Honours & Awards
1. Tamil writer Perumal Murugan's novel longlisted for Booker Prize 2023
- Tamil writer Perumal Murugan's novel 'Pyre' has been selected for the International Booker prize longlist for 2023.
- This book is a translation of his original Tamil book 'Pukkuli' which tells the story of an inter-caste couple who elope, setting in motion a story of terrifying foreboding.
- Aniruddhan Vasudevan translated this novel into the English language in 2016.
- Prize money: £50,000, will be split equally between the author and translator.
National & International Appointments
2. Govt appoints two Managing Directors at LIC
- The government has appointed two Managing Directors (MD) of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) - M Jagannath and Tablesh Pandey.
- M Jagannath took the charge as MD on March 13, 2023.
- Before this, he was working as the Zonal Manager of South Central Zone, Hyderabad and
- While Tablesh Pandey is an Executive Director at the Central office of LIC in Mumbai and will take charge on April 1, 2023.
- Pandey will replace present managing director B C Patnaik.
Defense
3. DRDO successfully conducts flight test of Power Take off Shaft on LCA Tejas
- DRDO has successfully conducted a flight test of the Power Take Off (PTO) Shaft on Light Combat Aircraft (LCA Tejas) Limited Series Production (LSP)-3 aircraft in Bengaluru.
- The PTO shaft is indigenously designed and developed by the Combat Vehicles Research & Development Establishment (CVRDE), Chennai.
- The PTO shaft is a critical component in the aircraft.
- It supports the requirements of future fighter aircraft and their variants and offers competitive costs.
National Affairs
4. Atal Innovation Mission launches ATL Sarthi
- Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) - NITI Aayog launched ATL Sarthi.
- It is a comprehensive self-monitoring framework to strengthen the ecosystem of Atal Tinkering Labs.
- Atal Innovation Mission has established Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATL) in schools to foster curiosity, creativity, and imagination in young minds.
- ATL Sarthi is a charioteer and will enable the Atal Tinkering Labs to be efficient and effective.
- Mission Director AIM, NITI Aayog: Dr. Chintan Vaishnav
Banking & Finance
5. Wholesale inflation falls to two-year low of 3.85% in February
- Wholesale Price-based Inflation (WPI) has been eased to two years low of 3.85% in February 2023 against 4.73% recorded in January 2023.
- It will primarily contribute to the fall in the prices of crude petroleum, food products, electronics, chemicals, and electrical equipment.
- In February, fuel and power rose 14.82% as compared to 15.15% in January 2023.
- While the food index stood at 2.76% (Feb 2023) against 2.95% (Jan 2023).
- Retail inflation (Feb 2023): 6.44%
Banking & Finance
6. RBI has allowed banks from 18 countries to trade in rupee
- RBI has granted approval to foreign banks in 18 countries to open Vostro accounts to settle international trade in rupees.
- 18 Countries: Botswana, Fiji, Germany, Guyana, Israel, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, New Zealand, Oman, Russia, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, and UK
- MoS Finance, Bhagwat Karad informed in the Rajya Sabha.
- In July 2022, govt informed that it would set up a mechanism to settle international trade in rupees.
Banking & Finance
7. CCI approves Reliance’s acquisition of METRO Cash & Carry India
- The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved Reliance Industries Ltd to acquire the German firm Metro AG's wholesale operations in India for ₹2,850 crore.
- On 22 December 2022, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) signed definitive agreements to acquire a 100% equity stake in Metro Cash & Carry India Pvt Ltd.
- Metro started operations in India in 2003 as the first company to introduce a cash-and-carry business format in the country.
Important Dates
8. World Consumer Rights Day 2023: March 15
- World Consumer Rights Day is celebrated on March 15 every year to raise awareness about consumer rights and promote consumer protection.
- 2023 Theme: Empowering Consumers Through Clean Energy Transitions
- This day was first observed on March 15, 1983, which was inspired by US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy's US Congress address on March 15, 1962.
- He addressed the issue of consumer rights and laid emphasis on its importance.
National & International Appointments
9. Mary Kom, Farhan Akhtar roped in as brand ambassadors of Women's Boxing
- The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) appointed legendary boxer MC Mary Kom and actor Farhan Akhtar as the brand ambassadors of the IBA Women’s World Championships 2023.
- BFI also unveiled the title sponsor, Mahindra Automotive for the event.
- The championship is scheduled from March 15 to 26 at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi.
- India is hosting the World Championships for the third time.
- President, Boxing Federation of India: Ajay Singh
Defense
10. 13th edition of Exercise Bold Kurukshetra concluded
- The 13th edition of a bilateral armour exercise, EX Bold Kurukshetra, between India and Singapore was concluded on March 13, 2023, at Jodhpur Military Station, India.
- The ten-day-long joint training that commenced on March 5, fostered a common understanding of mechanized warfare in emerging threats and evolving technologies.
- It involved soldiers from the 42nd Battalion, Singapore Armoured Regiment and Armoured Brigade of the Indian Army.
National Affairs
11. BIS launches 'Learning Science via Standards' initiative for students
- The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has launched the ‘Learning Science via Standards’ series for students.
- Focus: Aimed to use scientific concepts, principles, and laws to help students understand their practical applications in manufacturing, functioning, and testing of quality characteristics of different products
- This series is in a continuum with an earlier BIS initiative under which ‘Standards Clubs’ are being established in educational institutions.
Science & Technology
12. OpenAI launches 'GPT-4' with higher accuracy
- The artificial intelligence research company, OpenAI has unveiled its new and more advanced model called GPT-4.
- The latest version is more creative and accurate in its response.
- It has better problem-solving capabilities than ChatGPT (developed by OpenAI).
- GPT-4 is a large multimodal model, which cannot outperform humans in real-world scenarios but can exhibit “human-level performance on various professional and academic benchmarks.
Obituaries
13. Veteran actor Sameer Khakhar passes away
- Actor Sameer Khakhar, best known for his role in the iconic television show Nukkad, has died at 71 due to respiratory and other medical problems.
- He rose to fame with his roles in TV shows ‘Nukkad’ and ‘Circus’.
- He was also featured in ‘Shrimaan Shrimati’, and ‘Adaalat’.
- He also played vital roles in films, including ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’, ‘Jai Ho’, and ‘Patel Ki Punjabi Shaadi’.
- He was last seen in the OTT series ‘Farzi’.
Comments
write a comment