Daily Current Affairs 8th June, 2024
Daily Current Affairs 8 June 2024 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.
NATIONAL NEWS
3rd Indian Analytical Congress Inaugurated in Dehradun
- The three-day 3rd Indian Analytical Congress is being held in Uttarkhand’s capital, Dehradun, from 5 -7 June 2024. The Congress was inaugurated by the Vice-Chancellor of Ladakh University, Prof. S.K. Mehta. The theme of the 3rd Indian Analytical Congress 2024 is:“Role of Science and Technology in Green Transitions.
- The conference aims to provide a platform for analytical scientists, technologists, academics, and students to exchange ideas and discuss the latest developments in this field.
- The Indian Analytical Congress is an international conference organised by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP) and the Indian Society of Analytical Scientists (ISAS-Delhi Chapter).
Uttarakhand Tourism launches ‘Nakshatra Sabha’
- The Uttarakhand government organised a first-of-its-kind Astro-tourism named ‘ Nakshatra Sabha’ in Mussoorie at Mussoorie City, also famous as the Queen of the Hills. The event was held at the George Everest Peak, which is popular amongst tourists as it offers spectacular views of the Doon Valley and the snow-clad Himalayan mountains.
- India’s first astro- tourism campaign has been organised by the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board in association with the leading private astro- tourism company, Starscapes.
- After the successful conclusion of the Mussorie event, the government plans to organise such astro tourism in other places of the state, such as – Harsil-Jadung, Benital, Rishikesh, Jageshwar and Ramnagar.
BANKING & FINANCE
RBI keeps repo rate unchanged to control inflation, ups this year’s GDP growth forecast to 7.2%
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das announced the second bi-monthly monetary policy of the financial year 2024-25. This is the first RBI policy after the Lok Sabha election results 2024.
- The RBI Governor headed six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to keep the benchmark repo rate unchanged at 6.5% for the eight consecutive time by a 4:2 majority. It also decided to continue with its stance of ‘withdrawal of accommodation’.
- RBI raised its GDP growth forecast for FY25 to 7.2% from 7% earlier. The central bank retained FY25 inflation forecast at 4.5%.
Highlights of monetary policy of the financial year 2024-25:
- Repo rate unchanged at 6.5%
- Policy stance of ‘withdrawal of accommodation’ maintained
- MPC members voted by 4:2 majority to maintain status quo
- FY25 GDP growth forecast raised to 7.2%. The quarterly projections are – Q1 at 7.3%; Q2 at 7.2%; Q3 at 7.3% and Q4 at 7.2%.
- CPI inflation estimates for FY25 retained at 4.5%. Detailed inflation forecast: Q1 at 4.9%; Q2 at 3.8%; Q3 at 4.6% and Q4 at 4.5%. Inflation for fiscal 2024 stood at 5.4%, at par with the central bank’s forecast.
Developmental and Regulatory Policies:
- Review of limit of Bulk Deposits for Scheduled Commercial Banks, Small Finance Banks and Local Area Banks
- Rationalisation of Export and Import regulations under Foreign Exchange Management Act
- Setting up a Digital Payments Intelligence Platform
- Inclusion of recurring payments for Fastag, National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), etc. with auto-replenishment facility under the e-mandate framework
- Introducing auto-replenishment of UPI Lite wallet – Inclusion under the e-mandate framework
- Launch of third edition of RBI Hackathon HARBINGER 2024 – Innovation for Transformation.
RBI absorbs surplus liquidity aggregating ₹44,430 crore through two VRRR auctions
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) absorbed surplus liquidity aggregating ₹44,430 crore through two variable rate reverse repo (VRRR) auctions of three days tenor. The aforementioned amount was deployed by banks even as the central bank was ready to absorb a total of ₹1-lakh crore (notified amount).
- At the first three-day VRRR auction for a notified amount of ₹50,000 crore, banks deployed funds aggregating ₹41,730 crore. The central bank accepted these funds at a weighted average rate (WAR) of 6.48 per cent.
- At the second three-day VRRR auction for a notified amount of ₹50,000 crore, banks deployed funds aggregating ₹2,700 crore. The central bank accepted these funds at a WAR of 6.49 per cent.
RBI unveils ambitious reform agenda for centenary celebrations in 2035, charts out 14-point action plan
- The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) aims to become a role model for central banks in developing countries by its centenary in 2035.Governor Shaktikanta Das outlined a 14-point plan, including enhancing India’s global presence, positioning itself as a leader in monetary policy, and promoting financial inclusion.
- The plan also focuses on internationalizing the rupee, boosting credit availability, and addressing challenges from technologies like AI/ML.
- RBI said that as part of its review of the policy framework, it will look at balancing price stability and economic growth from the perspective of an emerging-market economy and also ensure that spillovers from private and public debt overhang in systemically-important economies to emerging-market economies are contained.
RBI to set up digital payments intel platform after cyber frauds spike over 700%
- The Reserve Bank’s proposal to set up a digital payments intelligence platform will help in mitigating frauds and boost consumer confidence, industry experts opined. The RBI proposed to set up a ‘Digital Payments Intelligence Platform’, which will harness advanced technologies to mitigate payment fraud risks.
- For this purpose, the central bank has constituted a committee under A P Hota, former MD and CEO of NPCI, to examine various aspects of setting up a digital public infrastructure for digital payments intelligence platform.
- This (proposed) platform will leverage advanced technologies like AI and machine learning to identify and mitigate fraud risks, ultimately leading to a safer digital payments environment.
RBI MPC: India’s forex reserves rise by $4.8 bn to record high of $651.5 bn as of May 31
- India’s forex reserves rose by $4.8 billion to a record high of $651.5 billion as of May 31, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das announced along with key decisions on the monetary policy.
- According to the Weekly Statistical Supplement released by the RBI, Foreign currency assets (FCAs) increased by$ 5.065 billion to $572.56 billion. Expressed in dollar terms, the FCAs include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.
- Gold reserves contracted by $212 million to $56.50 billion, whereas SDRs were down by $17 million to $18.11 billion. Reserve in the IMF dipped by $1 million to $4.32 billion.
- Typically, the RBI, from time to time, intervenes in the market through liquidity management, including through the selling of dollars, with a view to preventing a steep depreciation in the rupee.
SBI and Muthoot Microfin join forces to support women entrepreneurs
- The State Bank of India (SBI) and Muthoot Microfin Limited has formed a strategic co-lending collaboration with as a key step toward increasing financial inclusion. This alliance intends to provide financial services to female entrepreneurs in rural and semi-urban locations throughout India.
- Under the terms of this agreement, both corporations will co-lend to Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) that participate in agricultural, related, and other income-generating activities. The loan amounts, which range from Rs 10,000 to Rs 3,00,000, are designed to provide significant assistance to female entrepreneurs in rural areas.
- Muthoot Microfin Limited and SBI will collaborate to give financial assistance to women entrepreneurs, particularly those from the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) households. This cooperation intends to foster economic growth and self-sufficiency among women in rural India by focusing on low-income clients and boosting women’s entrepreneurship.
Tata Motors Finance to be merged with Tata Capital
- The boards of Tata Motors, Tata Capital, and Tata Motors Finance have approved a merger of Tata Motors Fin with Tata Capital through an NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) scheme of arrangement, Tata Motors said.
- As consideration for the merger, Tata Capital (TCL) will issue its equity shares to the shareholders of Tata Motors Finance (TMFL), resulting in the automobile company effectively holding a 4.7 per cent stake in the merged entity.
- Tata Motors will hold the stake indirectly through its 100 per cent subsidiary TMF Holdings Limited, an RBI (Reserve Bank of India) registered non-banking finance company-core investment company (NBFC-CIC).
SBI MF assets top Rs 10 trn; becomes first fund house to achieve milestone
- SBI Mutual Fund (SBI MF) made history by becoming the first fund house in the country to achieve the Rs 10 trillion milestone in assets under management (AUM). The industry leader has adeptly navigated the post-pandemic equity boom and capitalised on the increasing awareness of MF investing.
- The sharp growth in SBI MF’s AUM, alongside the overall industry, has been driven by the equity market rally and expanding MF investor base.
- The growth in MF AUM hinges on both the appreciation in assets held by schemes and fresh inflows. As of April 2024, SBI accounted for Rs 2 trillion of SBI MF’s AUM. Over Rs 5 trillion of the AUM was in direct plans, with the remaining Rs 2.2 trillion linked to other distributors.
- Most other top five fund houses are also backed by leading banks. ICICI Prudential MF, HDFC MF, Nippon India MF, and Kotak MF complete the top five.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
RIL to build global economic hub in Navi Mumbai
- Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is set to develop a global economic hub in Navi Mumbai, having secured sub-leases on approximately 3,750 acres of land for Rs 13,400 crore. The lease spans 43 years and stems from a memorandum of understanding signed with the Maharashtra government in 2018.
- In an exchange filing, RIL announced that its subsidiaries have completed the registration of the sub-lease deeds for the land, including development rights from Navi Mumbai IIA Pvt Ltd (formerly Navi Mumbai SEZ), where planning agency CIDCO holds a 26% stake.
- The sub-leased land will be used to create an integrated industrial area under the Maharashtra Industrial Policy, 2013, which allows Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to transition to integrated industrial areas suitable for industrial units.
NCLT approves Vistara, Air India merger
- The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) granted approval to Vistara’s merger with Air India. The merger will make Air India group India’s largest international carrier, connecting five of the seven continents, operating more flights on international routes than any other airline.
- Following the merger, announced in November 2022, Singapore Airlines will hold a 25.1 percent stake in Air India. Vistara is a joint venture between Singapore Airlines and Tata Group.
- The order states that Vistara will dissolve without undergoing the winding-up process after the merger, following receipt of necessary approvals and security clearances, within nine months from the date of the order.
- The companies must ensure FDI approval by Singapore Airlines and security clearances from DGCA/MOCA within nine months from the order date.
SPORTS
Sarabjot Singh wins gold in Munich World Cup
- Sarabjot Singh won India’s first medal at the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup, which was held in Munich, Germany. The ISSF World Cup will be held from May 31 to June 8, 2024.
- The Indian shooter Sarabjot Singh scored 242.7 points in the final to win the gold medal in the men’s 10-meter air pistol event. Shuaihang Bu of the People’s Republic of China won the silver medal, while the German Robin Walter had to settle for a bronze medal.
- This was Sarabjot Singh’s second individual gold medal in the ISSF World Cup. Last Year, he won the gold in the men’s 10-meter air rifle event at the ISSF World Cup held in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
APPOINTMENTS
Kamal Kishore Soan takes over the charge of Director General, ESIC
- Kamal Kishore Soan, a senior IAS officer from Jharkhand Cadre (Batch : 1998) currently serving as an Additional Secretary and Director General, Labour Welfare in the Ministry of Labour & Employment, took over the additional charge of Director General of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) under Ministry of Labour & Employment.
- He has got vast experience of governance and management of various departments in the state of Jharkhand viz. Land Revenue Management and District Administration, Agriculture & Cooperation, Health, Building Construction, Transport, Finance, Energy, Water Resources, Social Justice & Empowerment, etc.
AWARDS
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 award along with a cash prize of Rs.50,000 will be presented during the 11th National coaches workshop to be held at the PYC Hindu Gymkhana in Pune.
- The secretary general of AITA, Anil Dhupar, announced a new lifetime achievement award for women coaches. 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.
- Rohini was the first woman tennis coach to qualify from the National Institute of Sports. She has trained thousands of players in different age groups and has helped many to qualify as coaches.
Rohit Sharma becomes first batter ever in international cricket to smas 600 sixes
- India skipper Rohit Sharma rewrote several records that included becoming the first ever batter to smash 600 sixes in international cricket. The ‘Hitman’ went up on multiple records’ list with his superb knock in India’s T20 World Cup tournament opener against Ireland at the Nassau Stadium in New York.
- Chasing a below-par 97-turn target against the Irish on a tricky surface, Rohit first crossed the 4000-run mark in T20Is. Rohit needed 26 runs for the 4000-run feat in T20Is and he accomplished it in the 6th over of the chase, becoming only the third batter after Virat Kohli (4037) and Babar Azam (4023) to the milestone.
- He then notched up 1000 T20 World Cup runs in the 9th over — once again becoming only the third batter after Kohli and Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene (1016) to the landmark.
Two More Indian Wetlands Added To Ramsar List
- India celebrated World Environment Day with the addition of the Nagi Bird Sanctuary and the Nakti Bird Sanctuary in Bihar to the global list of important wetlands.
- These newly designated Ramsar sites are man-made reservoirs located in the Jhajha forest range of Jamui district in Bihar. Their catchments feature dry deciduous forests surrounded by hills.
- This takes the number of Ramsar Sites in the country to 82 covering a total area of 13,32,746.24 ha. The move reflects the continued commitment of PM Narendra Modi ji towards environment protection.
- The Ramsar Convention aims to “develop and maintain an international network of wetlands important for the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life through ecosystem components, processes, and benefits”.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
EarthCARE launched to study role of clouds and aerosols in Earth’s climate
- ESA’s EarthCARE satellite lifted off on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, USA.
- ESA’s EarthCARE satellite, which is poised to revolutionise our understanding of how clouds and aerosols affect our climate with its four state-of-the-art instruments, has been launched.
- This exciting new mission is a joint venture between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and was designed and built by a consortium of more than 75 companies under Airbus as the prime contractor.
- The EarthCARE satellite is now being controlled from ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany. Controllers will spend the next few months carefully checking and calibrating the mission as part of the commissioning phase.
ENVIRONMENT
New ant species discovered from Siang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh
- Researchers have discovered a new ant species in the East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, a state located in northeast India. Belonging to the rare genus Paraparatrechina, the blue-coloured insect has been named Paraparatrechina neela.
- The discovery was made by entomologists Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan and Sahanashree R. from Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bengaluru and Aswaj Punnath from the University of Florida. Their scientific description of the ant has been published in the peer-reviewed journal ZooKeys.
- Remarkably, according to the researchers, it is also the first new species of Paraparatrechina in 121 years, since the description of the sole previously known species, P. aseta (Forel, 1902), in the Indian subcontinent.
World Environment Day: Environmentalists duo create private biosphere
- Ahead of World Environment Day on June 5,2024. In a remarkable initiative to combat deforestation two environmentalists, Jai Dhar Gupta and Vijay Dhasmana created India’s first biosphere in a tiger reserve, called the Rajaji Raghati Biosphere (RRB) within the Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand.
- The biosphere is a 35-acre private forest initiative aimed at identifying and reviving rare and endangered species of native trees while protecting the area from poachers and mining. The land earmarked for RRB was previously barren and in a state of degradation.
- They are also developing a second biosphere above the Koyna River in the buffer zone of the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve near Pune, Maharashtra, along the Western Ghats.