Daily GK Update: 31st May 2023

 Honours & Awards

1. FICCI presents award to Mumbai's BEST for excellence in smart mobility

• The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has conferred the award in the 'Smart Mobility' category to the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking (BEST).
• Reason: Pioneering efforts in adopting green and sustainable practices
• The BEST has been working on its transformation for 2 years, such as 10,000 Electric Buses, Digital Tickets on NCMC and BEST Chalo App, First And Last Mile Services, and Mobility-As-A-Service (MaaS).

 National & International Appointments

2. Maharashtra govt names Sachin Tendulkar as 'Smile Ambassador'

• The Maharashtra govt has named cricket legend, Sachin Tendulkar as 'Smile Ambassador' under the state medical education & drug department’s 'Swachh Mukh Abhiyan.
• Aim: To spread awareness about oral health and hygiene
• Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis signed an MoU with Sachin Tendulkar.
• Deputy CM has informed that he has offered his association free of cost, and for the entire duration the government wishes to run the program.

 Banking & Finance

3. ADB launches India strategy for 2023-27

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched its 2023-27 country partnership strategy for India
• Aim: To identify accelerating structural transformation and job creation, promoting climate-resilient growth, and deepening social and economic inclusiveness as key focus areas
• ADB highlighted that India has quickly rebounded from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, with economic growth projected at 6.4% in FY24
• India ranks among the fastest-growing major global economies

 Honours & Awards

4. RINL awarded prestigious “Greentech Safety Award 2023"

• RINL has conferred the prestigious "GreenTech Safety Award 2023" under Safety Excellence Category at the 21st Annual Greentech awards function.
• Reason: For its outstanding contribution to improving workplace safety in 2022-23
• The 21st Annual Greentech Awards was organized by the Greentech Foundation to recognize the organizations that are taking responsibility for defining a commercial future by adding value through excellence in fire, safety, and security management.

 Banking & Finance

5. RBI to introduce expected loss approach for bad loan provisioning

• RBI has proposed to introduce an expected loss-based approach for provisioning in 2023-24.
• It would be a part of its measures to strengthen the bad loan resolution ecosystem.
• This will enable banks to design their own credit loss models and spread the higher provisions over a five-year period under a newer system of setting aside money for lending.
• Aim: To classify financial assets as held-to-maturity or available-for-sale, into three categories (Stages 1, 2, and 3)

 Banking & Finance

6. RBI working on lightweight, portable payment system

• RBI has conceptualized a lightweight payment and settlement system (LPSS), that can be operated from anywhere by a bare minimum staff in the event of natural calamities and war.
• This new payment system will be independent of conventional technologies used for existing payment systems such as RTGS, NEFT, and UPI.
• This system is expected to operate on minimalistic hardware and software
• It will process transactions that are critical to ensure the stability of the economy

 Banking & Finance

7. YES BANK launches new logo and campaign

• YES Bank has unveiled its new logo as part of its “refreshed brand identity” and also launched the new brand campaign with the slogan Life Ko Banao Rich.
• The new identity will be extended to all customer touchpoints of the bank.
• The design language is digitally friendly and reflects a brand that believes in being fluid.
• The tick has been transformed into a soaring bird, which represents the Bank’s current position of ‘soaring’.

 Important Dates

8. World No Tobacco Day 2023: 31st May

• World No Tobacco Day, also known as Anti-Tobacco Day, has been observed every year on May 31 to raise awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco use and to advocate for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.
• This global initiative was led by the World Health Organization.
• 2023 theme: We need food, not tobacco
• The 2023 theme highlights alternative crop production and marketing opportunities for tobacco farmers and encourages them to grow sustainable crops

 Schemes

9. Maharashtra farmers to get Rs 6,000 per annum under new scheme

• The Maharashtra government has approved a new financial scheme named Namo Shetkari Mahasanman Yojana, under which more than one crore farmers in the state will be paid 6,000 rupees annually.
• The amount is in addition to the 6,000 rupees being paid to farmers by the Centre under the PM Kisan Yojana.
• Maharashtra Cabinet also approved the implementation of 'Gender Inclusive Tourism Policy called 'Aai' to empower women in the tourism sector. 

 National & International Appointments

10. Justice Nitin Jamdar appointed as Acting CJ of Bombay HC

• The Central Government has notified the appointment of Justice Nitin Jamdar as Acting Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court.
• He has succeeded Chief Justice RD Dhanuka, who demitted office on May 30.
• He is from Solapur and is the third generation to pursue law.
• He practiced at the Bombay High Court in diverse fields, primarily in administrative and constitutional law.
• He represented various public bodies and was also Senior Standing Counsel for the Union of India.

 Science & Technology

11. China’s Shenzhou-16 spacecraft launched

• China successfully launched the Shenzhou-16 spacecraft crewed by three astronauts.
• The Long March 2F rocket carrying the spaceship took off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert.
• It is heading to China’s space station and will relieve the crew of Shenzhou-15.
• The crew will conduct scientific experiments and maintenance on space station equipment.
• It is the fifth crewed mission China to its space station since it first sent astronauts in 2021.

 Banking & Finance

12. Razorpay launches one-step payments solution Turbo UPI

• Razorpay has launched ‘Turbo UPI’, which claimed India's fastest one-step UPI (unified payments interface) payment solution.
• It allows customers of online merchants to make UPI payments directly without getting redirected to a third-party UPI app during checkout.
• It aims to deliver a 5X faster payment experience
• It helps businesses achieve a significant increase in the success rate of UPI payments by 10%
• This solution was developed in partnership with NPCI and Axis Bank

 State Affairs

13. Odisha government announces ‘Mo Ghara’ housing scheme

• The Odisha government has launched a 'Mo Ghara’ (My House) scheme to provide credit-linked financial assistance to beneficiaries who face a fund crunch to complete or upgrade their houses.
• The scheme will cover all such families who were left out in the existing housing schemes.
• Under the Scheme, a beneficiary can avail housing loan up to Rs 3 Lakh which can be repaid in 10 years excluding a one-year moratorium period in easy installments.