Daily Current Affairs for Competitive Examinations: March 20, 2023

The current affairs section needs to be given extra attention if you are preparing for competitive examinations. A candidate should constantly study fresh information about events in the globe, country, state, and all other sectors. To maintain a level of general knowledge, all you need to know are the essentials. Reading about current events is not difficult; it is really interesting. In order to help all the candidates score well in this section, we have analysed the most recent news from The Hindu, Indian Express, the Economic Times, and so on.

Bengaluru honoured with a $150,000 global award for tobacco control efforts

• Bangalore was among the five cities to win a prestigious $150,000 award from the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday in recognition of its tobacco control initiatives, particularly its efforts to reduce smoking in public areas.
• The other four winning cities are Vancouver (making public health data more inclusive and accessible), Montevideo (access to improved nutrition for individuals), Athens (efforts to reduce drug use), and Mexico City (increasing road safety).

Question: 1

Which of the following cities has won the World Health Organization’s prestigious $150,000 award for tobacco control efforts?

(A) Okazaki 

(B) Anaheim

(C) Venice 

(D) Bengaluru

Answer: D

Check out the Highlights of the Economic Survey 2022-23 by clicking on the link given below:
Economic Survey 2022-23

Indian Navy, Royal Saudi Navy prepare for India-Saudi Arabia Naval Exercise ‘Al-Mohed-Al Hindi-23’

• Indian Navy Forces, Royal Saudi Naval Forces on Thursday met in Mumbai and gave the final touches to preparations for India-Saudi Arabia Naval Exercise ‘Al-Mohed-Al Hindi-23′ planned for May 2023 in Saudi Arabia’s Jubail.
• This naval exercise will be the second of its kind. The first one happened in August 2021.
• The exercise aims to carry out tactical manoeuvres, search and rescue operations, and an electronic warfare drill to enhance interoperability.

Question: 2

‘Al-Mohed-Al Hindi-23’ is a Naval Exercise between which country and India?

(A) Saudi Arabia 

(B) Iran

(C) Iraq

(D) Qatar

Answer: A

Delhi airport adjudged best airport in South Asia: Skytrax

• According to the worldwide air transport rating agency Skytrax, Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport has been awarded the best airport in India and South Asia.
• According to an announcement, the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the capital city rose to the 36th spot this year from the 37th in 2022.

• According to an announcement on Thursday, 16 March, Delhi Airport is the only airport in India to be listed among the top 50 airports in the world since 2020.
• The annual worldwide airport customer satisfaction survey, which was conducted between August 2022 and February 2023, is the foundation for the Skytrax World Airport Awards.
• The survey measured important performance factors for airport services and goods from check-in through departure at the gate, including transfers, shopping, security, and immigration.

Question: 3

Which Indian airport has topped the list of best airports in South Asia?

(A) Dabolim Airport

(B) Indira Gandhi International Airport

(C) Rajiv Gandhi International Airport

(D) Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport

Answer: B

India approves purchase of military equipment worth $8.5 billion

• The Defence Acquisition Council on 16 March approved the purchase of $8.5 billion worth of missiles, helicopters, artillery, and electronic warfare weapons.
• The Defence Ministry announced in a statement that the orders totalling ₹70,500 crore for all of its services had been accepted by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the highest government body for capital procurement approvals for the Indian military.

Additional information about the Indian Army

• Indian Army Day: 15 January
• First Commander in Chief of the Indian Army: K.M. Cariappa
• Current Commander in Chief of the Indian Army: General Manoj Pande

Additional information about the Indian Navy

• Indian Navy Day: 4 December
• First Commander in Chief of the Indian Navy: Ram Dass Katari
• Current Commander in Chief of the Indian Navy: Admiral R. Hari Kumar

Additional information about the Indian Air Force

• Indian Air Force Day: 8 October
• First Chief of the Air Staff of India: Subroto Mukerjee 
• Current Chief of the Air Staff of India: Vivek Ram Chaudhari

Question: 4

Who was the first commander-in-chief of the Indian Army?

(A) Ram Dass Katari

(B) Vivek Ram Chaudhari

(C) K.M. Cariappa

(D) Subroto Mukerjee 

Answer: C

7th International Diabetes Summit 2023 inaugurated in Pune

• The 7th International Diabetes Summit 2023, organised by Chellaram Diabetes Institute, was inaugurated recently in Pune.
• The three-day summit focused on discussing the management of diabetes complications, cost-effective diabetes care, new advances and the role of technology in diabetes management. More than 2000 delegates attended the event.

• The 7th International Diabetes Summit 2023 was organised by Chellaram Diabetes Institute.
• The Chellaram Diabetes Institute (CDI), well known for its commitment towards the fight against Diabetes, has been organising Annual International Diabetes Summits (IDS) since 2017 with huge success.

Question: 5

Which city has organised the 7th International Diabetes Summit 2023?

(A) Pune

(B) Mumbai

(C) Nagpur

(D) Aurangabad

Answer: A

Journalist Dhanya Rajendran awarded the Chameli Devi Jain Award for 2022

• Dhanya Rajendran, co-founder and editor-in-chief of ‘The News Minute’, has been chosen to receive the Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Women Media Persons in 2022.
• The prize, which honours outstanding Indian women journalists and is named after thedom fighter Chameli Devi Jain, was established in 1982 by ‘The Media Foundation’.

Question: 6

Who recently won the Chameli Devi Jain Award for 2022? 

(A) Dhanya Rajendran

(B) Rahul Kanwal

(C) Rajeev Masand

(D) Shereen Bhan

Answer: A

Atal Innovation Mission launches ATL Sarthi

• Atal Innovation Mission – NITI Aayog has launched “ATL Sarthi”, a comprehensive self-monitoring framework to strengthen the ecosystem of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL).
• Atal Innovation Mission is establishing Atal Tinkering Laboratories in schools across the country to foster curiosity, creativity, and imagination in young minds. 

• Atal Tinkering Labs Sarthi is a charioteer, and it will enable the Atal Tinkering Labs to be efficient and effective.
• This is an important initiative taken by the Government of India to promote the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.

Indian Navy announces instituting two trophies in memory of General Bipin Rawat

• The Indian Navy has announced instituting two awards in memory of India’s first Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat.
• The Navy made the announcement on the eve of the late General’s 65th birth anniversary on 16 March.

• The first trophy would be Gen Bipin Rawat’s rolling trophy for the ‘Women Agniveer Trainee standing first in overall order of merit’.
• The trophy for the current year will be presented by Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar during the ‘Passing Out Parade’ of the first batch of Navy Agniveers on 28 March at the Navy’s premier sailors training centre INS Chilka.
• The second award would be Gen Bipin Rawat’s rolling trophy for the ‘Most Spirited Officer’ undergoing the Naval higher command course at Naval War College (NWC) in Goa.
• Gen Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and 12 other military personnel were killed in a helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu on 8 December 2021.

Check out the Highlights of Union Budget 2023 by clicking on the link given below:
Union Budget 2023-24

Factbook: 17-March-2023

Eric Garcetti, former Los Angeles mayor, confirmed as the US Ambassador to India

• Eric Garcetti has been confirmed as the new US ambassador to India and will take up a position that has been vacant since Jan 2021.
• He was originally nominated by President Joe Biden in July 2021 and renominated in January this year.
• In New Delhi, the 52-year-old will succeed Ken Juster, who was nominated by then President Donald Trump and became the envoy to India in May 2017 and resigned after the change in presidency from Trump to Biden.
• The position has remained vacant for more than two years.
• Kenneth Juster, the last occupant of the ambassadorial residence of the US in New Delhi, stepped down in January 2021 after the change of government in America.

‘Hello Ujjivan’ app wins the prestigious 13th Aegis Graham Bell Awards

• The ‘Hello Ujjivan’ app has won the 13th Aegis Graham Bell Awards (AGBA) in the “Innovation in Consumer Tech” category. 
• The thirteenth edition of the prize is an initiative of Aegis School of Data Science, backed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology; NITI Aayog and Skill India to foster an innovative culture in India.
• The ‘Hello Ujjivan’ is the first mobile banking app in India that enables speech, visual, and vernacular features to give the bank’s MicroBanking and Rural customers access to banking financial services who have limited reading and writing abilities.
• It is available in 8 regional languages – Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Gujarati, Kannada, Oriya and Assamese.
• It is an industry first – Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI & ML) enabled. Hence, the app will have the ability to even understand different dialects of the same language.

Tamil writer Sivasankari will be honoured with ‘Saraswati Samman 2023’

• Tamil writer Sivasankari will be awarded the Saraswati Samman 2022 for her 2019 memoir ‘Surya Vamsam’.
• It is announced by the KK Birla Foundation.
• Sivasankari’s literary career spans over five decades.
• She is the author of 36 novels, 48 novellas, 150 short stories, 15 travelogues, seven collections of essays and three biographies, including one on former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
• Many of Sivasankari’s works have been translated into several Indian languages and into English, Japanese and Ukrainian.
• The Saraswati Samman is one of the three literary awards instituted by the foundation in 1991. It is the highest recognition in the field of Indian literature in the country and carries a cash prize of ₹15 lakh, a plaque and a citation.
• Every year, the Saraswati Samman is given for an outstanding literary work written in any Indian language by an Indian citizen in the last ten years preceding the specified Samman year. 
• The Chayan Parishad chooses the recipient under the chairmanship of former Supreme Court judge Arjan Kumar Sikri, which comprises outstanding scholars and writers of the country.
• Besides the Saraswati Samman, the Bihari Puraskar and the Vyas Samman are other literary awards instituted by the foundation.

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