06th June, 2024

1. Supreme Court reconstitutes committee on gender sensitization
2. MoIB declares Self-declaration certificate (SDC) mandatory for all new advertisements
3. Coal Ministry has released a report titled “Greening Initiative in Coal & Lignite PSUs”,
4. Australia has recently made a decision to allow non-citizen residents from the Five Eyes Alliance countries to join its armed forces.
5. Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Company Limited has been rebranded as Edelweiss Life Insurance.
6. SBI Mutual Fund (SBI MF) made history by becoming the first fund house in the country to achieve the Rs.10 trillion milestone in assets under management (AUM).
7. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has handled the highest number of transactions ever recorded in a single day on June 5, 2024.
8. Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2025 was released.
9. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has invited Expressions of Interest (EoI) from eligible organisations for the “joint development and commercialisation” of oral formulation of hydroxyurea to treat sickle cell disease in India.
10. The world’s largest digital camera ever built for optical astronomy is set to be installed at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory on the mountains of Cerro Pachón on the edge of the Atacama Desert in Chile
11. Punjab National Bank (PNB) and India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL) have signed an agreement
12. The Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) have signed a MoU with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad to collaborate on research and training.
13. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) International Payments Limited (NIPL) has partnered with the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP, equivalent to Reserve Bank of India)
14. Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah was officially sworn in as the Crown Prince of Kuwait before the Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (Emir is the head of state of Kuwait).
15. ONDC hits new record
16. Preston Curve
17. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a directive to all Food Business Operators (FBOs) to remove any claims of ‘100% fruit juice’ from the labels and advertisements of reconstituted fruit juices.

National News

1. Supreme Court reconstitutes committee on gender sensitization
   • What: The Chief Justice of India (CJI), Shri Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud has re-constituted the Gender Sensitisation and Internal Complaints Committee (GSICC).
     • Justice Hima Kohli has been appointed as Chairperson to head the committee.
     • Justice BV Nagarathna will be serving as a member
   • Tell me more (About the committee):
     • The committee comprises a total of 12 members from various fields: including that of legal, Professors of Law Universities, and others.
     • The appointments have been made by the CJI in the exercise of powers of the Gender Sensitisation & Sexual Harassment of Women at the SC of India (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Regulations, 2013.
       Source: The New Indian Express

2. MoIB declares Self-declaration certificate (SDC) mandatory for all new advertisements
   • What: Following the directives from the Supreme Court (SC), the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) has made the Self-declaration certificate (SDC) mandatory
     for all new advertisements.
     • A SDC is a mandatory document that advertisers and advertising agencies in India must submit before publishing or broadcasting any new advertisement.
   • Why: The Hon’ble Supreme Court directive is a step towards ensuring transparency, consumer protection, and responsible advertising practices.
   • Tell me more:
     • No advertisement will be permitted to run on television, print media, or the internet
       without a valid SDC.
     • SDC, signed by an authorized representative of the advertiser/advertising agency, needs to be submitted through these portals.
       • Broadcast Seva Portal for TV and Radio Advertisements.
       • The Press Council of India’s portal for print and digital/internet advertisements.
     • SDC will certify that the advertisement:
       • Does not contain misleading claims.
       • Complies with all relevant regulatory guidelines, including:
       • Those stipulated in Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994.
       • The Norms of Journalistic Conduct of the Press Council of India.
     • The portal will be activated on 4th June 2024
     • Applicable from: To be mandatory For All New Advertisements From 18th June, 2024
       • A buffer period of two weeks (from 4th June to 18th June) has been kept for providing sufficient time to all stakeholders to familiarize themselves with the process of self- certification.
       • Ongoing advertisements (in these two weeks) do not require the self-certification currently.
         Source: PIB

3. The Coal Ministry has released a report titled “Greening Initiative in Coal & Lignite PSUs”
   • What: Coal Ministry has released a report titled “Greening Initiative in Coal & Lignite PSUs”, which highlights the efforts of the PSUs in the coal and lignite sectors to restore and rejuvenate mined-out lands.
   • The report was compiled by the Sustainability & Just Transition Division of the Ministry of Coal.
     Source: PIB

International News

1. Australia allows non-citizen residents from the Five Eyes Alliance to join its armed forces
   • What: Australia has recently made a decision to allow non-citizen residents from the Five Eyes Alliance countries to join its armed forces.
     • Non-citizen residents are people who live in a country but are not citizens of that country.
   • Why: This move is aimed at addressing the troop shortage faced by the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
     Source: ABC

Banking and Economy

1. Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Rebrands to Edelweiss Life Insurance

• What: Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Company Limited has been rebranded as Edelweiss Life Insurance.
• It has also changed its logo but retained its slogan “Zindagi Unlimited.”
  Source: Economic Times

2. SBI MF hits Rs.10 trillion AUM milestone
   • What: SBI Mutual Fund (SBI MF) made history by becoming the first fund house in the country to achieve the Rs.10 trillion milestone in assets under management (AUM).
     • AUM is the total value of all the money and investments managed by a financial institution like a mutual fund company.
     • It’s the amount of money they oversee for their clients.
   • Why: The sharp growth in SBI MF’s AUM, is led by overall industry growth, which is driven by the equity market rally and expanding MF investor base in the country.
   • Tell me more:
     • The number of investors in the industry has shot up from 20 million in March 2020 to 45 million in March 2024.
       • More people are turning to mutual funds for various reasons, such as the good performance of the stock market, limited options for beating inflation with investments, and the convenience of online platforms for investing.
         Source: Business Standard

3. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) achieved a ‘world record’ in transaction volume
   • What: The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has handled the highest number of transactions ever recorded in a single day on June 5, 2024.
   • This included processing 19.71 billion (1971 crores) orders and 280.6 million trades (28.55 crores)
     • Order: An order is an instruction given by a trader to buy or sell a specific quantity of a financial instrument, such as stocks or derivatives, at a specified price.
     • Trade: A trade occurs when a buy order matches with a sell order. In other words, it’s the execution of an order.
       Source: Money Control

Report and Indices

1. QS World University Rankings 2025
   • What: Recently the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2025 was released.
     • The rankings are the first of its kind to incorporate both employability and sustainability factors into the methodology, the QS World University Rankings provide the higher education sector, governments and students a reliable rankings system that identifies the world’s leading universities in a range of performance metrics.
     • This year’s ranking is the largest – featuring 1,500 universities from 106 countries and territories across the globe.
     • It is based on 9 Performance indicators i.e.
       • Academic Reputation, Employer Reputation, Faculty Student Ratio, Citations per Faculty, International Faculty Ratio, International Student Ratio, International Research Network,
         Employment Outcomes, and Sustainability
   • Tell me more (major Highlights)
     • Global rankings:

• Imperial College London has moved up four places – the biggest improvement among the top ten.
• For the thirteenth consecutive year, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has been ranked first.
• There are 21 newly ranked institutions, with the highest debutant being the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK) in the United Arab Emirates, with a ranking of 485th – the University scored 100 in indicators ‘International students’ and ‘International faculty’.
• With 197 universities, the USA has the most representation on the 2025 rankings followed by UK with 90 universities and Mainland China with 71 universities
  • India with 46 universities, is the 7th most represented country in the list and 3rd in Asia.
• List of top 5 countries with the greatest number of institutions improving the rankings

• India specific rankings

• Out of 46 Indian universities featured in the list, 61% of them has improved their rankings.
• IIT Delhi (150th), University of Delhi (ranked 328th) and Anna University (ranked 383rd) are the only Indian universities in the top 400
  • the University of Delhi stood out for the employability of its graduates and has been ranked 44th globally in the category of “employment outcomes”
• Indian universities which improved their ranking compared to previous year includes, IISc Bengaluru (from 225th to 211th), IIT Kharagpur (271st to 222nd) and IIT Madras (285th to 227th).
• IIT Kanpur slipped to 6th position among the top 10 Indian universities in the latest rankings despite improvement in its ranking from 278th (2024) to 263rd (2025).
  Source: QS

Science and Technology

1. ICMR seeks to provide oral formulation of hydroxyurea to treat sickle cell disease in children
   • What: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has invited Expressions of Interest (EoI) from eligible organisations for the “joint development and commercialisation” of oral formulation of hydroxyurea to treat sickle cell disease in India.
   • About Hydroxyurea
     • It treats sickle cell anemia by helping to prevent formation of sickle-shaped Red blood cells (RBCs).
   • About SCD
     • It’s a group of inherited disorders that changes the shapes of RBCs from round to a C-shaped farm tool called a sickle.
       • It not only causes anemia but also pain crises, reduced growth, and affects many organs like lungs, heart, kidney, eyes, bones and the brain

     • India has the highest prevalence of SCD in South Asia (over 20 million).

Source: The Hindu

2. Chile to install the world’s largest astronomy camera on the edge of Atacama desert
   • What: The world’s largest digital camera ever built for optical astronomy is set to be installed at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory on the mountains of Cerro Pachón on the edge of the Atacama Desert in Chile.
     • Optical astronomy is the branch of astronomy that focuses on observing and analyzing light in the visible spectrum to study celestial objects and phenomena.

   
   

• Why: It’s designed for astronomical activity and will be used to carry out an unprecedented decade-long exploration to study the possibility of Earth colliding with asteroids, or stars and planets close to the sun.
• Tell me more:
  • Zoom capacity: 3.2 gigapixels with a weight of three tons
  • Designed by: Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University in California.
  • Cost: The total construction cost is $700 million.
    Source: Indian Express

Memorandum of Understanding

1. Punjab National Bank, IIFCL sign pact for financing infra projects
   • What: Punjab National Bank (PNB) and India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL) have signed an agreement
   • Why: To provide long-term financial assistance to viable infrastructure projects.
     • The collaboration aims to fund infrastructure projects by pooling resources from different lenders or groups.
       Source: Economic Times

2. AFMS Signed MoU with IIT Hyderabad For Collaborative Research and Training
   • What: The Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) have signed a MoU with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad to collaborate on research and training.
   • Why: The MoU aims to foster innovation and research in developing novel medical devices and addressing health issues specific to soldiers serving in varied terrains.
   • Tell me more:
     • Key areas of collaboration discussed include drone-based patient transport, telemedicine innovations, the application of Artificial Intelligence in the medical field, and advancements in nanotechnology.
     • Additionally, the MoU will facilitate student exchange programs, short-term courses for undergraduates, and faculty exchange initiative.
       Source: PIB
3. NPCI arm signs pact with Peru to enable UPI payments
   • What: National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) International Payments Limited (NIPL) has partnered with the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP, equivalent to Reserve Bank of India)
   • Why: To develop a UPI-like real-time payments system in Peru.
   • Tell me more:
     • The partnership makes Peru the first South American nation to adopt NPCI’s technology.
       • It is also NIPL’s second collaboration with a central bank to implement the UPI framework internationally.
         • Last month, NIPL entered into an agreement with the Bank of Namibia to develop an instant payments system akin to UPI.
           Source: Economic Times

Appointments

1. Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah Sworn in As Crown Prince of Kuwait
   • What: Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah was officially sworn in as the Crown Prince of Kuwait before the Emir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (Emir is the head of state of Kuwait).
   • This nomination also marks the first time a Kuwaiti crown prince is named whose father had not ruled as Emir.

Source: Gulf

Miscellaneous

1. Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) records 8.9 million transactions in May
   • It also hit a new peak of 5 million retail orders in a month and saw a single-day record of 200,000 retail transactions

2. Preston Curve
   • It was first proposed by American sociologist Samuel H. Preston in 1975.
   • It highlights that an increase in per capita income of a country does not cause much of a rise
     in the life expectancy of its population beyond a point.
   • When a poor country begins to grow, its per capita income rises and causes increase in life expectancy initially due to nutrition, sanitation and acess better healthcare.
   • However, it begins to flatten out after a certain point.
3. Remove the claim of ‘100% fruit juice’ from label and ads, FSSAI directs food businesses
   • What: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a directive to all Food Business Operators (FBOs) to remove any claims of ‘100% fruit juice’ from the labels and advertisements of reconstituted fruit juices.
     • Such claims are misleading, particularly under conditions where the major ingredient of the fruit juice is water and the primary ingredient, for which the claim is made, is present only in limited concentrations.

   • All the FBOs have also been instructed to exhaust all existing pre-printed packaging materials before 1st September 2024.
   • Tell me more:
     • The FSSAI has clarified that, according to the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, there is no provision for making a ‘100%’ claim, as such claims can be misleading.
     • The directive states that products must be labelled in accordance with the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020.
     • In the ingredient list, the word “reconstituted” must be mentioned against the name of the juice.
     • If added nutritive sweeteners exceed 15 gm/kg, product must be labelled as ‘Sweetened juice’.
       Source: PIB

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