DAILY GK 14-15 APRIL
1. SOLAR ENERGY CORPORATION OF INDIA GETS ‘MINIRATNA CATEGORY-I’ STATUS
·
The
Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI) was accorded the status of Miniratna Category-I
Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE).
·
It is
the only CPSU dedicated to the Solar Energy Sector.
·
Incorporated
in the year 2011, SECI
is the primary implementing agency for renewable energy schemes/projects of
MNRE towards fulfilment of India’s international commitments.
·
Till
date, SECI has awarded Renewable Energy (RE) project capacities of over 56 GW
(Giga Watt).
2. INDIA’S
1ST UNDERWATER METRO STARTS TRIAL RUN
·
Kolkata
Metro Rail Corporation Limited (KMRCL) successfully conducted the trial run of India’s 1st underwater metro
train under the river bed of Hoogly through a tunnel of 32 meters below
water level.
·
The
trial runs of the metro from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade will be conducted for
the next 7 months and after that regular services on this stretch will begin.
·
The
tunnels under the river bed, 32 meters below the water level, are part of East
West Metro Project that aims to connect Howrah Maidan with Rajarhat along the
16.6-km route.
3. INDIA
RETAINS CATEGORY 1 STATUS UNDER US FAA’S IASA PROGRAMME
·
India
has retained the Category 1 status under the United States Federal Aviation
Administration’s (FAA) International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA)
programme.
·
This
information was communicated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of
the United States of America to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation
(DGCA), Ministry of Civil Aviation, on April 12, 2023.
·
The
county with Air carriers of Category 1 status is permitted to operate/ expand
its services to destinations in the USA and codeshare with US air carriers.
·
The IASA
program, determines whether a country’s oversight of its air carriers complies
with safety standards established by the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO).
·
The
DGCA is the regulatory body in the field of Civil Aviation responsible for regulation
of air transport services to/from/within India and for enforcement of civil air
regulations, air safety and airworthiness standards.
4. INDIA
RANKED 5TH WITH MOST AI INVESTMENT
·
According
to ‘Artificial Intelligence Index Report 2023’, the 6th edition of the
annual Artificial Intelligence(AI) index report published by Stanford
University’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI), India is ranked 5th
in terms of private investments received in 2022 by startups offering
AI-based products and services with a total investment of US$3.24 billion.
·
In
2022, the United States (US) led the world in terms of total AI private
investment with US$47.4 billion investment followed by China
(US$13.4 billion), United Kingdom (US$4.4 billion), Israel (US$3.24 billion).
·
India
which stood in 5th place was ahead of South Korea, Germany, Canada and
Australia, among others.
·
Among
Indian AI startups, Chennai-based conversational AI startup Uniphore raised
$400 million in a Series E funding round last year at a valuation of $2.5
billion.
5. SEBI
UNVEILS NEW LOGO
·
The Securities
and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) unveiled a new logo on the occasion of
its 35th Foundation Day.
·
The new
logo retains the traditional blue palette and reflects a more modern design.
·
SEBI
was established on April 12, 1988 under the Ministry of Finance.
·
The body
was granted statutory powers in 1992. It functions as a
quasi-judicial body.
·
SEBI
regulates the securities market in India by overseeing the activities of stock exchanges, brokers, and
other intermediaries.
·
SEBI
regulates credit rating agencies (CRAs) in India to ensure that they provide accurate and
reliable ratings of financial instruments.
·
SEBI
regulates mutual funds in India and oversees their registration, operations, and performance.
6. INDIA’S
1ST VOICE BIOMETRIC AUTHENTICATION FOR LOGGING INTO ITS BANKING APP LAUNCHED
·
The
Citi Union Bank (CUB) based
in Kumbakonam (Tamil Nadu), launched India’s 1st Voice Biometric Authentication
for logging into its mobile banking app at an event held in Chennai, Tamil
Nadu(TN).
·
The
voice biometric was developed by Kaizen Secure Voiz Pvt. Ltd based in
Chennai (TN), under the guidance of the 5G use case lab of the Institute
for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT).
·
The
newly introduced voice biometric will be one more option for customers to
log in along with user id, PIN, face id and fingerprint authentication.
·
IDRBT
is the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
established institution focussed on research in banking technologies.
7. SANJAY
AGARWAL RE-APPOINTMENT AS MD & CEO OF AU SFB FOR 3 YEARS
·
The
Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has approved the re-appointment of Sanjay Agarwal as
Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Jaipur
(Rajasthan)-based AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB) for 3 years with effect
from 19th April 2023.
·
UttamTibrewalwas also re-appointed as the Whole Time
Director of AU SFB for 3 years with effect from 19th April 2023.
·
AU
Small Finance Bank (AU SFB) was established in 1996 as AU Financiers and
bagged the SFB licence in 2015 and started operations as SFB in 2017.
8. TCG
ANADOLU: TURKIYE’S LARGEST WARSHIP
·
RecepTayyipErdogan,
President of the Republic of Turkiye, officially unveiled ‘TCG Anadolu’,
the country’s largest warship and the world’s first unmanned combat aerial
vehicle (UCAV) carrier
·
TCGAnadolu,
which has a length of 231 metres (758 feet) and a width of 32 metres (105
feet), is now the largest ship in the Turkish Navy and is capable of carrying
troops, combat helicopters, military drones, land vehicles, and light
Warcrafts.
·
Republic
of TürkiyeCapital – Ankara
·
Currency – Turkish Lira
9. BOOK
“GANDHI: SIYASAT AUR SAMPRADAIYKTA”
·
Journalist
and author PiyushBabele have authored a new book in Hindi – “Gandhi:
SiyasataurSampradaiykta” (Gandhi: Politics and Communalism) about Mahatma
Gandhi’s beliefs about religion, politics, and the struggle for freedom from
the British.
·
The
book also indicates the Hindu-Muslim riots and the blame that was tried to put
on Mahatma Gandhi.
10. 104TH
ANNIVERSARY OF JALLIANWALA BAGH MASSACRE – 13TH APRIL 2023
·
13th
April 2023 marks the 104th Anniversary of the JallianwalaBagh Massacre, also
known as the Amritsar massacre, on 13th April 1919 in Amritsar, Punjab
·
On 13th
April 1919, which also marked the Baisakhi festival, a harvest festival in
Punjab, thousands of Indians gathered in the JallianwalaBagh, Amritsar, Punjab
to protest against the Rowlatt Act and the arrest of pro-independence
activists SaifuddinKitchlew and Satyapal.
·
On that
day, temporary brigadier general, Colonel Reginald Edward Harry Dyer had
announced the implementation of a curfew throughout Amritsar and banned all
processions and prohibited public gatherings of groups of 4 or more people.
·
General
Dyer opened fire on the gathering at JallianwalaBaghin order to enforce Martial
Law prevailing that was in effect at Amritsar during the time.
·
It was
reported that around 1,650 rounds of
bullets were fired at the crowd.
·
According
to the Hunter Commission, a 1919 investigation into the JallianwalaBagh
massacre headed by William Hunter, around 379 people were killed (including
men, women and children) and around 1500 were injured.
