Today’s Current Affairs: 2nd May 2024 for SSC CGL, State SSC, RRB, Railways, Banking Exam & IBPS, etc
K2-18b Exoplanet:
- The James Webb Space Telescope is gearing up for a significant mission targeting K2-18b, a distant planet with potential for extra-terrestrial life.
- K2-18b Exoplanet Discovered in 2015 during NASA’s K2 mission, located over 120 light-years away from Earth.
- Size: Over 8 times larger than Earth.
Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals initiative:
- The Railway Ministry plans to expand its Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals initiative, aiming to offer an additional 200 terminals to corporate entities and freight operators.
IREDA get Navratna Status:
- IREDA (Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency), the financing agency for Renewable projects in India, was conferred with ‘Navratna status’ by the Department of Public Enterprises (Ministry of Finance).
Salmonella contamination:
- The United States has taken stringent measures in response to salmonella contamination in shipments from Mahashian Di Hatti Pvt Ltd (MDH).
- The situation underscores the importance of stringent quality control measures in food production and distribution. Authorities worldwide are closely monitoring such incidents to protect consumers and maintain food safety standards.
LSAM 20 Barge:
- The Indian Navy has launched the sixth barge of the LSAM 16 (Yard 130) series, named ‘Ammunition Cum Torpedo Cum Missile Barge, LSAM 20 (Yard 130),’ built by a private firm, Suryadipta Projects Pvt Ltd, in Thane, Maharashtra.
- The launch ceremony took place recently, at the launch site of Suryadipta Projects Pvt Ltd and was presided over by Madhusudan Bhui, INAS, GM NAD (Karanja).
Peucetia chhaparajnirvin : Spider Species
- Daryapur-based arachnologist recently identified a green lynx spider, named Peucetia chhaparajnirvin, which was never discovered earlier.
- Peucetia chhaparajnirvin is a new species of green lynx spider.
Hangor Class Submarine : China:
- China has launched the first of eight Hangor-class submarines being built for Pakistan. It is a diesel-electric attack submarine.
- It is bigger than the Indian Navy’s Kalvari class submarines, with a displacement of 2,800 tons compared to 1,775 tons for the Kalvari class.
Goldman Environmental Prize 2024:
- Alok Shukla, a forest and tribal rights activist, has been awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize 2024 for his successful campaign that saved 4.45 lakh acres of biodiversity-rich forests from 21 planned coal mines in Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo Aranya region.
Bima Vistaar : IRDAI
- The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has proposed to price Bima Vistaar, its ambitious all-in-one affordable insurance mass product aimed at the rural areas of the country, at Rs 1,500 per policy.
India Reduces Windfall Tax on Petroleum Crude:
- India has adjusted its windfall tax on petroleum crude, reducing it to 8,400 Indian rupees ($100.66) per metric ton from 9,600 rupees, effective May 1.
RBI Cancels Acemoney (India) NBFC License for Irregular Lending Practices:
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revoked the license of Acemoney (India) Limited, a Delhi-based non-banking financial company (NBFC), citing irregular lending practices.
- This action stems from the company’s violation of RBI guidelines regarding excessive interest charges and inadequate protection of customer information
Uttarakhand Suspends Licences of 14 Patanjali Ayurved Products:
- The Uttarakhand government has suspended the manufacturing licenses of 14 products from Patanjali Ayurved, founded by Baba Ramdev, citing misleading advertisements about their efficacy.
Core Sector Growth Moderates to 5.2% in March:
- In March, the growth of India’s core sectors slowed to 5.2% from February’s 7.1%, primarily due to the statistical effect of a high base.
- However, sequentially, there was a notable increase of 9.9%, marking the highest growth in a year.
Dr. Bina Modi Honoured for Outstanding Contribution to Corporate Social Responsibility:
- Dr. Bina Modi, Chairperson and Managing Director of Modi Enterprises – KK Modi Group, was honoured by the esteemed Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankar, for her ‘Outstanding Contribution to the cause of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)‘.
UN’s 1st International Conference on DPI held under India’s Leadership in New York:
- The first United Nations (UN) Conference on ‘Citizen Stack: Digital Public Infrastructure, Transformative Technology for Citizens’ was held at UN headquarters in New York, United States (US) under India’s leadership to harness the technology to propel Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and foster inclusivity.
- The conference introduced India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) framework as a global standard.
RBI Announces Interest Rate of 8% on Floating Rate Savings Bond (FRSB) 2034:
- The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has announced an 8% interest rate on the Floating Rate Savings Bond(FRSB) 2034.
- It is a special type of bond issued by Government of India (GoI) that matures in 2034.
- This is a variable rate bond as the interest rate will change after every 6 months and has maturity time period of 7 years.
BRISKPE Raises USD 5 Million in Seed Funding from PayU to Enhance Cross-border Payments:
- GoBrisk Technologies Private Limited (BRISKPE), a Mumbai (Maharashtra)-based cross-border payments platform, secured an investment of USD 5 million in a seed round from PayU, the payments and fintech business of Prosus.
