India clinch 10 medals at USA pickle ball meet

• Stavya Bhasin, Dhiren Patel and Hemal Jain won a gold each in their respective categories as India returned with 10 medals from the US Open Pickleball Championship.
• Overall, India won three gold, three silver and four bronze medals in the tournatnent held in Florida fromApril 14-20.
• Bhasin won the gold in junior singles, Patel finished first in the men’s singles 5.0 and Jain grabbed the top prize in the men’s singles 3.5 category.
• Bhasin also won a silver in men’s doubles 5.0 and a bronze each in the junior men’s doubles and junior mixed doubles to have a haul of four medals.
• Ronav Motiani returned with two silver medals -­one each in men’s doubles 5.0 and junior singles -­as well as a bronze in the junior men’s doubles category.
• In men’s singles 5.0, Himanshu Dewaskar’s bronze took India’s medals tally into double digits.
• Both Harsh Mehta and Aman Bhatia finished fifth in men’s pro doubles.

Microsoft launches lightweight artificial intelligence model Phi-3-mini

• Microsoft launched a lightweight artificial intelligence model, as it looks to attract a wider client base with cost-effective options.
• The new version called Phi-3-mini is the first of the three small language models (SLM) to be released by the company.
• Phi-3 is not slightly cheaper, it’s dramatically cheaper, we’re talking about a 1 Ox cost difference compared to the other models out there with similar capabilities.
• SLMs are designed to perform simpler tasks, making it easier for use by companies with limited resources, the company said.
• Phi-3-mini will be available immediately on Microsoft cloud service platform Azure’s AI model catalog, machine learning model platform Hugging Face, and Ollama, a framework for running models on a local machine, the company said.
• Last week, Microsoft invested $1.5 billion in UAE-based AI firm G42. It has also previously partnered with French startup Mistral AI to make their models available through its Azure cloud computing platform.

PayU gets RBl's in-principle approval to operate as payment aggregator

• Prosus-backed fintech PayU received an in­principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as a payment aggregator.
• Once the company receives the final nod from the RBI, it will join the ranks of other companies such as Razorpay, Cashfree Payments, CCAvenue, Digio, Decentro, among others.
• In January last year, the banking regulator had asked the fintech company to reapply for a payment aggregator licence. The company’s complex corporate structure was one reason why the RBI asked it to reapply for the licence.
• Along similar lines, in August last year, the company sold part of its financial technology business to Israel’s Rapyd for $610 million. The deal allowed Rapyd, a fintech-as-a-service provider, to acquire PayU’s Global Payments Organisation (GPO). However, the deal excluded PayU’s India, Turkey, and Southeast Asia operations.

BharatPe launches India's first all-in-one payment device

• Indian fintech firm BharatPe has introduced BharatPe One, an innovative all-in-one payment device that integrates a POS system, QR code scanner, and speaker.
• The BharatPe One is India’s first such comprehensive payment device, designed to enhance the transaction process for merchants and customers alike.
• BharatPe One boasts a high-definition touchscreen display, 4G and Wi-Fi connectivity, and runs on the latest Android operating system. It offers real­time transaction updates and instant voice payment confirmations, providing a seamless and efficient user experience.
• BharatPe One caters specifically to offline merchants, aiming to simplify their day-to-day transactions and enhance customer interactions.
• BharatPe plans to roll out BharatPe One in over 100 cities initially and aims to expand to around 450 cities within the next six months.

Razorpay launches UPI Switch in partnership with Airtel Payments Bank

• Razorpay has launched its own UPI infrastructure, UPI Switch, a next-generation cloud-based innovation, in partnership with Airtel Payments Bank. The solution is designed to handle up to 10,000 transactions per second (TPS) and enables faster access to UPI innovations for businesses.
• UPI (Unified Payments Interface) is India’s preferred payment method, representing 70% of digital transactions.
• Razorpay’s UPI Switch provides a holistic infrastructure that enhances businesses’ experience with its range of features. It excels in dispute resolution, resolving issues 7x faster, within 24 hours, than the industry average of 7 days. Moreover, it can process refunds instantly compared to the industry standard of up to 3 days, ensuring a seamless customer experience.
• Razorpay UPI Switch will be the foundational platform that will drive all future UPI innovations along with powering current Razorpay UPI innovations such as Turbo UPI, and TPAP solutions.

Papua New Guinea Appoints First Defence Adviser to India

• Papa New Guinea has appointed Col Edison N apyo as its first Defence Advisor to India, marking a significant diplomatic move.
• Col N apyo will serve as a crucial link between the Papa New Guinean Government and Military in their interactions with India.
• This appointment strengthens the ties between the two nations and enhances cooperation in defense matters.

Papua New Guinea:

• Capital: Port Moresby
• Monarch: Charles III
• Governor-General: Bob Dadae
• Prime Minister: James Marape

India 4th largest military spender in 2023: SIPRI

• With military expenditure worth $83 .6 billion in 2023, India was the fourth largest spender globally in 2023, the latest report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) states. This was a result of growing personnel and operations costs that comprised about 80 per cent of the total military budget.
• The latest data showed that the United States, China and Russia remained the top three military spenders globally followed by India and Saudi Arabia.
• According to the report, Indian spending was up by 4.2 per cent from 2022 and by 44 per cent from 2014.
• It said the growth in spending is because of rising personnel and operations costs, and this aligns with the government’s priority to strengthen the operational readiness of the armed forces amid ongoing tensions with China and Pakistan.

RIL becomes first Indian company to cross Rs 1 lakh crore

• Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) became the first Indian company to cross the Rs 1 lakh crore mark in pre-tax profits, as the oil and gas to retail and telecom conglomerate reported its earnings for the quarter ended March 31.
• Further, the company reported a record annual consolidated revenue of over Rs 10 lakh crore, driven by continued growth momentum in the consumer and upstream business. Oil-to-telecom conglomerate reported a consolidated net profit (profit after tax) of Rs 79,020 crore for the financial year 2023-24, which is 7.3 per cent higher when compared with the previous year.
• The company’s tax expenses increased by 26.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 25,707 crore in 2023-24 on account of utilisation of tax credits in the previous financial year, data released by RIL showed.

Kate Middleton receives new honour from King Charles

• In recognition of her growing role within the royal family, King Charles bestowed a new title upon Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales.
• She will now also be known as The Royal Companion of The Order of the Companions of Honour.
• The princess is now one of a select group to hold the title, including JK Rowling and Sir Elton John.
• She was given the honour as part of a St George’s Day tradition and was not the only royal to be given a new title.
• Prince William was also honoured by being appointed the Great Master of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath.
• Meanwhile, the Queen consort, Camilla, was made a Grand Master and First or Principal Dame Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Indonesia officially declares Prabowo Subianto as President

• Indonesia’s electoral commission formally declared Prabowo Subianto president-elect, after the country’s highest court rejected challenges to his landslide victory lodged by two losing presidential candidates.
• Subianto, who is currently defense minister, won the election with 58.6 per cent of the votes, or more than 96 million ballots, more than twice the amount received by either of the other two candidates.
• But his rivals alleged that his victory had depended on large-scale fraud and widespread state interference.
• Subianto will take office in October, succeeding the popular Joko Widodo, the country’s first president from outside the Jakarta elite.
• The General Election Commission certified the election results on March 20, but the formal declaration ceremony was put on hold following legal challenges from rival candidates, former Jakarta Gov Anies Baswedan and former Central Java Gov Ganjar Pranowo, who sought to annul the result and demand a revote.