• Phone Pe app was developed on the basis of Unified Payments Interface. It is now owned by Flipkart. Phone Pe is headquartered in Bangalore. The app is available in eleven Indian languages. Recently Phone Pe has launched cross border facility. It is being launched in countries like Mauritius, Bhutan, Nepal, UAE and Singapore.

• Indian citizens can now make payments to their overseas merchants using Phone Pe. This means can you pay in dollars using Phone Pe? Yes. You can pay in Singapore Dollars or UAE Dirhams using Phone Pe. Its main advantage is that you can pay directly from your bank account. You keep money in rupees in your bank accounts. But when you pay to foreign merchants, it should be in their currency. Phone Pe takes care of currency exchange and charges. More countries will be added to the service in the future.

• PhonePe cross-border transactions will help consumers address the following challenges.

• Payment fraud, high transfer cost, low transaction speed, compliance, etc. Sometimes, cross border transactions fail and the amount does not reach the recipient in time. Using Phone Pe will remove such limitations.

• Microsoft launched Chat-GPT in November 2022. Technologists believe that Chat-GPT is too advanced and may harm Google's business. In just five days, the number of Chat-GPT users had grown to one million. To counter Chat-GPT, Google has recently launched "BARD". Bard's methodology is very similar to Chat-GPT, a conversational style.

• The popularity of Chat-GPT is increasing very fast. This AI tool is bringing a new evolution in how netizens search for information.

Bard

• It is a conversational search engine. Its working is similar to Chat GPT. It was designed and built by Google two years ago.

• BARD was created on the basis of LaMDA. LaMDA stands for Language Models for Dialogue Applications. LaMDA can mimic voices and interact with humans. Public figures and artists can get in trouble for copying features in the software. For this reason, Google engineer Blake Lemoine urged Google that this software could invite trouble. He also released documents where he mentioned the potential problems caused by LaMDA. Unfortunately, he was put on paid leave and then fired.

• The Sangwol Society of South Korea is organizing a walking tour in India. Under this, 108 Buddhists will cover a distance of 1,100 km in India on foot. This pilgrimage will visit various places in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and will last for 43 days. Buddhism is the official religion of South Korea. This religion reached South Korea from India. This walking tour will enhance cultural ties between India and South Korea.

• During this pilgrimage, Buddhist followers will visit the following sites:

• Nalanda University: Nalanda University is one of the ancient universities. It was established during the Gupta rule. It was destroyed by the Muslim invader Khilji in 1193.

• Bodh Gaya: This is a very important place for the followers of Buddhism, at this place Lord Buddha attained enlightenment under a Peepal tree.

• Mahaparinirvan Temple: It is in Kushin Nagar; It is believed to be the death place of Lord Buddha.

• Rambhar Stupa: Built on the ashes of Lord Buddha; It was built by the Malla kings.

• Lumbini: Birth place of Lord Buddha.

• The recent earthquake in Turkey has damaged Gaziantep Castle. The magnitude of this earthquake was 7.8 on the Richter and it is one of the most destructive earthquakes in the history of Turkey. This palace is in Gaziantep Province in western Turkey. This palace was built during the era of the Hittite Empire. Later the Byzantine emperor expanded this palace.

• The Romans used this palace as a watch tower. The Byzantine emperor Justinian I expanded the palace during his reign between the 2nd and 3rd centuries.

• Major changes to this palace were brought about by the Ayyubids and the Ottoman Empire.

• This palace played a big role in the Turkish War of Independence. The Turkish Independence Movement was a national-wide military campaign launched after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I. Military operations were launched against France in the southern parts, Greece in the western parts, Armenia in the east, and British and Ottoman troops in Constantinople.

• The palace has been renovated into a museum.

• Two consecutive earthquakes destroyed this palace. The railings and walls in the palace were severely damaged.

• ICE in H2-ICE stands for Internal Combustion Engine. It was developed by Reliance in partnership with Ashok Leyland. The H2-ICE truck is the first of its kind in India to be powered by hydrogen. The cost of production of this truck was high. However, this truck emits zero carbon. It is completely clean.

• Principle of Combustion

The combustion principle in H2-ICE is as follows:

• 2H2 + O2 → 2H2O

• Two hydrogen atoms combine with one oxygen atom to form water. The heat energy released during this reaction is used to ignite the spark plug.

• Yes and no. It does not emit carbon. However, it produces nitrogen oxides. Some countries ignore nitrogen oxides as a pollutant if they are released in small amounts. H2-ICE produces nitrogen oxides only when atmospheric hydrogen is used. India has included Nitrogen Oxide in its pollutant list. The H2-ICE has no sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, particulate matter or hydrocarbon emissions.

• The first H2-ICE was built in 1806 by Francois Isaac de Rivaz. It ran on a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen.