UPSC QUIZ 20.02.2024

Explanation:

• India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed eight pacts to bolster cooperation in key areas such as investments, electricity trade and digital payment platforms.
• The two countries signed agreements on interlinking of digital payment platforms- UPI (India) and AANI (UAE).
• This will facilitate seamless cross-border transactions between India and UAE, enhancing financial connectivity and cooperation.
• Both countries signed a pact on interlinking domestic debit/ credit cards — RuPay (India) with JAYWAN (UAE).
• It is an important step in building financial sector cooperation and it will enhance the universal acceptance of RuPay across the UAE.
• UAE’s domestic card JAYWAN is based on the digital RuPay credit and debit card stack.

Explanation:

• Electoral bond scheme for political funding declared “unconstitutional” by the Supreme Court.
• In a landmark judgment on February 15, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said the scheme was arbitrary and violated citizens' right to information.
• A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court struck down the electoral bond scheme, which allowed anonymous donations to political parties.
• On January 2, 2018, the electoral bond scheme launched by the government was seen as a solution to replace cash donations and increase transparency in political funding.
• The Supreme Court said that this scheme violates the right to information of the citizens, thereby affecting the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

Explanation:

• Scientists discovered a giant black hole 53 million light years away. This research has been done under the Event Horizon Telescope project. Under this, the photo was taken for the first time by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) in the year 2017.

Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Project

• It is an international collaboration. It was started in the year 2012.
• It is a worldwide network of Earth-based radio telescopes, which serve to study a common object in space.
• This black hole confirms Einstein's theory of relativity.
• This black hole has been discovered in the center of the Messier(M) 87 galaxy.
• It is located near the Virgo galaxy cluster.
• This black hole is approximately 6 billion times the mass of the Sun.

Explanation:

• Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated a national conference to commemorate the creation of 25 crore 'APAAR: One Nation One Student ID Card.
• Vital interconnection between APAAR IDs, the Academic Bank of Credit, and Digilocker, facilitating streamlined operations, was also highlighted in the event.

APAAR

• APAAR, an acronym for Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry, is a specialised identification system designed for all students in India, beginning from an early age.
• It is introduced in accordance with the National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020 and the National Credit and Qualifications Framework (NCrF).

Explanation:

• Best Technology Bank of the Year award’ has been conferred to South Indian Bank.
• At the 19th IBA Annual Banking Technology Conference, South Indian Bank received the ‘Best Technology Bank of the Year award’.
• South Indian Bank won a total of six prestigious awards for outstanding performance.
• South Indian Bank emerged as the winner in three categories: Best Technology Bank of the Year, Best Tech Talent and Organization and Best Tech Talent and Organization.
• It secured the runner-up position in one and received special mentions in two others.
• The awards were received by PR Seshadri, MD & CEO of South Indian Bank.
• The IBA Annual Banking Technology Conference, Expo & Citations is an annual event that has been organized since 2005.
• It recognizes organizations that have brought transformational changes in their businesses by adopting modern digital solutions.