NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. India's
defence production exceeds $12 billion for first time: India’s defense production has increased by more than
12% from last fiscal year and crossed the 1 trillion rupees ($12
billion) threshold for the first time. Reason: India is reducing its
reliance on imports from countries such as Russia The value of India’s
local defence production jumped to 1.07 trillion rupees, as on March 31,
2023, and was expected to rise further once data from some private defence
companies came in.
2. Centre
of Excellence on Sustainable Land Management inaugurated: Union Minister of Environment, Bhupendra Yadav has
formally inaugurated the Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Land
Management (CoE-SLM) at ICFRE, Dehradun. Aim: To promote South-South
Cooperation and address land degradation issues through sustainable land
management practices The CoE-SLM is poised to make a lasting impact in
addressing land degradation issues, by leveraging sustainable land management
practices, and achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN).
3. Amit Shah lays foundation stone of campus of National
Academy of Coastal Policing: Union Home Minister Amit
Shah has laid the foundation stone for the permanent campus of
the National Academy of Coastal Policing (NACP) at Okha in
Gujarat’s Devbhumi Dwarka district. The National Academy of Coastal
Policing, the country’s first national academy was established in 2018 to
provide intensive training to the marine police of nine coastal states, five
Union Territories as well as the Central Police Forces. The Center has
sanctioned Rs 441 crore to develop NACP with modern infrastructure, latest
technology and state-of-the-art training facilities to enhance the security of
the coastal borders. The academy’s primary objective is to enhance the skills
and capabilities of coastal police personnel. Home Minister also virtually
inaugurated five coastal outposts of BSF located at the Jakhau coast of the
Kutch district.
4. 21 May – National Anti-Terrorism Day: National Anti-Terrorism Day is observed
in India every year on May 21. Objective – To raise awareness about the
importance of combating terrorism and promoting peace and harmony in society. This
day holds significant historical importance and serves as a reminder of the
grave consequences of terrorism on innocent lives. The genesis of National
Anti-Terrorism Day can be traced back to May 21, 1991, when the former Prime
Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi, was assassinated by a suicide bomber belonging
to a terrorist organization, LTTE. In remembrance of Rajiv Gandhi’s sacrifice
and to honour his commitment towards fighting terrorism, the Government of
India designated May 21 as National Anti-Terrorism Day.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Prime
Minister Modi unveils Mahatma Gandhi Bust in Hiroshima: During the visit to Japan, Prime Minister Narendra
Modi unveiled the bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Hiroshima, Japan on
20 May 2023. The Mahatma Gandhi bust has been gifted by the Government of
India to the city of Hiroshima as a symbol of friendship and goodwill
between India and Japan. The 42 inches tall bronze bust has
been sculpted by Padma Bhushan awardee Ram Vanji Sutar.
The bust
site, adjacent to the Motoyasu River, is close to the iconic A-Bomb Dome.
2. SpaceX
sends Saudi astronauts, including first Arab woman, to ISS: Saudi Arabia’s Rayyanah Barnawi has made history as the first
Arab woman astronaut to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) as
part of the private Ax-2 mission. She is a breast cancer
researcher and was joined on the mission by fellow Saudi Ali Al-Qarni, a
fighter pilot. The Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) crew took off aboard a SpaceX Falcon
9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The team
also includes Peggy Whitson and John Shoffner.
3. International
Day for Biological Diversity 2023: 22nd May: The
world observed the International Day for Biological Diversity on May
22 to increase understanding and encourage the preservation of the Earth’s
diverse ecosystems. 2023 theme: From Agreement to Action: Build Back
Biodiversity The origins of the International Day for Biological Diversity can
be traced back to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, commonly referred
to as the Earth Summit, which took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992.
4. PM
Modi releases Tamil classic 'Thirukkural' in Tok Pisin language: Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his Papua New Guinea
counterpart James Marape released the Tamil classic 'Thirukkural' in the
Tok Pisin language. Aim: To bring Indian thought and culture closer to the
people of this southwestern Pacific nation. Tok Pisin is the official
language of Papua New Guinea. Thirukkural is a collection of couplets on
ethics, political and economic matters, and love, is written by
Poet Thiruvalluvar.
5. 1st Inter-Ministerial Committee Meeting held on World
Food India 2023: The First Inter-Ministerial Committee
Meeting for World Food India 2023 was held in New Delhi. The
committee meeting was chaired by Smt. Anita Praveen, Secretary of Food
Processing Industries (FPI). The meeting aimed to discuss the preparation and
participation of Ministries/ Departments/Organizations for the upcoming event. The
second edition of World Food India is set to be organized by the Ministry of
Food Processing Industries in the first week of November 2023. India is a
global leader in the production of millets with an area of about 12.5 million
hectares and a share of more than 15 percent of the world’s total production. Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana are the major millets producing states.
6. Israel ties up with IIT-M to set up water technology
centre: Indian Institute of
Technology (IIT) Madras has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Israel to
build an ‘India-Israel Center of Water Technology’ (CoWT) in Water
Resources Management and Water Technologies. The LoI to establish this center
was signed by Manoj Joshi, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
(MoHUA), Prof V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, and Naor Gilon, Ambassador of
Israel to India in the presence of External Affairs Ministers S Jaishankar and
his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen. The Centre aims to build human capacity to
ensure the implementation of the best technologies of Israel in a tailor-made
context for the Indian requirements and pilot sustainable technologies to
ensure water security for the country.
7. India to host Quad summit in 2024: India will host the Quad Leaders’
Summit in 2024. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD), commonly known as
the Quad, is a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and
the United States of America. It aims to help countries mitigate the effects of
climate change and strengthen their climate resilience. This year’s Quad Summit
was originally scheduled in Australia but was conducted in
Japan as US President Joe Biden had to postpone his trip to Australia due
to ongoing debt limit talks in Washington. Japan is hosting the G7 summit and
all the leaders of the group are currently visiting the country. Although India
is not a member of G7, PM Modi is also traveling to Japan for the G7 and Quad
Summit on a personal invite of Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida.
8. 2025 to be observed as ‘special tourism year’ in Nepal: The decade of the 2080s of Bikram
Samvat will be marked as ‘the Visit Nepal decade’ and
the year 2025 as the special year for tourism. This was announced by the
President of Nepal Ram Chandra Paudel while presenting the policies and
programmes for the fiscal year, 2080/81 at the joint meeting of the federal
parliament. Nearly one lakh tourists have been visiting Nepal monthly since the
beginning of 2023. As per the latest statistics maintained by Nepal Tourism
Board, Nepal recorded the arrival of over 3.26 lakh foreign tourists in the
first four months of 2023. As per the latest statistics maintained by Nepal
Tourism Board, Nepal recorded the arrival of over 3.26 lakh foreign tourists in
the first 4 months of 2023. Similarly, the President announced that timely
revisions would be made to tourism-related law. The tourist destinations would
be popularized in the international community and necessary infrastructure
prepared accordingly.
9. Indo-Indonesia bilateral Exercise Samudra Shakti-23
concluded: The fourth edition of
the Indo-Indonesia bilateral exercise Samudra Shakti-23 concluded in
the South China Sea. The sea phase witnessed the participation of ASW
corvette INS Kavaratti with an integral Chetak helicopter and a Dornier
Maritime Patrol Aircraft of the Indian Navy. KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda with an
integral helicopter Panther and a CN 235 Maritime Patrol Aircraft participated
in the exercise from the Indonesian Navy. Samudra Shakti exercise was first
held in 2018. India, and Indonesia established diplomatic relations in 1951.
Both countries are neighbours, India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a
maritime border with Indonesia along the Andaman Sea.
10. 21 May – International Tea Day: International Tea Day is observed every
year on 21 May. Objective – To raise awareness of the importance of tea in
fighting hunger and poverty, as well as the sustainable production and consumption
of tea In 2005, tea-producing countries came together to celebrate
International Tea Day. These countries were Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, Kenya,
Malaysia, and Uganda. In 2019, the Intergovernmental Group on Tea decided to
celebrate International Tea Day on May 21. The first official U.N.
International Tea Day was celebrated on May 21, 2020.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Daniil
Medvedev wins Italian Open 2023: The world's number three tennis
player, Daniil Medvedev (from Russia) has clinched his
maiden Italian Open 2023 title, after beating Holger Rune (Denmark). It
is Medvedev's fifth title of 2023 and victory lifts him above Novak Djokovic to
second in the world rankings. Other winners: Women's Single Title: Elena
Andreyevna Rybakina (Kazakhstani) after defeating Anhelina Kalinina Men's
Double: Hugo Nys and Jan Zieliński Women's Double: Storm Sanders and
Elise
2. Indian
athlete Shaili Singh bags bronze medal at Golden Grand Prix 2023: Indian athlete Shaili Singh clinched a bronze medal at the Golden
Grand Prix 2023 athletics meet in the women's long jump in Japan. She has
attempted a jump of 6.65 meter, which provided her third place on the
podium. Germany’s Maryse Luzolo won the gold medal with an effort of 6.79
meter while Australia’s Brooke Buschkuehl bagged the silver medal
with a 6.77 meter leap. During the Indian Grand Prix 4 athletics meet in
Bengaluru, she has registered a jump of 6.76 meter.
3. Elena Rybakina clinches Italian open women’s Singles
title: In Italian Open Tennis, Elena Rybakina of
Kazakhstan won the title defeating Ukraine’s Anhelina
Kalinina by 6-4, 1-0. This was Rybakina’s second title of the year. With
this, Rybakina won the fifth singles title of her career. The men’s singles
final of the tournament will be played between Denmark’s Holger Rune and
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in Rome. Rohit
Sharma becomes 2nd Indian player to complete 11000 runs in T20: Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma has
become the second Indian batter after Virat Kohli (11, 864 runs) to
surpass 11,000 runs in Twenty-20 cricket. He also becomes the seventh
batter overall to score 11000 runs after Chris Gayle, Shoaib Malik, Kieron
Pollard, David Warner, and Aaron Finch, and Virat Kohli. Most Runs in Men’s T20
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. No TCS
on debit card, credit card forex payments of up to Rs 7 lakh: The Ministry of Finance has notified that no Tax
Collection at Source (TCS) will be levied on individual
payments using international debit and credit cards of up to Rs 7
lakh in a financial year from July 1, 2023. Further, the Union Budget 2023
has increased TCS for foreign remittances under the LRS from 5% to
20% (except for education and medical purposes). This rule will be
effective from July 1, 2023.
2. Paytm launches Paytm SBI Card on RuPay Network with
NPCI: Paytm has partnered with SBI
Card and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)
to launch the Paytm SBI Card on the RuPay network. The aim of this
new partnership, they claim, is to revolutionize the way credit is consumed in
India by bringing ‘new to credit’ users into the formal economy and expanding
to non-urban markets. The Paytm SBI Card offers cashback and discounts on
transactions made through the Paytm mobile app. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
enabled users to link RuPay credit cards to UPI in 2023.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. PM Modi conferred with the highest honours of Fiji and Papua New Guinea: PM Modi has been conferred with the highest honors by Fiji and Papua New Guinea. He was conferred with the "The Companion of the Order of Fiji" by his Fijian PM, Sitiveni Rabuka for his global leadership. While Papua New Guinea conferred its highest civilian order, Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu for championing the cause of unity of Pacific Island countries. PM Modi is on a visit to Papua New Guinea to attend the third India-Pacific Islands Cooperation Summit.
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