NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. India’s first
astro tourism campaign ‘Nakshatra Sabha’ organised 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.
2. 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 2024. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. 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.
2. 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.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. 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.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. 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.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. 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.
2. 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
3. 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.
4. 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.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. 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”,
recognised 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.
2. 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.
