Current Affairs in English – March 11 2023

National Events:

Anthony Albanese:

India has been referred to as Australia’s “top-tier security partner” by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia.
He said this after boarding INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, in Mumbai on 9 March 2023.
Australia will host Exercise Malabar for the first time and India will, also the first time, participate in Australia’s Talisman Sabre exercise.

Thomas A Sangma:

Meghalaya’s North Tura Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) Thomas A Sangma was elected the Speaker of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on 10 March 2023.
Sangma, who is from the National People’s Party (NPP), was elected unanimously as no other candidate had filed the nomination for the Speaker’s post. He replaced Metbah Lyngdoh of the United Democratic Party (UDP).

EV:

The country’s first Electric Pilgrimage Corridor is being built in the Uttarakhand’s Chardham Yatra route, about 900 km long. Charging points are being made every 30 km for private electric vehicles (EV).
Charging point facility will also be available in all the guest houses of the state. E-vehicles are being encouraged because they will reduce the harm to the environment.

Digital India Act:

The Union government on 10 March 2023, conducted its 1st public consultation with industry and policy stakeholders regarding the Digital India Act (DIA), which aims to replace the Information Technology Act (IT), 2000.
Privacy-invasive devices such as spy camera glasses, and wearable tech may be mandated under stringent regulation before market entry with strict KYC requirements for retail sales.

LEAN Scheme:

The government on 10 March 2023, launched the revamped Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Competitive (LEAN) scheme to make it more beneficial for enterprises and stakeholders.
Under the new scheme, the Centre’s contribution will be 90 per cent of the implementation cost for handholding and consultancy fees as against 80 per cent previously.

NSAC:

Piyush Goyal chaired the 6th meeting of the National Startup Advisory Council(NSAC). NSAC is playing an important role in identifying areas of interventions for expansion of startup ecosystem and ideating and nurturing national programs under Startup India initiative.
With the theme of India@2047, NSAC will plan upon matters important for evolution of Indian startup ecosystem.

Females Billionaries:

India is tied for 5th position with Australia and Hong Kong, with each country having 9 females billionaries.
The US leads the list with total of 92 female billionaries, 2nd place China with 46. Savitri Jindal, an Indian politician and businesswoman, is the richest woman in India with a family fortune of USD 16.96 billion.

‘Arogya Maha’:

On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2023 (8th March 2023), T Harish Rao, Telangana Health Minister, launched ‘Arogya Maha’, a new health programme for womenin Telangana.
Under the programme, tests would be conducted for women every Tuesday initially in 100 health centres and medicines provided to them free of cost.

Yes bank & Aadhar Housing Finance Ltd:

Yes bank, Aadhar Housing Finance Ltd made co-lending partnership. Under a strategic co-lending partnership, housing loans will be offered to homebuyers.
It is based on RBI framework which enable banks and non-banking companies to collaborate and provide credit to unserved and underserved society.
Both firms will offer home finance solutions to customers from low and middle-income groups. Under this both firms will disburse loans together.

e-NWR:

The Punjab National Bank and the Central Warehousing Corporation on 9 March 2023, signed an MOU to facilitate financing under the e-NWR (Electronic Negotiable Warehousing Receipt).
The partnership aims to provide easy access to finance to farmers/processors/ traders against the pawning of agricultural products stored in CWC warehouses.

Rohit Jawa:

The selection of Rohit Jawa, a senior executive of the UK-based parent company Unilever, as Hindustan Unilever Ltd.’s (HUL) new managing director and CEO has been approved by the company’s board.
The FMCG behemoth informed the stock exchanges that the appointment, which is for a five-year term, will start on June 27, 2023. Sanjiv Mehta, the current MD and CEO of Hindustan Unilever since 2013, will be replaced by Jawa.

Defence Ministry & HAL:

The defence ministry sealed a deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to procure six Dornier aircraft at a cost of Rs 667 crore for the Indian Air Force. The addition of the six aircraft will further bolster the operational capability of the IAF in remote areas, the defence ministry said announcing the contract.
The aircraft was used by IAF for route transport roles and communication duties. Subsequently, it has also been used for training of transport pilots of the IAF. The aircraft is ideally suited for short-haul operations from semi-prepared and short runways of the North East and island chains of India.

Women’s policy:

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis informed the Maharashtra’s Legislative Council that the state will introduce the fourth women’s policy to give more opportunities to women by considering the issues of women from all groups.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced in assembly that the state will start a Hirkani Room(Kaksha) for breastfeeding mothers at each police station in the state. He also announced that Residential and Commercial properties will be promoted to open such rooms and 250sq. feet of such a room will not be counted in FSI.

Rudraprayag and Tehri:

Rudraprayag and Tehri the two districts in Uttarakhand are facing the highest risk of landslides, according to satellite data collected over the past two decades.
Data collected by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has highlighted that Rudraprayag and Tehri Garhwal are at the highest risk of facing landslides, having seen the highest number of landslide incidents in the past 20 years.

International Events:

Iran and Saudi Arabia:

Iran and Saudi Arabia on 10 March 2023, agreed to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies in each other’s countries. It was announced after China-led negotiations were held in Beijing in March 2023.
They also agreed that the foreign ministers of both countries would meet to implement this and improve bilateral relations and that previous cooperation accords.

Australia and India:

Australia and India have agreed to accelerate a broader economic partnership and to boost their defence ties, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in New Delhi.
Last year the two countries signed a free trade deal called the Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), the first signed by India with a developed country in a decade.
This transformational deal will realise the full potential of the bilateral economic relationship, creating new employment opportunities and raising living standards for the people of both Australia and India.

HDI:

A report on the 2021 Human Development Index (HDI) is part of the Human Development Report 2021-2022 released by the United Nations Development Programme.
Human Development Index Rank report is given below. India ranked 132nd among 191 countries and territories on the 2021 Human Development Index (HDI).

The List:

Switzerland — .962

Norway — .961

Iceland — .959

Hong Kong (China) — .952

Australia — .951

Denmark — .948

Sweden — .947

Ireland — .945

Germany — .942

Netherlands — .941.