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Table of Contents
BANKING & FINANCIAL AWARENESS ....................................................................................................................... 9
CURRENT RATES ............................................................................................................................................... 9
SMALL SAVING SCHEMES INTEREST RATE ..................................................................................................... 9
INDIA’S GROWTH PREDICTION ..................................................................................................................... 10
RBI IN NEWS.................................................................................................................................................... 11
SBI IN NEWS .................................................................................................................................................... 16
MOU SIGNED BY BANKS ................................................................................................................................. 17
SEBI RELATED NEWS...................................................................................................................................... 18
OTHERS ........................................................................................................................................................... 20
FUNDS .............................................................................................................................................................. 24
INSURANCE ..................................................................................................................................................... 26
ECONOMY ............................................................................................................................................................. 27
BUSINESS .............................................................................................................................................................. 28
NATIONAL AFFAIRS ............................................................................................................................................... 28
CABINET APPROVALS .................................................................................................................................... 28
PM’s LAUNCHES/INAUGURATIONS ............................................................................................................... 30
LAUNCHES/INAUGURATIONS ........................................................................................................................ 32
FIRST IN INDIA ................................................................................................................................................ 35
LONGEST, LARGEST, HIGHEST ....................................................................................................................... 36
GOVERNMENT SCHEMES ................................................................................................................................ 37
OTHERS ........................................................................................................................................................... 38
IMPORTANT ONE LINER ................................................................................................................................ 42
TARGET ................................................................................................................................................................. 43
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS ...................................................................................................................................... 44
VISITS .................................................................................................................................................................... 45
INDIAN VISITS ................................................................................................................................................. 45
FOREIGN VISIT ................................................................................................................................................ 46
COMMITTEES ........................................................................................................................................................ 48
COMMITTEES FORMED .................................................................................................................................. 48
MEETING ......................................................................................................................................................... 48
SUMMITS, EVENTS & CONFERENCE ....................................................................................................................... 50
MOU’s & AGREEMENTS ......................................................................................................................................... 51
FEBRUARY 2023
International Monetary 2022 As per the IMF World Economic Outlook
Fund’s (IMF) (WEO) update, January 2023, growth in
India is projected to decline from 6.8%
in 2022 to 6.1% in 2023 before rising to
6.8% in 2024.
• Global growth: It is projected to
reduce from an estimated 3.4%
in 2022 to 2.9% in 2023, then
rise to 3.1% in 2024.
International Monetary 2023 The IMF in its World Economic Outlook-
Fund January 2023 update has projected
India’s growth to decline from 6.8% in
2022 to 6.1% in 2023 before picking up
to 6.8% in 2024.
Morgan Stanley FY24 Morgan Stanley in its research report
projected India’s gross domestic
product (GDP) to grow at 6.2% in FY24
as drivers of domestic demand remain
intact amid fears of an impending
slowdown.
State Bank of India (SBI) Q3 FY23 India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Ecowrap growth for Q3 FY23 is estimated at
4.6%.
• The annual GDP projection
for FY23 is estimated to
grow between 6.8 and 7%.
JANUARY 2023
National Statistical Office FY23 According to the NSO’s first FAE, the
(NSO) Indian economy will grow at a rate
of 7% in FY23, up from 8.7% in FY22.
World Bank (WB)’s latest FY24 Indian economy is projected to grow at
Global Economic a robust 6.6% in fiscal year 2023-24
Prospects (January 2023) (FY24), down from an estimated 6.9%
in FY23 and 8.7% in FY22.
report
RBI IN NEWS
MARCH 2023
➢ As per the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) ‘Quarterly Statistics on Deposits and Credit of SCBs
(Scheduled Commercial Banks): December 2022’ report, the year on year (y-o-y) Bank credit
growth in Q3FY23 (October – December 2022) was about 16.8% as compared with 17.2% in Q2FY23
and 8.4% in Q2FY22.
➢ RBL Bank Limited, formerly known as Ratnakar Bank, and Export-Import Bank of India (India
Exim Bank) signed a Confirming Bank agreement thereby onboarding RBL bank under India Exim
Bank’s Trade Assistance Programme (TAP) to support cross-border trade transactions.
➢ According to the “Sectoral Deployment of Bank Credit — January 2023” data from the Reserve
Bank of India (RBI), significant offtake from retail and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) led to
JANUARY 2023
➢ In accordance with the RBI preliminary data on India’s Balance of Payments (BoP) for the July-
September (Q2) quarter of FY 2022-23,
❖ India’s Current Account Deficit (CAD) widened to 4.4% in the Q2FY23 due to increased trade
gap driven by high commodity prices and a weak rupee.
❖ The RBI also released the 26th Financial Stability Report (FSR) which states the collective
assessment of the Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) on
risks to financial stability and the resilience of the financial system. It is published bi-annually.
• The Gross Non-Performing Asset (GNPA) ratio of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs)
fell to a seven-year low of 5% and Net Non-Performing Assets (NNPA) have dropped to
ten-year low of 1.3% in September 2022.
➢ Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the 2022 list of Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-
SIBs) based on the data from March 31, 2022. In this, State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, and HDFC
Bank kept the status as D-SIBs, under the same bucketing structure as in the 2021 list of D-SIBs.
❖ Table showing list of D-SIBs with Additional CET1 capital requirement:
Additional CET1 requirement
Bucket
Banks (as a percentage of RWAs)
5 – 1.00%
4 – 0.80%
3 State Bank of India 0.60%
2 – 0.40%
• The objective of the SGrBs is to raise funds for green infrastructure as part of the GoI’s overall
market borrowings in 2022-23.
➢ RBI issued the revised list of accredited Credit Rating agencies (CRAs) for the purpose of assigning
risk weight to assets for capital adequacy purposes by the banks.
• The six credit rating agencies are as follows:
✓ Acuite Ratings & Research Limited (Acuite)
✓ Credit Analysis and Research Limited (CARE)
✓ CRISIL Ratings Limited
✓ ICRA Limited
✓ India Ratings and Research Private Limited (India Ratings)
✓ INFOMERICS Valuation and Rating Pvt Ltd
• In India, CRAs are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) as per the
SEBI Regulations, 1999 of the SEBI Act, 1992.
➢ RBI provided its in-principle authorization to Hitachi Payment Services to act as a payment
aggregator (PA).
• RBI also awarded its in-principle approval to Resilient Payments Private Ltd , a 100% owned
subsidiary of Resilient Innovations Private Ltd (BharatPe), to operate as an online PA.
➢ RBI has provided in-principle approval for the Fintech startup EnKash, for payment aggregator’s
licence. This will enable EnKash to broaden its product offerings to millions of businesses for digital
transactions.
SBI IN NEWS
MARCH 2023
➢ State Bank of India, an Indian multinational public sector bank, completed its 1st non-dollar
transaction with Sri Lanka by paying for exports in Sri Lankan rupees to bring countries that lack US
(United States)dollars into the trade mechanism.
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ State Bank of India (SBI) has launched Amrit Kalash, a new limited-period term deposit scheme with
an interest rate of 7.6% for senior citizens and 7.1% for others.
JANUARY 2023
➢ Punjab & Sind Bank (PSB) has partnered with SBI Card to launch co-brand credit cards for the
bank’s customers.
• Under the partnership, three card variants have been launched including, PSB SBI Card ELITE,
PSB SBI Card PRIME, and PSB SimplySAVE SBI Card.
➢ SBI, India’s largest bank, raised Rs 9,718 crore through its 2nd infrastructure bond issuance at a
coupon rate of 7.70% per annum for the 15-year bond.
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) introduced the ‘RuPay credit card on UPI’ in collaboration with the
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), allowing users to link their RuPay credit cards to the
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) infrastructure.
➢ ICICI Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a European bank, BNP Paribas, to
meet the financial needs of European enterprises operating in India and Indian companies in the
European Union (EU).
➢ A co-lending agreement has been signed between the Karnataka Bank (KBL) and Paisalo Digital Ltd
(PDL), a non-deposit-taking NBFC (Non-Banking Financial Company) registered with the Reserve Bank
of India (RBI).
JANUARY 2023
➢ The IDBI Bank has signed a Scheme Transfer Agreement (STA) with LIC Mutual Fund (MF) for the
transfer of Schemes of IDBI Mutual Funds (MF) to LIC MF to comply with regulations 7B of Securities
and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Mutual fund Regulations.
➢ Axis Bank signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, Karnataka to
establish a Centre for Mathematics and Computing at IISc.
➢ A corporate agreement was signed between Punjab & Sind Bank, a Public Sector Bank (PSB), and
Pune (Maharashtra) based Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company (BALIC).
➢ Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Limited, a Mini Ratna Category 1 Defence PSU,
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rolls Royce Solutions of Germany to locally
manufacture Rolls Royce’s high-quality marine diesel engine in India.
➢ The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in exercise of its powers conferred under Section
11 (1) of SEBI Act, 1992 issued ‘SEBI (Grant of Reward to Informant Under Recovery Proceedings)
Guidelines, 2023’ w.e.f. March 8, 2023.
• Under this, there is a reward system up to Rs 20 lakh to informants for sharing
credible information/tips about the assets of defaulters under recovery proceedings
w.e.f. March 8, 2023.
• The interim reward amount will not exceed two and a half per-cent of the reserve
price of the asset regarding which tips was provided or Rs 5 lakh, whichever is less.
• The final reward amount will not exceed 10% of the dues recovered or Rs 20 lakh,
whichever is less.
➢ Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) provided 60 days initial relaxation to all ‘Registrars
to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents’ (RTAs) to comply with enhanced responsibilities through
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), India’s capital market regulator, has
strengthened the green bond framework by introducing “Blue” and “Yellow” bonds as new modes of
sustainable finance.
❖ These bonds are subcategories of Green Debt Securities (GDS), with ‘Blue Bonds’ pertaining to
water management and the marine sector and ‘Yellow Bonds’ pertaining to solar energy.
❖ A proposal in this regard was approved by the SEBI board in December 2022, and as a result, it
has amended the rules governing the issuance and listing of non-convertible securities.
• Green Debt Securities (GDS): According to the regulatory framework, GDS are debt
securities that are issued to raise funds for projects or assets that belong into specific
categories.
➢ SEBI revised its operational guidelines for Credit Rating Agencies (CRAs), mandating that by
March 31, 2023, they have a detailed policy in place regarding the non-submission of crucial
information by issuers, including quarterly financial numbers.
• Backdrop: SEBI stated in its circular for CRAs dated February 3, 2023, that these
requirements would be in effect by March 31, 2023.
• Prior to that, SEBI issued an operational circular on CRAs in January 2023, which was to
take effect on February 1, 2023.
• the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) introduced the Issue Summary Document
(ISD) for filing papers pertaining to IPO (Initial Public Offer) and for further issue of
securities in XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) format to make available
relevant information at the stock exchanges and depositories in a structured manner.
• SEBI plans to roll out the ISD in a phased manner starting March 1, 2023.
• 3 phases of introducing ISD:
✓ 1st phase – ISD will be rolled out for public issues of specified securities, for offer
documents filed on or after March 1, 2023.
✓ 2nd phase – ISD for further issues will be implemented from April 3, 2023.
✓ 3rd phase – ISD for open offer, buy-back and voluntary delisting will be
implemented from May 2, 2023.
JANUARY 2023
➢ The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has amended the Securities Contracts
(Regulation) Act, 1956 which will exempt Indian state-run companies from the Minimum Public
Shareholding (MPS) norm that requires listed companies to maintain a 25% public shareholding.
➢ The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) agreed to the Central Government request to
reclassify its shareholding in IDBI Bank after its disinvestment as public holding.
➢ The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has granted a debt broker license to GoldenPi
Technologies, a Bengaluru (Karnataka)-based fintech company backed by Indian financial services
provider Zerodha.
OTHERS
MARCH 2023
➢ ESAF Small Finance Bank has signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Electric
equipment manufacturer V-Guard Industries Ltd to provide financing options including loans and
installment payment plans to customers who opt for installing V-Guard’s solar rooftop Power System.
➢ To encourage feature phone users to use “UPI123Pay” to make digital payments, private sector
lenders IDFC FIRST Bank Ltd. and The Federal Bank Ltd will collaborate with the association of
microfinance institutions (MFIs) Sa-Dhan and Delhi-based fintech solutions vendor NextGen.
➢ Angel One Limited (formerly Angel Broking Limited), an Indian stockbroker firm, has received in-
principle approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to sponsor a Mutual Fund.
➢ Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC), a provider of catering services
backed by the Indian Railway, partnered with HDFC Bank Ltd, India’s largest private sector lender, to
introduce the “IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card,” one of India’s most rewarding co-branded travel credit
cards.
• The “IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card” will be available in a single variant exclusively on the Rupay
network of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
• HDFC Bank, India’s largest card issuer, is the first private sector bank to collaborate with the IRCTC
to improve the user experience for train passengers beginning with ticket booking.
➢ Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with ShowReel to develop an online digital platform to support innovators and promote
Entrepreneurship in India.
➢ Axis Bank Limited (formerly UTI Bank), a private-sector lender, completed the acquisition of
Citibank India(Citi India)’s consumer Banking which includes loans, credit cards, wealth management
and retail banking operations. The Axis Bank has paid a total purchase consideration of Rs 11,603 crore
(USD 1.4 billion) to Citibank India.
➢ New India Assurance Co Ltd, India’s largest general insurer, has become the 2nd insurance
company to get into the surety bonds business, which is being pushed by the Government as an
alternative to bank guarantees for government procurement.
➢ A meeting was held between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Indian Renewable Energy
Development Agency (IREDA) to explore partnership on financing of renewable energy and green
hydrogen projects in India.
➢ City Union Bank (CUB), a private sector lender, has announced the launch of its first-ever credit card
service, the “Dhi CUB Visa Signature Credit Card,” in collaboration with 42 Card Solutions Pvt Ltd, a
provider of credit card management services.
➢ On International Women’s Day, March 8, 2023, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company
Limited launched a digital campaign named ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality‘
to promote digital literacy among women.
• The campaign calls for the digital inclusion of all with the hashtag, #IncludeAll.
➢ Yes Bank and Aadhar Housing Finance Ltd entered into a strategic co-lending partnership to offer
housing loans to homebuyers.
➢ Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (Ujjivan SFB) has launched the “Unpause Initiative” as part of its
commitment to promote workplace diversity and inclusion.
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ As per an analysis of the latest financial results of Public Sector Banks (PSBs), Pune (Maharashtra)
based Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) tops the list of PSBs in terms of loan growth percentage for the third
quarter of FY23 (Q3 FY23).
• It shows a growth of 21.67% in gross advances year-on-year (y-o-y) in Q3FY23.
• BoM is followed by Union Bank with a growth rate of 19.80% in advances.
• In terms of Retail-Agriculture-MSME (RAM) loans, BoM attained the highest growth of 19.18%,
followed by Punjab & Sind Bank with a growth rate of 19.07%, and Bank of Baroda (BoB) with a
growth of 18.85% on an annual basis.
➢ MobiKwik, payment app of One MobiKwik Systems Limited, has become the first fintech app in
India to support RuPay Credit Cards on Unified Payments Interface (UPI). The National Payments
Corporation of India (NPCI) has allowed Mobikwik to offer its customers the facility to make UPI
payments through the RuPay credit cards.
➢ HDFC Bank, the largest private sector bank in India, and Crunchfish Digital Cash established a
pilot programme called “OfflinePay“ to test offline digital payments for customers and merchants, as
part of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Regulatory Sandbox Program.
• HDFC Bank is the industry’s first bank to provide an entirely offline digital payment service.
JANUARY 2023
➢ Indian Bank unveiled the QR (Quick Response) code bill payment system for Chamundeshwari
Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) making it the first power distribution company to offer
such an initiative to customers in Mysuru, Karnataka.
➢ HDFC Bank partnered with Microsoft for the next phase of its digital transformation journey and
unlocked business value by transforming the application portfolio, modernising the data landscape and
securing the enterprise with Microsoft Cloud.
➢ YES Bank partnered with Microsoft to introduce the next generation mobile application (app) for
providing personalised banking experience to its customers.
➢ India Accelerator (IA) has launched “i3 Launchpad,” which was developed in partnership with
ICICI Bank and Infosys Finacle, which is part of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned product
subsidiary of Infosys.
FUNDS
Funded By Amount Highlights
MARCH 2023
The World Bank (WB) Board of Executive Directors has approved
a USD 100 million loan from the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to the Indian state
of Odisha.
Objective: To boost Odisha’s early forecasting systems for better
disaster response and to expand social protection coverage for poor
and vulnerable households via digital platforms.
Loan Details
i.The IBRD loan of USD 100 million has a maturity period of 12.5
USD 100 years and a grace period of 3 years.
World Bank (WB) million
World Bank (WB) Board of Executive Directors has approved a USD
363 million loan from the IBRD to the southern Indian state
of Karnataka.
USD 363 Objective: To install piped water connections in the 2 million rural
World Bank (WB) million households in the state and supply them with clean drinking water.
INSURANCE
MARCH 2023
➢ Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance (ABSLI) Limited, the life insurance subsidiary Aditya Birla Capital
Limited (ABCL) launched a non-linked non-participating individual savings life insurance plan ‘ABSLI
Nishchit Aayush Plan’.
❖ Key Features:
• The maximum entry age is 55 years and the minimum age is 30 days (long term income
option) and 30 years (whole life income).
• The minimum annualised premium is Rs 30,000.
• Premium payment term options – 6, 8, 10, and 12 years.
The minimum sum assured under this plan is Rs.300,000.
➢ Bharti AXA Life Insurance Limited has entered into a bancassurance partnership with Unity Small
Finance Bank Limited (Unity Bank), a new-age, digital-first bank, to distribute life insurance products
through the bank’s Pan-India network of 111 branches and 206 offices.
➢ Max Life Insurance Company Limited (Max Life) has partnered with Ujjivan Small Finance Bank
(Ujjivan SFB) to provide comprehensive life insurance products to the bank’s customers.
• Max Life Insurance will provide a variety of savings, protection, retirement, and group
life insurance plans to more than 73 lakh customers of Ujjivan SFB through this
partnership.
➢ Go Digit General Insurance has launched 3 new plans under the Digit Health Insurance policy –
‘Digit Double Wallet plan, Digit Infinity Wallet plan, and Digit Worldwide Treatment plan’ to cater to the
post-pandemic health needs of people.
➢ Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) executed an agreement as an additional bancassurance partner in the life
insurance category with SBI Life, the insurance arm of the State Bank of India (SBI).
➢ ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd (ICICI Lombard) has introduced an industry-first
programme for its health insurance policyholders called the “Anywhere Cashless” feature, which enable
customers to use cashless facilities at any hospital, even if it is not currently a part of ICICI Lombard’s
hospital network.
JANUARY 2023
➢ The Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Ltd. (ABHICL) and Punjab & Sind Bank have established a
bancassurance partnership for the distribution of health insurance products through the bank’s branch
network in India.
➢ Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has unveiled Jeevan Azad (Plan No. 868), a new non-
linked, non-participating plan designed for individual savings and life insurance.
➢ HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited (HDFC Life) has partnered with the National Payments
Corporation of India (NPCI) to allow policyholders to pay their premiums via “UPI 123PAY”, a unique
voice-based Unified Payments Interface (UPI) service.
• The “first of its kind” UPI 123Pay aims to significantly streamline the premium payment
procedure for HDFC Life policyholders.
➢ Star Health and Allied Insurance, renewed its strategic corporate agency Bancassurance tie-up
with Punjab National Bank (PNB) for a long-term period.
ECONOMY
MARCH 2023
➢ According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) data,
Maharashtra and Gujarat recorded positive growth during the 3 quarters of the current fiscal (FY23) –
April 2022 to December 2022.
• FDI inflows into Maharashtra went up by 19% year-on-year (y-o-y) to Rs 85,186 crore
during the April-December of FY23 as compared to Rs 71,858 crore of FDI inflows during
April-December of FY22.
• FDI inflows into Gujarat during April-December of FY23 more than doubled to Rs 32,349
crore compared to Rs 15,321 crore in April-December of FY22.
• In April-December of FY23, FDI inflows into Karnataka were Rs 70,015 crore, 2nd highest
FDI equity inflow after Maharashtra, but it declined by 45% from Rs 1.28-lakh crore during
April-December of FY22.
➢ According to the “Index Numbers of Wholesale Price in India for the Month of February 2023
(Base Year: 2011-12)” released by the Office of the Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of
Industry And Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry Of Commerce & Industry(MoCI), the Wholesale Price-
Index (WPI) based inflation rate eased to a 25-month low of 3.85% (Provisional) in February 2023
(over February 2022) against 4.73% recorded in January 2023.
• The Retail Inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined to 6.44% in February
2023 against 6.52% in January 2023 and 6.07% in February 2022.
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ As per the data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India’s annual rate of a
wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation in January 2023 (provisional) was eased to a two-year low
of 4.73% from 4.95% in December 2022.
➢ EbixCash World Money Limited, a subsidiary of US-based Ebix Inc, became the first company in India
to launch the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions for foreign nationals visiting India.
JANUARY 2023
➢ According to data provided by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
(MoSPI), Retail Inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) decreased to a one-year
low of 5.72% in December 2022.
➢ The United Nations (UN) in its World Economic Situation and
Prospects (WESP) 2023 Report slashed India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for the
calendar year 2023 by 20bps (Basis Points) to 5.8% (from an estimated 6.4% in 2022) amid tighter
monetary policy and weak global demand.
❖ Global Scenario:
The global economic growth will slow down to 1.9% in 2023, one of the lowest in recent
decades, from 3.1% previously forecast.
The global growth in 2022 was 3% and it was expected to increase to 2.7% in 2024..
The global trade will contract to 0.4% in 2023.
BUSINESS
MARCH 2023
NIL
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ Gopalan Aerospace India Pvt Ltd signed a joint venture (JV) with Slovakia-based Magic Trading
Corporation, Inc. (MTC), a self-regulatory organization (S.R.O), and DEFSYSTECH S.R.O for the
development of precision drones in India.
• Gopalan Aerospace signed a joint venture with Omnipol Group, a partner of the Czech
government institution and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the field of defence
and security, to integrate Passive Radars for the Indian Defense Industry in border regions.
JANUARY 2023
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Microsoft India signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) to support and promote the growth of space technology startups in India.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
CABINET APPROVALS
MARCH 2023
➢ The Union Cabinet has approved the procurement of 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft for the
Indian Air Force (IAF) from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at a cost of Rs. 6,828.36 crore. The
aircraft will be delivered over a six-year period.
➢ The Union Cabinet has given its assent to the signing of a contract with Larsen & Toubro Limited
(L&T) for the acquisition of three Cadet Training Ships for Rs. 3,108.09 crore under the “Buy Indian-
IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed, and Manufactured)” category.
• The ships will be designed, developed, and built indigenously in India at the L&T
shipyard in Kattupalli, Chennai, Tamil Nadu (TN).
• The delivery of ships is anticipated to commence in 2026.
➢ Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
granted an exemption to NTPC Limited from the extant guidelines of delegation of power to Maharatna
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ Union Cabinet Approvals on February 15, 2023
❖ The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval to the
following proposals which were detailed by Union Minister Anurag Singh Thakur, Ministry of
Information & Broadcasting (I&B):
• Signing of MoU between Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and
the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW).
• Signing of MoU between India and South Africa (SA) for cooperation in Disability Sector
• Signing of MoU between India and Chile for cooperation in Agriculture and Allied
Sectors.
• Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS)- Vibrant Villages Programme for FY 2022-23 to
2025-26
• To set up 2 lakh PACS in next 5 years
• 7 new battalions; 9,400 personnel for Sino-India LAC guarding Indo-Tibetan Border
Police (ITBP).
➢ Cabinet Approvals on February 22 2023
❖ The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has approved the
following proposals:
• Air Services Agreement between India and Guyana.
• Ratification of 3 Protocols on Article 3 bis and Article 50 (a) & Article 56 relating to
amendments in the Chicago Convention, 1944.
i. Protocol to insert Article 3 bis in the Chicago Convention, 1944 to refrain member
states from resorting to the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight (Protocol
signed in May, 1984)
ii. Protocol to amend Article 50 (a) of the Chicago Convention, 1944 for raising the
strength of the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) Council from 36 to 40
(Protocol signed in October, 2016)
iii. Protocol to amend Article 56 of the Chicago Convention, 1944 for raising the strength
of the Air Navigation Commission from 18 to 21 (Protocol signed in October, 2016)
• Extension of the term of the 22nd Law Commission of India upto 31st August, 2024.
i. It was constituted for three years on February 21, 2020 and its chairperson
is Justice Rituraj Awasthi (retd).
• Quality Control Order (QCO) for mandatory certification of cotton bales.
PM’s LAUNCHES/INAUGURATIONS
MARCH 2023
➢ PM Inaugurates & Lays Foundation Stone of Multiple Development Projects in Shivamogga and
Belagavi, Karnataka
• PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone and inaugurated numerous development
projects totaling more than Rs. 3,600 crore at Shivamogga, Karnataka.
• He also inaugurated the Shivamogga Airport, a new airport built at a cost of around Rs. 450
crore. The Shivamogga airport is the 9th domestic airport in Karnataka
➢ PM Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone and inaugurated several development projects worth
over Rs. 2,700 crore in Belagavi, Karnataka, and also distributed the 13th instalment amount of around
Rs. 16,000 crores under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) through direct benefit
transfer (DBT) to over 8 crore beneficiaries.
• The PM-KISAN scheme provides eligible farmer families with a grant of Rs. 6,000 per year,
provided in three equal installments of Rs. 2000 each.
➢ The 3rd session of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR), with the
overarching theme of “Building Local Resilience in a Changing Climate,” was inaugurated by Prime
Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on March 10, 2023, in New Delhi, Delhi.
• During the event, the PM honoured the winners of the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda
Prabandhan
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ The India Energy Week (IEW) 2023, the first significant occasion under India’s G20 (Group of
Twenty) Presidency, was inaugurated by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi on February 6, 2023, in
Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• IEW 2023 will take place from February 6 to 8, 2023, at the Bangalore International Exhibition
Centre (BIEC) in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
➢ PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the Helicopter Factory of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL),
India’s largest helicopter manufacturing facility, and unveiled the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) in
Tumakuru district, Karnataka.
➢ Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) unveils India’s First Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine
(H2ICE) Technology for Heavy-Duty Trucks, which was launched by PM Narendra Modi at IEW 2023 in
Bengaluru, Karnataka.
➢ PM Narendra Modi unveiled ‘E20 Fuel’ as part of the IEW 2023 event and flagged off the Green
Mobility Rally, which was organized by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) on behalf of
Petronet LNG (PLL) and the oil and gas PSUs.
➢ Prime Minister (PM) of India, Narendra Modi, and the Prime Minister (PM) of Singapore, Lee Hsien
Loong, took part in the virtual launch of real-time payment linkage between the Unified Payments
Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore.
• The PayNow-UPI linkage is India’s first and Singapore’s second cross-border real-time payment
system linkage.
JANUARY 2023
➢ Narendra Modi, Prime Minister (PM) virtually Inaugurates Rs 7,600 crore worth Railway
projects in West Bengal
• He dedicated 4 railway projects to the nation including Boinchi – Shaktigarh 3rd Line, Dankuni
– Chandanpur 4th Line Project, Nimtita – New Farakka Double Line and Ambari Falakata – New
Maynaguri – Gumanihat Doubling Project.
• He also flagged off the 7th Vande Bharat Express from Howrah to New Jalpaiguri station and
inaugurated the Joka-Taratala-stretch of the Purple Line of Kolkata Metro.
➢ Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister (PM) of India, virtually inaugurated and addressed the
108th edition of the Indian Science Congress (ISC), also known as ISC 2023, organised at Rashtrasant
Tukadoji Maharaj (RTM) Nagpur University, Nagpur, Maharashtra.
LAUNCHES/INAUGURATIONS
MARCH 2023
➢ On the occasion of National Science Day (28th February 2023), Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of
Science and Technology, launched the Vaibhav Fellowship Scheme for Indian Diaspora abroad at Vigyan
Bhawan, New Delhi, Delhi.
➢ The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) approved the launch of Indian Farmers
Fertilizer Cooperative Limited’s (IFFCO) nano DAP (Di-Ammonium Phosphate) fertilizer in the market.
• In this regard, DAP manufactured by IFFCO is notified in the Fertilizer Control Order (FCO).
• FCO is an act that regulates the sale, pricing, distribution and other formalities of fertilizers
in India.
➢ The Union Minister Raj Kumar (RK) Singh, Ministry of Power launched the South Asia Distribution
Utility Network (SADUN) to modernize distribution of utilities in South Asia via knowledge sharing
among the region’s discoms (Distribution Companies), and to enable utility-to-utility (U2U) connect.
➢ Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister of Ayush and Ports, Shipping & Waterways, inaugurated the
first of its kind business to business (B2B) Conference and Expo on Traditional Medicine under the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Guwahati, Assam.
➢ The world’s first 200-meter-long Bamboo Crash Barrier named “Bahu Balli” has been installed on
the Vani-Warora Highway in Vidarbha, Maharashtra. This offers an alternative to steel and addresses
environmental concerns and their aftermath. This marks an accomplishment towards
achieving AatmanirbharBharat.
➢ Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, released the book “India’s
Vaccine Growth Story – From Cowpox to Vaccine Maitri” authored by Sajjan Singh Yadav, Additional
Secretary in the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, at the World
Book fair 2023, in New Delhi, Delhi.
➢ Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Ministry of Communications and Electronics & Information
Technology released a unique cover of the Department of Posts, ‘Go Green, Go Organic’ for Sikkim.
➢ Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched
‘Swachhotsav‘, a 3-week women-led swachhata campaign, under the Swachh Bharat Mission
Urban[SBM(U)] 2.0. It was launched ahead of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2023.
• He also launched the 1st edition of Women Icons leading Sanitation & Waste Management
(WINS) Challenge-2023 during the event.
➢ Union Minister Narayan Tatu Rane, Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MoMSME),
launched the MSME Competitive (LEAN) Scheme (MCLS) and National Scheduled Castes
(SC)/Scheduled Tribes (ST) Conclave under MSME Champion Scheme in the event organised at the
NDMC Convention Centre, New Delhi, Delhi.
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, launched the ‘Save
Wetlands Campaign’, a campaign structured on a “whole of society” approach for wetlands
conservation, during the National level Celebration of World Wetlands Day at Nanda Lake in Goa.
➢ Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan launched “Jaadui Pitara,” a play-based learning
and teaching material for the foundational stage children in the age group of 3 to 8 years as envisioned
by the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020).
➢ The “Digital Payments Utsav”, a comprehensive campaign aiming at promoting digital payments
across India, has been launched by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Ministry for Electronics and
Information Technology (MeitY).
• He also launched the Digital Payment Sandesh Yatra, which aims to educate the public about
various digital payment solutions and the security and safety of digital transactions.
• The campaign will focus on boosting digital payments across India, particularly in the cities of
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Pune (Maharashtra), Hyderabad (Telangana), and
Bengaluru(Karnataka).
JANUARY 2023
➢ The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD)’s flagship poverty alleviation program Deendayal
Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) has launched the ‘Prajjwala
Challenge’ – Unlock the Rural Economic Opportunity’ with an aim to invite ideas, solutions, and actions
that can Transform Rural Economy.
➢ The Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Yashwant (DY) Chandrachud launched the Electronic
Supreme Court Reports (E-SCR) project to provide free access to about 34,000 judgements of SC to
lawyers, law students and the common public.
➢ Droupadi Murmu, President of India, inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for various
projects during her 2-day visit to Rajasthan from 3rd to 4th January 2023.
• She virtually inaugurated the Transmission System for Solar Energy Zones in Rajasthan and laid
the foundation stone for the 1000-megawatt (MW) Bikaner Solar Power Project.
• She also participated in the launch of a National Campaign on ‘RISE-Rising India through
Spiritual Empowerment’, organized by Brahma Kumaris at Mount Abu.
➢ Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat inaugurated the International Kite Festival 2023 at Sabarmati
Riverfront in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The festival is organised by Gujarat Tourism on the G20 theme
of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’.
➢ Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology, released the
theme for the National Science Day 2023 titled “Global Science for Global Wellbeing” at National Media
Centre in New Delhi, Delhi.
➢ Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the “Soul of Steel” Alpine Challenge to
promote tourism in border areas during the event organised as a part of the 7th Army Veterans’ Day
in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
➢ Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, unveiled the iNCOVACC,
the world’s 1st intranasal COVID-19 vaccine to receive approval for the primary 2-dose schedule and
as a heterologous booster dose, in the presence of Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for
Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh.
• It is developed by Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) in collaboration with
Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance (BIRAC), a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under
the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology.
FIRST IN INDIA
MARCH 2023
➢ Arti Ahuja, Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE), e-launched the Employees’
Provident Fund Organisation’s (EPFO) district outreach program “Nidhi Aapke Nikat 2.0” in all the
districts of the country.
➢ India’s 1st Container Feeder Service launched Between Chennai-Puducherry ports; Hope Seven
flagged off from Chennai
• A short-haul coastal container feeder service, first of its kind in India, was launched between
Chennai – Puducherry ports. The container feeder ship, Hope Seven, with a container capacity
of 106 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs), was flagged off by service between Chennai and
Puducherry ports flagged off by Sunil Paliwal, Chairman of Chennai Port Trust at D P World
Terminal at the Chennai Port.
• The coastal feeder service is a step forward towards the ambitious Sagarmala Project of the
government of India.
➢ Deakin University from Australia is set to become the first foreign university to set up a campus in
India. The independent campus will be established in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City)
in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.
➢ The government of Uttarakhand is set to establish India’s first government mother milk bank, a
facility that can ensure to provide the nutritional elements of mothers’ milk to newborns.
• This announcement was made by Uttarakhand Health Minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat during
the Emerging Leaders of Garhwal program of Amar Ujala.
➢ NTPC Limited (NTPC), India’s state-owned power company, has installed the nation’s first Air-
Cooled Condenser (ACC) at its North Karanpura supercritical thermal plant in Jharkhand, which would
aid in water conservation.
• On March 1, 2023, NTPC started commercial operation of the first unit of 660 MW in North
Karanpura (3 X 660 MW), in Jharkhand.
• With this, the standalone and group commercial capacity of NTPC will become 58979 MW and
71594 MW respectively.
➢ India’s 1st quantum computing-based telecom network link is now operational between Sanchar
Bhawan and the National Informatics Centre(NIC) office located in Central Government Offices (CGO)
Complex in New Delhi, Delhi.
➢ National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), the Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprise
(CPSE), under the Ministry of Mines and India’s leading manufacturer and exporter of alumina and
aluminium, has released the Bauxite Certified Reference Material (CRM) – BARC B1201 the 1st of its
kind CRM in India and 5th in the World, in NALCO Research & Technology Centre, Bhubaneswar,
Odisha.
• BARC B1201 was jointly developed by NALCO in collaboration with the National Centre for
Compositional Characterization of Materials (NCCCM), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre(BARC),
Hyderabad(Telangana).
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ Geological Survey of India (GSI), an attached office to the Ministry of Mines, has discovered lithium
inferred resources(G3) for the first time in India. A 5.9 million tonnes of lithium inferred resources have
been established at Salal-Haimana in the Reasi district of the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and
Kashmir(J&K).
➢ Roshi Augustine, Kerala’s Minister of Water Resources, launched a robotic scavenger “Bandicoot”, in
Guruvayur in Thrissur district, Kerala and noted that the robotic technology would be extended
throughout the state.
JANUARY 2023
➢ The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) announced that the East-West Metro Corridor
project, India’s first underwater metro service, in Kolkata will be completed by December 2023.
➢ NTPC Ltd. (formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation Limited), India’s state-
owned and largest energy conglomerate, has launched India’s first green hydrogen-blending operation
in the piped natural gas (PNG) network of its Kawas township in Surat, Gujarat.
➢ ‘Purple Fest: Celebrating Diversity’ (Purple Fest 2023), India’s 1st of its kind inclusive festival
commenced at the Entertainment Society of Goa in Panaji, Goa.
➢ Kerala has become the first state in India to go fully digital in its banking service. It was declared
by the Chief Minister (CM) of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan during an event.
➢ Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and
Fertilisers, announced that India’s largest and 1st coal gasification-based Talcher Fertiliser
Project in Odisha will be ready to be dedicated to India by October 2024.
➢ ReNew Power (“ReNew”), one of India’s largest independent power producers (IPPs) for
renewable energy, has announced the installation of India’s first 3x-platform wind turbine generators
(WTGs) at Gadag, Karnataka.
➢ Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development &
Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, stated about the launch of India’s first Centre of
Excellence (CoE) in Online Gaming at Shillong, Meghalaya by March 2023.
➢ Union Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy, Raj Kumar Singh, who is on a three-day
visit to Abu Dhabi, and UAE’s (United Arab Emirates) Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Al
Mazrouei, signed the agreement on cooperation in the field of Green Hydrogen Development and
Investment.
• They also discussed the launch of a sub-sea cable between India and the UAE under the Mission,
‘ONE SUN, ONE WORLD, ONE GRID INITIATIVE’, which is announced by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi.
➢ Captain Surbhi Jakhmola, an Indian Army officer from 117 Engineer Regiment, has been posted in the
Project Dantak of Bhutan, she becomes the 1st woman officer to be posted on a foreign assignment at
the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
JANUARY 2023
➢ Naveen Patnaik, Chief Minister (CM) of Odisha, inaugurated the Birsa Munda International
Hockey Stadium, India’s largest hockey stadium, in terms of seated (chair) capacity of 20,000, in
Rourkela, Odisha.
• The stadium is inaugurated ahead of the 15th Fédération Internationale de Hockey(FIH) Hockey
World Cup – FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 which is scheduled to be held from 13th
to 29th January 2023 in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, Odisha.
• Rourkela is the 2nd venue for the international event after the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar,
Odisha.
➢ Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, flagged off the ‘MV Ganga Vilas’, the world’s longest river
cruise in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (UP).
• The 51-day luxury cruise, passing through 27 river systems, will cover a distance of 3,200 km
from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Dibrugarh in Assam, via Bangladesh.
• MV Ganga Vilas, the first of its kind cruise service, is supported by the Inland Waterways
Authority of India (IWAI) under Ministry of Shipping, Ports and Waterways (MoPSW).
➢ As per the statement of Pontsho Maruping, Chairperson of the South African Council for Space
Affairs, the launch of world’s first agriculture-focused satellite, AgriSAT-1 /ZA 008 is expected to
generate over USD 100 million in revenue for South Africa.
• It was launched by Dragonfly Aerospace on a Space X Falcon 9 rocket. Being the world’s first
agriculture-focused satellite, it will provide high-quality data to the agriculture and forestry
industry for efficient and sustainable practices.
GOVERNMENT SCHEMES
MARCH 2023
NIL
FEBRUARY 2023
NIL
JANUARY 2023
➢ GoI has introduced a new Integrated Food Security Scheme beginning January 1, 2023, to supply
free food grains to more than 81.35 crore beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA),
2013.
❖ The new integrated scheme will subsume two present food subsidy schemes run by the
Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), MoCA and F&PD. They are:
• Food Subsidy to Food Corporation of India (FCI) for NFSA
• Food Subsidy for Decentralized Procurement States, which deals with procuring,
allocating, and delivering free food grains to the states under the NFSA.
❖ Under the scheme, the GoI will distribute free foodgrains to all NFSA beneficiaries, including
Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households and Priority Household (PHH) people, for 2023
through a network of 5.33 lakh Fair Price Shops (FPS) across India.
• Fair Price Shops (FPS), also known as “Ration Shops” in rural and urban areas, are stores
that provide substantial subsidies on essential food commodities.
❖ Free foodgrains will ensure uniform implementation of portability under ‘One Nation, One
Ration Card’ (ONORC) across India, thereby strengthening this choice-based platform.
The GoI will incur a food subsidy of more than Rs. 2 lakh crore in 2023.
➢ The Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) has discontinued the ‘Padho Pardesh – Scheme of
Interest Subsidy On Educational Loans for Overseas Studies for The Students Belonging to The Minority
Communities’.
OTHERS
MARCH 2023
➢ GST (Goods and Service Tax) Council, chaired by Nirmala Sitaraman, Union Minister of Finance, has
agreed to reduce the GST rate on pencil sharpeners, liquid jaggery and examination institutions during
its 49th meeting on February 18, 2023.
• GST rate on pencil sharpeners has been reduced to 12% from 18% earlier, with effect
from March 1, 2023.
• GST rate on liquid jaggery will attract GST at the rate of 5% from 18% earlier.
➢ Tamil Nadu (TN) Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to develop a comprehensive Urban Cooling programme in
Tamil Nadu to meet the objectives under the TN State Action Plan on Climate Change.
➢ United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and NITI (National Institution for Transforming
India) Aayog organized a hybrid hackathon, called ‘LIFEathon’ to promote sustainable living and
climate-positive behavior by creating a pro-planet network.
• It was inaugurated by UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner and NITI Aayog Vice
Chairperson Suman Bery.
➢ GSTN empanels 4 private Companies to provide e-Invoice Registration
• On the recommendation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, the Goods and
Service Tax Network (GSTN) has launched e-Invoice Registration Services through
multiple private Invoice Registration Portals (IRPs) as another step towards further
digitization of the business process flow.
• The Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) has enlisted 4 private companies.
• Enlisted Firms:
• Ernst & Young Global Limited (EY), Clear (formerly ClearTax), Cygnet Infotech Pvt. Ltd.,
and IRIS Business Services Limited; were enlisted for providing e-invoice (electronic
invoicing) registration services to all GST taxpayers of India.
• GST e-Invoice:
• GST e-invoice is the introduction of the development of the digital invoice for goods and
services rendered by the business firm and produced at the official GST portal.
• Businesses must create electronic or e-invoices for all business-to-business (B2B)
transactions if their annual revenue is Rs 10 crore and above.
➢ DCA Issues “Endorsements Know-Hows!” Guidelines to Hold Celebrities, Influencers, And Virtual
Influencers on Social Media Platforms Accountable
• A set of guidelines titled “Endorsements Know-Hows!”: For Celebrities, Influencers &
Virtual Influencers on Social Media Platforms, has been released by the Department of
Consumer Affairs (DCA), under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public
Distribution (MoCA, F&PD).
➢ The Indian School of Business (ISB) is collaborating with the National Skill Development
Corporation (NSDC), under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), as a
knowledge partner for the G-20 Education Working Group (EWG).
➢ The Ministry of Power (MoP) has mandated that new coal/lignite-based thermal plants either
establish renewable energy capacity equivalent to at least 40% of the plant’s capacity or procure that
much green energy under a Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO).
➢ Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) has become the 1st metro in India to accept the Central Bank
Digital Currency (CBDC) issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
➢ Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister (CM) of Madhya Pradesh (MP), announced the formation of a
new district named Mauganj, with this the total number of districts in MP becomes 53.
➢ Department of Consumer Affairs announced that the sale of hallmarked gold jewellery or gold
artefacts without a 6 digit alphanumeric HUID (Hallmark Unique Identification) number, consisting of
alphabets and numbers, will not be allowed after 31st March 2023 i.e, from 1st April 2023 onwards.
Following this, the sale of jewellery with a 4-digit HUID number will also be stopped on April 1.
➢ Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (Ministry of
Ayush) and the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) signed an MoU to collaborate in developing
skilled personnel by providing training to rural poor youth and women for the Ayush Healthcare
system under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya-Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY).
➢ According to a report entitled “Lion at 2047: A Vision for Amrutkal” prepared by the Wildlife
Institute of India (WII) for the Gujarat government, the Barda Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) has been
identified as a suitable location for relocating a population of 40 adult and sub-adult Asiatic lions from
Gir National Park (NP).
➢ Government of India (GoI) announced the sites for setting up of 7 PM Mega Integrated Textile
Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks for the Textile industry in the states of Tamil Nadu (TN),
Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Maharashtra.
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ In the midst of the geopolitical unrest brought on by the conflict in Ukraine, India, France, and
the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have announced an ambitious roadmap for cooperation in a wide
range of fields, including defence, energy, and technology under a trilateral framework.
❖ Proposed Actions to Support the Framework:
• A number of trilateral events will be organized to assist the efforts during the G20
Presidency of India and the hosting of 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP
28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by the UAE in 2023,
respectively.
• The three nations also decided to enhance their cooperation through projects like the
Indo-Pacific Parks Partnership, headed by India & France, and the Mangrove Alliance for
Climate (MAC), led by the UAE.
➢ Madhya Pradesh (MP) Chief Minister (CM) Shivraj Singh Chouhan released 12 cheetahs into the
Kuno National Park (KNP) in Sheopur, MP. The cheetahs include 7 males and 5 females from South
Africa (SA).
• While 8 cheetahs were put up in separate quarantine enclosures, 4 others were kept in
two bomas in pairs.
• Now, the total number of Cheetahs in KNP has increased to 20.
➢ Central Government (Govt) has formed a 12-member Cabinet Secretariat Coordination Unit (CSCU)
panel headed by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba to monitor the implementation of the government’s
National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB) or Mission Karmayogi for training
government employees.
➢ The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) has approved the commercial release
of nano-diammonium phosphate (nano-DAP), which is intended to minimise fertiliser subsidy and
import dependence.
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➢ Chief Minister (CM) of Andhra Pradesh, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, stated that Visakhapatnam will be
declared as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh during the International Diplomatic Alliance Meet, a
curtain-raiser event for the Global Investors Summit, held in New Delhi, Delhi.
➢ Wildlife enthusiasts and forest officials have sighted 145 different bird species during the first-
ever Sundarban Bird Festival, organised by the Sundarban Tiger Reserve (STR) and South 24 Parganas
division of West Bengal Forest Department.
➢ Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved the following acquisition and mergers,
• Acquisition of 100% equity and preference shares of Lanco Anpara Power Limited by Megha
Engineering and Infrastructures Limited Group.
• Internal restructuring involving certain subsidiaries of Keimed Private Limited.
• Acquisition of 20% equity share capital of Keimed by Shobana Kamineni through Prime Time
Logistics Technologies Private Limited.
• Acquisition of the textile effects business of Huntsman International by Archroma Operations
S.à.r.l.
• Subscription of Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares of Hero Future Energies Global
Limited by Ardor Holdings II Pte. Ltd.
• Acquisition of up to 25% shareholding in Hindustan Ports Private Limited (HPPL), by the
National Investment and Infrastructure Fund(NIIF) and the proposed merger of Hindustan
Infralog Private Limited (HIPL) into HPPL.
JANUARY 2023
➢ GoI has approved the Print and Digital Media Association (PADMA) as a self-regulatory body for
publishers of news and current affairs across India.
➢ Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras has created a ‘centre of excellence’ named ‘DRDO
Industry Academia-Ramanujan Centre of Excellence’ (DIA-RCoE) at a campus unit set up by the
DRDO to develop advanced technologies for national defence and security.
➢ On 4th January 2023, the Zeliangrong or Kabui Community of Manipur celebrated the Gaan-Ngai
festival to bring peace, prosperity and unity to the people of Manipur. The festival also marks the
beginning of the new year and bids farewell to the old year.
➢ Kerala Chief Minister (CM) Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the Palm leaf Manuscript Museum with
modern audio-visual technology at the renovated Central Archives, Fort area in Thiruvananthapuram,
Kerala.
• The Museum, promoted as “World’s First Palm-Leaf Manuscript Museum” was set up by the
Archives Department in association with the Kerala Museum of History and Heritage at a cost of
Rs 3 crore.
➢ GoI has allotted Rs. 1037.90 crore for the New India Literacy Programme (NILP), a centrally
sponsored programme (CSS), for a 5-year period, from fiscal years 2022-23 (FY23) to 2026-27 (FY27).
• The NILP was approved by the Ministry of Education (MoE) in 2022 to cover all aspects of adult
education in accordance with the new National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) for the next
five years, from FY23 to FY27.
➢ The Sustainability Reporting Standards Board (SRSB) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants
of India (ICAI) released Standard on Sustainability Assurance Engagements (SSAE) 3000, “Assurance
Engagements on Sustainability Information.”
• Note: Sanjeev Singhal is the Chairman of the Sustainability Reporting Standards Board (SRSB),
ICAI.
➢ As per the Appellate Authority for Advance Rulings (AAAR), the cultivation of mangroves is
different from agriculture and will not be exempted from the Goods and Services Tax (GST). It will
attract 18% GST.
➢ The Government of India (GoI) has launched U-WIN, a platform to digitize India’s Universal
Immunization Program (UIP) in a pilot mode in two districts from each State and Union Territory
(UT).
➢ A tripartite agreement has been inked between the NITI (National Institution for Transforming
India) Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM); Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)-
Rajesh Kumar, Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the Sunil Soni, former Chief General Manager and
Panel Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Chief Information Officer of Punjab National
1 Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) Bank(PNB).
Retired Commodore Sunil Kumar Gupta, Former
Director (Personnel Services), Naval
Headquarters, Indian Navy
Panel Vikram Sahay, Joint Secretary in charge of Policy and Kavindra Sharma, the former vice-president
2 Administration Division, MeitY. (consulting) of L&T Infotech Limited
Sanjay Goel, Former Indian Railway Traffic
Service (Retired)
➢ The Ministry of Education (MoE) released the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE)
2020-2021.
• Total students’ enrolment in higher education in 2020-21 increased to around 4.14 crore
(crossing the 4 crore mark for the 1st time) from 3.85 crore in 2019-20 with an increase of 7.5%
from 2019-20 and 21% from 2014-15.Increase of 7.5% from 2019-20 and 21% from 2014-15.
• A total of 2.12 crore (51.3%) male and 2.01 crore (48.7%) female students were enrolled in
Higher Education.
• Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education for the age group 18-23 years in 2020-21, is
estimated to be 27.3, as compared to 25.6 in 2019-20.
• Gender Parity Index (GPI) i.e., the ratio of female GER to male GER, has increased from 1 in
2017-18 to 1.05 in 2020-21.
• The top 6 States in terms of Student Enrolment are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu,
Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Rajasthan.
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ The International Khajuraho Dance Festival-2023 (49th edition) began on February 20, 2023, at
the world-famous tourist destination of Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh.
➢ The 3 day- Ellora -Ajanta International Festival 2023 held in Chatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly
known as Aurangabad), Maharashtra, from 25th to 28th February 2023.
JANUARY 2023
➢ ARTPARK (Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Robotics Technology Park), a not-for-profit organisation
backed by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore has collaborated with Google to
launch ‘Project Vaani’, a pan-India inclusive language data initiative for open-sourcing datasets at
‘Google for India 2022’ event held in New Delhi.
➢ The President of India Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Code of Criminal
Procedure (Gujarat Amendment) Bill, 2021 which empowers the administration to register criminal
cases against those who are staging protests in violation of Section 144 of the Code of Criminal
Procedure (CrPC).
➢ For the first time in India, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has
formulated identity standards for basmati rice (including brown basmati, milled basmati, parboiled
brown basmati, and milled parboiled basmati) through Food Safety and Standards (Food Products
Standards and Food Additives) First Amendment Regulations, 2023.
➢ On the occasion of the 148th Foundation Day of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD)
(15th January 2023), Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Earth Sciences stated that
India will be covered by Doppler Weather Radar Network by 2025 to predict extreme weather events
more accurately.
➢ Indian Ports Association (IPA) and Research & Information System for Developing Countries
(RIS) have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to set up a Centre for Maritime Economy and
Connectivity.
➢ The American India Foundation (AIF) inaugurated India’s 1st STEM Innovation and Learning
Centre (SILC) under the scheme of Vanavil Mandram and launched Drone and Satellite Launch
Vehicle (DSLV) Mission at the Government Higher Secondary School, MMDA Colony, Chennai, Tamil
Nadu (TN).
➢ Chandigarh’s Administrator Inaugurates North India’s largest floating Solar Project of 2000kWp
at Dhanas Lake in Chandigarh.
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FEBRUARY 2023
➢ Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been included in the 25th edition of FORTUNE magazine’s list of
the “World’s Most Admired Companies” for 2023.
➢ The Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka issued a letter of approval to India’s Adani Green Energy
Limited (AGEL) for 2 wind power plants project in Mannar and Pooneryn areas of (northern province)
Sri Lanka with a total investment of USD 442 million.
➢ The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) suspended Russia’s membership stating that Russia’s war
in Ukraine violated the FATF’s principles to promote security, safety, and the integrity of the global
financial system.
• FATF has also added South Africa and Nigeria to its “grey list“, a list of countries that are
failing to combat money laundering and terrorism financing.
JANUARY 2023
➢ Croatia, the youngest member of the European Union (EU), adopted the ‘Euro’, and it became a part
of Europe’s border-free Schengen zone.
VISITS
INDIAN VISITS
MARCH 2023
➢ At the invitation of Vice President (VP) Jagdeep Dhankhar, Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik André
Henrik Christian and Crown Princess Mary Elizabeth visited India for 4 days from February 27 to March
2, 2023, to strengthen and enhance the friendly relationship between India and Denmark.
• Tamil Nadu (TN) government Water Resources Department and the Municipal
Administration and Water Supply Department have signed a letter of intent with the
Danish Environmental Protection Agency for sharing technology and cooperation in the
water sector.
• Under the ‘Indo-Danish Green Strategic Partnership’, the Indian Institute of Technology
(IIT)-Madras signed an agreement with the Denmark government to initiate research
projects on next-generation fuels and energy systems.
➢ Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister (PM) of Japan, paid a two-day visit to India and held the ‘Japan-India
Summit Meeting 2023’ with PM of India Narendra Modi, to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral
cooperation in a number of fields, including defence and security, trade and investment, and high
technology.
• India & Japan Sign 2 MoU On Cooperation On Japanese Language & Bullet Train
• In conjunction with Japan’s PM Fumio Kishida visit to India on March 20, 2023, two
agreements were signed between India and Japan. They are as follows:
i. Exchange of Notes concerning the FY2022 Yen Loan for the “Project for Construction
of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (IV)” [loan provision of up to 300 billion yen]
ii. India-Japan Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in the Field of Japanese Language
Education in India
FEBRUARY 2023
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JANUARY 2023
➢ Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi visited Karnataka and Maharashtra the details of which are
given below:
❖ PM’s visit to Karnataka:
• In Karnataka, the PM visited the districts Yadgiri and Kalaburagi.
• In Kodekal of Yadgiri District, PM laid the foundation stones and inaugurated various
developmental projects related to irrigation, drinking water and a National Highway
(NH) development project.
• Foundation stone of Yadgir multi-village drinking water supply scheme was laid under
Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)
• Inauguration of Narayanpur Left Bank Canal – Extension Renovation and Modernization
Project (NLBC – ERM).
FOREIGN VISIT
MARCH 2023
➢ Australian Prime Minister (PM) Anthony Albanese visited India for four days from March 8 to 11,
2023, with the objective of enhancing overall bilateral engagement in a number of fields, including
trade, investment, and critical minerals.
• This was the first official visit he made to India since becoming PM in May 2022 and the
first visit by an Australian PM in six years.
❖ The 4th Commemorative Cricket Test Match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between the
Indian and Australian cricket teams were inaugurated at Narendra Modi Stadium in
Ahmedabad, Gujarat, by the Prime Ministers of India and Australia, marking the beginning of the
visit.
❖ ECTA signed between India & Australia to Unlock the Next Level of Potential in Trade &
Investment
• On March 9, 2023, Australian PM Anthony Albanese addressed the ‘India-Australia CEO
Forum’ in Mumbai (Maharashtra), stating that the Economic Cooperation and Trade
Agreement (ECTA) agreed upon between the two nations is a transformative pact that
will unleash the next level of potential in trade and investment.
❖ India and Australia have inked a significant bilateral Audiovisual Co-production
Agreement under which private, quasi-government, or governmental institutions from the two
nations enter into contracts to produce films together.
❖ Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India),
and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia’s
national research agency, signed a letter of intent (LoI) to enhance bilateral cooperation in areas
of national challenge and shared goals of both countries.
❖ Australian PM Albanese Receives Guard of Honour During INS Vikrant Visit
• During his recent visit to India, Australian PM Anthony Albanese paid a visit to India’s
indigenous aircraft carrier, the Indian Naval Ship (INS) Vikrant, and was accorded a
Guard of Honour on the carrier, which was commissioned into the Indian Navy in
September 2022.
❖ India & Australia sign a Framework Mechanism for Mutual Recognition of Qualifications
• On March 2, 2023, India & Australia signed a Framework Mechanism for Mutual
Recognition of Qualifications, which will facilitate student and professional mobility
between the two countries.
• The agreement was signed by Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s Education Minister, and
Jason Clare, Australia’s Education Minister.
JANUARY 2023
➢ Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM), visited the Republic of
Cyprus from December 29 – 31, 2022 and the Republic of Austria from December 31, 2022 -January 3,
2023.
• The year 2022 commemorated the 60th anniversary of India-Cyprus diplomatic ties,
which were established on February 10, 1962.
• During his visit to Cyprus, EAM witnessed the signing of agreements in a number of
fields, including Defence and Military Cooperation between India & Cyprus.
❖ Dr. S. Jaishankar, EAM of India, made an official visit to the Republic of Austria from December
31, 2022 to January 3, 2023.
• The visit commemorated the 75 years of India’s diplomatic ties with Austria, which were
established in 1949.
• During EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar’s visit to Vienna, Austria, India and Austria signed a
number of agreements, including ones pertaining to mobility and migration and the
Working Holiday Programme.
➢ India’s Union Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) paid an
official visit to Maldives and Sri Lanka.
❖ India and Maldives exchange three MoUs :
• An MoU between the Maldives government and the Indian government for additional
grant assistance of 100 million Rufiyaa for the High Impact Community Development
Project (HICDP) scheme was signed to implement a number of socio-economic
development projects.
• The above signatories also exchanged MoU for the development of a sports complex in
Gaafu Dhaal Gadhdhoo,Maldives.
• The Vice-Chancellors of India’s Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT)
and Maldives National University (MNU) exchanged the MoU on capacity building to
facilitate exchanges and cooperative initiatives between the two universities in the area
of education, research, development instruction, community service, staff and student
exchanges.
• India has extended a concessional $40 million Line of Credit to develop sports
infrastructure in the Maldives. The extension is part of India’s flagship projects such as
“Fit India” and “Khelo India” being included in its Neighbourhood First Policy.
• Ground-breaking ceremony of Hanimaadhoo International Airport Project
• External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
have jointly participated in the groundbreaking ceremony of the Hanimaadhoo
International Airport Redevelopment Project.
❖ Visit to Sri Lanka:
• India becomes the first country to extend assurance to Sri Lanka for its debt
restructuring
• India has become the first creditor nation to extend assurance towards restructuring the
debt of Sri Lanka with financial assistance worth $4 billion.
• India’s Commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland bagged a contract for supplying 32-
seater 500 buses to the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB), of which 75 buses have
already been delivered.
FEBRUARY 2023
Ministry of Law and Justice’s Former Law Secretary To draft rules and standards for the
working committee PK Malhotra implementation of the provisions of the
Mediation Bill/Act 2021 in India.
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Sanjay K. Mehta (SK To draft the revised guidelines for the
Waterways (MoPSW)’s High- Mehta), Chairman of operation of Roll on-Roll off (Ro-Ro) and roll
Level Committee Deendayal Port on-Passenger (Ro-Pax) ferry service.
Authority (DPA),
Gandhidham, Gujarat
Inter-ministerial committee Manoj Govil, Secretary of Government of India (GoI) constituted a 16-
the Ministry of member inter-ministerial committee to
Corporate Affairs (MCA) analyse the need for a separate law for
competition in the digital market and to draft
a digital competition act within three
months.
JANUARY 2023
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)’s Nityanand Rai, Minister The Committee has a 17-member High
High Powered Committee (HPC) of State (MoS) of MHA Powered Committee (HPC) to discuss
measures for the protection of Ladakh’s
unique culture, language and employment.
MEETING
MARCH 2023
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JANUARY 2023
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FEBRUARY 2023
➢ The 12th World Hindi Conference, which took place from February 15–17, 2023, in Nadi, Fiji,
decided to promote Hindi as a language of contact-dialogue among all people around the world who
speak, understand, and are fond of it.
❖ India and Fiji signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on visa exemption for holders of
diplomatic and official passports on the margins of the 12th World Hindi Conference, held in
Fiji.
• The MoU exchange was witnessed by Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and India’s
EAM S. Jaishankar.
➢ India hosted the 9th Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable (AMER9) in association with the
International Energy Forum (IEF) on 7 February 2023 at the India Energy Week 2023 which was held
from February 6–8, 2023, in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• The theme for the roundtable was ‘Mapping new pathways for energy security, inclusive
growth and energy transitions’.
• The Ministry of Petroleum has signed a pact with the Paris-based International Energy
Agency (IEA) for strengthening cooperation in the field of data and research and for
enhancing global energy security, stability, and sustainability.
JANUARY 2023
➢ Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, launched the themes of Youth 20
(Y20) Summit, logo, and website in the Curtain raiser event of Y20 Summit India at Akashwani Rang
Bhawan New Delhi, Delhi.
➢ The World Economic Forum (WEF) held its 53rd Annual Meeting, “World Economic Forum—2023”
[Davos Summit], from January 16 to 20, 2023, in the highest city in Europe, Davos, Switzerland.
• The theme of the WEF Summit 2023 is “Cooperation in a Fragmented World.”
• The WEF hosted the event in collaboration with the Swiss government and the Canton of
Graubünden.
❖ According to the non-profit organisation Oxfam India’s report, “Survival of the Richest: The
India Supplement,” the top 1% of Indians currently own more than 40.5% of the nation’s entire
wealth in 2021.
• Garuda Aerospace unveiled India’s first-ever carbon-neutral drone at WEF 2023 Summit
India & Nigeria The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved the proposal for the signing
of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India’s Narcotics Control
Bureau (NCB) and Nigeria’s National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)
on the prevention of illicit trafficking in ‘Narcotic Drugs’, psychotropic
substances and precursor chemicals.
FEBRUARY 2023
International Solar The ISA and the Government of Bangladesh have signed an agreement to
Alliance (ISA) & enhance the use of solar energy in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh • The agreement was signed by Bangladesh Power Division Secretary Md.
Habibur Rahman and ISA Director General Ajay Mathur.
The agreement is scheduled to take effect in December 2026.
The state-run National Singed an MoU for the annual importation of 1.75 million metric tonnes (MT) of
Fertilizers Limited, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilisers at Rabat, Morocco.
Chambal Fertilizers and • According to the MoU, 1 MT of diammonium phosphate (DAP), 0.7 MT
Chemicals Ltd, Rashtriya of triple superphosphate (TSP), and 0.05 MT of mutate of potash (MOP)
will be imported to cover the domestic requirements of the soil nutrient
Chemicals and Fertilizers
variety for the upcoming year.
Ltd, and Paradeep
Phosphates Ltd & OCP
Group, a Moroccan state-
owned fertilizer
producer
JANUARY 2023
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Asian
Development Bank
To promote the generation of biomass energy using
(ADB) & SAEL agricultural residue, helping diversify India’s energy mix and
Industries Limited Rs 754 Crore reduce carbon intensity.
PFC Limited, a state-owned and a leading Non-Banking
Power Finance
Finance Company (NBFC) in the Indian power sector signed a
Corporation (PFC) Japanese Yen (JPY) loan agreement for Japanese Yen (JPY) 2.65 billion (~Rs 165
Limited 2.65 billion crore) with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s
private investment arm, is set to invest USD 73 million (Rs
6020 crore) in an Indian automaker, Mahindra and Mahindra
International
(M&M) Limited’s last-mile electric mobility unit. This
Finance investment is the IFC’s 1st investment in an electric vehicle
Corporation (IFC), USD 73 million maker in India.
Bharat Electronics Aeronautical Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has signed two
Limited (BEL) Development Agency Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) for the Advanced
(ADA) & Cisco Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) program with Aeronautical
Development Agency (ADA); and for networking and security
with Cisco.
• The first MoU was signed with the ADA for the AMCA
program. ADA is an autonomous body under MoD. The
AMCA is a 5th generation, multi-role, all-weather
fighter aircraft designed with high survivability and
stealth capability.
JANUARY 2023
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4 UK 99 368 Billion
FEBRUARY 2023
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JANUARY 2023
Indian Institutional Ranking - The Indian Institute of Management (IIM),
Framework (IIRF) ranking Ahmedabad (Gujarat), is the top government
(2023) college in India for pursuing the Master of
Business Administration (MBA) course.
IIM Bengaluru (Karnataka) and IIM Kolkata
(West Bengal) are ranked second and third,
respectively, after IIM Ahmedabad.
INTERNATIONAL RANKING
Index /Survey Name Released By Ranks of India & Top 3 Ranks
MARCH 2023
City Index 2023 - India has the fifth-highest number of female
billionaires in the world, according to a new
International Women’s Day study report from City
Index 2023, which was based on the analysis of
Forbes’ live billionaire tracker (March 2023).
City Index 2023: Countries with The Most Female
Billionaires (as of March 09, 2023)
Rank Country No. of female Billionaires
1 United States (US) 92
2 China 46
3 Germany 32
4 Italy 16
5 Australia 9
5 India 9
5 Hong Kong 9
8 Spain 8
8 Switzerland 8
10 Brazil 7
10 Sweden 7
QSWorld University Rankings by QS Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) Bombay,
Subject 2023. (Quacquarelli (Mumbai, Maharashtra)and IIT-Delhi(New Delhi,
Symonds) Delhi) are featured among the top 50 in the subject of
Engineering and Technology in the QS(Quacquarelli
Symonds) World University Rankings by Subject
2023. IIT Bombay is ranked 47th and IIT Delhi is
ranked 48th.
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT)(Cambridge, Massachusetts, United
Passport Index 2023 Arton Capital India’s Mobility score (MS) has reduced by three
places to 70 from 73 in 2022. India’s Individual
Passport Power Rank also fell by six places to 144
(out of 199 countries) from 138 in 2022.
India ranks 71 in the Global Passport Power
Rank 2023 due to the MS of 70
UAE ranks 1st in both the Global Passport
Power Rank 2023 & Individual Passport
Power Rank 2023 with a Mobility Score of
181. Afghanistan is ranked last (Global
Passport Power Rank 2023 – 97
and Individual Passport Power Rank
2023 – 199)with a Mobility Score of 38.
Individual Passport Power Rank 2023:
Rank Country MS
144 India 70
1 United Arab Emirates 181
2 Sweden 174
3 Germany 174
4 Finland 174
5 Luxembourg 174
FEBRUARY 2023
Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Global India is ranked 4th out of 51 nations in terms of
2022/2023 Global Report Entrepreneurs having a high- quality entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Adapting to a “New Normal” hip Monitor • The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi
(GEM) and Arabia and Taiwan are the top 3 countries in
the GEM 2022/2023 Global Report.
National
Entrepreneurs
hip Context
Index (NECI)
OECD Services Trade OECD India ranked 47th in OECD’s report titled ‘OECD
Restrictiveness Index (STRI): (Organisation Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI):
Policy trends up to 2023 for Economic Policy trends up to 2023’, which highlights the key
outcomes of the 2022 OECD STRI.
Cooperation
STRI 2022:
and
Development) Rank Country
47 India
1 Japan
2 UK
3 Netherlands
4 Czech Republic
REPORT
MARCH 2023
➢ As per the Brand Finance Telecoms 150 2023, an annual report of the strongest telecoms brand,
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, an Indian Telecommunications company & subsidiary of Jio Platforms,
is Asia’s strongest and World’s 2nd strongest telecoms brand having a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score
of 90 out of 100 and earning an elite AAA+ rating.
❖ List of the World’s Strongest Telecom Brands:
Rank Brand Country BSI Score
1 Swisscom Switzerland 92
2 Reliance Jio India 90
3 Etisalat by e& United Arab Emirates (UAE) 89.1
4 MTN Group Africa 88.7
5 Telcel Mexico 88.5
Top 5 Telecoms 150 Ranking 2023:
Rank Brand Country
1 Verizon United States of America (USA)
2 Deutsche Telekom Germany
3 AT&T USA
4 China Mobile China
5 NTT Group Japan
➢ The second ILO–UNICEF (International Labour Organization – United Nations International Children’s
Emergency Fund) joint report on social protection for children titled ‘More than a billion reasons: The
urgent need to build universal social protection for children’ was released on March 01, 2023.
➢ According to the V-Dem (Varieties of Democracy) Institute’s report titled, “Democracy Report
2023: Defiance in the Face of Autocratization,” India has been ranked 97th in the Liberal Democracy
Index (LDI) (2022) and 108th in the Electoral Democracy Index (EDI) (2022).
Top 10 Democracies in The World: Country Scores for The LDI & EDI, 2022
Liberal Democracy Index (LDI) 2022
Country Rank Score
Denmark 1 0.89
Sweden 2 0.87
Norway 3 0.86
Switzerland 4 0.85
Estonia 5 0.85
New Zealand 6 0.83
Belgium 7 0.83
Ireland 8 0.82
Costa Rica 9 0.82
Finland 10 0.82
India 97 0.31
Electoral Democracy Index (EDI) 2022
Country Rank Score
Denmark 1 0.92
Switzerland 2 0.9
Sweden 3 0.9
Norway 4 0.9
Estonia 5 0.89
Belgium 6 0.89
Ireland 7 0.89
New Zealand 8 0.89
Luxembourg 9 0.88
France 10 0.88
India 108 0.4
➢ According to the 9th edition of the World Bank’s “Women, Business, and the Law 2023” report,
women across the world only have 77% of the legal rights that men do, and nearly 2.4 billion women of
working age live in countries that do not provide them the same rights as men.
❖ Furthermore, the global pace of reforms towards equal treatment of women under the law
slowed to a 20-year low in 2022.
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ According to a joint report by the United Nations (UN) Agencies titled “Asia-Pacific Overview of
Food Security and Nutrition 2022: Urban Food Security and Nutrition”, an increasing number of people
in Asia lack enough to eat as food insecurity rises with greater prices and worsening poverty.
❖ This joint flagship report is published by 4 specialized agencies of the UN: The Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food
Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO).
• The report is the fifth annual assessment of food insecurity and hunger by the UN
agencies.
➢ IEA Report: India’s ‘LiFE’ Initiative Can Save USD 440 Billion Globally in 2030
❖ The International Energy Agency (IEA) claimed in its country report titled “LiFE lessons from
India -The benefits of advancing the Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) initiative through the G20”
that if adopted worldwide, the measures specified under the LiFE initiative could save
consumers around USD 440 billion in 2030, corresponding to around 5% of total fuel spending
across the global economy that year.
• It further said that implementing India’s “LiFE” initiative may help decrease worldwide
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by more than 2 billion metric tonnes by 2030, or
roughly one-fifth of the emission reduction required to reach global net-zero emissions.
• Note: India Energy Week will be hosted in Bengaluru, Karnataka, from February 6 to 8,
2023.
➢ According to the World Bank report “Collapse and Recovery: How the COVID-19 Pandemic
Eroded Human Capital and What to Do About It”, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a massive destruction
of human capital at essential stages of the life cycle, especially affecting children and young people in
underdeveloped and developing countries.
➢ Dr Bibek Debroy, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM)
released the second edition of the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) report at the conference
‘TheIndiaDialog’, which was organised by Institute for Competitiveness and US-Asia Technology
Management Center, Stanford University, on February 23 & 24, 2023.
• India’s overall average score in the FLN index 2022 was 44.48 and 18 out of 36 state/UTs have
scored above the country average.
• Categorywise Top 3 Ranking – INDEX ON FOUNDATIONAL LEARNING
Category State FLN Scores 2022
Punjab 64.19
Small State Kerala 58.42
Goa 51.05
West Bengal 54.48
Large State Maharashtra 52.78
Tamil Nadu 52.23
Puducherry 54.76
Delhi 52.13
➢ The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation (MoSPI) released the 5th ‘Annual Report Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)- July,
2021 – June, 2022’ stating Unemployment rate (UR) at 5-year low of 4.1% in 2021-22. It was 4.2% in
July 2020-June 2021.
• The pan-India UR for male was 4.4% and for women was 3.3% in July, 2021 – June, 2022.
JANUARY 2023
➢ According to the Nikkei Asia report, India surpassed Japan as the world’s third-largest auto
market in 2022. According to preliminary results, India’s new vehicle sales were at 4.25 million units,
surpassing Japan’s 4.2 million units.
➢ China remained the global leader in automobile sales in 2021, with 26.27 million units, followed
by the United States (US) in second place with 15.4 million vehicles and Japan in third place
with 4.44 million units.
➢ World Economic Forum (WEF) has published ‘The Global Risks Report 2023’ (18th Edition), which
lists the biggest risks for India over the short and medium terms.
• Globally, the greatest risks over the next 2 years [2023–2025] include: cost-of-living crisis,
natural disasters and extreme weather conditions, geoeconomic confrontations, failure to
control climate change, and occurrences causing significant environmental damage.
➢ According to The Official Airline Guide (OAG)’s Punctuality League 2023 report, released on 11th
January 2022, India’s largest airline IndiGo and Airports Authority of India (AAI)-owned Coimbatore
International Airport, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, are among the 20 most punctual airlines and
airports globally in terms of On-Time Performance (OTP) in 2022.
➢ The United Nations (UN) in its World Social Report 2023 projected that the number of people aged
65 years or older worldwide will more than double from 761 million in 2021 to 1.6 billion in 2050.
• It is published by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
➢ According to the recent data published in the "Levels & Trends in Child Mortality" report by the
United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), an estimated 5 million
children died before turning five, with nearly half (47%) dying during their first month.
➢ According to the “World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2023” (WESO Trends), released
by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the present global economic slowdown is anticipated to
worsen social and economic inequalities.
• According to projections, global employment would expand by 1.0% in 2023, a significant drop
(less than half the level) from the 2.3% growth rate in 2022.
• Global unemployment is expected to rise slightly in 2023, by roughly 3 million, to 208 million.
This amounts to a 5.8% unemployment rate.
• According to the estimates released by consulting firm EY (Ernst & Young) in its report
‘India@100: Realising the potential of a $26 trillion economy’, India’s economy will reach USD
26 trillion by 2047.
• Notably, the year 2047 will mark the 100th year of India’s independence.
• The per capita income is expected to increase to USD 15,000 which will place India among the
ranks of developed economies
• The report was launched by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology and Ministry of Railways, on the sidelines of the World Economic
Forum (WEF) being held at Davos, Switzerland.
➢ According to the estimates released by consulting firm EY (Ernst & Young) in its report
‘India@100: Realising the potential of a $26 trillion economy’, India’s economy will reach USD 26
trillion by 2047.
• Notably, the year 2047 will mark the 100th year of India’s independence.
Rashmi Shukla Director-General (DG) Sashastra Seema Bal Rashmi Shukla, a senior Indian
(SSB) Police Service (IPS) officer, has
been appointed Director-General
(DG) of the Sashastra Seema Bal
(SSB). She will succeed Anish
Dayal Singh, IPS.
Pankaj Gupta Managing Director Pramerica Life -
(MD) and Chief Insurance Limited
Executive Officer
(CEO)
Conrad Kongkal Chief Minister (CM) Meghalaya Conrad Kongkal Sangma (Conrad
Sangma K. Sangma), President of the
National People’s Party (NPP),
was sworn in as the Chief
Minister (CM) of Meghalaya, to
lead a coalition government for
the second consecutive term.
Neiphiu Rio Chief Minister (CM) Nagaland Neiphiu Rio, leader of the
Nationalist Democratic
Progressive Party (NDPP) of
Nagaland, was sworn in as Chief
Manik Saha Chief Minister (CM) Tripura Dr. Manik Saha, a 70-year-old
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
leader, was sworn in as Chief
Minister (CM) of Tripura for the
second time and his oath of office
was administered by Governor
Satyadeo Narain Arya, at a
ceremony held at Vivekananda
Stadium in Agartala, Tripura.
Note: Dr. Manik Saha was named
CM of Tripura in May 2022,
replacing Biplab Deb.
K. Krithivasan Chief Executive Officer Tata Consultancy The Board of Directors of Tata
(CEO) Services (TCS) Consultancy Services (TCS) has
appointed K. Krithivasan as Chief
Executive Officer (CEO)
designate, effective March 16,
2023. He will be appointed as
Managing Director (MD) and CEO
in the fiscal year 2023-24, subject
to shareholder approval.
i. Krithivasan will succeed Rajesh
Gopinathan, the current MD and
CEO, who unexpectedly resigned
and whose request was accepted
by the board.
JANUARY 2023
Suresh Deputy Managing IDBI Bank He was re-appointed as the DMD
Kishinchand Director (DMD) of IDBI Bank for 1 year with
Khatanhar effect from 15th January 2023,
according to the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI)’s approval.
Ajay Kumar Managing Director Indian Overseas Bank He has been appointed as MD and
Srivastava (MD) and Chief (IOB) CEO of Indian Overseas Bank
Executive Officer (IOB) for a period of 3 years with
effect from the date of
(CEO)
assumption of office on or after
1st January 2023.
• He was appointed
following the
superannuation of Partha
Pratim Sengupta, MD &
CEO of IOB, on 31st
December 2022.
Nalin Negi Chief Executive Officer BharatPe He is set to take over as the
(CEO) interim CEO of BharatPe.
Surinder Chawla Chief Executive Officer Paytm Payments Bank The appointment has been
(CEO) approved by the RBI for a period
of 3 years.
Michael Debabrata Deputy Governor Reserve Bank of India He was reappointment for a
Patra (RBI) further period of one year with
effect from the 15th January
2023.
Ravi Kumar S Chief Executive officer Cognizant Cognizant announced the
(CEO) appointment of Ravi Kumar S as
its Chief Executive officer (CEO)
with immediate effect. He was
also named as a member of the
Board of Directors of Cognizant.
• Ravi Kumar S succeeds
Brian Humphries, who
resigned from the post of
Prabdev Singh Chief Executive JP Morgan Chase Bank He was appointed for a period of
Officer (CEO) India 3-years.
INTERNATIONAL
➢ India has assumed the presidency of the 13th assembly of the International Renewable Energy
Agency (IRENA), the first international organisation solely dedicated to renewable energy, which was
held from January 13–15, 2023, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
➢ During the 12th Session of the Intergovernmental Technical Working Group (ITWG) on Animal
Genetic Resources (AnGR) at Rome, Italy from January 18-20, 2023, India was elected as the Vice-Chair
and represented the Asia & Pacific region.
JANUARY 2023
Luiz Inacio Lula da Brazil He was sworn in for the 3rd term as the President of the
Silva Republic of Brazil during the inauguration ceremony held at
the National Congress, in Brasilia, Brazil.
• He was sworn in as the 39th president of Brazil by
winning the 2022 Brazilian general election.
Petr Pavel Czech Republic Petr Pavel (61-year-old), the former chairman of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)military committee, won
the runoff vote defeating former Prime Minister (PM) Andrej
Babis, to become the 4th President of Czech Republic.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was sworn in
Abdulrahman Al Thani as the prime minister (PM) of Qatar at the Amiri Diwan of the
State of Qatar, in Doha, Qatar in the presence of Sheikh
Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Emir of Qatar.
He succeeds Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdul Aziz Al
Thani, who served as the PM and interior minister of Qatar
since 2020.
FEBRUARY 2023
Dorin Recean Moldova Natalia Gavrilița (41 years old), Prime Minister (PM) of the
Republic of Moldova announced her resignation from the
post, claiming a lack of support in the former Soviet Union.
• Maia Sandu, President of Moldova, appointed
presidential adviser Dorin Recean, a pro-Western
economist, as the new PM following the resignation of
Natalia Gavrilița.
• She became the 3rd woman PM of Moldova after
Zinaida Greceanii and Maia Sandu.
Manuela Roka Botey Equatorial Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of the Republic
Guinea of Equatorial Guinea, appointed Manuela Roka Botey, deputy
JANUARY 2023
Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze Gabon Alain-Claude Bilie By Nze(56 years old), former Minister, was
appointed as the new Prime Minister of Gabon to replace
Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda.
❖ Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of Gabon, appointed
Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda as the first-ever
female Vice President of Gabon.
• Prior to this appointment, she has been
serving as the Prime Minister of Gabon since
July 2022.
Chris Hipkins New Zealand He was sworn in as the 41st Prime Minister (PM) of New
Zealand by the governor-general Cindy Kiro, King Charles
representative in New Zealand, during a ceremony in
Wellington, New Zealand.
• Chris Hipkins took over the premiership succeeding
Jacinda Ardern(42 years old), after she tendered her
resignation to Governor-General Cindy Kiro on 25th
January 2023.
MARCH 2023
Rafael Mariano Director General(DG) International Atomic He was appointed for a second four-
Grossi Energy Agency year term. His second term starts on 3
(IAEA) December 2023 and runs until 2
December 2027.
FEBRUARY 2023
Neal Mohan Chief Executive Officer YouTube Mohan will succeed Susan Wojcicki,
(CEO) YouTube’s outgoing CEO, who is
departing after nine years in the
position.
• She had been with Alphabet
Inc., YouTube’s parent
company, for nearly 25 years.
Girish Chandra External Auditor International Labour Girish Chandra Murmu (G.C. Murmu),
Murmu (G.C. Organisation (ILO) Comptroller and Auditor General
Murmu) (CAG) of India, has been selected as
External Auditor of the International
Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva,
Switzerland, for a 4-year term (2024-
2027).
JANUARY 2023
Vinaya Prakash Secretary General Asian Pacific Postal Appointed for a 4-year term,
Singh Union (APPU) following the successful elections held
during the 13th APPU Congress in
Bangkok (Thailand) in August–
September 2022.
• With this, India will take over
the leadership of the Asian
Pacific Postal Union (APPU) in
January 2023.
Sultan Ahmed Al President COP28 climate UAE has named Sultan Ahmed Al
Jaber summit. Jaber, Minister of Industry and
Advanced Technology of UAE and
Group Managing Director & Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of the Abu
Dhabi National Oil Company(ADNOC),
as President of the COP28 climate
summit.
Inger Andersen Executive Director United Nations United Nations General Assembly
(ED) Environment (UNGA) elected Inger Andersen for a
Program (UNEP) second, 4-year term beginning from
15th June 2023 to 14th June 2027.
BRAND AMBASSADOR
Name Entity/Organization Points to be Noted
MARCH 2023
NIL
FEBRUARY 2023
Harmanpreet Kaur Puma India Puma India, one of the largest sportswear brand, has
roped in Indian Women’s cricket team captain
Harmanpreet Kaur as its brand ambassador as a part
of Puma India’s commitment towards the women’s
business, particularly in sports segment in India.
Ayushmann Khurrana United Nations Children’s United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) India
Fund (UNICEF) India announced the appointment of Ayushmann Khurrana,
a National Award-winning Bollywood Actor, as a
National Ambassador.
JANUARY 2023
Maithili Thakur State Icon for Bihar Maithili Thakur, a Folk Singer, was appointed as the
State Icon for Bihar by the Election Commission of
India (ECI).
RESIGNATION
Name Resigned as Imp points to be Noted
MARCH 2023
NIL
FEBRUARY 2023
NIL
JANUARY 2023
Lingam Venkata Managing Director He was retired from Canara Bank from his services, on
Prabhakar (MD) and Chief attaining the age of superannuation.
Executive Officer (CEO)
of Canara Bank
Suhail Sameer Chief Executive Officer Suhail Sameer, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of
(CEO) of BharatPe BharatPe, a Fintech startup, has announced has resigned
from the CEO position.
Nguyen Xuan Phuc President of Vietnam President of Vietnam, Nguyen Xuan Phuc(68 years old),
submitted his resignation after the communist party
blamed him for the violations and wrongdoings by the
senior ministers under him during his 2016-2021 stint as
Prime Minister(PM) of Vietnam.
2 Professional Photographer of the Year Award Sasi Kumar Ramachandran Rs.1 lakh
Dipjyoti Banik
R S Gopakumar
Sudipto Das
3 Special Mention Awards in the Professional category Umesh Harishchandra Nikam Rs.50,000
C S Sreeranj
Mohit Wadhawan
Ravishankar S L
Subhadip Bose
➢ Sir David Alan Chipperfield (David Chipperfield), a 69-year-old British Civic Architect, urban
planner and activist, won the Pritzker Architecture Prize 2023, the architect’s most prestigious award,
for his timeless modern design that confronts climate urgencies, transform social relationships and
reinvigorates cities.
David Chipperfield is the 52nd winner of the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize, which is
considered the most significant award in international architecture.
➢ Airports Council International (ACI) announced the winners of the 2022 Airport Service Quality
(ASQ) Awards recognizing the best airports for customer experience worldwide. Indira Gandhi
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ Dr Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister (PM) of India and Member of Parliament (MP) Rajya
Sabha (constituency- Rajasthan), was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Honour at the 2023
edition of the prestigious India-United Kingdom (UK) Achievers Honours, a first-of-its-kind celebration
of the UK’s Indian alumni, held on 25th January 2023 in London, UK, for his contribution to economic
and political life.
• British Indian peer Lord Karan Bilimoria received the Living Legend Honour.
• Virendra Sharma MP from Ealing Southall, who chairs the Indo-British All Party Parliamentary
Group, was also bestowed with the Living Legend Honour.
➢ R Vishnu Prassad, Founder and Chief Scientist at Vishnu Prasad Research Centre was awarded
“The Most Distinguished Scientist of the Year 2022” at the Indian Achievers Award 2022 by Anurag
Singh Thakur, Minister of Information and Broadcasting at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, Delhi.
• RV Prassad was chosen by a jury headed by Justice Gyan Sudha Misra.
• He was recognised for working tirelessly on sustainability, smart cities, and a vision to create a
clean India through solid waste management and the treatment of huge water bodies.
➢ VP Nandakumar, Managing Director and Chief executive officer (CEO) of Manappuram Finance
Limited, received The Hurun Industry Achievement Award 2022 for his remarkable achievements in
the world of business.
• He received the award from Rupert Hoogewerf, Founder & Chairman of Hurun Global, at Hurun
India’s award ceremony held in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
➢ Veteran journalist Dr Anne Bhavani Koteswara Prasad, popularly known as ABK, has been chosen
for the ‘Raja Ram Mohan Roy National Award for excellence in Journalism-2020’ for his outstanding
contribution to the field of journalism.
➢ Angela Merkel, former Federal Chancellor of Germany, received the Félix Houphouët-Boigny-
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Peace Prize 2022 during
R Balki (Balakrishnan)
3 Best Director for ‘Chup: Revenge of The Artist’
Ranbir Kapoor
4 Best Actor for ‘Brahmastra: Part 1’
Alia Bhatt
5 Best Actress for ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’
Rishab Shetty
6 Most Promising Actor for ‘Kantara’
Sheeba Chaddha
8 Best Actress In a Supporting Role for Doctor G
Manish Paul
9 Best Actor In A Supporting Role for ‘Jugjugg Jeeyo’
Varun Dhawan
11 Critics Best Actor for ‘Bhediya’
Anupam Kher
13 Most Versatile Actor of The Year for The ‘Kashmir Files’
Sachet Tandon
14 Best Male Singer for ‘Maiyya Mainu’ from Jersey
Neeti Mohan
15 Best Female Singer for ‘Meri Jaan’ from Gangubai Kathiawadi
PS Vinod
16 Best Cinematographer for ‘Vikram Vedha’
Zain Imam
17 Best Actor In A Television Series for ‘Fanaa- Ishq Mein Marjawaan’
Rupali Ganguly
19 Most Versatile Actress in a Television Series for Anupamaa
Shefali Shah
23 Best Actress in a Web Series for Delhi Crime 2
Mouni Roy
26 Best Actress in Negative Role for ‘Brahmastra: Part 1’
➢ Sajjan Jindal, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Mumbai (Maharashtra)-based JSW
Group, has been named the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2022 India at the 24th EY Entrepreneur of the
Year™ Awards ceremony held in New Delhi, Delhi.
JANUARY 2023
➢ Bank of Baroda, the second largest public sector bank in India after State Bank of India (SBI),
won EAG Laureate award in the International Olympiad of Financial Security held at Sochi, Russia on
10 October 2022.
➢ According to the On-Time Performance Review 2022 released by CIRIUM, the aviation analytics
company, Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, Karnataka, and Indira Gandhi International
(IGI) Airport, Delhi, were listed among the top 10 in the Top Performing Global Airports of 2022.
❖ The Top Performing Global Airports of 2022:
Rank Airport Place
1 Haneda Airport Tokyo, Japan
4 Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport Michigan, the United States (US)
➢ Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister (CM) of Kerala, presented the 1st Gouriamma award to Aleida
Guevara, Cuban child rights advocate and daughter of revolutionary leader Che Guevara, at Olympia
Hall at Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
➢ Veteran Indian actress-director Aparna Sen was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement
Award at the opening ceremony of the 15th edition of the Jaipur International Film Festival (JIFF 2023)
in Jaipur, Rajasthan, being held between 6th and 10th January 2023.
➢ 1171 Indian Peacekeepers were honoured with the prestigious United Nations (UN) medals for
their vital work in the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in Upper Nile, South Sudan.
➢ On the occasion of the National Start-up Day (16th January 2023), Piyush Goyal, Union Minister
for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution & Textiles felicitated the
winners of the National Startup Awards (NSA) 2022 during the award ceremony held in New Delhi,
Delhi.
• He also released the National Startup Awards 2022 Report and launched the MAARG platform
(Mentorship, Advisory, Assistance, Resilience, and Growth) during the award ceremony.
• National Startup Day is annually observed across India on 16th January to celebrate the spirit of
the Indian startup ecosystem. The day also marks the founding day of Startup India. The
observance of the National Startup Day is organised by DPIIT, under MoCI.
• 2023 marks the observance of the 2nd National Start-up Day.
• National Start-up Day 2023 marks the completion of 7 years of Start-up India.
• As a part of the National startup Day 2023, a 7-day long Startup India Innovation Week –
January 10 – 16, 2023, was organised across India with several events to reach stakeholders and
enable the Indian startup ecosystem.
➢ Odisha has won the “Bronze Award” in the United Nations Human Settlements Programme’s
(UN-Habitat) “World Habitat Awards 2023” for the Jaga Mission, a 5T programme of the state. [5T:
Transparency; Technology; Teamwork; Time & Transformation]
• Jaga Mission – ‘Odisha Liveable Habitat Mission’ is India’s largest land titling and slum
upgrading initiative, and one of the largest in the world.
• The 2023 Bronze Award is Jaga Mission’s second bronze award.
➢ According to the Brand Finance Brand Guardianship Index 2023, Mukesh Ambani chairman of
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is ranked No 1 among Indians and second globally with Brand
Guardianship Index (BGI) score of 81.7.
❖ Brand Guardianship Index 2023 Top 5 (Global):
Rank CEO Company/Sector Country BGI 2023
1 Jensen Huang Nvidia (Tech) USA 83
2 Mukesh Ambani Reliance (Oil&Gas) India 81.7
3 Satya Nadella Microsoft(Tech) USA 81.5
4 Shantanu Narayen Adobe (Tech) USA 80.4
5 Sundar Pichai Google (Media) USA 79.6
❖ Brand Guardianship Index 2023 Top 5 (India)
Rank
(India) Global Rank CEO Company/Sector BGI 2023
1 2 Mukesh Ambani Reliance (Oil&Gas) 81.7
2 8 Natarajan Chandrasekaran Tata Son (Engineering & Construction) 77.5
3 23 Anand Mahindra Mahindra (Automobiles) 74.3
4 26 Sunil Mittal Airtel (Telecoms) 73.7
5 48 Dinesh Kumar Khara State Bank of India(Banking) 70.7
RECOGNITIONS
MARCH 2023
➢ Sashidhar Jagdishan, Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HDFC
Bank(since October 2020), has been named the Business Standard (BS) Banker of the Year 2022.
➢ Shaliza Dhami, Group Captain of the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been selected to command a
frontline combat unit of the force along the western sector.
➢ Colonel Geeta Rana of the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) is the 1st woman
officer to take over command of an independent field workshop in the Eastern Ladakh sector with
China, after the Indian Army’s clearance of 108 positions for female officers to assume command of
independent units in the Corps of Engineers.
• Colonel Geeta Rana has taken over the ordinance, EME, and other branches of the Corps of
Engineers.
➢ Surekha Yadav, hailing from Satara, Maharashtra, Asia’s 1st female loco pilot, became the 1st
woman to drive the recently launched semi-high speed Vande Bharat Express train.
➢ According to the 2023 M3M Hurun Global Rich list released by Hurun India and M3M India, Gautam
Adani has dropped 11 places to the 23rd rank among global billionaires. According to the report,
Gautam Adani saw a 35% decline in wealth year-on-year. He lost Rs 3,000 crore every week over the
last year.
• Bernard Arnault, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton(known as
LVMH), which owns fashion brands including Sephora and Louis Vitton, tops the list as the
Richest Person in the World with a worth of USD 202 billion.
• Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla and Twitter, with a total wealth of USD 157 billion, is number two
on the list.
• World’s Top 10 Billionaires:
Rank Person Net Worth (USD) Source Citizenship
1 Bernard Arnault & Family 211 Billion LVMH France
2 Elon Musk 180 Billion Tesla, SpaceX United States (US)
3 Jeff Bezos 114 Billion Amazon US
9 Mukesh Ambani 83.4 Billion Diversified India
24 Gautam Adani 47.2 Billion Infrastructure, commodities India
➢ Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited (Maha-Metro), Nagpur, Maharashtra, which have
been awarded Guinness World Records (2022) and 2 Asian Book of Records(2022), was honoured with
the prestigious “Asia Book of Records” certification under 3 different categories.
• Longest Length of Metro Rail Corridor Construction in the Shortest Time.
• First Solar photovoltaic (PV) system in a Metro Rail Project for Integrated Consumption.
• Heaviest Single Span Double Decker Steel Bridge Truss over Railway tracks in Urban Area.
FEBRUARY 2023
NIL
JANUARY 2023
➢ Captain Shiva Chouhan, hailing from Rajasthan, has become the first woman officer of the Indian
Army to get operationally deployed at Siachen Glacier, Karakoram range in the Himalayas in Ladakh,
the world’s highest battlefield after training at Siachen Battle School.
➢ R’Bonney Gabriel of the United State of America (USA) was crowned 71st Miss Universe 2022
during the Miss Universe 2022 pageant held in New Orleans, Louisiana while Amanda Dudamel of
Venezuela was named as the first runner-up, and Andreina Martinez of the Dominican Republic was
named as the second runner-up.
• R’Bonney Gabriel was crowned by the Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu.
Life Insurance Company (LIC) & - LIC reported that it has sold 2% of its
NMDC Limited equity stake in the state-owned NMDC
Limited (formerly National Mineral
Development Corporation), taking its
total shareholding in the public sector
unit to 11.69% as of March 14.
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s - Competition Commission of India
(ADIA) & Lenskart Solutions (CCI) approved, under the green
Private Limited (LSPL). channel route, the Abu Dhabi
Investment Authority’s (ADIA)
acquisition of a stake in Lenskart
Solutions Private Limited (LSPL).
i. Competition Commission of India
(CCI) approved the proposed
investment by Qatar Investment
Authority (QIA) in BTS Investment 1
Pte (BTS1), a Singapore-based pooled
vehicle.
NSPIRA Management Services - The Competition Commission of India
Private Limited &NHPEA Minerva (CCI) approved the acquisition of
Holding BV share capital of NSPIRA Management
FEBRUARY 2023
IndusInd International Holdings - IIHL, a subsidiary of the Hinduja
Ltd. (IIHL) Group, has received preliminary
approval from the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) to increase its ownership
in IndusInd Bank Ltd. (IndusInd Bank)
to 26%.
• As a result, the Hinduja Group
will contribute more than Rs.
10,000 crore to IndusInd
Bank.
• With this, IndusInd Bank has
become the first bank to have
its promoter increase its
shareholding to 26%.
NEW INITIATIVE/INNOVATION
MARCH 2023
➢ SpaceX launched its Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) with 4 astronauts on
board reusable SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket from the NASA(National Aeronautics and
Space Administration)’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States of America(USA).
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ “NISAR”: NASA-ISRO Joint Satellite to Launch in 2024
❖ According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the ‘NASA-ISRO Synthetic
Aperture Radar (NISAR)’ will be launched from Indian soil in the first quarter of 2024, and
science operations will commence 90 days after it reaches the intended orbit.
• NISAR is a Low-Earth orbit (LEO) observatory being developed jointly by National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), United States (US) and ISRO, India.
➢ ISRO launches SSLV-D2 with 3 satellites from Sriharikota, AP
❖ ISRO launched the 2nd edition of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2) from the first
launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh (AP).
• It carried the following 3 satellites weighing 175.2 kg – earth observation satellite EOS-
07 and two co-passenger satellites — Janus-1 and AzaadiSat2) and successfully placed
them into a 450-km circular orbit around the Earth.
❖ ISRO’s Earth Observation Satellite-07/EOS–7
• Weight: 156.3 kg
• It has been designed, developed and realised by Bengaluru (Karnataka) based UR Rao
Satellite Centre (URSC), ISRO. Its new experiments include mm-Wave Humidity Sounder
and Spectrum Monitoring Payload.
❖ AzaadiSAT-2
• Weight: 8.7 kg
• It is a combined effort of about 750 girl students across India guided by Chennai (Tamil
Nadu)-based space startup SpaceKidz. It is the official successor of AzaadiSAT featuring
a modular satellite bus expansion system capable of transforming from 8U to 64U once
in orbit.
✓ Other payloads remains unchanged from the original AzaadiSAT
JANUARY 2023
➢ Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister for Science and Technology, announced that the Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO) is ready to launch India’s 1st Atmamirbhar human flight
“Gaganyaan” by the year 2024.
DEFENCE
EXERCISES
Name of the Participating Venue KeyPoints
Exercise Countries
MARCH 2023
International - Gulf region Indian Navy Ship (INS) Trikand is participating
Maritime Exercise/ in the International Maritime Exercise/ Cutlass
Cutlass Express Express 2023 (IMX/CE-23) being held in the
Gulf region from 26 February to 16 March 2023
2023 (IMX/CE-23)
This marks Indian Navy’s 1st IMX participation
and also marks the 2nd occasion in which INS
participates in an exercise conducted by
Combined Maritime Forces.
FRINJEX-23 India & France Thiruvananthapu FRINJEX-23, The first edition of the Joint
ram, Kerala Military Exercise between the Indian and
French Army was conducted at Pangode
Military Station in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
on March 7-8, 2023.
Theatre Level - Arabian Sea The 2023 edition of Indian Navy’s Largest War
Operational Game and operational-level biennial exercise,
Readiness Exercise” “Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise”
(TROPEX-23), which took place across the
(TROPEX-23)
Indian Ocean Region (IOR), culminated in the
Arabian Sea.
The recent overall exercise program of Indian
Navy which include Coastal Defence Exercise
Sea Vigil 2022, Amphibious Exercise 2023
(AMPHEX 2023), and TROPEX-23 held for 4
months from November 2022 to March 2023.
FEBRUARY 2023
4th edition exercise India & Japan Shiga province of The exercise was scheduled to be conducted till
‘Dharma Guardian’ Japan 2 March, 2023.
Ex-DUSTLIK IV – India & Pithoragarh, Ex-DUSTLIK IV – 2023, the 4th edition of the
2023 Uzbekistan Uttarakhand bilateral joint military exercise between the
Indian Army and Uzbekistan Army commenced
in Foreign Training Node in Pithoragarh,
Uttarakhand.
• The 14-day long joint exercise will
culminate on 5th March 2023.
JANUARY 2023
21st Edition of India India & France Western Initiated in 1993, it is a bilateral exercise
France Naval Seaboard between the navies of India and France.
Exercise VARUNA – However it was christened as ‘VARUNA’ in 2001.
2023
MISSILES
Name of the Missile Testing Location Other Key facts
MARCH 2023
BrahMos supersonic missile Arabian Sea Indian Navy (IN) successfully test fired the
Ship launched version of the BrahMos
supersonic missile in the Arabian Sea. The test
was carried out from a Kolkata-class guided
missile destroyer warship.
S-400 `Triumf’ Surface-to-air - Indian Air Force (IAF) received the third
defence missile system squadron of the S-400 `Triumf’ Surface-to-air
defence missile system from Russia which will
be deployed along the western sector,
bordering Pakistan.
In October 2018, India and Russia signed a
deal of $5.43 billion for the procurement of 5
units of S-400 air defence systems to India by
2025.
FEBRUARY 2023
Barge, Yard 75 (LSAM 7) Visakhapatnam, Andhra The first Missile cum Ammunition (MCA)
Pradesh. Barge, Yard 75 (LSAM 7) was launched by
Rear Admiral Sandeep Mehta at Guttenedevi,
the launch site of SECON, Visakhapatnam,
Andhra Pradesh.
JANUARY 2023
Prithvi-II Chandipur off the coast of India successfully test launched nuclear
Odisha. capable tactical ballistic missile Prithvi-II from
the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off
the coast of Odisha.
• It is powered by light propulsion twin
engines.
COMMISSION/DECOMMISSION
MARCH 2023
NIL
FEBRUARY 2023
NIL
JANUARY 2023
NIL
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ The Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) hosted by the Indian Navy signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC),
Seychelles to further the existing cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region to enhance maritime safety
and security.
➢ Indian Navy’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and the MIG29 K Fighter Aircraft successfully
performed their maiden landing and take-off attempts on the Indian Naval Ship (INS) Vikrant, India’s
first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier.
• The indigenously developed LCA landings were carried out by the pilots of the Indian Navy.
• The maiden landing of MIG-29K marks the integration of the fighter aircraft with INS Vikrant.
JANUARY 2023
➢ The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Naval Group France have
signed an agreement that would greatly improve the endurance of the Indian Navy’s Scorpene-class
conventional submarines.
❖ According to the agreement, the Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kalvari will soon be equipped with
the fuel cell-based Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system of Naval Materials Research
Laboratory (NMRL), giving a significant boost to “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”.
SPORTS
APPOINTMENTS IN SPORTS
Name Appointed as Association Points to be noted
MARCH 2023
Salima Tete Athletes Ambassador Asian Hockey Salima Tete, an Indian Women’s
Federation (AHF) Hockey team midfielder, was
appointed the AHF Athletes
Ambassador from India for a
term of 2 years, with effect from
25th March 2023.
Other AHF Athletes
Ambassadors are: Lee Jong Jun
(South Korea); Abdul Hannan
Shahid (Pakistan) and Asai Yu
(Japan)
FEBRUARY 2023
Govindaraj President FIBA Asia He was unanimously nominated
Kempareddy as the President of FIBA Asia, a
zone within the International
Basketball Federation (FIBA –
Federation Internationale de
JANUARY 2023
NIL
RETIREMENT
Name of the Person Sport, they belong to/ Country Points to be Noted
MARCH 2023
NIL
FEBRUARY 2023
Joginder Sharma Indian Cricketer Indian Cricketer, Joginder Sharma (39),
who was known for bowling the last over
in 2007 Twenty20 (T20) World Cup final
against Pakistan, announced his
retirement from all forms of Cricket.
Joginder Sharma currently serves as a
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in
Haryana. He joined the Haryana Police in
October 2007.
JANUARY 2023
Sania Mirza Indian Tennis Player She announced that the Dubai Tennis
Championships, a Women’s Tennis
Association (WTA) 1000 event in Dubai in
February 2023 will be her last match. Prior
to her last appearance.
• She has won six Grand Slam
doubles titles
• She won her first grand slam in
2009 by winning Austraian Open
Mixed doubles title with Mahesh
Bhupathi. The pair also won the
French Open 2012. She won her
3rd mixed doubles title at the US
Open in 2014 with Brazil’s Bruno
Soares.
• Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis of
Switzerland won 3 women’s
doubles – Wimbledon 2015, the US
TENNIS
MARCH 2023
NIL
FEBRUARY 2023
NIL
JANUARY 2023
➢ Dutch (Netherlands) Tennis player Tallon Griekspoor (World No.95) won the men’s singles title at
the Tata Open Maharashtra 2023 defeating Benjamin Bonzi (World No. 60) of France at the finals held
in Balewadi Stadium in Pune, Maharashtra.
➢ India’s N Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan from Tamil Nadu, settled for runner-up at the
Tata Open Maharashtra 2023 in Men's Double championship. They lost the finals against the Belgian
pair of Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen at Balewadi Stadium in Pune, Maharashtra.
➢ Broadcaster Sony Sports Network, which will air the Australian Open 2023 across its channels and
OTT (Over-The-Top) app SonyLiv has roped in sponsors including Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Samsonite as
co-presenting sponsors and Panasonic as an associate sponsor for the upcoming Australia Open.
➢ India’s Tennis players, Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni (1st seed), have won the Men’s doubles title at
the Bangkok Open 2023(2) held in Nonthaburi, Thailand from 9th to 14th January 2023.
• The Indian duo defeated Christopher Rungkat of Indonesia and Akira Santillan of Australia in
the finals.
• Arthur Cazaux of France won the Men’s Singles title defeating Lloyd Harris of South Africa.
This marks his 2nd Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger title.
• Winners of Bangkok Open 2 – 2023:
Category Winner Runners
Men’s Singles Arthur Cazaux (France) Lloyd Harris (South Africa)
Men’s Yuki Bhambri and Saketh Myneni Christopher Rungkat (Indonesia) and Akira Santillan
Doubles (India) (Australia)
➢ Novak Djokovic of Serbia claimed the men’s singles title at the Australian Open (AO) 2023 defeating
Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece by 6–3, 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7-5) during the finals held at Rod Laver Arena in
Melbourne Park, Melbourne (Victoria), Australia. Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus won the women’s
singles title at AO 2023, her first major singles title, by defeating Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan by 4–6,
6–3, 6–4.
❖ Table showing the 2023 Australian Open Winners:
CRICKET
MARCH 2023
➢ India has clinched the four-match Test series of India vs Australia Border-Gavaskar Trophy
(BGT) 2023 by 2-1 for the record 11th time. With this, India booked their place into the final of the
World Test Championship.
• Ravichandran Ashwin becomes second-fastest bowler to take 450 wickets in Test cricket
history
• Virat Kohli become second-highest run-getter against Australia in international cricket & the
fastest batsman to score 75 International Centuries
• Axar Patel Becomes the Fastest Indian Bowler To Take 50 Test Wickets In Terms Of Balls
Bowled
• Ravindra Jadeja becomes second Indian player to take 503 wickets, score 5,527 runs in
international cricket
• Ravichandran Ashwin moves to number one spot in the ICC Men’s Test bowling rankings
➢ Rest of India cricket team captained by Mayank Agarwal won the Z R Irani Cup 2022-2023(59th
edition of Irani Cup) defeating Madhya Pradesh, 2021-2022 Ranji Trophy Champions, captained by
Himanshu Mantri, in the final day of the season-ending match held in Captain Roop Singh Stadium,
Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh from 1st to 5th March 2023.
➢ Mumbai Indians(MI) team captained by Harmanpreet Kaur(India) defeated the Delhi Capitals(DC) led
by Meghann(Meg) Lanning (Australia) to win the inaugural TATA Women’s Premier League(WPL)
2023 championship. MI defeated DC by 7 wickets in the finals held in Brabourne Stadium at
Churchgate, Mumbai, Maharastra on 26th March 2023.
• Tata Women’s Premier League 2023 held from 4th to 26th March 2023 in Mumbai,
Maharashtra.
• Player of the March(finals): Natalie Ruth Sciver-Brunt (Mumbai Indians)
• Awards TATA WPL 2023:Prize money: MI, the winning team received the prize money of Rs 6
crores and the runner up, DC, received a cash prize of Rs 3 crore.
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ India won the 1st ICC (International Cricket Council) Under-19 Women’s T20 (Twenty 20) World
Cup 2023 by defeating England with 7 wickets.
• It was the first edition of the ICC Women’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup and it was hosted by
South Africa (SA) from January 14 – 29, 2023.
• With this India became the first title holder of the ICC Women’s Under-19 Cricket World Cup.
• This is also India’s first World Cup win in the women’s section.
➢ The Australian women‘s national cricket team captained by Meg Lanning won the 8th edition of
the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s Twenty20 International (T20I) World Cup 2023 by
defeating South Africa women’s team captained by Sune Luus by 19 runs in the finals held in the
Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town, South Africa.
• This marks the 6th and third consecutive ICC Women’s T20I World Cup title of Australia.
Australia previously won the title in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2020.
JANUARY 2023
➢ The cricket team of Sri Lanka toured India for 3 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 3 Twenty 20
Internationals(T20Is) from 3rd to 15th January 2023. India defeated Sri Lanka in a comprehensive
manner in both ODI and T20I.
• Suryakumar Yadav has become the fastest player to reach 1,500 runs in T20 International
cricket in terms of balls faced.
• India defeated Sri Lanka in the largest ever one-day victory margin of 317 runs in the 3rd and
final ODI held in Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
• Virat Kohli equalled Sachin Tendulkar’s record of scoring 20 ODI centuries on home soil.
➢ The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the winners of the ICC awards 2022,
India’s Suryakumar Yadav has won the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year 2022 while
compatriot Renuka Singh has won the ICC Emerging Women’s Cricketer of the Year 2022 award.
❖ Pakistan’s Babar Azam and England’s all-rounder Nat Sciver have won 2 awards each among the
categories revealed by ICC Award 2022.
• Babar Azam won the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for ICC Men’s Cricketer of the Year 2022 as
well as ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year 2022.
• Nat Sciver won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy for ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year and
ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year.
❖ Winners of ICC Awards 2022:
Category Winner Country
ICC Men’s Associate Cricketer of the Year Gerhard Erasmus Namibia
United Arab
ICC Women’s Associate Cricketer of the Year Esha Oza Emirates(UAE)
BADMINTON
MARCH 2023
➢ The Yonex Swiss Open 2023, a BWF World Tour Super 300, was held from 21st to 26th March 2023 in
St. Jakobshalle, Basel, Switzerland. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, world no. 6 Men’s
doubles badminton players, won Men’s doubles title defeating China’s Ren Xiang Yu and Tan Qiang,
World’s No 21 doubles pair, at Yonex Swiss Open 2023.
Winners of YONEX Swiss Open 2023:
Category Winners Runners
Men’s Singles Koki Watanabe(Japan) Chou Tien Chen(Chinese Taipei)
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag
Men’s Doubles Shetty(India) Ren Xiang Yu & Tan Qiang(China)
Women’s Singles Pornpawee Chochuwong(Thailand) Mia Blichfeldt(Denmark)
Women’s
Doubles Rena Miyaura & AyakoSakuramoto(Japan) Yuki Fukushima & Sayaka Hirota(Japan)
Goh Soon Huat & LaiShevon
Mixed Doubles Jiang Zhen Bang & Wei Ya Xin(China) Jemie(Malaysia)
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ The 3rd edition of Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships 2023/Tong Yun Kai Cup 2023
(official and sponsored title: Blue Ocean Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championship Dubai
2023) was held from February 14-19, 2023 at Dubai Exhibition Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
(UAE).
• The championship was won by China with Gold medal by defeating South Korea with 3-1.
• With this, South Korea stood at 2nd position with Silver medal.
• The 3rd position or Bronze medal was shared by India and Thailand.
JANUARY 2023
➢ Olympic champion and World’s No. 1 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark won the Men’s Singles
title defeating World’s No 6 Kodai Naraoka of Japan at the PETRONAS Malaysia Open 2023 held from
10th to 15th January 2023 in Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
CHESS
MARCH 2023
NIL
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ Indian Chess Player N.R. Vignesh (25-year-old), from Chennai, Tamil Nadu (TN), became India’s
80th Grandmaster (GM) after defeating International Master (IM) Ilja Schneider of Germany at
NordWest Cup 2023 (24th edition) at Bad Zwischenahn in Germany which was held from 26th January
2023 to 29th January 2023.
• He became the Grandmaster after crossing 2500 in the live ratings.
• N.R. Vignesh also became the 29th Grandmaster hailing from Tamil Nadu(TN).
• Note: M Pranesh from TN became India’s 79th GM in January 2023 after winning the Rilton Cup
2022/2023 in Stockholm, Sweden.
JANUARY 2023
➢ Indian Grandmaster (GM) Koneru Humpy, a former world rapid champion, has won a Silver medal
in the Women’s World Blitz Championship at the FIDE(Fédération Internationale des Échecs) World
Rapid and Blitz Championship 2022 held in Almaty, Kazakhstan from 25th to 30th December 2022.
❖ Final Standings: (Blitz)
Rank Name & Country
Open Blitz
1 Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (Norway)
GRAND PRIX
MARCH 2023
➢ Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, a Belgian-Dutch motorsports racing driver, won the 2023 Season-
Opener Bahrain Grand Prix, which was held at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain
(officially the Kingdom of Bahrain).
➢ Red Bull’s Sergio Perez(33 years old), Mexican racing driver, won the Formula 1 (F1) Saudi
Telecommunication Company (STC) Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023, held in the Jeddah Corniche Circuit,
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with 25 point.
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ Two-time Formula E champion Jean-Eric Vergne of DS Penske, a French Racing Driver, won the first
ever Formula E race in India – 2023 Greenko Hyderabad E-Prix, round 4 of the ABB FIA Formula E
World Championship (Formula E 2023).
• A total of 11 teams competed in the 2023 Hyderabad E-Prix held in the Hyderabad Street circuit,
Hyderabad, Telangana.
• Nick Cassidy of Envision and Antonio Felix da Costa of TAG Heuer Porsche finished second
and third, respectively.
JANUARY 2023
➢ Hyderabad, Telangana is set to host the 2023 Hyderabad E-Prix, India’s 1st ever ABB
FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) Formula E World Championship race, all-electric
motorsports, on 11th February 2023.
OTHER SPORTS
MARCH 2023
➢ ATK Mohun Bagan (ATKMB) Football Club(FC) captained by Pritam Kotal, won their first Indian
Super League (ISL) title by defeating Bengaluru FC captained by Sunil Chhetri in the finals of Hero
Indian Super League (ISL) 2022–23 held in Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Margoa, Goa.
• Hero ISL 2022-2023, the 9th season of the Indian Super League was held from 7th October 2022
to 18th March 2023.
➢ India topped the medal tally of the Mahindra International Boxing Association (IBA) Women’s
World Boxing Championship (WWBC) 2023, the 13th edition of the championships, with 4 gold
medals. The 13th edition of the WWBC was hosted by India from 15th to 26th March 2023 at K.D.
Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi, Delhi.
Table Showing Top 3 Rankers in the Tournament:
Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 India 4 0 0 4
2 China 3 1 3 7
3 Russia 1 1 1 3
Indian Gold Medal Winners:
Category Winner
Minimumweight (48Kg) Nitu Ghanghas
Light Flyweight (50Kg) Nikhat Zareen
Middleweight (75Kg) Lovlina Borgohain
Light heavyweight (81 Kg) Saweety Boora
OBITUARY
NATIONAL
Name of the person Field Birth Place Points to be noted
who passed away
MARCH 2023
Aziz Mushabber Ahm Former Chief Surat, Bombay Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi (A M
Justice of India Presidency, British Ahmadi), a former Chief Justice of
(CJI) India (now in India (CJI), passed away in New Delhi,
Maharashtra). Delhi, at the age of 90.
A M Ahmadi was appointed
the 26th CJI (1994-1997). He was also
the 3rd Muslim CJI after Mohammad
Hidayatullah (1968-1970) and Mirza
Hameedullah Beg (1977-1978).
Dr Kanak Yatindra Rele Indian dancer Gujarat, British India Padma Shri & Padma Bhushan
and Awardee Dr Kanak Yatindra Rele, a
Mohiniyattam world-renowned Indian dancer and
Mohiniyattam exponent, passed away
exponent
in Mumbai, Maharashtra, at the age of
85.
The Government of India honoured
Kanak Yatindra Rele with Padma Shri
(1990) for Art and Padma Bhushan
(2013) for arts.
Sharad Yadav former Union Hoshangabad, Sharad Yadav, former Union minister
minister Madhya Pradesh and one of India’s most prominent
socialist leaders, passed away in
Gurugram, Haryana.
Prabhaben Social Worker Surat district, Gujarat Padma Shri Awardee Prabhaben
Sobhaghchand Shah Sobhaghchand Shah, Social Worker
Nilmani Phookan Assamese poet Dergaon (present-day Nilmani Phookan was awarded the
Golaghat), Assam Assam Valley Literary Award in 1997.
In 1981, he was awarded the Sahitya
Akademi Award in Assamese for his
poetry collection, Kavita.
• In 1990, he has conferred the
4th-highest civilian award,
Padma Shri, for Literature and
Education (Assam).
• In 2020, he won the 56th
Jnanpith Award, India’s highest
literary award.
Balkrishna Vithaldas Indian Pune, Maharashtra. B.V. Doshi was conferred with both the
Doshi Architect RIBA’s Royal Gold Medal in 2021 and
the Pritzker Prize (often referred to as
the Nobel Prize for architecture) in
2018 for his outstanding contribution
to the field of architecture.
• He was the 1st Indian to
receive Royal Gold Medal and
Pritzker Prize.
• He was conferred with Padma
Shri for Science and
engineering in 1976 and
Padma Bhushan (others) in
2020.
He also received the Ordre des
Arts et des Lettres (2011) and
the Aga Khan Award for
Architecture (1993-1995).
INTERNATIONAL
Name of the Field Birth Place Points to be noted
person who
passed away
MARCH 2023
Kenzaburo Oe Pacifist of Japan Japan Nobel literature laureate (1994)
Kenzaburo Oe, a Pacifist of Japan,
passed away in Tokyo, Japan, at the
age of 88.
Burt Bacharach American Composer Kansas City, Missouri, American Composer, Burt Bacharach,
USA who won 3 Oscars in 1982 and 1970
(twice) and eight Grammys, passed
away in Los Angeles, California, United
States of America (USA) at the age of
94.
• He won his 1st Oscar
(Academy Awards, USA) in
1970 for the score of “Butch
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”
and for the song “Raindrops
Keep Fallin’ on My Head”.
• In 1982, he shared the Oscar
with his then-wife Carole
Bayer Sager for “Best That You
Can Do,” the theme from
“Arthur”.
JANUARY 2023
Arata Isozaki Japanese Architect Ōita, Island of Kyushu, Arata Isozaki, a Pritzker-Winning
Japan Japanese Architect, passed away at the
age of 91 in Okinawa Island (Japanese
Island).
• He was called a ‘post-modern
giant’, who blended the culture
and history of the East and the
West in his designs.
• In 1979, Arata Isozaki was
appointed to the 1st Pritzker
Prize Jury and continued on as
a member for 5 additional
years.
• In 1986, he received the Royal
Gold Medal for architecture.
In 2019, Arata Isozaki won the
Pritzker Architecture Prize,
internationally the highest
honour in the field.
Badara Alieu Vice-President (VP) of Gambia Badara Alieu Joof, the VP of the
Joof the Republic of the Republic of the Gambia (West African
Gambia country), passed away in India at the
age of 65. His demise was announced
Ambedkar: A Life”, a biography of Shashi Tharoor Renowned Author Shashi Tharoor, Member
Babasaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar of Parliament (MP – the Lok Sabha –
at the Kitaab Kolkata Event, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala), has
launched his latest book “Ambedkar: A
Life”, a biography of Babasaheb Bhimrao
Ramji Ambedkar at the Kitaab Kolkata
Event, which was organised by the Prabha
Khaitan Foundation (PKF) at the ITC Sonar
presented by Shree Cement.
• The book is published by Aleph
Book Company, and promoted
by Rupa Publications India.
March 3 World Wildlife Day(WWD) 3rd March 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the
adoption of the CITES (Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora).
The theme of WWD 2023 is “Partnerships
for wildlife conservation”.
March 4 National Safety Day 4th March 2023 marks the observance of the 52nd
National Safety Day/ National Safety Week
Campaign.
National Safety Week is annually observed across
India from March 4-10.
The theme of National Safety Day/ Week
Campaign 2023 is “Our Aim – Zero Harm”.
March 10 Central Industrial Security 10th March 2023 marks the observance of the
Force (CISF) Raising Day 54th CISF Raising Day.
The day also marks the establishment of the
Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) on 10th
March 1969.
March 16 National Vaccination Day National Vaccination Day in India, also known as
“Polio Ravivar”.
National Vaccination Day in India was introduced
in 1995, as a part of the National Polio Eradication
Program (NPEP).
March 23 Shaheed Diwas, also known Shaheed Diwas, also known as Martyrs’ Day, is
as Martyrs’ Day annually observed in India on March 23 to pay
tribute to Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru, and
Sukhdev Thapar who were hanged to death in
1931 in the Central Jail at Lahore (now in
Pakistan).
13 to 17 February Financial Literacy Week RBI is annually observing the Financial Literacy
2023 Week (FLW) to create awareness about the
importance of financial literacy to address demand
side barriers and enable customers to make better
financial decisions.
• The Financial Literacy Week 2023 was
observed from 13th to 17th February
2023.
• The theme of FLW 2023 is “Good Financial
Behaviour, Your Saviour”.
February 27 National Protein Day 27th February 2023 marks the observance of the
4th National Protein Day.
• The theme of National Protein Day 2023 is
“Easy Access to Protein for All”.
• The theme aims to raise awareness and
promote the importance of having easy
access to protein for a healthy and well-
balanced diet.
JANUARY 2023
January 9 Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas To commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi
(PBD) from South Africa to India in 1915.
• The first ever Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was
observed on 9th January 2003.
January 15 Indian Army (IA) Day To commemorated its 75th anniversary at the
Parade Grounds in Bengaluru, Karnataka
January 19 National Disaster Response To commemorate the establishment of the NDRF,
Force (NDRF) Raising Day under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• 19th January 2023 marks the observance
of the 18th NDRF Raising Day.
• The 1st ever NDRF Raising Day was
observed on 19th January 2006.
January 23 Parakram Diwas Parakram Diwas is annually observed across India
on January 23 to commemorate the birth
anniversary of freedom fighter Subhas Chandra
Bose, fondly known as “Netaji”.
• 23rd January 2023 marks the 126th birth
anniversary of Subhas Chandra Bose.
January 24 National Girl Child Day To spread public awareness about inequities that
girls face in Indian society.
January 25 National Voters’ Day The theme of 13th edition of National Voters’ Day
(NVD) 2023 is ‘Nothing Like Voting, I Vote for
Sure’.
January 26 Republic Day India celebrated its 74th Republic Day on 26th
January 2023.
• The republic day events and parade were
held at the newly-renovated and renamed
INTERNATIONAL OBSERVANCE
Observed Day Other information
date/week
MARCH 2023
March 1 Zero Discrimination Day Zero Discrimination Day 2023 is observed on 1st
March 2023 under the theme “Save lives:
Decriminalise”.
The observance of Zero Discrimination Day is led
by the UNAIDS (joint United Nations Programme
on HIV and AIDS.
March 1 World Civil Defence Day The theme of World Civil Defence Day 2023 is “The
Role of Information Technology in Risk
Assessment”.
March 5 International Day for The United Nations (UN)’s first-ever International
Disarmament and Non- Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
Proliferation Awareness Awareness was observed on 5th March 2023 to
promote awareness and understanding of
disarmament issues among the public, especially
young people.
March 9 World Kidney Day 2023 World Kidney Day 2023 is observed on 9th March
2023 with the theme of World Kidney Day 2023 is
“Kidney Health for All- Preparing for the
unexpected, supporting the vulnerable”.
March 14 International Day of The theme of IDM 2023 is “Mathematics for
Mathematics (IDM) Everyone”.
March 14 International Day of Action for 14th March 2023 marks the celebration of the
Rivers 26th anniversary of the International Day of Action
for Rivers.
March 15 World Consumer Rights Day World Consumer Rights Day 2023 is observed on
(WCRD) 15th March 2023 under the theme “Empowering
consumers through clean energy transitions”.
March 15 International Day to Combat United Nations (UN)’s International Day to Combat
Islamophobia Islamophobia is annually observed across the
globe on March 15 to fight Islamophobia.
15th March 2023 marks the observance of the 1st
International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
March 18 Global Recycling Day The theme of Global Recycling Day 2023 is
“Creative Innovation”.
March 21 World Down Syndrome Day 21st March 2023 marks the observance of 13th
(WDSD) World Down Syndrome Day.
i. The theme of WDSD 2023 is “With Us Not For
Us”. The 2023 theme is key to a human rights-
based approach to disability.
March 22 World Water Day(WWD) The United Nations (UN)’s World Water
Day(WWD) is annually observed across the globe
on 22nd March to create awareness and inspire
action against the water and sanitation crisis
across the globe.
i. UN WWDR 2023: 26% of the population lacks
clean drinking water & 46% lacks sanitation
The 2023 edition of the United Nations World
Water Development Report (WWDR) titled
“Partnerships and Cooperation for Water”, the
flagship report of UN-Water was released ahead of
the UN 2023 Water Conference. According to the
report, Globally, 26% of the population (2 billion
people) do not have safe drinking water and 46%
(3.6 billion) of the population lack access to safely
managed sanitation.
March 23 World Meteorological Day World Meteorological Day 2023 on 23rd March
(WMD) 2023 is observed under the theme “The Future of
Weather, Climate, and Water across Generations”.
March 24 World Tuberculosis Day World TB Day 2023 is observed on 24th March
2023 under the theme “Yes! We Can End TB!”.
March 30 International Day of Zero The United Nations(UN)’s first ever International
Waste Day of Zero Waste was observed on 30th March
2023 to create awareness about the importance of
zero waste and encourage everyone to prevent
and minimize waste and promotes a societal shift
towards a circular economy.
i. The day is jointly facilitated by the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN
Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
FEBRUARY 2023
February 2 World Wetlands Day The theme of World Wetlands Day 2023
is “Wetland Restoration”.
February 4 World Cancer Day The campaign theme of World Cancer Day 2022-
2024 is “Close the care gap”.
• The Campaign theme of World Cancer Day
2023 is “Close the care Gap: Uniting our
voices and taking action”.
February 10 World Pulses Day The theme of World Pulses Day 2023 is “Pulses for
a sustainable future”.
February 20 World Day of Social Justice The theme “Overcoming Barriers and Unleashing
Opportunities for Social Justice”.
JANUARY 2023
January 1 Global Family Day To promote the concept of harmony and unity in
the world.
January 4 World Braille Day To commemorates the birth anniversary of Louis
Braille, a 19th-century French educator, who
invented Braille in 1824.
JANUARY 2023
➢ Dhanlaxmi Bank has launched its new retail internet banking ‘DhanDelight’, and retail mobile
banking app ‘DhanSmart’ featuring latest information system security features to provide secure
banking.
OTHERS
MARCH 2023
➢ Central Government has launched a High Price Day Ahead Market-HPDAM and Surplus Power
Portal (PUShP) – an initiative to ensure greater availability of power during the peak demand season.
➢ Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW)
virtually launched ‘Sagar Manthan’, a Real-time Performance Monitoring Dashboard of MoPSW, in New
Delhi, Delhi.
➢ The National Informatics Centre (NIC), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology (MeitY), has developed a mobile software application called “Maaptol Grievance” to
facilitate online registration and time-bound redress of consumer grievances connected to the Legal
Metrology Act and rules framed under it.
FEBRUARY 2023
➢ The Government of India (GoI) has launched a mobile application of the Ministry of Coal,
“Khanan Prahari”, and a web app “Coal Mine Surveillance and Management System” (CMSMS) for
reporting unauthorised coal mining activities so that the responsible Law & Order enforcing body can
monitor them and take appropriate action.
➢ The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India launched ‘mPassport Police App’ to
streamline and expedite the passport issuance system. This app will also help with the timely updation
and issuance of passports.
JANUARY 2023
NIL