Daily Current Affairs and GK | 11 March 2023

Topic: Books and Authors

1. A book on Mundaka Upanishad written by Dr Karan Singh has been released.

• The book 'Mundaka Upanishad: The Bridge to Immortality' has been released by Vice President, Jagdeep Dhankhar on 9 March 2023.
• On this occasion Vice President, Jagdeep Dhankhar said that lessons from Upanishads are eternal and contemporaneously relevant.
• It is written by former Parliamentarian Dr Karan Singh.
• Dr Karan Singh is the son of Shri Hari Singh, the last ruling maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.
• SatyamevaJayate, which is the national motto of India, has been taken from the Mundaka Upanishad.
• Mundaka Upanishad:
  • It is a collection of philosophical poems used to teach meditation and spiritual knowledge related to the true nature of Brahma and the Self (Atman).
  • It is composed of three main parts (mundakas).
  • The 64 verses of the "Mundaka Upanishad" are composed in the form of mantras.
  • It is included in Atharva Veda.

Topic: International News

2. Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to resume diplomatic relations between them.

• A joint statement has been issued by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the People’s Republic of China.
• Saudi Arabia and Iran have reached an agreement to resume diplomatic relations between them.
• They have agreed to re-open their embassies and missions within two months.
• They have also agreed to respect the sovereignty of each other and the non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.
• They also agreed that foreign affairs ministers of both countries will meet to implement this agreement.
• Saudi Arabia, Iran and China have also expressed their desire to exert all efforts for enhancing regional and international peace and security.
• The delegation of Saudi Arabia was headed by Dr. Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, Minister of State and National Security Advisor.
• Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council headed the delegation of Iran.
• The delegation of Iran and China met from 6-10 March 2023 in Beijing.
• Saudi Arabia and Iran’s relations were suspended after the death of Nimr al-Nimr and an attack on the Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran in 2016.
• Both countries are major oil and gas exporters. Energy policy is one of the main reasons for conflict between both countries.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: State News/ Punjab

3. Punjab Government has presented the state budget for fiscal year 2023-24 in the State Assembly.

• On 11 March, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema presented a 1.96-lakh-crore rupees state budget for financial year 2023-24 in the State assembly.
• The budget is an increase of 26% over the previous year, with no new taxes.
• The main focus of the AAP government's first full budget is on agriculture, education and health.
• Capital expenditure is estimated at Rs 11,782 crore, a 22% increase over the previous year.
• The effective revenue deficit and fiscal deficit have been pegged at 3.32 per cent and 4.98 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), respectively.
• Rs 13,888 crore has been allocated for agriculture and allied sector, which is 20% more than the previous budget.
• An amount of Rs 1,000 crore has been allocated for crop diversification.
• Rs 9,331 crore has been allotted for free power in the state and Rs 7,780 crore for power subsidy to domestic consumers.
• The Punjab budget has allocated 5 crore rupees to create a brand image and publicity campaigns for tourism sector in the state.
• The Punjab budget has allocated 4,781 crore rupees for health and family welfare, an increase of 11% over the previous year.      
• The transport sector received an allocation of Rs 567 crore, a 42% increase over the previous year.
• The Punjab budget has allocated 3,319 crore rupees for rural development and panchayats and 10,523 crore rupees for police and law and order, witnessing an 11% increase over previous years in each category.
• A provision of Rs 30 crore has been proposed to effectively deal with cybercrime.
• An outlay of Rs 3,751 crore has been made for financial incentives to industries, which is 19% more than the previous year.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

4. India and Australia agree to strengthen Comprehensive Strategic Partnership at the first annual summit in New Delhi.

• On 10 March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese held bilateral talks in New Delhi.
• During the first India-Australia Annual Summit, both the countries committed to further deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
• Both countries exchanged MoU for cooperation in sports and audio-visual co-production.
• The Indian and Australian sides also exchanged the terms of reference for the India-Australia Solar Task Force, the Atal Innovation Mission and the letter of intent between the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.
• Mr Modi said the two countries also discussed further deepening their security and defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
• He said that both India and Australia are members of the Quad grouping and he would be traveling to Australia for the Quad leaders' conference in May this year.
• Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that Australia's relations with India are multifaceted.
• He said that both the leaders have agreed to conclude the ambitious India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement at the earliest.
• India and Australia have friendly relations. Last year, the both countries signed a Free Trade Agreement for economic cooperation and trade.
• In 2021-22, the bilateral trade between the two countries was estimated to be around $27 billion.
• It is expected to reach 45 to 50 billion dollars by the year 203     

Topic: Defence

5. Six Donier-228 aircraft will be bought from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the IAF.

• The Ministry of Defense has signed an agreement to buy six Donier-228 aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the Indian Air Force at a cost of Rs 667 crore.
• These aircraft will be used for cargo and communication work. They will also be used for training of cargo pilots.
• The current batch of six aircraft are being procured with advanced and fuel-efficient engines with five bladed composite propellers.
• The aircraft is ideally suited for medium range operations activities off the limited prepared/short runways of the North Eastern region and island chains of India.
• The induction of these six aircraft will further enhance the operational capability of the Indian Air Force in remote areas.

(Source: News on Air)

Topic: International Appointment

6. Xi Jinping ally Li Qiang, named as new premier by China’s parliament.

• On March 11, Li Qiang has been nominated by Chinese President Xi Jinping to become Premier during the ongoing annual meeting of China's parliament.
• Mr. Qiang will succeed Li Keqiang, who has retired after two terms.
• On March 12, the new Foreign Minister of China, Qin Gang, is likely to be appointed, who was recently in India for the G20 meeting.
• He will take over from Wang Yi, who has been promoted to the Politburo.
• The appointment likely means Mr. Qin will take over as the Special Representative on India-China border negotiations.
• On March 10, 2023, Chinese leader Xi Jinping was formally reappointed as President for a third five-year term.

Topic: National News

7. Central Railway has achieved complete electrification of its 3,825 kilometers long broad gauge network.

• This will reduce more than 5 lakh tonnes of carbon footprints annually. It will help in savings of 1670 crore rupees. It will help earn carbon credit. 
• The central railway said the 52-kilometre Ausa Road-Latur Road stretch was the last non-electrified section.
• It lies in the Solapur division. Its electrification was completed on the 23rd of February 2023.
• Central Railway is one of the 19 zones of Indian Railways. It is headquartered at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai.
• Carbon footprint refers to the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an individual or organization. It is expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent.
• Carbon credit is a tradable certificate. It represents right to emit certain amount of carbon dioxide or equivalent amount of other greenhouse gas.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Reports and Indices

8. NITI Aayog released a task force report on 10 March 2023.

• The report is titled “Production and Promotion of Organic and Bio fertilisers with Special Focus on Improving Economic Viability of Gaushalas”. 
• This report has been released by Prof Ramesh Chand, Member (Agriculture), NITI Aayog in the presence of Taskforce members. 
• This Task Force has been constituted by NITI Aayog to make gaushalas economically viable and to solve the problem of stray and abandoned cattle. 
• It has also been constituted to work for the effective utilization of cow dung and cow urine in the agriculture and energy sectors. 
• Cattle are an integral part of the traditional farming system in India and Gaushalas will help in promoting natural farming and organic farming. 
• The task force report will strengthen the waste to wealth initiative. It will promote the use of organic & bio fertilisers.
• The report provides factual estimates of costs and investments involved in setting up the Bio-CNG plant and PROM (Phosphate Rich Organic Manure) plant in Gaushalas.
• It gives recommendations for improving the financial and economic viability of Gaushalas.
• One of the recommendations of the task force is to make it mandatory for fertilizer companies to sell at least 10-20% of organic manure as part of their mix.
• Ramesh Chand said the implementation of the report would help achieve the target of bringing 25% cultivable area (of gross cropped area of 196 million hectares) under organic/natural farming by 2030.
• He said the recommendations will help gaushalas become at least 50% economically viable.   
• The task force was set up by NITI Aayog under the chairmanship of Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Aayog.

Topic: Space and IT

9. ISRO successfully carried out controlled re-entry experiment for the decommissioned Megha-Tropiques-1 (MT-1) satellite.

• MT-1 satellite was launched in 2011 for carrying out tropical weather and climate studies.
• ISRO successfully executed the final two de-boost burns at 11:02 UTC and 12:51 UTC respectively on March 7.
• ISRO carried out a series of 20 manoeuvres from August 2022 to slowly lower the satellite’s orbit by spending about 120 kg of fuel.
• The final perigee was estimated to be less than 80 km. The re-entry aero-thermal flux analysis has confirmed that no large debris fragment has remained.
• The entire sequence of events was carried out from the Mission Operations Complex in Bengaluru's ISTRAC (ISRO Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network).
• An uninhabited area in the Pacific Ocean was identified for the re-entry zone for MT1.
• The experiment was challenging because MT1 was not designed for a controlled re-entry.
• Megha-Tropiques-1 (MT-1) satellite:
  • Megha-Tropiques-1 was developed as a joint mission of India and France to study the water cycle and energy exchanges of tropics.
  • It was launched in 2011 with a mission life of three years.
  • It provided valuable data service and supported regional and global climate models till 2021.

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

10. India’s first death from H3N2 virus has been reported in Karnataka.

• An 82-year-old man died from the H3N2 virus in Karnataka. He was suffering from diabetes and hypertension.
• The Health Department said the patient was admitted to the hospital on February 24 and died on March 01.
• As per the guidelines of the centre, 25 tests per week have to be done to keep track of the variants.
• One death from the H3N2 virus has been also reported in Haryana. Around 90 cases of this virus have been reported across the country.
• H3N2 virus:
  • H3N2 virus is a subtype of Influenza A. It is an influenza virus that causes respiratory infection.
  • Its symptoms are similar to the flu including Cough, fever, body ache and headache, and sore throat.
  • The infection caused by H3N2 generally lasts for five to seven days. However, the coughing could persist for up to three weeks.
  • It commonly infects children under 15 years of age and senior citizens over 65 years of age. It can also affect pregnant women more easily.
  • Various measures like cleanliness, preventing crowding and hand hygiene can prevent the spread of infection.
  • It can be transmitted from one person to another through droplets released when coughing, sneezing, or talking.
  • It can also infect birds and mammals.

Topic: Summits/Conferences/Meetings

11. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh virtually attended the 19th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok.

• On 9 March, Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh virtually joined the 19th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok.
• Thailand hosted this meeting.
• Several documents including the Core BIMSTEC Working Mechanism, Regional BIMSTEC and Rules of Procedure for BIMSTEC External Relations were approved for presentation at the 6th BIMSTEC Summit.
• The meeting also approved a draft Host Country Agreement between India and the BIMSTEC Secretariat for establishing BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate in India.
• The Terms of Reference for an Eminent Persons Group on the future direction of BIMSTEC was also approved in the meeting.
• The Terms of Reference were finalised as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's special scheme for institution building at the 5th BIMSTEC Summit in Colombo.
• Apart from this, BIMSTEC Bangkok Vision 2030 was also approved. This will be brought up at the 6th BIMSTEC Summit.
• The meeting revised Financial Rules and Regulations and also gave its approval to the Administrative and Disciplinary Rules of the Secretariat of the BIMSTEC Secretariat.
• The 5th BIMSTEC Summit was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 30th March 2022.
• BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation):
  • It is an international organization of seven countries for multi-sectoral technical and economic cooperation.
  • It was founded on 6 June 1997 and is headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
  • Its members are Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan.

(Source: News on Air)

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

12. An MoU signed between India and US on semiconductor Supply Chain and Innovation Partnership.

• On 10 March, an MoU has been signed between India and the United States on semiconductor Supply Chain and Innovation Partnership following the Commercial Dialogue 2023 in New Delhi.
• An MoU on this agreement was signed between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo in New Delhi.
• The objective of the MoU is to establish a collaborative arrangement between the two governments on the resiliency and diversification of the semiconductor supply chain in light of the US Chips and Science Act and India's Semiconductor Mission.
• It aims to leverage the complementary strengths of both countries and facilitate commercial opportunities and development of semiconductor innovation ecosystems through discussions on various aspects of the semiconductor value chain.
• The MoU envisages mutually beneficial R&D, talent and skill development.

(Source: News on Air)

Topic: Defence

13. Central government announced 10% reservation for ex-Agniveers in BSF recruitment.

• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has amended the Border Security Force, General Duty Cadre (Non-Gazetted) Recruitment Rules, 2015 to give 10% reservation for ex-Agniveers in BSF recruitment.
• Border Security Force, General Duty Cadre (Non-Gazetted) (Amendment) Recruitment Rules, 2023, has come into force from 9th March.
• According to the notification issued by MHA on March 6, the upper age limit will be relaxed by five years for the candidates of the first batch of ex-Agniveers in the recruitment of constables.
• The subsequent batch of Agniveers will get age relaxation of up to three years.
• As per the notifications, ex-Agniveers have been exempted from the Physical Efficiency Test in BSF recruitment.
• Agnipath scheme:
  • The government launched the Agneepath scheme on June 15, 2022.
  • Under the scheme, both male and female candidates are recruited as Agniveers in the 'below officer's rank' cadre of the three services of the country for four years.
  • Only 25 per cent of the Agniveers will be absorbed in defence forces upon the completion of their four-year course.

Topic: State News/ Maharashtra

14. 'Beggar-free city' initiative has been started in Nagpur.

• A new initiative called 'beggar-free city' has been started in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
• It is a joint effort of Nagpur City police and Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s (NMC) social welfare department.
• Nagpur Municipal Corporation has made special arrangements to accommodate homeless people in the shelters.
• Nagpur Municipal Corporation has kept a bus and an ambulance ready to shift the beggars to its shelter home.
• According to government data, West Bengal has the highest number of beggars. It is followed by Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
• A total number of 4,13,670 beggars are residing in India. Out of the total, 2,21,673 are males and 1,91,997 are females.