Correct Answer :   Punjab National Bank

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Punjab National Bank, nation’s public sector bank and Central Warehousing Corporation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to facilitate financing under e-NWR (Electronic Negotiable Warehousing Receipt).

Partnership Aim : Providing easy access to finance to farmers/ food processors/ traders against the pledge of agriculture commodities stored in CWC warehouses.

General Manager, Kanwal Jit Shorey signed the agreement on behalf of Punjab National Bank and Shri Rajiv Kumar Bansal, Group General Manager (Comm.) on behalf of CWC in the presence of K.S. Rana, DGM & Shri Neeraj  Jakhmola, CM of PNB and Shri R.R. Aggarwal (GGM- Finance, CWC), Shri Amit Puri (GM Finance, CWC) & Shri Ashwin (AGM, CWC).

Agriculture is an important sector of the country’s economy and government has been focusing on increasing the income of the farmers who drive this segment. One of the main constraints in increasing farm income has been distress sale by the farmers. With a view to curbing the same, the bank has entered this new MoU..

Source : CNBC

Correct Answer :   $10 trillion

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In a country witnessing rapid growth, it comes as no surprise that India also has one of the fastest-growing fintech landscapes in the world, driven primarily by the advancement in digital payments segment.

* A recent report by PhonePe and Boston Consulting Group concluded that India’s digital payments market will more than triple from USD 3 trillion to USD 10 trillion by 2026.

* In 2015, the Indian Union government launched its Digital India programme, with one of the objectives to achieve a “faceless, paperless and cashless” status for financial transactions at grass-root level.

* In line with this, the use of digital payments continues to be promoted so that each citizen of the country can access digital payment facilities that are affordable, convenient and secure. The introduction of innovative reforms and technological advancements are further accelerating growth at an unprecedented pace.

* When one thinks digital payments, UPI – India’s payment gateway – instantly comes to mind. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has been the flag-bearer of India’s fintech revolution – launched in 2016 by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

* The UPI is an instant real-time payments system that enables inter-bank peer-to-peer and person-to-merchant transactions through mobile devices instantly.

* In a span of just six years, India, primarily a cash-based economy, now leads the world in real-time digital payments, accounting for almost 40 per cent of all such transactions.

* The mass adoption of UPI during the COVID-19 pandemic has extended far beyond the urban to even rural India, an effect that left the experts in amazement.

* As the success of the UPI grows, so does its attractiveness and acceptance by other countries; for instance, on February 21, 2023, India and Singapore launched cross-border connectivity between UPI and its equivalent in Singapore called PayNow, enabling low-cost and faster cross-border transactions...

Source : The Print

Correct Answer :   March 10

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The International Day of Women Judges is observed every year on March 10 to honour all-female judges who have taken the lead in the fight against social injustice.

* This day is being observed with the campaign “Women in Justice, Women for Justice”.

* It is a symbolic day for the fight for gender equality and the fight against gender-based discrimination.

* International Day of Women Judges History : To honour female judges across the globe and their contributions towards justice, equality and fairness in society, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) decided to mark an international day for female judges. This development happened because of an international conference of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Doha, Qatar, from February 24 to 27, 2020.

* At the conference, The Institute for African Women in Law (IAWL) highlighted the need for judiciaries to encourage and develop a culture of respect and women’s rights enforcement. Sexual harassment and bullying of women in the legal profession, particularly female judges, was discussed too.

* On April 28, 2021, resolution 75/274 was adopted by the UNGA, declaring March 10 as the International Day of Women Judges. On March 10, 2022, the International Day of Women Judges was celebrated for the first time.

* International Day of Women Judges Significance : International Day of Women Judges is an important day not just for celebrating women judges in global legal institutions. It is a symbolic day for the fight for gender equality, equality of opportunities and the fight against gender-based discrimination, which exists in different strata of society..

Source : News18

Correct Answer :   Qatar

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Qatar’s top diplomat was sworn in as the country’s prime minister on Tuesday (7th Mar 2023), replacing another member of the ruling family who had held the post since 2020.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani was sworn in as the new head of government, without providing further details.

Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, appoints the holders of top offices, usually from members of the ruling family. As in other Gulf Arab countries, politics is largely confined to the ruling family and developments are rarely aired in public.

Sheikh Mohammed has served as foreign minister since 2016 and was the public face of Qatar as it navigated a 3 1/2-year economic boycott by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt that only came to an end in January 2021.

He replaces Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, who had served as prime minister and interior minister — responsible for domestic security — since 2020. He was replaced as interior minister on Tuesday by Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani...

Source : Times of Israel

Correct Answer :   Thailand

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* Minister of State for External Affairs Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh on Thursday (9th March 2023) participated in the 19th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting virtually from Bangkok.  The meeting was hosted by Chair Thailand.

* During the meeting, the Ministers approved several documents including rules of Procedure for Core BIMSTEC Mechanisms, Sectoral BIMSTEC Mechanisms and BIMSTEC’s External Relations for submission to the 6th BIMSTEC Summit.

* The meeting also approved the draft Host Country Agreement between India and the BIMSTEC Secretariat for establishing BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate in India.
 
* The Meeting also approved the Terms of Reference for an Eminent Person’s Group on the Future Directions of BIMSTEC.

* The Terms of Reference were finalized under the special scheme for institution building announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 5th BIMSTEC Summit in Colombo. Besides BIMSTEC Bangkok Vision 2030 was also approved and will be launched at the 6th BIMSTEC Summit.
 
* The Meeting also gave its nod to the Administrative and Disciplinary Rules of the Secretariat and amended Financial Rules and Regulations of the BIMSTEC Secretariat. It will enable expenditure by the Secretariat throughout the financial year with an approved Budget...

Source : AIR

Correct Answer :   Hardeep Singh Puri

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The Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri announced the ‘Women Icons Leading Swachhata’ (WINS) Awards 2023 on 7th March 2023, on the eve of International Women’s Day.

The WINS Awards 2023 Aim : To recognize celebrate and disseminate inspiring and exemplary initiatives in urban sanitation and waste management by women led organizations and individual women.

* The applications are open from 8th March to 5th April 2023.  

Applications for the Awards are open to :

(i) Self-Help Groups (SHGs)
(ii) Micro-enterprises
(iii) Non-Government Organisations (NGOs)
(iv) Startups
(v) Individual Women Leaders/Swachhata champions.

Applications will be considered under the thematic areas of :

(i) Management of Community/Public Toilets
(ii) Septic Tanks Cleaning Services
(iii) Treatment Facilities (Used Water/Septage)
(iv) Municipal Water collection and /or Transportation
(v) Operation of Material Recovery Facilities
(vi) Waste to Wealth products
(vii) Treatment Facilities
(Solid Waste Management)
(viii) IEC, Training, Capacity Building
(ix) Technology and Intervention
(x) Others.

The Application Form will be made available to all States..

Source : PIB

Correct Answer :   Ram Chandra Paudel

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* Veteran Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Paudel has been elected the Himalayan nation’s third president since a centuries-old monarchy was abolished in 2008.

* In the two-man race for the largely ceremonial position, the 78-year-old Paudel secured 33,802 votes. His rival, Subash Chandra Nembang, received 15,518 votes, Nepali media reported on Thursday (9th March 2023).

* Paudel, a former speaker, has been a six-time lawmaker and has held a ministerial position five times, including interior ministry.

* He began his political career as a student leader during the decades-long partyless Panchayat system that lasted to 1990. He was imprisoned while fighting against the former king’s rule.

* The vote comes following a dramatic split in the communist-dominated governing coalition headed by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a former Maoist rebel chief.

* The tenure of the outgoing president, Bidya Devi Bhandari, ends on March 12.

* The president is elected by an electoral college comprising of two houses of federal parliament and seven provincial legislators. Nepal is a parliamentary democracy with a ceremonial president as head of the state, but during times of political crisis, the president can play a key function in government formation.

* At least 831 votes were cast in the presidential election out of the 881 eligible votes. The vote weightage of a member of the federal parliament is 79 while it is 48 for a provincial assembly member..

Source : Aljazeera

Correct Answer :   Xi Jinping

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* Xi Jinping has secured a precedent-breaking third five-year term as China’s president, a largely ceremonial role, putting him on track to remain in power for the rest of his life.

* The nearly 3,000 members of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s largely ceremonial parliament, voted unanimously for Xi after the constitution was changed to remove the traditional two-term limit for the post.

* The NPC, whose members are appointed by the ruling Communist party, cast 2,952 votes for Xi over about an hour. No one voted against him.

* No candidate lists were distributed, and Xi as well as those who secured other posts were believed to have run unopposed.

* The election process remains almost entirely shrouded in secrecy, apart from the process by which delegates to the congress placed four ballots into bright red boxes placed around the vast auditorium of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing where they meet.

* Xi, was also unanimously named commander of the two million-member People’s Liberation Army.

* China’s politics has extended into the era of winner takes all,” Wen-Ti Sung, an expert in Chinese politics at the Australian National University, told Al Jazeera. “Xi Jinping is the biggest winner.

* Since taking power in 2012, 69-year-old Xi has sidelined any potential challengers and filled the party with his supporters, turning himself into China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong...

Source : Aljazeera

Correct Answer :   B Gopkumar

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Axis Asset Management Company (AMC) on Thursday (9th March 2023) announced that MD and CEO Chandresh Nigam will leave the firm after 10 years at the helm, after requesting not to be considered for reappointment. His term ends on April 30.

* According to a release, Nigam had joined Axis AMC on July 1, 2009 as head of equities, and took charge as the MD and CEO on May 1, 2013.

* The board approved the appointment of B Gopkumar, MD and CEO of Axis Securities, to succeed Nigam from May 1 to April 30, 2026.

* Gopkumar has been in charge of Axis Securities since October 2019. In addition, the fund house has on-boarded former Credit Suisse head of India equity research Ashish Gupta as the chief investment officer.

* The change of guard comes fresh on the heels of the regulator’s recent interim order on the front-running case, barring 21 entities from accessing the securities markets and directing them to disgorge Rs 30.6 crore in unlawful gains.

* SEBI had cracked the whip on the fund house last year after being alerted by its internal surveillance system that trades by certain entities between September 2021 and March 2022 were not executed in the normal course.

* The regulator established links through a series of WhatsApp messages, identifying Axis MF’s former chief dealer Viresh Joshi as ‘jadugar’, who was the mastermind of a fraudulent scheme of front-running...

Source : Financial Express

Correct Answer :   Ministry of Tourism

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The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India , has bagged  Golden & Silver Star at The International ‘Golden City Gate Tourism Awards 2023’ in ‘TV/Cinema Commercials International and Country International’ Category at ITB, Berlin 2023.

* The awards were received by Shri Arvind  Singh, Secretary (Tourism) Government of India on 08th March 2023 at ITB, Berlin being held from the 7th to 9h March 2023.

* The Golden City Gate Tourism Multi-media Awards are given annually in various categories related to the Tourism and Hospitality sectors.

* The ‘Golden City Gate’ is a creative multi-media international competition for countries, cities, regions and hotels. The entries received for the awards are judged by an international jury comprising film and tourism experts. The annual award ceremony takes place at ITB Berlin, the world’s leading tourism trade show.

* The Promotional films / television commercials received the awards were produced by the Ministry as part of its Post Covid Promotional Global Campaign on India reopening.

* Ministry of Tourism has developed the new Incredible India brand films for welcoming of foreign tourists to the country after the pandemic. These brand films have been widely circulated within the domestic and international travel industry for wider usage in for promotional and marketing purposes.

* The films were also widely promoted through the soical media handles of the Ministry which have been very well received the world over. The commercials have been produced in English with voice overs in 9 international languages, viz. German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Arabic...

Source : PIB