• The 125th anniversary of the iconic Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (KSO) was celebrated on 1 April 2024 by Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), to remember the history of KSO, felicitate its scientists, and honour its legacy was a milestone for astronomy in India.
• The KSO houses a digital repository of 1.2 lakh digitised solar images and thousands of other images of the Sun recorded every day since the start of the 20th century.

ABOUT KODAIKANAL SOLAR OBSERVATORY:

• It is a solar observatory owned and operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.
• The concept of an Indian solar observatory began in the late 19th century, and the government approved the establishment of the Solar Physics Observatory in Kodaikanal in August 1893.
• Kodaikanal in the Palani hills of Tamil Nadu was picked for the observatory because of its good atmospheric conditions, based on surveys by Charles Michie Smith (a Professor of Physics at the Madras Christian College).
• Lord Wenlock, the Governor of Madras at the time, laid the foundation stone for KoSO in 1895.
• Systematic observations at KoSO commenced on March 14, 1901.
• Initially, KoSO had telescopes to study sunspots, prominences, and solar radiation. Now, it has advanced instruments like the H-alpha telescope and the White Light Active Region Monitor (WARM) for high solar imaging.

• SEBI recently launched the new version of the SEBI Complaint Redress System (SCORES 2.0).

ABOUT SCORES:

• SCORES is a web-based centralized grievance redress system of SEBI launched in 2011.
• SCORES enable investors to lodge and follow up on their complaints and track the status of redressal of such complaints online from anywhere.
• This enables market intermediaries and listed companies to receive complaints online from investors, redress such complaints, and report redressal online.
• An investor who is not familiar with SCORES or does not have access to SCORES can lodge complaints in physical form at any of the offices of SEBI.

KEY FEATURES OF SCORES 2.0

• It will feature reduced and uniform time lines for redressal of investor complaints, which is 21 calendar days from the date of receipt of the complaint.
• An auto-routing of complaints to the concerned regulated entity will be facilitated to eliminate time lapses, if any, in the flow of complaints.
• Designated bodies will have to monitor the timely redressal of investors’ complaints.
• There will be two levels of review. The first review will be by the ‘designated body’ if the investor is dissatisfied with the resolution provided by the concerned regulated entity. The second review will be by SEBI if the investor is still dissatisfied after the first review.
• If there is non-adherence to the prescribed timelines by the regulated entity, then there would be auto-escalation of the complaint to the next level.
• SCORES 2.0 will be integrated with the KYC Registration Agency database for easy registration of the investor on SCORES.

ABOUT SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA

• It is a statutory body established on April 12, 1992 in accordance with the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.
• Before SEBI came into existence, Controller of Capital Issues was the regulatory authority; it derived authority from the Capital Issues (Control) Act, 1947.
• It is a quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial body which can draft regulations, conduct inquiries, pass rulings and impose penalties.

• Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living Foundation, under its Himalayan Development Mission, has installed a 2 kW solar power system at the Government Senior Secondary School, Dharwas, in the remote Pangi valley of Chamba district.
• The project was launched in a bid to equip schools in remote parts of the state with facilities under the Solar Smart Classroom programme. The solar power system has been integrated with a smart screen to provide better education to the students.
• Presently, 21 government senior secondary schools of the state have been included in this programme — Eight schools from Chamba, four from Solan and three each from Kullu, Lahaul and Una.

• The 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic continued to set records on the ATP Tour as he began the week ranked 419th as World No.1. The Serbian icon is on the verge of making history by becoming the oldest World No. 1 ever, surpassing Roger Federer’s record as the oldest No. 1 in ATP Rankings, when he will be 36 years and 321 days old.
• Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic’s most recent competitor for the top place, became the youngest No. 1 in ATP Rankings history in September 2022, at the age of 19.

• Professor Meena Charanda, Principal of Kalindi College, Delhi University, was given the ‘International Culture Award’ for the year 2024. Meena Charanda has been given this honor for her remarkable work in the field of education and social service.
• The selection for the ‘International Culture Award’ was made by a 5-member committee headed by K Yogesh, Chairman of Socrates Social Research University (Trust).
• Charanda was also selected for this honor for his excellent research work in the field of political science.

• The Maharashtra team made a clean sweep at the 56th National Kho Kho Championship 2023-24. It won both the men’s and women’s titles, held at Delhi’s Karnail Singh Stadium and the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.
• Sumitra Mahajan, the former Speaker of Lok Sabha, inaugurated the opening ceremony at KD Jadhav Hall in IG Sports Complex. Mahajan was the chief guest at the opening ceremony where the Kho Kho Federation of India unveiled the mascot ‘Dhaakad’ for a multi-team tournament.
• Men’s Champion- The Maharashtra men’s team defeated the Indian Railway team.
• Women’s Champion – The Maharashtra team, led by Sampada Maurya, defeated the Airport Authority of India team.

ABOUT KHO-KHO:

• The first Kho Kho competition was organised in
• The Kho-kho Federation of India organised the first National Championship at Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, in 1959.
• Kho Kho Federation of India was setup in 1955.

• Hockey India announced the sixth Hockey India Awards 2023 on 31 March 2024 at a function in New Delhi.
• Salima Tete and Hardik Singh were named the women’s and men’s player of the year, respectively.
• Hockey India started the annual Hockey India Awards in 2014 to honour India’s best hockey players, former players and officials.

HOCKEY INDIA AWARDS 2023 WINNERS

• Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award: Ashok Kumar
• Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr Award for Player of The Year (Men): Hardik Singh
• Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr Award for Player of The Year (Women): Salima Tete
• Hockey India Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year: PR Sreejesh
• Hockey India Pargat Singh Award for Defender of the Year: Harmanpreet Singh
• Hockey India Ajit Pal Singh Award for Midfielder of the Year: Hardik Singh
• Hockey India Dhanraj Pillay Award for Forward of the Year: Abhishek
• Hockey India Asunta Lakra Award for Upcoming Player of the Year (Women – Under 21): Deepika Soreng
• Hockey India Jugraj Singh Award for Upcoming Player of the Year (Men – Under 21): Araijeet Singh Hundal

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the opening ceremony of RBI@90 in Mumbai, Maharashtra on 1 April 2024.
• The ceremony was organised to mark the 90 years of the establishment of India’s central bank, Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The Prime Minister Modi released a commemorative coin to mark 90 years of RBI on the occasion.

ABOUT RESERVE BANK OF INDIA

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was set up on the recommendation of the Royal Commission on Indian Currency and Finance also known as the Hilton-Young Commission.
• Accepting the recommendation of the Hilton-Young Commission the Reserve Bank of India Act 1934 was passed.
• On 1 April 1935, the Reserve Bank of India started its operation.
• The RBI was initially owned by a private person. It was nationalised in 1949 and is now owned by the Government of India.

• A New York-based research lab and technology company Hume, has introduced what can be called the ‘first conversational AI with emotional intelligence’.

ABOUT EVI:

• It is the world’s first emotionally intelligent voice AI. It accepts live audio input and returns both generated audio and transcripts augmented with measures of vocal expression.
• It is essentially an API that is powered by its proprietary empathic large language model (eLLM). This eLLM reportedly understands and emulates tones of voices, and word emphasis to optimise human-AI conversations.
• It is trained on human reactions to optimize for positive expressions like happiness and satisfaction. EVI will continue to learn from users’ reactions.
• By processing the tune, rhythm, and timbre of speech, EVI unlocks a variety of new capabilities, like knowing when to speak and generating more empathic language with the right tone of voice.

• REC Limited, a Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Power and a leading NBFC, has been bestowed with the SKOCH ESG Award 2024 in the ‘Renewable Energy Financing’
• The award underscores REC’s dedication to sustainable financing, paving the way for a greener future and accelerating the transition to renewable energy.
• Executive Director, REC Limited, Shri T.S.C. Bosh received the award in New Delhi.

ABOUT THE AWARD:

• The SKOCH ESG Awards recognize organizations that demonstrate outstanding performance in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) The SKOCH ESG Award and Assessment serve as an important benchmark for evaluating organizations’ commitment to India 2047. It focuses on the interplay between sustainable investments and processes in shaping a sustainable and growing business future.

ABOUT REC LTD:

• REC is a ‘Maharatna’ Central Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Power, and is registered with RBI as Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC), and Infrastructure Financing Company (IFC).
• REC finances the entire Power-Infrastructure sector comprising Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Renewable Energy and new technologies like Electric Vehicles, Battery Storage, Pumped Storage Projects, Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia projects.