APPOINTMENTS

Mr Ashwani Kumar elected as the New President of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO)

• Mr. Ashwani Kumar, Partner of Victor Forgings, Jalandhar has been unanimously elected as the new President of Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).

• Shri Ashwini Kumar is a well-known and popular business entrepreneur and exporter from Jalandhar (Punjab), representing the engineering sector of exports.

• A widely travelled businessman, Mr. Kumar has held several key positions in various renowned organizations of the country including FIEO as Chairman (Northern Region) and member of the Managing Committee of the Federation.

• With extensive experience in various leadership roles within the government and several associations in Punjab, including representing the engineering sector of exports, Kumar aims to enhance the competitiveness of India's exports and expand its global footprints.

STATE NEWS

UP Board of Madrasa Education Act declared 'unconstitutional' by Allahabad HC

• The Uttar Pradesh Madrassa Education Board Act, 2004, declared "unconstitutional" and a violation of the principle of secularism by the Allahabad High Court.

• The Allahabad High Court asked the state government to accommodate the current students in the formal schooling system.

• On a writ petition filed by a person named Anshuman Singh Rathore, the division bench of Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Subhash Vidyarthi of the Lucknow bench of the court declared the law ultra vires.

• Petitioner objected to the fact that Madrasas are managed by the Minority Welfare Department instead of the Education Department.

• The petitioner submitted that the Madarsa Act violates the principles of secularism, which is the basic structure of the Constitution and fails to provide quality compulsory education up to the age of 14 years/Class-VIII as mandated under Article 21-A.

• They fail to provide universal and quality school education to all the children studying in Madarsa.

• There are approximately 25,000 madrassas in Uttar Pradesh of which 16,500 are recognized by the Uttar Pradesh Madrassa Education Board.

• Of these, 560 madrassas receive grants from the government. Besides, there are 8,500 unrecognized madrassas in the state.

Virat Kohli became the first Indian to score 12,000 runs in T20 cricket

• Virat Kohli became the first Indian cricketer to score 12,000 runs in T20 cricket during the opening match of the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings.

• Kohli achieved this milestone after facing the ninth ball of the next over, bowled by Sri Lankan captain Mahesh Thikshana, by taking two runs, thus completing his 12,000 T20 runs.

• With this accomplishment, Kohli solidifies his status as one of the most prolific batsmen in T20 cricket, having scored 8 centuries and 91 half-centuries in his T20 career for India, Delhi, India A, and Royal Challengers Bangalore.

INDEX AND RANKING

Hurun Research's list, Mumbai has emerged as Asia's new billionaire hub, overtaking Beijing

• According to Hurun Research's 2024 Global Rich List, Mumbai has rapidly emerged as Asia's billionaire hub and has overtaken Beijing for the first time.

• India's financial capital now has 92 billionaires, surpassing Beijing's 91 billionaires, yet China has more billionaires at 814 compared to India's 271.

• In terms of billionaires, Mumbai ranked third globally, with New York leading with 119 billionaires, followed by London with 97 billionaires.

• The rise of the Maharashtrian city is credited to the addition of 26 new billionaires in the last year, bringing its total wealth of billionaires to $445 billion, up 47% from the previous year.

• In contrast, the total wealth of Beijing's billionaires is $265 billion, which has seen a decline of 28%.

• Mumbai's wealth-boosting sectors include energy and pharmaceuticals, which have seen notable gains by business tycoons like Mukesh Ambani.

• Among Mumbai's billionaire elite, real estate magnate Mangal Prabhat Lodha and his family experienced the most significant increase in wealth at 116%.