Daily Current Affairs 11th & 12th June, 2023

Daily Current Affairs 11 & 12 June 2023 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

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BANKING & FINANCE

RBI notifies 4 key measures to strengthen 1,514 urban co-operative banks
Aiming to strengthen 1,514 urban co-operative banks, the Centre said the Reserve Bank has notified four key measures, including giving them two years more to meet the priority sector lending targets.

• The Ministry of Cooperation in a statement said that four important initiatives have been taken to strengthen 1,514 Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) in the country.

The ministry has listed the four measures notified by the RBI.

1. In order to expand their business, UCBs can now open new branches up to 10 per cent (maximum 5 branches) of the number of branches in the previous financial year without prior approval of RBI in their approved area of operation.
2. The RBI also notified a framework governing this aspect for all regulated entities including Urban Co-operative Banks.Now cooperative banks through board-approved policies may provide a process for technical write-off as well as a settlement with borrowers. This has brought cooperative banks to par with other commercial banks now.
3. The RBI has also decided to extend the timeline for UCBs to achieve PSL targets by two years up to March 31, 2026.The deadline of March 31, 2023, to achieve the PSL target of 60 per cent has now also been extended to March 31, 2024. The excess deposits, if any, after clearing the shortfall of PSL during Financial Year 2022-23 will also be refunded to UCB.
4. In order to meet the long pending demand of the cooperative sector for closer coordination and focused interaction, the RBI has recently notified a nodal officer as well.

Insurers Directed By IRDAI To Establish ABHA IDs For Policy Seekers
India’s insurance regulator has directed insurers to create Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) IDs, the 14-digit unique identifiers to be issued to all citizens, for both new insurance seekers and existing policyholders.

• The unique ID enables citizens to authenticate, access, and manage their health records digitally and facilitates hospital and doctor appointments, helping patients avoid long queues for registration at healthcare facilities.
• The ID is part of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) being implemented by the National Health Authority (NHA). While NHA has created 402.6 million ABHA IDs so far, the target is to cover all Indians.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

GAME and SIDBI launch “NBFC Growth Accelerator Program” to Ease Funding Woes of MSMEs
Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME) has received in-principal approval from SIDBI for designing and structuring a sustainable and scalable NBFC Growth Accelerator Program (NGAP), which will be the first of it’s kind in India.

• In the first phase, the program involves design of a comprehensive, actionable, granular report with the programme structure, piloting strategy, and implementation plan for NGAP by GAME.
• The report will also include criteria for evaluation and selection of around 20 NBFCs that are small in size but focussed on the MSE segment to be part of the pilot cohort.

SPORTS

Novak Djokovic won his 23rd Grand Slam title at French Open 2023
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic lifted the Roland Garros 2023 trophy after a scintillating 7-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over Norwegian Casper Rudd.

• With this win, the 36-year-old has now reached the tally of 23 Grand Slam titles, the most by any male and joint second-most by any tennis player (equalled Serena Williams) behind Margret Court’s record of 24 titles.

APPOINTMENTS

Amit Agrawal appointed UIDAI CEO, Subodh Kumar Singh named DG NTA
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has appointed senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers Amit Agrawal and Subodh Kumar Singh in new roles as part of a bureaucratic reshuffle.

• Agrawal’s new position is to serve as the CEO of the Unique Identification Authority in the rank and pay of additional secretary to the Government of India, as per personnel ministry order.
• Subodh Kumar Singh is appointed as the Director-general of the National Testing Agency (DG NTA).
• Subsequently, Singh’s position as the additional secretary in the Department of Food and Public Distribution was replaced by Richa Sharma, additional secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• Rashmi Chowdhary is now the secretary of the Central Information Commission.
• The ministry further reported, Shyam Jagannathan as the new Director-general (shipping) in the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.

IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers appointed as Chair-Elect Of IATA’s Board of Governors
Indigo has announced that its CEO, Pieter Elbers has been elected as the Chair-elect of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Board of Governors.

• Effective June 2024, he will succeed present Chair, Yvonne Manzi Makolo, the CEO of Rwandair.
• Pieter Elbers’ appointment comes at a significant time for the Indian aviation industry, which is experiencing unprecedented growth and development.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 

China unveils World’s Most Powerful Hypersonic Wind Tunnel for Advancing Aerospace Ambitions
China has recently completed the construction of the most powerful wind tunnel in the world, located in the mountainous Huairou district of northern Beijing.

• The wind tunnel, called JF-22, has a diameter of 4 metres (13 feet) and can generate incredibly high airflow speeds of up to 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) per second. This makes it capable of simulating hypersonic flight conditions up to Mach 30, which is 30 times the speed of sound.
• The tunnel will support research and development efforts for China’s space transport system and hypersonic aircraft, as well as for military purposes.

Sarbananda Sonowal Launches ‘SAGAR SAMRIDDHI’
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) and Ayush Shri Sarbananda Sonowal launched ‘SAGAR SAMRIDDHI’ – the online dredging monitoring system – in order to accelerate ‘Waste to Wealth’ initiative of the Ministry. Secretary of MoPSW Sudhansh Pant along with other senior officials of the Ministry, Major Ports and Organisations also attended this programme.

• This system has been developed by National Technology Centre for Ports, Waterways and Coasts (NTCPWC) the technological arm of MoPSW. The new technology brings in marked improvement against the old system of Draft & Loading Monitor (DLM) system.
• The system will bring in synergy among multiple input reports like daily dredging report, the pre and post dredging survey data before processing and producing real time dredging report.

ENVIRONMENT 

Kilauea Volcano Erupts On Hawaii’s Big Island
The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island erupted and lava flows are currently confined to the surrounding crater floor, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.

•  Kilauea last erupted in January, with activity stretching into March, the USGS says. The organization’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) detected a glow in Kilauea summit webcam images, indicating a new eruption.

IMPORTANT DAYS

INS Trishul celebrates Gandhi’s ‘Satyagraha’ in Durban
The Indian Navy’s frontline warship incident at Pietermaritzburg railway station when Mahatma Gandhi was evicted from a train, which led to his fight against racial oppression.

• The warship’s three-day visit to Durban is in continuation with the Navy’s celebration of 75 years of India’s independence and will also mark 30 years of the restoration of diplomatic relations between India and South Africa, the defence ministry said.
• INS Trishul will participate in a commemorative event at Pietermaritzburg railway station which would include paying floral tributes at the Gandhi Plinth, and a performance by the Indian Navy band.

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