Daily GK Update: 12th April 2023

 National Affairs

1. PM Modi flagged off Rajasthan's first Vande Bharat Express

• PM Narendra Modi has flagged off Rajasthan’s first Vande Bharat Express train on April 12, 2023.
• It is the world’s first semi-high-speed passenger train on high-rise overhead electric (OHE) territory.
• It will make its inaugural journey between Jaipur and Delhi Cantt railway stations.
• It will operate between Ajmer and Delhi Cantt, with stops at Jaipur, Alwar, and Gurgaon.
• It will complete the Ajmer-Delhi Cantt journey in 5 hours and 15 minutes.

 Summits & Conferences

2. International Conference on Defence Finance and Economics

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated a three-day International Conference on Defence Finance and Economics in New Delhi on April 12, 2023.
• Through this platform, policymakers, academicians and government officials can share their insights and experiences on Defence Finance and Economics for evolving security challenges.
• Delegates from the USA, UK, Japan, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Kenya will participate in the conference.

 Sports

3. Nisha Dahiya wins Silver in Asian Wrestling Championship in Kazakhstan

• India wrestler, Nisha Dahiya has secured the silver medal in the women's 68kg category at the Asian wrestling championships 2023, held in Astana, Kazakhstan.
• She reached the final but fell to Japan’s Ami Ishii 10-0 and finished as a runner-up.
• She had defeated China's Feng Zhou 7-6 in the semi-finals.
• Another Indian wrestler, Priya Malik clinched a bronze in the 76 kg category after defeating Japan's Mizuki Nagashima.

 National Affairs

4. WhatsApp launches ‘Stay Safe’ campaign

• WhatsApp has launched a new campaign named 'Stay Safe with WhatsApp' to highlight the several safety features that are pre-built on the messaging app.
• It will run for three months with a focus on several safety-centric features like ‘Block and Report,’ ‘Two-Step Verification,’ and ‘Privacy and group settings.’
• The campaign highlights why it is important to add two-step verification to WhatsApp, which requires a 6-digit pin and an OTP to authenticate a user.

 Banking & Finance

5. RBI announces framework for Acceptance of Green Deposits

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced the framework for acceptance of Green Deposits of regulated entities (RE).
• Aim: To foster and develop a green finance ecosystem in the country
• The framework will come into effect from June 1, 2023.
• It is applicable to Scheduled Commercial Banks including SFB excluding RRBs, Local Area Banks, and Payments Banks.
• It also includes all deposit-taking Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), including Housing Finance Companies.

 Banking & Finance

6. ICICI Bank introduces EMI facility for UPI payments

• The ICICI Bank has introduced an EMI facility for UPI payments made by scanning a QR code.
• Those customers, who are eligible for the PayLater facility, can avail of the EMI facility using the Bank’s ‘buy now, pay later’ option.
• Customers can pay amounts above Rs 10,000 in easy installments for 3, 6, and 9 months.
• The ICICI Bank's PayLater facility was introduced in 2018 to enable customers to buy small ticket items in a completely paperless manner.

 Banking & Finance

7. JICA, Citi to provide USD 125 mn to IndusInd Bank

• JICA (Japanese lender) and Citibank will provide a USD 125 million funding line to India's IndusInd Bank.
• Reason: For co-finance funding for on-lending to the agricultural sector in the country.
• The funding includes a JPY 13 billion (approx USD 97.45 million) loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and another USD 30 million from Citi to IndusInd Bank.
• In the past, Citi has committed USD 1 trillion to sustainable finance by 2030.

 Obituaries

8. Former Mahindra Group chairman, Keshub Mahindra passes away

• The former chairman of the Mahindra & Mahindra Group of companies, Keshub Mahindra passed away at 99 in Mumbai.
• He served as chairman of the conglomerate from 1963 to 2012.
• He joined the Board of the company in 1948 and was elected chairman in 1963.
• He was awarded Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la Legion d'honneur by the French Government in 1987.
• He re-entered the Forbes list of India’s Richest Billionaires for 2023 with a net worth of $1.2 billion.

 Science & Technology

9. South Korea to conduct first launch of commercial-grade satellite

• South Korea is planning to conduct its first launch of a commercial-grade satellite aboard a domestically built rocket as part of its space development program.
• It will blast off from the space launch center on a southern island in May 2023.
• It will carry one main satellite 'Next Generation Small Satellite 2' and seven other smaller cube-shaped satellites.
• The main satellite will verify imaging radar technology and observe cosmic radiation in near-Earth orbit.

 Banking & Finance

10. India set to grow by 5.9% this fiscal: IMF

• The annual World Economic Outlook of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered India's economic growth projection for the current fiscal (2023-24) to 5.9% from 6.1% earlier.
• Yet India will continue to be the fastest-growing economy in the world.
• It has also lowered the forecast for 2024-25 to 6.3% from the 6.8% it had predicted in January 2023.
• IMF growth forecast is lower than projections by the RBI, which predicted a 6.4% in the current fiscal.

 National & International Appointments

11. Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh to be the Chief Justice of Tripura HC

• The Ministry of Law and Justice has notified the elevation of Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh as Chief Justice of Tripura High Court.
• He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the High Court of Jharkhand on 24th January 2012 and confirmed as a permanent Judge on 16th January 2014.
• He has also served as the Acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court from the 20th of December, 2022 to the 19th of February, 2023.

 Honours & Awards

12. Central University of Kerala awards its first Honorary D.Litt to P.T. Usha

• Retired Indian track and field athlete, PT Usha has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree by the Central University of Kerala at Sabarmati Hall, Periya Campus.
• She was conferred by Vice Chancellor Prof. H. Venkateshwarlu.
• She has won 33 medals including 19 gold in the Asian Games and Asian Championship
• She was the first Indian athlete to win medals in four consecutive Asian Games and also won six medals including five gold in the Jakarta Asian Athletic Meet in 1985

 Banking & Finance

13. NSE Indices launches India's first-ever REITs and InvITs index

• NSE Indices Ltd, an arm of the National Stock Exchange, has launched the country's first-ever Real Estate Investment Trusts and Infrastructure Investment Trusts index -Nifty REITs and InvITs Index.
• Aim: To track the performance of REITs and InvITs that are publicly listed and traded on the NSE
• A Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) or an Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT) is an investment vehicle that owns revenue-generating real estate or infrastructure assets.