Weekly Current Affairs - 8th May to 14th May , 2023
1. Under India’s G20 presidency, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the BIS Innovation Hub (BISIH) of the Bank for International Settlements jointly launched G20 TechSprint 2023.
- It is the 4th edition of the global technology hackathon
for innovators to promote innovative solutions aimed at Transforming cross
border payments.
2. Capital Small Finance Bank and Max Life Insurance
Company Limited entered into a partnership to offer life insurance offerings to
Capital SFB's customers.
3. In the recently held high level Internal Governmental
Commission meeting on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural
Cooperation (IRIGC - TEC), India and Russia discussed and agreed to explore the
possibility of accepting RuPay (India) and Mir cards (Russia) in each other's
country for hassle free payments'
- Both nations also agreed to explore the possibility of
interaction with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of the National Payment
Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Faster Payments System (FPS) of the Bank of
Russia.
4. HDFC Bank launched its customised retail banking
programme " Vishesh " for customers in semi urban and rural (SURU)
geographies. With this program, the bank will also meet some of its Priority
Sector Lending (PSL) targets.
5. A MoU was signed between the Embassy of India, Kathmandu
(Nepal) and Sushila Thakur Memorial Health Foundation, for distribution of LPG
Stoves and cylinders in Mahottari District, Nepal with the Indian grant
assistance of Nepalese Rupees 50 million under India Nepal Development
Cooperation.
- Since 2003, India has undertaken more than 535 High Impact
Community Development Projects in Nepal, of which 478 have been completed.
6. The nationwide AHDF KCC Campaign for 2023 24 has been
launched by Parshottam Rupala Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry
and Dairying (FAHD) to provide Kisan Credit Card (KCC) facility to all eligible
farmers engaged in Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fishery (AHDF) Farmers.
- About AHDF KCC Campaign :
Oragnised by : Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
in association with the Department of Fisheries (DOF) and the Department of
Financial Services
Time period : 1st May 2023 to 31st March 2024
Objective : To expand the benefit of KCC to all eligible
animal husbandry, dairy and fishery farmers, in order to improve the income of
the farmers
7. Minister of State Shantanu Thakur, Ministry of Ports,
Shipping and Waterways flagged off MV-ITT LION (V-273) from Syama Prasad
Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, a first shipment to operationalize the Sittwe Port in
the Rakhine State of Myanmar.
- It should be noted that this port in Myanmar has been
built under grant assistance from the Government of India as part of Kaladan
Multimodal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP).
8. The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand
Rai inaugurated the Dawki land port in West Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya to promote
trade and commerce between India and Bangladesh.
9. United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization ( UNESCO) announced three imprisoned Iranian women journalists
Niloofar Hamedi Elaheh Mohammadi and Narges Mohammadi as the laureates of the
2023 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.
[The Award Ceremony took place in New York, United States of
America (USA) in the presence of Audrey Azoulay Director General of UNESCO].
10. The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has
recommended Central Coalfields CMD Polavarapu Mallikharjuna Prasad as the next
Chairman and Managing Director of Coal India Limited (CIL).
11. Belgium's Luca Brecel became the first player from
continental Europe to win the World Snooker Championship. He beatS four time
champion Mark Selby. [First held in 1927, it is now one of the three tournaments
that make up snooker's Triple Crown Series ].
12. Dr Chintan Vaishnav, Chair of Startup 20 G 20 along
with Durga Jasraj, founder of Pandit Jasraj Cultural Foundation, launched the
"UPAJ : A Festival of Innovations in Arts" during the event held in
the NITI Aayog, New Delhi.
13. BharatPe Group, a fintech startup, announced the
rebranding of its loyalty program, PAYBACK India, the multi-brand loyalty
program to Zillion.
14. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced the
Innovative Finance Facility for Climate in Asia and the Pacific (IF-CAP)
program to accelerate climate change financing in the region.
- IF-CAP's initial partners are Denmark, Japan, the Republic
ofKorea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
- IF-CAP financing will contribute to ADB s ambition for
$100 billion from its resources for combating climate change for 2019-2030.
15. Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) signed a MoU with Emjay
Control Systems Pvt Ltd, to jointly manufacture and develop business for
electro-mechanical bollards for use in various defence, homeland, security,
paramilitary, and export projects. [ The bollards are built to withstand the
impact of IED (Improvised Explosive Device) laden vehicles weighing from 24,000
to 1,50,000 kg and coming in at alarming speeds of 80 to 100 km/h ]
16. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the
Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) are joining hands to set up Asia's largest biogas
plant in Mumbai, Maharashtra. [ The proposed plant will recycle damp, organic,
and degradable waste, which accounts for 3,500 tonnes of the 6,000 tonnes of
solid waste generated daily in Mumbai, Maharashtra ]
17. The Union Government has formed an 11-member high level
committee under the chairmanship of Sanjay Garg, Additional Secretary of the Department
of Agricultural Research and Education. The aim is to restructure the 94-year
old ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) , which was established in
1929 to meet the objective of Amrit Kaal . [ About Amrit Kaal - On 15 August 2022 on the event of the 75 th
year of Independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the term Amrit Kaal for
the first time ]
- The flagship mission was launched on June 25,2015. It
involves the development of 100 cities into smart cities. The project aims to
improve the quality of life for people living in India and drive economic
growth.
- The Union Ministry of Urban Development is responsible for
implementing the mission.
- The ministry said that the government has released around
Rs. 38,000 crore to 100 cities.
19. WHO (World Health Organisation) launched a new
initiative called PRET (Preparedness and Resilience for Emerging Threats) to
ensure the world is prepared for future outbreaks like the Covid 19 pandemic.
- The objective to help world countries by providing
guidance on integrated planning for responding to respiratory pathogens and
their recovery by supporting to strengthen the systems and capacities.
- The PRET initiative was announced at the Global Meeting
for Future Respiratory Pathogen Pandemics held in Geneva,Switzerland.
20. According to Forbes World's 10 Highest Paid Athletes
2023 Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) has become the highest paid
athlete in the world in 2023 after he moved to Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr in
January 2023.
21. Winners of the NASA HERC 2023 from India :
Project Review Award :
(i) College/University Division - Birla Institute of
Technology and Science, Pilani, Rajasthan
Social Media Award :
(i) High School Division - Young Tinker Educational
Foundation, Bhubaneswar, Odisha
(ii) College/University Division - KIET Group of
Institutions, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
22. Maria Stepanova, a Jewish author from Russia now living
in exile in Germany, has been awarded the Leipzig Book Award for European
Understanding 2023 for her volume of poetry entitled "Mädchen ohne
Kleider" (Girls Without Clothes).
[ The Leipzig Book Prize for European Understanding has been
awarded annually since 1994 and is one of the most important literary prizes in
Germany. The Award comes with prize money of 20,000 euros. ]
23. Fatimah Asghar, a South Asian American poet and
screenwriter, won the inaugural Carol Shields Prize for Fiction for her debut
novel " When We Were Sisters " published by One World/Random House.
- In addition to the cash prize of USD 150,000 Fatimah
Asghar will receive a residency at the award winning Fogo Island Inn in
Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
24. India's javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra won the gold
medal in Javelin Throw men's event of the Doha Diamond League 2023 (held at
Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar) , officially known as Wanda Diamond
League , by registering a distance of
88.67 metres.
- Jakub Vadlejch of the Czech Republic finished second with
a best of 88.63 m and reigning world javelin champion Anderson Peters of
Grenada finished 3 rd with a best of 85.88 m.
[ This throw was Neeraj Chopra's 4th career best effort, who
has a personal best of 89.94 m. This was his second win in a Diamond League
Meeting He became the first Indian to win a Diamond League Meeting in 2022 in
Lausanne, Switzerland ]
25. Visa launched a cardholder verification value (CVV)
free feature for tokenised cards in India, that allows users to carry out
online transactions without the need to enter the CVV to make the online
transaction process easier.
26. Manappuram Finance ventures into digital money lending
& introduces " Ma-Money " app to offer hassle free loans at the
click of a mouse.
27. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Sahay app, developed
by Ahmedabad based start-up digital credit platform provider Online PSB Loans
will enable small store owners, kirana /grocers and other MSMEs to secure
instant bank loan between 10,000 to 2 lakh. [ OPL's infrastructure has also
been deployed for the rollout of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Innovation Hub's
pilot on GST Sahay ]
28. NITI Aayog (National Institute for Transforming India)
in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released
the : Best Practices in Social Sector : A Compendium, 2023 " . It is a
compilation of 75 initiatives of the Centre and the states/ Union Territories
in the social sector.
- Out of the 75
initiatives, 14 have been launched by Union government, two are joint
initiatives by the Centre and the state governments, while the rest are from 26
states and UTs.
29. The Coal Ministry said that it will complete 67 first
mile connectivity projects with a capacity of handling 885 million tonnes per
annum (mtpa) by 2027 . The Ministry of Coal takes up 67 FMC projects (59 - coal
India, 5 - Singareni Collieries Company & 3 - NLC India) with a capacity to
load 885 mtpa.
30. Air Vistara became the 1st Indian carrier to operate a
commercial domestic flight on a widebody aircraft using sustainable aviation
fuel (SAF) [ The feat was achieved by the airline s new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
flying from Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi to Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai using a blend of 17% SAF and 83%
conventional jet fuel, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by around 4,500
kilograms ].
31. Ram Nath Kovind, a former President of India, honoured
Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh with the 13 th edition of the
Bharat Ratna Dr. Ambedkar Award, for creating a fear free UP.
- The award was received by Lalji Prasad, a Member of the
Legislative Council (MLC) in UP, on behalf of CM Yogi Adityanath.
About the Bharat Ratna Dr. Ambedkar Award :
Initiated in : 1992
First Awarded : 1993
Given by : Dr. Ambedkar Foundation
Prize money : Rs. 10 Lakhs
First Winner : National Institute of Social Work and Social
Science,Bhubaneswar, Odisha
32. King Charles III was crowned the King of the United
Kingdom at the coronation ceremony held at Westminster Abbey (formally titled
the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster) in London. The Queen
Consort (the wife of a reigning king) Camilla, was crowned the Queen beside
King Charles III during the coronation.
[She became the 29 th Queen Consort to be crowned at
Westminster Abbey. This marks the 40 th coronation to take place at Westminster
Abbey since 1066 ]
33. Former England cricketer and veteran commentator Mark
Nicholas has been elected as the next president of the Marylebone Cricket Club
(MCC).
34. Manufacturer of mattresses, Wakefit Innovations Private
Limited, has signed actor Ayushmann Khurrana as Wakefit.co's brand ambassador.
35. The Indian Navy (IN) decommissioned Indian Naval Ship
(INS) Magar the oldest Landing Ship Tank after 36 years of service at the Naval
base in Kochi, Kerala It was commanded by CDR Hemant Salunkhe. INS Magar was
launched at Garden Reach Shipyard and Engineers Limited, Kolkata by late
Admiral Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani.
36. The Indian Air Force (IAF)'s 1st C-295 medium transport
aircraft has completed its maiden flight in Spain, marking a significant
milestone towards its delivery by the second half of 2023. The aircraft took
off from Seville, Spain and landed after 3 hours of flight.
37. Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Ministry of Defence, who
is on a one-day visit to Union Territory of Chandigarh, has inaugurated India's
first of its kind Indian Air Force (IAF) Heritage Centre in Chandigarh's Sector
18 [ The heritage centre has the first IAF made patent aircraft Air Force
" Kanpur-1 Vintage Prototype Aircraft" , a single engine indigenous
flying machine designed and built by the late Air Vice Marshal Harjinder Singh
in 1958 at Base Repair Depot Kanpur ].
38. Rocket Lab's Electron rocket launched two TROPICS
hurricane research satellites of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space
Administration) from its New Zealand spaceport, and were deployed into Low
Earth orbit (LEO) about 340 miles (550 kilometers) above Earth.
- This pair of satellites is named " Rocket Like a
Hurricane " .
39. On 7th May 2023, Pushkar Singh Dhami, Chief Minister
(CM) of Uttarakhand, launched the Hindi version of “Cyber Encounter: Cops’
Adventures With Online Criminals” (साइबर एनकाउंटसस)
at St Joseph’s Academy, Rajpur Road, Dehradun, Uttarakhand. This version
has been published by Prabhat Prakashan Pvt. Ltd.
- The book was originally written in English by Ashok Kumar,
the Director General of Police(DGP) of Uttarakhand, and co-authored by OP Manocha,
a former scientist of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
and published by Ebury Press.
40. Dr Sandeep Marwah the Chancellor of AAFT University,
Raipur, Chhattisgarh, and President of the International Chamber of Media and
Entertainment Industry, presented the 1st copy of the book " 8 Years of
Modi Sarkar : A Compilation of Achievements " .
41. The Ministry of Finance MoF has allowed 22 financial
companies, including Amazon Pay (India) and Hero FinCorp to undertake Aadhaar
based authentication of clients. These 22 financial companies include Godrej
Finance, Amazon Pay (India) Pvt Ltd, Aditya Birla Housing Finance, Tata Motors
Finance Solution, IIFL Finance and Mahindra Rural Housing Finance Ltd.
- Section 11A of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002
provides for verification of identity by reporting entities
[ E-KYC (know your customer) carried out through One Time
Password (otp) based Aadhaar authentication allows entities to offer a limited
set of services to their users. Such a KYC has to be renewed every year and the
aggregate amount of term loans sanctioned shall not exceed Rs. 60,000 in a year
]
42. HDFC has decided to sell its student loan subsidiary
ahead of its merger with HDFC Bank and has appointed an investment banker for
the stake sale. Credila is India's largest education sector focused Non banking
Finance Company (NBFC) specialising in providing education loans to students
pursuing higher education in India and overseas.
43. Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited announced that it has
successfully re-domiciled Alchemy India Long Term Fund from Mauritius to GIFT
City in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
44. Reliance Industries Ltd - controlled Viacom 18 has
signed a three year deal with Warner Bros. Discovery will allow the broadcaster
to stream popular HBO Originals, HBO as well as Warner Bros content on
JioCinema starting next month.
- The deal is pegged at 900 1 000 crore and will help
JioCinema attract premium English content consuming audiences.
45. Four wheeler vehicles powered by diesel may get banned
by 2027. By 2030 no city buses should be added which are not electric, diesel
buses for city transport should not be added from 2024 onwards. The Ministry of
Petroleum and Natural Gas has set up an Energy Transition Advisory Committee,
headed by former oil secretary Tarun Kapoor.
[ The country aims at producing 40% of its electricity from
renewables to achieve its 2070 net zero goal ]
46. The Ministry of Home Affairs has recently decided to
introduce Millets, Shree Anna in the meals of personnel of Central Armed Police
Forces (CAPFs) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRP). The decision to
introduce 30 per cent Millets in the meals.
47. The 3rd phase of Thalassemia Bal Sewa Yojana (TBSY) was
launched by the Minister of State Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare MoHFW to commemorate the World Thalassemia Day on May 8,
2023. TBSY is an imitation of MoHFW and which is being supported by Coal India
Limited (CIL) as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
About TBSY : The MoHFW has been implementing TBSY since 2017
under the National Health Mission (NHM) to treat Thalassemia, an inherited
blood disorder that causes the body to have less hemoglobin than normal. The
HSCT program is an initiative to provide a one-time cure opportunity to
underprivileged Thalassemia patients who have a matched sibling donor but lack
the financial resources to cover the procedure's cost. The second phase of TBSY
was completed in March 2023.
48. A new Border-Haat between India and Bangladesh was
inaugurated in Bholaganj under the Companiganj upazila of Sylhet.
- This is the fourth Border Haat in Sylhet division out of
which three are currently functional. Three more Border Haats are planned to be
opened in the Sylhet division.
- The Border Haat will function on Wednesdays and Saturdays
between 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon.
49. Lionel Messi was honoured with the Laureus World
Sportsman Of The Year 2023 at the 2023 Laureus World Sports Awards [ This is
the 2nd time that Lionel Messi has been honoured with the Laureus World
Sportsman Of The Year Award In 2020 he shared the award with British race car
driver Lewis Hamilton ].
- Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce won the Laureus World Sportswoman
Of The Year 2023.
50. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Nadia, West Bengal won the
first prize in the 24th National Youth Parliament Competition, 2022-23.
- The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has been organising
Youth Parliament Competitions in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas for the past 26
years. 80 Vidyalayas spread over 8 regions of Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti
participated in the 24th National Youth Parliament Competition.
51. Accenture has appointed Ajay Vij to the newly created
role of Country Managing Director (MD) .
52. Indian-American public policy expert Neera Tandon has
been appointed as the Domestic Policy Advisor in US President Joe Biden's team.
- She became the first Asian-American to lead the White
House Advisory Council. Tanden replaces Susan Rice as Biden s Domestic Policy
Advisor.
53. Indian weightlifters concluded the Asian Weightlifting
Championships Jinju 2023 in Jinju South Korea, with a total of 3 silver medals.
- Asian Weightlifting Championships Jinju 2023 was held from
03 to 13 May 2023 in Jinju South Korea.
54. Ajai Chowdhry one of the six founding members of HCL
(Hindustan Computers Limited), authored a new book titled " Just Aspire :
Notes on Technology, Entrepreneurship and the Future " .
55. Sahitya Akademi Award winner and popular Bengali writer
Samaresh Majumdar passed away at the age of 79 in Kolkata, West Bengal.
- He won the Sahitya Akademi Award for the second novel of
the series, " Kalbela " in 1984 which was set against the backdrop of
the Naxalite movement of West Bengal in 1960s and 1970s. He got the Bankim
Puroshkar award (the highest award given by the Government of West Bengal) in
2009 for contribution to Bengali fiction " Kolikataye Nobokumar " .
56. The United Nations annually marks the 8th and 9th of
May as the Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who lost Their
Lives during the Second World War to pay tribute to the victims of the Second
World War.
57. Yes Bank Limited announced the launch of a solar
financing scheme named " YES KIRAN " to offer financial assistance to
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises manufacturers who wish to install solar
panels at their premises.
- The bank has
partnered with solar panel manufacturers like Tata Power Solar Systems, Goldi
Solar and Loom Solar, and Panasonic Solar Power System to facilitate MSME
businesses for their transition to renewable energy solutions.
58. Axis Bank Limited (formerly known as UTI Bank), India's
third largest private sector bank, enabled RuPay Credit Card support on the
Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
59. Agritech firm Rukart, based in Kalyan, Maharashtra, has
joined hands with State Bank of India (SBI) to offer easy loan options for the
purchase of its Subjee Cooler, a cold storage system that enhances the shelf
life of fruits and vegetables.
- Rukart's Subjee Cooler is a cold chain storage system that
requires only 20 litres of water per day to operate. Each cooler costs Rs
50,000 and can store up to 100 kg.
60. Federal Bank Limited partners with National
E-Governance Services Limited (NeSL) to launch an electronic Bank Guarantee
(e-BG) facility for its customers, enabling them to obtain a Bank Guarantee
digitally, replacing the traditional paper-based process.
61. Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology
Madras (IIT Madras) partnered with the Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) scientists to develop cutting edge Piezoelectric MEMS
technology sensor for underwater communications. This sensor will be used by
the Indian Navy's Next Generation SONAR initiative by DRDO to support both
innovative and modern technological advances.
62. PTC India Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding
MoU with Brookfield Renewable, for the procurement of 100 MW solar power on a
long term basis. Brookfield Renewables is developing a 400 MW solar power
project at the Bikaner solar park in Rajasthan.
63. MyGov in collaboration with Ministry of Culture
launched a " YUVA PRATIBHA " Singing Talent Hunt with an aim to
promote Indian music at the grassroots level on a national scale by identifying
and recognising the new and young talent in various singing genres such as
Folk, Patriotic, and Contemporary.
- The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd winners will be rewarded with Rs
1,50,000 , Rs 1,00,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively, along with a Trophy and
Certificate.
64. Union Minister Rajesh Bhushan Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare (MoHFW) has launched SAKSHAM (Stimulating Advanced Knowledge for
Sustainable Health Management), a learning management information system (LMIS)
of MoHFW. SAKSHAM was developed by the National Institute of Health &
Family Welfare, New Delhi.
65. In Uttarakhand, a capacity building program for civil
servants of Maldives and Bangladesh is being organized by the National Center
for Good Governance (NCGG) at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of
Administration, Mussoorie. 50 administrative trainees from Maldives and 45 from
Bangladesh are participating in this programme.
66. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY),
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY)
completed 8 years of providing social security cover.
- PMJJBY, PMSBY and APY were launched by Prime Minister Shri
Narendra Modi on 9th May, 2015 from Kolkata, West Bengal.
67. The Competition Act, 2002 has approved the subscription
of certain compulsorily convertible debentures issued by Biocon Biologics Ltd
(BBL) by Edelweiss Alternative Asset Advisors (EAAA) and ESOF III Investment
Fund under Section 5(a).
68. The winners of the 2023 Pulitzer Prizes in Journalism
Books, Drama and Music and Special Citations were announced. The Pulitzer
Prize, administered by Columbia University in New York, United States of
America(USA), is considered the most prestigious prize in US journalism.
- Categories : The Pulitzer Prize recognises the work in 22
categories, i.e. 15 journalism categories seven arts categories and one special
citation.
69. Laneige, the Korean skincare brand, has announced actor
Athiya Shetty as its first ever brand face in India.
70. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has
announced a new introductory level online training programme called Space
Science and Technology Awareness Training (START). START is aimed at
postgraduate and final year undergraduate students of Physical Sciences and
Technology. It will be delivered by scientists from Indian academia and ISRO
centres.
- Academic institutions can submit applications for the
programme through the Jigyasa portal by May 20.
71. Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has laid
the foundation for the Hare Krishna Heritage Tower in Hyderabad. The 400 feet
(120 meters) tall structure will be constructed on six acres of land in
Narsingi at a cost of Rs. 200 crore [ The tower will house the temples of Sri
Sri Radha Krishna and Sri Venkateswara Swamy ].
- The chief minister announced Rs. 25 crore on behalf of the
state government for the construction of the temple.
72. Punjab has become the first Indian State to implement
the " Right to walk " by making it mandatory for all road owning
agencies, including the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to provide
footpaths and cycle tracks in all future expansion of roads and construction of
new ones.
73. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
issued a notification on May 10, 2023, allowing stock exchanges to extend
Direct Market Access (DMA) facility to foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) for
Exchange Traded Commodity Derivatives (ETCDs) with immediate effect. This move
was made in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 11(1) of the SEBI
Act, 1992, to protect the interests of investors in securities and promote the
development of the securities market.
74. India has extended a USD 1 billion credit line for Sri
Lanka by one year until March 2024 thus providing a backup infusion of dollars
for essential imports.
- The credit line is part of about USD 4 billion in
emergency assistance extended by India during the peak of Sri Lanka’s financial
crisis in 2022, which was scheduled to end in March 2023.
75. RBL Bank, an Indian private sector bank headquartered
in Mumbai and founded in 1943, has launched a new service for direct tax
collections on behalf of the Government of India (GoI) through the upgraded Tax
Information Network (TIN2.0) portal.
- This is the second such service from the bank, which was
empanelled by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as an 'Agency Bank' to conduct
banking business for the Central and State Governments.
- Bank of India (BOI) has become the first public sector
bank to go live on Income Tax Department's new Direct Tax Collection System TIN
2.0 .
76. The oldest and largest national trade union of bank
employees in India, " All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) ",
is launching an online service called " Bank Clinic " to help bank
customers with their complaints.
- Bank Clinic will allow customers to file their grievances online and AIBEA’s team will follow up with the bank to resolve the issue.
- The aim of Bank Clinic is to provide assistance to
customers and to give feedback to banks on areas where they need to improve
their service.
77. Ora Finance Private Limited, a subsidiary of the
fintech-driven agritech firm Unnati, has become the first company in the
agritech space to receive a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) license. This
will allow Ora Finance to provide financial services to various stakeholders in
the agricultural sector, including farmers, retailers, traders, brands, and
food processors.
78. HSBC Bank has been fined Rs 1.73 crore by the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) for violating the Credit Information Companies Rules, 2006
(CIC Rules) .
79. Fitch Ratings has predicted India s GDP growth forecast
for 2023-24 to 6% from 6.2% and 6.7% in 2024-25
[ Reason : Citing headwinds from elevated inflation and
interest rates along with subdued global demand ].
80. On May 10, 2023, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal
launched the 'Harit Sagar Guidelines - 2023', also known as the Green Port
Guidelines. The guidelines were prepared by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping
& Waterways to achieve the goal of zero carbon emission.
- The objective of the guidelines is to minimize waste
through the 4Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, and Recycle) and promote monitoring
based on Environmental Performance Indicators.
- According to the statement of Sarbananda Sonowal, ports
are undertaking green initiatives and actively contributing to the fulfillment
of the "Panchamrit" commitments announced by Prime Minister (PM)
Narendra Modi.
- At Harit Sagar Guidelines 2023 launch event, Awards were
conferred for the major ports for their all time best performance.
List of awards :
1. Best port for the year 2022-23 : Paradip Port, Odisha
2. The award for the best Absolute Performance for the year
2022-23 : Deendayal Port, Kandla (Gujarat)
3. Pre berthing detention time : The Kamarajar Port, Chennai
(Tamil Nadu)
4. For achieving major milestone in Turn Around Time :
Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Mumbai (Maharashtra)
5. Performance shield in turn around time (non-container
port) : Cochin Port (Kerala)
81. On May 10, 2023, Union Minister Smriti Zubin Irani
launched “Poshan Bhi, Padhai Bhi”, the flagship program of the Ministry of
Women and Child Development (MoWCD) to strengthen Early Childhood Care and
Education (ECCE) component of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0. The
program was launched during a national event organized by MoWCD on key
initiatives for strengthening ECCE at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
- ECCE is an important component of Mission Saksham
Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 and is envisaged under the National Education Policy.
- Smriti Zubin Irani stated that Rs. 600 crore is being
proposed to be allocated for the training process under Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi.
82. Russia holds the 78th Victory Day parade anniversary at
Red Square, Moscow on May 9 to commemorate the historic victory in 1945 when
the Soviet Union defeated Nazi Germany in World War II, which is also known as
the Great Patriotic War.
83. The board of directors of National Investment and
Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIFL) has appointed Rajiv Dhar as the interim
Chief Executive officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of NIIFL.
84. Former Speaker Wesley W Simina was elected as the new
and 10th President of the Federation States of Micronesia (FSM) during the 1st
regular session of the 23rd FSM Congress in Micronesia.
85. On May 10, 2023, the Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO) achieved a major milestone by conducting the first integrated test on an
intermediate configuration of the 2000kN (kiloNewton) Semi-cryogenic Engine.
The test was conducted at the newly commissioned Semi-cryogenic Integrated
Engine & Stage Test facility at the ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) in
Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu.
86. Indian Wushu athletes has won a total of 17 medals (10
gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze) at the Moscow Wushu Stars Championship 2023 held
in Moscow, Russia from 2nd May to 8th May 2023.
- The girls won the medals in the junior girls, sub-junior
girls and senior girls categories across Sanda (Fight) and Taolu in Moscow,
Russia.
- On May 9 2023 , the Sports Authority of India (SAI)
felicitated the 17 medal winners in the felicitation ceremony hosted by SAI in
New Delhi, Delhi.
87. Uttar Pradesh becomes first state to make digital
health cards for children.
- The Uttar Pradesh's Urban Development Department and
Lucknow Smart City launched a School Health Program. Under the pilot project,
the School Health Program has been started by Lucknow Smart City in three
schools in Lucknow. A digital health report card for the overall physical and
mental well being of 1765 municipal school students is also being prepared
under the project.
- The benefit of health insurance worth Rs. 25,000 is also
being given to these children.
88. Mexican football goalkeeper Antonio Félix Tota Carbajal
Rodríguez (Antonio Carbajal), the 1st footballer to play in 5 FIFA (Fédération
Internationale de football association/ International Federation of Association
Football) World Cups, passed away in León, Mexico, at the age of 93.
- He played 47 games for the Mexican national team and
appeared in World Cups in Brazil in 1950 (Switzerland), in 1954 (Sweden) , in
1958 (Chile) in 1962 and in 1966 (England).
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