• On World Tuberculosis Day (24 March) the World Health Organisation (WHO) has called for intensified actions to eradicate the disease in the South East Asian region which bears the world’s highest TB burden. WHO highlighted the urgent need to advance innovations, better address social and economic determinants, and improve multi-sectoral collaboration.
• An estimated 7 million additional TB cases and 1.5 million additional TB deaths could occur between 2022 and 2026 across the region.In 2022, the budget allocation for TB programs in the region is set to reach approximately US$1.4 billion.

• The 49th edition of Indian Dairy Association’s (IDA) Dairy Industry Conference and Expo will be held at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar.The conference will see engagement between dairy experts and professionals from India and overseas.The theme of the 49th edition is ‘India dairy to the world: Opportunities and Challenges’
• The Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala, will inaugurate the conference and expo, while Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will be the chief guest at the Indian Dairy Summit to be held on March 18.

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, hasapproved a subsidy of Rs.200 per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to 12 refills per year to be provided to the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana(PMUY).  As on 1st March 2023 there are 9.59 crore PMUY beneficiaries.
• The total expenditurewill be Rs.6,100 crore for financial year 2022-23 and Rs.7,680 crore for 2023-24.  The subsidy is credited directly to bank accounts of the eligible beneficiaries.  Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies namely Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL) have already been providing this subsidy since 22nd May, 2022.

• The Government increased the minimum support price ofraw jute byRs 300 toRs5,050perquintalfor2023- 24 season. The decision was taken at the Cabinet Committee on EconomicAffairs(CCEA)meeting chaired by Prime Minister NarendraModi.
• Theapproval is based on recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), I&B Minister Anurag Thakur told reporters. Thakur said the decision would ensureareturn of 63.2 per cent over all India weighted average cost of production.

• Union Minister of Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched the National Crop Insurance Portal’s digitized claim settlement module ‘DigiClaim’ under the ambit of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) at Krishi Bhawan in Delhi.
• With the launch of the module, claims will be disbursed electronically, which will benefit the respective farmers of six states. Now, the automated claim settlement process will be an ongoing activity to ease all insured farmers’ lives and provide them with a sustainable financial flow and support, informed the government through a release.

• National women’s hockey team midfielder Salima Tete was appointed the AHF Athletes Ambassador from India for a term of two years, starting March 25.Tete accepted the certificate and the position during the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Congress in Mungyeong, Korea.
• Tete, who led the Indian women’s junior hockey team to a fourth-place finish at the 2021 FIH Women’s Junior World Cup in Potchefstroom, South Africa, is among four players from Asia to be appointed for the position.

• Amazon Pay has collaborated with Bharat BillPay, the biller platform of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), to strengthen its loan repayment facility.Customers can select their bank or Non Banking Financial Company (NBFC) from the list and enter their loan account number and other details to pay their Equated Monthly Instalments (EMI).
• All bill payment transaction confirmations are instantaneous; however, some banks may require the pre-defined turnaround time (TAT) to process and accept the payment after completion of the transaction.

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved a proposed combination involving LIC Mutual Fund Asset Management Limited’s acquisition of the management rights over the schemes of IDBI Mutual Fund (MF) from IDBI Asset Management Limited (IDBI AMC).
• LIC Mutual Fund Asset Management Limited (“LIC AMC”), LIC Mutual Fund Trustee Private Limited (“LIC TC”), IDBI Asset Management Limited (“IDBI AMC”); are collectively referred to as the “Acquirers”.

• Ukrainian rights group Truth Hounds, which documents war crimes in the Ukraine conflict, was awarded Norway’s Sakharov Freedom Award.The Norwegian Helsinki Committee human rights organisation that awards the prize called Truth Hounds “a force to be reckoned with”, honouring them “for their work to document war crimes and potential crimes against humanity”.
• The Sakharov Freedom Award not to be confused with the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize was established in 1980 with the support of Soviet dissident and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov.

• Senior journalist and Padma Shri awardee (2009) Abhay Chhajlani passed away at the age of 88 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh(MP), India.
• Abhay Chhajlaniji was born on August 4, 1934 in Indore, MP.He entered the field of journalism in 1955.He served as the president of Indian Languages Newspapers Association (ILNA), the apex organisation of Indian language newspapers in 1988, 1989, 1994.He was also the vice president of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) in the years 2000 and 2002.

Download Daily GK PDF of 25 March 2023