Sakshi Malik becomes first Indian wrestler to feature in Time's 100 list

• Wrestler Sakshi Malik, who along with Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia was the face of the wrestlers’ protest in India, has managed to feature in Time Magazine’s 100
• This year’s TIME’s list features the inclusion of 51 women, showcasing the diverse achievements and contributions of female leaders across various domains.
• Sakshi is the first Indian wrestler to be named in Time’s 100 list.
• Other Indians to feature in the list include actress Alia Bhatt, Indo-British actor Dev Patel, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

Why was Sakshi na ed in Time’s 100 List?

• Sakshi, an Olympic bronze medallist from Rio 2016, has been named in the list for spearheading the relentless fight against alleged sexual harassment of female wrestlers by Brij Bhushan.
• The fight led by Sakshi, Vinesh, and Bajrang, and supported by many at different times throughout 2023, became the focal point of discussion at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.

Himachal's Dharamsala Stadium will get India's first 'hybrid pitch'

• The HPCA stadium in Himachal Pradesh has installed a new type of pitch that is the first of its kind to be approved by the BCCI.
• The hybrid pitch was installed by a company called SISGrass, which is based in the Netherlands. The new technology provides a more durable, consistent, and high-performing playing surface for international and IPL matches.
• Polymer fiber is added to natural turf inside cricket stadiums to make the surface more resilient to the stresses created during play, prolong the life of the pitch, guarantee an even bounce, and ease pressure on ground staff.
• The Universal machine used in Dharamshala for the hybrid pitch will also be used in Ahmedabad and Mumbai to create more such pitches.
• Hybrid pitches are approved for T20 and 50-over competitions in the UK and will also be used in the four-day County Championship matches this season.

Hi-tech submersible platform inaugurated at Navy hub in Kerala

• The Ministry of Defence has inaugurated the Submersible Platform for Acoustic Characterisation and Evaluation (SPACE) at Kulamavu in Idukki, Kerala.
• The facility was inaugurated at the underwater Acoustic Research Facility.
• This platform will be suitable for survey, sampling, and data collection of air, surface, mid-water, and reservoir floor parameters using modem scientific instrumentation.
• The SPACE, set up by the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory of DRDO, has been designed as a premier testing and evaluation hub for sonar systems destined for the Indian Navy onboard various platforms including ships, submarines and helicopters.
• “SPACE will consist of two distinct assemblages – a platform which floats on the water surface, and a submersible platform which can be lowered to any depth upto 100 m using winch systems. Upon completion of operations, the submersible platform can be winched up and docked with the floating platform.

General Manoj Pande Inaugurates High­Tech IT Lab At Academy Of Armed Forces In Uzbekistan

• Chief of the Army Staff, General Manoj Pande inaugurated a high-tech IT Laboratory, at the Academy of Armed Forces in Uzbekistan.
• The Lab has been established with Indian assistance.
• The development is in accordance with the commitment made by India and Uzbekistan to build an IT laboratory, during the Defense Ministers meeting in September 2018. The Lab, equipped with state-of-the-art technology, is expected to enrich the training resources available to Uzbek armed forces and foster a deeper understanding and cooperation between India and Uzbekistan.
• General Pande is on a four-day visit to Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan:

• Capital: Tashkent
• President: Shavkat Mirziyoyev
• Prime Minister: Abdulla Aripov
• Currency: Uzbek sum

India Clinches Medals At 13th European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad 2024 In Tskaltubo, Georgia

• Indian team has secured 2 Silver and 2 Bronze medals in the 13th European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO) 2024.
• Gunjan Agarwal of Gurgaon and Sanjana Philo Chacko of Thiruvananthapuram won Silver medals while Larissa from Hissar and Pune’s Saee Patil won 13ronze medals.
• This achievement marks the second instance of all four contestants securing medals at EGMO since India’s debut in 2015.
• The team was led by leader Sahil Mhaskar, Deputy Leader Aditi Muthkhod and Observer Ananya Ranade from the Chennai Mathematical Institute.

Famous YouTuber Abhradeep Saha popular as Angry Rantman, dies at 27

• Sports YouTuber Abhradeep Saha, popularly known as Angry Rantman passed away at the age of 27 after a multi-organ failure in Bengaluru. Abhradeep Saha hails from Kolkata.
• Angry Rantman is a passionate football fan and is known in virtual football communities for his hilarious rants, which have earned him a dedicated fan base.
• Abhradeep Saha, a social media sensation and YouTuber popularly known as Angry Rantman, has been entertaining people with his content for a long time.
• He is a passionate football fan and is well-known in virtual football communities for his hilarious rants, which have earned him a dedicated fan base.
• In his various videos, he can be seen talking about football, cricket and cinema. His insightful reviews have always struck a chord with netizens.
• He has more than 120K followers on Instagram and over 428K subscribers on YouTube.
• The old-school YouTuber began his content creation journey in 2017.

CleanMax teams up with Apple to drive renewable energy adoption in India

• In a move towards sustainable energy practices, CleanMax, a leading renewable energy company, announced its partnership with tech giant Apple.
• The collaboration aims to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy solutions across India.
• Under this partnership, CleanMax has successfully installed 14.4 megawatts of rooftop solar installations spanning six industrial sites across the nation.
• These installations are f orecasted to curtail approximately 207,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions throughout their operational lifespan.
• According to CleanMax, this initiative is poised to propel the development of renewable energy projects across India.
• The partnership adopts an innovative business model, wherein the environmental advantages stemming from the financed projects will aid Apple in mitigating the emissions linked with its corporate activities in the country.

Pat Cummins, Nat Seiver-Brunt named as Wisden 's Leading Cricketers in the World

• Pat Cummins and Nat Seiver-Brunt have been named as the Leading Cricketers in the World in the 2024 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack.
• He is the first Australian man to be named as Wisden’s Leading Cricketer since Michael Clarke in 2012, and succeeds his England counterpart Ben Stokes, who had claimed the honour three times in four years, in 2020, 2021 and 2023.
• Seiver-Brunt, meanwhile, has been recognised as the pre-eminent women’s cricketer of the moment, particularly in light of her starring role in the Women’s Ashes, in which she produced back-to­back ODI centuries to take the multi-format series to the wire.
• She followed those performances with an England-record 66-ball hundred against Sri Lanka, while her global appeal was recognised by Mumbai Indians at the inaugural Women’s Premier League auction in February, where her £320,000 price tag made her the UK’s best-paid female team athlete.

Adani family invests fS,339 er in Ambuja Cements

• Billionaire Gautam Adani’s family infused an additiona Rs 8,339 crore in Ambuja Cements, raising its stake in thE company to 70.3 per cent, to help the cement maker’s manufacturing capacity.
• The Adani family previously invested Rs 5,000 crore ir the company on October 18, 2022, and Rs 6,661 crore or March 28, 2024. With the latest investment, it has completed Rs 20,000 crore planned infusion.
• The latest infusion raises the Adani family stake ir Ambuja Cement by 3.6 per cent to 70.3 per cent.
• In all, its holding in Ambuja Cement has increased frorr 63.2 per cent to 70.3 per cent.
• The fund infusion will help Ambuja accelerate its growtl ambitions to almost double its existing capacity to 14( million tonnes per annum by 2028 from 76.1 millior tonnes as of December 31.
• In 2022, the Adani group entered the cement sector with c USD 10.5 billion deal to buy Ambuja and ACC frorr Swiss giant Holcim.

Indigenous cruise missile successfully flight­tested by DRDO

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted a successful flight test of the Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile (ITCM).
• ITCM is a long-range subsonic cruise missile powered by indigenous propulsion system.
• It is also equipped with advanced avionics and software to ensure better and reliable performance.
• The missile is developed by the Bengaluru-based DRDO laboratory Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) along with contributions from other laboratories and Indian industries.
• In the test conducted at the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha, all subsystems performed as per expectation.
• The missile followed the desired path using waypoint navigation.
• The flight of the missile was also monitored from the Su-30-Mk-I aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF).