Today's Current Affairs 6th April 2023

INTERNATIONAL

Volodymyr Zelensky awarded Poland's highest honour

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky has been awarded the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest distinction, for his services to security, resilience and the defense of human rights.

Presenting the Order, Poland’s president Andrzej Duda said: "There is no doubt that you, Volodymyr Zelensky, are exceptional.

"It is hard to hide the tears of emotion seeing your service to your motherland. You have not abandoned either Ukraine or your compatriots.

“You are a model of state and national leadership."

The Order of the White Eagle is the oldest and highest decoration of the Republic of Poland, awarded for great civil and military merits for the country. It is awarded to the most eminent Poles and the highest-ranking representatives of foreign countries.

According to the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, Zelenski received the award in recognition of his merits in deepening relations between Poland and Ukraine, for his activities for security, and his steadfastness in defending human rights.

NATIONAL

Amit Shah Unveils 54 Feet Hanuman Statue In Gujarat On Hanuman Jayanti

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday unveiled a 54 feet tall statue of Lord Hanuman at Sarangpur temple in Gujarat’s Botad district on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. The festival, which celebrates the birth of Lord Hanuman,

Shah was in the state to attend an event to mark the BJP’s 44th foundation day.

The statue is built in the backyard of the Sarangpur temple in an area of 1,35,000 square feet. The temple is dedicated to Lord Kastbhanjan, a form of Hanuman.

The giant statue weighs around 30,000 kilogram and is visible from a distance of seven kilometre. Five different metals were used in its construction and the total diameter of the statue is 754 feet. The internal structure is made of steel.

According to reports, 3D printers, 3D routers, and CNC machines were used in its construction. The statue has been made to withstand earthquakes.

Kerala tops GI tag list in FY 2022-23

Kerala has topped the list of states in the country with most number of products securing the Geographical Indication (GI) tag in financial year 2022-23, a data shared by the GI Registry said,

Attappady Aattukombu Avara, Attappady Thuvara, Onattukara Ellu, Kanthaloor Vattavada Veluthuli, Kodungallur Pottuvellari were picked for the GI recognition tag as per the data released by the registry.

Besides the 6 products from Kerala, Mithila Makhana (aquatic fox nut) from Bihar was selected for GI recognition followed by Alibag white onion from Maharashtra. Tandur Redgram from Telangana the local variety of pea, Ladakh Raktsey Karpo Apricot from Ladakh and Gamosa handicrafts from Assam were also chosen for the honours.

The Geogrphical Indication relates to particular location and product manufactured from that region, In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place.

SPORTS

MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh among 5 Indian cricketers to be awarded MCC lifetime membership

Five top Indian cricketers - Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Mithali Raj, and Jhulan Goswami - were given life membership in the prestigious Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

The MCC has named 19 new Honorary Life Members, with eight Test-playing nations represented. The London-based club, which established the rules of the game, bestows honorary life membership on some of the game's greatest men and women.

This year's list includes five former players from India and England, as well as players from Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, and the West Indies.

Eoin Morgan, England's 2019 ODI World Cup-winning captain, Jenny Gunn, Laura Marsh, and Anya Shrubsole, who were part of England's 2017 Women's ODI World Cup triumph, and flamboyant batsman Kevin Pietersen, who won the Ashes four times and was Player of the Tournament in England's 2010 ICC Men's World T20 win, are among the five former England players to receive the honour.

Jhulan Goswami, who bowed out from internationals in the England v India Women's One-Day International at Lord's last year, is the leading wicket-taker in Women's ODIs whilst Mithali Raj heads the run-scoring list with 7,805 in 211 innings.

MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh were both integral parts of the India side which won the 2007 ICC Men's World T20 and the 2011 ICC Men's World Cup, and Suresh Raina scored over 5,500 ODI runs across a 13-year career.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Seshagiri Rao retires, steps down from JSW Steel board after 24 years

Seshagiri Rao (65), joint managing director and group chief financial officer, JSW Steel, has stepped down from the board after 24 years, on superannuation.

JSW Steel informed the stock exchanges on Wednesday that Seshagiri Rao, joint managing director and group chief financial officer (CFO), ceased to be a wholetime director of the company with effect from April 6. This was on completion of his term approved by the shareholders at the 26th annual general meeting of the company held on July 23, 2020 (April 6, 2020 to April 5, 2023).

Rao superannuated from the services of the company and consequently stepped down from the board, the company said.

However, he would be associated with the group in an advisory role. The company mentioned that he ceased to be a director with effect from April 6, but would continue to be associated with the group as ‘Group CFO’.

IMPORTANT DAYS

BJP foundation day

The BJP will be celebrating its 43rd Foundation Day on April 6 with great fervour and enthusiasm. The saffron party has come a long way since its inception on April 6, 1980, emerging as the largest political party in the world, having the maximum number of MPs, MLAs and councillors in the country.

In fact, the BJP's journey was recently summed up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after inaugurating an extension of the BJP headquarters.

"BJP started its journey from just two Lok Sabha seats and reached 303 in 2019. In many of the states, we get more than 50 per cent votes," he had said. "From north to south and from east to west, the BJP is the only pan-India party today," PM Modi further said.

The BJP was officially created on April 6, 1980. However, its ideological origins can be traced back to 1951 when Shyama Prasad Mukherjee broke away from Nehru's Congress and formed the Bhartiya Jana Sangh (BJS). The BJS, whose motto was the preservation of Hindu identity and culture, was formed in collaboration with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)

International Day of Sport for Development and Peace

In 2013, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 6 April as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, to celebrate the contribution of sports and physical activity to education, human development, healthy lifestyles and a peaceful world.

Sport is a compelling tool to promote peace, tolerance, and understanding, bringing people together across boundaries, cultures, and religions. Its values such as teamwork, fairness, discipline, and respect are understood all over the world and can be utilized in the advancement of solidarity and social cohesion.

Sport has historically played an important role in all societies, be it in the form of competitive sport, physical activity or play. But one may wonder: what does sport have to do with the United Nations? In fact, sport presents a natural partnership for the United Nations (UN) system, including UNESCO:

Sport and play are human rights that must be respected and enforced worldwide;

Sport has been increasingly recognized and used as a low-cost and high-impact tool in humanitarian, development and peace-building efforts, not only by the UN system but also by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), governments, development agencies, sports federations, armed forces and the media.

Sport can no longer be considered a luxury within any society but is rather an important investment in the present and future, particularly in developing countries.

The theme for the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace for the year 2023 is “Scoring for People and the Planet.” The theme is applicable for celebrations of this event across the globe.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Adani Green Receives ‘Platinum Award’ For Positive Impact On Environment

The renewable arm of the Adani Group, Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), has received the ‘Platinum Award’ by Grow Care India Environment Management Awards 2022 for outstanding achievement in the environment management category. The award recongised the company's outstanding contributions, commitments, and actions that have a positive impact on the environment, Adani Green said in a statement.

The award was conferred by the Minister of State Rural Development Faggan Singh Kulaste.

Grow Care India is a non-profit organisation pledged to concede and honor marvelous performance in environment, occupational health and safety, human resources, and other issues like risk management, innovation ideas /projects, corporate ethics, and eco-innovation.

The NGO had invited nominations from companies and their units demonstrating the highest level of commitment and concern in environmental management, as well as organisations willing to enhance and improve their own performance.

BANKING AND ECONOMY

India-Nepal to sign pact to help travellers make digital payments with Indian e-wallets

In a major step to boost tourism and trade, the Indian and Nepalese governments are set to sign an agreement in which tourists travelling between the two countries will no longer have to carry currency notes. They can simply make payments by scanning quick response (QR) codes.

Nepalese and Indian tourists travelling between the two countries would be able make digital payments using Indian e-wallets like BharatPe, PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm. Both countries have chalked out an agreement for this purpose, and the document is awaiting signatures from both countries' officials, including Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'.

The move is expected to ease payment transactions for Nepalese and Indian traders, as well as for tourists visiting Nepal. Additionally, the QR codes used for transactions will also help businesses between the two countries.

A year ago, both countries had already signed a technical agreement to enable the use of Nepalese e-wallets in India and Indian e-wallets in Nepal. Nepal's gateway payments service provider, Gateway Payments Service Private Limited, and India's National Payment Corporation of India have signed this agreement.

RBI MPC meet: RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 6.5%

The RBI monetary policy committee (MPC) decided to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.50 per cent and other policy rates were also kept unchanged. "The monetary policy committee decided unanimously at 6.50 per cent with a readiness to act if the situation so warrants," Das said. The RBI Governor also said that the withdrawal of accommodation and that the repo rate hike has been paused only for this meeting.

Repo rate is the rate at which the central bank of a country (Reserve Bank of India in case of India) lends money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall of funds. Repo rate is used by monetary authorities to control inflation.

In the event of inflation, central banks increase repo rate as this acts as a disincentive for banks to borrow from the central bank. This ultimately reduces the money supply in the economy and thus helps in arresting inflation.

The central bank takes the contrary position in the event of a fall in inflationary pressures. Repo and reverse repo rates form a part of the liquidity adjustment facility.