DAILY GK 29-30 MAR

 DAILY GK 29-30 MAR

1.         MGNREGA WAGE RATES FOR FY25

·           The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has notified a 3-10% increase in the wage rate of workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in nominal terms for the financial year 2024-25(FY25).

·           The new wage hike range from Rs 7 to Rs 26 will come into force from 1st April 2024.

·           The wages have seen an average increase of about 7% from the existing all-India average wage rate of Rs 267.32 per day to Rs 285.47 per day for FY25.

·           Goa witnesses the highest hike of 10.56% over the current wage rate, while

·           UttarPradesh(UP) and Uttarakhand have recorded the lowest raise of 3.04% each.

·           MGNREGA wage rates are determined by changes in the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labor (CPI-AL), reflecting rural inflation.

·           Union Budget 2024-25 has allocated Rs 86,000 crore for MGNREGA.

 

2.         UNEP REPORT ON FOOD PRODUCTION

·           United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) released its ‘Food Waste Index Report 2024-Think Eat Save Tracking Progress to Halve Global Food Waste‘ which tracks the progress of countries to halve food waste by 2030.

·           As per it, world wasted an estimated 19% of the food produced globally in 2022, or about 1.05 billion metric tons. This equals to 132 kilograms per person, amounting to nearly one-fifth of all available food.

·           Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 is committed to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and to reduce food loss across supply chains by 2030.

 

3.         RITU RAJ AWASTHI SWORN IN AS JUDICIAL MEMBER OF LOKPAL

·           Ritu Raj Awasthi sworn in as one of the three Judicial member of Lokpal of India.

·           The oath of office was administered by Justice AM Khanwilkar, Chairperson of Lokpal of India at the ceremony held in Lokpal of India office at New Delhi, Delhi.

·           The Lokpal  is an anti-corruption authority or body of ombudsman who represents the public interest in the Republic of India.

·           It is the first institution of its kind in independent India, established under Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013.

·           It consists of a chairperson and 8 members of whom 50% are judicial members.

·           The chairperson and other members hold the office for a term of 5 years from the date on which they enter upon or until they attain the age of 70 years.

 

4.         UNSG’S SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE IN UNDRR

·           United Nations (UN) Secretary-General (SG) Antonio Guterres appointed Kamal Kishore of India as Assistant Secretary-General and Special Representative of the SG for Disaster Risk Reduction, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).

·           UNDRR was established to ensure the implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.

·           Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland

 

5.         CHINA LAUNCHED YUNHAI-3 02 SATELLITE

·           China launched a new satellite “Yunhai-3 02” from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center located in north China’s Shanxi Province.

·           Yunhai-3 02 is specifically designed to conduct Atmospheric and marine environment surveys,Space environment monitoring,Disaster prevention and reduction efforts.

·           ChinaCapital– Beijing

·           President– Xi Jinping

·           Currency–  Renminbi (RMB), also known as the Chinese yuan

 

Current Affairs 30 March 2024

 

6.         INDIA TB REPORT 2024

·           According to the “India TB Report 2024” released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MoHFW) India saw a decline of 16% in the incidence of Tuberculosis(TB) cases (means new cases per year) and 18%  reduction in mortality due to TB, since 2015.

·           The incidence rate in India decreased from 237 per lakh population in 2015 to 199 per lakh population in 2022.

·           The mortality rate had declined from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 23 per lakh population in 2022.

 

7.         SKYROOT AEROSPACE SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRED KALAM 250

·           Skyroot Aerospace Private Limited, a Hyderabad (Telangana)-based aerospace company, has successfully test-fired the Kalam-250, otherwise called Stage-2 of the Vikram-1 space launch vehicle.

·           The test was conducted at the propulsion testbed of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh(AP).

·           Kalam-250, a high-strength carbon composite rocket motor, uses solid fuel and a high-performance Ethylene-Propylene-Diene terpolymers (EPDM) thermal protection system (TPS).

 

8.         WORLD PIANO DAY 2024– MARCH 28

·           The World Piano Day is observed annually on the 88th day of the year, which represents the 88 keys of the Piano, to celebrate the Piano, an acoustic, keyboard, stringed percussion instrument.

·           The day usually falls on 28th or 29th of March.

·           It aims to create a community platform to bring together piano players from all around the world.

·           Piano was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731), an Italian instrument maker, in the 18th century i.e. 1700s.

 

9.         RS 90 COIN TO COMMEMORATE 90 YEARS OF RBI

·           The Finance Ministry announced the release of a unique Rs 90 denomination coin to mark the 90th anniversary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

·           Crafted with 99.99% silver purity, the coin weighs approximately 40 grams and has a diameter of 44mm.

 

10.      BHUTAN’S HIGHEST CIVILIAN AWARD ORDER OF THE DRUK GYALPO

·           King of Bhutan Jigme KhesarNamgyelWangchuck conferred Bhutan’s highest civilian award, the Order of the DrukGyalpo, on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Thimpu.

·           Prime Minister Modi is the first foreign leader to be given this prestigious award.

·           The King of Bhutan had announced the conferment of the award during Bhutan’s 114th National Day celebrations in December 2021.

11.      INDIAN MASTERS NATIONAL BADMINTON CHAMPIONSHIP 2024

·           Maharashtra’s NaheedDivechahaswon two gold medals in the Indian Masters National Badminton Championship 2024 in Panchkula.

 

12.      FRENCH OPEN BADMINTON 2024

·           SatwiksairajRankireddy and Chirag Shetty claimed their first title of the year at the French Open after brushing aside their opponents from Chinese Taipei, Lee JheHuei-Yang Po Hsuan

 

13.      PRIVATE BANKS EXPAND ATM NETWORK WHILE PSU BANKS DECREASE

·           In the 12 months ending January 2024, public sector banks (PSUs) reduced their Automated teller machine (ATM) network by 1,343 machines to 1,36,173 ATMs.

·           In contrast, private banks expanded their ATM network by adding 3,502 ATMs, bringing their total to 79,225 machines.

·           Bandhan Bank boasts the highest average transactions per ATM, with 5,269 transactions.

·           Punjab National Bank leads in ATM distribution, with 30 ATMs per one lakh debit cardholders.

·           Bank of Baroda has the lowest number of ATMs per cardholder among PSU banks, standing at 11.

·           Among large private banks, ICICI Bank has 52 ATMs per lakh cardholders, while HDFC Bank has 38.

 

14.      INDIA'S NEW AMBASSADOR TO RUSSIA

·           Vinay Kumar, named as the new ambassador to Russia.

·           He is an officer of the 1992 batch of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), and has been the ambassador to Myanmar since late 2021.

 

15.      BIMA SUGAM: ONLINE INSURANCE MARKETPLACE

·           The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has approved the establishment of BimaSugam, an online insurance marketplace, aimed at simplifying the process of buying, selling, and servicing insurance policies, as well as settling claims.

·           Life insurance and general insurance companies will each own a 47.5% stake, while brokers and agent bodies will own 2.5% each

·           The IRDAI is a statutory body under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Government of India (GoI) and is tasked with regulating and licensing the insurance and reinsurance industries in India.