Correct Answer : Option (A) - 30th Mar 2023 to 5th Apr 2023

National Maritime Day is celebrated every year on April 05 in India. Moreover, National Maritime Week started on March 30, 2023. At the launch event, PM Modi announced that it will strengthen the efforts of port-based development and lead to overall economic prosperity.

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 30th March 2023.

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.”..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer : Option (B) - Justice TS Sivagnanam

The Central government on Thursday (30th March 2023) notified the appointment of Justice TS Sivagnanam as Acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court with effect from 31st March 2023.

* He succeeded the current Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava who retired.

* He enrolled in the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu in September 1986.

* He was appointed as an additional judge of the Madras High Court in March 2009.

* He was transferred to the Calcutta High Court in October 2021..

Source : Barand Bench

Correct Answer : Option (A) - Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Ltd

Aditya Birla Health Insurance Co. Ltd. (ABHICL) has entered into a bancassurance partnership with UCO Bank for the distribution of health insurance products through the bank’s branches across the country.

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 of its Indian customers, the company’s press statement said.

With this association, the bank’s customers and employees will have access to the insurer’s comprehensive suit of health-first insurance solutions, such as incentivised wellness benefits of up to 100 per cent, Health Returns TM and chronic management program, Day-1 cover for asthma, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes; wellness coaching on nutrition and fitness, and mental health counselling, among others.

With this new partnership, ABHICL now has 17 bancassurance partners with over 80,000 direct selling agents, across the country.

“This partnership will help us strengthen our distribution network further and allow us to offer customised, cost-effective, and innovative advanced health insurance solutions to millions of UCO Bank customers across India,” Mayank Bathwal, CEO, Aditya Birla Health Insurance, said, in the statement...

Source : H B

Correct Answer : Option (C) - BharatPe

Fintech company "BharatPe" under its corporate social responsibility initiative BharatPe Cares has partnered with NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) to support women entrepreneurs in the country.

* The company said the core focus area will be to facilitate the development of a first-of-its-kind aggregator platform that gives access to peer support, mentorship, networking channels and learning resources to women entrepreneurs.  

* The initiative is under BharatPe’s company PAYBACK’s CSR programme. BharatPe had acquired PAYBACK – a multi-brand loyalty programme in 2021 from American Express and ICICI Investments Strategic Fund.

* According to the sixth economic census by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, women comprise only 13.76 per cent of the total entrepreneurs in India, which is 8.05 million out of the total 58.5 million entrepreneurs.

* Nalin Negi, CFO and interim CEO, BharatPe, said, As a homegrown fintech, our regular engagement with women solopreneurs and small business owners has helped us understand the challenges faced from their lens – the most important being lack of access to financial know-how, networking channels, mentorship and fundraising opportunities.

* Our partnership with WEP is aimed at facilitating the development of a plug-and-play digital infrastructure to address the existing gaps and aid the growth of women entrepreneurs,

* Anna Roy, Mission Director, WEP, added that while the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India is thriving but women-led businesses still need a lot of support to help scale businesses, and more so due to social biases...

Source : Financial Express

Correct Answer : Option (B) - PNGRB

Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) on 29th March 2023 approved levelised unified tariff for natural gas pipeline of Rs 73.93 per metric million British thermal unit (MMBtu).

* The unified tariff would be effective from April 1, 2023.

* The regulator said it has amended PNGRB (Determination of Natural Gas Pipeline Tariff) Regulations to incorporate the regulations pertaining to unified tariff for natural gas pipelines with a mission of “One Nation, One Grid and One tariff”.

* By “One Nation, One Grid and One tariff”, the Indian government aims to boost the consumption of natural gas in the country and increase its share in India’s energy basket from current 6.2 percent to 15 percent by 2030.

* PNGRB also defined three zones for unified tariff, wherein the first zone is up to the distance of 300 km from the source, second zone is more than 300 km and up to 1,200 km while the third zone is the remaining length of the national gas grid system.

* The national gas grid covers all the interconnected pipeline networks owned and operated by entities including Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), GAIL (India) Limited, Pipeline Infrastructure Limited, Gujarat State Petronet Limited (GSPL), Gujarat Gas Limited, Reliance Gas Pipelines Limited, GSPL India Gasnet Limited, and GSPL India Transco Limited..

Source : Money Control

Correct Answer : Option (D) - Justice Ramesh Sinha

Justice Ramesh Sinha, senior judge of the Allahabad high court, will be the new chief justice of the Chhattisgarh high court with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office.

* The Ministry of Law & Justice, Department of Justice has issued a notification to this effect on March 24, 2023.

* Justice Sinha is likely to take charge within three-four days once the warrant regarding his appointment is issued, said the HC sources.

* The notification reads, in exercise the power conferred by clause (1) of Article 217 of the Constitution of India, the President appointed Justice Sinha as the Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court.

* The post of Chief Justice fell vacant in Chhattisgarh after the retirement of Arup Kumar Goswami on March 10. At present, Justice Goutam Bhaduri, Senior Judge is working as the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court and he will hand over the charge to Sinha.

* The Supreme Court Collegium had in February sent a proposal to the central government recommending the name of Justice Sinha as chief justice.

* Justice Sinha is currently the senior most judge of the Allahabad high court. He was appointed as a judge here on November 21, 2011 from the Bar quota. He graduated in Law from Allahabad University in the year 1990 and started practicing law the same year..

Source : India Times

Correct Answer : Option (C) - Praveer Sinha

Tata Power on Thursday (30th March 2023) approved re-appointment of Praveer Sinha as CEO and MD.

* He has been appointed for a period of four years starting May 1, 2023.

* Currently, Sinha is the Chairman of CII Western Region council and co-chairs the CII National Committee on Power.

* We wish to inform that, based on the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, the Board, at its meeting held today i.e. March 30, 2023, approved the re-appointment of Dr. Praveer Sinha (DIN: 01785164) as the CEO & Managing Director of the Company for a period of four years from May 1, 2023 to April 30, 2027, subject to approval of the Members of the Company.

* Sinha has held several leadership positions across the power sector value chain. "As CEO & MD of Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited, he was instrumental in driving the turnaround of the Discom through technological and social interventions and setting a benchmark operational model for other discoms and developing countries to follow," as per the company statment.

* He has also contributed towards setting up the first international incubator in India for promoting innovations in the clean energy space...

Source : Economic Times

Correct Answer : Option (B) - Odisha

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors 28th March 2023 approved a $100 million loan to help the Indian state of Odisha strengthen its early forecasting systems for improved response to disasters and enhance its social protection coverage for poor and vulnerable households through digital platforms.

* The coastal state of Odisha is vulnerable to natural disasters with cyclones hitting the state every 15 months on an average. The state’s 480 km coastline is also exposed to tsunami risk.

* Recurrent disasters significantly impact economic activities including agricultural production, infrastructure and access to health, education, and jobs.

* The Odisha State Capability and Resilient Growth Program will help reduce losses caused by natural disasters through a multi-hazard digital warning system and strengthen the state’s data collection efforts for better resilience planning.

* The program will also increase social protection coverage through a cash transfer program, with coastal and underserved communities receiving assistance through online delivery platforms (Mo-Sewa Kendras).

* “The Program will help Government of Odisha scale up existing social protection systems to better protect vulnerable households from climate shocks,” said Auguste Tano Kouame, the World Bank’s Country Director for India.

* “The proposed engagement complements reform priorities identified by the Government of Odisha while building on the extensive program of technical assistance provided by World Bank to the state over the past decade.”

* The new Program will support the state’s efforts to enhance digital social service delivery systems...

Source : World Bank

Correct Answer : Option (A) - Hero Motocorp

The country's largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero MotoCorp, 30th March 2023 appointed Niranjan Gupta as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective from May 1, 2023.

* He was earlier serving as the company's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Head - Strategy, and Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A).

* Pawan Munjal, who was earlier the CEO of Hero MotoCorp, will continue as Executive Chairman and Whole-Time Director on the company's Board.

* In an official statement, Hero MotoCorp said that over the past six years, Gupta has played a key role in shaping the financial health of the company by navigating it through a highly competitive and ever-evolving environment. "He has also played a significant role in forging key partnerships with global brands such as Harley Davidson and Zero Motorcycles," it added.

* Gupta has over 25 years of leadership experience in finance, M&A, supply chain and strategy roles across business sectors, including consumer goods, metals and mining, and automobiles. He also serves as a Director on the Board of Ather Energy, HMC MM Auto and HMCL Colombia.

* Our vision, mission and values will continue to be the guiding light towards building the next growth story, as we further consolidate our market leadership while delighting our customers and creating shareholder value.

Source : India Today

Correct Answer : Option (D) - Prof (Dr.) Renu Cheema Vig

The Vice-President, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is also the Chancellor, Panjab University appointed Prof. (Dr.) Renu Cheema Vig, presently the Dean of University Instruction (DUI), as the Vice Chancellor of Panjab University, 29th March 2023.

Exercising the powers conferred by Section 10 of the Panjab University Act 1947, Shri Dhankhar made the appointment of Prof. Vig for a term of three years.

It may be noted that subsequent to the resignation of Prof. Raj Kumar as Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University, Prof. Vig, was Acting Vice Chancellor since January 16, 2023.

Consequently, the Hon’ble Vice-President constituted a three member Search-cum-Selection Committee on March 21, 2023 for recommending names for the post of Vice Chancellor, Panjab University. Prof. Renu Vig’s appointment follows from the committee’s report..

Source : PIB