Daily Current Affairs for Competitive Examinations: March 21, 2023

The section on current affairs is included in the question paper for almost every competitive examination like UPSC, SSC, IAS, Railway-RRB, UPPSC, UGC NET, SBI, MPPSC, and so on. Furthermore, if we have an effective preparation strategy, scoring high in this section is not difficult. Any exam’s current events section may be aced by candidates with the correct resources and daily news analysis.

Our experts at Embibe have chosen the most current occurrences from across the world and have put them in this article. To provide students with the most recent current affairs, we analysed the day’s most recent news, from The Hindu to the BBC.

4th Defence Cooperation Dialogue between India and the Maldives held in Male

• India and the Maldives conducted the fourth Defence Cooperation Dialogue (DCD) in Male on 19 March 2023. 
• The dialogue was co-chaired by Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane and his Maldivian counterpart, Chief of Defence Force, Maldives National Defence Forces Major General Abdulla Shamaal.
• The Maldives is one of India’s key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region. The bilateral defence and security ties have been on an upward trajectory in the past couple of years.

What is DCD?

• This DCD is the highest institutionalised interactive mechanism between the two countries.
• Its significance in chartering the future course of relations between both the Armed Forces was highlighted by the importance given to the talks by the two nations.
• During the interaction, ongoing bilateral defence cooperation activities were reviewed, and both sides expressed satisfaction at the increasing engagements. 
• The talks covered the existing bilateral exercises, with both countries agreeing to increase the complexity of these drills.

Question: 1

Recently, which edition of the Defence Cooperation Dialogue was conducted between India and Maldives in Male? 

(A) 3rd

(B) 4th 

(C) 2nd

(D) 1st

Answer: B

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

Bhutan dropped from the UN list of least developed countries

• At the United Nations Least Developed Countries (LDCs) summit, which concluded in Doha, Qatar on 9 March, the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan has now dropped out of the list of LDCs and has become the seventh country to drop out of the list.
• Bhutan was first admitted into the group of LDCs in 1971. 
• However, it has made amazing progress on various socio-economic parameters in the last few decades.

• Bhutan first completed the qualification required for postgraduates in 2015 and again in 2018.
• Bhutan was therefore planned to be postgraduate in 2021.
• Currently, 46 countries across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific are categorised as LDCs. The LDCs host about 40% of the world’s poor.
• Some countries on the LDC list are Burkina Faso, Senegal, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Solomon Islands, and Haiti.

National Institute of Ocean Technology to set up a green, self-powered desalination plant in Lakshadweep

• The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), an autonomous institute under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), is establishing a Green and Self-powered Desalination Plant in Lakshadweep.
• The NIOT is working on an initiative to provide potable water in six islands of Lakshadweep using Low-Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD) technology.
• Currently, the desalination plants, each of which provides at least 100,000 litres of potable water every day, are powered by diesel generator sets.
• The plant will be equipped with reverse osmosis (RO) technology to desalinate seawater and produce potable water. The NIOT plans to set up the plant on one of the islands, where there is a high potential for renewable energy generation.
• The plant is the first of its kind in the world as it will generate drinking water from seawater using indigenous technology, green energy and environmentally friendly processes, and it is self-powered.

Question 2:

Where will the National Institute of Ocean Technology set up a green, self-powered desalination plant?

(A) Lakshadweep

(B) Andaman and Nicobar

(C) Mumbai

(D) Dadra and Nagar Haveli

Answer: A

India ranks 13th in Global Terrorism Index

• Afghanistan retains the top spot in the list of countries impacted by terrorism in the new Global Terrorism Index report. 
• Afghanistan has topped for the fourth consecutive year, despite attacks and deaths falling by 75 per cent and 58 per cent, respectively. 
• India ranked 13th on the index, marking only a marginal decrease from the previous year.

• According to the GTI report, Afghanistan recorded 633 fatalities in 2022, despite terrorism-related deaths declining by 866 in 2022. Following the Taliban’s takeover of the nation, GTI claimed that the Islamic State-Khorasan (Daesh) had become “the most active terrorist group” in Afghanistan. 
• Pakistan saw the second-largest increase in terror-related fatalities globally last year, with a total of 643 deaths.
• India’s GTI score was 7.175, whereas Afghanistan’s score, which led the index, was 8.822.

Question: 3

What is India’s rank in the recently released Global Terrorism Index?

(A) 12th

(B) 14th

(C) 15th

(D) 13th

Answer: D

Gianni Infantino re-elected as FIFA President for 3rd time

• On 16th March 2023, Gianni Infantino (52-year-old), Swiss football administrator, was re-elected as the president of the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA – Fédération Internationale De Football Association) for the 3rd time at the 73rd FIFA Congress held in Kigali, Rwanda.

• He has been re-elected as president of FIFA for a 4-year term from 2023 to 2027 after running unopposed at the 73rd FIFA Congress.
• Gianni Infantino started working with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Europe’s football confederation, in August 2000 and held the position of UEFA’s General Secretary in 2009.

Question: 4

Recently, who has been re-elected as FIFA President?

(A) Issa Hayatou

(B) Sepp Blatter

(C) Gianni Infantino

(D) Stanley Rous

Answer: C

India to host 2023 SAFF Championships

• The All India Football Association (AIFF) announced that Bengaluru, India, will host the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship 2023 from 21 June to 3 July.
• India will be hosting the competition for the fourth time overall. It is India’s first since the 2015 edition, which took place in Thiruvananthapuram.
• The 13th edition of the competition is likely to have participation from all of the South Asian Football Federation’s (SAFF) member associations, according to the AIFF.

Question: 5

Which country will host the SAFF championship-2023?

(A) India

(B) Bangladesh

(C) Nepal

(D) Maldives

Answer: A

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

Factbook: 20-March-2023

TIME’s list of World’s Greatest Places of 2023 released, 2 Indian places made it to the list

• Two Indian places grab spots in the World’s Greatest Places of 2023 list—India’s Mayurbhanj and Ladakh are two of the 50 locations featured in TIME Magazine’s list of the world’s greatest places in 2023.
• India’s Mayurbhanj and Ladakh, which have been chosen for their endangered tigers and historic temples, as well as their adventures and cuisine, respectively, are two of the 50 locations featured in TIME Magazine’s list of the world’s greatest places in 2023. 

Top 5 World’s Greatest Places of 2023:

• Tampa, Florida
• Willamette Valley, Oregon
• Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
• Tucson, Arizona
• Yosemite National Park, California

Svaya robotics unveils India’s first homegrown quadruped robot and exoskeleton

• As part of the “Made in India” policy, the DRDO is spearheading the development of domestic robots with the help of industry partners such as Svaya Robotics.
• These robots are now being imported from the United States and Switzerland to meet the nation’s defence requirements and strengthen its capabilities.

Quadruped robot

• The robots have four legs or limbs and have a pattern of walking of quadruped animals. 
• They are more swift and stable than biped robots.
• Developed domestically by Svaya in collaboration with DRDO. 
• Robots in unstructured terrains are mainly used to facilitate remote surveillance and inspection for the military and security forces in settings where human operation would be hazardous.
• These are industrial and medical robots with a wide variety of uses.

Exoskeleton:

• This means a hard structure exterior of the body to protect the body’s soft tissues and muscles. 
• Designed domestically by Svaya in collaboration with DRDO.

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