NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. TCS appoints K Krithivasan as CEO designate: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has appointed veteran K
Krithivasan as MD & CEO designate with effect from March 16,
2023. He has replaced Rajesh Gopinathan, who resigned recently. Gopinathan
completed his six years as CEO and was reappointed as CEO till 2027. He will
continue with the company till September 15, 2023, and provide transition
and support to K Krithivasan. Before this role, K Krithivasan served as
President and Global Head of BFSI Business Group, TCS.
2. FSIB recommends Ashwani Kumar as MD of UCO Bank: FSIB has recommended the executive
director of Indian Bank, Ashwani Kumar as an MD of UCO Bank. Before Indian Bank,
he worked as chief general manager of the Mumbai Zone of Punjab National Bank
(PNB). He would succeed Soma Sankara Prasad, whose tenure will
be completed on May 31, 2023. The final decision on the FSIB
recommendation would be taken by the ACC headed by PM Narendra Modi. Former
secretary of DoPT Bhanu Pratap Sharma headed the FSIB.
3. Anup Bagchi to head ICICI Prudential Life from June
2023: ICICI Bank's executive
director Anup Bagchi will take over as the CEO of ICICI Prudential Life
Insurance on June 19, 2023, subject to regulatory and statutory
approvals. He will replace the present CEO, NS Kannan, who will
superannuate on June 18, 2023. He has been working with the ICICI group
since 1992 and was appointed as an executive director of ICICI Bank on
February 1, 2017. He worked as the Non-Executive Director of ICICI
Prudential Life since October 2018.
4. Solar Energy capacity tripled in last 5 years from
21651 to 64380 MW: Union Minister of Renewable Energy & Power, R. K.
Singh informed in the Lok Sabha, that Solar projects of an aggregate
capacity of 64,380 MW have been installed in the country (as of 28.02.2023). India's
solar capacity has increased from 21,651 MW to 64,380 MW, an increase
of 197% in the last 5 years. The Government has set a target of
achieving 500 GW of installed capacity from non-fossil fuels (including
around 270 GW of solar capacity) by 2030.
5. National Vaccination Day 2023: 16 March: National Vaccination Day is observed
every year on March 16 to spread awareness about the importance of
vaccinations for human health. The theme for 2023 has not been
announced by the Ministry of Health. The day was first observed in
1995 when the Indian government started the Pulse Polio Immunisation
program. It focuses on the relevance of vaccinations in the battle against
deadly diseases and appreciates the hard work of healthcare professionals.
6. Literacy rate in India: Bihar lowest at 61.8%, Kerala
highest at 94%: According to the Ministry of Education,
Bihar has the lowest literacy rate in India at
61.8%, followed by Arunachal Pradesh at 65.3% and Rajasthan at 66.1%. Kerala
has the highest literacy rate in India at 94%, followed by Lakshadweep at
91.85% and Mizoram at 91.33%. The literacy rate in rural India is 67.77 percent
as compared to 84.11 percent in urban India.
7. Meghalaya International Film Festival begins in
Shillong: The first-ever
Meghalaya International Film Festival started in Meghalaya International
Film Festival is a five-day event which kicked off in the State Central Library.
It was inaugurated by the Meghalaya Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh. Around 40
films will be screened over the next five days across 4 venues. Meghalaya
International Film Festival (Megh IFF) is aimed at creating a film culture in
the State, especially among its youth. The Festival is expected to attract over
5,000 viewers from across the country and guest countries.
8. Atal Innovation Mission launched ATL Sarthi: Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) – NITI
Aayog has launched ATL Sarthi. It is a comprehensive self-monitoring
framework to strengthen the ecosystem of Atal Tinkering Labs. Atal Innovation
Mission has established Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATL) in schools to foster
curiosity, creativity, and imagination in young minds. ATL Sarthi is a
charioteer and will enable the Atal Tinkering Labs to be efficient and
effective. Atal Innovation Mission aims to foster millions of young innovators
in India by setting up Atal Tinkering Labs in schools. It will provide a
monitoring and evaluation framework to enhance the performance of Atal
Tinkering Labs. Mission Director AIM, NITI Aayog – Dr. Chintan Vaishnav
9. India joined Sea Dragon exercise 2023: The 3rd edition of the Sea Dragon
exercises is being started in the USA from 15-30 March 2023. It
is a coordinated multilateral anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise for
long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft. Ex Sea Dragon 23 will test the
capabilities of participating aircraft in tracking simulated and live
underwater targets, whilst also sharing mutual expertise. The Exercise would
witness representation by an Indian Navy P8I, along with P8A of the US Navy, P1
from the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force, CP 140 from the Royal Canadian
Air Force and P3C from the RoKN. The Exercise aims to achieve high levels of
synergy and coordination between the friendly navies, which is based on their
shared values and commitment to an open, inclusive Indo-Pacific.
10. 13th edition of Exercise Bold Kurukshetra concluded: The 13th edition of a
bilateral armour exercise, EX Bold
Kurukshetra, between India and Singapore was concluded at
Jodhpur Military Station, India. The ten-day-long joint training that commenced
fostered a common understanding of mechanized warfare in emerging threats and
evolving technologies. For the first time in the exercise series, both armies
participated in a command post Exercise, which involved Battalion and Brigade
level planning elements and computer wargaming. Hosted by the Indian Army, the
exercise involved soldiers from the 42nd Battalion, Singapore Armoured
Regiment, and an Armoured Brigade of the Indian Army.
11. Gaganyaan mission allocated Rs 9023 crore to achieve
its objectives: The government has
allocated a budget of 9023 Crore towards achieving
the objectives of the Gaganyaan mission. Objective 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.
12. 16 March – National Immunisation Day: National Immunization Day is observed
every year on 16 March. Objective – To spread awareness about the
importance of vaccines in the healthcare system. The day also celebrates
India’s triumph over polio. The first dose of the oral polio vaccine was
administered on March 16 in India in 1995. Thus, national immunisation day or
Vaccination Day celebrates the start of the Pulse Polio Programme of the
government which helped eradicate polio from the country.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. India’s KR Parvathy appointed as UN Resident
Coordinator in Tajikistan: UN Secretary-General
Antonio Guterres appointed India's Kavilmadam Ramaswami
Parvathy as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan. She
has served in leading roles at the World Food Programme in Türkey and
Afghanistan. She has more than 30 years of experience in the development and
humanitarian sectors, focusing on strategic planning, performance, risk management,
people management, conflict analysis, and humanitarian access negotiations.
2. Falcon LLM, a rival of ChatGPT launched in Abu Dhabi: The Technology Innovation
Institute in Abu Dhabi (UAE) has launched Falcon LLM, a
large language model (LLM) with 40 billion parameters. It was trained on
one trillion tokens and built by the AI and Digital Science Research
Center's AI Cross-Centre Unit. The model outperforms
GPT-3 and requires only 75% of its training compute, as well as
lower percentages of other large language models' training compute. LLMs have a
wide range of applications, including chatbots.
3. Delhi ranks 4th on list of world’s most polluted
cities: According to the World Air Quality Report
prepared by IQAir, Delhi ranked fourth on a list of 50 of the
world’s most polluted cities in terms of PM2.5 levels in 2022. Delhi had
an average PM2.5 level of 92.6 ug/ m3 in 2022, a little below the average of
96.4 ug/m3 in 2021. The most polluted city in the world was found to be
Lahore, followed by Hotan in China, and Bhiwadi in Rajasthan. The average
PM2.5 concentration in Bhiwadi was 92.7 μg/m3. Delhi has retained its ranking
on this list – it stood fourth in 2021 as well. The WHO guideline for annual
PM2.5 levels is 5 μg/m3. A total of 39 Indian cities (including ‘Delhi’ and
‘New Delhi’) are on the list of 50 of the world’s most polluted cities based on
annual average PM2.5 levels in 2022. These include cities like Noida, Gurgaon,
Bulandshahr, Meerut, Charkhi Dadri, Jind, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, and Greater
Noida. Out of 131 countries, India ranked eighth with a population-weighted
average PM2.5 level of 53.3 μg/m3 in 2022. India is behind Chad, Iraq,
Pakistan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso and Kuwait on this list.
4. US recognized 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 and also supported
India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. 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. Eric Garcetti appointed as US ambassador to India: The United States of America (USA)
Senate has approved the appointment of Eric Garcetti as the next US
Ambassador to India. The post was vacant for the last 26 months after Ken
Juster resigned in January 2021. The appointment of Garcetti, considered a
close ally of US President Joe Biden, was confirmed by the US Senate with 52
votes in favour and 42 against. Kenneth Juster was the last occupant of the
ambassadorial residence of the US in New Delhi, who stepped down in January
2021
OTHER UPDATES:
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. RBI and UAE's Central Bank sign MoU for innovation in
financial services: The Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) signed an MoU with the Central Bank of the UAE to promote
innovation in financial products and services. Both central banks will
work together to explore Central Bank Digital Currencies. They will
also investigate interoperability between the CBDCs of CBUAE and RBI. They
will conduct proof-of-concept and pilot tests of the bilateral CBDC
bridge to facilitate cross-border transactions of remittances and trade.
2. CRISIL: India’s GDP to grow at 6% in FY24: According to the credit rating agency
CRISIL report, India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is estimated to grow
at 6% in 2023-24, slower than the 7% estimated for 2022-23. Report Title:
Rider in the Storm: Tracing India’s Growth in a Volatile World It was also
estimated that the corporate revenue would continue to grow in double digits,
buoyed by strong domestic demand. Retail inflation will average 5% over
2023-24, lower than the 6.8% (averaged in 2022-23).
3. Defense ministry approved to buy worth Rs 70,500-crore
indigenous arms: An apex body of the defense
ministry for clearing weapons procurement, the Defence Acquisition Council
(DAC) met under the chairmanship of DM Rajnath Singh. The DAC has accorded
Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for capital acquisitions worth Rs 70,500
crore under Buy Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed, and
Manufactured) — a new procurement category.
It includes
307 Advanced Towed Artillery Gun Systems and 60 indigenous marine utility
helicopters.
4. Digit Insurance launches three new health plans: The Go Digit General Insurance has announced three
new plans under the Digit Health Insurance policy. The three plans—Digit
Double Wallet, Digit Infinity Wallet, and Digit Global Treatment Aim: To
meet Indians’ newly evolved health insurance demands following the pandemic Under
the Infinity Wallet and Worldwide Treatment plan for every claim-free
year, the policyholders can earn 50% of the sum insured as a cumulative
bonus of up to 100% of the SI.
5. India signed loan agreement with World Bank for Green
NH Corridors project: India has signed an agreement
with World Bank to construct the Green National Highway
Corridors Project in four States. These States are Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. The agreement has been signed for the
construction of 781 kilometers in these States, with loan assistance of 500
million dollars. The total project cost is over 7,662 crore rupees. The
objective of the Green National Highway Corridors Project is to demonstrate
safe and green highways keeping in view climate resilience and use of green
technologies.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. Bengaluru receives 'healthy city' award for smoking
laws: Bengaluru won the 'Partnership for Healthy Cities'
award and a cash prize of $ 150,000 for effectively enforcing smoke-free
laws at a summit held in London. The focused effort from smoke-free
Bengaluru resulted in a reduction of public-place smoking from 18.2%
(2017) to 13.3% (2021). The display of 'no-smoking' signs in the city also
increased from 23.1% (2017) to 75%. The global summit brought together
officials from over 50 cities to discuss public health concerns.
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. Tamil writer Sivasankari to be awarded Saraswati Samman for 2022 Sivasankari’s literary career spans over five decades. She is the author of 36 novels, 48 novellas, 150 short stories, 15 travelogues, seven collections of essays and three biographies, including one on former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
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