Daily Current Affairs for Competitive Examinations: March 22, 2023

Instead of reading books to prepare for the Current Affairs portion, use Embibe’s daily current affairs updates and continue the normal newspaper reading habit. A thorough review of The Hindu, Economic Times, and India Today is referred to present these questions to the aspirants. We have organised the most recent subjects for today’s current affairs into categories for general preparation.

Assam hosts the Asian Kho Kho Championship 2023 in Tamulpur

• The 4th Asian Kho Kho Championship began at Tamulpur in Baksa district in Bodoland Territorial Area (BTR) in Assam on 20 March 2023.
• A total of 17 teams (both men and women) are participating in the event.
• The participating countries are – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka and the host, India.
• The event is being organised by the Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) and is being hosted by the Assam Kho Kho Association (AKKA) with support from the BTR Government.
• Eight matches will take place each day in the four-day event. On 23 March, the last day of the event, only the semifinals and the final will take place.

Question 1: 

Which state hosts the Asian Kho Kho Championship 2023?

(A) Meghalaya

(B) Manipur

(C) Nagaland

(D) Assam

Answer: D

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

Hardik Singh and Savita Punia win Hockey India men’s and women’s Player of Year awards

• Midfielder Hardik Singh and goalkeeper Savita Punia have won the Hockey India Balbir Singh Award for Player of The Year 2022 in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively.
• The 24-year-old Hardik beat his illustrious senior players like Manpreet Singh and Harmanpreet Singh to win the coveted award for 2022 named after hockey legend Balbir Singh senior at the fifth Hockey India Annual Awards.
• Hardik was the most impressive player for India in the FIH World Cup held in Odisha in January before he was ruled out of the tournament due to a hamstring injury he suffered during the second-group match against England.
• Both Hardik and Savita received ₹25 lakh each, along with a trophy. The total prize money for the wards was over ₹2.7 crore.
• The award carries ₹30 lakh and a trophy.
• Current national team captain Harmanpreet was named the best defender for 2022.

Question 2:

Who won the India men’s hockey player of the year award?

(A) Hardik Singh

(B) Manpreet Singh   

(C) Jarmanpreet Singh

(D) Harmanpreet Singh

Answer: A

Rohan Bopanna becomes the oldest tennis player to win an ATP Masters 1000 title

• Rohan Bopanna, a 43-year-old Indian tennis player, and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden have become the oldest duo to win an ATP Masters 1000 title. 
• They won the men’s doubles final recently at the Indian Wells Masters 2023 tournament in California by defeating the top-seeded team of Wesley Koolhof and Neil Skupski. 
• Bopanna and Ebden won the first set 6-3 but lost the second set 2-6. However, they managed to win the match by clinching the deciding tie-breaker 10-8.
• Bopanna has now won 24 ATP titles, including five ATP Masters 1000, and has become the oldest player to win an ATP Masters 1000 title, breaking the record of Canadian Daniel Nestor, who won the 2015 Cincinnati Masters at the age of 42. 
• This was Bopanna’s second title this year, having won the Qatar Open with Ebden last month.

Question3: 

Who won the ATP masters 1000 titles-2023?

(A) Matthew Ebden

(B) Taylor Fritz

(C) Rohan Bopanna 

(D) Carlos Alcaraz

Answer: C

Pankaj Advani defends Asian Billiards Title

• Pankaj Advani won the Asian Billiards Championship that was played on 20 March in Doha, Qatar, in a commanding exhibition of billiards.
• Brijesh Damani, the current national champion, was defeated by Pankaj Advani (India) 5-1.

Question4:

Who recently won the Asian Billiards Title?

(A) Geet Sethi

(B) Ashok Shandilya

(C) Michael Ferreira

(D) Pankaj Advani

Answer: D

Sampanna Ramesh Shelar becomes the fastest Indian to swim across Palk Strait

• Pune-based swimmer Sampanna Ramesh Shelar has become the fastest Indian in the under-21 groups to swim across the Palk Strait from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka to Dhanuskodi in Tamil Nadu.
• He created this record by completing the distance of 29 km in 5 hours and 30 minutes. The previous record was 8 hours and 26 minutes.

• With this achievement, Mr Shelar plans to do solo swims across the English and Catalina Channels soon, to eventually complete swimming across the seven oceans popularly known as the Oceans Seven Challenge.
• His swim commenced at 6:00 am on 16 March from Talaimannar and he reached Dhanushkodi at 11:26 am completing the distance of 29 km. 
• He is a Bachelor of Physical Education student and trains under the guidance of Mr Jitendra Khasnis.
• He is also the youngest and fastest swimmer in the world to swim the Bangla Channel twice. This record is also recorded in the Limca Book of Records.

Question 5:

Who becomes the fastest Indian to swim across Palk Strait?

(A) Rajiv Trivedi 

(B) Mihir Sen 

(C) Sampanna Ramesh Shelar

(D) Balasaheb Ramchandra Ghadge

Answer: C

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

Factbook: 21-March-2023

Kerala Bar Council gets its first transgender advocate

• Padma Lakshmi was among the more than 1,500 law graduates who received their Bar enrolment certificates at an event organised by the Bar Council of India on 19 March, making history by becoming the first transgender lawyer in Kerala.
• Padma Lakshmi graduated from Ernakulam Government Law College with a degree in law.
• P. Rajeev lauded the young attorney’s attempts to create her own career in a society that is not always kind or encouraging.

Fact:

• Kerala was the first Indian state to adopt a policy for transgender individuals.
• In 2018, Sathyasri Sharmila became India’s first transgender solicitor. 
• West Bengal’s Joyita Mondal became India’s first transgender judge in 2017.

Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin announces Navaratna schemes for women police

• Marking the 50th anniversary of enlisting women into the police force in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister MK Stalin has made a ‘Navaratna’ announcement for women police.
• During the event, the Chief Minister announced a nine-point scheme, ‘Navaratna’, for women in the police force.

Related Announcements:

1. Roll-call for women changed to 8 am from 7 am
2. Lodging facility for women cops
3. Separate retiring rooms for women cops
4. Child care centres for women cops will be gentrified
5. Felicitation with Kalaignar police cup
6. Transfers and holidays to accommodate a women cop’s familial commitments
7. An all-women shooting contest
8. An annual national summit for women cops
9. Setting up a work consultation committee

Virat Kohli named Luxor’s brand ambassador

• Luxor, the Indian stationery brand, has partnered with Germany’s Schneider Pen to launch a premium line of creative writing tools in India.
• As part of this collaboration, Indian cricketing icon Virat Kohli has been named as the brand ambassador for Luxor. 
• The partnership aims to increase the appeal of the stationery brand, particularly among the youth demographic, and establish Luxor as a top-performing writing instrument brand in India.
• Established in 1963, Luxor International Private Limited is a prominent Indian stationery manufacturer that produces a wide range of writing instruments under its brand name, including popular products like Pilot, Parker, and Waterman. 
• The company is headquartered in Noida, India.

Lalit Kumar Gupta appointed as CMD of Cotton Corporation of India (CCI)

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Lalit Kumar Gupta as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), a PSU under the Ministry of Textile.
• Gupta has been appointed as CMD of CCI with effect from the date of his assumption of charge of the post for a period of five years, or till the date of his superannuation, or until further orders, whichever is the earlier.
• The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) panel recommended Gupta for the post of CMD of CCI. Presently, he is serving as Director (Finnane) in the same organisation.
• Gupta has been associated with the Cotton Corporation of India for about 25 years. He joined CCI in August 1994.
• CCI was established on 31st July 1970 under the administrative control of the Ministry of Textiles as a Public Sector Undertaking under the Companies Act 1956.

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