• Microsoft Corp has appointed Puneet Chandok as corporate vice president of Microsoft India. Supported by a strong leadership team, Puneet will oversee the integration of Microsoft’s businesses across South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, further boosting the company’s presence in the region, while deepening its focus on key industries through a customer-centric approach with generative AI at its core.
• Chandok has joined Microsoft from Amazon Web Services (AWS), where he led the company’s India and South Asia business. Prior to this, Chandok was a Partner at McKinsey in India and Asia, and also held senior regional and global roles in IBM.

• The average assets of an MLA in India are Rs 13.63 crore, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The state with the highest average assets per MLA is Karnataka, where 223 MLAs have an average of Rs 64.39 crores.
• Following Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh has 174 MLAs with an average of Rs 28.24 crores, and Maharashtra has 284 MLAs with an average of Rs 23.51 crores. On the other hand, Tripura has the lowest average assets per MLA, with 59 MLAs having an average of Rs 1.54 crores. West Bengal follows with 293 MLAs having an average of Rs 2.80 crores, and Kerala with 135 MLAs having an average of Rs 3.15 crores.

• President Draupadi Murmu on 27 July 2023 laid the foundation stone of 'Divine Light House' at Prajapita Brahma Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya at Dasabatia, Tamando near the Odisha capital. The occasion marked the launch of the theme for the year "Year of Positive Change", reflecting the emphasis on driving positive change.
• Recognizing the role of technology as a catalyst of change, President Murmu stressed the importance of both material and spiritual development for the betterment of humanity.  The Divine Light House project and focus on positive change exemplify the commitment to promote holistic development and well-being within society. Prajapita Brahmakumaris Ishwariya Vishwavidyalaya stands out not only as an organisation but also as a powerful social and spiritual movement led by women.

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi was conferred the Lokmanya Tilak National Award in Pune, Maharashtra. The Award was constituted by Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust in 1983 to honor the legacy of Lokmanya Tilak. The Prime Minister donated the cash prize to the Namami Gange Project.
• The Prime Minister paid floral tributes at the statue of Lokmanya Tilak after arriving at the venue. The Prime Minister paid tribute to the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji, Chapekar Brother, Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule. Earlier the Prime Minister sought blessings at the Dagdusheth Temple.

• Foxconn, a big company from Taiwan and an important supplier for Apple has promised to invest 1,600 crore in building a new manufacturing facility in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Foxconn Chairman Young Liu were present when they made this commitment during Mr. Liu’s first visit to the state. This investment is likely to create many new job opportunities and help the electronics manufacturing industry in Tamil Nadu grow.
• Apart from the investment pledge, Foxconn’s Chairman Mr. Young Liu signed a three-party Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and Guidance, an agency that attracts investments to the state. The main goal of this MoU is to boost research and development efforts in collaboration with IIT-M and develop a skilled workforce in Tamil Nadu.

• Project Tiger and Project Elephant have been merged, meaning a common allocation will fund both beginning this year. The merger was announced in April 2023,  however, there is still no clarity on how the finances would be split between the conservation projects.
• Sources in the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) confirmed the amalgamation has already been done — a new division, ‘Project Tiger and Elephant Division,’ has been notified under the ministry.The decision, apparently driven by an effort to squeeze funds, is likely to impact conservation of both signature animals — particularly tigers, according to several wildlife experts across the country.

• British-Indian author Chetna Maroo’s debut novel ‘Western Lane’ has been long-listed for the 2023 Booker Prize. The selection was made from a total of 163 books, published between October 2022 and September 2023. It features books from four continents, four Irish writers, four debut novelists, as well as 10 authors who are recognised by the Booker Prize for the first time.
• The long-list will be further trimmed to a shortlist of six books, to be announced on September 21. And finally, the 2023 Booker Prize winner will be announced on November 26 at an award ceremony in London. Set within the British-Gujarati community, Kenya-born Maroo's debut novel has been praised by the Booker judges for its use of the sport of squash as a metaphor for complex human emotions.

• England all-rounder Moeen Ali confirms his test cricket retirement after the end of the Ashes series and he will play in other formats of cricket. On the request of England Test captain BenStokes, he played the Ashes series. But he retired from test cricket in September 2021.
• He played for England in 68 test matches taking 204 wickets and scored 3094 runs. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire(OBE) in June 2023 for his services to cricket.

• Former Uruguay defender Diego Godin retired from professional soccer on Monday, ending a 20-year career at age 37. Godin played in four World Cups and spent much of his club career in Spain, notably at Atletico Madrid from 2010 to 2019. This season, he played in Argentina for Velez Sarsfield.
• Godin announced his retirement a day after his final appearance for Velez in a 1-0 loss to Huracan. The Uruguayan also had spells at Villarreal, Inter Milan and Cagliari. He arrived at Velez in the second half of 2022 after a disappointing stint at Brazil’s Atletico Mineiro.

• Honouring the indomitable courage of heroes who scripted historic victory in the Kargil War, Minister of State for Defence Shri Ajay Bhatt released books and illustrations on the supreme sacrifice of the brave-hearts at the Constitution Club, Delhi, on July 23, 2023.
• The book and illustrations – “Kargil: Ek Yatri Ki Jubani” – authored by renowned writer Shri Rishi Raj, and published by Prabhat Prakashan, impeccably portrays the lives of the heroes of the Kargil War on the canvas of patriotism so that they could be a fountainhead of inspiration for children who could learn the values of the paramount sacrifice made by the Indian Army for the nation.

Download Daily GK PDF of 02 August 2023