ANS : B 

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed P Vasudevan as Executive Director (ED) and he will look after three departments, including that of currency management.
• Prior to being promoted as ED, Vasudevan was the Chief General Manager-in-charge of the Department of Payment and Settlement Systems.
• He has, over a span of nearly three decades in the Reserve Bank, served in supervision of banks and non-banking financial companies, payment and settlement systems and other areas, including a stint as Member of Faculty in Bankers’ Training College.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) :

• RBI was set up on the basis of the Hilton Young Commission recommendation in April 1935, with the enactment of the RBI Act, 1934.
• Its first Governor was C.D. Deshmukh.
• The headquarters of RBI is in Mumbai.
• Current Governor is Shaktikanta Das

ANS : A 

• Piramal Capital & Housing Finance Limited has launched five all-women branches as part of its commitment to diversity and equal opportunities.
• These branches, named ‘Maitreyi,’ are part of the companys efforts to foster gender equality and provide women with equal workforce opportunities.
• The five branches are in Ajmer Road (Rajasthan), Chattarpur (New Delhi), Mohali (Punjab), Mumbai (Maharashtra), and Tripunithura (Kerala).
• These full-service branches will have a dedicated team of 7 to15 women employees.
• The ‘Maitreyi‘ branches will provide loans to MSMEs and home loans.
• Jairam Sridharan, managing director of Piramal Finance, said through these branches, Piramal Finance aims to provide simplified, efficient, and impactful lending solutions that cater to consumer financing needs.

ANS : B 

• Lloyds Banking Group, one of the leading UK-based financial services groups has appointed Sirisha Voruganti the chief executive officer and managing director of its new Lloyds Technology Centre, based in Hyderabad, India.
• Voruganti, a globally renowned technology and innovation leader joins from JCPenney, where she has served as the managing director and member of the Board for JCPenney in India.
• According to the statement, Voruganti brings extensive experience in IT architecture, data engineering, and fintech innovation and has held several senior technology positions in multiple global firms.

ANS : D 

• Bihar has overtaken Tamil Nadu to become the state with the highest microlending borrowings in India as of March 2023, according to a report.
• The report, published by credit information company Crif High Mark, highlighted Bihar’s impressive growth with a 13.5 percent increase in the gross lending portfolio during the March quarter compared to the previous quarter.
• ​As of March 2023, Bihar’s microfinance (MFI) borrowings amounted to Rs 48,900 crore, accounting for 14.5 percent of the overall portfolio.
• Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu’s MFI borrowings stood at Rs 46,300 crore, representing 13.7 percent of the total outstanding.
• This significant shift in rankings reflects Bihar’s rising prominence in the microfinance sector.

ANS : A 

• India’s women compound archers showcased their dominance at the World Youth Championships in Limerick, Ireland.
• The U-18 and U-21 women’s teams secured gold medals, marking India’s third gold in the competition.
• In the U-18 category, Aishwarya Sharma, Aditi Swami, and Ekta Rani formed a formidable team.
• They faced off against the United States and made a remarkable comeback to secure victory with a score of 214-212.
• Continuing their winning streak, the U-21 women’s team, composed of Avneet Kaur, Parneet Kaur, and Pragati, displayed exceptional skill.
• The Indian team sealed their victory with a comfortable eight-point margin against Mexico’s Adriana Castillo, Jimenez Valdez, and Selene Rodriguez, finishing with a score of 222-214. 
• The last edition of the World Archery Youth Championships held in Wroclaw, Poland, in 2021 saw India bag 15 medals in total, including eight golds, to top the medals table.

ANS : C 

• Unmarried people between the age of 45 and 60 years in Haryana will be getting a monthly pension of Rs 2,750, provided their annual income is less than Rs 1.8 lakh.
• The pension will also be applicable to widowers and widows of the same age group whose annual income is not above Rs 3 lakh.
• According to data, there are 65,000 unmarried men and women and 5,687 widowers/ widows in the state who fall in the specified age/income bracket.

ANS : D 

• Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched ‘Ama Pokhari’ project to rejuvenate all water bodies in the urban areas of the state.
• Under the projects, the development and revival of as many as 2,000 water bodies in 115 urban areas of the state will be done in sustainable and natural manner to provide clean and water and address scarcity.
• Ponds plays an important role in our social and cultural life.
• It is also related to our health and economy.

ANS : A 

• The Odisha state government will soon launch ‘Mo Jungle Jami Yojana’ to saturate recognition of rights pertaining to the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and speed up the post-rights recognition activities within the prescribed time frame.
• Under the scheme, designed by the ST & SC Development department, it has been decided to constitute forest rights cells at the tehsil and district level with human resources to ensure and assist in the effective implementation of FRA, 2006.
• The state is home to 62 types of tribes, 13 of which are categorised as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).
• As per the 2011 census, the state is ranked third in terms of Scheduled Tribe population nationally.
• The tribal population of the state stands at 95,90,756 which constitutes 22.85 percent of its total population.

ANS : C 

• India will co-host a two-day ‘India-Africa International Millet Conference‘ in Kenya on August 30-31, 2023.
• The event will witness participation from government leaders, researchers, farmers, entrepreneurs and industry associations from around the globe.
• Through the international conference, the government of India and Kenya aim to raise public awareness about millet as the world’s emerging smart food.
• With high levels of minerals such as iron, calcium, zinc and other vital nutrients, Millets are a treasure trove of health benefits.
• Additionally, they are also drought-resistant, pest-resilient, climate-friendly crops that can boost income opportunities and livelihoods of smallholder farmers, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
• India produces all the nine commonly known traditional millets viz. Sorghum, Pearl Millet, Finger Millett Foxtail Millet, Proso Millett Little Millet, Barnyard Millet, Brown top Millet and Kodo Millet.
• Millet is a common term for categorizing small-seeded grasses that are often called Nutri-cereals. 

ANS : B 

• Bangladesh opener Tamil Iqbal announced his retirement from international Cricket with immediate effect.
• Tamim made his ODI debut in February 2007 and ends his limited-overs career with the most ODI runs (8313) and hundreds (14) for Bangladesh.
  • He is the third highest run-scorer in ODIs among active players, behind Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
• Tamim scored 5134 runs in Tests at an average of 38.89, with 10 centuries in 70 matches.
• Tamim retired from T20Is last year.
• His last Test was against Ireland in April.