Today's Current Affairs 19th March 2023

INTERNATIONAL

Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav elected Nepal's Vice-President

Ram Sahaya Yadav, a leader from the Madhes region, was elected the third Vice-President of Nepal, as voting for the top post concluded on Friday. Yadav secured 30,328 votes. The tenure of Nepal’s outgoing Vice President, Nanda Bahadur Pun ended on March 18. Yadav, a candidate who had the backing of Nepal's eight-party ruling alliance, defeated Ashta Laxmi Shakya of the CPN-UML and Mamata Jha of the Janamat Party. The President’s office announced that Nepal’s newly-elected Vice President, Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav, is scheduled to take the oath of office and secrecy on March 20 at 10 am - local time.

NATIONAL

J&K L-G lays foundation stone of 1st direct foreign investment project

J&K Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha laid the foundation stone of a mega-mall on Sunday in Sempora area of Srinagar district which is the first direct foreign investment project in the UT. he construction of the mega-mall will cost Rs 250 crore, Sinha told reporters.

The Mall of Srinagar and allied projects with the Government of Dubai will fuel the economic growth of J&K and bring us closer to achieving the shared vision of strengthening bilateral trade and investment ties between India and UAE. This is a new dawn of limitless possibilities. We are taking forward Hon'ble PM's vision for development of J&K. Mall of Srinagar will have transformative impact on UT & boost infrastructure, employment generation and ease of living.This is to be one of the largest malls in the region, the mall will have over 500 shops," Sinha said while congratulating the people of J&K on the historic occasion. 

APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

G Krishnakumar takes over as BPCL Chairman & Managing Director

G Krishnakumar has taken over as the new chairman and managing director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL),  G Krishnakumar, an electrical and electronics engineer from National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli and a postgraduate in finance management from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai, was executive director in the company before his elevation. 

Government headhunter, the Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB) had, in December last year, picked up Krishnakumar over company's Director (Finance) Vetsa Ramakrishna Gupta, Director (Refineries) S Khanna, and Director (Marketing) Sukhmal Kumar Jain.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Client’s Day

The global business community celebrates International Client’s Day on March 19 every year. As the name entails, it is all about the client on this particular unofficial holiday. Various organizations around the world take the time to thank and congratulate their customers, visitors, partners, and even online shoppers — basically anyone who could be labeled a ‘client’.

As , No matter what goods or services you sell, the truth is that your business would be nothing without its clients. No matter whether we’re talking about those who visit the shopping mall every few weeks or those who prefer to make their purchases over the internet, the truth is that no business would make it without them.

They’re the ones who not only pay you for what you offer, but do a great amount of advertising for you as well. Remember: no celebrity paid thousands if not millions of dollars to say he or she loves a certain product could ever convince your stubborn but lovable grandparents to buy an item as well as you can, and your satisfied clients do you favors like this every single day. And that’s why showing them your appreciation is so important!

Indian Embassy in Kathmandu celebrates 21st Golden Jubilee Scholarship Day

The Embassy of India, Kathmandu celebrated the 21st Golden Jubilee Scholarship Day on March 18. On the occasion, Ambassador Naveen Srivastava announced that a special Embassy of India’s roll of honour will be awarded to meritorious graduating Golden Jubilee scholars, in different categories from next year.

The prestigious Golden Jubilee Scholarship was established in the year 2002 to mark the completion of 50 years of India-Nepal economic cooperation. At the inception of this scheme, 50 Nepali students were awarded the scholarship. In the year 2007, the numbers of scholarships were increased to 100. Since the year 2012, the numbers of scholarships have been doubled to 200. Under this scholarship scheme, an MBBS/BDS student receives NRs. 4000/- per month for five years, a BE student receives NRs. 4000/- per month for four years, and a student studying in other undergraduate courses like BA, BEd, B. Pharmacy, BSc Agriculture, BBA, BBM and BBS receives NRs. 3000/- per month for three years.

Google Doodle Today: March 19 Celebrates Nobel Laureate Mario Molina's Birth Anniversary

The Google Doodle of March 19, 2023 is dedicated to Mexican chemist Mario Molina, who is famous for his work on the ozone layer. March 19, 2023 marks the 80th birth anniversary of Molina. Google pays tribute to him through a doodle which depicts the molecular form of ozone, O3, as one of the 'Os' of 'GOOGLE', and replaces the other 'O' with the Sun. The ozone layer protects Earth from the Sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation.

The doodle also shows the hole in the ozone layer, and denotes the fact that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) contributed to the formation of the ozone hole. Chlorofluorocarbons were found in air conditioners and aerosol sprays

SUMMIT'S & MOU's

3rd Annual  Edition Of International SME CONVENTION, 2023 to be held in New Delhi

The 3rd annual edition of the International SME Convention 2023 (ISC) is going to be organized jointly by the Ministry of MSME & Ministry of External Affairs , India SME Forum, along with Govt. of Madhya Pradesh as a Key State Partner and Govt. of Uttar Pradesh as Associate State Partner. International Network for SMEs (INSME) and World Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (WUSME) are the international partners and TATA AIA is the insurance partner for the ISC 2023 from 19th – 21st March 2023i n New Delhi.

Shri Narayan Rane, Union Minister for MSME will be the chief guest for the inaugural event with Guests of Honour- Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, Minister of State for MSME & Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Minister of State, Ministry of External Affairs, Shri Om Prakash Saklecha, Minister of MSME & Science & Technology, Govt. of MP and Shri Rakesh Sachan, Minister of MSME, Khadi, Village Industries, Sericulture & Textile, Govt. of UP along with presence of senior officers from Central and State Governments.

Nagpur to host C-20 India Inception meeting

Nagpur City will host the Civil20 India (C-20) Inception meeting from 20th to 21st of this month. C-20 is one of the empowered group, working under the ambit of G-20 Secretariat, which provides a platform for Civil Society Organisations around the world to voice the people’s aspirations to the world leaders in G20.  Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr. Devendra Fadnavis, Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, Spiritual leader Mata Amritanandmayi will be present tomorrow in the inaugural ceremony of the meeting organized at 3.30 pm in Hotel Raddison Blu in Nagpur.

Dr.Swadesh Singh, Sous Sherpa of C-20, while addressing in the pre-event press conference regarding Inception meeting of C-20 in Nagpur today informed that the two-day Conference will focus on the perspective of the Civil Society Organizations and non-government organisations. The deliberations of Civil Society Organisation on various issues will be put in the Inception issues like Health, Lifestyle for Environment, Art and Crafts will be discussed which will take the shape of Policy pact.

4th Defence Cooperation Dialogue between India & the Maldives held in Male

India and the Maldives conducted the 4th Defence Cooperation Dialogue (DCD) in Male on March 19, 2023. The dialogue was co-chaired by Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane and his Maldivian counterpart, Chief of Defence Force, Maldives National Defence Forces Major General Abdulla Shamaal.

This DCD is the highest institutionalised interactive mechanism between the two countries. Its significance in chartering the future course of relations between both the Armed Forces was highlighted by the importance given to the talks by the two nations. During the interaction, ongoing bilateral defence cooperation activities were reviewed and both sides expressed satisfaction at the increasing engagements. The talks covered the existing bilateral exercises, with both countries agreeing to increase the complexity of these drills.

Tata Steel Signs MoU With The Ministry Of Steel Under The PLI Scheme

Tata Steel Limited, Tata Steel Long Products Limited, and The Tinplate Company of India Limited today have signed MoUs for eight product categories with the Ministry of Steel under the Production-linked incentive (PLI) Scheme for specialty steel. Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel said: “We are thankful to the Ministry of Steel for driving the PLI scheme, which would go a long way in realising the National Steel Policy 2017 both in terms of scale and quality of products needed for consumers.”

The Indian Steel Industry has been on a growth trajectory for the last few years and is currently the second-largest producer globally. Steel is also one of the sectors driving the much-needed private investment in the country. The MoU signing marks a significant milestone for Tata Steel, enabling the Company to further enhance its capabilities and contribute to the Government’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.