5th OCTOBER 2026 ENGLISH TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS PDF TNPSC SHOUTERS
Pushpavanam Kuppusamy Appointed as Head of the Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram
- The Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram (Council for Literature, Music, and Drama), functioning under the Tamil Nadu government, plays a pivotal role in nurturing and promoting the artistic heritage of the Tamil language.
- Renowned folk artist Pushpavanam Kuppusamy has been appointed as the new head of this organization, which operates under the direct supervision of the Department of Tamil Development.
- As part of the official visit to India by the President of the Swiss Confederation, agreements aimed at enhancing cooperation between the two nations across various sectors have been signed.
- A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding migration and mobility facilitates cooperation based on principles of equality; it aims to enhance collaboration in migration and passenger mobility while preventing illegal activities such as irregular migration and the exploitation of human resources in accordance with national laws.
- The agreement also provides for the issuance of visas valid for up to five years (allowing stays of up to six months per visit) and renewable one-year student visas.
- An agreement on the exchange of young professionals aims to formalize the exchange of young experts engaging in temporary work in each other's countries, thereby enabling them to enhance their professional and linguistic skills.
- Additionally, MoUs were signed to foster cooperation in areas such as integrated economic affairs, education, research, and the transport sector specifically covering transport technologies and infrastructure in collaboration with the relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
- Accordingly, this agreement aims to foster cooperation in sustainable infrastructure development by enhancing technologies and infrastructure facilities across sectors such as electric vehicles, ropeways, the circular economy, tunnels, and other transport areas.
- A Letter of Agreement has also been signed between the Department of Science and Technology and the Swiss National Science Foundation.
- This Letter of Intent aims to promote long-term research cooperation between India and Switzerland by enhancing scientific research collaboration, establishing partnerships for future joint research projects, and creating a comprehensive framework to sustain long-term initiatives in mutually agreed priority areas.
- An agreement has also been signed between the Department of Science and Technology and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences to establish implementation arrangements for cooperation in innovation, technology transfer, and entrepreneurship.
- This implementation arrangement aims to enhance bilateral cooperation in innovation, technology transfer, and entrepreneurship by facilitating bilateral technology exchange, joint workshops, and capacity building, as well as by implementing an Indo-Swiss academia-industry training program for early-stage startups.
- Furthermore, it was announced that the inaugural session of the flagship program for Indo-Swiss research activities, conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Technology, would be held soon.
- he Technology Development Board (TDB) under the Union Department of Science and Technology has signed an agreement for the manufacturing of indigenous AI-enabled chips, with a project value of ₹130 crore supported by the Research, Development, and Innovation Fund.
- To bolster the Central Government's efforts to enhance indigenous semiconductor capabilities for critical and emerging applications, the TDB has entered into this agreement with Bengaluru-based BigEndian Semiconductors.
- Under this arrangement, financial assistance of ₹130 crore will be provided through the Research, Development, and Innovation Fund. The total value of this project, named 'VEER-AI', is ₹260 crore, and it aims to advance technological readiness.
- The financial assistance will be extended through a loan mechanism that is convertible into equity at the option of the lender. The project seeks to develop products on a technology platform that meets the growing demand for secure, intelligent, and application-specific semiconductor solutions.
- The project focuses on developing secure AI chips for surveillance applications—specifically CCTV systems thereby reducing reliance on foreign-developed semiconductors and external technology supply chains.
