• State-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) appointed G. Krishnakumar, currently serving as the Executive Director, as the Chairman and Managing Director of the company.
• Krishnakumar is an Electrical and Electronics Engineer from National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli, and a Post Graduate in Finance Management from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai.He was earlier an executive director in the company and succeeds Arun Kumar Singh, who retires as chairman in October 2022.

• Bengaluru won the 'Partnership for Healthy Cities' award at a summit held in London for effectively enforcing smoke-free laws.
• BBMP chief commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said Bengaluru has been lauded for its efforts to curb public smoking and, thereby, significantly reducing the burden of non-communicable diseases. The global summit brought together mayors and officials from over 50 cities to discuss public health concerns and the best practices that can save lives and create healthier spaces.

• External Affairs Minister of India Dr. S. Jaishankar inaugurated the Sri Lankan exhibition “Geoffrey Bawa: It is Essential To be There”, at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi. Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture of India, Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi was also present on this occasion.
• The historic exhibition which features the works of Sri Lanka’s iconic architect the late Geoffrey Bawa, is jointly organized by the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, the High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi and the Geoffrey Bawa Trust to mark the 75th anniversary of Indo-Lanka diplomatic relations, which falls this year.

• The 2nd Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG) meeting under India's G20 chairmanship began in Udaipur, Rajasthan and will last for three days.
• The focus of the meeting is to identify relevant policies and best practices for mobilising sustainable finance to help ensure global growth and stability.Two workshops were organised during the meeting, namely Non-pricing policy levers to support sustainable investment and efficient finance for the Sustainable Development Goals.

• The Central Government has announced plans to set up mega textile parks in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra.The PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks for the Textile Industry are a step towards realizing the vision of making India a global hub for textile manufacturing and exports.
• The step is inspired by the 5F vision of the Prime Minister, which includes, Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign.It is expected that these parks will enhance the competitiveness of the textile industry by helping it achieve economies of scale and attract global players to manufacture in India.

• For distinguished service to the Australia-India bilateral relationship, particularly to trade, investment, and philanthropy, Indian industrialist and philanthropist Ratan Tata has been appointed as an Honorary Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO).
• Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Barry O’Farrell informed that Australia’s Governor-General has made this appointment announcement.

• Jayanti Chauhan, Bisleri International chairman Ramesh Chauhan’s daughter will steer bottled Water Company now that Tata Consumer products Ltd (TCPL) has withdrawn from the acquisition process, as per the ET report.
• The 42 year old, Jayanti Chauhan currently heads as vice chairman of the company that her father builds and promoted. Going further she will be working with the professional management team led by Angelo George. Jayanti has been involved with the Bisleri business periodically over the year. The Vedica, part of Besleri’s portfolio, has been her focus in recent years.

• Renowned Carnatic vocalist and Padma Shri awardee Bombay Jayashri has been selected for the Sangita Kalanidhi award for 2023 by the Music Academy.
• Jayashree is one of the foremost Carnatic musicians of today, trained initially by his parents and later by TR Balamani and violinist Lalgudi G. Jayaraman.Apart from Carnatic music, Jayashree is also trained in Veena, classical dance and Hindustani music.She is known for her melodious and meditative style of singing.

• Rohan Bopanna, 43, made history by becoming the oldest tennis player to win an ATP Masters 1000 title. He won the men’s doubles title at the Indian Wells Masters 2023 tournament in California with Australian partner Matthew Ebden.
• The Indo-Australian pair beat top seeds, Wesley Koolhof of Netherlands and Neil Skupski of United Kingdom, 6-3, 2-6, 10-8 in the final to lift the BNP Paribas Open trophy. With the Indian Wells Open win, 43-year-old Bopanna surpassed Daniel Nestor as the oldest player to win an ATP Masters 1000 title. Nestor had won the Cincinnati Masters in 2015 at the age of 42.

• The word Nowruz (Novruz, Navruz, Nooruz, Nevruz, Nauryz), means new day. Nowruz marks the first day of spring and is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox, which usually occurs on 21 March.
• It is celebrated as the beginning of the new year by more than 300 million people all around the world and has been celebrated for over 3,000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and other regions.

Download Daily GK PDF of 21 March 2023