24th APRIL 2026 ENGLISH TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS PDF TNPSC SHOUTERS
Indigenously Developed Silicon Photonics Technology Solutions Launched in Chennai
- Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, launched two Silicon Photonics technology solutions: (a) Silicon Photonics Process Design Kit (PDK) for photonics chip manufacturing, and (b) Universal packaged PPIC (Programmable Photonic Integrated Circuit) Test Engine indigenously developed at MeitY sponsored CoE-CPPICS, IIT Madras [https://cppics.iitm.ac.in/], in presence of Shri Amitesh Sinha, Additional Secretary, MeitY and CEO of India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), Prof Shanti Bhattacharya, HoD DoEE, IIT Madras, Governing Council Members of the centre.
- The launch took place on Friday, 24th April 2026. This is a major milestone in Silicon Photonics technology sovereignty for India and will serve as a shared national facility for the Indian photonics R&D community.
- Indigenously developed Silicon Photonics Process Design Kit (PDK) has over 50 verified components. This library provides essential design enablement in India for industries, startups, academic institutions, and defence R&D organisations to develop advanced Photonic ICs.
- Indigenously developed Universal PPIC Test Engine is a state-of-the-art automated characterisation platform for photonic and optoelectronic modules for variety of applications
- Reaffirming a woman's reproductive autonomy, the Supreme Court on Friday granted permission to a 15-year-old girl to terminate her seven-month-old pregnancy.
- The Court observed that no woman can be compelled to continue an unwanted pregnancy, citing the fact that the child could be given up for adoption after birth.
- The girl's mother had approached the Court seeking permission to medically terminate her daughter's pregnancy, as the gestation period had exceeded the time limit prescribed under the law governing medical termination of pregnancy.
- A bench comprising Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan stated that, in such circumstances, the welfare of the woman takes precedence over that of the unborn fetus. "What is significant here is the choice of the pregnant woman, rather than the choice of the unborn child," the bench noted.
