Sri Lanka to come under IMF’s governance diagnostic exercise
- Sri Lanka will be the first country in Asia to undergo a governance diagnostic exercise by the International Monetary Fund.
- It will assess corruption and governance vulnerabilities in the debt-trapped country.
- IMF’s Executive Board has approved a 48-month extended arrangement under its Extended Fund Facility with an amount of SDR 2.286 billion to help Sri Lanka overcome its economic crisis.
DPIIT to set up task force for formulating logistics cost framework
- A task force will be set up for formulating a framework to determine logistics costs in the country.
- It was decided in a workshop organised by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
- The task force members would include representatives from NITI Aayog, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI), National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).
NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd. signs MoU with Indian Army
- NTPC REL has signed an MoU with Indian Army for setting up Green Hydrogen Projects in its establishments on Build, Own and Operate model.
- The intent is to reduce complex logistics, dependence on fossil fuels and to accelerate decarbonization.
- A joint identification of potential sites would be undertaken for setting up of green hydrogen projects for supplying electricity, in a phased manner.
World Down Syndrome Day: 21 March
- World Down Syndrome Day is observed annually on March 21.
- The day aims to raise awareness about the healthcare and inclusion of people with this condition.
- A person with Down’s syndrome has an extra chromosome, which is a disorder that is present at birth.
- The UN General Assembly passed a resolution in November 2011 declaring the date as International Down Syndrome Day.
Aasif Sheikh declared winner of 2022 CMJ Spirit of Cricket Award
- Nepalese Wicketkeeper-batsman Aasif Sheikh has been declared the winner of the 2022 Christopher Martin-Jenkins Spirit of Cricket Award.
- The Award is presented every year by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), UK in conjunction with the BBC.
- The Award was created in 2013 by MCC and the BBC in memory of former MCC President and BBC Test Match Special commentator Christopher Martin-Jenkins.
2023 Swiss Open badminton tournament starts in Basel
- The 2023 Swiss Open badminton tournament started in Basel, Switzerland on 21 March 2023.
- The tournament will be played till 26 March 2023.
- Indian shuttler PV Sindhu will begin her campaign against local wildcard Jenjira Stadelmann.
- The BWF World Tour is divided into six levels, namely World Tour Finals, Super 100, Super 750, Super 500, and Super 300.
Changi Airport named the World’s Best Airport 2023
- Singapore Changi Airport has again topped Skytrax’s ranking of the world’s best airports, which was revealed at the 2023 World Airport Awards ceremony.
- This is the 12th time it has won the title, awarded annually by the UK-based airline and airport research firm.
- Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, and Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan, ranked second and third, respectively.
Hima Das, Ancy Sojan win gold in 200m and long jump in IGP
- Hima Das won the 200m race in 23.79 seconds, while long jumper Ancy Sojan won with a best effort of 6.49m in the Indian Grand Prix-1 athletics event on 20 Mar’23.
- Hima beat Aishwarya Kailash Mishra (24.81) of Maharashtra and VK Vismaya (24.82) of Kerala to take the women’s 200m gold.
- Sojan with a best effort of 6.49m, just past the 6.45m mark laid down as the Asian Games qualifying standard.
CUMI inks MoU with DRDO’s RCI Laboratory
- Carborundum Universal Limited (CUMI) has signed a licensing agreement for transfer of technology (LAToT) with DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat (RCI) laboratory.
- It has been signed to manufacture ‘Ceramic Radomes (GELCAST Process) Technology’ used in missile systems.
- Ceramic radome technology is considered state-of-the-art missile technology around the world.
No MGNREGS funds for West Bengal for 2023-24 too
- The Union Rural Development Ministry has decided to withhold the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) funds for West Bengal for the financial year 2023-24.
- West Bengal is the only State in the country against whom this Section was invoked.
- The Centre had first invoked the rule in December 2021 based on ground surveys.
Delhi’s per capita income grew by 7.54% in 2022-23
- Delhi’s per capita income is estimated to have grown by 7.54%, from ₹2.52 lakh in 2021-22 to ₹2.72 lakh in the current fiscal (2022-23), according to the Economic Survey of Delhi 2022-23.
- The per capita income of Delhi has been around 2.6 times higher than the national average.
- It’s outstanding debt increased by 39.8% from ₹29,608.27 crore in 2011-12 to ₹41,481.50 crore as on March 31, 2022.
21 March: International Day of Forests
- On 21st March, International Day of Forests is celebrated every year to raise public awareness about the values, significance, and contributions of the forests to balance the life cycle on the earth.
- In 1971, World Forestry Day was established at the 23rd General Assembly of the European Confederation of Agriculture.
- Secretariat of the United Nations Forum on Forests implements the event.
2nd SFWG Meeting in Udaipur, Rajasthan from 21st-23rd March, 2023
- The Second G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) meeting under India’s G20 Presidency is set to take place in Udaipur, Rajasthan from 21st-23rd March, 2023.
- The First G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) was held in Guwahati, Assam on 2nd-3rd February, 2023.
- On the side-lines of the meeting, two workshops have been planned.
Civil20 India inception meet starts at Nagpur
- A working committee meeting of the Civil20 India 2023 inception conference started on 20 March 2023 in Nagpur.
- It was chaired by Mata Amritanandamayi Devi and Nobel Laureate and Founder of Satyarthi Foundation, Kailash Satyarthi was the Chief Guest in it.
- C20 India 2023 is one of the official Engagement Groups of the G20 that provides a platform for Civil Society Organizations (CSO).
NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL) inks pact with Indian Oil Corporation
- NGEL, a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC Limited, has signed a Joint Venture Agreement with IOCL for setting up of renewable energy projects to meet power requirement of IOCL Refineries.
- NGEL, has set an ambitious target of building a renewable generation portfolio of 60 GW over the next decade.
- The signing of agreement will enable to meet the Government of India’s clean energy targets.
PM Narendra Modi holds delegation level talks with his Japanese PM
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi held bilateral delegation-level talks with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio in New Delhi on 20 March.
- This meeting aims to give a voice to the global South and strengthen the India-Japan relationship.
- PM Modi informed that year 2023 is unique as India and Japan will hold the presidency of G20 and G7 respectively.
MoHUA invites ULBs to participate in City Finance Rankings, 2022
- Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has invited Urban Local Bodies to participate in the first of its kind initiative City Finance Rankings, 2022.
- It has been launched with the objective of evaluating, recognizing and rewarding municipal bodies.
- ULBs will be evaluated on 15 indicators across 3 key municipal finance assessment parameters.
Bangladesh commissions its first submarine base
- Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the first submarine base of Bangladesh ‘BNS Sheikh Hasina’ at Pekua in Cox’s Bazar, in March 2023.
- Bangladesh govt has been working on ‘Forces Goal 2030’ to transform its military force into a modern organisation.
- The Government of Bangladesh signed an agreement with China in September 2019 for the construction of the submarine base.
China, South Korea bag titles at All England Open
- Li Shi Feng defeated fellow Chinese shuttler Shi Yu Qi to win the men’s singles title at the All England Open badminton championships, in March 2023.
- South Korea’s An Se Young won the women’s title.
- The All England event, with more than 155 matches and over 50 hours of badminton, contributes towards potential Olympics qualification.
Zlatan Ibrahimović becomes oldest ever goalscorer
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic became the oldest scorer in Serie A history at age 41.
- At 41 years and 166 days, Ibrahimovic beat the previous record for oldest scorer held by Alessandro Costacurta, who was 41 years and 25 days.
- Ibrahimovic plays for AC Milan.
Nepal-India Literature Festival concludes with Biratnagar declaration
- The three-day Nepal-India Literature Festival concluded in March 2023, with the adoption of a 10-point Biratnagar declaration.
- The festival was jointly organized by Biratnagar Metropolitan City and Krantidhara Literature Academy of Meerut, India.
- The declaration included translating Nepali literature into Hindi and Hindi into Nepali for mutual promotion
Study links Covid origins to racoon dogs sold in China seafood market
- An international team of experts has found evidence suggesting that coronavirus might have spread from infected raccoon dogs being illegally sold at a seafood market in China’s Wuhan.
- The analysis was led by three prominent researchers namely Kristian Andersen, Michael Worobey, and Edward Holmes.
- The genetic data was posted by Chinese researchers on GISAID, an open-access genomic database.