Daily & Latest Current Affairs in 2025

Correct Answer :   16th June 2023

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Daniel Ellsberg, the U.S. military analyst whose change of heart on the Vietnam War led him to leak the classified "Pentagon Papers," revealing U.S. government deception about the war and setting off a major freedom-of-the-press battle, died on Friday (16th June 2023) at the age of 92.

* Ellsberg, who had been diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer in February, died at his home in Kensington, California, the family said.

* Long before Edward Snowden and Wikileaks were revealing government secrets in the name of transparency, Ellsberg let Americans know that their government was capable of misleading and even lying to them. In his later years Ellsberg would become an advocate for whistleblowers and leakers and his "Pentagon Papers" leak was portrayed in the 2017 movie "The Post."

* Ellsberg took a secret action in 1971 to share important information with the media, hoping to help bring an end to the Vietnam War more quickly. However, this made him a target of attacks by the Nixon White House, which tried to harm his reputation. Henry Kissinger, who was an important advisor to the president at the time, even called him “the most dangerous man in America” and wanted to stop him at any cost.

* When he went to Saigon for the State Department in the mid-1960s, Ellsberg had an impressive resume. He had earned three degrees from Harvard, served in the Marine Corps and worked at the Pentagon and the RAND Corporation, the influential policy research think tank.

* Meanwhile at the behest of Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, Pentagon officials had secretly been putting together a 7,000-page report covering U.S. involvement in Vietnam from 1945 through 1967. When it was finished in 1969, two of the 15 published copies went to the RAND Corporation, where Ellsberg was once again working.

Born : 7 April 1931, Chicago, Illinois, United States

Died : 16 June 2023, Kensington, California, United States

Source : Reuters

Correct Answer :   Rs 5,740 Crores

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The country's largest public sector bank, State Bank of India (SBI), has given the government a cheque of Rs 5,740 crore as its dividend income for the financial year 2022-23.

* This is the highest dividend the State Bank of India has given in any financial year. Dinesh Kumar Khara, chairman of the country's largest bank, handed over the dividend cheque to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday (16th June 2023).

* Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi was also present on the occasion.

* According to the data available on the BSE website, the State Bank of India has paid a dividend of Rs 23.1130 per share to shareholders for the financial year 2022-23. The record date for this was 31 May 2023.


SBI registers record profit in FY23 :

* State Bank of India reported a standalone net profit of Rs 16,694.5 crore for the quarter ended March, beating analysts' estimates by a huge margin.

* The PSU banking behemoth's net profit grew 83.2% compared to the corresponding year ago period.

* SBI's net interest income (NII) — or the difference between interest earned and interest paid — stood at Rs 40,392.5 crore for the three-month period as against Rs 31,197.9 crore for the quarter ended March 2022, according to a regulatory filing. .

Source : Zeebiz

Correct Answer :   $60.29

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India's overall exports in May 2023 stood at US$60.29 billion, comprising both merchandise and services. While there was a decline in exports compared to the same period last year, several sectors demonstrated positive growth.

The trade deficit for April-May 2023 also improved significantly, indicating a positive trend in India’s trade performance.

Overall Trade Performance : India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in May 2023 were estimated to be USD 60.29 billion, showing a negative growth of (-) 5.99 percent compared to May 2022. Similarly, overall imports in May 2023 amounted to USD 70.64 billion, reflecting a negative growth of (-) 7.45 percent compared to the previous year.

Merchandise Trade :

Key Sectors with Positive Growth : Thirteen out of thirty important sectors witnessed positive growth in May 2023 compared to May 2022. These sectors include Electronic Goods (73.96%), Other Cereals (67.96%), Oil Meals (52.91%), Spices (49.84%), Iron Ore (48.26%), and more. Enabling policies, such as duty withdrawal on Iron Ore and investment promotion in electronics and pharmaceuticals, contributed to the growth of these sectors.

Services Trade :

April-May 2023 Performance : Examining the trade figures for April-May 2023, the overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) exhibited a negative growth of (-) 5.48 percent compared to the same period in 2022. Meanwhile, overall imports during April-May 2023 showed a negative growth of (-) 9.63 percent compared to April-May 2022.

Merchandise Trade Deficit :
Services Trade Surplus :

Agricultural Exports :

Trade Deficit :

Correct Answer :   IIT Madras

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The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) researchers have recently developed a low-cost mobile air pollution monitoring framework in which, pollution sensors mounted on public vehicles can dynamically monitor the air quality of an extended area at high spatial and temporal resolution.

Traditionally, ambient air quality is measured in monitoring stations and reported by the ‘Air Quality Index’ (AQI). Since these stations are at fixed locations, they only measure the air quality of a small geographic area.

Air pollution, however, is dynamic with locations just a few hundred meters away from each other exhibiting different levels of pollution. Levels can also vary at different times of the day. However, setting up more stations is not practical because of the high costs.

Towards tackling this issue, IIT Madras researchers have developed a new IoT-based mobile air pollution monitoring technology wherein low-cost air quality sensors are mounted on vehicles to gather spatiotemporal air quality data.

For the cost of a single reference monitoring station, it would be possible to map an entire city at high resolution using these low-cost mobile monitoring devices..

Source : Indiatoday

Correct Answer :   Australia

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Australian foreign minister "Penny Wong" appointed "Philip Green" as Australia’s next High Commissioner to India on Friday (16th June 2023).

* She also announced that Hilary McGeachy has been appointed as Australia’s first Consul-General in Bengaluru.

* India and Australia are working together for a peaceful Indo-Pacific region, Wong said both countries are working together through the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership as well as partners of the Quad grouping.

* “The Australia-India relationship has never been closer. Australia and India share perspectives, challenges and a democratic heritage. We are working together, through our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and as Quad partners, to promote a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, where sovereignty is respected,” Wong said in a release from the Australian external affairs ministry.

* Philip Green will also serve as High Commissioner to the Kingdom of Bhutan.

* Green served as Australian ambassador to Germany and is a senior career officer with the Australian department of foreign affairs. He also served as Australian High Commissioner to Singapore, to South Africa and to Kenya..

Source : News18

Correct Answer :   United Kingdom

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The United Kingdom government on Thursday (15th June 2023) announced the appointment of senior diplomat "Jane Marriott" as the next British High Commissioner to Pakistan, making her the first female British envoy to Islamabad.

* Prior to this appointment, Marriott, 47, was the high commissioner to Kenya since September 2019.

* She would be replacing Dr Christian Turner, who left Pakistan in January after serving as the envoy since December 2019.

* “The first female British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Jane, is due to take up her role in mid-July 2023,” the British High Commission in Islamabad said in a statement.

* Marriott brings a wealth of thematic and regional experience to her new role having joined the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in 2001, following roles in the Cabinet Office and Home Office.

* She has also completed two diplomatic postings to Iraq and one to Afghanistan, the statement from the High Commission said..

Source : News18

Correct Answer :   PM Memorial Museum and Library Society

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The Nehru Museum Memorial and Library, named after India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, has been renamed as the "Prime Minister’s Museum and Library Society", the ministry of culture said on Friday (16th June 2023).

* “In a special meeting of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society, it was resolved to change its name to Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library Society," the ministry said.

* The meeting was presided over by defence minister Rajnath Singh, who is the vice president of the Society, it added.

* Chairman, executive council, Nripendra Misra, in his welcome address said the need for change in name emphasizes the nation’s deep commitment to democracy and so the name of the institution should reflect its new form.

* Singh “welcomed the proposal for change in name", since the institution exhibits the contributions of all prime ministers from Jawaharlal Nehru to Narendra Modi and their responses to various challenges faced by them, the ministry said in a press release.

* Describing prime minister as an institution and comparing the journey of various prime ministers to the varied colours of a rainbow, Singh emphasised that “all the colours of a rainbow have to be proportionately represented in order to make it beautiful".

* “Thus the resolution has given a new name, respect to all our previous prime ministers and is democratic in content," it added..

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   Indian Navy

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* The Indian Navy is organizing an outreach program "Julley Ladakh" to engage with the youth and civil society.

* Vice Chief of Naval Staff Sanjay Jasjit Singh flagged off the 5000 kilometer motorcycle expedition from the National War Memorial.

* Similar efforts were made by the Navy earlier in the North East which was very successful. 

Correct Answer :   Vivek Johri

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Shri Vivek Johri, Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) along with other Members of the Board released the National Time Release Study (NTRS) 2023 report.

Time Release Study (TRS) as a performance measurement tool aims to present quantitative measure of the cargo release time, defined as the time taken from arrival of the cargo at the Customs station to its out of charge for domestic clearance in case of imports and arrival of the cargo at the Customs station to the eventual departure of the carrier in case of exports.

NTRS 2023 presents port-category wise average release time for the current year, based on the sample period of January 1-7, 2023 (both days included), comparing the same to the performance during the corresponding periods of 2021 and 2022 to, inter alia,

* assess the progress made towards the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan targets;
* identify the impact of various trade facilitative initiatives, notably “Path to Promptness”; and
* identify the challenges to more expeditious reduction in release time.

The ports included in the study represent seaports, air cargo complexes (ACCs), inland container depot (ICDs) and integrated check posts (ICPs) which account for approximately 80 percent of bills of entry and 70 percent of shipping bills filed in the country..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Google and MeitY

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Google and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) have launched a partnership to increase public awareness of cyber safety.

Google will now cooperate with the government to promote the "Stay Safe Online" campaign.
 
Google will release a series of videos with YouTube producers to instruct people on how to share material properly online. The series will focus on particular abilities to more accurately assess the calibre of internet information.
 
The content's creators will explain how to verify the source's credentials, comprehend their motivations, confirm it with subject-matter experts, and compile cited and verified evidence. In addition, YouTube has created a digital literacy initiative called "Hit Pause" that encourages analysis of online data.
 
“India's G20 Presidency offers a remarkable opportunity to shape a model of the internet that promotes inclusivity and establish new global standards,” Akash Tripathi, CEO of MyGov said. He added that with this growth came a need to raise awareness among the citizens about online risks and that the government was pleased to have Google join in with the effort.

“India is taking big strides towards its goal of becoming a trillion dollar digital economy. With over 700 million Indians using the internet, and the country driving transformative innovations with the power of digital technologies, it is important to ensure that the internet is inclusive and safe for all Indians,” Sanjay Gupta, Vice President of Google India said.
 
He continued by saying that Google's top aim was to guarantee a beneficial and safe online experience while fostering India's digital development.
 
Google has additionally stated that it will provide useful content on a variety of online safety themes as part of the "Be Internet Awesome" programme to increase awareness of online safety..

Source : Ciotechoutlook