AWARDS

Hockey India Player of the Year Awards 2024

• Harmanpreet Singh named Men’s Player of the Year after leading India to a second consecutive bronze at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

• Savita Punia received the Women’s Player of the Year award and was part of India’s near-bronze performance in the Tokyo Olympics.

• Savita also clinched the Goalkeeper of the Year award for 2024.

• The 1975 Men’s World Cup-winning team honored with the Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award.

• Abhishek awarded Forward of the Year, while Hardik Singh earned Midfielder of the Year recognition.

• Amit Rohidas named Best Defender of the Year.

• Araijeet Singh Hundal won the Jugraj Singh Player of the Year (Men’s Under-21) award.

• Deepika was honored as the Player of the Year in the Women’s Under-21 category.

STATE NEWS

Inauguration of Maharashtra's First Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Temple in Bhiwandi

• The first-ever grand temple dedicated to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was inaugurated in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, on his birth anniversary.

• Located in Thane district, the temple is a tribute to Shivaji Maharaj's legacy and offers a space for devotees to celebrate his glory.

• Spanning 2,500 square feet, the temple is surrounded by a fort-like boundary wall extending 5,000 square feet.

• The temple features a 42-foot sabha mandap and circular bastions, inspired by the architecture of forts.

• Architect Vijaykumar Patil designed the temple’s structure, while artist Arun Yogiraj crafted the 6.5-foot idol of Shivaji Maharaj.

• The Maharashtra government is also seeking permission from Uttar Pradesh to construct a memorial in Agra, marking the site where Shivaji Maharaj escaped from Aurangzeb's captivity in 1666.

Telangana's Rajiv Yuva Vikasam Scheme to Promote Self-Employment

• Telangana CM A. Revanth Reddy launched the Rajiv Yuva Vikasam scheme to provide self-employment loans to youth from SC, ST, BC, and Minority communities.

• The scheme aims to create self-employment opportunities for 5 lakh unemployed youths in the state.

• A total of ₹6,000 crore has been allocated by the Telangana government for this initiative.

• Eligible individuals can receive financial support of up to ₹3 lakh to establish self-employment units.

• Loan approval documents will be handed to selected applicants on Telangana Formation Day, June 2nd.

• Loans up to ₹1 lakh will come with an 80% subsidy, loans up to ₹2 lakh with a 70% subsidy, and loans up to ₹3 lakh with a 60% subsidy.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Indian Government Approves Chandrayaan-5 Mission

• The Indian government has approved the Chandrayaan-5 mission, aligning with India’s goal of landing an astronaut on the Moon by 2040.

• Chandrayaan-5 will include a 350 kg rover and a larger lander, crucial for future lunar missions, including human landings.

• The mission will be a joint venture between India and Japan.

• Chandrayaan-4 will focus on Moon landings and sample collection, paving the way for Chandrayaan-5’s objectives.

• ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 recently achieved a historic soft landing at the Moon’s South Pole.

• Chandrayaan-4 will demonstrate technology for safe lunar landings, sample collection, and returning samples to Earth.

• ISRO aims to establish the Bharatiya Antriksh Station by 2035 and send astronauts to the Moon aboard a homegrown rocket.

• In the past decade, ISRO has launched 433 satellites with a remarkable 90% success rate and sent 393 foreign satellites into orbit.

• The Kulasekarapattinam spaceport in Tamil Nadu will support Small Satellite Launch Vehicle launches, with construction starting in March 2025.

• Chandrayaan-1 was pivotal in discovering water on the Moon, while Chandrayaan-2 provided valuable lunar data despite its landing failure.

• Chandrayaan-3 marked India’s first successful soft landing on the Moon’s South Pole.

• ISRO became the fourth country in the world to launch a satellite dedicated to studying the Sun.

NASA Astronauts Return After 9-Month Delay in Space

• NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore safely returned to Earth on March 18 aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon.

• Their capsule parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico, near Tallahassee, Florida Panhandle.

• The mission, originally planned for a short stay, stretched to 286 days, exceeding the initial estimate by 278 days.

• During their time in orbit, they circled Earth 4,576 times and traveled 121 million miles (195 million km).

• Williams set a record for female astronauts, accumulating 62 hours across nine spacewalks in her career.

• They had been at the International Space Station (ISS) since June 2023, arriving on the first crewed mission of Boeing’s Starliner.

• Their return was repeatedly postponed due to technical problems with the Starliner, making it unsafe for re-entry.

• The extended stay finally ended with a successful splashdown, marking a challenging yet historic mission.

ISRO Develops Indigenous High-Speed Microprocessors for Space Missions

• ISRO, in collaboration with the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) in Chandigarh, has developed two 32-bit microprocessors: Vikram 3201 and Kalpana 3201.

• Vikram 3201 is India's first fully indigenous 32-bit microprocessor, designed to withstand the harsh conditions of launch vehicles.

• These microprocessors feature a 32-bit wide data bus, registers, and address bus.

• Vikram 3201 supports floating-point calculations and is compatible with high-level programming languages.

• Kalpana 3201 is a 32-bit SPARC V8 RISC microprocessor based on the IEEE 1754 Instruction Set Architecture.

• Kalpana 3201 is designed to work with open-source software toolsets, enhancing accessibility.

• This milestone marks significant progress in India’s efforts to achieve self-reliance in reliable microprocessors for space missions.

SUMMIT AND CONFERENCE

India to Co-Chair the 14th ADMM-Plus Counter-Terrorism Meeting in New Delhi

• India will host the 14th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) Experts Working Group (EWG) on Counter-Terrorism in New Delhi from March 19-20, 2025.

• The meeting will be co-chaired by India and Malaysia, marking India’s first time co-chairing the EWG on counter-terrorism.

• Delegations from 10 ASEAN nations—Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand—will participate.

• Representatives from eight dialogue partners, including Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, China, the USA, Russia, and Timor Leste, along with the ASEAN Secretariat, will also attend.

• This meeting marks the launch of the Counter-Terrorism EWG's activities for the 2024-2027 cycle.

• The main focus will be on developing a comprehensive strategy to combat the growing threats of terrorism and extremism.

• The event offers a platform for defence forces of ASEAN and dialogue partner countries to exchange real-world experiences.

• The ADMM-Plus framework promotes practical cooperation among defence establishments of the participating nations.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Armenia and Azerbaijan Reach Peace Agreement After Decades of Conflict

• Armenia and Azerbaijan have agreed on a peace treaty, ending nearly 40 years of conflict.

• The dispute centered around the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which has been contested since the Soviet Union collapsed.

• Azerbaijan retook control of Nagorno-Karabakh by force in September 2023, prompting peace talks.

• Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, though it was governed by Armenian separatists for years.

• Armenia has accepted Azerbaijan’s proposals to resolve the final two outstanding issues in the agreement.

• Both nations have been involved in multiple wars since the 1980s over the region's status.

• The peace deal will prevent third-country personnel from deploying along the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.

• The timeline for the official signing of the treaty remains unclear.

India and New Zealand Sign Multiple Agreements to Strengthen Bilateral Ties

• India and New Zealand have signed five key agreements in Defence, Education, Sports, Horticulture, and Forestry.

• The two countries also exchanged mutual recognition agreements to boost economic collaboration.

• Both nations emphasized their support for a Free, Open, Secure, and Prosperous Indo-Pacific, with a focus on development.

• New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is on a five-day visit to India to enhance bilateral relations.

• His visit aims to reinforce cooperation across various sectors and deepen ties between the two nations.

• India and New Zealand have committed to collaborating on countering terrorism, separatism, and radical elements.

MISCELLANEOUS

5G Innovation Hackathon 2025 Launched by Department of Telecommunications

• The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has announced the 5G Innovation Hackathon 2025 to drive the development of 5G-powered solutions for societal and industrial challenges.

• This six-month initiative is open to students, startups, and professionals, providing mentorship, funding, and access to over 100 5G use case labs.

• The hackathon invites proposals for key 5G applications, including AI-driven network maintenance, IoT solutions, 5G broadcasting, smart health, agriculture, industrial automation, non-terrestrial networks, D2M, V2X, and quantum communications.

• The competition will be held in multiple phases, with the top 25-50 teams advancing to the Pragati Phase.

• Each selected team in the Pragati Phase will receive an initial funding of ₹1,00,000 to develop prototypes from June 15 to September 15, 2025.

• Winners will be announced in October 2025 and will present their innovations at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2025.

• The top three teams will receive cash prizes: ₹5,00,000 for first place, ₹3,00,000 for second place, and ₹1,50,000 for third place.

• The hackathon aims to foster innovation and collaboration, tapping into the transformative potential of 5G technology.