Due to their inability to stay updated with current events, the majority of candidates find the current affairs portion challenging. However, by using the proper materials, such as daily current affairs blogs and mock tests, aspirants may easily score in the current affairs part of any competitive examination.

Our experts at Embibe have chosen the most recent occurrences from across the globe and have put them in this article so that candidates can boost their preparation and score well.

Current Affairs: Defence

Annual Bilateral Mritime Exercise KONKAN 2023

• The annual bilateral maritime exercise was conducted recently between the Indian Navy and the UK’s Royal Navy. It was held off the Konkan coast in the Arabian Sea from 20 to 22 Mar 2023. The Indian Navy conducts or participates in bilateral maritime exercises with friendly foreign countries on a regular basis.
• INS Trishul and HMS Lancaster participated in this edition and undertook multiple maritime drills to enhance best practices.
• The exercises covered all domains of naval operations, air, surface and subsurface.
• They included gunnery shoots on the inflatable surface target ‘Killer Tomato’, helicopter operations, anti-air and anti-submarine warfare drills, Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS), ship manoeuvres and exchange of personnel.
• The exercise holds major significance, such as enhancing training value to personnel of both navies. The focus personnel exhibited on op-readiness, enhancing interoperability and improving the ability to conduct joint operations will go a long way in bolstering the combined efforts of the Indian Navy and Royal Navy to strengthen maritime security and uphold a rules-based order in the region.
• It is the second frigate of the Talwar class of the Indian Navy. Trishul, the guided missile frigate, joined the arsenal of the Indian Navy in 2003. The ship was commissioned by the then Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command Vice Admiral Arun Prakash, at St Petersburg, Russia, on 25 June 2003.

Question: 1

KONKAN 2023 is a bilateral maritime exercise between the _____ and the Indian Navy

(A) UK’s Royal Navy

(B) Sri Lanka Navy

(C) US Navy

(D) Royal Australian Navy

Ans: A

Check out the Highlights of the Economic Survey 2022-23 by clicking on the link given below:
Economic Survey 2022-23

Current Affairs: Defence

Indian Army and Air Force conduct joint drills Vayu Prahar along LAC in the eastern command

• According to sources, the Indian Army and the Air force jointly conducted a Multi Domain Air-Land Exercise Vayu Prahar along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the eastern command. The exercise validated and refined procedures essential for synergised joint operations. Army Formations, Special Forces, along with Indian Air Force, participated in the 96-hour exercise in the Eastern Theatre.
• In the second week of March 2023, the Indian Army and the Air force jointly conducted a Multi Domain Air-Land Exercise Vayu Prahar in the Eastern Theatre to validate joint plans to prosecute synergised multiple domain operations. 
• It included the rapid mobilisation of an earmarked Rapid Reaction Force from the hinterland to undertake air-landed operations in a nominated Advance Landing Ground.
• The air landed force further executes contingency tasks as per a realistic exercise scenario in challenging high-altitude terrain conditions.
• Multi-Domain operations aim to orchestrate military activities across all domains to deliver converging effects.
• It enabled coordination and rehearsal amongst various agencies for quick mobilisation, transportation and deployment of forces. 
• Meanwhile, China has said that the border dispute with India is a bilateral issue and that foreign interference will not help solve the problems.

Current Affairs: Awards and Recognitions

Ramnath Goenka Awards for excellence in journalism

• Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud recently presented the 16th Ramnath Goenka Awards for excellence in journalism under various categories. A total of 43 winners from 2019 and 2020, who were not honoured earlier due to the coronavirus pandemic, were felicitated this year at the event. The event took place in New Delhi. 

Details:

• In the category of ‘Hindi journalism in print media’, Anand Choudhary from Dainik Bhaskar bagged the prestigious award for exploring the dark underbelly of Rajasthan’s villages in its three tribal districts where children can be bought for just ₹50–₹150.
• Jyoti Yadav and Bismee Taskin from The Print, a news portal, won the honour for their story on the migrant exodus across rural Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
• Sushil Kumar Mohapatra from NDTV India won the award in the category of ‘broadcast (Hindi) journalism’.
• Ashutosh Mishra from Aaj Tak news channel won the award for his story on the bodies floating in the Ganga river during the pandemic in May 2021.

Question: 2

Who recently presented the 16th Ramnath Goenka Awards for excellence in journalism under various categories?

(A) President Droupadi Murmu

(B) PM Narendra Modi

(C) Ex-President Ram Nath Kovind

(D) CJI D Y Chandrachud

Ans: D

Current Affairs: Awards and Recognitions

President Biden presents National Humanities Medals to Indian-American actress Mindy Kaling and 11 others

• US President Joe Biden has presented the prestigious 2021 National Humanities Medals to Indian-American actress and producer Mindy Kaling, with several others, in recognition of her giving voice to a new generation of storytellers, at a White House ceremony.
• The National Medal of Arts is the highest award, given to artists, arts patrons, and groups by the US government.
• The President previously awarded a National Humanities Medal to Sir Elton John in September 2022, during a White House event, “A Night When Hope and History Rhyme”.
• Mindy Kaling is a writer, producer and actor.
• Mindy Kaling is an Emmy-nominated writer, producer, and New York Times best-selling author, director, and actor. Mindy has also lent her voice to multiple blockbuster animated comedies, including the Oscar-winning Pixar film, “Inside Out”.

Question: 3

Who among the following Indian-American actors won the 2021 National Humanities Medal?

(A) Freida Pinto

(B) Kal Penn

(C) Mindy Kaling

(D) Naveen Andrews

Ans: C

Current Affairs: Report and Ranking

World’s Top 10 Billionaires list released by Hurun research platform

• According to the recently released Hurun Global Rich List, Mukesh Ambani, the Chairman of Reliance Industries and the richest man in Asia, is the only Indian to be ranked among the top 10 billionaires in the world.
• The Hurun Global Rich List for 2023 ranked a total of 3,112 billionaires from 69 countries and 2,356 companies, which is a decrease from last year’s 3,384 billionaires.
• The number of billionaires dropped by 8 per cent, and their total wealth dropped by 10 per cent compared to last year.
• Out of the total number of billionaires, 1,078 individuals witnessed an increase in their wealth, including 176 new faces.
• Among the top billionaires, Jeff Bezos of Amazon saw her wealth deplete by $70 billion in 2023 to $118 billion, followed by Tesla’s Elon Musk, who saw his fortunes dip by $48 billion to $157 billion.
• The top 4 billionaires in the US (Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Elon Musk) have lost a combined $200 billion in wealth in 2022-23.
• Hurun Report is a research, luxury publishing and events group established in London in 1998. It has a presence in India, China, France, the UK, the US, Australia, Japan, Canada and Luxembourg.

Anti-submarine warfare craft ‘INS Androth’ launched in Kolkata

• The second anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft (ASW SWC), named INS Androth, was launched recently at Garden Reach Ship Builders in Kolkata.
• It is used to protect the coastal low draft region wherever they are deployed. The first Arnala was launched last year.
• These ships are also capable of full-scale subsurface surveillance of coastal waters and various surface platforms and coordinated ASW operations with aircraft.
• These ships are 77.6 metres long and 10.5 metres wide and require a draught of only 2.7 metres. Propelled by three diesel-driven water jets, these ships can attain a maximum speed of 25 knots.
• The ship is equipped with hull-mounted sonar, low-frequency variable depth sonar, lightweight torpedoes, ASW rockets and mines, a close-in weapon system (with a 30 mm gun) and 16.7 mm stabilised remote-controlled guns.

Question: 4

Where was INS Androth launched?

(A) Bengaluru

(B) Mumbai

(C) Kolkata

(D) Pune

Ans: C

ISRO to launch OneWeb India-2 mission from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch the ‘OneWeb India-2 mission’ from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on 26 March.
• Under a commercial agreement with NewSpace India Ltd, it will launch 72 satellites of UK-based Network Access Associates Ltd and place them in low Earth orbit.
• NewSpace is the commercial wing of ISRO.
• The first set of 36 satellites was launched on 23 October 2022 by an LVM3 M2 launch vehicle.
• In the second mission on 26 March, the remaining 36 satellites, each weighing approximately 5805 kg, will be placed in a 450 km circular low earth orbit by the LVM3 M3 launch vehicle.
• After launch, Access Associates Ltd will have more than 600 satellites in space offering internet from space services to various countries.

Question: 5

Which organisation will launch the OneWeb India-2 mission?

(A) DRDO

(B) ISRO

(C) CSIR

(D) TRAI

Ans: B

Check out the Highlights of Union Budget 2023 by clicking on the link given below:
Union Budget 2023-24

Factbook 24-03-2022

Maha Metro Nagpur receives prestigious ‘Asia Book of Record’ citation

• Being awarded “Guinness World Records” and two “Asia Book of Records” earlier, Maha Metro Nagpur was honoured with the prestigious Asia Book of Records certification for three categories. 
• The certification and citation were presented by Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis at Metro Bhawan recently.
• The categories for which Nagpur Metro was presented with Asia Book of Records certification are ‘Longest Length of Metro Rail Corridor Construction in Shortest Time’, ‘First Solar PV System in a Metro Rail Project for Integrated Consumption’ and ‘Heaviest Single Span Double Decker Steel Bridge Truss over Railway tracks in Urban Area’, in Asia
• The citation and medal were handed over to Maha Metro MD Dr Brijesh Dixit by Fadnavis.

World Tuberculosis Day-2023

• World Tuberculosis Day is observed every year on 24 March to raise awareness about Tuberculosis, a serious respiratory infection. 
• The day also highlights the progress being made in the battle against the disease and focuses on the commitment to eradicate the infection.

Theme:

• The theme for World Tuberculosis Day 2023 is “Yes! We can end TB!”. According to the World Health Organization website, this theme aims to hope and encourage high-level leadership, increased investments, adoption of innovations, accelerated action, and multisectoral collaboration to combat the Tuberculosis epidemic.

Rajasthan becomes the first state to pass the Right to Health Bill

• Rajasthan became the first state in the country to legislate a “right to health”. 
• The Right to Health Bill passed by the Rajasthan assembly gives every resident of the state “the right to a consultation, drugs, diagnostics and emergency care at all public hospitals”.
• The government will reimburse the health care provider if a patient does not pay the charges after emergency care, stabilisation and referral.
• As part of the Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme, the Rajasthan government provides health insurance of ₹10 lakh and bears organ transplant expenses. 
• In his budget speech, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that this amount would be increased to ₹25 lakh.

Also check:

Daily current affairs for March 20, 2023	Daily current affairs for March 21, 2023
Daily current affairs for March 22, 2023	Daily current affairs for March 24, 2023

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