DAILY GK 29- 31 MAR
1.
SEBI EXTENDS TIMELINES FOR SUBMISSION OF
‘CHOICE OF NOMINATION’
·
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), capital markets
regulator, has extended the deadline for updating ‘choice of nomination’ by
existing investors with trading and demat accounts to September 30, 2023, from
the previous deadline of March 31, 2023.
·
The choice of nomination details includes giving of nomination or
declaration for opting out of nomination.
·
SEBIChairperson– MadhabiPuriBuch
·
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
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Establishment– 1992
2.
3RD HIGHEST SPIRITUAL LEADER OF TIBETAN
BUDDHISM
·
Tibetan spiritual leader the 14th Dalai Lama recognized a 8 year-Old
United States-born Mongolian boy as the 10th KhalkhaJetsunDhampa Rinpoche, the
3rd most highest leader in Tibetan Buddhism
·
The 9th KhalkhaJetsunDhampa Rinpoche was a Tibetan and he died in
Mongolia in 2012. He was the spiritual head of Janang tradition of Tibetan
Buddhism and the spiritual Buddhist head of Mongolia.
3.
IAEA DIRECTOR GENERAL
·
The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reappointed
Rafael Mariano Grossi as Director General(DG) of IAEA for a second
four-year term.
·
He is the sixth Director General since the IAEA was established in 1957.
·
IAEAHeadquarters – Vienna, Austria
·
Members – 176 (as of 3 January 2023)
4.
EPFO INTEREST RATE FY23
·
The Central Board of Trustees (CBT), the apex decision-making body of the
Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), has proposed a new interest
rate of 8.15% for Provident Fund deposits for the current fiscal year
2022-23 (FY23), to nearly 6 crore subscribers.
·
This proposed interest rate (8.15%) is 0.05 % higher than the 8.10%
interest rate of FY22, which is the lowest in four decades.
·
The EPFO is expected to have a principal amount of Rs. 11.02 lakh crore,
and an income of Rs. 90,497.57 crore for FY23, which is the highest recommended
income so far.
5.
DELHI DECLARATION ON MODERNISATION OF
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION SYSTEM
·
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the World Bank
jointly issued the Delhi Declaration on Modernisation of Agricultural
Education System in alignment with the National Education Policy(NEP) during
the valedictory session of the International Conference on Blended Learning
Ecosystem for Higher Education in Agriculture 2023(ICBLE 2023) held in New
Delhi
·
The Blended Learning platformfor higher education in agriculture was also
launched which is developed by ICAR as a part of the World Bank-funded project.
·
ICAR is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural
Research and Education ( DARE ), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers
Welfare(MoA&FW).
6.
PFRDA INCREASES OMBUDSMAN’S UPPER AGE LIMIT
·
Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has
amended the PFRDA (Redressal of
Subscriber Grievance) Regulations 2015 and increased the upper age limit of the
Ombudsman from 65 to 70 years.
·
The amended regulations are called the “Pension Fund Regulatory and
Development Authority (Redressal of Subscriber Grievance) (Amendment)
Regulations, 2023”.
·
The Ombudsman is an official appointed by PFRDA who receives, considers
and facilitates the resolution of complaints or grievances, which fall within
the ambit of the regulations.
·
Ombudsman is a Swedish word meaning “legal representative.”
·
The appointed ombudsman holds the office for a period of 3 years. The
ombudsman is also eligible for reappointment for another 2 years.
·
PFRDA was established by the Government of India on 23rd August 2003
·
Chairman–
Deepak Mohanty
·
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi
7.
37TH BIODIVERSITY HERITAGE SITE OF INDIA
·
The Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department, Government of
Odisha has issued a notification declaring the Gandhamardan Hill Range in
Bargarh and Balangir district as a Biodiversity Heritage Site (BHS).
·
This is the 3rd BHS of Odisha after MandasuruGorge ,Kandhamal district
in 2019 and Mahendragiri Hill Range ,Gajapati district in 2022.
·
The Gandhamardan Hill is considered a treasure trove of medicinal plants
and an Ayurvedic paradise of Odisha.
8.
PAN-AADHAAR LINKING DEADLINE EXTENDED
·
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) informed that the Central Board of Direct
Taxes(CBDT) has extended the deadline to link Permanent Account Number (PAN)
withAadhaar from 31st March 2023 to 30th June 2023.
·
According to Sub-section (2) of section 139AA to Income-tax Act 1961, it
is mandatory for every person who has been allotted a PAN as of 1st July 2017
to intimate his Aadhaar Number so that the Aadhaar and PAN can be linked.
9.
IAF PARTICIPATED IN “EXERCISE COBRA WARRIOR”
·
India made its maiden participation in “Exercise Cobra Warrior”, which
was conducted at the Waddington Air Force Base of the Royal Air Force (RAF) in
the United Kingdom (UK)
·
Along with India, Finland and Saudi Arabia have also made their maiden
appearances in the exercise.
·
RAF and the IAF, as well as air forces from Finland, Sweden, South
Africa, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, the United States of America (USA), and
Singapore.
10.
NPCI RECOMMENDS UP TO 1.1% INTERCHANGE FEE ON
UPI TRANSACTIONS
·
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced that the
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions of above Rs 2000 made using
Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) such as wallets or cards will
attract an interchange fee ranging from 0.5% to 1.1%.
·
The interchange fee of 1.1% will have no impact on the end-customer and
UPI transactions will remain free for them.
11.
ABEL PRIZE 2023
·
The Abel Prize for Mathematics was awarded to Luis AngelCaffarelli,
an Argentine-American mathematician and an expert in “partial
differential equations” which can explain phenomena ranging from how water
flows to population growth, at the University of Oslo, Norway.
·
Luis Caffarelli, a 74-year-old professor at the University of Texas,
was honoured for his seminal contributions to regularity theory for nonlinear
partial differential equations.
·
The Abel Prize, named after the Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik
Abel (1802–1829), was established by the Norwegian Parliament (The Storting) in
2002, on the occasion of the 200th birth anniversary of Niels Henrik Abel.
12.
NIC DEVELOPED THE “MAAPTOL GRIEVANCE” APP
·
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.
·
The Weights and Measurements Department, Government of National Capital
Territory of Delhi (GNCTD), provided the contents that were published on this
application.
·
Any consumer can use this software application to file a complaint with
the government’s Weights & Measures Department.
13.
BOOK “WAR AND WOMEN” LAUNCHED
·
A book titled “War and Women” authored by Dr M A Hasan was
released during the 52nd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council
(UNHRC) at the United Nations(UN) building in Geneva, Switzerland.
·
In this book, Dr M A Hasan documented the magnitude of torture and
killings committed by the Pakistan Army during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation
War.
14.
WORLD PIANO DAY 2023 – MARCH 29
·
World Piano Day is annually observed across the globe on the 88th day of
the year(mostly falls on the 29th or 28th of March), which is the same as the
number of keys on the piano
·
The idea of Piano Day was initiated by German Pianist/composer/producer
Nils Frahm.
·
The Piano was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731), a musical
instrument maker, from Padua, Italy.
15.
PASSPORT INDEX 2023
·
According to Arton Capital’s latest update of ‘Passport Index 2023’(as
of March 2023), 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 from
138 in 2022.
·
UAE ranks 1st in the Global Passport Power Rank 2023 with a Mobility Score of 181.
·
Afghanistan is ranked last with a Mobility Score of 38.
·
South Korea, which is 12th in the individual rankings with a mobility score of 174,
has the highest score in Asia.
·
Mobility Score (MS): It is the total number of countries that can be easily accessed with a
given passport. It is a calculated total based on Visa-free, Visa-on-arrival,
eTA (Electronic Travel Authorizations), and eVisa (issued within 3 days).
16.
NEW MALARIA-FREE COUNTRIES
·
Azerbaijan and Tajikistan have been certified as “malaria-free” by the World
Health Organization (WHO) for having eradicated malaria in their
territories after making a consistent, century-long effort to eliminate it.
·
With this declaration, the WHO has certified 41 countries and 1
territory as malaria-free, including 21 countries in the European Region.
·
WHO Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
17.
SEBI POSTPONED FREEZING MF FOLIOS WITHOUT
NOMINATION TO SEPT 30, 2023;
·
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) postponed the decision
to freeze Mutual Fund (MF) folios without nomination to September 30, 2023
instead of March 31, 2023.
·
In lieu with the current decision, Asset management company (AMCs)
and Registrar & Transfer agents
(RTAs) will encourage their customers/unit holders via Emails (Electronic Mail)
and SMS (Short Message Service) to complete the nomination process.
18.
WB APPROVES USD 100 MILLION LOAN TO ODISHA
·
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 is 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.
·
The IBRD loan of USD 100 million has a maturity period of 12.5 years and
a grace period of 3 years.
·
World Bank (WB):President – David Robert Malpass
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Establishment – 1944
·
Headquarters – Washington D.C, (US)
19.
MUMBAI RANKS IN THE WORLD TREE CITY 2022 LIST
·
In March 2023, the Arbor Day Foundation (ADF)and the United
Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United
Nations(UN) recognized Mumabi (Maharashtra) in the ‘2022 Tree Cities of the
World’ for its contributions and commitment towards growing and maintaining the
urban forest.
·
Mumbai is being recognised in the international program, Tree cities of
the World, for the second consecutive year. In 2021, it shared the honour with
Hyderabad.
20.
CHAMELI DEVI JAIN AWARD 2022:
·
DhanyaRajendran, Co-founder and editor of the news website “The News Minute”,
was awarded the Chameli Devi Jain Award for ‘Outstanding Woman Mediaperson
2022’ at the event at the India International Centre in New Delhi, Delhi.
·
Chameli Devi Jain Award, instituted in 1982 and administered by the
Media Foundation, is the annual award named after Chameli Devi Jain, a freedom
fighter and a community reformer who went to jail during the freedom movement.
21.
HUMZA YOUSAF SWORN IN AS SCOTLAND’S FIRST
MINISTER
·
Pakistani-origin Humza Yousaf (37), the new leader of the Scotland
National Party (SNP), was legally sworn in as the new First Minister of
Scotland at the Court of Session, Edinburgh.
·
Humza Yousaf is the 1st Muslim to lead a democratic western European
nation(Scotland).
·
ScotlandCapital- Edinburgh
·
Currency-
Pound Sterling
22.
ASSOCHAM PRESIDENT
·
Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) of SpiceJet has taken
over as President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India
(ASSOCHAM), India’s oldest apex chamber.
·
Sanjay Nayar,Founder and Chairman of Sorin Investment Fund, is the new
Senior Vice-President of ASSOCHAM.
·
Ajay Singhwas the 1st Indian to chair the Aviation, Travel and Tourism
(ATT) Governor’s Meeting at the World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland, in
January 2019.
23.
ISSF RIFLE/PISTOL WORLD CUP 2023
·
International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Rifle/Pistol World Cup
2023 was held in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh(MP).
·
India secured the 2nd positionwith 7 medals(1 gold, 1 silver and 5 bronze).
·
Indian shooter Sarabjot Singh won the gold medal in 10m Air Pistol Men
·
China topped the medal tally with 12 medals(8 gold, 2 silver and 2
bronze) while Germany came 3rd with 3 medals(1 gold, 1 silver and 1
bronze).
·
ISSF is the governing body of the Olympic shooting events in rifle,
pistol and shotgun (clay target) disciplines, and of several non-Olympic
shooting sports events.
·
President–
Luciano Rossi,Headquarters– Munich, Germany
24.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ZERO WASTE – 30TH MARCH
2023
·
The United Nations(UN)’s first ever International 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.
·
The day is jointly facilitated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
and the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
·
UNEPHeadquarters– Nairobi, Kenya
