Current Affairs in English – March 12, 13 2023

March 12-13, 2023

National Events:

Six more suburban railway stations:

• Six more suburban railway stations catering to Mumbai local trains will be opened for the public. These include five on the new extension of the Uran line and Dighe on the Thane-Vashi corridor.
• All six are in their final stages of completion. The stations on the Uran line are Gavhanpada, Ranjanpada, Nhava-Sheva, Dronagiri and Uran itself.

Karnataka government:

• Karnataka government announced the start of the Bengaluru Health System by bringing all Primary Health Centres and laboratories under one command to effectively face the health challenges.
• CM Bommai inaugurated the Smart virtual Clinic and Central Clinical Command Centres at Sadashivanagar. Under the initiative, experts will start treatment and suggest additional treatments.

Indira Gandhi Tulip Garden:

• The Indira Gandhi Tulip Garden, which is Asia’s largest tulip garden in Kashmir, will open to the public on March 19, 2023. The garden spread between Dal Lake and Zabarwan Hills.
• Besides 1.5 million tulips of various colors and hues, the garden, also known as Siraj Bagh, will display other spring flowers like hyacinths, daffodils, muscari and cyclamens.

Methanol-run buses:

• Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on 12 March 2023, unveiled Bengaluru’s first methanol-run buses.
• The project is aimed at reducing the level of emissions and the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) NITI Aayog, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Ashok Leyland are conducting the project together.
• As part of the project, the IOC will provide free methanol for three months.

“Bharat Nepal Ashtha Yatra”:

• Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) announced to run on 31 March 2023, “Bharat Nepal Ashtha Yatra” tour package.
• It will run under the Bharat Gaurav Tourists train which will showcase four important pilgrimage and heritage destination in the 10 days tour. It is in line with India’s initiative “Dekho Apna Desh” to promote special interest circuits in domestic tourism.

Longest railway platform:

• PM Narendra Modi on 11 March 2023, inaugurated the longest railway platform in the world in Hubballi-Dharwad.
• With this, the city has registered its name in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest railway platform in the World at Shree Siddharoodha Swamiji station. The 1,507-metre-long platform has been built at a cost of about 20 crore.

Yoga Mahotsav 2023:

• Ayush Ministry is going to organize Yoga Mahotsav 2023 at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi from 13-15 March 2023.
• The Yoga Mahotsav is an event to commemorate 100 days countdown to the 9th edition of International Day of Yoga.
• During this Mahotsav, mass yoga demonstrations will take place in one hundred places in Delhi – National Capital Region (NCR) to celebrate the countdown.

IIT Roorkee:

• Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee have discovered a new antibacterial small molecule (IITRO0693) that could help in the fight against drug-resistant infections.
• The molecule has shown potent antibacterial activity against a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including some of the most problematic drug-resistant strains.

Railway electrification:

• Central Railway achieved 100% railway electrification on all Broad Gauge routes which is almost 3825 Kilometres in March 2023.
• The last non-electrified section of Central Railway, Ausa Road- Latur Road on Solapur Division was electrified in Feb 2023. The electrification has helped in reducing carbon footprints of 5.204 lakh tons every year and also saves Rs. 1670 crores annually.

INS Sahyadri:

• Indian Navy’s indigenously built guided missile frigate, INS Sahyadri participated in a Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with French Navy (FN) ships FS Dixmude, a Mistral Class Amphibious Assault Ship and FS La Fayette, a La Fayette Class Frigate, in the Arabian Sea. The partnership exercise was conducted on March 10-11.

32nd Vyas Samman:

• Pagalkhana, a 2018 satirical novel by renowned Hindi author Dr. Gyan Chaturvedi, has been chosen for the 32nd Vyas Samman. Dr. Chaturvedi’s Pagalkhana (mental hospital) was chosen for the prestigious Vyas Samman by a selection committee led by distinguished author Prof. Ramji Tiwari.

International Golden City Gate Tourism Awards 2023:

• The International Golden City Gate Tourism Awards 2023 in the categories of “TV/Cinema Commercials International and Country International” were won by the Indian Ministry of Tourism and Government of India, respectively.
• As part of a global effort on advertising in the post-Covid period to reopen opportunities in India, the award has been granted to promotional films/television ads made by the Ministry. On March 8, 2023, at ITB, Berlin, Shri Arvind Singh, Secretary (Tourism), Government of India, accepted the honours.

SAI20:

• The first Supreme Audit Institution 20 (SAI20) Senior Officers Meeting (SOM) is going to begin in Guwahati, Assam on 13 March 2023. The themes of the meeting are, ‘Blue Economy’ and ‘Responsible Artificial Intelligence’.
• The SAI20 is aimed at bringing together an ecosystem wherein SAls are active partners in governance, promoting transparency and accountability.

NITI Aayog:

• NITI Aayog has released the Task Force report titled “Production and Promotion of Organic and Bio fertilisers with Special Focus on Improving Economic Viability of Gaushalas”.
• The Task Force was constituted to suggest measures to make Gaushalas economically viable, address the problem of stray and abandoned cattle, and effective utilisation of cow dung and cow urine in the agriculture.

Tamil Nadu Events:

Tamil Nadu Government:

• Transport Minister S.C.Sivasankar launched Passenger Grievance and Complaint Redressal Helpline (1800 599 1500) and Public Website (Government Bus) schemes for the convenience of the public and passengers of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporations.
• This website has been developed in English and Tamil with proper facilities for the public to search for the required information. The public can check the website address arasubus.tn.gov.in.

Floating docks:

• The Ministry of Shipping has given permission for four floating docks in Tamil Nadu.
• The central government has said that this will lead to economic development in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and will provide more employment to local people and increase trade in those areas.

Pandyan sculpture:

• An early Pandyan sculpture with a Tava sculpture has been found at khallal in Sivagangai district.
• This statue which has been discovered is carved in relief on a slab of stone measuring two and a half feet wide and three and a half feet high.

International Events:

SOFIA:

• The GREAT instrument onboard NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) measured the ratio of main to heavy oxygen in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere.
• This made the first spectroscopic detection of heavy oxygen outside a laboratory. Heavy oxygen (180) is so called because it has 10 neutrons, rather than the normal eight of main oxygen.

Revathi Advaithi & Manish Bapna:

• US President Joe Biden on 12 March 2023, named two Indian-Americans to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.
• Revathi Advaithi, CEO of Flex, and Manish Bapna, CEO of the Natural Resources Defence Council were appointed as member of the committee.
• Prior to Flex, Advaithi was President and Chief Operating Officer for the electrical sector business for Eaton.

SVB:

• Silicon Valley Bank collapse gives Indian startups jitters. Started in 1983 in Santa Clara, California, SVB was among the biggest supporters of the tech industry. It is the second bank, after Silvergate, that collapsed last week.
• SVB was the 16th biggest bank in the US. The closure will have further reaching impacts for the tech world and is spurring additional concerns for banks.

Mount Merapi:

• Indonesia’s Mount Merapi erupted again on 12 March 2023, with avalanches of searing gas clouds and lava. Mount Merapi is one of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes and was already on the country’s second-highest alert level.
• Merapi last violently erupted in 2010, killing more than 350 people. Located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia has more volcanoes than any other country.

China’s Parliament:

• China’s Parliament on 11 March 2023, appointed Li Qiang as the country’s new Prime Minister. He succeeded Li Keqiang who held the post for the last 10 years.
• The annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), a ceremonial body that passes the proposals of the Communist Party of China (CPC), approved Li Qiang’s candidature.

Medieval gold hoard:

• A 1,000-year-old medieval gold hoard was discovered by Lorenzo Ruijter in Hoogwoud, Netherlands.
• The Dutch National Museum of Antiquities (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden) said the treasure contained four gold ear pendants, two gold leafs and 39 silver coins.

95th Academy Awards:

• The 95th Academy Awards (Oscars Awards 2023) are finally announced and the fans are excited to know how India fares at Oscars Awards 2023.
• The Academy Awards, or Oscars Awards 2023, which were originally held in 1929, recently celebrated their 95th anniversary. The Oscars Awards 2023 held on March 13 IST in Los Angeles’ Dolby theatre. It was hosted by popular late night show host Jimmy Kimmel.

Oscars awards 2023- Here’s the complete list of winners:

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Picture- Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Actress- Michelle Yeoh  (Everything Everywhere All at Once).

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Actor- Brendan Fraser  (The Whale).

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Director- Daniel Kwan and Daniel Schienert (Everything Everywhere All at Once).

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Film Editing- Everything Everywhere All at Once

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Original Song- “Naatu Naatu” (RRR)

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Sound- Top Gun: Maverick

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Adapted Screenplay- Women Talking

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Original Screenplay- Everything Everywhere All at Once – Daniel Kwan and Daniel Schienert.

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Visual Effects- Avatar: The Way of Water.

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Animated Feature Film- Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio’.

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Actress in a Supporting Role- Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’.

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Actor in a Supporting Role- Ke Huy Quan in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’.

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Documentary Feature Film- ‘Navalny’ by Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris.

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Live Action Short Film- ‘An Irish Goodbye’ by Tom Berkeley and Ross White.

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Cinematography- ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ by James Friend.

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Makeup and Hairstyling- Adrien Morot, Judy Chin and Annemarie Bradley for ‘The Whale’.

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Costume Design- Ruth Carter for ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’.

Oscars Awards 2023 Best International Feature Film- ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ – Germany.

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Documentary Short Film- ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ by Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga.

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Animated Short Film- The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse.

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Original Score- All Quiet on the Western Front.

Oscars Awards 2023 Best Production Design- All Quiet on the Western Front.

Wealth Report 2023:

• Knight Frank, a global real estate consultancy, released its Wealth Report 2023, which provides insights into the trends and performance of the prime residential property market across the world.

Among Indian respondents, the consultant said 88 per cent saw a rise in UHNWI’s (ultra-high-net-worth individuals) wealth in 2022.

India in Knight Frank’s wealth report 2023:

• Out of which 35 per cent respondents said that Indian UHNWIs saw an increase in their wealth in excess of 10 per cent last year.
• Going forward, the Indian respondents expect wealth of the ultra-wealthy to continue to increase in 2023.

United Kingdom: The Most Preferred Foreign Location:

• Amongst foreign locations the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates and United States are the most preferred locations for purchasing homes.
• The United Kingdom was the first preference with 47 per cent of respondents showing affinity towards it.
• The second spot was taken by UAE (41 per cent), followed by USA (29 per cent) and Canada (18 per cent).