NATIONAL NEWS

Atal Innovation Mission launches ATL Sarthi

• Atal Innovation Mission - NITI Aayog launched 'ATL Sarthi', a comprehensive self-monitoring framework to strengthen the ecosystem of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL).
• Atal Innovation Mission is setting up Atal Tinkering Labs in schools across the country to foster curiosity, creativity and imagination in young minds.
• Atal Tinkering Labs Sarathi will act as a charioteer and enable Atal Tinkering Labs to be efficient and effective.
• ATL Sarthi will provide a monitoring and evaluation framework to enhance the performance of Atal Tinkering Labs.
• The Atal Innovation Mission has set up Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATL) in schools across India.
• The scheme aims to foster curiosity, creativity and imagination in young minds.

16th Meeting of SCO Youth Council

• The 16th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Youth Council was held in hybrid mode in New Delhi, under the chairship of India.

• Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated the meeting of the SCO Youth Council.

• The meeting was chaired by Nitesh Kumar Mishra, Joint Secretary, Department of Youth Affairs, Government of India.
• In the meeting, SCO member states shared information on the activities of the SCO Youth Council in 2022-2023.
• The report of the SCO Youth Conference held in virtual mode on the theme ‘Effective Community Development Activities’ was delivered to all SCO member states.

First State to Start Insurance Scheme for Sericulturists

• Uttarakhand has become India’s first state to launch the “Resham Keet Bima” scheme to protect its sericulturists.

• In the first phase of this pilot project, 200 sericulturists from 5 blocks of 4 districts — Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, and Nainital have been insured from the ill effects of climate change, scarcity of water, and other hazards.

• The decision to do this has been taken by the Agriculture Insurance Company of India and the department.

• This scheme will be run under Saral Krishi Beema.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

The First Country in the World to Import CO2

• Denmark has launched a project to store carbon dioxide 1,800 metres below the North Sea, making it the first country in the world to bury CO2 imported from another country.

• CO2 burial project, where carbon is injected into the site of an old oil field to prevent further warming of the atmosphere.

• The project aims to store eight million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030.

• The North Sea was chosen for the project because it already has pipelines and potential storage sites due to decades of oil and gas production.

Afghanistan is the World’s Most Repressive Country for Women

• The United Nations (UN) stated that, since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the country has become the most repressive in the world for women and girls, deprived of many of their basic rights.
• Afghanistan’s new rulers have shown an almost singular focus on imposing rules that leave most women and girls effectively trapped in their homes.
• About 11.6 million women and girls are no longer receiving vital assistance.
• Afghanistan is home to the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with two-thirds of the population, or 28 million people, estimated to need aid in 2023.

BANKING

Shriram General Insurance Opens Two Women-Only Branches

• Private non-life insurer, Shriram General Insurance Company (SGIC) has set up two women-only branches in Ludhiana, Punjab and Jaipur, Rajasthan in the first such initiative in the industry.

• The entire workforce, from the branch manager to the support staff, consists of women.

• SGIC is a joint venture (JV) of Shriram Capital Pvt Ltd, the holding company of the Shriram group’s financial services business, and Sanlam Ltd, a South African financial services group.

PNB Metlife Launches Genius Plan

• PNB MetLife India Insurance Company Limited (PNB MetLife), one of India’s leading life insurance companies has launched PNB MetLife Genius plan.

• It is a new solution to help parents financially prepare to support their children’s future.

• PNB MetLife Genius plan is an individual, non-linked, non-participating, saving, life insurance plan that offers life insurance coverage while allowing parents to save for their child’s education.

SPORTS

IBA Women's World Boxing Championships

• The IBA Women's World Boxing Championships began on 15 March in New Delhi.
• Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur inaugurated it at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex.
• International Boxing Association (IBA) President Umar Kremlev, and Boxing Federation of India (BFI) President Ajay Singh were present on the occasion.
• BFI is hosting the biggest boxing event till the 26 March.
• The tournament will witness the participation of more than 350 boxers from around 74 countries.

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

SIPRI Report 2023

• According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's (SIPRI) 2023 report, India will become the world's leading arms importer in 2022.
• According to the report's findings, over the past five years, the US had the world's largest military expenditure, accounting for 40%of the global share, followed by Russia (16%) and France (11%).
• The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is a global non-profit research institute.
• SIPRI focuses on resolving conflicts, controlling arms and promoting disarmament.
• The institute provides data, analysis and advice regarding armed conflicts, military expenditure and the arms trade.

AWARDS & PRIZES

BS Banker of the Year 2022

• Sashidhar Jagdishan, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of HDFC Bank, has been chosen as the Business Standard Banker of the Year 2022, as the lender continued its strong performance under his leadership while successfully navigating through technology-related challenges.

• An eminent five-member jury, chaired by former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor S S Mundra, picked the CEO of the largest private sector bank of the country as the winner.

• Jagdishan’s journey in HDFC Bank started in 1996 as a manager in the finance function.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

CEO of Silicon Valley Bank by the FDIC

• Tim Mayopoulos, has been selected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as the CEO of Silicon Valley Bank.

• Prior to joining StartupBlend, Mayopoulos was CEO of mortgage financier Fannie Mae for more than six years.

DEFENCE

Exercise Chetak Chaukas

• Indian Army’s Chetak Corps conducted ‘Exercise Chetak Chaukas’ with all stakeholders to strengthen Rear Area Security.
• The exercise was undertaken to ensure planning, getting ready, getting to know everyone involved, and updating databases to ensure better security in the rear protection area.
• Earlier, the Indian Army’s Desert Corps carried out tactical floatation to validate operational parameters under an all-arms combat simulation.
• This was carried out besides coordinating and refining numerous Battle Drills.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launches 40 OneWeb Internet Satellites

• A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched 40 broadband satellites of United Kingdom (UK)-based company OneWeb from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, United States of America (USA).

• With this, OneWeb 17, the total number of satellites in this network to 582.

• It was the 13th launch and landing for this particular booster

• It was carried out to facilitate OneWeb’s goal of constructing a constellation of over 600 satellites in low earth orbit (LEO).

• Most of OneWeb’s satellites have launched atop Russian-built Soyuz rockets operated by the French company Arianespace.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Consumer Rights Day

• World Consumer Rights Day is celebrated every year on 15 March.

• The day aims to raise awareness of consumer rights and needs globally.

• the theme for World Consumer Rights Day 2023 is ‘Empowering Consumers Through Clean Energy Transitions’.

• This theme focuses on the importance of the clean energy transition in empowering consumers to make informed decisions about their energy consumption and its impact on the environment.
• President John F. Kennedy played an important role in the history of World Consumer Rights Day.