Current Affairs 26 & 27 March 2023

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 26 & 27 March 2023, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2022 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Cabinet Approval on March 24, 2023  The Union Cabinet and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), headed by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, have approved the following proposals:

• Cabinet Approves Release of an Additional Instalment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to GoI Employees and Dearness Relief to Pensioners, Due from 01.01.2023
• CCEA approves MSP of Raw Jute for 2023 -24 season
• CCEA Approves Targeted Subsidy to PMUY Consumers

GoI Approves Setting Up of Electronics Manufacturing Cluster at Hubli-Dharwad in Karnataka  
Union Minister of State (MoS) Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) announced approval for the establishment of the Rs. 180 crore Electronics Manufacturing Cluster (EMC) in Dharwad District, Karnataka, which is estimated to create over 18,000 jobs.
i.The EMC 2.0 project was launched on April 1, 2020, with the goal of creating world-class infrastructure and shared testing facilities, including ready-built factory sheds and plug-and-play infrastructure, in order to encourage Anchor Units and their supply chain to set up manufacturing and production facilities in India.
About Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY):
Union Minister – Ashwini Vaishnaw (Rajya Sabha – Odisha)
Minister of State (MoS) – Rajeev Chandrasekhar
>> Read Full News

PM Inaugurated new ITU Area Office & Innovation Centre in New Delhi; Launched 6G R&D Test Bed, CBuD AppOn 22 March 2023, the Prime Minister(PM) Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s new International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Area office and  Innovation Centre at a programme in Vigyan Bhawan, in New Delhi, Delhi.

• ITU is the United Nations’ (UN) specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs).

Key Points:
i.The PM also unveiled the Bharat 6G Vision Document and launched the 6G R&D Test Bed. It is prepared by the Technology Innovation Group on 6G (TIG-6G) that was constituted in November 2021
ii.The Call Before You Dig (CBuD) app is a tool created to prevent the damage to underlying assets like optical fiber cables.

• Due to uncoordinated digging and excavation, the optical fiber cables are getting damaged leading to loss of about Rs 3000 crore every year.

About International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Secretary–General– Doreen Bogdan-Martin
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
Member– 193 member states
It was founded in 1865 as International Telegraph Union, the ITU is the oldest existing international organisation.
>> Read Full News

MoU signed between Ministry of Ayush, ECHS for Integrating Ayurveda at 10 PolyclinicsOn March 24, 2023, the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Exservicemen Welfare/Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS/DoESW) under Union Ministry of Defence (MoD), to integrate Ayurveda in ECHS Polyclinics as an OPD (Outpatient department) service for 5 years.

• The MoU was signed by Dr. Manoj Nesari, Adviser (Ayurveda), Ministry of Ayush  and Major general N R Indurkar, Managing Director, ECHS in the presence of Pramod Kumar Pathak, Special Secretary, Ministry of Ayush, Brig Jitendra Singh, ECHS, Col AC Nishil, Director (Medical).

Key Points:
i.Under the MoU, Ayurveda OPD will be established in 10 polyclinics based at Ambala (Punjab), Mysore (Karnataka), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), Bhubaneshwar (Odisha), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Meerut (Uttar Pradesh), Danapur (Bihar), and Allepey (Alappuzha) (Kerala).
ii.Ayush Ministry will contribute via providing technical guidance and support, enrolling Ayurveda doctors and pharmacists for their engagement, and providing essential Ayurveda medicines.
iii.The Department of Ex-servicemen Welfare/ECHS will provide requisite infrastructure at a suitable location in the respective polyclinics.

• They will also engage with Ayurveda specialists, medical officers and paramedical staff on contractual basis and provide required ancillary staff (administrative, clerical and multi-tasking staff).

iv.Under the MoU, the joint working groups (JWG) would be formed comprising representatives from the Ministry of Ayush and ECHS/DoESW, MoD for establishing OPDs.
Existing Centres:

• The Ayurveda centres are already present in 37 cantonment Hospitals, 12 military hospitals of AFMC (Armed Forces Medical College) – Formed through two MoUs signed by the Ministry of Ayush and MOD in 2022.
• Ayurveda OPD in Army Hospital Research And Referral (AH R&R), Air Force (AF) Hospital Hindan (Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh ) and five ECHS polyclinics – Formed via 2019 MoU  Ministry of Ayush and MOD..

About ECHS:
ECHS was launched in April 2003 to provide quality medical care to the Ex-servicemen and their dependents by utilizing the existing medical infrastructure of Armed Forces and the Civil/Government Hospitals.
Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH)
Union Minister – Sarbananda Sonowal (Rajya Sabha Assam)
Minister of State (MoS) – Dr. Munjpara Mahendrabhai Kalubhai (Constituency- Surendranagar, Gujarat)

PM lays foundation stone & dedicates development projects worth Rs. 1780 crores in Varanasi, Uttar PradeshOn 24th March 2023, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister (PM) of India, laid the foundation stone and dedicated development projects worth more than Rs. 1780 crores in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh(UP) during the programme organised at Sampurnanand Sanskrit University ground.

• This is in line with the efforts towards transforming the landscape of Varanis and enhance the ease of living for the people living in Varanasi and adjoining cities.

Key Points:
i.PM Modi laid the foundation stone of the Passenger Ropeway from Varanasi Cantt station to Godowlia in Varanasi.
ii.PM Modi laid the foundation stone for a 55 Minimal Liquid Discharge (MLD) sewage treatment plant at Bhagwanpur under Namami Ganga Scheme.
iii.PM laid the foundation stone of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) bottling plant at Isarwar village, Sewapuri.
iv.Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the Prime Minister dedicated 19 drinking water schemes, which will benefit more than 3 lakh people in 63 Gram Panchayats.
About Uttar Pradesh:
Chief Minister– Yogi Adityanath
Governor– Anandiben Patel
Airport– Jhansi Airport; Moradabad Airport
UNESCO heritage sites– Fatehpur Sikri
>> Read Full News

GoI Launches NRCP for Prevention and Control of RabiesThe Government of India (GoI) launched the National Rabies Control Programme (NRCP) for rabies prevention and control, and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), released the NRCP strategies, which are as follows:

• Provision of rabies vaccine & rabies immunoglobulin through national free drug initiatives
• Training on appropriate animal bite management, prevention and control of rabies, surveillance and intersectoral coordination
• Strengthening surveillance of animal bites and rabies deaths reporting
• Creating awareness about rabies prevention

Other GoI Efforts for Rabies Prevention and Control
i.The MoHFW and the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying jointly launched the “National Action Plan for Dog-Mediated Rabies Elimination (NAPRE) from India by 2030.”
ii.The management and control of the stray dog population falls under the purview of local governments.
iii.To reduce the population of stray dogs, the GoI has drafted the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2023, which would be implemented by local governments.

• The primary objective of the rules is the anti-rabies vaccination of stray dogs and the neutering of stray dogs as a way of population stabilization.

iv.The Supreme Court of India has issued an order directing all State Governments to actively implement the ABC (Dogs) Rules, 2001 to control the stray dog population and to establish the State Level Monitoring Committee & District Level Monitoring Committee to address the issues relating to stray dogs in their respective local bodies.
v.The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has also released a revised guideline requiring the relevant authorities to implement the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2023, in an effective manner.
vi.The AWBI has also issued advisories/guidelines to ensure effective implementation of the ABC Rules. Click here to know more about the guidelines issued.

About Rabies (Based on WHO data,  January 2023):

i.Rabies is a vaccine-preventable, zoonotic, viral disease affecting the central nervous system.  

• Dogs are the main source of human rabies deaths, contributing up to 99% of all rabies transmissions to humans. 

ii.It spreads to people and animals via saliva, usually through bites, scratches or direct contact with mucosa (e.g. eyes, mouth or open wounds). 

iii.It causes tens of thousands of deaths every year, mainly in Asia and Africa, 40% of whom are children under 15 years of age.

Rajasthan became India’s 1st state to Guarantee Right to HealthOn March 21, 2023 Prasadi Lal Meena, Minister of Medical & Health, announced that the Rajasthan Assembly had cleared a bill named ‘Right to Health’ (which was passed in September 2022), becoming the first state in India to do so.
Benefits of ‘Right to Health’:
i.The ‘Right to Health’, gives every resident of the state the right to avail free Out Patient Department (OPD) services and In Patient Department (IPD) services at all public health facilities.

• It also provides similar healthcare services (free of cost) at select private facilities.

ii.All residents of the state will be entitled to emergency treatment and care for accidental emergency without prepayment of any fee or charges.
iii.As per the bill, free healthcare services, including consultation, drugs, diagnostics, emergency transport, procedure and emergency care, will be provided at all public health institutions and select private facilities subject to conditions specified in the rules.
iv.Medico-legal nature Emergency Case:

• In case of medico-legal nature, no public or private hospital can delay treatment on the grounds of receiving police clearance.
• After emergency care, stabilisation and transfer of patient, if patient does not pay requisite charges, the healthcare provider is entitled to receive requisite fee and charges or proper reimbursement from the state government.

v.The bill secure the Right to Health as per,

• Article 47 – (Duty of the state to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health) of Constitution of India to provide protection and fulfilment of rights and equity in health and well-being under  and to
• Article 21 (Protection of life and personal liberty) (expanded definition)

Note – The law extends a total of 20 rights to the residents of the state.

Finance Secretary T V Somanathan to Head Panel On Pension SchemesThe Government of India (GoI) has decided to form a committee led by Finance Secretary TV Somanathan to recommend ways to reform the National Pension System (NPS) for government employees.

• The action is being taken against a backdrop of a number of states abandoning the NPS and returning to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for their employees.

Old Pension Scheme (OPS) Vs National Pension System (NPS)
i.After retirement, the OPS provides employees with a fixed pension equivalent to 50% of their last drawn salary.
ii.Meanwhile, the NPS is an investment-cum pension programme.
iii.Contributions to the NPS are invested in securities such as debt and equity instruments.

• Hence, it does not ensure fixed pensions but instead offers high returns over the long run, producing a significant lump sum and monthly pensions.

iv.The GoI has been allowing states to enhance their borrowing limits by an amount equal to what they contribute each year to new NPS accounts for their state government employees.

• This implies that states that return to the OPS will not obtain as much additional borrowing capacity.

States reverting to the OPS
i.The state governments of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh have notified the Centre of their decision to switch back to the OPS and have asked for a refund of the corpus accrued under the NPS.
ii.Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh has proposed a Guaranteed Pension Scheme (GPS), which incorporates the principles of OPS and NPS.
iii.GPS, which was suggested for the first time in April 2022, provides state government employees with a guaranteed pension of 33% of their last drew basic pay with no deductions.

• Employees of the state government would be required to contribute 10% of their monthly basic wage to this, and the state would match it.

Note:

• On March 4, 2023, the NPS and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) pension assets in India, which are regulated by the Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority (PFRDA), were close to Rs. 8.8 lakh crore.
• This growth rate represents a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of over 25% over the previous five years.

MoRTH approves Rs 318 crore for Tanakpur-Pithoragarh All-Weather Road

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways(MoRTH) has allocated Rs 318 crore for the construction of the 150-km-long Tanakpur-Pithoragarh all-weather road in Uttarakhand.

The approval has been given for the construction of the road on National Highway(NH)-9, which is planned to be done in 4 phases.

• The proposal has been finalised on the basis of a report prepared by the expert agency Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library(THDL), which has been appointed the supervisor for the project by the ministry.
• In 2016, the Government of India approved the Tanakpur-Pithoragarh stretch, which is a part of the bigger road project traverses the “Char Dham” pilgrimage spots being built at a cost of Rs 12,000 crore.

Govt Allows Import of Urea through India Potash till March 2024

According to the Directorate General of Foreign Trade(DGFT), the import of urea (agricultural grade) on the Government account has extended the tenure of Indian Potash Limited (IPL) until 31st March 2024.

Earlier, the import of urea was supposed to be allowed till March 2023.

• As per the notification, which was issued on 22 March 2023, India will not need to import food for the upcoming season because supply would be greater than demand in the Kharif season due to larger stock positions.

Government fertilizer companies Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited (RCF) and National Fertilizers Limited(NFL) are 2 other canalising agencies that import urea on government account.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

NHIDCL & CSIR-SERC signs MoU for Innovative Highway Engineering

On 23rd March 2023, the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited(NHIDCL), a Central Public Sector Enterprise(CPSE) under the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways(MoRTH) and Council of Scientific & Industrial Research- Structural Engineering Research Centre(CSIR-SERC), Chennai(Tamil Nadu), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for sharing knowledge on innovative ideas and technologies in the field of highway engineering.

• The MoU was signed by Chanchal Kumar, Managing Director (MD) of NHIDCL, and Dr N. Anandavalli, Director of CSIR-SERC.
• The MoU will establish the basis of collaboration between NHIDCL and CSIR-SERC to undertake various activities of common interests. This collaboration will strengthen research and development (R&D) activities in Road Sector.
• The common interests such as sharing knowledge on innovative ideas and technologies in the field of highway engineering and other infrastructure works on mutually agreed terms and conditions.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS        

Forbes India Leadership Awards 2023: Isha Ambani Wins GenNext Entrepreneur AwardOn 24th March 2023, Isha Ambani, the Chairperson of Reliance Retail, the retail unit of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), won the GenNext Entrepreneur Award at the Forbes India Leadership Awards 2023 at the Grand Hyatt, Mumbai, Maharashtra.
2023 marks the 12th edition of the Forbes India Leadership Awards.

• A M Naik, Group Chairman of Larsen and Toubro Ltd.(L&T), received the FILA 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award.
• Oscar-winning filmmaker (2023- The Elephant Whisperers) Guneet Monga and Dr Rajiv J Shah, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, bagged the award of ‘Icon of Excellence’.

About Isha Ambani:
i. Isha Ambani, an entrepreneur, born on 23 October 1991 to Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
ii. Currently, she serves as a member of the board of directors of Jio and Reliance Retail.
iii. She was in the 2nd position on Forbes’ “Youngest Billionaire Heiresses” list according to which she was counted to have a worth of USD 70 million.
iv. In 2015, she secured a position among the 12 powerful upcoming businesswomen of Asia.
Winners of FILA 2023:

About Forbes India Leadership Awards: 
i. The Forbes India Leadership Awards, launched in May 2009, was introduced as an important step towards recognizing transformational leadership across the entrepreneurial space, covering organizations of all levels: startups, mid-sized firms and global enterprises.
ii. Annually, Forbes India recognizes and awards successful individuals and organizations that have achieved success through strong vision, foresight and ethics.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS          

Former Brazilian President Dilma Vana Rousseff Elected as President of NDB On 24th March 2023, the Board of Governors of the  New Development Bank (NBD), formerly referred to as the BRICS(Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Development Bank, unanimously elected former President of Brazil Dilma Vana Rousseff as the President of the NDB with an immediate effect.

• Dilma Rousseff will be president of the BRICS’s New Development Bank until 2025.

Dilma Rousseff(75 years old), succeeds Marcos Troyjo,  who stepped down as the President of NDB on 24th March 2023.
About Dilma Vana Rousseff:
i. Dilma Rousseff served as the 1st female President of the Federative Republic of Brazil for 2 consecutive terms from 2011 to 2016.
ii. Previously, She also served as the Minister of Mines and Energy and Chief of Staff to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
iii. She also chaired the Board of Directors of Petrobras, Brazil’s largest and most important company.
iv. Under her government, Brazil was present in all international meetings for climate and environmental protection, culminating in decisive participation in the achievement of the Paris Agreement.
v. Dilma Rousseff considerably expanded cooperation with several countries in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

• She took part in the creation of the Contingent Reserve Arrangement and the New Development Bank in July 2014 with the BRICS countries.

About the New Development Bank(NDB):
The New Development Bank (NDB) is a multilateral development bank established by BRICS with the purpose of mobilising resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs).
President- Dilma Rousseff(Brazil)
Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer(COO)- Vladimir Kazbekov(Russia)
Headquarters– Shanghai, China
Establishment- 2015

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS        

CCI clears GMR Airports Infrastructure & Aeroports de Paris SA Deal

On 24th March 2023, the Competition Commission of India(CCI) approved the proposed deal of GMR Airports Infrastructure Limited, which primarily operates through its subsidiary GMR Airports Ltd (GAL), and Aeroports de Paris SA (ADP), an international airport operator owned by the French Government, under the green channel route.

The proposed combination falls under Section 5(a) of the Competition Act, 2002.

• The proposed combination involves ADP’s proposed acquisition of and subscription to foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCB) issued by GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd.
• CCI has approved the proposed intra-group merger of GMR Airports Ltd and GMR Infra Developers Ltd (GIDL) with and into GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NASA’s JWST Detects Silicate Clouds on Exoplanet, VHS 1256 bA research team led by Brittany Miles of the University of Arizona observing with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) identified signatures of silicate clouds in the atmosphere of the exoplanet- catalogued as VHS 1256 b, which orbits 2 stars.

• This is the first time JWST has shown the spectra of the planet by actually collecting light from the planet itself, in a method known as direct imaging.
• The researchers observed VHS 1256 b as part of JWST’s Early Release Science program, designed to help transform the astronomical community’s ability to characterize planets and the disks where they form.

About VHS 1256 b: 
VHS 1256 b, around 40 light-years away, is around 4 times farther from its stars than Pluto is from our Sun which makes it a great target for JWST.

• Rotation period(1 day)= 22 hours
• Revolution period(1 year)= 10000 earth years
• Temperature: 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit (830 degrees Celsius) in its upper atmosphere.
• The clouds of this planet have Silicate dust and sand particles.

Points to note:
i.Since the atmosphere of the planet is constantly rising, mixing and moving, the resulting extremely dramatic brightness changes, making  VHS 1256 b the most variable planetary-mass object known to date.
ii.VHS 1256 b has low gravity compared to more massive brown dwarfs, which infers that its silicate clouds can appear and remain higher in its atmosphere where Webb can detect them.
iii.In astronomical terms, this is a young planet: only 150 million years have passed since it formed.
Background: 
i.The research team used 2 instruments known as spectrographs aboard the JWST – Near Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) and  Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) to observe the vast section of near- to mid-infrared light emitted by planet VHS 1256 b.
ii.They plotted the light on the spectrum, identifying signatures of silicate clouds, water, methane and carbon monoxide and also found evidence of carbon dioxide.

• This is the largest number of molecules ever identified all at once on a planet outside our solar system.

Key Points:
i.The team analyzed data known as spectra gathered by 2 instruments aboard Webb, the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) and the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI).

• Since the planet orbits at a great distance from its stars, the researchers were able to observe it directly, rather than using the transit technique or a coronagraph to take this data.

ii.The paper of the research team led by Brittany Miles of the University of Arizona is published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on 22nd March 2023.

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar launches Skill Hub Portal

On 24th March 2023, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, launched the Skill Hub portal in Bengaluru, Karnataka, as part of the Government’s initiatives to deliver industry-ready employable skills to young Indians in all region of India.

• Skill Hub portal is an initiative by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).
• The portal ensures that students all throughout India have easy access to skill training by inviting all colleges and universities to join the Skill India Network.

OBITUARY

Gordon Moore, Intel Co-founder & Creator of Moore’s Law, Passed Away On 24th March 2023, Gordon Earle Moore, the co-founder of Intel Corporation & author of Moore’s law, passed away in Hawaii, United States of America(USA) at the age of 94. He was born on 3rd January 1929 in San Francisco, California, USA.
About Gordon Earle Moore:
i. Gordon Earle Moore started his research career at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland, US.
ii. He was known for “Moore’s Law” which formed the basis for processors being developed to be more efficient and less expensive.
iii. In 1957, Moore co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor, a division of Fairchild Camera and Instrument, along with Robert Noyce and 6 other colleagues from Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory.
iv. Moore’s law is the observation that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) doubles about every two years.

• He predicted in his editorial that by 1975, up to 65,000 components may fit on a single quarter-square-inch (1.6 square centimetres) semiconductor.

v. Gordon Moore and his longtime colleague Robert Noyce, an American physicist, founded Intel in July 1968.
vi. Prior to taking office as president in 1975, he served as Executive Vice President of Intel. Between 1979 and 1987, he served as the Chairman of the board and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He was appointed chairman emeritus in 1997 and retired in 2006.
vii. He established the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation along with his wife, Betty Moore, which has donated more than $5.1 billion to charitable causes since its founding in 2000.
Awards and Recognition:
i. Gordon Moore received the National Medal of Technology from President George Herbert Walker Bush(41st US President) in 1990.
ii. He was also conferred with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour of the US, from President George Walker Bush(43rd US President) in 2002.
Additional Information:
In 2022, Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel, announced the renaming of the Ronler Acres campus in Oregon, where Intel teams develop future process technologies, to Gordon Moore Park at Ronler Acres, US.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade 2023 – March 25United Nations (UN)’s International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is annually observed across the globe on March 25 to honour and remember those who suffered and died as a consequence of the transatlantic slave trade.

• International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade 2023 was observed on 25th March 2023 under the theme “Fighting slavery’s legacy of racism through transformative education”.

Background:
i. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/62/122 on 17th December 2007 and proclaimed March 25 of every year as the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

• The resolution also called for the establishment of an outreach programme to mobilize educational institutions, civil society and other organizations to inculcate in future generations the “causes, consequences and lessons of the transatlantic slave trade, and to communicate the dangers of racism and prejudice”.

ii. The 1st ever International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade was observed on 25th March 2008. 
About the United Nations:
Secretary-General- António Guterres
Headquarters- New York, USA
Establishment- 1945
>> Read Full News

International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members 2023 – March 25The United Nations(UN)’s International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members is annually observed across the globe on 25th March to recognise the dangers encountered by the UN staff members as they carry out their work for the UN.

• The day marks the anniversary of the abduction of British journalist Alec Collett, who worked for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East(UNRWA).

Purpose of the Day: 
The day is annually observed to mobilize action, demand justice and strengthen our resolve to protect UN staff and peacekeepers, as well as our colleagues in the non-governmental community and the press.
>> Read Full News

STATE NEWS

QCI & UP Government launch Uttar Pradesh Gunvatta Sankalp in Lucknow The Government of Uttar Pradesh(UP) and Quality Council of India(QCI),  launched the “Uttar Pradesh Gunvatta Sankalp” (Uttar Pradesh Quality Mission) at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

• UP Gunvatta Sankalp was launched in collaboration with industry associations – Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry(FICCI), Institute of Internal Auditors(IIA) and PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI).
• This is the first of its kind initiative organised by QCI in India in partnership with a State government.

The UP Gunvatta Sankalp was inaugurated by Brajesh Pathak, Deputy Chief Minister (Dy CM) of UP and launched by J. P. S. Rathore, UP’s Minister of Co-operation.

• This reinforced the need for UP to transcend from “Aatmanirbhar Pradesh” to “Daata Pradesh”.

Key points
i.Through Uttar Pradesh Gunvatta Sankalp, QCI is increasing its depts into the grassroots to impact real change to improve the life of Indian citizens.
ii.This initiative focuses on 4 key pillars:

• Quality as a driver of the USD 1 trillion economies,
• Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)
• Healthcare services
• Education and vocational training

iii.The roadmap from UP Gunvatta Sankalp, will chart the course for quality in the UP, with QCI serving as a partner with the government.
About Quality Council of India(QCI):
Nodal point:  Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry(MoCI).
Chairperson– Jaxay Shah (Chairman & Managing Director of Savvy Group of Companies)
Established in 1997

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List of Current Governors in India – February 2023

List of Current Chief Ministers in India – February 2023

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