• Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has launched India’s First ‘medical devices calibration facility on wheels.
• This has been developed by IIT Madras under its ‘Anaivarukkum IITM’ (IITM for all) Initiatives.
• This mobile facility will ensure pervasive quality healthcare irrespective of geographical locations across the country. This will help to test and maintain medical devices that are used in wide range of hospitals including those in villages at their doorsteps.
• This initiative boosts the United National Sustainable Development Goal 3, which calls for Health and well-being for all.
• The infrastructure available in this mobile unit include state-of-the-art equipment to test the safety of medical devices and their functionalities as per international standards.

• The Retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and former UN official Bhimeswara Challa has unveiled his latest book India—the Road to Renaissance: A Vision and an Agenda at an event at the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Bella Vista campus.

• Sanjana Sanghi, a prominent Bollywood actress and UNDP Youth Champion, has been appointed as the Brand Ambassador for SPACE India, a leading space education organization.

ABOUT SPACE INDIA:

• Founded in 2001, SPACE India has inspired over 1.5 Million students and facilitated the integration of Astronomy and Space Science into the curriculum of 1,000 schools pan India.
• With a rich legacy spanning over 24 years in Astronomy, Space Science and STEM education, SPACE India has consistently pursued its purpose while keeping it aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG).

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chief S Somnath announced that the upcoming phase of the Chandrayaan project is in progress.
• India’s aspiration of landing an astronaut on the moon by 2040.
• Chandrayaan-4 is the first step in the direction-to step a craft on the moon and collect sample and bring it back to Earth. It demonstrates the full cycle of going to the moon and coming back to Earth.

• Nepal all-rounder Dipendra Singh Airee smashed six sixes in an over to become the third batsman to ever achieve the feat in a T20 International.
• The 24-year-old joined India’s Yuvraj Singh and West Indian Kieron Pollard after a sizzling knock against Qatar in the ACC Men’s Premier Cup match in Al Amerat.
• Airee smashed medium pacer Kamran Khan for six sixes in the final over in his incendiary 64 not out from 21 balls and also took two wickets as Nepal beat Qatar by 32 runs.

• India and Mumbai Indians star batter Rohit Sharma became the first Indian to smash 500 sixes in T20 cricket.
• He achieved this milestone during Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Wankhede Stadium.
• Rohit’s six tally has gone up to 502 sixes.
• Only Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Colin Munro have more T20 sixes to their name.

• The 16th World Future Energy Summit kicked off in Abu Dhabi, with a focus on discussions to facilitate the global energy transition, promote investment in clean and renewable energy, and create a sustainable future.
• The Summit is Organized by the UAE state-owned Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar).
• The energy summit is regarded as a major platform for addressing energy security, water security, climate change, and sustainable development in the Middle East.
• Francesco La Camera, director-general of the International Renewable Energy Agency, highlighted the critical need to accelerate renewable energy capacity to at least 11 terawatts (TW) by 2030.

• The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has raised India’s GDP growth forecast by 30 basis points to 6.5% in 2024. India grew 6.7% in 2023, as per UNCTAD.
• Global growth is projected to be 2.6% in 2024, slightly slower than the 2.7% in 2023.
• This makes 2024 the third consecutive year in which the global economy will grow slower than before the pandemic when the average rate for 2015–2019 was 3.2%.

• Mamta G. Sagar, a Bengaluru-based Kannada poet, writer, academic and activist, has recently won the World Literary Prize from the World Organization of Writers (WOW) for her contributions to the world of literature.
• Dr Sagar, a facilitator at Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design, and Technology, known for her involvement in diverse forms of transdisciplinary creative writing and cultural industries, received the award at a ceremony in Abuja, Nigeria.

NOTABLE WORKS BY MAMTA G. SAGAR:

• Authored four poetry collections, including “Footsteps of the Wild Peacock” (1992) and “Hide & Seek” (2014).
• Notable works also include the musical play for children “Chukki Chukki Chandakki” (1999) and the translation of the Kannada play “Mayye Bhaara Manave Bhaara” as “The Swing of Desire” (2004).

ABOUT WOW WORLD LITERARY PRIZE:

• Established by WOW as a successor to the “Golden LIFFT” literary award.
• WOW aims to encourage writers who have made significant contributions to world literature.
• Co-founded by the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly, the Pan-African Association of Writers and the LIFFT Foundation to promote cultural projects of Eurasian Peoples.
• The award accepts works in Russian, English, Spanish and Arabic with their translations.

• Time magazine has released the list of 100 most influential personalities of the world.
• At just 25 years of age, Palestinian photojournalist Motaz Azaiza is the youngest person on this years’ TIME list.
• Yulia Navalnaya, wife of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has also been included in this list.
• This time, 15 artists, 15 titans, 16 icons, 24 leaders, 15 innovators and 15 pioneers have been included in Time magazine.

INDIANS IN THE LIST:

• Olympian Sakshi Malik, Indian-origin actor Dev Patel, actor Alia Bhatt, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and World Bank President Ajay Banga were among the eight Indians named in the prestigious TIME’s list of 100 most influential people in the world.

ALIA BHATT

• In his write-up for Time magazine, British film director Tom Harper described Alia Bhatt as a “formidable talent.” Bhatt, who holds British citizenship, is based in India and works predominantly in the Hindi film industry. She is the recipient of a National Film Award, one of India’s highest paid actresses and a brand ambassador for Gucci. She made her international debut with Netlfix’s “Heart of Stone” last year.

DEV PATEL

• A British actor of Indian descent – his parents are Indian Gujarati Hindus – Dev Patel made a crackling big screen debut with “Slumdog Millionaire”, a film that propelled him to international fame in 2008. He made his directorial debut with “Monkey Man” this year.

SAKSHI MALIK

• India’s first and only female wrestler to win an Olympic medal, Sakshi Malik last year became the face of resistance against Brij Bhushan Singh, the Wrestling Federation of India chief who was accused of sexually harassing athletes. “This fight is no longer only for India’s female wrestlers,” said Malik, “it is for the daughters of India whose voices have been silenced time and again.”

AJAY BANGA

• India-born Ajay Banga has ascended the ranks to serve as president of the World Bank today. In her write-up for Time, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen described Banga as a leader with the “skill and drive to take on the monumental task of transforming an essential institution.” Banga was born in Pune and graduated from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He became a US citizen in 2007.

JIGAR SHAH

• Director of the US Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, Jigar Shah “leads one of the largest economic-development programs the world has ever seen,” says Richard Branson. He was born in India but moved to the United States when he was one-year-old.

ASMA KHAN

• An Indian-born British restaurateur and cookbook author, Asma Khan is the force behind the acclaimed London restaurant, Darjeeling Express, which is famous for its all-female kitchen. “Asma’s food is surprising. It doesn’t taste like restaurant food—and that is the highest compliment,” wrote Padma Lakshmi for Time.

PRIYAMVADA NATARAJAN

• Priyamvada Natarajan is a professor in the departments of astronomy and physics at Yale University. She is noted for her work in mapping dark matter and dark energy. Natarajan was born in Tamil Nadu and studied at Delhi Public School, RK Puram.

SATYA NADELLA

• He is the CEO of Microsoft, noted for his leadership in the technology sector and contributions to the global business community. Nadella started at Microsoft in 1992 as a Windows NT operating system developer.