NATIONAL NEWS

SCO Millets Food Festival 2023

• The Union Ministry of Tourism is organizing the fourth and final event of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Millets Food Festival at Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai from 13 April to 19 April 2023.

• In this Millets Food Festival, chefs from SCO member countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Russia) will participate in the nine-day event.

• The Taj Mahal Palace will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Millets Food Festival to mark the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023).
• India is chairing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization for the year 2023.

India's First Metro Train to Run Under River

• The Kolkata Metro reached Howrah from Kolkata through a river tunnel for the first time in India, carrying only officers and engineers.

• This tunnel is built across the Hooghly River.

• The route from Howrah to Esplanade is about 4.8 km long, of which 520 m will be completed by tunneling under the Hooghly River.

• It will take about 45 seconds to cross this tunnel built across the Hubli river.

• The tunnel is 32 meters below the surface of the water.
• The entire length of this tunnel is 10.8 km underground.

Gond Painting of Madhya Pradesh Gets GI Tag

• Gond paintings from Madhya Pradesh have bagged the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, a recognition that protects and acknowledges the work of tribal artists.

• Patangarh village in Dindori district is home to many Gond artists, one in every household whose artwork is popular in the state and recognized internationally.

• A Geographical Indication (GI) is a name or sign given to products coming from a specific geographical location.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

New York City Appoints Its First ‘Rat Czar’

• New York City appointed Kathleen Corradi as its inaugural ‘Rat Czar’ to tackle the city's serious rodent issue.

• Koradi was given the responsibility of reducing the rat population and creating a clean environment for the residents.

• The Adams administration is dedicating $3.5 million to the Harlem Rat Mitigation Zone, a new initiative to ramp up rat control measures throughout Harlem.

BANKING

Kotak General Insurance Partners with actyv.ai

• Kotak Mahindra General Insurance Co. Ltd (Kotak General Insurance) has partnered with actyv.ai to offer bite-sized insurance products to new-age Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) companies.

• Kotak General Insurance will leverage actyv.ai’s Artificial Intelligence (AI)- powered platform to provide insurance solutions to support the business sustainability of small businesses.

• Through this partnership with Kotak General Insurance, enterprises on actyv.ai’s platform will now be able to offer group insurance to all of its distributors, retailers, and suppliers.

ICICI Bank Introduces EMI Facility for UPI Payments

• ICICI Bank has introduced an easy EMI facility for UPI payments made by scanning QR code.
• Customers eligible for PayLater, the Bank’s ‘buy now, pay later’ service can avail of the EMI facility in an instant, easy and seamless manner.
• This first-of-its-kind facility enhances the affordability of lakhs of the Bank’s customers as they can now instantly buy products or services just by scanning the required merchant QR code at a store and making payments in EMIs.
• Customers can pay a transaction amount above ₹10,000 in easy instalments in 3,6 or 9 months.
• ICICI Bank was the first bank to introduce PayLater facility in 2018 to enable customers to buy small ticket items immediately in a completely digital and paperless manner.
• PayLater facility enables customers to shop online, pay bills and pay to any merchant UPI ID at physical stores instantly.

SPORTS

Asian Wrestling Championship 2023

• Indian wrestler Aman Sehrawat won the gold medal in the men's 57 kg freestyle category at the Asian Wrestling Championships 2023 held in Astana, Kazakhstan.
• Sehrawat won the gold medal by defeating Almaz Samanbekov of Kyrgyzstan with a score of 9-4.
• India got its first gold medal in the Asian Wrestling Championship 2023.
• The Asian Wrestling Championships is an annual wrestling competition organised by the Asian Wrestling Federation (AWF).

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

Freedom in the World Index 2023

• Global watchdog Freedom House has released its 'Freedom in the World Index' for 2023, ranking Tibet as the "world's least free country" along with South Sudan and Syria.
• This is the third annual report after the 2021 and 2022 Freedom House reports. According to the report, both Chinese and Tibetans living in Tibet lack basic rights.
• A number of issues relating to the human rights of the Tibetan people require serious and urgent attention from the international community.
• The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights raised the issue of serious human rights violations in Tibet in its third Periodic Review Report.

World's 'Most Criminal Countries' Ranking

• World of Statistics released the ranking of the world's "most criminal countries" in which India is ranked 77 positions.

• US ranked at 55th and the UK at 65th position.

• As per the ranking, Venezuela has been ranked first as the most criminal country, followed by Papua New Guinea in second place and South Africa in third place.
• Turkey, Germany and Japan are among the least criminal countries, ranked 92nd, 100th and 135th respectively.

AWARDS & PRIZES

'Business Leader of the Decade' Award

• Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla was honoured with the 'Business Leader of the Decade Award' at the 13th Management India Awards ceremony organised by the All-India Management Association (AIMA).

• The award was presented to him in recognition of his contribution to Indian industry, especially in strengthening the operations of the Aditya Birla Group, and his leadership over the last ten years.

• Tata's T Viren was also presented with the Workman- J Worker Partnership Award at the ceremony and ABB India won the 'MNC in India of the Year' award.

• National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which operates the retail payment and settlement system in India, was awarded the 'Outstanding PSU of the Year' award.

• AIMA is a non-profit organisation that focuses on improving management skills and practices in India.
• The organisation provides a platform for networking, knowledge sharing and career development for professionals in the field of management.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

New Chief Investment Officer of LIC

• Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) appointed Ratnakar Patnaik as its new Chief Investment Officer.

• Patnaik has replaced PR Mishra on this post.

• Earlier, Patnaik had joined LIC in September 1990 as a direct recruit officer.

• It is the country's largest life insurance company as well as the largest investor company.
• It provides health insurance, life insurance, mutual funds, investment related services as its products.

DEFENCE

International Air Exercise ORION in France

• The Indian Air Force (IAF) arrived at the Air Force Base Station of the French Air and Space Force (FASF) in Mont de Marsan, France to participate in the Orion exercise.

• The ORION exercise program is being conducted from 17 April to 05 May 2023.

• The IAF contingent for the exercise includes four Rafale aircraft, two C-17 and two ll-78 aircraft and 165 airmen.

• This will be the first overseas exercise for the Rafale aircraft inducted into the IAF.
• The participation during this exercise will further enrich the working style of IAF with air forces of other countries.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Chagas Disease Day

• World Chagas Disease Day is observed every year on 14 April.

• It is to raise awareness about the deadly disease caused by the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite.

• The theme for World Chagas Disease Day 2023 is ‘Time to integrate Chagas disease into primary health care’ to encourage universal care and surveillance at the most decentralised level of the health system.

• In humans, the disease is transmitted by the triatomine bug, commonly known as the kissing bug.

OBITUTARY

Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhary Passed Away

• Dr. Zafrullah Chowdhary passed away in Dhaka. He was at the age of 81.
• Dr. Zafarullah Chowdhury was a renowned public health activist and vascular surgeon and established the Gnosasthya Center in 1972 to provide affordable and quality treatment to the underprivileged in Bangladesh.
• Dr. Zafarullah has received international acclaim for his work in the field of public health, having been awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1985 and the Right Livelihood Award in 1992.
• He was known as the ‘Poor People's Doctor’ for his excellent work in providing health services to the poor.