Lindy Cameron, UK's chief of cyber security, is named new envoy to India

• The United Kingdom has appointed Lindy Cameron as the first woman British High Commissioner to India.
• While Cameron is UK’s first woman envoy to India, Delhi has had three women envoys in London since the 1950s.
• Cameron, who has been serving as the Chief Executive of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre since 2020, has been working with the British government since 1998.
• She was earlier the Director General of the Northern Ireland Office (2019-2020), and has spent a large part of her career in the UK’s aid agency, DFIB (Department for International Development).
• Note: Cameron’s appointment comes at a time when India and the UK are negotiating the Free Trade Agreement, and both sides have expressed intent and interest to wrap up the negotiations by the end of the year

South Korea's Prime Minister and top Presidential officials offer to resign election after defeat

• South Korea’s Prime Minister and senior Presidential officials offered to resign after their ruling party suffered a crushing defeat in the Parliamentary elections in a huge blow to conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol.
• Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and all senior Presidential advisors to Mr. Yoon, except those in charge of security issues, submitted their resignations.
• Executive power in South Korea is heavily concentrated in the President, but the Prime Minister is the No. 2 official and leads the country if the President becomes incapacitated.

Background:

• With most of the votes counted, the main Opposition Democratic Party and its satellite party appeared to have won a combined 175 seats in the 300- member National Assembly.
• Regardless of the results, Mr. Yoon will stay in power and his major foreign policies will likely be unchanged.

Ankur Kumar appointed CEO of Essar Power's renewable division

• Essar Power has announced the appointment of Ankur Kumar as the Chief Executive Officer of its Renewables Business Divison.
• Ankur will play a key role in advancing Essar’s commitment to transitioning into green energy and establishing a robust renewable ecosystem in India.
• With over 24 years of experience in renewable energy and public infrastructure sectors, Kumar brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his new role.
• Previously serving as the CEO at ACME Solar Holdings Pvt. Ltd, Ankur spearheaded the strategic expansion of the company into green hydrogen & ammonia businesses, while also enhancing their geographical footprint.
• Essar Power has a power generating capacity of 1285 MW across three plants, in India and Canada. Essar has invested about USD 4.2 billion in the power portfolio, which includes USD 1.5 billion of equity.

OJ Simpson passes away aged 76

• OJ Simpson, a former United States football star acquitted of murder in a widely watched trial in the 1990s, has died at age 76.
• Known by the nickname ”The Juice”, Simpson was a star running back at the University of Southern California.
• He won the Reisman Trophy – the top honour in American college football – in 1968 before making the jump to the National Football League (NFL) a year later as the Buffalo Bills’ number­one draft pick.
• He played 11 seasons of professional American football and racked up numerous accolades.
• But Simpson became a controversial figure after he was charged with the stabbing deaths of his ex­wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in 1994.
• Imprisoned at age 61, he served nine years in a remote northern Nevada prison.
• His life saga was recounted in the Oscar-winning 2016 documentary O.J.: Made in America, as well as various TV dramatisations.

Who is Gopi Thotakura, set to become the 1st Indian space tourist?

• Jeff Bezos-led space startup Blue Origin revealed the six­person crew that will be flying on its NS-25 mission.
• This crew includes Gopi Thotakura, who could become the first Indian space tourist in history.
• Thotakura is not the first Indian aiming to go to space – Veteran travel documentary producer Santhosh George Kulangara had paid for a seat on a Virgin Galactic space plane to go to the very edge of space.
• Now, neither Kulangara nor Thotakura would be the first Indian to go to space.
• They are a little too late for that because Rake sh Sharma became the first Indian citizen to go to space in 1984 when he flew on the Soviet Soyuz T-11 rocket. Sharma spent more than seven days in the Soviet Union’s Salyut-7 space station.
• Gopichand Thotakura is an entrepreneur who pilots bush, aerobatic, and seaplanes, as well as gliders and hot air balloons, and has served as an international medical jet pilot.

India's GDP to grow 6.1 % in 2024: Moody's Analytics

• Moody’s Analytics projected India’s economy to expand 6.1 per cent in 2024, lower than 7. 7 per cent growth clocked in 2023.
• It said output in India remains 4 per cent lower than it would have been without the COVID pandemic and its various aftershocks – from supply snags to military conflicts abroad.
• In its report titled ‘APAC Outlook: Listening Through the Noise’, the APAC (Asia Pacific) economy will grow 3.8 per cent this year, which compares with a growth of 2.5 per cent for the world economy.

Moody’s Ratings

• Predecessor: Moody’s Analyses Publishing Company
• Founded: 1909
• Headquarters: New York
• Parent: Moody’s Corporation

Former New Zealand leg-spinner Jack Alabaster dies at age of 93

• Former New Zealand leg-spinner Jack Alabaster has died at the age of 93 in Cromwell.
• Alabaster played 21 Tests from 1955-1972, including the first four wins New Zealand achieved in the format spread over 12 years ( from 1956 to 1968), and being the only player to do so.
• Overall, he took 49 wickets at an average of 38.02 in his Test career for New Zealand.
• Alabaster is considered one of the best spinners to have represented New Zealand. During his 17-year international career, he was part of the team that achieved the country’s first four Test victories. Alabaster made 143 first-class appearances for Otago, claiming 500 wickets.
• He toured several countries with the New Zealand team, including India and Pakistan in 1955-56, England in 1958, South Africa in 1961-62, and the West Indies in 1971-72. His standout performance came against South Africa, where he claimed 22 wickets in five Tests, helping New Zealand draw their first series against the Proteas.

Sushil Sharma appointed CMD of SJVN Limited

• The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) panel has recommended Sushil Sharma for the position of Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of SJVN Limited.
• Sharma, currently serving as Director (Projects) within the organization, emerged as the frontrunner from a pool of nine candidates interviewed by the PESB selection panel.
• Out of the nine candidates considered, which included representatives from various sectors such as Indian Railways, NHPC Limited, BSNL, Power Grid, GAIL (India) Limited, and Patel Engineering Ltd., Shanna’s extensive experience and proven track record set him apart.
• Having joined SJVN in 1994 as an Assistant Engineer, Sharma has steadily risen through the ranks, showcasing his expertise in hydroelectric projects.
• With a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from VNIT, Nagpur, and over 30 years of experience, including significant contributions to projects like the 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Project and the 412 MW Rampur HPS, Sharma is poised to lead SJVN into its next phase of growth.

PhonePe partners with eSewa, HAN Pokhara to promote UPI in Nepal

• Fintech firm PhonePe has partnered with Nepal’s digital wallet service eSewa and the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) Pokhara to promote digital payments through UPI on the Himalayan country’s payment processor Fonepay Network.
• The partnership is a part of the Fewa New Year Festival which will be held in Nepal.
• This year, in line with its vision of popularizing digital payments via UPI, PhonePe will spearhead several activities during the Fewa New Year Festival. PhonePe will run on-ground activation aimed at raising awareness about digital payments among local merchants while demonstrating the convenience of digital payments for customers. With prominent on-ground and digital branding, kiosks showing how to use digital pay1nents, and other interactive activities PhonePe along with eSewa and HAN Pokhara will showcase the ease of UPI payments.

JNU India's highest-ranked university: QS World University Rankings

• As many as 69 Indian universities have made it to the latest ‘QS World University Rankings’ with a total of 424 entries across 55 subjects, a 19.4 per cent jump from the previous year’s 355.
• With this, India became the second most represented country in Asia after China whose 101 institutions were on the list compiled by global higher education experts QS Quacquarelli Symonds.
• And, of the total Indian entries this year, a whopping 72 per cent were either new to the list, showed improvement, or maintained their positions. A mere 18 per experienced decline. Go cent a
• The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) emerged as the highest ranked Indian university in the list. Under the subject of Development Studies, JNU was ranked 20th in the QS World University Rankings released on Wednesday.
• JNU was also the country’s top-ranked university in the subjects of Geography, History, Modern Languages, Politics & International Relations, Anthropology, English Language & Literature and Linguistics.