Know today’s important current affairs, which are essential for students preparing for government jobs.
NATIONAL
1. PM Modi participated in ritual at Somnath Temple
On 11 May, PM Narendra Modi participated in a programme at Somnath Temple in Gujarat on the occasion of completion of 75 years of Pran-Pratishtha (consecration).
- On 11 May 1951, the consecration ceremony of the newly rebuilt Somnath Temple took place in independent India.
- Somnath Amrit Mahotsav is being celebrated to mark the completion of 75 years of the consecration ceremony at Somnath Temple.
- On this occasion, PM Narendra Modi reached Somnath Temple after conducting a 2km roadshow. Here he performed Shivabhishek. After this, the PM performed Kumbhabhishek of the temple through remote.
- PM Modi is on a tour of 3 states on 10 May and on the first day of this tour, he will first reach Telangana.
- In Hyderabad, he laid the foundation stone of projects worth ₹9,400 crore and also inaugurated some projects.
2. Justice Surya Kant launched AI chatbot ‘Su Sahay’
On 11 May, Chief Justice Suryakant launched the ‘One Case One Data’ system and AI chatbot ‘Su Sahay’ under judicial digitisation.
- The ‘One Case One Data’ system will connect case records from all levels – Supreme Court, High Courts, District and Taluk Courts – into a unified database.
- This will be the first time where data from Supreme Court to Taluk Court will be interconnected.
- This will enable Supreme Court judges to view complete information about lower court cases in real time, and lower courts will also have access to data from higher courts.
- This system will be able to automatically extract and examine case-related information.
- Along with this, High Courts will also get data access, which will improve case tracking and coordination between courts.
- This initiative has been launched to strengthen the court’s case management system.
‘Su Sahay’ Chatbot
- ‘Su Sahay’ is an AI chatbot, which has been developed by the National Informatics Center i.e. NIC in collaboration with the Supreme Court Registry.
- It will be available on the Supreme Court website and will provide case-related information to petitioners and stakeholders.
- It will also help in easily understanding the court’s services so that access to justice can be made easier.
INTERNATIONAL
3. MoU signed between RBI and ECB
On 10 May, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the European Central Bank (ECB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Its purpose is to enhance cooperation between the two central banks.
- This MoU was signed by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra and ECB President Christine Lagarde during the BIS (Bank for International Settlements) meeting held in Basel, Switzerland.
- Through this, both institutions will work together on sharing information, discussing policies, and enhancing technical cooperation.
- This may also include joint seminars and workshops on central banking-related issues.
- This cooperation will be on central banking-related issues in which both have common interest.
- Additionally, this agreement will not supersede the domestic laws of any country.
- This is an updated version of the old agreement from 2015, which came into effect as soon as the MoU was signed and has no fixed time limit.
- The first MoU between RBI and ECB was signed on 12 January 2015. At that time, Mario Draghi was the ECB chief and Raghuram Rajan was the RBI Governor.
- In 2015, this agreement was made with the aim of increasing cooperation between RBI and ECB.
- This initiative was taken in view of financial uncertainties after the global economic recession of 2008.
- Both parties termed this agreement as necessary for global financial stability and better coordination between regulatory systems of different countries.
- ECB President Christine Lagarde described it as part of the ongoing dialogue and cooperation among the world’s major central banks.
This agreement was made in 2015 with the aim of increasing cooperation between RBI and ECB.
4. India and Trinidad and Tobago signed MoUs
On 10 May, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar signed eight agreements with India and Trinidad and Tobago during a two-day visit to the Caribbean country, including tourism, healthcare, infrastructure, and Ayurveda.
- In this MoU, India will help in solarisation of the building of Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, vector control, and improving the infrastructure of Nelson Island.
- An MoU has also been signed for Nelson Island where Indian immigrants stayed and for establishing an Indian Chair on Ayurveda at the University of the West Indies.
- During this visit, S Jaishankar held discussions with Caribbean PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar and other senior leaders on enhancing bilateral cooperation.
- Along with this, Jaishankar also reviewed the progress of announcements made during PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Trinidad and Tobago last year.
- In the presence of PM Prasad-Bisesar, Dr. Jaishankar handed over the first batch of two thousand laptops to school children and inaugurated an agriculture facility.
- Trinidad and Tobago is a country located on islands in the Caribbean Sea.
Last year, India gave Trinidad machinery worth ten lakh dollars for the agriculture facility.
Death (DEATH)
5. Telugu actor Bharat Kant passes away
On 10 May, Telugu actor Bharat Kant died in a road accident in Hyderabad. He was 31 years old. Cinematographer G Sai Trilok also lost his life in this accident.
- Bharat Kant worked in the 2021 film Gramam and the 2024 film Tenant.
- Bharat also acted in the web series Geetanjali and Parvati Parameshwarulu.
- Apart from creating digital content, Bharat also worked in Telugu films and short films.
Bharat Kant was a popular actor, dancer, YouTuber and content creator.
Miscellaneous
6. India-Africa Forum Summit to be held in New Delhi
On 11 May, the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS-IV) was announced. This summit will be held on 31 May in New Delhi, in which heads of state from several countries will participate.
- Before this, a meeting of Foreign Ministers will also be held on 28 May.
- In this summit, issues like Economy and Trade, Defence and Security, Critical Minerals, Energy, Space and High Technology Agriculture, Health, Education, Capacity Building and Climate Change will be discussed.
- At the end of the summit, an Agenda Format will also be released, which will align India’s goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047 with Africa’s Agenda 2063.
- Along with the summit, a Think Tank Dialogue and an India-Africa Film Festival are also planned.
- In the past decade, India has remarkably expanded its diplomatic and political footprint across the continent.
- India has also opened 17 new diplomatic missions in Africa in New Delhi in 2018.
- India has so far provided more than 190 lines of credit worth over 10 billion dollars to 41 African states.
- India is the fourth largest trading partner among Africa’s top five investors.
- India has also signed digital cooperation framework agreements with seven African countries.
- India contributes approximately five thousand peacekeeping troops to United Nations missions in Africa and has increased India’s participation in maritime security, anti-piracy operations and defense exports.
- The third India-Africa Forum Summit was held in New Delhi in October 2015.
- This summit will be held after 11 years and S Jaishankar will launch its logo, theme and website in April.
Today in History
- In 1941, the first programmable, fully automatic computer (Z3) came to the market.
- In 1915, revolutionary Rash Behari Bose left India aboard the Japanese vessel ‘Sanu Ki Mar’.
- In 1993, Hindi poet Shamsher Bahadur Singh passed away.
