Current Affairs One-Liner : 24th May 2023

• National:

• The Uttarakhand Metro Rail Corporation (UKMRC) will construct state-of-the-art rapid transit systems in Dehradun, Haridwar and Rishikesh within the next four years to ease traffic congestion. The country’s first Neo Metro will start on two corridors in Dehradun and Haridwar will see the country’s first Pod taxi

• JSW Steel and JFE Steel have signed an agreement to set up a 50:50 joint venture company to manufacture the entire range of cold rolled grain-oriented electrical steel (CRGO) products at Vijayanagar, Karnataka, India
• GAINS 2023 is a startup competition launched by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd, one of India’s premier defence shipyards and a Category 1 Mini Ratna Company. The competition aims to identify and encourage the development of innovative solutions towards technological advances in shipbuilding by startups
• Reports on the data from the World Meteorological Department (WMO), a specialised agency of the United Nations. According to the data, India experienced 573 disasters related to extreme weather, climate and water events between 1970 and 2021 that resulted in 1,38,377 deaths.
• Garuda Aerospace and Naini Aerospace engineering limited (NAeL), a subsidiary of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), have signed a joint development partnership to manufacture indigenous drones in India for various applications. The drones will be able to carry a payload of around 25 kg
• Sony Sports Network has roped in Sania Mirza as the Tennis Ambassador for Sony Sports Network, who will be seen as an expert panelist on the network’s show Extraaa Serve across the tournaments, starting in Roland-Garros on 28 May
• Indian Navy successfully carried out an engagement of a sea-skimming supersonic target using its latest indigenous guided missile destroyer INS Mormugao
• India’s Ministry of Railways handed over 20 broad gauge locomotives to Bangladesh on May 24, 2023. The locomotives will help handle the increasing volume of passenger and freight train operations in Bangladesh
• Tamil Nadu government has extended the ban on – manufacturing, storage, transport, distribution or sale of chewable food products, such as Gutkha and Pan masala, which contain tobacco and nicotine as ingredients - for one more year. The order will apply from May 23
• The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs is going to organize a two-day National Workshop on the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) on 24th & 25th of May, 2023 in the Convention Hall, The Hotel Ashok, New Delhi. 
• Rajasthan’s partnership with Denmark for water and environmental conservation. Rajasthan Public Health Engineering Minister Mahesh Joshi visited Denmark this week and met the Danish authorities to develop a framework for drinking water management, cooperation in areas such as urban water, smart water supply, wastewater treatment, energy generation from sewerage treatment plants and rejuvenation of rivers
• The Digital India Act, 2023 is a new legislation that aims to overhaul the decades-old Information Technology Act, 2000. It covers a range of topics such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), cybercrime, data protection, deepfakes, competition issues among internet platforms, and online safety
• Economy:

• As of 12 November 2021, 5,809 projects worth 1,56,571 crore (85%) are under implementation /completed under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM)
• According to the latest guidelines by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), online gaming platforms will not be required to deduct tax at the source for a player if the net winning does not exceed Rs 100.
• RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has said that India’s GDP growth could be above 7% for 2022-23. He also said that there is a possibility that GDP growth for the last financial year could be higher.
• World:

• Russia’s prime minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a set of economic agreements with China on Wednesday during his trip to Beijing, despite criticism from the West of their relationship as the war in Ukraine dragged on.
• Australia has offered strong support for India’s permanent membership to UN Security Council. This was discussed during the bilateral engagement between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in Sydney on Wednesday
• Sports:
• Neeraj Chopra is the world No. 1 in the latest men’s javelin throw rankings issued by the World Athletics on Monday. He topped the charts with 1455 points, 22 ahead of Grenada’s Anderson Peters.He became India’s first ever track and field athlete to reach no. 1 in world rankings
• According to the latest ATP rankings, Carlos Alcaraz replaced Novak Djokovic at the No. 1 spot, earning the top seeding at the French Open. He is the youngest man to finish a year at No. 1 and the first Spaniard to do so since Rafael Nadal. He has won four titles this year, including the US Open
• Banking:
• The public sector banks are banks in which the government owns more than 51% of shareholdings. They have posted a combined net profit of Rs 1,04,649 crore in 2022-23, which is a record high and a remarkable turnaround from the previous years of losses
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the transfer of Rs 87,416 crore surplus to the government for the financial year 2022-23.The surge in surplus is attributed to increased income from the sale of foreign exchange reserves
• Bank of Baroda has introduced two new customer service channels - live chat over video and web for customers to interact with the bank
• SIIC and YES Bank have signed an MoU to support startups in India by providing them with financial and infrastructural assistance. This is part of YES Bank’s YES Head-Startup program, which is a full-service banking proposition for tech or tech-enabled startups
• YES BANK, a full-service commercial bank in India, has collaborated with Red Hat, the world’s leading provider of open source solutions, to use Azure Red Hat OpenShift to transform their mobile banking applications
• Important Days:
• World Turtle Day. It is a day to celebrate and protect turtles and tortoises and their disappearing habitats around the world. It was initiated by the non-profit American Tortoise Rescue organisation in the year 2000.The theme of World Turtle Day 2023 is “I Love Turtles”
• May 23 is the United Nations’ (UN) International Day to End Obstetric Fistula, It promotes action towards treating and preventing obstetric fistula, a condition that affects many girls and women in developing countries.The theme of the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula is “20 years on – progress but not enough! Act now to end fistula by 2030!”
• Endangered Species Day 2023 is a global day of action and celebration to raise awareness about the threats facing endangered animals and plants and the efforts to protect them. The theme of this year’s Endangered Species Day is Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act!
• Obituary:
• Kethu Viswanath Reddy was a prominent Telugu writer, novelist, essayist and Sahitya Akademi Awardee. He was known for his short stories and novels that depicted the rural transformation, culture and lifestyle of southern Andhra Pradesh. He died of a heart attack while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Ongole on May 22, 2023
• Awards:
• Georgi Gospodinov and Angela Rodel won the International Booker Prize on Tuesday for Time Shelter, a darkly comic novel about the dangerous appeal of nostalgia. It is the first book written in Bulgarian to win the prize

Questions:

Q.1 How much surplus did RBI transfer to the government for the financial year 2022-23?
a. Rs 30,307 crore
b. Rs 48,000 crore
c. Rs 87,416 crore
d. Rs 1,00,000 crore

Q.2 What is the theme of Endangered Species Day 2023?
a. Saving the Planet for Future Generations
b. Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act!
c. Protecting Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
d. Fighting Climate Change and Wildlife Crime