Current Affairs Quiz 7th August 2024 Quiz

Exp. MoSPI launches e-Sankhyiki Portal to Revolutionize Data Management

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has launched the e-Sankhyiki portal, marking a significant advancement in data management and dissemination in India.

This initiative aims to streamline the sharing of official statistics through a comprehensive system designed to enhance ease of access and analysis.

The e-Sankhyiki portal is designed with two key modules- the Data Catalogue and Macro Indicators. The Data Catalogue Module offers a detailed listing of the major data assets of the Ministry, providing users with the ability to search and download data effortlessly.

Meanwhile, the Macro Indicators module provides time series data of macroeconomic indicators of four key products of the Ministry. This module is equipped with features for filtering and visualizing data, along with metadata to aid in comprehensive data analysis.

Exp. DBS Bank India launches exclusive banking program for senior citizens

DBS Bank India has launched “DBS Golden Circle,” a priority banking program for senior citizens.

The program, designed for resident Indian citizens aged 60 and above, offers exclusive benefits and services, including attractive interest rates on savings accounts and fixed deposits, enhanced security features, and personalised financial services to address income insecurity, which is a significant concern for the elderly, as highlighted in the India Ageing Report 2023 by the United Nations Population Fund.

Senior citizens enrolled in the DBS Golden Circle can earn up to 7% interest per annum on savings account balances above Rs 4 Lakhs and up to Rs 5 Lakhs.

Moreover, they can benefit from an enhanced interest rate of 0.50% per annum on fixed deposits with tenures ranging from 376 days to 540 days.

To enhance security, the DBS Golden Circle program offers cyber insurance coverage up to Rs 1,00,000.

About Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) Bank

• Founded – 1968
• Headquarters – Singapore
• Chairman – Peter Seah
• CEO – Piyush Gupta
• DBS Bank India’ CEO- Surojit Shome

Exp. RIL top-ranked Indian Company on the 2024 Fortune Global 500 List

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) maintained its status as the top-ranked Indian company in the 2024 Fortune Global 500 list.

Nine Indian companies were included in the 2024 list, with RIL improving its rank from 86 to 88.

Only eight Indian companies were included in the list in 2023, and HDFC Bank was included for the first time this year.

Companies are ranked on the Fortune Global 500 by total revenues for their respective fiscal years ending on or before March 31, 2024.

American company Walmart retained its top position on the list for the 11th consecutive year.

Saudi Arabian company Aramco remained the most profitable global company.

Indian Companies on the 2024 Fortune Global 500 List

• Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) – 86th
• Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) – 95th
• Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) – 116th
• State Bank of India (SBI) – 178th
• Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) – 180th
• Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) – 258th
• Tata Motors – 271st
• HDFC Bank – 306th
• Rajesh Export – 473th

Top 10 Fortune Global 500 List

Exp. Google Pay, PhonePe, Amazon Pay, Cred, MobiKwik seek entry into RBI’s eRupee pilot program

Five prominent payment companies, including Google Pay, Walmart-backed PhonePe, and Amazon Pay, have applied to join the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) pilot program for the eRupee, India’s central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Fintech firms Cred and Mobikwik have also submitted applications.

The RBI launched the eRupee pilot in December 2022, but transaction volumes have declined significantly since an initial surge, reflecting the challenges central banks worldwide face in popularising digital currencies.

Initially, the RBI restricted eRupee transactions to banks’ mobile applications. However, in April, the central bank opened the door for payment companies to participate in the pilot, pending approval.

The five payment firms are now working closely with the RBI and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to integrate eRupee functionality into their platforms. They are expected to roll out access over the next three to four months.

Allowing these popular payment apps to offer eRupee transactions is seen as a strategic move to boost adoption and expand the user base.

Exp. Deloitte India predicts economic growth between 7% and 7.2% in FY25

Deloitte’s India Economic Outlook for August 2024 predicts strong economic growth between 7.0% and 7.2% in FY25, driven by robust economic fundamentals, surpassing the Economic Survey’s prediction, but aligning with the Reserve Bank of India’s outlook.

According to the outlook, despite modest private consumption due to various factors, there is a noticeable shift towards non-food and discretionary spending. Rural spending preferences offer significant growth opportunities for businesses.

According to Deloitte research, India is witnessing distinct and broad-based shifts in the consumption patterns.

Updated GDP List

• India Ratings – 7.5% (FY25)
• FICCI – 7% (FY25)
• ADB – 7% (FY25), 7.2%(FY26),
• IMF – 7% (FY25), 6.5% (FY26)
• NCAER – 7.5% (FY25)
• S&P – 6.8% (FY25), 6.9% (FY26), 7% (FY27)
• Fitch Rating –7.2% (FY25)
• CII – 8% (FY25)

Exp. IPO-bound Swiggy appoints Sairam Krishnamurthy as COO of Instamart

IPO-bound Swiggy has appointed Sairam Krishnamurthy as senior vice-president and chief operating officer of its quick commerce vertical Swiggy Instamart.

In this new role, he will oversee Swiggy Instamart’s operating units, which include dark store operations, infrastructure operations, city growth and expansion.

With over 18 years of experience in leadership roles in the retail and FMCG sectors, he joins Swiggy Instamart as its first COO.

Prior to joining Swiggy, Krishnamurthy spent over three-and-a-half years at More Retail, an Amazon company (through a joint venture with Samara Capital) that runs a chain of offline retail stores.

Recent Appointment

• President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences -Janet Yang
• Director of ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) – Grinson George
• First woman DG Medical Services (Army) – Lt Gen Sadhna Saxena Nair
• 2 New Members in CBDT – Ramesh Narain Parbat and Prabodh Seth
• Chairman of UPSC – Preeti Sudan (replace Manoj Soni)
• CMD of BECIL – D.K. Murali

Exp. Lieutenant General Vikas Lakhera takes over as 22nd DG of Assam Rifles

Lieutenant General Vikas Lakhera took over as the 22nd Director General of the Assam Rifles known by the sobriquet of “Sentinels of the North-East”.

He has varied and rich professional experience of Assam Rifles and the North East region, having served extensively in North East including being Inspector General in Assam Rifles at Nagaland.

The General Officer was commissioned from Indian Military Academy into 4 SIKH LI 1990, the Unit which he subsequently commanded in lower Assam under the Red Horn Division.

Recent Appointment in Defence Sector

• Director General of BSF – Daljit Singh Chawdhary (additional charge)
• Additional National Security Adviser – Rajinder Khanna
• Deputy National Security Adviser – TV Ravichandran, Pavan Kapoor & Pankaj Kumar
• Vice Chief of Army Staff – NS Raja Subramani
• Chief of Intelligence Bureau – Tapan Kumar Deka (reappointment for 1 year)
• Chief of the Army Staff – Upendra Dwivedi (replace Manoj C Pande)

Exp. Capital SFB and Edelweiss Life Insurance enter into bancassurance tie-up

Capital Small Finance Bank Limited (CSFB), and Edelweiss Life Insurance have entered into a bancassurance tie-up.

This strategic partnership will enable CSFB’s customer base to access Edelweiss Life Insurance’s life insurance products suite, thereby meeting their need for financial security.

The arrangement aims to enhance the CSFB’s life insurance offerings by providing its customers with access to Edelweiss Life’s digital platform and service touchpoints.

CSFB has 177 branches and with this tie-up, all products of Edelweiss Life will be available to bank’s customers at these branches.

Recent MoUs Signed in Banking Sector

• Nagaland govt, SBI General Insurance ink MoU on disaster risk management solution
• HDFC securities partners with Vested Finance to Offer Access to Global Investing for Indians and NRI
• IIT Madras Partners with IDBI Bank to Launch Cybersecurity Lab
• Tata Power Solar Systems partners with Bank of India for solar
• UGRO Capital, SIDBI ink co-lending partnership

Exp. Noah Lyles wins Men’s 100-Meter Gold in Paris

USA’s Noah Lyles edged past Jamaican Kishane Thompson to win his first Olympic gold medal in a lifetime-best 9.784 seconds.

Lyles crossed the finish line just five-thousandths of a second ahead of Thompson, who posted a time of 9.789.

The result wasn’t clear until nearly 30 seconds after the end of the race, as the competitors waited nervously for the details of their photo finish.

Noah Lyles was a gold medalist. Thompson took silver, and American Fred Kerley claimed bronze, Kerley’s second career Olympic medal in the 100m.

Exp. Sable becomes 1st Indian man to qualify for 3000m steeplechase final

Avinash Sable became the first Indian man to qualify for the 3000m steeplechase final after finishing fifth in his heat.

But quartermiler Kiran Pahal failed to book an automatic semi-final berth in women’s 400m following a seventh place finish in her heat at the Paris Olympics.

Sable, easily the most decorated track and field athlete after Neeraj Chopra in the current contingent, timed 8:15.43 minutes to finish fifth in the second heat to make it to the final round.

However, Sable’s heat timing was well below his best effort of 8:09.91 minutes, which he had clocked at the Paris Diamond League last month.

Sable’s heat was won by Morocco’s Mohamed Tindouft with a timing of 8:10.62 minutes, while Samuel Firewu of Ethiopia with 8:11.61 minutes came second.

Abraham Kibiwot of Kenya (8:12.02 minutes) was third, while Ryuji Miura of Japan came fourth. He clocked 8:12.41 minutes.

Exp. Indian Wrestler Vinesh Phogat disqualified from Paris Olympics

Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the women’s 50kg wrestling final at the Paris Olympics.

The 29-year-old was found ineligible to compete on the second day as she was found 100 gram overweight during the weigh-in on the day of the final.

Unfortunately, Vinesh Phogat will not win any medal at the Paris Olympics, if the disqualification stays.

Vinesh Phogat was in the 50kg permissible limit. She stunned World No. 1 Yui Susaki, Japan, in the opening round before working her way through in the quarter-final and the semi-final to become the first-ever Indian woman to reach the Olympic wrestling final.

Exp. LIC launches 4 new term life insurance plans

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has launched new term life insurance plans for providing term insurance and safety net against loan repayments – LIC’s Yuva Term, LIC’s Digi Term, LIC’s Yuva Credit Life, LIC’s Digi Credit Life. The plans are available online and offline.

LIC’s Yuva Term is available offline through our intermediaries and LIC’s Digi Term is available online only through our website. The purpose of these products is to cater to youngsters who wish to take Term insurance in initial stages of life and give them a wider choice to buy offline or online.

LIC’s Yuva Credit Life/ Digi Credit Life is a non-par, non-linked, Life, individual, pure risk plan. It is a pure decreasing term assurance plan wherein the death benefit will reduce over the term of the policy.

Recent Facilities Launched in Banking & Insurance Sector

• SEBI launched SEBI’s Virtual Assistant (SEVA) chatbot to help investors of the securities market.
• BoB launches Generative AI-powered virtual relationship manager and credit line on UPI
• SBI launches Amrit Vrishti 444-Days Term Deposit With 7.25% Interest Rate
• Bajaj Finserv AMC launched Savings+ product for retail investors
• SBI introduces online loan facility against MF units via internet banking and YONO Ap
• PNB launches ‘Safety Ring’ to enhance security for internet, mobile banking

Exp. 7 August – National Javelin Day

National Javelin Day is observed every year on 7 August.

The Athletics Federation of India, the governing body for athletics in the country, designated this date to honour Neeraj Chopra’s historic gold medal win in the javelin throw at the Tokyo Olympics.

This celebration recognises his achievement and promotes the sport of javelin throwing across the nation.

On August 7, 2021, Neeraj Chopra made history by throwing the javelin 87.58 meters in the men’s Javelin Throw final at the Tokyo Olympics, securing the gold medal.

This victory marked India’s first-ever gold medal in track and field events at the Olympics.

With this achievement, Chopra also became the second individual gold medallist from India, following Abhinav Bindra’s gold medal in shooting at the 2008 Beijing Games.