Daily Current Affairs and GK | 7 June 2024

Topic: Environment and Ecology

1. India have to invest $385 bn in renewable energy to meets its target of 500 GW by 2030.

• Moody's Ratings estimated that India has to invest $385 billion to meet its target of 500 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy by 2030.
• Coal will remain a key source of electricity generation for the next decade.
• India is a major greenhouse gas emitter and is aiming to reduce its non-fossil fuel capacity by 50 GW each year to meet its 500 GW target.
• India will have to spend $190 billion to $215 billion on capacity over the next six to seven years.
• India's strong policy support has increased renewable energy share to around 43% of its power capacity in fiscal 2023–24.
• Adani Group is aiming to generate 45 GW of renewable power by 2030.

Topic: State News/Uttarakhand

2. Nakshatra Sabha was organised in Mussoorie from 1-2 June.

• It was first astro tourism campaign of India. George Everest Peak was its venue.
• It was jointly organised by Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board in association with Starscapes. Starscapes is India's leading Astro tourism company.
• Astro tourism events will also be held in several other places across the country.
• These places include Harsil-Jadung, Benital, Rishikesh, Jageshwar and Ramnagar.
• As part of the event, activities such as learning astrophotography from experts, star gazing through special instruments, solar observation through solar glasses and H-Alpha filter, navigation and timekeeping were organised.

Topic: International Appointments

3. Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al Sabah has been named as new crown prince by Kuwait's ruling emir.

• Sheikh Sabah earlier served as prime minister and as foreign minister in Kuwait.
• Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber is Kuwait's ruling emir. He named new crown prince nearly six months after taking the throne.
• Sheikh Meshal recently dissolved parliament for four years. The emir is the head of state.
• Kuwait has the world's sixth-largest known oil reserves. It is situated at the tip of Persian Gulf.
• It borders Iraq to the north and Saudi Arabia to the south. It also shares maritime borders with Iran. Its capital is Kuwait City.

Topic: Indian Economy

4. RBI MPC has kept repo rate unchanged at 6.5% for the eighth consecutive time.

• The RBI has raised FY25 GDP growth forecast to 7.2% from 7%.
• The RBI has kept FY25 inflation forecast at 4.5%.
• The MPC kept repo rate unchanged by a 4:2 majority. 
• Dr. Shashanka Bhide, Dr. Rajiv Ranjan, Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra and Shri Shaktikanta Das voted to keep repo rate unchanged.
• Dr. Ashima Goyal and Prof. Jayanth R. Varma voted to cut the policy repo rate by 25 basis points.
• RBI will introduce auto-replenishment of UPI Lite wallet.
• Q1FY25 inflation estimates have been kept at 4.9%. Q2FY25 inflation estimates have been retained at 3.8%.
• Q3FY25 inflation estimates have been kept at 4.6%. Q4FY25 inflation estimates have been retained at 4.5%.
• Q1FY25 GDP growth forecast has been increased to 7.3% from 7.1%.
• Q2FY25 GDP growth forecast has been increased from 6.9% to 7.2%.
• Q3FY25 GDP growth forecast has been increased from 7% to 7.3%. Q4FY25 GDP growth forecast has been increased to 7.2% from 7%.
• RBI has reviewed the bulk deposit limit and proposed to revise the bulk deposits as ‘Single Rupee term deposit of ₹3 crore and above’ for SCBs (excluding RRBs) and SFBs.
• For Local Area Banks, bulk deposits are proposed to be defined as ‘Single Rupee term deposits of ₹1 crore and above’.

Topic: Reports and Indices/ Ranking

5. IIT Bombay has jumped 31 spots to 118th in QS World University Rankings 2025.

• With an aggregate score of 56.3 out of 100, the IIT Bombay has moved up significantly in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings from its 149th position last year to its 118th rank this year.
• This is the first time since it started participating in these rankings that IIT Bombay has been ranked among the top 150 institutions.
• This year, IIT Delhi has also ranked 150th position.
• According to the rankings released on June 5, a total, 5,663 educational institutions across the world were assessed and 1,503 of them were ranked by QS.
• IIT Bombay achieved a score of 86 out of 100 under the category of employer reputation, 79.1 in citations per faculty, 58.5 in academic reputation, 64.5 in employment outcome.
• Additionally, 52.5 in sustainability, 14.4 in faculty-student ratio, 4.3 in international faculty, 52.3 in international research network, and 1.3 in international students.
• Of these nine parameters, IIT Bombay showed the strongest performance in employer reputation, ranking 63rd globally in this category.
• The US-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has topped the ranking for the twelfth consecutive year.
• MIT is followed by Britain's Cambridge University and Oxford University.
• The National University of Singapore (NUS) has become the first Asian university to break into the top 10 club, moving up three places from last year's 11th rank.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

6. A National Stakeholder Workshop organised by UNESCO and MeitY on Ethics of AI.

• In collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the UNESCO Regional Office for South Asia organized a National Stakeholder Workshop on Safe, Trusted and Ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI) in New Delhi.
• The event is taking place at a crucial time as the Indian Government has recently approved the India AI Mission.
• More than Rs 10,000 crore has been allocated for this mission, which is a significant step towards strengthening India's Artificial Intelligence (AI) ecosystem.
• The workshop provided a platform for important discussions aimed at integrating safe, trusted, and ethical AI considerations into national and state-level AI strategies and programs.
• The workshop was attended by senior level officials from various Central Ministries, State Governments, NITI Aayog and industry partners like NASSCOM.
• In November 2021, the ‘Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence’ was unanimously adopted by all 193 UNESCO Member States.
• It is primarily based on fundamental principles such as transparency and fairness while ensuring the important role of human oversight in maintaining oversight of artificial intelligence systems.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: International News

7. Biopharmaceutical Alliance has been launched by India, South Korea, US, Japan and EU.

• It was launched in response to drug supply shortages seen during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• First meeting of the alliance was held in San Diego during the Bio International Convention 2024.
• The meeting was attended by representatives from government officials and bio and pharmaceutical companies from the participating countries.
• The participants agreed to coordinate bio policies, regulations, and research and development support measures.
• During their dialogue on core emerging technologies in December, US and South Korea agreed to form the alliance.
• They expanded it to include Japan, India and the EU.
• The Bio International Convention 2024 was held in June 3-6, 2024 in San Diego, USA.

Topic: Important Days

8. World Food Safety Day: 7 June

• World Food Safety Day is observed every year on 7 June.
• It aims to attract attention to help prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) together facilitate the observance of World Food Safety Day.
• This day is an opportunity to strengthen efforts to ensure that the food we eat is safe.
• The theme for World Food Safety Day 2024 is “Food Safety: Prepare for the Unexpected”.
• This theme aims to draw attention to sudden food safety incidents.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

9. 3^rd Indian Analytical Congress (IAC) held at Dehradun.

• The 3rd Indian Analytical Congress (IAC) has been inaugurated at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP) in Dehradun.
• This three-day International Conference cum Exhibition IAC-2024 jointly organized by CSIR-IIP and the Indian Society of Analytical Scientists (ISAS-Delhi Chapter).
• "Role of Science and Technology in Green Transitions" is the theme of the conference.
• CSIR's initiative and thematic achievements in Energy and Energy Devices (EED) were showcased through the 'One Week One Theme' (OWOT) program.
• The 3-Day International Conference will provide a platform for industries, academia, scientists, and technologists in the Analytical Sciences.
• Five technical sessions have been organized in this session.
• More than 250 delegates from IOCL, BPCL, HMEL, and institutions participated in this conference.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

10. SEBI launched the 'Saarthi 2.0' mobile app for investors.

• The market regulator Sebi launched the 'Saarthi 2.0' mobile app to help investors manage their personal finances.
• The 'Saa ₹thi 2.0' app came with a user-friendly interface, which will help investors make financial decisions.
• It comprises comprehensive tools for demystifying complex financial concepts.
• These tools help users make various financial calculations, aiding in better financial planning.
• On this app, users can explore different modules to learn about various financial instruments and market procedures.
• These modules cover a variety of topics, including KYC procedures, mutual funds, ETFs, and buying and selling shares on stock exchanges.
• Saarthi 2.0 can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or the iOS App Store.

Topic: Space and IT

11. Russian cosmonaut became the first person to spend 1,000 days in space.

• On June 4, Oleg Kononenko achieved the feat, having made five trips to the International Space Station since 2008.
• On September 15, 2023, his current trip to the ISS began, when he flied into space alongside NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara and his compatriot Nikolai Chub.
• In February 2024, Kononenko set the cumulative space time record for the first time when he surpassed the record of 878 days, 11 hours, 29 minutes and 48 seconds set by fellow Russian Gennady Padalka in 2015.
• On September 23, 2024, if Kononenko's mission ends on schedule, it will have spent a total of 1,110 days in orbit.
• The International Space Station is one of the few areas in which the United States and Russia are still closely cooperating, even after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
• In December, Roscosmos announced that its cross-flight program with NASA to ferry astronauts to the ISS had been extended to 2025.

Topic: Environment and Ecology

12. Nagi and Nakti bird sanctuaries added to ‘Ramsar Sites’.

• Nagi and Nakti bird sanctuaries man-made reservoirs are located in the Jhajha forest range of Jamui district in Bihar.
• Nakti Bird Sanctuary was developed primarily for irrigation, but later this wetland was designated as a bird sanctuary in 1984.
• Nagi Bird Sanctuary was created after the damming of the Nagi River. This wetland has more than 75 birds, 33 fish, and 12 aquatic species.
• It is home of the largest congregations of bar-headed geese in the Indo-Gangetic plane.
• The total number of wetlands in the Ramsar Sites list reached to 82 in India.
• At present, the United Kingdom (175) has the highest number of Ramsar Sites’, followed by Mexico (144). India and China are in the third position.
• In the last ten years, the number of Ramsar sites in India has increased from 26 to 82. 40 have been added in the last three years.
• The Ramsar convention was adopted in 1971 to provide a framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands.

Topic: Indian Polity

13. 74 women were elected in the 18th Lok Sabha election.

• 74 women have won the Lok Sabha elections of 2024, less than 78 elected in 2019.
• 16 per cent of these women MPs are below the age of 40. 41 per cent of women MPs (30 MPs) have previously been members of the Lok Sabha.
• A total of 797 women candidates had contested the elections. BJP gave a maximum number of tickets to women (69).
• BJP’s 30, Congress’ 14, TMC’s 11, four of the Samajwadi Party’s, three of the DMK, and two each of the JDU and LJP(R) women candidates won the polls this time.
• This is the first election since the passage of the women’s reservation bill in the Parliament.
• The 17th Lok Sabha had the highest number of women parliamentarians at 78.
• There were 24 women MPs each in the first and the second Lok Sabha.

Topic: MoUs /Agreements

14. NPCI International joined hands with the Reserve Bank of Peru to enable UPI payments.

• NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) and the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP) announced a partnership to adopt a UPI-like real-time payments system.
• This partnership will make Peru the first country in South America to adopt the globally renowned Unified Payment Interface (UPI) technology.
• This strategic partnership will empower BCRP to set up an efficient real-time payment platform in Peru.
• It will facilitate instant payments between individuals and businesses.
• This partnership aims to strengthen Peru's financial infrastructure and support economic growth.
• NIPL is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India.