Current Affairs

Axis Bank Overtakes Kotak Mahindra Bank to Become 4th Largest Lender In India

Axis Bank on Thursday overtook Kotak Mahindra Bank to become the fourth largest lender by market capitalisation in India. The development comes after the shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank declined 10 per cent following restrictions by the RBI from onboarding new customers online and from issuing credit cards. Axis Bank‘s shares, on the other hand, jumped around 5 per cent on robust Q4 results.

Kotak Mahindra Bank’s market capitalisation (mcap) currently stands at Rs 3.29 lakh crore as on 11:11 am on April 25 as its shares plunged 10 per cent. On the other hand, Axis Bank’s mcap stands at Rs 3.43 lakh crore after its shares jumped 4.82 per cent as it posted Q4 net profit of Rs 7,129 crore against 5,728 crore loss a year ago.



Axis Bank approves reappointment of Amitabh Chaudhry as CEO for three years

Axis Bank on Thursday said its board has approved reappointment of Amitabh Chaudhry as MD & CEO for three years with effect from January 1, 2025.

This will be his second extension of three years. His last extension came into effect from January 1, 2022. Chaudhry joined the bank as MD&CEO in 2019. Prior to that he was MD & CEO of HDFC Life.

The reappointment is subject to approval of the Reserve Bank of India and shareholders, Axis Bank said in a regulatory filing.

Chaudhry is an alumnus of Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani and IIM, Ahmedabad.



DARPG signs MoU with Cambodia Ministry of Civil Service for cooperation in HR development

The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) under Ministry of Personnel and Public Administration on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Civil Service, Cambodia on cooperation in the field of human resource development in civil service.

The MoU advances the cordial and friendly ties between India and Cambodia in the field of HR development in civil service over the next five years, the ministry said in a statement.

The MoU was signed by Hun Many, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Civil Service, on behalf of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and Dr Devyani Khobragade, Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Cambodia, on behalf of Government of India at a ceremonial event held in Phnom Penh. Senior officials of Ministry of External Affairs, Embassy of India in Cambodia, Embassy of Cambodia in India and the Ministry of Civil Service of the Kingdom of Cambodia, V. Srinivas, Secretary, DARPG, NBS Rajput, Joint Secretary, DARPG and Parthasarathy Bhaskar, Deputy Secretary, DARPG attended the ceremony from High Commission of India in London.



India’s first multipurpose green hydrogen pilot project launched in Himachal Pradesh

The country’s first multipurpose green hydrogen pilot project has been inaugurated by SJVN Limited at its 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station (NJHPS) in Jhakri, Himachal Pradesh. The project is intended to produce 14 kg of green hydrogen daily during the course of eight hours of operation, and the surplus will be utilised to create electricity through the use of a 25 kW capacity fuel cell.

The multipurpose green hydrogen generation plant will produce high-velocity oxygen fuel coating material for the NJHPS fuel cell. The alkaline electrolyzer of the 20 Nm/hour capacity will be powered by renewable energy from a 1.31 MW solar power plant at SJVN’s Wadhal, Shimla site.



Joburg Ladies Open 2024: Diksha Dagar Secures Tied-3rd Finish

Diksha, who finished the third round in tied fifth place, carded a 3-under 70 on the Par-73 Modderfontein Golf Club and totaled 9-under 283 to finish tied-third alongside Spaniard Luna Sobron Galmes (71). Her earlier rounds were 73-71-69-70.

This was Diksha’s best finish of the 2024 season and her third top-10 finish. She was ninth at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco and then tied-sixth at Aramco Ladies in Florida.

Tvesa Malik, who looked set for a top-10 finish as she birdied three times on the front nine, had a disappointing back nine, dropping two bogeys and a double bogey and ended with 1-over 74 and fell to tied 29th after being tied 24 overnight



Archery World Cup 2024 Begins In Shanghai

The Archery World Cup 2024 has begun today in Shanghai, China. India’s Jyothi Surekha Vennam finished second in the women’s compound qualification round at Stage I.

The 27-year-old Asian Games gold medallist shot a score of 711 to finish behind Andrea Becerra of Mexico, who had a score of 713.

Meanwhile, the reigning world champion from India, Aditi Swami, finished eighth in the qualification round with a score of 704. The other two Indians, Parneet Kaur (703) and Avneet Kaur (696) finished 14th and 23rd, respectively.

The Indian women’s team, comprising top three scorers Vennam, Swami, and Parneet, finished as the best team in the qualification round with a total score of 2118. The Indian women’s team will, thus, start as the top seeds in the competition, ahead of South Korea (2117) and Mexico (2116). The teams are ranked by adding the individual scores of the top three archers from the country.



MATTER Honored with Clarivate South Asia Innovation Award 2024 in Automotive Category

MATTER, a pioneering force in India's Electric mobility and energy landscape, proudly announces winning the Clarivate South Asia Innovation Awards 2024 in the Automotive category, solidifying its position as an Emerging Player. This esteemed accolade, conferred by Clarivate, a global leader in providing trusted insights and analytics, celebrates MATTER's relentless commitment to innovation and technological excellence in the realm of clean energy & mobility solutions.

At MATTER, innovation is not just a goal; it's a way of life. With a steadfast focus on revolutionizing India's energy landscape, MATTER stands at the forefront of developing cutting-edge future mobility products and advanced energy storage solutions. Operating through two key segments – MATTER Mobility and MATTER Energy – the company is committed to reducing carbon footprints, enhancing energy efficiency, and empowering individuals to contribute meaningfully to a greener, more sustainable world.



C-DOT & IIT Jodhpur partner for AI-driven service management system for 5G networks

C-DOT and Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur (IIT-J) have signed an agreement to develop an automated service management system using AI to enhance the efficiency of 5G and beyond networks, a PIB press release stated.

The agreement is part of the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) of the DoT, which provides funding support to domestic companies and institutions engaged in research and development of telecommunication products and solutions in order to enable affordable broadband and mobile services in remote and rural areas.

The primary goal of the project is to create AI frameworks for automated network management, fault detection, and diagnostic processes using continuous information generated within the network. The framework aims to establish a real-time 5G and beyond testbed in compliance with O-RAN standards for demonstration of the developed automated network management and slicing techniques with specific application use-cases such as smart metering and remotely operated vehicles.



Sudhir Kakar, ‘father of Indian psychoanalysis’, passed away at 85

Celebrated psychoanalyst Sudhir Kakar was also a great table tennis player. Vikram Lal, former CEO of Eicher Motors, who lived in his Delhi locality in the 1970s, recalls that he won several state-level trophies growing up in Rajasthan. They played together sometimes, but it was their proximity at a time when there weren’t many young couples in the area, and his wife’s interest in psychology, that sealed their lifelong friendship – one that would witness Kakar’s rise as the ‘father of Indian psychoanalysis’, becoming one of the sole practitioners of the discipline in India. Kakar died Monday at the age of 85.

The author of more than 20 non-fiction and fiction works, he was interested in sexuality, mysticism and religion as a counterpart to modern-day globalisation. He studied Freud and applied him to everything from film criticism to psychotherapy to mythology, considering Hindi cinema a producer of “new myths” and “collective fantasies” that came to India’s rescue during great sociopolitical and economic upheaval. Kakar called the phenomenon a “humble representative of the Hindu cultural ideal.”



Laureus Awards: Novak Djokovic Named Sportsman of the Year

Novak Djokovic was named World Sportsman of the Year for a record-equalling fifth time at the Laureus Awards ceremony on Monday, while Spanish footballer Aitana Bonmati won individual and team awards.

Tennis great Djokovic, a record 24-time Grand Slam champion, equalled his former rival Roger Federer’s tally at the prestigeous ceremony in Madrid.

Djokovic, 36, won three Grand Slams last year along with the ATP Finals.

“I am incredibly honoured to have won my fifth,” said Djokovic.