Current Affairs 22nd March 2023

Lakshya Sen slumps to world no 25 in BWF rankings

• Lakshya Sen slipped six places to move out of the world top 20 in the latest men’s singles rankings issued by BWF on 21 March 2023.
• He slumped to the 25th spot.
• He had reached a career-best world no. 6 in November 2022.
• HS Prannoy continued to remain steady at number ninth spot.
• In women’s singles, PV Sindhu stayed at the ninth spot, while Saina Nehwal slipped five places to 32nd spot.

Stadium named after hockey player Rani Rampal

• Indian team’s star hockey player Rani Rampal has become the first woman in the sport to have a stadium named after her, in Rae Bareli.
• The MCF Rae Bareli has renamed the hockey stadium as ‘Rani’s Girls Hockey Turf’.
• Rani made a comeback to the Indian team during the tour of South Africa earlier this year, when she was included in a 22-member squad.

Anti-submarinecraft INS Androth launched

• The INS Androth, second in a series of eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW SWC), was launched in Kolkata on 21 March 2023.
• Built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata, INS Androth is about 77.6 m long and 10.5 m wide, and requires a draught of only 2.7 m.
• Propelled by three diesel-driven water jets, these ships can attain a maximum speed of 25 knots.

Rajasthan becomes first State to pass Right to Health Bill

• Rajasthan Assembly on 21 March 2023 passed the Right to Health Bill.
• It has a provision for mandatory free-of-cost emergency treatment for every resident of the State at both the government hospitals and the privately-run institutions.
• With this, Rajasthan has become the first and the only State in the country to legislate the right to health.

IMF approves$3-billion bailout for Sri Lanka

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on March 20, 2023 cleared a $3 billion-Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Sri Lanka.
• The objectives of the EFF-supported programme are to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, safeguarding financial stability, and stepping up structural reforms to unlock Sri Lanka’s growth potential.

Mbappe to become new France captain

• Kylian Mbappe will take over as captain of France after Hugo Lloris stepped down following the World Cup final defeat to Argentina.
• His first game as captain will be 24 March’s Euro 2024 qualifier against the Netherlands at the Stade de France.
• Mbappe has scored 19 goals in 24 Ligue 1 matches this season and contributed seven goals in PSG’s run to the last 16 of the Champions League.

India-Africa militaryexercise begins in Pune

• India and 23 African nations on 21 March 2023, began a nine-day mega military exercise in Pune with a greater aim to expand their overall military cooperation.
• Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande will also host an ‘India-Africa Chiefs Conclave’ on March 28.
• An exhibition of indigenously developed military platforms will also be organised on March 29.

South Korea to restore Japan’s trade status to improveties

• South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s government will take steps to restore Japan’s preferential trade status.
• South Korea and Japan have deep economic and cultural ties and are both key U.S. allies that together host about 80,000 U.S. troops.
• But their relations have often fluctuated mainly due to issues stemming from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

Maha Metro Nagpur receives prestigious ‘Asia Book of Record’citation

• Maha Metro Nagpur was honoured with the prestigious Asia Book of Records certification for three different categories, in March 2023.
• Two of the categories are ‘Longest Length of Metro Rail Corridor Construction in Shortest Time’, ‘First Solar PV System in a Metro Rail Project for Integrated Consumption’.
• It has been also awarded Guinness World Records and two Asia Book of Records earlier.

IPCC releases its Synthesis Report

• According the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an UN-backed body of world’s leading climate scientists, the world is on track to breach the 1.5 degree Celsius global warming limit by the 2030s.
• Earth has already warmed an average of 1.1 degrees Celsius since the industrial age while humans have been responsible for virtually all global heating over the last 200 years.

World Water Day: 22 March

• World Water Day is observed on 22 March every year.
• The theme for 2023 is Accelerating Change.
• The UN General Assembly made it a yearly observance in 1993 to raise community understanding about the importance of conserving water.
• It was formally included for the first time in schedule 21 of the “United Nations Conference on Environment and Development” in Rio de Janeiro, in 1992.

G20Sustainable Finance Working Group discussions on net zero carbon

• The second G20 sustainable finance working group meet started on 21 March 2023 at Udaipur in Rajasthan.
• The session was focused on understanding the effectiveness of non pricing policy levers in enabling low carbon development.
• It was mentioned that non-price-based policy levers (NPPLs) have performed better than expectations and are cost-effective in this regard.

Bihar Day: 22 March

• Bihar Day (Bihar Diwas) is observed every year on March 22, marking the formation of the state of Bihar.
• It was on this day when the British carved out the state from Bengal in 1912.
• The day is a public holiday in Bihar.
• The official observance of Bihar Diwas annually began in 2010 under the initiative of Nitish Kumar.

India-Jordan SecondConsultative Meeting held in Delhi

• The second Consultative Meeting on Defence Cooperation between India and Jordan was held in New Delhi on 21 March, 2023.
• The two countries discussed a range of issues including military training and courses, Cyber Security.
• Both sides also exchanged their respective capabilities in defence industry and research and development for forging collaborations.

EAM S Jaishankar meets US Secretary of Air Force FrankKendall

• External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on 21st March met US Secretary of Air Force Frank Kendall in New Delhi.
• They discussed the global strategic scenario and new opportunities for India-US defense cooperation.
• Kendall informed that India and the US are also working on signing certain clauses of the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA).

PM Modi will inaugurate ITU Area Office & Innovation Centre

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the new International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Area office and Innovation Centre in New Delhi on 22 March 2023.
• During the programme, Prime Minister will also unveil Bharat 6G Vision Document and launch 6G Research and Development Test Bed.
• India had signed a Host Country Agreement in March 2022 with ITU for establishment of Area Office.

Meeting of Env. and ClimateSustainability Working Group from 27 March

• The second Working Group Meeting of the Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group of G20 will be held at Gandhinagar between 27th to 29th March 2023.
• The three-day meet will be inaugurated by India’s Sherpa to G-20 Amitabh Kant.
• Representatives from more than 30 countries will participate in the meeting.

Manmeet K Nanda given additional charge of MD & CEO of Invest India

• In the Board Meeting of Invest India on 20th March 2023, the Board appointed Ms. Manmeet K Nanda as the Managing Director & CEO of Invest India.
• Ms. Nanda takes over after the resignation of Mr. Deepak Bagla.
• Invest India was set up in 2009 under Section 25 of the Companies Act.
• Invest India is an investment promotion and facilitation body under the Commerce And Industry Ministry.

Laxman Narasimhan assumed charge as new CEOof Starbucks

• Indian-origin Laxman Narasimhan has assumed role of the CEO of Starbucks taking over from founder Howard Schultz.
• Laxman Narasimhan was formerly the CEO of FMCG major Reckitt.
• Before this, Narasimhan held various leadership roles at PepsiCo.
• Founded in 1971, Starbucks today has over 34,000 stores worldwide.

Putin holds talks with Chinese President

• China’s President Xi Jinping is on an enormously significant three-day visit to Russia.
• Both leaders discussed a Chinese proposal for a de-escalation and eventual ceasefire.
• Former Soviet Union and China had a history of both cooperation and violent clashes during the Cold War.
• Russia is China’s largest neighbour, a major source of military technology.

Activevolcano found on Venus

• A new analysis of archival radar images taken around 3 decades ago has found direct geological evidence of recent volcanic activity on the surface of Venus, also known as Earth’s twin, for the first time.
• Researchers have observed a volcanic vent changing its shape and getting bigger in size.
• Earlier, scientists have known that numerous volcanoes cover Venus but there wasn’t any evidence.

Thailand’s parliament was dissolved ahead ofelections

• Thailand’s parliament was dissolved on 21st March 2023 ahead of elections tentatively slated for May.
• Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha seeks to extend nearly a decade of his military-backed rule.
• Prayuth’s government will act in caretaker capacity.
• Under the rules, the Election Commission must confirm the date of the election in a separate notification within 5 days.

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