🔆 Current Affairs | 01 April 2023

         1.Ministry of Defence inks over Rs 9,100 crore contracts for improved Akash Weapon System & 12 Weapon Locating Radars Swathi for Indian Army.

        2.IIT Madras have developed a three-dimensional paper-based portable device that can detect adulteration in milk within 30 seconds.

           3.Indian passport slipped six ranks on the Passport Index 2023 released by financial advisory services firm Arton Capital. As compared to the 138th rank out of 199 countries in 2022, India ranked 144 with a mobility score of 70 in 2023. This is the largest global fall in the index this year.

          4.Conservation Plan for Great Indian Bustards In order to conserve and protect the Great Indian Bustard, which is considered one of the largest flying birds in the world, the Government of India is implementing various measures throughout the country. However, apart from certain regions in Rajasthan and Gujarat, the bird has disappeared from 90% of its original habitat. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the species as "critically endangered."

           5.National Gallery of Modern Art to organise “Spring Fiesta” 2023 to celebrate 69 years of the Museum To commemorate the 69th anniversary of its official inauguration by Vice President Dr. S Radhakrishnan on March 29, 1954, the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi hosted its first-ever "Spring Fiesta" in 2023.

          6.Naveen Jindal gets Lifetime Achievement award from University of Texas.

            7.SpiceJet chief Ajay Singh has taken over as President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

            8.International Day of Zero Waste is an annual observance held on March 30.

             9.The 601st meeting of the Central Board of Directors of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was held at Hyderabad under the chairmanship of Governor Shaktikanta Das.

              10.The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation EPFO has hiked interest rate on employees' provident fund for 2022-23.Retirement fund body has fixed 8.15 per cent rate of interest on EPF deposits for 2022-23.

            11.The Supreme Court held that the banks must hear the borrowers before classifying their accounts as fraud. The bench comprising chief justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli said that classifying accounts as fraud results in serious civil consequences for the borrowers, including "blacklisting" of the accounts.

     

            12.IMF Executive Board Approves US $80.77 Million in Emergency Financing Support to Burkina Faso. This emergency financing under the Food Shock Window will help Burkina Faso address urgent balance of payment needs related to the global food crisis and mitigate the impact of the food shock on the most vulnerable.

             13.Myanmar's military government took another major step in its ongoing campaign to cripple its political opponents dissolving dozens of opposition parties including that of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi for failing to meet a registration deadline ahead of elections.

    

              14.India's young player Dhanush Loganathan has won bronze medal in the World Youth Weightlifting Championship.

             15.The Reserve Bank of India has imposed monetary penalty on six banks for violating regulations and non-compliance of norms.

            16.The UAE Food Bank, in collaboration with various organizations, has launched an ambitious plan to distribute three million food packets to the underprivileged and poor during Ramadan. The Food Bank has launched this program in partnership with the national organization Neyama.

         17.The franchise-based Indian Taekwondo Premier League - TPL was launched in New Delhi, with 12 teams fighting for the title. The franchise-based league, to be held in Delhi in June this year, has found takers from Hyderabad, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Assam, Delhi, Bengaluru, Dehradun, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Chennai and Gujarat.

            18.Bhutan's Prime Minister Lotay Tshering said China has an equal say in resolving the Doklam plateau dispute, marking a significant shift in the ongoing dispute over the strategically important area.

           19.World Bank Grants $363m Loan to Karnataka for Clean Drinking Water Supply.

             20.Iconic Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger joins Sir Alex Ferguson in becoming the first managers inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame. 

            21.Premier global nutrition company, Herbalife has partnered with the Board of Control for Cricket in India to become one of the official partners of the TATA Indian Premier League for the season 2023. 

         22.Gopinath Kozhikode, music director P.S. Vidyadharan, and Chenda/Edakka artist Kalamandalam Unnikrishnan have been selected for the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi fellowships for their contribution to the respective fields.

     23.India’s fixed communication services revenue is expected to touch USD 13.9 billion in 2027 growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4% from USD 10.2 billion in 2022 driven by the strong growth in the fixed broadband segment, data and analytics firm GlobalData.

         24.Shakib Al Hasan overtakes Tim Southee to become leading T20I wicket-taker.

          25.Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board has introduced implementation of Unified Tariff-a much awaited reform in natural gas sector

             26.Ministry of Defence signs Rs 19,600 crore contracts with Indian shipyards for acquisition of 11 Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels & six Next Generation Missile Vessels for Indian Navy.

          27.The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has met the makers of Oscar winning documentary short film ‘The Elephant Whisperers’. 

     28.Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has lauded the book bank initiative of Ranchi Lok Sabha MP, Shri Sanjay Seth. 

           29.Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah inaugurated Computerization of Uttarakhand’s Multipurpose Primary Agricultural Credit Cooperative Societies, Joint cooperative farming, Jan Suvidha Kendras and Janaushadhi Kendras in Haridwar.

         30.The (FLNAT) under Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram (New India Literacy Programme ) was held across 10 States and UTs in the country to assess the basic Reading, Writing and Numeracy skills of the neo-literates. The youth and students of schools and colleges were involved as volunteer teachers to organize teaching learning activities.

       31.Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has informed that India is poised to achieve defence equipment exports target worth 40 thousand crore rupees by 2026.

  

         32.Defence Ministry inks contract with BAPL for Next Generation Maritime Mobile Coastal Batteries and BrahMos Missiles worth Rs 1700 crore.

  

       33.Rajasthan Human Rights Commission registers case taking cognizance of badly affected health services due to strike by private hospitals, diagnostic centers. 

   

         34.The 2nd Agricultural Deputies Meeting of the Agricultural Working Group has been organized in Chandigarh.

        35.Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NXP Semiconductors Kurt Sievers has met Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

        36.PM Narendra Modi to attend Combined Commanders’ Conference-2023 in Bhopal on 1st April.

          37.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed happiness on the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises.

            38.Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has announced that the government is planning to develop Eastern Grid with 5,000 kilometers of navigable waterways.

              39.The Centre in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India has finalised its borrowing programme for the first half of the financial year 2023-24.

            40.First meeting of G20 roundtable conference of Chief Science Advisors held on 2nd day of G20 summit at Ramnagar in Nainital district.

    

              41.The Central Government has given full exemption from basic customs duty on all drugs and Food for Special Medical Purposes imported for personal use for treatment of all Rare Diseases listed under the National Policy for Rare Diseases 2021 through a general exemption notification.

                42.Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilizers is on a two-day visit to Uttarakhand.

            43.Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah attends the inauguration ceremony of Patanjali University and SanyasDikshaMahotsav as the chief guest at Haridwar.

         44.Amit Shah attended the 113th convocation ceremony of Gurukul Kangri University as the chief guest in Haridwar, Uttarakhand.

       45.According to Hardeep S. Puri 1000 Cities targeted to become 3-Star Garbage Free by October 2024”.

       46.Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari informed that the much-awaited construction work of Mumbai-Goa National Highway No 66 will be completed by December, 2023 and the road will be open for traffic in January 2024.

         47.Weeklong National Maritime Celebrations begins with PM wearing the ‘First Merchant Navy Flag’.

        48.Shri Harsh Vardhan Shingla, Chief Coordinator, G20 India and Shri Arvind Singh, Secretary Tourism, Government of India jointly addressed a Press Conference today at Darjeeling as a run up to the upcoming 2nd Tourism Working Group Meeting to be held at Siliguri.

         49.The two day Chintan Shivir ‘Tourism in Mission Mode: Convergence and Public Private Partnership’, organized by Ministry of Tourism successfully concluded on 30th March.

      50.Defence Ministry signs contract with BEL for 13 Lynx-U2 Fire Control Systems for Indian Navy worth Rs 1700 Cr.

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