NATIONAL NEWS

IT Ministry, NIXI Launch BhashaNet Portal on Universal Acceptance Day

National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology unveiled the BhashaNet portal on 21 March 2024.

‘BhashaNet Portal’ was unveiled in Delhi for the upcoming Universal Acceptance Day (UA Day). It was organized at Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi.

The theme of the event organized in Delhi is, “BhashaNet: Impetus Towards Universal Acceptance”.

This theme highlights NIXI's dedication to ensuring that individuals, regardless of language or script, can fully participate in the digital world.

This is the second event organized between NIXI and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

UP Police Launches Digital Platform 'Trinetra' App 2.0

Uttar Pradesh Police has launched the state-of-the-art digital platform Trinetra App 2.0 to help in the investigation and crackdown on criminals.

Trinetra App 2.0 has been designed to help in crime prevention and investigation in the state.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions company Staqu Technologies has launched AI powered Crime GPT Trinetra 2.0. This tool works in collaboration with the UP government and the Special Task Force.

The purpose of this Crime GPT launch is to strengthen security. This will help the UP Police to crackdown on criminals.

Crime GPT Trinetra 2.0 uses both written and audio input to extract criminal databases. Then it prepares results based on that. If information is to be obtained about a criminal's crime committed in the last two years, a written or audio message query is entered.

By connecting to the database, the programme gets the required programmes quickly. This includes things like criminal gang analysis, voice recognition, facial recognition and many more.

 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

WWF’s Earth Hour Will be Observed on 23 March

Earth Hour is an annual global event observed on the last Saturday of March to raise awareness about climate change and promote energy conservation. This year, it is scheduled to be observed on March 23 from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm (IST).

The event, initiated and organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), urges people worldwide to turn off lights and electrical appliances for an hour.

For its 18th edition, people from 190 countries and territories are expected to participate by switching off non-essential lights.

WWF-India also organized 13 cyclothons nationwide, which attracted over 2,000 participants.

In 2007, Earth Hour emerged as a grassroots movement in Sydney, Australia, initiated by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Australia and its partners.

The concept was to encourage individuals to switch off lights for an hour to show support for climate action.

Earth Hour is more than just an hour of saving electricity; it's a powerful message to the world. By participating, individuals demonstrate their concern for the environment and their willingness to take action.

This event provides an opportunity to show solidarity with others who share a commitment to sustainability and protecting the planet for future generations.

3rd Summit for Democracy Being Hosted by South Korea

South Korea hosted the 3rd Summit for Democracy in Seoul from 18-20 March 2024 in a hybrid format.

The Summit for Democracy was started by American President Joe Biden in 2021 to address the emerging challenges to democracy from authoritarianism and defend and promote human rights.

The Summit was opened by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was joined by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The 3rd summit mainly focussed on threats to democracy from digital sources, including misinformation, deep fakes, and artificial intelligence.

The theme of the third Summit for Democracy 2024 was” Democracy for Future Generations.”

 

BANKING

RBI Fines TMB and DCB Bank for Violation of Regulatory Norms

The banking sector regulator, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) fined the Indian private sector bank Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Limited (TMB) and the foreign bank DCB India for violating the RBI's regulatory norms.

The Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Limited was fined Rs 1.38 crore.

According to the RBI, the Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Limited failed to benchmark the interest rate on certain floating rate loans to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises( MSMEs) to an external benchmark lending rate.

It also failed to price certain floating rate loans with reference to the actual benchmark rate applicable to those loans.

The DCB was fined Rs 63.6 lakh.

According to the RBI, the DCB Bank failed to reset the interest rates at the prescribed periodicity in certain MCLR(Marginal Cost of Fund-based Lending Rates)-linked floating rate advances and benchmark the interest rate of certain floating-rate retail loans and floating-rate loans to MSMEs to an external benchmark lending rate.

 

SPORTS

Billiards Hall of Fame

India's great billiards player Pankaj Advani has been inducted into the 'Hall of Fame of the World Billiards Museum'.

Pankaj Advani has won 26 world titles in snooker and billiards combined. In which Pankaj has 18 billiards and 8 snooker world titles.

The 38-year-old cue star Pankaj has won 18 Billiards World Titles, 17 IBSF World Billiards Championships and one World Team Billiards Championship.

In snooker, Pankaj has won the IBSF World Snooker Championship three times.

He has won the IBSF World Six-Red Championship twice.

Pankaj has won the IBSF World Team Cup and IBSF World Team Championship once each.

 

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

UN's World Happiness Report

In the United Nations sponsored annual ‘World Happiness Report’ released on 20 March 2024, ‘Finland’ has been considered the happiest country in the world.

Finland has become the happiest country in the world for the seventh consecutive year in this United Nations report.

India ranks 126th among 143 countries in World Happiness Report.

In the World Happiness Report, Afghanistan has been placed at the lowest position in the list of 143 countries.

The report is based on global survey data of people from 143 countries.

The report ranks countries in happiness based on their average life assessment over the past three years.

 

AWARDS & PRIZES

Aviation Week Laureates Award Was Given To ISRO for Chandrayaan-3

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has received the Aviation Week Laureates Award for its noteworthy accomplishments with the Chandrayaan-3 mission.

The award was accepted on behalf of ISRO by Sripriya Ranganathan, Deputy Ambassador at the Indian Embassy in the US.

In the aviation and aerospace industry the Aviation Week Network's Laureate Awards are a prestigious recognition of the extraordinary achievements of individuals and teams.

The recognition by Aviation Week demonstrates the international appreciation and respect for ISRO's significant contributions to space exploration, having previously received the Leif Erikson Lunar Prize from the Husavik Museum for their unwavering commitment to lunar exploration.

The mission objectives include demonstrating a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, rover roving on the moon, and conducting in-situ scientific experiments. Both Vikram and Pragyan are designed to operate for one lunar day, which lasts 14 Earth days.

Devi Shankar Awasthi Award

Young poet critic Nishant has been announced to be given the 29th Devi Shankar Awasthi Award for the year 2023.

Nishant will be given this honor for his criticism book 'Kavita Pathak Aalochna'.

Dr. Devishankar Awasthi was a renowned critic of Hindi literature. In his memory, the honor has been given to a young critic every year for the last 29 years.

Basically this award is given to a young critic for his significant contribution in the development of Hindi criticism.

It was founded in the memory of the famous Hindi critic Devi Shankar Awasthi by his wife Kamlesh Awasthi and his family.

This honor is given to a young critical writer up to the age of 45 years.

 

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Vinay Kumar has been Appointed Indian Ambassador to Russia

Vinay Kumar has been appointed India’s next ambassador to Russia.

The Ministry of External Affairs also announced a host of new ambassadors of India appointed to different countries.

1992 batch Indian Foreign Service officer Vinay Kumar, who is presently the ambassador to Myanmar, has been named the next ambassador to Russia.

The 1997 batch of Indian Foreign Service officer T. Armstrong Changsan has been appointed the next ambassador of India to Cuba. T. Armstrong Changsan is currently posted as a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.

The 1993 batch of Indian Foreign Service officer Soumendu Bagchi has been appointed the next ambassador of Iraq.

1995 batch Indian Foreign Service officer Ms Abhilasha Joshi has been appointed the next Indian ambassador to the South American country Chile.

The President of India appoints a person as India’s Ambassador or High Commissioner on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and the External Affairs Minister.

 

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Happiness

The International Day of Happiness is observed annually on March 20.

This day is celebrated to inform people about the importance of happiness as a way to live a healthy life. On this occasion people are made aware about the importance of happiness and its benefits.

The theme of this year 2024 is “Reconnecting for Happiness: Building Resilient Communities”.

The history of this day starts from 2013 when it was first celebrated by the United Nations (UN).

It was declared in 2012 by the UNGA to recognize the importance of happiness in life and ways to make people happy.

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

‘International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination’ is celebrated every year on 21 March.

On the occasion of this day, unity is called for against casteism and racial discrimination.

The theme of this year 2024 is ‘A Decade of Recognition, Justice, and Development: Implementation of the International Decade for People of African Descent’.

This year's theme is associated with the International Decade for People of African Descent. It spans the time frame from 2015 to 2024.

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) designated March 21st as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in October 1966.

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