Current Affairs One-Liner : 4th & 5th June 2023

• National:
• 3rd Employment Working Group (EWG) meeting under the G20 Indian Presidency successfully concluded in Geneva. The three-day meeting took place from May 31st to June 2nd, 2023, at the International Labour Organization (ILO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland
• The Sapta Shakti Command of the Indian Army conducted exercise ‘Sudarshan Shakti 2023’ along the western borders in Rajasthan and Punjab from May 22 to 25

• According to the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings 2023, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has emerged as India’s highest-placed university and is ranked at the 52nd rank globally out of 1,591 universities from 112 countries/regions
• IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) has recently released a report titled ‘Low-cost finance for energy transition’. The report was prepared by IRENA in close collaboration with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) of India and aims to facilitate the discussion of this vital aspect of the transition under India’s G20 Presidency
• UN Security Council has extended the United Nations political mission for six months as conflicts worsen in Sudan. In a short resolution, the Council unanimously agreed to extend until the 3rd of December, 2023 the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS
• The Tata Group has signed an agreement with the Gujarat state government to set up a giga-factory for manufacturing lithium-ion cells in Gujarat .
• Maharashtra state government has launched a new portal called Maha Labharthi for effective implementation of its Shasan Aplya Dari (government at your doorstep) scheme
• India’s Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya has urged G-20 countries to join the proposed Global Vaccine Research Collaborative to tackle inequity
• The Director General of Hydrocarbons has entrusted the Assam-headquartered Oil India Limited (OIL) with the responsibility of prospecting for oil and gas in “unapprised areas” in the northeastern, southern, central, and northern parts of India
• Malviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT) in Jaipur has been identified as the National Centre for Earthquake Safety of Dams, the first centre of its kind in the country
• The Central Government of India has banned fourteen fixed-dose combination (FDC) medicines through a gazette notification issued over the weekend. These medicines were found to lack therapeutic relevance and may involve risk to human beings
• The Railway Board has recommended a CBI investigation into the Odisha train accident in which 275 people lost their lives. The Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced this on Sunday
• A door-step medicine delivery project has been initiated by the Kodiyathur panchayat for patients suffering from various renal diseases. The medicines will be distributed free of cost to all the enrolled patients
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a bilateral meeting with US Defence Secretary Lloyd J Austin III on June 05. This is the US Secretary of Defence’s second visit to India
• The national telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has directed the telecommunication service providers or telcos to develop a unified digital platform to seek, maintain and revoke customers’ consent for receiving promotional calls and SMSes
• Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has announced relaxations for victims of the train accident in Balasore, Odisha. The corporation has relaxed many rules and has also issued a helpline number (022-68276827) for information
• World:
• Indonesia’s Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto recently proposed a peace plan to end the war between Russia and Ukraine at the Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit
• President Droupadi Murmu attended a cultural festival in Suriname to mark 150 years of the arrival of Indians to Suriname. She was accompanied by her Surinamese counterpart Chandrikapersad Santokhi
• Saudi Arabia has announced that it will cut oil production by one million barrels per day in July. The announcement came after a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna
• Sports:
• India started their 2023 Asian Under 20 Athletics Championships campaign by winning three medals, including two gold, on the opening day in Yecheon, South Korea
• Indian shooters Gautami Bhanot and Abhinav Shaw teamed up in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team event to give India their second gold of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Junior in Suhl, Germany
• Indian athlete Amlan Borgohain won gold medals in both the men’s 100m and 200m races at the Flanders Cup 2023 athletics meet in Merksem, Belgium. In the men’s 100m event, Borgohain clocked 10.70s to emerge as the fastest man of the meet
• India defeated Great Britain 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out to earn a bonus point after both sides were locked at 4-4 at the end of the regulation time in a high-scoring second leg FIH Pro League match
• Indian wrestler Manisha Bhanwala won all four matches to claim the women’s 65kg gold medal at the Ranking series wrestling event in Kyrgyzstan. She competed in the nordic round system and remained unbeaten in her four matches
• Indian badminton player Lakshya Sen lost to Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the semi-finals of the Thailand Open 2023. The match was played at the Indoor Stadium Huamark.
• India’s Sainyam claimed the gold medal in the women’s 10m air pistol competition at the ISSF Junior World Cup. She shot 238 in the eight-women final to finish on top of the podium
• Banking:
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has released guidelines for transactions in corporate bonds through Request for Quote (RFQ) platform by stock brokers. The aim is to increase liquidity on the platform
• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has identified SBI Life Insurance Company (SBI Life) as the acquirer-insurer of the life insurance business of Sahara India Life Insurance Company (SILIC)
• Karbon Card has launched a mobile-based expense management card called Card++ for businesses and individuals. It offers its users uncapped cashback of up to 1%
• To curb volatility in small-cap counters, leading stock exchanges BSE and NSE have put in place an enhanced surveillance mechanism for companies that have a market cap of less than Rs 500 crore
• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has allowed acceptance of e-bank guarantee and insurance surety bonds as ‘bid security’ and ‘performance security’ in standard documents of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC), hybrid annuity model (HAM) and BOT (Toll) projects
• RBL Bank has introduced a new fixed deposit scheme called ACE Fixed Deposit. The bank is offering a 20 bps higher rate of interest over and above the regular callable deposits (Fixed Deposits that allow premature withdrawal), with senior citizens and super senior citizens receiving 50 bps and 75 bps higher interest rates, respectively
• Important Days:
• The United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression is observed on June 4 each year. The purpose of the day is to acknowledge the pain suffered by children throughout the world who are the victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse
• World Environment Day is observed annually on June 5th to raise awareness about environmental protection and sustainability. The theme for World Environment Day 2023 is “Beat Plastic Pollution”
• World Bicycle Day is celebrated every year on June 31. It was established by the United Nations General Assembly on June 3, 2018.The theme for World Bicycle Day 2023 is “Riding Together for a Sustainable Future”
• Appointment:
• Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been sworn in for a new term as Turkey’s president. He won 52.2% support in a May 28 runoff vote. This will be his third term as president.
• Obituary:
• Princess Mele Siu’ilikutapu of the Kingdom of Tonga has passed away at the age of 75 . She was a cousin of King Tupou VI and the eldest daughter of the late Prince Fatafehi Tu’ipelehake and Princess Melenaite.

Questions:

Q.1 When is the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression observed?
a) June 4
b) July 4
c) August 4
d) September 4

Q.2 What is the theme for World Environment Day 2023?
a) Beat Air Pollution
b) Beat Plastic Pollution
c) Beat Water Pollution
d) Beat Soil Pollution