DAILY GK 27-28 JUNE 2024
1.
WORLD MSME
DAY 2024 – JUNE 27
·
The United Nations
(UN) World Micro-, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME)
Day is annually observed across the globe on 27 June to
raise awareness about MSMEs’ contributions to achieving the UN Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
·
Theme of
MSME Day 2024 is “Leveraging Power and
Resilience of Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) to
Accelerate Sustainable Development and Eradicate Poverty in Times of Multiple
Crises”.
·
MSMEs account for 90% of businesses, over 70% of employment, and 50% of Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) worldwide.
2.
GLOBAL
LIVEABILITY INDEX 2024
·
According to the
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)’s Global
Liveability Index 2024, Vienna, the
capital of Austria, has topped the
index as the most liveable
city for the third consecutive
year.
·
Denmark’s Copenhagen maintained its second
position, while Switzerland’s Zurich moved
up from 6th place(2023) to 3rd on
the 2024 list.
·
No Indian City is ranked on the 2024 list of top
10 liveable cities in the world.
·
EIU is the
research and analysis division of the Economist Group the sister company to The
Economist newspaper.
·
Headquarters–
London, The United Kingdom
3.
RBI
GOLD RESERVES OVERSEAS DROPS TO ITS LOWEST AT 47%
·
The Reserve Bank
of India’s(RBI) gold reserves held
overseas declined to their lowest
level in six years by the end of March 2024, accounting for 47% of the total reserves
accumulated since December 2017.
·
By the end of March
2024, the RBI’s total gold holdings
stood at 822.1 tonnes and
its at-home holdings increased from 39% in 2021 to 53% in March 2024.
·
The share of gold
reserves held domestically by central banks rose from 50% in 2020 to 68% by December 2023, with expectations of further increase to 74% within the next five years.
·
India’s gold
reserves are stored in the Bank of England(BOE),
then also stores some of its gold reserves at the Bank for International
Settlements (BIS) in Basel, Switzerland,
and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
in the United States.
·
The RBI began
bringing gold back to India in March 2022.
·
The RBI had
repatriated 100 tonnes(1 lakh
kilograms) of gold from the United Kingdom (UK), attributing this to adequate domestic storage capacity in May
2024.
4.
PEN PINTER
PRIZE 2024
·
Renowned Indian
Author ‘Arundhati Roy’ has
won the prestigious PEN(Poet,
Playwright, Editors Essayist, Novelist) Pinter Prize 2024 for her ‘unflinching and unswerving’
writings.
·
The prize is
shared with a designated ‘Writer of
Courage’, someone who has been persecuted for speaking out about her
or his beliefs.
·
PEN Pinter Prize was established in 2009 and
set up by the English PEN, a
founding centre of a global literary network that promotes literature and human
rights. It aims to recognise ‘Writers
of Courage’.
·
The prize was
given in memory of playwright Harold
Pinter, who was awarded the Nobel
Prize in literature in 2005.
·
In 2023, Michael Rosen, British author won the
PEN Pinter Prize for his literary contributions and Rahile Dawut, Chinese anthropologist won the Writers of
Courage.
·
Arundhati Roy is
one of the well-known representatives of the contemporary generation of Indian
writers who writes in English.
·
Roy, currently
facing the threat of prosecution over
historic comments on Kashmir 14 years ago.
·
Her novel The God of Small Things, which won the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997
·
She wrote an essay
titled ‘The
End Of Imagination’, which is a critique against the Indian
government’s nuclear policies.
·
Some of her notable works includes: The Cost of
Living (1999); Power Politics (2001); Field Notes on Democracy: Listening to
Grasshoppers (2009); Ministry of Utmost Happiness (2017)and Broken Republic:
Three Essays (2011).
5.
NATO
SECRETARY-GENERAL
·
The North Atlantic Council officially
appointed Mark Rutte, the
acting Prime Minister (PM) of the Netherlands (Dutch)
as the next Secretary General (SG)
of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
·
Jens Stoltenberg has been serving as the SG of NATO since October 2014.
·
His 10-year term
is set to conclude on 1st October 2024.
·
2024 marks the
75th anniversary of the founding of NATO.
·
The NATO Summit
2024 will be hosted by the United States of America (USA) in Washington D.C.
from 9 to 11 July 2024.
·
NATO was
created by the United States of
America(USA), Canada, and several Western European nations to provide
collective security against the Soviet Union.
·
The North Atlantic Treaty, the founding treaty of NATO popularly known as the
Washington Treaty was signed by 12
founding members on 4th
April 1949.
·
NATO Secretary–General– Jens Stoltenberg (Norway)
·
Members–
32 members countries
·
Headquarters–
Brussels, Belgium
6.
OM BIRLA
ELECTED SPEAKER OF 18TH LOK SABHA
·
Om Birla candidate
of ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), was elected as the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha(Lower House of
the Parliament) for 2nd consecutive
term by a voice vote.
·
He was elected
against opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc’s candidate, Kodikunnil Suresh, 8 time-Member
of Parliament (MP) from Mavelikkara constituency, Kerala
·
He serves as a
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Kota constituency in Rajasthan since 2014
7.
NATIONAL
INSURANCE AWARENESS DAY 2024 – JUNE 28
·
National
Insurance Awareness Day is
annually observed on 28 June to raise awareness about the
importance of insurance, a financial product, in protecting individuals,
families, and businesses from financial risks.
·
The Insurance
Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI):The IRDA was constituted as an autonomous body to regulate and develop the insurance industry,
following the recommendations of the
Malhotra Committee report, in 1999.
·
The IRDA was
incorporated as a statutory body in
April 2000.
·
Chairman– Debasish Panda
·
Headquarters– Hyderabad, Telangana
8.
RBI UPDATES GUIDELINES
FOR PRIORITY SECTOR LENDING
·
The Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) has revised its priority sector guidelines to encourage
banks to provide small loans in economically disadvantaged districts
with low average loan sizes.
·
The new norms discourage
lending in districts with high average loan sizes.
·
Effective from FY25,
fresh priority sector loans in districts with low loan availability (less
than Rs 9,000 per person) will receive a weightage of 125%.
·
In districts with high
loan availability (more than Rs 42,000 per person), the weightage for loans
will be reduced to 90%.
·
Majority of districts,
except outliers with low or high credit availability, will retain the current
weightage of 100%.
·
Districts will be ranked
based on per capita credit flow to the priority sector.
9.
NTA’S DG
·
Retired Indian
Administrative Officer Pradeep Singh Kharola as the new
director general of the National Testing Agency (NTA) till the
appointment of a regular incumbent.
·
Subodh Kumar Singh, the
previous National Testing Agency (NTA) DG, has been removed and placed on
compulsory wait in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) amid
controversy over exam irregularities.
·
The decision was taken by
the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
·
The Education Ministry
has also set up a 7-member panel headed by former ISRO chief K
Radhakrishnan to review the agency's functioning and recommend exam
reforms.
10. CAG
INAUGURATES INDIA'S FIRST 'CHADWICK HOUSE
·
The Comptroller
and Auditor General of India inaugurated the 'Chadwick House: Navigating Audit
Heritage Museum’ in Shimla, marking a significant milestone in preserving
and celebrating the institution's rich legacy and contributions to India's
governance.
·
Historical Significance:
Mahatma Gandhi stayed here in 1946 during his visit for the Cabinet Mission. In
1950, it became a training school for the Indian Audit and Accounts Service.
11. KERALA
ASSEMBLY APPROVES RESOLUTION TO RENAME STATE TO ‘KERALAM’
·
The Kerala
Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on June 24 to change
the name of the state from 'Kerala' to 'Keralam'.
·
The resolution, moved by
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, called for invoking Article 3 of the
Indian Constitution to effectuate this change in the First Schedule.
12. HEMIS
TSESCHU FESTIVAL COMMENCES IN LADAKH
·
The Hemis
Monastic Festival, also known as Hemis Tseschu, is an annual
celebration of Tibetan Buddhism in Ladakh, India.
·
The festival marks
the birth anniversary of Guru Padma Sambhava.
13. J.P.
NADDA APPOINTED AS LEADER OF THE HOUSE IN RAJYA SABHA
·
Union Minister for Health
and Family Welfare and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda has
been appointed as the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha.
·
Nadda replaces Union
Minister Piyush Goyal, who recently won the Lok Sabha election and took oath
on Monday as a member of the Lower House of Parliament.
·
In the Cabinet, Mr. Nadda
is also in charge of the Chemicals and Fertilizers portfolio.
·
Congress president Mallikarjun
Kharge is the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.
·
Besides Mr. Nadda, 11
other members of the Upper House of Parliament are in the Union Council of
Ministers.
·
The Rajya Sabha, also
known as the Council of States, is the upper house of the
bicameral Parliament of India.
·
The total allowed
capacity is 250 (238 elected, 12 appointed) according to article 80
of the Indian Constitution.
·
The current potential
seating capacity of the Rajya Sabha is 245 (233 elected, 12 appointed),
after the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act.
·
Article 84 of
the Constitution provides the qualification to be elected as a member of
Rajya Sabha:
·
He must be a citizen
of India.
·
An individual needs to complete
30 years of age.
14. FIRST
INDIAN WOMAN CRICKETER TO SCORE CONSECUTIVE CENTURIES IN ODIS.
·
Smriti Mandhana, renowned
for her aggressive batting style, created history in Indian cricket
during the recent ODI series against South Africa.
·
Mandhana amassed a
remarkable 343 runs across three ODIs against South Africa.
·
She became the first
Indian woman cricketer to score consecutive centuries in ODIs.
15. ARCHERY
WORLD CUP
·
India's recurve mixed
team of Dhiraj Bommadevara and Bhajan Kaur displayed exceptional skill
to secure a bronze medal in the Archery World Cup Stage 3.
·
The Indian duo levelled
the score with a flawless round and ultimately won 5-3 against Alejandra
Valencia and Matias Grande of Mexico.
·
This bronze marks India's
third medal at the event, with prospects for more as Dhiraj Bommadevara and
Ankita Bhakat advance to their individual semifinals.
·
Earlier, the Indian women's
compound team comprising Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Aditi Swami, and Parneet
Kaur secured a gold medal, while Priyansh claimed a silver in
their respective events.
