Daily Current Affairs and GK | 31 May 2024

Topic: Space and IT

1. South Korea launched its first space agency.

• South Korea has plans to make a Mars landing by 2045.
• President Yoon Suk Yeol said it plans to spend 100 trillion won ($72.6 billion) until then on space exploration.
• The Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) will lead the country’s “space economy”.
• South Korea’s first lunar lander is planned for 2032.
• With the launch of the Nuri rocket in May 2023, South Korea became the seventh nation to possess its own space launch vehicle and satellite development technology.
• By 2027, South Korea plans to conduct at least three more space launches. Plans to launch military satellites are also in place.
• North Korea attempted to launch a rocket on May 27, 2024, but was unable to place its second military spy satellite into orbit.
• Japan was the fifth nation to send a lander to the moon in January.
• India was the fourth country to land on the moon last year.

Topic: Indian Economy

2. FY24 income of RBI has increased 17% to ₹2,75,572.32 crore.

• RBI’s FY24 income spending has declined by 56.3% to ₹64,694.33 crore from ₹1,48,037.04 crore in FY23.
• RBI’s annual report showed that the size of its balance sheet increased by 11% (₹7,02,946.97 crore) to ₹70,47,703.21 crore from ₹63,44,756.24 crore in FY23.
• On the asset side, the increase was because of rise in foreign investments, gold, and loans and advances by 13.9%, 18.26% and 30.05%, respectively.
• The increase on liabilities side was because of rise in notes issued, deposits and other liabilities by 3.88%, 27% and 92.57%, respectively.
• Domestic assets formed 23.31% in FY24. Foreign currency assets, gold and loans and advances to financial institutions outside India formed 76.69% of total assets in FY24.
• ₹42,819.91 crore was transferred to the Contingency Fund. No provision was made for Asset Development Fund (ADF).
• RBI projected real GDP growth for 2024-25 at 7%, with risks evenly balanced.

Topic: Indian Economy

3. Income Tax department sets the Cost Inflation Index at 363 for the financial year 2024-25.

• The income tax department has notified the Cost Inflation Index for FY2025.
• It will be used for calculating long-term capital gains on the sale of immovable property, securities and jewellery.
• The Cost Inflation Index has been increased from 348 in the previous fiscal year to 363 for the financial year 2024-25.
• This increase aligns with the 4.83 per cent retail inflation rate recorded in April 2024.
• Taxpayers favour a higher Cost Inflation Index as it enables them to claim larger tax deductions.
• This index is issued under the Income-tax Act, 1961 and is generally used to determine the indexed cost of acquisition” for calculating capital gains.
• An asset held for more than 36 months comes under long-term capital gains.

Topic: Personality in News

4. Donald Trump became the first former U.S. President to get convicted for the crime.

• Former US president Donald Trump has been convicted of a crime.
• A New York jury found him guilty on all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through hush money payments to a porn actor.
• Trump is expected to appeal the verdict quickly.
• The conviction in a case will not bar Trump from participating in the election of president.
• Trump also faces federal and state charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election won by Biden.

Topic: State News/ Rajasthan

5. Rajasthan High Court wants the heat wave to be declared a national calamity.

• Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand's single-judge bench said that heat and cold waves should be declared national disasters.
• Rajasthan High Court directed the state government to provide compensation to the dependents of people who died due to heatwave.
• The court also directed the state government to develop the 'Heat Action Plan' in Rajasthan.
• The Rajasthan High Court directed the chief secretary of Rajasthan to constitute committees of various departments to implement this plan.
• However, the court said that the death tolls from heatwaves are very difficult to estimate.
• What is a Heat Wave?
  • Heat waves are periods of unusually high temperatures as compared to what is normally expected in a region.
  • It is a condition of air temperature that becomes fatal to the human body.
  • The heat wave is considered if the maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 400C or more for plains and at least 300C or more for hilly regions.

Topic: Important Days

6. World No Tobacco Day: 31 May

• World No Tobacco Day is observed every to spread awareness about the potential risks of Tobacco.
• The main objective of the day is to bring global attention towards the tobacco epidemic and the preventable death and disease it causes.
• World Health Assembly had started the World No Tobacco Day by passing a resolution in 1987.
• The nicotine present in tobacco causes cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
• The theme of this year’s World No Tobacco Day is "Protecting children from tobacco industry interference".

Topic: Economy/Banking/Finance

7. Unclaimed deposits with banks have increased 26 percent to Rs 78,213 crore.

• As per the RBI Annual Report, unclaimed deposits with banks have increased 26% year on year at the end of March 2024.
• At the end of March 2023, the amount with Depositor Education and Awareness Fund stood at Rs 62,225 crore.
• Banks transfer deposits to RBI's Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund that have been unclaimed by account holders for ten years or more.
• Reserve Bank earlier launched a centralised web portal UDGAM - Unclaimed Deposits Gateway to Access information.
• This was launched to facilitate the depositors to find out the unclaimed deposits across multiple banks at one place.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

8. The 6th meeting of the Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism between India and Japan held  in New Delhi on 29 May.

• During the meeting, the Ministry of External Affairs said that both countries exchanged views on the terrorist threats in their respective regions. 
• Mr KD Dewal, Joint Secretary (CT) of the Ministry of External Affairs led Indian delegation, and Ambassador Hiroyuki Minami led Japanese delegation.
• They also discussed state-sponsored cross-border terrorism in South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and the Middle East, as well as terrorist activities in the Afghanistan and Pakistan region.
• The Both sides assessed counter-terrorism challenges, including the use of new and emerging technologies by terrorists, misuse of the Internet for terrorist purposes, radicalisation and financing of terrorism.
• To combat terrorism, the two sides agreed that information sharing, capacity building, training initiatives, exercises and cooperation in multilateral forums such as the UN, FATF and the Quad are important.
• The 7th meeting of the Joint Working Group on CT will be held in Tokyo at a mutually convenient date.

Topic: Banking System

9. The final framework for the self-regulatory body of the Indian fintech sector was released by the RBI.

• After feedback received from stakeholders on the draft norms dated January 15, the Reserve Bank of India has finalised the framework for recognising SROs for the fintech sector.
• The self-regulatory organisation (SRO) will be industry-driven, and will be responsible for setting and enforcing regulatory standards, promoting ethical conduct, ensuring market integrity, resolving disputes.
• It will also be responsible for promoting transparency and accountability among its members.
• This SRO has been mandated by RBI to be built on a ‘representative’ structure, which will enable it to leverage the collective expertise and experience of its members.
• This will result in the development of standards that are practical, adaptable and widely accepted within the FinTech community.
• No entity should hold 10% or more of its paid-up share capital.
• RBI said that fintech companies located outside India can also be members in this SRO.
• These guidelines come at a time when India's fintech industry is growing rapidly, driven by rising demand for digital payments and lending, raising concerns about customer protection, data privacy, cybersecurity and internal governance.
• The applicant should have a minimum net worth of Rs 2 crore within a period of one year after being recognised as SRO-FT by RBI or before the commencement of such operations.

Topic: Banking System

10. A penalty of Rs 36.38 lakh was imposed on HSBC by RBI for violation of FEMA rules.

• On May 29, a penalty of Rs 36.38 lakh imposed on foreign lender HSBC by the Reserve Bank of India for violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
• The central bank said HSBC did not comply with the reporting requirements under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme of FEMA, 1999.
• A show cause notice was issued to HSBC by the RBI, in response to which the bank filed a written reply and also gave oral submissions.
• After considering the facts of the case and the bank's reply, the Reserve Bank of India concluded that the violations were substantiated and the imposition of penalty was justified.

Topic: Important Days

11. Hindi Journalism Day 2024: 30 May

• Every year on 30 May, Hindi Journalism Day (Hindi Patrakarita Diwas) is celebrated.
• This day is dedicated to the special contribution of Hindi journalists who work for public welfare with full of truth and courage.
• On May 30, 1826, Pt. Jugal Kishore Shukla launched the first Hindi newspaper, "Udant Martand," which marked the beginning of the journey of Hindi journalism.
• Udant Martand was published in Calcutta.
• During British rule, the Hindi publication of Udant Martand proved to be a milestone in the history of Indian journalism.
• In the Udant Martand era, the number of important publications increased and the number of journalists in this field also increased.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Economy/Banking/Finance

12. As per ILO, the Global unemployment rate is expected to fall slightly to 4.9% in 2024.

• The global unemployment rate is expected to fall from 5.0% in 2023 to 4.9% in 2024.
• In January, the ILO estimated that unemployment would remain at 5.2%, driven by expected increases in unemployment in advanced economies.
• ILO lowered its unemployment rate due to lower-than-expected unemployment rates in China, India, and high-income countries.
• According to ILO, the unemployment rate will remain at 4.9% in 2025.
• The report found that 183 million people remain unemployed. The number of people without a job, who wanted to work stood at 402 million.
• For high-income countries, the rate stood at 9.7% for women and 7.3% for men.
• The report estimated that 45.6% of women of working age were employed in 2024.

Topic: Economy/Banking/Finance

13. IRDAI has made major revisions to health insurance norms.

• It repealed 55 circulars with the release of a comprehensive Master Circular on Health Insurance Products.
• The Master Circular brings at a single location all of the policyholder entitlements in a health insurance policy.
• One of the main norms provided by IRDAI is that insurers must give policyholders more options.
• Every insurance document must be provided by the insurers with a Customer Information Sheet (CIS).
• Additionally, customers must have the freedom to select riders, add-ons, and products based on their individual needs and medical conditions.
• When a policyholder has various health insurance policies, they can select the one that allows them to receive the maximum amount of admissible claims.
• A health insurance policy is renewable and cannot be refused based only on claims filed in years prior to the policy's expiration.
• This won't apply if it is proven that the insured committed fraud, withheld information, or made false representations.
• The insurers may provide policyholders with the option to select a no-claim Claim Bonus as a way of rewarding them if they file no claims during the duration of the policy.
• This can be done either by increasing the sum insured or discounting the premium amount.
• If the policyholder decides to cancel their insurance at any point throughout the policy term, they will receive a refund of the premium or the proportionate premium for the remaining policy duration.
• Newly introduced measures include the processing of cashless authorisation requests within one hour.
• The insurer must grant final authorisation within three hours of receiving the discharge request from the hospital.
• An insurer is liable to pay Rs 5,000 per day to the policyholder in case ombudsman awards are not implemented within 30 days.