Today's Current Affairs 25th March 2023

NATIONAL

PM Narendra Modi  inaugurated and lay the foundation stone for various development projects in Karnataka:  25 March 2023.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a day’s visit to Karnataka on 25th of March 2023, Saturday where he will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for various development projects. After arrival in Bengaluru, the Prime Minister will inaugurate Sri Madhusudan Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research at Muddenahalli in Chikkaballapur district.

Established by Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence, the Institute will provide free medical education and offer free medical treatment to the poor. The Medical college has 100 MBBS seats. Later in the day, the Prime Minister will take part in a road show in Bengaluru and inaugurate a new metro line between Whitefield and K R Puram covering 13.71 kms built at a cost of around 4250 crore rupees. In the afternoon the Prime Minister will attend the closing ceremony of Vijaya Sankalpa yatra in Davangere. BJP state unit had taken up around 8000 kms long yatra across 224 assembly segments around the state as part of its pre poll campaign.

Agriculture minister launches ‘DigiClaim’ for claim disbursal through National Crop Insurance Portal

Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar launched National Crop Insurance Portal’s digitised claim settlement module namely DigiClaim under the ambit of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) today at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi. “With the launch of the module, claims will be disbursed electronically, which will benefit the respective farmers of six states. Now, the automated claim settlement process will be an ongoing activity to ease all insured farmers’ lives and provide them with a sustainable financial flow and support,” the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare said,

With the launch of a DigiClaim Module, insurance claims totalling Rs 1260.35 crore have been disbursed on March 23, 2023, to insured farmers in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Haryana, and the process will continue as and when the claims are released,” the ministry said. The minister also mentioned that to date Rs 1.32 lakh crore claim amount has been disbursed to the insured farmers under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. He also took special note of ‘Meri Policy, Mere Haath’ ongoing campaign and observed that the campaign has been monumental in enhancing the awareness around PMFBY at the grassroot level.

Tamil Nadu’s 18th wildlife sanctuary to come up in Erode

The Tamil Nadu Government will notify Thanthai Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, spread over 80,567 hectares in the forest areas of Anthiyur and Gobichettipalayam taluks in Erode district, as the 18th wildlife sanctuary in the state. It will include reserve forest areas in Anthiyur, Bargur, Thattakarai and Chennampatti.

Home to wild animals including tigers, elephants, leopards, wild boars, gaurs and deer, the sanctuary is close to Malai Mahadeshwara wildlife sanctuary, BRT Wildlife Sanctuary, Cauvery wildlife sanctuary in Karnataka and also act as a connecting point between Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve and Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary.

“The announcement is a big push to the ongoing conservation efforts,” environment, climate change and forests additional chief secretary Supriya Sagu said, adding that 21 species of mammals, 136 species of birds and 118 species of butterflies are found in the new sanctuary. Forest department officials have clarified that tribal people won’t face any restrictions in doing their job in these areas.

Haldwani to get a sports university: Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced the government will set up a sports university in the Kumaun region's Haldwani town. Dhami, who made the announcement on the occasion of completion of one year of the formation of his government, said there had been longstanding demands from several sports associations for such a university.

The international stadium of Haldwani will be upgraded into a sports university, he said. Earlier, the chief minister also held a meeting with the officials and discussed the proposed university. Dhami said there is no dearth of sporting talent in the state, and the university will give such talented people a chance to hone and display their skills further. Uttarakhand will hold several national level sports event in the coming year, he also said.

OBITUARY

Intel co-founder Gordon Moore has passed away

Gordon Moore, co-founder and former CEO of Intel, has passed away at 94. He was the last surviving member of the Intel Trinity, which also included his fellow founder Robert Noyce and their first hire Andy Grove. Moore and Noyce previously worked with the co-inventor of the transistor, William Shockley, before helping found Fairchild Semiconductor. In 1968, the two struck out on their own and founded NM Electronics, which eventually became Intel.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Indian Woman Hockey Player Salima Tete Appointed AHF Athletes Ambassador

National women’s hockey team midfielder Salima Tete was appointed as the AHF Athletes Ambassador from India for a term of two years, starting March 25.

Tete accepted the certificate and the position during the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Congress in Mungyeong, Korea.

Tete, who led the Indian women’s junior hockey team to a fourth-place finish at the 2021 FIH Women’s Junior World Cup in Potchefstroom, South Africa, is among four players from Asia to be appointed for the position.

As the AHF Athletes Ambassador, Tete, along with the other selected athletes from Asia, will play a leadership role in international representation, development, and advocacy of athletes.

She will also be working towards promoting awareness about athletes’ rights and welfare from the region. “I am honoured to be selected as one of the AHF Athletes Ambassadors. As athletes from Asia, we face a lot of challenges in our careers. This position will allow me to bring our voices to the front. I hope to make a positive impact on the lives of athletes from the region with this position," Tete said in a Hockey India statement.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Earth Hour Day: March 25, 2023 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Earth Hour is a worldwide movement organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The event is held annually, encouraging individuals, communities, and businesses to turn off non-essential electric lights, for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the last Saturday of March, as a symbol of commitment to the planet. It was started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia, in 2007.

Occasionally, in years when Holy Saturday falls on the last Saturday of March, Earth Hour is moved a week early rather than its usual date.

Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu Urges People To Observe Earth Hour today: 25th March

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu appealed to the people of the state to be part of ‘Earth Hour’, to be observed under the theme ‘The Biggest Hour for Earth’ today 25^th March, 2023. He said that it was an Endeavour of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to raise awareness about the conservation of nature and climate change – the two biggest threats facing the planet today.

He urged the people of the State to switch off all non-essential lights on 25^th March for one hour between 8.30 PM to 9.30 PM to support this mission.. He said this mission would go a long way in creating a better and healthy environment for future generations.

Amit Shah attends the 84th Raising Day CRPF as Chief Guest at Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh: 25 March

On 25 March CRPF is celebrated 84th Foundation Day. Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah attended the 84th Raising Day celebrations of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) as the Chief Guest at Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, today. The Union Home Minister also took the salute of the parade on the occasion. Shri Amit Shah also inaugurated Prasar Bharati's news bulletin for the Bastar Division in the local language of Halbi.

In his address, Shri Amit Shah said that it is a matter of great joy for all of us as this day is being celebrated in Chhattisgarh for the first time after the establishment of CRPF and since the beginning of the problem of left wing extremism. He said that 763 CRPF personnel have made the supreme sacrifice during the drive to end Left Wing Extremism in Chhattisgarh. Today our fight against Left Wing Extremism is at a decisive stage, for which the martyred Jawans have made immense contribution.

BANKING AND ECONOMY

Union Cabinet Approves 4% Increase in Dearness Allowance

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the release of an additional installment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to central government employees and Dearness Relief to pensioners, effective from January 1, 2023. The new installment represents a 4% increase over the existing rate of 38% of the Basic Pay/Pension, which will help compensate against the rising cost of living. This increase in DA will benefit around 47.58 lakh Central Government employees and 69.76 lakh pensioners. The decision to increase the DA is based on the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission, which follows a set formula to calculate the Dearness Allowance for central government employees and pensioners.

The Central Government usually revises the DA twice a year, in January and July, to combat inflation. The announcement of the hike in DA and the payout is generally done in March.