Netherlands Emerged India’s 3^rd Largest Export Destination in 2023-24

• The Netherlands has emerged as India's third largest export destination after the United States of America (U.S.) and United Arab Emirates (UAE) during 2023-24.
• The main commodities which registered exports growth in the Netherlands include petroleum products, electrical goods, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals in the last fiscal.

Rakesh Mohan Joshi Appointed as Vice-Chancellor Of IIFT

• International trade and management expert Rakesh Mohan Joshi appointed as vice-chancellor of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT).
• Previously, he served as the Dean of IIFT and was on deputation to the Indian Institute of Plantation Management in Bengaluru as its Director.
• Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) is a business school under the Ministry of Commerce.

SPARSH Service Centres

• Defence Accounts Department has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Bank of India, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India and Utkarsh Small Finance Bank to onboard them as System for Pension Administration Raksha (SPARSH) Service Centres.
• SPARSH is an initiative of the Ministry of Defence which aims to provide comprehensive solutions to the defence pensioners.
• The service centres will become an interface for pensioners which provides an effective medium for their monthly pension.

DoT Launched Initiative to Support MSMEs and Startups in Industry

• The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched a comprehensive survey to identify and address the challenges faced by Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in adapting to new technologies.
• The survey aims to lay the groundwork for a robust ecosystem that leverages the potential of artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and the integration of 5G and 6G networks.

Om Birla Became First Lok Sabha Speaker to be Re-elected as MP

• Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla won the Kota parliamentary seat and became the first presiding officer in 20 years to be re-elected to the Lower House.
• The last Lok Sabha speaker to get re-elected to the Lower House was P. A. Sangma who was the presiding officer of the 11th Lok Sabha from 1996 to 1998.

C-DOT Won WSIS 2024 PRIZE

• Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) awarded UN’s WSIS 2024 Champion Award
• The award was conferred for the project Mobile-Enabled Disaster Resilience through Cell Broadcast Emergency Alerting.
• The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)+20 Forum 2024 is a high-level event conducted by International Telecom Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland.
• C-DOT showcased its AI based solution to detect and prevent cyber frauds at AI for Good Global Summit