NATIONAL NEWS

International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

• The Prime MInister, Narendra Modi on addressed the 5th International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI) 2023 virtually.

• He called upon the world for an integrated approach to deal with the impact of disasters.

• The PM pointed out that in a few years, more than 40 countries have become part of the CDRI.

• The summit is becoming an important forum for both advanced economies and developing economies, large and small countries.
• CDRI's theme for this year's conference is 'Delivering Resilient and Inclusive Infrastructure'.

Airports to Achieve 100% Use of Green Energy By 2024

• The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has given the target to most of the airports to achieve 100 percent use of Green Energy by 2024 and Net Zero by 2030.

• Currently Mumbai, Cochin and 25 other AAI Airports are using 100 per cent Green Energy.

• Cochin Airport is the first green airport in the world, fully powered by solar energy.

• The Airports Council International (ACI) has launched the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, which is a global standard for carbon management at airports.

• The programme helps airports to assess their carbon emissions, develop a carbon management plan, and reduce their carbon footprint.
• Delhi and Mumbai airports, the top two major airports in the country, have achieved the highest-Level 4+ Carbon Accreditation of ACI.

Yangli Festival Celebrated in Assam

• Tiwa tribesmen celebrate Yangli festival in Karbi Anglong district of Assam.

• It was last celebrated in 2018.

• Tiwa is one of the major tribes of Assam, which celebrates this festival once in every three years.

• Yangli is one of the important festivals of the Tiwas as it is related with agriculture which is the mainstay of their economy.

• In this festival, the Tiwas worship for a bountiful harvest during this festival and to protect their crops from pests and other natural calamities.
• Sowing of paddy starts immediately after celebrating this festival.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Golden License to Make Large-Scale Investments

• Bahrain launched the Golden License Initiative to encourage investment and job creation in the country and aims to provide streamlined services and benefits to local and foreign businesses with large-scale investment projects in Bahrain.

• Companies with important strategic projects and investments of more than US$50 million or creating more than 500 jobs in Bahrain will be eligible for the licence.

• The Golden License offers various benefits, including priority land allotment for investment, infrastructure services, utilities, and streamlined access to government services such as business licensing and building permit approval.

• The licence will also provide support from Tamkin and the Bahrain Development Bank.

BANKING

Ambit Finvest Partners with Bajaj Finserv Direct

• Ambit Finvest has partnered with SKALEUP, the digital technology services arm of Bajaj Finserv Direct, to develop a D2C (direct-to-customer) instant loan application to give business loans to MSME business owners through a completely paperless and automated digital onboarding process.

• Ambit Finvest is the NBFC of the Ambit Group and has served over 50,000 MSME business owners and disbursed more than ₹3,500 crore in loans.

• “SKALEUP’s Creditech solution is a low-code/no-code digital platform that enables data-driven decisions.

• SKALEUP is the digital technology services arm of the company, and will enable platform development for Ambit Finvest.

SPORTS

First Person to Swim from Gateway of India to Elephanta Caves

• The Krishna Prakash set another record by swimming from the Gateway of India (located on Chhatrapati Shivaji Marg in South Mumbai) to the famous Elephanta Caves (located at the Elephanta Island in Mumbai Harbour).

• He swam the opposite direction of the famed swimming route from Elephanta Caves to the Gateway of India, covering 16.20 kilometres in five hours and 26 minutes.

• The swimming campaign was part of a social awareness campaign, ‘Drowning Prevention Awareness’.

• The event was organized by the National Institute of Swimming and was recognized by the World Open Water Swimming Association.

• It was certified by the Maharashtra Swimming Association, which is affiliated to the Maharashtra Olympic Association.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

First Woman President of TiE Rajasthan

• Dr. Sheenu Jhawar has been appointed as the new President of TiE Rajasthan for a two-year term from 2023 to 2025.

• Dr. Jhawar is the first woman to hold this position in the 21-year history of TiE Rajasthan.

• He succeeds Dr. Ravi Modani, who was leading it with effect from 2021.

• She has been associated with TiE Rajasthan for many years and has contributed significantly to its growth and success.

• As chairman, Dr. Jhawar aims to continue promoting entrepreneurship and innovation in Rajasthan and support women entrepreneurs in particular.

DEFENCE

Indigenous Anti-Tank Guided Missile, Amogha-III

• Bharat Dynamics (BDL) has successfully conducted a field firing test of its latest 3rd generation man-portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM), Amogha-III.

• The Amogha-III Missile has been developed indigenously under Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).

• It is a third-generation fire-and-forget Anti-Tank Guided Missile.

• Developed by the Research and Development Division of BDL, the missile also has a dual-mode IIR seeker with a range of 200 to 2500 metres.

• The missile can be fired in lock-on-before launch (LOBL) mode and its anti-armour tandem warhead can penetrate in excess of 650 mm beyond Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA).

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

New Butterfly Species Discovered in Kerala

• Recently, a group of researchers discovered a butterfly subspecies from the fringes of Akkulam and Vembanad lakes in Kerala.

• The name of this subspecies of discovered butterfly is Caltoris bromus Sadashiv.

• It belongs to the skipper butterfly family of Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies).

• It is the first Bromus swift butterfly to be documented in the Western Ghats.

• Caltoris is an Indo-Australian genus with more than 15 species found in Southeast Asia.
• Caltoris bromus is one of them and its two other subspecies are Caltoris bromus bromus and Caltoris bromus yanuka.

Four-Member Team of Astronauts to Travel to The Moon

• For the first time in five decades, NASA announced a team of four astronauts for its human spaceflight mission to the Moon.

• The team of four astronauts will fly around the moon for a 10-day mission next year.

• NASA has announced the four astronauts who will go to lunar orbit and return with the Artemis 2 mission.

• These four Artemis 2 astronauts are - Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Jeremy Hansen and Christina Koch.
• NASA’s Reid Wiseman will be the commander of the Artemis 2 mission.
• The Artemis 1 mission will allow NASA to test the foundation of its latest human space exploration capabilities.
• This includes the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and all associated ground systems.
• Artemis 2 will be the first crewed mission to test all of these.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Mine Awareness Day

• International Mine Awareness Day is observed every year on 04 April.

• It is celebrated to raise awareness about the danger of landmines and explosive remnants of war.

• The day was first celebrated in 2006 after it was established by the United Nations General Assembly.

• The theme for 2023 International Mine Awareness Day is ‘Mine Action Can Not Wait’.

• The theme was chosen by the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) to draw attention to the urgent need to address long-standing problems caused by explosive mines in countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
• The UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) leads the mine action community and plays a key role in achieving the goals of mine action.
• The day is significant because it aims to create a world that is free of landmines and explosive remnants of war, thereby ensuring the safety of individuals and communities.