Daily Current Affairs March 28 2023

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & FINANCE

Asian Development Bank to provide Rs 754 cr loan to SAEL Industries

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and SAEL Industries Limited have signed an agreement for a loan of up to ₹754 crores.
• The loan agreement is to promote the generation of biomass energy using agricultural residue, helping diversify India’s energy mix and reduce carbon intensity.

Key Highlights : 

• ADB’s funding will be used for the construction of 5 biomass power plants in Rajasthan.
• These 5 biomass power plants will be constructed in the districts of Bikaner, Churu, Hanumangarh, Jhunjhunu, and Sikar.
• Due to burning of crop stubble by farmers to remove paddy residue, fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) levels and air pollution rise.
• SAEL Industries has developed a business model.
• In this model, crop residues are used as fuel in waste-to-energy projects.

About SAEL : 

• Chairman and Managing Director Jasbir Singh.
• SAEL Industries is a renewable energy company with a strong focus on the creation of green assets to contribute to the transition to green energy, with biomass and solar power projects in various states in India.

About ADB : 

• Founded : 19 December 1966
• Headquarters : Mandaluyong, Philippines
• President : Masatsugu Asakawa
• Membership : 68 countries

RBI imposes Rs 30 lakh penalty on Karur Vysya Bank for non-compliance with regulations

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 30 lakh on Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) for non-compliance with certain provisions under Frauds-Classification.
• Reason: For non-compliance with certain provisions of directions issued by RBI on ‘Reserve Bank of India (Frauds – Classification and reporting by commercial banks and select FIs) directions 2016′
• The penalty was imposed in the exercise of powers conferred on RBI under the provisions of Section 47 A(1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
• Earlier, the RBI had imposed a penalty of Rs. 2.27 crore on RBL Bank for not complying with certain guidelines related to loan recovery agents.

About KVB : 

• Founded : 1916
• Headquarters : Karur, Tamil Nadu
• MD & CEO : Mr. Ramesh Babu
• Tagline : Smart Way to Bank

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

PM inaugurates ITU Area Office & Innovation Center

• PM Modi inaugurated the new International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Area office & Innovation Centre in India.
• He also unveiled Bharat 6G Vision Document and launched 6G R&D Test Bed.
• He also launched ‘Call before you dig’ App.
• ITU Area Office is fully funded by India.
• It is located on the 2nd floor of the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) building at Mehrauli, New Delhi.
• It will serve India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan and Iran.
• In March 2022, India signed a Host Country Agreement with ITU for establishment of Area Office.
• Technology Innovation Group on 6G (TIG-6G) prepared Bharat 6G vision document. TIG-6G was formed in November 2021.
• 6G Test bed will provide a platform to test and validate the evolving ICT technologies.

About CBuD app

• The Call Before You Dig (CBuD) app is a tool for preventing damage to underlying assets like optical fibre cables due to uncoordinated digging and excavation.
• CBuD is a mobile app.
• It will connect excavators and asset owners through SMS/Email notification and click to call.
• The App signifies ‘Whole-of-government approach’ under PM Gati Shakti.
• It will avoid potential business losses and lessen people’ suffering due to less disruption in key services.

About ITU

• ITU is the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies.
• It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• It was formed in May 1865.

Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurates Asia’s largest 4-metre International Liquid Mirror Telescope in Uttarakhand

• Union Minister Jitendra Singh has inaugurated Asia’s largest 4-metre International Liquid Mirror Telescope at Devasthal, Uttarakhand
• Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (AREES) announced that the world-class 4-metre International Liquid Mirror Telescope (IMLT) is now ready to explore distant and deep celestial space.
• It received its first light in the second week of May 2022.
• This telescope is located at an altitude of 2450 meters in the observatory complex at Deosthal in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand (India), AREES.
• AREES is an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India.
• Advanced Mechanical and Optical Systems (AMOS) Corporation and the Center Spatial de Liège in Belgium designed and built the telescope.
• ILMT uses a 4-meter diameter rotating mirror made of a thin layer of liquid mercury to collect and focus the light.
• Metallic mercury is liquid at room temperature and is also highly reflective and, therefore, it is ideally suited to make such a mirror.
• ILMT is designed to detect transient or variable celestial objects such as supernovas, gravitational lenses, space debris and asteroids.
• The ILMT is the largest aperture telescope currently available in the country and is also the first optical survey telescope in India.
• This telescope will generate about 10-15 gigabytes of data while scanning a strip of sky every night.

A liquid mirror telescope consists mainly of three components:

• A bowl containing a reflecting liquid metal (essentially mercury),
• An air bearing (or motor) on which the liquid mirror sits,
• A drive system.

India aims at becoming ‘Global Hub for Green Ship’ building by 2030 with the launch of GTTP:

• Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) and Ayush Shri Sarbananda SonowaI has said India aims at becoming ‘Global Hub for Green Ship’ building by 2030 with the launch of the Green Tug Transition Programme(GTTP).
• He inaugurated India’s first National Centre of Excellence in Green Port & Shipping (NCoEGPS) in Gurugram,Haryana.
• ‘Green Hybrid Tugs which will be powered by Green Hybrid Propulsion systems, and subsequently adopting non-fossil fuel solutions like (Methanol, Ammonia, Hydrogen).
• Government has set a target for the initial Green Tugs to start working in all major ports by 2025.
• At least, 50% of all the Tugs are likely to be converted into Green Tugs by 2030, which will considerably reduce emission as the country move towards achieving sustainable development.
• Country’s first National Centre of Excellence in Green Port & Shipping (NCoEGPS) is the result of a collaboration between the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Government of India and the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
• With the NCoEGPS acting as the Nodal entity for the industry, the plan is afoot to make India as the ‘Global hub for building Green Ships’ by 2030.
• With these initiatives, the Centre is aimed at playing a crucial role towards achievement of UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 14) to sustainably manage and protect marine & coastal ecosystems from pollution, conservation & sustainable use of ocean based resources.
• The PM Gati Shakti – National Master Plan for Multi-Modal Connectivity along with the Green Ports initiative has already accelerated the development of green logistics supply chain in the country.
• The ports have also aimed to reduce Carbon emissions per ton of cargo handled by 30% by 2030.
• The Maritime Vision Document 2030, released by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is a 10 Year blueprint on India’s vision of a sustainable Maritime sector and vibrant blue economy.
• India has been selected as the first country under the IMO Green Voyage 2050 project to conduct a pilot project related to Green Shipping.
• NCoEGPS will act as a technological arm of MoPSW for providing the needed support on Policy, Research and Cooperation on Green Shipping areas for Ports, DG Shipping, CSL and other institutions under the umbrella of MoPSW.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

United States & Canada reach a deal on decades-old asylum agreement                                      

• The United States (US) and Canada have reached an agreement on a decades-old asylum accord that will restrict certain migrants from seeking protection in Canada.
• As part of the deal, Canada will create a new refugee programme for 15,000 migrants fleeing violence in South and Central America.
• The deal is an amendment in the 2004 Safe Third Country Agreement between the US and Canada.
• The new arrangement will close the loophole in the Safe Third Country Agreement that prevents Canada from turning away those crossing the border at unofficial crossing points.
• The accord is expected to allow both sides of the border to turn back such asylum seekers heading in either direction.
• The discussions on the agreement were going on over the years but after the sharp increase of people crossing into Canada from the US, this decision has been taken.

About US : 

• President : Joe Biden
• Capital : Washington, D.C
• Currency : U.S. dollar ($) (USD)

About Canada : 

• Prime Minister : Justin Trudeau
• Capital : Ottawa
• Currency : Canadian dollar

CURRENT AFFAIRS : STATE NEWS

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Shri MK Stalin releases disaster management policy for 2023                                      

• The Chief Minister (CM) of Tamil Nadu (TN), Shri M.K. Stalin, released the Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Plan, 2023, which lists out action plans to undertake in case of various natural and human-made disasters.

Aim : 

• To develop a new culture of prevention, preparedness and rapid response for the management of disasters.

About Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Plan, 2023 : 

• The plan lists detailed action plans to deal with disasters such as earthquakes, cyclones, tsunamis, floods, urban flooding, industrial and chemical disasters, biological and public health emergencies, nuclear and radiological disasters and fire.
• It also includes reducing the vulnerability of the community through proper risk assessment and necessary risk mitigation measures.
• Funds will be sourced mainly from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund and the National Disaster Mitigation Fund and the Special Purpose Fund created by the Centre.
• Rs 2,500 crore has been provided by the 15th Finance Commission to reduce the risk of urban flooding in the 7 most populous cities
• An allocation of ₹500 crores is to be provided to Chennai at the rate of ₹100 crore per year in 5 years.
• ₹100 crore has been provided to Tamil Nadu to start a drought mitigation programme.
• It will be provided at the rate of ₹20 crore over a period of 5 years.
• An allocation of ₹750 crore has been provided for managing seismic and landslide risks in ten hilly states.
• Under the NDRF–Capacity Building Component, an allocation of ₹5,000 crore has been provided for modernising the fire services of the country.
• The state government will urge the Center to continue providing special assistance for disaster management, especially for disaster mitigation.

About Tamil Nadu :

• Governor: R. N. Ravi
• Chief minister: M. K. Stalin
• Capital: Chennai
• Dance : Bharatnatyam, Karakattam
• National Park : Mudumalai National Park, Mukurthi National Park, Guindy National Park, Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park
• Wildlife Sanctuaries : Kalakad Wildlife sanctuary, Karikili Bird Sanctuary, Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary
• Tiger Reserve : Anamalai Tiger Reserve
• Biosphere Reserve : Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve

Quality Council of India & ‘Uttar Pradesh Government Launches ‘UP Gunvatta Sankalp’ in Lucknow

• The Government of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Quality Council of India (QCI), in collaboration with industry associations – Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) launched the Uttar Pradesh Gunvatta Sankalp (Uttar Pradesh Quality Mission) at Lucknow, UP.
• The Sankalp was inaugurated by Deputy CM of UP, Shri Brajesh Pathak and launched by the Minister of Cooperation (IC) Shri J. P. S. Rathore

Key Highlights : 

• This is the first of its kind initiative being organised by QCI in India in partnership with a State, focuses on 4 key pillars :

1. Quality as a driver of the USD 1 trillion economy
2. Micro Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)
3. Healthcare services
4. Education and vocational training

• Through this initiative, QCI is increasing its depth into the grassroots to impact real change for improving the life of  every Indian citizen.
• The Sankalp reinforced the need for Uttar Pradesh to transcend from “Aatmanirbhar Pradesh” to “Daata Pradesh”.

About QCI : 

• Founded : 1997
• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi
• Chairman : Mr. Jaxay Shah
• Secretary General : Dr. Ravi P. Singh

About UP : 

• Governor : Anandiben Patel
• Chief Minister : Yogi Adityanath
• Capital : Lucknow
• National Park : Dudhwa National Park,
• Wildlife Sanctuary : Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary, Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Bird wildlife Sanctuary, National Chambal Wildlife Sanctuary

About Ministry of Commerce & Industry : 

• Cabinet Minister : Piyush Goyal
• Minister of State : Anupriya Patel, Som Parkash

NGT slaps ₹10 crore penalty on Kerala government for failure to protect Ramsar sites                      

• The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal in New Delhi has slapped a penalty of ₹10 crore on the Kerala government for its failure to check the indiscriminate pollution of the Vembanad and Ashtamudi lakes (listed as Ramsar sites).
• The Bench was led by its chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel.
• The penalty of ₹10 crore had to be utilised for conservation/restoration measures by preparing an action plan to be preferably executed within 6 months. 

About Ashtamudi Lake : 

• It is the most visited backwater and lake in the state.
• The lake is also called the gateway to the backwaters of Kerala and is well known for its houseboat and backwater resorts.

About Vembanad Lake:

• This is the largest lake in Kerala and the longest Lake in India.
• The lake has its source in 4 rivers, Meenachil, Achankovil, Pampa and Manimala
• In 2002, it was included in the list of wetlands of international importance, as defined by the Ramsar Convention.
• It is the second-largest Ramsar site in India only after the Sundarbans in West Bengal.

About NGT : 

• NGT is a special body established under the National Green Tribunal Act (2010).

Aim: 

• To effectively and expeditiously deal with cases related to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources.

About Kerala : 

• Governor : Arif Mohammad Khan
• Chief Minister : Pinarayi Vijayan
• Capital : Thiruvananthapuram
• National Park : Eravikulam National Park, Silent Valley National Park
• Wildlife Sanctuary : Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Chinnar WLS, Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPS AND PORTAL

Income tax department launches AIS mobile app for taxpayers

• Income Tax Department launched an AIS app for taxpayers.
• The AIS app will help taxpayers in viewing their Annual Information Statements (AIS).
• This app will provide detailed information about each transaction to taxpayers.
• Through this app, taxpayers can also give feedback on the AIS information displayed.
• It will also promote voluntary compliance and enable seamless prefilling of returns.
• AIS shows the reported value and modified value under each section.
• The Taxpayer can now check the full details of taxes and TDS with just one click.
• The Annual Information Statements can be assessed through the mobile application and the web portal.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

NTPC signs MoU with Indian Army for the implementation of Green Hydrogen Projects in Army Establishments

• NTPC REL has signed an MoU with INDIAN ARMY for setting up Green Hydrogen Projects in its establishments on Build, Own and Operate (BOO) model.
• The intent is to reduce complex logistics, dependence on fossil fuels and to accelerate decarbonization.
• The MoU was signed by Mr. Mohit Bhargava, CEO (NTPC REL) and Lt. General Rajinder Dewan, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, QMG.
• Under the ambit of the MoU, a joint identification of potential sites would be undertaken for setting up of green hydrogen projects for supplying electricity, in a phased manner.
• NTPC REL will also design, develop, and install renewable energy projects (solar, wind etc.) for the Indian Army.
• The MoU signals an advanced approach for modernization by Indian Army and NTPC’s commitment to assist the nation in its decarbonization goals.
• This agreement is a first of its kind and ushers in a new era of border security backed with energy security for the lines of defence of the country.
• NTPC REL is wholly subsidiary of NTPC Limited and currently it has a portfolio of 3.6 GW RE capacity under construction.
• NTPC Group has ambitious plans of 60 GW of RE capacity by the year 2032 and currently it has 3.2 GW of installed RE capacity.
• NTPC has taken several initiatives in the Hydrogen technologies and already commissioned Hydrogen blending with Piped Natural Gas project at Gujarat and currently executing hydrogen-based mobility project (in Ladakh and Delhi) and green methanol project in MP.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING AND REPORTS

‘City Finance Rankings, 2022’ portal goes live, MoHUA invites Urban Local Bodies to participate in the first of its kind initiative

• Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry launched ‘City Finance Rankings 2022’.
• Under the ‘City Finance Rankings 2022’, the urban local bodies will be evaluated on the basis of their financial health.
• The participating urban local bodies will be evaluated on 15 indicators across three key parameters — resource mobilisation, expenditure performance and fiscal governance.
• The main of the ranking is to evaluate, recognise and reward municipal bodies based on their financial performance and current financial situation.
• The cities will be ranked under four population categories based on their score.

The categories are given below:

1. Above 40 lakh, 10 lakh-40 lakh, 1 lakh – 10 lakh,
2. Below 1 Lakh.

• In each category, award will be given to the top three cities.
• The last date for participation in ranking is 31 May.
• The ‘City Finance Rankings 2022’ portal has become live on March 2023.
• The ranking will give critical insights to policymakers about the state of finances of urban local bodies.

The United Nations World Water Development Report 2023

• The ‘United Nations World Water Development Report 2023: partnerships and cooperation for water’, issued ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference, said that around 80% of people living under water stress lived in Asia; in particular, northeast China, as well as India and Pakistan.
• India is expected to be the most severely affected as the global urban population facing water scarcity is projected to increase from 933 million in 2016 to 1.7-2.4 billion people in 2050.
• Globally, two billion people do not have safe drinking water and 3.6 billion lack access to safely managed sanitation.
• 2023 United Nations Water Conference is a critical moment for collective progress – the first major UN meeting on water in nearly half a century, and a significant step towards Sustainable Development Goal 6: clean water and sanitation for all.
• Published by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the report focuses on twin themes of partnerships and cooperation, and highlights collaborative ways actors can work together to overcome common challenges.

About UNESCO

• Director-General Audrey Azoulay.
• Founded: 16 November 1945, London, United Kingdom
• Headquarters: Paris, France

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Former Brazilian President Mrs Dilma Rousseff elected as new President of BRICS Bank                                  

• The Board of Governors of the New Development Bank (NDB) also known as BRICS bank unanimously elected former president of Brazil Mrs. Dilma Vana Rousseff as the President of the NDB.
• She will be President of the NDB until 2025.
• She succeeded Mr Marcus Troyjo who stepped down as the president of NDB on 24th Mar, 2023.

About Mrs. Dilma Vana Rousseff : 

• Dilma Vana Rousseff is a Brazilian economist and politician.
• She served as the 36th president of Brazil & also the first woman holding the position from 2011 to  2016.
• She was elected the President of Brazil for two consecutive terms.
• She served as the Minister of Mines and Energy and Minister Chief of Staff until 2010.
• She chaired the Board of Directors of Petrobras, a state-owned Brazilian multinational corporation in the petroleum industry.

About NDB Bank : 

• Established : 2015
• Headquarters : Shanghai, China
• President : Dilma Rousseff
• NDB, also known as BRICS bank, is a multilateral financial institution set up by the 5 BRICS countries including Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

CCI Clears GMR Airports Infra-Aeroports de Paris SA Deal                               

• Fair-trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the proposed deal of GMR Airports Infrastructure and Aeroports de Paris SA (ADP) under the green channel route.
• The proposed combination involves ADP’s proposed acquisition of and subscription to foreign currency convertible bonds issued by GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd
• It has also given its nod to the proposed intra-group merger of GMR Airports Ltd. and GMR Infra Developers Ltd.(GIDL) with and into GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd.
• ADP is an international airport operator owned by the French Government.
• GMR Infra Developers is a wholly-owned subsidiary of GMR Airports Infrastructure.

About CCI : 

• Established : 14 October 2003 (Functional from 2009)
• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Chairman : Sangeeta Verma
• The CCI  is the chief national competition regulator in India. 
• It is a statutory body within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS

Indian Army & Air force jointly conduct multi domain air-land exercise Vayu Prahar’ in Eastern Theatre

• The Indian Army and Indian Air Force (IAF) have conducted a 96-hour multi-domain air and land exercise, ‘Vayu Prahar’, in the eastern sector, as India & China remain in a stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Aim : 

• To validate joint plans to prosecute synergised multiple-domain operations.
• The objective of the Multi-Domain operations is to orchestrate military activities across all domains to deliver converging effects.
• Army formations, special forces along with the IAF participated in the exercise.

Key Highlights : 

• The scope of the joint exercise included rapid mobilisation of an earmarked Rapid Reaction Force from the hinterland to undertake air-landed operations in a nominated Advance Landing Ground.
• The air landed force further executes contingency tasks as per a realistic exercise scenario in challenging high-altitude terrain conditions.
• Vayu Prahar Exercise was to ensure coordination and rehearsal amongst various agencies for quick mobilisation, transportation and deployment of forces within a theatre which can be executed across theatres.
• The exercise validated and refined procedures quintessential for synergised joint operations.
• India is constructing several advanced landing grounds (ALGs) near the border to facilitate more air operations & these ALGs have also been opened for use by civil aircraft.
• All arms and services of the Army, the IAF and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) were involved in the exercise.
• India and China have been locked in a military standoff along the Tibetan border since 2020.

Defence ministry signs contracts worth Rs 3,700 cr with BEL for radars & receivers for IAF                   

• The ministry of defence (MoD) signed two contracts worth over Rs 3,700 crore with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for radars and receivers, which will enhance the operational capabilities of the Indian Air Force (IAF)
• The 1st contract worth over Rs 2,800 crore pertains to the supply of Medium Power Radars (MPR) ‘Arudhra’ for the IAF, and the 2nd, at an overall cost of around Rs 950 crore, relates to 129 DR-118 Radar Warning Receivers (RWR).
• Both projects are under the ‘Buy IndianIDMM (Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured)’ category. 

Aim of the Projects : 

• To enhance surveillance, detection, tracking and electronic warfare capabilities of the air force.

About ‘Arudhra’ : 

• Arudhra is a Medium Power Radar (MPR) designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• It will be manufactured by BEL.

Features : 

• Arudhra being a 4D radar, can determine the range (straight distance from radar), azimuth (angular position from a reference direction), altitude (distance from the ground), as well as velocity vector (representation of the direction of motion) of a target.
• It features a rotating active phased array antenna with solid state transceiver modules operating in S-band (2-4GHz).
• The transceiver modules (TRM) are based on the antenna array itself, leading to high receiver sensitivity, enabling the radar to detect low observable targets at a long range.
• It can track a small fighter-sized target as far as 300 km at an altitude between 100 metres to 30 km.
• Arudhra is fully programmable from the local Operator Workstation and from the remote Operator WorkStation Unit.

About Ministry of Defence : 

• Defence Minister : Rajnath Singh
• Minister of State : Ajay Bhatt
• Defence Secretary : Giridhar Aramane

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

ISSF World Cup Shooting Championship to begin at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh

• The International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup Shooting Championship started in Bhopal and will continue till March 27.
• Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan formally inaugurated the event.
• The competitions will start at the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy.
• The World Cup Shooting Tournament will feature about 325 shooters from 33 different nations and more than 75 technical officials.
• The Government of Madhya Pradesh in collaboration with the Rifle Federation of India is organizing Championship.
• This year, the eighth World Cup is being hosted in India, and it is the first international shooting competition to take place outside of New Delhi.
• In 2022, the championships were held in Cairo, Egypt from 12-27 October 2022.

About ISSF

• The International Shooting Sport Federation is the governing body of the Olympic shooting events in rifle, pistol and shotgun disciplines, and of several non-Olympic shooting sport events.
• Headquarters: Munich, Germany
• Founded: 1907
• President: Luciano Rossi
• Membership: 150 regions
• Secretary Genral: Willi Grill

CURRENT AFFAIRS : OBITUARIES

Intel co-founder & Creator of ‘Moore’s Law Gordon Moore Passed away                             

• Intel Corporation co-founder, Gordon Earle Moore who is hailed as a pioneer for his work in the semiconductor industry and Silicon Valley has passed away at the age of 94 in Hawaii, United States (US).

About Gordon Moore : 

• Gordon Moore was born in 1929 in California,US.
• He proposed Moore’s law, the observation that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) doubles about every two years
• Moore and Robert Noyce founded Intel in July 1968.
• He initially served as executive vice president until 1975, then he became president of Intel.
• In 1979, he was named chairman and CEO of Intel, posts he held until 1987.
• In 1997, he became chairman emeritus,stepping down in 2006.
• Notably, over his lifetime Moore has donated more than $5.1 billion to charitable causes through the foundation which he set up with his wife Betty, over two decades ago.

Awards & Honors : 

• In 1990, Moore was presented with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President George H. W. Bush.
• He was also the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honour, as of 2002. 
• He was awarded the 2010 Dan David Prize for his work in the areas of Computers and Telecommunications.

Daily CA One- Liner: Mar 28

• PM Modi inaugurated the new International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Area office & Innovation Centre in India
• Union Minister Jitendra Singh has inaugurated Asia’s largest 4-metre International Liquid Mirror Telescope at Devasthal
• Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) and Ayush Shri Sarbananda SonowaI has said India aims at becoming ‘Global Hub for Green Ship’ building by 2030 with launch of Green Tug Transition Programme
• Income Tax Department launched an AIS app for taxpayers
• NTPC REL has signed an MoU with INDIAN ARMY for setting up Green Hydrogen Projects in its establishments on Build, Own and Operate (BOO) model
• Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry launched ‘City Finance Rankings 2022’.
• The ‘United Nations World Water Development Report 2023: partnerships and cooperation for water’, issued ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference, said that around 80% of people living under water stress lived in Asia; in particular, northeast China, as well as India and Pakistan
• The International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup Shooting Championship started in Bhopal
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and SAEL Industries Limited have signed an agreement for a loan of up to ₹754 crore.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs 30 lakh on Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) for non-compliance with certain provisions under Frauds-Classification.
• The United States (US) and Canada have reached an agreement on a decades-old asylum accord that will restrict certain migrants from seeking protection in Canada.
• The Chief Minister (CM) of Tamil Nadu (TN), Shri M.K. Stalin, released the Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Plan, 2023, which lists out action plans to undertake in case of various natural and human-made disasters.
• The Government of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Quality Council of India (QCI), in collaboration with industry associations – Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) launched the Uttar Pradesh Gunvatta Sankalp (Uttar Pradesh Quality Mission) at Lucknow, UP.
• The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal in New Delhi has slapped a penalty of ₹10 crore on the Kerala government for its failure to check the indiscriminate pollution of the Vembanad and Ashtamudi lakes (listed as Ramsar sites).
• The Board of Governors of the New Development Bank (NDB) also known as BRICS bank unanimously elected former president of Brazil Dilma Vana Rousseff as the President of the NDB.
• Fair-trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the proposed deal of GMR Airports Infrastructure and Aeroports de Paris SA (ADP) under the green channel route.
• The Indian Army and Indian Air Force (IAF) have conducted a 96-hour multi-domain air and land exercise, ‘Vayu Prahar’, in the eastern sector, as India & China remain in a stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
• The ministry of defence (MoD) signed two contracts worth over Rs 3,700 crore with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for radars and receivers, which will enhance the operational capabilities of the Indian Air Force (IAF)
• Intel Corporation co-founder, Gordon Earle Moore who is hailed as a pioneer for his work in the semiconductor industry and Silicon Valley has passed away at the age of 94 in Hawaii, United States (US).