Daily GK Update: 13th March 2023

 Honours & Awards

1. RRR Naatu Naatu wins Best Original Song at the 95th Academy Awards

• RRR’s Naatu Naatu has created history by winning the prestigious Academy Awards 2023 in the Best Original song category.
• The music of Naatu Naatu was given by M. M. Keeravani and Lyrics by Chandrabosedouble-dagger.
• While India's The Elephant Whisperers (directed by Kartiki Gonsalves) won the award for Best Documentary Short Subject.
• Best Actress: Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
• Best Actor: Brendan Fraser (The Whale)

 Summits & Conferences

2. First SAI 20 Senior Officers Meeting begins in Guwahati

• As part of the G20 summit, the first Supreme Audit Institution 20 (SAI20) Senior Officers Meeting is being organized in Guwahati on March 13 and will continue till March 15, 2023.
• Theme 2023: Blue Economy’ and ‘Responsible Artificial Intelligence
• Aim: To bring together an ecosystem wherein SAIs are active partners in governance, promoting transparency and accountability.
• SAI20 meeting was chaired by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Girish Chandra Murmu.

 National Affairs

3. PM Modi dedicates Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway in Karnataka to nation

• PM Modi has dedicated the 10-lane and 118-km-long, Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway in Karnataka to the nation.
• It was constructed at a cost of over 8400 crore rupees.
• It will reduce the travel time between Bengaluru and Mysuru from three hours to about 75 minutes and boost connectivity and socio-economic growth in Karnataka.
• He also laid the foundation stone for the Mysuru-Kushalnagar highway.
• He also inaugurated the World’s longest railway platform at Hubballi station.

 National Affairs

4. Central Railway achieves 100 % electrification of broad gauge network

• The Central Railway has achieved 100% electrification of its broad gauge network of 3,825 kilometers.
• The CSMT-headquartered zonal railway informed that the 52-kilometer Ausa Road-Latur Road stretch in the Solapur division was the last non-electrified section and its electrification was completed in March 2023.
• This move helps in reducing carbon footprints of 5.204 lakh tonnes every year as well as savings of 1670 crore rupees.

 State Affairs

5. New initiative 'beggar-free city' started in Nagpur

• A new initiative called 'beggar-free city' has been started in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
• Commissioner of Police of Nagpur City, Amitesh Kumar informed that notification of 144 CrPC has been issued in this regard.
• Notices have been served to people.
• The Nagpur police will strictly enforce this and begging will not be allowed in public places.
• This is the joint venture of Nagpur City police and Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) social welfare department.

 Banking & Finance

6. India's digital payments market will more than triple to $10 trillion

• According to the report, released by PhonePe and Boston Consulting Group, India's digital payments market will more than triple from $3 trillion to $10 trillion by 2026.
• In 2015, the Indian government launched its Digital India program, with the objective to achieve a “faceless, paperless and cashless” status for financial transactions at the grass-root level.
• NPCI launched UPI in 2016, which enables inter-bank transactions through mobile devices instantly.

 Agreement

7. India and Australia sign audio-visual co-production agreement

• India and Australia signed an audio-visual co-production agreement to offer filmmakers financial incentives amounting to up to 30% of the expenditure incurred in the respective countries.
• The agreement was signed by I&B Secretary Apurva Chandra and Australian High Commissioner Barry O'Farrell.
• Australia is the 16th country with which India has a co-production agreement.
• It would benefit mainly small filmmakers keen on shooting movies in that country.

 Agreement

8. India, US sign MoU to build resilient supply chain in semiconductor sector

• India and the US inked an initial pact on increasing private-sector cooperation in the area of semiconductors.
• The two countries would facilitate business opportunities and develop an ecosystem with a view to reducing their dependency on China and Taiwan.
• Both sides have agreed to set up a semiconductor sub-committee, led by the Department of Commerce for the US side and MeitY and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for the Indian side.

 National Affairs

9. World Food India-2023 to take place on 3-5 November in New Delhi

• The second edition of 'World Food India-2023’ will be organized from 3-5 November 2023 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
• The event will be organized by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
• During the event, Union Minister Pashupati Kumar Paras outlined pivotal elements of the WFI-2023 as Millets- ‘Shree Anna-The Super Food of India’, Innovation and Sustainability ‘Green Food’, White Revolution 2.0, making India an export hub and focus on technology and digitisation.

 Banking & Finance

10. Kochi Metro becomes first in country to accept e-rupee for parking fee

• In an initiative to promote Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), Kochi Metro has started accepting digital currency in its parking facilities.
• With this, Kochi Metro is the first Metro in the country to accept CBDC.
• The program was inaugurated at the parking facility in Thykoodam and system would be introduced in all other parking areas of the Metro soon
• The program was introduced in association with IDFC FIRST Bank partnered with Anantham Online, a technology startup