NATIONAL NEWS

IBM Partners with AWS

• IBM has signed a first-of-its-kind agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to offer a broad array of its software catalog as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) on AWS.

• As part of the Strategic Collaboration Agreement (SCA), IBM and AWS will provide clients with quick and easy access to IBM Software.

• It extends automation, data and AI, security and sustainability capabilities, that is built on Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA).
• More than 30 Software products that currently can be deployed manually in AWS Marketplace.

Madhya Pradesh Startup Policy

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Madhya Pradesh Startup Policy virtually.

• Mr. Modi will address the startup community during the Madhya Pradesh Startup Conclave being held in Indore.

• Prime Minister will also launch the Madhya Pradesh Startup portal, which will facilitate and help promote the startup ecosystem.
• Madhya Pradesh Startup Conclave will witness participation of various pillars of the startup ecosystem including policymakers from government and private sector, innovators, entrepreneurs, academicians, investors, mentors and other stakeholders.

Gartex Texprocess India

• Union Minister of State for Textiles & Railways, Darshana Jardosh inaugurated ‘Gartex Texprocess India’ and marked the launch of India’s leading textile and garment manufacturing trade fair in Mumbai.
• Textile sector contributes 10% of the manufacturing production, 2% of the India’s GDP and 15% of the country’s export earnings.
• PLI Scheme for Man Made Fabric (MMF) segment and Technical Textiles is at an outlay of Rs. 10,683 Crore.
• The platform aims to reunite the Indian textile industry for exchange of technologies and solutions to reduce India’s import dependency of textile machinery.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

South Korea Becomes First Asian Member of NATO

• According to the National Intelligence Service (NIS), South Korea is the first Asian country to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) cyber defense group.

• NATO’s Cooperative Cyber ​​Defense Research Center (CCDCOE) has been assisting member countries in cyber research, training and use.

• The NATO grouping was started in 2008 by the member states led by Estonia.
• The number of member countries of the CCDCOE are 32. Of these, 27 are member states of NATO and the remaining 5 are non-NATO member states.

BANKING

BIAL Partners with Kotak Mahindra Bank

• Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) has partnered with Kotak Mahindra Bank and digital payment firm Phi Commerce.

• It is to facilitate a one-stop omnichannel payment solution at Kempegowda International Airport.

• The solution will enable a secure, scalable, and unified payment experience.
• The new payment experience will bring all online, in-store and cash transactions taking place across the airport ecosystem into one single platform.
• Kotak, in partnership with Phi Commerce, will provide all the enterprises running their businesses with the point of sale (PoS) terminals and payment gateways for quick and smooth processing of payments from customers.

SpiceJet and Axis Bank

• SpiceJet airline and Axis Bank have partnered to launch the co-branded credit card.
• It is powered by Visa, that will offer benefits to customers.
• The card comes in two variants – SpiceJet Axis Bank Voyage and Voyage Black and is aimed at facilitating travel experience for flyers through SpiceClub, the first frequent flyer program.
• The products are designed to enable customers use the rewards earned on their daily spends for booking flights.
• SpiceJet Axis Bank Voyage & Voyage Black credit cards were officially launched at Delhi IGI airport.

Worldline India Partners with Bank of India

• Payment services firm Worldline has partnered with Bank of India to digitise e-challan collections for Madhya Pradesh Police Department.
• A Memorandum of Association (MoU) was signed between BOI and MP Police Department, Govt. of India to integrate Point of Sale (POS) terminals with e-challan portal of police department.
• Three zones namely Jabalpur, Rewa and Shahdol covering 12 districts in Madhya Pradesh will be covered in this initiative.
• E-challan is an electronically generated challan and is handled through the Electronic Challan system.

SPORTS

Cyprus International Athletics Meeting 2022

• In Cyprus International Athletics Meeting 2022, India's Jyothi Yarraji broke the national record to secure a gold medal in the women's 100m hurdles in Limassol.
• 22-year-old Jyothi clocked 13.23 seconds for the top step of the podium. With this, Jyothi also got the Asian Games 2022 qualifying standards of 13.30 seconds.
• Another Indian athlete Lili Das won gold in the women's 1500-meter race.
• While in the men's 200m, India's Amlan Borgohain won bronze medal.

AWARDS & PRIZES

Bangla Academy Award

• Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee received the Bangla Academy Award for her "relentless literary pursuit".

• The award was introduced this year by Sahitya Academy.

• It was presented to Banerjee for her book "Kabita Bitan", which pays tribute to the best writers of West Bengal.
• The book contains 946 poems written by the TMC supremo.
• Banerjee was given the award at the "Ravi Pranam" function organised by the government's information and culture department on the occassion of Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary.

Templeton Prize 2022

• Frank Wilczek, the Nobel-winning theoretical physicist whose research transformed humanity's understanding of the fundamental forces of nature, emerged as the winner of the 2022 Templeton Prize.

• Templeton award is the world’s largest individual lifetime achievement award.

• He became the 6th Nobel Laureate to receive the Templeton Prize since its inception in 1972.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Chief Election Commissioner of India

• Rajiv Kumar was appointed the next chief election commissioner (CEC) of India.

• Rajiv Kumar will replace current Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra.

• According to government notification released by Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, Kumar will take charge of the office on 15 May 2022.
• He has been an Election Commissioner of the ECI since 01 September 2020.
• The appointment is done by President Ram Nath Kovind.

First Female President of Hungary

• In Hungary, Katalin Novak has taken over as the first female President of the country.

• Her predecessor, Janos Ader, greeted the new president at the entrance to the Sandor Palace, the residence of the Hungarian president.
• The Parliament elected Novak as President of Hungary on March 10.
• Following her election, Novak said that she wanted to be a “President of peace.”

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Plant Health

• International Day of Plant Health is observed every year on 12 May.

• It is to raise global awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect biodiversity and the environment and boost economic development.
• The day is also celebrated to raise global awareness on protecting plant health.
• The day is observed by the United Nations.

International Nurses Day

• International Nurses Day is observed every year on 12 May.

• It is the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale and is celebrated to mark the contributions that nurses make to society.
• The theme of International Nurses Day 2022 is ‘Nurses: A Voice to Lead - Invest in Nursing and respect rights to secure global health’.
• Many institutions are observing International Nurses Week from May 6 to May 12, 2022.

OBITUTARY

World’s oldest chess grandmaster Yuri Averbakh

• Russian chess grandmaster, Yuri Averbakh passed away in Mascow.

• He, who was among the world’s best players for a decade, trained world champions and was the last surviving participant in one of the greatest competitions in history.

• He won the Moscow Championship in 1949 and earned the Grandmaster title in 1952.
• In 1954, he became the champion of the USSR.
• He also chaired the Chess Federation of the USSR from 1972 to 1977.