29th May, 2023

1. Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Shri Giriraj Singh launched the ‘SAMARTH’ campaign on promoting digital transactions in 50,000-gram panchayats under the Amrit Mahotsav in Lucknow.
2. Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the 8th International Conference on Pharma and Medical Device Sector in Delhi.
3. National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has constituted a Cheetah Project Steering Committee to review, progress, monitor and advice on the Cheetah introduction to the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department and NTCA.
4. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the inaugural run of Vande Bharat Express from Dehradun to Delhi.
5. Third Advance Estimates of Production of Food Grains has been released by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
6. Indian Navy and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) released the Gaganyaan Recovery Training Plan at Water Survival Training Facility (WSTF) at INS Garuda, Kochi.
7. The second set of NASA’s TROPICS cubesats has been launched completing the agency’s hurricane-studying mini constellation.
8. NASA has announced that its globetrotting SuperBIT balloon successfully completed a flight test.
9. South Korea launched a commercial-grade satellite for the first time using a domestically produced space rocket- Nuri.
10. UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank have released the “Levels and Trends in Child Malnutrition” report.
11. Tata Consultancy Services-led consortium has bagged a Rs 15,000-crore contract from BSNL to deploy 4G network for the state-run telco.
12. Indian Bank has been empanelled as a Clearing and Settlement Bank with the Indian Clearing Corporation Ltd (ICCL).
13. Maratha Sahakari Bank (based in Mumbai) has merged with Cosmos Cooperative Bank Ltd. (based in Pune).
14. SEBI has constituted a 21-member Intermediary Advisory Committee, chaired by former Sebi executive director S Ravindran, to advise on changes in legal framework and increasing transparency in the functioning of market intermediaries like stock exchanges, depository participants, clearing corporations, among others.
15. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has increased the tax exemption on leave encashment on retirement of non-government salaried employees from ₹3 lakh to ₹25 lakh.
16. Union Government has appointed new chief justices to the high courts of Bombay, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madras and Rajasthan.
17. The Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) has recommended the name of Parminder Chopra to become the next CMD of Power Finance Corporation (PFC).
18. Reliance Industries Ltd head Mukesh Ambani has been named as a member of the international advisory committee to provide guidance and counsel to the presidency of the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) of UNFCCC in Dubai, UAE.
19. Karnataka Bank has appointed Srikrishnan Harihara Sarma as its new Managing Director & CEO for a period of three years.
20. Sikh Empire’s last ruler’s daughter Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh, was honoured with a commemorative Blue Plaque for her house (“The Faraday House”) in London.
21. Indian team began its campaign at the Men’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 in Salalah, Oman.
22. “RINGSIDE – Up, Close and Personal on India and Beyond”, a new book written by Chairman of the Editorial Board of Lokmat Media Group and former MP Dr Vijay Darda.
23. Writer and literary critic Govindaray H Nayak (popularly known as G H Nayak) passed away.

National News

1. Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Shri Giriraj Singh launched the ‘SAMARTH’ campaign on promoting digital transactions in 50,000-gram panchayats under the Amrit Mahotsav in Lucknow.
   • The campaign started from 1st February 2023 and will continue till 15 August 2023 under the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
   • The key thrust of the campaign is to promote Digital Transactions in rural areas, particularly among women.
   • Shri Giriraj Singh, Minister for Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, lauded SHG’s NPA coming down from 9.58% in 2013 percent to below 2% now.
   • A compendium of 75 Inspirational Tales of BC (banking correspondence) Sakhis was launched.
     Source: PIB
2. Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the 8th International Conference on Pharma and Medical Device Sector in Delhi.
   • Organizers – Department of Pharmaceuticals in association with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
   • Purpose – to promote India as a manufacturing hub of quality medical products in the pharmaceutical and Medical Device Sector
   • Theme of the 1st day of the Conference – Sustainable MedTech 5.0: Scaling and Innovating Indian MedTech
   • Theme of the 2nd day of the Conference – Indian pharma industry: Delivering Value through Innovation
   • ‘Assistance for Medical Devices clusters for Common Facilities (AMD-CF)’ scheme has been launched to establish and strengthen common infrastructure facilities in the medical devices clusters and fortify testing facilities for medical devices.
     Source: PIB
3. National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has constituted a Cheetah Project Steering Committee to review, progress, monitor and advice on the Cheetah introduction to the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department and NTCA.
   • The 11-member committee will be headed by Global Tiger Forum Secretary General Dr. Rajesh Gopal.
   • It will also have a four-member consulting panel of international Cheetah experts.
   • Two more cubs born to Namibian cheetah Jwala at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP) have died due to “dehydration” caused by the sweltering heat, after the death of one of the four cubs. The fourth cub is in a critical condition.
     Source: News on Air

State News

1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the inaugural run of Vande Bharat Express from Dehradun to Delhi.
   Source: Indian Express

Agriculture and Rural Development

1. Third Advance Estimates of Production of Food Grains has been released by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.

Source: PIB

Defence News

1. Indian Navy and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) released the Gaganyaan Recovery Training Plan at Water Survival Training Facility (WSTF) at INS Garuda, Kochi.
   • The mission is scheduled to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2024.
     Source: The Hindu

International News

1. The second set of NASA’s TROPICS cubesats has been launched completing the agency’s hurricane-studying mini constellation.
   • The second launch is dubbed as “Coming to a Storm Near You”.
   • The first launch, conducted in the beginning of May, is named as “Rocket Like a Hurricane”.
   • Both the launches carrying cubesats aim to study hurricanes.
   • TROPICS program stands for “Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a Constellation of Small Sats.”
   • Rocket Lab is the second company to launch TROPICS cubesats. The first one was the California-based Astra company.
     Source: Space.com
2. NASA has announced that its globetrotting SuperBIT balloon successfully completed a flight test.
   • The super pressure balloon carrying the Super Pressure Balloon Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT) became the first science mission of NASA to complete two full revolutions of the Southern Hemisphere floating at mid-latitudes.
     Source: CNBC
3. South Korea launched a commercial-grade satellite for the first time using a domestically produced space rocket- Nuri.
   • The three-stage KSLV-II Nuri is the country’s first domestically built space launch vehicle using only South Korean rocket technology, and three more flights are expected by 2027.
     Source: The Print

Reports and Indices

1. UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank have released the “Levels and Trends in Child Malnutrition”
   • Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 2.2 aims at addressing the issues of child malnutrition (stunting, wasting, overweight and underweight).

Source: WHO

Banking and Economy

1. Tata Consultancy Services-led consortium has bagged a Rs 15,000-crore contract from BSNL to deploy 4G network for the state-run telco.
   • TCS is the country’s largest software exporter.
     Source: The Print
2. Indian Bank has been empanelled as a Clearing and Settlement Bank with the Indian Clearing Corporation Ltd (ICCL).
   • Now, the Indian Bank will facilitate banking services to members of BSE for clearing and settlement operations.
   • The bank also launched the e-TDR (Term Deposit Receipt) product for online transmission of Fixed Deposit Receipt.

3. Maratha Sahakari Bank (based in Mumbai) has merged with Cosmos Cooperative Bank Ltd. (based in Pune).
   • It is a first of its kind merger of a negative net worth bank, after the RBI allowed voluntary mergers and amalgamation between cooperative banks in March 2021.
   • Maratha Sahakari Bank was under the operational restriction imposed by the Reserve Bank.

4. SEBI has constituted a 21-member Intermediary Advisory Committee, chaired by former Sebi executive director S Ravindran, to advise on changes in legal framework and increasing transparency in the functioning of market intermediaries like stock exchanges, depository participants, clearing corporations, among others.
   • Functions of the committee –
     • Advise on enhanced adoption of technology and cyber security by intermediaries
     • To suggest measures for improving market safety, efficiency, transparency and integrity, and
     • To advise on simplification and transparency in systems and procedures.

     Source: Business Standard

5. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has increased the tax exemption on leave encashment on retirement of non-government salaried employees from ₹3 lakh to ₹25 lakh.
   • The relief, which was announced in the union budget speech this year, is effective from 1 April, 2023.
   • The total tax-exempt amount with leave encashment of salaried private sector employees shall not exceed the limit of 25 lakhs.
   • The relief applies to the period of earned leave in the credit of the employee at the time of retirement whether on superannuation or otherwise.
   • In the case of government employees, the entire leave encashment amount received is tax exempt. In the case of private sector employees, the benefit is subject the conditions listed under section 10 of the Income Tax Act, which deals with incomes exempt from taxation.
     Source: LiveMint

Appointments

1. Union Government has appointed new chief justices to the high courts of Bombay, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madras and Rajasthan.

2. The Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) has recommended the name of Parminder Chopra to become the next CMD of Power Finance Corporation (PFC).
   • It is India’s largest NBFC by net worth (all reserves).
   • PFC is a Maharatna company.

3. Reliance Industries Ltd head Mukesh Ambani has been named as a member of the international advisory committee to provide guidance and counsel to the presidency of the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) of UNFCCC in Dubai, UAE.
   • COP28 presidency has now named 31 eminent people to the advisory board.
   • The 2023 UN Climate Change Conference will convene from November 30 to December 12 in Dubai, UAE.
     Source: ET
4. Karnataka Bank has appointed Srikrishnan Harihara Sarma as its new Managing Director & CEO for a period of three years.
   Source: The Hindu

Awards

1. Sikh Empire’s last ruler’s daughter Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh, was honoured with a commemorative Blue Plaque for her house (“The Faraday House”) in London.
   • Maharaja Duleep Singh settled in England in 1854.
   • Princess Sophia Duleep Singh is also the goddaughter of Queen Victoria.
   • The Blue Plaque scheme, run by the English Heritage charity, honours the significance of buildings associated with historical figures.
   • Named after another former resident, the eminent English physicist Michael Faraday (1791–1867), Faraday House was Princess Sophia’s main residence for over four decades.
     Source: LiveMint and Royal Trust, UK

Sports

1. Indian team began its campaign at the Men’s Junior Asia Cup 2023 in Salalah, Oman.
   Source: The Hindu

Miscellaneous

1. “RINGSIDE – Up, Close and Personal on India and Beyond”, a new book written by Chairman of the Editorial Board of Lokmat Media Group and former MP Dr Vijay Darda.
   • It will be released by renowned author and Congress MP Dr Shashi Tharoor.
     Source: The Print
2. Writer and literary critic Govindaray H Nayak (popularly known as G H Nayak) passed away.
   Source: Deccan Herald

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