Current Affairs Quiz 16th June 2023 Quiz

Exp. Women 20 Summit begins in Mahabalipuram

The W20 summit under the presidency of G20 begins in Mahabalipuram near Chennai.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has virtually addressed the inaugural session and union minister for women and child development Smriti Irani delivers the keynote address.

The summit with a theme of women-led development to transform, thrive and transcend will be moderated by Dharitri Patnaik, the W 20 chief Coordinator.

The sessions on the road to achieving sustainable development goals with an agenda on women’s health, gender equality, social and economic development will be moderated by Lauren Power, Founder and Advisor of Young professionals in foreign policy.

G20 in News (Note – All Meetings are Under the Presidency of G20 by India)

• 4th Education Working Group (EDWG) Meeting – Pune, Maharashtra (19 -21 June 2023)
• 2nd summit of Supreme Audit Institutions of G20 Meeting – Panji, Goa (12-15 June 2023)
• Third G20 Health Working Group meeting – Hyderabad
• 3rd Employment Working Group Meeting – Geneva, Switzerland (31 May – 2 June 2023)
• 2nd G-20 Anti-Corruption Working Group Meeting – Rishikesh, Uttarakhand (25 – 27 May 2023)

Exp. Bhupender Yadav addresses 111th International Labour Conference

Labour and Employment Minister Bhupender Yadav has addressed the Plenary Session at the 111th International Labour Conference in Geneva.

India aims to push for tools to map skill gaps among countries and move towards harmonization and mutual recognition of skills and qualifications.

India also aims to work with the world to find out ways for sustainable financing mechanisms to provide universal and comprehensive social security coverage to all, including for gig and platform workers.

Exp. Arunachal Pradesh CM launches app called ‘Arunpol App’

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister has launched an app called ‘Arunpol App’ of Arunachal Pradesh Police and flagged off an APP awareness generation vehicle from the Civil Secretariat, Itanagar.

The Arunpol app will facilitate common people to lodge complaints without coming to the police station.

People can also apply for other clearances from the police through this app.

The state home minister informed that CM also launched another app called E-Vigilance app for the state government employees.

About Arunachal Pradesh

• Capital – Itanagar
• Chief Minister – Pema Khandu
• Governor – LG (Retd) Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik

Exp. G20 Tourism Ministers meeting to be held in Goa

The 4th Tourism Working Group Meeting under India’s G20 presidency and G20 Tourism Ministers meeting will be held in Goa from 19th June to 22nd June.

A side event on making Cruise Tourism a model for sustainable and responsible travel will be organized on 19th June.

The Secretary said various cultural programs will be organized to highlight and showcase the rich cultural heritage of Goa.

Tourism Ministry will also organize a side event Towards a circular economy of plastics in tourism-the global tourism plastics initiative in collaboration with United Nations Environment Programme UNEP and United Nations World Tourism Organization UNWTO.

About Goa

• Formation – 30 May 1987
• Capital – Panaji
• Chief Minister – Pramod Sawant
• Governor – S. Sreedharan Pillai

Exp. Centre introduces ‘Y-Break-Yoga at office chair’ for stress relief

The AYUSH ministry has introduced the Yoga Break (Y-Break) protocol to assist professionals in relieving stress, renewing their energy, and improving focus.

This protocol includes a series of light practices that can be easily incorporated into a short break from work.

The protocol comprises few simple Yoga practices which include ‘asanas’ (postures), ‘pranayama’ (breathing techniques) and ‘dhyana’ (meditation), the ministry mentioned.

The personnel ministry has directed all central government ministries and departments to embrace and encourage this innovative Yoga practice for employees in the workplace.

The officials can now benefit themselves while sitting in their office chair by practicing a short duration Yoga protocol namely “Y-Break@workplace yoga” at chair to refresh, de-stress and refocus.

In order to spread awareness about the “Y-Break@workplace – yoga at chair”, all ministries/departments of the Government of India are requested for wide dissemination amongst their employees, including those of attached and subordinate under their control.

Exp. Guwahati Railway Station achieves ‘Eat Right Station’ certification

The Guwahati Railway Station in Assam under North East Frontier Railway has been awarded ‘Eat Right Station’ certification by FSSAI in recognition of providing high-quality, nutritious food to passengers.

The station has been able to qualify the guidelines established by FSSAI and becomes the first railway station in NF Railway to get this status.

It is to mention that the ‘Eat Right Station’ certification is granted by FSSAI to railway stations adhering to standard food storage and hygiene practices.

This certification is awarded by FSSAI to railway stations that set benchmarks in providing safe and wholesome food to passengers.

Exp. India’s wholesale price inflation falls to -3.48% in May 2023

India’s wholesale prices contracted for the second straight month in May, led by a fall in prices across all major categories.

The Wholesale Price Index declined 3.48% year-on-year in May compared to a fall of 0.92% in April, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The deflation in factory gate inflation for the second consecutive month in 2023-24 comes on the back of a higher base effect and due to a fall in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, food products, textiles, non-food articles, chemical products, crude petroleum, and natural gas.

The wholesale inflation was 16.63 percent in May 2022. Earlier, it was minus 3.7 percent in October 2015.

Data shows the prices for manufactured items (minus 2.97 percent) contracted further in May, from minus 2.42 percent in April, led by a decelerated price rise in items such as beverages, apparel, cement, and mineral products.

Recent WPI-based Wholesale inflation in India

• January 2023 – 4.73%
• February 2023 – 3.85%
• March 2023 – 1.38%
• April 2023 – (-)0.92%
• May 2023 – (-) 3.48%

Exp. India to host IIAS Annual Conference 2025 at Kochi, Kerala

India will host the 2025 International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) Annual Conference at Kochi, Kerala in February 2025.

The annual conference will be attended by 30 countries, 18 national sections, and over 50 IIAS universities/ institutes of public administration.

The DARPG proposed the theme of the annual conference as “Next Generation Administrative Reforms – Empowering The Citizens And Reaching The Last Mile”.

The IIAS is a federation of member states, national sections, and academic research centres which elaborates on public administration solutions to policy challenges.

Established in 1930, it is headquartered in Brussels. The Council of Administration manages the affairs of the institute, decides its program of activities, and establishes the annual budget.

About Kerala

• Capital – Thiruvananthapuram
• Chief Minister – Pinarayi Vijayan
• Governor – Arif Mohammad Khan

Exp. GSITI Hyderabad gets Accredited as ‘Athi Uttam’

The Geological Survey of India Training Institute (GSITI) has been awarded accreditation as ‘Athi Uttam’ by the National Accreditation Board of Education and Training (NABET).

The assessment was made on the basis of the inspection of all standard operating procedures and methodologies followed by the institute in different levels.

The team from Capacity Building Commission (CBC), NABET and Quality Control of India conducted the on-site assessment and awarded the Certificate of Accreditation with the grading of Athi Uttam.

Established in 1976, GSITI with its headquarters at Hyderabad, has six regional training divisions (RTD) located at Hyderabad, Nagpur, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kolkata and Shillong. Four field training centers (FTCs) are also established at Chitradurga (Karnataka), Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Zawar (Rajasthan) and Kuju (Jharkhand).

These centers are established as per the vision of the Ministry of Mines to impart various trainings to geoscience professionals, teachers, researchers and students in various subjects of geology.

GSITI is a national training facility, under the Ministry of Mines that provides training and capacity building to multiple stakeholders including Central and state departments, PSUs (MECL, ONGC, OIL, NMDC), national academic institutions (IITs, Central universities and colleges) and colleges.

The institute regularly conducts courses on remote sensing under NNRMS programme sponsored by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

GSITI provides domain specific and terrain specific training programmes through its center at Hyderabad and RTDs and FTCs located across the country.

Recent Awards

• Elizabeth Longford Prize 2023 – Ramachandra Guha (for Rebels Against the Raj)
• Governor of the Year at the Central Banking Awards 2023 in London’ – RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das (Raghuram Rajan in 2015)
• RSL Christopher Bland Prize 2023 – Paterson Joseph (for Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho)
• UNESCO Michel Batisse award 2023 – Jagdish S Bakan
• Suriname highest civilian award Grand Order of the Chain of the Yellow Star – Droupadi Murmu

Exp. World Bank launches its first road safety project in South Asia

The World Bank (WB) has launched its first dedicated road safety project in South Asia with a USD 358 million financing agreement signed in Dhaka with the government of Bangladesh.

The project seeks to improve road safety and reduce fatalities and injuries from road crashes in selected cities, high-risk highways, and district roads.

The project will focus on two national highways in Bangladesh: Gazipur-Elenga (N4) and Natore-Nawabganj (N6).

These highways will serve as the primary sites for implementing various road safety measures.

The aim is to achieve a substantial reduction of over 30 percent in road traffic deaths on these two highways.

The project will introduce innovative emergency services, including the use of bike-ambulancesequipped with a toll-free number.

About World Bank

• Founded – 1944
• Headquarters – Washington Dc
• President – Ajay Banga
• MD & CFO – Anshula Kant
• Chief Economist – Carman Reinhart
• Executive Director – Rajesh Khullar
• Member Countries -189
• World Bank Group – 5 (IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA and ICSID)

Exp. Indian Overseas Bank Introduces “MY ACCOUNT MY NAME”

Indian Overseas Bank has introduced “MY ACCOUNT MY NAME” for Savings Bank account customers.

This is the first time such a feature has been introduced in the banking industry.

In ‘My Account My Name’ customer can choose any name (alias) for his/her account in addition to the account name. This ‘Alias Name’ name can be shared by customers to others instead of sharing the 15-digit account numbers.

The account name can be a combination of seven letters only or seven numbers only or seven alphanumeric — like AJIT007, PRADHAN or 2424707 and others.

Customers can visit the bank’s website or the nearest branch to benefit from this scheme.

The schemes were launched from Central Office, Chennai, virtually by Shri Ajay Kumar Srivastava, MD&CEO, Indian Overseas Bank with all the 49 Regional Offices.

Recent Facilities Launched in Banks & Insurance Sector

• South Indian Bank launches digital platform for hassle-free account opening
• Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) launched a new deposit scheme ‘Vikas Ashadeep 400 days’.
• Punjab National Bank launches IVR-based UPI 123PAY
• Federal Bank launches ‘I am Adyar, Adyar is me’ campaign
• Google Pay launches Aadhaar-based authentication for UPI activation

Exp. Education loans register 17% growth in FY23

According to RBI data, the outstanding portfolio under education loans grew 17% at Rs 96,847 crore in the year 2022-23 as against Rs 82,723 crore in the previous year.

For the first time in five years, growth in education loans not only turned positive but also registered a 17% surge in the last financial year ended March 2023.

This is significant because the growth in education loans was flat during 2021-22 and it was negative for the three years prior to it. The education loans were down by 3 percent, 3.3 percent, and 2.5 percent during FY21, FY20, and FY19, respectively.

The Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) in education advances stood at 7.82 percent of a total outstanding portfolio of ₹80,000 crore at the end of the first quarter of FY23. The NPA data for the full year is yet to come.

The priority sector education loans slow only modest growth as they registered 0.9 percent growth in FY 23. In the previous financial year, they decreased by 7 percent.

Exp. Indian film ‘When Climate Change Turns Violent’ wins WHO award

An Indian documentary film titled “When Climate Change Turns Violent” has won a special prize in the ‘Health for All’ category at the 4th Annual Health for All Film Festival (HAFF) held at the World Health Organisation (WHO) headquarters in Geneva.

The documentary has been directed by Vandita Saharia of Rajasthan. She was the only Indian among the winners.

The 4.32-minute documentary focuses on the relationship between domestic violence, climate change and human trafficking.

Another documentary film titled “One in 36 Million: Story of Childhood Lead Poisoning in Bangladesh”, directed by Arifur Rahma and Mitali Das and produced by Pure Earth Bangladesh, won the award under the ‘Better Health and Well-being’ category.

This year, more than 780 entries were received by the jury. Of them, 93 films were shortlisted which covered issues ranging from anxiety and depression through to the effects of climate change on health, as well as the health challenges of people with disabilities.

WHO initiated HAFF in 2019 to make audio-visual language a key component of the organization’s “communicating for health impact” approach.

Well-produced and well-targeted short films can improve the health status of some groups by encouraging behaviour change or providing knowledge, motivation, or skills needed for people to take action.

Exp. 16 June – International Day of Family Remittances

International Day of Family Remittances is observed every year on 16 June.

Objective – To highlight the significant contributions of migrant workers who financially support their families

Remittances refer to the money that is transferred by migrant workers to their native countries with the aim to contribute towards economic development.

Theme 2023 – Digital remittances towards financial inclusion and cost reduction

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Bank together marked the first-ever International Day of Family Remittances on 16 June 2008, with the aim of highlighting the role of migrant workers and that of their remittances in improving the economy of developing countries.

The day received global recognition and support by various organisations and finally on 16 June 2015, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution and declared 16 June as official International Day of Family Remittances.