Daily Current Affairs 1 August for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.
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NATIONAL NEWS
Project Tiger merges with Project Elephant
After more than a decade the idea was first floated, the Narendra Modi government last month merged the two flagship conservation programmes of Project Tiger and Project Elephant.
- The two conservation programmes have been bundled into a division under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) that would be known as Project Tiger and Elephant Division. This would put one officer in charge of conservation efforts for both the animals.
- In the past 15 years, tigers in India have more than tripled. In 2008, there were just 1,441 tigers in India. In 2023, India has three-fourth of the world’s tiger population with 3,682 stripped felines.
Bengaluru to host World Coffee Congress 2023 from Sept 25
India will host the 5th World Coffee Conference (WCC) 2023 in Bengaluru from September 25-28. The event, to be held at the iconic Bengaluru Palace, is expected to help showcase the Indian coffees to the global buyers, stakeholders said.
- At a preview ceremony of WCC 2023 where its logo was unveiled, Coffee Board of India CEO and Secretary K G Jagadeesha announced that tennis player Rohan Bopanna would be the brand ambassador of the event. ICO is organising the event in collaboration with the Coffee Board of India.
India, Moldova agree to sign MoU for cooperation in agriculture
India and eastern European country Moldova have agreed to explore signing of an MoU for cooperation in the agriculture sector.
- Both ministers agreed to sign an MoU to enhance bilateral trade in agricultural commodities and exchange knowledge and tech.
- A meeting between Shobha Karandlaje, Minister of State for Agriculture, and Vladimir Bolea, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture & Food Industries of Moldova, was held in New Delhi.
TRAI, C-DoT sign MoU to establish mechanism of cooperation in telecommunications
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, TRAI, and Centre for Development of Telematics have signed MoU to establish mechanism of technical and institutional cooperation in telecommunications.
- this collaboration will open new horizons in policy research, regulatory studies, and knowledge dissemination of upcoming technologies in the telecom and broadcasting sectors. He said, it will help India achieve policy-driven innovation.
Govt approves to import 470 aircraft to Air India Limited and 500 to Indigo
The government has granted in principle approval to import 470 aircraft to Air India Limited and 500 aircraft to Interglobe Aviation Limited (Indigo). This information was given by the Minister of State for Civil Aviation General (Dr.) V. K. Singh in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
- He said the aircraft is proposed to be imported by 2035. On the question of parking space, the minister said the airline operators have been advised by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to share their induction plan with airport operators for ensuring availability of parking slots.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
BANKING & FINANCE
Digital payments grew significantly at 13.24% in FY23, shows RBI index
Digital payments grew significantly in FY23, data from a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) index for digitisation of payments showed. The Reserve Bank of India – Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI) showed that the index for March 2023 stood at 395.58 as against 377.46 for September 2022, which was announced on January 31 – a growth of 13.24 per cent.
- The RBI-DPI index has increased across all parameters driven by significant growth in payment infrastructure and payment performance across the country over the period. The base index for March 2018 was 100, which continued to continuously increase from thereon.
- Meanwhile, a recent PwC India report stated that Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions are expected to reach 1 billion transactions per day by 2026-27. UPI has been instrumental in driving digital payments in India, and accounts for approximately 75 per cent of the total transaction volume in the retail segment during the period of 2022-23.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Worldcoin: Sam Altman launches eyeball scanning crypto coin
A new cryptocurrency project called WorldCoin, from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has claimed over 2 million sign-ups across the world around a week after its official launch. OpenAI is the company behind the AI chatbot ChatGPT.
- The project seeks to find a solution for “distinguishing humans from AI online” by verifying users’ identities by scanning their eyes. A cryptocurrency, also named Worldcoin, and a payments app also form crucial parts of the project.
- Worldcoin deploys a small device, christened the Orb, to scan people’s eyeballs to create a unique digital identity. That identity, or World ID, grants its holder “proof of personhood” in the Worldcoin jargon. The eye-scanning Orb provides users with a unique identity to verify they are real humans and not a bot.
SPORTS
Verstappen wins Belgian GP 2023 for 8th straight win
Formula One leader Max Verstappen raced from sixth on the grid to a crushing eighth win in a row with Sergio Perez a distant second to seal the Belgian Grand Prix one-two for rampant Red Bull.
- Red Bull’s 13th consecutive victory made the team the first in the sport’s 73-year history to win the opening 12 races of a season, one more than McLaren managed in 1988 with Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.
England pacer Stuart Broad announces retirement after the Ashes
Former England captain Nasser Hussain backed Stuart Broad’s decision to retire from cricket while on top of his game and said the call was perfectly timed from the pacer.
- Broad announced his retirement from Test cricket on the third day of the fifth and final Test against Australia in the Ashes series of 2023. The announcement came as a shock to many, marking the end of an illustrious career for the 37-year-old cricketer.
- Broad had been a formidable force in the cricketing world, having played in 166 Tests and taken over 600 wickets, making him the second-highest wicket-taker for England after James Anderson.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
ISRO injects Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft into translunar orbit
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has injected the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft into the translunar orbit.
- The national space agency said that the Chandrayaan-3 has completed its orbits around the earth and is heading towards the moon. It said next stop will be the moon.
- Prior to this, the spacecraft’s orbit was systematically raised in five stages following its launch on July 14 as part of the Chandrayaan-3 mission to the Moon. ISRO said it will attempt soft landing of the lander on the lunar surface on August 23.