NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Govt appoints Deepak Mohanty as PFRDA chairman: Deepak Mohanty has been appointed as the chairman of
the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). He replaced
Supratim Bandyopadhyay, whose term ended in Jan 2023. Before this, Mohanty
was a former executive director of the Reserve Bank of India. He was
appointed PFRDA member (Economic) in August 2020 for a period of
three years or till attaining the age of 62 years. PFRDA was formed in
2003 to promote and develop the pension industry.
2. Gaganyaan mission allocated Rs 9023 crore to achieve
its objectives: The government
has allocated a budget of Rs. 9023 Crore towards achieving the
objectives of Gaganyaan mission. Scope of Gaganyaan program: To
demonstrate human spaceflight capability to Low Earth Orbit and safe return ISRO
is also developing indigenous technologies for Human rated launch vehicle,
Life Support System, Crew Escape System, Ground Station Network, Crew Training
and Recovery. The Union MoS, S&T, Dr. Jitendra Singh informed in Lok
Sabha.
3. India joined Sea Dragon exercise 2023: The third edition of the Sea Dragon
exercises is being started in the USA (host) from March 15-30,
2023. It is a coordinated multilateral anti-submarine warfare (ASW)
exercise for long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft. In this
exercise, Indian Navy participated with its P8I aircraft, which
arrived at Guam, USA on 14 March 2023. Apart from India, US Navy with
P8A, Japan with P1, Canada with CP 140, and South
Korea with P3C participated.
4. Minister Narender Singh Tomar inaugurates
“AgriUnifest” in Bengaluru: Union Minister of Agriculture Narendra Singh
Tomar has inaugurated a 5-day cultural program“AgriUnifest” in
Bengaluru. This program was organized by Bangalore Agricultural University
in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). It
was participated by students from 60 State Agricultural
Universities/Deemed Universities/Central Universities participated. Aim: To
integrate Indian agriculture by connecting various Indian cultures
5. REACHOUT scheme implemented by the Ministry of Earth
Sciences: MoS (I/C) Earth Sciences
Dr. Jitendra Singh has informed in Lok Sabha that REACHOUT is being
implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences for capacity building. REACHOUT:
Research, Education, and Training Outreach. It is an umbrella scheme of the
following six sub-schemes: R&D in Earth System Science International
Training Centre for Operational Oceanography Program for Development of Skilled
manpower in Earth System Sciences Outreach and awareness KRCNet BCWC
6. 'Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2022' released: Union Minister Fisheries, Animal Husbandry
& Dairying, Parshottam Rupala unveiled the department’s annual
publication, the ‘Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2022’. Total milk
production in the country during 2021-22 is 221.06 million tonnes. Top
5 Producing States: Milk: Rajasthan (15.05%), UP (14.93%), MP
(8.06%), Gujarat (7.56%) and Andhra Pradesh (6.97%). Egg: Andhra
Pradesh (20.41%), TN (16.08%), Telangana (12.86%), WB (8.84%) and
Karnataka (6.38%)
7. Anurag Thakur inaugurated 16th meeting of SCO Youth
Council: The 16th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organisation (SCO) Youth Council was held in hybrid mode in New Delhi
under the chairship of India. Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh
Thakur inaugurated the meeting of the SCO Youth Council. During the meeting,
the SCO Member States shared information on the activities of the SCO Youth
Council in 2022-2023. They noted the high level of participation and the
interest shown by the youth delegates of the SCO member states in the
discussion held during the Conference. They also noted the promising enthusiasm
shown by the youth delegates to engage in community development activities for
the betterment of the society.
8. 3rd Divya Kala Mela inaugurated at Bhopal in Madhya
Pradesh: Madhya Pradesh Governor
Mangubhai Patel has inaugurated the 3rd Divya Kala Mela at Bhopal. The
government is aiming to achieve holistic and all-round development so that the
disabled can participate equally in this process. Goods from across the
country, including food items, are exhibited at the fair. Organized by the
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, this art fair will run till 21 Mar
2023. The four finance corporations under the ministry provide financial
assistance to artisans and other beneficiaries.
9. OpenAl launched ‘GPT-4’ with higher accuracy: The artificial intelligence research company
behind ChatGPT, OpenAI has unveiled its new and more advanced
model called GPT-4. The latest version is more creative and accurate in its
response and has better problem-solving capabilities than ChatGPT. According to
OpenAI, GPT-4 is a “large multimodal model”, which cannot outperform humans in
real-world scenarios but can exhibit “human-level performance on various
professional and academic benchmarks”.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. US Senate confirms Eric Garcetti as Ambassador to
India: The United States of America (USA) Senate approved
the appointment of Eric Garcetti as the next US Ambassador to India. His
appointment will now fill in the key diplomatic position that had
been vacant for more than two years. His nomination was confirmed via a
52-42 vote, which was pending before the US Congress since July 2021. Kenneth
Juster was the last occupant of the ambassadorial residence of the US
in New Delhi, who stepped down in January 2021.
2. NASA unveils new generation of spacesuit for
humanity's return trip to Moon: NASA unveiled a new generation of spacesuit for humanity's
return trip to the Moon. This spacesuit comes with specialist features to
support astronauts as they conduct scientific experiments on the lunar surface.
The prototype is said to be a better fit for female space travelers. NASA
hopes to have the updated suit ready for the Artemis III mission to the
Moon in 2025. A well-fitting suit is crucial to prevent excessive fatigue
and at worst, physical harm.
3. India and World Bank signs loan agreement for Green NH
Corridors project: India and the World Bank have signed a loan agreement
to construct the Green National Highway Corridors Project in four States. Four
states: HP, Rajasthan, UP, and Andhra Pradesh The agreement has been signed
to construct 781 kilometers, with loan assistance of 500 million
dollars. The total project cost is over 7,662 crore rupees. Objective: To
demonstrate safe and green highways keeping in view climate resilience and the
use of green technologies
4. US recognizes McMahon Line as international border: The US has formally recognized the
McMahon Line as the international boundary between India’s Arunachal
Pradesh and China. The US has also rejected Beijing’s claim that the
northeastern state falls under Chinese territory. A bipartisan resolution
acknowledged Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India.
The
resolution, titled ‘Reaffirming the state of Arunachal Pradesh as Indian
territory and condemning the People’s Republic of China’s provocations in South
Asia'.
5. India world’s largest arms importer: SIPRI Report
2023: According to the Stockholm International Peace
Research Institute’s (SIPRI) 2023 report, India will become the world’s leading
arms importer in 2022. India remained the world’s largest arms importer from
2018 to 2022 followed by Saudi Arabia. According to this report, between the
years 2013-17 and 2018-22, India’s arms imports have decreased by 11 percent. Russia
was India’s largest arms supplier in the periods between 2013-17 and 2018-22.
But Russia’s share of arms imports to India fell from 64 to 45%. While France
emerged as the second-largest arms supplier to India followed by the US. The US
had the world’s largest military expenditure, accounting for 40%of the global
share, followed by Russia (16%), and France (11%).
6. March 15 – World Consumer Rights Day: World Consumer Rights Day is observed
every year on 15 March. Objective – to raise awareness about consumer
rights and promote consumer protection. The day is also an opportunity to
denounce market injustices and celebrate solidarity within the international
consumer movement. Theme 2023 – Empowering Consumers Through Clean Energy
Transitions The origins of World Consumer Rights Day dates back to March 15,
1962, when US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy addressed the US Congress on
the importance of consumer rights. The first World Consumer Rights Day was
observed on March 15, 1983, and since then, organizations like Consumer
International have celebrated the occasion by holding events and campaigns to
safeguard consumer rights.
OTHER UPDATES:
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. Commercial Bank 'first in Qatar' to launch UPI
remittance service to India: Commercial Bank, a digital
Bank in Qatar has announced to launch of Unified Payment Interface
(UPI) remittance service to India. With this decision, this bank
becomes the first bank in Qatar to offer this service. Customers can use
Commercial Banking digital platforms to initiate UPI payments using
UPI-ID. The transactions can be completed within 60 seconds and are
available 24/7. UPI is a convenient payment system that allows customers to
transfer money in real time.
2. Wholesale inflation falls to two-year low of 3.85% in February:
Wholesale Price-based Inflation (WPI) has been eased to two
years low of 3.85% in February 2023 against 4.73% recorded in January
2023. It will primarily contribute to the fall in the prices of crude
petroleum, food products, electronics, chemicals, and electrical equipment. In
February, fuel and power rose 14.82 percent as compared to 15.15 percent in
January this year and food index stood at 2.76 percent against 2.95 percent in
preceding month. Annual retail inflation (CPI) eased to 6.44 percent in
February this year, helped by a fall in the price of food items.
3. RBI allowed banks from 18 countries to trade in rupee: The Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) has permitted banks from 18 countries to open Special
Vostro Rupee Accounts (SVRAs) to settle payments in rupees. These 18 nations
include Botswana, Fiji, Germany, Guyana, Israel, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius,
Myanmar, New Zealand, Oman, Russia, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania,
Uganda, and the United Kingdom. The SVA process began in 2022 when RBI
announced, “it has been decided to put in place an additional arrangement for
invoicing, payment, and settlement of exports/imports in INR [Indian rupees.”
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. RBI's Shaktikanta Das named 'Governor of the Year' by
Central Banking: The Reserve Bank of India Governor,
Shaktikanta Das was awarded the title 'Governor of the Year' for 2023
by Central Banking. Reason: For his leadership during difficult periods,
such as the failure of a significant non-banking company, COVID-19 pandemic,
and the inflationary effects caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine The National
Bank of Ukraine was also awarded the Central Bank of the Year award. Central
Banking is an international economic research journal.
2. Tamil writer Sivasankari to be awarded Saraswati
Samman for 2022: Tamil writer
Sivasankari has been selected for Saraswati Samman for the year 2022
for her book Survya Vamsam. This is a book of memoirs in Tamil language and
was published in 2019. Saraswati Samman: It was instituted by the K.K.
Birla Foundation in 1991. It is recognized as the most prestigious and the
highest literary award in the country. It carries an award money of 15 lakh
rupees, a Citation, and a Plaque.
OBITUARIES
1. Veteran actor Sameer Khakhar passed away: Veteran actor Sameer Khakhar, best known for his role in the 1980s classic Nukkad passed away at 71. He rose to fame with his roles in TV shows ‘Nukkad’ and ‘Circus’. He was also featured in ‘Shrimaan Shrimati’, and ‘Adaalat’. He also played vital roles in films, including ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’, ‘Jai Ho’, and ‘Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi’. He was last seen in the OTT series ‘Farzi’.
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