Lt Gen Daljit Singh takes over as military’s top doctor
- Lieutenant General Daljit Singh has taken over as the director general of the Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS), India’s senior-most military doctor.
- Before being promoted to the top post, Singh was serving as the director general medical services (Army).
- He was appointed honorary surgeon to the President in November 2021.
First abort mission of Gaganyaan in May 2023
- The first of the four abort missions for India’s maiden human spaceflight Gaganyaan is planned for May 2023.
- The first test vehicle mission, TV-D1, is planned in May 2023, followed by the second test vehicle TV-D2 mission and first uncrewed mission of Gaganyaan (LVM3-G1) in the first quarter of 2024.
- The Human-rated Launch Vehicle Systems (HLVM3) are tested and qualified.
Google-backed Anthropic launches ChatGPT rival chatbot Claude
- Google-backed Anthropic has released its AI Chatbot Claude.
- Anthropic is co-founded by ex-Open AI employees Dario and Daniela Amodei and it recently received $400 mn in funding from Google.
- Claude is capable of a wide variety of conversational and text processing tasks.
- It can do many of the same tasks as ChatGPT such as writing blog posts, summarizing text, replying to emails, coding, etc.
Centre appoints Deepak Mohanty as PFRDA Chairperson
- Deepak Mohanty has been appointed as the Chairperson of the Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority (PFRDA).
- He will hold this post from the date of assumption of charge till attaining the age of 65 years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
- Prior to this, he was the Whole-Time Member (Economics) of PFRDA for two years overseeing regulation of pension funds.
India and World Bank signs loan agreement
- India and the World Bank have signed a loan agreement for the construction of the Green National Highway Corridors Project in four states.
- These states are Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
- The agreement has been signed for the construction of 781 kilometers in these States, with loan assistance of 500 million dollars.
US Senate confirms Eric Garcetti as Ambassador to India
- Eric Garcetti, President Joe Biden’s close aide, will be the next US Ambassador to India after the Senate confirmed his nomination.
- The Senate voted 52-42 to confirm the former Los Angeles mayor’s nomination on 15 March 2023.
- The United States has not had an ambassador to New Delhi since January 2021.
- Biden had nominated Garcetti for the post in July 2021.
RBI and Central Bank of UAE sign MoU
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of the UAE have signed MoU to promote innovation in financial products and services.
- As per the MoU, both central banks will work together to explore Central Bank Digital Currencies and investigate interoperability between the CBDCs of CBUAE and RBI.
- They will conduct proof-of-concept and pilot tests of the bilateral CBDC bridge.
NASA unveils new generation of spacesuit
- NASA has unveiled a new generation of spacesuit for humanity’s return trip to the Moon.
- The design of the spacesuit comes with specialist features to support astronauts as they conduct scientific experiments on the lunar surface.
- The prototype is said to be a better fit for female space travellers.
- Existing spacesuits worn by US space travellers have not been fully redesigned since 1981.
Gianni Infantino re-elected FIFA president by acclaim
- Gianni Infantino was re-elected FIFA president by acclaim through 2027, on 16 March 2023.
- Infantino had no election opponent and won by acclaim instead of a formal vote by congress.
- He was first elected to the office during the 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress in February 2016, and was re-elected in June 2019.
Ravi Chaudhary confirmed assistant secretary of US Air Force
- The United States Senate has confirmed Indian origin Ravi Chaudhary as the Assistant Secretary of Air Force for Energy, Installations, and the Environment.
- Chaudhary will be the first Indian-American to serve as an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force.
- Chaudhary served as an active duty Air Force pilot between 1993 and 2015, conducting numerous combat missions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
February exports decline 8.8%, trade deficit at $17.43 billion
- India’s merchandise exports fell for a third consecutive month in February2023.
- Exports declined 8.8% to $33.88 billion in February and the trade deficit came in at $17.43 billion.
- Between April-February 2022-23, the country’s merchandise exports increased 7.55% to $405.94 billion.
- Merchandise trade deficit in April-February stood at $247.5 billion, up 43.5%.
Uttarakhand govt presents a budget of Rs. 77,407.08 crores
- The Uttarakhand government presented a Budget of 77,407.08 crore rupees for 2023-24 on 15 March 2023.
- Rs 10459.55 cr have been allocated for education and youth welfare which is the largest allocation.
- The Budget has a revenue surplus of 4,309.55 crore rupees.
- There is an increase of 18.05 percent in the total budget expenditure as compared to previous financial year.
Assam Finance Minister Ajanta Neog tables budget for 2023-24
- Assam Finance Minister Ajanta Neog tabled the budget for 2023-24 in the assembly on 16 March 2023.
- Mukhya Mantri Ayushman Asom Yojana will be started in the state.
- The scheme will enable 27 lakh families to avail 5 lakh rupees worth of cashless treatment, making it the largest health insurance scheme in the country.
- The government also announced to launch of Mukhya Mantri Awaas Yojana.
National Vaccination Day: 16 March
- On 16 March every year, National Vaccination Day is observed in India to increase awareness for the eradication of polio from the planet earth.
- It was first observed on 16 March 1995 when the first dose of Oral Polio Vaccine was given.
- In 1978, an enhanced programme was begun, which included Typhoid and DPT immunizations (Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus).
General Bipin Rawat birth anniversary: 16 March
- The 66th birth anniversary of Late General Bipin Rawat observed on 16 March 2023.
- He served as the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Indian Armed Forces from January 2020 until his death in a helicopter crash in December 2021.
- He also served as the 57th Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee as well as 26th Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) of the Indian Army.
Union Min Narender Singh Tomar inaugurates “AgriUnifest” in Bengaluru
- Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar on 15 March 2023, inaugurated “AgriUnifest” in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
- It is a 5-day cultural program, organized by Bangalore Agricultural University in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
- More than 2500 students from 60 State Universities/Central Universities have participated.
Hello Ujjivan app wins the prestigious 13th Aegis Graham Bell Awards
- Ujjivan Small Finance Bank’s Hello Ujjivan app won the 13th Aegis Graham Bell Awards in the “Innovation in Consumer Tech” category in Mar’23.
- The award is an initiative of Aegis School of Data Science, under the Min of Electronics & Information Technology to foster an innovative culture in India.
- It is the 1st mobile banking app in India that enables speech, visual, and vernacular features.
7th International Diabetes Summit 2023 inaugurated in Pune
- The 7th International Diabetes Summit 2023 organized by Chellaram Diabetes Institute was inaugurated on 15 March 2023 in Pune, Maharashtra.
- The three day summit is focused on talks on managing diabetes complications, cost-effective diabetes care, new advances and role of technology in diabetes management.
- More than 2000 delegates are attending the event.
India-Luxembourg launches Joint Commemorative Stamp
- Celebrating 75 years of friendship, India and Luxembourg launched a Joint Commemorative Stamp on 15 March 2023.
- India and Luxembourg have longstanding cooperation in the steel sector. Luxembourg Company Paul Wurth Company has been in India for the last 20 years.
- Earlier, the 12th Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers Meeting held in Luxembourg from November 4-7, 2015.
BIS launches ‘Learning Science via Standards’ initiative for students
- The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on 15 March 2023, launched the ‘Learning Science via Standards’ series for students.
- The initiative focuses on lesson plans that use scientific concepts, principles, and laws to help students understand their practical applications in manufacturing.
- Under the initiative, ‘Standards Clubs’ are being established in educational institutions across India.
US Senate recognises McMahon Line as international boundary
- The US Senate on 15 March 2023, formally recognised the McMahon Line as the international boundary between India’s Arunachal Pradesh and China, and rejected China’s claim over Arunachal Pradesh.
- Hagerty, former US ambassador to Japan, along with Jeff Markley, co-chair of the Congressional Executive Commission on China, had first introduced the resolution in the Senate.
Cyclone Freddy kills nearly 200 people in Malawi and Mozambique
- Tropical Cyclone Freddy hit the coast of Southern Africa in March 2023, killing more than 220 people in Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar.
- It is also set to be the longest-ever recorded tropical cyclone and has the highest-ever recorded accumulated energy for a storm.
- Freddy developed off the coast of Australia and crossed the entire south Indian Ocean to reach Malawi.
JioCinema signs Suryakumar Yadav as brand ambassador
- Reliance Industries-backed JioCinema has signed up cricketer Suryakumar Yadav as its brand ambassador on.
- It is owned by Viacom 18 Media Pvt Ltd., a subsidiary of TV18.
- JioCinema is the digital streaming partner of Indian Premiere League (IPL).
- Surya Yadav is managed by Rise Worldwide, also backed by Reliance Industries Ltd.
Phooldei festival celebrated at Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha
- The Phooldei festival was celebrated at Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha Bhawan on 15 March 2023.
- The children showered flower petals on the Vidhan Sabha premises.
- Known as the harvest festival of Uttarakhand, Phool Dei is an auspicious folk festival which welcomes the spring season in the state.
- The festival is celebrated on the 1st day of the Hindu month, Chaitra.
Russian jet collides with American drone over Black Sea
- A Russian fighter jet on 14 March 2023, dumped fuel on an American drone over the Black Sea and then collided with it, causing the drone to crash.
- US European Command informed that two Russian Su-27 fighters intercepted the unmanned MQ-9 Reaper over international waters and one clipped its propeller.
- The drone was on a routine ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) mission.