CURRENT AFFAIRS OF 22nd MARCH, 2023

CURRENT AFFAIRS OF 22^nd MARCH, 2023

1. World Water Day is observed on 22 March every year to emphasize the significance of water and to inspire action against the water and sanitation crisis across the globe. 
2. The United Nations World Nowruz day is annually observed on 21 March to promote the celebration of Nowruz, which promotes values of peace and solidarity between generations and within families as well as reconciliation and neighbourliness.  
3. World Puppetry Day is annually observed across the globe on 21 March to recognize puppetry as a global art form. The day is an attempt to pay tribute to and honour puppeteers from around the world. The theme of 2023 World puppetry Day is “Call of the Forest”.
4. Nagaland is all set to host the G20 Business Summit 2023 at Kohima on 5 April, 2023.
5. India’s 20 km race walkers Vikash Singh and Paramjeet Singh Bisht have qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics as well as 2023 World Championships during the Asian Championships.
6. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a ‘Maharatna’ and a Fortune Global 500 Company, on 17 March, 2023 appointed G. Krishnakumar as the Chairman and Managing Director of the company.
7. According to the World Happiness Index 2023, Finland is the happiest country in the world for the sixth year in a row. India has been ranked 125^th out of 146 countries, which is an improvement of nine positions from its 2022 ranking.
8. Ayush Ministry organised Yoga Mahotsav 2023 at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi from 13-14 March, 2023.
9. Indian-American CEO of Dallas-based ‘Nextt’, Arun Agarwal, has been appointed chair of the Community Bond Task Force (CBTF) committee as part of the 2024 Capital Bond Programme development process.
10. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed Kochi Municipal Corporation in Kerala to pay an environmental compensation of Rs 100 crore for the damage to the environment because of its failure to handle solid waste.
11. The World Trade Center Association (WTCA) and the Merlin Group have partnered to develop a World Trade Center (WTC) at Salt Lake, Kolkata at an outlay of Rs 1,500 crore. This is the first under-construction World Trade Center in eastern India which will cover an area of 3.5 million square feet.
12. Svaya Robotics, a Hyderabad-based company, has partnered with two DRDO labs, the Research and Development Establishment (R&DE) in Pune and Defence Bio-engineering & Electro Medical Laboratory (DEBEL) in Bengaluru, to create India’s first quadruped robot and wearable exo-skeleton.
13. Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on 19 March, 2023 laid the foundation stone for a Rs. 250 crore mega shopping mall at Srinagar’s Sempora area.
14. Ratan Tata, an Indian industrialist and philanthropist, has been named an Honorary Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO) for his outstanding contributions to the Australia-India bilateral relationship, specifically in the areas of trade, investment, and philanthropy.  
15. The first Supreme Audit Institution 20 (SAI20) Senior Officers Meeting held in Guwahati, Assam from 13–15 March, 2023 with the themes “Blue Economy” and “Responsible Artificial Intelligence”.
16. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the first submarine base of Bangladesh ‘BNS Sheikh Hasina’ at Pekua in Cox’s Bazar on 20 March, 2023.