Today's Current Affairs 10th June 2023

INTERNATIONAL

Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden signed the Atlantic Declaration, First of its kind US – UK economic partnership

Despite a U.S.-U.K. trade deal remaining very much elusive, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and President Joe Biden signed a new “Atlantic Declaration” aiming to bolster economic security in the face of threats coming from Russia and China.

The agreement, was announced at a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House, is a series of mini deals looking artificial intelligence, critical minerals, clean energy and security.

Under this, both USA and UK aim to partner to build resilient, diversified, and secure supply chains and reduce strategic dependencies.

The declaration aims to increase US – UK trade in areas such as defence nuclear materials and the critical minerals used in electric-car batteries

SPORTS

India finishes on top at International Shooting Sport Federation Junior World Cup 2023

India finished on top of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup with an overhaul haul of 15 medals, including six gold, six silver and three bronze medals in Suhl on Thursday, June 8. In a commendable achievement, India have now finished on top of all the ISSF Junior World Cups and World Championships held since 2019

In men's Trap, Bakhtyaruddin Malek was the best Indian on show with a five-round score of 111 out of 125 to finish 23rd, while Tavrez Singh Sandhu was 48th with a score of 105. Kabir Sharma was 53rd with 104 and Arya Vansh Tyagi was 57th with an effort of 102. Finally, Shardul Vihan finished 68th with 97 against his name.

In women's Trap, Bhavya Tripathi shot 110 to finish ninth, while Ashima Ahlawat was 15th with a score of 106. Both Sabeera Haris and Nilaa Rajaa Baalu shot identical scores of exactly 100 to finish 22nd and 23rd and the fifth Indian in women's trap Darshna Rathore, shot 96 for a 27th place finish.

SCIENCE & TEHNOLOGY   

World’s most powerful Hypersonic wind tunnel opens in Beijing, China

China has recently completed the construction of the most powerful wind tunnel in the world, located in the mountainous Huairou district of northern Beijing. The wind tunnel, called JF-22, has a diameter of 4 metres (13 feet) and can generate incredibly high airflow speeds of up to 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) per second. This makes it capable of simulating hypersonic flight conditions up to Mach 30, which is 30 times the speed of sound.

China’s hypersonic ambitions - The Institute of Mechanics, which owns the facility, stated that the JF-22 wind tunnel will play a crucial role in advancing China's hypersonic ambitions. The tunnel will support research and development efforts for China's space transport system and hypersonic aircraft, as well as for military purposes. The Chinese government has set ambitious goals to deploy a fleet of hypersonic aircraft by 2035, capable of carrying passengers into space and reaching any point on Earth within an hour.

APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

TransUnion CIBIL Appoints V Anantharaman as Chairman

V Anantharaman, a seasoned banker with extensive experience in the banking industry, has been appointed as the non-executive chairman of credit bureau TransUnion CIBIL.

Anantharaman has held leadership positions in corporate and investment banking teams at renowned international firms such as Standard Chartered Bank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America.

Anantharaman holds a post-graduate diploma in business management from XLRI and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Jadavpur University. He has also served as a senior advisor to British International Investment (formerly CDC), which is the UK’s Development Finance Institution.

About: TransUnion CIBIL - TransUnion CIBIL Limited is a credit information company operating in India. It maintains credit files on over 600 million individuals and 32 million businesses. TransUnion is one of four credit bureaus operating in India and is part of TransUnion, an American multinational group. It was was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Mumbai, India. The company’s mission is to “provide accurate and comprehensive information to help businesses make informed decisions and consumers build their financial future.”

SUMMIT'S & MOU's

ICAR signs MoU with Amazon Kisan to guide farmers on scientific cultivation

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Amazon Kisan to combine strengths and create synergy between the two organizations for guiding the farmers on scientific cultivation of different crops for optimum yield and income.

ICAR will provide technological backstopping to the farmers through Amazon's network. It will improve farmers' livelihood and boost crop yield. This MoU in farmer's partnership with Amazon Kisan program will help ensure access to high-quality fresh produce for consumers across India, including through Amazon Fresh, Harsh Goyal, Director and Head of Fresh and Everyday Essentials, Amazon India emphasized the company's commitment to supporting Indian farmers

As per the MoU. ICAR and Amazon will collaborate to extend the latest and most precise agriculture practices that have been developed by ICAR's extensive research to bridge the technical knowledge gaps in integrated cultivation by leveraging ICAR's Krishi Vigyan Kendra Knowledge (KVK) network.

IICA and RRU sign MoU for academic and research collaboration

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) and Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) , The objective of the MoU is to synergize the professional capabilities of IICA and RRU towards capacity building, education, research and consultancy in the areas of internal security, financial crime, law enforcement, corporate fraud and other subjects.

The MoU also provides for exchange of knowledge and resources between IICA and RRU for conducting research, training and consultancy.

The MoU was signed by Prof (Dr) Naveen Sirohi from IICA who also shared the purpose statement of the collaboration. Dr Dimpal T Raval, Director School of National Security and Law from RRU proposed vote of thanks along with articulating action plan

About: IICA - IICA is an institution established by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Government of India as an autonomous body to act as a think-tank and a centre of excellence to support the growth of the corporate sector in India through an integrated and multi-disciplinary approach.

 RANKING

Mumbai ranked number 1 in most expensive city for expats in India, Hong Kong tops globally

A report by Mercer's Cost of Living has positioned Mumbai as the most expensive city in India for expatriates. According to the report, after Mumbai, cities like New Delhi and Bengaluru fall on the second and third place in the most expensive list for expats list in India.

The Mercer's Cost of Living survey was conducted across 227 cities from across five continents.

In Mercer's 2023 Cost of Living survey, Mumbai has been positioned at 147 in the global ranking, New Delhi at 169, Chennai (184), Bengaluru (189), Hyderabad (202), Kolkata (211), and Pune (213).

Globally, Hong Kong, Singapore and Zurich are the most expensive cities for international employees this year, the report shows.

The survey measures the comparative cost of more than 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.

BANKING AND ECONOMY

SIDBI launches mission EVOLVE to finance MSMEs in the EV sector

SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India) launched mission EVOLVE (Electric Vehicle Operations and Lending for Vibrant Ecosystem) in association with World Bank, NITI Aayog, Korean Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) and Korean-World Bank to finance MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) in the EV space.

Under the initiative, SIDBI will give MSMEs access to affordable commercial financing for EV loans including hosting of telematics that could help reduce financing costs and provide data for other financial services.

The programme comes in the backdrop of SIDBI’s aim to support India’s target for 30 per cent EV penetration by 2030 or EV30@30. “Addressing the challenges of high-interest rates and limited availability of financing to the EV sector, EVOLVE unlocks access to affordable commercial financing for EV Loans, S Ramann, CMD, SIDBI also emphasized creating a database of the EV ecosystem to understand and extend the life of the EVs. “The data would be available for policymakers to assess the gaps and further strengthen the EV ecosystem.