Daily Current Affairs and GK | 26 and 27 May 2024

Topic: International News

1. Emanuel Macron is on the first French presidential state visit to Germany in the last 24 years.

• French President Emanuel Macron landed in Germany on a three-day visit.
• Macron's visit to Germany is the first French presidential state visit to German soil in the last 24 years.
• This visit will improve the German-French relationship at a time when Europe is facing many challenges.
• Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have very different leadership styles.
• They have reached compromises on various issues such as fiscal reform, allowing the EU to strike deals, power market subsidies, etc.
• France has pushed for a more self-reliant Europe on defence matters but it is not happy with Germany’s decision to buy mostly American gear for its European Sky Shield Initiative air defence umbrella.
• Both countries will also try to find common ground on the EU agenda for the next five years.

(Source: DD News)

Topic: Economy/Banking/Finance

2. India's market capitalization to GDP ratio reached to 15-year high.

• India's market capitalization to GDP ratio has reached to a 15-year high of 140.2 per cent from 95.8 per cent at the end of March 2023.
• As per the BSE data, 4357 companies available for trade had a combined market capitalization of around Rs 416 trillion.
• India’s GDP at the current price is Rs 296.6 trillion in FY24.
• The current ratio is just below the all-time high of 149.4 per cent at the end of December 2007,
• The market capitalisation of all listed companies traded on the Bombay Stock Exchange has increased by 61% since March 2023.

Topic: Sports

3. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won the IPL title for the third time.

• On 26 May, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) led by Shreyas Iyer won the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) by defeating Pat Cummins-led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium.
• Previously, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) won trophies in 2012 and 2014.
• The opening match of IPL 2024 was played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings (H) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Topic: Indian Economy

4. India recorded trade deficit with 9 out of top 10 trading partners in 2023-24.

• According to official data, India has recorded a trade deficit, the gap between imports and exports, with nine of its top 10 trading partners, including China, Russia, Singapore and Korea, in 2023-24.
• Additionally, compared to 2022–2023, the data showed that the trade deficit with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Indonesia, and Iraq narrowed, while the deficit with China, Russia, Korea, and Hong Kong widened.
• Trade deficit with China increased to $85 billion, Russia to $57.2 billion and Korea to $14.71 billion in 2023-24, from $83.2 billion, $43 billion and $14.57 billion respectively in 2022-23.
• China has emerged as India's largest trading partner, surpassing the US, with two-way trade worth $118.4 billion in 2023-24.
• In 2023-24, the bilateral trade between India and the US stood at $118.28 billion.
• During 2021-22 and 2022-23, the USA was India’s top trading partner.
• India has signed a free trade agreement with four of its top trading partners – Singapore, UAE, Korea and Indonesia (as part of the Asian bloc).

Topic: State News/ Uttar Pradesh

5. Uttar Pradesh topped in adding transmission lines by state utilities.

• Data released by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) shows that Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the leading state in terms of adding transmission lines by state transmission utilities in FY 2024.
• Uttar Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (UPPTCL), a state utility, added 1,460 ckm of 220kV or higher transmission lines in FY24.
• This was far beyond the achievement of any other state utility.
• Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Limited (GETCO), a utility ranked second, added 898 CKM by the end of FY24.
• The total amount of transmission lines added by state electricity utilities in FY24 was 6,993 ckm, which represented about 64% of the targeted 11,002 ckm.
• UPPTCL's contribution to the total growth by the state sector was just over 20%.
• The share of Gujarat, which stood second in this total growth, was 13%. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar – in that order – came after Gujarat.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

6. Making history, Anasuya Sengupta became the first Indian to receive the Best Actress Award at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in France.

• She won the prestigious award for her compelling role in the film "The Shameless," which was written and directed by Bulgarian director Constantin Bojanov.
• Anasuya received the trophy in the Un Certain Regard segment for her role as Renuka in the film.
• Here is the important list of winners:

Topic: International News

7. A new plant of Sun Pharma (India’s leading pharmaceutical company) has been inaugurated near Dhaka.

• It has been jointly inaugurated by High Commissioner of India in Bangladesh Pranay Verma and Investment Adviser of Bangladesh Prime Minister Salman Fazlur Rahman.
• This is the second investment of Sun Pharma in Bangladesh having production capacity of more than 1 billion tablets and capsules per year.
• The plant is the first pharmaceutical facility in any Bangladesh Economic Zone.
• Mr. Verma emphasised Bangladesh's rise to prominence in the production of generic drugs.
• He pointed out that India has been a reliable partner in the pharmaceutical industry's rise in Bangladesh.
• India is providing almost 30% of the country's need for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).

Topic: National Appointments

8. Vice Admiral Gurcharan Singh took over as Commandant, National Defence Academy.

• On 25 May 2024, he assumed the charge from Vice Admiral Ajay Kocchar.
• On 01 July 1990, he was commissioned into the Indian Navy.
• He specialises in missiles and gunnery. He was a member of the Indian Naval Fleet on the ships Prahar and Ranjit.
• Additionally, he commanded INS Khukri and INS Vidyut.
• He became the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet on November 29, 2022.
• After achieving the top spot in his batch's overall order of merit during ab initio training, he was given the Admiral Katarı Trophy.
• In December 2011, INS Khukri, which was under his command, was given the Chief of Naval Staff's "Unit Citation."
• In addition, he received the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (2024) and the Nao Sena Medal (2020).
• National Defence Academy is joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces. It is located in Khadakwasla, Pune, Maharashtra. It was established in 1949.

Topic: National News

9. Government directed telecom companies to block incoming international spoofed calls.

• The government has taken this step because fraudsters are making international spoofed calls displaying Indian mobile numbers to Indian citizens and committing cybercrime and financial fraud.
• These international calls appeared to be coming from India but were made by cyber-criminals from foreign countries.
• The TSPs are already blocking incoming international spoofed calls with Indian landline numbers.
• Recently, the Department of Telecom has issued directives to telecom operators to immediately re-verify 6.8 lakh mobile numbers within 60 days.
• DoT and Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have created a system to identify and block international spoofed calls from reaching any Indian telecom subscriber.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

10. National Health Claim Exchange (NHCX) portal is to be launched very soon.

• The government is planning to launch the National Health Claim Exchange (NHCX) one-stop portal in the next two to three months.
• It will use a common data collection format that will contain all the information needed by different insurance companies.
• Its main objective is to reduce the pre-authorisation and discharge approvals time and to bring down insurance premiums in the future.
• At present, hospitals use different private portals to process insurance claims.
• This new portal will bring almost 50 insurance companies under one umbrella.
• The claim exchange has been developed as part of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
• After this portal, policyholders can expect quicker claim settlements and a less cumbersome experience for reimbursement claims.

Topic: Defence

11. Army is conducting its own survey on the Agniveer scheme and may recommend changes.

• Currently, the Army is conducting an internal survey on the Agneepath scheme to assess its impact on its recruitment process.
• On the basis of this, it can prepare recommendations on possible changes in the plan for the incoming government.
• The survey to evaluate the scheme comes at a time when the Congress and its Indian block allies have promised to scrap it if voted to power in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
• In 2022, the scheme was launched by the Center.
• Agneepath Scheme recruits male and female candidates into the Army, Navy and Air Force.
• Candidates known as Agniveers are recruited either directly through educational institutions or through recruitment rallies.
• They are supposed to serve for a short period of four years and are not eligible for pension.
• At present, two batches of 40,000 Agniveers are deployed in the army. Three batches of 7,385 Agniveers have completed training in the Navy.
• 4,955 Agniveer Air Trainees have completed training in the Indian Air Force.

Topic: India and its Neighbor

12. India's RuPay service will soon be launched by Maldives.

• A senior minister in the Mohamed Muizzu-led government said the move would "strengthen the Maldivian Rufiyaa."
• This development comes amid strained bilateral relations between India and Maldives.
• However, after the initial tension in January this year, both the countries are trying to improve relations.
• The decision came when Maldives Foreign Minister Musa Zameer visited India from May 8-10.
• The card will formally be used for transactions in rupees within the Maldives.
• RuPay is a global card payment network launched by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) in 2012.

Topic: Indian Economy

13. India’s net FDI declined by 62% in FY24: RBI data.

• Net foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into India have declined to $10.58 billion in 2023–24 (FY24) from $27.98 billion in 2023.
• It is the lowest net foreign direct investment since 2007.
• As per the RBI data, $44.4 billion of the $70.9 billion in gross FDI flows came through dividends, share sale or disinvestment.
• $15.96 billion has been invested overseas by Indians.
• More than 60 per cent of the FDI equity flows came into manufacturing, electricity and other energy, computer services, financial services, and retail and wholesale trade.
• 80 per cent of the FDI flows came from Singapore, Mauritius, the US, the Netherlands, Japan and the UAE.
• India is to be among the top 10 economies to see a high FDI flow in 2024.
• Indian companies announced over 550 Greenfield FDI projects abroad.
• The share of FDI capital expenditure from G-20 emerging markets has increased to 14.9 per cent in 2023 from 8.2 per cent in 2003.

Topic: International News

14. Zero Debris Charter has been signed by ESA and 12 Countries.

• The European Space Agency and 12 countries have signed the Zero Debris Charter at the ESA/EU Space Council.
• They affirmed their commitment to the long-term sustainability of human activities in Earth orbit.
• Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have taken pledge to adhere to the charter.
• At the 2022 Ministerial Conference, ESA members agreed to implement a "Zero Debris Approach to their missions".
• The Zero Debris Charter will help Europe to be a global leader in space debris mitigation and remediation.