Daily Current Affairs 24 May 2023

Prime Minister Modi received the highest civilian award of Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

• Papua New Guinea conferred its highest civilian order, Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu (GCL), to Modi for his effort in the unity of Pacific Island countries.
• Fiji conferred Companion of the Order to PM Modi on the sidelines of the third Forum of India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) summit.
• Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka conferred the highest civilian honour of Fiji to PM Modi.
• PM Modi also received the “Ebakl Award” of Palau.
• PM Modi reached Papua New Guniea after attending G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
• PM Modi co-chaired the 3rd Forum of India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit.
• He also held his first bilateral meeting with Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka in Port Moresby and reviewed the development partnership between the two countries.
• PM Modi also reached Australia at the invitation of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Google Pay will now support RuPay credit cards.

• Google Pay in association with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will support the RuPay credit cards on Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
• Google Pay users can now link their RuPay credit cards with Google Pay to pay at online and offline merchants.
• This feature will give more flexibility to Google Pay users and increase the adoption of digital payments in India.
• This feature will be available to RuPay credit card holders of Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, HDFC Bank, Indian Bank, Kotal Mahindra Bank, Punjab National Bank and Union Bank of India.
• There is no option to add Visa and Master-issued credit cards to Google Pay or any other UPI payment app in India.

Education Ministry announced to disband two Hindi awards.

• The Union Education Ministry has decided to discontinue ‘Shiksha Puraskar’ and the ‘Hinditar Bhashi Hindi Lekhak Puraskar’. 
• ‘Shiksha Puraskar’ was launched by the Central Government in 1992 to encourage original writings in Hindi.
• Five awards worth Rs 1 lakh are given yearly under the ‘Shiksha Puraskar’.
• Writers from any part of India or publishers on their behalf may submit their books for this award.
• Books originally written in Hindi by Hindi and non-Hindi-speaking authors are considered for this award.
• The ‘Hinditar Bhashi Hindi Lekhak Puraskar’ was started to promote writings in Hindi by writers from non-Hindi-speaking areas.
• 19 awards of one lakh rupees every year are given under this award. Its main objective is to encourage Hindi writers from Hindi-speaking areas.

Men’s right activist are opposing the KHADC decision to not grant ST status to people who adopt their husband’s or fathers’ surnames.

• The Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) of Meghalaya refused to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to people who adopt their husband’s or father’s surname.
• KHADC chief executive said this decision has been taken to preserve the Khasi society’s matrilineal customs.
• According to Khasi culture, children take their mothers’ surnames and the youngest daughters in a family inherit their parents’ homes.
• In the past, KHADC has made many attempts to enforce the Khasi community’s matrilineal rules.
• KHADC tabled a bill in November 2021 which proposed that women and children who adopt their husband’s or fathers’ customs should be deprived of their inheritance rights.
  KHADC is in the process of seeking the Meghalaya government’s permission to authorise ST certification themselves.
• Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council:
  • It is an autonomous district council in Meghalaya.
  • It covers the area of West Khasi Hills, Eastern West Khasi Hills, East Khasi Hills and Ri Bhoi districts.
  • The total area of the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council is 11,718 km2.