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By admin: Feb. 19, 2023

Indian origin Karthik Subramaniam wins National Geographic's 'pictures of the year' contest

Tags: Awards

Indian-origin engineer cum photographer Karthik Subramaniam's beautiful photo has topped National Geographic's 'Photo of the Year' contest 2023 beating over 5000 entries.

An overview of the news

• His photograph, titled "Dance of the Eagles", was taken at the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve in Alaska.

• The award was presented to him for a striking picture of an eagle struggling to settle on a tree branch.

• The title of the picture is inspired by RRR Martin's popular novel 'A Dance with Dragons'.

• Every November, hundreds of eagles gather at the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska, to feed on salmon.

• California-based software engineer Karthika started capturing wild images as a passion in 2020.

• His 'Dance of the Eagles' will be the cover page of the May edition of National Geographic.

Other Pictures that honoured by Magazine 

• Nomadic Kazakh eagle hunter -by Eric Esterle

• Penguins crowd -by Rhez Solano

• The Austrian Alps -by Alex Berger

• Mount Rainier National Park, Washington -by W. Kent Williamson

• 'Legends of the Fog’ -by Tihomir Trichkov

• Arizona’s small desert owls - by Bruce Taubert

• Maras in Peru -by An Li

UAE and India launch the UAE Chapter of the Business Council

Tags: International News

The UAE and India launched the UAE India Business Council - UAE Chapter (UIBCUC) on 18 February to strengthen economic ties and enhance bilateral trade and investment.

An overview of the news

• It was launched by Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade in Dubai.

• One year of signing of the India-UAE comprehensive free trade agreement, completed.

• The UIBCUC aims to increase bilateral trade to $100 billion and attract investments of $75 billion from the UAE to India.

• The council will bring together key partners and stakeholders from both countries and encourage innovative collaboration between Emirati and Indian businesses.

• The Council will play a key role in supporting the two governments in their joint mission to promote bilateral trade and investment.

• It will operate under the supervision of the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

• It is registered with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce as a legal and financial entity.

• UIBC-UC will have its office in Dubai.

• Faizal Kottikollon of Kef Holdings has been appointed as the Chairman of UIBC-UC.

• Major General (Retd.) Sharafuddin Sharaf, the Chairman of the UIBC (India Chapter), will serve as the Vice Chairman.

Key partners and stakeholders 

• Sovereign Wealth Funds from the UAE and large conglomerates from India such as - TATA group, Reliance, and Adani, as well as tech innovators like OLA, Zerodha, and EaseMyTrip. 

The founding members of the UIBC-UC from the UAE side

• Mubadala - Sovereign Wealth Fund of the UAE, Wizz Financial, DP World, EMAAR, Emirates Airlines, Emirates NBD Bank.

The founding members of the UIBC-UC from Indian side

• TATA, Reliance, and Adani, OLA, Zerodha, Udaan, and EaseMyTrip. 

• Prominent Indian entrepreneur-led corporations based in the UAE such as KEF Holdings, Buimark Corporation, Apparel Group, EFS and Lulu Financial.

Saurashtra beat Bengal by 9 wickets to bag second Ranji Trophy title

Tags: Sports Sports News

Saurashtra won the Ranji Trophy 2022-23 title by defeating Bengal by 9 wickets in the final match played on February 19, thanks to the superb bowling of team captain and left arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat.

An overview of the news

• Saurashtra won their second Ranji Trophy title at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Saurashtra won the Ranji Trophy title for the first time in 2019-20.

• Saurashtra needed 14 runs to win, which they achieved at the loss of 1 wicket in 2.4 overs.

• This is the second title win of the Saurashtra team in the last three seasons.

• Jaydev Unadkat and Chetan Sakariya, who were the heroes of Saurashtra's victory, together broke the back of Bengal's batting, and the team could only manage 241 runs in the second innings.

• Unadkat took 9 wickets, while Chetan Sakaria took 6 wickets.

• Saurashtra won the toss in the match and decided to bowl first.

• Bengal could score only 174 runs in the first innings while batting.

• Unadkat took three wickets while Chetan Sakaria also took three wickets. Chirag Jani and DA Jadeja got two wickets each.

• Saurashtra then took a huge lead over Bengal by scoring 404 runs in the first innings.

• The second innings was also poor for Bengal and the team could only manage 241 runs. In such a situation, he could get a slight lead of 11 runs over Saurashtra.

• Saurashtra captain Unadkat was adjudged man of the match for his nine-wicket haul in the match, while teammate Arpit Vasavada was adjudged player of the Ranji season.

Brief Scores

• Bengal - 174 and 241 in 70.4 overs (Manoj Tiwary 68, Anustup Majumdar 61; Jaydev Unadkat 6/85, Chetan Sakariya 3/76).

• Saurashtra - 404 and 14/1 in 2.4 overs.

Ranji Trophy Tournament

• The Ranji Trophy tournament has been played since 1934.

• The first match was played between Madras and Mysore at the Chepauk Ground from 4 November 1934.

• Mumbai has won this tournament 41 times.

• For the first time in 86 years, the 2020/21 season Ranji Trophy had to be cancelled due to Corona.

• Ranji Trophy is named after Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

• Number of teams- 37

• Most runs - Wasim Jaffer (10665)

• Most wickets - Rajinder Goyal (640)

Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurates SemiconIndia Conference of Electronics Manufacturing Supply Chain Ecosystem in New Delhi

Tags: Summits National News

The Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated the ‘SemiconIndia Conference of Electronics Manufacturing Supply Chain Ecosystem’, on 18 February in New Delhi. 

An overview of the news

• He highlighted the success achieved in telecom manufacturing and the Vande Bharat development supported by the government.

• He highlighted 'Your success, our success and the success of the global semiconductor industry'.

• He highlighted that 'Electronics manufacturing is not sustainable in India without the development of semiconductor ecosystem which plays a major role in driving the overall economic growth in automotive, power, telecom, electronics etc.

• Conference is being organised by the Institute of Supply Management (ISM). 

Prominent sessions

• Panel discussion on the existing semiconductor ecosystem in India.

• Presentation on facilitating the development of the semiconductor ecosystem.

• Panel discussion regarding the fab construction and availability of requisite chemicals, gasses.

• Presentation on vision for skilled workforce generation.

• Panel discussion regarding the industry readiness, challenges for materials and equipment with panellists.

• Panel Discussion regarding Policies and readiness of State Governments for semiconductor ecosystem.

• Panel discussion regarding the concerns of the industry.

India’s Semiconductor Mission 

• On 29 December 2022, the Information Technology Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, launched the India Semiconductor Mission.

• Under the policy, the government will provide Rs 76000 crore incentives for companies setting up manufacturing facilities in India.

• This was done by the government to encourage companies to set up chip manufacturing plants in India.

What is semiconductor? 

• Semiconductors are materials which have a conductivity between conductors and insulators. 

• They can be pure elements, silicon or germanium or compounds; gallium, arsenide or cadmium selenide.

• They are the basic building blocks that serve as the heart and brain of all modern electronics and information and communications technology products.

• These chips are now an integral part of contemporary automobiles, household gadgets and essential medical devices such as ECG machines.

UNICEF Names Ayushmann Khurrana As Its National Ambassador For Child Rights

Tags: Person in news

 actor Ayushmann Khurrana was appointed as the National Ambassador of Child Rights for UNICEF India on 18 February.

An overview of the news

• Ayushmann Khurrana is known for his knack for off-beat scripts and roles.

• The 38-year-old actor has previously worked as a 'celebrity advocate' for UNICEF-India.

• Ayushmann was appointed as UNICEF India's Celebrity Advocate in September 2020 to advocate on ending violence against children and promoting child rights. 

• As a national ambassador, Khurran will help UNICEF ensure the rights of all children.

• Recently, he focused on inclusiveness and non-discrimination through gender inclusive sports on World Children's Day 2022, along with Sachin Tendulkar, UNICEF South Asia Regional Ambassador.

About UNICEF India

• UNICEF India works to promote and protect the rights of children across the country.

• The partnership of UNICEF with India began in 1949. 

• The first office was established in New Delhi in 1952.

• The Ministry of Women and Child Development is a nodal agency in India.

About UNICEF 

• UNICEF is a United Nations agency which was set up on 11 December 1946 as United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. 

• It was renamed as the United Nations Children's Fund in 1953. 

• It provides development and humanitarian assistance to children and mothers.

• Headquarters: New York, United Sates of America. 

Ben Stokes breaks world record for smashing most sixes in Test cricket history

Tags: Sports Sports News

England Test captain Ben Stokes on 18 February became the player to hit the most number of sixes in the history of Test cricket, surpassing England coach and former New Zealand cricketer Brendon McCullum in the match against New Zealand.

An overview of the news

• Stokes holds the world record for hitting two sixes in the second innings of the first Test between England and New Zealand at Mount Maunganui (New Zealand).

• Stokes played an innings of 31 runs in 33 balls, which included three fours and two sixes.

• Wicket-keeper Tom Blundell stumped him off the bowling of all-rounder Michael Bracewell.

• In 90 Test matches, Stokes scored a total of 5,652 runs at an average of 36.00 with 109 sixes and 12 centuries and 28 fifties.

• His individual best score in Tests is 258.

• McCullum has 107 sixes in 101 Tests. He scored 6,453 runs at an average of 38.64. He has 12 centuries and 31 fifties in Tests with a best score of 302.

Batsman who hit most sixes in test cricket

• Australia's Adam Gilchrist is third after Stokes (109) and McCullum (107) to hit 100 sixes in Test cricket.

• Chris Gayle of West Indies is fourth in the list with 98 sixes and Jacques Kallis of South Africa is fifth with 97 sixes.

• India's Virender Sehwag is in sixth place, he has hit 91 sixes. Sehwag is the Indian to hit the most sixes in Tests.