1. Bank of Baroda launches Electronic Bank Guarantee
Tags: Economy/Finance National News
Bank of Baroda partnered with National e-Governance Services Limited (NESL) to launch the Electronic Bank Guarantee (BG) system on digital platforms.
An Overview of the News
It aims to significantly reduce the turnaround time for issuance of electronic bank guarantees as compared to the traditional paper-based process.
The electronic bank guarantee system is accessible through Baroda INSTA, the digital platform of Bank of Baroda.
The digital approach enhances convenience, security and efficiency in the issuance of inland bank guarantees.
The system reduces manual paperwork, streamlines processes and promotes digital transformation in the banking sector.
About Bank of Baroda (BoB)
It is an Indian public sector bank headquartered in Vadodara, Gujarat.
It is the second largest public sector bank in India after State Bank of India and has a global presence with over 100 overseas offices.
The bank was established on 20 July 1908 by Sayajirao Gaekwad III, the Maharaja of Baroda.
On 19 July 1969, the Government of India nationalised Bank of Baroda along with 13 other major commercial banks.
After nationalisation, the bank became a profit making Public Sector Undertaking (PSU).
2. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways ranked 2nd on Data Governance Quality Index
Tags: INDEX National News
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) has been ranked second among 66 ministries in the Data Governance Quality Index (DGQI) assessment for the December quarter (Q3) of FY23.
An overview of the news
The ministry scored 4.7 out of 5, indicating its commitment to excellence in data governance.
Conducted by the Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO), NITI Aayog, the DGQI survey aims to measure the maturity level of administrative data systems and their use in decision making of various ministries and departments on the implementation of central sector schemes.
MoPSW's success in DGQI assessment was aided by the concerted efforts of the National Technology Center for Ports, Waterways and Coasts (NTCPWC) at IIT Madras, which was tasked to improve MoPSW's Management Information System (MIS) in compliance with DGQI standards I went.
Six key indicators
The DGQI assessment covers six key themes including data generation, data quality, use of technology, data analysis, access and dissemination, data security and human resource capability, and case studies.
Data Governance Quality Index (DGQI)
The Data Governance Quality Index (DGQI) survey is conducted by NITI Aayog's Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office.
The survey aims to evaluate the performance of different Ministries /Departments in implementing Central Sector Schemes (CS) and Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS).
3. 1st Ministerial meeting of India-EU Trade and Technology Council
Tags: Summits International News
The first ministerial meeting of the India and the European Union Trade and Technology Council (TTC) will be held in Brussels on 16 May.
An overview of the news
The meeting will be co-chaired by the Ministers of External Affairs, Commerce and Industry and Communications, Electronics and Information Technology from the Indian side.
India is only the second country after the US with which the European Union (EU) has a TTC, and the two sides agreed to launch the strategic mechanism during the visit of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to India in April 2022.
The TTC aims to deepen trade and investment ties between India and the European Union, as well as foster greater cooperation on technology and innovation.
About India-EU Trade and Technology Council
The trade and technology council was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during Ms Leyen's visit to India in April 2022.
Three Working Groups under the TTC
1. A Working Group on Strategic Technologies, Digital Governance and Digital Connectivity
2. A Working Group on Green and Clean Energy Technologies
3. A Working Group on Trade, Investment and Resilient Value Chains
India-EU Trade relation
India is the 10th largest trading partner of the European Union, accounting for 2.1% of the total trade in goods.
The EU is India's third largest trading partner, accounting for €88 billion in goods trade in 2021 or a little over 10% of total Indian trade.
Trade in services between the two sides reached €30.4 billion in 2020.
About European Union
The European Union is a group of 27 European countries.
The United Kingdom which was the founding member of the European Union has left the organisation.
It was founded on 1 November 1993
Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium
4. Badminton Asia appoints Umar Rashid as chairman of the Technical Officials Committee
Tags: Sports Person in news Sports News
Badminton Asia appointed Umar Rasheed, joint secretary of the Badminton Association of India (BAI), as the chairman of the Technical Officials Committee.
An Overview Of the News
As chairman of the technical officials' committee, Rasheed will oversee the development and implementation of rules and regulations to elevate officiating standards in badminton tournaments across the country.
Rashid is committed to strengthening the governance of badminton in India and the region, by upholding the integrity of the game and ensuring high quality officiating in all tournaments.
Rashid also serves as the General Secretary of the Assam Badminton Association, contributing significantly to the development of badminton in Assam and the Northeast region of India.
Badminton Association of India (BAI):
It serves as the governing body for badminton in India.
BAI is registered as an association under the Societies Act.
Since 1936, BAI has been responsible for organizing and hosting national level badminton tournaments in India.
Establishment -1934
Headquarters - New Delhi
President - Himanta Biswa Sarma
Badminton Asia Championship:
It is an annual badminton tournament organized by the governing body Badminton Asia.
The tournament has been held since 1962 and has been an annual event since 1991.
5. Rajasthan Housing Board got National Award for Real Estate
Tags: Awards National News
On April 26, 2023, the National Real Estate Award was presented to the Rajasthan Housing Board by the Central Government Agency National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO).
An overview of the news
National Real Estate Development Council National President Rajan Bandelkar and RERA Delhi Chairman Anand Kumarpresented the award to Rajasthan Housing Commissioner Pawan Arora at a national level function.
The Rajasthan Housing Board was honored with the award for registering the maximum number of housing projects in the country under RERA, selling the maximum number of houses and doing excellent work in the field of real estate.
Earlier in the function, Rajasthan Housing Commissioner was specially invited for a panel discussion on the topic 'Real Estate in the Era of RERA'. He was also honored on this platform.
Rajasthan Housing Board has become the biggest organization to register 101 project RERA numbers.
Under the leadership of Housing Commissioner Pawan Arora, the board has received a total of 15 awards in the last four years.
These include World Book of Records in house sales, Scotch Award-2021, Award of Excellence, Honor by National Real Estate Development Council, National Housing Award, I.B.C. and prestigious awards like 'Star of Governance-Gold Award'.
6. National Panchayati Raj Day: 24 April
Tags: Important Days
Panchayati Raj Day is celebrated every year on 24th April to commemorate the enactment of the 73rd Amendment Act, 1992 of the Constitution in the year 1993.
An Overview of the News
The day is celebrated to acknowledge national local self-governance and democratic decentralisation.
The theme of National Panchayati Raj Day 2023 is 'Sustainable Panchayat: Building Healthy, Water Sufficient, Clean & Green Villages.'
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is the nodal ministry responsible for empowering, enabling and ensuring accountability of Panchayati Raj Institutions for achieving inclusive growth with social justice and efficient service delivery.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the National Panchayati Raj Day celebrations in Madhya Pradesh and laid the foundation stone and inaugurated projects worth over Rs 17,000 crore.
He virtually attended the house warming ceremony of 4.11 lakh beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and launched the integrated e-Gram Swaraj and GeM portal for public procurement at the panchayat level.
He launched the campaign "Joint steps towards development" for inclusive development.
He laid the foundation stone and inaugurated various railway projects worth about Rs 2,300 crore and 5 projects of Jal Jeevan Mission worth about Rs 7,853 crore.
About Madhya Pradesh
It is the second largest state of India by area after Rajasthan.
Forests occupy 25.14 percent of its area.
Governor - Mangubhai Patel
Chief Minister - Shivraj Singh Chouhan
Capital - Bhopal
7. Telangana Governor approves three bills passed by the state government
Tags: State News
Telangana Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan has given her assent to three bills passed by the state government.
An Overview of the News
The bills passed by the governor are the Telangana Motor Vehicles Taxation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Telangana Municipal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
The Telangana Motor Vehicles Taxation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 aims to amend the current tax structure for motor vehicles in the state.
Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (Amendment) Bill, 2023 seeks to amend the existing provisions relating to the governance structure of the university.
The Telangana Municipal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022 aims to amend the existing laws relating to municipal corporations and municipalities in the state.
About Telangana
Telangana is a state located in the southern region of India, with Hyderabad as its capital.
One of the most iconic landmarks in Hyderabad is the Charminar, a 16th-century mosque with four arches and four towering minarets. It is located in the heart of the city, overlooking Lad Bazaar.
Chief Minister - K Chandrasekhar Rao
Governor - Tamilisai Soundararajan
Official Animal - Chital
Official Bird - Indian Roller
Official flower - Senna auriculata
Official Song - Jaya Jaya Hey Telangana
8. Ministry of Electronics & IT organized 35th CISO Deep Dive Training Program
Tags: National News
The event is being organized by the National e-Governance Division under its Capacity Building Scheme of the Ministry of Electronics & IT, with 22 participants from Central Ministries and States/UTs.
An Overview of the News:
- It is being organized at the 35th Chief Information Security Officers (CSIO) Intensive Training Program at the School of Planning and Architecture in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh from April 10-14, 2023.
Objective:
- To spread awareness about cyber-crime and ensure adequate security measures to tackle the growing menace.
- For this, the Cyber Secure India programme, an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and IT with the mission of building the capacity of CISOs and frontline IT officers in all government departments, was envisaged.
5-Day Intensive Training for CISOs:
- A 5-day intensive training program has been designed for CISOs of Public Sector Banks and Insurance Companies, technical wings of police and security forces, CTOs and members of technical/PMU teams, subordinate agencies/PSUs.
- The objective of this training is to educate and enable CISOs in particular to understand cyber attacks comprehensively and thoroughly, gain necessary hands-on experience about the latest technologies in security and create an empowered e-commerce ecosystem for individual organizations and citizens at large. To deliver the benefits of infrastructure.
- Launched in the year 2018, CISO Training is a first of its kind partnership between the government and an industry association under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
9. Two-day Science-20 conference begins at Hapania International Fair Ground, Agartala
Tags: Festivals
The Science-20 Summit under India's G20 chairmanship began today at the Hapania International Fair Grounds in Agartala, Tripura. The conference will run for two days and more than 60 delegates are participating in it.
An Overview of the News
The theme of the science conference is 'Clean Energy for a Green Future' and it is a part of the G20 meetings.
The conference will discuss three sub-themes, including green hydrogen, ocean-based technologies and new generation energy storage.
About the G20
It is an international forum for economic cooperation that plays an important role in shaping global governance on major economic issues.
India will chair the G20 from December 2022 to November 2023.
The G20 was established in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis as a forum for finance ministers and central bank governors.
In 2008, the G20 was upgraded to the level of heads of state/government in response to the global financial crisis.
The G20 focuses on a wide range of topics, including trade, sustainable development, health, agriculture, energy, the environment, climate change and anti-corruption.
The G20 consists of 19 countries and the European Union, representing approximately 85% of global GDP, more than 75% of global trade, and nearly two-thirds of the world's population.
10. Dilma Rousseff appointed as new President of BRICS New Development Bank
Tags: Person in news International News
Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has been elected as the new President of the New Development Bank (NDB), also known as the BRICS Bank.
An Overview of the News
She replaced Marcus Troyjo as the President of NDB.
Rousseff is an economist who served as the President of Brazil for two consecutive terms from January 2011 to August 2016.
During her presidency, Rousseff prioritised social policies, including poverty reduction and increased access to education and healthcare.
The NDB has so far approved $23 billion in loans for projects including renewable energy and transportation infrastructure in its member countries.
About New Development Bank (NDB)
It is a multilateral development bank established in 2014 by the BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
It was created with the aim of mobilising resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging economies.
It is headquartered in Shanghai, China and has regional offices in Johannesburg, South Africa and São Paulo, Brazil.
Its authorised capital is $100 billion, with each founding member contributing $10 billion.
Its main focus is on financing infrastructure projects including energy, transport and water supply.
It operates on the principle of "co-ownership, governance and shared benefit", which means that member states have equal representation and decision-making power.
It is seen as an alternative to established financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which are dominated by Western countries.
