1) Cabinet Approves MoUs Signed Between ICoAl, ICSI With Foreign Countries
•The Union Cabinet has granted approval to the Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) entered into by the Institute of Cost Accountants of India and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India with various countries and organisations. The MoUs seek to facilitate mutual recognition of qualifications and a range of collaborative activities for the exchange of knowledge. The signed MoUs would help in the advancement of the goals on equity, public accountability and innovation among the beneficiaries countries.
•The Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICoAl) and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) have signed MoUs with foreign organisations namely Institute of Public Accountants (IPA), Australia, Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, UK (CISI), Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), UK, Institute of Certified Management Accountants, Sri Lanka and Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA), UK.
2) Ayush Ministry Organises Series Of 5 Webinars On “Be With Yoga, Be At Home”
•The Ministry of Ayush is organising various activities in the run-up to the International Day of Yoga, 2021. One among these is a series of five webinars that the Ministry is organising under the broad theme of “Be with Yoga, Be at Home” in collaboration with five renowned organisations of the country who will present one webinar each on a particular topic. Some renowned Organisations are:- The Art of Living, The Yoga Institute, ArhamDhyanYog, etc.
•This series of five insightful webinars are aimed to remind the wider audience about the issues that have become extremely important in the present context of Covid-19. The series will seek to develop a cumulative understanding to respond to these cross-cutting issues, relying upon the collective experiential wisdom of five organisations that have their own distinctive tradition of learning and sharing.
3) NASA Partners ISRO to develop Earth System Observatory
•The US space agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is developing a new system called the Earth System Observatory, to mitigate efforts related to climate change and disaster mitigation. NASA has also partnered with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) which will provide NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR). NISAR will carry two radar systems to measure changes in the Earth’s surface, during one of the observatory’s first missions intended as a pathfinder.
4) Cheetah to be re-introduced in India from Africa in November
•Cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal which was declared extinct in India in 1952, is expected to be re-introduced into the country in November this year at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh. Kuno, positioned within the Chambal area, unfolds over a space of over 750 sq km and has a conducive atmosphere for the cheetah.
•The country’s last spotted cheetah died in Chhattisgarh in 1947 and it was declared extinct in the country in 1952. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) some years again ready a cheetah re-introduction undertaking.
•The Supreme Court docket had earlier given its approval to introduce African cheetahs to an acceptable habitat in India on an experimental foundation. Officers from India might be despatched to South Africa for sensitisation and coaching in June and July these 12 months and in accordance with the plan, the transportation of the cheetahs will happen in October and November.
5) Dr Nageshwar Reddy becomes first Indian to win Rudolf V Schindler award
•Padma Bhushan awardee and noted gastroenterologist Dr D Nageshwar Reddy, who is also the chairman of AIG Hospitals, has won the Rudolf V Schindler Award from the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE). Rudolf V Schindler Award is the highest category in the prestigious Crystal Awards named after Dr Schindler who is considered as “the father of gastroscopy.”
•With this, Dr Reddy becomes the first Indian medical practitioner to win this award. Dr Reddy is one of the first to promote endoscopy in India and has led the charge of educating numerous endoscopists all over the world.
6) Zeta becomes 14th Indian unicorn this year after SoftBank funding
•Banking technology startup, Zeta has raised $250 million from Japanese investment major SoftBank at a valuation of $1.45 billion. Zeta has become the 14th Indian startup to cross the valuation of $1 billion in 2021. SoftBank’s Vision Fund II was the source of the investment. The company’s value has increased by more than threefold as a result of SoftBank’s investment.
•The company operates in North America, Latin America, United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. At present Zeta works with 10 banks and 25 startups including HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, Sodexo RBL Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IndusInd Bank, and SBM Bank India, across eight countries. With Zeta, financial institutions can leverage a modern, cloud-native platform and improve speed to market, agility, cost to income ratio and user experience.
7) IAS VK Pandian to receive FIH President’s Award
•V Karthikeyan Pandian, an IAS officer, and private secretary to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was conferred with President’s award by International Hockey Federation through the 47th FIH Congress. He was awarded for his contribution in direction of the event and promotion of hockey in Odisha.
•On the closing day of the 47th FIH Congress held virtually, the International Hockey Federation (FIH) announced Pandian will receive the award for his contribution and services to Hockey in Odisha. Pandian also works as Secretary of the State government’s 5T Initiative (Technology, Transparency, Teamwork and Time Leading to Transformation).
8) IIT Ropar develops unique detector ‘FakeBuster’
•Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar and Monash University, Australia have developed a detector named ‘FakeBuster’ to identify imposters attending a virtual conference without anybody’s knowledge. It can also find out faces manipulated on social media to defame or make a joke of someone.
9) Phil Mickelson wins 2021 PGA Championship
•American professional golfer, Phil Mickelson has created history by winning the 2021 PGA Championship, at the age of 50. With this victory, Mickelson became the oldest player to win a major title in the history of the PGA Tour. This is his sixth major title.
•Mickelson has now broken the record of being the oldest major championship winner in history at the age of 50 years, 11 months, and 7 days. This record was previously held by American Julius Boros when he captured the 1968 PGA Championship at age 48, 4 months and 18 days.
