NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. PM
Modi flagged off Rajasthan's first Vande Bharat Express: PM Narendra Modi has flagged off Rajasthan’s first Vande Bharat Express
train on April 12, 2023. It is the world’s first semi-high-speed
passenger train on high-rise overhead electric (OHE) territory. It will
make its inaugural journey between Jaipur and Delhi Cantt railway
stations. It will operate between Ajmer and Delhi Cantt, with stops
at Jaipur, Alwar, and Gurgaon. It will complete the Ajmer-Delhi
Cantt journey in 5 hours and 15 minutes.
2. WhatsApp
launches ‘Stay Safe’ campaign: WhatsApp has launched
a new campaign named 'Stay Safe with WhatsApp' to highlight
the several safety features that are pre-built on the messaging app. It will
run for three months with a focus on several safety-centric
features like ‘Block and Report,’ ‘Two-Step Verification,’ and ‘Privacy
and group settings.’ The campaign highlights why it is important to
add two-step verification to WhatsApp, which requires a 6-digit
pin and an OTP to authenticate a user.
3. Justice
Aparesh Kumar Singh to be the Chief Justice of Tripura HC: The Ministry of Law and Justice has notified the elevation
of Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh as Chief Justice of Tripura High Court. He
was appointed as an Additional Judge of the High Court of Jharkhand on 24th
January 2012 and confirmed as a permanent Judge on 16th January 2014. He has
also served as the Acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court from
the 20th of December, 2022 to the 19th of February, 2023.
4. National Food Conclave to organize in Hyderabad: The Telangana government will host a Food Conclave-2023
on April 28 and 29. The annual brainstorming event is expected to host 100
thought leaders from the agri-food industry. The objective of the Food Conclave
is to identify the main challenges and opportunities for the development of the
Indian agri-food sector in the current decade. The event will consist of five
thematic tracks covering various aspects of the agri-food sector. The main
focus areas will be agriculture (green), edible oils (yellow), dairy (white),
meat and poultry (pink), and aquaculture (blue).
5. Central Bureau of Narcotics launches Unified Portal: Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra has
launched the unified portal of the Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN). The
portal has been launched towards strengthening the vision of Digital India
during the period of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’. The unified portal is designed
to create efficiency, transparency and accountability among the users of the
department to promote the growth of drugs and pharma sector, boost economy for
“Atma Nirbhar Bharat”, and meet the needs of pharma and chemical industries. The
portal has been calibrated to have database integration and ingestion with
other government services including Bharat Kosh, GST, PAN- NSDL validation,
e-Sanchit, and UIDAI facilitating single point services for obtaining the
licenses from CBN.
6. Ministry of Electronics & IT organized 35th CISO
Deep Dive Training Program: National e-Governance Division (NeGD), under its Capacity Building
scheme of MeitY, has organized the 35th Chief Information Security
Officers (CISO) Deep-Dive training programme with 22 participants from
Central Ministries and States/UTs at the School of Planning & Architecture,
Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. It is an initiative of MeitY was conceptualized
with the mission to spread awareness about cyber-crime and build capacities of
CISOs and frontline IT officials, across all government departments, for
ensuring adequate safety measures to combat the growing menace – Organizations
need to defend their digital infrastructure and become future-ready in tackling
cyber-attacks. The 5-day intensive training programme is designed for CISOs
from subordinate agencies/PSUs, including public sector banks and insurance
companies, technical wings of police and security forces, CTOs and members of
technical/PMU teams.
7. State Energy Efficiency Index 2021-22 released: Union Minister for Power and Renewable Energy
R. K. Singh released the State Energy Efficiency Index (SEEI) 2021-22
report. The SEEI was released during the RPM (Review, Planning and Monitoring)
meeting of states and state utility companies in New Delhi. In SEEI 2021-22, 5
states – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan and Telangana – are in
the Front Runner category (>60 points) While 4 states – Assam, Haryana,
Maharashtra, and Punjab – are in the Achiever category (50-60 points). Further,
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Chandigarh are the top-performing states
in their respective state groups. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh showed the most
improvement since the last index. Objective of SEEI – To help states identify
areas for improvement, learn from best practices and adopt an economy-friendly
approach to energy efficiency implementation.
8. MP’s Gond Painting of Acquires GI Tag: The famed Gond painting of Madhya
Pradesh has received the prestigious Geographical Indication (GI)
tag. A geographical Indication (GI) tag is a sign used on products which have a
specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due
to that origin. It is used for industrial products, foodstuff, agricultural
products, spirit drinks, and handicrafts. GI Tag ensures that no one other than
the registered authorized user is allowed to use the name of the popular
product.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. International
Conference on Defence Finance and Economics:
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated a three-day International
Conference on Defence Finance and Economics in New Delhi on
April 12, 2023. Through this platform, policymakers, academicians and
government officials can share their insights and experiences on Defence
Finance and Economics for evolving security challenges. Delegates from
the USA, UK, Japan, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Kenya will
participate in the conference.
2. EAM S Jaishankar launches ‘Tulsi Ghat Restoration
Project’ in Uganda: External Affairs Minister S
Jaishankar launched the ‘Tulsi Ghat Restoration Project’ of
Varanasi, during his visit to Uganda’s Kampala. Earlier he met Uganda’s
President Yoweri K Museveni at his farm in Rwakitura and congratulated the
country on assuming the chairship of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Uganda was
endorsed to chair the Non-Aligned Movement on behalf of Africa for the period
from 2022 to 2025. The NAM chair position rotates every 3 years during summit
conferences.
3. 11 April – World Parkinson’s Day: World Parkinson’s Day is observed
annually on 12 April to mark the birth anniversary of Dr. James
Parikinson. Objective – To raise awareness of this chronic, progressive disease
that affects over 10 million people worldwide. He is the first physician to
recognize Parikinson’s as a medical condition. Parkinson’s disease is a
neurological disorder that progresses over time and affects the body’s
movement. It manifests as tremors, stiffness, and difficulty with coordination
and balance.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Nisha
Dahiya wins Silver in Asian Wrestling Championship in Kazakhstan: India wrestler, Nisha Dahiya has secured
the silver medal in the women's 68kg category at
the Asian wrestling championships 2023, held in Astana, Kazakhstan. She
reached the final but fell to Japan’s Ami Ishii 10-0 and finished as a
runner-up. She had defeated China's Feng Zhou 7-6 in the semi-finals.
Another Indian wrestler, Priya Malik clinched a bronze in
the 76 kg category after defeating Japan's Mizuki Nagashima.
2. South
Korea to conduct first launch of commercial-grade satellite: South Korea is planning to conduct its first launch of a
commercial-grade satellite aboard a domestically built rocket as part of
its space development program. It will blast off from the space launch center
on a southern island in May 2023. It will carry one main satellite 'Next
Generation Small Satellite 2' and seven other smaller cube-shaped
satellites. The main satellite will verify imaging radar
technology and observe cosmic radiation in near-Earth orbit.
3. D Gukesh wins title in World Chess Armageddon Asia and
Oceania event: Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh has emerged
winner of the World Chess Armageddon Asia and Oceania
tournament after defeating former World Rapid Champion Nodirbek
Abdusatarov of Uzbekistan in the final. The 16-year-old Indian won in a field
that included former world classical champion Vladimir Kramnik, Daniil Dubov,
Yangyi Yu (China), Vidit Gujrathi and Karthikeyan Murali (both India) and Param
Maghsoodloo (Iran), apart from Abdusattorov. Both Gukesh and Abdusatrov have
qualified for the Grand Finale of Armageddon, which is scheduled for September.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. RBI
announces framework for Acceptance of Green Deposits: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the framework
for acceptance of Green Deposits of regulated entities (RE).
Aim: To
foster and develop a green finance ecosystem in the country The framework will
come into effect from June 1, 2023. It is applicable
to Scheduled Commercial Banks including SFB excluding RRBs, Local
Area Banks, and Payments Banks. It also includes all deposit-taking
Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), including Housing Finance
Companies.
2. ICICI
Bank introduces EMI facility for UPI payments: The ICICI
Bank has introduced an EMI facility for UPI payments made by scanning
a QR code. Those customers, who are eligible for the PayLater
facility, can avail of the EMI facility using the Bank’s ‘buy now, pay
later’ option. Customers can pay amounts above Rs 10,000 in easy
installments for 3, 6, and 9 months. The ICICI Bank's PayLater facility
was introduced in 2018 to enable customers to buy small ticket items in a
completely paperless manner.
3. JICA,
Citi to provide USD 125 mn to IndusInd Bank: JICA
(Japanese lender) and Citibank will provide a USD 125
million funding line to India's IndusInd Bank. Reason: For co-finance
funding for on-lending to the agricultural sector in the country. The
funding includes a JPY 13 billion (approx USD 97.45 million)
loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and
another USD 30 million from Citi to IndusInd Bank. In the past, Citi has
committed USD 1 trillion to sustainable finance by 2030.
4. India
set to grow by 5.9% this fiscal: IMF: The
annual World Economic Outlook of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) has lowered India's economic growth projection for
the current fiscal (2023-24) to 5.9% from 6.1% earlier. Yet India will
continue to be the fastest-growing economy in the world. It has also lowered
the forecast for 2024-25 to 6.3% from the 6.8% it had predicted in
January 2023. IMF growth forecast is lower than projections by the RBI,
which predicted a 6.4% in the current fiscal.
5. NSE
Indices launches India's first-ever REITs and InvITs index: NSE Indices Ltd, an arm of the National Stock
Exchange, has launched the country's first-ever Real Estate
Investment Trusts and Infrastructure Investment Trusts index -Nifty REITs and
InvITs Index. Aim: To track the performance of REITs and InvITs that are
publicly listed and traded on the NSE A Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) or
an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) is an investment vehicle that
owns revenue-generating real estate or infrastructure assets.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. Central
University of Kerala awards its first Honorary D.Litt to P.T. Usha: Retired Indian track and field athlete, PT Usha has been awarded
an Honorary Doctorate Degree by the Central University of Kerala
at Sabarmati Hall, Periya Campus. She was conferred by Vice Chancellor Prof. H.
Venkateshwarlu. She has won 33 medals including 19 gold in the Asian
Games and Asian Championship She was the first Indian athlete to win
medals in four consecutive Asian Games and also won six medals
including five gold in the Jakarta Asian Athletic Meet in 1985
OBITUARIES
1. Former Mahindra Group chairman, Keshub Mahindra passes away: The former chairman of the Mahindra & Mahindra Group of companies, Keshub Mahindra passed away at 99 in Mumbai. He served as chairman of the conglomerate from 1963 to 2012. He joined the Board of the company in 1948 and was elected chairman in 1963. He was awarded Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la Legion d'honneur by the French Government in 1987. He re-entered the Forbes list of India’s Richest Billionaires for 2023 with a net worth of $1.2 billion.
No comments:
Post a Comment