Daily Current Affairs: 25 Jan 2022
Important News: World
1. Meta’s new AI Supercomputer to be world’s fastest by mid-2022
Why in News
- Facebook parent company Meta has said that its newly unveiled AI (Artificial Intelligence) supercomputerwill be the fastest in the world by mid-2022.
Key Points
- Meta said that the company is introducing AI Research SuperCluster (RSC), which is believed to be among the fastest AI Supercomputers running today.
- AI can currently perform tasks like translating text between languages and helping identify potentially harmful content, but developing the next generation of AI will require powerful supercomputers capable of quintillions of operations per second.
Metaverse: Facebook in October 2021 had announced that it is changing the company name to Meta. The change was announced by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at the company’s Connect Virtual Reality Conference.
Source: The Hindu
Important News: India
2. Drone Certification Scheme to boost indigenous manufacturing
Why in News
- The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) notified a Drone Certification Scheme (DCS) to ensure minimum safety and quality requirements as it will boost indigenous manufacturing.
Key Points
- The Drone Certification Scheme notified on January 26, 2022, under Rule 7 of the liberalized Drone Rules, 2021 will help in simpler, faster and transparent type-certification of drones.
- Along with the liberalised drone rules, airspace map, the PLI (production-linked incentive) scheme and the single window DigitalSky Platform, this will help drone manufacturing industry in India, grow.
- This is another step in making India the drone hub of the world by 2030.
- A multi-stakeholder steering committee (MSC) chaired by a known professional, who is respected by government and industry alike, will oversee the scheme, along with a QCI (Quality Control of India) secretariat.
Source: Business Standard
3. Results of preliminary round of first ever Fit India Quiz declared, UP students top Preliminary Quiz Rounds
Why in News
- Results of the Preliminary Round of the first-ever Fit India Quiz, India’s biggest sports and fitness quiz for students were announced.
Key Points
- Results of the nation-wide competition organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has revealed that two students from Uttar Pradesh have outperformed students from all other states to become the top scorers of the Preliminary Round.
- Divyanshu Chamoli of Delhi Public School, Greater Noida won the top spot, he was closely followed by Shashwat Mishra of Sunbeam School, Lahartara, Varanasi.
- The preliminary round of the Fit India Quiz, saw participants from 13,502 schools from more than 659 districts across the country, out of which students of 361 schools across 36 States and Union Territories have now been shortlisted for the State Rounds.
- The Quiz has a prize money of 3.25 crores which will be given out to winning schools and students at various phases of the quiz.
About Fit India Movement:
- Fit India Movement is a nation-wide movement in India to encourage people to remain healthy and fit by including physical activities and sports in their daily lives.
- It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on 29 August 2019.
Source: PIB
Important News: Defence
4. Western Naval Command conducts Joint Maritime Exercise: Paschim Lehar (XPL-2022)
Why in News
- A joint maritime exercise Paschim Lehar (XPL-2022) conducted by the Indian Navy off the West Coast was concluded on 25 January 2022.
Key Points
- The exercisewas conducted over a duration of 20 days with an objective to validate operational plans of the Western Naval Command and enhance Inter-Service synergy among the Indian Navy, IAF, Indian Army and Coast Guard.
- The exercise wasconducted under the aegis of FOC-in-C, Western Naval Command.
- The intra-theatre exercise included mobilisation and participation of over 40 ships and submarines of the Indian Navy.
Source: PIB
Important News: Appointment
5. Vinodanand Jha appointed as new chairperson of the PMLA Adjudicating Authority
Why in News
- Vinodanand Jha has been appointed as the chairperson of the PMLA Adjudicating Authority for a period of 5 years.
Key Points
- Vinodanand Jha, a 1983-batch retired IRS officer has been serving as the Member (Finance and Accounts) in the Authority since September 2018.
- The PMLA Adjudicating Authority is a three-member body whose mandate is to adjudicate the cases of attachment of assets orders issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
About Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002:
- Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted by the NDA government to prevent money-laundering and to provide for confiscation of property derived from money-laundering.
- PMLA and the Rules notified there under came into force with effect from July 1, 2005.
Source: The Hindu
Important News: Award and Honours
6. President approves 384 Gallantry awards for Armed Forces personnel; Neeraj Chopra honoured with PVSM
- President Ram Nath Kovind has approved awards of 384 Gallantry and other Defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel and others on the occasion of 73rd Republic Day celebrations.
- These include 12 Shaurya Chakras including, 29 Param Vishisht Seva Medals, 4 Uttam Yudh Seva Medals, 53 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals, 13 Yudh Seva Medals, 3 Bar to Vishisht Seva Medals, 122 Vishisht Seva Medals, 3 Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry). Besides, 81 Sena Medals (Gallantry), 2 Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry), 40 Sena Medals for Devotion to Duty, 8 Nao Sena Medals and 14 Vayu Sena Medals have been approved Devotion to Duty.
- Out of the total 12 Shaurya Chakra Awardees, 9 of them have been awarded posthumously. They include Subedar Sreejith M of 17th Battalion of the Madras Regiment, Havildar Anil Kumar Tomar, Rajput Regiment, the 44th Batallion The Rashtriya Rifles and Havildar Pinku Kumar, the Jat Regiment, 34th Battalion the Rashtriya Rifles.
- Olympian Neeraj Chopra who is a Subedar in the Indian Army has been honoured with Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) on the eve of Republic Day. Neeraj Chopra won the gold medal for India in the javelin throw event at Tokyo Olympics.
Source: newsonair
Important News: Sports
7. Lucknow’s IPL team to be called Lucknow Super Giants
Why in News
- The Lucknow franchise of the IPL (Indian Premier League) will be called Lucknow Super Giants.
Key Points
- Last year, the franchise was purchased by the Sanjiv Goenka-owned RPSG group for an amount of Rs 7090 Crores.
- The other new team to enter the competition is from Ahmedabad who was bought by the Irelia Company Pvt Ltd. for Rs 5635 Crores.
Source: Indian Express
Important News: Personality
8. Noted Kathakali Dancer & Padma Shri recipient Milena Salvini of France passes away
- Noted Kathakali dancer Milena Salvini of France passed away.
- Italian-born Salvini was a regular visitor to India, especially Kerala where she learnt Kathakali, and ran ‘Centre Mandapa’, a school for Indian dance forms, in Paris.
- The Government of India conferred the Padma Shri award on Salvini in 2019 for her contribution in the field of performing arts.
Source: Business Standard
Important News: Important Days
9. January 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Why in News
- International Holocaust Remembrance Day or the International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust is an international memorial day on 27 January.
Key Points
- The day commemorates the victims of the Holocaust, which resulted in the murder of one third of the Jewish people, along with countless members of other minorities by Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945.
- 27 January was chosen to commemorate the date that Auschwitz concentration camp was liberated by the Red Army in 1945.
- It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 1 November 2005.
Source: un.org
Comments
write a comment