NATIONAL NEWS

International Conference on ‘Shared Buddhist Heritage’

• An international conference on "Shared Buddhist Heritage" will be held on 14 March to 15 March at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
• The two-day event is being organized by the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of External Affairs and the International Buddhist Confederation.
• The conference will focus on India's civilizational connection with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) nations 2023.
• It is the first of its kind event under India's leadership of SCO (for a period of one year - from September 2022 to September 2023).
• It is to re-establish the trans-cultural link between Buddhist art, art styles, archaeological sites and antiquity of Central Asia in the collections of various museums in SCO countries.

Friendship Hall of Fame in Ahmedabad

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Antony Albanese inaugurated the friendship hall of fame at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
• It shows the history of India-Australia Cricket Contests.
• This event has been organized to mark the 75 years of cricket Friendship between India and Australia.
• Antony Albanese announced that Australia and India had finalised the Australia-India Education Qualification Recognition Mechanism.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Inaugurates Keeladi Museum

• The Keeladi museum was inaugurated by Tamil Nadu (TN) Chief Minister (CM) Shri M.K. Stalin in the Sivaganga district.

• It is to showcase the history of Tamils, their heritage and culture and the exhibits kept in the facility include earthenware and brick structures

• The museum is built on 2 acres at Keeladi at a cost of Rs. 18.43 crore.

• The museum has 6 blocks and is built in the Chettinad style of architecture.

• The museum is adorned with over 15,000 unique artefacts unearthed between the 4th and 8th phases of excavations since 2018.

Wildlife Board Approves IAF Mountain Radar

• The National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) cleared all ways for Indian Air Force (IAF) to set up mountain radars in Ladakh by giving approval for their induction.

• The induction of the mountain radar is part of the larger defence plan to ensure that there is a watch on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which already has strong radar coverage from the Chinese side of the border.

• At a meeting of the NBWL, chaired by Union Environment Minister Shri Bhupender Yadav, cleared the way for the transfer of 31.6 hectares of land from the Changthang wildlife sanctuary in Ladakh for the IAF’s new mountain radar.

BANKING

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Launches ‘Unpause Initiative’

• Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (Ujjivan SFB) has launched the ‘Unpause Initiative’, a programme designed to assist women who have taken a career break for any reason and are now ready to return to the workforce.
• The initiative is part of its commitment to promoting workplace diversity.
• It is to provide women with the resources and support they need to succeed, to enable them to enrich themselves and contribute to the community at large.
• As part of this Initiative,’ Ujjivan SFB has also announced a special Hiring Drive and Employee referral programme for women who are resuming their careers.
• The hiring programme will be implemented across the bank and women from all walks of life and diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Bandhan Bank Opens Mega Currency Chest

• A Mega Currency Chest has been opened by Bandhan Bank in Kolkata, West Bengal.
• This is the Bank’s third mega currency chest.
• Shri Gunveer Singh, Chief General Manager, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) inaugurated the currency chest.
• This chest would facilitate fresh currency circulation and help the bank serve its client.
• Bandhan Bank currently has over 1 crore customers in West Bengal.
• In the Kolkata region, the bank has 182 bank branches.

SPORTS

ISSF Shotgun World Cup 2023

• Prithviraj Tondiman of India won the bronze medal at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup 2023 in Doha, Qatar.

• Two-time world championOguzhan Tuzun of Turkey won gold with a score of 33/35, while Great Britain's Matthew John took silver with a score of 30/35.

• This was India's first medal at the ISSF World Cup.

• The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) governs the Olympic shooting disciplines of rifle, pistol and shotgun.

AWARDS & PRIZES

Oscar Award 2023

• The song 'Naatu Naatu' from the Indian film RRR has won the Oscar in the Best Original Song category at the 95th Oscar Awards.
• RRR is the first Indian film to be nominated for Academy Awards in the last two decades, while 'Naatu Naatu' was the first Indian song to be nominated for an Oscar.
• Music director MM Keeravani received the award.
• This Telugu song is sung by Kaal Bhairav and Rahul Sipligunj. 'Naatu-naatu' means 'to dance'.
• Another Indian entry at the Academy Awards, 'The Elephant Whispers' won the Oscar in the Best Documentary Short Film category.
• This 41-minute short documentary film by filmmakers Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga explores the bond between Raghu, an orphaned baby elephant, and his caretakers.

Vyas Samman 2022

• Noted Hindi writer Dr Gyan Chaturvedi’s 2018 satirical novel, Pagalkhana, has been selected for the 32nd Vyas Samman, 2022.
• Instituted by the KK Birla Foundation in 1991, the annual Vyas Samman is given to an outstanding Hindi literary work by an Indian citizen published during the last 10 years.
• It carries an award money of ₹4 lakh.
• Having started his writing career in 1970s, Dr Chaturvedi received India’s fourth highest civilian award Padma Shri in 2015.
• He has also won the Madhya Pradesh government’s Sharad Joshi Samman for outstanding achievement in the field of satire and essay, besides the Delhi Academy Award and the Indu Sharma International Katha Samman.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

MD and CEO of Tech Mahindra

• Tech Mahindra, India's sixth largest IT services player appointed Mohit Joshi as MD and CEO.
• The Board of Directors has approved his appointment for a period of five years from 20 December 2023 to 19 December 2028.
• Joshi is currently serving as the Infosys chairman.
• He has over two decades of experience in the enterprise technology software and consulting sector.
• He has worked with the world's largest corporations driving digital transformation and building thriving businesses.

Prime Minister of China

• Li Qiang was appointed as the new Premier or Prime Minister of China by the Chinese Parliament.
• Li Keqiang, who had held the position for the past ten years, was replaced by Li Qiang.
• Li Qiang's nomination was approved at the annual meeting of the National People's Congress (NPC), the official body that adopts the resolutions of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

President of Nepal

• Nepali Congress senior leader, Mr Ram Chandra Poudel has been elected as the 3rd President of Nepal.
• He will replace Ms Bidya Devi Bhandari, whose tenture end on March 2023.
• In the election, Mr Poudel defeated Mr Subash Chandra Nembang.
• The term of the President of Nepal is 5 years form the date of the election.
• This was the third Presidential election in Nepal since it became a republic in 2008.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ISRO Drops 12-Year-Old Satellite Megha Tropiques

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently carried out a controlled descent of its 12-year-old low earth orbit satellite Megha Tropiques-1 (MT-1) into the Pacific Ocean.

• ISRO has been steadily reducing the distance of the satellite from Earth since August, 2022.

• For this, he was spending about 120 kg of fuel present in the satellite.

• The booster of the satellite was turned on twice before reaching the earth.

• This process is called de-boost. The satellite started burning rapidly as soon as it entered the Earth's atmosphere and was completely destroyed by the time it reached the sea.
• This satellite was launched in October 2011 by ISRO in collaboration with the French space agency CNES.

DEFENCE

Exercise 'La Perouse'

• The third edition of the multilateral exercise 'La Perouse' was held from 13 March to 14 March 2023 in the Indian Ocean region.

• It saw the participation of personnel, ships and integral helicopters from the Royal Australian Navy, French Navy, Indian Navy, Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, Royal Navy and United States Navy.

• Indian Navy's indigenously built guided missile frigate INS Sahyadri and fleet tanker INS Jyoti participated in the exercise.

• The exercise involved complex and advanced naval operations, including surface warfare, anti-air warfare, air defense exercises, cross-deck landings and tactical maneuvers.

• It aims to enhance maritime domain awareness and optimize maritime coordination among the participating navies in the Indo-Pacific region.

OBITUTARY

Veteran Actor and Director Satish Kaushik

• Veteran Bollywood actor-writer-director Satish Kaushik passed away. He was at the age of 67.

• Kaushik was born in Mahendragarh, Haryana on 13 April 1956.

• He acted in more than 100 films.

• He started his career in Bollywood with the film Masoom in 1983.

• He also won the Filmfare Best Comedian Award in 1990 for Ram Lakhan and for Saajan Chale Sasural in 1997.