Latest Current Affairs For Friday 3rd June, 2022

Govt collects Rs 1.41 lakh crore GST in May 2022

The government has collected Rs 1,40,885 lakh crore Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue for the month of May 2022.

The numbers have been surged 44% as against Rs 97,821 during the corresponding period of preceding fiscal year.

GST revenues has been recorded lower than the record high collection in April at Rs 1.68 lakh crore.

In March GST revenues were at Rs 1.42 lakh crore, while in February it was Rs 1.33 lakh crore.

SBI revises up FY23 economic growth forecast to 7.5%

SBI Research has estimated the growth of the Indian economy at 7.5% in 2022-23, an upward revision of 20 basis points from its earlier estimate.

According to the official data, the economy will grow by 8.7% in FY22, net adding ₹11.8 lakh crore in the year to ₹147 lakh crore.

Nominal GDP will inflate by ₹38.6 lakh crore to ₹237 lakh crore, or 19.5% annualised.

In FY23 also, as inflation remains elevated in the first half, nominal GDP will grow 16.1% to ₹275 lakh crore.

INA Veteran Anjalai Ponnusamy passes away

Indian National Army (INA) veteran solider from Malaysia, Anjalai Ponnusamy has passed away at the age of 102.

She was born in 1920 in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur.

During World War II when Japanese forces invaded Malaysia, then she joined the army.

She belonged to the Jhansi Rani Division of the Indian National Army.

It was created by SC Bose in 1943 to recapture India from British rule.

After the defeat of Japan in World War II, the Indian National Army was disbanded.

Tamil Nadu signs MoU with IPPB for pensioners’ digital life certificate

The Tamil Nadu government has signed an MoU with the India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) for obtaining life certificate from pensioners through doorstep services of the Postal Department.

As per the MoU, the IPPB would render the doorstep services at a cost of ₹70 only per digital life certificate.

Over 7.15 lakh State government pensioners/ family pensioners submit their life certificate during July, August and September every year for annual mustering.

Para - Canoeist Prachi Yadav wins bronze at 2022 ICF Paracanoe World Cup

Para -Canoeist, Prachi Yadav wins a bronze medal with a timing of 1:04.71 seconds at the 2022 ICF Paracanoe World Cup held in Poznan, Poland and become the first Indian to win a World Cup medal.

Susan Seipel (Australia) and Brianna Hennessy (Canada) have bagged Gold and silver respectively.

Manish Kaurav (KL3 Men 200m) and Manjeet Singh (VL2 Men 200m) have also reached the finals for the first time ever in the history of the tournament in their respective categories.

Young women entrepreneur, Rashmi Sahoo wins Times Business Award 2022

Director of Ruchi Foodline, Rashmi Sahoo has been awarded the Third Times Business Award 2022 in the category of Eastern India’s Leading READY -TO-EAT brand.

She was given the award by renowned Bollywood actor and social activist Sonu Sood.

She has established Frozit, which is Odisha’s first frozen food company.

Sahoo and Frozit have won various recognition across the world for their innovative food product line, quality and hygiene standards.

Centre appointed SL Thaosen as SSB chief

The central government has appointed Senior IPS officers Zulfiquar Hasan and S L Thaosen as the new directors general of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) respectively.

Hasan is a West Bengal-cadre IPS officer and now serving as the special director general of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Delhi.

Thaosen is a Madhya Pradesh-cadre IPS officer and working in the same capacity in the Border Security Force (BSF).

Dr Swati Dhingra appointed to the Monetary Panel of Bank of England

UK-based academic, Dr Swati Dhingra has been appointed as the first Indian-origin woman as an external member of the Bank of England's interest rate-setting committee.

She is an Associate Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics (LSE) and having a specialisation in international economics and applied microeconomics.

She will join the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on August 9, 2022 for a three-year term.

Former West Indies skipper, Darren Sammy received Sitara-e-Pakistan award

Former skipper of West Indies, Darren Sammy has conferred with the Civil honour of Sitara-e-Pakistan award.

It is considered as the third-highest civil award conferred by Pakistan.

Sammy has represented West Indies in Tests (38), ODIs (126), and T20Is (68).

Last year, he received the highest civilian medal of Pakistan (Nishan-e-Pakistan) for his part in helping bring international cricket back to Pakistan.

Pakistan President: Arif Alvi; 

Prime minister: Shehbaz Sharif

Bangladesh top recipient of Covid vaccines under UNICEF's COVAX

Bangladesh becomes the top recipient of Covid-19 vaccine doses with the delivery over 190 million doses of vaccines under UNICEF's COVAX  programme.

COVAX is a global initiative which is led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and the World Health Organization with UNICEF.

Under the COVAX programme, more than 62% of the doses has been delivered to Bangladesh.

Bangladesh President: Abdul Hamid; 

Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina

Indian men's hockey team win bronze at Hockey Asia Cup 2022

The Indian men's hockey team defeat Japan by 1-0 to clinch the bronze medal at Asia Cup men’s hockey 2022 at Jakarta, Indonesia.

Indian hockey team captain, Birendra Lakra wins the player of the match award award for his sturdy defensive work.

South Korea wins Asia Cup men’s hockey 2022 for the 5th time (1994, 1999, 2009, 2013 2022) and Malaysia placed at second.

Top scorer of the tournament: Razie Rahim of Malaysia (scored 13 goals)

Premium rates of PMJJY and PMSBY revised from June 1

The Finance Ministry has approved hiking the premium rates of Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY).

The premium rates have been revised by making it ₹1.25 per day premium for both schemes.

Revised premium rate for PMJJBY is ₹436, earlier it was ₹330 and PMSBY hiked from ₹12 to ₹20.

Government set a target to increase the coverage to 15 crore under PMJJBY and to 37 crore under PMSBY in the next five years.

Rajesh Gera appointed as Director General of National Informatics Centre

Rajesh Gera has been appointed as the Director General of National Informatics Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) with effect from 31st May 2022.

Earlier, he was on deputation in the Ministry of Defence as CEO, DPIT and joined back NIC as Deputy Director General.

He has completed his B.Tech (Electrical Engineering) with Honors from IIT Varanasi, Banaras Hindu University.

NIC Headquarters: New Delhi; 

Founded: 1976

PM Narendra Modi to be awarded prestigious Lokmanya Tilak Award 2023

The Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust (Hind Swaraj Sangh) would confer the prestigious Lokmanya Tilak National Award 2023 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Pune on August 1, 2023.

Reason: This award recognizes PM Modi's supreme leadership under which India has climbed the ladder of progress

It is presented annually on the occasion of Lokmanya Tilak's death anniversary.

Other awardees: Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sharad Pawar, Cyrus Poonawalla, and Manmohan Singh. 

J&K Bank wins award for Best Performance in CASA

Jammu & Kashmir Bank has been felicitated for the Best Performance in CASA-India (1st Runner up in Small Bank Category) at ICC Emerging Asia Banking Conclave & Awards 2022.

The event was participated by banks from India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Myanmar.

The function was organized by the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Goa.

Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group headquartered in Calcutta.

India poised to become world’s 2nd-largest economy by 2075: Goldman Sachs

According to the Investment Bank Goldman Sachs, India is poised to become the world’s second-largest economy by 2075.

As per the report, India would cross Japan, Germany, and the US With a population of 1.4 billion people.

India’s GDP is estimated to expand remarkably, reaching 52.5 trillion dollars surpassing the US GDP projection.

The labour force participation set to make India the second-largest economy in the world by 2075.

L&T and Spain's Navantia sign agreement for submarine project

L&T has signed a teaming agreement with Spanish-based Navantia for the submission of a techno-commercial bid for the Indian Navy’s prestigious P75 (India) submarine program.

P75 (India) Submarine Project is expected to be valued at €4.8 billion.

Navantia would carry out the design of P75(I) submarines based on its S80 class of submarines.

The first S80 class submarine was launched in 2021 and is undergoing sea trials prior to its delivery to Spanish Navy. 

India overtakes China as most attractive emerging market for investing

According to a study by Invesco Global Sovereign Asset Management, India has overtaken China to become the most attractive emerging market for investing in sovereign wealth funds this year.

Reason: This is due to its solid demographics, political stability, and proactive regulation. 

Positives for the nation also include the rapidly expanding demography, strong regulatory actions, and a welcoming climate for sovereign investors.

World Population Day 2023: 11 July

World Population Day is observed every year on July 11 in order to raise awareness about global population issues, including population control.

2023 theme: Unleashing the power of gender equality: Uplifting the voices of women and girls to unlock our world’s infinite possibilities. 

It was established by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989, after the day the world approximately reached a population of five billion, which was observed on 11 July 1987.

MoHUA conducts SBM-U 2.0 Planning & Implementation Review-cum-Workshop

The Housing Ministry organized a review-cum-workshop to evaluate and accelerate the planning and implementation of the SBM-Urban 2.0.

PM Modi launched the 2.0 versions of SBM-U and AMRUT on October 1, 2021.

SBM-U 2.0: Achieving 100% waste segregation in all households and premises and 100% door-to-door collection of segregated waste from each. 

AMRUT 2.0: To provide complete coverage of water supply to all households and sewerage and septage in 500 AMRUT cities. 

Gujarat CM launches pilot project of ‘Antyodaya Shramik Suraksha Yojana’

Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel launched the Antyodaya Shram Suraksha Accident Insurance Scheme from Kheda

All those registered under the e-Shram portal from Nadiad will benefit from the scheme.

It is being implemented through the Indian Postal Department, the IPPB, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Under this scheme, insurance with a premium of Rs. 289 and Rs. 499 per year will be a big support to workers in the event of death or partial disability.

OCA elects Sheikh Talal as the new President

Kuwait’s Sheikh Talal Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah has been elected as the new President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

He replaced his older brother Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, who led the OCA for 30 years until 2021.

The OCA was founded in 1982 by his father Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who led it until 1990.

The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees.

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance wins Insurer Innovation Award 2023

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has won the Insurer Innovation Award 2023 for the APAC region at the 8th World Digital Insurance Awards, hosted by TDI - The Digital Insurer.

Recognition: Bajaj Allianz Life's ground-breaking WhatsApp Conversational Platform - empowering customers to digitally services their policies seamlessly. 

The award entries were shortlisted by industry experts and the winner was selected by the community through pre-voting and live event voting.