Current Affairs 05 April 2023

Current Affairs 05 April 2023

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1. China’s renminbi replaces US dollar as most traded currency in Russia
  • China’s renminbi has replaced the US dollar as the most traded currency in Russia, a year after the invasion of Ukraine led to a slew of Western sanctions against Moscow. The renminbi surpassed the dollar in monthly trading volume in February for the first time, and the difference became more pronounced in March, according to data compiled by Bloomberg based on daily transaction reports from the Moscow Exchange. Before the invasion, the renminbi’s trading volume on the Russian market was negligible.
Foot Notes:
About China:
Capital: Beijing
President: Xi Jinping
 
2. Saudi Arabia launches new national airline Riyadh Air
  • Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has announced the creation of a new national airline called Riyadh Air. Riyadh Air will serve more than 100 destinations around the world by 2030. Riyadh Air will be Saudi Arabia’s second national carrier alongside Saudi.
  • Riyadh Air is wholly owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has more than $600 billion in assets. It will be chaired by PIF Governor Yasser bin Othman al-Rumayyan, while Tony Douglas, who brings more than 40 years of experience in the aviation, transportation and logistics industries, is appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Foot Notes:
About Saudi Arabia :
Capital : Riyadh
Crown Prince and Prime Minister : Mohammed bin Salman
Currency : Saudi riyal
 
3. PM inaugurates Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of Central Bureau of Investigation in New Delhi
  • The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. The Central Bureau of Investigation was established by a resolution of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India dated 1st April 1963.
  • During the programme, an Investiture Ceremony for recipients of the President's Police Medal for Distinguished Service and Gold Medal for Best Investigating Officers of CBI was also held wherein the Prime Minister conferred medals to the awardees.
4. Shri Sarbananda Sonowal launches Sagar Setu Mobile App of National Logistics Portal Marine
  • Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Shri Sarbananda Sonowal launched the App Version of National Logistics Portal (Marine)  ‘Sagar-Setu’ in the presence of Shri Shripad Y. Naik, MoS, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) Shri Sudhansh Pant, Secretary  and other senior officials.
  • The app has been envisaged with deliverables covering features like Login Module, Service Catalogue, Common Application Format, Letter of Credit, Bank Guarantee, Certification, and Track & Trace etc. It will provide real-time information of activities that are generally not in reach of the importer, exporter, and customs broker including vessel-related information, gate, container freight stations and transactions on fingertips.
5. PAN-Aadhaar linking deadline extended till June 30
  • Income Tax Department has extended the due date to June 30 from the earlier deadline of March 31. However, the linking will be possible only after paying a late fee of ₹1,000.More than 51 crore PANs have already been linked with Aadhaar so far.
  • Under the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961, every person who has been allotted a PAN as on July 01, 2017 and is eligible to obtain Aadhaar Number, is required to intimate his Aadhaar to the prescribed authority on or before March 31, 2023, on payment of a prescribed fee (which is ₹1,000). If taxpayers fail to link their PAN with their Aadhaar, they cannot avail income tax refunds and have to pay TDS (tax deduction at source) and TCS (tax collection at source) at higher rates.
6. Sudha Shivkumar takes over as FICCI Ladies Organisation president
  • Chennai-based Sudha Shivkumar took over as the 40th president of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), the oldest women-led and women-centric business chamber of Southeast Asia, at the 39th annual session.
  • She is a lawyer and investment banker by profession. At present, she is a director at her family run business focused on auto ancillaries. Ms. Shivkumar was the Chairperson of FLO Chennai Chapter in 2016-17.
Foot Notes:
About FICCI:
President: Sanjiv Mehta
Founded: 1927
Headquarters: New Delhi
 
7. Skyroot Aerospace test-fires advanced fully 3D-printed cryogenic engine
  • In Nagpur, private space vehicle company Skyroot Aerospace test-fired its 3D-printed Dhawan II engine for a duration of 200 seconds on 4 April. This is the second cryogenic rocket that has been successfully test-fired by Skyroot, following the Dhawan-I engine that was tested in November 2021.
  • The achievement comes after the November 2022 launch of Vikram-S, making Skyroot the first Indian private company to send a rocket into space. The engine has been developed by the company for its heavy vehicle Vikram II. This cryogenic engine will be used as an advanced stage of the updated version of Vikram-II.
8. Amazon to launch first of 3,000 internet satellites to space in 2024
  • Amazon.com plans to launch its first internet satellites to space in the first half of 2024 as it prepares to vie with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and others to provide broadband internet globally.
  • Amazon’s satellite internet unit, Project Kuiper, will begin mass-producing the satellites later 2023. This will be the first of over 3,000 satellites the technology giant plans to launch in low-Earth orbit in the next few years.The 2024 deployment target would keep Amazon on track to fulfil a regulatory mandate to launch half its entire Kuiper network of 3,236 satellites by 2026.
Foot Notes:
About  Amazon:
Headquater: Washington, United States
CEO: Andy Jassy
Founded: 5 July 1994
 
9. Reliance Retail ropes in former Amul chief RS Sodhi to drive grocery biz
  • Reliance Retail, the retail arm of Reliance Industries (RIL), has hired RS Sodhi, former MD of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF).
  • Sodhi is expected to help Reliance Retail build its grocery vertical, especially in the fruits and vegetable space, besides helping its consumer brands segment. The company has been aggressively increasing its presence in the segment. Recently, it has launched a wide range of products, from beverages under the Campa brand to home items.
Foot Notes:
About Reliance:
Headquarter: Mumbai
Founded: 1958
Owner: Mukesh Ambani
Founder: Dhirubhai Ambani
 
10. A new book titled “Gandhi: Siyasat aur Sampradaiykta” written by Piyush Babele
  • A new book in Hindi titled Gandhi: Siyasat aur Sampradaiykta (‘ Gandhi: Politics and Communalism’) written by journalist-turned-author Piyush Babele, who currently heads the Madhya Pradesh Congress’ media department. He cites extracts from Dr. Ambedkar’s book Pakistan or the Partition of India and other sources, and claims to “contextualise the developments leading up to India’s Partition in 1947 to bust the illusion spread by the Hindu right wing that Mahatma Gandhi was responsible for the Partition”.

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