Current Affairs Quiz 2nd May 2023 Quiz

Exp. Science 20 Engagement Group meeting begins in Lakshadweep

Science 20 Engagement Group meeting on Universal Holistic Health began under India’s G20 chairmanship in Lakshadweep, Bangaram Island.

The focus of the two-day event is to work on improved agricultural practices, greater access to nutritious food, healthier eating habits and more opportunities for ecologically conscious and sustainable food products.

The meeting will also address the interconnectedness of physical, mental and emotional well-being, recognising that all aspects of health are equally important.

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

• Y-20 Pre-Summit Meeting – Leh, Ladakh (26 – 28 April 2023)
• G20 Tourism Expo – Jaipur, Rajasthan (23 -25 April 2023)
• First G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting – Bengaluru, Karnataka (24 -25 April 2023)
• G-20 Research and Innovation Initiative Gathering Conference – Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh (19-20 April 2023)
• G20 Space Economy Leaders Meet – Shillong, Meghalaya (17-18 April 2023)
• 2nd G20 Health Working Group Meeting – Goa (17 – 19 April 2023)

Exp. India to join international climate action in civil aviation from 2027

India will join the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) and Long-Term Aspirational Goals (LTAG) from 2027.

This announcement was made in the meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Parliament of the Ministry of Civil Aviation under the chairmanship of Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

The ICAO has been tasked to reduce carbon emissions from international civil aviation as one of its focus areas. In order to mitigate carbon emissions from aviation and its impact on climate change, the global body has adopted several key aspirational goals.

Among them are a two percent annual fuel efficiency improvement through 2050, carbon neutral growth and net zero by 2050. The ICAO has clubbed them under CORSIA and LTAG.

Exp. Narayan Rane launches the revamped CGTMSE Scheme

Union Minister for MSME Narayan Rane has launched the revamped CGTMSE Scheme in Mumbai.

CGTMSE has been provided with an additional corpus support of ₹9,000 crore in the Union Budget for FY 2023-24 to revamp its Scheme to provide guarantee for additional ₹2 lakh crore to Micro & Small Enterprises.

The modifications included reduction in guarantee fees for loans upto ₹1 crore by 50% bringing the minimum guarantee fee to the level of 0.37% pa only.

Another major change announced was raising of ceiling for guarantee from ₹2 crore to ₹ 5 crore and enhancing the threshold limit for claim settlement without initiation of legal action to ₹10 lakh.

Exp. Three new wildlife conservation reserves declared in Rajasthan

Rajasthan’s Forest Department has announced three new conservation reserves that will protect the rare and endangered wildlife of Rajasthan.

These three new wildlife conservation reserves are Sorsan in Baran, Khichan in Jodhpur, and Hamirgarh in Bhilwara.

With these three new additions, now there are 26 wildlife conservation reserves in Rajasthan.

Some of the well-known conservation reserves are Bisalpur Conservation Reserve in Tonk, Jodbeed Gadhwala Bikaner Conservation Reserve in Bikaner, Khetri Bansyal Conservation Reserve in Jhunjhunu, and Jawai Bandh Leopard Conservation Reserve in Pali.

About Rajasthan

• Capital – Jaipur
• Chief Minister – Ashok Gehlot
• Governor – Kalraj Mishra

Exp. NTPC and NPCIL sign agreement for joint development of nuclear power plant

NTPC Ltd. has signed a supplementary joint venture (JV) agreement with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) for the development of nuclear power projects in the country.

Initially, the JV company shall develop two pressurized heavy-water reactor (PHWR) projects – Chutka Madhya Pradesh Atomic Power Project (2×700 MW) and Mahi Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Project (4×700 MW).

Apart fom capacity addition through pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWR), NTPC is also planning to add nuclear capacity through small modular reactors.

NTPC, India’s largest power producer, aims to start generating 2,000 MW of nuclear energy by 2032, 4,200 MW by 2035 and eventually scale up to 20,000 MW by 2050.

Recent MoU

• Vedanta partners with 20 Korean firms to establish electronics manufacturing hub
• Drugmaker Cipla has signed a perpetual license agreement with Switzerland-based Novartis Pharma AG to manufacture and market Galvus and Galvus combination brands which are used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes.
• Indian Oil Corp signed deal with Russia’s Rosneft to raise oil imports
• NTPC signed MoU with Indian Army for implementation of Green Hydrogen Projects
• GAIL signed MoU with Shell Energy India on ethane sourcing

Exp. India to hand over fast Patrol Vessel ship & landing Craft to Maldives

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh handed over a fast patrol vessel and a landing craft to the Maldives as India’s “gift” during his visit to the island nation from May 1 to 3.

The Fast Patrol Vessel, capable of coastal and offshore surveillance at high speeds, was commissioned as MNDF Coast Guard ship Huravee.

Maldives is one of India’s major maritime neighbors in the Indian Ocean region and overall bilateral relations between the two countries, including in the areas of defense and security, have been on the rise over the years.

Singh also reviewed the implementation of various India-aided projects in the Maldives and interact with the Indian expatriate.

About Maldives

• Capital – Male
• Currency – Rufiya
• President – Ibrahim Mohamed Solih

Exp. Tamil Nadu tops market borrowing for third consecutive year: RBI

For third year in a row, Tamil Nadu has topped the list of States with the highest market borrowings.

According to RBI data, Tamil Nadu’s gross market borrowings through State Development Loans (SDLs) stood at ₹68,000 crore during April-February FY23.

Andhra Pradesh is in 2nd place with Rs 51,860 crore. Maharashtra is at 3rd place with Rs.50 thousand crore among the states that have borrowed the most in the country.

It is noteworthy that Tamil Nadu was the state that borrowed the most in the previous 2 financial years i.e. 2020-21 and 2021-22.

It has been mentioned in the information published by the Reserve Bank that Tamil Nadu had borrowed Rs.87,977 crore in the last fiscal year 2020-21 and Rs.87 thousand crore in 2021-22.

At the same time, compared to the previous financial years 2020-21 and 2021-22, the loan taken by Tamil Nadu in the financial year 2022-23 has decreased slightly, and at the same time, Tamil Nadu has received a loan below the amount recommended by the Finance Commission.

About Tamil Nadu

• Capital – Chennai
• Chief Minister – M K Stalin
• Governor – R N Ravi

Exp. HDFC Bank to roll out e-distribution network, cover 50K more villages

HDFC Bank will start onboarding agents of its corporate business correspondents digitally who can extend services to semi-urban and rural areas, a move that will help the lender achieve its priority sector (PSL) lending targets.

It is a digital distribution platform that leverages technology and brings in ease for business correspondents and agents.

With this, they can deliver a host of banking products and services to customers, especially in semi-urban and rural areas.

Right now, HDFC Bank’s services are available in 150,000 villages. With the launch of Smart Saathi, we aim to cover 200,000 villages over the next 12-15 months. Around 70 percent of the rural economy is in these villages.

About HDFC Bank

• Founded – August 1994
• Founder – Hasmukhbhai Parekh
• Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD & CEO – Sashidhar Jagdishan
• Chairman – Atanu Chakraborty
• Tagline – We understand your world

Exp. Reliance General becomes first insurer to accept CBDC

Reliance General Insurance has become the first general insurance company to accept RBI’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) e-Rupee ((e₹) for premium payments.

The insurer has tied up with YES Bank to facilitate the collection of premiums in digital mode using the bank’s e-rupee platform.

Customers who have an active e-rupee wallet with any bank can scan Reliance General Insurance’s CBDC QR code to make easy, safe, instant, and green payments.

e-rupee is a digital token, equivalent to a banknote, and is legal tender or sovereign currency backed by the RBI. It removes all the issues of handling physical cash and offers the same anonymity as a banknote.

Currently, Reliance General Insurance’s physical e-rupee QR code is available at select branches for walk-in customers to scan and pay instantly. It plans to make it available at all branches across the country, on its website, and on the Reliance Self-i app in the next few months.

Exp. GST collection for April 2023 highest ever at Rs 1.87 lakh crore

The gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue collection increased 12% in April 2023 to Rs 1.87 lakh crore.

It is the highest monthly mop-up since the inception of the indirect tax regime in July 2017.

The gross GST revenue collected in the month of April, 2023 is ₹ 1,87,035 crore of which CGST is ₹38,440 crore, SGST is ₹47,412 crore, IGST is ₹89,158 crore (including ₹34,972 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is ₹12,025 crore (including ₹901 crore collected on import of goods).

The government has settled ₹45,864 crore to CGST and ₹37,959 crore to SGST from IGST.

The total revenue of Centre and the States in the month of April 2023 after regular settlement is ₹84,304 crore for CGST and ₹85,371 crore for the SGST.

The revenues for the month of April 2023 are 12% higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year. During the month, the revenues from domestic transactions (including import of services) are 16% higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year.

GST Collection of Previous Months in 2022

• November 2022 – 1,45,867 crore
• December 2022- 1,49,507 crore
• January 2023 – 1,55,922 crore
• February 2023 – 1,49,577 crore
• March 2023 – 1,60,122 crore
• April 2023 – 1,87,035 crore

Exp. Margherita Della Valle appointed as CEO of Vodafone

Vodafone Group Plc has announced Margherita Della Valle, a 29-year veteran of the company, as its next Chief Executive Officer.

Della Valle began her career as one of the first employees of Italian telecom startup Omnitel, which was acquired by Vodafone in 2001.

Margherita’s previous roles within Vodafone were Deputy Chief Financial Officer from 2015 to 2018, Group Financial Controller, Chief Financial Officer for Vodafone’s European region and Chief Financial Officer for Vodafone Italy.

Recent Appointment

• Chief Operating Officer of SpiceJet – Arun Kashyap
• President of Indian Cycling Federation – Pankaj Singh
• Nasscom Chairperson For 2023-24 – Anant Maheshwari
• Chairman of MMA-1 Federation – Mahavir Phogat
• Senior Vice President at Zypp – Gajendra Arya

Exp. Ajit Mohanty appointed as Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission

Odisha physicist and director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Dr. Ajit Kumar Mohanty has been appointed as the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy.

Kumar will hold the post till the age of 66, or till 10 October 2025.

Mohanty will replace outgoing secretary and chairman Dr. Kamlesh Nilkanth Vyas.

The Department of Atomic Energy comes directly under the Prime Minister’s Office, and since its inception in 1954, “has been engaged in the development of nuclear power technology, applications of radiation technologies in the fields of agriculture, medicine, industry and basic research.

The Atomic Energy Commission is a decision-making body that has “full executive and financial powers, modelled, more or less, on the lines of the Railway Board”.

Recent Appointment

• CMD of BEML Limited – Shantanu Roy
• Chairman of the National Technical Research Organization (NTRO) – Arun Sinha
• CEO & MD of Tata Electronics – Randhir Thakur
• MD & CEO of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) – K Krithivasan

Don’t confuse

• Chairman of PFRDA – Deepak Mohanty
• Chairman of LIC – Siddhartha Mohanty
• Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission – Dr. Ajit Kumar Mohanty

Exp. Ding Liren becomes China’s first world chess champion

Ding Liren has become 17th world chess champion – the first from China – defeating Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi in a tie-breaker. Ding defeated Nepo in the last of the four Rapid tiebreaks.

Ding takes over as winner of the World Chess Championship from Norway’s Magnus Carlsen, who chose not to defend his title after a 10-year reign.

The 30-year-old is the highest-rated Chinese player in history and the chess world champions in both the open and women’s category now come from China.

Exp.   Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won men’s doubles at the Badminton Asia Championships

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty created history by becoming the first Indian men’s doubles pair to win a gold medal at the Badminton Asia Championships.

The World No. 6 pair defeated the 8th-ranked pairing of One Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi of Malaysia in a stunning 3-game battle at Sheikh Rashid Bin Hamdan Indoor Hall, Al Nasr Club.

This historic achievement is only the second gold medal India has won at the Badminton Asia Championships; the first gold medal being won by Dinesh Khanna in 1965 in the men’s singles category.

Exp. 2 May – World Tuna Day

World Tuna Day is observed every year on 2 May.

Objective – To spread awareness about Tuna fish and its importance to humans and planet earth.

Theme 2023 – The Global Tuna Industry: Trailblazing through Tough Times

The day also promotes the importance of sustainable fishing practices and educates the world on how tuna have become endangered species due to the high demand for their meat.

World Tuna Day was established in December 2016 by the United Nations General Assembly, with an aim to preserve endangered species. This is after the UN general assembly officially voted to observe the day in its resolution 71/124.

In 2017, the first World Tuna Day was observed.

As per the UN, around 7 million metric tons of tuna and tuna-like species are harvested every year.