Correct Answer :   US

---

* The US formally recognized the McMahon Line as the international boundary between India’s Arunachal Pradesh and China, and rejected Beijing’s claim that the northeastern state falls under Chinese territory.

* A bipartisan resolution, which was first introduced in the US Senate last month, on Tuesday (14th March 2023) acknowledged Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India and also supported India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
 
* Apart from recognising the McMahon Line, the resolution also condemned Chinese provocations in the region, including China’s use of military force to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control, construction of villages in contested areas, publication of maps with Mandarin-language names for cities featuring Arunachal Pradesh, and expansion of Beijing’s territorial claims over Bhutan.
 
* Former US ambassador to Japan and Senator Bill Hagerty said that this bipartisan resolution expresses the Senate’s support for unequivocally recognising the state of Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India.

* The resolution, titled ‘Reaffirming the state of Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and condemning the People’s Republic of China’s provocations in South Asia’, came after one of the biggest clashes that took place in December last year between Indian and Chinese forces in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh...

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   Rs. 9023 Crore

---

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh 15th March 2023 informed that the budget of Rs. 9023 Crore is allocated towards achieving the objectives of Gaganyaan mission.

* In a written reply to a question to the Lok Sabha, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the scope of Gaganyaan programme is to demonstrate human spaceflight capability to Low Earth Orbit and safe return. 

* ISRO is developing indigenous technologies for Human rated launch vehicle, Habitable Crew Module, Life Support System, Crew Escape System, Ground Station Network, Crew Training and Recovery.

* These technologies are crucial to meet the objectives of Gaganyaan mission and to take up any further interplanetary missions, the Minister added.

* Government has created the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe), as the single window agency to promote, enable, authorize and supervise the non-Government entities in Space Sector in India.

* IN-SPACe has started to facilitate the private companies / start-ups, in installation of facilities within ISRO campuses, launch of satellites and Launch Vehicles, and Mentorship support. Till date, IN-SPACe has received applications from more than 160 NGEs in the Space Sector.

* Dr Jitendra Singh said, Government has taken a number of steps to strengthen the space sector in the country. The sector has already been opened up for enhanced participation of private enterprises in the space sector by allowing them to conduct end-to-end activities across all verticals of space domain. In this regard, IN-SPACe has been created for the promotion and handholding of Non-Government Entities.

* The role of New Space India Limited [NSIL] has also been widened to bring forth a commerce-oriented approach towards the conduct of space activities. Besides, several private industries are also contributing significantly to the Indian space programme led by ISRO, delivering subsystems and components.

* The Department of Space is also in the process of formulating a comprehensive, overarching space policy that shall provide a further boost to the entire space ecosystem..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Narendra Singh Tomar

---

* Union Minister of Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar has inaugurated a 5-day cultural program“AgriUnifest” in Bengaluru on 15th Mar 2023.

* This program was organized by Bangalore Agricultural University in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

* It was participated by students from 60 State Agricultural Universities/Deemed Universities/Central Universities participated.

Aim : To integrate Indian agriculture by connecting various Indian cultures.

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Dr. Jitendra Singh

---

Union Minister of State, PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology, M/o Earth Sciences; MoS, Atomic Energy and Space.

Dr Jitendra Singh said that an umbrella scheme Research, Education and Training Outreach (REACHOUT) is being implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences for capacity building.

It consists of the following sub-schemes :

* R&D in Earth System Science (RDESS)

* International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography (ITCOocean)

* Program for Development of Skilled manpower in Earth System Sciences (DESK)
 

In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the scheme is being implemented for entire country and not State/UT-wise. The main objectives of the above sub-schemes are

* Supporting various R &D activities in the thrust areas of different components of Earth System Sciences that are theme and need based and that would help in attaining the National goals set up for MoES.

* Develop useful collaborations with international organizations for mutual transfer of advanced knowledge in science and technology in Earth Sciences and to provide services to developing countries.   

* Develop skilled and trained manpower in Earth Sciences with the support of academic institutions in the country and abroad..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Parshottam Rupala

---

Union Minister (FAHD) Shri Parshottam Rupala unveiled the department’s annual publication, the ‘Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2022’ on 15th March 2023 in presence of Minister of State of both Animal Husbandry & Fisheries Department along with Secretary (AHD) and other Senior Officers of the Ministry.

The Minister congratulated Animal Husbandry Statistics Division for coming out with this publication. He said the book has become a tradition and important source of information in the field of Livestock.

The publication gives an overview of Animal Husbandry sector briefly in terms of important livestock statistics on livestock population, livestock production and other information like animal diseases, infrastructure etc.

It is the primary source of data on production estimates of four Major Livestock Products (MLPs) like Milk, Egg, Meat and Wool for the year 2021-22 and other technical aspects of Integrated Sample Survey (ISS).

The major highlights of “Basic Animal Husbandry statistics 2022” are given below :

* Total milk production in the country during 2021-22 is 221.06 million tonnes.

* In the current year 2021-22, the milk production has registered an annual growth rate of 5.29%.

* Top five major milk producing States are Rajasthan (15.05%), Uttar Pradesh (14.93%), Madhya Pradesh (8.06%), Gujarat (7.56%) and Andhra Pradesh (6.97%).

* In 2021-22, the total egg production in the country is 129.60 billion nos which has increased by 6.19% as compared to previous year.

* Total five major egg producing States are Andhra Pradesh (20.41%), Tamil Nadu (16.08%), Telangana (12.86%), West Bengal (8.84%) and Karnataka (6.38%).

* The total meat production in the country is 9.29 million tonnes for the year 2021-22 with an annual growth rate of 5.62%.

* The total five major meat producing States are Maharashtra (12.25%), Uttar Pradesh (12.14%), West Bengal (11.63%), Andhra Pradesh (11.04%), and Telangana (10.82%).

* The total wool production in the country during 2021-22 is 33.13 thousand tonnes which has decline by 10.30% as compared to previous year.

* The top five major wool producing States are Rajasthan (45.91%), Jammu and Kashmir (23.19%), Gujarat (6.12%), Maharashtra (4.78%) and Himachal Pradesh (4.33%).

* The per-capita availability of milk is 444 gram/day during 2021-22 increased by 17 gram/day over previous year.

* In 2021-22, the per-capita availability of egg is 95 nos/annuam increased by 5 nos/annuam over previous year.

* The per-capita availability of meat is 6.82 kg/annuam during 2021-22 increased by 0.30 kg/annuam over previous year.

* During 2014-15 and 2020-21, the value addition of sector grew at a compound annual growth rate of 7.93%.

* In 2020-21, the share of Livestock at constant prices in Agriculture Sector and total GVA was 30.13% and 4.9% respectively.

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   United States of America (USA)

---

The US Senate on Wednesday (15th Mar 2023) confirmed President Joe Biden's close aide Eric Garcetti as the country’s next ambassador to India.

* With the development, 52-year-old Garcetti will now fill in the key diplomatic position that had been vacant for more than two years.

* Garcetti's nomination was confirmed via a 52-42 vote.

* The former Los Angeles mayor's nomination was pending before the US Congress since July 2021, when he was nominated for the prestigious diplomatic posting by Biden.

* President Biden believes that the US has a crucial and consequential partnership with India and that Garcetti will make a strong and effective Ambassador, Olivia Dalton, Principal Deputy Press Secretary.

* "The President thanks Chairman Menendez and Senators on both sides of the aisle for their thorough consideration and for today’s bipartisan vote to confirm Mayor Garcetti,” Dalton said.

* “The relationship between India and the US is a strong one, and one of great strategic, economic, and cultural importance. Founded on shared values, supported by growing economic and trade ties, and strengthened by the Indian diaspora here in the US, this partnership continues to hold significant promise for the future," Senator Mark Warner, Co-Chair of Senate India Caucus.

Source : India Today

Correct Answer :   8th

---

India ranked at the 8th spot in the list of world's top 10 most polluted countries after SWISS firm IQAir released its 'World Air Quality Report' 2022. However, India improved its ranking as it dropped from 5th to 8th place.

In this list, 39 Indian cities are included in the top 50 polluted cities. As per the data, the PM2.5 level of the most polluted Indian cities was recorded at 53.3 in the World Air Quality.

According to the report, India is the eighth most polluted country in the world in 2022, declining from the fifth position last year. In this report, it has been said that in terms of the worst air quality in the Central and South Asian region, the condition of India and Pakistan is not good.

Rank	Top 10 most polluted countries in world
1	Chad
2	Iraq
3	Pakistan
4	Bahrain
5	Bangladesh
6	Burkina Faso
7	Kuwait
8	India
9	Egypt
10	Tajikistan

Source : India Tv News

Correct Answer :   OpenAI

---

* Chatbot ChatGPT launched a new version (Chatbot GPT-4) of its artificial intelligence technology on Tuesday (14th March 2023), saying it was more powerful and predictable than previous versions and capable of analyzing images and handling much larger blocks of text.

* The announcement from OpenAI—a startup backed by billions of dollars from Microsoft Corp.—is the latest in a string of generative AI announcements as companies try to get ahead in the race to build and use the buzzy new technology.

* Many regulators, scholars and activists have urged tech companies to exercise more caution in developing the tools which haven’t yet been fully tested.

* Generative AI technology—special because it can generate original images, text and other content from basic language prompts—sometimes produces responses that seem unhinged and contain made-up facts or racist and sexist statements.

* On Tuesday (14th March 2023), OpenAI introduced a more powerful version of the technology behind ChatGPT called GPT-4.

* The updated chatbot is “more creative and collaborative" than previous versions when it comes to tasks like composing songs or writing screenplays, the blog said.

* The company is rolling out the technology starting Tuesday through data-sharing partnerships, which companies including Morgan Stanley and Duolingo Inc. are paying to access. It will also be offered to ChatGPT Plus subscribers, who pay $20 a month for faster and more available service. It isn’t yet available to those who use the free service.

* In an online presentation Tuesday (14th March 2023), OpenAI demonstrated how the tool could be used to do things like explain obscure tax codes or summarize articles into sentences with every letter beginning with Q..

Source : Mint

Correct Answer :   IREDA

---

State-owned Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) on Monday (13th March 2023) said it has received Infrastructure Finance Company status from the Reserve Bank of India.

* The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) granted an 'Infrastructure Finance Company (IFC)' status to Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) on Monday, a company statement said.

* It was earlier classified as an 'Investment and Credit Company (ICC)'.

* With the IFC status, IREDA will be able to take higher exposure in RE financing.

* The IFC status will also help the company to access a wider investor base for fund mobilisation, resulting in competitive rates for fundraising.

* The recognition of IREDA as an IFC will increase the investors' confidence, enhance the brand value and generate a positive outlook in the market.

* The grant of IFC status is a recognition of IREDA's 36 years of infrastructure financing and development with focused development of renewable energy.

* With IFC status, IREDA will keep contributing towards the government target of 500 GW installed capacity of non-fossil fuels by 2030.

* Pradip Kumar Das, Chairman and Managing Director of IREDA, said, "The IFC status is a significant milestone for IREDA and will enable us to maintain our leading position as a financier of RE space. IREDA will continue to play a motherly role in the development of the RE sector".

* It has been promoting, developing and financing new and renewable sources of energy with the motto: Energy for Ever since 1987..

Source : Business Standard

Correct Answer :   15th March

---

World Consumer Rights Day is observed annually on 15 March. The day is recognised to create global awareness about the rights and needs of consumers.

This year, World Consumer Day falls on Wednesday, 15 March 2023. One of the primary reasons behind celebrating World Consumer Day is to highlight the fundamental rights of all consumers, honouring and respecting them, and making sure to protect them.

What Is the Theme of  World Consumer Rights Day 2023?

Every year the World Consumer Rights Day is celebrated under a specific theme. This year the theme of World Consumer Rights Day 2023 is "Empowering Consumers Through Clean Energy Transitions."

History and Significance of World Consumer Rights Day 2023 :

* The first ever World Consumer Rights Day was started by the Consumer International, a membership organisation for consumer groups around the world. It is a global organisation that ensures the protection and right use of consumer rights all around the world.

* Consumer International  was founded in the year 1960 as an independent and influential voice for consumers.

* World Consumer Rights Day was first celebrated in the year 1983. Every year, we observe World Consumer Rights Day on 15 March because on the same date, US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy introduced four important consumer rights while delivering a speech to Congress..

Source : The Quint