Correct Answer : Option (A) - Japan

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Japan launched a lunar lander on 7th Sep 2023, aiming to become the fifth nation to achieve a soft landing on the moon's surface following India's success in a similar mission last month.

The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) was sent to space on an H-IIA rocket. The launch was originally scheduled for the 26th of August but was postponed three times due to bad weather.

SLIM is taking a long route to the Moon and is scheduled to make a landing in four to five months. According to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, SLIM will spend the first month in Earth's orbit before heading to the moon through a series of orbital manoeuvres over a period of three to four months. 

SLIM will then prepare for landing, orbiting the moon before making a descent sometime between January and February 2024.
 
SLIM is a light and small spacecraft developed by Mitsubishi Electric. One of the goals of the mission is to demonstrate precision landing technology.

The spacecraft is expected to land within 100 meters of a target site. The lander uses vision-based navigation to identify a landing spot and avoid obstacles on the surface..

Source : AIR

Correct Answer : Option (D) - Mastercard

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Mastercard announced its collaboration with KredX, a supply chain finance platform, to make B2B digital payments rewarding for both enterprises and vendors. As part of the collaboration, Mastercard will integrate its commercial card service with the KredX platform, eliminating the complexities associated with B2B payments, especially those made via cards.

Equipped with features like dynamic discounting, early payment and price discovery, the platform will enable enterprises and vendors to improve their cash flows.

Powered by Artificial Intelligence, it will act as a complete procure-to-pay offering for businesses, helping them with faster and more efficient matching and processing of invoices. Further, the Smart Bid algorithm will help enterprises discover the best discount rates from vendors.

“B2B payments are ridden with complexities of diverse invoicing, payment terms, currency variations, and reconciliation procedures. Combining KredX’s proprietary technology with Mastercard’s expertise in commercial payment solutions will create a pioneering B2B payments solution accessible to all businesses, supporting them with better cash flows and access to working capital.

This collaboration reiterates Mastercard’s commitment to further digital payments acceptance by providing unique and innovative solutions to businesses,” said Mukul Sukhani, Senior Vice President, Business Development, South Asia, Mastercard.

The platform will also address some of the other challenges associated with B2B payments, such as long accounting and reconciliation processes, low vendor acceptance, and frequent chargeback. Further, it will be instrumental in promoting digital payments acceptance by allowing small vendors to receive payments even in the absence of in-house payment gateways and PoS machines.

“We are delighted to collaborate with Mastercard to provide a complete B2B payments solution for businesses. By integrating pre-discounting journeys with post-discounting payments, this platform will enhance companies’ operational efficiency and strengthen their supply chain management capabilities. Accelerating supply chain velocity through financial innovation has been central to KredX’s value proposition,” said Manish Kumar, CEO & Founder, KredX..

Source : CRN

Correct Answer : Option (C) - SBI

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SBI Card, the country’s largest pure-play credit card issuer, has unveiled new features of its super premium card ‘AURUM’, targeted at C-suite executives and high net-worth individuals.

This by-invitation only card — which was launched in February 2021 – now extends enhanced benefits to its users, ranging from introduction of new annual spends-based milestone and welcome benefits to additional international lounge benefits and golf privileges.

The introductions add to the bevy of thoughtfully curated benefits offered by AURUM.

With these enhancements, AURUM cardholders will now be able to derive benefits of up to worth ₹2 lakh annually, basis their spends.

Abhijit Chakravorty, MD & CEO, SBI Card, said : “AURUM has been tailored to meet the discerning taste and lifestyle of the globetrotting and high-flying executives who pursue excellence in every aspect of their life.

Super premium segment :

* It has become one of the most coveted cards in the super premium segment. Looking at the admiration it has gathered so far, we decided to take the cardholders’ experience a notch higher. All in all, AURUM cardholders can expect a more rewarding, richer, and more luxurious experience.”

* AURUM offers unlimited international lounge access to the cardholders, in addition to four international lounge visits for accompanying guests are also enabled now.


Special benefits :

* AURUM offers a sumptuous travel experience along with many special benefits. For instance, the card now offers 1-year Club Mariott membership as a welcome gift.

* Through this membership, AURUM cardholders can avail discount benefits up to 25 per cent in stay, food and beverages, and spa in over 250 hotels under the Mariott group across Asia Pacific.

* The joining and annual membership fee for AURUM is ₹9,999. This fee is reversed on achieving the spends milestone of ₹12 lakh during a card membership year..

Source : The Hindu Businessline

Correct Answer : Option (B) - SBI

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The State Bank of India announced in a release on Monday (4th September 2023), “This feature, accessible through the 'eRupee by SBI' application, will empower SBI CBDC users to scan any merchant UPI QR code for transactions,” the bank said in the release.”

Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) pilot project, multiple Indian banks have announced the introduction of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) interoperability feature on the Digital Rupee application. This means, Digital Rupee app users can scan any QR code to make payments for groceries and daily expenses.


The CBDC push :

State Bank of India (SBI), Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, Axis Bank. HDFC Bank, Canara Bank, among others are live with the inclusion of UPI interoperability.

The State Bank of India announced in a release on Monday, “This feature, accessible through the 'eRupee by SBI' application, will empower SBI CBDC users to scan any merchant UPI QR code for transactions,” the bank said in the release.”

Will this improve CBDC adoption?

This development is said to increase the adoption of RBI’s CBDC, as it would now be able to depend on the distribution systems built by the leading Indian banks.

“Bank feels that this integration will be a game changer for the digital currency ecosystem. The move is the outcome of our unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of digital innovation to accelerate the transition to a more cashless economy. SBI remains dedicated to providing secure, efficient, and user-friendly solutions that reshape conducting transactions,” SBI highlighted in its release.


Will merchants have to install new QR codes?

It is worth noting that as per the announcements made by the Indian banks, merchants would not be required to replace their current QR codes. They would only need to display a single QR code on their storefront or via the banking mobile application which would accept CBDC payments as well. This means, the existing QR code will be interoperable, allowing a simple QR payment acceptance terminal. It will accommodate the Scan & Pay feature through multiple payment options.

Moreover, the eligible banks' digital rupee customers can transact using the funds available in their Digital Rupee (CBDC) wallet by scanning the UPI QR code.


RBI’s CBDC :

The RBI launched the CBDC pilot programme in 2022. The Indian CBDC, which is backed by the RBI, is also known as Digital Rupee. It represents a tokenised digital version of the currency, i.e. Indian Rupee which is issued and regulated by the RBI..

Source : Business Today

Correct Answer : Option (A) - Satyajit Majumdar

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Mumbai Professor Satyajit Majumdar, dean of School of Management and Labour Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), will receive the ‘Dr V G Patel Memorial Award-2023 for Entrepreneurship Trainer, Educator and Mentor’ on 6 September 2023 for his work in promoting and strengthening entrepreneurship in India.

Dr Patel is widely acknowledged as the Father of Entrepreneurship Movement in India.

Majumdar’s name was chosen among 400 applicants from 26 states by a jury nominated by the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad.

Over the last two decades, Majumdar 63, has played an important role in the development of entrepreneurship, especially in the social sector. Along with his team, he has mentored more than 350 startups, including 40 in Jammu and Kashmir and group startups in Jhabua, West Bengal.

“Despite thinking about major investments in the startups, we put focus on providing livelihood for the locals,” said Majumdar.

Since joining TISS in 2010, Majumdar’s main role has been to build an ecosystem for entrepreneurship. In 2012, TISS started a separate entrepreneurship cell under his leadership. “Our major focus has always been on tribal and hilly areas of the country. We tie up with local organisations to help the youth.

Apart from this, our focus is on sustainable development while selecting the themes of startups. For instance, one startup incubated at TISS is currently working in the waste management sector. We have more examples like this,” Majumdar added. Majumdar will donate the award money of ₹1 lakh to TISS Incube Foundation, incubation centre of TISS, Mumbai.

Source : Hindustan Times

Correct Answer : Option (C) - Amul

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Amul is named as the official sponsor of the Indian Contingent for the 19th Asian Games 2022 to be held in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8, 2023.

* Announcing Amul’s association, Jayen Mehta, In-charge Managing Director, Amul, said “Amul is delighted to announce its association with the Asian Games 2022 and the Indian Olympic Association.

* Milk is the world’s original energy drink, and every sportsperson nourishes their health with milk in any of its various forms such as ghee, butter, cheese or paneer among many others.

* Amul has partnered with Indian sportspersons through the Indian Olympic Association since the London 2012 Olympics for all Indian contingent to Olympics, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games and we are pleased to further strengthen our decade long relationship.”

* As part of this association, Amul will use the integrated logo in its communication to celebrate the efforts of the sportsperson.

Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games

* The XIX Asian Games 2022 will feature 482 events across 40 sports. The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every fourth year among athletes from all over Asia. The upcoming event is officially called the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022. It was originally slated to be held last year but was postponed due to Covid-19.

* The India contingent will field 634 athletes at the Asian Games across 38 different sports with the largest contingent of 65 in athletics. At the last edition, Jakarta 2018, India sent a contingent of 570 to compete in 36 sports and won 70 medals..

Source : The Hindu Businessline

Correct Answer : Option (D) - Indrajaal

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In a remarkable feat of innovation and technological prowess, Hyderabad-based private sector firm Grene Robotics has introduced Indrajaal, world’s only autonomous wide area, counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS).

This state-of-the-art system is touted as capable of safeguarding against micro, mini, small, large, and extra-large drones, signaling a significant advancement in Indian defense technology.


Grene Robotics’ Commitment to Showcasing Indrajaal :

Grene Robotics has spared no expense or effort, utilizing its own financial resources and scientific expertise to create live demonstrations of Indrajaal for government officials and tri-services officers. This commitment to self-reliance in defense technology demonstrates the firm’s dedication to bolstering India’s indigenous capabilities.

A Remarkable Unveiling :

* The grand unveiling of Indrajaal took place in the presence of Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh, the governor of Uttarakhand, who hailed the system as a groundbreaking advance in defense technology.
* General Singh emphasized that this innovation would not only enhance the nation’s self-reliant military capabilities but also address the pressing need to defend against the escalating threat posed by drones.


The Test at Grene Robotics’ Facility :
 
The trial for Indrajaal is being conducted at Grene Robotics’ expansive 79-acre test facility located in Hyderabad. This facility serves as the proving ground for a technology that has the potential to reshape the landscape of security for defense, public infrastructure, and private enterprises alike.

Indrajaal’s Innovative Design :

* Indrajaal is built on a foundation of 12 unique layers of technology, a feat powered by artificial intelligence, marking a world-first achievement.
* This cutting-edge system possesses the ability to detect, identify, classify, track, and swiftly neutralize threats in real time.
* Its coverage extends to 360 degrees, offering protection over areas spanning up to 4000 square kilometers against all categories and levels of unmanned autonomous threats.


Indrajaal’s Versatility in Defense :

Indrajaal is currently demonstrating its prowess in safeguarding against a wide array of aerial threats, including low radar cross-section (RCS) threats, medium altitude long endurance (MALE) and high-altitude long endurance (HALE) UAVs, loitering munitions, smart bombs, rocket showers, nano and micro drones, swarm drones, and other contemporary threats.

Correct Answer : Option (A) - Union Bank of India

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The growth of renewable energy in India, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Union Bank of India (UBI) and Bank of Baroda (BoB), on September 5, 2023.

These agreements will empower IREDA to collaborate with UBI and BoB, in co-lending and loan syndication for a wide range of renewable energy projects, including both established and emerging RE technologies.

Expressing his happiness about these partnerships, CMD of IREDA, Shri Pradip Kumar Das said: "Both Union Bank of India and Bank of Baroda have an extensive nationwide presence with a vast network of branches. This collaboration aims to extend our reach, particularly in tier-2 & tier-3 cities and rural areas, enabling us to provide unique and innovative financial support to existing and new customers. We are confident that by combining our strengths and resources, we will continue to serve our customers in alignment with the vision of the Prime Minister for Atmanirbhar Bharat and sustainable growth."

The MoU with Union Bank of India was formally inked by General Manager (Technical Services), IREDA, Shri Bharat Singh Rajput and General Manager (Large Corporate Vertical), UBI, Shri Dhirendra Jain. The signing ceremony was graced by the presence of Chairman and Managing Director of IREDA, Shri Pradip Kumar Das; Managing Director & CEO of UBI, Ms. A. Manimekhalai and senior officials.

The MoU with Bank of Baroda was executed by General Manager (Technical Services), IREDA, Shri Bharat Singh Rajput and General Manager, BoB, Shri Dhiren Lalai. The signing ceremony witnessed the presence of IREDA CMD and MD & CEO of BoB, Shri Debadatta Chand along with Executive Director Mr. Lalit Tyagi. Other senior officials of BoB, Head-Large Corporate Relationships, Mr. Sumit Sachdeva and Head – Credit, Mr. Manoj Chayani were also present on the occasion.

In recent years, IREDA has been actively encouraging partnerships with various Central and State agencies as well as financial institutions to leverage its techno-financial expertise for the development of the renewable energy sector..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer : Option (B) - IDFC FIRST Bank

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Private banking company IDFC First Bank, on Monday (4th Sep 2023), said that it has integrated Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) app with UPI QR codes. The move is aimed at encouraging the use of the digital rupee and make it more accessible.

The new feature simplifies the process for merchants to accept payments made with the digital rupee. This development allows individuals to easily use digital rupees for payments through existing UPI QR codes at various merchant outlets.


Digital rupee adoption :

"Being one of the banks that are a part of RBI's CBDC initiative for retail users, this new feature will simplify payment acceptance for merchants, enabling them to seamlessly accept payments made with digital rupees," IDFC First Bank said in a statement.

"Individuals can effortlessly make payments using digital rupees through existing UPI QR codes at various merchants," it added.

According to IDFC First Bank's Executive Director, Madhivanan Balakrishnan, this UPI interoperability feature is expected to greatly increase the adoption of CBDC throughout the country.

The digital rupee, introduced by the Reserve Bank of India last year, represents a digital form of legal tender issued by the central bank. It possesses essential qualities like physical currency, including trustworthiness, security, and the capability for instant settlement in the digital realm..

Source : Republic World

Correct Answer : Option (D) - P V Satyanarayana

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Dr P.V. Satyanarayana, principal scientist at the Agricultural Research Station, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University (Angrau), Ragolu, AP was presented 8th Dr M.S. Swaminathan award.

The award was presented at an event at the Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR) on Sunday (3rd Sep 2023). It includes a cash prize of `2 lakh and a gold medal.

Dr Satyanarayana received the award in recognition for his contribution to the development of high-yielding rice varieties that exhibit resilience against pests and environmental challenges, including BPH, BLB, Blast, submergence, and salinity.

He has also contributed to fine-grain varieties and hybrid rice that have revolutionized agriculture across India..

Source : Deccan Chronicle