Rajnath Singh Attends Swearing-in Ceremony of President of Nigeria Bola Ahmed
Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh attended the swearing-in ceremony of President of Nigeria Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja. In addition to senior officials of Ministry of Defence, the Raksha Mantri's delegation to Nigeria included top executives of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL). These executives held a series of meetings with Nigerian military and Government representatives for identifying their requirements which can be fulfilled by the Indian Defence companies. B-to-B meetings were held with Nigerian companies for enhancing cooperation. Besides high-level political representation from countries across the African continent, including several Heads of State, India was among the select non-African nations that were represented in the 'swearing-in ceremony' at Ministerial level, reflecting the high priority and strength of our bilateral relations with Nigeria. Rajnath Singh also had a brief meeting with the Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperative of Bangladesh Md Tazul Islam who was also in Abuja to attend the swearing-in ceremony. The meeting was a testimony of the bonhomie between India and Bangladesh and the two leaders expressed the commitment of their respective Governments towards further expanding and strengthening the bilateral ties.
CAG Girish Chandra Murmu Re-elected External Auditor of WHO
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India Girish Chandra Murmu was re-elected as external auditor of the World Health Organization (WHO) for a four-year term from 2024 to 2027. He has been holding the position for a four-year term from 2019 to 2023.
At the 76th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Girish Chandra Murmu was re-elected in the first round of voting itself with 114 out of 156 votes.
This was the second major international audit assignment for the CAG this year following his selection for the post of external auditor (2024-2027) of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva in March 2023.
The CAG is also the external auditor of Food and Agriculture Organization (2020-2025), International Atomic Energy Agency (2022-2027), Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (2021-2023).
Indian Firm Gets Approval for 2nd Hydropower Project in Nepal
Investment Board Nepal, led by the Prime Minister, announced the approval of a project development agreement with SJVN Ltd for the development of a 669 MW hydropower project known as 'Lower Arun Hydro Project'.
It is expected that the development of this transformative project of 669 megawatt capacity will contribute significantly to the economic and social development of the country in the context of exporting all the energy of its production and completing the construction on time.
The decision was made during a high-level meeting attended by Nepal's PM, Minister of Finance, Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supply, Minister of Forest and Environment and others.
SJVN Ltd is a joint venture between the central government and the state of Himachal Pradesh. Its subsidiary is already executing a massive project in Nepal — 900 MW Arun-3 Hydro Electric Project — which is slated to be completed in 2024. When completed, it will be Nepal's largest hydro project.
The Indian company also has another project in Nepal — the 490 MW Arun-4 hydro electric project for which an MoU was signed last May — in the pipeline. In total, SJVN Ltd has three ongoing hydropower projects in Nepal with a combined capacity of 2,059 MW.
Tamil Nadu Signs Business Pacts with Japanese Companies
The Tamil Nadu government signed memoranda of understanding (MoU) worth Rs. 818.90 crore with Japanese firms during Chief Minister M. K. Stalin's visit to that country.
A total of six MoUs were signed in Tokyo in the fields of automotive spares, construction engineering, metals used in space and defense, and construction.
The companies in Japan that signed the MoUs included KyoKuto Satrac, Mitsuba, Shimizu Corporation, Kohyei, Sato-Shoji Metal Works, and Tofle.
Guidance Tamil Nadu, the state's nodal agency for investment promotion and single-window facilitation, signed the memoranda on behalf of the state government.
Razorpay launched 'Turbo UPI' which the fintech unicorn says is India's fastest one-step UPI (unified payments interface) payment solution. This new product allows customers of online merchants to make UPI payments directly without getting redirected to a third-party UPI app during checkout.
Razorpay Turbo UPI aims to deliver a 5X faster payment experience. It streamlines the payment process and eliminates any redirection to external apps. This helps businesses achieve a significant increase in the success rate of UPI payments by 10 per cent.
This solution was developed in partnership with NPCI and Axis Bank.
Razorpay has been powering innovations on UPI since 2017. These range from launching payment acceptance for UPI in 2017 to introducing the UPI Autopay feature to enabling CC on UPI.
China sent its first civilian astronaut into space as part of a crewed mission to the Tiangong space station.
Gui Haichao, a payload expert, took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China.
Until recently, all Chinese astronauts in space were members of the People's Liberation Army.
According to the space agency, Gui, a professor at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, will mainly be responsible for the on-orbit operation of space science experimental payloads.
The commander of this mission is Jing Haipeng, who is on his fourth trip into space, while the third crew member is engineer Zhu Yangzhu.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter Ambati Rayudu played his last IPL match when his team squared off against Gujarat Titans (GT) in the final at the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in 2023. The veteran batter confirmed the development through a tweet.
Having who made his IPL debut 13 years back in 2010 for Mumbai Indians won the title thrice with Rohit Sharma & Co. in 2013, 2015 and 2017 before being signed by the Chennai Super Kings in 2018.
IPL Orange Cap Winner 2023
IPL Orange Cap Winner 2023: Gujarat Titans opener Shubman Gill won the Orange Cap in IPL 2023 with 890 runs in 17 matches. He scored 4 fifties and 3 centuries. Gill was in top form throughout the tournament, scoring runs at a strike rate of 157.80. He was particularly impressive in the second half of the tournament, scoring 600 runs in his last 8 matches.
The Orange Cap in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is awarded to the player who scores the most runs in a season. The player who holds the Orange Cap at the end of the season is awarded the cap. The Orange Cap is a prestigious award, and is seen as a mark of excellence for batsmen in the IPL. The Orange Cap was first awarded in the 2008 season, and has been won by 12 different batsmen since then. The most successful batsman in Orange Cap history is David Warner, who has won the award three times. Other multiple winners include Chris Gayle and Virat Kohli, who have each won the award twice.
IPL Purple Cap Winner 2023
Mohammed Shami of Gujarat Titans won the Purple Cap in IPL 2023 with 28 wickets in 16 matches. He took 11 wickets in the powerplay, which was the most by any bowler in the tournament. Shami was in top form throughout the tournament, bowling with pace and accuracy. He was particularly impressive in the second half of the tournament, taking 17 wickets in his last 8 matches. Three Gujarat Titans bowlers currently occupy the top-three spots in the race for the IPL 2023 Purple Cap.
The Purple Cap is an award given to the leading wicket-taker of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The bowler with the most wickets in the tournament during the season is allowed to wear the Cap in the field. In an event of a tie, the Purple Cap is awarded to the bowler with a better economy rate.
The Purple Cap was first awarded in the 2008 season, and has been won by 13 different bowlers since then. The most successful bowlers in Purple Cap history are Dwayne Bravo, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar who have won the award twice (in 2013 and 2015) and (2016 and 2017), respectively. Yuzvendra Chahal won the Purple Cao in 2022.
Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni on 3-day Visit to India
Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni arrived in New Delhi for a three-day visit to India. Union Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh received the Cambodian King at the airport.
Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni's visit to India marks the culmination of the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations. This visit by the King of Cambodia is taking place after almost six decades.
During his visit, Cambodia King will hold bilateral meetings with President Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will call on the King.
India and Cambodia enjoy warm and friendly nations marked by civilisational, cultural and economic linkages and deep-rooted people-to-people ties. The ties between the two nations are based on shared cultural values, commitment to foster economic growth, collaboration in the fields of defence & security and convergence on regional and global issues.
Jolt to Congress in West Bengal, Lone Party MLA Joins TMC
In a jolt to the Congress, its lone MLA in West Bengal Assembly, Bayron Biswas, joined the TMC in the presence of the ruling party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
Soon after Biswas, the Sagardighi MLA, switched over to the TMC, Banerjee asserted that the Congress has to decide whether it wants to oppose the ruling party in the state or the BJP at the Centre.
Biswas switched over to the TMC during the party's mass outreach campaign – Trinamool eh Nabojowaar (New wave in Trinamool).
MVA to Contest Maharashtra Assembly, Lok Sabha Polls Together
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar said that Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will contest the Maharashtra assembly and Lok Sabha polls together to defeat the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance.
The MVA allies include the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Congress, and the NCP.
He said that the leaders of MVA will decide together regarding the candidate to contest the election on merit without thinking of their own party.
Indian Navy's P-8I Aircraft in Bahrain for Operation Compass Rose
Indian Navy's P-8I aircraft is in Bahrain to take part in the inaugural Operation Compass Rose being carried out by the Combined Maritime Force (CMF).
The team had productive conversations with representatives from the participating countries. This provided a forum for insightful conversations about issues of shared interest. The P-8I Squadron's Commanding Officer, Commander Amit Mohapatra, also met Indian Ambassador to Bahrain Piyush Srivastava.
India had decided to become an associate partner of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) at the 2+2 Ministerial discussions between India and the United States in April 2022. This action was aimed at improving cooperation on regional security in the western Indian Ocean.
After this, India formally began its cooperation with the CMF, an international partnership with its headquarters in Bahrain, in July 2022. The main goal of the CMF is to promote peace, stability, and prosperity over the enormous area of international waters, which measures around 3.2 million square miles. These waters encompass critical shipping lanes of global significance.
The smallest state by area, Goa is famous for its beaches and the relics of its colonial past. It got its statehood on May 30, 1987. It was a Portuguese territory since Alfonso de Albuquerque conquered it in 1510 by defeating Adil Shah of Bijapur who was ruling the region. 400 years later, India took back Goa from the Portuguese. In 2023, Goa celebrated its 36th anniversary of statehood.
May 30 is the day when Goa was declared a state separate from Daman and Diu. This took place in the year 1987 and since then, the day is observed as 'Goa Statehood Day.' After it received its statehood, Panaji was given the status of the capital of Goa and Konkani language became the official language.
The 23rd season of the International Indian Film Academy Awards, also known as IIFA, made its return. Produced by Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., this annual award ceremony recognises outstanding contributions in the Bollywood film industry, including films, stars, filmmakers, and technicians. Since its establishment in 2000, the IIFA awards have been held in different countries worldwide. The inaugural ceremony took place on June 24, 2000, at the Millennium Dome in London, and the 22nd edition was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
These awards honour films from the previous calendar year. Amitabh Bachchan is the Brand Ambassador of the IIFA since its inception. In its 10th year (2009), five special awards were introduced: Star of the Decade (Male and Female), Movie of the Decade, Music of the Decade, and Director of the Decade.
Actor Sidharth Malhotra hosted the ceremony, and his film "Shershaah" received 21 nominations, making it the most nominated film at IIFA 2022. It emerged as the most awarded film, winning in six categories, including Best Film and Best Director.
Below is a short list of winners:
Best Film: Drishyam 2
Best Director: R. Madhavan for Rocketry: The Nambi Effect
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female): Alia Bhatt for Gangubai Kathiawadi
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male): Hrithik Roshan for Vikram Vedha
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female): Mouni Roy for Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male): Anil Kapoor for Jugg Jugg Jeeyo
Outstanding Achievement for Fashion in Cinema: Manish Malhotra
Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema: Kamal Haasan
Cannes Film Festival 2023 Awardee's List
The 2023 Cannes Film Festival came to a close, with the 76th annual celebration of cinema awarding the coveted Palme d'Or to Justine Triet's crime drama 'Anatomy of a Fall'. French director Justine Triet became the third female director to win the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or for her film Anatomy of a Fall, beating out 20 other films in competition for the top prize at Cannes Film Festival 2023.
Justine Triet, who had previously been nominated for Sibyl in 2019, won the prize over veteran directors like Hirokazu Kore-eda, Ken Loach and Wim Wenders, all of whom have at least one Palme d'Or under their belts. She joins New Zealand's Jane Campion and France's Julia Ducournau as only the third woman to have won the competition that this year included a record seven female directors.
Below is the list of winners:
Palme d'Or: Anatomy Of A Fall, directed by Justine Triet
Grand Prix: The Zone Of Interest Director: Jonathan Glazer
Jury Prize: Fallen Leaves, directed by Aki Kaurismaki
Best Director: Tran Anh Hung for The Pot-Au-Feu
Best Screenplay: Monster, written by Yuji Sakamoto
Best Actress: Merve Dizdar, About Dry Grasses
Best Actor: Kōji Yakusho, Perfect Days
Camera d'Or: Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, directed by Thien An Pham
Short Film Palme d'Or: 27, directed by Flóra Anna Buda
Telangana achieved a significant milestone in financial inclusion by attaining 100% coverage of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). Since the launch of this national mission, the state has made remarkable progress in extending banking services to all sections of the population.
Empowering every unbanked adult the PMJDY is a National Mission for Financial Inclusion that aims to provide affordable access to financial services such as banking, savings and deposit accounts, remittance, credit, insurance, and pension. It serves as the foundation stone for people-centric economic initiatives, including Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), COVID-19 financial assistance, PM-KISAN, and increased wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA). The primary objective of PMJDY is to ensure that every adult in India has a bank account, facilitating their participation in the formal financial system.
Arunachal Pradesh Gets State's First Smart Government School 'Digi-kaksha'
Arunachal Pradesh witnessed a groundbreaking development in education as the remote Tirap district introduced the state's first smart government school, Digi-kaksha.
Spearheaded by IAS Vishakha Yadav, the additional deputy commissioner of Deomali, this innovative initiative is set to revolutionise the learning experience for students in the region.
This collaborative effort between the Deomali administration and the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL) aims to transform the education system in Arunachal Pradesh.
Built on the concept of Building as a Learning Aid (BALA), Digi-kaksha promotes active learning and aims to provide equal opportunities for education to all students.
TOEFL iBT Approved for Canada's Higher Learning Institutions
The Educational Testing Service (ETS) announced that the TOEFL iBT test has been approved by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for use in Canada's Student Direct Stream (SDS).
SDS is an expedited study permit processing programme for those international students who plan to enroll in one of Canada's post-secondary designated learning institutions.
In addition to TOEFL iBT, Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) test has also been approved for Canada's SDS scheme.
Justice Ramesh D. Dhanuka was on May 28 sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. Dhanuka was administered the oath of office by Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais at the Raj Bhavan.
Justice Dhanuka demitted office on May 30, upon attaining the age of 62, and had a tenure as Chief Justice of three days, possibly the shortest.
He started practice of law at Bombay High Court in 1985 in the chamber of Shri. Justice D. R. Dhanuka (Retd.), till his elevation as a judge of the Bombay High Court in 1990. He practiced on Appellate and Original Side of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in Constitutional Law and other branches of Law and particularly Arbitration, Companies Act, Suits, Testamentary, Municipal Laws, Service Law, Rent Act.
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