Current Affairs

Thierry Delaporte is the highest paid CEO in India

With the IT sector of India producing some of the highest paid workforce, Wipro CEO Thierry Delaporte emerged as the highest paid CEO in India, as per his salary package listed in the company filings for FY23.

Thierry Delaporte is also the highest paid CEO in the Indian IT sector, with a heftier salary package than HCL Technologies and TCS executives. According to the company filings, Delaporte has a salary package of over ₹82 crore per annum.



DARPG launches scheme and web-portal for National Awards for e-Governance NAeG

Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances DARPG has launched the scheme and web-portal for National Awards for e-Governance NAeG. The objective of the Scheme is to recognize and promote excellence in the implementation of e-Governance initiatives. The purpose is also to encourage innovations in successful e-Governance solutions. In a statement, DAPRG informed that the nominations for the National Awards for e-Governance 2024 can be registered and submitted online at www.nceg.gov.in. It added the last date for submission of nominations is 29 of this month.

The National Awards for e-Governance Scheme is recognized amongst the most competitive and prestigious digital governance awards schemes in the country. The department said that, this year 16 Awards are being conferred under the NAeG-2024. The department will award 10 lakh for the gold Medal and 5 lakh for the silver Medal respectively, for the implementation of projects or bridging resource gaps in any area of public welfare. DAPRG said that there are five categories under which the National Awards for e-Governance 2024 will be conferred. These categories are Government Process re-engineering, Application of Emerging Technologies for providing Citizen Centric Services, District level initiatives in e-governance, Research on Citizen Centric Services by Academic and Research Institutions, and Replication of Top Technological initiatives.



India to host four-day 27th WAIPA World Investment Conference

India will host the four-day 27th WAIPA World Investment Conference in New Delhi from tomorrow. National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of the Government of India, and World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies are organizing the conference at the India International Convention & Expo Centre - Yashobhoomi, New Delhi. Under the aegis of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, it will be the largest World Investment Conference ever.

Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal will deliver the keynote address on the Role of Trade and Investment in the Decade of Action on 13th December. Shri Goyal will also launch the Experience India Centre (EIC), showcasing the best of India’s offerings across services, technology, and products through a variety of technologies, including virtual reality, augmented reality, interactive touch screens, and projection mapping.



Home Minister Amit Shah chairs Eastern Zonal Council meeting in Patna

Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the 26th Eastern Zonal Meeting in Patna on Sunday. Addressing the representatives of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha Mr. Shah appealed to all members to work with the spirit of cooperative federalism for all-round development. The Union minister said, member states should adopt a liberal and amicable approach to the resolution of long-standing issues. He further said that during the past nine years, the history of the Eastern Zonal Council has been very successful as more than 1,100 disputes have been resolved on this platform through dialogue.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar raised the issue of caste census during the meeting. Mr Kumar requested the Centre to conduct a Caste-based Census in the country so that justice can be done to the deprived classes. He said Bihar has taken lots of corrective measures for the alleviation of poverty following the release of a socio-economic report.



Tribal veteran Vishnu Deo Sai chosen as the new Chhattisgarh Chief Minister

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday chose Vishnu Deo Sai, a party veteran and former Union Minister, as the next Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh on Sunday. He will be the central Indian State’s fourth Chief Minister, and the first tribal leader to hold the post. He is also the first to hail from a region beyond the Other Backward Class-dominated central plains in Chhattisgarh’s 23-year-old history.

The MLA from Kunkuri, a reserved constituency in the hilly northern tribal belt of Sarguja from where the BJP won all 14 seats in the recent election, was unanimously chosen as the BJP’s Legislative Party leader at a meeting held in the presence of central observers in the party headquarters at Raipur.



China starts up world's first fourth-generation nuclear reactor

China has started commercial operations at a new generation nuclear reactor that is the first of its kind in the world, state media said on Wednesday.

Compared with previous reactors, the fourth-generation Shidaowan plant in China's northern Shandong province is designed to use fuel more efficiently and improve its economics, safety and environmental footprint as China turns to nuclear power to try to meet carbon emissions goals.

Xinhua news agency also said the 200 megawatt (MW) high-temperature, gas-cooled reactor (HTGCR) plant developed jointly by state-run utility Huaneng, Tsinghua University and China National Nuclear Corporation, uses a modular design.



India successfully conducts training launch of short-range ballistic missile Agni-1

India on December 7 successfully conducted the training launch of short-range ballistic missile ‘Agni-1 from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off the Odisha coast, a defence official said.

"Agni-1 is a proven very high precision missile system. The user training launch, carried out under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command, successfully validated all operational and technical parameters,” said the official.

Thursday’s performance was validated using data obtained by many tracking systems, including radar, telemetry and electro-optical systems, the official said.



Lucknow girl’s innovative idea for fast freight operation, gets her Rlys highest award

Prashasti Srivasatav, a 30-year-old IRTS officer from Lucknow, has been honored with the Ati Vishisht Rail Seva award, the highest accolade from Indian Railways. As the divisional commercial manager of Agra division, North Central Railway, Prashasti's inventive concept of a conveyor belt system for loading and unloading goods from freight train wagons has revolutionized freight train operations, earning her this prestigious recognition.

Prashasti introduced the third-party-owned mechanized conveyor belt system as a pilot project in the Yamuna Bridge and Kuberpur goods sheds of Agra during the financial year 2021-2022.



Textile ministry unveils 'One Bharat Sari Walkathon' to celebrate cultural diversity

To celebrate and promote the rich handloom saree culture of India, Union Minister of State for Textiles Darshana Jardosh will inaugurate the 'One Bharat Sari Walkathon' event in Mumbai on December 10.

The event, scheduled to take place at the MMRDA Ground, aims to showcase the myriad styles of saree draping across different states, underlining the rich cultural tapestry of India and emphasizing the concept of 'Unity in Diversity.'

Jardosh expressed the importance of this event, where women from diverse backgrounds will elegantly display saris representing their regional styles, creating a beautiful mosaic of diversity.



Siddharth Roy Kapur To Receive Honour From Motion Picture Association

Producer Siddharth Roy Kapur will be felicitated with the Motion Picture Association Asia-Pacific Copyright Educator of the Year Award for his contributions towards the growth and development of the Indian film industry.

Kapur heads the production banner Roy Kapur Films which has produced critically-acclaimed titles such as "The Sky Is Pink", "Last Film Show", "Pippa" and web series "Rocket Boys".

The producer will receive the honour at the CineAsia Awards 2023 in Bangkok on Thursday, a press release said.