Daily current affairs are extremely important for competitive exams because they help candidates stay updated on the latest events and developments in the world. This knowledge is essential for answering questions in the general awareness or current affairs section of the exam, which is often included in many competitive exams such as UPSC, SSC, Bank Exams, etc. Additionally, having a good understanding of current affairs can also help candidates in other sections of the exam, such as reasoning, English, and quantitative aptitude. In short, staying updated on current affairs is crucial for performing well in competitive exams and increasing the chances of success.

 

National News

NGT slaps ₹10 crore penalty on Kerala government for failure to protect Ramsar sites

• The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal in New Delhi has slapped a penalty of ₹10 crore on the Kerala government for its failure to check the indiscriminate pollution of the Vembanad and Ashtamudi lakes, listed as Ramsar sites.
• The penalty imposed on the basis of the ‘polluter pays principle’ had to be deposited in a ring-fenced account to be operated under the authority of the Chief Secretary.

About Kerala

• Capital – Thiruvananthapuram
• Chief Minister – Pinarayi Vijayan
• Governor – Arif Mohammad Khan

Government launches DigiClaim platform for farmer insurance claims

• Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar has introduced a new platform called ‘DigiClaim’ on the national crop insurance portal.
• This platform is aimed at expediting the disbursement of insurance claims to farmers who have availed themselves of crop insurance.
• To demonstrate its effectiveness, the Minister used the platform to transfer a total insurance claim of Rs. 1,260.35 crore to insured farmers in several Indian states, including Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, and Haryana, with a single click.
• In the current system, there have been several instances of insured farmers’ claims being delayed due to a variety of factors. Taking cognizance of farmers’ welfare and to expedite the claim disbursal process, the Agriculture Ministry has come up with the DigiClaim module.

Recent Inauguration by Narendra Singh Tomar

• Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated a 5-day cultural program”AgriUnifest” in Bengaluru.
• Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the National Workshop on Bamboo Sector Development in New Delhi.
• Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated National Horticulture Fair in Bengaluru
• Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the three-day ‘North East Krishi Kumbha-2023’ in Meghalaya
• Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated National Conference on Soil Health

Anupriya Patel inaugurated 23rd INDIASOFT in New Delhi

• Union Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Anupriya Patel has inaugurated the 23rd edition of INDIASOFT in New Delhi.
• The country’s Research and Development professionals for developing and perfecting over 70 new products that will be launched at the INDIASOFT.
• More than 1500 Indian exhibitors are showcasing their products and solutions at the event and other collocated events.
• Over 650 delegates from 80 countries are participating in the three-day event.
• 2047 India would become a developed country with a GDP of USD 32 trillion, which would be a defining moment for India and the global community. This scale of growth would be greatly influenced by the strides India is making in the ICT sector.

Haldwani to get a sports university

• Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced the government will set up a sports university in the Kumaun region’s Haldwani town.
• The international stadium of Haldwani will be upgraded into a sports university.
• He also informed that Uttarakhand will hold several national-level sports events in the coming year.

About Uttarakhand

• Capital – Dehradun (Winter), Gairsain (Summer)
• Chief Minister – Pushkar Singh Dhami
• Governor – Gurmit Singh

International News

Egypt joins BRICS bank as new member

• 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.
• The upcoming BRICS Summit, scheduled to be hosted by South Africa in August, is anticipated to promote intra-BRICS trade using national currencies, allowing member nations to safeguard their foreign exchange reserves.

About New Development Bank (NDB)

• Founded – 2015
• Headquarters – Shanghai, China
• Membership (9) – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Bangladesh, UAE, Uruguay & Egypt
• President – Dilma Rousseff (Brazil)
• Vice President – Anil Kishora (Indian)

Banking and Financial

IDFC First Bank joined hands with Crunchfish to facilitate offline payments

• IDFC FIRST Bank has teamed with Crunchfish to participate in the RBI’s pilot programme to facilitate offline payments.
• This initiative will provide access to digital payments even when there is no network.
• The Swedish company Crunchfish introduced this one-of-a-kind digital payment system for merchants and customers as part of the RBI’s Regulatory Sandbox Program.
• This project will allow offline retail payments in India’s payment ecosystem using a Digital Cash platform. IDFC FIRST Bank will be one of the first few banks to participate in HDFC Bank’s pilot initiative.

Recent MoUs Signed in Banking Sector

• Axis Bank partnered with ITC to offer rural lending products
• YES Bank, Aadhar Housing Finance enter into co-lending partnership
• Ujivan Small Finance Bank partnered with Max Life Insurance to offer life insurance offerings to customers.

• Saraswat Bank partnered with Tagit to deploy omnichannel banking
• ICICI Bank signed MoU with BNP Paribas for providing financial service

Appointment and Resignation

Former Brazilian Prez Dilma Rousseff elected as new President of NDB

• New Development Bank (NDB) has announced that former Brazilian President Dilma Vana Rousseff has been elected as the new President of the Bank, replacing Marcus Troyjo.
• NDB, also known as the BRICS bank is a multilateral financial institution set up by the five BRICS countries including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
• The economist, Dilma Rousseff, served as the President of Federative Republic of Brazil between January 2011 to August 2016.
• Rousseff was elected the President of Brazil for two consecutive terms.

About New Development Bank (NDB)

• Founded – 2015
• Headquarters – Shanghai, China
• Membership (9) – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Bangladesh, UAE, Uruguay & Egypt
• President – Dilma Rousseff (Brazil)
• Vice President – Anil Kishora (Indian)

Recent Appointment in Banking Sector

• MD and CEO of UCO Bank – Ashwani Kumar
• Chairman of PFRDA – Deepak Mohanty
• MD of LIC – Tablesh Pandey and M Jagannath
• MD & CEO of IndusInd Bank – Sumant Kathpalia (reappointment)
• Head of Citi Commercial Bank (CCB) – Bhanu Vohra

Manmeet Colon sworn in as Connecticut’s first assistant police chief

• 37-year-old Indian-origin Sikh woman officer, Manmeet Colon has assumed charge as the assistant police chief in the US state of Connecticut.
• She became the department’s first-ever second-in-command of Asian descent.
• Colon, a 15-year New Haven Police Department (NHPD) veteran, was sworn in as the city’s third assistant police chief in a ceremony.
• The Board of Police Commissioners in New Haven unanimously approved the appointment of Colon who was previously a lieutenant in the internal affairs office.

Recent Appointment (Indian Origin)

• First woman officer to command Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) – Colonel Geeta Rana
• First woman officer to command a fighter unit in IAF – Shalija Dhami
• First Indian-American judge at New York Court – Arun Subramanian
• President of World Bank – Ajay Banga
• Post of US Air Force brigadier general – Raja Chari (Indian-American astronaut)

Srikanth Venkatachari appointed as CFO of Reliance Industries

• Srikanth Venkatachari has been appointed as the new Chief Financial Officer of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) with effect from June 1.
• She will succeed Alok Agarwal, who moves into the new role of senior advisor to the chairman and MD.
• Venkatachari, who has been with RIL for last 14 years, has been the company’s joint CFO since 2011.

Recent Appointment

• CEO of Starbucks – Laxman Narasimhan
• MD & CEO CEAT – Arnab Banerjee
• MD & CEO of Invest India – Manmeet K Nanda
• CMD of Cotton Corporation of India – Lalit Kumar Gupta
• ‘Order of Australia’ for bolstering bilateral ties – Ratan Tata

Awards

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman conferred Special literary award

• The Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature (FOSWAL) conferred a special literary award on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
• 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 outstanding literary excellence for his trilogy.
• Terming the trilogy written by Sheikh Mujib as a political document and a human testament, the citation said it is written with love and compassion by a man who changed the course of history and led his people to freedom.

Recent Awards

• Abel Prize for Maths – Luis Caffarelli
• Kerala’s highest civilian honour Kerala Jyothi- M T Vasudevan Nair
• National Humanities Medals 2022 by US Prez – Indian-American Mindy Kaling
• CMJ Spirit of Cricket Award 2022 – Nepalese batsman Aasif Sheikh
• Sangita Kalanidhi Award 2023 – Bombay Jayashri

Sports

Mumbai Indians won Women’s Premier League title 2023

• Mumbai Indians has defeated the Delhi Capitals by 7 wickets and with that they become the first-ever Women’s Premier League champions.
• Mumbai Indians Captain – Harmanpreet Kaur
• Delhi Capitals Captain – Meg Lanning
• Player of the match – Nat Sciver-Brunt (Mumbai Indians)
• Catch of the season – Harmanpreet Kaur (Mumbai Indians)
• Purple cap – Hayley Matthews (Mumbai Indians)
• Orange cap – Meg Lanning (Delhi Capitals)
• Most valuable player – Hayley Matthews (Mumbai Indians)

Manu Bhaker won 25m Pistol Bronze in ISSF World Cup 2023

• Olympian shooter Manu Bhaker has clinched the 25m pistol bronze medal in the ISSF Pistol/Rifle World Cup in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
• In the Bhopal World Cup, China secured the first position by securing a total of 10 medals including six gold, two silver and two bronze medals
• India lies second with the 1 gold won by Sarabjot Singh in the men’s 10m air pistol as well as one silver and four bronze medals.
• Sarabjot Singh won the gold medal for India in the men’s 10m air pistol event.

Important day

25 March – International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery

• International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is observed every year on March 25.
• Objective – To raise awareness of the history of the transatlantic slave trade, its impact on the modern world, and its legacies, including racism and prejudice.
• Theme 2023 – Fighting Slavery’s Legacy of Racism Through Transformative Education
• It was established in 2007 with the adoption of General Assembly resolution 62/122.

27 March – World Theatre Day

• World Theatre Day is celebrated on 27 March annually across the world.
• This day is marked by theatre enthusiasts, professionals, and organizations.
• It provides a unique opportunity to celebrate the rich history of theatre and its diverse contributions to society.
• It was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute.
• Theme 2023 – Theatre and a Culture of Peace

Obituary

Co-founder of Intel, Gordon Moore passed away

• Intel co-founder and creator of Moore’s Law, Gordon Moore passed away at the age of 94 in Hawaii.
• Moore was an important figure in the semiconductor industry and played a key role in putting Intel’s processors in most personal computers.
• He was the driving force behind the development of modern computing devices. He started working on semiconductors in the 1950s and co-founded the Intel Corporation in 1968.
• He was best known for coining Moore’s law which predicted the speed of advances in computer chips that came to explain the exponential improvement in technology of all kinds.