Current Affairs Quiz 29th May 2023 Quiz

Exp. 2nd G-20 Anti-Corruption Working Group meeting concluded in Rishikesh

The second meeting of the G-20 Anti-Corruption Working Group (ACWG) has organized by the Union Ministry of Defense and Tourism was held in Rishikesh (Tehri).

The meeting witnessed wide participation of 90 delegates from 20 member countries, 10 invited countries and 9 international organizations including UNODC, OECD, Egmont Group, INTERPOL and IMF.

India looks forward to hosting the delegates again in Kolkata on 9-11 August 2023 for the 3rd meeting of the ACWG.

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

• 2nd G-20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group Meeting – Mumbai, Maharashtra (23 – 25 May 2023)
• 2nd Trade and Investment Working Group Meeting – Bengaluru, Karnataka (23 – 25 May 2023)
• 2nd G-20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group (DRRWG) – Mumbai, Maharashtra (23 – 25 May 2023).

• 3rd G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting – Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir (22 – 24 2023)
• 3rd Energy Transitions Working Group Meeting (ETWG) – Mumbai (15 – 17 2023)
• 2nd G20 Culture Working Group Meeting – Bhubaneswar, Odisha (14 -16 May 2023)

Exp. Patna becomes first municipal corporation to use CBDC

Dr. Jagadish Pillai of Varanasi (UP) has created a Guinness World Record by singing Shri Ramcharitmanas for 138 hours, 41 minutes, and two seconds.

This remarkable accomplishment has been officially recognized in the prestigious Guinness Book of World Records as the longest song ever composed.

The entire process of recording, editing and mixing took four years, 63 days and 295 hours to complete.

The previous record for the longest song was held by UK’s Mark Christopher Lee and The Pocket Gods on December 1, 2021 with a duration of 115 hours and 45 minutes.

About Ramcharitmanas

• Ramcharitmanas is a 16th-century epic poem by the Indian poet Tulsidas in the Awadhi language.
• It is based on the Hindu epic Ramayana and is also known as Tulsi Ramayana, Tulsikrit Ramayana, Tulsidas Ramayana or Manas.
• The name “Ramcharitmanas” is translated as “Lake of the Deeds of Rama” and is considered one of the greatest works of Hindu literature.

Exp. Telangana achieves 100% coverage of PMJDY

Since the launch of Prime Minister Jan Dhan Yojana, Telangana State has achieved 100 percent household coverage of banking services extending them to all sections of people.

As per the Social Security Administration survey, the state has achieved 100 percent coverage and the benefits of 135 welfare schemes and programmes under 20 departments are credited to these zero-balance bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

Telangana state has over 1 crore 11 lakh Jan Dhan bank account holders by the middle of this month. As per the official records, these accounts have a balance of over 3 thousand crore rupees

However, as the footprint of banking services has expanded to the nook and corner of the state, over 61 lakh people have opened their Jan Dhan accounts in rural areas whereas, nearly 50 lakh people in urban areas have zero balance accounts.

Out of these JDY account holders, over 84 lakh people are availing the services of the RuPay cards through which they are able to get other benefits like credit facilities.

About Telangana

• Established – 2 June 2014
• Capital – Hyderabad
• Chief Minister – K. Chandrashekar Rao
• Governor – Tamilisai Soundararajan

Exp. Mukesh Ambani joins advisory committee to COP28 President

Mukesh Ambani, chairman and CEO of Reliance Industries, has been selected to serve on the Advisory Committee to the President of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Other than Sunita Narain, Director General, Centre for Science and Environment, Mukesh Ambani is the only Indian, on the Advisory Committee to the President of COP28.

The COP28 UAE Advisory Committee brings together the climate expertise of thought leaders from countries across six continents.

From November 30, 2023, to December 12, 2023, the UAE will serve as the host country for the Conference of Parties (COP 28) to the UNFCCC. It will take place in Dubai Expo City.

The 31 members of the Committee, 65 percent of whom are from the Global South and represent policy, business, energy, finance, civil society, youth, and humanitarian action, will offer advice and direction to the COP Presidency in the lead-up to COP28 and beyond.

The Presidency and venue of COP rotate among the five recognized UN regions — Caribbean, Latin America, Asia, Africa, Central, Eastern and Western Europe.

The first COP meeting was held in Berlin, Germany in March 1995.

About UNFCC

• The UNFCCC was established to address the escalating threat posed by climate change.
• It was ratified in 1992 during the Summit at Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, also known as the Earth Summit or the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development.
• The UNFCCC Secretariat is situated in Bonn, Germany.

Exp. PM Modi flagged off Assam’s first Vande Bharat Express

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged off Assam’s first Vande Bharat Express train through video conferencing.

This new service will cover the distance of 411 km between Guwahati and New Jalpaiguri in 5 hours 30 minutes.

The Guwahati- NJP Vande Bharat Express train service will operate six days a week. There will be no service of this train on Tuesday.

After the inauguration of Assam’s Vande Bharat, India will operationalize Vande Bharat Express trains on 19 routes across the country.

The Prime Minister also dedicated 182 Route km of newly electrified sections, which will provide pollution-free transportation and reduce the running time of trains.

Exp. RBI imposes Rs 84.50 lakh penalty on Central Bank of India

Reserve Bank of India has imposed a penalty of ₹84.50 lakh on Central Bank of India (the bank) for non-compliance with certain provisions of norms related to frauds classification and reporting.

The Reserve Bank had conducted statutory inspection for supervisory evaluation of the bank with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2021.

Examination of the reports revealed that the public sector lender had failed to report as fraud to RBI certain accounts within seven days of decision of Joint Lenders’ Forum (JLF) to declare the accounts as fraud.

About Central Bank of India

• Founders- Pherozeshah Mehta, Sorabji Pochkhanawala
• Founded- 21 December 1911
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• MD & CEO – Matam Venkata Rao

Exp. Equitas SFB partnered with IBM for digital banking platform

Equitas Small Finance Bank has signed an agreement with International Business Machines (IBM) to design and build a digital banking platform.

The collaboration between the two entities aims at boosting the digital products offered by Equitas as well as its service offerings, as it evolves its business for a digital-first generation.

Equitas aims to commence its modernization journey with a cloud-native platform architecture.

This partnership with IBM is just the first step towards engaging customers. This strategic partnership will help simplify and transform the banking experience for customers across the board.

About Equitas Small Finance Bank

• Founded- 1993
• Headquarters- Chennai
• MD & CEO – P.N. Vasudevan
• Tagline – It’s fun banking

Recent MoU in Banking Sector

• HDFC Bank partners Manipal Global to build up a talent pipeline
• Capital SFB partnered with Max Life to offer life insurance solutions
• Axis Bank partnered with India Shelter Finance for co-lending small loans
• Shivalik SFB partners with Arya.ag to empower small farmers
• Chennai Metro launched Singara Chennai Card with SBI
• Agri-tech company Fasal ties up with SBI to help farmers get easy access to loans

Exp. PhonePe becomes first payment app to link 2 Lakh RuPay Credit Cards to UPI

Digital payment service provider PhonePe has become the first digital payments app to enable the linkage of 2 lakh Rupay credit cards to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

It has also processed a Total Payment Value (TPV) of Rs 150 crore through Rupay Credit on UPI. TPV refers to the total transaction value processed through the platform in a given time period.

Credit cards work on a deferred payment basis, allowing customers to use products or services now and pay for it later.

With the integration of Rupay credit cards into the UPI ecosystem, users now have an added advantage as they can seamlessly utilize their credit cards through the UPI platform, providing a viable alternative to swiping physical debit or credit cards.

Several lenders across the country have already linked their Rupay credit cards to the Unified Payents Interface (UPI) network.

PhonePe aims to collaborate closely with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to further expand the penetration of Rupay Credit in the country through enhanced functionalities.

Exp. Srikrishnan Hari Hara Sarma appoints as MD & CEO of Karnataka Bank

Private sector lender Karnataka Bank has appointed Srikrishnan Harihara Sarma as the new managing director and chief executive officer of the bank for three years.

The appointment is subject to the approval of shareholders at the ensuing AGM or within a period of 3 months from the date of assuming charge whichever is earlier.

He has also worked at HDFC Bank Limited, Yes Bank, and Jio Payments Bank.

About Karnataka Bank

• Founded- 18 February 1924
• Headquarters– Mangalore, Karnataka
• MD & CEO – Srikrishnan Hari Hara Sarma

Recent Appointment in Banking & Insurance Sector

• Part-time chairman of Paytm – Vijay Shekhar (reappointment)
• Deputy MD of IDBI Bank – Jayakumar S. Pillai
• President and COO of Paytm – Bhavesh Gupta
• MD & CEO of Bank of Baroda (BoB) – Debadatta Chand
• MD & CEO of Bank of India (BoI) – Rajneesh K

Exp. IIFA Awards 2023 announced

Hrithik Roshan has won the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) 2023 held in Abu Dhabi.

Alia Bhatt also won the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her role in the movie Gangubai Kathiawadi.

Veteran actor Kamal Haasan was conferred the Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema award.

Another veteran actor Anil Kapoor has presented the award for Performance In A Supporting Role (male) for the movie Jug Jugg Jeeyo.

Meanwhile, Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva was adjudged the best film of the year. The film won many other awards at the event, including Best Playback Singer (Female) – Shreya Ghoshal, Best Playback Singer (Male) – Arijit Singh and Best Supporting Actor (Female) – Mouni Roy.

1. Madhavan won the award for best director for his film Rocketry: The Nambi Effect. Meanwhile, Drishyam 2 won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Late actor Irrfan Khan’s son Babil Khan won the award for Best Debut (male) for his performance in the movie Qala. Babil shared the award with Santanu Maheshwari for his performance in Gangubai Kathiawadi.

The award for Best Debut (Female) was presented to Khushali Kumar for her performance in the movie Dhoka Around the Corner.

List of all the award winners at IIFA 2023

• Best Film: Drishyam 2
• Best Director: R Madhavan for Rocketry: The Nambi Effect
• Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female): Alia Bhatt for Gangubai Kathiawadi
• Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male): Hrithik Roshan for Vikram Vedha
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female): Mouni Roy for Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male): Anil Kapoor for Jugg Jugg Jeeyo
• Outstanding Achievement for Fashion in Cinema: Manish Malhotra
• Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema: Kamal Haasan
• Best Adapted Story: Aamil Keeyan Khan and Abhishek Pathak for Drishyam 2
• Best Original Story: Perveez Sheikh and Jasmeet Reen for Darlings
• Outstanding Achievement in Regional Cinema: Marathi film Ved directed by Riteish Deshmukh
• Best Debut (Male): Shantanu Maheshwari for Gangubai Kathiawadi and Babil Khan for Qala
• Best Debut (Female): Khushali Kumar for Dhoka Around the Corner
• Best Playback Singer (Female): Shreya Ghoshal for the song Rasiya from Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva
• Best Playback Singer (Male): Arijit Singh for the song Kesariya from Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva
• Best Music Direction: Pritam for Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva
• Best Lyricist: Amitabh Bhattacharya for the song Kesarya from Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva
• Best Cinematography: Gangubai Kathiawadi
• Best Screenplay: Gangubai Kathiawadi
• Best Dialogue: Gangubai Kathiawadi
• Best Choreography for title track: Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2
• Best Sound Design: Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2
• Best Editing: Drishyam 2
• Best Special Effects (Visual): Brahmastra: Part one – Shiva
• Best Background Score: Vikram Vedha
• Best Sound Mixing: Monica O My Darling

Exp. Magnus Carlsen won Superbet Rapid and Blitz Poland 2023

Five-time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen has won the Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland 2023, held at the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland.

He finished with a score of 24/36 and won the cash prize of $40,000.

Jan-Krzyzstof Duda (Polish), who placed second ended with 23/36. While the USA’s Wesley So and France’s Maxime Vachier-Lagrave finished in a tie for third.

The 2023 Grand Chess Tour continues with the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz in Zagreb Croatia, taking place from July 3-10 and Saint Louis in USA (November 12 – 19).

Exp. India’s ace shuttler HS Prannoy won the Malaysia Masters Badminton title

India’s star shuttler HS Prannoy won the gold medal in the Malaysia Masters Badminton Championship 2023 played in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

He defeated Weng Hong Yang of China 21-19, 13-21, 21-18 in men’s singles final in Kuala Lumpur.

Prannoy became the third Indian after Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu to win the Malaysia Masters Championship and also became the first Indian to win in the men’s singles category.

Exp. 28 May – International Day of Action for Women’s Health

International Day of Action for Women’s Health is observed on May 28 across the globe.

Objective – To raise the demand for the realization of sexual and reproductive health and rights, and justice for women.

Theme 2023 – Our Voices, Our Actions, Our Demand: Uphold Women’s Health and Rights Now

During the 1987 Women’s Health Meeting in Costa Rica, the Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Health Network (LACWHN) proposed that May 28 be celebrated every year as International Day of Action for Women’s Health.

LACWHN promoted the day across Latin America while Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR) spread it globally.

The campaign has historically focused on women’s health care, poverty, abortion, HIV/AIDS, contraceptives and government accountability.

Exp. 28 May – Menstrual Hygiene Day

Menstrual Hygiene Day is observed annually on May 28.

Objective – To highlight the importance of good menstrual hygiene, break stigma around menstruation, and raise awareness about challenges regarding access to menstrual products.

Theme 2023 – Making menstruation a normal fact of life by 2030

According to UNICEF, around 1.8 billion people across the world menstruate every month that includes girls, women, transgender men and non-binary persons. Many of them face a range of issues from stigma to social exclusion.

Menstrual Hygiene Day was started by Germany-based NGO WASH United in 2013 when a 28-day social media campaign was launched to spread awareness around different aspects of menstruation.

Motivated by the positive response around the campaign, Menstrual Hygiene Day was observed for the first time on May 28, 2014 with rallies, exhibitions, workshops, speeches etc.

What is menstrual hygiene?

• A period occurs when the uterus sheds blood and tissue from the uterine lining and leaves the body through vagina.
• Menstrual hygiene means to be able to access products that can absorb or collect the flow of blood during menstruation, privacy to change the pads/menstrual cups etc, and access to facilities to dispose of used products.

Exp. 28 May – World Hunger Day

World Hunger Day is observed every year on May 28.

Objective – To create awareness among the general public regarding hunger and provided to sustainable initiatives.

Theme 2023 – celebrating sustainable solutions to hunger and poverty

This helps in addressing the issue of food wastage across Nations, making people aware that there are still people who do not get enough food to eat daily.

According to the world hunger index, India ranks 94 out of 107 countries and with the score of 27.2 is placed in the severe category.

India is also ranked first in the world in terms of malnutrition.