Daily GK Update: 3rd March 2023

National & International Appointments

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of a 1988 batch IPS officer of the Maharashtra cadre, Rashmi Shukla as director general of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) till her superannuation (30.06.2024).
Presently, she is serving as the Additional Director General of CRPF.
SSB: A border protection force of India deployed along the borders with Nepal and Bhutan.
SSB Founded: 1963; Headquarters: New Delhi

Honours & Awards

The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry has received the Porter Prize 2023.
The ministry was honored for the government's strategy in managing COVID-19, its approach, and the involvement of various stakeholders (involvement of ASHA workers to create PPE Kits).
It was announced during 'The India Dialog' at Stanford University, California.
Porter Prize: This award was named after award-winning economist Michael E. Porter.
Minister for Health: Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya

Summits & Conferences

India hosted the Quad Foreign Ministers in New Delhi on March 3, 2023.
External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar chaired the meeting.
The Foreign Ministers of Australia and Japan and the Secretary of State of the US participated in the meeting.
It is an opportunity for the Ministers to continue their discussions held at their last meeting in New York in September 2022.
QUAD: It is a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the US.

Summits & Conferences

President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the 7th International Dharma-Dhamma Conference at Bhopal (MP) on March 3, 2023, and will continue till March 5, 2023.
Theme: Eastern Humanism for the New Era
Aim: To bring together religious, political, and thought leaders from Dharma-Dhamma traditions to ponder over building a philosophical framework for the emerging new world order
Organized by: India Foundation in collaboration with Sanchi University of Buddhist-Indic Studies

National & International Appointments

The Vietnam lawmakers have elected the candidate of the ruling Communist Party, Vo Van Thuong (52) as the new President of the country.
His election comes after the sudden resignation of his predecessor Nguyen Xuan Phuc in January 2023, who the Party blamed for wrongdoing and violations.
A total of 487 out of 488 deputies present at the National Assembly voted for him.
He is the youngest member of the party’s Politburo (the country’s top decision-making body).

National & International Organizations

According to the 9th Women, Business and the Law 2023 report, released by World Bank, UAE has topped the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region with 82.5 scores out of 100
Belgium, Canada, and Denmark topped all eight indicators
India scored 74.4 out of 100.
Indicators: Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension
It is an annual report that analyzes laws and regulations affecting women’s economic opportunity in 190 countries

National & International Appointments

Karnataka Bank has appointed Abhishek Sankar Bagchi as a chief financial officer (CFO) on a contract basis.
He has replaced Muralidhar Krishna Rao, whose tenure has been completed on 1 March 2023.
He has over 18 years of work experience in RBI reporting, strategic planning, fund management, financial reporting, financial planning & control, taxation, and budgeting.
He was CFO and Head of Finance at NSDL Payments Bank since September 2017.

National Affairs

NTPC has commissioned India’s first air-cooled condenser at the North Karanpura supercritical thermal plant in Jharkhand.
It would help in water conservation.
This project has been envisaged with Air Cooled Condenser (ACC) which has almost 1/3rd water footprint as compared to a conventional Water Cooled Condenser (WCC).
NTPC started commercial operation of 1st unit of 660 MW at North Karanpura (3X660 MW) on March 1, 2023.

Banking & Finance

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has received the approval from Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to launch the rupee-denominated NYMEX WTI Crude Oil and Natural Gas (Henry Hub) futures contracts in its commodity derivatives segment.
Earlier, NSE had signed a data licensing agreement with CME Group allowing NSE to list, trade and settle rupee-denominated NYMEX WTI Crude Oil and Natural Gas derivatives on its platform.
NSE MD: Ashishkumar Chauhan

Banking & Finance

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) and HDFC Bank partnered to launch a co-branded travel credit card - IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card.
It is a co-branded card, in a single variant, and is available on NPCI's Rupay network.
This is the third tie-up of IRCTC after the State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda.
The card will provide exclusive benefits and maximum savings on bookings of train tickets.
Chairman & MD, IRCTC: Rajni Hasija

Banking & Finance

Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has launched Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and 'Swadhan-e-pension-Gov' services for Kangra Central Cooperative Bank.
Aim: To make bank transactions easier and quicker, especially for the elderly and those living in remote areas
These services would benefit thousands of account holders of the bank.
He also released the bank's annual calendar on this occasion.

Agreement

The flagship company of the Godrej Group, Godrej & Boyce has partnered with Renmakch to collaborate on Machinery & Plant (M&P) projects for Railways and Metro Rail, offering ‘Made in India' world-class equipment.
With the help of this partnership, Godrej & Boyce will be able to offer a complete value chain ranging from design to building for the Railways.
The Company has been a trusted partner of the Indian Railways for over 15 years.