Today's Current Affairs 29th April 2023

INTERNATIONAL

Emirates Unveils World’s First Robotic Check-In Assistant

Dubai-based airline Emirates has unveiled its latest innovation, the world’s first robotic check-in assistant named Sara. The system is part of a new City Check-in and Travel Store that is set to launch in Dubai’s financial district. Sara will match customers’ faces with scanned passports, check passengers in, and guide them to the luggage drop area.

The facility, which opened on Thursday, April 27, allows customers to drop their luggage as early as 24 hours and up to 4 hours before their flight, arriving at the airport at their leisure. Passengers can check-in via self-check-in kiosks, at dedicated desks with Emirates agents, or with the help of Sara.

The robot is equipped with facial recognition technology and can print boarding passes, making the check-in process more efficient. Sara is also portable and can move around to assist those who need help

World Bank (WB) approves financing of USD 1.25 billion for three new projects in Bangladesh

The World Bank (WB) has approved a financing of USD 1.25 billion for three new projects in Bangladesh to help Bangladesh achieve greener and more resilient development and greater inclusion. The financing was approved after the meeting of the Bank to discuss a new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Bangladesh (2023-27)

Out of the three projects, USD 500 million Program on Agricultural and Rural Transformation for Nutrition, Entrepreneurship, and Resilience (PARTNER) project will help promote diversification, food safety, entrepreneurship, and climate resilience in the agri-food systems. The USD 500 million First Green and Climate Resilient Development Credit will help the country’s transition to green and climate-resilient development. The USD 250 million Sustainable Microenterprise and Resilient Transformation (SMART) project will help transform the micro-enterprise sector into a more dynamic, less-polluting, resource-efficient, and climate-resilient growth sector.

The CPF will support Bangladesh’s goal to achieve upper-middle-income country status by 2031 by helping the country address key barriers to higher and sustainable growth. It will help develop a diversified and competitive private sector to create more and better jobs; promote socio-economic inclusion to expand opportunities for all; and address climate and environmental vulnerabilities, said WB

NATIONAL

PM Narendra Modi inaugurates 91 new 100W FM Transmitters of AIR

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today commissioned Low Power FM Transmitters of capacity of 100 Watt at 91 locations. These transmitters of have been installed in 84 districts of 20 states. With this the network of transmitters with All India Radio has increased from 524 to 615. The addition will further boost the coverage of AIR to 73.5% of the population of the country.

Clear sound quality and easy availability of FM receiver equipped mobile phones has increased the demand of FM radio service in the country. In another major step towards meeting this demand and capacity building of the organisation, Government has further approved installation of 63 more FM transmitters in the country.

The Prime Minister congratulated All India Radio on this momentous occasion. Speaking about the significance of the addition, the Prime Minister said that today marks a significant step in the expansion of FM services by All India Radio in the direction of becoming All India FM. He underlined that the beginning of 91 FM transmitters by All India Radio is like a present for 85 districts and 2 crore people of the nation.

ITC becomes India’s 6th valuable company, overtakes Infosys

FMCG giant ITC has now overtaken the market capitalisation of Infosys to become India’s sixth most valuable company on the stock exchanges. 

ITC’s market cap stands at Rs. 5.111 Lakh crore ( As of April 24 2023 ) while the market cap of Infosys ( 7th place ) stands at Rs. 5.08 Lakh crore ,

To become the country’s 5th most valuable company, ITC will need some gas as rival FMCG firm Hindustan Unilever (HUL) currently commands an m-cap of Rs 5.88 lakh crore.

ITC’s market capitalisation ranking improved two spots in three sessions as the share price hit a high of Rs 413.45 on Monday before closing the session at Rs 411.35.  At the end of Monday’s trade, ITC’s m-cap stood at Rs 5.11 lakh crore while Infosys’ valuation stood at Rs 5.08 lakh crore.

APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

Siddhartha Mohanty Appointed As LIC Chairman

The government has appointed Siddhartha Mohanty as chairman of Life Insurance Corporation of India till June 2024, Chairman He will be the managing director and chief executive officer of the insurance behemoth from June 2024 till June 2025.

Siddhartha Mohanty had been serving as interim chairman of the corporation from March 14, 2023.

Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) recommended Siddhartha Mohanty's name for the post of chairman. The decision regarding the appointment of Mohanty as the LIC chairman was taken by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) headed by PM Narendra Modi.

About: Siddhartha Mohanty - Siddhartha Mohanty is a postgraduate in political science and also holds a degree in law. Siddhartha Mohanty also holds a postgraduate degree in business management and is a licentiate from the Insurance Institute of India. In a career spanning over three decades in the corporation, Mohanty has made his mark in the areas of Marketing, HR, Investments and Legal.

Jet Airways CEO-designate Sanjiv Kapoor quits

Sanjiv Kapoor, the CEO-designate of Jet Airways, has left the company just a year after joining the grounded carrier. Mr Kapoor joined Jet Airways in April last year.

The consortium that is working to revive the airline said in a statement today it will oversee CEO-designate responsibilities until a suitable replacement is found.

The Jet Airways management committee in January asked Mr Kapoor not to use the title of CEO till the troubled airline's ownership was completely transferred to a consortium of lenders.

He continued as CEO-designate till he quit the airline.

Monday will be his last working day, Jalan Kalrock Consortium (JKC) said in the statement .

  IMPORTANT DAYS

World Veterinary Day

World Veterinary Day is celebrated on the last Saturday in April annually, with an aim to raise awareness about veterinarians and their utmost devotion to animal health, welfare, and public health. This event is observed to honour and recognise the tireless efforts and perseverance to protect the health and safety of both animals and the populace.

This event is celebrated to honour the endeavours of veterinary professionals globally in augmenting animal health and welfare. World Veterinary Day also brings the global veterinary community together and helps them in getting the proper assistance. The World Veterinary Day (WVD) was first founded on April 29, 2000, by the initiative of the World Veterinary Association (WVA). Since then, every year, on the last Saturday of April, WVD is celebrated with a different theme selected that stresses a distinct aspect of veterinary medicine

Theme - The theme of World Veterinary Day for 2023 is 'Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness in the Veterinary Profession'. The well-being of all veterinarians is enhanced when diversity, equity, and inclusion are promoted and applied.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Indian-American Neeli Bendapudi receives 2023 Immigrant Achievement Award

Indian-American Neeli Bendapudi, the president of Penn State University receives the American Immigration Council's 2023 Immigrant Achievement Award, The award recognises "individuals or organisations that exhibit a commitment and dedication to our heritage as a nation of immigrants and to the struggle for fair and humane immigration policies in the United States

About: Neeli Bendapudi - Neeli Bendapudi was raised in India and she moved to the University of Kansas in the United States for her doctoral studies. She planned to launch her career in academics as an educator. Bendapudi did her Bachelors in English and her MBA from Andhra University in Visakhapatnam, India. She then did her doctorate in Marketing from University of Kansas.

Bendapudi was appointed the 19th President of Penn State University in 2022. Earlier, she was the President of University of Louisville from 2018 to 2021.

BOOKS & AUTHOR

PM Modi revealed the book - Saurashtra-Tamil Sangamprashastih

During the closing ceremony of ‘Saurashtra Tamil Sangam’, Prime Minister Modi unveiled the book ‘Saurashtra Tamil Sangam Prashasti’ written by Somnath Sanskrit University on Wednesday. On this occasion, Modi addressed through video conference. ‘These programs help in uncovering the ancient relationships between the people of different parts of the country. Modi’s vision is to instill the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshta Bharat in the people through these programs. That is why Kashi Tamil Sangam was organized first. This Saurashtra Tamil Sangam will take forward the culture and heritage between Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Centuries ago, many migrated to Tamil Nadu from the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. With this Saurashtra Tamil confluence, the people of Saurashtra in Tamil Nadu have a chance to reconnect with their ancient culture,

 BANKING AND ECONOMY

Razorpay joins ONDC to offer payment reconciliation service for buyer, seller apps

Fintech unicorn Razorpay has said that it will be joining the Open Network for Digital Commerce ecosystem (ONDC).

The Bengaluru based company will launch a payment reconciliation service for network participants (NPs) like buyers, sellers, and logistic partners, thereby streamlining the payment processes on ONDC, and providing them with an integrated single view of all their transactions.

Through this solution, Razorpay will facilitate ease of transacting on ONDC by timely routing settlement information for a given transaction and assisting Network Participants (NPs) with settling funds. This is a foolproof solution that validates transactions and maintains audit trails to support documentation that will inform any dispute or discrepancy that may arise.

With ONDC open network approach, where the buyers and sellers do not need to necessarily be on the same platform to be able to do a business transaction, ONDC will enable SMEs to access a larger buyer universe.