Today's Current Affairs 31st March 2023

NATIONAL

Jaipur to get India's 2nd largest cricket stadium named after Anil Agarwal

Vedanta's Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL) signed an MoU with the Rajasthan Cricket Association for the development of the world's third-largest and India’s second largest cricket stadium in the village of Chonp in Jaipur. Vedanta's HZL will spend INR 300 crore on the stadium, one of the largest corporate investments in Indias sports infrastructure. The stadium would be named as Anil Agarwal International Cricket Stadium, Jaipur.

The highlights of the new stadium are -- it is the biggest cricket playing field in the world, is one of the world's biggest Cricket stadiums with a seating capacity of 75,000. (2nd largest in India and 3rd largest in the world), spread over 100 acres (4,04,685 sqm) biggest playing area and is well connected via Delhi-Jaipur Express Highway.

The MoU was signed by Bhawani Shankar Samota, Honorary Secretary, Rajasthan Cricket Association and Arun Misra, CEO Hindustan Zinc in the presence of Dr. C.P. Joshi, Hon'ble Speaker, Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha and Chief Patron, RCA, Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Chairperson, Hindustan Zinc and Non-Executive Director, Vedanta Ltd. and Vaibhav Gehlot, President, Rajasthan Cricket Association.

Weeklong National Maritime Celebrations begins with PM wearing the ‘First Merchant Navy Flag’

Gearing up for a week long celebration of National maritime Celebration from April 5, the ‘First Merchant Navy Flag’ was pinned on the lapel of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi by the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways and Ayush Shri Sarbananda Sonowal  in presence of Sudhansh Pant, Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) and other senior officials in New Delhi today. A memento was also presented to the Prime Minister.

To mark the importance of the day government is celebrating by organising the National Maritime Week from 30.03.2023 to 05.04.2023 paying tribute to services of seafarers and celebrating the proud moment for India when the first Indian Steamship “S.S. LOYALTY” of M/s. Scindia Steam, Navigation Co. Ltd., Mumbai ventured into international waters on her maiden voyage from Mumbai to London (UK) in the year 1919 on this day and the same is marked as “National Maritime Day.”

Defence Ministry signs more than Rs 9100 crore contracts for Akash Weapon System and Weapon locating Radars

The Ministry of Defence signes contracts for the procurement of an improved Akash Weapon System and 12 Weapon Locating Radars, WLR Swathi (Plains) for the Indian Army at an overall cost of over  9,100 crore rupees. The contract for procurement of improved Akash Weapon System (AWS) for the 3rd and 4th Regiments of Army Air Defence, comprising live Missiles and Launchers with upgrades, Ground Support Equipment, Vehicles and Infrastructure was signed with Bharat Dynamics Limited, worth over eight thousand 160 crore rupees.

The AWS is a Short Range Surface Air Missile (SRSAM) Air Defence System, indigenously designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

To meet aerial threats, two additional Regiments of AWS with Upgradation are being procured for Indian Army for the Northern borders. Improved AWS has Seeker Technology,  360° Engagement Capability and improved environmental parameters.

 APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

Hero MotoCorp appoints company insider Niranjan Gupta as new CEO

Hero MotoCorp Ltd, India's biggest two-wheeler maker by volume, on Thursday named company insider Niranjan Gupta as its chief executive officer.

Gupta, currently chief financial officer at Hero MotoCorp, played a role in forming the bike maker's partnerships with Harley Davidson and electric-motorcycle maker Zero Motorcycles, the company said.

Pawan Munjal, Hero MotoCorp's current chief executive, will remain with the company as an executive chairman and full-time director on the board.

The development comes months after the company named Gupta as its head of strategy and M&A in December last year.

Tata Power re-appoints Praveer Sinha on positions of CEO, Managing Director

Tata Power on Thursday said it has re-appointed Praveer Sinha as the company's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director.

His re-appointment to the top post is for a period of four years from May 1, 2023, to April 30, 2027, subject to the approval of the members of the company, Tata Power said in a regulatory filing.

"Based on the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, the Board, at its meeting held on March 30, 2023, approved the re-appointment of Praveer Sinha as the CEO & MD of the company," it added. His present tenure as a CEO and MD is scheduled to conclude on April 30, 2023.

"Under his current leadership, Tata Power is at the forefront of transforming itself from a century-old power utility company into a new-aged sustainable, technology-oriented and customer-centric green energy solutions company," the company said.

A PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Sinha is a visiting Research Associate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston, USA.

IMPORTAMT DAYS

World Backup Day

World Backup Day on March 31st reminds us to protect our precious digital documents as we’ve become more reliant on technology.

There’s always that one photo, video or memory that you took the time to save, yet for some reason, it’s not yours anymore. Whether it was a lost or broken phone, a faulty hard drive or some other technological mishap, it can feel impossible to keep all your files in one piece.

Thankfully, the day before April Fools is World Backup Day, which saves us from being the punchline of a joke played by our own devices. It is the day when we finally stop saying, “I’ll do it tomorrow,” and make sure all our precious files find a safe space.

WHAT IS BACKUP ?

Answer - A backup is a second copy of all your important files — for example, your family photos, home videos, documents, and emails. Instead of storing it all in one place (like your computer), you keep another copy of everything somewhere safe.

 SUMMIT'S & MOU's

Godrej group and SBI sign a strategic MoU to deepen partnership

Godrej Capital, the financial services arm of the Godrej Group has signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the State Bank of India (SBI) to deepen their partnership, wherein the latter would provide various financial products and offerings.

Speaking on the development, Pirojsha Godrej, chairperson of Godrej Capital, said, "This partnership is a big step forward in making financial solutions more accessible and affordable. Together, we aim to unlock opportunities for financial inclusion and build a long-term, sustainable franchise, helping drive India's growth story forward."

This association leverages the strengths of both groups by facilitating a gamut of financial services provided by the bank, including, and not limited to, banking products, credit cards, wealth management, Life Insurance, and General Insurance as preferred partners.

Dinesh Khara, chairman of SBI, speaking on the announcement, said, "We are happy to embark on this exciting partnership with Godrej Capital. We aim to capitalize on synergies that will empower our customers and accelerate the growth of our economy. In addition, we will focus on delivering financial solutions to the Godrej group."

BANKING AND ECONOMY

Aditya Birla Health Insurance inks bancassurance partnership with UCO Bank

Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co Ltd (ABHICL), the health insurance joint venture of Aditya Birla Capital Ltd. (ABCL) has announced its bancassurance partnership with leading public sector lender, UCO Bank, for the distribution of health insurance products through the bank’s branches across India.

This partnership will enable ABHICL to expand its national footprint by leveraging UCO Bank’s widely distributed network of 3,164 branches and reach out to more than 40 million customers of the bank across India. Commenting on the association, UCO Bank MD & CEO - Soma Sankara Prasad said, "We are delighted to announce the Bank’s new standalone health insurance partnership with Aditya Birla Health Insurance Company, which brings knowledge and expertise of innovative healthcare and Wellness Offerings. We are confident that this partnership will further support the bank in enhancing the customer experience by focussing on selling the right health insurance product to the customers and making the overall experience of insurance policy and claim settlement a smooth experience for the customers. With our customer-first approach we are happy to share Aditya Birla Health Insurance’s innovative and health-first solutions with all our customers."

With this association, UCO Bank’s customers and employees will have access to ABHICL’s comprehensive suite of health-first insurance solutions like incentivized wellness benefits of up to 100% Health Returns and chronic management program, Day-1 cover for asthma, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes; wellness coaching on nutrition and fitness and counselling on mental health. With the UCO Bank partnership, ABHICL now has 17 bancassurance partners with over 80,000 direct selling agents, across the country.