+91 9999466225 (Mon - Sat) info@anujjindal.in

17th-19th March, 2023

“Undertaking Transformative Strategies and Actions in Higher Education (UTSAH)”, the 50-year interest-free loans, ATL Sarthi, a comprehensive self-monitoring framework, National Statistical Office, Green National Highway Corridors Project (GNHCP), sister-city projects, Marion Biotech’s cough syrups,, Digital India Act, 2023, broad-gauge network, Vote Fest 2023, nationals of Saudi Arabia, ‘Resham Keet Bima’ scheme, Yaoshang, Manipuri version of Holi, Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, Guinness World Records, International Rajasthani Conclave, Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district, Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2022’, Exercise Bold Kurukshetra, ship-launched version, Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing, Kurnool (IIITDM Kurnool), Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, defense spending, massive deposit of lithium, 19th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting, 146th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly, Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation, corporate agency agreement with Life Insurance Corporation of India, Life Insurance Corporation, first co-branded credit card, Bandhan US Treasury Bond 0-1 Year Fund of Fund, Sustainable Equity Fund, Rupay Credit Card, Digit Health Insurance policy, Startup Ecosystem Banking’, National Statistics Office (NSO) data, Mimosa Networks, Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran, Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, Silicon Valley Bank, 14th instalment of tax devolution, Premier of China., Kavilmadam Ramaswami Parvathy, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Tajikista, Manhattan Federal District Court of New York, President of Nepal, International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness, International Day of Women Judges, National Vaccine Day/National Immunization Day, “Partnership for Healthy Cities 2023” Award, World’s Top 100 Airports 2023, Bahrain Grand Prix 2023, BWF German Open 2023 (badminton), Khelo India Dus Ka Dum Tournament, 2024 World Para Athletics Championships, “Women and Men in India 2022”., Kalakkad–Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve

  1. University Grants Commission has developed the “Undertaking Transformative Strategies and Actions in Higher Education (UTSAH)” portal to track the qualitative reforms by the higher education institutions (HEIs) in the country.
  2. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that the Central Government will continue the 50-year interest-free loans to state governments for one more year.
  3. Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)-NITI Aayog launched ATL Sarthi, a comprehensive self-monitoring framework to strengthen the Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL).
  4. National Statistical Office, Ministry of Statistical and Program Implementation, has conducted its 78th round of survey for 2020-21.
  5. Government of India and the World Bank have signed an agreement for the construction of Green National Highway Corridors Project (GNHCP) in an aggregate length of 781 km in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
  6. India and Ethiopia will soon finalize stalled agreements on visa waiver and sister-city projects.
  7. In December 2022, Uzbekistan informed that 18 children died after consuming Marion Biotech’s cough syrups, Ambronol and DOK-1 Max, which were contaminated with unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol or ethylene glycol.
  8. Government is working on the Digital India Act, 2023 to regulate the digital economy of India. It is in the consultancy stage now.
  9. Mumbai-headquartered Central Railway has achieved a significant milestone with 100% electrification of the entire broad-gauge network.
  10. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar inaugurated Vote Fest 2023 to create awareness on the election process in
  11. India has announced that the facility of e-visa has been restored for nationals of Saudi Arabia with immediate effect in all five sub-categories e., e-tourist visa, e-business visa, e-medical visa, e-medical attendant visa & e-conference visa.
  12. Uttarakhand has become the first state in the country to start ‘Resham Keet Bima’ scheme for protecting its sericulturists (a producer of raw silk).
  13. Yaoshang, Manipuri version of Holi, which lasts for five days, has begun.
  14. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese were on a two-day visit to Gujarat.
  15. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma received a certificate from the Guinness World Records for the maximum number of essays written about a single person, who is Ahom general Lachit Borphukan to mark his 400th birth anniversary.
  16. Rajasthan will organize the International Rajasthani Conclave on September 23 and 24, 2023 in Jaipur for the non-resident Rajasthanis (NRRs) from all over the world.
  17. A tiger and tigress were reintroduced in the Madhav National Park (MNP) in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district to revive the tiger population in the area.
  18. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Shri Parshottam Rupala released the ‘Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2022’.
  19. 13th edition of Exercise Bold Kurukshetra, a bilateral military exercise between India and the Singapore army, was held at Jodhpur Military Station, Rajasthan.
  20. Indian Navy successfully test-fired the ship-launched version of the BrahMos supersonic missile in the Arabian Sea.
  21. Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing, Kurnool (IIITDM Kurnool) and United Nations Association (UNA) mission group for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
  22. RBI and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abu Dhabi, to enhance cooperation and jointly enable innovation in financial products and services.
  23. China will increase its defense spending this year by 7.2% to 1.56 trillion yuan ($230 billion).
  24. Iran government claims it has discovered a massive deposit of lithium (8.5 million tons).
  25. 19th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting was virtually held in Bangkok under the chairmanship of Thailand.
  26. 146th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly was held in Manama, Bahrain from 11 to 15 March 2023, hosted by the Parliament of Bahrain.
  27. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation declined to a 25-month low of 3.85% in February 2023.
  28. Jammu and Kashmir Bank (J&K Bank) has signed a corporate agency agreement with Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to sell LIC’s insurance products through banks’ network.
  29. State-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has sold 2% of its equity stake in NMDC.
  30. HDFC Bank has launched the first co-branded credit card for Kirana members and small merchants with Flipkart Wholesale.
  31. Bandhan Mutual Fund’s recently launched US Debt (ETF) Fund has been renamed as the Bandhan US Treasury Bond 0-1 Year Fund of Fund.
  32. PNB MetLife, has introduced a Sustainable Equity Fund to invest in companies which are leading in Environment, Social and Governance (ESG).
  33. Canara Bank has launched the Rupay Credit Card through UPI using the BHIM app in collaboration with NPCI.
  34. Go Digit General Insurance has launched three new plans under Digit Health Insurance policy.
  35. ICICI Bank has launched the ‘Startup Ecosystem Banking’ – a digital and physical suite of banking services for startups.
  36. According to the National Statistics Office (NSO) data, the per capita income in terms of net national income, in current prices, stood at ₹1,72,000 in 2022-23 with a growth rate of 8% over the previous year.
  37. Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, will buy US-based communications equipment maker Mimosa Networks for $60 million to bolster its 5G telecom and broadband services.
  38. According to the Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran, India’s inflation rate was expected to ease in 2023-24, but added monsoon-related issues would be a key risk.
  39. Ministry of Finance has amended the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules for widening the scope of Know your Customer (KYC) norms to include Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), non-profit organisations (NPOs) and those dealing in virtual digital assets (VDA) as reporting entities.
  40. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)—the 16th largest bank in the United States—was shut down by federal regulators on March 10, 2023.
  41. Central Government has released the 14th instalment of tax devolution of over Rs 1.40 lakh crore to states to increase the capital expenditure.
  42. Li Qiang has been appointed as new Premier of China.
  43. India’s Kavilmadam Ramaswami Parvathy has been appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan.
  44. Indian American attorney Arun Subramanian became the first South Asia judge of the Manhattan Federal District Court of New York.
  45. Nepali Congress senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel has been elected the new President of Nepal.
  46. March 5 – International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness (1st edition)
  47. March 10 – International Day of Women Judges
  48. March 16 – National Vaccine Day/National Immunization Day (also called as “Polio Ravivar”)
  49. WHO has given “Partnership for Healthy Cities 2023” Award to five cities.
  50. World’s Top 100 Airports 2023 has been released by Skytrax Research.
  51. Max Verstappen has won the Bahrain Grand Prix 2023.
  52. BWF German Open 2023 (badminton) at Mulheim – Men’s Singles: Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Thailand); Women’s Singles: HE Bing Jiao (China)
  53. Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated the Khelo India Dus Ka Dum Tournament in New Delhi from the 10th to the 31st of this month.
  54. 2024 World Para Athletics Championships will be held in the Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium in Kobe, Japan, from 17 to 25 May 2024.
  55. Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Rao Inderjit Singh released the 24th issue of publication titled “Women and Men in India 2022”.
  56. Two researchers from Tamil Nadu have spotted a rare moth species for the first time in India in the buffer zone of Kalakkad–Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR).

Table of Content

National News

  1. University Grants Commission has developed the “Undertaking Transformative Strategies and Actions in Higher Education (UTSAH)” portal to track the qualitative reforms by the higher education institutions (HEIs) in the country.
      • The portal was launched to monitor the implementation of NEP 2020 in the HEIs.
      • The portal will gather information from the HEIs in 10 major thrust areas which include multidisciplinary; digital empowerment and online education; skill development and employability; research, innovation, and entrepreneurship; promotion of Indian languages and Indian Knowledge Systems and internationalisation of education.
      • The portal will be open 365 days, 24X7, so the HEIs can upload the information at their convenience
  2. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that the Central Government will continue the 50-year interest-free loans to state governments for one more year.
      • The enhanced capex of Rs 10 lakh crore for infrastructure development is equivalent to 3.3% of the GDP.
      • An expert committee will also be set up to make infrastructure classification and financing framework suitable for Amrit Kaal.
  3. Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)-NITI Aayog launched ATL Sarthi, a comprehensive self-monitoring framework to strengthen the Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL).
      • It provides a Monitoring and Evaluation framework to enhance the performance of ATLs.
      • It has four pillars which will ensure the performance enhancement of ATLs through regular process improvements viz:
          • MyATL Dashboard: It is a self-reporting dashboard.
          • Compliance SOPs for schools: It will ensure financial and non-financial compliances.
          • Cluster-based Approach: For on-ground enablement of ATLs in collaboration with relevant local authorities.
          • Performance-Enablement Matrix: To provide ownership to schools to analyze their performance.
      • As a pilot, ATL Sarthi will be executed with different partners in regions like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat.
  4. National Statistical Office, Ministry of Statistical and Program Implementation, has conducted its 78th round of survey for 2020-21.
      • In the survey, it released the first-ever “Multiple Indicator Survey” which assesses progress on various social indicators such as drinking water availability, sanitation facility etc.
  5. Government of India and the World Bank have signed an agreement for the construction of Green National Highway Corridors Project (GNHCP) in an aggregate length of 781 km in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
      • The loan amount is USD 500 million against total project cost of USD 1288.24 million (Rs. 7,662.47 crore).
  6. India and Ethiopia will soon finalize stalled agreements on visa waiver and sister-city projects.
  7. In December 2022, Uzbekistan informed that 18 children died after consuming Marion Biotech’s cough syrups, Ambronol and DOK-1 Max, which were contaminated with unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol or ethylene glycol.
      • After this, India directed drug manufacturers to stop using propylene glycol.
      • In October 2022, WHO had issued an alert stating that the four cough syrups being supplied to Gambia by the India-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd were of substandard quality and claimed that they were linked to the death of many children in Gambia.
  8. Government is working on the Digital India Act, 2023 to regulate the digital economy of India. It is in the consultancy stage now.
      • The main highlight of the law is the “safe harbour” clause which gives immunity to the digital media websites against the illegitimate content posted on their websites.
      • The Act is a broad overhaul of the IT Act of 2000.
  9. Mumbai-headquartered Central Railway has achieved a significant milestone with 100% electrification of the entire broad-gauge network.
      • The CR has completed the electrification of all broad-gauge routes, running 3,825 route kilometres.
  10. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar inaugurated Vote Fest 2023 to create awareness on the election process in
      • Electhon 2023, a 30-hour hackathon for securing the electoral future, was also inaugurated to seek people’s suggestions on improving voter turnout, ensuring the registration of new voters, and how to ensure the involvement of urban youth in the democratic process.
  11. India has announced that the facility of e-visa has been restored for nationals of Saudi Arabia with immediate effect in all five sub-categories e., e-tourist visa, e-business visa, e-medical visa, e-medical attendant visa & e-conference visa.
      • India launched the e-Visa service for Saudi nationals in 2019, however, it was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but it has now been reinstated, effective March 9, 2023.

State News

  1. Uttarakhand has become the first state in the country to start ‘Resham Keet Bima’ scheme for protecting its sericulturists (a producer of raw silk).
      • Under the pilot project, which started from Uttarakhand, in the first phase, 200 sericulturists from five blocks of four districts — Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital — have been insured from the ill effects of climate change, scarcity of water and other hazards.
      • The scheme is being run under Saral Krishi Beema.
      • Other prominent schemes of Uttarakhand – Atal Ayushman Yojana, Chief Minister Swarozgar Yojana
  2. Yaoshang, Manipuri version of Holi, which lasts for five days, has begun.
  3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese were on a two-day visit to Gujarat.
      • Both watched the first day of the fourth Test match between the two countries at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.
      • Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Governor Acharya Devvrat and other dignitaries also joined the Australian PM at Raj Bhavan.
  4. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma received a certificate from the Guinness World Records for the maximum number of essays written about a single person, who is Ahom general Lachit Borphukan to mark his 400th birth anniversary.
  5. Rajasthan will organize the International Rajasthani Conclave on September 23 and 24, 2023 in Jaipur for the non-resident Rajasthanis (NRRs) from all over the world.
  6. A tiger and tigress were reintroduced in the Madhav National Park (MNP) in Madhya Pradesh’s Shivpuri district to revive the tiger population in the area.
      • The tiger was transferred from Satpura Tiger Reserve (from Narmadapuram District of Madhya Pradesh), and the tigress was shifted from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh) in the state.
      • A third tiger from Panna Tiger Reserve (Panna and Chhatarpur districts of Madhya Pradesh) is expected to arrive at the park in two-three days.

Agriculture And Rural Development

  1. Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Shri Parshottam Rupala released the ‘Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2022’.
      • It is the primary source of data on production estimates of four Major Livestock Products (MLPs) like Milk, Egg, Meat and Wool for the year 2021-22 and other technical aspects of Integrated Sample Survey (ISS).
      • Data –
Milk -
    • Total Production - 221.06 million tonnes
    • Annual Growth Rate - 5.29%
    • Top 5 major milk producing States - Rajasthan (15.05%), Uttar Pradesh (14.93%), Madhya Pradesh (8.06%), Gujarat (7.56%) and Andhra Pradesh (6.97%)
    • The per-capita availability of milk is 444 gram/day during 2021-22 increased by 17 gram/day over previous year.
Egg -
    • Total Production - 129.60 billion nos
    • Annual Growth Rate - 6.19%
    • Total 5 major egg producing States - Andhra Pradesh (20.41%), Tamil Nadu (16.08%), Telangana (12.86%), West Bengal (8.84%) and Karnataka (6.38%)
    • In 2021-22, the per-capita availability of egg is 95 nos/annuum increased by 5 nos/annum over previous year.
Meat
    • Total Production - 9.29 million tonnes
    • Annual Growth Rate - 5.62%
    • Total 5 major meat producing States - Maharashtra (12.25%), Uttar Pradesh (12.14%),
    West Bengal (11.63%), Andhra Pradesh (11.04%), and Telangana (10.82%)
    • The per-capita availability of meat is 6.82 kg/annuam during 2021-22 increased by 0.30 kg/annuam over previous year.
Wool
    • Total Production - 33.13 thousand tonnes
    • Annual Growth Rate - (-) 10.30% (showing decline)
    • Total 5 major meat producing States - Rajasthan (45.91%), Jammu and Kashmir (23.19%), Gujarat (6.12%), Maharashtra (4.78%) and Himachal Pradesh (4.33%)
Other Important Facts -
    • During 2014-15 and 2020-21, the value addition of sector grew at a compound annual growth rate of 7.93%.
    • In 2020-21, the share of Livestock at constant prices in Agriculture Sector and total GVA was 30.13% and 4.9% respectively.

Defence News

  1. 13th edition of Exercise Bold Kurukshetra, a bilateral military exercise between India and the Singapore army, was held at Jodhpur Military Station, Rajasthan.
  2. Indian Navy successfully test-fired the ship-launched version of the BrahMos supersonic missile in the Arabian Sea.
      • BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd, an India-Russian joint venture, produces supersonic cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms.
      • BrahMos missile flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound.

Memorandum of Understand

  1. Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing, Kurnool (IIITDM Kurnool) and United Nations Association (UNA) mission group for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
      • As part of the MoU, students of IIITDM will adopt two to three villages in the Mahanandi to Achampet region and educate the people including students about the importance of conserving forests, land, and quality of air for the next 5 years as part of this programme.
      • Students will also be allowed to up research projects on the topics the UNA mission promotes under this MoU.
  2. RBI and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abu Dhabi, to enhance cooperation and jointly enable innovation in financial products and services.
      • Both entities will collaborate on various emerging areas of FinTech, especially Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and explore interoperability between the CBDCs of CBUAE and RBI.
      • CBUAE and RBI will jointly test bilateral CBDC bridge to facilitate cross-border CBDC transactions of remittances and trade.

International News

  1. China will increase its defense spending this year by 2% to 1.56 trillion yuan ($230 billion).
  2. Iran government claims it has discovered a massive deposit of lithium (8.5 million tons).
  3. 19th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting was virtually held in Bangkok under the chairmanship of Thailand.
      • The meeting also approved the draft Host Country Agreement between India and the BIMSTEC Secretariat (which is in Dhaka) for establishing BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate in India.
  4. 146th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly was held in Manama, Bahrain from 11 to 15 March 2023, hosted by the Parliament of Bahrain.
      • IPU is headquartered in Geneva.
      • Theme – Promoting peaceful coexistence and inclusive societies: Fighting intolerance

Banking and Economy

  1. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation declined to a 25-month low of 85% in February 2023.
      • This is the ninth straight month of decline in WPI-based inflation.
  2. Jammu and Kashmir Bank (J&K Bank) has signed a corporate agency agreement with Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to sell LIC’s insurance products through banks’ network.
      • The agreement will be operational/effective from April 1, 2023.
  3. State-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has sold 2% of its equity stake in
      • After this divestment, the stake would be reduced to 11.69%.
  4. HDFC Bank has launched the first co-branded credit card for Kirana members and small merchants with Flipkart Wholesale.
  5. Bandhan Mutual Fund’s recently launched US Debt (ETF) Fund has been renamed as the Bandhan US Treasury Bond 0-1 Year Fund of Fund.
      • The US Treasury Bond 0–1-year Fund of Fund is an open-ended FoF that will invest in units of JPMorgan BetaBuilders US Treasury Bond 0–1-year ETF.
      • IDFC Mutual Fund was renamed Bandhan MF after the lender acquired the asset manager.
  6. PNB MetLife, has introduced a Sustainable Equity Fund to invest in companies which are leading in Environment, Social and Governance (ESG).
      • PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited (PNB MetLife) recently announced the launch of its 20 new branches across the country.
  7. Canara Bank has launched the Rupay Credit Card through UPI using the BHIM app in collaboration with NPCI.
      • With this introduction, Canara Bank customers can link their active Rupay Credit Card to UPI and make merchant payments without the physical use of a card, like account-based UPI transactions.
  8. Go Digit General Insurance has launched three new plans under Digit Health Insurance policy.
      • The three plans — Digit Double Wallet plan, Digit Infinity Wallet plan, and Digit Worldwide Treatment plan — will cater to the newly-evolved health insurance needs of Indians post the pandemic.
  9. ICICI Bank has launched the ‘Startup Ecosystem Banking’ – a digital and physical suite of banking services for startups.
  10. According to the National Statistics Office (NSO) data, the per capita income in terms of net national income, in current prices, stood at ₹1,72,000 in 2022-23 with a growth rate of 8% over the previous year.
      • This would be nearly double of ₹86,647 in 2014-15.
      • Per capita income at the current prices was estimated at ₹1,27,065 and ₹1,48,524 respectively for the years 2020-21 and 2021-22.
  11. Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, will buy US-based communications equipment maker Mimosa Networks for $60 million to bolster its 5G telecom and broadband services.
  12. According to the Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran, India’s inflation rate was expected to ease in 2023-24, but added monsoon-related issues would be a key risk.
      • El Nino conditions could have a bearing on the monsoon, which in turn, would have an impact on food prices, inflation and economic growth.
      • In 2022, developed economies saw a high inflation rate of 8-9%, compared with their average of 2%, while India saw an inflation rate of 7%.
      • India would likely be a $3.4 trillion economy in 2022-23 and could become a $5 trillion economy by 2025-26 or 2026-27 and reach $7 trillion by 2030.
  13. Ministry of Finance has amended the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules for widening the scope of Know your Customer (KYC) norms to include Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), non-profit organisations (NPOs) and those dealing in virtual digital assets (VDA) as reporting entities.
      • The decision has been taken ahead of the expected Financial Action Task Force (FATF) assessment of India later this year.
      • The Ministry has also lowered the ownership percentage from 25% to 10% in a reporting entity, thereby treating any individual or group holding 10% ownership in a reporting entity as a “beneficial owner” for the purpose of PMLA rules.
      • According to the notification, every banking company, financial institution or intermediary will have to register the details of a non-profit organisation client on the Darpan portal of NITI Aayog.
      • They will also have to maintain such registration records for a period of 5 years after the business relationship between a client and a reporting entity has ended or the account closed, whichever is later.
  14. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB)—the 16th largest bank in the United States—was shut down by federal regulators on March 10, 2023.
      • The bank’s failure came because of several factors, including its investments losing value and its depositors withdrawing large amounts of money.
      • Reason – Federal Reserve increased interest rates in response to high inflation, Silicon Valley Bank’s bonds became riskier investments. Because investors could buy bonds at higher interest rates, Silicon Valley Bank’s bonds declined in value.

      Note: Cover the topic comprehensively through this video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7vtxFL5Tmk

  15. Central Government has released the 14th instalment of tax devolution of over Rs 1.40 lakh crore to states to increase the capital expenditure.
      • It is against the normal monthly devolution of Rs 70,159 crore.
      • Currently, 41% of taxes collected by the Centre is devolved in 14 instalments among states in a financial year on the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission.
      • As per data by Controller General of Accounts, the Centre has devolved Rs 6.68 lakh crore to states during April 2022-January 2023, up 22.4% from FY22.
      • The Budget for 2022-23 had projected tax devolution to states of Rs 8.17 lakh crore, which was then increased to Rs 9.16 lakh crore in the revised estimates, up from Rs 8.98 lakh crore devolved last year.

Appointment

  1. Li Qiang has been appointed as new Premier of
  2. India’s Kavilmadam Ramaswami Parvathy has been appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan.
      • Parvathy has served in leading roles at the World Food Programme in Türkiye and Afghanistan.
  3. Indian American attorney Arun Subramanian became the first South Asia judge of the Manhattan Federal District Court of New York.
  4. Nepali Congress senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel has been elected the new President of Nepal.

Important Days

  1. March 5 – International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness (1st edition)
  2. March 10 – International Day of Women Judges
      • 2023 Campaign – “Women in Justice, women for justice”
  3. March 16 – National Vaccine Day/National Immunization Day (also called as “Polio Ravivar”)

Awards

  1. WHO has given “Partnership for Healthy Cities 2023” Award to five cities.
      • RecipientsMontevideo, Uruguay for food policy; Mexico City, Mexico for road safety; Vancouver, Canada for surveillance; Athens, Greece for overdose prevention, and Bengaluru, India for tobacco control.
  2. World’s Top 100 Airports 2023 has been released by Skytrax Research.
      • Top 5 airports
    • India’s topmost –
      • 36th – Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport
      • 65th – Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad
      • 69th – Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru

    Sports

    1. Max Verstappen has won the Bahrain Grand Prix 2023.
    2. BWF German Open 2023 (badminton) at Mulheim – Men’s Singles: Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Thailand); Women’s Singles: HE Bing Jiao (China)
    3. Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated the Khelo India Dus Ka Dum Tournament in New Delhi from the 10th to the 31st of this month.
        • Purpose – to provide a platform to the women athletes who were unable to participate in national or state-level competitions
        • Nearly 15,000 women athletes will participate in the contest in more than 50 cities of the country. The game features 10 sports.
    4. 2024 World Para Athletics Championships will be held in the Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium in Kobe, Japan, from 17 to 25 May 2024.
        • India’s seasoned para-athlete Ekta Bhyan qualified for the World Para Athletics Championships with a record throw in women’s club F51 event at the Dubai World Para Athletics Grand Prix.
        • The Indian contingent clinched four silver and two bronze medals including Bhyan’s Asian record.
        • At the Dubai tournament, China gained 1st position with 102 medals (including 42 gold medals), followed by Ukraine (11 golds) and Uzbekistan (9 gold). India finished at 28th place.

    Miscellaneous

    1. Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Rao Inderjit Singh released the 24th issue of publication titled “Women and Men in India 2022”.
    2. Two researchers from Tamil Nadu have spotted a rare moth species for the first time in India in the buffer zone of Kalakkad–Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR).
        • The specie was last sighted 127 years ago at Trincomalee in Sri Lanka in 1893.
        • Researchers – Thalavaipandi Subbaiah of Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) and Prashanth Prakhalathan of Tamil Nadu Wetland Mission
        • Specie’s name – Mimeusemia ceylonica
    CEO of Anujjindal.in

    About Anuj Jindal

    ━━━━━
    Anuj Jindal, the founder, is an ex-manager from SBI, with an M.Com from Delhi School of Economics. He also has a JRF in Commerce & Management and NET in HRM, along with more than 5 years of experience in the field of Education.

    0 Comments