Deposits of 15 Rare Minerals Found in Andhra Pradesh
The Hyderabad-based National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) found large deposits of 15 rare earth elements (REE) in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. REE of the lanthanide series is a critical component used in many everyday electronic products like cellphones, televisions, computers and cars, as well as in a variety of industrial applications.
NGRI scientists conducted a survey looking for non-traditional rocks like syenites and successfully identified the host minerals. The major REE identified included ceriate, allanite, thorite, tantalite, columbite, apatite, monazite, zircon, pyrochlore, euxenite, and fluorite.
Earlier this year (2023), the Geological Survey of India (GSI) had found an estimated 5.9-million tonne lithium reserve in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir for the first time in the country. Lithium is an essential mineral for the production of solar panels and electric vehicles.
World's Deepest-ever Fish Caught On Camera Off the Coast of Japan
Scientists filmed a fish swimming at an extraordinary depth in the ocean, making it the deepest observation of this nature that has ever been made.
The species - a type of snailfish of the genus Pseudoliparis - was filmed swimming at 8,336 m (27,349 ft).
It was filmed by an autonomous "lander" dropped into the Izu-Ogasawara Trench, south of Japan.
As per lead scientist, the snailfish could be at, or very close to, the maximum depth any fish can survive.
The previous deepest fish observation was made at 8,178 m, further south in the Pacific in the Mariana Trench. This discovery therefore beats the depth record by 158 m.
Kenichi Umeda New MD of Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt Ltd
Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt Ltd appointed Kenichi Umeda as its new Managing Director.
Umeda succeeded Satoshi Uchida, who completed his term as the Managing Director of the company.
He will be responsible for the further growing and strengthening Suzuki Motorcycle India's position in the Indian and overseas markets.
He brings with him over 27 years of valuable industry experience across various global markets.
Axis Bank Launches Business Management Solution for Merchants
Axis Bank in partnership with Visa launched an app that will empower merchants to accept payments through various digital modes and also enable them to manage their day-to-day business digitally.
The app 'Digital Dukaan' has been specifically designed to address business requirements such as accepting digital payments, inventory management and billing, among others.
Digital Dukaan will also enable merchants to set up an online store and grow their business effortlessly by creating new channels.
PhonePe Forays into E-commerce
Fintech major PhonePe forayed into e-commerce with the launch of a shopping app, Pincode, on the government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform. The app will focus on hyperlocal commerce.
The move is expected to help Walmart-owned PhonePe take on players such as Flipkart, Amazon, Reliance's JioMart and Tata-owned BigBasket in the e-commerce space which is forecasted to grow to $350 billion by 2030. Pincode is currently live only for customers in Bengaluru and will launch in other cities very soon.
Two-time Commonwealth Games champion weightlifter Sanjita Chanu was handed a four-year ban by the National Anti-Doping Agency's (NADA) disciplinary panel for failing a dope test last year (2022).
She had tested positive for an anabolic steroid, Drostanolone Metabolite, that features in the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) prohibited list. Her dope sample was collected on September 30, 2022, during the National Games in Gujarat.
Sanjita's ban commences from November 12, 2022, the date of her provisional suspension.
According to the India Justice Report (IJR) 2022, Karnataka topped the list of states and union territories in providing access to justice and three other southern states figured among the best five.
In the IJR, except for Delhi and Chandigarh, no state or union territory spends more than one per cent of its total annual expenditure on judiciary where the vacancy of judges in High Courts stands at 30 per cent.
As per the IJR, an initiative of the Tata Trusts launched in 2019, as of December 2022, the country had 19 judges for every 10 lakh people and a backlog of 4.8 crore cases. The Law Commission had suggested, as early as in 1987, that there should be 50 judges for every 10 lakh people in a decade's time.
The statistics were shared in IJR which ranked states and UTs on various parameters like vacancies in judiciary, budgetary allocations, infrastructure, human resources, legal aid, condition of prisons, functioning of police and state human rights commissions.
While Karnataka topped the chart among 18 large and mid-size states having a population of over 1 crore each, it was followed by Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
The list of seven small states, having a population of less than 1 crore each, was headed by Sikkim, followed by Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura.
AMU V-C Tariq Mansoor Resigns after Being Nominated to UP Legislative Council
A day after he was nominated to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, Tariq Mansoor resigned from the post of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) vice-chancellor.
As per a notification issued by AMU registrar Mohammad Imran, pro-vice-chancellor Mohammad Gulrez will officiate as the vice-chancellor till Mansoor's successor is appointed.
Mansoor became the V-C of AMU in 2017. He has been associated with the university for many years and was the principal and chief medical superintendent of JN Medical College, AMU, from 2013 to 2017.
Amitabh Kant to Lead Panel to Examine Stalled Real Estate Projects
The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry set up a 14-member committee headed by former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant to examine issues related to stalled real estate projects and recommend various ways for their completion.
The committee would submit its report within six months from the date of its first meeting.
The 14-member panel will deliberate on the issues of legacy stalled projects and suggest ways to complete and hand over these projects to homebuyers in a time-bound manner, the order states.
The committee comprises top central and state government officials, including the secretary in the department of financial services in the Union Ministry of Finance, the principal secretary of the housing and urban planning department of Uttar Pradesh and the chairperson of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India.
National Maritime Day is a yearly event celebrated on April 5. This year it was celebrated for the 60th time in India. The first anniversary was held in 1964 to raise awareness about international trade and the economy.
Every year, the day is commemorated to support the global economy, which is the most well-organized, safe, and environmentally responsible way of delivering commodities from one end of the globe to the other.
The first ship built by The Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd., The SS Loyalty, travelled from Mumbai to the United Kingdom on April 5, 1919, beginning the history of Indian shipping.
In 1959, India also joined the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The International Marine Organization (IMO) is in charge of maritime safety and pollution prevention.
International Day of Conscience
The International Day of Conscience is a global day of awareness celebrated on April 5, commemorating the importance of human conscience. It was established by the United Nations General Assembly on July 25, 2019, with the adoption of UN resolution 73/329. The first International Day of Conscience was celebrated on April 5, 2020.
The International Day of Conscience 2023 was celebrated on the theme 'Building a Culture of Peace'.
Meghan Markle to Receive 2023 Women of Vision Award
The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle was named for the 2023 Women of Vision award from Gloria Steinem. The award will be handed out at the Ms Foundation's annual gala on May 16 at New York City's Ziegfeld Ballroom, as part of its 50th-anniversary celebration.
Ms Foundation, a Brooklyn-based organization works to bring attention to the real challenges facing women, especially women of colour and low-income women who are living in poverty. The Foundation announced that Meghan Markle will be receiving the award for her "global advocacy to empower and advocate on behalf of women and girls.
Not just Meghan Markle, the foundation will also honour Wanda Irving, co-founder of Dr Shalon's Maternal Action Project, and Kimberly Inez McGuire, executive director of URGE, as well as emerging leaders abortion rights activist Olivia Julianna and LGBTQ+ advocate Rebekah Bruesehoff.
PM SVANidhi Scheme: Loans to Minority Street Vendors Remain Low
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs informed the Rajya Sabha that under the PM SVANidhi scheme, 42.7 lakh loans worth Rs. 5,152.37 crore were disbursed to street vendors. Shockingly, only 9.3% of these loans were granted to hawkers from minority communities, totalling 3.98 lakh loans.
To assist street vendors in overcoming the economic difficulties caused by the pandemic, the government had launched the PM SVANidhi micro-credit scheme in 2020. This initiative provides collateral-free loans of Rs. 10,000, with 7% interest subsidy, and subsequent loans of Rs. 20,000 and Rs. 50,000.
The data presented by the Ministry in response to MP John Brittas's query indicates that the share of loans granted to street vendors from minority communities has decreased year on year. In 2020-21, 2,10,457 loans were granted to minorities, while in 2021-22 and 2022-23, only 98,973 and 88,609 loans were granted, respectively, the lowest percentage being 7.76% in 2022-23.
In 2020-21, 2,10,457 loans were disbursed to minorities while it was 98,973 loans in 2021-22 and 88,609 in 2022-23.
According to the data shared by the Ministry, the state-wise disbursal of loans seemed to be aligned with its population, with Uttar Pradesh disbursing the maximum number of loans at 11,22,397, while Sikkim gave out just one loan.
Incidentally, Uttar Pradesh also gave the largest number of loans to hawkers from minority communities at 95,032.
Samsung with MeitY & IIT Delhi Launches Season 2 of 'Solve for Tomorrow' Competition
Samsung launched the second season of National Innovation Competition 'Solve for Tomorrow' in association with MeitY and IIT Delhi. The application process ends on May 31, 2023. Candidates can apply for the competition online through the official site of Samsung at samsung.com/in/solvefortomorrow.
The organisation partnered with Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology's (MeitY's) Star-tup Hub and Foundation for Innovation & Technology Transfer (FITT), IIT Delhi for the second season of its national education and innovation competition to develop innovative thinking mindset among the youth.
With Solve for Tomorrow, Samsung aims to usher in a culture of innovative thinking and problem-solving amongst the country's youth.
First in India: Jaipur School Becomes Fully Digitised by Going Bagless
Adarsh Vidya Mandir School in Rajasthan's Jaipur district became India's first digitised school where students will not need to carry textbooks and heavy bags when they go to study.
It is the first school to offer a STEM Robotics & AI Programme with the US curriculum and certifications which is the first of its kind in India.
Teaching and learning will now happen using Tablets that are provided to students and teachers. Under the digitisation of classrooms, Tablets have been provided to students and teachers under our One Tablet Per Child (OTPC) and Digital Learning Ecosystem programmes.
Supreme Court Rejects Petitions Alleging Misuse of Central Agencies by UoI
The Supreme Court denied to entertain a batch of petitions which were submitted by political parties who had alleged the central investigating agencies like Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) were being misused by the Centre for clamping down and arresting the opposition leaders and other citizens critical of the current ruling dispensation.
The petitioners argued that action against dissent and disagrement with the government is but a gross violation of the fundamental right of citizens.
A division bench comprising of Chief Justice D. Y. Chandrachud and Justice J. B. Pardiwala said that they have no interest to entertain the petition.
The bench added that it cannot issue general directions without a factual context. The bench however said that it can intervene in an individual case only.
The bench added that the political leaders have no special privileges and cannot claim a higher immunity than ordinary citizens.
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