NATIONAL NEWS

Shirui Lily Festival

• On 25 May 2022, the 4th edition of State-Level Shirui Lily Festival 2022 began on Manipur.

• This annual festival is organized by the Department of Tourism, Government of Manipur with an aim to create and raise awareness of Shirui Lily flower which is also the State Flower of Manipur.
• The four-day-long festival will be inaugurated by the Governor of Manipur La. Ganesan and Chief Minister N. Biren Singh at Shirui Village Ground in Ukhrul district.
• Every year, tourists both domestic and international attend the function.

PARAM PORUL Supercomputer

• On 25 May 2022, a state-of-the-art Supercomputer, PARAM PORUL was inaugurated at NIT Tiruchirappalli.

• It is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

• The PARAM PORUL supercomputing facility is established under Phase 2 of the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).
• PARAM PORUL system is based on Direct Contact Liquid Cooling technology.
• This includes the indigenous software stack developed by C-DAC, in line with the Make in India initiative.
• The new high-performance computational facility would also aid researchers to solve large-scale problems in different areas of Science and Engineering.
• NIT Tiruchirappalli has been carrying out research in the areas of societal interest such as Health, Agriculture, Weather, and Financial Services.

PM Modi to Visit Hyderabad and Chennai

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Hyderabad and Chennai to participate in the celebration of the completion of 20 years of Indian School of Business, Hyderabad and address the Graduation Ceremony of Post-Graduate Programme (PGP) Class of 2022.

• Mr Modi will dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stone of 11 projects worth over 31 thousand 400 crore rupees in Chennai.
• The five Railway Stations at Chennai Egmore, Rameswaram, Madurai, Katpadi and Kanyakumari, will be redeveloped at a cost of 1,800 crore rupees.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Exercise Bongosagar

• On 24 May 2022, the third edition of Indian Navy and Bangladesh Navy Bilateral exercise Bongosagar commenced at Port Mongla, Bangladesh.

• Exercise Bongosagar is aimed at developing a high degree of interoperability and joint operational skills through the conduct of a wide spectrum of maritime exercises and operations between the two navies.
• Indian Naval Ships Kora, an indigenously built Guided Missile Corvette, and Sumedha, an indigenously built Offshore Patrol Vessel are participating in the Exercise.
• Bangladesh Navy is represented by BNS Abu Ubaidah and Ali Haider, both are Guided Missile Frigates.
• The Harbour Phase of exercise is commenced first. It will be followed by a Sea Phase in the Northern Bay of Bengal.

BANKING

Co-branded Credit Cards by HDFC Bank and Retailio

• India's largest private sector bank, HDFC Bank partnered with Retailio and announced to launch a new range of co-branded credit cards primarily targeted at chemists and pharmacies in the merchant segment.
• Retailio is the country's largest B2B pharma marketplace.
• The partnership is likely to cover over 1.4 lakh merchants in the first phase of its roll-out.
• The features of the card include up to 50 days of Interest-free credit period, 5% Cashback on all Business essentials like Utility, Telecom, Government & tax payments., etc.
• Annual milestone benefits like 500 Bonus Reward Points on spending ₹25,000 per month and 1,500 Bonus Reward Points on spending ₹50,000 per month.

Xpress Credit on YONO Platform

• The State Bank of India (SBI) has announced the launch of Real Time Xpress Credit on its Yono platform which allows eligible customers to get personal loans of up to ₹35 lakh.

• It would be a 100% paperless and digital experience and an end-to-end eight step journey.

• Under Real-Time Xpress Credit, central, state government and defense salaried customers of SBI will no longer be required to visit the branch for availing a personal loan.
• Credit checks, eligibility, sanction, and documentation will now be done digitally in real-time.

UCO Bank and NBFC Paisalo Digital Ltd

• UCO Bank signed a co-lending agreement with NBFC Paisalo Digital Limited for agriculture business.

• It is aimed to capitalize Rs 8 lakh crore market of small-ticket loans for the 365 million underbanked and under-serviced population.
• The tie-up will give a boost to the agriculture advance of the bank.
• UCO Bank is a commercial bank and a Government of India Undertaking. The Bank offers wide range of services includes Personal Banking, Corporate Banking, International Banking, Rural Banking and other services.

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

World Air Power Index

• the World Air Powers Ranking of 2022 was released by World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft (WDMMA).

• The Indian Air Force (IAF) has been placed at the third position on the World Air Power Index in terms of the total fighting strength of the various air services of different nations of the world.

• The United States Air Force (USAF) ranked the top position.
• This report has placed the Indian Air Force (IAF) above the Chinese Aviation based armed forces (PLAAF), Japan Air Self-Preservation Power (JASDF), Israeli Aviation based armed forces, and French Air and Space Power.
• Currently, WDMMA is following 98 nations, covering 124 air administrations and following 47,840 aeroplanes.

AWARDS & PRIZES

Sangita Kalanidhi Award

• The Music Academy announced Sangita Kalanidhi award for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022.

• It is awarded to one person who has contributed to the field of Carnatic music.
• Noted vocalist Neyveli R. Santhanagopalan received the award for the year 2020.
• Mridhangam maestro Tiruvarur Baktavatsalam received the award for the year 2021.
• Violinists Lalgudi GJR Krishnan and GJR Vijayalakshmi received the award for the year 2022.
• Chief Minister M K Stalin will present the awards while inaugurating the 96^th Annual Conference and Concerts on December 15, 2022.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

CEO of JSW One Platforms

• JSW Group appointed Gaurav Sachdeva as CEO of its e-commerce venture JSW One Platforms.
• Sachdeva will be responsible for creating a robust transparent platform that will ease buying and selling of steel and other products for manufacturing and construction MSMEs in the country.
• Prior to setting up JSW Ventures in 2015, Sachdeva worked in leading institutions like Citibank, Bank of America and Infosys.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Thyroid Awareness Day

• World Thyroid Awareness Day is observed every year on 25 May.
• The day is aimed to raise awareness about the disease, its study and treatment.
• Thyroid Awareness Week is observed between May 22 and May 28 by Thyroid Federation International and has announced theme for the week ‘It’s not you. It’s your thyroid’.
• The European Thyroid Association (ETA) coined this day in collaboration with the American Thyroid Association (ATA) and the Latin American Thyroid Society in September 2007.

International Missing Children’s Day

• International Missing Children’s Day is observed every year on 25 May.

• It is celebrated to create awareness about child abduction and educate the general public on the measures to protect and safeguard their children.
• The day was observed in 1983, by U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
• In 2001, 25 May was formally recognized first as International Missing Children’s Day (IMCD).

OBITUTARY

Veteran Communist Leader Shivaji Patnaik

• Noted Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and former Parliamentarian Shivaji Patnaik passed away. He was at the age 93.
• Shivaji Patnaik was elected to the Lok Sabha from Bhubaneswar in 1977, 1989 and 1991.
• He was born on August 10, 1930, the veteran leader had joined the State student’s movement at the age of 17 when he was studying in Ravenshaw College.
• He was also elected to the Central Committee of the party.