Current Affairs One-Liner : 31st May 2023

• National:

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has reconstituted its intermediary advisory committee. The panel will continue to be chaired by S Ravindran Jain, former executive director at SEBI

• 18th quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) bulletin for January-March 2023 (Q4FY23) released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), India’s urban unemployment rate (UR) in Current Weekly Status (CWS) terms for persons aged 15 years and above declined to 6.8% during Q4FY23 from 7.2% in Q3FY23
• According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) data, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India declined by 22% to $46 billion in FY23. This decline was due to lower inflows in computer hardware and software, and automobile industry
• Comptroller and Auditor General Girish Chandra Murmu was re-elected with overwhelming majority as the external auditor of the World Health Organisation (WHO) from 2024 to 2027. He currently has this position for a four year term and will serve till 2023
• The board of directors of ICICI Bank have approved the reappointment of Sandeep Batra as Executive Director for a further period of two years with effect from December 23, 2023, to December 22, 2025, subject to RBI approval
• China has successfully launched the Shenzhou-16 manned spaceship on Tuesday, sending three astronauts, including the first civilian to its space station combination for a five-month mission.
• Odisha Cabinet led by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved 18 proposals including the launch of a new housing scheme called ‘Mo Ghara’ (My House) on May 29th. The scheme aims to provide financial assistance to lower and lower-middle-income households in rural areas of Odisha under the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department
• Goa’s Raj Bhavan has introduced a book sponsoring scheme called “Nayi Pahal” to promote young writers from the state who desire to get their first literary work published.
• In a sudden change of plans just a month before the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, the Ministry of External Affairs announced that India will now Chair the summit in virtual format, not in-person, as planned before
• A fresh round of excavations at the site of Delhi’s Purana Qila (Old Fort) have uncovered evidence of the continuous history of the city since the pre-Mauryan era. The findings include shards of Painted Gray Ware pottery which are usually dated to around 1200 BC to 600 BC
• The Tele-Law programme under the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice achieved a new milestone with 40 Lakh beneficiaries across the country having been empowered with pre-litigation advice
• The window of applications under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme 2.0 for IT Hardware will open from June 1, 2023.
• Investment in the Indian capital markets through participatory notes (P-notes) has seen an upward trend in the past two months, with the number reaching Rs 95,911 crore in April-end, primarily driven by the country’s robust economic growth.
• World:
• Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched its 2023-27 country partnership strategy for India. The partnership will focus on deepening its engagement with the nation, while simultaneously supporting India’s drive for robust, climate-resilient, and inclusive growth
• A new Jupiter-sized exoplanet with the highest density of around 14 g/cm3 known till this date and mass 13 times that of Jupiter has been discovered by an international team of scientists led by Prof.
• China sent three astronauts to its Tiangong space station on Tuesday, putting a civilian into orbit for the first time as it pursues plans to send a crewed mission to the Moon by 2030.
• Sports:
• Indian chess player D. Gukesh stunned World champion Magnus Carlsen in a 97-move thriller in the Norway Chess blitz tournament on Monday. Gukesh, who turned 17, started with a loss to Fabiano Caruana, then beat Carlsen - his first over-the-board victory against the world’s strongest player - before suffering a hat-trick of losses to Aryan Tari, Wesley So and Alireza Firouzja
• Chennai Super Kings (CSK) clinched their fifth Indian Premier League (IPL) title after defeating Gujarat Titans in a last-ball thriller at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Thanks to this victory, they are now tied with Mumbai Indians as the most successful franchise in the history of the competition
• Jyothi Yarraji clinched the gold medal in the women’s 100m hurdles event at the T-Meeting 2023 athletics meet, in Tilburg, the Netherlands. She clocked 13.20s in the final to win the event at the category E World Ranking competition
• Important Days:
• International Everest Day is celebrated on May 29th every year to commemorate the first successful ascent of Mount Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa of Nepal in 1953
• May 28 is the International Day of Action for Women’s Health. For over 30 years, women’s rights advocates and allies in the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) movement worldwide have commemorated this day in diverse ways
• World Vape Day is celebrated annually on May 30th to raise awareness about vaping as a harm reduction tool for smokers . The event is celebrated globally with activities and events in many countries
• World No Tobacco Day is observed on May 31st every year.The theme for World No Tobacco Day 2023 is "We need food, not tobacco". The campaign aims to raise awareness about alternative crop production and marketing opportunities for tobacco farmers and encourage them to grow sustainable, nutritious crops
• Books:
• Political biography of N.T. Rama Rao (NTR) written by journalist, editor and writer Ramachandra Murthy Kondubhatla. The book traces NTR’s journey from a remote Andhra village to the forefront of the national stage via a thriving career in Telugu films. It uncovers the many facets of NTR’s life and his impact on not just Andhra but on national politics
• Obituary:
• Suresh Dhanorkar, also known as Balubhau Dhanorkar, who was the Congress’s lone Lok Sabha member from Chandrapur, Maharashtra passed away at Gurugram’s Medanta Hospital in Delhi-NCR on Tuesday, May 30, 20231. He was 47 years old and is survived by his wife Pratibha, an MLA, and two sons