EX Bongosagar, a bilateral exercise between the Indian Navy and the Bangladesh Navy, has begun.

• On May 24, 2022, the third iteration of the Indian Navy (IN) – Bangladesh Navy (BN) Bilateral Exercise `Bongosagar` began in Port Mongla, Bangladesh.
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• The Bongosagar exercise will commence with a Harbour Phase on May 24-25, followed by a Sea Phase on May 26-27 in the Northern Bay of Bengal.
• By conducting several maritime exercises and operations between the two navies, Exercise Bongosagar aims to build high interoperability and combined operational skills.
• The exercise is being carried out by Indian Naval Ships Kora, an indigenously built Guided Missile Corvette, and Sumedha, an indigenously built Offshore Patrol Vessel. The Bangladesh Navy is represented by the Guided Missile Frigates BNS Abu Ubaidah and Ali Haider.
• Professional and social exchanges, friendly sporting events, and tactical level planning conversations on the conduct of the exercises at sea are all part of the exercise`s harbor phase.
• Ships from both nations would be able to participate in rigorous surface warfare drills, weapon firing drills, seamanship evolutions, and coordinated air operations in a tactical scenario during the exercise`s sea phase.

Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy has been awarded the Sitara-E-Pakistan Award.

• Daren Sammy is conferred with the Sitara-i-Pakistan Award for Services to Pakistan in a ceremony. 
• He was known for his role in helping bring international cricket back to Pakistan. It is the 3rd-highest civil award conferred by Pakistan. 
• Daren represented West Indies in 38 Tests, 68 T20Is, and 126 ODIs and has been one of the best captains in the T20 format, and he captained many franchises around the world.
• Daren led the West Indies to 2 T20 World titles (2012 and 2016) and was receiving his 2nd civil honor from Pakistan in as many years. 
• In March 2020, Daren got the highest civilian medal of Pakistan, Nishan-e-Pakistan, for helping bring international cricket back to Pakistan. 
• He was awarded honorary Pakistani citizenship by Arif Alvi, the President of Pakistan.

The world`s most powerful supercomputer, Japan`s Fugaku, has been surpassed by the US Frontier.

• According to the 59th edition of the Top500 list of the world’s most powerful supercomputers revealed by Germany, ORNL’s Supercomputer Frontier from the US, a supercomputer that was built using Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) architecture and equipped with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) processors, surpassed Japan’s Supercomputer Fugaku to become the world’s fastest supercomputer.
• Frontier’s closest competitor, Fugaku, has a performance score of 442 petaflops on the Linpack benchmark, which was a standard for officially ranking global, publicly disclosed supercomputers. 
• Fugaku was based on Arm’s core designs, and US’s Frontier is powered by AMD.

Param Porul, a supercomputer, was unveiled at NIT Tiruchirappalli.

• Under the National Supercomputing Mission, a supercomputer called Param Porul was unveiled at NIT Tiruchirappalli (NSM).
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• The National Science and Technology Museum (NSM) collaborates with the Dept. of Science and Technology (DST) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• The Param Porul supercomputing facility was created as part of phase two of the national supercomputing initiative to support computational research.
• The Param Porul uses direct contact liquid cooling technology to achieve excellent power usage efficiency while lowering operational costs. For the advantage of researchers, multiple programs from diverse scientific disciplines have been loaded on the system, including Weather and Climate, Bioinformatics, Computational Chemistry, Molecular Dynamics, Material Sciences, Computational Fluid Dynamics, and others.
• To meet the computing needs of various scientific and engineering applications, the system is equipped with a mix of CPU nodes, GPU nodes, high memory nodes, high throughput storage, and high-performance Infiniband connectivity.

EX Bongosagar, a bilateral exercise between the Indian Navy and the Bangladesh Navy, has begun.

• On May 24, 2022, the third iteration of the Indian Navy (IN) – Bangladesh Navy (BN) Bilateral Exercise `Bongosagar` began in Port Mongla, Bangladesh.
•  
• The Bongosagar exercise will commence with a Harbour Phase on May 24-25, followed by a Sea Phase on May 26-27 in the Northern Bay of Bengal.
• By conducting several maritime exercises and operations between the two navies, Exercise Bongosagar aims to build high interoperability and combined operational skills.
• The exercise is being carried out by Indian Naval Ships Kora, an indigenously built Guided Missile Corvette, and Sumedha, an indigenously built Offshore Patrol Vessel. The Bangladesh Navy is represented by the Guided Missile Frigates BNS Abu Ubaidah and Ali Haider.
• Professional and social exchanges, friendly sporting events, and tactical level planning conversations on the conduct of the exercises at sea are all part of the exercise`s harbor phase.
• Ships from both nations would be able to participate in rigorous surface warfare drills, weapon firing drills, seamanship evolutions, and coordinated air operations in a tactical scenario during the exercise`s sea phase.

The PARAM ANANTA Supercomputer was commissioned at IIT Gandhinagar.

• Param Ananta, the supercomputer at IIT Gandhinagar, is dedicated to the nation under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM). 
• It is a joint initiative of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), which was commissioned. 
• This indigenous software stack was developed by C-DAC and is a Make in India initiative.
• The Param Ananta was actually based on direct contact liquid cooling technology to acquire a high power usage effectiveness and reduce the operational cost.
• The Param Ananta Supercomputing Facility will benefit IIT Gandhinagar`s R&D activities in multidisciplinary domains of science and technology, including, but not limited to, machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), data science; bio-engineering for genome sequencing and DNA studies, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD).

An Indian novel, "Tomb of Sand," has won the International Booker Prize.

• For "Tomb of Sand," Indian writer Geetanjali Shree and American translator Daisy Rockwell won the International Booker Prize.
• It`s the first novel written in any Indian language to win the prestigious award, which honors fiction from all over the world translated into English. The prize money of 50,000 pounds ($63,000) will be split between Shree, who resides in New Delhi, and Rockwell, who lives in Vermont.
• Tilted Axis Press, a tiny publisher in the United Kingdom, has released "Tomb of Sand." It was formed by Deborah Smith, a translator who received the International Booker Prize in 2016 for her translation of Han Kang`s "The Vegetarian," to publish novels from Asia.

Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated the NIELIT Center in Leh, Ladakh.

• Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) Centre Leh. It is an Extension Centre Kargil, and an IT Enabled Incubation Centre for Handicraft and Handloom Sector.
• Ashwini Vaishnaw, when inaugurating the NIELIT Centres at Leh, Kargil, and Incubation Centre at Leh, reiterated the commitment of the Prime Minister for the development of UT of Ladakh. 
• He said that after the abrogation of Article 370 and the formation of the new UT, the way of development in this area had opened manifolds. Any proposal related to IT Education, Training, and Incubation for the development of UT of Ladakh would be approved instantly by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. 
• He complimented NIELIT for beginning the Leh and Kargil Centres and setting up of IT Enabled Incubation Centre in record time, which requires to be scaled up at a faster pace.

At the age of 10, Maharashtra`s Rhythm Mamania reaches Everest Base Camp.

• Rhythm Mamania, a 10-year-old champion skater from Worli, is one of the youngest Indian mountaineers to reach the Everest Base Camp (EBC) in Nepal`s Himalayan ranges. 
• She is climbing the base camp with a group of teenage Indian climbers. Rhythm completed the hike to the base camp at an altitude of 5,364 meters in 11 days, a rare feat. 
• Satori Adventures, a Nepal-based business, took Rhythm to base camp. A group of Kutch trekkers also joined him. 
• Rishi Bhandari of Satori Adventures in Nepal arranged the 11-day expedition.

NITI Aayog has launched a National Data and Analytics Platform.

Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated the NIELIT Center in Leh, Ladakh.

• Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) Centre Leh. It is an Extension Centre Kargil, and an IT Enabled Incubation Centre for Handicraft and Handloom Sector.
• Ashwini Vaishnaw, when inaugurating the NIELIT Centres at Leh, Kargil, and Incubation Centre at Leh, reiterated the commitment of the Prime Minister for the development of UT of Ladakh. 
• He said that after the abrogation of Article 370 and the formation of the new UT, the way of development in this area had opened manifolds. Any proposal related to IT Education, Training, and Incubation for the development of UT of Ladakh would be approved instantly by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. 
• He complimented NIELIT for beginning the Leh and Kargil Centres and setting up of IT Enabled Incubation Centre in record time, which requires to be scaled up at a faster pace.

Santander UK collaborates with ICICI Bank to make doing business between the two countries easier.

• One of India`s leading private sector banks, ICICI Bank, has cooperated with Santander Bank in the United Kingdom to make banking simpler for businesses in both countries. 
• In Mumbai, ICICI Bank and Santander UK Plc signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a collaboration framework to meet the financial service requirements of business clients working along the India-UK region.
• ICICI Bank said it would provide banking solutions in trade, cross-border payments, supply chain, treasury services, and retail banking to UK companies doing business in India. At the same time, Santander UK will help Indian companies and new-age firms with their financial needs in the UK.
• This Memorandum of Understanding allows businesses in the UK-India corridor to get seamless banking services. 
• They are confident that, thanks to their vast network, industry-first digital services, and comprehensive suite of corporate ecosystem banking, ICICI Bank will support Santander UK and help its customers develop their businesses in India, making India one of their primary markets.

The Republic of Korea is the first Asian country to join NATO`s Cyber Defence Group.

• South Korea is the 1st Asian country to join the Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
• The National Intelligence Service (NIS) of South Korea has joined the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence as a contributing participant.
• The NATO CCDCOE now has 32 formal members, with 27 NATO member countries and five non-NATO governments contributing participants. South Korea took part in Locked Shields 2022, the world`s most extensive and complicated biennial international live-fire cyber defense exercise. 
• Since 2020, it has participated two years in a row. Joining the CCDCOE would assist South Korea in combatting the perception of North Korea as a cybersecurity concern.
• NATO, often known as the North Atlantic Alliance, is a military alliance of 30 member states, 28 of which are European. It was established in 1949, and its headquarters is in Brussels.

A Kenyan nurse named Anna Qabale Duba has been named World`s Best Nurse.

• Anna Qabale Duba, a Kenyan nurse at the Marsabit County Referral Hospital, was awarded the inaugural Aster Guardian Global Nursing Award for promoting education and fighting against ancient cultural practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in her community.
• Duba, who received USD 250,000 in prize money (about Ksh.29 million), was honored by Emirates CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum during an award ceremony in Dubai commemorating International Nurses Day.
• Duba, the sole female graduate in her village, disclosed that she had created a school in Marsabit through her Qabale Duba Foundation, which gives classes to young kids and adults seeking a moral education throughout the day and evening.

At the 24th Deaflympics, Abhinav Deshwal won a gold medal in men`s 10m air pistol.

• At the ongoing 24th Deaflympics in Caxias do Sul, Brazil, Abhinav Deshwal has earned India`s second gold medal in shooting. 
• He was tied for silver with Oleksii Lazebnyk of Ukraine before earning gold in a shoot-off. At the 24th Deaflympics, India won four medals in the shooting competition.
• After placing second in the 60-shot qualification round with a score of 575 out of 600, Abhinav advanced to the final eight. 
• He was also deadlocked on points with Kim Kihyeon, but the Korean won due to greater inner tens.

India wins the Thomas Cup by defeating Indonesia 3-0.

• With a 3-0 win over powerhouse Indonesia in the final, India`s men`s badminton team won the Thomas Cup for the first time. 
• In the final of the Thomas Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, India defeated 14-time winners Indonesia 3-0 to win the title. India put on a show to remember, with medalist Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, and the world number 8 doubles combo of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy putting on unforgettable performances.
• Lakshya Sen defeated Anthony Ginting 8-21, 21-17, 21-16 to give India a perfect start in an exciting tie.
• Satwik and Chirag of India defeated Ahsan-Sukamuljo of Indonesia 18-21, 23-21, 21-19, giving India a 2-0 lead.
• Kidambi Srikanth defeated Jonatan Christie 21-15, 23-21 in the third game to make it 3-0.

Alkesh Kumar Sharma has been named Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

• A senior IAS officer, Alkesh Kumar Sharma, has been appointed secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). He was previously the secretary of the Cabinet Secretariat (Coordination). 
• From May 2020 to April 2021, Alkesh Kumar Sharma was Kerala`s additional chief secretary for industries. 
• From September 2019 to April 2021, Sharma was the Managing Director of Kochi Metro Rail and the Cochin Smart City Mission CEO.
• At MEITY, Alkesh Kumar Sharma, a Kerala-based IAS official, has his job cut out for him. He will be in charge of making sure the $10 billion semiconductor incentive program, which aims to boost chip manufacture and design in the country, goes smoothly.

The Delhi government has launched the Mukhyamantri Muft Sewer Connection Yojana.

• Under the "Mukhyamantri Muft Sewer Connection Yojana," the Delhi government would grant free sewer connections. 
• The `Mukhyamantri Muft Sewer Connection Yojana` would provide free sewer connections to 25,000 homes in East Delhi. The Delhi government will provide free sewer connections to 12 colonies in Mustafabad and Karawal Nagar.
• The Delhi government will provide free sewer connections to 12 colonies in Mustafabad and Karawal Nagar. Chandu Nagar, Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, and sections of Khajuri Khas would be among the colonies. 
• The state government has set out Rs 19 crore to construct these connections. The board planned to install 30 RO plants at JJ communities to boost the drinking water supply. 
• Each plant will generate around 50,000 liters of water each day. The supply will be completely free.

Deepika Padukone is Louis Vuitton`s first Indian brand ambassador.

• Deepika Padukone, an actress, has been named the first Indian brand ambassador for Louis Vuitton.
• The French brand made the announcement. During their new handbag promotion, the brand revealed the character of a 36-year-old Bollywood actress. Padukone appeared in promotional photos alongside Emma Stone and Zhou Dongyu.
• She was recently named to an eight-member jury at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, which will be presided over by French actor Vincent Lindon. 
• She was also honored with the first Time 100 Impact Awards for raising mental health awareness. Padukone is frequently photographed wearing Louis Vuitton clothing and luggage, and she has previously modeled for the brand. 
• She was the first Indian actor to appear in the brand`s 2020 campaign.

In the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings for 2022, India was ranked fourth.

• The Impact Rankings for 2022 have been announced by the Times Higher Education (THE). India has eight universities in the top 300 universities in the world.
• Western Sydney University (Australia) is ranked first, followed by Arizona State University (USA) and Western University (Canada) (Canada). The rankings attracted a record 1,524 universities from 110 nations this year. In Australia, Western Sydney University took first place in the overall order.
• India is the joint fourth most-represented country in the rankings, with 64 universities (the same number as Turkey).
• India climbs into the top 50 universities globally, with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham gaining 41st place worldwide. Lovely Professional University is ranked 74th overall in the top 100 universities.
• Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2022 have ranked Calcutta University first among all central and state-aided public universities. Calcutta University was ranked 14th in the world in the sub-category of "Decent Work and Economic Growth."

At the IWF Junior World Weightlifting Championships, Harshada Sharad Garud wins the first gold medal.

• With 153 kilos lifted, she won the 45-kilogram weight category, including 70 kilograms in Snatch and 83 kilograms in Clean and Jerk.
• On the first day of the competition, Garud led India to a medal, leaving eight competitors behind. Turkey`s Bektas Cansu took silver, while Moldova`s Teodora-Luminita Hincu bronze.
• Anjali Patel, the second Indian in the same weight division, finished sixth with 148 kilos, including 67 kgs in snatch and 81 kgs in clean and jerk.
• Harshada Sharad Garud won the under-17 girls` title in the 2020 Khelo India Youth Games, becoming the first Indian weightlifter to earn a gold medal at the IWF Junior World Championship 2022.
• Harshada began weightlifting at the age of 12 after her father, Sharad Garud, a state-level weightlifter, encouraged her.

At the IWF Junior World Weightlifting Championships, Harshada Sharad Garud wins the first gold medal.

• With 153 kilos lifted, she won the 45-kilogram weight category, including 70 kilograms in Snatch and 83 kilograms in Clean and Jerk.
• On the first day of the competition, Garud led India to a medal, leaving eight competitors behind. Turkey`s Bektas Cansu took silver, while Moldova`s Teodora-Luminita Hincu bronze.
• Anjali Patel, the second Indian in the same weight division, finished sixth with 148 kilos, including 67 kgs in snatch and 81 kgs in clean and jerk.
• Harshada Sharad Garud won the under-17 girls` title in the 2020 Khelo India Youth Games, becoming the first Indian weightlifter to earn a gold medal at the IWF Junior World Championship 2022.
• Harshada began weightlifting at the age of 12 after her father, Sharad Garud, a state-level weightlifter, encouraged her.

Cynthia Rosenzweig of NASA has been awarded the 2022 World Food Prize.

• Cynthia Rosenzweig is a senior research scientist and head of the Climate Impacts Group at NASA`s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). She has been awarded the World Food Prize Foundation`s 2022 World Food Prize. 
• Rosenzweig won the prize for her work on understanding the relationship between climate and food systems and predicting how they may evolve in the future.
• The World Food Prize is a prestigious international prize intended as the "Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture" with a mission to elevate discoveries and encourage the movement to responsibly raise the quality, quantity, and affordability of food for all, according to the World Food Prize Foundation.

The Maharashtra Government Approves the Maharashtra Gene Bank Project.

• The `Maharashtra Gene Bank,` a first-of-its-kind project in India, was approved by the Maharashtra Cabinet.
• To protect Maharashtra`s genetic resources, including marine diversity, native agriculture seeds, and animal variety. These seven focal areas will get Rs 172.39 crores over the next five years.
• The Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board (MSBB) will implement the initiative, overseen by committees led by the chief secretary and senior secretary (forests). 
• The MSBB will collaborate with institutes such as the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) Goa to document and conserve uncommon and endangered marine species.

Cochin Shipyard has built India`s first hydrogen-fueled electric vessel.

• Union Minister for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal said India`s first indigenous hydrogen-fueled electric vessels would be developed and built at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), setting off the country`s efforts toward green shipping.
• The project, according to Sonowal, would be carried out by the Cochin Shipyard in collaboration with Indian partners.
• The shipyard has already begun laying the groundwork in this area, collaborating with KPIT Technologies and Indian inventors of hydrogen fuel cells and power trains and the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) on developing laws and regulations for such vessels.
• The Fuel Cell Electric Vessel (FCEV), a hydrogen fuel cell vessel based on Low-Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Technology (LT-PEM), is projected to be approximately 17.50 crore, with the Centre covering 75% of the cost.

Equitas Holdings and Equitas SFB have merged. RBI`s approval

• The RBI`s no objection letter comes with conditions. The merger is taking place to comply with RBI minor finance bank criteria, which require the promoter to reduce their stake in the subsidiary to 40% within five years of the SFB`s launch (Small Finance Bank).
• According to RBI rules handed down for SFBs in June 2016 and guidelines for licensing SFBs in the private sector in November 2014, equity shares of SFBs should be listed on a recognized stock exchange(s) within three years of the date the SFB`s net value reaches Rs 500 crore.
• In the instance of ESFB, the applicable listing date was September 4, 2019. However, it launched banking operations with more than Rs 500 crore in net value.
• An IPO was held to meet the listing requirements, and ESFB shares began trading on platforms on November 2, 2020.
• The third criterion is that a subsidiary must be brought into the fold if a promoter owns more than 40%.