Daily Current Affairs 15th March , 2023

Daily Current Affairs 15 March 2023 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NOTE: To read complete Current Affairs, subscribe to our plan. All important news are not covered here.

NATIONAL NEWS

India’s bullet train to run by August 2026: Railway Minister
According to railways and telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the first bullet train in India will begin service in August 2026. 

• The project will stimulate the economy because several of the suppliers to the project have begun receiving export orders.
• The government intends to start operating the first bullet train in August 2026. The goal is to run the bullet train on a larger section in 2027.

Atal Innovation Mission launches ATL Sarthi to strengthen ecosystem of Atal Tinkering Labs
Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog launched ATL Sarthi, a comprehensive self-monitoring framework to strengthen the ecosystem of Atal Tinkering Labs. 

• NITI Aayog has said that Atal Innovation Mission is establishing Atal Tinkering Laboratories in schools across the country to foster curiosity, creativity, and imagination in young minds. 
• Atal Tinkering Labs Sarthi is a charioteer and it will enable the Atal Tinkering Labs to be efficient and effective.

Uttarakhand become India’s first state to start insurance scheme for sericulturists
Uttarakhand become India’s first state to start insurance scheme for sericulturists. Ganesh Joshi, the state’s agriculture minister, said that Uttarakhand launched the country’s first “Resham Keet Bima” programme to safeguard its sericulturists.

• 200 sericulturists from five blocks in four districts Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar, and Nainital received insurance in the first phase of the pilot project, which started in Uttarakhand. 
• This insurance protected them from the effects of climate change, water scarcity, and other dangers.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Financial crime watchdog FATF suspends Russia’s membership due to Ukraine conflict
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) suspended Russia’s membership for its “illegal, unprovoked and unjustified” full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, an official statement said. 

• Russia’s actions were “unacceptably run” counter to FATF’s core principles that aims to promote security, safety, and integrity of the global financial system, it said.

Denmark becomes the first country to import CO2 and bury it undersea
Denmark has launched a project to store carbon dioxide 1,800 metres below the North Sea, making it the first country in the world to bury CO2 imported from another country.

• CO2 burial project, where carbon is injected into the site of an old oil field to prevent further warming of the atmosphere.
• The project is called “Greensand” and is being led by British chemical Giant Ineos and German oil company Wintershall Dia.The project aims to store eight million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030.

India eighth most polluted country in the world; Lahore most polluted city
The Swiss firm IQAir released the ‘World Air Quality’ report which says that India is the world’s eighth most polluted country in 2022, dropping from the fifth spot the previous year. The PM2.5 level of most polluted Indian cities stands at 53.3, according to the data. 

• The two Indian cities in the ranking of the world’s most polluted city are-–Bhiwadi, on Delhi’s outskirts, which had pollution levels at 92.7, and Delhi followed close behind at 92.6
• The report said India and Pakistan experienced the worst air quality in the Central and South Asian region, where nearly 60% of the population lives in areas where the concentration of PM2.5 particles is at least seven times higher than WHO’s recommended levels.
• Lahore in Pakistan jumped more than 10 places to become the city with the worst air in the world in 2022, according to an annual global survey by a Swiss maker of air purifiers. Pakistan, which had two of the five cities with the worst air in 2022, stood third in the country-wide ranking at 70.9, followed by Bahrain at 66.6.

BANKING & FINANCE

IDFC Mutual Fund rebrands itself as Bandhan MF
IDFC Mutual Fund has rebranded itself as Bandhan Mutual Fund and its schemes will reflect the new name from 13th March, 2023.The fund house has also unveiled a new logo.

• Consequently, each scheme of the fund house will be renamed to replace the word ‘IDFC’ with the word ‘Bandhan’,” the fund house said. 

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Wholesale inflation falls to two-year low of 3.85% in February
Wholesale Price-based Inflation (WPI) for February 2023 eased to two year low of 3.85 percent against 4.73 percent recorded in preceding month. Decline in the WPI is primarily contributed by fall in prices of crude petroleum & natural gas, food products, electronic, chemicals and electrical equipment.

• In February, fuel and power rose 14.82 per cent as compared to 15.15 per cent in January this year and food index stood at 2.76 per cent against 2.95 per cent in preceding month.
• WPI is in line with retail inflation data released which showed that annual retail inflation (CPI) eased to 6.44 per cent in February this year, helped by a fall in the price of food items. 

ACQUISITIONS & MERGETS

CCI clears Reliance’s Rs 2,850 crore buy of Metro’s local business
India’s competition regulator said that it has cleared Reliance Industries Ltd’s Rs 2,850 crore ($346.16 million) acquisition of the Indian business of German retailer Metro AG.

• The deal, announced nearly three months ago, will help Reliance strengthen its wholesale format and cement its position as the biggest player in India’s burgeoning retail industry with stores spanning electronics, groceries and fashion.

SPORTS

India to host IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Sports Complex
India is all set to host the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in New Delhi from March 15. The biggest boxing event will kickstart at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Sports Complex. 

• The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) is hosting the prestigious tournament from the 15th to the 26th of March. The Championship is taking place in India for the third time after 2006 and 2018, the most for any country in the history of the championship. 

Click here to read Daily Current Affairs