Current affairs 29 May 2023

Centre to Launch New ₹75 Coin to Mark New Parliament Inauguration.

• The Ministry of Finance has announced the launch of a special ₹75 coin to commemorate the inauguration of India’s new parliament building.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil the coin on Sunday, 28 May, coinciding with the celebration of India’s 75 years of independence.

NTCA Constitutes New Committee to Oversee Cheetah Project.

• National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has established an 11-member Cheetah Project Steering Committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and Rajesh Gopal, secretary general of Global Tiger Forum, has been appointed as its chairman.
• The decision was taken after six cheetahs, who were brought as part of the translocation project, died in the last two months.
• The other 10 members include RN Mehrotra, former principal chief conservator of forest of Rajasthan; PR Sinha, former director of the Wildlife Institute of India; HS Negi, former APCCF, Wildlife; and PK Malik, former faculty at WII.

R Dinesh Appointed as CII President for 2023-24.

• TVS Supply Chain Solutions Executive Vice Chairman R. Dinesh has assumed office as the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) President for 2023-24 while ITC Managing Director Sanjiv Puri has been named as President-designate.
• The CII National Council, which met in New Delhi to elect new office-bearers for 2023-24, also named EY Chairman India Region Rajiv Memani as Vice-President.

WMO Approves Global Tracker for Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

• The World Meteorological Congress has made a groundbreaking decision to approve a new greenhouse gas (GHG) monitoring initiative, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
• This initiative aims to support urgent action in reducing heat-trapping gases that contribute to rising global temperatures.
• The newly established Global Greenhouse Gas Watch will address critical information gaps, integrating various observing systems, modeling capabilities, and data assimilation under one comprehensive framework.
• The unanimous support from WMO’s 193 members highlights the growing importance of greenhouse gas monitoring and the need to strengthen the scientific foundation for climate change mitigation efforts.

Gupshup launches GSPay payment app for feature phones.

• Conversational engagement platform Gupshup has introduced UPI payments for people using feature phones via a native app called GSPay.
• The app, developed along with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), will use SMS or even IVR based payments system, and do away with the need of data or internet connectivity.
• This innovative capability will bring the vast numbers of feature phone users into the digital and payments ecosystem.