Current Affairs May 04th 2023| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & FINANCE

Market share of PSU general insurers drops 800 bps in 5 years: IRDAI      

• The 4 public sector general insurance companies – New India Assurance, United India Insurance, Oriental Insurance, and National Insurance Company have lost 800 basis points (bps) in market share in last 5 years to their private counterparts, the data from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) revealed.
• In 2018-19, the 4 had a cumulative market share of 40.04%, with New India Assurance having a market share of 14% and United India Insurance with a market share of 9.63%.
• But, gradually in the past 5 years, these state-backed firms have lost their market share to private sector players, due to the declining health of their business.
• The latest data shows that at the end of FY23, the market share of these firms cumulatively declined to 32.37% a drop of 803 bps.

Key Highlights : 

• Among the 4 insurers, New India Assurance witnessed a marginal fall in its market share, of just 64 bps, and maintained its position as India’s leading general insurer.
• The other 3, witnessed a considerable erosion in their market standing. Kolkata-based National Insurance Company saw the most erosion in market share of over 300 bps, followed by United India Insurance (276 bps), and Oriental Insurance (171 bps).
• Except for New India Assurance, the state-owned general insurance firms suffered huge losses and have seen a depletion in their solvency margin, leaving limited room to focus on growth.
• According to FY22 disclosures, Oriental Insurance suffered a net loss of Rs 3,104 crore; United India Insurance’s loss was to the tune of Rs 2,135 crore and National Insurance Company’s losses mounted to Rs 1,664 crore.
• Among the four state-owned insurers, only New India Assurance reported a net profit of Rs 164.27 crore.
• According to disclosures, Oriental Insurance’s solvency ratio stood at 0.15% at the end of FY22; United India had a solvency ratio of 0.51%, and National Insurance’s was just 0.63%.
• The insurance regulator mandates insurance companies to have a solvency ratio of 1.5.

About IRDAI : 

• Established : 1999
• Headquarters : Hyderabad, Telangana
• Chairman : Debasish Panda
• The IRDAI is a statutory body under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance (MoF) ,Government of India (GoI) and is tasked with regulating and licensing the insurance and re-insurance industries in India.

JPMorgan buys First Republic Bank as third major US bank fails in two months

• United States (US) regulators stated that First Republic Bank has been seized and a deal agreed to sell the bank to JPMorgan Chase & Co, in what is the third major U.S. institution to fail in 2 months.
• The banking giant will take $173 billion of loans and about $30 billion of securities of First Republic Bank, including $92 billion of deposits.
• The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation announced that it had taken possession of First Republic and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) would act as its receiver.
• The rescue comes less than 2 months after Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failed amid a deposit flight from U.S. lenders, forcing the Federal Reserve to step in with emergency measures to stabilize markets.
• Those failures came after crypto-focused Silvergate voluntarily liquidated.
• The failed bank’s 84 offices in 8 states will reopen as branches of JPMorgan Chase Bank.
• JPMorgan has been on an acquisition spree since 2021, acquiring more than 30 companies in deals worth more than $5 billion combined.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co : 

• Founded : December 1, 2000
• Headquarters : New York, United States of America
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational financial services company.
• It is the largest bank in the United States (US) and the world’s largest bank by market capitalization.

Airtel Payments Bank & NPCI launches face authentication for Aadhaar-enabled payment system   

• Airtel Payments Bank (APB) has collaborated with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to roll out Face Authentication for AePS (Aadhaar-enabled Payment System) at its 500,000 banking points.
• Airtel Payments Bank is amongst the first 4 banks to offer Face Authentication for AePS in the country.

Key Highlights : 

• NPCI’s AePS allows customers to carry out financial and non-financial transactions at any banking point using their Aadhaar number or virtual ID to access their Aadhaar-linked bank account.
• Until now, transactions were being authenticated using the customer’s Aadhaar number and fingerprint or Iris match in the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) records.
• The new facility will enable customers to validate the transaction by undertaking face authentication along with the Aadhaar number.
• The authentication is processed using the Face Authentication RD Application by the UIDAI.
• In the first phase, the facility is made available for non-financial transactions – Balance enquiry and mini-statements – for the Bank’s customers.

About APB : 

• Established : 2017
• Headquarters : Gurugram, Haryana
• MD & CEO : Anubrata Biswas
• It is a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel.
• In 2022, the bank was granted the scheduled bank status by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under the second schedule of the RBI Act, 1934.

About NPCI : 

• Founded : 2008
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• MD & CEO : Dilip Asbe

Pakistan becomes largest recipient of ADB funded programmes in 2022

• According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Annual Report 2022, Pakistan became the largest recipient of the ADB-funded programmes/projects, receiving loans of USD 5.58 billion out of total loans of USD 31.8 billion to 40 countries.

• Pakistan is facing a deep economic crisis and it received concessional funding of USD 2.67 billion from the bank.

Key Highlights : 

• The report highlighted the region’s vulnerability to climate change as Pakistan was also hit by devastating floods that killed more than 1,700 people, directly affected 33 million people, caused damages in billions of dollars, and worsened an already fragile economic situation.
• ADB committed $3.7 billion from the programme in 2022, including essential food assistance for those in need, including women and girls, in Afghanistan (using UN systems), Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
• Afghanistan and Pakistan were severely impacted by rising food and energy prices.
• Drought and flash floods have increased food insecurity in Afghanistan.
• As per the report, ADB responded timely to emerging and ongoing crises in the Asia and Pacific region.
• Pakistan was one of the founding members of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 1966.

About ADB : 

• Established : 19 December 1966
• Headquarters :  Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines
• President : Masatsugu Asakawa
• Membership : 68 countries

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

National Health Accounts Estimates for India (2019-20)

• The National Health Account Estimates 2019-20 have been released recently.
• There has been a consistent increase in government spending.
• The government spent 1.35% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (total value of the final goods and services in a year indicative of a country’s economy) on healthcare during the year, bouncing back from a slight drop seen in 2018-19 as per the report.
• Money spent by people from their own pocket on healthcare has been going down.
• The share of Out-of-Pocket Expenditure (OOPE) in total Health Expenditure (THE) declined from 62.6% to 47.1%.
• In per capita terms, GHE (Government Health Expenditure) has doubled from Rs. 1,108 to Rs. 2,014 between 2014-15 to 2019-20.
• A major chunk of the government’s health spend was in the primary sector.
• Out of the total spending by the government on healthcare in FY 2020, 55.9% went to primary care, 29.6% went to secondary care, and 6.4% went to tertiary care.
• The National Health Account (NHA) estimates for India 2019-20 is the seventh consecutive NHA estimates report prepared by NHSRC, designated as National Health Accounts Technical Secretariat (NHATS) in 2014 by the Union Health Ministry.
• The NHA estimates are prepared by using an accounting framework based on the internationally accepted standard of System of Health Accounts, 2011, developed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

PM Conducting 100th Episode Of ‘Mann ki Baat’, While Centre Depriving Bengal Of MGNREGA Funds

• PM Narendra Modi remarked on the 100th episode of “Mann Ki Baat” that the broadcast filled the “emptiness” he felt after coming to Delhi in 2014, and that he connected with crores of Indians and never cut-off from people.
• Mann Ki Baat was started on 3 October 2014.
• The program has become a major pillar of the government’s citizen-outreach programme, addressing multiple social groups such as women, youth and farmers.
• Apart from 22 Indian languages and 29 dialects, Mann Ki Baat is broadcast in 11 foreign languages including French, Chinese, Indonesian, Tibetan, Burmese, Balochi, Arabic, Pashtu, Farsi, Dari and Swahili.
• Mann Ki Baat was broadcast by more than 500 broadcasting stations of All India Radio.
• IIM Rohtak found in a survey that 100 crore people have heard Mann Ki Baat and claimed that 23 crore people regularly listen to Mann Ki Baat.

The GS NIRNAY app was launched by the Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj

• The GS NIRNAY app was recently launched by the Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj during the National Panchayat Awards Week.
• It stands for Gram Sabha National Initiative for Rural India to Navigate, InnovAte and Resolve PanchaYat
• The recordings made through this app will provide a means of verification of facts in case of queries that may arise regarding the resolutions undertaken during the Gram Sabha.
• It will also serve as a valuable repository of information for future reference.
• National Panchayat Awards Week Theme: Panchayaton ke Sankalpon ki Siddhi ka Utsav.

Union Jal Shakti Minister Reviews Progress Of Namami Gange Programme

• Jal Shakti Ministry launched PRAYAG, a real-time monitoring centre for planning and monitoring of projects, river water quality, etc., during the 11th meeting of the Empowered Task Force of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)
• PRAYAG (Platform for Real-time Analysis of Yamuna, Ganga and their Tributaries) monitors various projects through various online dashboards such as Ganga Tarang Portal, Ganga Districts Performance Monitoring System, etc.
• It is a Real-Time Monitoring Centre for planning and mo nitoring projects, river water quality, etc.
• Monitoring will be done through various online dashboards such as Ganga Tarang Portal, Jajmau Plant through Online Drone Data, PMT Tool Dashboard, Ganga Districts Performance Monitoring System, etc.
• The Union Minister also released the comic series ‘Chacha Chaudhary ke Sath, Ganga ki Baat’.
• The Minister on 5th January 2023 had launched the National Framework on Safe Reuse of Treated Water prepared by NMCG.
• The framework acts as a guiding document for framing state policies on reuse of treated water.
• The Ministry of Culture informed that an action plan to hold ‘Ganga Sanskriti Yatra’ has been formulated.
• The Yatra will pass through the States of Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar and West Bengal.
• The proposed Yatra will start from Gangotri in Uttarakhand and terminate at Ganga Sagar in West Bengal, showcasing the cultural heritage of Ganga at more than 100 different venues from Gangotri to Ganga Sagar.

Indian fact-checking network focuses on fake news on ruling party, government

• Misinformation Combat Alliance (MCA) has approached the government to act as a self-regulating body to flag fake news online in line with the IT Rules, 2021.
• This would be in line with an anti-fake news provision in the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 that has prompted fears of censorship in the news media industry and civil society.
• MCA is a network of 14 digital publishers.
• It is a cross-industry collaborative effort set up with the objective of combatting and limiting the spread of misinformation through targeted interventions and activities.
• The MCA’s membership includes publications such as Boom Live, Factly, The Logical Indian, Vishwas News, and The Quint.
• Membership in the MCA is open to any organization that applies.
• The MCA’s members do not include all major fact-checking sites in India.

Fact Check Unit: Govt to pick members; nodal officers from ministries

• The Fact Check Unit as proposed in the Information Technology Rules, 2021, is likely to have four members — a representative from the IT Ministry and one from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, a “media expert” and a “legal expert”.
• The unit will be supported by designated nodal officers from other ministries.
• The government is close to finalising the contours of the Fact Check Unit and its interplay with social media sites like Meta, YouTube and Twitter.
• The unit will uphold the highest levels of professional and ethical standards to ensure trustworthiness and neutrality in the identification of potentially misleading or fake content.
• Last week, MeitY notified amendments to the Information Technology Rules, 2021, creating a regulatory regime that will allow a fact check body it appoints to label content related to the government on online platforms as “fake” or “misleading”.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : STATE NEWS

India’s 1st BioSafety Level-3 Mobile Laboratory RAMBAAN Displayed At G20 Health Working Group Meeting in Goa

• India’s & Asia’s first mobile biosafety level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory was displayed at the second Group of 20 (G20) Health Working Group Meeting which began in Goa. 
• The lab, which has been named RAMBAAN (Rapid Action Mobile BSL3+ Advanced Augmented Network), is a mobile clinic, country’s first state-of-the-art health infrastructure for pandemic preparedness.

Key Highlights : 

• The made-in-India mobile clinic RAMBAAN can be used to reach remote regions to carry out testing.
• The GPS-enabled technology allows the bus to transfer the test report instantly.
• G20 countries can collaborate with common concerns.
• This bus can be a boon in tackling health situations.
• All chemical waste is treated so there’s no chance of any infection.
• The lab is equipped with a -20 degree and a -80 degree refrigerator, bio-safety cabinets, an automatic ribonucleic acid (RNA) extractor, and a real-time PCR machine.
• India has 2 operational mobile laboratories, one at RMRC, Gorakhpur, catering to the northeastern part of the country.
• The southern and western areas have access to the laboratory at National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.

About Goa : 

• Governor : P. S. Sreedharan Pillai
• Chief Minister : Pramod Sawant
• Capital : Panaji
• Wildlife Sanctuary : Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary, Molem Wildlife Sanctuary

Gujarat Kicks-off design for Hydrogen Valley Project

• India’s Clean Hydrogen Mission Gets a Boost with Hydrogen Valley Project in Gujarat.

Aim : 

• To develop a localised hydrogen value chain where it can serve more than one end-sector or application in mobility, industry, and energy.
• The meeting was jointly organised by iCreate in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, and the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.
• Sunil Parekh, a Board Member of the FICCI National Executive Council, served as one of the co-chairs for the event.

Key Highlights : 

• The Hydrogen Valley Innovation Cluster in Gujarat will be a part of India’s efforts to develop clean Hydrogen Valleys by 2030.
• Gujarat Hydrogen Valley Consortium, which will be integral to meeting India’s commitment to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% by 2030.
• iCreate to facilitate identification and incubation of Technology & Innovations of the Gujarat Hydrogen Valley Consortium.

About iCreate :

• CEO : Avinash Punekar
• iCreate (International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Technology) is an autonomous centre of excellence of the Government of Gujarat and is India’s leading institution for transforming tech-based innovations into successful businesses.

About Gujarat :

• Governor: Acharya Devvrat
• Chief minister: Bhupendrabhai Patel
• Capital: Gandhinagar
• National Park : Vansda National Park, Gir National Park, Marine National Park, Velavadar National Park
• Wildlife Sanctuaries : Jambughoda Wildlife Sanctuary, Barda Wildlife Sanctuary, Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary

First flight on non-UDAN route Launched by Assam 

• The first flight on a non-UDAN route under viability gap funding provision by the Assam government was launched with starting service on the Guwahati-Dibrugarh-Guwahati sector.
• It is the first route on which flight service has been launched by Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) in the non-UDAN routes, with the Assam government providing viability gap funding.
• The inaugural flight was flagged off by Assam Tourism Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah from Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport.
• It will leave Guwahati in the morning and return from the eastern town of Dibrugarh on a daily basis.
• The ticket price for flights under the scheme has been capped at ₹4,500 per ticket and the state government will pay the viability gap.

About Assam :

• Governor : Gulab Chand Kataria
• Chief Minister : Himanta Biswa Sarma
• Capital : Dispur
• National Park : Kaziranga National Park, Nameri National Park, Manas National Park
• Wildlife Sanctuary : Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary, Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING AND INDEX

Nearly 25% jobs are expected to change in the next 5 years, 22% in India: WEF

• The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released the Future of Jobs Report 2023.
• In the report presents data related to jobs in the next five years worldwide.
• As per the report, around a quarter of jobs known will get wiped out by 2027.
• It shows that 69 million jobs will be created by 2027 while 83 million will be eliminated. 14 million jobs will get lost during this period.
• This report is based on a survey conducted across 45 countries on 803 companies.
• 673 existing jobs in the companies have been considered for the study.
• The report suggests that the fastest-growing jobs will be available for AI and machine learning specialists, sustainability specialists, business intelligence analysts and information security specialists.
• The job growth will be witnessed in the field of education, agriculture and digital commerce.
• Big data specialists, AI machine learning specialists and cybersecurity professionals are expected to grow on average by 30% by 2027.
• Bank tellers, cashiers and data entry clerks jobs are expected to decline the fastest.
• As per the report, green transition, ESG standards and localisation of supply chains will be the leading drivers of job growth.
• It recommends that Governments and businesses should invest in the shift of jobs through education and reskilling.
• Before 2027, around Six in 10 workers will require training but currently only half of employees have access to adequate training opportunities.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

FIEO, Business Russia Ink MoU to Promote Trade, Investments

• Apex exporters body FIEO has signed an MoU with Business Russia to promote trade and investments between the two countries.
• It said the two organizations will cooperate to arrange exhibitions, buyers-sellers’ meetings, workshops, seminars and encourage enterprises to work in tandem with their counterparts for joint ventures.
• The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was inked during a visit of a 50-member delegation of the agro and food processing sector to Moscow.
• N K Kagliwal is leading the business delegation.
• Federation of Indian Export Organisations is the apex trade promotion organisation in India set up by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, and the private trade and industry segment in 1965.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

BARC Director A K Mohanty appointed as new Atomic Energy Commission chairman & Secretary of Dept of Atomic Energy                           

• Renowned physicist and Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Ajit Kumar Mohanty has been appointed as the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and the secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy.
• Mohanty succeeds K N Vyas to the posts that oversee India’s nuclear programme and forays into harnessing atomic power for civilian needs.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Mohanty till the age of 66 years i.e. up to 10.10.2025 or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
• Mohanty was appointed as BARC director in March 2019.

About Atomic Energy Commission of India : 

• Founded : 3 August 1948
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra
• The Atomic Energy Commission of India is the governing body of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India (GoI).

About Department of Atomic Energy : 

• Founded : 3 August 1954
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra

CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS

Indian Navy & DRDO conducted a successful maiden test trial of indigenous Air Droppable Container ‘ADC-150’ from IL-38SD aircraft off Goa coast

• The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Navy (IN) conducted the successful maiden test trial of ‘ADC-150’ from IL 38SD aircraft off the coast of Goa.
• The trial was conducted to enhance the naval operational logistics capabilities by providing quick response to meet the requirement of critical engineering stores to ships (under distress), which are deployed more than 2,000 kms from the coast.
• It reduces the requirement of ships to come close to the coast to collect spares and stores.

About ADC-150 : 

• ADC-150 is an indigenously designed and developed Air Droppable Container with 150 kg payload capacity.
• 3 DRDO laboratories – Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam; Aerial Delivery Research & Development Establishment (ADRDE), Agra and Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru – have been involved in the development of ADC-150 container.
• The flight clearance certification was given by Regional Center for Military Airworthiness (RCMA), Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh (UP) headed by Centre for Military Airworthiness & Certification (CEMILAC), Bengaluru, Karnataka.

About Indian Navy :

• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi
• Chief of the Naval Staff : Admiral R Hari Kumar

About DRDO :

• Established : 1958
• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Chairman : Dr Sameer V Kamath

Maiden ASEAN-India Maritime exercise (AIME-2023) begins in Singapore

• India sent two frontline warships to take part in the first-ever ASEAN-India maritime exercise (AIME-2023).
• The maiden exercise will be conducted off the coast of Singapore and will feature harbour and at-sea events off the coast of Singapore.
• The week-long drills (May 2-8, 2023) aimed at “enhancing interoperability and exchange of best practices among participating navies” is expected to be inaugurated by Indian Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar.
• From May 2-4 the Harbour Phase of the exercise will be conducted at Changi Naval Base and followed by the Sea Phase to be conducted from May 7-8, in the South China Sea.

About AIME-2023 : 

• AIME-2023 is the first time India has been involved in exercises with the ASEAN though there have been exercises with ASEAN nations separately.
• 2 major Indian Navy warships the INS Delhi, an indigenously built destroyer, and INS Satpura, a Shivalik-class, recently built modern stealth frigate– are part of the exercise.
• With AIME-2023, India becomes the 4th ASEAN dialogue partner, after Russia, China and the US, to hold the ASEAN+1 maritime exercise.

About ASEAN : 

• Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional intergovernmental organization comprising 10 Southeast Asian countries.
• It was established in 1967 with the signing of the Bangkok declaration.
• Members: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam.
• The first summit meeting of the ASEAN union was hosted in 1976 on Indonesia’s most prominent island Bali.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

DRDO conducts Design Validation Trial of Vertical Shaft based Underground Ammunition Storage Structure

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted a trial of design validation of a state-of-the-art underground ammunition storage facility.
• The Centre for Fire, Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES), a Delhi-based laboratory of the DRDO, has designed and developed the vertical shaft-based underground storage facility.
• The instrumented blast trial was carried out in presence of the armed forces by detonating 5,000 kg of Trinitrotoluene (TNT) in one of the chambers of the underground facility.
• Based on the results of the instrumented trials, the safety distance has been established up to 120 Metric Ton (40 Metric Ton Net Explosive Content) ammunition storage per chamber.
• The unique design developed has an additional advantage of reducing Safety Distances and Cost by 50% as compared to current designs.

IIT Madras researchers develop tool to detect tumour in brain & spinal cord                                           

• Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) researchers have developed a Machine Learning-based computational tool Named ‘GBMDriver’

(GlioBlastoma Mutiforme Drivers) for better detection of cancer-causing tumours in the brain and spinal cord.

• Prof. M. Michael Gromiha of the IIT Madras Department of Biotechnology functioned as the project’s lead researcher.

Key Highlights : 

• The GBMDriver, a freely accessible web server, was developed primarily to identify driver mutations and passenger mutations (neutral mutations) in Glioblastoma, a rapidly and aggressively proliferating tumour in the brain and spinal cord, as well as other types of Cancer.
• Although there has been research undertaken to understand this tumour, therapeutic options remain limited with an expected survival rate of less than two years from the initial diagnosis.
• The GBMDriver was developed specifically to identify driver mutations and passenger mutations in Glioblastoma.

About IIT Madras : 

• Established : 1959
• Headquarters : Chennai, Tamil Nadu
• Director : Pawan Kumar Goenka

Uneecops Technologies to set up India’s first green hydrogen microgrid project in Leh Region   

• Delhi-based green hydrogen and solar developer, Uneecops Technologies Ltd, has announced that it will set up the First Green Hydrogen Microgrid Project in Leh Region for one of India’s major hydro-power companies.
• The company will help in the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) for setting up a green hydrogen-based fuel cell microgrid 25kWe for the guest house at Power Station, Alchi, Leh.
• The microgrid project aims to demonstrate the viability of green hydrogen-based fuel cells as a reliable source of energy for remote and off-grid locations, making it a sustainable and cost-effective solution.
• The electricity generation will be 200 units per day from the fuel cell (14 KG of hydrogen per day).
• This groundbreaking initiative is a major leap forward in sustainable energy and will be developed at a very high altitude of 3200 feet, making it the world’s first project of its kind.
• Uneecops Technologies will provide 3 years of Operations & Maintenance service, ensuring smooth and uninterrupted operation of the microgrid.
• The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2023 and will provide a reliable source of power to the major hydro-power company’s guest house at Power Station, Alchi, Leh, for many years to come.

About Uneecops Technologies : 

• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi
• Chairman : Piyush Jain

CoRover & LIC launches first phase of LIC Mitra’s AI virtual assistant                              

• CoRover, a Bengaluru-based startup, has collaborated with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to launch the conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot LIC Mitra and take the country’s largest insurance company’s digital transformation to another level.

Features of LIC Mitra : 

• CoRover.ai has developed LIC Mitra, which is available on LIC’s website and mobile app.
• It is powered by technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning(ML), and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to understand and respond to users’ queries in multiple languages.
• The technology allows users to interact with LIC Mitra even with voice.
• With LIC Mitra, users can now know about LIC products, past premiums paid, upcoming premiums, policy maturity date, and much more in addition to answers to insurance-related general queries.
• In addition to LIC, CoRover is offering chatbot solutions to dozens of clients including Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), Max Life Insurance, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), Fastag, Mahindra Group, Digital India, RuPay, and many more, and has over 1 billion users. 

About CoRover : 

• Founder and CEO :  Ankush Sabharwal
• CoRover is the world’s first and the highest ROI-delivering human-centric conversational AI platform which is secure, scalable and reliable, equipped with patent-pending tech.

Log9 Materials launches India’s first commercial Lithium-ion cell manufacturing line                                      

• Bengaluru (Karnataka)-based Log9 Materials, an advanced battery-technology and deep-technology startup, inaugurated India’s first commercial lithium-Ion (Li-ion) cell manufacturing facility on its campus in Jakkur, Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• The facility will produce batteries for electric vehicles.

Key Highlights : 

• Log9’s commercial Li-ion cell manufacturing line has an initial capacity of 50 Megawatt hours (MWh). 
• Log9’s commercial Li-ion cell manufacturing line has an initial capacity of 50 MWh and the facility will cater to lithium-titanium-oxide (LTO) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cell manufacturing.
• On the five-year cell production roadmap, Log9’s LTO TiB cells will contribute to a carbon emission reduction of 90T per vehicle with a total CO2 reduction of 147 kT every year.
• The startup also launched its indigenously developed battery management system-Charvik, incorporated with state-of-the-art power control mechanisms and its academic engagement programme named Log9 Rise to support talent pool creation in battery technologies in the country.

About Log9 Materials : 

• Founded : 2015
• Headquarters : Bangalore, Karnataka, India
• Co-founder & CEO : Dr Akshay Singhal

Log9 Materials is an Indian nanotechnology company

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

Ding Liren becomes China’s first male world chess champion

• Grandmaster Ding Liren of China is the new world champion after beating Russian grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final rapid tiebreak game of FIDE World Championship 2023.
• Ding won the rapid chess playoff by 2.5 points to 1.5, capitalizing on Nepomniachtchi’s mistakes in time trouble in thefinal rapid clash, following a 7-7 tie after 14 thrilling classical games.
• Now China holds both the men’s and women’s world titles as Ju Wenjun, the current women’s champion, is set to defend her title against compatriot Lei Tingjie in July.
• Grandmaster Ding takes the crown from five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen who defeated Nepomniachtchi in 2021 but announced in July he would not defend the title again this year.
• Carlsen had held the World Chess Championship title since 2013 and will remain the world’s top-rated player.
• Ding ranks third in the FIDE rating list behind Nepomniachtchi.

About FIDE:

• The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE, is an international organization based in Lausanne, Switzerland.
• President: Arkady Dvorkovich.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHOR

PM Modi launches ‘Saurashtra-Tamil Sangamprashastih’ book

• Saurashtra-Tamil Sangamprashastih’ book has been launched by PM Modi.
• PM released the book during the closing ceremony of Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam.
• Shri Somnath Sanskrit University, Veraval has composed the book.
• The book marks the relationship between Saurashtra and Tamil Nadu.
• The Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam takes forward this vision by celebrating the shared culture and heritage between Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.
• It is based on the historical event of the auspicious confluence of the two holy places of Rameshwaram and Somnath.
• The Saurashtra Tamil Sangam was organised from April 17 to 26 in Somnath.

Amitabh Kant has written a new book titled “Made in India: 75 Years of Business and Enterprise

• Amitabh Kant, a retired member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), has written a new book titled “Made In India: 75 Years of Business and Enterprise” published by the Rupa Publications India.
• Amitabh served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) from 2016 to 2022.
• Amitabh Kant, our G-20 Sherpa, has had an illustrious career as an excellent civil servant, constantly arguing for positive changes, some liberal as well.
• His latest book, under review, Made in India – 75 Years of Business and Enterprise, begins with an interesting narrative of how India, once a leader in the global economy, later lost this role and from a position of net exporter became a net importer.
• Mr Amitabh Kant is presently G20 Sherpa of India during its Presidency year.
• He was CEO, NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India), the Govt of Indias premier policy Think Tank & prior to that Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : OBITUARIES

Noted historian Ranajit Guha passed away

• The Noted Indian historian Ranajit Guha has passed away due to old age-related ailments at the age of 100.

About Ranajit Guha : 

• Guha was born on May 23, 1923 at Barisal in present-day Bangladesh.
• Guha was the oldest living historian in the country.
• He had immense interest in the intellectual history and literature of Bengal.
• He retired from the Australian National University in 1988 after being previously associated with other renowned institutions.
• One of his well-known books is ‘Elementary Aspects of Peasant Insurgency in Colonial India’.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

Coal Miners Day 2023 – May 4

• Every year Coal Miners Day is celebrated on May 4.
• This day is celebrated for the miners who are working in the field.
• Coal Mining was begun in India in 1774.
• Coal Miners became easily significant during the period of the industrial revolution between 1760 and 1840.
• In that period, coal was significantly used in many purposes like heat the building.
• In the 19th Century, Coal was highly used in both government and the management.
• The highly coal rich producing countries are Odisha, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, West Bengal, and some central parts of the country.
• The first Coal mining began in Raniganj Coalfields which is located in the banks of Damodar River

Daily CA One- Liner: May 4^th

• The 4 public sector general insurance companies – New India Assurance, United India Insurance, Oriental Insurance, and National Insurance Company have lost 800 basis points (bps) in market share in last 5 years to their private counterparts, the data from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI)
• United States (US) regulators stated that First Republic Bank has been seized and a deal agreed to sell the bank to JPMorgan Chase & Co, in what is the third major U.S. institution to fail in 2 months.
• Airtel Payments Bank (APB) has collaborated with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to roll out Face Authentication for AePS (Aadhaar-enabled Payment System) at its 500,000 banking points.
• According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Annual Report 2022, Pakistan became the largest recipient of the ADB-funded programmes/projects, receiving loans of USD 5.58 billion out of total loans of USD 31.8 billion to 40 countries.
• The National Health Account Estimates 2019-20 have been released recently
• PM Narendra Modi remarked on the 100th episode of “Mann Ki Baat” that the broadcast filled the “emptiness” he felt after coming to Delhi in 2014, and that he connected with crores of Indians and never cut-off from people
• The GS NIRNAY app was recently launched by the Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj during the National Panchayat Awards Week
• Jal Shakti Ministry launched PRAYAG, a real-time monitoring centre for planning and monitoring of projects, river water quality, etc., during the 11th meeting of the Empowered Task Force of the National Mission for Clean Ganga
• Misinformation Combat Alliance (MCA) has approached the government to act as a self-regulating body to flag fake news online in line with the IT Rules, 2021.
• The Fact Check Unit as proposed in the Information Technology Rules, 2021, is likely to have four members — a representative from the IT Ministry and one from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, a “media expert” and a “legal expert”.
• The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released the Future of Jobs Report 2023.
• Apex exporters body FIEO has signed an MoU with Business Russia to promote trade and investments between the two countries
• Grandmaster Ding Liren of China is the new world champion after beating Russian grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final rapid tiebreak game of FIDE World Championship 2023
• Saurashtra-Tamil Sangamprashastih’ book has been launched by PM Modi
• Amitabh Kant, a retired member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), has written a new book titled “Made In India: 75 Years of Business and Enterprise” published by the Rupa Publications India
• India’s & Asia’s first mobile biosafety level-3 (BSL-3) laboratory was displayed at the second Group of 20 (G20) Health Working Group Meeting which began in
• Indias Clean Hydrogen Mission Gets a Boost with Hydrogen Valley Project in
• The first flight on a non-UDAN route under viability gap funding provision by the Assam government was launched with starting service on the Guwahati-Dibrugarh-Guwahati sector.
• Renowned physicist and Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Ajit Kumar Mohanty has been appointed as the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and the secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy.
• The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Navy (IN) conducted the successful maiden test trial of ‘ADC-150’ from IL 38SD aircraft off the coast of Goa.
• India sent two frontline warships to take part in the first-ever ASEAN-India maritime exercise (AIME-2023).
• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully conducted a trial of design validation of a state-of-the-art underground ammunition storage facility.
• Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) researchers have developed a Machine Learning-based computational tool Named ‘GBMDriver’ (GlioBlastoma Mutiforme Drivers) for better detection of cancer-causing tumours in the brain and spinal cord.
• Delhi-based green hydrogen and solar developer, Uneecops Technologies Ltd, has announced that it will set up the First Green Hydrogen Microgrid Project in Leh Region for one of India’s major hydro-power companies.
• CoRover, a Bengaluru-based startup, has collaborated with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to launch the conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered chatbot LIC Mitra and take the country’s largest insurance company’s digital transformation to another level.
• Bengaluru (Karnataka)-based Log9 Materials, an advanced battery-technology and deep-technology startup, inaugurated India’s first commercial lithium-Ion (Li-ion) cell manufacturing facility on its campus in Jakkur, Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• The Noted Indian historian Ranajit Guha has passed away due to old age-related ailments at the age of 100.
• Every year Coal Miners Day is celebrated on May 4