Current Affairs Quiz 7th June 2024 Quiz

Exp. MeitY in collaboration with UNESCO host National Workshop on Safe, Trusted, Ethical AI

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in collaboration with the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) South Asia Regional Office hosted a Workshop on Safe, Trusted and Ethical Artificial Intelligence in New Delhi.

The workshop aimed to establish a foundation for informed policy development that promotes equitable and sustainable AI adoption nationwide.  

Exp. India’s first astro tourism campaign ‘Nakshatra Sabha’ organized in Mussoorie

India’s first astro tourism campaign “Nakshatra Sabha” was inaugurated at the George Everest peak in Mussoorie.

The venue of the event, George Everest Peak is a major tourist attraction in Mussoorie which offers spectacular views of the snow-clad Himalayan peaks and the Doon Valley.

The state tourism ministry plans to organise a series of Nakshatra Sabhas at popular tourist destinations in the hilly state.

The Uttarakhand government wants to promote Uttarakhand as a multidimensional tourist spot in the country. At present the state is known for its spiritual tourism.

The state is host to the popular Hindu pilgrimage sites like Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamunotri etc which attracts lakh of pilgrims from the country annually.

Exp. NOTA creates record in MP’s Indore Lok Sabha Seat

NOTA created a record with 2.18 lakh voters in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore opting for the ‘none of the above’ option in the Lok Sabha elections.

Of the total voters, 14.01 per cent opted for ‘None of the Above’, which was introduced in 2013 following a Supreme Court order.

In the 2019 parliamentary polls, voters in Bihar’s Gopalganj had created a record with 51,660 of them, or five per cent, opting for the NOTA option, which is placed as the last option on the electronic voting machine.

Out of 61,31,33,300 votes polled in the 2019 polls, 65,14,558 (1.06 per cent) were polled for NOTA.

Similarly in 2014 parliamentary elections, out of 55,38,02,946 votes polled, 60,02,942 (1.08 per cent) were polled for NOTA.

Exp. Russian cosmonaut becomes 1st person to spend 1,000 cumulative days in space

A Russian cosmonaut became the first person to spend a cumulative 1,000 days in space.

Oleg Kononenko, 59, reached the record while on his current mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Kononenko’s current mission to the ISS began September 15, 2023, and is planned to end September 23, 2024, which will bring in his total number of days spent in orbit to 1,110.

Kononenko cumulated the days in space over several missions. His first was Expedition 17 to the ISS, which launched in April 2008. In total, Kononenko has been on five separate missions to the ISS.

This is not the first record set by Kononenko. In February 2024, he surpassed the record of 878 days set by his colleague Gennady Padalka for longest amount of time in space.

Exp. SEBI mulls raising limit for basic service demat account to Rs 10 lakh

Capital markets regulator SEBI proposed to enhance the threshold for the basic service demat account (BSDA) to Rs 10 lakh from the current Rs 2 lakh in a bid to boost the participation of retail investors in the securities market.

A basic service demat account, or BSDA, is a more basic version of a regular demat account for BSDA. The facility was introduced by Sebi in 2012 for reducing the burden of demat charges on investors with small portfolios.

At present, an individual can hold debt securities worth up to Rs 2 lakh and other than debt securities worth up to Rs 2 lakh in a single demat account to be eligible for BSDA.  

Exp. Asirvad Micro Finance appoints Satish Nair as President and CEO

Asirvad Micro Finance Limited, a subsidiary of Manappuram Finance Limited, has appointed Satish Nair as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Asirvad, headquartered in Valapad, Kerala, is the third largest microfinance institution (in terms of AUM as of June 2023), offering microfinance loans to low-income women.

As of June 2023, Asirvad has a presence in 22 States and 4 Union Territories in India through its network of 1,684 branches, with assets under management (AUM) of over Rs10,000 crore.

Recent Appointment in Banking & Insurance Sector

• Independent Director of Cashfree Payments – Abhaya Hota
• Chairman of ICICI Prudential Board – Sandeep Batra
• MD & CEO of NARCL – P Santhosh (replace N Sundar)
• Part-time Chairman of ICICI Bank – Pradeep Kumar Sinha (replace G. C. Chaturvedi)
• CRO of Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services – Mahesh Rajaraman (replace Mallika Mittal)

Exp. Sameer Bansal appointed CEO of PNB MetLife

Life insurer PNB MetLife India Insurance has appointed Sameer Bansal as its managing director and chief executive, effective from July 1.

He succeeds Ashish Srivastava, who has been appointed managing director for New York-based MetLife Inc’s global shared services team in India.

He joined PNB MetLife in 2007 and currently serves as Chief Distribution Officer and a member of the leadership team.

Bansal has more than 25 years of experience in financial services, including leading distribution through bancassurance, agency, digital, employee benefits and direct marketing business models.

Exp. Sarabjot Singh Wins Gold Medal in 10m Air Pistol Event at ISSF WC

Indian shooter Sarabjot Singh won the gold medal in the men’s 10m air pistol event at the ISSF World Cup 2024 in Munich, Germany.

He won the first medal for India in the event. Singh scored 242.7 to win the gold medal in the final.

Shuaihang Bu of China shot 242.5 for the silver medal while Germany’s Robin Walter settled for the bronze medal in the final with a score of 220.0.

This was the second individual ISSF World Cup gold medal for Singh. He had won the same shooting event at the ISSF World Cup in Bhopal last year. He also won the air pistol mixed team gold medal in Baku in 2023.

Exp. C-DOT wins UN’s WSIS 2024 PRIZE Champion Award

Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), the premier Telecom R&D centre of the GoI, awarded UN’s WSIS 2024 “Champion” Award for the project “Mobile-Enabled Disaster Resilience through Cell Broadcast emergency Alerting”, recognized under AI, C-7, E-environemnt, in the category of ‘Benefits in all aspects of life – E-environment”.

The C-DOT’s mobile–enabled Cell Broadcast Emergency Alerting Platform is an end-to-end solution for near real time delivery of life-saving emergency information to mobile phones through cellular networks.

This indigenous system has enabled geo-targeted multi-hazard alerting with multi – language support, improving overall efficiency of disaster management.

The initiative aligns with global Early Warnings for All (EW4All), International Telecommunication Unions (ITU’s) – Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), ‘Call to Action’ and promotes SDGs (Susatinable Development Goal) targets while enhancing country’s capacity building efforts towards disaster resilience.

Exp. SBI and Muthoot Microfin join forces to support women entrepreneurs

Muthoot Microfin has entered into a strategic co-lending partnership with the State Bank of India (SBI).

Under the agreement, Muthoot Microfin and SBI will co-lend to members of Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) who are engaged in agricultural and allied activities as well as other income-generating enterprises.

The loan amounts will range from a minimum of Rs 10,000 to a maximum of Rs 3 lakh.

With this collaboration, Muthoot Microfin Limited aims to extend its financial services to women entrepreneurs in rural and semi-urban regions across India.

Headquarters of Muthoot Microfin – Kochi

About State Bank of India (SBI)  

• Founded – 1 July 1955
• Headquarters – Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairman – Dinesh Kumar Khara
• Tagline – (1) Pure Banking Nothing Else

(2) With you all the way

(3) A bank of the common man

(4) The banker to every Indian

(5) The Nation banks on us  

Exp. IOB opens an exclusive branch for start-ups in Chennai

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has inaugurated a new, exclusive branch on Anna Salai (Mount Road) in Chennai, dedicated entirely to support start-ups.

This initiative aims to provide robust financial services and comprehensive support to budding entrepreneurs and emerging enterprises.

IOB‘s dedicated start-up branch offers a wide range of financial products and services tailored specifically for new ventures and start-ups. This makes it a one-stop solution for entrepreneurial needs.

During the inauguration, the bank introduced the “IOB start-up current account” and the “IOB Pragati” credit scheme to finance start-ups. Additionally, 35 start-ups were onboarded during the event.

The start-up branch has also entered into agreements with several premier institutes in Chennai.

About Indian Overseas Bank

• Founded- 10 February 1937
• Headquarters- Chennai
• Founder- M. Ct. M. Chidambaram Chettyar
• MD & CEO – Ajay Kumar Srivastava

Exp. Kotak Mahindra Bank gets RBI nod for Zurich Insurance’s 70% acquisition of Kotak General

Reserve Bank of India has approved Zurich Insurance Company’s proposed acquisition of 70 per cent stake in Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company for a total consideration of approximately Rs 5,560 crore.

Earlier in February, the Bank had announced that Zurich Insurance would acquire a 70 per cent stake in the insurance company for Rs 5,560 crore in a single tranche.

In November 2023, Zurich Insurance had said it would first acquire a 51 per cent stake through a combination of fresh growth capital and share purchase, and an additional 19 per cent stake later on.

Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Company is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Kotak Mahindra Bank.  

Exp. Haryana Police Secures First Position In Blocking Mobile Numbers Involved In Cyber Crime

Haryana Police has secured the first position in the country in blocking mobile numbers involved in cyber crime.

According to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, a total of 5 lakh 46 thousand mobile numbers involved in cyber crime were blocked across the country from 1st January to 31st April this year, out of which 1 lakh 11 thousand 349 mobile numbers were blocked by Haryana Police.

This is the second major achievement of Haryana Police at the national level regarding cyber crime control.

About Haryana

• Capital – Chandigarh
• Chief Minister – Nayab Singh Saini (replace Manohar Lal Khattar)
• Governor – Bandaru Dattatreya
• Legislative Assembly Seats- 90

Exp. 7 June – World Food Safety Day

World Food Safety Day (WFSD) is celebrated every year on June 7.

World Food Safety Day activities aim to raise awareness about the potential risks associated with contaminated food and the need for effective food safety measures to prevent illness.

Theme 2024 – Food Safety: Prepare for the Unexpected.

World Food Safety Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2018. It was first celebrated on June 7, 2019.

Exp. Nar Singh, Rohini Lokhande win Dilip Bose Lifetime Achievement Award

The All India Tennis Association (AITA) has announced the Dilip Bose award for lifetime achievement to coach Nar Singh.

The first award would be presented to the 69-year-old Rohini Lokhande who was a member of the national team along with Kiran Bedi, Nirupama Mankad, Susan Das and Udaya Kumar, before she took to coaching at a young age.

About this award

• The All India Tennis Association instituted a lifetime achievement award in the name of Dilip Bose in 2002.
• The award along with a cash prize of Rs.50,000 will be presented during the 11th National coaches workshop to be held at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana in Pune on June 7 and 8.

Recent Award

• Gudleppa Hallikeri Award 2024 – Siddhalinga Pattanashetti
• Nelson Mandela Award for Health Promotion 2024 – National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bengaluru
• CSR Champion Award 2024 – Power Finance Corporation Limited
• UN Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award – Major Radhika Sen
• Economic Times HR World Future Ready Organization Award 2024-25 – NHPC
• UK’s Women’s Empowerment Award – Arti (from UP)