21st March, 2023

1. ‘Kashi’ (Varanasi) has been declared as the first tourism and cultural capital of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) during the SCO tourism ministers’ conference in Varanasi.
2. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved for listing of Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) – a CPSE under Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) – on the stock exchanges.
3. Ministry of Textiles has approved the setting up 7 Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks with a total outlay of Rs. 4,445 crores.
4. The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the ‘Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference’ in New Delhi.
5. 23rd Commonwealth Law Conference was inaugurated by Goa Governor P.S. Sreedharan Pillai.
6. Two-day Labour20 (L20) engagement group’s inception meeting, as part of India’s G20 presidency, was organized in Amritsar, Punjab.
7. India and the Maldives conducted the 4th Defence Cooperation Dialogue (DCD) in Male.
8. Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida arrived in Delhi to hold bilateral discussions with India.
9. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has announced the creation of 19 new districts. This is the first time, in 15 years, that the state is creating new districts.
10. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren launched the Jharniyojan Portal to provide a platform to employers and candidates looking for employment.
11. Asia’s largest Tulip Garden has opened for public at Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir.
12. Dubai-based Emaar, a real estate developer from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has become the first overseas company to invest ₹250 crore to set up the mega-mall, spread over 10 lakh square feet in Srinagar.
13. Ministry of Steel has signed 57 MoUs with 27 companies for specialty steel under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme.
14. India Post, the government operated postal service, signed an MOU with logistics aggregator firms Shiprocket and Pickrr to help MSMEs and enhance last-mile e-commerce delivery services across the country.
15. VA Tech Wabag, a water technology firm, has won a Rs 800 crore project funded by the World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Bangladesh.
16. International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has released the “Global Landscape of Renewable Energy Finance 2023” report.
17. Global Commission on the Economics of Water (GCEW) has released ‘The What, Why and How of the World Water Crisis: Global Commission on the Economics of Water Phase 1 Review and Findings’ report.
18. UBS Group AG (multinational investment bank and financial services) is planning to acquire Credit Suisse (based in Switzerland).
19. HSBC has announced a deal to buy the U.K. subsidiary of collapsed U.S. tech startup lender Silicon Valley Bank.
20. AIS App is a free mobile application, provided by the Income Tax Department.
21. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given the approval for India and Tanzania to use their national currencies for bilateral trade settlement through Special Rupee Vostro Accounts.
22. Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) will manufacture India’s first fire-resistant steel structures at its unit in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh.
23. Hindustan Zinc’s Mines has bagged the 1st GreenCo Silver rating by CII for its sustainable mining operations.
24. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has forecasted 5.9% growth rate for India for FY24 and 7% in FY25.
25. Vivek Gambir has been appointed as Chairman by boAT. The parent company of boAT is Imagine Marketing.
26. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has named Anup Bagchi as MD and CEO for 5 years, effective June 19, 2023.
27. G. Krishnakumar has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL).
28. Ordnance Factory Day
29. World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People
30. World Oral Health Day; Theme – Be Proud of Your Mouth
31. World Sparrow Day; Theme – I Love Sparrows
32. International Day of Happiness; Theme – Be Mindful. Be Grateful. Be Kind
33. March 21 – International Day of Forests; Theme – ” Telangana”
34. Times Magazine has released the list of “The World’s Greatest Places of 2023”.
35. Former Australia Cricket Captain Tim Paine has announced retirement.
36. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (Mexican racing driver) has won Saudi Grand Prix 2023.
37. 2023 BNP Paribas Open (aka Indian Wells Masters tennis tournament) – Men’s Singles: Carlos Alcaraz (Spain); Women’s Singles: Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)
38. International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup Shooting Championship was inaugurated in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh.
39. English journalist named Patrick French has passed away.

National News

1. ‘Kashi’ (Varanasi) has been declared as the first tourism and cultural capital of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) during the SCO tourism ministers’ conference in
   • The meeting adopted the Action Plan for “Year of Tourism Development in the SCO Space” in 2023.
   • The next meeting of the SCO Heads of Tourism Administrations will be held in Kazakhstan in 2024.
2. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved for listing of Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) – a CPSE under Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) – on the stock exchanges.
   • The listing will take place through an initial public offer (IPO) by part sale of government’s stake in it and to raise funds for IREDA through issue of fresh equity shares.
   • IREDA is currently a wholly owned Government of India, Mini-ratna (Category-I) CPSE incorporated in 1987 and is engaged in financing of Renewable Energy (RE) and Energy Efficiency (EE) projects in India.
3. Ministry of Textiles has approved the setting up 7 Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks with a total outlay of 4,445 crores.
   • The Parks will come up in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
   • A Special Purpose Vehicle owned by the Centre and State Government will be set up for each park which will oversee the implementation of the project.
   • The ministry of textiles will provide financial support in the form of Development Capital Support up to Rs 500 crore per park.
   • A competitive incentive support (CIS) up to Rs 300 crore per park will be given to the units in PM Mitra Park to incentivise speedy implementation.
4. The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the ‘Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference’ in New Delhi.
   • Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from various countries like Guyana, Suriname, Zambia, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka.
   • India and UN World Food Program have signed an MOU for cooperation for Shree Anna (millets) during 2023-27.
   • International Year of Millets is being celebrated so that the Indian Shree Anna, its recipes, and value-added products are accepted globally as a people’s movement.
   • PM Modi will unveil a stamp and currency coin on International Year of Millets 2023.
   • An exclusive millet gallery was set up during GULFOOD 2023 wherein start-ups, new entrepreneurs, FPOs, exporters, women entrepreneurs displayed their millet products.
   • APEDA (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) has formulated a robust strategy to increase India’s millets exports to achieve USD 100 million targets by

5. 23rd Commonwealth Law Conference was inaugurated by Goa Governor P.S. Sreedharan Pillai.
6. Two-day Labour20 (L20) engagement group’s inception meeting, as part of India’s G20 presidency, was organized in Amritsar, Punjab.
7. India and the Maldives conducted the 4th Defence Cooperation Dialogue (DCD) in Male.
   • Co-chair – Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane and his Maldivian counterpart, Chief of Defence Force, Maldives National Defence Forces Major General Abdulla Shamaal
8. Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida arrived in Delhi to hold bilateral discussions with India.
   • India and Japan have signed two documents. The agreements include the Renewal of the Memorandum of Cooperation in Japanese language, and Exchange of notes on JICA loan for 300 billion Yen on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed railway project.
   • Kishida formally invited Mr. Modi to the G7 Hiroshima Summit 2023.

State News

1. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has announced the creation of 19 new districts. This is the first time, in 15 years, that the state is creating new districts.
   • Rajasthan had 33 districts before the change.
   • After this change, the state will have 52 districts.
2. Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren launched the Jharniyojan Portal to provide a platform to employers and candidates looking for employment.
3. Asia’s largest Tulip Garden has opened for public at Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir.
4. Dubai-based Emaar, a real estate developer from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has become the first overseas company to invest ₹250 crore to set up the mega-mall, spread over 10 lakh square feet in Srinagar.
   • The mega-mall is the first significant Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) investment in Jammu and Kashmir.

Defence News

1. Ministry of Steel has signed 57 MoUs with 27 companies for specialty steel under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme.
   • Under the PLI scheme, the government has approved Rs. 6,322 crores to give a new impetus to the steel sector.
   • India is set to become a powerhouse of manufacturing which will increase the share of Steel in GDP from 2 to 5%.
   • India is on course to achieve record production of 125 million tonnes and 11% to 12% growth in consumption levels.

Memorandum of Understand

1. India Post, the government operated postal service, signed an MOU with logistics aggregator firms Shiprocket and Pickrr to help MSMEs and enhance last-mile e-commerce delivery services across the country.
   • The collaboration will also enable automated shipping and faster delivery for merchants, resulting in cost-effectiveness and business growth.

International News

1. VA Tech Wabag, a water technology firm, has won a Rs 800 crore project funded by the World Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Bangladesh.
   • The Chennai-based company will design, build and operate a sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 200 million litre per day (MLD) in Dhaka.

Reports And Indices

1. International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has released the “Global Landscape of Renewable Energy Finance 2023” report.
   • In 2022, global investments in energy transition technologies – renewable energy, energy efficiency, electrified transport and heat, energy storage, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS) – reached USD 1.3 trillion despite the prevailing macroeconomic, geopolitical and supply chain challenges.
   • Energy transition will require the mobilisation of USD 0.7 trillion per year from fossil fuels to energy-transition-related technologies; but fossil fuel investments are still on the rise.
   • In 2020, the fossil fuel investments went down 22% from the USD 1 trillion invested in 2019. Nevertheless, 2021 saw fossil fuel investments bounce back up 15% to USD 897 billion. The preliminary data for 2022 suggest that the investments would reach pre-pandemic levels of USD 953 billion.
2. Global Commission on the Economics of Water (GCEW) has released ‘The What, Why and How of the World Water Crisis: Global Commission on the Economics of Water Phase 1 Review and Findings’
   • India will face a reduction of over 16% in food supply due to water and heat stress in 2050.
   • However, the report placed China at the top, where food supply would be reduced by 22.4%, followed by South America by 19.4%.
   • India ranks 13 globally on the facing water stress in 2019.
   • The water supply availability in India is between 1100-1197 billion cubic meters (bcm). In contrast, the demand is expected to grow from 550-710 bcm in 2010 to around 900-1,400 bcm in 2050.

Banking and Economy

1. UBS Group AG (multinational investment bank and financial services) is planning to acquire Credit Suisse (based in Switzerland).
2. HSBC has announced a deal to buy the K. subsidiary of collapsed U.S. tech startup lender Silicon Valley Bank.
3. AIS App is a free mobile application, provided by the Income Tax Department.
   • The app is meant to provide a comprehensive view of the Annual Information Statement (AIS), which is a collection of various information pertaining to a taxpayer.
4. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given the approval for India and Tanzania to use their national currencies for bilateral trade settlement through Special Rupee Vostro Accounts.
   • The use of national currencies in bilateral trade settlements is expected to reduce the cost of transactions and enhance the efficiency of cross-border trade.
   • Under this mechanism, authorised banks in India will open Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVAs) of correspondent banks of Tanzania.
   • Mechanism – Tanzanian banks will have to open Special Rupee Vostro Accounts in India by approaching authorised Indian banks, who will in turn approach RBI for their approval with details of the arrangement.
   • Bank of Baroda has received RBI’s approval for opening SRVAs for its foreign branches and subsidiaries situated in various countries including Tanzania.
   • This arrangement is now applicable to 18 countries which are, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Botswana, Fiji, Germany, Guyana, Israel, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, New Zealand, Oman, Russia, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom.
5. Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) will manufacture India’s first fire-resistant steel structures at its unit in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh.
   • The BIS 15103 grade steel structural steels are designed to withstand temperatures up to 600 degrees Celsius for 3 hours.
   • JSPL is a part of OP Jindal Group.
6. Hindustan Zinc’s Mines has bagged the 1st GreenCo Silver rating by CII for its sustainable mining operations.
   • Hindustan Zinc is a Vedanta Group company and India’s largest & only integrated producer of Zinc, Lead & Silver.
   • The GreenCo Rating is a holistic framework that evaluates businesses on the environmental friendliness of their activities using a life cycle approach.

GDP Forecasts

1. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has forecasted 9% growth rate for India for FY24 and 7% in FY25.
   • OECD expects India’s gross domestic product (GDP) to grow at 6.9% in FY23.

Appointment

1. Vivek Gambir has been appointed as Chairman by The parent company of boAT is Imagine Marketing.
   • Sameer Mehta has been appointed as MD and CEO.
2. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has named Anup Bagchi as MD and CEO for 5 years, effective June 19, 2023.
3. Krishnakumar has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL).

Important Days

1. March 18 –
   • Global Recycling Day (6th edition); Theme – Creative Innovation
   • Ordnance Factory Day
2. March 20 –
   • World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People
   • World Oral Health Day; Theme – Be Proud of Your Mouth
   • World Sparrow Day; Theme – I Love Sparrows
   • International Day of Happiness; Theme – Be Mindful. Be Grateful. Be Kind
3. March 21 – International Day of Forests; Theme – ” Telangana”

Awards

1. Times Magazine has released the list of “The World’s Greatest Places of 2023”.
   • From India, Ladakh and Mayurbhanj (Odisha) are mentioned in the list.

Sports

1. Former Australia Cricket Captain Tim Paine has announced retirement.
2. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez (Mexican racing driver) has won Saudi Grand Prix 2023.
3. 2023 BNP Paribas Open (aka Indian Wells Masters tennis tournament) – Men’s Singles: Carlos Alcaraz (Spain); Women’s Singles: Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)
4. International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup Shooting Championship was inaugurated in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh.
   • ISSF President Luciano Rossi was the guest of honour at the event.

Miscellaneous

1. English journalist named Patrick French has passed away.

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