Daily Current Affairs 31st May, 2023

Daily Current Affairs 31 May 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.

NATIONAL NEWS

Maharashtra: CM Eknath Shinde announces that Ahmednagar to be renamed as ‘Ahilyadevi Nagar’
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has announced that Ahmednagar district will be renamed as ‘Ahilyadevi Nagar’ . He was speaking on the occasion of the 298th Birth Anniversary of Ahilyabai Holkar.

• Ahilyabai Holkar was born in Chaundi village of Ahmedanagar district on 31st May 1725. Various leaders were demanding to change the name of the district to the name of Ahilyabai Holkar.

Maharashtra farmers to get Rs 6,000 per annum under new scheme approved by state cabinet
Maharashtra government has approved a new financial scheme under which more than one crore farmers in the state will be paid 6,000 rupees annually. The scheme, Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Yojana, was approved at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in Mumbai.

• Maharashtra Cabinet also approved implementation of ‘Gender Inclusive Tourism Policy called ‘Aai’ to empower women in the tourism sector. Similarly, approval was also given to start women’s bike-taxi services at some tourist spots in the State.

BANKING & FINANCE

Yes Bank unveils new brand logo

Yes Bank unveiled its new and refreshed brand logo. The logo is designed to resonate with consumer needs by providing them utmost experience, a company statement said.

• Yes Bank launched a vibrant new logo that carries forward the visual of the bank and builds on it. The tick has been transformed into a soaring bird, which represents the Bank’s current position of ‘soaring’, said the company. The blue and red colours have got a makeover with an electric tone, representing high energy.
• In addition, Yes Bank is all set to roll out an integrated campaign with the tagline – ‘Life Ko Banao Rich’ – which represents the bank’s core focus of being a complete solution provider for every financial matter.

Small Savings Schemes: Income proof needed if investment exceeds Rs 10 lakh
The government has now made it mandatory for those investing more than Rs 10 lakh in post office schemes such as Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate (NSC), Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) etc. to provide proof of source of funds.

• It has also brought all investments in post office schemes under stricter KYC/PMLA compliance rules to prevent misuse for terrorist financing/money laundering activities.
• The Department of Posts has directed post office officials to collect income proofs from certain categories of small savings schemes’ investors.

Equitas SFB partners with IBM for Digital Banking Platform
Equitas Small Finance Bank has entered into a partnership with IBM Consulting to develop and construct a digital banking platform. 

• This collaboration aims to enhance Equitas’ digital product offerings and service capabilities, as the bank adapts its business for the digital-first generation.
• This collaboration aims to enhance Equitas’ digital product offerings and service capabilities, as the bank adapts its business for the digital-first generation. The joint effort will focus on providing a secure and streamlined banking experience to customers.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

JP Morgan raises India’s FY24 GDP forecast to 5.5%
JP Morgan raised its forecast for India’s annual growth by 50 basis points to 5.5% for fiscal 2024, but warned that a global economic slowdown and tighter financial conditions will still drag the economy.

• The change comes after growth in India’s gross domestic product (GDP) accelerated to 6.1% in the March quarter, government data showed, boosted by government and private capital spending even as private consumption remained sluggish.

APPOINTMENTS

Mukesh Ambani joins advisory committee to COP28 President
Reliance Industries’ Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani has been appointed as a member of the Advisory Committee to the President of the 28th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

• Besides Sunita Narain, Director General, Centre for Science and Environment, Ambani is the only Indian who has been appointed on the Advisory Committee to the President of COP28.
• The COP28 UAE Advisory Committee brings together climate experts from six continents. The 31 members of the Committee, who represent policy, industry, energy, finance, civil society, youth, and humanitarian and 65 percent of whom are from the Global South, will provide guidance and counsel to the COP Presidency in the run-up to COP28 and beyond.

Sachin Tendulkar named ‘Smile Ambassador’ for oral hygiene campaign in Maharashtra
The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government named cricket great Sachin Tendulkar as Maharashtra’s ‘Smile Ambassador’ under the state’s ‘Swachh Mukh Abhiyan’ to spread awareness about oral health and hygiene across the state.

• The batting legend will be the face of the state medical education and drug department’s Swachh Mukh Abhiyan (SMA) and has offered his association free of cost, and for the entire duration the government wishes to run the programme.

Angshumali Rastogi named India’s representative to International Civil Aviation Organization
Senior bureaucrat Angshumali Rastogi was appointed India’s representative to the council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal, Canada, according to a Personnel Ministry order.

• Rastogi, a 1995 batch officer of the Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers (IRSME), has been appointed in place of Shefali Juneja for three years.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved 12 appointments for filling up various foreign posts, the order said.

Other appointments:

• Hemang Jani, Secretary of the Capacity Building Commission, has been named Senior Adviser to the Executive Director, World Bank, Washington DC, for three years.
• Sai Venkata Ramana Anil Das will be an adviser to the Executive Director, World Bank, Washington DC, in place of Suresh Yadav, for three years.
• Anand Singh, a 2000 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, will be Senior Adviser to the Executive Director, International Monetary Fund, Washington DC.
• Jujjavarapu Balaji, a 2001 batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, has been appointed to the post of Minister (Agriculture), Embassy of India, Rome.
• Balaji’s batchmate from Manipur, Nidhi Mani Tripathi will be Minister (Economic), High Commission of India, London. Tripathi has been appointed for a tenure of three years.
• Ponnuraj V, a Karnataka cadre IAS officer of the 2000 batch, will be a senior adviser to the executive director of the Asian Development Bank, Manila.
• Debjani Chakrabarti, a 2002 batch Odisha cadre IAS officer, has been appointed as Minister (Economic & Commercial), Embassy of India, Tokyo for three years.
• Venkatesh Palani Samy, Agricultural Research Service (2007), will be the adviser (Agriculture and Marine Products), Embassy of India, Brussels. IAS officer Nidhi Srivastava has been appointed as First Secretary (Legal), Permanent Mission of India (PMI), World Trade Organization, Geneva for a tenure of three years, the order said.
• Vivek Chaudhary will be Counsellor (Economic), Economic Wing, Embassy of India, Washington DC, and Bhavesh R Trivedi has been appointed Director, SAARC Secretariat, Kathmand .

AWARDS

Goan writer Damodar Mauzo gets Jnanpith Award
Damodar Mauzo, a Goan short story writer, novelist, critic, and scriptwriter in Konkani, has been awarded the 57th Jnanpith Award, India’s highest literary honor.

• Mauzo is the second Goan to receive the award, after Ravindra Kelekar in 2008. Mauzo’s 25 books have been published in Konkani and one in English.
• Many of his books have also been translated in different languages. Mauzo’s famous novel ‘Karmelin’ received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983.

Click here to read Daily Current Affairs