CURRENT AFFAIRS 21ST MARCH

Mustafa Suleyman appointed as CEO of Microsoft AI

Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella welcomed Mustafa Suleyman as CEO of the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) venture.
As CEO of Microsoft AI, Suleyman will lead consumer AI products and research, including Copilot, Bing and Edge.
Suleyman was the co-founder and former head of applied AI at DeepMind, an AI company acquired by Google.
After leaving Deep Mind, he co-founded Inflection AI, a machine learning and generative AI company, in 2022.
Suleyman co-founded DeepMind Technologies, an AI and machine learning company, and became its chief product officer.
The company was backed by Founders’ Fund and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, among others.
In 2014, DeepMind was acquired by Google reportedly for 400 million pounds.

Canada, Germany sign MOU to implement transatlantic hydrogen corridor

Canada signed an agreement with Germany that would accelerate work towards the commercialscale trade of clean hydrogen fuel.
The two nations inked a memorandum of understanding that commits them to backing transactions between Canadian hydrogen producers and Germany’s industrial manufacturing and energy distribution sectors.
Actually Canada is working with European allies to displace imports of Russian oil and gas and fight climate change with clean Canadian hydrogen.
Hydrogen is a zero-carbon fuel best suited for powering large industrial machines, heavy vehicles and for heating.
To create a hydrogen economy, Germany launched the H2-Global project in 2021 using a “double auction” model in which the government would buy the green fuel from producers and sell it to industrial consumers for less.
In August 2022, Canada and Germany agreed to establish a transatlantic supply corridor while coordinating policies to attract investments in hydrogen projects.

BHEL wins order for setting up 1600 MW plant for NTPC

Public sector engineering giant Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has won an order for setting up 1,600 MW Singrauli Supercritical Thermal Power Plant (STPP) Stage-III from NTPC through the global competitive bidding route.
The plant, comprising 2×800 MW units, will be set up adjacent to the existing 2,000 MW thermal power station at Singrauli in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh.
Set up by BHEL in 1982, Singrauli plant was NTPC’s first power plant in the state.
The machines installed earlier by BHEL at Singrauli have been performing exceedingly well since commissioning.
The project for setting up the new plant will be implemented on an Engineering, Procurement & Construction (EPC) basis.
Key equipment for the project will be supplied by BHEL’s manufacturing units at Haridwar, Trichy, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ranipet, and Bhopal.

Adani Vizhinj am Port wins 'International Safety Award' from British Safety Council

Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited (AVPPL) has won an International Safety Award for calendar year 2023 from the British Safety Council in recognition of its commitment to keeping workers and workplaces healthy and safe.
AVPPL is one of 269 global organisations to win a distinction in the International Safety Awards 2024, out of the total of 1,124 that won the award.
The organisations span all sectors, with significant representation from the construction, manufacturing, oil, gas, mining, power and utility sectors.
Winners were drawn from 49 countries worldwide, with 269 organisations awarded a distinction, 456 a Merit and 399 a Pass.
They also acknowledge organisations that have shown commitment to well-being and mental health at work.

Cisco completes $28 billion acquisition of cybersecurity leader Splunk

Networking major Cisco has completed the acquisition of Splunk, the leader in cybersecurity and observability, for about $28 billion in the generative AI era.
The acquisition sets the foundation for delivering unparalleled visibility and insights across an organisation’s entire digital footprint.
Cisco and Splunk are two leaders with complementary capabilities across AI, security, and observability.
Cisco will bring the full power of the network together with market-leading security and observability solutions, to deliver a real-time unified view of the entire digital landscape, helping teams proactively defend critical infrastructure, prevent outages, and refine the network experience.

Grand Prix Chess Series: Vikramaditya Kulkarni bests Guru Prakash to emerge champion

In the title match, the 42-year-old International Master (IM) Vikramaditya Kulkarni triumphed over his 16-year-old opponent, Guru Prakash in the final leg and claimed his second successive title in the Rs 2.50 lakh prize money All-India Grand Prix Chess Series.
Kulkarni earned Rs.50,000 in prize money and claimed the glittering 360 One Wealth trophy for his victory, while Guru, despite a valiant effort, finished in fifth place, earning a prize of Rs.15,000.
However, Mihir Shah secured the second position after the tie-break, while Ram Parah and Atharva Soni had to settle for the third and fourth positions respectively.
As a result, Mihir Shah was awarded Rs. 30,000, Ram Parah got Rs. 25,000 and Atharva Soni was granted Rs. 20,000.

CAE signs deal with Akasa Air

Flight training company CAE has signed a long-term agreement with Akasa Air to train B737 Max pilots at its facilities in India.
This partnership with CAE will provide access to the world’s best training facilities for the next 15 years and will help to build a team of highly experienced and skilled pilots.
In January, Akasa Air placed an order for 150 B737 Max aircraft with Boeing at the Wings India Summit 2024.
This order comprises B737 Max 8-200 and B737 Max 10.
These planes will be delivered between mid-2027 and 2032.
Akasa Air has ordered a total of 226 Max aircraft from Boeing.
Previously, the airline ordered 76 Max aircraft. Out of these planes, 23 have been delivered to the airline.
The airline expects deliveries of the remaining 53 aircraft by mid-2027.
Note: According to government regulations, an airline must have a fleet of 20 planes to start international operations. Akasa Air has 23 B737 Max aircraft and serves 20 cities in India.

President accepts resignation of Telangana Governor

President Droupadi Murmu has accepted the resignation of Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan.
Soundararajan, who also held the position of Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, tendered her resignation.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan also announced that the President is ”pleased to appoint C P Radhakrishnan, Governor of Jharkhand, to discharge the functions of the Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry in addition to his own duties until regular arrangements are made.
Meanwhile, reports claim that Tamilisai Soundararajan plans to contest the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha polls from Tamil Nadu.
She had contested the 2019 Parliament elections from the Thoothukudi seat in southern Tamil Nadu on a BJP ticket and lost to DMK’s Kanimozhi.

China's Ant Group appoints new president

Han Xinyi will become president of China’s Ant Group, opens new tab and some units of the financial technology company will set up their own boards of directors to operate more independently.
The organisational changes flagged in Jing’s email constitute the biggest shake-up in the Jack Mafounded fintech group since it was fined $984 million by Chinese authorities last July.
That penalty, one of the largest fines for an internet company in China, drew to a close a years-long regulatory overhaul of the group.
Han will be responsible for Ant’s digital payments, digital connectivity and digital finance businesses and will report to Jing.
Meanwhile, three divisions – Ant International, OceanBase, and Ant Digital Technologies – will set up respective boards of directors to become independently operated business units.

MP's Tani Gautam clinches title of 'Mrs International Global Beauty Pageant 2024'

Madhya Pradesh’s Tani Gautam has won the title of ‘Mrs International Global Beauty Pageant 2024’ held in Malaysia.
Hailing from J abalpur, Tani, who dreamt of becoming a CBI officer, was the single contestant from India, who participated in the pageant in which more than 3 0 countries have participated.
Tani also clinched the title for ‘Best National Costume’.
Tani, who is a homemaker and has a 10-year-old son was a single contestant from India, who has represented the country and won the title.
Tani, wants to inspire and aspire married women, saying that they can do whatever they want to do in their lives.