• The Deputy Commissioner and District Electoral Officer, Mukesh Rapswal has launched an election mascot and a sticker under the SVEEP(Systematic Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation ) campaign.
• Along with the delivery of the LPG cylinders, the residents would get an appeal to cast their votes through specially designed stickers.
• Stickers featuring a mascot named ‘Bholu’, based on the Himalayan brown bear found in the Kugti and Tundah wildlife sanctuaries in Bharmour and Pangi valleys of the district, with a message in the local Gaddi dialect, “Munh bhi gana vota pana” (I shall got to cast my vote), will be affixed on the gas cylinders throughout Chamba district.
• The stickers will also be placed on public transport vehicles and prominent places.

• 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.

ABOUT USAIN BOLT

• Usain Bolt is a legend in track and field athletics. In 2017, he set the world record in the 100-metre race.
• In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Bolt won gold in the men’s 100-metre, 200 metres and 4×100 metres. He created a new world record in all three events.
• At the 2012 London Olympics, he again won gold medals in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4×100 metres.
• Finally, in the 2016 Rio Olympics, he won gold in 100 metres, 200 metres and 4×100 metres.
• Bolt currently holds world records in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4×100 metres with times of 9.58 seconds, 19.19 seconds and 36.84 seconds, respectively.

• Microsoft has launched Phi-3 Mini, a freely available, lightweight small language AI model.
• The company plans to further release two other models in the same scale.
• The model is meant to be simpler and cheaper compared to other heavyweight large language models like OpenAI’s GPT-4 Turbo.
• This is the smallest model that Microsoft has released yet and can be run locally, which means it can run for free on a smartphone without requiring an internet connection.
• The model can also run on the chips that power regular computer instead of the expensive and hard to find AI processors that Nvidia makes.
• Phi-3 mini has 3.8 billion parameters while the two other models that are yet to be released Phi-3 Small and Phi-3 Medium will have 7 billion parameters and 14 billion parameters respectively.
• The Phi-3 mini will be available on Azure, Hugging Face and Ollama.
• The company had released Phi-2 in December that performed on par with bigger models like Llama 2.
• According to Microsoft Phi-3 performs better than this older version and can respond to queries in a manner that is close to a model 10 times bigger its size.

• The Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment (DMSRDE), Kanpur has successfully developed the lightest Bullet Proof Jacket in the country for protection against 7.62 x 54 R API (Level 6 of BIS 17051) ammunition.
• This bullet proof jacket was successfully tested at TBRL, Chandigarh as per BIS 17051-2018.
• This jacket is based upon new design approach, where novel material along with new processes have been used.
• The front Hard Armour Panel (HAP) of this jacket defeats multiple hits (06 shots) of 7.62 x 54 R API (Sniper rounds) in both ICW (In-conjunction with) and Standalone design.
• The ergonomically designed front HAP is made up of monolithic ceramic plate with polymer backing which enhances the wearability and comfort during the operation.
• The areal density of ICW Hard Armour Panel (HAP) and standalone HAP is less than 40 kg/m2 and 43 kg/m2 respectively.
• Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment (DMSRDE), Kanpur is a unit of DRDO.

• The Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation Cell (SVEEP) of Kamrup Election District has partnered with Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati to develop a innovative 3D printed dummy ballot unit to enhance voter awareness and engagement.
• It Crafted with the objective of acquainting citizens, particularly new voters, and senior citizens, with the intricacies of voting procedures.
• The 3D printed dummy ballot unit aims to dispel any apprehensions, anxiety or uncertainties associated with the voting process.
• The dummy ballot unit is designed and manufactured with cutting-edge 3D printing technology and PLA (polylactic acid), a biodegradable and eco-friendly material derived from corn starch.
• The researchers at IIT Guwahati designed and manufactured the device within just 48 hours, incorporating interactive features such as sound and light as output indicators to assist users during the voting process.

• The World Intellectual Property Day is celebrated every year on April 26.
• The day aims to raise awareness about intellectual property (IP) rights and its role in encouraging innovation and creativity to make the world a better place.
• The day was first celebrated by the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) in 2000 with a focus on creating sustainable solutions.
• The official theme for 2024 is “IP and the SDGs: Building Our Common Future with Innovation and Creativity”.

ABOUT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

• Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce.
• It primarily encompasses copyrights, patents and trademarks.

ABOUT WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANISATION (WIPO):

• Established in 1967
• Membership: 193-member states,
• Director General: Daren Tang,
• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
• India joined WIPO in 1975.

• Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee have reported the discovery of fossils of one of the largest snakes that ever existed and likely lived 47 million years ago during a period called the Middle Eocene.
• The fossils were found in Kutch, Gujarat, and the reptile, named Vasuki Indicus, could have been anywhere between 11m (36ft) and 15m (49.22ft) in length, or as big as a modern-day school bus.
• It belonged to the now-extinct Madtsoiidae snake family but represents a unique lineage from India.
• Professor Sunil Bajpai and post-doctoral researcher Debajit Datta at the IIT Roorkee, stumbled upon 27 pieces of a “partial, well preserved” vertebral column of the snake at the Panandhro Lignite Mine in Kutch.
• The reptile existed at a time when the earth looked quite different from today, and Africa, India and South America were one, conjoined landmass.
• Vasuki Indicus likely had a broad and cylindrical body, hinting at a robust and powerful build and was as big as Titanoboa, a massive snake that once roamed the earth and is reportedly the longest ever known.
• The name “Vasuki” derives from the mythological snake depicted often encircling the neck of the Hindu deity Shiva.

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the re-appointment of RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar for one year from May 3, 2024.
• Rabi Sankar has a Master of Philosophy in Economics from the Jawaharlal Nehru University at Delhi, was appointed as RBI Deputy Governor in May 2021 for three years. He was an Executive Director of RBI before being elevated to the post of Deputy Governor in May 2021.
• Besides the RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, the central bank has four Deputy Governors— M.D.Patra; M Rajeshwar Rao; J Swaminathan and T Rabi Sankar.

• Ananth Technologies Founder, CEO and Chairman Pavuluri Subba Rao has been conferred with the ‘Aryabhatta Award’ instituted by the Aeronautical Society of India (ASI). He was also presented with ASI’s ‘Distinguished Fellow’ title.
• He received the award recognition of Rao’s “tremendous lifetime contribution to the promotion of astronautics in India.”
• A former ISRO scientist, Rao incorporated Ananth Technologies Limited in 1992 to indigenously design and develop some of the country’s most sophisticated avionics for ISRO and the Defence sector.
• The Hyderabad-based company employs over 1,600 people across its three Centres of Excellence in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Thiruvananthapuram.
• ATL has supplied key components and technologies to 98 satellites and 78 launch vehicles for Indian space programmes.

ABOUT ARYABHATTA AWARD

• The Astronautical Society of India presents the Aryabhatta Award to people who have made significant contributions in the field of astronautics and aerospace technology in India.
• The society was established in 1990 and is a member of the International Astronautical Federation since 1958.
• The award is named after Aryabhata, an Indian astronomer and mathematician from the fifth century.
• It commemorates Aryabhata, the first Indian satellite launched on 19th April 1975. The award is generally presented by the Minister of State of the Prime Minister’s Office.

• 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% of the votes, or more than 96 million ballots, more than twice the amount received by either of the other two candidates.
• Subianto will take office in October, succeeding the popular Joko Widodo, the country’s first president from outside the Jakarta elite.