Current Affairs 29/01/2024

Rohan Bopanna: A New Milestone at 43 as the Oldest World No. 1 in Men’s Doubles

Rohan Bopanna will become the oldest ATP tennis world No. 1 when the rankings are refreshed on Monday after his men's doubles pairing with Mathew Abden made the semifinals of the Australian Open on Wednesday. Bopanna, 43, will rise to world No. 1 in men's doubles, and Ebden No. 2, after they defeated Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in their quarterfinal, 6-4, 7-6 (5). . The more than 20-year tennis veteran, who turned pro in 2003, said it was a "dream" to finally achieve the ranking, and said it was a testament to his "perseverance" that he's been able to maintain a high level for so long.

CoRover.ai unveiled BharatGPT, India’s first large language model

India is launching its own Generative AI (Large Language Model) platform in 14+ Indian languages, with generative text, voice and video: 

 1. Data remains in India. 

 2. Fine-tuned as per Indian users. 

 3. BharatGPT is integrated for voice modality in more than 14 Indian languages & 22 languages for text modality. 

 4. In-line with current government vision of “Make AI in India, Make AI work for India”. 

 5. Option to add custom knowledge base. 

 6. Option to integrate with any ERP/CRM system and APIs.

 7. Inbuilt payment gateway for real-time transactions.

 8. Dialogue/conversational management. 

 9. Omni-channel, multi-lingual (120+ languages), multi-format (text, voice, video). 

 10. Generative AI Video, interactive digital twin. 

 11. Currently available for organizations.

Japan achieved historic soft moon landing with SLIM Mission

Japan became the fifth country in history to reach the moon when its spacecraft landed on the lunar surface early Saturday, officials said. But an issue with the power supply means that the mission could be in jeopardy. Officials also said they needed more time to analyze whether the spacecraft, which wasn’t carrying astronauts, made a pinpoint landing — one of the priorities of the mission. Hitoshi Kuninaka, head of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, said they believe that rovers were launched and data were being transmitted back to Earth from the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM.

Netherlands won FIH Hockey5s Women’s World Cup

Defeating India in the final of the world indoor championship, the Dutch added another trophy to their impressive record, which also includes Olympic gold, senior and junior world championships, and the FIH Hockey Pro League. The Dutch added another medal to their impressive record, which already includes Olympic gold, senior and junior world titles, and the FIH Hockey Pro League title. By defeating India in the finals of the world indoor championship, the Dutch were able to add one more trophy to their impressive collection, which also includes Olympic gold, senior and junior world titles, and the FIH Hockey Pro League championship. As a result of their victory in the world indoor championship, the Dutch added another trophy to their impressive collection, which includes Olympic gold, senior and junior world titles, along with the FIH Hockey Pro League title.

Sahel States Quit ECOWAS Bloc

On Sunday, three neighboring countries in the restive Sahel region announced their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The ECOWAS is subservient to "foreign powers," said three neighboring countries in the restive Sahel region on Sunday. ECOWAS, a bloc of West African countries, has been accused by three neighbors of being subservient to foreign powers and is withdrawing from the group immediately. As a result of their differences with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), three Sahelian countries announced on Sunday their immediate withdrawal from the bloc.

India to send industry delegation for copper mining in Zambia

An Indian industry delegation is being proposed to visit copper-rich Zambia to discuss possible copper exploration and mining projects. Several copper exploration and mining projects have been proposed in Zambia by the Mines Ministry. As part of the delegation to Zambia to attend a joint working group (JWG) meeting to discuss mineral resource cooperation, companies such as Vedanta and Hindustan Zinc, as well as Ola Electric and LOHUM have expressed interest in joining. Zambia has about 6 per cent of the world’s copper reserves and was the eighth-largest producer of copper in 2022. Copper is widely used in sectors like construction, consumer durables, transportation, and industrial manufacturing.

Today’s History – 29th January

• In 1886, German mechanical engineer Karl Benz patented the world’s first automobile as a vehicle powered by an internal-combustion engine.
• In 1991, the Battle of Khafji, the first major and one of the deadliest battle of the Gulf War, began in Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
• In 1996, the 6,138th performance of the musical "Cats" was held in London, surpassing the record of Broadway's longest-running musical, "A Chorus Line."
• In 2002, US President delivered his iconic speech during the State of the Union address, calling countries like Iraq, Iran and North Korea the "Axis of Evil."
• In 2010, the first test flight of the fifth-generation fighter plane Sukhoi Su-57 was conducted.

• In 2006, Irfan Pathan became the first bowler to score a Test cricket hat-trick in the opening over in a match against Pakistan.
• In 2012, American snowboarder Shaun White, one of the greatest of all time, achieved the first-ever SuperPipe perfect score (100) in Winter X Games history.
• In 2012, at the 100th Australian Open, Serbia’s Novak Đoković beat Spain’s Rafael Nadal (5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5) in the longest Grand Slam singles final in the Open Era, 5 hours 53 minutes.