Daily Current Affairs and GK | 5 and 6 May 2024

Topic: Sports

1. China secured a remarkable victory in the finals of the Thomas and Uber Cup.

• The Chinese men’s team clinched their 11th Thomas Cup with a 3-1 win by defeating Indonesia.
• China’s He Ji Ting, and Ren Xiang Yu defeated Indonesia’s Muhammad Shohibul Fikri and Bagas Maulana in the finals.
• China had won their first Thomas Cup by defeating Japan in 2018.
• The Chinese women’s team has also lifted their 16th Uber Cup title by defeating Indonesia in the final by 3-0.
• He Bingjiao's thrilling three-set win against Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo sealed a perfect 24-0 tournament match record for the Chinese women.
• In 2014, India successfully hosted the Thomas and Uber Cup finals in New Delhi.
• 2024 Thomas & Uber Cup:
  • It was the 33rd edition of the Thomas Cup and the 30th edition of the Uber Cup.
  • It is an international badminton championship for the men's and women's national teams of the member associations of the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
  • It was held in Chengdu, China, from 27 April to 5 May 2024.

Topic: Sports

2. Mumbai City FC defeated Mohun Bagan Super Giant by 3-1.

• With this, Mumbai City FC won its 2nd Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 final.
• Jorge Pereyra Diaz, Jakub Votjus and Bipin Singh scored for Mumbai City FC.
• Jason Cummings scored for Mohun Bagan Super Giant.
• Mohun Bagan’s Dimitrios Petratos, in the 44th minute, shoot from distance to bamboozle the Mumbai City keeper (Phurba Lachenpa).
• Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 was 10th season of ISL. It started on 21 September 2023.
• It concluded with ISL Cup final on 4 May 2024. ISL Cup final was played at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata.

Topic: Indian Polity

3. Under the Hindu Marriage Act, the Supreme Court ruled that a Hindu marriage cannot be registered in the "absence of a valid ceremony".

• The Supreme Court noted that a Hindu marriage is neither a "wining and dining" or "song and dance" occasion.
• Hindu marriage is considered a sacrament and a "samskara," according to a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih.
• The bench said that a Hindu marriage must be recognised as a highly esteemed institution in Indian society.
• In a recent ruling pertaining to two commercial pilots who requested a divorce decision without performing a lawful Hindu marriage ceremony, the bench made these observations.
• The bench declared that a Hindu marriage will not be regarded as such if it is not carried out in compliance with the relevant rites or ceremonies, such as "saptapadi."
• In saptapadi, the bride and groom walk together in front of the sacred fire for seven steps.
• The bench stated that the (Hindu Marriage) Act, which defined the law pertaining to Hindu marriage and covers Lingayats, Aryasamajists, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs in addition to Hindus, came into effect on May 18, 1955.
• According to Section 7 of the (Hindu Marriage) Act, there would be no Hindu marriage until the couples had undertaken such a ceremony, the bench declared.
• According to the court, merely issuing a certificate by an entity without conducting the necessary rituals would not create a marriage in accordance with Hindu law or affirm the spouses' marital status.
• By using its authority under Article 142 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court decided that the divorced couple was not legally married. It also put an end to their divorce proceedings.

Topic: State News/ Uttarakhand

4. India's first Astro tourism campaign, 'Nakshatra Sabha', launched by Uttarakhand Tourism.

• A partnership has been signed between the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board and Starscapes, an Astro-tourism company to launch Nakshatra Sabha.
• It is an initiative designed to provide a comprehensive Astro-tourism experience.
• The aim of the initiative is star observation, and to engage the participants in various activities such as star gazing, special solar observations, astrophotography competitions, and camping under the stars.
• Its goal is to create an engaging platform that brings together astronomy enthusiasts, adventurers, and travelers to enjoy the natural beauty of Uttarakhand as well as witness the wonders of the universe.
• Nakshatra Sabha is scheduled to begin in early June at George Everest in Mussoorie and continue till mid-2025, with a series of intensive programs at various locations in Uttarakhand.
• These events will provide stargazing opportunities and also explore potential night sky destinations in districts like Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh, Nainital, and Chamoli.

Topic: Banking System

5. In March, Bank loans to businesses increased by 16.3%.

• Bank credit to businesses-industry and services sectors grew by 16.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) in March 2024 compared to 12.5% in the same period last year.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released data on the Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit for March 2024.
• According to data, the outstanding bank credit of businesses stood at Rs 82.73 lakh crore in March 2024 (including the impact of the merger of HDFC Bank and HDFC Ltd), compared to Rs 71.16 lakh crore in March 2023.
• Excluding the impact of mergers, bank credit growth to businesses grew 14.6% on a year-on-year basis, 210 basis points (bps) higher than March 2023. One basis point is one-hundredth of one percentage point.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

6. The 26^th ASEAN-India Senior Officials’ Meeting was organised in New Delhi on 3 May 2024.

• The meeting was co-chaired by Secretary (East) Jaideep Mazumdar with the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore, Albert Chua.
• The Country Coordinator of India for ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations is Singapore.
• Senior Officials and representatives of all ASEAN Member States and Timor Leste attended the meeting. Timor Leste holds Observer Status in the ASEAN.
• During the meeting, the implementation of the Prime Ministers’ 12-Point Proposal was discussed.
• The Prime Ministers’ 12-Point Proposal was announced at the 20th ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta last year.
• It was announced to strengthen the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. 
• Preparations for the ASEAN-India Summit were also discussed.
• The ASEAN-India Summit is to be held in 2024 in Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic.

Topic: Defence

7. Flying Wedge Defence has unveiled the FWD-200B unmanned aircraft.

• Flying Wedge Defence is a defence and aerospace technology firm.
• As per the firm, it is India’s first indigenous bomber unmanned aircraft.
• Indigenous FWD-200B costs only ₹25 crores. The U.S. Predator costs around ₹250 crores.
• The payload capacity of the FWD-200B is 100 kgs. It has an endurance capacity of 12-20 hours.
• It is classified as a MALE Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (medium-altitude, long-endurance). Its maximum speed is 370 kmph.
• It holds a ground control station (GCS) range of 200 kms.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

8. Maharashtra government will translocate a few tigers to the Sahyadri Reserve to increase the population.

• The Maharashtra Forest Department has decided to transfer a few tigers from the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Chandrapur to the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve.
• The translocation plan was approved by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in October 2023.
• In the initial phase, a male tiger or a pair of male and female tigers would be translocated to Sahyadri Tiger Reserve.
• The Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR) is one of only five tiger reserves with zero tigers.
• Kaval in Telangana, Kamlang in Arunachal Pradesh, Dampa in Mizoram, and Satkosia in Odisha are the other Tiger Reserves with Zero Tigers.
• The main aim of the translocation of tigers is to increase the population of tigers in the northern Western Ghats forests.
• Sahyadri Tiger Reserve is spread over 1,165 sq km and was notified in 2010 by merging Chandoli National Park and Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary.

Topic: Banking System

9. For the T+1 settlement, RBI revised banks' capital market exposure norms.

• RBI has issued revised guidelines to banks regarding their exposure to the capital markets.
• The guidelines have been revised for custodian banks to issue Irrevocable Payment Commitments (IPCs) in light of the T+1 settlement regime for stocks.
• This step has been taken in response to changes in the settlement cycle from T+2 to T+1.
• Custodian banks issue IPCs must have a clause in their agreements with clients, granting the banks an inalienable right over the securities.
• The maximum intraday risk for custodian banks issuing IPCs is capped at 30 per cent of the settlement amount.

Topic: Important Days

10. World Laughter Day 2024: 5 May

• World Laughter Day is celebrated every year on the first Sunday of May. In 2024, it was celebrated on 5 May.
• World Laughter Day was first celebrated on 10 May 1998 in Mumbai.
• World Laughter Day was started by Dr. Madan Kataria, founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement, in 1998.
• World Laughter Day is celebrated to raise awareness about laughter and its many healing benefits.
• Laughter decreases the cortisol level in the brain, which affects positively on the body.

Topic: National Appointment

11. Atanu Chakraborty reappointed as part-time chairman of HDFC Bank.

• On May 3, the reappointment of Atanu Chakraborty as part-time chairman of HDFC Bank was approved by the RBI for a period of three years from May 05, 2024, to May 04, 2027.
• As a member of the IAS in the Gujarat cadre, Chakraborty has served the Government of India for 35 years.
• During the financial year 2019-20, he held various positions, including Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance-Department of Economic Affairs (DEA).
• HDFC Bank:
  • HDFC Bank is one of India's largest private-sector banks.
  • It is headquartered in Mumbai. It was founded in 1994. The CEO of HDFC Bank is Sashidhar Jagdishan.

Topic: National Appointment

12. Appointment of Sanjeev Nautiyal as MD&CEO of Ujjivan SFB has been approved by the RBI.

• Sanjeev Nautiyal will be the new MD&CEO of Ujjivan SFB from July 1, 2024.
• He has been appointed for a tenure of three years.
• Currently, he is an independent director of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and acts as an advisor in various organisations.
• He will take the place of Ittira Davis, who took charge in January 2022.
• The reappointment of Davis was approved for two years with effect from January 14, 2023.
• Sanjeev Nautiyal had retired as a deputy managing director of SBI.
• He will be the third MD & CEO of the Ujjivan SFB bank in five years.
• Ujjivan Small Finance Bank:
  • It was set up by Ujjivan Financial Services Limited (UFSL). It started banking operations on February 1, 2017.
  • It is a Scheduled Small Finance Bank. It is headquartered in Bengaluru.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

13. Hollywood actress Meryl Streep to be honoured with Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

• At the opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival, the Honorary Palme d’Or will be presented to Meryl Streep.
• Streep, who won the Best Actress prize at Cannes in 1989, will attend the opening ceremony of the 77th edition Cannes Film Festival.
• Previously, the Cannes honorary Palme d’Or was presented to Jeanne Moreau, Marco Bellocchio, Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Pierre Leaud, Jane Fonda, Agnes Varda, Forest Whitaker, and Jodie Foster.
• Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee.
• It is considered one of the film industry's most prestigious awards.

(Source: News on AIR)