• 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.

• The Himachal Gyan Vigyan Samiti began a campaign against drug abuse in the state. The campaign will go on till June 28.
• Under the campaign, the samiti has prepared a plan to run a state-wide drive against drug abuse.
• A two-day training workshop on the causes and effects of addiction, and prevention measures was organised at Saksharta Bhawan, Mandi, on April 21 and 22.
• In the workshop, 75 master-trainers were trained.
• The workshop was organised by the samiti in collaboration with District Child Protection Unit (Mandi), Gunjan Sanstha (Kangra), Saksharta Samiti (Mandi) and State Resource Center (Shimla).
• The workshop was inaugurated by Nela Ward, Mandi, Councillor Rajender Mohan.

• The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has published his report recently.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• According to SIPRI, the total global military expenditure increased by 6.8% to $2443 billion in 2023. This was the highest annual percentage growth in global military expenditure since 2009.
• The military expenditure went up in all five geographical regions, with major spending increases recorded in Europe, Asia and Oceania and the Middle East.
• The report comes amid ongoing conflicts in various parts of the world such as the ones involving Israel-Hamas, Iran-Israel, Russian-Ukraine besides volatility in the Red Sea region.
• According to the report, India was the fourth largest military spender globally in 2023 with an expenditure of USD 83.6 billion, behind the US, China and Russia.
• The Indian expenditure on military 2023 was $83.6 billion.
• According to SIPRI the largest percentage increase in military spending by any country in 2023 was seen in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (105 percent increase). The Government in Congo is engaged in conflict with various armed groups in the country.
• As per the report, Ukraine became the eighth largest military spender in 2023, increasing its spending by 51%.

FIVE BIGGEST SPENDERS IN 2023

• United States of America – The US spent $916 billion on military in 2023, an increase of 2.3 per cent as compared to last year.
• China- Its military budget was estimated at $296 billion in 2023, an increase of 6.0 per cent from 2022.
• Russia- Its military spending increased by 24 per cent to an estimated $109 billion in 2023.
• India- India spent $83.6 billion on its military in 2023 an increase of 4.2 per cent as compared to 2022.
• Saudi Arabia – Its estimated expenditure is $75.8 billion.

ABOUT SIPRI:

• Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is a research institute which was set up in 1966.
• Its main area of research is global or regional conflicts, armaments, arms control and disarmament.
• Headquarters: Stockholm, Sweden

• The WHO has approved a new, simpler version of an existing oral cholera vaccine, which should help increase the number of available doses as global cases surge.
• The Euvichol-S vaccine is a simplified formulation of Euvichol-Plus, with fewer components.
• It is produced by EuBiologicals Co., Ltd, South Korea.
• The liquid vaccine has a 24-month shelf life.

ABOUT CHOLERA:

• Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae.
• Cholera remains a global threat to public health and is an indicator of inequity and lack of social development.
• Researchers have estimated that every year, there are 1.3 to 4 million cases of cholera, and 21,000 to 143,000 deaths worldwide due to the infection.
• Cholera is an extremely serious disease that can cause severe acute watery diarrhoea with severe dehydration.
• It takes between 12 hours and five days for a person to show symptoms after consuming contaminated food or water.
• Cholera affects both children and adults and can kill within hours if untreated.
• Currently, 23 countries are reporting cholera outbreaks. The most severe impacts are being felt in the Comoros, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Somalia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

• India is showcasing its innovative technologies and power generation practices, at the 26th World Energy Congress, being held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, from 22nd April, 2024 to 25th April, 2024.
• The India Pavilion at the Congress aims to be a hub for showcasing innovative technologies and power generation practices, reinforcing India’s commitment to environmental conservation on the global stage.
• Central Public Sector Enterprises under the Ministry of Power, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Ministry of Coal and Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas are participating in the India Pavilion, giving a collective testimony to India’s leadership in global energy transition.
• The Pavilion has been jointly inaugurated by Secretary, Ministry of Power, Government of India, Shri Pankaj Agarwal and Ambassador of India to the Netherlands Reenat Sandhu, on 22nd April, 2024.

ABOUT 26TH WORLD ENERGY CONGRESS

• The 26th World Energy Congress is expected to be a critical turning point for leadership on clean and inclusive energy transitions worldwide.
• Themed ‘Redesigning Energy for People and Planet’, the four-day gathering marks the World Energy Council’s centenary in world energy.

ABOUT WORLD ENERGY COUNCIL INDIA

• World Energy Council India is a country member of World Energy Council (WEC), a global body established in 1923, with the aim of promoting sustainable supply and use of energy.
• WEC India is one of the earliest country members of World Energy Council, having joined the Council in 1924. WEC India functions under the patronage of Ministry of Power, Government of India and with the support of the Ministries of Coal, New & Renewable Energy, Petroleum & Natural Gas and External Affairs.

• The 6th edition of International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure was held in New Delhi.
• The theme of the conference is “Investing today for a more resilient tomorrow”.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS:

• India holds the permanent co-chair position within the CDRI Governing Council and Executive Committee. Over the past two years, the United States, represented by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has held the rotating co-chair positions, actively contributing to CDRI’s strategic direction.
• The United States has handed over the co-chairship of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) to
• The handover marks the culmination of India and the United States’ collaborative leadership spanning from 2022 to 2024, aimed at establishing disaster-resilient infrastructure worldwide in partnership with CDRI’s expanding membership.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON DISASTER RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE (ICDRI)

• The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure hosts an annual conference called the International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI).
• This conference brings together governments, organizations, institutions, the media, and infrastructure stakeholders to discuss disaster and climate-resilient infrastructure.
• The goal is to build a global community that is engaged in creating resilient infrastructure, which can withstand disasters and climate change. The conference is an opportunity to strengthen the global discourse on these important topics.

ABOUT CDRI:

• The Prime Minister of India launched Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) during his speech at the UN Climate Action Summit on 23rd September 2019.
• It aims to promote the resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks in support of sustainable development.
• The Secretariat of the CDRI is located in New Delhi, India.
• Members: 39 countries and 7 organisations.
• Thematic Areas:
  • Governance & Policy
  • Risk Identification & Estimation
  • Standards and Certification
  • Capacity Building
  • Innovation & Emerging Technology
  • Recovery & Reconstruction
  • Finance
  • Community-based Approaches

• C-DOT, the premier Telecom R&D Centre of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India and Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur (IIT-J) signed an agreement for “Automated Service Management in 5G and Beyond Networks Using AI”.
• The agreement is signed under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) of the DoT, which is designed for providing funding support to domestic companies and institutions involved in technology design, development, commercialization of telecommunication products and solutions to enable affordable broadband and mobile services in rural and remote areas.
• The primary objective is to develop AI frameworks for automated network management, fault detection, and diagnostic techniques by utilizing continuous information generated within the network like 5G.
• The service will establish a real time 5G and Beyond testbed (in compliance with O-RAN) for the demonstration of the developed automated network management and slicing techniques in conjunction with specific application use-cases such as smart metering, remotely operated vehicles, etc.

• “Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know” a film by Chidanand Naik, a student of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), has been selected in the ‘La Cinef” Competitive section of 77th Cannes Film Festival, France. The festival is to be held from 15th to 24th May 2024.
• The section is an official section of the festival aimed at encouraging new talents and recognises films from film schools across the world.
• The film is among 18 shorts (14 live-action and 4 animated films) selected from a total of 2,263 films submitted by film schools all over the world. This is the only Indian film selected in the ‘La Cinef’ section of Cannes.
• The Jury will hand over La Cinef prizes at a ceremony preceding the screening of the awarded films on 23rd May in the Buñuel Theatre.
• This FTII film is a production of the TV Wing One-year program where four students from different disciplines i.e. Direction, Electronic Cinematography, Editing, and Sound worked together for one project as a year-end coordinated exercise.
• The film is directed by Chidananda S Naik, shot by Suraj Thakur, edited by Manoj V and sound by Abhishek Kadam.