5111

CURRENT AFFAIRS DETAILS

# Title Description Image Date Source Link
1 IBM CEO Arvind Krishna joins USISPF Board

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna has joined the Board of Directors of US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF), an official announcement said on Thursday. Krishna, the 62-year-old Indian-American CEO among other things, is also a member of the Board of Directors of the New York Federal Reserve Bank and serves on the Board of Directors of Northrop Grumman.

"His knowledge about technology is unmatched, and his track record for leading market transitions in areas like hybrid cloud business, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence is remarkable," said USISPF chairman Jon Chambers.

He said that Krisha is a true visionary and a leader who is always focused on what's good for society at large.

16-Feb-2024 News in Details
2 PM Modi to lay foundation stone of NLC's 300 MW solar power plant in Rajasthan today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually lay the foundation stone for the 300 MW solar power plant in Rajasthan today, an official statement from the Ministry of Coal said.

The project is being set up with an investment of over Rs 1,756 crore to ensure affordable power supply to government entities.

NLC India Limited, a leading Navratna CPSE under the Ministry of Coal, is establishing the power project in Barsingsar, in Rajasthan's Bikaner district, as part of the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy's CPSE Scheme.

16-Feb-2024 News in Details
3 Gadkari launches 28 national highway projects worth Rs 6,600 cr in Odisha

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 28 national highway (NH) projects worth Rs 6,600 crore in Odisha. Though his visit to Odisha was cancelled at the last minute, Gadkari launched these projects virtually.

Among the inaugurated projects were a 79km four-lane road between Baharagora and Singhara on NH-49, valued at Rs 1,203 crore, and a 78km six-lane road from Chandikhol to Bhadrak on NH-16, costing Rs 2,035 crore.

16-Feb-2024 News in Details
4 Union Minister Sonowal inaugurates newly constructed Kalughat Inland Waterways Transport terminal

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday said that the inland waterways system has big potential to become a growth engine of the country. Addressing a function at Kalugaht near Parmanandpur in Saran district in Bihar Mr. Sonowal said waterways are a very important resource and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed to harness this. He said it will boost the trade and commerce in the country. He also added that inland waterways can also propagate tourism which was successfully exhibited during the journey of MV-Ganga Vilas River cruise last year.

Inaugurating the newly constructed Kalughat Inland Waterways Transport (IWT) terminal on National Waterways -1 (NW-1) the Union Minister said cargo transport is cheaper and more economical with comparison to rail and road transport. Mr. Sonowal said with the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi the Inland Vessel Act was amended which revolutionised transport and navigation through inland waterways. He said that it also removed the hurdles of different permit systems varying from one State to another for vessels. He said, with new initiatives and the construction of multimodal and intermodal terminals, India is going to be a big power in the area of riverways and maritime cargo handling. Mr. Sonowal mentioned that 10 years ago there were only 5 NWs in the country, which has now reached 111 with the efforts of Modi Government. The Minister said for seamless navigation of vessels dredging and silt removal work will be undertaken to ensure the depth of the river.

16-Feb-2024 News in Details
5 India's First Helicopter Emergency Medical Service To Operate From AIIMS Rishikesh

India is set to witness its first Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) which will operate from All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh.

Through HEMS, the government intends to expand medical outreach and access to trauma care services to a wider population across the country using helicopters.

Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia assured Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami of the new integrated airport building of Uttarakhand airport.

Mr Scindia affirmed, "The request for the HEMS from AIIMS Rishikesh is underway, with helicopter assembly and certification progressing, under my oversight."

15-Feb-2024 News in Details
6 IIT Jammu Professor Develops Sound-Based Anti-Drone System at Rs. 4 Lakh

In Jammu and Kashmir, a professor in the Electrical Engineering Department of IIT Jammu, Dr. Karan Nathwani has developed an anti-drone system that works mainly on sound technology. Akashvani Jammu Correspondent reports that the drone system is not only cost effective but also user-friendly, making it accessible to the general public. The system is easy to operate, and there are no issues with cameras or radar and was designed considering various challenges, making it versatile. The drone system is the first of its kind which is developed based on an entirely new technology called 'sound-based detection'. This system detects the sound emitted by drones, producing a unique signature that helps in their identification. Professor Nathwani said, this signature is compared with the system’s database, and if a match is found, the drone is detected. The cost of this system is about 4 lakh rupees. The Sound-based drone detection systems will detect even drones and birds coming from Pakistan. Worth to mention, along with dealing with terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, the biggest challenge for the security forces at present is drones. Arms, ammunition, cash and drugs are being sent from Pakistan through drones. In such a situation, different technologies are being developed for the security forces to deal with the increasing trend of drones. In this series, IIT Jammu has prepared this sound-based drone detection system. With the help of this system, this device will be able to easily detect drones, aircraft, multiple drones or birds flying up to 300 meters by their sound.

15-Feb-2024 News in Details
7 Havildar Varinder Singh awarded Vishisht Seva Medal for innovative octocopter development

President Droupadi Murmu has awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal to Havildar Varinder Singh of the Sikh Regiment in the Indian Army for his development of a 'Multipurpose Octocopter', an official said.

The 'Multipurpose Octocopter' developed by Singh is a versatile drone capable of not only conducting surveillance operations but also performing tasks such as grenade dropping, aerial target engagement with weapons like the AK-47, and logistics operations.

Meanwhile, Singh added that the 'Multipurpose Octocopter' will prove to be a boon for the Indian Army.

15-Feb-2024 News in Details
8 T.N. House passes resolutions against delimitation and ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal

The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, ‘unanimously’ adopted two resolutions against the Union government’s ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal and the proposed delimitation after 2026.

The resolution against the proposed delimitation process by Union Government read: “This august House urged the Union Government that the delimitation process to be carried out after 2026 on the basis of the census should not be carried out. Due to unavoidable reasons, if the number of seats on the basis of population were to increase, it shall be maintained at the present ratio of the constituencies between the States in the State Assemblies and both Houses of Parliament fixed based on the population of 1971.”

Furthermore, the resolution said that States like Tamil Nadu should not be penalised for implementing various socio-economic development programmes and welfare schemes for the benefit of people over the past 50 years.

15-Feb-2024 News in Details
9 Rohit Sharma to captain India at T20 World Cup 2024

Jay Shah's comments came in the presence of chief selector Ajit Agarkar, head coach Rahul Dravid and Rohit himself It will be Rohit Sharma and not Hardik Pandya who will be leading the Indian team at the upcoming T20 World Cup in USA-West Indies. BCCI Secretary Jay Shah, speaking on the occasion of renaming of the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium to Niranjan Shah stadium in Rajkot on Wednesday declared that Rohit would be the captain at the T20 World Cup.

"We may have lost the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup. But we won hearts there by winning 10 matches in a row. I would like to say that I am confident that India will lift the 2024 T20 World Cup under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy at Barbados," Shah said.

15-Feb-2024 News in Details
10 Punjabi University brings revolution, introduces "PURAN" system to enhance typing in Gurmukhi script on internet

A revolutionary system has been developed at the Department of Computer Science in Punjabi University to enhance the typing experience in the Gurmukhi script on the internet, as repotred by Khalsa Vox.

The innovative system, named "PURAN", is designed to provide users with appropriate sentence suggestions as they type, catering to various topics and expressions.

Gurjot Singh Mahi lead the innovation under the expert guidance of Dr. Amandeep Verma, according to Khalsa Vox, adding that this research marks a significant leap forward in linguistic technology.

15-Feb-2024 News in Details