Current Affairs 14th March 2023

Mahindra Automotive: Title sponsor of IBA Women’s Boxing C’ship

• The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has signed SUV manufacturer, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., as its title sponsor for the championships.
• MC Mary Kom and Farhan Akhtar have been appointed as its brand ambassadors for its upcoming women’s World Championships 2023.
• The event is scheduled from March 15 to 26 at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi. 

3rd Divya Kala Mela inaugurated at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh

• In Madhya Pradesh, Governor Mangubhai Patel inaugurated the third Divya Kala Mela at Bhopal.
• Goods from across the country, including food items, are exhibited at the fair.
• Organised by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, this art fair will run till 21 Mar’23.
• The four finance corporations under the ministry provide financial assistance to artisans and other beneficiaries.

International Day Of Mathematics: 14 March

• International Day Of Mathematics is observed every year on 14 March.
• It is also known as PI day.
• The theme for 2023 is Mathematics for Everyone.
• March 14 represents the value of Pi (3.14).
• March is the third month of the year while the following number is 14, hence the date 14 March.
• It also coincides with the birth anniversary of scientist Albert Einstein.

Yoga Mahotsav 2023 inaugurated

• Yoga Mahotsav 2023, the three days event to commemorate 100 days countdown to International Day of Yoga 2023 was inaugurated in New Delhi on 13 March 2023. 
• Ayush Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the event.
• The three-day Yoga Mahotsav 2023 will feature a range of programs and activities which will include talks/discourses by Yoga gurus, Vice Chancellors Summit, etc.

IREDA gets status of IFC from RBI

• Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) has got the status of Infrastructure Finance Company (IFC) from RBI.
• It was earlier classified as an ‘Investment and Credit Company (ICC)’.
• With the IFC status, IREDA will be able to take higher exposure in RE financing.
• The IFC status will also help the company to access a wider investor base for fund mobilisation.

First Supreme Audit Institution 20 Senior Officers Meeting held

• As part of the G20 summit, the first Supreme Audit Institution 20 (SAI20) Senior Officers Meeting started in Guwahati on 13 March 2023.
• It has the themes -‘Blue Economy’ and ‘Responsible Artificial Intelligence’.
• It will conclude on 15 March 2023.
• The SAI20 is aimed at bringing together an ecosystem wherein SAIs are active partners in governance, promoting transparency and accountability.

International Day Of Action For Rivers: 14 March

• International Day Of Action For Rivers is observed every year on 14 March.
• It aims to raise awareness about the importance of rivers and the need to protect them from various threats.
• The first International Day of Action for Rivers was observed on March 1997. 
• The day coincides with Brazil’s Day of Action against Large Dams.

Total forest and tree area increased by 2261sq km

• India’s forest and tree cover has risen by 2,261 square kilometers in the year 2021.
• Andhra Pradesh grew the maximum forest cover of 8,276 square kilometers, according to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021.
• The biennial report by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), Dehradun, was released by Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ashwini Kumar Choubey.

LIC MD Siddhartha Mohanty appointed as interim chairman of LIC

• The government has appointed Siddhartha Mohanty as the interim chairman of Life Insurance Corporation of India for 3 months starting March 14, 2023.
• Currently, Mohanty is MD and CEO of LIC Housing Finance.
• Currently, Bishnu Charan Patnaik, Ipe Mini, Siddhartha Mohanty, and Raj Kumar are the MDs of LIC.
• LIC is the country’s biggest life insurer and fifth-largest life insurer in the world.

IDFC Mutual Fund rebrands itself as Bandhan Bank Mutual Fund

• IDFC Mutual Fund has rebranded itself as Bandhan Mutual Fund and its schemes are reflecting the new name from 13 March 2023.
• The fund house has also unveiled a new logo.
• The company, which was earlier a part of the IDFC group, was acquired by a Bandhan Financial Holdings-led consortium in April 2022.
• The deal was approved by the Securities and Exchange Board of India in November 2022.
  

MoC signed between India and Sweden

• A Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) has been signed between Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), and The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT) Stockholm, Sweden.
• It will strengthen cooperation and promote research networking between research institutions from both countries.

Foundation laid for 9 National Highway projects in Mahoba, UP

• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid foundation stones of 9 National Highway projects in Mahoba, UP, in March 2023.
• They have an investment of more than 3,500 crores.
• He also announced 4 laning of 258 km Ramvangaman road in Chitrakoot, 15 km 4-lane bypass at a cost of 200 crores, 18 km 4-lane bypass in Mahoba and 15 km 4-lane bypass in Artara.

Retail inflation remains virtually unchanged at 6.44% in February

• India’s retail inflation eased to 6.44% in Feb 2023.
• The data was released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
• Urban consumers inched up marginally from 6% in January to 6.1% in February, while it eased fractionally for rural consumers from 6.85% to 6.72% in February.
• It stayed above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upper tolerance level of 6 per cent.

Shreya Ghodawat appointed as India Ambassador of ‘She Changes Climate’

• Climate Entrepreneur Shreya Ghodawat was appointed as the India Ambassador of She Changes Climate on 13 March 2023.
• The global non-profit organization launched a special initiative for International Women’s Day titled ‘Embrace Equity’ that aims to amplify the voices of women around the impacts of climate change.
• The campaign supports the role of women in accelerating climate action.

International Conference on ‘Buddhist Heritage’ to begin on 14 March

• An international conference on Shared Buddhist Heritage will be held in New Delhi on 14 March 2023 with a focus on India’s civilisational connect with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) nations 2023.
• Organised by the Ministry of Culture, it aims to re-establish trans-cultural links and seek out commonalities between Buddhist art of Central Asia and the SCO countries.

IIT Guwahati partners with Sathya Sai Hospital for cardiac research

• IIT Guwahati on 13 March 2023, signed an MoU with Sri Sathya Sai Heart Hospital, Ahmedabad to foster Cardiac research.
• It was signed to provide digital transformation, degradation, and information sharing related to cardiac diseases.
• The Government of Assam has also inked an MoU with the Hospital to conduct sophisticated heart surgeries on 500 children.

Centre approves Rs 1816 crore to 5 states as disaster relief

• Union govt on 13 March 2023, approved additional assistance of ₹1,816.16 crore under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) to five states which were affected by flood, landslides, and cloudburst in 2022.
• Under the fund, ₹520.466 crore has been approved to Assam, ₹239.31 crore to Himachal Pradesh, ₹941.04 crore to Karnataka, ₹47.326 crore to Meghalaya and ₹68.02 crore to Nagaland.

Indian Immunologicals partners with ICAR-CIFA to develop fish vaccine

• Indian Immunologicals Ltd (IIL) in March 2023, partnered with Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA), Bhubaneswar for commercial development of fish vaccine.
• CIFA is an Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Institute.
• CIFA will develop the vaccine against Hemorrhagic Septicemia, also called Aeromonas Septicemia, ulcer disease or red-sore disease in freshwater fish.

The biennial exercise ‘La Perouse’ begins in Indian Ocean Region

• The third edition of the multilateral maritime exercise ‘La Perouse’ began on 13 March 2023 in Indian Ocean Region.
• The exercise envolve participation of personnel, ships and integral helicopters of Royal Australian Navy, French Navy, Indian Navy, Japanese Navy and the United States Navy.
• It is conducted by the French Navy and aims to enhance maritime domain awareness

Mahindra Auto becomes title sponsor of IBA Women’s Boxing Championship

• The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has signed Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. as its title sponsor for the International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s World Boxing Championships 2023.
• Boxer MC Mary Kom and Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar were also appointed brand ambassadors for the championship.
• The tournament will be held from 15 March 2023 in New Delhi.

Kotak Mahindra AMC launches Silver ETF Fund of Fund

• Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company Ltd on 13 March 2023, announced the launch of Kotak Silver Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) Fund of Fund.
• It is an open-ended fund of fund scheme that invests in units of the Kotak Silver ETF. 
• The New Fund Offer opens for public subscription on March 13, 2023 and closes on 27 Mar 2023.
• The scheme offers diversification, easy liquidity and no storage costs.

India qualify for World Test Championship 2021-23 final

• India qualified for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 final on 13 March 2023 after winning its fourth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia by 2-1.
• The International Cricket Council (ICC) WTC final between India and Australia will be played from June 7-11, 2023 at The Oval in London.
• The Ahmedabad Test was drawn after Australia declared 175/2 on the last day of the Test.

Ashleigh Gardner, Harry Brook win ICC Player of the Month for February

• The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced the winners of the ICC Player of the Month awards for February 2023.
• Australia’s Ashleigh Gardner was named the ICC Women’s Player of the Month, and England’s Harry Brook was named the ICC Men’s Player of the Month.
• Ashleigh Gardner was awarded the award for her performance in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 held in South Africa.

Uttarakhand’s entire Broad Gauge Network electrified by Indian Railway

• Indian Railways on 13 March 2023, announced that it has completed the electrification of Uttarakhand’s entire broad gauge network of 347 route km.
• This will result in a 2.5 times lower line haul cost, heavier haulage capacity, and reduced operating and maintenance costs of the electric loco.
• Indian Railway is working on a mission mode to become the largest green railway in the world.

Gujarat govt signs 16 MoUs of Rs. 12,703 crores under AGS Scheme

• Gujarat government signed 16 MoUs of worth 12,703 crore rupees in a single day on 13 March 2023, under ‘The Atmanirbhar Gujarat Schemes for Assistance to Industries’.
• The scheme was launched by Gujarat govt in October 2022 to support the industries in the State.
• As per the new MoUs, new industrial units will be set up in Dahej, Sanand, Bharuch and Saykha Industrial Colony.

HSBC Bank acquires Silicon Valley Bank’s UK arm for one pound

• HSBC Holdings on 13 March 2023, bought the United Kingdom (UK) arm of Silicon Valley Bank for 1 pound or 99 rupees.
• The was announced after the US financial regulators moved on 13 March 2023, to assure all depositors their money is safe following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and set up a new lending program offered by the Federal Reserve with funds from the Treasury Department.

North Korea tests two submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles

• North Korea test-fired two strategic cruise missiles on 13 March 2023.
• The submarine ‘8.24 Yongung’ launched two strategic cruise missiles in the water off Kyongpho Bay on the East Sea of Korea.
• It is North Korea’s first submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM) launch.
• The two strategic cruise missiles precisely hit the target on the East Sea of Korea after traveling 1,500km.

Download Bharat Affairs for daily and monthly current affairs 

Only Available on Google Play Store.