• International

Shanghai: World’s first district with 5G

• Shanghai has become the world’s first district using both 5G coverage and broadband gigabit network.
• 5G is the next generation of cellular technology with download speeds that are 10 to 100 times faster than 4G LTE networks.
• 5G also enables high-definition transmissions in real time and will bolster development in the internet of things industry.

• Economy and Business

PFC Becomes India’s 2nd Largest State-Owned Financial Firm

• State-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has completed the acquisition of majority stake in REC Ltd by transferring Rs 14,500 crore to the government.
• The merger of both the entities will be completed in the next fiscal year in consultation with the government.
• This acquisition and merger will make PFC second-largest government-owned financial player in the country based on the current market capital after State Bank of India (SBI) and also PFC will be the third-highest profit-making financial player in India.

• Economy and Business

Interest rate on small-savings unchanged

• The Finance Ministry has decided to keep the interest rate unchanged on small savings schemes for the 3-month period beginning 1 April 2019.
• The announcement covers small-saving schemes such as the Post Office Saving Accounts, Post Office Time Deposits, National Saving Certificates (NSC) etc.
• The unchanged interest rate means the NSC (5 years) and the PPF (15 years) will fetch 8% interest.

• Awards

Dr Rajendra Joshi Conferred With ‘Pravasi Bhartiya Samman’

• Swiss-based NRI scientist Dr Rajendra Joshi has been conferred with the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Award by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind.
• The Indian Ambassador to Switzerland Sibi George handed over the award citation signed by the President to Dr Joshi at his residence in Switzerland.

• Awards

NRAI won the best sports federation award

• The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) was presented the ‘Best Sports Federation’ Award in the country by the Association Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM).
• The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) was founded in 1951 with a view to promote and popularize the shooting sports in India.
• Raninder Singh is the president of NRAI.

• Awards

Turing Award honours pioneers of AI

• Three trailblazers in artificial intelligence have been honoured with the 2018 Turing Award by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).
• Yoshua Bengio (Element AI founder and University of Montreal professor), Geoffrey Hinton (University of Toronto faculty member and Google Brain researcher) and Yann LeCun (Facebook chief AI scientist and NYU professor) were named the recipients of the award by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).
• The three developed conceptual and engineering foundations for AI by making deep neural networks a critical component of computing.
• The recipients will be awarded a USD1 million prize, with financial support provided by Google.

• Appointments

Maruti Suzuki re-appoints Kenichi Ayukawa as MD & CEO

• The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) has re-appointed Kenichi Ayukawa as Managing Director (MD)and CEO for three years.
• The company’s board appointed Ayukawa on the existing terms and conditions including remuneration.
• This would be Ayukawa’s third three-year term (first time -March 2013) as MD and CEO of Maruti Suzuki India.

• Science and Tech

NTPC to set up floating solar power plant

• National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is setting up a 25 MW floating solar power plant in its water storage reservoir at NTPC-Simhadri in Visakhapatnam.
• The floating solar power plant is being set up as part of the company’s efforts to diversify into the solar segment.
• NTPC is also setting up a Flue-Gas Desulphurisation plant (FGD).

• Obituaries

Pioneering Russian cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky passes away

• Pioneering Soviet-era cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky (84-years) passed away.
• Valery Bykovsky, who was the 11th person to venture into space and who held the unbroken record for the longest solo spaceflight.
• Over his career, Bykovsky spent a total of nearly 21 days in space.
• Bykovsky was one of 20 Soviet military pilots in the first group picked to prepare for space.
• He first flew to space in June 1963 as a member of the Vostok-5 crew.
• He left the cosmonaut corps in 1982 and later worked in several roles at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center at Star City near Moscow.

• Miscellaneous

Rima Das becomes Ambassador of Toronto International Film Festival

• Rima Das joined Toronto International Film Festival’s Share Her Journey as their official ambassador.
• TIFF launched the 5-year campaign in 2017 with a view to increase participation, skills, and opportunities for women behind and in front of the camera.
• The woman behind ‘Village Rockstars’, India’s Official Entry to Oscars 2019 would like to see more and more women in the industry break the glass ceiling.

• Agreements

ECI collaborates with Indian Railways

• Election Commission of India (ECI) and Indian Railways have collaborated for Voter Awareness campaign for Lok Sabha Election 2019.
• ECI will utilize four long-distance Trains to carry voter awareness and motivational messages.
• The Train displays Voter Helpline number and the National Voters’ Services Portal besides motivational messages urging people to Vote.

• Agreements

GAIL and BHEL sign pact

• GAIL India Ltd signed an agreement with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) for cooperation in the development of solar power projects.
• GAIL shall be the project developer and BHEL shall act as an engineering, procurement, construction and project management contractor.
• BHEL shall also provide operation and maintenance services during the initial period upon becoming successful bidder.