Government approves one-year extension to RBI Deputy Governor Rabi Sankar

• The government has extended the term of RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar for a period of one year.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the re-appointment of T Rabi Sankar, Deputy Governor Reserve Bank of India, for a period of one year with effect from May 3, 2024, they said.
• He was appointed as the RBI Deputy Governor in May, 2021 for a period of three years.
• He had joined the RBI in 1990 and worked in various positions at the central bank.
• He was Executive Director of the Reserve Bank before being elevated to the post of deputy
• He has served as an IMF Consultant (2005-11) on developing government bond markets and debt management. In addition to his professional career at the RBI, he is the Chairman, Indian Financial Technology and Allied Services (IFTAS); member of Board of Directors, ReBIT; and member of Governing Council, IDRBT.

Usain Bolt named ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 Ambassador

• The International Cricket Council (ICC) have announced Olympic legend Usain Bolt as an ambassador for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be played in the West Indies and USA from 1-29 June 2024.
• Bolt created history at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio when he achieved the ‘Triple-Triple’, three gold medals at three consecutive Olympic Games.
• His journey to worldwide stardom started at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing where he won the 100m, 200m and 4x100m, all in world record times.
• ICC named Sana Mir, who represented Pakistan in 226 international games, 13 7 of them as skipper, as the ambassador of the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier.
• As a veteran of Pakistan cricket, Sana featured in a number of ICC tournaments for her country, including the qualifying events. Her finest moment came in the 2008 ICC Women’s Qualifying Series for the Women’s Cricket World Cup, where Pakistan went all the way to the finals. Sana won the joint Player of the Series award for the tournament.

Nepal, Qatar agree to increase cooperation in various sectors

• Nepal and Qatar have reached to an agreement and understanding to collaborate in the art and culture, education, communication, youth and sports, legal assistance, and the industry and commerce sectors.
• These agreements and Mo Us were signed on the occasion of the State Visit of Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, said Amrit Bahadur Rai, spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Similarly, a MoU related to exchange of investment has been signed between the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Qatar Chamber of Commerce in the private sector.

Nepal:

• Capital: Kathmandu
• Currency: Nepalese Rupee
• President: Ram Chandra Poudel
• Prime minister: Pushpa Kamal Dahal

IBM acquires cloud software provider Bashi Corp for $6.4 billion

• IT major IBM has acquired multi-cloud infrastructure automation company HashiCorp for$35 per share in cash, or an enterprise value of $6.4 billion.
• HashiCorp’s capabilities will drive significant synergies across multiple strategic growth areas for IBM, including Red Hat, watsonx, data security, IT automation and Consulting.
• As a part of IBM, HashiCorp is expected to accelerate innovation and enhance its go-to­market, growth and monetisation initiatives.
• The rise of cloud-native workloads and associated applications is driving a radical expansion in the number of cloud workloads enterprises are managing. In addition, generative AI deployment continues to grow alongside traditional workloads.

KABIL inks pact with CSIR-NGRI to bolster critical mineral projects

• Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research- National Geophysical Research Institute (CSIR-NGRI) to foster a long-term collaboration in the field of geophysical investigations to bolster its ongoing projects and activities in critical and strategic minerals.
• The collaboration will focus on geophysical, geochemical, and geological surveys, data analysis, interpretation and modelling, scientific knowledge sharing, technical support, and advisory services.

KABIL:

• KABIL is a joint venture company of three public sector undertakings — National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL), and Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Limited (MECL), under the administrative control of the Ministry of Mines.

Asian U20 Athletics Championships: Ritik Rathee Clinches Silver Medal In Discus Throw

• At the Asian U20 Athletics Championships 2024 in Dubai, Discus thrower Ritik Rathee clinched a silver medal opening India’s medal tally.
• Rathee registered a best throw of 53.01 metres to bag the spot.
• Deepanshu Sharma and Rohan Yadav brought a gold and silver in the men’s javelin throw at the Asian under-20 athletics championships in Dubai
• While Deepanshu threw a distance of 70.29m, his Uttar Pradesh State-mate Rohan had a best of 70.03m.
• Priyanshu, also from UP, came close to winning another gold in the men’s 1500m but he was beaten at the finish by Qatar’s Aitoulghazi. His silver came with a time of 3 :50.85s.
• In the championships last year, India was placed third with 19 medals, including six gold medals.

DRDO develops India's lightest bulletproof jacket

• The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has recently developed the lightest bulletproof jacket in India, weighing just 9.7 kg.
• This jacket, named Bhabha Kavach’, is designed to provide protection against 7 .62mm bullets and is named after nuclear physicist Homi J. Bhabha.
• It is made of composite material and is expected to significantly enhance the safety of security personnel.
• Its unit, Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment (DMSRDE), Kanpur, the D RDO has created the jacket for protection against 7 .62 x 54 R API (Level 6 of BIS 17051) ammunition. The bulletproof jacket can stop six bullets.
• According to the Ministry of Defence, the bulletproof jacket was successfully tested at Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL ), Chandigarh .

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi inaugurates $514 million hydropower project in Sri Lanka

• Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi inaugurated a USD 514 million hydropower project in the southeastern region of Sri Lanka which was partly funded by Tehran and was long-delayed due to international sanctions on the oil-rich nation.
• This was the first visit by an Iranian president to Sri Lanka since an April 2008 visit by its then­president Mahmoud Ahmadinej ad.
• The UMODP project costing USD 514 million was kicked off with USD 50 million provided by Iran.
• The Sri Lankan government and Farah Energy and Water Projects (Farah Company) of Iran agreed in April 2008 to implement the project.
• The total contract sum amounted to USD 514 million and the Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI) funded USD 50 million until 2013.

South Korea launches Earth observation nanosatellite

• The South Korea has launched a nanosatellite into orbit as part of its project to create a constellation of satellites by 2027.
• The satellite “Neonsat-1 “, is scheduled to be deployed in space at an altitude of 520 kilometers, was launched aboard Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from a spaceport in Mahia city, New Zealand.
• The “NEONSAT-1” is an abbreviation for the New Earth Observation Satellite Constellation from Space for National Safety.
• It was developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, weighs less than 100 kilograms, and has an accuracy ofup to one meter.
• The satellite is the first of 11 nanosatellites that form a constellation of satellites to monitor and take pictures of the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding areas, pointing out that South Korea plans to launch five more nanosatellites into space in June 2026, and another five in September 2027.

Swami Gautamanada takes over as 17th President of Ramakrishna Mission

• Swami Gautamananda took over as the 17th President of the Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda and headquartered at Belur in West Bengal’s Howrah district.
• Swami Gautamananda succeeds his predecessor and the 16th President of the Mission, Swami Smaranananda, who passed away on March 26 in Kolkata aged 95.
• Soon after the demise of Swami Smaranananda, the name of Swami Gautamananda was named the acting President.
• Swami Gautamananda is originally a resident of Tamil Nadu, though he was brought up mainly in Kamataka.
• He joined the order as a monk at the New Delhi unit of Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission.
• Before taking over as the acting President, he handled the daily affairs of the Chennai unit of Ramakrishna Mission as the senior-most trustee and Vice President.