Daily Current Affairs and GK | 13 March 2024

Topic: National News

1. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar inaugurated India’s 1st FutureLABS center at C-DAC Thiruvananthapuram.

• The “Centre for Semiconductor Chips & Systems for Strategic Electronics” has been inaugurated at C-DAC Thiruvananthapuram.
• It will play a critical role in catalyzing an ecosystem for next-generation chip design, manufacturing, and research.
• C-DAC (T) and the Ministry of Railways collaborated for the development of electric locomotive technologies.
• C-DAC (T) and Tata Power signed a MoU for the development and deployment of microgrid technologies.
• The announcement has been also made for the transfer of technology of the electric vehicle wireless charger developed by C-DAC (T) and VNIT Nagpur to BelRise Industries Limited.
• The idea of FutureLABS is a partnership between CDAC and industry, students, startups, and academia.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Indian Economy

2. India's industrial output growth declined to 3.8% in January.

• It accelerated to 4.24% in December. Growth in the manufacturing sector dropped to 3.2% from 4.5% in December.
• For the second time in the last three months, consumer non-durables output declined.
• Output of consumer non-durables decreased by 0.3%.
• The production of electricity and mining both increased to 5.6% and 5.9%, respectively.
• The production of consumer durables increased by 10.9%.
• Production of consumer durables increased due to base effect.
• The output of capital goods increased by 4.1% in January.
• The growth rate for intermediate products increased to 4.8% in January.
• But in January, the growth rate for primary commodities decreased to 2.9%.
• The construction and infrastructure goods growth rate decreased to 4.6% in January.
• Out of the 23 manufacturing segments that are tracked by the National Statistical Office to compute the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), eight have shown decline in January.
• Computers, electronics and optic products recorded the steepest fall of 11.9% in January.
• On the other hand, other transport equipment segment grew 25.3% in January.

Topic: Important Days

3. No Smoking Day 2024: 13 March

• No Smoking Day is organised on each second Wednesday of March.
• This year, No Smoking Day falls on 13 March.
• It aims to increase awareness of the harmful effects of tobacco use.
• In India, there are over 26 crore tobacco smokers, and diseases linked to tobacco use claim the lives of over 10 lakh people annually.
• Passive smoking often leads to asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia.
• The observing of No Smoking Day started in United Kingdom in 1984.

Topic: International News

4. After winning Georgia, and Mississippi primaries, Joe Biden secures Democratic nomination.

• In the Democratic primary for the 2024 election, US President Joe Biden won the nomination.
• Having won the presidential contests in Georgia, Mississippi, and the Northern Mariana Islands, he was nominated.
• He collected over 1,968 pledged delegates.
• There are 4,672 delegates allocated to the Democratic Party. This figure represents the total number of delegates. 
• The official announcement of the nomination will take place in August during the Democratic National Convention scheduled in Chicago.
• In addition, the Democratic presidential candidate must receive the votes of the majority of delegates at the Democratic National Convention in order to be formally nominated.
• After the Hawaii Republican Caucus, it is anticipated that Donald Trump would receive the Republican nomination.

Topic: Indian Economy

5. Inflation remained stable at 5.09% in February compared to 5.1% in January.

• Measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), India's benchmark inflation number remained stable between January and February.
• The headline retail inflation number came in at 5.09% in February compared to 5.1% in January 2024.
• This modest easing comes amid efforts by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), with the government ordered to maintain retail inflation at 4%.
• Inflation in February 2023 stood at 6.44%, indicating a significant decline from the previous year.
• Food inflation in the CPI basket rose slightly to 8.66% in February from 8.3% in the previous month, National Statistics Office data showed.
• This is largely a reflection of the sharp rise in prices of eggs, fish, and meat, inflation in this category rose from 1.6% in January to 5.7% in February.
• Inflation of vegetables also increased to 30.3% in February from 27.1% in January.

Topic: Defence

6. India remained the world's largest arms importer.

• Despite ongoing efforts to strengthen its defence-industrial base, India retained the title of the world's largest arms importer.
• India's share in total global arms imports between 2019 and 2023 stood at 9.8%.
• Recent data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) shows that India's arms imports have increased by 4.7% between 2014-18 and 2019-23.
• This increase has been partly attributed to emergency purchases made in response to the prolonged military standoff with China.
• However, Russia remained India's main arms supplier, accounting for 36% of its arms imports.
• Specifically, SIPRI highlighted that the period between 2019-23 was the first five-year period since 1960-64 where Russian deliveries comprised less than half of India's arms imports.
• France and the United States are emerging as India's major suppliers, collectively accounting for 46% of its arms imports.
• This includes India's procurement of 31 armed MQ-9B Sky Guardian drones from the US and 26 Rafale-M fighters from France.
• India (9.8%) ranks as the top arms importer, followed by Saudi Arabia (8.4%), Qatar (7.6%), Ukraine (4.9%), Pakistan (4.3%), Japan (4.1%), Egypt (4%), Australia (3.7%), South Korea (3.1%), and China (2.9%).
• Among the top arms exporters, the United States leads with a 42% share, followed by France (11%) and Russia (11%).

Topic: Indian Polity

7. Haryana's new chief minister, Nayab Singh Saini, was sworn in.

• He is a leader of the BJP. He represents Kurukshetra as an MP.
• Governor Bandaru Dattatreya of Haryana administered the oath to him.
• In addition, five MLAs were sworn in as ministers. Four of them are BJP members and one is an independent.
• As ministers, Independent MLA Ranjit Singh Chautala and BJP members Kanwar Pal, Mool Chand Sharma, Jai Prakash Dalal, and Banwari Lal took an oath of office.
• They were all members of the Khattar cabinet that resigned earlier.
• Anil Vij, the former home minister, has not, however, been included in the new cabinet.
• The assembly elections are scheduled in October. Khattar's second tenure as chief minister was to end in October.
• Along with the other thirteen members of the BJP-led council of ministers, Khattar had earlier given resignation to the governor.
• The deputy chief minister in the Khattar-led government was Dushyant Chautala. He is the leader of the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP).
• The JJP now has 10 MLAs in the 90-member assembly. At present, the BJP has 41 MLAs in the 90-member assembly.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

8. Amitav Ghosh has won the Erasmus Prize 2024.

• Amitav Ghosh is a Kolkata-born eminent writer.
• Utrecht-based Praemium Erasmianum Foundation announced he has won the award for his contribution to the theme “imagining the unthinkable”.
• According to the foundation, he has been awarded for his contribution to the theme in which an unprecedented global crisis, climate change, takes shape through the written word.
• Other recipients of the prize include famous filmmakers Ingmar Bergman and Charles Chaplin.
• The work of Amitav Ghosh include novels such as The Shadow Lines, The Hungry tide and the Ibis Trilogy.
• The Great Derangement is his non-fiction work. He won Jnanpith award in 2018. 
• Erasmus Prize:
  • It was started in 1958. It is given annually. The prize includes a cash prize of 150,000 Euros.
  • It is given to persons or institutions who made an exceptional contribution to the humanities, the social sciences or the arts, in Europe and beyond.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

9. Kempegowda International Airport has been recognised as the best airport for arrivals globally.

• In the Airports Council International’s (ACI) Airport Service Quality Awards 2023, Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru has been recognised as the best airport for arrivals.
• Kempegowda International Airport has shared this honour with two other airports — Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in Kerala, and the Zayed International Airport – Terminal A in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
• 31 airports — 27 airports from Asia-Pacific and four from the Middle East received ACI Airport Service Quality Awards.
• A total of six Indian airports have been recognised by the ACI Airport Service Quality Awards.
• In the category of over 40 million in the Asia-Pacific region, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai and Indira Gandhi International Airport have been recognized as the best airports.
• In the 15 to 25 million passengers category in the Asia-Pacific region, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad has been recognised as the best airport.
• Chandigarh airport is recognized as the best airport in the 2 to 5 million passenger category in the Asia-Pacific region.

Topic: Banking System

10. SEBI notified the regulations for small and medium real estate investment trusts.

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) issued guidelines for the creation of Small and Medium Real Estate Investment Trusts.
• SEBI issued regulations to amend the REIT Regulations 2014. The investment managers of such REITs should have a minimum net worth of ₹20 crore.
• SM REIT is allowed to gather funds starting from ₹50 crore by issuing units to a minimum of 200 investors.
• These funds will be used for acquiring and managing real estate assets. The ownership of these assets will be structured through one or more schemes.
• The minimum subscription amount for an SM REIT's initial offering is ₹10 lakh per investor.
• The investment manager is mandated to retain a minimum of 5% of the total outstanding units in each scheme.
• SM REIT schemes may raise funds from Indian and foreign investors through the issuance of units.

Topic: Art and Culture

11. From March 7 to March 10, the Gorsam Kora Festival is celebrated at Zemithang in the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh.

• The festival symbolizes the enduring friendship between India and Bhutan and highlights the cultural richness of the region.
• The local community organized the festival with the cooperation of civil authorities and the Indian Army.
• With the theme ‘Zero Waste Festival’, the festival was celebrated this year, and members of the Further and Beyond Foundation organized a cleanliness drive.
• In the four-day event, the chanting of sacred mantras and traditional Buddhist rituals by monks were featured at Gorham Church.
• In the festival, the pilgrims and lamas from Bhutan, Tawang, and neighbouring areas participated.
• The festival featured captivating performances by local cultural troupes and Indian Army bands and also included martial performances such as Mallakhamb and Jhanj Pathaka.

Topic: National Appointment

12. On March 11, Shri Kishore Makwana took over as Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) in New Delhi.

• He assumed office after being appointed by the President of India.
• Mr. Makwana has served as the joint spokesperson of the Gujarat unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
• He is also a journalist and has been the author of more than 33 books. He has written 9 books on Dr. Ambedkar.
• It includes the ‘Samajik Kranti na Mahanayak Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’ (great hero of the social revolution – Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar), ‘Swami Vivekananda’, ‘Safalta no Mantra’ (Mantra of Success), etc.
• In addition, Shri Luv Kush Kumar also assumed charge as a member of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC).

Topic: National News

13. PM inaugurated ‘One Station One Product’ (OSOP) stalls at 205 railway stations.

• The ‘One Station One Product’ (OSOP) scheme promotes the ‘Local for Vocal’ vision of the Government of India.
• It provides a market for local products and generates income for the marginalised sections of the society.
• 10 new Vande Bharat Express trains have been flagged off by PM Modi on 12th March.
• Goods shed with warehousing facilities have been also inaugurated at Singaperumal Koil, Gangaikondan, Theni, Pattukottai, Thiruthuraipoondi and Valliyur.
• Prime Minister inaugurated Jan Aushadi Kendras at Dindigul, Erode, Tiruchi and Palakkad railway stations.
• A rail coach restaurant has been also inaugurated at Chennai Central.
• Two air-conditioned EMUs were allotted for Southern Railway and its service will start in May or June.

Topic:  National Appointments

14. Dhanaraj T has been appointed as the Executive Director of Indian Overseas Bank.

• He has been appointed for three years, effective from 10 March.
• Before joining the Indian Overseas Bank, he served as the Chief General Manager at Indian Bank.
• Indian Overseas Bank is a nationalized bank headquartered in Chennai.
• It is a government-owned bank. Ajay Srivastava J is its MD and CEO.