1. Country's first '5G testbed' launched
Tags: Science and Technology National News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the country's first 5G testbed, which will enable industry players and startups to test and validate their products locally.
This testbed has been set up at a cost of Rs 220 crore.
This 5G testbed has been developed as a multi-institution collaborative project by 8 institutes led by IIT Madras.
Due to no 5G testbed till now, startups and industry players had to go abroad to test and validate their products.
This testbed will create a supportive ecosystem for the Indian industry and startups to help them validate their products, prototypes, solutions and algorithms in 5G and next-gen technologies.
Other institutes involved in the project are IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IISc Bangalore, Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (SAMEER) and Centre of Excellence in Wireless Technology (CEWiT).
2. Village Unnati appointed former Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora as chairman
Tags: National Person in news
Former Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora has been named as the new non-executive chairman of the Village Unnati Board.
About Sunil Arora
He is a 1980 batch retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Rajasthan cadre.
He has served as the secretary of two important ministries, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
He was also the 23rd Chief Election Commissioner of India.
About Gram unnati
Gram Unnati is a social enterprise that helps farmers to increase their net income by realising value, increasing agricultural productivity and reducing the cost of cultivation.
Gram Unnati provides physical and technical infrastructure support to agri-processors, banks, agri-input manufacturers, research institutes and others.
Gram Unnati also provides institutional buyers with consultancy services, low cost high quality inputs and market connections to marginal farmers, as well as tailored production, logistics, and end-to-end quality control of agricultural products.
Gram unnati is headquartered in Gurgaon with operations across 6 states currently.
3. Hassan Sheikh Mahmood appointed as the new President of Somalia
Tags: Person in news International News
After a long-pending election in the troubled Horn of Africa nation, Somali legislators have elected former leader Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud as the country's next president.
Hassan Sheikh Mohamed, who served as Somalia's president between 2012 and 2017, won in the capital Mogadishu amid a security lockdown imposed by authorities to prevent deadly rebel attacks.
He defeated Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed in this election.
Mahmoud secured 214 votes against 110 votes in favour of the incumbent President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed Farmajo in the final third round.
Mahmood, 66, is the leader of the Union for Peace and Development party, which has a majority in both legislative chambers.
About somalia
Somalia is a country located on the eastern edge of Africa.
Capital- Mogadishu
Capital- Mogadishu
Prime Minister- Mohamed Hussein Roble
Currency- Somali Shilling (SOS)
4. India hosts SCO-RATS meeting
Tags: Summits International News
Counter-terrorism experts from India, Pakistan and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) discussed ways to enhance cooperation in tackling various regional security challenges in a meeting hosted in New Delhi on May 16.
The meeting is being held under the regional counter-terrorism framework of the SCO.
A major focus of the discussion was on the situation in Afghanistan where all countries are threatened by terrorist groups operating in the Taliban-ruled country.
Pakistan has sent a three-member team for the meeting.
The Afghan issue has figured prominently in almost all the major meetings of the SCO.
Council of Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure of SCO (RATS SCO)
India assumed the presidency of the SCO (RATS SCO) on 28 October last year for a period of one year.
India has shown keen interest in deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Framework (RATS).
This specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.
The SCO is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest inter-regional international organisations.
The member states of the SCO
Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
Afghanistan is among the observer states of the SCO.
5. Indian Navy dedicated two warships Surat and Udayagiri
The nation witnessed a historic event in the history of the indigenous warship building on May 17, 2022, when two frontline warships of the Indian Navy were commissioned.
These are the warships Surat, which is the destroyer of Project 15B and the other is Udayagiri, which is a frigate of Project 17A.
Both were launched simultaneously at Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) in Mumbai. Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh was the chief guest in both these programs.
The Project 15B class ships are the next generation stealth guided missile destroyers of the Indian Navy, commissioned by Mazagon Docks Ltd. Made in Mumbai.
Destroyer, Surat:
'Surat' is the fourth ship of the Project 15B Destroyer class, which has been developed with several modifications to the P15A (Kolkata class).
It is named after Surat, the commercial capital of Gujarat and the second largest trading centre in western India after Mumbai.
Frigate, Udayagiri:
Udayagiri is named after a mountain range in Andhra Pradesh. This is the third frigate of Project 17A.
Complying with the P17 frigates (Shivalik class), they are equipped with modified stealth characteristics, advanced weapons, sensing equipment and platform management systems. 'Udayagiri' is an incarnation of the old 'Udayagiri', which was a Leander class ASW frigate.
Important Facts:
A total of seven ships are being built under the P17 programme, out of which four are being built at MDL and three at GRSE.
15B and P17A, both ships were indigenously designed at the Directorate of Naval Design (DND).
During the construction activities at the shipyard, about 75 per cent of the orders for equipment and systems were received by indigenous companies, which included micro, small and medium enterprises.
6. Pilot project launched to skill tribal youth
Tags: National News
A pilot project was launched by the Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to skill tribal youth from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
Under this pilot project, about 250 beneficiaries of 17 clusters of 17 districts selected from six states will be given training.
The six states selected for the pilot project include Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Odisha.
Under this pilot project, training will be given in five disciplines (multi skilling)-
Electricity and Solar Energy
agricultural mechanisation
e-governance
Plumbing and Masonry
Repair and maintenance of two wheelers.
The training under these five subjects will help the tribal youth to set up their own business and generate employment opportunities for other youth in their locality.
7. Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary gets the status of fourth tiger reserve of Rajasthan
Tags: National News
Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav informed that Ramgarh Vishdhari Sanctuary in Rajasthan has been notified as the 52nd Tiger Reserve of India.
This will be the fourth tiger reserve in Rajasthan after Ranthambore, Sariska and Mukundra.
The National Tiger Reserve Authority (NTCA) had on July 5 last year given in-principle approval to make Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary and its adjoining areas as tiger reserves.
The specialty of Ramgarh Vishdhari Tiger Reserve is its ecosystem and tiger friendly environment.
With its declaration as a Tiger Reserve, along with the conservation of biodiversity, the population of the forest fauna living in the area will be protected, this will enable the region to write a new chapter of ecology, tourism and development at the local level.
This protected area is an ideal habitat for wild animals like wolf, leopard, striped hyena, bear, golden jackal, chinkara, nilgai and fox.
Apart from tiger conservation, this sanctuary is also famous for its ecosystem as well as flower species.
Total number of tigers in the country
According to the Status of Tiger in India report released in 2019, there are currently 2,967 tigers in 20 states across the country.
Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttarakhand have more than 50% of the total tiger population in the entire country, which number 1,492.
Madhya Pradesh has the largest number of tigers, whose number is 526.
There are about 4,200 tigers left in only 13 countries of the whole world, out of which 70% tigers are in India.
International Tiger Day is celebrated every year on 29 July.
8. Elisabeth Bourne appointed new Prime Minister of France
Tags: Person in news International News
French President Emmanuel Macron has named Elisabeth Born as the country's new prime minister.
She is the second woman to become prime minister in France. Prior to this, Edith Cresson took the responsibility of the post of Prime Minister in 1991-1992.
French Prime Minister Jean-Casteux resigned in a move expected after Emmanuel Macron was re-elected, with 61-year-old Elisabeth Born as the new prime minister.
Born was Labor Minister in Macron's previous government since 2020. Earlier she had also been the Transport Minister.
In France, Macron and Bourne are likely to appoint a full government in the coming days.
About France -
France is a country located in Western Europe
It is the largest country in the continent of Europe in terms of area.
Capital- Paris
President- Emmanuel Macron
currency - euro
9. National Cyber Forensic Laboratory inaugurated
Tags: National News
Home Minister Amit Shah launched the National Cyber Forensic Laboratory(NCFL) on the premises of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory(CFSL) in Hyderabad.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had approved setting up of NCFL for evidence purposes at CFSL, Hyderabad in December 2021.
NCFL is planning to expedite the resolution of cyber crime cases in the country.
As per the present information, 28 States and Union Territories have established Cyber Forensic cum Training Laboratories.
The Government of India is setting up a modern cyber lab ecosystem across the country which will help in increasing the conviction rate of cyber crimes.
Important for exams -
Union Home Minister- Amit Shah
Union Minister of State for Home- Ajay Kumar Mishra
10. Foundation stone of India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage at Lumbini
Tags: International News
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi along with the Prime Minister of Nepal, Shri Sher Bahadur Deoba, laid the foundation stone for the construction of the India International Center for Buddhist Culture and Heritage at Lumbini Monastery Area, Lumbini, Nepal.
The centre will be constructed by International Buddhist Association (IBC), New Delhi on a plot of Lumbini Development Trust (LDT), which was allotted to IBC under an agreement signed between IBC and LDT in March, 2022.
The two prime ministers also unveiled a model of the centre after the foundation stone was laid by monks from three major Buddhist traditions, Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana.
It will be a modern building that will meet NetZero standards in terms of energy, water and waste management and will also house a prayer hall, meditation centre, library, exhibition hall, cafeteria, offices and other facilities.
About Lumbini -
Lumbini is the birth place of Lord Buddha.
It is located in Nepal.
In the Ashoka Pillar established by Emperor Ashoka at this place, there is an inscription describing the birth place of Buddha in Brahmi scripted Prakrit language.
This place is one of the four major Buddhist pilgrimage sites in the world. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
