Current Affairs 23rd March 2023

RINL wins the national level JCSSI Ispat Suraksha Puraskar

• RINL Visakhapatnam received national level safety Awards “Ispat Suraksha Puraskar” during annual award function held at SSO Ranchi and on 22-03-2023 organised by JCSSI.
• RINL Bagged four prizes in BF and Raw materials zone for the years 2020-21 and 2021-22.
• RINL Visakhapatnam also bagged Prestigious Award for “Zero Fatal Accident involving Contract Labour” for the year 2022.

India win bronze medal in 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team event in Bhopal

• Indian pair Narmada Nithin Raju and Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil won bronze medal as they beat China mix team by 16-8 in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team bronze medal match in ISSF World Cup shooting championship in Bhopal on 23 March 2023.
• India’s Sarabjot Singh clinched the gold medal while Varun Tomar finished with bronze in the men’s 10m Air Pistol event.

Delhi government presents ₹78,800 crore budget for 2023-24

• The Delhi government on 22 March 2023 presented ₹78,800 crore budget estimates for the financial year 2023-24.
• It has focus on enhancing the infrastructure, sanitation, transportation facilities besides the usual focus on health and education.
• The theme of the budget is “Saaf Sundar aur Aadhunik Dilli”.
• In 2022-23, the Delhi government had presented ₹75,800 crore budget.

‘Call Before You Dig’ app launched by PM Modi

• PM Narendra Modi on 22 March 2023 launched an app called ‘Call Before u Dig’.
• It will help prevent uncoordinated digging that results in damage to underground utility assets like optical fibre cables, costing the government thousands of crores every year.
• It has been developed by the department of telecommunications and the Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics.

Ratan Tata appointed in ‘Order of Australia’ for distinguished service

• For distinguished service to the Australia-India bilateral relationship, Indian industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata has been appointed as an Honorary Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO).
• Ratan Tata is Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, former Chairman of the Tata Group, and one of the richest entrepreneurs in the world.

Hindustan Zinc’s mines become the 1st GreenCo Certified Mines

• Hindustan Zinc has bagged the GreenCo Silver rating by CII for its sustainable mining operations.
• The GreenCo Rating is a holistic framework that evaluates businesses on the environmental friendliness of their activities.
• Recently, it has also earned a spot in the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook for the 6th time by being ranked amongst the top 5% ESG Score in the metals & mining sector.

Lalit Kumar Gupta appointed as CMD of Cotton Corporation of India

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Lalit Kumar Gupta as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Cotton Corporation of India (CCI).
• CCI is a PSU under the Ministry of Textile.
• Presently, he is serving as Director (Finnane) in the same organisation.
• He is also a member of the Institute of the Company Secretaries of India (ICSI).

U.S.-Argentine researcher wins Abel Prize for maths

• The Abel Prize for mathematics has been awarded to Argentine-American Luis Caffarelli, an expert in “partial differential equations” which can explain phenomena ranging from how water flows to population growth.
• He is professor at the University of Texas.
• This type of equation models how several variables change with respect to each other, and play a prominent role in many disciplines.

IIT Bombay ranks first in country in Engineering and Technology

• IIT Bombay has been ranked first in India and 47th globally in Engineering and Technology in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject for 2023.
• The institute scored 80.4 out of 100.
• Overall, the institute improved upon its 2022 performance by 18 places.
• In overall QS World University rankings, IIT Bombay ranks 172nd globally.

I-T dept launches app for taxpayers to view interest, dividend income

• The Income Tax department has launched the ‘AIS for Taxpayer’ mobile app.
• It will give taxpayers a comprehensive view of their information related to TDS/TCS, interest, dividends and share transactions, and an option to provide feedback.
• The taxpayer also has the option and the facility to provide feedback on the information displayed in the app.

Ranveer Singh pips Virat Kohli as most valued celebrity in 2022

• Ranveer Singh has become the most valued celebrity for endorsements in 2022, replacing Indian batter Virat Kohli, according to a new ‘Celebrity Brand Valuation’ report by corporate investigation and risk consulting firm, Kroll.
• He has an overall value of USD 181.7 million in 2022, up from USD 158.3 million in 2021.
• Among the women, Alia Bhatt tops the list.

Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurates Vedic Heritage portal in New Delhi

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the Vedic Heritage portal in New Delhi on 23 March 2023.
• The portal will be a one-stop solution for the user, who would like to search any information regarding the Vedic heritage.
• The audio-visual recording of four Vedas have been uploaded on the Vedic Heritage portal.
• It has over 18,000 mantras of the four vedas with a duration of over 550 hours.

G20 Research and Innovation Initiative Gathering held in Assam

• The two-day G20 Research and Innovation Initiative Gathering (RIIG) Conference began in Dibrugarh, Assam on 23 March 2023.
• It deliberated on ways towards building a sustainable and circular bio-economy.
• About 100 delegates from G20 members, guest countries and International organizations, along with invited participants from the scientific community were present on the occasion.

Lok Sabha approves ₹1.18 lakh crore budget for Jammu and Kashmir

• The Lok Sabha on 22 March 2023, passed the over ₹1.18 lakh crore budget for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for 2023-24.
• The 35% capital expenditure at ₹41491cr is to be spent on development and infrastructure.
• The expected revenue receipts are ₹1,06,061 crore, whereas revenue expenditure is expected to be ₹77,009 crores.
• The economy of Jammu and Kashmir is expected to grow at 10%.

Martyrs’ Day: 23 March

• Martyrs’ Day is celebrated on 23 March every year to commemorate the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Shivram Rajguru, and Sukhdev Thapar who were hanged to death by the Britishers.
• Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev were hanged at the age of 23, whereas Rajguru was only 22.
• To avenge Lala Lajpat Rai’s killing, they attempted to bomb the Central Legislative Assembly on April 8, 1929.

World Meteorological Day: 23 March

• World Meteorological Day is observed every year on 23 March to commemorate the World Meteorological Organization’s creation on 23 March 1950.
• The first World Meteorological Day was held on 23 March 1961.
• It began operations in 1951 to coordinate member nations in the fields of meteorology & Earth sciences.
• The theme for 2023 is “The Future of Weather, Climate and Water across Generations.”

Guinness World Records names ‘The Weeknd’ most popular artist globally

• The Weeknd was named the most popular artist in the world according to Guinness World Records on 22 March 2023.
• The organization awarded the title to the pop star after analyzing the popular streaming platform data of some of the biggest names in the music industry.
• Guinness World Records is a reference book published annually, listing world records of the extremes of the natural world.

AIM launches ‘Stories of Change’ for promoting grassroots innovations

• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) launched the ‘Stories of Change’ a series of captivating journeys of 15 change-makers from grassroots.
• These stories of impact creators from across India are aimed at inspiring entrepreneurs.
• AIM will be bringing such stories in future as well to give a platform to community innovators and will also provide support to every grassroots innovators.

Nepal’s festival of horses ‘Ghode Jatra’ observed in Lalitpur

• Ghode Jatra, also known as the festival of horses, was observed in Nepal’s Lalitpur on 21 March 2022.
• The Ghode Jatra festival was observed by the Malla regime(13th to 18th Century).
• It is observed annually following the belief that its observation started as a celebration of the victory over a demon named Gurumapa (also called Tundi) in ancient times.

Sarabjot Singh wins Gold in Men’s 10m air pistol at ISSF World Cup

• India’s Sarabjot Singh bagged the first gold Medal of the ISSF World Cup Shooting Championship in the Men’s 10m air pistol category, held in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on 22 March 2023.
• Sarabjot Singh completed a clean sweep in the gold medal match with a perfect score of 10.9.
• Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the event on 21 March 2023.

Joe Biden signs bill to declassify intelligence about Covid-19 origins

• US President Joe Biden has signed a bipartisan bill that directs the federal government to declassify intelligence about the origins of Covid-19.
• The legislation was passed by both the House and Senate and cites potential links between the research that was done in the Wuhan lab and the outbreak of Covid-19.
• World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Covid-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020.

PM Modi inaugurates ITU Area Office & Innovation Center

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi said as he inaugurated the new International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Area Office and Innovation Centre in New Delhi on 22 March 2023.
• He also unveiled the Bharat 6G Vision Document.
• The new ITU office will serve India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan, and Iran and it will also ensure economic cooperation in the region.

Environment Minister chairs 1st General Body Meeting of NCSCM

• Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav chaired the 1st General Body Meeting of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, (NCSCM) in New Delhi on 22 March 2023.
• It was held to focus on sustainable infrastructure and the livelihoods of coastal communities.
• He directed NCSCM to contribute to the mission of MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Incomes).

Twenty sixth edition of ‘Elevate Expo’ held in Dubai

• The Twenty-sixth edition of ‘Elevate Expo’ was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 22 March 2023.
• The six startups who participated in today’s elevate session were winners of the National Startup Awards 2022.
• Elevate is a pitching series organized by the Consulate General of India in Dubai, providing a platform for startups to connect with investors and global counterparts.

Mukesh Ambani only Indian in top 10 Hurun Global Rich List 2023

• Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman, Mukesh Ambani is the only Indian to feature in the list of top ten billionaires in the world, according to the 2023 Hurun Global Rich List.
• Regarding the number of billionaires, India ranks third in the 2023 Hurun Global Rich List.
• The number of billionaires dropped by 8% and their total wealth decreased by 10% compared with 2022.

Himachal Pradesh signs MoU with French agency worth Rs 817.12-crore

• Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu signed an MoU of Rs 817 crore project with the French development agency Agence Francaise de Development (AFD) to improve drinking water and sanitation services in the state.
• The MoU aims to provide better sewerage facilities in Manali, Bilaspur, Palampur, Nahan, and Karsog to improve drinking water supply in Manali and Palampur towns.

M T Vasudevan Nair awarded Kerala’s highest civilian honour

• Kerala Governor Arif Muhammad Khan has presented the maiden ‘Kerala Puraskarngal’, the state awards to eminent personalities on 22 March 2023.
• The awards were given in three categories namely “Kerala Jyothi”, “Kerala Prabha” and “Kerala Shri”.
• Kerala’s highest civilian honor “Kerala Jyothi” was awarded to writer M T Vasudevan Nair.

Nearly 150,000 without electricity as bomb cyclone lands in California

• A bomb cyclone slammed into Northern California, USA on 22 March 2023.
• California has been hammered by a series of storms known as atmospheric rivers since December 2022, bringing flooding rains and record snowfalls across the Sierra Nevada and other mountains.
• A bomb cyclone is a fast-developing storm that occurs when atmospheric pressure drops at least 24 millibars over a 24-hour period.

Putin visits Mariupol in first trip to occupied territory

• Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise trip to Mariupol on 21 March 2023.
• It was Putin’s first trip to the eastern Donbas region since he launched the invasion in February 2022, and comes almost a year after Moscow announced the capture of Mariupol.
• Putin also met army chiefs in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don near the border with Ukraine.

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