Current Affairs in English – March 8, 10 2023

March 8-10, 2023

National Events:

Dentsu Asia Pacific:

• Advertising and public relations agency Dentsu Asia Pacific has appointed Harsha Razdan as the chief executive officer (CEO) for its South Asia office.
• He replaced its former CEO, Anand Bhadkamkar, who quit in September 2021. Razdan has about 25 years of experience and has worked in various organizations like PepsiCo and Unilever. He has also been with consulting practices like Accenture.

Axis Mutual Fund:

• Axis Mutual Fund appointed Gopkumar as its new managing director and chief executive officer (MD & CEO) on 9 March 2023.
• Gopkumar takes over from Chandresh Nigam who has stepped down as the CEO of the company. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) barred Axis Mutual Fund’s former fund manager Viresh Joshi from the securities market in May 2022.

WINS:

• The Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri launched the ‘Women Icons Leading Swachhata’ (WINS) Awards 2023 in March 2023.
• The award aims to recognize celebrate and disseminate inspiring and exemplary initiatives in urban sanitation and waste management by women led organizations and individual women. The applications are open from 8th March to 5th April 2023.

CSIR:

• Union minister Jitendra Singh on 9 March 2023, announced the launch of an exclusive portal for research grants and funds for women scientists by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) council under CSIR-ASPIRE programme.
• The portal will be functional from 1 April 2023. Only women scientists across the country will be eligible to apply for research grants.

‘Golden City Gate Tourism Awards 2023’:

• The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, has bagged Golden & Silver Star at The International ‘Golden City Gate Tourism Awards 2023’ at the Internationale Tourismus-Börse (ITB Berlin) 2023 in Germany.
• It has awarded in ‘TV/Cinema Commercials International and Country International’ category. The Golden City Gate Tourism Awards are given annually in the Tourism and Hospitality sectors.

Y20:

• The fourth Y20 consultation meeting will be held in Pune, Maharashtra on 11 March 2023. It will be held at the Symbiosis International University (SIU), Lavale in collaboration with the Ministry of Sports.
• Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur will be the Chief Guest at the event. The theme for the fourth Y20 Consultation is ‘Peace building and Reconciliation: Ushering in an Era of No War’.

Guinness World Records:

• Assam entered on 9 March 2023, the Guinness World Records Hall of Fame for the largest number of handwritten notes.
• It was presented to Assam Govt as the world’s largest photo album of handwritten essays on the great warrior of the Ahom Dynasty Lachit Borphukan.
• A portal was launched by the state govt on Lachit Divas where the essays on Lachit Borphukan were submitted by students.

CRPF:

• The 75 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) women ‘Daredevils’ on March 9, 2023, embarked on a 1,848 km bike rally from India Gate in New Delhi to Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh.
• The rally will culminate on March 25 at Jagdalpur where the CRPF Day Parade will be held in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The rally was flagged off by the MOS for Ministry of External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi.

BIMSTEC:

• MOS for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh participated in the 19th the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Ministerial Meet on 9 March 2023.
• The meeting was chaired by Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Don Pramudwinai. BIMSTEC was formed as a regional grouping in June 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration.

HP-DAM & PUSHP:

• Union Power Minister launched a portal to ensure greater availability of power during the peak demand season at a price higher than the ceiling.
• The Central government has launched a High Price Day Ahead Market (HP-DAM) and Surplus Power Portal (PUSHP). HP-DAM will aid gas and coal-based power plants to generate and sell expensive power to meet the high peak demand in summers.

Megha Trophiques-1:

• The Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) successfully de-orbited a satellite. Megha Trophiques-1 was brought down as it disintegrated and burned up in the skies.
• Megha-Tropiques-1 was launched into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in 2011, as a joint mission of ISRO and the French space agency, CNES, for tropical weather and climate studies.

“Incredible India”:

• The Ministry of Tourism, under its “Incredible India” brand, in March 2023 inaugurated a pavilion in the Internationale Tourismus-Börse (ITB Berlin) 2023 in Germany.
• It is showcasing India’s rich & diversified tourism potential and provides a platform for tourism stakeholders. The ITB Berlin (Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin) is the world’s largest tourism trade fair.

Bharat Gaurav:

• Indian Railways is going to run the Bharat Gaurav train from Mumbai to Renigunta and back from 9 March 2023. Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train is in line with the Government of India initiative “Dekho Apna Desh” to promote domestic tourism.
• This IRCTC tourist train will be an all-inclusive tour package and IRCTC will make efforts to provide a safe and memorable experience to the guests.

Narendra Singh Tomar:

• Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will inaugurate the National Workshop on Bamboo Sector Development in New Delhi on 10 March 2023.
• It aims to identify areas for improvement and explore expert suggestions to transform the bamboo industry. The event is being organized by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Invest India, and Kerala State Bamboo Mission.

IFF:

• The eighth edition of Vedshiv Business Media’s Indian Fharma Fair (IFF) 2023 will be organised in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh from March 17th to 18th, 2023. The fair will present the most up-to-date trends and technology in the pharmaceutical, drug, and formulation industries.
• It will address industry problems, such as rising packaging and freight costs, and strive to find answers to those issues.

ECI:

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) will host the 3rd International Conference on the theme ‘Inclusive Elections and Elections Integrity’ on 09 March 2023.
• The first international conference of the Cohort was organized on 31 Oct – 01 Nov, 2022 at New Delhi. The 2nd Conference on the theme ‘Use of Technology and Elections Integrity’ was hosted by ECI at New Delhi on 23-24 January 2023.

Bhumchu festival:

• Bhumchu festival is celebrated for two days starting on the 14th day of the first month of Tibetan lunar calendar, which often falls in the months of February and March.
• It is celebrated at Tashiding Monastery. The opening of the vessel containing the holy water is the major highlight of the festival. For 2023, it was observed on 7 March.

Maharashtra:

• Maharashtra approved investment proposals worth 3,57,393 crore, which is highest among states in the country in the past three years. This was revealed in the economic survey of 2022-23.
• The state also approved the highest number of investment proposals- 780, according to the survey. When it comes to foreign direct investment (FDI), Maharashtra came second after Karnataka.

J & K:

• In J&K, the Indian Army installed the tallest ‘Iconic National Flag’ in the hilly Doda district on March 9, 2023. The tricolour has been installed on a 100 feet-high pole, the highest Tricolour in the Doda district.
• General Officer Commanding of the Army’s Delta Force Maj Gen Ajay Kumar unfurled it. He also honoured the next of kin of soldiers who had died in the service of the nation.

Money laundering laws:

• India’s money laundering laws will apply to trade in cryptocurrencies. The exchange between virtual digital assets and fiat currencies, the exchange between one or more forms of virtual digital assets and the transfer of digital assets will be covered under money laundering laws.
• The safekeeping or administration of virtual digital assets will also be covered.

RGB-60:

• The Indian Navy has received the first fully indigenized fuze YDB-60 for the underwater anti-submarine warfare rocket RGB-60.
• The fuze was manufactured by the private Indian Industry M/s Economic Explosives Limited (EEL) which is based in Nagpur.
• This marks the first time that the Indian Navy has procured an underwater ammunition fuze from an Indian private manufacturer.

State’s first MLA:

• Salhoutuonuo Kruse has created history by becoming the State’s first MLA along with Hekani Jakhalu, both of NDPP. Ms. Kruse, a 55-year-old, was thrilled after being sworn in as one of the 12 ministers, the maximum Nagaland can have.
• Nagaland has had two women MPs Rano M. Shaiza of the United Democratic Party and S. Phangnon Konyak of the BJP since it attained Statehood in 1963.

8th National Photography awards:

• Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Dr L. Murugan presented the 8th National Photography awards in New Delhi. A total of thirteen awards were presented during the ceremony today including 6 each in the Professional and Amateur category.
• The theme for the Professional category was “Life and Water”, while in the Amateur category the theme was “Cultural Heritage of India”.

Ministerial Meeting on South-South Cooperation:

• A Ministerial Meeting on South-South Cooperation has been held during LDC5 with an aim to explore concrete, innovative and actionable solutions in support of the deliverables of the DPoA through multi-stakeholder participation of the global South and traditional development partners.
• The Meeting is organized by OHRLLS, the State of Qatar (host country) and Malawi (Chair of LDCs) in collaboration with the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation. The South-South cooperation track aims to provide a platform to forge broad partnerships in support of deliverables of the DPoA.

23rd Commonwealth Law Conference:

• The 23rd Commonwealth Law Conference was inaugurated by Goa Governor P.S. Sreedharan Pillai.
• The five-day conference, which is being held from March 5-9, 2023, was also attended by Union Minister for Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju and Chief Minister of Goa Dr. Pramod Sawant. The Conference has 500 delegates from 52 countries in attendance.

IAF:

• In the first command appointment for a woman officer in the Indian Air Force (IAF), Group Captain Shaliza Dhami has been selected to take over the command of a frontline combat unit in the Western sector.
• For the first time ever in the IAF’s history, a woman officer has been given command of a frontline combat unit – in this case, a missile squadron in the Western sector.
• The IAF’s move comes just two months after Captain Shiva Chauhan of the Indian Army’s Fire and Fury Corps became the first woman officer to be operationally deployed at the world’s highest battlefield in Siachen.

CISF:

• Every year on March 10, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Raising Day is observed to mark the CISF’s founding in 1969.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs’ top-tier central armed police force, the CISF, is in charge of providing security protection for several public sector organisations, airports, seaports, power plants, and other significant infrastructure projects across the nation.
• This year, the 54th CISF Raising Day celebrated to appreciate the efforts and contributions of Central Industrial Security Force.

TROPEX-23:

• The Indian Navy’s exercise, called the “Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise for 2023” (TROPEX-23), culminated in the Arabian Sea after running for four months from November 2022 to March 2023.
• TROPEX-23 witnessed the participation of approximately 70 Indian Navy ships, six submarines and over 75 aircraft.

Colonel Geeta Rana:

• Colonel Geeta Rana of the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers has taken over command of an independent field workshop in the Eastern Ladakh region with China after the Indian Army recently approved women officers for command posts.
• She is the first woman officer to do so. The Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers’ Colonel Geeta Rana is the first female officer to assume control of an Independent Field Workshop in a remote and forward area in Eastern Ladakh.

Conrad Kongkal Sangma:

• Conrad Kongkal Sangma was sworn in as the Meghalaya chief minister for the second successive term in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Governor Phagu Chauhan administered the oath of office to Sangma, along with his two deputies Prestone Tynsong and Sniawbhaland Dhar, and nine other ministers.
• Sangma won from the South Tura constituency with a margin of 5,016 against Bharatiya Janata Party’s Bernard N Marak, as per the data shared by the Election Commission of India on March 2.

Manik Saha:

• Manik Saha took oath as 13th chief minister for the second time as Tripura Chief Minister after the BJP clinched a victory in the February 16 Assembly polls.
• Eight other ministers were sworn. Governor Satyadeo Narayan Arya administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr. Saha and eight more MLAs as Ministers in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a marathon meeting with TIPRA Motha chief Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma and 13 MLAs of his party.
• Four of the new ministers have been retained from the previous government.  The possible strength of the Council of Ministers in the 60-member House is 12.

Attukal Bhagavathy temple:

• Thousands of women devotees gathered at the Attukal Bhagavathy temple on March 7 for Attukal Pongala, the ninth day of the annual 10-day women-centric festival.
• 300 priests have been appointed for the sanctification ceremony at 2.30 pm and the city of Thiruvananthapuram is in a very festive mood.

Neiphiu Rio:

• Neiphiu Rio, the leader of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), took the oath of office as the fifth Chief Minister of Nagaland. Governor La Ganesan gave the 72-year-old lawmaker the oath of secrecy.
• Rio is serving his fifth term and second consecutive term as the NDPP’s leader.
• The deputy chief ministers of Nagaland, Taditui Rangkau Zeliang and Yanthungo Patton took the oath at Kohima among other Rio Cabinet members. Neiphiu Rio is contesting from home constituency Northern Angami-II.

Yaoshang:

• Yaoshang, Manipur‘s version of Holi, which lasts for five days, has begun. On the full moon of Lamta (February–March) in the Meitei lunar calendar, the event is observed annually.
• Yaosang, sometimes referred to as the Burning of the Straw Hut, starts just after dusk and is immediately followed by Yaoshang. In a practise known as “nakatheng,” kids solicit their neighbours for financial gifts.

NISAR:

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has received the NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) satellite from the U.S. space agency.
• A US Air Force C-17 aircraft carrying the NASA-ISRO synthetic aperture radar (NISAR) has landed in Bengaluru.

Reliance Life Sciences Pvt Ltd:

• Reliance Life Sciences Pvt Ltd has received a licence from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur for a gene therapy method that has the potential to treat a variety of genetic eye ailments.
• Reliance Life Sciences will further develop the gene treatment technology from IIT Kanpur into a native product. The science of molecular medicine has recently seen the emergence of gene therapy employing viral vectors as a powerful tool.

Swachhotsav:

• Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has launched Swachhotsav, 3-week women-led swachhata campaign, under the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0. It aims to recognize and celebrate the transition from women in sanitation to women-led sanitation.
• At the launch, the first edition of Women Icons leading Sanitation & Waste Management (WINS) Challenge-2023 was also announced.

RBI:

• The RBI has launched a programme to adopt 75 villages and convert them into digital payment enabled villages.
• Under this, payment system operators (PSOs) will adopt villages across the country and conduct 2 camps with an aim to improve awareness and onboard merchants for digital payments.
• The launch of ‘Har Payment Digital’ mission was also done during the Digital Payments Awareness Week 2023.

Axis Bank & ITC:

• Axis Bank has joined hands with FMCG giant ITC to offer lending products and services to farmers who are a part of ITC’s agriculture eco-system.
• Under the tie-up, the bank will leverage ITCMAARS (Meta Market for Advanced Agricultural Rural Services), a full-stack Agri-tech application for reaching out to the farmers and addressing their financial requirements.

Poppy cultivation:

• West Bengal Chief Minister urged the Centre to allow poppy cultivation in the State. Delicacies prepared with poppy seeds are integral to the Bengali cuisine and poppy seeds are costly as it is cultivated only in a few States.
• At present, opium poppy cultivation is permitted in Selected Tracts in three States namely Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

‘Greater Tipraland’:

• Tripura CM rejected the Tipra Motha Party’s demand for ‘Greater Tipraland’. Greater Tipraland, an exclusive administrative set-up for indigenous people, is part of the constitutional solution that TMP chief Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarma has been seeking.
• TMP has been demanding the elevation of tribal areas to a Greater Tipraland State under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of India.

World Meteorological Organization:

• The World Meteorological Organization introduced Global Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Infrastructure, which aims to provide standardized and real-time tracking of greenhouse gases. Platform integrates space-based and surface-based observing systems.
• Platform offers faster and more precise data on atmospheric changes. Provide information and support for implementing the Paris Agreement.

International Events:

V883 Orionis:

• Astronomers at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, US have detected gaseous water in the planet-forming disc around the star V883 Orionis, about 1300 light-years away from Earth.
• The detection of water supports the idea that water on Earth is even older than our Sun. This water was detected using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA).

Colombia:

• Colombia has opened military service to women for the first time in 25 years. A cohort of 1,296 women have been enlisted in Colombia’s Army in February 2023.
• Colombia has long had compulsory military service for men ages 18 to 24. The army relies heavily on those young recruits to staff bases, protect infrastructure and carry out administrative tasks.

Phyllurus fimbriatus:

• Phyllurus fimbriatus is a new species of gecko, has been discovered on an uninhabited Queensland Island of Australia.
• The carnivorous reptile measures about 15 cm in length and has a spiny leaf-shaped tail and a beaky face.
• The lizard was named the Scawfell Island leaf-tailed gecko due to the fringe of spines around its tail.

20000 metric tonnes of wheat:

• India will send 20000 metric tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan through the Chabahar Port in Iran. It was announced after the country representative of the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) in Afghanistan requested to provide foodgrain assistance to the Afghan people.
• In June’22, India re-established its diplomatic presence in Afghanistan by deploying a “technical team” to its embassy.

India & US:

• The United States and India will sign a memorandum of understanding on semiconductors as both countries discuss coordination of investment and continue dialogue around policies to spur private investment, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.
• The dialogue comes close on the heels of the launch of the inauguration of the initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET).

SonicWall:

• Devices from SonicWall, an American cybersecurity company that sells internet appliances, were found to be infected by persistent malware.
• The malware was found to be able to steal hashed credentials from logged-in users which would later be retrieved to be cracked online.
• Originating from a suspected Chinese hacking campaign, the attack involves maintaining long-term persistence.

Arun Subramanian:

• Arun Subramanian, an attorney, has been appointed as the first Indian American judge of the Manhattan Federal District Court in New York.
• The nomination of Mr. Subramanian for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York was first made public by US President Joe Biden in September 2022. The Senate confirmed the nomination of Subramanian by a vote of 58-37.

No Smoking Day:

• Every year on the second Wednesday of March, No Smoking Day is observed. It falls on March 8 this year. Even though we all know that smoking is bad for our health, quitting the habit appears to be a difficult task.
• This year’s theme is: “Stopping smoking improves your brain health”. The day is celebrated to help those who wish to quit smoking as well as to raise awareness about the implications of smoking on an individual’s health.

Ram Chandra Paudel:

• Nepali Congress senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel has been elected the new President of Nepal on 9 Mar 2023. The President is elected by an Electoral College consisting of the members of the Federal Parliament and the Provincial Assembly.
• He will succeed Bidya Devi Bhandari as Nepal’s Head of State. He is a former Speaker of the Pratinidhi Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of Nepal.

Sir David Alan Chipperfield:

• Civic architect, urban planner and activist, Sir David Alan Chipperfield has been selected as the 2023 Laureate of The Pritzker Architecture Prize, the award that is regarded internationally as architecture’s highest honor.
• Chipperfield’s storied career spans more than 40 years and includes 100-plus projects, ranging from civic, cultural, and academic buildings to residences and urban masterplanning throughout Asia, Europe, and North America.
• His built works, spanning over four decades, are expansive in typology and geography, including over one hundred works ranging from civic, cultural and academic buildings to residences and urban masterplanning throughout Asia, Europe and North America.

International Day of Women Judges:

• The International Day of Women Judges, which is celebrated every year on March 10, honours all female judges who have taken the lead in the fight against social injustice. The history and significance of the day are examined below.
• Not just women judges in international legal institutions should be honoured on this significant day. It serves as a day of symbolism for the fight for gender equality, equal access to opportunities, and the elimination of gender-based discrimination, which persists in all spheres of society.

World Kidney Day:

• On the second Thursday in March each year, the world observes World Kidney Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness about kidney health. On March 9, 2023, it will be remembered this year.
• The International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations-World Kidney Alliance are working together on it (IFKF-WKA). The day has been marked annually since 2006 and is significant since it promotes everyone’s renal health.

MSW:

• The third annual mental state of the world report (MSW), released in March 2023, found a ‘dramatic decline in mental well-being’ of young people. The report used the Mental Health Quotient (MHQ) to learn about the mental health of people.
• Tanzania topped the list with an MHQ of 93.6 while Panama, and Puerto Rico, were in the second and third places respectively. The MHQ of India was 58.8.

China’s Parliament:

• China’s Parliament unanimously endorsed an unprecedented third five-year term for President Xi Jinping.
• He has become first Chinese leader after the party founder Mao Zedong to continue in power beyond the two five-year terms. China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC) voted on ratifying Xi’s third term.

Sports Events:

Khelo India Dus Ka Dum:

• Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated the Khelo India Dus Ka Dum Tournament in New Delhi on 10 March 2023.
• In the run-up to the International Women’s Day 2023 celebrations, the Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry is organizing the Khelo India Dus Ka Dum tournament from 10-31 March. Nearly 15,000 women athletes will participate in the contest that features 10 sports.