Current Affairs in English – March 27, 28 2023

March 27-28, 2023

National Events:

TV Somanathan:

• The Indian government has formed a committee led by finance secretary TV Somanathan to explore ways to address concerns raised by government employees over the National Pension System (NPS). The committee aims to find a middle ground between the fiscally imprudent old pension system (OPS) and the reform-oriented NPS.
• The committee will develop a strategy that meets the requirements of government employees while also ensuring financial responsibility to safeguard the interests of the general public. The new approach will apply to both the central and state governments.

World Bank:

• The World Bank has given the nod to provide a loan of $108 million (about ₹ 889 crores) to assist Assam in its efforts to improve its disaster preparedness and enhance flood forecasting.
• The multilateral bank has stated that around six million individuals will benefit from this project, which is part of a larger investment program worth $500 million for the state.
• The main aim of the Assam Integrated River Basin Management Project is to build eco-friendly infrastructure in the Beki and Buridehing river basins to lessen the impact of floods and river erosion on the state, ultimately safeguarding around one lakh individuals.

LVM3:

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched its heaviest rocket, LVM3, for the sixth consecutive time from the Sriharikota spaceport.
• The rocket successfully placed 36 satellites belonging to the UK-based OneWeb group company into their intended orbits. The upcoming launch will be the 18th for OneWeb, and it will expand the UK-based company’s existing constellation of 582 satellites.
• As per the contract signed between ISRO’s commercial arm NSIL and OneWeb, a total of 72 satellites are set to be launched in two phases.
• The first phase, which included 36 satellites, was successfully launched on October 23, 2022, in the LVM3-M2/OneWeb India-1 mission. This marks the second OneWeb fleet that India is launching, paving the way for the country’s foray into the commercial heavy lift-off space.

Aravalli Hill Range:

• At an event held in Tikli Village, Haryana to commemorate the International Day of Forests, the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, unveiled the Aravalli Green Wall Project, which aims to green the 5 km buffer area around the Aravalli Hill Range in four states.

Manjamma Jogati:

• The Election Commission (EC) in the Indian state of Karnataka has selected Manjamma Jogati, a transgender folk dancer, as a poll icon to encourage more members of the transgender community to register and vote.
• Alongside Jogati, several other individuals, including cricketer Rahul Dravid and Jnanapeeth awardee Chandrashekar Kambar, have also been chosen as poll ambassadors.

Namibian Cheetah:

• A Namibian Cheetah passed away at Kuno National Park in MP, India. The cheetah, named Sasha, was reportedly in good health when it was moved to India on September 17th 2022, but it was discovered that it had a kidney infection.
• This event was a setback for the project aimed at rejuvenating the cheetah population in the country.
• The cheetah had been brought from Namibia on September 17th, 2022, as part of India’s initiative to reintroduce cheetahs into the wild after their extinction in the country over 70 years ago. The initiative was launched in 2018, and the government had planned to release 50 cheetahs into the wild in the next few years.

Krishna Prakash:

• As part of the ‘Drowning Prevention Awareness’ campaign, Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Krishna Prakash swam from Gateway of India to Elephanta Caves, Mumbai. He completed the expedition of 16.20 kms in just 5 hours 26 minutes and became the first person in history to do so.
• This is far from the first time the IPS officer broke records in sporting competitions. In 2017, he completed the Ironman Triathlon, one of the most challenging sports events in the world.
• This is a three-day event that requires the participants to complete a 3.8-kilometre swim, a 180.2-kilometer bicycle ride, and a 42.2 km run in 16–17 hours. This achievement earned Prakash the ‘Iron Man’ title and a mention in the World Book of Records. He was the first Indian Government Servant, Civil Servant, and Uniformed Services Officer, including Armed Forces and Paramilitary Forces, to earn this title.

India and Tanzania:

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given approval for India and Tanzania to use their national currencies for bilateral trade settlement.
• Under this mechanism, authorised banks in India will open Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVAS) of correspondent banks of Tanzania. Tanzanian banks will have to open Special Rupee Vostro Accounts in India by approaching authorised Indian banks.

Aliya Mir:

• Aliya Mir, a prominent sociologist and the first woman from Jammu and Kashmir to work for Wildlife animals, has been awarded the wildlife conservation award 2023.
• She was awarded for her achievements in wildlife conservation including the rescue and release of wild animals, injured animal care, and bear rescue in Kashmir. She is the first woman to receive the award from J&K region.

BRO:

• The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) opened the Leh-Manali Highway (NH3) for traffic, in a record time of 138 days on 26 March 2023.
• The 427-km strategic Leh-Manali Highway (NH3) connects Ladakh to the rest of India via Manali. The 16,561 ft Shinku La pass on the Nimmu-Padam-Darcha (NPD) road was also opened on 25 March after a gap of 55 days.

G20:

• Ramnagar in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand is hosting the first G20 summit in the Uttarakhand from on 28-30 March 2023.
• Around 70 foreign delegates discussed four agendas including the One Health opportunity to tackle the pandemic and disease control, and coordination in global efforts enhancing reach to scientific knowledge.

MGNREGA:

• Union government notified a hike in wage rates under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for the 2023-24 financial year. Haryana has the highest daily wage at *357 per day and Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have the lowest at €221.
• The notification was issued under Section 6 (1) of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005.

Lieutenant Manmeet Colon:

• Indian-origin Sikh woman officer Lieutenant Manmeet Colon took charge as the Assistant Chief of Police in the US state of Connecticut on 27 March 2023. She became the department’s first-ever second-in-command of Asian descent.
• The Board of Police Commissioners in New Haven unanimously approved the appointment of Colon who was previously a lieutenant in the internal affairs office.

QS Quacquarelli Symonds:

• The 2023 edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject, released by QS Quacquarelli Symonds named the world’s best universities for the study of 54 academic disciplines on 27 March 2023.
• India is the 12th most-represented territory in the world. In the broad subject areas, IIT Guwahati performed best in Engineering & Technology, in which it is placed at 222nd.

Nidhi Khare:

• Union government on 27 March 2023, constituted a Committee under the chairmanship of Additional Secretary, Nidhi Khare to monitor the stock of Tur.
• It will monitor the stock of Tur held by entities such as importers, millers, stockists, traders etc. in close coordination with the state governments. The government has also removed the 10 per cent duty applicable for Tur imports in 2023.

Tamil Nadu Events:

 “Gymnothorax Tamilnaduensis”:

• A team of scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has discovered a new species of Moray Eel fish from the Cuddalore coast in Tamil Nadu.
• The new species has been named “Gymnothorax Tamilnaduensis” after Tamil Nadu and has been given the common name of “Tamil Nadu brown moray eel”.

Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Policy and Disaster Management Plan 2023:

• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin released the updated Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Policy and Disaster Management Plan 2023, in March 2023.
• The policy aims at reducing the negative impact of disasters with the help of strong disaster management machinery, minimising loss of life, property, and damage to critical infrastructure, and sustaining economic and development benefits.

IIT Madras:

• IIT Madras researchers have developed a three-dimensional (3D) paper-based portable device that can detect adulteration in milk within 30 seconds. The test could be even performed at home.
• It can detect multiple substances commonly used as adulterating agents including Urea, detergents, soap, starch, hydrogen peroxide, sodium-hydrogen-carbonate, and salt, among others.

International Events:

First Citizens Bank:

• First Citizens Bank announced the acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on 27 March 2023.
• FDIC took over Silicon Valley Bank on March 10, 2023, after depositors rushed to pull out their money in a bank run that also brought down Signature Bank. First Citizens will assume Silicon Valley Bank’s assets of $110 billion as part of the deal.

Honduras:

• Honduras established diplomatic ties with China on 27 March 2023 after breaking off relations with Taiwan. Taiwan is now recognized by only 13 sovereign states.
• China and Taiwan have been locked in a battle for diplomatic recognition since they split amid a civil war in 1949. Taiwan still has ties with Belize, Paraguay, and Guatemala in Latin America, and Vatican City.

Humza Yousaf:

• Pakistani origin Humza Yousaf on 27 March 2023 won the race to become Scotland’s new leader, the youngest and first from a minority ethnicity.
• He succeeds Nicola Sturgeon as leader of the governing Scottish National Party (SNP). He will take over as head of the semi-autonomous government once he wins an approval vote in the Scottish parliament.

Dilma Vana Rousseff:

• New Development Bank (NDB) has announced that former Brazilian President Dilma Vana Rousseff has been elected as the new President of the Bank.
• She will replace Marcus Troyjo. NDB, also known as BRICS bank is a multilateral financial institution set up by the five BRICS countries including Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa.

P-270 Moskit:

• Russia’s navy fired supersonic anti-ship missiles at a mock target in the Sea of Japan, in March 2023.
• The P-270 Moskit missile, which has the NATO reporting name or SS-N-22 Sunburn, is a medium-range supersonic cruise missile of Soviet origin. It is capable of destroying a ship within a range of up to 120 km (75 miles).

Russia & Belarus:

• Russia has reached an agreement with Belarus to station tactical nuclear weapons on its smaller neighbour’s territory on 26 March 2023.
• The Russian president Vladimir Putin made the announcement that it would not breach non-proliferation agreements. Belarus shares a long border with Ukraine, and with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

Egypt:

• Egypt has joined the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB). The African-Arab nation became an NDB member on February 20, though a formal notification was issued on March 22.
• The New Development Bank was set up by BRICS nations on the basis of the intergovernmental agreement signed at the sixth BRICS summit in Fortaleza in July 2014.

FOSWAL:

• The Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL) conferred a special literary award on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 26 March 2023. The award has been conferred for his trilogy- The Unfinished Memoirs, The Prison Diaries and the New China 1952.
• The award has been given to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for the outstanding literary excellence for his trilogy.

World Theatre Day:

• Every year on March 27, World Theatre Day is celebrated worldwide to promote the significance of theatrical forms. Theatre not only provides entertainment but also serves as an art form that educates and inspires individuals.
• Many plays are performed on a variety of topics, including social issues, entertainment, and comedy. This day aims to increase public understanding of the importance of theatre in our lives.
• World Theatre Day promotes the importance of theatre to the public and encourages people to participate in theatre events.
• It serves as a reminder of the significant role that theatre plays in our communities, and how it contributes to our cultural heritage. Overall, World Theatre Day is a celebration of the power of theatre and its ability to transform and enrich our lives.

Week of Solidarity:

• The Week of Solidarity with the Peoples Struggling Against Racism and Racial Discrimination is an annual event that is observed from March 21 to 27. The purpose of this week is to oppose human rights violations, injustices, and racial discrimination that people face around the world.
• The week-long event highlights the importance of working towards achieving racial equality in all nations. It is a time to promote greater understanding and respect among all people, regardless of their race or ethnicity, and to reaffirm the commitment to the principles of equality, justice, and human dignity for all.

Purple Day of Epilepsy:

• Purple Day of Epilepsy is an international day of awareness dedicated to raising understanding and reducing the social stigma associated with epilepsy, a neurological condition. It is celebrated annually on March 26 with the goal of educating people about epilepsy, recognizing the signs of a seizure, and offering support to those who are impacted by it.
• The primary aim of Purple Day is to promote greater knowledge and empathy towards epilepsy and those living with it, with the ultimate aim of creating a more inclusive society.

 ‘Vayu Prahar’:

• Recently, during the on-going tensions between India and China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the Indian Army and Air Force carried out a 96-hour joint exercise named ‘Vayu Prahar’ in the eastern region.
• The exercise aimed to develop plans to achieve synergy in multi-domain operations by using air and land forces.
• It was conducted in the second week of March, and its primary objective was to enhance coordination between the Army and Air Force for effective operations in a multi-domain battlefield.

Sports Events:

WPL:

• In the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023 final, held at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, the Mumbai Indians won against the Delhi Capitals by seven wickets. The Delhi Capitals chose to bat first after winning the toss, and set a target of 132 runs.
• In response, the Mumbai Indians achieved the target by scoring 134/3 in 19.3 overs. Nat Sciver-Brunt played exceptionally well and remained unbeaten after scoring 60 runs off 55 balls, while the team’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur contributed 37 runs off 39 balls.
• The Harmapreet Kaur-led side scripted history by becoming the winners of the 2023 edition of the tournament.