Daily Current Affairs and GK | 21 March 2023

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

1. India’s sex ratio is expected to reach to 952 by 2036: Women and Men in India 2022 report.

• The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Rao Inderjit Singh has released the 24th issue of publication titled “Women and Men in India 2022” on 15 March 2023.
• According to this report, India’s sex ratio will improve to 952 by 2036 from 943 in 2011.
• The sex ratio at birth has increased to 907 in 2018-20 from 904 in 2017-19.
• Women participation in India’s Labour Force is still very less as compared to men.
• Labour Force Participation Rate is 77.2 for males and 32.8 for females in 2021-22. The disparity has remained as it is over the last few years.
• Social factors, educational qualifications and gender discrimination in terms of wages are one of the key factors for the low women participation in India’s Labour Force.
• The average wage earned per day by casual labourers shows that men in rural areas earn more than women in urban areas.
• According to the report, the population under 15 years of age is expected to decline and the population above 60 years is likely to increase by 2036.
• The population pyramid base will narrow down in 2036 while the middle will broaden.
• The age and sex structure of India’s population can affect gender issues in various ways.
• The mean age for marriage has improved from 22.1 years in 2017 to 22.7 years in 2020.

Topic: Reports and Indices

2. Afghanistan remained at the top of the list of countries impacted by terrorism in the Global Terrorism Index 2023.

• Afghanistan remained at the top for the fourth consecutive year.
• India is ranked 13th on the index. India is one of the 25 worst-hit countries on the index.
• Indian respondents did not rank war and terrorism as the top threat to their daily safety.
• India’s GTI score was 7.175, whereas Afghanistan’s GTI score was 8.822.
• Respondents in 56 of the 120 nations have not selected war and terror as the biggest threat to their daily safety.
• As per the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) report, 633 fatalities were recorded in Afghanistan in 2022.
• This is despite the fact that terrorism-related deaths declined by 866 in 2022.
• According to GTI, the most active terrorist group in Afghanistan is the Islamic State-Khorasan (Daesh).
• It was responsible for 67% of all terrorism-related fatalities in Afghanistan.
• In 2022, the second-largest increase in terror-related fatalities globally was seen in Pakistan.
• Pakistan also saw highest year-to-year increase in deaths during last ten years.
• Pakistan’s rank on the index increased by four spots to sixth rank.
• Global Terrorism Index (GTI):
  • It analyses the impact of terrorism for 163 countries. It covers 99.7% of the world’s population.
  • GTI report is produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace.
  • It is prepared by using data from Terrorism Tracker and other sources.
  • It scores countries on a scale from 0 to 10. A score of 0 means no impact from terrorism. A score of 10 means the highest measurable impact of terrorism.

Topic: Important Days

3. International Day of Forests: 21 March

• International Day of Forests is celebrated every year to raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests.
• 21 March was proclaimed as International Day of Forests by United Nations General Assembly in 2012.
• The Collaborative Partnership on Forests choses the theme for each International Day of Forests.
• The theme for International Day of Forests 2023 is ‘forests and health’.
• UN Forum on Forests and UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) organize the day in collaboration with Governments, Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) and other organizations.
• UN Forum on Forests is an intergovernmental policy forum headquartered in New York, USA. It was formed in 2000.
• Collaborative Partnership on Forests is a voluntary inter-agency partnership of 15 international organizations, institutions and secretariats. It was set up in April 2001.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

4. Sangita Kalanidhi award for 2023 will be given to Carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri.

• The Music Academy has selected her for the award. Ms Jayashri is a veena player and dancer. She is also trained in Hindustani music. She was born in Kolkata.
• Bombay Jayashri attributed her success to her guru late violinist Lalgudi G. Jayaraman.
• Bombay Jayashri also sang in Tamil film music. She first sang a duet with Malaysia Vasudevan.
• Vasanthalakshmi Narasimhachar will be given the Nritiya Kalanidhi award for dance.
• Vasanthalakshmi Narasimhachari is trained both in Bharathanatyam and Kuchipudi.
• The Sangita Kala Acharya award will be given to vocalist Palkulangara Ambika Devi from Kerala and mridhangam player K.S. Kalidas.
• TTK (TT Krishnamachari) award will be given to thavil player Thirunageswaram and to musician Sargunanatha Odhuvar of the Kapaleeswarar temple in Myalpore.
• The musicologist award will be given to Arimalam S. Padmanabhan.
• Arimalam S. Padmanabhan is a researcher of classical music, dance, theatre, folk music, and classical Tamil literature.
• These awards will be given in January, 2024.
• The Music Academy, Madras is an institution of fine arts. It was inaugurated in 1928.

Topic: India and its neighbours

5. Three-day Nepal-India Literature Festival concluded with the adoption of the 10-point Biratnagar Declaration.

• Biratnagar Metropolitan City of Nepal and the Krantidhara Literary Academy of Meerut, India have jointly organized the festival.
• On 19 March, a 10-point declaration highlighting the mutual promotion of literature between Nepal and India was adopted.
• The declaration included translating Nepali literature into Hindi and Hindi into Nepali for mutual promotion.
• This includes connecting Mahabharat-era King Birat's palace with the Mahabharat Circuit in coordination with the Department of Archaeology and historians. It will also encourage young literary writers to further explore archaeological artefacts.
• More than 350 litterateurs representing all the seven provinces of Nepal and most of the states of India participated in the festival.
• More than 200 litterateurs quoted literary works on this occasion.

Topic: Sports

6. ISSF World Cup Shooting Championship started in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

• On 20 March, the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup Shooting Championship started in Bhopal and will continue till March 27.
• On 21 March, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan formally inaugurated the event.
• The competitions will start on March 22 at the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy.
• The World Cup Shooting Tournament will feature about 325 shooters from 33 different nations and more than 75 technical officials.
• The Government of Madhya Pradesh in collaboration with the Rifle Federation of India is organizing Championship.
• This year, the eighth World Cup is being hosted in India, and it is the first international shooting competition to take place outside of New Delhi.
• ISSF World Cup Shooting Championship:
  • In 1986, the International Shooting Sport Federation introduced the ISSF World Cup to provide a homogeneous system for qualification of Olympic shooting competitions.
  • It is still part of the Olympic shooting events, with four competitions per year in each event.
  • In 2022, the championships were held in Cairo, Egypt from 12-27 October 2022.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Environment and Ecology

7. Thanthai Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary will be established in Erode district, Tamil Nadu.

• It will be the 18th wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. It will be formed by four forest ranges in Erode Forest Division.
• The reserve forest areas in Anthiyur, Bargur, Thattakarai and Chennampatti will be covered under the new sanctuary.
• 10 tigers, elephants, leopards, wild boars, gaurs and deer are found in these reserve forest areas.
• The sanctuary is located on the western side of Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve.
• It is located on the northern side of Kollegal forest division. It lies on the eastern side of Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka.
• It is adjacent to Cauvery North and South Wildlife Sanctuaries in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri.
• Thanthai Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary would form a tiger corridor connecting Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary.

Topic: India and its neighbours

8. IMF’s executive board has approved Sri Lanka’s bailout program under an Extended Fund Facility.

• 2.286 billion special drawing rights package will be available over 4 years. It will be equivalent to about 3 billion dollars.
• The decision of the executive board will allow an immediate disbursal of 333 million dollars.
• This is Sri Lanka’s 17th credit programme with the IMF.
• Sri Lanka is going through its worst-ever economic crisis since its independence in 1948.
• India had provided assistance of 4 billion dollars to Sri Lanka.
• Under Extended Fund Facility, financial assistance is provided to countries facing medium-term balance of payments problems due to structural weaknesses.
• International Monetary Fund (IMF):
  • IMF is an international organization. It is designed to promote global monetary cooperation.
  • Its headquarters is located in Washington DC. It was established in 1945.
  • The Managing Director of IMF is Kristalina Georgieva.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

9. Income Tax Department launched an AIS app for taxpayers.

• The AIS app will help taxpayers in viewing their Annual Information Statements (AIS).
• This app will provide detailed information about each transaction to taxpayers.
• Through this app, taxpayers can also give feedback on the AIS information displayed.
• It will also promote voluntary compliance and enable seamless prefilling of returns.
• AIS shows the reported value and modified value under each section.
• The Taxpayer can now check the full details of taxes and TDS with just one click.
• The Annual Information Statements can be assessed through the mobile application and the web portal.

Topic: India and its neighbours

10. Bangladesh commissioned its first submarine base.

• Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the first submarine base of Bangladesh ‘BNS Sheikh Hasina’ at Pekua in Cox’s Bazar. It is an ‘ultra-modern submarine base’.
• The newly commissioned submarine base will increase the operational capacity of the Navy of Bangladesh to secure vast marine resources.
• Sheikh Hasina said that ships passing through the Bay of Bengal can take help from the base.
• Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the government is working on the goal to transform its military force into a modern organisation.
• In the last 14 years, a total of 31 warships, including 4 frigates, 6 corvettes, 4 large patrol crafts, 5 patrol crafts and 2 training ships were added to Bangladesh Navy fleet.
• In 2019, the Governments of Bangladesh and China signed an agreement to construct this submarine base.
• The Bangladesh government is working on the vision of ‘Forces Goal 2030’ to transform its military force into a modern organisation.
• Two submarines were added to the fleet of the Bangladesh Navy in March 2017.
• The Bangladesh Navy was formed in 1971 as part of the Bangladesh Forces.

Topic: India and its neighbours

11. “Geoffrey Bawa: It is Essential To be There” exhibition inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Jaishankar.

• On 17 March, the Sri Lankan exhibition “Geoffrey Bawa: It is Essential To be There”, has been inaugurated at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi.
• The historic exhibition features the works of Sri Lanka’s iconic architect, the late Geoffrey Bawa.
• It was jointly organized by the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, the High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi and the Geoffrey Bawa Trust to mark the 75th anniversary of Indo-Lanka diplomatic relations.
• "Geoffrey Bawa: It is Essential to Be There" is the first major exhibition drawn from the archives of Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa.
• Since 2004, it is the first retrospective exhibition of Bawa’s works to be shown internationally.
• Prior to this, his work was displayed at various places in Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, North America, Australia, India, Brazil, Singapore and Germany.
• More than 120 documents from the Bava archives can be seen in the exhibition, including a section on Unproduced Work and Bava's own photographs from his travels.
• The exhibition, organized under the Sri Lanka-India Cultural Exchange Programme, will be on display till May 07, 2023.

(Source: News on Air)

Topic: Banking System

12. Switzerland's largest bank, UBS agreed to acquire troubled Credit Suisse bank.

• The Swiss National Bank has said that Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) has decided to acquire the Swiss bank Credit Suisse which is heading towards financial crisis.
• The announcement has been made followed by a weekend of emergency negotiations between Switzerland's two banks and the country's financial regulators.
• Swiss President Alain Berset said the acquisition was the best solution to restore and strengthen market confidence in the Credit Suisse and the Swiss financial centre.
• The Swiss government and banking authorities had to negotiate urgently to rescue Swiss bank Credit Suisse, which was this week given a $54 billion bailout package by the country's central bank.
• The government in Bern agreed to provide guarantees of up to 9 billion Swiss francs to underwrite the acquisition.
• To increase liquidity in the banking sector, the US Federal Reserve and other central banks also sought to ease fears through a coordinated effort.

Topic: National Appointments

13. Lalit Kumar Gupta has been appointed as CMD of Cotton Corporation of India (CCI).

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Lalit Kumar Gupta.
• Gupta was recommended for the post of CMD of CCI by the PESB panel.
• He is currently serving as Director (Finnane) in the Cotton Corporation of India.
• He has vast experience in Finance sector. He working in the Cotton Corporation of India since 1994.
• Cotton Corporation of India Limited:
  • It is a central public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Textiles.
  • It is a government agency engaged in activities related to trade, procurement and export of cotton.
  • It was established in 1970 under the Companies Act 1956.

Topic: National News

14. 5th Poshan Pakhwada will be celebrated by Women and Child Development Ministry.

• The Women and Child Development Ministry will celebrate the 5th Poshan Pakhwada from 20th March to 3rd April 2023.
• The main aim of the Pakhwada is to raise awareness about the importance of nutrition and promote healthy eating habits through Jan Andolan and Jan Bhagidari.
• The theme of the 5th Poshan Pakhwada is "Nutrition for All: Together Towards a Healthy India".
• It will focus on popularising ‘Shree Anna’- the mother of all grains as a valuable asset to resolve the problem of malnutrition.
• The activities during the Poshan Pakhwada will also focus on the celebration of Swasth Balak Spardha and popularizing Saksham Anganwadis
• Every year, Poshan Pakhwada is celebrated in the month of March for 15 days.
• The Ministry of Women and Child Development celebrate Poshan maah in September.
• Poshan Abhiyaan was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8th March 2018. It was launched to improve nutritional outcomes in a holistic manner.