• For City Union Bank (CUB) customers, their voice can now be their new password. The Kumbakonam-headquartered bank launched the country's first voice biometric authentication for logging into its mobile banking app.
• The voice biometric service was developed by Chennai-based deeptech start-up, Kaizen Secure Voiz Pvt Ltd, under the guidance of the 5G use case lab of the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), an RBI established institution focussed on research in banking technologies.

• Chennai has emerged as one of the top digital payment transaction cities in the country in 2022, according to a report by payment services firm Worldline India. In terms of volume, according to Worldline India, Chennai has done 14.3 million transactions with a value of USD 35.5 billion. It is at number five.
• Bengaluru tops with 29 million transactions worth USD 65 billion, followed by New Delhi 19.6 million transactions worth USD 50 billion, Mumbai(18.7 million transactions worth USD 49.5 billion), Pune (15 million transactions worth USD 32.8 billion).

• Every year, on April 20, the United Nations Chinese Language Day is observed. Its purpose is to celebrate the Chinese language, one of the six official languages of the United Nations. The day also aims to create a platform for people around the world to learn the Chinese language.
• The day creates general awareness about the Chinese language and promotes multilingual culture and diversity among the people. The day also aims to remember the contribution ofCangzi, a mythological figure who is believed to have invented Chinese characters. The date for Chinese Day was chosen from Gayu ("Rain of Millet"), the sixth of the 24 solar terms in the traditional East Asian calendar.

• Kerala has adopted a water budget, the first of its kind in the country, to deal with the problem of water scarcity in summer. Despite the abundance of rivers, streams, backwaters and rainfall, many parts of Kerala face severe water scarcity during summer.
• The water budget will help the state to ascertain the demand and supply of water resources and apportion it accordingly. The first phase of the water budget covers 94 gram panchayats in 15 block panchayats, and the details were unveiled by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

• For the fourth year in a row, Rajasthan topped the country in terms of persondays generation under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme .
• In 2022-23, Rajasthan generated 35.61 crore persondays at a total cost of Rs 10,175 crore under the scheme. Rajasthan is followed by Tamil Nadu (33.45 crore), Uttar Pradesh (31.18 crore), Andhra Pradesh (23.96 crore) and Bihar (23.69 crore) in terms of persondays generation, according to MGNREGA MIS report.

• On 20 April, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first Global Buddhist Summitin New Delhi. Summit was hosted by the Ministry of Culture in association with the International Buddhist Confederation.
• The summit is a two-day event that brought together eminent scholars, union leaders and religious practitioners from around the world. The summit was attended by delegates from around 30 countries, including 171 delegates from foreign countries and 150 delegates from Indian Buddhist organisations.
• Theme:  "Responses to Contemporary Challenges: Philosophy to Praxis"

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch the Singaporean Earth Observation satellite TeLEOS-02 on Saturday, April 22. The launch will take place at 2.19 pm from the first launch pad at Sriharikota.
• The satellite on board will be TeLEOS 2—a 750kg earth observation satellite that has synthetic aperture radar capable of providing data in 1-meter resolution. The satellites arrived in India in February. This will be the third launch of the year for ISRO—all three using different launch vehicles. The first launch took place in February when the new Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) successfully deployed three satellites and was declared operational by the space agency.

• To show off its strength against the United States of America (USA) and South Korea’s giant military exercise, North Korea tested its second nuclear-capable underwater attack drone “Haeil-2″ test.
• The Haeil-2″ test was carried out in Kajin Port, Kumya Country, South Hamgyong Province. Haeil-2 developed in 2012 and has carried out more than 50 tests in the past two years. North Korea’s drone covered an underwater distance of 1000 km (621.37 miles) in 71 hours and 6 minutes. Calculated average speed of 4.6 knots & this is much slower than a torpedo. Also, although depth has been quoted as 80-100 metres.

• Legendary singer Asha Bhosle will be felicitated with the Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar award, the Mangeshkar family announced on Tuesday. The family and the trust instituted the award in the memory of Lata Mangeshkar, who died on February 6, 2022, following multiple organ failure.
• Bhosle, the younger sister of Lata Mangeshkar, will receive the recognition on April 24, the memorial day of their father and theatre-music veteran Deenanath Mangeshkar. This award, known as the Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Puraskar, is given every year to an individual who has made a path-breaking contribution towards the nation, its people and society. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was its first recipient.

• Former Chancellor Angela Merkel received Germany's highest Order of Merit. The Grand Cross award was handed to her by President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The award has only been given twice before, to former chancellors Konrad Adenauer and Helmut Kohl. All three former leaders belong to the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Download Daily GK PDF of 20 April 2023