Daily GK Update: 26th March 2023

 Honours & Awards

1. Isha Ambani won GenNext Entrepreneur award at Forbes India Leadership event

• Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd Director, Isha Ambani won the GenNext Entrepreneur Award at the 12th Forbes India Leadership Awards 2023.
• She is the head of the $800 billion Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd and launched the JioMart.
• Other awardees:
  • CEO of the year: CK Venkataraman (MD of Titan)
  • Lifetime Achievement Award: AM Naik (Chairman L&T)
  • Emerging Innovator: Pawan Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka (founders of Skyroot Aerospace)
  • Turnaround Star: Tata Communications

 National & International Appointments

2. Government appoints Chief Justice of Allahabad, Chhattisgarh, and Patna HC

• The government has cleared the appointment of new Chief Justices to Allahabad, Chhattisgarh, and Patna High Courts.
• Justice Pritinker Diwaker has been appointed as the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court.
• Justice Ramesh Sinha of Allahabad has been appointed as Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh High Court.
• Justice K Vinod Chandaran of Kerala High Court as Chief Justice of Patna HC.
• In February 2023, the SC Collegium recommended several judges as Chief Justices of HC.

 Defense

3. Indian Army, IAF hold multi-domain exercise in Eastern Theatre

• The Indian Army and Indian Air Force have conducted a 96-hour multi-domain air and land exercise named ‘Vayu Prahar’ in the eastern sector.
• The exercise was conducted in the second week of March 2023 to formulate plans that can lead to synergy in multi-domain operations.
• The scope of the joint exercise included the rapid mobilisation of a rapid reaction force from the hinterland.
• Chief of Army Staff: General Manoj Pande
• Chief of the Air Staff: Vivek Ram Chaudhari

 Sports

4. Indian Duo of Satwik-Chirag wins Swiss Open Super 300 title 2023

• India’s men’s doubles badminton pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won the Swiss Open Super 300 title in 2023, held in Basel, Switzerland.
• They beat Ren Xiang Yu and Tan Qiang from China by 21-19, and 24-22.
• Other winners:
  • Men's singles: Koki Watanabe (Japan)
  • Women's singles: Pornpawee Chochuwong (Thailand)
  • Women's doubles: Rena Miyaura and Ayako Sakuramoto (Japan)
  • Mixed doubles: Jiang Zhenbang and Wei Yaxin (China)

 National Affairs

5. CCEA approves MSP for Raw Jute at 5,050 rupees per quintal for 2023-24

• Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Raw Jute at 5,050 rupees per quintal for 2023-24.
• The approval is based on the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices recommendations.
• This would ensure a return of 63.20% over the all-India weighted average cost of production.
• The Jute Corporation of India will continue as Central Government Nodal Agency to undertake Price Support Operations and the losses incurred, if any.

 Important Dates

6. Earth Hour 2023 observed on March 25

• Earth Hour was observed annually on the last Saturday of March from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm.
• In 2023, this day was observed on March 25 at 8.30 pm local time.
• It is a worldwide movement organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to encourage individuals, communities, and businesses to turn off non-essential electric lights for one hour.
• It was first started in Sydney, Australia on March 31, 2007, at 7:30 pm local time and has since gained popularity and momentum.

 State Affairs

7. Rajasthan becomes first state to guarantee right to health

• Rajasthan becomes the first state in India to pass the 'Right to Health (RTH) Bill'.
• Under this bill, private hospitals will not be able to charge emergency patients and will be compensated by the state.
• Free healthcare services including diagnostics, drugs, emergency transport, emergency care, and procedure will be provided at public institutions.
• In the case of medico-legal nature, no private or public hospital can delay treatment on grounds of police clearance.

 National Affairs

8. Finance Secretary T V Somanathan to head panel on pension schemes

• FM Nirmala Sitharaman has announced the government has established a committee to review the New Pension System (NPS).
• The panel is headed by finance secretary TV Somanathan.
• From January 2004, the government has opted to move to NPS for all new recruits, with the government employees contributing 10% of their salary towards pension and the govt making a matching contribution.
• Recently, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, HP, and Punjab have decided to opt out of NPS.

 Banking & Finance

9. Karur Vysya Bank, SBI Life in bancassurance tie-up in life insurance

• Karur Vysya Bank signed an agreement as an additional bancassurance partner in the life insurance category with SBI Life.
• Under this arrangement, banks earn additional revenue from the sale of insurance products via commission.
• And, insurance companies can reach a wider set of customers without increasing their manpower.
• Bancassurance: It is an arrangement between a bank and an insurance firm through which the insurer sell its products to the bank's customers.

 Banking & Finance

10. Asian Development Bank to provide Rs 754 crore loan to SAEL Industries

• Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a loan of up to Rs 754 crore to SAEL Industries Ltd for setting up biomass power plants in Rajasthan.
• SAEL is a solar and agricultural waste-to-energy company.
• It has developed a business model where crop residues are used as fuel in waste-to-energy projects.
• The company aims to grow its portfolio to 3.5 GW over the next four years by adding 100 MW of new biomass and 600 MW of new solar capacity annually.