Current Affairs Lecture Notes

Introduction

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Important Current Affairs (April)

ILO Report on Climate Impact

• Report Title: Ensuring safety and health at work in changing climate (April).
• Key Findings:
  • A: 22.85 million occupational injuries, 8970 deaths due to excessive heat.
  • B: 26.2 million with chronic kidney disease due to heat exposure (2020).
  • C: 1.6 billion workers exposed to UV radiation (not cardiovascular, but skin cancer).

Neobanks and PPI Approvals

• Revolut India received RBI approval for issuing PPI’s (payment instruments).
• Neobanks: Banks without physical branches.

Loris World Sports Award 2024

• Winners:
  • Novak Djokovic: Sportsman of the Year.
  • Aitana Bonmati: Sportswoman of the Year.
  • Spain's Women’s Football Team: Team of the Year.

World Energy Leadership Award 2024

• Winners:
  • Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al-Zabair (UAE): Global Energy Transition Impact Award.
  • Veklav Smild (Canada): Energy Systems Luminary Award.
  • Daniel Nicole Dunlop (Scotland): Visionary Leadership Award.

NASA's Dragonfly Mission

• Mission to Titan (largest moon of Saturn) costing $3.35 billion.
• Launch planned for July 2028, arrival in 2034.

MOU Between India and Cambodia

• Department of Administrative Reforms signed an MOU with Cambodia for HR development.

AU Small Finance Bank Launches ATM Insurance

• ATM Insurance introduced along with two credit cards.

IndusInd Bank and CBDC Pilot

• First bank to execute RBI’s pilot for farmer compensation using CBDC.
• Pilot started with 50 farmers in Maharashtra.

DRDO Developments

• Lightest Bulletproof Jacket developed for high-level threats.
• Location: Kanpur, UP.

National Panchayati Raj Day

• Observed on April 24.
• Established due to the 73rd Amendment Act of 1992.

SJVN Limited's Green Hydrogen Project

• India’s first multi-purpose green hydrogen project inaugurated in Himachal Pradesh.

International Financial Services Centre MOU

• Signed with Capital Markets Authority of Kuwait for technology sharing.

RBI's Asset Reconstruction Companies Directions

• Minimum net worth requirements set for ERCs.

Kotak Mahindra & Bank of Baroda Restrictions

• RBI restrictions on new customer onboarding for Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Appointments

• Amitabh Singh Chaudhary: MD, CEO of Axis Bank.
• Geeta Sabrawal: UN Resident Coordinator in Indonesia.

Rocket Lab Launches NASA & South Korea's Satellites

• Launched NASA's ACS-3 and South Korea's NEONSET.

World Malaria Day

• Observed on April 25 with the theme "Accelerating the fight against malaria."

NABARD & Digital Agri Lending

• MOU with RBI to fast track digital agricultural lending.

New Companies Getting Navratna Status

• IREDA and HUDCO received Navratna status.

ISRO Satellite Imagery Findings

• 676 glacial lakes expanded since 1984 due to climate change.

Small Finance Bank Conversion Criteria

• Minimum net worth required for conversion into a universal bank: 1000 crore rupees.

ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 Brand Ambassadors

• Yuvraj Singh appointed as ambassador; hosted by the USA and West Indies.

New Book Release

• The Winner's Mindset by Shane Watson, published by Harper Collins.

World Energy Congress 2024

• Hosted in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

RBI's Foreign Portfolio Investors Limit

• Remains unchanged at 6% for FY25.

Delhi Airport Ranking

• Ranked 10th in the top 10 busiest airports worldwide.

RBI's Key Fact Statements Mandate

• Effective from October 1, 2024 for new retail and MSME borrowers.

International Partnerships

• MOU signed between Bulgaria's National Audit Office and CAG of India.

New Appointments in Indian Defense

• Dinesh Kumar Tripathi: 26th Chief of Naval Staff.
• Naleen Prabhat: DG of NSG.

BrahMos Delivery

• First batch delivered to the Philippines.

Trends in World Military Expenditure 2023 Report

• Global military expenditure reached $2,443 billion.

Asia-Pacific Banks Rankings

• ICICI Bank debuts, SBI ranked 20th.

CIDC Vishwakarma Awards 2024 Winner

• Purvankara Limited awarded for social development.

Candidates in Chess Federation

• D Gukesh won in the open category against Hikaru Nakamura.

New Book by Sridharan Pillai

• Heavenly Islands of Goa released.

Zimbabwe's New Currency

• Launched a gold-backed currency (ZIP).

Slovak Republic Presidential Election

• Peter Pellegrini won.

Bilkis Mir Jury Member Appointment

• First Indian woman jury member at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

SpaceX Bandwagon-1 Mission

• Launched from Florida, USA, carrying 11 satellites.

F1 Japanese Grand Prix Winner

• Max Verstappen won.

Sitwe Port Operations

• India Ports Global Limited to operate Sitwe Port in Myanmar.

Global Unicorn Index 2024

• India ranks 3rd with 67 unicorns.

UN Women Status of Women Chair

• Saudi Arabia to chair 69th session in 2025.

Finance Commission Member

• Manoj Panda appointed a member.

India’s Youth Employment Report

• Youth accounts for 83% of unemployed workforce.

Turing Award 2023

• Avi Vigderson awarded for contributions in computing.

New Species Discoveries

• Pusatia champaranjirivin: Green linux spider discovered.

Indian Army's Acquisition

• Acquired IGLAS man-portable air defense systems from Russia.

Prime Minister of Republic of Ireland

• Simon Harris appointed.

Huron Global Rich List 2024

• Mukesh Ambani ranked 10th.

Global E-Waste Generation

• 62 million tons generated in 2022.

WHO's AI Initiative

• Launched SARA for digital health.

India's First Contactless Payment Wearable

• Launched by IndusInd Bank.

UN General Assembly on AI

• Resolution proposed by the USA.

Final Notes

• Review these current affairs regularly for better retention and understanding.