Daily Current Affairs – April 02 & 03, 2023
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Daily Current Affairs - Banking - April 02 & 03, 2023
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National News
New India Literacy Programme
- Government has launched a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme namely, “New India Literacy Programme” (NILP) for implementation during five years from the FYs 2022-23 to 2026-27 with financial outlay of Rs.1037.90 crore out of which Rs.700.00 crore is Central share and Rs.337.90 crore is State share.
- The scheme aims to cover a target of 5.00 crore non-literates in the age group of 15 years and above.
- The Scheme has five components: (i) Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, (ii) Critical Life Skills, (iii) Vocational Skills Development, (iv) Basic Education and (v) Continuing Education.
- The beneficiaries under the scheme are identified through door to door survey on Mobile App by the surveyors in the States/UTs.
- The scheme is mainly based on volunteerism for teaching and learning. Volunteers can also register through mobile app for this purpose.
- The scheme is based on technology and implemented predominantly through online mode.
- The teaching learning material and resources have been made available on DIKSHA platform of NCERT and can be accessed through the mobile-apps.
- Further, other modes like TV, Radio, Samajik Chetna Kendra etc. are also to be used for dissemination of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy.
- Ministry of Education – Dharmendra Pradhan,Union Minister (Rajya Sabha MP,MP) – Subhas Sarkar, Minister of State (Bankura, West Bengal), Annpurna Devi Yadav, Minister of State (Kodarma, Jharkhand), Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Minister of State (Inner Manipur,Manipur)
CBDT Signs 95 Advance Pricing Agreements in FY 2022-23
- The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into a record 95 Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) in FY 2022-23 with Indian taxpayers.
- This includes 63 Unilateral APAs (UAPAs) and 32 Bilateral APAs (BAPAs).
- With this, the total number of APAs since inception of the APA programme has gone up to 516, comprising 420 UAPAs and 96 BAPAs.
- The year has been a record-breaking year in several ways.
- This year, CBDT recorded the highest ever APA signings in any financial year since the launch of the APA programme, signing a total of 95 APAs.
- This year, CBDT also signed the maximum number of BAPAs in any financial year till date.
- The BAPAs were signed as a consequence of entering into Mutual Agreements with India’s treaty partners namely Finland, the UK, the US, Denmark, Singapore, and Japan.
- A record of the largest number of single day signings in the history of the programme was also created with a total of 21 APAs signed on 24th March, 2023.
- Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) – 1964 (Founded) – New Delhi (HQ) – Nitin Gupta (Chairman)
Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Ministry of Mines & Ministry of Power to host an official sideline event in Gandhinagar, Gujarat
- The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Ministry of Mines and Ministry of Power will host an official sideline event in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
- The theme of the event will be ‘Diversifying Renewables and Critical Minerals Supply Chains to Advance Energy Transition’.
- This event is a part of the second Energy Transition Working Group meeting of India’s G20 Presidency.
- The event will focus on diversifying and securing renewable energy and critical mineral supply chains for energy transitions, including promoting circularity in value chains.
- Ministry of New and Renewable Energy – Raj Kumar Singh,Union Minister (Arrah, Bihar) – Bhagawanth,Minister of State (Bidar,Karnataka)
- Ministry of Power – Raj Kumar Singh,Union Minister (Arrah, Bihar)
- Ministry of Mines – Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi, Union Minister (Dharwad, Karnataka)
International News
India leading source of investments in Bhutan, provided Rs 4500 crores assistance for 12th Five Year Plan
- India has been extending economic assistance to Bhutan’s socio-economic development since the early 1960s when Bhutan launched its Five Year Plans.
- For the 12th Five Year Plan, India assisted Bhutan with Rs 4500 crore for various multi-sectoral project-tied assistance, small development projects, Direct Budgetary Support, etc.
- The visit of Bhutan King Jigme Khesar Namgyel to India will further strengthen the close bilateral partnership, including economic and development cooperation between the two nations.
- India has consistently been Bhutan’s top trading partner and remains the leading source of investments in Bhutan.
- In November 2021, the Indian government formalised the opening of seven new trade routes for Bhutan’s bilateral and transit trade with India, new market access was provided for allowing the formal export of 12 agri-products from Bhutan to India, and various special exceptions/ quotas for export are also provided.
- Bhutan – Thimphu (Capital) – Ngultrum (Currency) – Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (Druk Gyalpo) – Lotay Tshering (Prime Minister) – Dzongkha (Language)
4th Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting between India & Philippines takes place in New Delhi
- The 4th Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting between India and the Philippines was held in New Delhi.
- The Indian delegation was led by Joint Secretary in Ministry of Defence Amitabh Prasad, while the Philippines delegation was headed by Assistant Secretary for Strategic Assessments and International Affairs, Department of National Defence Pablo M Lorenzo.
- The co-chairs reaffirmed their commitment to implement the 2006 agreement concerning defence cooperation, based on mutual trust and understanding, common interest and shared values of democracy and the rule of law.
- Philippines – Manila (Capital) – Philippine peso (Currency) – Bongbong Marcos (President) – Filipino & English (Language)
State News
PM Modi flags off Vande Bharat Express in Bhopal
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off 11th Vande Bharat Express train between Bhopal and New Delhi at the Rani Kamlapati Railway Station in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
- Madhya Pradesh is also included in the 11 states where 100 percent electrification has been achieved.
- The Prime Minister highlighted that the average electrification of railway routes per year has increased tenfold from 600 kilometers to 6000 kilometers since 2014.
- On 27 January 2019, ‘Train 18’ was renamed as ‘Vande Bharat Express’.
- The train went into service on 15 February 2019.
- It was designed by Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO) and manufactured by the government-owned Integral Coach Factory (ICF), located in Chennai.
- The operating speed of the train is limited to 130 km/h (81 mph) on most routes due to safety concerns.
- The train has achieved a max speed of 180 km/h (110 mph) during testing.
- Vande Bharat trains run at average speeds between 64 kmph and 95 kmph.
- Madhya Pradesh – Bhopal (Capital) – Shivraj Singh Chouhan (CM) – Mangubhai C. Patel (Governor) – Hindi (Language)
75% of households get drinking water through taps in Arunachal Pradesh
- In Arunachal Pradesh, 75 percent of the households have been connected with clean drinking tap water connection under Jal Jeevan Mission.
- Out of the 1.73 lakh targeted rural households,1.3 lakh are getting drinking water in the state.
- Arunachal Pradesh – Itanagar (Capital) – Pema Khandu (CM) – Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik (Governor) – English (Language)
Schemes
Revamped credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs to be implemented from April 1
- The revamped credit guarantee scheme for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) will take effect from April 1, through infusion of ₹9,000 crores in the corpus, said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2023.
- This will enable additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of ₹2 lakh crore.
- Further, the cost of the credit will be reduced by about 1%.
- Further, in cases of failure by MSMEs to execute contracts during the COVID-19 period, 95% of the forfeited amount relating to bid or performance security will be returned to them by government and government undertakings.
- The total allocation for the MSME Ministry will see a nearly 42% increase for 2023-24 with ₹22,138 crores to be made available compared to ₹15,629 crores in 2022-23.
- Schemes such as Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) and Scheme for Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) will see significantly higher allocation compared to FY23.
Banking and Finance
DBS Bank India launches 'digiPortfolio' for seamless investment portfolio management
- DBS Bank India has announced an innovative investment solution, ‘digiPortfolio’, on its digibank platform.
- digiPortfolio uses both technology and human expertise to create a set of investment options curated by Morningstar that match the risk preferences of different investors.
- The platform is an easy, one-stop solution for users to invest money with ready-made baskets of mutual funds.
- DBS Bank India is one of the first banks in India to offer this type of digital solution.
- The digiPortfolio platform is run by Quantifeed and is automated, making it easy to use.
- digiPortfolio provides instant access to investors with two plans starting at a minimum investment of ₹10,000 and ₹50,000.
- These plans include features such as portfolio construction, monitoring, and rebalancing services, powered by Morningstar.
- DBS Bank Limited – 16/07/1968 (Founded) – Singapore (HQ) – Peter Seah (Chairman) – “Live more, Bank less” (Tagline)
IRDAI’s liberalised commission rules
- The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) notified three new rules that are likely to have material economic implications for market participants, both insurers and intermediaries.
- In the process, the regulator replaced the erstwhile regime of ‘product-wise capping’ of commission payable to intermediaries.
- This is, however, subject to insurers maintaining overall ‘expenses of management’ (EOM) limits set by the IRDAI.
- Besides the IRDAI (Payment of Commission) Regulations, 2023, the regulator notified the IRDAI (Expenses of Management of Insurers transacting General or Health Insurance business) Regulations, 2023 and the IRDAI (Expenses of Management of Insurers transacting Life Insurance business) Regulations, 2023.
IRDAI approves two new life insurance companies
- In the 121st meeting of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India two new entities namely Acko Life Insurance Ltd. and Credit Access Life Insurance Ltd. were granted certificate of registration to commence life insurance business.
- With these two additions, the total number of life insurers operating in India have gone up to 25, which had remained stagnant since 2011, when the certificate of registration was last granted to a life insurer.
- Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) – 1999 (Founded) – Hyderabad (HQ) – Debasish Panda (Chairman) – Ministry of Finance (Under)
Small savings schemes' interest rates
Savings Scheme
Interest rate Oct-Dec
Interest rate Jan-March
Interest rate Apr-June
Post Office Savings Account
4.00%
4%
4%
Post Office Recurring Deposit
5.80%
5.8%
6.2%
Post Office Monthly Income Scheme
6.70%
7.1%
7.4%
Post Office Time Deposit (1 year)
5.50%
6.6%
6.8%
Post Office Time Deposit (2 years)
5.70%
6.8%
6.9%
Post Office Time Deposit (3 years)
5.80%
6.9%
7.0%
Post Office Time Deposit (5 years)
6.70%
7.0%
7.5%
Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP)
7% (123 months)
7.2% (123 months)
7.5% (115 months)
Public Provident Fund (PPF)
7.10%
7.1%
7.1%
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana
7.60%
7.6%
8.0%
National Savings Certificate
6.80%
7.0%
7.7%
Senior Citizens’ Saving Scheme (SCSS)
7.60%
8.00%
8.2%
UPI processes 8.7 bln transactions in March, highest ever since inception
- India’s flagship digital payment platform Unified Payments Interface (UPI) ended the financial year (FY23) on a high, with March seeing 8.7 billion transactions being processed on the platform, the highest ever since its inception, amounting to Rs 14.05 trillion is another record high for the platform.
- According to National Payments Corporation of India’s (NPCI) data, UPI transactions in March 2023 were over 60 per cent and 46 per cent higher in volume and value terms from the year-ago period.
- Last year in March, UPI had processed 5.4 billion transactions, amounting to Rs 9.6 trillion.
India Post Payments Bank launches WhatsApp banking services
- To enable customers to access banking services on their mobile phone, India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), in collaboration with Airtel, announced the launch of WhatsApp Banking Services.
- India Post Payments Bank – 01/09/2018 (Founded) – New Delhi (HQ) – J. Venkatramu (MD & CEO) – “Aapka Bank, Aapke Dwaar” (Tagline)
Business and Economy
Union Minister Piyush Goyal lauds GeM crossing Gross Merchandise Value of Rs 2 lakh crore in 2022-23
- Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal lauded Government e Marketplace (GeM) crossing Gross Merchandise Value of two lakh crore rupees in the financial year 2022-2023.
- The Government e Marketplace (or e-Marketplace) (GeM) is an online platform for public procurement in India was launched on August 9, 2016 by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- The platform is owned by GeM SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) which is a 100 percent Government-owned, non-profit company under the Ministry of Commerce and Industries.
- Ministry of Commerce and Industry – Piyush Goyal,Cabinet Minister (Rajya Sabha MP,Maharashtra) – Anupriya Patel, Minister of State (Mirzapur,UP), Som Parkash, Minister of State (Hoshiarpur,Punjab)
India's Goods and Services Tax mop-up crosses Rs 18 trillion in FY23
- India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) tax collection for FY23 crossed Rs 18 trillion, 22 per cent higher than last year, the finance ministry.
- During March, the government collection grew 13 per cent to over Rs 1.60 trillion, making it the second-highest collection ever.
- It is for the fourth time, in FY23, that the gross GST collection has crossed Rs 1.5 trillion mark.
- The average gross monthly collection for the full year stood at Rs 1.51 trillion.
- The gross GST revenue collected in the month of March 2023 is Rs 1,60,122 crore of which CGST is Rs 29,546 crore, SGST is Rs 37,314 crore, IGST is Rs 82,907 crore (including Rs 42,503 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 10,355 crore (including Rs 960 crore collected on import of goods).
- This month witnessed the highest IGST collection ever.
- Ministry of Finance – Nirmala Sitharaman,Cabinet Minister (Rajya Sabha MP,Karnataka) – Bhagwat Karad, Minister of State (Rajya Sabha MP,Maharashtra) & Pankaj Choudhary, Minister of State (Maharajganj,UP)
Science and Technology
Union Minister Sonowal launches ‘SAGAR-SETU’ mobile app of National Logistics Portal Marine
- Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal launched the App Version of National Logistics Portal (Marine) ‘Sagar-Setu’ in the presence of Shripad Y Naik, MoS, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) Sudhansh Pant, Secretary and other senior officials.
- It is pertinent to add that the Ministry of Ports, Shipping Waterways and Ministry of Commerce and Industry envisaged this one-stop digital platform National Logistic Portal Marine in the month of January 2023.
- Within a span of two months SAGAR-SETU app has been launched which will boost maritime trade thereby enhancing the economy of the country.
- Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways – Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister (Rajya Sabha MP, Assam) – Shripad Yesso Naik, Minister of State (North Goa) & Shantanu Thakur, Minister of State (Bangaon,West Bengal)
ISRO successfully conducts autonomous test landing of Reusable Launch Vehicle
- ISRO joined by DRDO successfully conducted the Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX) at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR), Chitradurga, Karnataka.
- ISRO had demonstrated the re-entry of its winged vehicle RLV-TD in the HEX mission in May 2016.
- The re-entry of a hypersonic sub-orbital vehicle marked a major accomplishment in developing Reusable Launch Vehicles.
- The LEX began with an Integrated Navigation test in 2019 and followed multiple Engineering Model Trials and Captive Phase tests in subsequent years.
- Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) – 15/08/1969 (Founded) – Bangalore, India (HQ) – Sreedhara Somanath (Chairman)
Appointments
Vice Admiral Suraj Berry Appointed New Chief Of Personnel Of Indian Navy
- Vice Admiral Suraj Berry took over as the new Chief of Personnel of the Indian Navy.
- He succeeded Vice Admiral Satish Kumar Namdeo Ghormade who superannuated after more than 39 years of service to the Navy.
- VAdm Berry was commissioned on January 1, 1987, and is a specialist in Gunnery and Missile Warfare.
- His Sea commands include the missile vessel INS Nirbhik, missile corvette INS Karmuk, stealth frigate INS Talwar, and the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya of which he was the commissioning Commanding Officer.
- Indian Navy – 26/01/1950 (Founded) – New Delhi (HQ) – Navy Day (December 4) – Admiral R. Hari Kumar (Chief of Naval Staff) – ‘May the Lord of Water be auspicious unto us’ (Motto)
Important Days
World Autism Awareness Day
- World Autism Awareness Day is an internationally recognized day annually on April 2, encouraging Member States of the United Nations to take measures to raise awareness about autistic individuals throughout the world.
- 1st Observed – 2008
- Edition – 16th
- World Autism Day is one of only seven official health-specific UN Days.
- Theme – “Transforming the narrative: Contributions at home, at work, in the arts and in policymaking”.
Daily Current Affairs - April 02 & 03, 2023 - Consolidated
- New India Literacy Programme
- CBDT Signs 95 Advance Pricing Agreements in FY 2022-23
- Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, Ministry of Mines & Ministry of Power to host an official sideline event in Gandhinagar, Gujarat
- India leading source of investments in Bhutan, provided Rs 4500 crores assistance for 12th Five Year Plan
- 4th Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting between India & Philippines takes place in New Delhi
- PM Modi flags off Vande Bharat Express in Bhopal
- 75% of households get drinking water through taps in Arunachal Pradesh
- Revamped credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs to be implemented from April 1
- DBS Bank India launches ‘digiPortfolio’ for seamless investment portfolio management
- IRDAI’s liberalised commission rules
- IRDAI approves two new life insurance companies
- Small savings schemes’ interest rates
- UPI processes 8.7 bln transactions in March, highest ever since inception
- India Post Payments Bank launches WhatsApp banking services
- Union Minister Piyush Goyal lauds GeM crossing Gross Merchandise Value of Rs 2 lakh crore in 2022-23
- India’s Goods and Services Tax mop-up crosses Rs 18 trillion in FY23
- Union Minister Sonowal launches ‘SAGAR-SETU’ mobile app of National Logistics Portal Marine
- ISRO successfully conducts autonomous test landing of Reusable Launch Vehicle
- Vice Admiral Suraj Berry Appointed New Chief Of Personnel Of Indian Navy
- World Autism Awareness Day
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