Current Affairs Quiz: April 10, 2024

Option A
Explanation:
HDFC ERGO General Insurance has introduced Paws n Claws, an extensive insurance policy designed for pet dogs and cats. India’s pet care industry is experiencing a consistent annual growth rate of approximately 13% and is projected to reach $800 million by 2025.

Option C
Explanation:
Mobile wallet adoption is surging in India and swiftly becoming a primary payment option, surpassing traditional methods like cash and cards.Over the next few years, payments via mobile wallets in India are likely to surpass the Rs 531.8 trillion mark in 2028, witnessing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.3 per cent between 2024 and 2028, according to GlobalData – a London-based leading data and analytics company.

Option C
Explanation:
The Reserve Bank has launched the next round of quarterly order books, inventories and capacity utilisation survey of manufacturing companies, a key input for the monetary policy formulation. The 65th round of survey is for the reference period January-March 2024 (Q4:2023-24), the central bank said.

Option C
Explanation:
India’s eight states will have an over $1 trillion economy as the country moves towards becoming a developed nation by FY47, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) noted in its report. Ind-Ra pointed out that Maharashtra will be the first to hit the $1 trillion mark, followed by Karnataka, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu. In contrast, Uttar Pradesh will only reach the target by FY42. The states are likely to miss their goals to become a $1 trillion economy.

Option B
Explanation:
Non-life insurers posted a 12.78 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth in gross direct premium underwritten in 2023-24 (FY24), reaching Rs 2.89 trillion, compared to 16.4 per cent in the previous financial year.

Option C
Explanation:
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Bengaluru-based fintech firm PhonePe have entered into a two-year strategic partnership to promote the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for Indians travelling in Singapore.

Option C
Explanation:
Surinder Chawla, MD and CEO of Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL) has resigned as the head of company, on account of “personal reasons and to explore better career prospects”.

Option B
Explanation:
Extreme marathon runner Russ Cook completed his run across the entire length of Africa in Tunisia after travelling through 16 countries, with the 352-day odyssey including being robbed at gunpoint and suffering food poisoning.

Option C
Explanation:
Axis Bank said it has floated a digital US dollar fixed deposit (FD) scheme for NRI customers at the IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) at GIFT City, Gujarat. The FD scheme is first of its kind, and Axis Bank has become the first bank to offer a digital journey for GIFT City Deposits.

Option C
Explanation:
PayU, one of India’s leading digital financial services providers, is proud to announce the launch of a first-of-its-kind Downpayment EMI solution that enables customers to make a partial payment upfront while remaining can be converted into easy EMIs, making high-ticket purchases more affordable & accessible.

Option A
Explanation:
India was a net importer of finished steel during the 2023/24 financial year that ended on March 31, according to provisional government data seen. The country imported 8.3 million metric tons of finished steel between April and March, up 38.1 per cent from a year earlier, the data showed.

Option B
Explanation:
According to the Hurun Global Unicorn Index 2024, India for the first time recorded a decline in unicorn creation since 2017. India in 2023 had 67 unicorns, which is one less than 68 such startups last year, according to the latest Hurun Global Unicorn Index.

Option C
Explanation:
Marking the first such transaction after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued fresh guidelines for the instrument, State Bank of India and Standard Chartered Bank India carried out a Credit Default Swap (CDS) trade worth ₹25 crore. The trade involved a 1-year rupee CDS featuring REC, senior executives at Standard Chartered Bank told.

Option D
Explanation:
The team from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) responsible for the Chandrayaan-3 mission’s success was honoured with the “2024 John L. ‘Jack’ Swigert Jr. Award for Space Exploration”.

Option B
Explanation:
Mamta G. Sagar, a Bengaluru-based Kannada poet, writer, academic and activist, has recently won the World Literary Prize from the World Organization of Writers (WOW) for her contributions to the world of literature.

Option A
Explanation:
Sushil Sharma, currently serving as Director (Projects) at SJVN Limited (formerly Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam), has been appointed for the position of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) by the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB).

Option C
Explanation:
The European Union (EU) and India launched an Expression of Interest (EoI) for startups working in Battery Recycling Technologies for Electric Vehicles (EVs) for a matchmaking event. The matchmaking aims to enhance the cooperation between European and Indian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and startups in the clean and green technologies sector.

Option D
Explanation:
The 14-member Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) bloc will organise an investor forum meet in Singapore on June 5-6, where domestic climate tech entrepreneurs and companies will showcase and pitch their products to global investors.

Option C
Explanation:
NTPC Limited, India’s largest integrated power company, is gearing up to launch the latest edition of Girl Empowerment Mission (GEM), its flagship Corporate Social Responsibility initiative. The program aligns with the Government of India’s Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao initiative and aims to tackle gender inequality by nurturing girls’ imaginations and fostering their ability to explore opportunities.

Option B
Explanation:
The ministry of roads transport and highways recorded the highest ever capital expenditure of Rs 3.01 lakh crore in 2023-24 with both government and private expenditure at an all-time high at Rs 2.64 lakh crore and Rs 34,805 crore respectively, a senior government official said.

Option B
Explanation:
A sharp curve in the upcoming Pamban railway bridge, India’s first vertical-lift bridge connecting the country’s mainland with Rameswaram island, has become an additional challenge for the Railways besides its mechanical peculiarity and a rough sea.
The Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), which is constructing this 2.08-km-long bridge, is facing a huge challenge in moving a lift span, which is 72.5-m-long, 16-m-wide and weighs 550 tonne, from the Rameshwaram end to 450 m in the sea to fix it to the bridge.