Daily Current Affairs 15th June, 2023

Daily Current Affairs 15 June 2023 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NOTE: To read complete Current Affairs, subscribe to our plan. All important news are not covered here.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

First Hindu-American summit held in US
A group of Indian Americans organised the first ever Hindu American Summit for political engagement at the US Capitol Hill. 

• Leaders of the Hindu community from across the country gathered at the US Capitol for the summit, organised by Americans4Hindus and supported by 20 other organisations.
• During the summit, Indian-American Congressman Shri Thanedar announced plans to form a ‘Hindu Caucus’ in the US Congress that will bring like-minded lawmakers under one umbrella to ensure that there is no hate and bigotry against Hindus in the country.

BANKING & FINANCE

Ministry of Defence and Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance collaborate to provide job opportunities to veterans
Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance Company Limited (Kotak Life) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Directorate General Resettlement (DGR), an Inter Service organization functioning directly under the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (Ministry of Defense) to offer employment opportunities to Ex-Servicemen of the Defence Services. 

• As per the MoU, Kotak Life will recruit Ex-Servicemen for various roles in the company and its affiliates by offering jobs across multiple distribution channels.
• This initiative aligns with Kotak Life’s recruitment strategy to foster diversity and tap into the immense potential of the disciplined, hardworking, and resilient individuals who have dedicated their lives to serving and protecting our nation.

Education loans register 17% growth in FY23
For the first time in five years, growth in education loans not only turned positive but also registered a 17 per cent surge in the last financial year ended March, 2023.

• According to Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) data, the outstanding portfolio under education loans grew 17 per cent at ₹96,847 crore in the year 2022-23 as against ₹82,723 crore in the previous year.
• This is significant because the growth in education loans was flat during 2021-22 and it was negative for the three years prior to it. The education loans were down by 3 per cent, 3.3 per cent, and 2.5 per cent during FY21, FY20, and FY19, respectively.

Fino Payments Bank partners with Hubble to introduce India’s first spending account
Fino Payments Bank’s partnership with Hubble marks the introduction of India’s first spending account, designed to enhance financial management and savings for customers.

• Fino Payments Bank has announced its collaboration with Sequoia Capital-backed fintech Hubble to launch India’s first spending account.
• The bank, in a statement, said customers can park their funds, spend (on categories such as food ordering, shopping, travel, entertainment etc.) and save up to 10 per cent on all purchases made from the account.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

India’s Inflation rate declines to a 2-Year low in May 2023
Following its downward trajectory, India’s Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation in May 2023 hit a 3-year low of (-) 3.48 per cent, as against (-) 0.92 per cent in April 2023, according to the official data released.

• “The annual rate of inflation based on all India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) number is (-) 3.48 per cent (Provisional) for the month of May 2023 (over May, 2022) against (-) 0.92 per cent recorded in April 2023,” the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement.
• It also said that the decline in the rate of inflation in May 2023 is primarily contributed by the fall in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, food products, textiles, non-food articles, crude petroleum & natural gas, and chemical & chemical products.

Google faces charges from EU for engaging in anti-competitive adtech practices
Alphabet’s Google may have to sell part of its lucrative adtech business to address concerns about anti-competitive practices, EU regulators said, threatening the company with its harshest regulatory penalty to date.

• The European Commission set out its charges in a statement of objections to Google two years after opening an investigation into behaviours such as favouring its own advertising services, which could also lead to a fine of as much as 10% of Google’s annual global turnover.

New Zealand slips into recession as GDP falls 0.1% in March Quarter
New Zealand’s economy has slipped into a recession, as the first-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell by 0.1 percent. This decline follows a revised 0.7 percent drop in GDP in the fourth quarter of 2022, meeting the technical definition of a recession.

• The economy took a severe hit due to measures taken by the country’s central bank to tame inflation, which sent the interest rate soaring to a 14-year high. This had a negative impact on the country’s manufacturing sector. Furthermore, farm production in the country also fell drastically due to bad weather, exacerbating the country’s economic woes.

Indian Oil Corp partners with LanzaJet to establish Aviation Fuel Plant in Haryana
Indian Oil Corp will set up an 80,000 tonnes sustainable aviation fuel plant with LanzaJet in Haryana, the refiner’s chairman said.

• The company is looking at an investment of about 23 billion rupees ($280.1 million), S.M. Vaidya said on the sidelines of an industry event in New Delhi.
• The refiner is also running a pilot project for green fuel in association with Praj Industries in the western state of Maharashtra.

AWARDS

RBI chief Shaktikanta Das named ‘Governor Of The Year’ at London’s Central Banking Awards
The chief of the Reserve Bank of India, Shaktikanta Das was honoured with the title of ‘Governor of the Year’ for 2023 by Central Banking in London. Central Banking is an international economic research journal.

• The award recognised his role as the RBI chief in managing inflation and skilfully handling India’s banking system during crises like COVID pandemic and global turmoils.
• The RBI governor is behind critical reforms, and has ensured smooth management of world-leading payments innovation and led India through difficult times, said the organisers.

ENVIRONMENT 

Cyclone Biparjoy becomes cyclone with longest lifespan in Arabian Sea
The Biparjoy cyclone which is named after the Bengali word for ‘disaster’, is expected to make landfall.

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has stated that the cyclone is expected to make landfall near Jakhau port as a ‘very severe cyclonic storm’ with maximum wind speed reaching up to 150 kilometres per hour.
• As per the current IMD update, Cyclone Biparjoy is less than 200 kilometres from Gujarat coast.

Click here to read Daily Current Affairs