06th-07h April, 2023

1. India and Romania have signed the Defense Cooperation Agreement to set up and expand Military Cooperation between both countries.
2. Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has signed a deal to partner with Amazon India to stream TV shows and movies produced by government-run studios.
3. Indian Space Research Organisation has successfully tested the throttling of Vikas, its workhorse launch-vehicle engine.
4. Kerala has introduced the first solar-powered tourist vessel named ‘Sooryamshu’ to boost the state tourism.
5. India Grid Trust (Power infrastructure investment company) has commissioned its first battery energy storage system (BESS) project coupled with solar panels at its Dhule sub-station in Maharashtra.
6. Union Cabinet has approved the signing of a tripartite agreement with the German development bank, KfW, for securing a loan for the Green Energy Corridor (GEC) project being implemented by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).
7. Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT Madras) has developed electronic kits for the students of the government schools of Tamil Nadu residing in rural areas to increase their interest in STEM.
8. Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation has developed a mechanism called Tamil Nadu Regional Aerial Connectivity through Helicopters (TN REACH).
9. NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has made its 49th flight, which broke two different records–that for the highest altitude and the highest speed–achieved by any self-propelled aircraft outside of Earth.
10. China has launched its Tianlong-2 rocket into orbit.
11. World Trade Organization has released the “Global Trade Outlook 2023” report.
12. Airports Council International has released the rankings of the world’s busiest airports for passengers in 2022.
13. Razorpay has partnered with UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) to process payments for online Aadhaar services.
14. According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes’ data, the net direct tax collections rose by 17.63% to Rs 16.61 lakh crore in 2022-23, exceeding the Revised Estimates of Rs 16.5 lakh crore.
15. South Indian Bank Ltd. has tied up with Cholamandalam MS General Insurance to offer the latter’s health and general insurance products to the bank’s customers.
16. Fairfax-backed non-banking financial company (NBFC), IIFL Finance (IIFL) has secured $100 million in long-term funding, jointly, from Export Development Canada (EDC) and Deutsche Bank (German).
17. RBI has released its bi-monthly policy of April 2023.
18. According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, bank credit has increased by 15% year-on-year (YoY) in 2022-23 (FY23), against 9.6% YoY in 2021-22 (FY22).
19. India has been elected to the UN Statistical Commission by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for a four-year term.
20. Ministry of Corporate Affairs has nominated G Mahalingam and Deepak Mohanty with effect from October 15, 2022, to the board of IL&FS Ltd.
21. April 1-7 – Prevention of Blindness Week
22. April 6 – International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (10th edition); Theme – “Scoring for People and the Planet”
23. International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Rwandan Genocide
24. Tripura has been awarded as the best performing state among north-eastern states in the implementation of e-procurement.
25. Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has given ‘Life Membership’ to World Cup winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

National News

1. India and Romania have signed the Defense Cooperation Agreement to set up and expand Military Cooperation between both countries.
   • Purpose – to exchange expertise and knowledge on subjects of mutual interest including co-development and co-production of military hardware.
2. Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has signed a deal to partner with Amazon India to stream TV shows and movies produced by government-run studios.
3. Indian Space Research Organisation has successfully tested the throttling of Vikas, its workhorse launch-vehicle engine.

State News

1. Kerala has introduced the first solar-powered tourist vessel named ‘Sooryamshu’ to boost the state tourism.
   • The vessel can accommodate up to 100 passengers at a time and has now begun operations in the waters of Ernakulam.
2. India Grid Trust (Power infrastructure investment company) has commissioned its first battery energy storage system (BESS) project coupled with solar panels at its Dhule sub-station in
3. Union Cabinet has approved the signing of a tripartite agreement with the German development bank, KfW, for securing a loan for the Green Energy Corridor (GEC) project being implemented by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).
   • The tripartite agreement will be signed by the State government, KSEB and KfW.
   • At the current rates, the project will be eligible for a KfW loan of €102.11 million (approximately ₹916 crore) at 3% to 4% interest. A sum of ₹138.71 crore will be available as a Central government grant.
4. Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT Madras) has developed electronic kits for the students of the government schools of Tamil Nadu residing in rural areas to increase their interest in STEM.
   • Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu MK Stalin inaugurated the initiative that will connect 1 Lakh government school students studying in rural locations with electronic science.
   • Tamil Nadu has also launched ‘Thiranari Thervu Thittam’ Under this initiative, 1,000 students (500 male and 500 female) from Class 10 will be selected for providing them guidance by connecting them to higher education institutions.
   • The state govt has also launched the ‘Anaivarukkum IITM’ initiative to encourage government school students to study at IIT-Madras.
5. Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation has developed a mechanism called Tamil Nadu Regional Aerial Connectivity through Helicopters (TN REACH).
   • Purpose – to utilize over 80 unused helipads across the state to provide intercity and town connectivity

International News

1. NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has made its 49th flight, which broke two different records–that for the highest altitude and the highest speed–achieved by any self-propelled aircraft outside of Earth.
   • Ingenuity has been flying on the Mars’ surface for over two years now, and it has covered over 11 kilometres in that time.
2. China has launched its Tianlong-2 rocket into orbit.

Reports and Indices

1. World Trade Organization has released the “Global Trade Outlook 2023” report.
   • As per the report, the world merchandise trade volume is projected to grow 1.7% in 2023 before picking up to 3.2% in 2024.
   • Trade volume growth in 2022 was slower than expected at 2.7% following a fourth quarter slump, but still stronger than worst case scenarios considered at the start of the war in Ukraine.
   • The value of world merchandise trade rose 12% to US $ 25.3 trillion in 2022, inflated in part by high global commodity prices.
   • The value of world commercial services trade increased 15% in 2022 to US$ 6.8 trillion. Digitally delivered services exports were worth US$ 3.82 trillion in the same year.
2. Airports Council International has released the rankings of the world’s busiest airports for passengers in 2022.
   • Number 1 – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
   • India – Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi at 9th rank

Banking and Economy

1. Razorpay has partnered with UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) to process payments for online Aadhaar services.
2. According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes’ data, the net direct tax collections rose by 63% to Rs 16.61 lakh crore in 2022-23, exceeding the Revised Estimates of Rs 16.5 lakh crore.
3. South Indian Bank Ltd. has tied up with Cholamandalam MS General Insurance to offer the latter’s health and general insurance products to the bank’s customers.
4. Fairfax-backed non-banking financial company (NBFC), IIFL Finance (IIFL) has secured $100 million in long-term funding, jointly, from Export Development Canada (EDC) and Deutsche Bank (German).
   • It secured $50 million from EDC and $50 million from Deutsche Bank, respectively.
5. RBI has released its bi-monthly policy of April 2023.
   • RBI will launch a secured web-based centralised portal named ‘PRAVAAH’ (Platform for Regulatory Application, Validation and AutHorisation) to simplify and streamline application processes.
   • The portal will show time limits for deciding on the applications/approvals sought. This measure will bring greater efficiencies into regulatory processes and facilitate ease of doing business for the regulated entities of RBI.

6. According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, bank credit has increased by 15% year-on-year (YoY) in 2022-23 (FY23), against 9.6% YoY in 2021-22 (FY22).
   • Bank deposits expanded 9.58% YoY in FY23, against 8.9% YoY growth seen in the previous financial year (FY22).

Appointments

1. India has been elected to the UN Statistical Commission by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for a four-year term.
   • South Korea was another country to win the other seat in the Asia Pacific States category.
   • India was also elected on two other important subsidiary bodies — the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Programme Coordinating Board of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS.

2. Ministry of Corporate Affairs has nominated G Mahalingam and Deepak Mohanty with effect from October 15, 2022, to the board of IL&FS Ltd.
   • Non-executive chairman of IL&FS – CS Rajan
   • Managing Director – Nand Kishore

Important Days

1. April 1-7 – Prevention of Blindness Week
2. April 6 – International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (10th edition); Theme – “Scoring for People and the Planet”
3. April 7 –
   • International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Rwandan Genocide
   • World Health Day (75th edition); Theme – Health for All

Awards

1. Tripura has been awarded as the best performing state among north-eastern states in the implementation of e-procurement.
   • In this context, Tripura has been rewarded for completing the work within a specified time under the power department’s Saubhagya Yojana.
2. Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has given ‘Life Membership’ to World Cup winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
   • The club has also honoured Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, former women’s national captain Mithali Raj and the legendary Jhulan Goswami.
   • A total of 19 new honorary life members who represented eight Test-playing countries were honoured.

Start Quiz of 06th-07th april 2023 on Mobile

Start Quiz of 06th-07th april 2023 on Desktop