Daily GK Update: 14th April 2023

 Sports

1. Aman Sehrawat wins India’s first gold medal at Asian Wrestling C'ships

• Indian wrestler, Aman Sehrawat won India’s first gold medal in men’s 57 kg freestyle category at the Asian Wrestling Championships 2023, held in Astana, Kazakhstan.
• He defeated Kyrgyzstan's Almaz Smanbekov 9-4.
• Among the other Indian wrestlers, Deepak (79kg) won bronze while Deepak Nehra (97kg) lost his bronze medal match.
• The Greco-Roman wrestlers won four medals while the women’s wrestlers bagged seven.

 Defense

2. IAF to participate in Multilateral International Exercise Orion in France

• An Indian Air Force contingent is participating in the multinational international Exercise Orion, organized at Mont-de-Marsan in France from 17 April to 5 May 2023.
• The IAF Contingent is joining the exercise with four Rafale, two C-17, two ll-78 aircraft, and 165 air warriors.
• It would be the first overseas exercise for the IAF's Rafale aircraft.
• Other participants: France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain, and the United States of America.

 Arts & Culture

3. Festival of Vishu, Rongali Bihu, and Puthandu Pirappu celebrated

• The festivals of Vaisakhi, Vishu, Rongali Bihu, Naba Barsha, Vaisakhadi, Meshadi, Naba Barsha, and Puthandu Pirappu are being celebrated in different parts of the country on April 14, 2023.
• Baisakhi is celebrated with pomp in the North region, especially in Punjab.
• Rongali Bihu is marked as Assamese New Year.
• Poila Baisakh falls on April 15, marking the beginning of the Bengali New Year.
• Vishu marks the new year in Kerala, while Puthandu marks the Tamil New Year. 

 Banking & Finance

4. YES Bank becomes first Indian company with over 50 lakh shareholders

• YES Bank has become the first Indian company to have over 50 lakh shareholders.
• The bank had 50.6 lakh shareholders as of March 31, 2023, all of whom were public shareholders.
• While Tata Power was a far second with 38.5 lakh shareholders, followed by Reliance Industries with 33.6 lakh shareholders, according to the December 2022 shareholding disclosures.
• Since then, the total number of shares held has also more than doubled from 1,255 crores to 2,875 crores.

 National Affairs

5. ATL linked with KVK and Agricultural Technology Management Agency

• AIM, NITI Aayog, and the Ministry of Agriculture signed to promote innovation in the agricultural sector among school students across India.
• The Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) with Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs) and Agricultural Technology Management Agency agreed to connect.
• KVKs work as a Single Window Agricultural Knowledge Resource and Capacity Development Centre.
• KVKs, in partnership with ATMA, will collaborate with nearby ATLs to support agricultural-related innovation.

 Banking & Finance

6. Fasal ties up with SBI to help farmers get easy access to loans

• Agri-tech company Fasal signed a partnership agreement with the State Bank of India (SBI) to provide farmers with easy access to capital.
• The partnership will help to solve the cash-flow constraints during key cycles in farming by providing quick, easy, and collateral-free loans at very competitive rates.
• These ties will help to fulfill Fasal’s larger objective of solving the many challenges across the entire horticulture value chain.

 Agreement

7. India and WFP signed MoU for sending wheat to Afghanistan

• The Indian government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the World Food Programme (WFP) for sending 10,000 metric tonnes of wheat to the people of Afghanistan.
• The MoU was signed between the Ministry of External Affairs and the United Nations WFP.
• This MoU marks the fifth tranche, to be shipped through the Chabahar Port in Iran, of humanitarian food assistance that India committed in 2020.
• In 2022, India has contributed 40,000 metric tons of wheat.

 State Affairs

8. Tamil Nadu govt formed a panel to assess the functioning of juvenile homes

• The Tamil Nadu government has formed a one-man committee to recommend measures for the effective administration of the homes functioning as per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2015.
• Headed by: Retired judge K. Chandru
• The committee will look into various aspects including infrastructure, health, and medical facilities, and the qualification of staff.
• The committee will also provide recommendations to the government for improvement.

 Honours & Awards

9. TIME Most Influential People of 2023 list released

• TIME Magazine has published a list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2023, which includes Jennifer Coolidge (Actor), Doja Cat (Recording Artist), Bob Iger (CEO of The Walt Disney Company), and Salman Rushdie (Writer).
• There is no particular order to the rankings.
• Six categories: Artists, Icons, Pioneers, Leaders, Titans, and Innovators
• Indian Actor Shahrukh Khan and Indian Director S.S. Rajamouli were listed in Icon and Pioneer categories, respectively.

 National Affairs

10. India employment rate increases to 36.9% in the March quarter

• According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), India's labor market has witnessed an improvement with over 15 million people entering the workforce in the last three quarters.
• The country's employment rate increased to 36.9% in March 2023 from 36.6% in December 2022.
• The labor participation rate (LPR) declined from 40.5% in December to 39.8% in March 2023.
• While the unemployment rate saw a small decrease from 8.3% to 7.8% during this period.

 Important Dates

11. World Chagas Disease Day 2023: 14th April

• World Chagas Disease Day is observed every year on April 14th to raise awareness about a life-threatening illness that can cause severe heart and digestive problems.
• It is also known as American trypanosomiasis, silent disease, or silenced disease.
• It is more common in regions like Central America, Mexico, and South America.
• The theme for 2023 is Time to integrate Chagas disease into primary health care.
• World Chagas Disease Day was established in 2020.

 Obituaries

12. National Award-winning actress Uttara Baokar passes away

• Veteran film and television actress Uttara Baokar passed away at 79 in Pune, Maharashtra.
• In 1984, she won India's National Academy for Acting, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
• She also appeared in Marathi films like Doghi (1995) with Sadashiv Amrapurkar and Renuka Daftardar, Uttarayan (2005), Shevri (2006), and Restaurant (2006), with Sonali Kulkarni.
• She has played various roles in different plays such as Padmavati in Mukyhamantri and Mena in Mena Gurjari.

 Banking & Finance

13. India's economic growth projected to decelerate to 6% in 2023: UN

• According to the United Nations, India's economic growth is projected to decelerate to 6% in 2023 from 6.6% in 2022.
• The UNCTAD in its latest Trade and Development Report Update released, expects global growth in 2023 to drop to 2.1%, compared to the 2.2% projected in September 2022.
• UNCTAD expects the South-Asian region to expand at a still fast pace of 5.1 percent in 2023.
• Recently, IMF lowered India's economic growth projection for the current fiscal to 5.9%.