Daily Current Affairs 8 March 2024
Important day
8 March 2023 – No Smoking Day
- No Smoking Dayis an annual health awareness day observed on the second Wednesday of March.
- This year, No Smoking Day falls on March 8.
- Objective – To encourage people to quit smoking and raise awareness about its harmful effects on their health.
- Smoking is one of the leading causes of various cancers, including lung, throat, mouth, bladder, and kidney.
8 March – International Women’s Day
- International Women’s Dayis celebrated every year on 8 March.
- The day is dedicated to highlight women’s accomplishments, rights, equity, empowerment, and other issues.
Exam Related Facts
- The theme of Women’s Day 2024 is ‘Invest in women: Accelerate Progress’, which emphasizes the importance of creating a world where women feels respected, valued, and empowered.
Daily Current Affairs 8th March 2024 Daily GK Update
National News
Accenture launches learning platform; to acquire edtech Udacity
- Accenture has launched Accenture Learn Vantage,a technology learning and training services for its clients.
- The company will invest $1 billion in Accenture Learn Vantage over three years and has agreed to acquire educational platform Udacity.
- Accenture Learn Vantage will help clients re-skill and upskill in the areas of technology, data and AI to fill gaps created by advances in technologies.
First Bharat Steam Boiler Expo 2024 held in Guwahati
- The first Bharat Steam Boiler Expo 2024was held at Veterinary College Field in Guwahati, Assam.
- The expo is organized by the Assam’s Inspectorate of Boilers (CIB) and supported by the Assam government’s Labour Welfare Department.
- The expo aims to improve the efficiency and growth of various sectors that use steam boilers.
- This pioneering expo is the result of a collaborative effort among industry stalwarts including Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Oil India Ltd (OIL), Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL), Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Ltd (BCPL), Assam Petro Chemicals Ltd, and NTPC Ltd.
Govt extends subsidy for Ujjwala beneficiaries by another one year
- The Union Cabinethas decided to extend the subsidy of ₹300 per LPG cylinder for up to 12 refills per year till the end of next financial year (March 2025).
- About 10.27 crore beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) will get the benefit of the scheme with its continuation set to incur ₹12,000 crore.
- The Centre had started a targeted subsidy of ₹200 per cylinder for up to 12 refills per annum to the PMUY consumers in May 2022. In October 2023, the Centre increased the subsidy to ₹300 per cylinder for up to 12 refills per year.
- As on February 1, 2024, the effective price of domestic LPG for PMUY consumers is ₹603 per LPG cylinder of 14.2 kg.
- Average LPG consumption of PMUY consumers has increased by 29% from 3.01 refills in 2019-20 to 3.87 refills (till January 2024) pro-rated for 2023-24. All PMUY beneficiaries are eligible for this targeted subsidy.
World’s largest literary festival-‘Sahityotsav’ to be held from March 11-16
- World’s largest literary festival-‘Sahityotsav’by Sahitya Akademi will be held from the 11th to 16th of March.
- The festival commemorating 70 years of Sahitya Akademi will witness the participation of more than a hundred renowned writers and scholars.
- Over 190 sessions and more than 175 languages of the country will also be represented during the festival.
- The Chief Guest of the Awards Presentation Ceremony will be Pratibha Rai, the distinguished Odia writer.
- The Samvatsar lecture will be delivered by renowned Urdu writer and lyricist Gulzar on the 13th of March at the Meghdoot open theatre.
Cabinet approves 4% hike in DA for government employees
- The Union Cabinethas approved hike in dearness allowance (DA) for central government employees and dearness relief (DR) for pensioners by 4 per cent with effect from January 1.
- With this revision, the DA will reach 50 per cent. This means various other allowances such as Housing Rent Allowances (HRA), Children’s Education and Transport Allowances, and gratuities, will also go up based on the formula suggested by the 7th Pay Commission.
- All of them will get arrears for January and February and the revised rate for the current month, along with salary and pension for March.
- The combined impact on the exchequer, on account of both DA and DR and increase in other allowances, would be around ₹15,000 crore for January and February of FY24.
- This will benefit about 49.18 lakh central government employees and 67.95 lakh pensioners. Similar hikes are now expected for state government employees too.
International News
Panama becomes 97th member of International Solar Alliance
- Panamahas officially become the 97th member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).
- This milestone was announced by Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
- Moreover, on March 5, Malta became the 119th country to join the International Solar Alliance.
- The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is an action-oriented, member-driven, collaborative platform for increased deployment of solar energy technologies as a means for bringing energy access, ensuring energy security, and driving energy transition in its member countries.
Exam Related Facts
- Capital- Panama City
- Currencies- Panamanian Balboa, United States Dollar
- Official language- Spanish
- President- Laurentino Cortizo
- Continent- North America
International Solar Alliance
- Founded- 30 November 2015
- Headquarters – Gurugram, Haryana
- President- R. K. Singh
Banking and Financial
Kotak Life introduces Non-Linked Par Product Kotak G.A.I.N
- Private sector life insurer Kotak Life Insurancehas launched a non-linked participating product Kotak G.A.I.N which offers long-term saving or income.
- While taking the policy, the minimum age of the policyholder should be 90 days while the policy maturing age should be minimum 40 years and maximum 85 years.
- The product provides three options to the policyholder to choose from.
- Under the first option, policyholders can receive regular income from the 1st month of policy issuance for monthly payout mode and 1st year onwards for annual payout mode.
- Under the second option, income benefits will be used to purchase additional sum assured throughout the policy term and receive it as lump sum or withdraw as per convenience.
- The third option is where the policyholder receives cash bonus from the end of the premium payment term, and there is also guaranteed loyalty additions (GLASs) payable in the policy that can also be used to pay the last 2 years premiums.
Exam Related Facts
- The minimum annual premium payable to avail the product is Rs 50,000.
Recent Facilities Launched in Banking & Insurance Sector
- SBI launches digital enrolment for PMJJBY and PMSBYSchemes
- PNB partnered with EaseMyTrip to launch a co-branded travel credit card “PNB EMT Credit Card”.
- MobiKwik launched a new feature on its platform ‘Pocket UPI’.
- Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd launched ‘Smart Choice Gold Loan’for customers.
- Bandhan Bank authorised by the West Bengal govt to collect tax and non-tax receipts through the Government Receipt Portal System (GRIPS)
Future Generali India launches new women’s health insurance plan
- Future Generali India Insurance Company (FGII),a private general insurer, has launched the most comprehensive women’s health insurance plan.
- The plan is designed to meet women’s unique needs.
- FGII “HEALTH POWHER” aims to address the various needs of women across the different stages of their lives.
Exam Related Facts
- For a country like India, where women comprise roughly half of the nation’s population, at around 49 per cent, less than one-third or only about 30 per cent of them aged 15-49, were covered under health insurance between 2019-2021, as per data fetched from the National Family Health Survey India report.
Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank launches ‘Vikas Spoorty’
- Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB)has launched a new loan scheme called ‘Vikas Spoorty’ to strengthen the rural credit delivery system and also to motivate the common man to take up income-generating activities on a smaller scale.
- But the customer shall open a ‘Daily Deposit’ (pigmy) account and contribute regularly to it to service the repayment of instalment and interest for the loan.
Exam Related Facts
- Under this scheme, people may avail a minimum loan of ₹50,000 and a maximum of ₹2,00,000.
- Chairman of KVGB – Shreekanth M Bhandiwad
Appointment
Manish Prasad appointed president and MD for SAP Indian Subcontinent
- German technology major SAPhas appointed Manish Prasad as president and managing director for SAP Indian Subcontinent.
- He succeeds Kulmeet Bawa, who takes on a global role to drive the growth and adoption of the SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) for global customers.
- Prasad will help advance SAP’s move to the cloud, enabling customers across all industries to digitally transform with SAP.
Exam Related Facts
Recent Appointment
- New Lokpal of country– Justice AM Khanwilkar
- Director in Heavy Industries Ministry– Sureshwar Bonal
- Director (Operations) of NTPC– Ravindra Kumar
- CEO of The World Gold Council India– Sachin Jain
- Captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad- Pat Cummins (Australia)
Awards
Yatin Bhaskar Duggal wins first prize in National Youth Parliament Festival 2024
- Yatin Bhaskar Duggalfrom Haryana has won the first prize in the National Youth Parliament Festival 2024.
- While Vaishna Pitchai from Tamil Nadu won the second prize and Kanishka Sharma from Rajasthan the third prize.
- National Youth Parliament 2024 is based on the ‘Young Voices: Engage and Empower for Nation’s Transformation’ theme.
- The National Youth Parliament Festival (NYPF) is based on an idea introduced by the Prime Minister during his Mann Ki Baat Address on December 31, 2017.
Exam Related Facts
Recent Awards
- USGA’s prestigious Bob Jones Award– Tiger Woods
- Maharashtra Bhushan Award 2024– Dr. Pradeep Mahajan
- India-UK Achievers’ Award –Zoya Akhtar and Asma Khan
- Honorary Knighthood from King Charles III– Sunil Bharti Mittal
- France’s highest civilian honour ‘Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur’– Shashi Tharoor
Defence
- The Indian Navyhas commissioned its new base “INS Jatayu” at Minicoy Island, Lakshadweep
- It will bolster its operational capabilities within the strategically important Lakshadweep islands.
- The crest of the INS Jatayu -depicting a bird signifying Jatayu, a character in the Hindu epic Ramayana — was hoisted after the unveiling of the commissioning plaque.
Exam Related Facts
- Jatayu has been commissioned under the command of Commandant Vrat Baghel.
Books
- Two years after his dramatic ouster from office by a popular people’s movement, Sri Lanka’s former President Gotabaya Rajapaksahas sought to defend his tainted regime, by launching a book that attributes his political downfall to a “conspiracy” involving foreign and local parties.
- Announcing his book ‘The Conspiracy to oust me from the Presidency’ on March 6, Mr. Gotabaya said in a statement: “From the time I was elected President in November 2019, certain foreign and local parties were intent on removing me from power.”
- During Mr. Gotabaya’s Presidency from November 2019 to July 2022, Sri Lanka experienced its worst economic crisis since Independence in 1948, as the country ran out of dollars for essential imports, following a host of fiscal decisions taken by his government.
Exams Related Facts
- The Great Flap of 1942: How the Raj Panicked over a Japanese Non-invasion –Mukund Padmanabhan.
- The Gems of Indian Art– Harish Khullar
- Goa 1961: The complete story of Nationalism and Integration – Valmiki Falero
- Doing Business in Uncertain Times – Ramesh Nair
- Al and National Security– CDS Anil Chauhan
- 50 Memories from Fifty of Service– Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (PM of UAE)