Svaya Robotics, a company based in Hyderabad, in association with two DRDO labs — the Research and Development Establishment, Pune (R&DE) and Defence Bio-engineering & Electro Medical Laboratory, Bengaluru, (DEBEL) — has developed India’s first quadruped robot and wearable exo-skeleton.

• The company said it has developed the quadruped robot and wearable exo-skeleton as technology demonstrators with design inputs from R&DE and DEBEL respectively.
• Both are dual-use robots and have multiple use cases in both industry and healthcare, Svaya Robotics said on Monday in a release on the visit of G. Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Adviser to Union Defence Minister and former chairman of DRDO and senior scientists of the two DRDO labs to its facility here.

The International Boxing Association (IBA) confirmed the presence of an International Olympic Committee (IOC) monitoring team during the upcoming World women’s boxing championships in Delhi.

• The IBA ‘welcomed’ the IOC monitoring team led by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
• The attendance of the upcoming World women’s championships by PwC is part of the important compliance assessment process of continuous monitoring of the IBA and its ongoing governance reform, practices, and activities.
• The IBA is confident that the PwC team will see first-hand IBA’s best practices regarding technical and competitions rules, specifically its heralded bout review process.

The government proposes to remove Prosopis juliflora, an invasive plant species, from mangroves and re-forest the area with naturally-occurring tidal species, according to a measure announced in the Budget for 2023-24.

• The Forest Department will also establish a Watch Tower at Oussudu under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• A project for a wild life sanctuary and promotion of eco-tourism at Oussudu is also mooted.

DMK president and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin released ‘ Thunderous run, Bountiful harvest’ — a book on jallikattu authored by the party environment wing secretary Karthikeya Sivasenapathy at the DMK head office in Chennai.

• His team consolidated the documents and with the help of G. Sundar, director of Roja Muthiah Research Library and architect Karthik, it collected many scientific and archival evidences, he said.

Former Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and former Minister K. Viajayarama Rao passed away at Apollo Hospital here on Monday, following brief illness. He was 87 and is survived by two sons and a daughter. His wife passed away a few years ago.

• Vijayarama Rao was handpicked by former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao to head the CBI at a crucial juncture of his term, when he was heading a minority government, marked by charges of bribing the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha to stay in power.
• At that time, he was in the rank of Director General of Police in-charge of half a dozen wings of police, including the Crime Investigation Department.

As per data released by the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (NOTTO) for the year 2022, Telangana has stood at number one position in terms of the number of deceased organ donors as well as in the number of deceased organ transplants.

• The number of deceased organ donors in Telangana in 2022 were 194, which is the highest in the country, this was followed by Tamil Nadu - 156, Karnataka - 151, Gujarat - 148, and Maharashtra - 105.
• In terms of deceased donor transplants in 2022, Telangana tops the chart with 655 transplants followed by Tamil Nadu - 553, Karnataka - 435, Gujarat - 399, and Maharashtra - 305. 

Noted Hindi writer Dr Gyan Chaturvedi's 2018 satirical novel, Pagalkhana, has been selected for the 32nd Vyas Samman, 2002.

• Instituted by the KK Birla Foundation in 1991, the annual Vyas Samman is given to an outstanding Hindi literary work by an Indian citizen published during the last 10 years. It carries award money of ?4 lakh.
• After considering the works published during 2012-2021, a selection committee headed by eminent litterateur Prof Ramji Tiwari picked Dr Chaturvedi's Pagalkhana (mental asylum) for the 2022 award.

Supreme Court Judge Justice V. Ramasubramanian has released a book titled India’s Struggle for Independence – Gandhian Era.

• The book, authored by P. Jyothimani, former Judge, Madras High Court, and G. Balan, former professor of history, Pachiayappa’s College, and published by Vanathi Pathipagam, was released at an event held at the University of Madras.
• The book covers aspects such as the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi as of the date.
• Justice R. Mahadevan, Judge, Madras High Court, received the first copy. Justice R. Mahadevan, spoke about the hardships undergone by Gandhi in perseverance of social and economic justice, equality among the people, eradication of poverty and ignorance and ultimately securing Independence through ahimsa and non-violence.

Indonesia's Mount Merapi erupted recently with avalanches of searing gas clouds and lava, forcing authorities to halt tourism and mining.

• If reports are to go by, tourism in the area, as of now, has been halted due to the presence of toxic gas and the lava flow.
• There are no reports of any casualties from the area but residents and visitors are advised to steer clear of the area. 
• Mount Merapi volcano is located on the border of Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces.
• The mountain is situated just 30 km from Yogyakarta.

Indian Navy’s indigenously built guided missile frigate, INS Sahyadri participated in a Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with French Navy (FN) ships FS Dixmude, a Mistral Class Amphibious Assault Ship and FS La Fayette, a La Fayette Class Frigate, in the Arabian Sea on 10 – 11 March 2023. 

• The exercise witnessed a wide spectrum of evolutions at sea which included cross deck landings, boarding exercises and seamanship evolutions. The seamless conduct of the exercise reaffirmed the interoperability and high level of cooperation between the two navies. 
•  INS Sahyadri is fitted with state-of –the art weapons and sensors, which makes her capable of detecting and neutralising air, surface and sub-surface threats. The ship is a part of Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam, under operational control of FOCinC (East).

Indian Navy’s indigenously built guided missile frigate, INS Sahyadri participated in a Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with French Navy (FN) ships FS Dixmude, a Mistral Class Amphibious Assault Ship and FS La Fayette, a La Fayette Class Frigate, in the Arabian Sea on 10 – 11 March 2023. 

• The exercise witnessed a wide spectrum of evolutions at sea which included cross deck landings, boarding exercises and seamanship evolutions.
• The seamless conduct of the exercise reaffirmed the interoperability and high level of cooperation between the two navies. 
•  INS Sahyadri is fitted with state-of –the art weapons and sensors, which makes her capable of detecting and neutralising air, surface and sub-surface threats.
• The ship is a part of Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam, under operational control of FOCinC (East).

Knight Frank, a global real estate consultancy, released its Wealth Report 2023, which provides insights into the trends and performance of the prime residential property market across the world.

• Among Indian respondents, the consultant said 88 per cent saw a rise in UHNWI’s (ultra-high-net-worth individuals) wealth in 2022.
• Out of which 35 per cent respondents said that Indian UHNWIs saw an increase in their wealth in excess of 10 per cent last year.
• Going forward, the Indian respondents expect wealth of the ultra-wealthy to continue to increase in 2023.
• While 47 per cent expect wealth to increase by more than 10 per cent, 53 per cent expect wealth to rise by at least 10 per cent over the previous year.
• The survey also found that investable wealth of Indian UHNWIs is largely allocated between equities, real estate and bonds.

Indian commercial vehicle manufacturer, Ashok Leyland, has launched an "All Women Production Line" with 100 per cent female employees at its Hosur plant in Tamil Nadu.

• The move is aimed at promoting women empowerment and attracting more females to the manufacturing industry. The new production line has 80 women employees.
• Ashok Leyland has invested significantly in training and upskilling women in core manufacturing skills.
• They will be responsible for the entire production of the new engine line, as the firm seeks to build a more diverse workforce, the company claimed.

Mohit Joshi, President of Infosys, has been named as Tech Mahindra's new CEO and Managing Director, effective December 20. Joshi's appointment follows his resignation from Infosys on March 11 after 22 years with the firm.

• Joshi, who has recently taken over as the CEO, will have to deal with execution issues that are hindering the company's progress in achieving a balance between revenue growth that matches the industry standards and maintaining a respectable EBIT margin. 
• Despite the company's efforts to move towards an enterprise-focused business and reduce its dependence on Telecom, industry experts believe that this transformation has been bumpy.
• Tech Mahindra has reported in a stock exchange filing that Joshi will assume the roles of Managing Director and CEO on December 20.