Current Affairs March 25th 2023| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & FINANCE

World Bank’s IFC to invest $73 million in Mahindra’s last mile mobility unit

• Indian automaker Mahindra and Mahindra stated that World Bank’s private investment arm, International Finance Corp (IFC), will invest 6 billion rupees ($72.58 million) in the company’s last mile electric mobility unit.
• The investment is the IFC’s first in an electric vehicle maker in India.
• The investment, which will be in the form of compulsory convertible instruments, will value the unit at 60.20 billion rupees.
• IFC will own about a 9.97%-13.64% stake in the newly formed company.
• Indian automakers and startups, such as Tata Motors, ElectricPe and Yulu, are jumping into the space and attracting multiple investments.

RBI to set up new Data Centre & Cybersecurity Training Institute in Odisha

• The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Shri Shaktikanta Das, initiated the establishment of a “Greenfield Data Centre” and an “Enterprise Computing & Cybersecurity Training Institute” in Bhubaneswar, Odisha during a foundation stone laying ceremony.

About the New Data Centre and Training Institute : 

• It will cover an area of 18.55 acres and will be able to address the emerging needs of the RBI and the financial sector.
• It will enhance the RBI’s existing computing infrastructure with state-of the art facilities for research and capacity building in central banking, technology, and cybersecurity to prepare for the future.

Power Finance Corporation signs agreement with Japan’s JBIC for project loan of Rs 165 cr  

• Power Finance Corporation(PFC) Limited has inked a pact with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for a project loan of Japanese Yen (JPY) 2.65 billion or about Rs 165 crore.
• The loan agreement was signed at JBIC headquarters Tokyo, between PFC Chairman and Managing Director R S Dhillon and Uchida Makoto, Managing Executive Officer of JBIC.

Key Highlights : 

• Under this facility, JBIC has proposed to finance some of PFC’s projects which ensure effective reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and conservation of the global environment.
• This pact was executed under a general agreement signed between PFC and JBIC for JPY 30 billion.

About PFC : 

• Founded : July 1986
• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Chairman & MD : Ravinder Singh Dhillon
• PFC is central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Power and India’s leading Non Banking Finance Company (NBFC).

About JBIC : 

• Headquarters : Tokyo, Japan
• President & CEO : Tadashi Maeda
• It was created on October 1, 1999, through the merger of the Japan Export-Import Bank (JEXIM) and the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF).

ICICI Bank Launches Digital Solutions for Participants of Capital Market, Custody Services

• ICICI Bank launched an array of digital solutions for participants of the capital market and clients of custody services.
• The solutions enable various participants in the sector including stock brokers, Portfolio Management Service (PMS) providers, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs), Foreign Direct Investors (FDIs), and Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) to seamlessly meet all their banking requirements.
• The bank has launched these solutions to offer expeditious onboarding and convenience to all participants of the Indian capital market which has seen significant growth in the last few years.

The key services and offerings of the digital solutions for entities in capital markets and custody services:

• ‘3-in-1’ account facility for stock brokers and clients
• The ‘3-in-1’ account enables the clients of stock brokers to digitally open online trading, demat and savings accounts in a few hours from anywhere across the country.
• Digital account opening for PMS clients
• As a custodian, the bank offers a first-of-its-kind solution to open digital demat and bank accounts for end clients of PMS.
• Digital on-boarding and pre-verification of FPI/FDI clients
• Self-service portal
• Value-added services for AIFs

About ICICI Bank : 

• Founded : 5 January 1994
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD & CEO : Sandeep Bakhshi

RBI launched 2 surveys -IESH & CCS to gather ‘useful inputs’ for monetary policy                                        

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched two key surveys namely Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS) and Inflation Expectations Survey of Households (IESH)
• Data gathered from these surveys, which provide “useful inputs” for the RBI’s bi-monthly monetary policy.

About CCS : 

• The CCS seeks qualitative responses from households, regarding their sentiments on general economic situation, employment scenario, price level, households’ income and spending.
• The survey is conducted regularly in 19 cities, viz., Ahmedabad(Gujarat), Bengaluru(Karnataka), Bhopal(Madhya Pradesh), Bhubaneswar(Odisha), Chandigarh, Chennai(Tamil Nadu), Delhi, Guwahati(Assam), Hyderabad(Telangana), Jaipur(Rajasthan), Jammu(Jammu & Kashmir), Kolkata(West Bengal), Lucknow(Uttar Pradesh), Mumbai(Maharashtra), Nagpur(Maharashtra), Patna(Bihar), Raipur(Chhattisgarh), Ranchi(Jharkhand) and Thiruvananthapuram(Kerala).

About IESH : 

• The IESH survey aims at capturing subjective assessments on price movements and inflation, based on their individual consumption baskets, across 19 cities, mentioned above.
• The survey seeks qualitative responses from households on price changes (general prices as well as prices of specific product groups) in the 3 months ahead as well as in the 1 year ahead period and quantitative responses on current, 3 months ahead and 1 year ahead inflation rates.
• The results of this survey provide useful inputs for monetary policy.
• The agency, M/s Hansa Research Group Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai has been engaged to conduct the survey of this round on behalf of the RBI.
• For this purpose, the selected households will be approached by the agency and they are requested to provide their response.
• The next meeting of the RBI’s rate setting panel – Monetary Policy Committee – is scheduled during April 6-8, 2023. 

About RBI :

• Established : 1 April 1935
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Governor : Shaktikanta Das
• Deputy governors : Mahesh Kumar Jain,M. Rajeshwar Rao,Michael Patra and T. Rabi Shankar

Amazon Pay partners with NPCI’s Bharat BillPay for loan repayments                                 

• Amazon Pay has collaborated with Bharat BillPay, the biller platform of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), to strengthen its loan repayment facility.

Key Highlights : 

• Customers can select their bank or Non Banking Financial Company (NBFC) from the list and enter their loan account number and other details to pay their Equated Monthly Instalments (EMI). 
• All bill payment transaction confirmations are instantaneous; however, some banks may require the pre-defined turnaround time (TAT) to process and accept the payment after completion of the transaction.
• Over 200 lenders, including Bajaj Finance, Cholamandalam Investment & Finance, HDB Financial Services, Home Credit, and IIFL Finance, have enrolled in the facility.

About NPCI : 

• Founded : 2008
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• MD & CEO : Dilip Asbe
• The NPCI is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India.
• It is an initiative of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.

State Bank of India completes first commercial trade in Sri Lankan rupees                                          

• Indian lender State Bank of India (SBI) completed its first non-dollar transaction with Sri Lanka, by paying for exports in Sri Lankan rupees as India looks to bring countries that are short of U.S. dollars into the trade mechanism.
• The move comes as Sri Lanka grapples with its worst economic crisis since its independence, triggered by a shortage of dollars.
• The island nation’s forex reserves stood at $2.1 billion as of end-January.

About SBI : 

• Founded : 1 July 1955
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Chairman : Dinesh Kumar Khara

RBI allowed banks from 18 countries to trade in rupee                                 

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed banks from 18 different countries to open Special Vostro Rupee Accounts (SVRAs) for settling payments in Indian rupees (INR).
• The 18 countries are: Fiji, Botswana, Guyana, Germany, Kenya, Israel, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, New Zealand, Oman, Russia, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda and the United Kingdom.
• Union Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad stated that 60 such approvals have been given by the RBI.

RBI sells net $384 million in spot foreign exchange market in January                                     

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sold net $384 million in the spot foreign exchange market in January 2023.
• This is lower compared to the net sales of $771 million in January, 2022.
• The RBI purchased $12.90 billion and sold $13.29 billion in the spot market in the month.
• The Indian rupee appreciated by nearly 1% against the dollar in January and moved in a wide range of 80.88 to 82.94.
• Meanwhile, the RBI’s net outstanding forward purchase stood at $21.73 billion as of end-January,2023 compared with a net purchase of $10.97 billion at the end of Feb 2023.

Outward remittances under RBI’s LRS in April-January surpass FY22                                             

• According to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its monthly bulletin for March, outward remittances under the RBI’s liberalised remittance scheme (LRS) stood at $22.08 billion during the April, 2022-January, 2023 period.
• In January 2023, the amount remitted overseas totalled $2.72 billion.

Key Highlights : 

• In FY21, India’s remittances stood at $12.68 billion, down 32.38% from FY20.
• In FY20, the figure was $18.76 billion.
• On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, outward remittances under LRS in January were up 35.17%
• According to January data, international travel constituted over 55% of the entire outward remittances by Indians under the scheme.
• Outward remittances for international travel touched $1.49 billion, up 1.5 times from the same period in 2022.
• After international travel, Indians spent most on overseas education, followed by maintenance of close relatives, and gifts.
• According to RBI data, in January 2023, outward remittances by Indians under the scheme for overseas education were $395.87 million.
• It was followed by $342.47 million for maintenance of close relatives, and $223.22 million as gifts.

What is the LRS Scheme?

• The LRS scheme was introduced in 2004, all resident individuals, including minors, are allowed to freely remit up to $250,000 per financial year.
• This is for any permissible current or capital account transaction or a combination of both.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Brahmapuram fire: NGT slaps ₹100-cr fine on Kochi Corporation

• The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal has imposed an environmental compensation of ₹100 crore on Kochi Municipal Corporation for its continuing neglect of duties, resulting in the crisis at its wastage dump site at Brahmapuram following the major fire.
• The Bench led by chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel issued an order directing the civic body to deposit the money with the Chief Secretary within a mont h for necessary remediation measures and to address the health issues faced by people who had inhaled the toxic fumes from the dump site.
• No accountability for such serious failure has been fixed, and no senior person has been held accountable.
• Except for giving future plans, no fixing of responsibility is proposed even now, which is a matter of regret.
• No prosecution has been launched against the guilty of criminal offences under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and also under relevant provisions of IPC, nor action taken for violation of orders of the Supreme Court and repeated orders of this Tribunal in proceedings transferred to the Tribunal by the Supreme Court.

About NGT:

• National Green Tribunal (India) had been set up under National Green Tribunal Act as a statutory body in year 2010 to deal with environmental cases and speedy implementation of decisions relating to it.
• Parent agency: Ministry of Law and Justice
• Founded: 18 October 2010.

3rd Annual  Edition Of International SME CONVENTION, 2023 to be held in New Delhi

• 3rd Annual Edition of International SME Conference (ISC), 2023 is being held in New Delhi from 19th to 21st March.
• The ISC is being jointly organized by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and the Ministry of External Affairs and the India SME Forum.
• The event has the Government of Madhya Pradesh as a major partner state and the Government of Uttar Pradesh as an associate partner state.
• International Network of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (INSME) and the World Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (WUSME) are the International Partners for ISC 2023, and Tata AIA is the Insurance Partner.
• Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Shri Narayan Rane is the chief guest of the inaugural function.
• The top four emerging sectors of India are the main focus areas in ISC, 2023.
• These four sectors include cleantech and green energy, manufacturing, service sector and agri-food processing and farm equipment sector.

3-days International Conference on ‘Natural farming for Revitalizing Environment & Resilient Agriculture’ concludes in Imphal

• 3-day International Conference on ‘Natural Farming to Revive the Environment and Resilient Agriculture’ concluded.
• The conference concluded at Central Agricultural University (CAU) in Imphal, Manipur.
• Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Education, Dr RK Ranjan attended the closing ceremony.
• He called upon the efforts of CAU, Imphal to focus on the importance of natural farming.
• He also said that natural farming should be included as a curriculum in the undergraduate and postgraduate programs in higher education.
• A total of eight technical sessions on various topics were organized during the three-day international conference.
• Scientists from India and fourteen foreign countries participated in the conference.

Government sets up centralised facility for voluntary closure of companies

• The Ministry of corporate affairs has set up a quick and faceless facility for winding up operations and exit.
• The government has set up a Centre for Processing Accelerated Corporate Exit (C-PACE) at the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) in Haryana.
• It has been set up under section 396 of the Companies Act.
• The new centralised facility will make decisions on corporate requests for winding up.
• Now, companies didn’t have to go to the Registrar of Companies (RoCs) in the state.
• The government has reduced the time taken for the voluntary closure of companies from about one to two years to less than six months.
• The faceless approach will reduce human discretion and any subjectivity in the process.
• It will improve the overall regulatory framework and ensure the predictability of regulatory decisions.

The 49th edition of IDA Dairy Industry Conference and Expo will be held in Gandhinagar

• The 49th edition of Indian Dairy Association’s (IDA) Dairy Industry Conference and Expo will be held at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar.
• The conference will see engagement between dairy experts and professionals from India and overseas.
• The theme of the 49th edition is ‘India dairy to the world: Opportunities and Challenges’.
• The Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala, will inaugurate the conference and expo, while Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will be the chief guest at the Indian Dairy Summit to be held on March 18.
• Union Minister of State of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, the State’s Co-operation Minister Jagdish Vishwakarma, International Dairy Federation President Piercristiano Brazzale, and IDF Director General Caroline Emond besides Meenesh Shah, chairman of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) will be among the guests at the inaugural ceremony.
• The conference will discuss how India can make the most of the immense opportunities and the challenges it needs to overcome.
• RS Sodhi, President, Indian Dairy Association.
• Meenesh Shah, Chairman, NDDB.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

ALT Realtech, has launched the world’s first digital real estate exchange

• A Bengaluru-based fintech startup, ALT Realtech, has launched the world’s first digital real estate exchange, ALT DRX, allowing investors to buy one sq. ft. of real estate at a time.
• The startup, with an India-first launch strategy, has raised $1.6 million in equity and $2 million in callable mezzanine debt for co-investing in real estate assets during its seed round.
• ALT DRX will allow owners of these real estate assets to dematerialise their real estate ownership into tokenized, traceable digital assets.
• The Nasdaq Composite is a stock market index that includes almost all stocks listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
• Along with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500, it is one of the three most-followed stock market indices in the United States.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : STATE NEWS

13-day tulip festival begins in Delhi

• The 13-day tulip festival organised by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) was held in New delhi.
• About 1.2 lakh tulip bulbs, nearly double of last year’s 65,000 – have been imported from the Netherlands this time and planted in Chanakyapuri and other areas in central Delhi.
• Embassies of the participating G20 members and guest countries will also be invited to enjoy the festival.
• In addition, the NDMC has installed heart-shaped flower decks and selfie stations in popular locations including Sanjay Park, Laxmibai Nagar, Lodhi Garden, Connaught Place, and others.

About NDMC : 

• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Chairman : Amit Yadav,
• Vice Chairman : Satish Upadhyay

About Delhi :

• Lt. Governor : Vinai Kumar Saxena
• Chief Minister : Arvind Kejriwal
• Capital : New Delhi
• Wildlife Sanctuaries : Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, National Chambal Sanctuary

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Indian-American Ms Tejal Mehta sworn in as first justice of a district court in US                                           

• An Indian-American woman, Ms Tejal Mehta, has been appointed as the first justice of a district court in the US state of Massachusetts.
• She promised to make a real impact on the community and treat people with compassion, and will serve as the first justice of the Ayer District Court.
• In her new role, Mehta plans to make a real impact on the community and treat people with compassion.
• She has served as an associate justice with the same court and was unanimously selected and sworn in by Judge Stacey Fortes, chief justice of the District Court.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

CCI approves LIC AMC’s acquisition of management rights over IDBI MF scheme

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved a proposed combination involving LIC Mutual Fund Asset Management Limited’s acquisition of the management rights over the schemes of IDBI Mutual Fund (MF) from IDBI Asset Management Limited (IDBI AMC).
• LIC Mutual Fund Asset Management Limited (“LIC AMC”), LIC Mutual Fund Trustee Private Limited (“LIC TC”), IDBI Asset Management Limited (“IDBI AMC”); are collectively referred to as the “Acquirers”.

Proposed Combination : 

• LIC AMC’s acquisition of the rights to manage and administer the schemes of IDBI MF from IDBI AMC;
• LIC TC s acquisition of the rights of trusteeship of the schemes of IDBI MF from IDBI MF Trustee Company Limited (“IDBI TC”);
• Consequently, the schemes of IDBI MF will form part of LIC Mutual Fund (“LIC MF”) with LIC AMC acting as the asset management company for the schemes of IDBI MF and LIC TC acting as the trustee company of the schemes of IDBI MF
• Apart from lump sum consideration, IDBI AMC will also acquire certain non-controlling shareholding in LIC AMC.

About LIC AMC/ LIC TC : 

• Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is the sponsor of LIC Mutual Fund (LIC MF).
• LIC is the parent company of LIC AMC and LIC TC.
• LIC AMC acts as the asset management company to LIC MF, while LIC TC acts as the trustee company of LIC MF in India.
• LIC AMC acts as an investment management advisor to LIC MF.
• It manages the investment portfolio and provides various administrative services to LIC MF.

About IDBI MF/ IDBI AMC/ IDBI TC : 

• IDBI Bank Ltd. is the sponsor of IDBI MF.
• IDBI AMC’s principal activity is to act as asset management company to the IDBI MF, while IDBI TC acts as the trustee company of IDBI MF in India.

About CCI : 

• Established : 14 October 2003 (Functional from 2009)
• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Chairman : Sangeeta Verma
• The CCI  is the chief national competition regulator in India.
• It is a statutory body within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Ukrainian Rights Group Truth Hounds Wins Norwegian Prize

• Ukrainian rights group Truth Hounds, which documents war crimes in the Ukraine conflict, was awarded Norway’s Sakharov Freedom Award.
• The Norwegian Helsinki Committee human rights organisation that awards the prize called Truth Hounds “a force to be reckoned with”, honouring them “for their work to document war crimes and potential crimes against humanity”.
• The Sakharov Freedom Award not to be confused with the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize was established in 1980 with the support of Soviet dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING AND REPORTS

India among the largest coking coal importers in 2022

• India has emerged as one of the highest global importers of coking coal (and pulverised coal injection) at 69 million tonnes (mt), accounting for 22 per cent of the world’s shipments in the calendar year 2022, as per data collated by market research firm CoalMint.
• On a year-on-year basis, coking coal imports by the country increased 2 per cent from 68 mt-odd in 2021.
• China is the second largest importer of coking coal at 63.8 mt, up 17 per cent YoY, as against 54.7 mt in 2021.
• Total traded volume (coking coal) globally increased 8 per cent on a YoY basis to 319 mt (from 295.7 mt).
• Coking coal is one of the key raw materials in steel making; whereas pulverised coal injection or PCI is another such raw material. India is the world’s second largest producer of crude steel (124 mt in 2022, up 6 per cent YoY).
• Australia continues to be the prime supplier of coking coal, although it has lost 8 per cent-odd market share globally.
• Supplies from Australia to India was down 19 per cent YoY to 43.7 mt in 2022..
• Indian steel millers have substantially increased sourcing from Russia. Shipments were up 154 per cent to 9.7 mt, making the country the second largest supplier after Australia in 2022.
• As per CoalMint data, USA was the third largest supplier of coking coal at 7 mt, up 126 per cent YoY.
• Mozambique and Indonesia were among the other suppliers at 2.9 mt and 2.7 mt, respectively.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

SIBC Signs MoU In Sustainable Infrastructure, Defence Manufacturing With Maharashtra Government

• The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), Government of Maharashtra and the Sweden India Business Council (SIBC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for sustainable infrastructure and defence manufacturing.
• The MoU will focus on waste to energy (green initiatives), financial services including export credit financing agencies in Sweden, sustainable infr astructure and transportation and defence sector manufacturing amongst others.
• The Consulate General of Sweden in Mumbai and the Embassy of Sweden in New Delhi have started a year-long programme to celebrate 75 years of bilateral relations between Sweden and India with the visit of Swedish state secretary for foreign trade, Håkan Jevrell and several other leaders of Swedish industry to Pune.

About Sweden:

• Capital: Stockholm,
• Currency: Swedish krona.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

4th Asian Kho Kho Championship for Men and Women will begin in Assam

• The 4th Asian Kho Kho Championship for Men and Women will begin at Baksa district in Assam.
• The event will conclude on the 23rd of this month.
• Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and officials of the Kho Kho Federation will take part in the inaugural program.
• The event is being organised by the Kho Kho Federation of India in association with the Assam Kho Kho Association and Bodoland Territorial Region government.
• The government of Assam also extended its support for the competition.
• Altogether nine countries –India, Bangladesh, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Bhutan, Iran, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia are participating in the competition.
• Over 700 players and officials will participate in the four-day event.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : OBITUARIES

Veteran journalist & Padma Shri awardee Abhay Chhajlani passes away                                                        

• Senior journalist and Padma Shri awardee (2009) Abhay Chhajlani passed away at the age of 88 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh(MP), India.

About Abhay Chhajlani : 

• Abhay Chhajlaniji was born on August 4, 1934 in Indore, MP.
• He entered the field of journalism in 1955.
• He served as the president of Indian Languages Newspapers Association (ILNA), the apex organisation of Indian language newspapers in 1988, 1989, 1994.
• He was also the vice president of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) in the years 2000 and 2002.

Awards & Honors : 

• The government of India (GoI) awarded him the fourth-highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2009, for his contributions to journalism.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHOR

A Tribute to India’s First Chief of Defence Staff- “Bipin: The Man Behind the Uniform”

• Rachna Biswat Rawat, a well-known journalist and writer from India, has written a book titled “Bipin: The Man Behind the Uniform,” which focuses on the life, personality, and principles of General Bipin Rawat, India’s first Chief of Defence Staff.
• Published by Penguin Veer, the book serves as a tribute to Rawat’s life and achievements.
• The book tells the story of General Bipin Rawat, from his days as a cadet at the National Defence Academy to his role as India’s first Chief of Defence Staff.
• General Bipin Rawat was one of India’s most notable military leaders until he tragically died in a helicopter crash in 2021.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery : March 25

• On March 25th of this current year International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is celebrated all over the world.
• It is an international event that is celebrated annually on March 25th every year is intended to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples.
• International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is a United Nations international observance designated in 2007 to be marked on 25 March every year.
• The day honors and remembers those who suffered and died as a consequence of the transatlantic slave trade, which has been called “the worst violation of human rights in history”, in which over 400 years more than 15 million men, women, and children were the victims.

Daily CA One- Liner: March 25

• The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal has imposed an environmental compensation of ₹100 crore on Kochi Municipal Corporation for its continuing neglect of duties, resulting in the crisis at its wastage dump site at Brahmapuram following the major fire
• 3rd Annual Edition of International SME Conference (ISC), 2023 is being held in New Delhi from 19th to 21st March
• 3-day International Conference on ‘Natural Farming to Revive the Environment and Resilient Agriculture’ concluded
• The Ministry of corporate affairs has set up a quick and faceless facility for winding up operations and exit
• The 49th edition of Indian Dairy Association’s (IDA) Dairy Industry Conference and Expo will be held at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar
• A Bengaluru-based fintech startup, ALT Realtech, has launched the world’s first digital real estate exchange, ALT DRX, allowing investors to buy one sq. ft. of real estate at a time
• Ukrainian rights group Truth Hounds, which documents war crimes in the Ukraine conflict, was awarded Norway’s Sakharov Freedom Award
• India has emerged as one of the highest global importers of coking coal (and pulverised coal injection) at 69 million tonnes (mt), accounting for 22 per cent of the world’s shipments in the calendar year 2022, as per data collated by market research firm CoalMint
• The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), Government of Maharashtra and the Sweden India Business Council (SIBC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for sustainable infrastructure and defence manufacturing
• The 4th Asian Kho Kho Championship for Men and Women will begin at Baksa district in Assam
• Rachna Biswat Rawat, a well-known journalist and writer from India, has written a book titled “Bipin: The Man Behind the Uniform,” which focuses on the life, personality, and principles of General Bipin Rawat, India’s first Chief of Defence Staff.
• On March 25th of this current year International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is celebrated all over the world.
• Indian automaker Mahindra and Mahindra stated that World Bank’s private investment arm, International Finance Corp (IFC), will invest 6 billion rupees ($72.58 million) in the company’s last mile electric mobility unit.
• The Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Shri Shaktikanta Das, initiated the establishment of a “Greenfield Data Centre” and an “Enterprise Computing & Cybersecurity Training Institute” in Bhubaneswar, Odisha during a foundation stone laying ceremony.
• Power Finance Corporation(PFC) Limited has inked a pact with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for a project loan of Japanese Yen (JPY) 2.65 billion or about Rs 165 crore.
• ICICI Bank launched an array of digital solutions for participants of the capital market and clients of custody services.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched two key surveys namely Consumer Confidence Survey (CCS) and Inflation Expectations Survey of Households (IESH)
• Amazon Pay has collaborated with Bharat BillPay, the biller platform of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), to strengthen its loan repayment facility.
• Indian lender State Bank of India (SBI) completed its first non-dollar transaction with Sri Lanka, by paying for exports in Sri Lankan rupees as India looks to bring countries that are short of U.S. dollars into the trade mechanism.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed banks from 18 different countries to open Special Vostro Rupee Accounts (SVRAs) for settling payments in Indian rupees (INR).
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sold net $384 million in the spot foreign exchange market in January 2023.
• According to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its monthly bulletin for March, outward remittances under the RBI’s liberalised remittance scheme (LRS) stood at $22.08 billion during the April, 2022-January, 2023 period.
• The 13-day tulip festival organised by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) was held in New delhi.
• An Indian-American woman, Ms Tejal Mehta, has been appointed as the first justice of a district court in the US state of Massachusetts.
• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved a proposed combination involving LIC Mutual Fund Asset Management Limited’s acquisition of the management rights over the schemes of IDBI Mutual Fund (MF) from IDBI Asset Management Limited (IDBI AMC).
• Senior journalist and Padma Shri awardee (2009) Abhay Chhajlani passed away at the age of 88 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh(MP), India.