30th July 2023 Daily Current Affairs

International Affairs

Bhutan has announced the successful elimination of rubella.
In the past 20 years, Bhutan’s health workers have worked tirelessly and fought against rubella, also known as German Measles
This infectious disease poses a threat to those infected and also causes severe complications for pregnant women, resulting in irreversible birth defects in newborns.
Bhutan’s efforts in vaccination promotion and creating awareness have resulted in commendable success.

Important Dates

July 29 is observed as International Tiger Day annually
Aim: To promote tiger conservation worldwide.
Goal: To safeguard tigers and preserve their natural habitat on a global scale.
As an endangered species in various regions across the world, tigers confront multiple threats to their existence, including habitat loss and poaching.
International Tiger Day serves as a encouragement for humans and tigers to peacefully coexist

International Affairs

A Norwegian woman and her Nepali Sherpa guide climbed K2, the world’s second tallest mountain, in Pakistan becoming the world’s fastest climber to summit all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters (26,246 feet) in just 92 days.
This was their 14th highest peak in just over three months.
Other climbers included Pakistan’s Shahbaz Khan, the younger brother of renowned mountaineer Sirbaz Khan.
Harila and Tenjen set the fastest climbing record by beating Nirmal Purja of Nepal.

National & International Appointments

Reserve Bank of India has granted approval for the appointment of NS Vishwanathan as the non-executive chairman of Axis Bank for a three-year term.
With a career spanning nearly four decades at the central bank, Vishwanathan joined the Reserve Bank of India in 1981 and retired in March 2020 as the deputy governor.
He showcased expertise in various areas, such as, banking, and non-banking regulation, demonstrating extensive knowledge in central banking.

Banking & Finance

SBI Ecowrap predicts that India is on track to become the world’s third-largest economy by FY28.
There is a growing agreement among experts that India’s GDP in Q1FY24 is set to exceed 8%, leading to a GDP growth rate surpassing 6.5% in FY24.
The incremental increase in India’s economy between 2022 and 2027 is greater than the entire current size of Australia’s economy, which stands at $1.8 trillion.

Banking & Finance

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is teaming up with Mukesh Ambani-led Jio Financial Services (JFS) to enter India’s asset management sector.
This collaboration represents BlackRock’s return to the domestic market, and it will serve as a strong foothold for JFS, which is a recently separated division of Reliance Industries.
This marks BlackRock’s second attempt at tapping into the rapidly expanding domestic asset management space.

National Affairs

The 10th meeting of the Sub Committee on Military Cooperation between India and Malaysia was held in New Delhi in July 2023.
The Indian Side was headed by, Ministry of Defence Amitabh Prasad, while the Malaysian side was headed by Assistant Chief of Staff, Khairul Anuar bin Abd Aziz
The Indian side highlighted the potential of the Indian defense industry with capacity and capability to cooperate with the Malaysian Armed Forces in its shipbuilding and maintenance plans

National Affairs

The National Health Authority has launched 100 Microsites Project under Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).
Aim: To establish a small ecosystem within a particular geographic area where there is complete ABDM adoption, and the entire patient journey is digitized.
It will be a cluster of small and mid-sized health facilities that would be fully compliant with ABDM.
It shall encompass all small and medium-scale clinics, nursing homes, and other healthcare facilities.

National Affairs

Deepak Mohanty, Chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority (PFRDA) launched the revamped website of the National Pension System Trust.
The new website features a sleek and intuitive design, optimized for both desktop and mobile devices.

Banking & Finance

Mahindra & Mahindra has acquired a 3.5% stake in RBL Bank for Rs 417 crore.
The company might consider making further investments, but it will be subject to a ceiling of 9.9%.
As per RBI norms, any entity looking to acquire over 5 per cent stake in a bank needs to seek prior approval from the regulator.
The Mahindra group is in the financial services sector primarily through its arm Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services – a non-banking finance company.