NATIONAL NEWS

101 more APMC Mandis to be Connected with e-NAM

• By March end, 101 more APMC mandis will be connected with e-NAM.

• The government has approved the integration of 101 more agricultural produce marketing committee (APMC) mandis into the electronic platform e-NAM.

• The total number of mandis will reach 1361 across the country by March 31.

• The joining of more mandis will increase turnover of e-NAM, which was ₹51,000 crore in 2021-22.

• In the current fiscal year, 260 mandis have joined the e-NAM platform.
• National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) is a pan-India electronic trading portal that provides an integrated national network for Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMCs).

First State in India to Begin Organized Cultivation of Mulethi

• Himachal Pradesh (HP) has become the first state in India to start the organised commercial cultivation of Licorice (Mulethi).

• For the first time, planting material of Mulethi (Glycyrrhiza glabra) was distributed to the farmers to cultivate it commercially.

• The distribution of planting materials among the farmers was done by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT).

• The demand for Mulethi is high in India as it is not only used as a spice but also used in ayurvedic medicines.

• Currently, Mulethi is largely imported in India from other countries like Afghanistan, Nepal and China.

• Mulethi is a sweet-tasting perennial shrub.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Financial Action Task Force Suspends Russia’s Membership

• Global anti-money laundering watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has suspended Russia’s membership for its ‘illegal, unprovoked and unjustified’ full-scale military invasion of Ukraine.

• Russia’s actions were ‘unacceptably run’ counter to FATF’s core principles that aims to promote security, safety and integrity of the global financial system.

• FATF added Nigeria and South Africa to its grey list of countries subject to increased monitoring and removed Cambodia and Morocco from the grey list category.

• FATF is an inter-governmental policy-making and standard-setting body dedicated to combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

India to host Permanent Mission Roundtables at UN HeadQuarter

• India, as Chair of the Group-20 (G-20), will host the 62nd Permanent Mission Round Table at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters ahead of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit to be held in New York later 2023.

• During the event, India will focus on its growth story and achievements, as well as its goals to reap the potential benefits of the Global South.

• A roundtable titled ‘Gandhian Trusteeship: A panel discussion on Sustainable Lifestyles and Enduring Pace’ will be organised.

• On 09 March 2023 a roundtable on ‘A world we women and girls want: Technology enabled social and economic advancement’ will be organised.

• On 16 March 2023 a roundtable on ‘Grassroots leadership and transformation: Charting the path of empowerment through technology and skill development’ will be organized.

BANKING

Reserve Bank of India Paper

• According to a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) occasional paper, titled Do Bank Mergers Improve Efficiency? In the Indian Experience, banking mergers in India have been, on an average, beneficial to the banking sector as the financial performance and efficiency of acquirers improved post-merger.
• The study covered all registered Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As) in the Indian commercial banking industry, between 1997 and 2020.
• The study’s findings suggest that the mean technical efficiency of acquirers increased from 90.88 in the pre-merger period to 93.80 post-merger after 3 years and 94.24 post-merger after 5 years.
• Mergers have provided avenues for increasing the scale of operations, geographical diversification and adoption of more efficient business strategies.

HDFC Bank Raises $750 Million in Dollar Bond Sale

• The country’s largest private sector lender HDFC Bank has raised USD 750 million through a dollar bond sale.

• HDFC bank will be paying a coupon of 686%.

• The USD-denominated senior unsecured instruments will have a 3-year maturity, with settlement on 02 March 2023 and the maturity on 02 March 2026.

• The paper, rated Baa3 by Moody’s Rating Services and Bbb by S&P, will be listed on the India International Exchange.

Karnataka Bank Partnered with Paisalo Digital Limited Enter

• Karnataka Bank and Paisalo Digital Limited, a non-deposit taking Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) registered with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), entered into a co-lending agreement to provide financial support to the low-income segment and to boost the country’s Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) segment of India.

• The arrangement will leverage Karnataka Bank’s low cost of funds and the end-to-end digital capabilities of KBL and Paisalo, to help the sourcing, servicing and recovery of small-ticket income generation priority sector loans.

• In line with the RBI’s guidelines on Co-lending by banks and NBFCs to Priority Sectors to improve the flow of credit to unserved and underserved segments.

BUSINESS

Sri Lanka Approves $442 Million Wind Power Project

• Sri Lanka’s Board of Investment (BOI) has issued a letter of approval to India’s Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL), for the 2 wind power plants to be set up in Mannar and Pooneryn at a total investment of USD 442 million.
• The 2 wind power plants of 350 MW are scheduled to be commissioned in 2 years and they will be added to the national grid by 2025.
• The new project will generate 1500-2000 new employment opportunities.
• The wind power plant in Mannar will operate at a capacity of 250 MW (megawatt) while the wind power plant in Pooneryn will operate at a capacity of 100 MW.

SPORTS

First Indian to Take 100 T20I Wickets

• Deepti Sharma has become the first Indian bowler to complete 100 wickets in T20Is.

• The 25-year-old reached the landmark in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup match against West Indies.

• The all-rounder has scalped 100 wickets in 89 T20Is.

• She surpassed Poonam Yadav, who has taken 98 wickets in 72 games.

• No India men’s player has completed 100 wickets in the shortest format of the game.

T20 World Cup

• Australia has won the Women's T20 World Cup 2023 title for the sixth time by defeatingSouth Africa by 19 runs in the final.

• It was the eighth edition of the ICC Women's Twenty20 World Cup tournament, held in South Africa from 10 to 26 February 2023.

• The title match of the Women's T20 World Cup 2023 was held at the Newlands Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa, which was won by Australia.

• Australia's all-rounder Ashley Gardner was awarded the 'Player of the Tournament' award.

AWARDS & PRIZES

International Mother Language Award in Dhaka

• Mahendra Mishra was conferred the International Mother Language Award by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka.

• Mahendra Mishra is an Indian educationist and social worker for the promotion of indigenous languages in Odisha.

• Dr. Mishra is the first Indian to receive this award.

• He has worked on the language, culture and education of the marginalised languages of Odisha.

• The award was instituted in 2021 by UNESCO.
• It is given in recognition of the extraordinary contribution to the preservation, revitalization and development of mother languages.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Mr Aramane Giridhar gets Extension as Defence Secretary

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the extension in service of Mr Aramane Giridhar as Defense Secretary until October 2024.

• Giridhar, a 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre.

• He took over as the Defence Secretary on 01 November 2022.

• He was to retire in June after completing 60 years.

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Science Day

• National Science Day is celebrated every year on February 28.

• It is celebrated every year to mark the discovery of the ‘Raman effect’.

• The National Science Day 2023 Theme is ‘Global Science for Global Wellbeing’

• Sukumar Chandra Sirkar (1898-1983) is one who invented science day.

• The National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC) requested the Central Government to designate 28 February as National Science Day (NSD) in 1986.