Correct Answer :   Kiren Rijiju

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Union Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju informed that India will unveil its new 18 petaflop supercomputer for weather forecasting institutes later this year (2023), said on Wednesday (24th May 2023).

* Rijiju made the announcement after a visit to the ministry's National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) in Noida near.

* The NCMRWF houses 'Mihir', a 2.8 petaflop supercomputer, while the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, is home to 'Pratyush', a 4.0 petaflop supercomputer.

* "The new supercomputer will be bought at a cost of Rs 900 crore," Rijiju told reporters at NCMRWF.

* According to the arrangement arrived at by the ministry, NCMRWF will be allocated eight petaflop supercomputing power with the remaining 10 petaflops going to IITM.

* The Pune-based institute requires higher supercomputing power as it deals with seasonal weather forecasts while the NCMRWF deals with medium-range forecasts for a period extending three to seven days in advance.

* The new high-power computing facility is expected to improve weather forecasts at the block level, help weather scientists give higher resolution ranges of forecast, predict cyclones with more accuracy and lead time and ocean state forecast, including marine water quality forecast.

* "Presently, we give forecasts with a 12-kilometre resolution. The new supercomputer will improve it to six-kilometre resolution.

* Our aim is to achieve one-kilometre resolution forecasts," Ministry of Earth Sciences Secretary M Ravichandran said..

Source : India Times

Correct Answer :   USD 141.12 Million

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The Indian government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday (25th May 2023) signed a $141.12 million loan agreement aimed at supporting the development of high-quality internal infrastructure in three industrial clusters in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

* The loan will be utilized to enhance road networks, water supply systems, and electricity distribution networks, fostering industrialization and job creation in the targeted areas.

* “This financing is the second tranche of the $500 million multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) for the program approved by ADB in 2016 to build infrastructure in three industrial clusters in the Visakhapatnam and Srikalahasthi-Chittoor nodes in the state," the Ministry of Finance said.

* By adopting a multi-sectoral approach, the ADB financing aims to boost manufacturing, improve competitiveness, and increase the manufacturing sector’s contribution to Andhra Pradesh’s gross domestic product.

* The funds will be utilized to strengthen industrial infrastructure in the Visakhapatnam node, including the development of internal infrastructure in the Rambilli and Nakkapalli industrial clusters spanning 160 hectares and 441 hectares, respectively.

* Additionally, the project will involve widening a 13.8-kilometer stretch of the Atchuthapuram–Anakapalli road and improving a 4.4-kilometer access road to the Nakkapalli cluster.

* In the Srikalahasthi-Chittoor node, the loan will support the development of the Chittoor-South industrial cluster, covering an area of 938 hectares, and enhance access roads to both the Chittoor-South and Naidupeta industrial clusters...

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   Harsh Jain

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Harsh Jain, co-founder, and CEO of Dream Sports, has been elected the chairman of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) for 2023-25.

* He replaces Sanjay Gupta, vice president and country manager of Google India.

* A new 24-member governing council and a new executive council will take charge at the upcoming annual general meeting of IAMAI, which represents top technology companies.

* The IAMAI governing council election is held every two years. As many as 83 IAMAI members contested the elections this year, after the end of the two-year tenure of the previous council.

* IAMAI announced that Rajesh Magow, co-founder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip, and Satyan Ganjwani, vice chairman of Times Internet, have been elected the vice chairman and the treasurer of the association. The two will replace Shivnath Thukral, Meta's director and head of India public policy, and Harshil Mathur, CEO and co-founder Razorpay, respectively.

* Jain, Magow and Ganjwani would form the association’s executive council, along with Subho Ray, who is president of IAMAI..

Source : Business Standard

Correct Answer :   IIT Madras

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Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) launched 15 Centres of Excellence (CoE) as part of the ‘Institute of Eminence’ (IoE) Scheme at an event held at the campus today (24th May 2023).

* These Centres will be undertaking cutting-edge research to develop next-generation technologies and create a significant impact not just in India but internationally as well.

* The IoE Scheme was launched by the Government of India to empower Higher Educational Institutions to become world-class teaching and research institutions.

* IIT Madras, one of the pre-eminent institutions in India, was chosen in 2019. It has established several research initiatives in diverse fields with funds from IoE grants.

* The financial support through IoE will enable IIT Madras faculty members to pursue ambitious research goals, undertake cutting-edge projects and attract top talent to work on ground- breaking research topics.

* IIT Madras had identified 68 research initiatives across 21 technology clusters in diverse fields in Phase I.

* Through an extensive and rigorous review process, the Institute shortlisted 15 Centres of Excellence within the IIT Madras system alongside 23 Research Centres and 10 Research Projects in Phase II.

* These research initiatives encompass a broad spectrum of disciplines and involve over 400 faculty members. By fostering interdisciplinary research, they facilitate collaborations that can lead to ground-breaking discoveries, innovations, and advancements in key areas..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Odisha

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The Higher Education Department, Government of Odisha, has signed MoUs with Infosys and the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) to create a future-ready talent workforce.

Aim : The MoUs aim at upskilling youths, mostly the undergraduate and postgraduate students at colleges and universities of Odisha.

* As per the agreement signed with Nasscom, around 8 lakh students will be skilled through Future Skills Prime. The MoU also aims to skill the existing faculty in key technologies in today’s digital ecosystem.

* A joint initiative by Nasscom & MeitY, Future Skills Prime is India’s technology skilling hub democratising learning and offers – students and professionals – a chance to skill, upskill and reskill to grow in their careers.

* The Infosys has inked the MoU as part of its ESG Vision 2030 to enable digital skills at scale and empower over 10 million people in India by 2025 through the Infosys Springboard program, which provides free curriculum-rich virtual platform that delivers corporate-grade learning experiences, on any device, with closer educator-learner collaboration for students from Class VI to lifelong learners.

* The Infosys Springboar provides a holistic set of courses, developed in collaboration with world-leading digital educators like Coursera, Skillsoft, Techademy, Knolskape and Harvard Business Publishing. It has already more than 5.5 million registered users in India.

* The MOUs were signed in the presence of Higher Education Minister Rohit Pujari, Principal Secretary Bishnupada Sethi, vice-resident and Centre Head of Infosys, Bhubaneswar Prabhat Kumar Das, associate vice-president Hanumesh VJ and senior officials of Nasscom...

Source : News Room Odisha

Correct Answer :   24th May 2023

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Tina Turner, the pioneering rock’n’roll star who became a pop behemoth in the 1980s, has died Wednesday (24th May 2023) aged 83 after a long illness.

* She started her career with Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm in 1957.

* Under the name Little Ann, she appeared on her first record, "Boxtop", in 1958.

* She received 12 Grammy Awards, including eight competitive awards, three Grammy Hall of Fame awards, and Lifetime Achievement Award.

* She was the first black artist and woman on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Born : 26 November 1939, Brownsville, Tennessee, United States.
Died : 24 May 2023

Source : Daily Mail

Correct Answer :   Tata Group

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Tata Group, one of India's top conglomerates, has been ranked 20th in Boston Consulting Group's survey of 50 most innovative companies globally.

The Tatas were the only Indian company to feature in the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Most Innovative Companies 2023 list released on Wednesday (24th May 2023).

BCG's list ranks companies on such parameters as superior performance, higher resilience to shocks and disruptions, and the ability to exploit innovation faster for value-creating growth, among other things.

Other prominent yardsticks include people and technology capabilities (including AI), and an innovation-driven culture.

The top 10 ranks : In the list went to Apple, Tesla, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Moderna, Samsung, Huawei, BYD and Siemens, in that order.

BCG's list parameters : Superior performance, higher resilience to shocks and disruptions, and the ability to exploit innovation faster for value-creating growth, among other things.

Source : Economic Times

Correct Answer :   Justice S Vaidyanathan

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Justice S Vaidyanathan, the seniormost judge of the Madras high court, has been named acting Chief Justice of the court by the President of India.

* Justice Vaidyanathan's appointment came hours ahead of the scheduled retirement of the incumbent acting Chief Justice of the Madras high court, Justice T Raja, on Wednesday (24th May 2023).

* A notification issued on 24th May 2023 : "In exercise of the power conferred by Article 223 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint, Shri Justice S Vaidyanathan, Judge of Madras high court, to perform the duties of the office of the Chief Justice of that High Court with effect from 25.05.2023 consequent upon the retirement of Shri Justice T Raja, Acting Chief Justice, Madras high court."


About Justice S Vaidyanathan :

* Justice Vaidyanathan was born in Coimbatore on August 17, 1962. He did his schooling in Singaram Pillai High School Villivakkam, Chennai. After his graduation in B A (Economics) from D G Vaishnav College, Arumbakkam, during 1979-1982, he joined the Madras Law College (now known as Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Government Law College) in 1982.

* After receiving his postgraduate diploma in personnel management, labour welfare and industrial relations in 1986, he enrolled as an advocate in August 1986.

* Justice S Vaidyanathan started his career in the high court, where his paternal grandfather L S Vaidyanathan served as superintendent in the copyist section and retired in 1952. His father V Subramanian was a shoe polish seller who later grew to be a trade unionist. His father's efforts led to the formation of Madras Commercial Employees Union in Chennai in 1946.

* Justice Vaidyanathan also served as an editor of Labour Law Books published by Madras Book Agency and was elevated as an additional judge of the high court on October 25, 2013 and became a permanent judge on April 14, 2015...

Source : Times of India

Correct Answer :   $95 Billion

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Revenues from carbon taxes and Emissions Trading Systems (ETS) have reached a record high, about $95 billion, finds the World Bank’s annual “State and Trends of Carbon Pricing” report released 23rd May 2023.

* This is despite the challenging context for governments facing high inflation, fiscal pressures, and energy crises.

* Carbon pricing can be an effective way to incorporate the costs of climate change into economic decision making, thereby incentivizing climate action. said Jennifer Sara, Global Director for Climate Change at the World Bank.

* The good news from this report is that even in difficult economic times, governments are prioritizing direct carbon pricing policies to reduce emissions. But to really drive change at the scale needed, we will need to see big advances both in terms of coverage and price.

* The World Bank has been tracking carbon markets for around two decades and the annual State and Trends of Carbon Pricing report is now in its tenth year. When the first report was published a decade ago, only 7% of global emissions were covered by either a carbon tax or an ETS.

* 23 May 2023, as highlighted in the 2023 report, almost a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions (23%) are now covered by 73 instruments. An ETS places a limit on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions – it allows emitters with lower emissions to sell their extra emission units (or “allowances”) to higher emitters, thereby establishing a market price for emissions. A carbon tax, meanwhile, directly sets a price on carbon by defining a tax rate on emissions..

Source : World Bank

Correct Answer :   5.1

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The Ministry of Civil Aviation has launched the 5.1 version of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) - Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) to enhance the connectivity to remote areas of the country and achieve last mile connectivity through helicopters.

* This round has been designed specifically for helicopter routes. The Ministry highlighted that airfare caps have been reduced by as much as 25 percent to make flying in helicopters more affordable for passengers.

* It further said that Viability Gap Funding (VGF) caps for the operators have been increased substantially for both single and twin-engine helicopters to enhance financial viability for operating the awarded routes.

* Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia said that the latest round of UDAN scheme is a testament to two emerging phenomena in Indian civil aviation.

* He said that greater helicopter penetration through such efforts will help boost tourism, hospitality, and thus, the country's local economies. The Minister said that UDAN 5.1 heralds a new dawn not just for civil aviation, but also for India’s remote and unserved regions.

* The Ministry said that as of now, 46 helicopter routes have been operationalized under previous rounds of the scheme benefitting a number of hilly and North East states.

* The Ministry said that under the UDAN scheme passengers have received the benefit of air connectivity, airlines have received concessions for operating regional routes, and unserved regions have received the direct and indirect benefits of air connectivity for their economic development.

Source : AIR