28th May, 2024

1. Russia and Uzbekistan have signed an agreement to build Central Asia’s first nuclear power plant
2. The South African Reserve Bank (equivalent to the RBI in India) has imposed administrative sanctions and a penalty on the State Bank of India (SBI)
3. Goldman Sachs has raised its GDP growth forecast for India by 10 basis points (bps) to 6.7% for Calendar year (CY) 2024 from 6.6%.
4. Elon Musk owned, American aerospace company, SpaceX launched 1st batch of operational spy satellites built by it.
5. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully launched the first pair of small climate satellites.
6. AstroSat, India’s first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory, has made a significant discovery regarding the black hole binary source Swift J1727.8-1613.
7. India’s dal imports have reached a six-year high in the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24).
8. The Green Airports Recognition 2024 awards were announced by the Airports Council International (ACI) Asia-Pacific & Middle East.
9. World Menstrual Hygiene Day is observed on May 28.
10. The Malaysia Masters 2024 was held recently; it was hosted by Malaysia
11. Bardiya Daneshwar, an Iranian chess grandmaster (GM), won the Masters title at the Sharjah Masters 2024, the 7th edition of the International Chess tournament,
12. An Indian-origin boy, Siddharth Jagadeesh became the fifth Grandmaster of Singapore.
13. Gitanas Nausėda has been reappointed as the President of Lithuania for a second five-year term.
14. Vice Admiral Gurcharan Singh has been appointed as the Commandant of the National Defence Academy.
15. Pradip Kumar Tripathi has been appointed as the Lokpal Secretary.
16. The Appointment Committee of Cabinet has approved the extension in service of Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat
17. Richard M. Sherman, the Oscar-winning American Songwriter passed away.
18. The archaeologists from Ashoka University, Sonipat, have unearthed prehistoric artefacts made from fossil wood in Madhya Pradesh’s National Fossil Park at Ghughua.

International News

1. Russia to build Central Asia’s first nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan
   • What: Russia and Uzbekistan have signed an agreement to build Central Asia’s first nuclear power plant.
   • Why: The collaboration between the two countries aims to enhance energy security and promote sustainable development in the region.
   • Tell me more:
     • Value of project: $500 million, was announced during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Uzbekistan.
     • Nuclear plant to be developed by: Russian state nuclear firm Rosatom
     • No. of plant: Six nuclear reactors, each with a capacity of 55 megawatts.
     • Investment: Russia will contribute $400 million to a joint investment fund of $500 million
       Source: Times of India

Banking and Economy

1. South Africa’s central bank fines SBI over compliance
   • What: The South African Reserve Bank (equivalent to the RBI in India) has imposed administrative sanctions and a penalty on the State Bank of India (SBI)
   • Why: The sanctions and penalties have been imposed for violating anti-money laundering laws in the country under the provisions of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act” of South Africa.
   • Tell me more:
     • Amount of penalty: 10 million rand (approximately ₹4.5 crore)
     • SBI’s South Africa branch has made an immediate payment of 5.5 million rand. The remaining amount of 4.5 million rands is suspended for 36 but will be paid within the prescribed timeline.
     • It’s worth noting that in 2018, another public sector lender, Bank of Baroda, wound up its South Africa operations after facing scrutiny for transactions in accounts.
       Source: Times of India

GDP Forecasts

1. Goldman Sachs raises India’s GDP growth forecast to 6.7% for CY 2024
   • What: Goldman Sachs has raised its GDP growth forecast for India by 10 basis points (bps) to 6.7% for Calendar year (CY) 2024 from 6.6%
     • There are two types of accounting years
       • Calendar year: calculates financial activities from 1st January to 31st December
       • Financial year: calculates financial activities from 1st April to 31st March
   • Why: The growth is led by the bumper dividend of Rs. 2.11 Lakh crore given by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to the government
     Source: Live Mint

Science and Technology

1. SpaceX launches first satellites for new US spy constellation
   • What: Elon Musk owned, American aerospace company, SpaceX launched 1st batch of operational spy satellites built by it.
   • Why: To enhance the country’s space-based surveillance powers.
     • Space-based surveillance powers refer to the capabilities of monitoring and tracking objects in outer space using satellites and other space-based systems.
   • Tell me more:
     • Built under: These satellites were built as part of a new United States of America (U.S.A.) intelligence network, to enhance the country’s space-based surveillance powers.
       Source: Reuters
2. NASA Launches Small Climate Satellite to Study Earth’s Poles
   • What: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) successfully launched the first pair of small climate satellites.
   • Why: Using the data provided by these satellites, NASA will study heat emissions at the Earth’s poles.
   • Tell me more:
     • Mission launched from: New Zealand.
     • Name of Mission: PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment)
     • Why NASA is studying: The poles are particularly sensitive to climate change. Studying heat loss there will help scientists understand how a warming planet affects these regions and how they, in turn, affect global climate
       Source: NASA
3. India’s AstroSat makes unusual discovery around the black hole in deep space
   • What: AstroSat, India’s first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory, has made a significant discovery regarding the black hole binary source Swift J1727.8-1613.
     • A black hole is a region in space where the gravitational pull is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape from it
   • What has been found: AstroSat observations have helped discover irregular emission of
     high energy X-ray photons from a Black Hole X-ray binary system (BH-XRB).
     • BH-XRB system consists of a black hole and a companion star that are locked in gravitation.
   • About AstroSat
     • Launched by ISRO in 2015 using PSLV-C30 in Low Earth Orbit.
     • It is India’s first dedicated multi-wavelength space observatory.
     • It aims to study celestial sources in X-ray, optical and UV spectral bands simultaneously.
     • Objectives: Understand high energy processes in binary star systems, detect new transient X-ray sources, study star birth regions etc.
       Source: India Today

Agriculture and Rural Development

1. India’s dal imports at 6-year high
   • What: India’s dal imports have reached a six-year high in the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24).
   • Why: The imports have risen because the lower production prompted India to allow duty-free imports of red lentils and yellow peas.
   • Tell me more (Rise in Import in FY 2023-2024)
     • Quantity: India imported 4.65 million metric tons of pulses, the highest since fiscal 2018.
     • Value: In value terms, imports in the year jumped 93% to $3.75 billion
   • Other information related to Pulses in India
     • Global ranking: India is the largest producer, consumer, and importer of pulses Globally.
     • Major producing states: Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka.
     • Major pulses: Chickpeas (Gram), Pigeon pea (Tur/Arhar), Mungbeans, Urdbeans (Blackgram), Lentil, Peas and various kinds of Beans (Minor Pulses).
     • Gram contributes around 40% of total pulse production followed by Tur/Arhar (15-20%)
     • Countries for import: India imports mainly from Australia, Canada, Russia, Turkey, Tanzania, Sudan, Mozambique, Malawi and Myanmar.
     • Major export destinations: Bangladesh, China, UAE, U.S.A and Nepal
       Source: The Hindu

Awards

1. Green Airports Recognition-2024 award
   • What: The Green Airports Recognition 2024 awards were announced by the Airports Council International (ACI) Asia-Pacific & Middle East.
   • The awards recognized airports for their outstanding accomplishments in sustainability projects.
   • Tell me more:
     • The theme for this year’s recognition was Biodiversity and Nature-Based Solutions.
     • List of winners
       • Notably, three Indian airports were included in this list in various categories
         • Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi
         • Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore
         • Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, Lucknow

Source: ACI

Important Days

1. May 28: World Menstrual Hygiene Day
   • What: World Menstrual Hygiene Day is observed on May 28.
   • Why: It aims to raise awareness about menstrual hygiene among females.
   • The theme for 2024: #Period Friendly world
     Source: News18

Sports

1. Highlights of Malaysia Masters 2024
   • What: The Malaysia Masters 2024 was held recently; it was hosted by Malaysia.
   • List of Winners of Malaysia Masters 2024

2. Highlights of Sharjah Master’s 2024: A Chess Tournament
   • What: Bardiya Daneshwar, an Iranian chess grandmaster (GM), won the Masters title at the Sharjah Masters 2024, the 7th edition of the International Chess tournament,
   • Held at: Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
   • Tell me more:
     • Divya Deshmukh, an Indian Chess International Master (IM), won the Challengers title at the Sharjah Masters 2024.
       Source: Chess.com
3. Indian Origin Siddharth Jagadeesh Become 5th GM of Singapore
   • What: An Indian-origin boy, Siddharth Jagadeesh became the fifth Grandmaster of Singapore.
   • He earned his final GM-norm by defeating Andrey Esipenko (Russia) at the Sharjah Masters 2024.
     Source: Free Press Journal

Appointment

1. Gitanas Nauseda was re-elected as the President of Lithuania for the second term 
   • What: Gitanas Nausėda has been reappointed as the President of Lithuania for a second five-year term.
     Source: AP Press

2. Vice Admiral Gurcharan Singh appointed as Commandant of the National Defence Academy
   • What: Vice Admiral Gurcharan Singh has been appointed as the Commandant of the National Defence Academy.
   • He will take over from Vice Admiral Ajay Kocchar.
     Source: PIB
3. Pradip Kumar Tripathi has been appointed as Lokpal secretary
   • What: Pradip Kumar Tripathi has been appointed as the Lokpal Secretary.
   • He will hold the position of Secretary to the Lokpal until the date of his superannuation (June 30), and thereafter, he will continue on a contract basis for two years beyond his superannuation.
     • What is a Lokpal: A Lokpal is an anti-corruption authority or ombudsman in India.
     • It represents the public interest and investigates allegations of corruption against central government officials.
     • The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, passed in 2013, established this institution.
     • The current Chairperson of Lokpal is Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar.
     • The Lokpal’s jurisdiction covers national-level corruption charges, while the Lokayukta handles similar matters at the state level.

   • Also, Shri Rakesh Ranjan has been appointed as the Chairman of, Staff Selection Commission
     • It was established in 1975,
     • The SSC plays a crucial role in selecting staff for both Group B and Group C positions
       Source: Economic Times
4. DRDO Chief Samir V Kamat gets one year extension
   • What: The Appointment Committee of Cabinet has approved the extension in service of Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat
   • The extension has been given for a period of one year, beyond his normal date of superannuation (May 31, 2024), i.e. up to May 31, 2025.
   • He was appointed to this post on August 25, 2022.
     Source: PIB

Miscellaneous

1. Richard M. Sherman, the Oscar-winning American Songwriter passed away
   • Richard M. Sherman, the Oscar-winning American Songwriter passed away.
   • He has won two Academy Awards (Oscar) for best music score and best original song.
     Source: Disney

2. The archaeologists have unearthed prehistoric artefacts made from fossil wood
   • What: The archaeologists from Ashoka University, Sonipat, have unearthed prehistoric artefacts made from fossil wood in Madhya Pradesh’s National Fossil Park at Ghughua.
   • Importance of the event: The finding is a testament to ancient human ingenuity, revealing that prehistoric hunter-gatherers used fossilised tree trunks as raw materials to create tools and artefacts.
     Source: Organizer

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