Table of Contents:
1. MIT Professor Hari Balakrishnan Wins 2023 Marconi Prize
2. FIFA Football Award 2022 
3. Aurangabad and Osmanabad Renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv Respectively
4. Kerala Uses 'Mechanical Elephant' to Perform Temple Rituals
5. Karnataka Government will Build India’s First Marina 

MIT Professor Hari Balakrishnan Wins 2023 Marconi Prize
 

 

The Marconi Prize is a top honor for computer scientists, awarded by the US based Marconi Foundation. It is awarded to those who have made a significant contributions to increasing digital inclusivity through advanced information and communications technology. The prize is awarded by the Marconi Society and it includes a $100,000 honorarium and a work of sculpture. Recipients of the prize are awarded at the Marconi Society's annual symposium and gala. 

• First awarded:1975 

• First Recipient: James Rhyne Killian  

Hari Balakrishnan 

• Computer scientist Hari Balakrishnan has been awarded the 2023 Marconi Prize 

•  Dr. Balakrishnan is a professor in Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 

• He is the Founder, Chief Technology Officer, and Chairman of Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) 

• Won the Infosys Prize 2020  

• Winner of IEEE Koji Kobayashi Computers and Communications Award 2021 

FIFA Football Award 2022
 

The Best FIFA Football Awards is a football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA. The first awarding ceremony was held on 9 January 2017 in Zurich, Switzerland. The award is aimed at reviving the FIFA World Player Gala. The FIFA Awards 2022 was announced on February 28^th,2023 during the ceremony held at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France.  

FIFA Football Award 2022 

• FIFA Men’s Player: Lionel Messi, Argentina 

• FIFA Women’s Player: Alexia Putellas, Spanish 

• FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper: Emiliano Martinez, Argentina 

• FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper: Mary Earps, England 

• FIFA Men’s Coach: Lionel Scaloni, Argentina 

• FIFA Women’s Coach: Sarina Wiegman, England 

• Puskas Award: Marcin Oleksy, Poland 

• FIFA Fan Award: Argentinian National Team Fans 

• Argentina fans travelled to Qatar in impressive numbers to provide incredible support for their team’s ultimately victorious FIFA World Cup campaign, and millions of fans then welcomed their heroes home to Buenos Aires and across the country. 

• Carlos Tula from Argentina received the FIFA Fan Award representing Argentina fans. 

• Argentina become the first country to receive the four major FIFA awards in a single time. 

Aurangabad and Osmanabad Renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv Respectively 

Aurangabad will now be known as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar - a name that it gets from Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the son of legendary Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Osmanabad acquired its ancient name, Dharashiv. Aurangabad had its name from the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, while Osmanabad was named for a 20^th century ruler of the princely state of Hyderabad. 

• The initial proposal was made in a cabinet meeting during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in June 2022 before Uddhav Thackeray resigned as the then-chief minister. 

• After claiming that the decision by the Uddhav government was illegal, On July 16, 2022, a Government Resolution was passed by the two-member cabinet, comprising Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, for changing the names, and a proposal was then forwarded to the Centre. 

• A division bench of Acting Chief Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep Marne also directed the Union government to show if any proposal was submitted by the state government to it over the change of names. 

Chief Minister of Maharashtra: Eknath Shinde 

Kerala Uses 'Mechanical Elephant' to Perform Temple Rituals 

The Irinjadappilly Sri Krishna Temple in Thrissur district, Kerala used a mechanical, life-like elephant for performing rituals. The elephant was gifted to the temple by PETA India with the support of actor Parvathy Thiruvothu. 

• For the first time in Indian history, a 'mechanical elephant' has been used for rituals  

• It is presented by PETA India. 

• The elephant has been named 'Raman' 

• It weighs 800 kg, and can carry 4 people 

• The elephant's head, eyes, mouth, ears and tail all work on electric power 

• PETA: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals 

• Headquarters of PETA: Norfolk, US 

• PETA India is a Mumbai-based NGO working to end the abusive treatment of animals 

• PETA India was launched in 2000 

Karnataka Government will Build India’s First Marina 

A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters. The Chief Minister of Karnataka recently announced that the first Marina of India will be constructed in Byndoor, Udupi district, Karnataka. He announced this while addressing a function “Seven Wonders of Karnataka” organized by the Tourism department. 

• The project will help in boosting coastal tourism 

• Marina provides active and passive recreation 

• The beach in Byndoor is called Someshwara beach 

• The government has also proposed to build a corridor for temples