Today's Current Affairs 30th March 2023

INTERNATIONAL

Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan appointed as the Vice-President of UAE

The United Arab Emirates President, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has made a significant announcement regarding the country’s leadership. With the approval of the UAE Federal Supreme Council, Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has been appointed as the UAE Vice-President, The incumbent Vice president Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, will also continue in the same role. Sheikh Mansour has been a vital part of the UAE’s political landscape since 2004, when he was appointed as Minister of Presidential Affairs. He has played a key role in overseeing the Presidential Court and the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, as well as chairing several government institutions, including the Ministerial Development Council and the Emirates Investment Authority.

The new Vice-President is also the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and a member of the Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council. He has served on the boards of numerous investment institutions, including the National Archives, Abu Dhabi Development Fund, Board of Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, and the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh Takes Over As Assocham President

SpiceJet's Chairman & Managing Director Ajay Singh has assumed charge as the President of Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) replacing Renew Power MD Sumant Sinha after the completion of his tenure. Sanjay Nayar, founder and Chairman of Sorin Investment Fund is the new Senior Vice-President of Assocham,

"I am taking over at times which are both exciting and challenging. As an economy, India stands out as a robust economy in the midst of global headwinds. Even when major economies of the world are facing the threat of recession, the Indian economy is growing between 6.5-7 per cent," Singh said.

He emphasised that the chamber would stay engaged with the government, Centre and states, leading academicians, economists besides corporate leaders to find solutions to the issues, which may crop up in a fast-changing global economic and political landscape.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Zero Waste

On 14 December 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution at its seventy-seventh session to proclaim 30 March as International Day of Zero Waste, to be observed annually. Türkiye, with 105 other countries, put forward the resolution. It follows other resolutions focused on waste, including “End plastic pollution: towards an internationally legally binding instrument”, adopted at the United Nations Environment Assembly on 2 March 2022.

The International Day of Zero Waste aims to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns and raise awareness about how zero-waste initiatives contribute to the advancement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Humanity generates an estimated 2.24 billion tons of municipal solid waste annually, of which only 55 per cent is managed in controlled facilities. By 2050, this could rise to 3.88 billion tons per year. The waste sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in urban settings and biodiversity loss. Around 931 million tons of food is wasted each year, and up to 37 million tons of plastic waste is expected to enter the ocean annually by 2040.

In line with the theme for International Day of Zero Waste 2023 - 'Achieving sustainable and environmentally sound practices of minimizing and managing waste',

Rajasthan Day / Rajasthan Diwas

Rajasthan, the Land of Kings is synonymous with heroism, royalty and honour. Historic tales of battles fought and romance of the riches adorn the walls of the state. Established in the era marked with wartime ballads yet living in the modern period, the region is a travellers’ destination.

30th March 2023, marks the 74th Foundation Day of the state. The state was formed this day in 1949. The history of the region dates back to around 5,000 years. Before being called Rajputana, the region was called ‘Gujratha’, the land protected by Gujjars. But it was during this time that Rajputana (the name adopted by the British to manage the dependencies in the region) was merged into India.

Rajasthan is the largest state in the country by area and covers 10.4% of India’s total area. It shares its border with five major Indian states- Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Around 25% of the National Capital Region (NCR) falls in the state. Rajasthan provides access to around 40% of India’s market in the neighbouring states and also serves as an indispensable medium of transport between North-Indian states and the ports on the Western coastline of India.

Swachhotsav-2023’ was held at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi

Under ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ a special workshop under ‘Swachhotsav-2023’ was held at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi on the occasion of ‘International Zero Garbage Day’ on March 30th in the presence of Union Urban Development and Housing Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

Commissioner of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) Rajesh Narvekar participated in the seminar on innovative initiatives for a waste-free city and presented three unique concepts on behalf of the NMMC. All the three innovative concepts presented by the Commissioner were appreciated at the national level. “Swachhotsav-2023” has been organized at the national level to increase women’s participation and leadership in cleanliness, in which Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation has enthusiastically participated. The Municipal Corporation has always used innovative concepts in cleanliness.

SUMMIT'S & MOU's

Arunachal Pradesh To Sign MoA With CPSU For Hydropower Development

The Arunachal Pradesh cabinet, in a meeting, chaired by chief minister Pema Khandu gave “go ahead” for the proposed signing of the memorandum of agreement (MoA) with Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) for development of hydropower in the state.

The signing of the MoA is expected to unlock the potential 5 hydroelectric projects (HEPs) with an installed capacity of 2820 MW in Arunachal Pradesh.

The cabinet approved the MoA to be signed with CPSU for development of hydropower in the state. This will pave the way to unlocking potential 5 HEPs with an installed capacity of 2820 MW. This will spur huge investment in the State and generate employment,” a statement from the Arunachal Pradesh CMO said. Further, the Arunachal Pradesh cabinet gave its nod to ‘recall’ the order of new chairman and members of APPSC (Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission) and recommended the same to governor for recalling the appointment orders of February 7, 2023.

1st G20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group meeting to begin at Gandhinagar: 30 March

The First G20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group meeting under India’s G20 Presidency will begin today at Gandhinagar in Gujarat. Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Dr P K Mishra and Minister of State for Communication Devusinh Chauhan, will inaugurate the meeting.

Addressing the media at Gandhinagar, Member Secretary of National Disaster Management Authority Kamal Kishore said that five priority areas have been identified for the meeting which include an early warning for all, resilient infrastructure and improving the National system for financing Disaster Risk Reduction. Around 100 delegates from the G20 member countries, invitee countries and from nine International organisations are participating in the three day event.

During the meeting, two side events are planned on ‘Early Warning system and Disaster Resilient Infrastructure’. On the third day of the meeting, the participating delegates will be taken on a field visit to Smritivan Earthquake Memorial and Museum at Bhuj. The event also provides an opportunity to the delegates to get a glimpse of cultural heritage of Gujarat.

2nd G20 Sherpa meeting under India’s G20 Presidency will begin in Kerala: 30 March

The second G20 Sherpa meeting under India’s G20 Presidency will begin today at the picturesque Kumarakom village in Kerala’s Kottayam district. Over 120 delegates, drawn from G20 member nations, representatives of nine invitee countries and various international and regional organizations will attend the four-day event, chaired by India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant.

The multilateral discussions at the meeting will focus on G20’s economic and developmental priorities as well as contemporary global challenges. A range of cross-cutting issues of global concern, and the work being done under the 13 working groups under the Sherpa track will form part of the deliberations during the meet. Two high-level side events on Digital Public Infrastructure and Green Development will also be held today. The Kumarakom meet will take forward the outcomes of various Sherpa Track and Finance Track meetings and form the basis of the Leader’s Declaration, slated to be adopted at the New Delhi Summit in September later this year.

MoD signs 3 defence contracts worth ₹5,400 cr for Army, Navy

The Ministry of Defence on Wednesday signed three contracts worth ₹5,400 crore with defence PSUs for procurement of automated air defence control and reporting system, Sarang electronic support measure systems and advanced Communication Satellite GSAT 7B.

The first contract with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) pertains to procurement of Automated Air Defence Control and Reporting System ‘Project Akashteer’ at a cost of ₹1,982 crore for the Indian Army,

The second contract, also with the BEL, is for acquisition of Sarang Electronic Support Measure (ESM) systems along with associated engineering support package at an overall cost of ₹412 crore for the Indian Navy,

Other than that, both the projects will encourage participation of Indian electronics and associated industries, including MSMEs, who are sub-vendors of the BEL, believes the MoD.

The third contract with New Space India Limited (NSIL), a Central Public Sector Enterprise under Department of Space, Bengaluru, is for procurement of an advanced communication satellite, GSAT 7B, which will provide high throughput services to the Indian Army, at an overall cost of ₹2,963 crore.

BANKING AND ECONOMY

Govt introduces surcharge for Gpay, other payment apps; no charge to customers

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has issued a circular in which it suggested "Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI)" fees on merchant transactions on Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

The governing body of the UPI payment system added that the PPI fees would be levied on transactions above ₹2,000 on UPI. It will result in an interchange at 1.1% of the transaction value.

However, the NPCI has clairified that there will be zero charges for the bank account to bank account-based UPI payments or normal UPI payments.

With this addition to UPI, the customers will have the choice of using any bank account, RuPay Credit card and prepaid wallets on UPI-enabled apps.