Correct Answer :   Jayakumar S. Pillai

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IDBI Bank announced via an official filing that Jayakumar S. Pillai has been appointed as Deputy Managing Director on the bank’s Board.

The appointment has been approved by the bank’s board of directors and is valid for a period of three years starting from the date he assumes office, as authorized by the RBI.

Jayakumar S. Pillai Appointed as Deputy MD of IDBI Bank :

* Jayakumar S. Pillai brings a wealth of experience to his new role, having worked for 32 years and 7 months at Canara Bank.

* During his tenure, he has held leadership positions in various branches across different locations, gaining extensive expertise in branch banking, retail resource mobilization, credit delivery in sectors such as Retail, Agriculture, MSME, and Recovery.

* Additionally, he served as the Chief Executive of Canara Bank’s UK operations for more than four years, where he gained valuable experience in international banking.

* Furthermore, Pillai has served as the Wing Head in the Bank’s mid-corporate credit department at the Head Office.

* He also held the positions of Chairman of the Bank’s Credit Committee at the Head Office and Chairman of the General Manager’s Credit approval committee, providing him with valuable insights into RAM sectors, Corporate Credit, and the handling of stressed assets.

* Presently, he holds the position of Chief General Manager and Circle Head at Canara Bank, Mumbai..

Source : Marketscreener

Correct Answer :   ₹25 lakhs

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Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has raised the tax exemption on leave encashment on retirement of non-government salaried employees from ₹3 lakh to ₹25 lakh, the tax authority said in a statement on Thursday (25th May 2023).

The relief, which was announced in the union budget speech this year (2023), is effective from 1 April 2023.

The direct tax authority said that the relief applies to the period of earned leave in the credit of the employee at the time of retirement whether on superannuation or otherwise.

The total tax-exempt amount under a section in the Income Tax Act dealing with leave encashment of salaried private sector employees shall not exceed the limit of Rs. 25 lakh, said the tax authority.

In the case of government employees, the entire leave encashment amount received is tax exempt. In the case of private sector employees, the benefit is subject the conditions listed under section 10 of the Income Tax Act, which deals with incomes exempt from taxation.

The earlier limit of ₹3 lakh for tax exemption on leave encashment on retirement or resignation of private sector employees was fixed in year 2002, when the highest basic pay in the government was ₹30,000 per month.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said in her budget speech that the limit for tax exemption for leave encashment for non-government salaried employees was being raised to ₹25 lakh in line with the increase in government salaries.

The revision in the tax exemption limit for leave encashment will offer a lot of relief to non-government employees, said Om Rajpurohit, Joint Partner (corporate and international tax) at accounting firm AMRG & Associates...

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   75th

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AI supercomputer 'AIRAWAT' has secured the 75th position in the prestigious Top 500 Global Supercomputing List.

* The announcement was made during the 61st edition of the International Supercomputing Conference (ISC 2023) held in Germany.

* In sync with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “AI for ALL”, this places India at the forefront of AI supercomputing nations worldwide.

* The installation of 'AIRAWAT' at C-DAC Pune is part of the National Program on AI initiated by the Government of India.

* Supercomputers aggregate the computational power of multiple servers or compute devices for processing huge amounts of data and performing complex calculations. Earlier, Sayed Peerzade, EVP & Chief Cloud Officer, Yotta Infrastructure had told, “HPC conducts complex calculations at high speeds across multiple servers, simultaneously. Collectively known as clusters, these groups of servers are composed of hundreds or even thousands of servers connected through a network.”

* To put things in perspective, a modern laptop or desktop can perform around 3 billion calculations per second. While this sounds incredibly fast, it is still far beneath HPC solutions which can perform quadrillions of calculations per second. But at the same time, depending on the scale of the project, building HPC systems can cost anywhere upwards of $25,000 and can go up to $1 billion, with the recurring operational cost involved.

* The AIRAWAT PoC of 200 AI Petaflops integrated with PARAM Siddhi – AI of 210 AI Petaflops gives a total peak compute of 410 AI Petaflops Mixed Precision and sustained compute capacity of 8.5 Petaflops (Rmax) Double Precision.

* The peak compute capacity (Double Precision, Rpeak) is 13 Petaflops.

* President & CEO, NeGD and MeitY Additional Secretary Shri Abhishek Singh stated, “Proof of Concept (PoC) AI Research Analytics and Knowledge Dissemination Platform (AIRAWAT) of 200 AI Petaflops Mixed Precision peak compute capacity is currently funded by MeitY and implemented by C-DAC, Pune.” He added that AIRAWAT is in line with vision for the country to enable technology and Artificial Intelligence for the welfare of common people contributing to socio-economic growth of the nation.

* MeitY has already envisioned roadmap for scaling AIRAWAT to 1,000 AI Petaflops Mixed Precision compute capacity to cater to the current AI computational needs...

Source : Business Today

Correct Answer :   World Meteorological Congress

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The World Meteorological Congress has approved a new greenhouse gas monitoring initiative to support urgent action to reduce heat-trapping gases which are fuelling temperature increase.

Aim : To fill critical information gaps and provide an integrated, operational framework

* The framework will bring all space-based and surface-based observing systems, as well as modeling and data assimilation capabilities, under one roof.

* The Congress resolution endorsing the establishment of the Global Greenhouse Gas Watch received unanimous  support from WMO’s 193 Members.

* It recognizes “the growing societal importance of greenhouse gas monitoring in support of improving our scientific understanding of the Earth System, and the urgent need to strengthen the scientific underpinning of mitigation actions taken by the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement.”

* It will build on WMO’s experience in coordinating international collaboration in weather prediction and climate analysis and on long-standing activities in greenhouse gas monitoring and research under the auspices of the Global Atmosphere Watch established in 1989 and its Integrated Global Greenhouse Gas Information System.

* Many of the existing international and national activities dealing with greenhouse gases are supported mainly by the research community. At present, there is no comprehensive, timely international exchange of surface and space-based greenhouse gas observations or modelling products. .

Source : WMO

Correct Answer :   Goa and Uttarakhand

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The officials of the Government of Goa and the Government of Uttarakhand have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate towards enhancing the tourism landscape of both Goa and Uttarakhand.

* The signing of the MoU was held in the presence of Shri Rohan Khaunte, the Honorable Minister for Tourism, IT, E&C, Printing and Stationary, Government of Goa, and Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami, Hon. Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.

Aim : The MoU is aimed at promoting bilateral cooperation in the travel and tourism sector and facilitating travel between the states to increase the number of tourists visiting Goa and Uttarakhand respectively.

* The signing of this MoU between the officials of the two states marks a significant step towards promoting tourism in Goa and Uttarakhand and showcasing India's rich cultural diversity to the world, aligned with the ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ initiative launched by the honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

* The initiative aims to encourage people to witness and experience the rich heritage and vivid culture of India..

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   Giriraj Singh

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Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Shri Giriraj Singh launched the ‘Campaign on Promoting Digital Transactions in 50000 Gram Panchayats' under the AmritMahotsav in Lucknow on 25th May 2023.

* The Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India is running a “Campaign on Promoting Digital Transactions in 50000 Gram Panchayats” which started from 1st February 2023 and will continue till 15 August 2023 under the AzadiKaAmritMahotsav.

* The key thrust of the campaign is to promote Digital Transactions in rural areas, particularly among women.

* Launching the campaign, Shri Giriraj Singh, Minister for Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Govt. of India lauded SHG’s NPA coming down from 9.58 % in 2013 percent to below 2% now under the inspirational leadership of  PM Shri Narendra Modi and urged banks to recognize the outstanding credit repayment performance of SHGs and facilitate higher loans for them.

* Acknowledging the contribution of BC Sakhis in digital transactions, where India is emerging as the Global leader under PM Modi’s visionary initiatives, Minister added that India is setting global examples in women empowerment too.

* Addressing the audience, Chief Minister of  Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath highlighted that with the digital transformation brought about by BC Sakhis in UP alone to the tune of 5 Crore 57 lakh transactions, they have not only ensured last mile  doorstep banking across villages, but also helped banks save costs on low volume transactions.

* CM also lauded BC Sakhis who helped rural masses encash over Rs 75,000 Crore of Government DBT. CM added that in the digital Gram Sachivalays being created by Govt. of UP in villages, each will be having provision of offering services of Bank Sakhis too..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Nepal

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Nepal celebrates Bhoto Jatra which is a public holiday in Kathmandu Valley.

* This celebration is a part of Rato Machhindranath Jatra which is a month-long chariot procession.

* It originates at Pulchok where a chariot made of wood without the use of iron nails is created and the procession ends at Jwalakhel.

* In Bhoto Jatra, a "lost & found" bejeweled Nepali vest "bhoto" of Rato Machchindranath is displayed to the public to find its "rightful owner"..

Source : AIR