DAILY GK 1-2 APRIL

 DAILY GK 1-2 APRIL

1.         WHO LAUNCHES COVINET TO MONITOR EMERGING CORONAVIRUSES

·           The World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched the Coronavirus Network (CoViNet), a global network which will ensure timely detection, monitoring, and assessment of coronaviruses of public health importance.
The CoViNet aims to facilitate early and accurate detection of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)  and novel coronaviruses of public health importance.
CoViNet includes 36 laboratories from 21 countries across all 6 WHO regions.

·           This includes 3 Indian laboratories.Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

·           Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV), Pune, Maharashtra.

·           Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, Haryana.

·           WHO Director-General – Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

·           Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland

·           Establishment – 7 April 1948

 

2.         RBI: RESERVE ASSETS SURGE BY USD34.8 BILLION

·           India’s International Investment Position (IIP) as of December 2023 showed a decline in net claims of Non-Residents on India by USD12.2 billion during the period from October to December 2023 to USD370.4 billion as the end of December 2023.

·           Main reason for the decline is the increase in reserve assets, surging by USD34.8 billion during Q3 FY24

·           As per the RBI data, decline in net claims was due to an exponential increase in financial assets of overseas Indian residents which amounts to USD40.7 billion as compared to the increase in foreign-owned assets in India which is USD28.5 billion.

·           The increase in reserve assets which accounted for over 85% of increase in foreign assets held by India residents.

·           Reserve assets accounted for 63.9% of India’s international financial assets.

·           The share of debt liabilities in total external liabilities has remained same, maintaining its position at 50.4%.

·           As per RBI data, ratio of India’s international financial assets to international financial liabilities increased from 70.9%, a quarter ago to 72.4% in December 2023.

 

3.         BADMINTON- ORLEN POLISH OPEN 2024

·           India’s Anupama Upadhyaya defeats Tanya Hemanth (India) to win the women’s singles title of the Orlen Polish Open 2024, held in Wilanow Sports Centre, Warsaw, Poland.

·           The Indian pair M.R. Arjun and DhruvKapila won the men’s doubles title by defeating Denmark’s William KrygerBoe and Christian Faust Kjær in the finals.

·           Denmark’s Victor Ording Kauffmann won the men’s singles title by defeating JiaHeng Jason Teh (Singapore) in the finals.

 

4.         YOUTH BOXING WORLD CUP 2024

·           The Indian boxing contingent won 26 medals (5 gold, 9 silver, and 12 bronze) in the Youth World Boxing Cup 2024 (33rd Adriatic Pearl tournament) held  in Budva, Montenegro

·           Russia topped the medal tally with eight gold medals.

·           India finished second while Poland was in the third position with three gold medals.

·           Chanchal Chaudhary won a gold medal in the Women’s Youth Light Fly (50kg) category by defeating Valeria Amparan of Mexico.

·           Nikita Chand clinched a gold medal in the Women’s Youth Light (60kg) category by defeating ArailymAlimbergen of Kazakhstan.

·           Parthavi Grewal won the gold medal in the Women’s Youth Welter (66kg) category.

·           Phalaswal Akansha clinched gold medals for India in the Women’s Youth Light Middle (70kg) category.

·           BrajeshTamta won a gold medal for India in the 48kg youth men’s category.

·           Best male boxer of the tournament: Torekhan Sabyrkhan (Kazakhstan)

·           Best female boxer of the tournament: Nikita Chand (India)

 

5.         GI TAGS AWARDED TO 19 GOODS FROM ASSAM

·           The Government of India’s (GoI) Geographical Indication Registry granted Geographical Indication (GI) tags to 19 traditional crafts of Assam, 2 from Tripura, and 4 from Meghalaya.

·           Apart from the Six GI tags, thirteen Assamese products were associated with the Bodo people, the state’s largest indigenous population, have also been granted GI tags.

·           Tripura’s Rignai Pachra textile, Tripureswari temple’s ‘Pera’ get GI tag.

·           Geographical Indications Registry has been established in Chennai to administer the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registrationand Protection) Act, 1999 under the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks (CGPDTM).

·           Headquarters– Chennai, Tamil Nadu (TN)

 

6.         NHAI’S ONE VEHICLE, ONE FASTAG‘ RULES COME INTO FORCE ON 1 APRIL 2024

·           The National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI)‘One Vehicle, One FASTag‘ norm to discourage the practice of using a single FASTag for multiple vehicles or linking multiple FASTags to one vehicle has come into force from 1 April 2024.

·           NHAI has introduced One Vehicle, One FASTag to streamline the electronic toll-collection process, enhance the efficiency of the electronic toll-collection system, and alleviate congestion at toll plazas.

·           FASTag, an electronic toll collection system operated by NHAI, utilises Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology.

 

7.         NEW SATELLITE-BASED TOLL COLLECTION SYSTEM

·           Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) announced a new satellite-based toll collection system will be introduced to replace the existing toll collection system in India.

·           The satellite-based toll collection will utilise the Global Positioning System (GPS) and cameras to deduct money directly from bank accounts based on road usage (distance covered).

·           The new system will help reduce toll tax and through this, the time, money, and fuel usage of the travelers can also be saved.

 

8.         RBI TO SET UP DIGITAL INDIA TRUST AGENCY

·           The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will establish a Digital India Trust Agency (DIGITA) to combat the proliferation of illegal lending apps.

·           Apps lacking the ‘verified’ mark from DIGITA would be deemed unauthorized for law enforcement purposes.

·           The agency aims to vet digital lending apps for compliance and maintain a public register of verified apps.

·           The RBI has provided a list of 442 digital lending apps to Google for whitelisting, over 2,200 apps were removed from the PlayStore.

 

9.         HOCKEY INDIA 6TH ANNUAL AWARDS

·           Indian Field Hockey Player & Vice- captain of the Indian Hockey men’s team, Hardik Singh was honored with the Hockey India Balbir Singh Sr. Award for Player of the Year 2023 (Men) at the Hockey India 6th Annual Awards 2023 event held in New Delhi

·           Indian field hockey player Salima Tete was honoured with Hockey India Balbir Singh  Sr. Award for the Player of the year 2023 ( women).

·           Ashok Kumar won the prestigious Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award, with a cash prize of Rs 30 Lakh and a trophy.

·           Hockey India Baljit Singh Award for Goalkeeper of the Year- PR Sreejesh

 

10.      MIAMI OPEN TENNIS 2024

·           Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner won the Men’s Singles title at the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Miami Open 2024 by defeating  Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in the finals held at the Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida, USA.

·           He became the first Italian to win the Miami Open.

·           Daniel Collins of the USA won the Miami Open 2024 Women’s singles title by defeating Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.

·           India’s Rohan Bopanna and Australia’s Matthew Ebden won the men’s doubles title defeating Croatia’s Ivan Dodig and USA’s Austin Krajicek.

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DAIL GK 31 MAR

 DAIL GK 31 MAR

1.         SEBI LAUNCHED BETA VERSION OF T+0 TRADE SETTLEMENT

·           Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) launched the beta version of T+0 rolling settlement cycle (same-day transaction settlement) on an optional basis in addition to the existing T+1 settlement cycle in equity cash market.

·           The provisions of T+0 came into effect from March 28, 2024.

·           This allows same-day settlement of stock trades, instead of one-day settlement period (T+1) i.e. waiting for a day for the trade to settle and funds/stocks to be delivered.

·           The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) has approved a reduction of overall transaction charges across cash equity and equity derivatives segments by 1% starting April 1, 2024.

·           This decision is estimated to impact NSE’s revenue by approximately Rs 130 crore per annum.

·           SEBI Chairperson– Madhabi Puri Buch

·           Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra

·           Establishment- 1992

 

2.         RBI DATA: CREDIT CARDS SURPASSED THE 100 MILLION MARK IN INDIA

·           As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) latest data, the total number of credit cards issued by banks in India breached the 100 million mark in February 2024.

·           Data revealed that till February 2024, the total number of credit cards in circulation was 100.6 million. 

·           HDFC Bank, the largest private bank in India, leads in the number of credit card issuances with 20.40 million credit cards in circulation, followed by SBI (State Bank of India) with 18.75 million credit cards, ICICI Bank with 16.84 million, and Axis Bank with 13.90 million cards.

·           Overall credit card spending among Indians has slightly decreased from Rs 1.66 trillion (in January 2024) to Rs 1.49 trillion ( in February 2024). 

·           E-commerce payments decreased from Rs 1.08 trillion to Rs 0.95 trillion.

·           The PoS transactions decreased from Rs 58,531.77 crore in January 2024 to Rs 54,431.48 crore in February 2024.

 

3.         RUSSIA& UAETOP IMPORTERS OF INDIAN ENGINEERING GOODS

·           According to Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) of India India’s engineering goods exports surged during April-February 2023-24. 

·           Russia, The United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia are among the top importers of  Indian Engineering Goods .

·           The engineering segment experienced a modest growth  of 1.23%, amounting to USD 98.03 billion.

·           However, overall goods exports in April-February 2023-24 contracted 3.45% (Y-o-Y) to USD 394.99 billion.

·           EEPC India is sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India.

·           Exports to Russia saw 99% increase to USD 1.22 billion.

 

4.         INDIA’S FIRST ASI PERFORMANCE STANDARD CERTIFICATION

·           The Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), a unit of Vedanta Aluminium, has emerged as the first company in India to obtain the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI)Performance Standard V3 Certification for the production and distribution of a broad range of primary aluminum products at its Korba facility, Chhattisgarh.

 

5.         NATIONAL PRESIDENT OF FICCI LADIES ORGANISATION

·           Joyshree Das Verma took over as the 41st National President of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) Ladies Organisation (FLO) for the year 2024-2025.

·           The theme for her tenure 2024-25, is “Collective Vision, Collaborative Action.”
FLO, the women wing of FICCI, is the oldest women-led and women-centric business chamber in Southeast Asia.

 

6.         PRESIDENT OF SENEGAL

·           Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye was elected president of Senegal after winning the election that was held on March 24, 2024.

·           Faye became the 5th president of Senegal with 54.28% of the votes in the presidential election, while former Prime Minister Amadou Ba came in second with 35.79%.

·           He also became Senegal’s and Africa’s youngest elected president at the age of 44.

·           He was the first opposition candidate to win the presidential election since Senegal’s independence from France in 1960.

·           Senegal Capital – Dakar

·           Currency – West African CFA franc (XOF)

 

7.         INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ZERO WASTE 2024 – MARCH 30 

·           The United Nations(UN)’s International Day of Zero Waste is annually observed across the globe on 30th March to highlight the importance of bolstering waste management and promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns.

·           UNEP is the primary environmental authority in the UN System.

·           Headquarters– Nairobi, Kenya

·           Member States– 193 Member States

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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.

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