Current Affairs 27 May 2022

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

3rd Indian Navy – Bangladesh Navy Bilateral Exercise Bongosagar 2022 Commences

From May 24-27, 2022, the 3rd edition of Indian Navy (IN)-Bangladesh Navy (BN) Bilateral Exercise ‘Bongosagar 2022’ commenced at Port Mongla, Bangladesh. It consists of Harbour Phase, and a Sea Phase in the Northern Bay of Bengal. 
Aim of Exercise Bongosagar:
To develop a high degree of interoperability and joint operational skills by conducting maritime exercises and operations between the two navies
Participants:
IN– Indigenously Built, Indian Naval Ships (INS) Kora, a guided-missile corvette, and Sumedha, an offshore patrol vessel 
BN– Bangladesh Navy Ship (BNS) Ali Haider and BNS Abu Ubaidah, both Guided Missile Frigates
Key Points:
i.The harbour phase of the exercise includes professional and social interactions, and friendly sporting fixtures, along with tactical level planning discussions on the conduct of the exercises at sea. 
ii.The sea phase of the exercise facilitates participating ships to participate in intensive surface warfare drills, weapon firing drills, seamanship evolutions and coordinated air operations in a tactical scenario.

Haryana’s Abhilasha Barak Becomes 1st Woman Combat Aviator in the Indian Army

Captain Abhilasha Barak, (26 years old) from Haryana, has become the first woman combat aviator to join the Indian Army Aviation Corps as a helicopter pilot. 
She graduated at a ceremony held at the Combat Army Aviation Training School in Nashik, Maharashtra. 
Key Points:
i.She was awarded the ‘wings’ along with 36 army pilots by Army Aviation Director General (DG) Lieutenant General Ajay Kumar Suri (AK Suri) at the ceremony. 
ii.She has been assigned to the 2nd flight of the 2072 Army Aviation Squadron that operates the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH). 

• The Army Aviation Corps, raised in November 1986, operates ALH, Rudra helicopters (an armed variant of ALH), Chetaks, Cheetahs and Cheetal helicopters

About Captain Abhilasha Barak:
i.Captain Abhilasha Barak was commissioned into the Indian Army’s Air Defence Corps from the Officers Training Academy, Chennai, Tamil Nadu in September 2018. 
ii.She was selected for the Presentation of Colours to Army Air Defence by President Ram Nath Kovind during her association with the Corps of Army Air Defence. 
Background:
i.In 2021, the Indian Army has decided to allow women officers to opt for its aviation wing. 
ii.Until now, the women officers were assigned only ground duties in army aviation. 
Note:
i.The Indian Army inducted women into the Corps of Military Police in May 2021 and for the first time allowed them to join the military in the non-officer cadre.
ii.Women have been serving as officers in the selected sectors of the 3 forces since the early 1990s.

CCEA Clears the Sale of 29.58% Stake of GoI in HZL at Rs 38000 crore

On 25th May 2022, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the sale of the government’s 29.58% stake in Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL), as a part of the efforts of the government of India(GoI) to accelerate its disinvestment drive.

• The sale of a 29.58% stake represents more than 124.96 crore shares which would raise around Rs 38000 crore at the current market price. 

Background:
i.Till April 2002, the Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) was a government-owned company. 
In April 2002, the GoI offloaded 26% of its stake in HZL to Vedanta group company Sterlite Opportunities and Ventures Ltd (SOVL) for Rs 445 crore.
ii.Later, the Group bought 20% from the market and another 18.92% from the government in November 2003. 
iii.With this HZL became a subsidiary of Vedanta Limited, which owns around a 64.92% stake. 
iv.The GoI raised around Rs 769 crore in these 2 transactions.
Additional info:
i.GoI has budgeted Rs 65000 crore from disinvestment in Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) and strategic sale. 
ii.GoI has raised around Rs 20500 crore from the sale of a 3.5% stake in the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).
iii.The Centre has so far garnered Rs 23,575 crore in the current financial year in divestment proceeds through the initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and the offer for sale of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
About Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL):
Chairman– Kiran Agarwal
Headquarters– Udaipur, Rajasthan 

NMCG Signs Quadripartite Agreements For Sewage Infrastructure Development & Management At Maheshtala West Bengal

On May 25 2022, The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) signed two Quadripartite Agreements for the development of Sewage treatment infrastructure in Maheshtala, situated on the east bank of river Ganga, West Bengal under Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) at a cost of Rs 273.52 crore. 

• The first is an Escrow Agreement which involves NMCG, Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), Maheshtala Waste Water Management Private Limited (MWWMPL) and Union Bank of India.
• The second one is the substitution agreement between NMCH, KMDA, MWWMPL and the  Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG ((OeEB) ,Development Bank of Austria ).

Dignitaries Present:
i.The Agreements were signed in the presence of G. Asok Kumar, Director General, NMCG, Katharina Wieser, Ambassador of Austria to India and other officials from the State and Central Government.
About the Agreements:
i.The project aims at ceasing the discharge of Sewage water into river Ganga from the Maheshtala town.
ii.The major components under the project includes 35 MLD Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), 4 pumping stations, 6 diversion structures, Repair & Rehabilitation work, and 15 years Operation and Maintenance works etc.
iii.Under the HAM, the construction cost of 40 percent will be paid during a period of 24 months and the balance 60 percent will be paid as quarterly annuities along with Interest and Operation and Maintenance (O&M) cost over a period of 15 years.
iv.The Development Bank of Austria (Oesterreichische Entwicklungsbank AG) financing MWWMPL is responsible for the entire development and operation of both sewage network and STPs for a concession period of 15 years. Also the payment during the operations period will be subject to achievement of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in terms of treated wastewater quality for the STPs.

NAS 2021: Learning Outcome levels drop in higher grades; Maharashtra Fairs Better than National Average

The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education has released the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 report which was conducted on November 12 2021,  assessing the state of the School education system in India.

• The report provides a comprehensive evaluation of children’s learning competencies at classes III, V, VIII and X on subjects such as languages, mathematics, and science with a cycle period of three years. The last NAS was conducted in 2017.
• The Survey saw participation of about 34 lakh students from 1.18 lakh schools in 720 districts from both rural and urban ar.eas.click here to access NAS-2021 Report Card
  https://nas.gov.in/report-card/2021.
• According to NAS 2021, majority of the states performed below the overall national score, but states like Kerala, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Punjab performed better than the national average.
• The questionnaire of the survey was developed and translated into 22 different languages by the National Council of Educational Research and Training(NCERT).

Objective: To evaluate the progress of children and learning competencies as an indicator of the efficiency of the education system in India and to course-correct the irregularities at different levels.
Key Highlights:
i.The National average percentage of students declined to 59 percent for Class third, dropping by 10 percent to 49 percent in class fifth, 41.9 percent in class eight and 37.8 percent in class ten.
ii.The performance also declined in almost all subjects, for instance the mathematics score nationally was 57 percent in class 3, dropping by almost 10 percent to 44 percent in class 5 and to 36 percent in class 8 and 32 percent in class 10th.
iii.Similarly, the language score nationally was 62% in class third, and dropped to 52% in class fifth, and to 53% in class eighth. 
iv.For science, the national score declined from 39% in class eighth to 35% in class 10.
v.Among the States, Maharashtra scored above average with a score of 59 percent in class 3 but it consistently dropped to 49 percent, 41 percent and 37.8 percent in class 5, 8 and 10 respectively.
Digital Access

• Considering the Pandemic effect the NAS includes inquiries about the digital access for children and assessment of mental health. 
• The Survey shows students having no digital access remained similar with scores between 30 – 40 percent in classes 3, 5 and 10.
• And 80 percent of students in class 8 have shared that they have no digital access.
  In case of students experiencing worry, anxiety and fear during the pandemic, Class 8 recorded the highest percentage at 90 whereas in classes 3, 5 and 10, it is not more than 55 per cent.

Shirui Lily Festival Begins in Manipur

The Shirui Lily (State Flower of Manipur) blooms from late May to early June only on Shirui village hilltop in Manipur state.The 4th edition of the Shirui Lily Festival began at Shirui village in Manipur’s Ukhrul district. This edition is taking place after a gap of two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The four-day-long festival was inaugurated by the Governor of Manipur La. Ganesan along with the Chief Minister N. Biren Singh at Shirui Village Ground in Ukhrul district.

Shirui Lily Festival
i.The traditional music, food and games are exhibited during the Shirui Lily Festival to spread awareness about the rare Shirui flower and encourage tourism in Manipur.The festival also lends itself to some roaring bike rallies, rock bands, and some finger-licking food.
ii. The cultural extravaganza would  be held at Bakshi Ground in Dungrei, Shirui village, where musical bands from across the country would participate in a singing competition titled ‘Shirock’.
iii.During the occasion,  a sum of ₹46 crore has been sanctioned under the minority affairs, Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK) scheme for the construction of Shirui Heritage Village and the upgradation of Bakshi Ground.
iv.A construction of cable cars at Loktak lake and Shirui village are also on the proposal.
v.The Festival returns to coincide with the blooming season of the flower, from May 25 to 28.
About Shirui Lily
i.Shirui lily also known as Lilium Mackliniae.
ii.Found exclusively in the upper range of the Shirui Kashong Peak.
iii. This variant of Lily can neither be found nor transplanted anywhere else in the world.
iv.Discovered by English botanist Kingdon F Ward in 1946, who named it Lilieum Macklinae Sealy after his wife Jean Macklin, this pinkish-white flower which is shaped like a bell, was introduced to the world at the 1948 Royal Horticultural Society flower show in London.
About Manipur
Capital – Imphal
Chief minister – N. Biren Singh
Official animal – Sangai
Dance forms – Kabuis ,Mao Naga Dance,Lhou Sha,and Dhol Cholom

GoI Aims to Build 18000 km of Highways in FY23
The Government of India (GoI) aims to increase its infrastructure spending and plans to build 50 Kilometre(Km) highways every day totalling 18000 km of highways in the financial year 2022-2023(FY2023).
The GoI aims to complete the construction of a 2 lakh km national highway(NH) network by 2025. 

• This plan is made after the construction of the national highway in India slowed down to 28.64 km a day in 2021-2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• In 2020-2021, the pace of construction of NHs was 37 km per day. 
• The National Highways Authority of India(NHAI) has constructed a total length of 4325 km of NHs which is higher than 4218 km in FY21 and 3979 in FY20.
• NHAI and National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) are responsible for the construction of NHs and expressways across India. 

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI cancels registration of 5 NBFCs due to Irregular Lending Practices; Enhances Ceiling on Loans for Home Repairsi.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 45-IA (6) (iv) of the RBI Act, 1934 has cancelled the Certificate of Registration (CoR) issued to the following five Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).
ii.In exercise of powers conferred by Section 3 read with Section 5 of Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation)-FTDR Act, 1992 read with paragraph 1.02 and 2.01 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020, the Central Government has amended the import policy conditions for gold in any form, other than monetary gold and silver in any form, and issued guidelines for the same.
iii.The RBI also revised the ceiling on loans to individuals for carrying out repairs/additions/alterations to their homes to Rs 10 lakh in metros from Rs 5 lakh; and Rs 6 lakh in rural to and semi urban areas from Rs 2 lakh earlier.
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Establishment– April 1, 1935
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors– Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao, T. Rabi Sankar
>> Read Full News

RBI approves transfer of Rs 30,307 crore as Surplus to Central Govt; Cautioned against Cryptocurrency The 596th meeting of the Central Board of Directors of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was held at Mumbai (Maharashtra) under the Chairmanship of Shaktikanta Das, Governor of RBI. During the meeting, it was decided to transfer Rs 30,307 crore as surplus to the Central Government for the accounting year 2021-22. This amount is the lowest in 10 years.

• The decision was taken after deciding to maintain the Contingency Risk Buffer (CRB) at 5.50% of its balance sheet.
• CRB is the country’s savings for a financial stability crisis which has been consciously maintained with RBI as its role as lender of last resort (LoLR).

Key Points:
i.The Board reviewed the current economic situation, global and domestic challenges and the impact of recent geopolitical developments, in the meeting. 
ii.According to the Bimal Jalan committee’s report, the RBI, at all times, has to maintain a minimum contingency risk buffer of 5.5%.
iii.This year’s transfer is lower than the surplus transfer of Rs 99,122 crore for nine months ended March 31, 2021 (July 2020-March 2021).
iv.The central bank had infused huge liquidity into the system in the last two years of Covid-19 to spur growth.
RBI Warns Cryptocurrency can lead to Dollarization of Economy 
The apex bank also cautioned against the use of cryptocurrencies in India as this virtual currency could impact the macroeconomic stability/financial stability of the country. Also, the use of cryptocurrencies that are based on the US (United States) Dollar could lead to the dollarization of India’s economy.

• Dollarization means when the US dollar is used in addition to or instead of the domestic currency of another country. Dollarization usually happens when a country’s own currency loses its usefulness as a medium of exchange, due to hyperinflation or instability.
• This announcement was made during the meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance chaired by former Minister of State for Finance, Jayant Sinha.

Key Points:
i.Notably, RBI this statement comes at a time when cryptocurrencies TerraUSD and Terra Luna collapsed which in turned destabalized the entire crypto ecosystem wiping nearly $200 billion worth of wealth from the cryptocurrency market in just 24 hours.
ii.TerraLuna (LUNA) and TerraUSD (UST) are two native tokens of the Terra network, a blockchain-based project developed by Terra Labs in South Korea.
iii.In FY23 budget, the Central Government taxed cryptocurrencies income at 30% and imposed 1% TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) on payments for the transfer of crypto assets over a certain threshold.

India Post Payments Bank Introduced AePS Issuer ChargesThe India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), Department of Post (DoP), Ministry of Communication has introduced issuer charges for the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS). AePS Issuer transaction charges will be in effect from June 15, 2022.
Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS)
i.AePS is a bank-led model that enables online interoperable financial inclusion transactions at the Point of Sale (MicroATM) using Aadhaar verification through any bank’s business correspondent. AePS provides six different transaction types.

• This payment service allows a bank customer to use Aadhaar as his/her identification to access his/her respective Aadhaar-enabled bank account and perform basic banking operations such as balance enquiry, cash deposit, cash withdrawal, and remittances via a Business Correspondent.

ii.AePS offers banking services such as: Cash Deposit; Cash Withdrawal; Balance Enquiry; Mini Statement; Aadhaar to Aadhaar Fund Transfer; Authentication; BHIM Aadhaar Pay.

• Other services offered by AePS include: eKYC; Best Finger Detection; Demographic Authentication; Tokenization; Aadhaar Seeding Status

India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) AePS charges
i.The monthly first 3 cumulative AePS Issuer transactions, such as cash withdrawal, cash deposit, and mini statement, will be provided free of charge. 
ii.Over the free transaction limit, AePS issuer cash withdrawals and cash deposits will be charged Rs. 20 plus GST each transaction, and mini statement transactions will be charged Rs. 5 plus GST per transaction.
iii. A transaction requires simply a customer’s bank name, Aadhaar number, and a fingerprint collected during enrolment.
IPPB And DoP Sign Sub-Membership Agreement
IPPB has also entered a sub-membership agreement with the Department of Post (DoP) to facilitate their customers with eligible accounts to make National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT)/Real Time Gross Settlement(RTGS) transactions.

• A dedicated IFSC (Indian Financial System Code) ‘IPOS0000DOP’ has been generated to facilitate inward and outward transactions to and from DoP customer accounts. This code will be used only for transactions in DoP customer accounts.

About India Post Payments Bank (IPPB):
India Post Payments Bank Limited is a public limited company that was established as a Payments Bank under the Companies Act, 2013, and the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. It is completely owned by the Government of India through the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communication. IPPB is a division of the Indian Post. 
MD & CEO – J Venkatramu
Establishment – 2018
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi.
Tagline – Aapka Bank, Aapke Dwaar.

BOB Financial & HPCL Launch Co-Branded Contactless RuPay Credit CardIn collaboration with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda (BoB), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL), a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE), has launched the HPCL BoB co-branded contactless RuPay Credit Card.
Key Points:
i.The card has a number of advantages, including rewards for utility, grocery, and department store purchases. 
ii.Through the JCB network, an international payment brand based in Japan, this card can be used at shops and ATMs worldwide.
iii. Customers will be rewarded for spending at HPCL fuel pumps as well as on the HP Pay app using this card.
About BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL):
BFSL is a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) fully owned by the Bank of Baroda (BoB).
MD & CEO – Shailendra Singh
Establishment – 1994
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra

HDFC Securities Launches Robo-Advisory Platform for Mutual Fund Investments

HDFC Securities has introduced HDFC Money, a robo-advisory platform for all mutual fund investments. HDFC Money is a fully digital platform that does not require the opening or maintenance of a Demat Account.

• HDFC Money focuses solely on mutual fund investments, giving investors a variety of choices based on their preferences and risk tolerance.

Apart from mutual funds, users can access, manage, and track portfolios, start goal planning, insurance planning, create E-wills, and manage & file taxes.
The key features of HDFC Money are as follows:
i.HDFC Money Robo advisory would assist investors in planning and executing with a more defined target while taking risk and tenure into account.

• To achieve the desired objective, the plan takes into account the mode of investment, such as lump sum, staggered, or a combination over time.

ii.Customers are onboarded by digitally completing basic know your customer (KYC) documentation, and there are no account opening or maintenance fees charged by the platform.
iii. Customers can access funds of their choice as well as reports on the performance history of funds, fund manager, and other information such as the last disclosed asset allocation, top sector, and stock holdings through the portal.

• The e-Will services assist in the creation of a Will regarding the distribution of wealth and other assets.
• The e-tax returns can be easily filed with HDFC Money by the customer himself or through a chartered accountant.

About HDFC Securities:
HDFC Securities is one of the leading stock broking companies in India and is a subsidiary of HDFC Bank.
MD & CEO – Dhiraj Relli
Founded – 2000
Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra

BRICS’s NDB to open India’s regional office in Gujarat’s GIFT City

New Development Bank (NDB) formerly referred to as the BRICS(Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) Development Bank, is set to open its regional office in India at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), Gujarat, to offer infrastructure and sustainable development needs of India and Bangladesh, contributing to economic growth and sustainable development in South Asia.

• Indian Regional Office(IRO), in coordination with NDB Headquarters(Shanghai), will focus on initial project preparation and technical assistance, pipeline development, project implementation and monitoring as well as regional portfolio management.

SBI introduces Xpress Credit on YONO

The State Bank of India (SBI) has launched the personal loan product ‘Xpress Credit’ for salaried customers on its digital banking platform “YONO”. The eligible customers can avail of personal loans, Real-time Xpress Credit (RTXC), up to Rs 35 lakhs through the YONO app, without any paperwork. 

• This will enable the customers to experience a digital, hassle-free and paperless loan process. 
• Under the RTXC, the central and state government and defence salaried customers are not required to visit the branch to avail of personal loans. The credit checks, eligibility, sanction and documentation will be done digitally in real-time.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS      

Kishore Jayaraman receives Order of British Empire award

The Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) was presented by the Queen of England to Kishore Jayaraman, President of Rolls-Royce for India and South Asia region, for his services to international trade and investment with a key focus on promotion of India-United Kingdom (UK) trade deal. It is the second highest ranking Order of the British Empire award
About Kishore Jayaraman:
i.Kishore Jayaraman is a board member of the UK-India Business Council (UKIBC), a non-profit organisation which supports setting up UK businesses in India.
ii.He was also instrumental in setting up a strategic ecosystem for boosting manufacturing in India supported by UK technologies.
iii.Under his leadership, the company set up various centres such as the ‘Engineering Centre’ in Bengaluru, Karnataka in 2015, ‘Digital Centre of Excellence’ with over 60 digital technologists in 2017, and the company’s first ‘Start-up Accelerator Programme’ in India in 2019.  

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS         

Indian Officer Anwar Hussain Shaik Is New Chair Of WTO’s TBT Committee
An Indian Officer, Anwar Hussain Shaik would take the role as the chair of the World Trade Organisation(WTO)’s Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) from Elisa Maria Olmeda de Alejandro from Mexico, after a gap of ten years.Anwar Hussain Shaik was in PMI (Permanent Mission of India) Geneva.

Key Information
 i.The Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement aims to ensure that technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures are non-discriminatory and do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade.

• TBT Committee work involves two broad areas — review of specific measures and strengthening implementation of the TBT Agreement.

ii. WTO members use this committee to discuss specific trade concerns, specific laws, regulations or procedures that affect their trade, usually in response to notifications.
About World Trade Organisation (WTO)
i.WTO is a 164-member multilateral body which formulates rules for global exports and imports and adjudicates disputes between countries on trade-related issues.India has been a member since 1995.
Established in – 1995
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
Director-General: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. 

Narinder Dhruv Batra Resigns as Indian Olympic Association President 

Narinder Dhruv Batra has stepped down as the President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), at the end of his tenure to focus on his role as the President of the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

• In addition, he has decided not to seek re-election to the IOA presidency.
• In 2017, Batra was elected to the IOA for the first time, and he was entitled to run for re-election.

Meanwhile, following the High Court’s order, Anil Khanna was named acting chief of the IOA (HC).
Note: The IOA elections were supposed to take place in December 2021, but they were postponed due to ongoing amendments in the election procedure.
Accomplishments of Narinder Dhruv Batra:
i.Besides being the president of the IOA, Batra was inducted as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2019. Later, he became a member of the Olympic Channel Commission.

• His tenure witnessed India’s most successful Olympic campaign in Tokyo 2020, which eventually won seven medals, including gold in the javelin throw by Neeraj Chopra.

ii.In November 2016, Narinder Dhruv Batra was elected President of the FIH at the 45th Congress in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

• He has opted to concentrate his efforts on the promotion of Hockey5s, the establishment of a new competition – the FIH Hockey Nations Cup – and the development of fan-engagement platforms and activities.

About Indian Olympic Association (IOA):
It is the governing body for the Olympic Movement and the Commonwealth Games in India. It is an affiliated member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC).
Acting Chief of IOA – Anil Khanna 
Establishment – 1927
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi.

Gopal Vittal Reappoints as MD & CEO of Bharti Airtel 

The board of directors of Bharti Airtel has reappointed Gopal Vittal as the Managing Director(MD) and Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Bharti Airtel Limited, for a further period of 5 years till 31st January 2028. 

• He is not excluded from holding the office of director by virtue of any orders of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) or other authorities. 
• The reappointment of Gopal Vittal was announced on a day on which Airtel consolidated net profit at Rs 2,007.8 crore in the March quarter, up 141% sequentially and 164% on year.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

PARAM PORUL Supercomputer Inaugurated at NIT-Tiruchirappalli

On May 25 2022, Bhaskar Bhat, Chairperson Board of Governors, National Institute of Technology (NIT)-Tiruchirappalli inaugurated the state-of-the-art Supercomputer PARAM-PORUL at NIT-Tiruchirappalli under Phase 2 of the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM). Under which major components are indigenously developed and assembled in India including a software stack developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in line with the Make in India initiative.

• The supercomputer was built based on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between NIT Tiruchirappalli and C-DAC on 12th October 2020 in order to establish 838 TeraFlops Supercomputing Facility under NSM.  
• The supercomputer worth Rs.19 crores was sanctioned by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

About PARAM PORUL:
ii.PARAM PORUL is equipped with a mix of Central Processing Unit (CPU) nodes, Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) nodes, High Memory nodes, High throughput storage and high performance Infiniband interconnect which cater to the computing needs of various scientific and engineering applications.
ii.It works on Direct Contact Liquid Cooling Technology to obtain a high power usage effectiveness and thereby reducing the operational cost.  
iii.It can be used for multiple applications from various scientific domains such as Weather and Climate, Bioinformatics, Computational Chemistry, Molecular Dynamics, Material Sciences, Computational Fluid Dynamics etc,. 
iv.The 650 TF supercomputer involving CPU and GPU at a ratio of 70:30 is being installed at the Institute by C-DAC, Pune, with an additional installation cost of about Rs. 4 crores.
Note:
i.So far under the National Superconducting Mission, 15 supercomputers have been installed across the nation with compute capacity of 24 petaflops. All these supercomputers have been manufactured in India and operate with an indigenously developed software stack.
Dignitaries Present:
i.The event saw the august presence of G. Aghila, Director, NIT Tiruchirappalli; E Magesh, Director General, C-DAC, Naveen Kumar, NSM- High Performance Computing (HPC) Division, MeitY; S A Kumar, Advisor, NSM, MeitY, Dr. Hemant Darbari, Mission Director- NSM, Shri Sanjay Wandhekar, Senior Director, C-DAC, along with senior officials from MeitY, DST, NIT Tiruchirappalli and C-DAC.

ENVIRONMENT

New Plant Species of The Genus Ophiorrhiza Spotted in Kerala

A new plant species of the genus Ophiorrhiza, a group of plants valued for their medicinal uses, in the biodiversity-rich Western Ghats region found near Malakkapara, in Thrissur district, Kerala.

• The researchers named Ophiorrhiza sasidharaniana after Prof. A. Sasidharan, former Botany Department head of the University College, Thiruvananthapuram.

Key Information
i.The journal Annales Botanici Fennici, brought out by the Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board, has published a paper on the discovery by researchers from the University of Kerala and the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI), Palode.
ii. Ophiorrhiza (family Rubiaceae) has over 380 species, found mainly in wet tropical and subtropical forests of southeast Asia. 
iii.India has 52 species, of which 21 species and seven varieties have been reported from the Western Ghats. Of this, 17 species and two varieties are endemic to the region.
About Ophiorrhiza
i.Many Ophiorrhiza species also have ornamental potential.
ii.Species of the genus Ophiorrhiza are considered economically important due to the presence of camptothecin (CPT), an indole alkaloid with anti-cancer properties. 
iii. CPT is a naturally occurring pentacyclic tryptophan-derived quinoline alkaloid, exhibiting anti-cancer activity owing to its ability to inhibit the topoisomerase I (TopI) enzyme that is involved in DNA replication.
iv.Ophiorrhiza species are also used in remedies for ulcers, helminthiasis, snake poison, wounds, gastropathy, and leprosy.
About Kerala

• Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan
• Capital: Thiruvananthapuram
• Chief minister: Pinarayi Vijayan

Twin Cyclone – Karim and Asani – formed in Indian Ocean Region

The twin cyclones named Cyclone Karim and Cyclone Asani originated in the Indian Ocean region, southern and northern hemispheres respectively. The cyclones originated in the same longitude and drifted apart. 
The name Karim was given by Seychelles (South Africa) and the name Asani was suggested by Sri Lanka. 
The distance between both cyclones was more than 2,800 km.

• The interplay of the wind and the monsoon system combined with the Earth system produces synchronous cyclones.
• Twin cyclones are said to be caused by Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), composed of a Rossby wave and a Kelvin wave. MJO is a large cluster of clouds and convection, about 5000-10,000 kilometres in size.

SPORTS

Golf-Justin Thomas wins PGA Championship 2022; marks his 2nd Wanamaker Trophy

Justin Thomas, an American professional golfer, won the 104th PGA Championship (2022) and claimed his 2nd Wanamaker Trophy, defeating Will Zalatoris (America). 
He previously won the Wanamaker Trophy in 2017 at Quail Hollow Club.

• This marks Justin Thomas’s 2nd major victory and his second PGA triumph. 
• The 2022 PGA Championship was held from 19th to 22nd May 2022 in Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the United States of America(USA). 
• The PGA Championship is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers’ Association of America. It is one of the four men’s major championships in professional golf.

STATE NEWS

Punjab Launches Portal For DSR Paddy Sowing Technique
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann launched a portal to facilitate farmers opting for the direct seeding of rice (DSR) technique for paddy sowing.

• The portal launched by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann can be accessed at  ‘agrimachinerypb.com’ which would be instrumental in compiling data about each and every farmer who opted for the DSR technique.

Key Information
iThe Punjab government has decided to provide Rs 1,500 per acre incentive to each of the farmers who sow paddy through the DSR technique such benefits would be directly transferred to the banks accounts of the benefiting farmers from this Kharif Season.
ii. The Punjab’s Agriculture Department has set a target to bring 12 lakh hectares of paddy area under the DSR technique, which will be almost double of the area brought last year.
iii.The State Government of Punjab fixed the target of 30 lakh acres under the new technique.

• Also expects to cultivate paddy including Basmati over an area of 30 lakh hectares (75 lakh acres) during this Kharif season. 
• As per available data, paddy was shown 2021 in an area of 15 lakh acres (6 lakh hectares) through DSR and during this season the state government has fixed the target of 30 lakh acres under the new technique.

About  Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR)
i.Under the DSR technique, paddy seeds are drilled into the field with the help of a machine that does seeding of rice and spray of herbicide simultaneously.Under the traditional method, first young paddy plants are raised by farmers in nurseries and then these plants are uprooted and transplanted in a puddled field.
ii.The DSR technique helps in saving nearly about 15-20 per cent water as compared to the traditional method.
About Punjab
Capital – Chandigarh
Governor – Banwarilal Purohit
Chief Minister – Bhagwant Mann
Dance forms – Jaago ,Dankara,and Luddi

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