Finland, which is well known for its beautiful landscapes and high standard of living, continues to hold the top spot because of its straightforward way of life, dedication to sustainability, close connection to nature, and enjoyment of seasonal and local foods

Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan inaugurated a two-day workshop on ‘Human Factors Engineering in Military Platforms’ in New Delhi

For WDSD 2023, we call for people and organizations around the world to be “With Us Not For Us”

Polio cases were recorded in Burundi for the first time in 30 years. Poliovirus type 2 was confirmed from environmental surveillance of wastewater in the region. Polio is transmitted through contaminated water and food, or by contact with an infected person. Though many do not become seriously ill, some can go on to develop acute flaccid paralysis.

UBS Group AG is a multinational investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. UBS, Switzerland’s biggest bank, has recently agreed to purchase its rival Credit Suisse. As per the report, UBS has upgraded its initial offer and agreed to buy Credit Suisse for more than $2 billion in a deal brokered by the Swiss government.

Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav, a leader of the Janata Samajbadi Party, has won the election to become Nepal’s third Vice President. He was able to secure victory over Astalaxmi Shakya of the CPN (UML) and Mamata Jha of the Janamat Party with support from the Nepali Congress, CPN (Maoist Centre), and the CPN (Unified Socialist) including the ruling alliance. The election was held today with participation from 311 federal lawmakers and 518 Provincial Assembly members. The polling center for the election was located at the New Baneshwor-based Federal Parliament Building in Kathmandu.

Tim Paine, the former captain of the Australian test cricket team, has announced his retirement from cricket after playing his last Sheffield Shield first-class match for Tasmania against Queensland. Paine led the Australian team in 23 tests from 2018 to 2021 and played a total of 35 tests in his career. He took over as captain after Steve Smith was stripped of the role following the ball-tampering scandal during Australia’s 2018 tour of South Africa.

Sampanna Ramesh Shelar, a Bachelor of Physical Education student, has set a new record by becoming the fastest Indian in the under-21 category to swim across the Palk Strait, from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka to Dhanuskodi in Tamil Nadu. He completed the 29 km distance in just 5 hours and 30 minutes, beating the previous record of 8 hours and 26 minutes. Shelar started his swim at 6:00 am on Thursday and reached Dhanushkodi at 11:26 am.
He is coached by Mr. Jitendra Khasnis and plans to complete solo swims across the English and Catalina Channels to achieve the Oceans Seven Challenge.

Afghanistan remains the country most impacted by terrorism for the fourth consecutive year, despite attacks and deaths falling by 75 percent and 58 percent, respectively, the tenth Global Terrorism Index (GTI) report showed.
India ranked 13th on the index, marking only a marginal decrease from the previous year. Despite being among the 25 worst-hit nations on the index, Indian respondents desisted from selecting war and terrorism as the biggest threat to their daily safety.

The Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference is set to be held in New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi digitally launched Compendium of Indian Millet (Shri Anna) Start-ups and Book of millet (Shri Anna) standards. He also declared the Indian Institute of Millets Research of ICAR as a Global Centre of Excellence and inaugurated this conference and unveil a customised postal stamp and currency coin on the International Year of Millets (IYM) – 2023 during the event.

West Bengal government plans to appoint 600 young ‘gajamitras’ to protect elephants.

The report titled “Global Bottled Water Industry: A Review of Impacts and Trends” was released recently ahead of the United Nations 2023 Water Conference. The Conference is to be hosted in New York, USA. The report revealed that the bottled water industry is masking the existing issue of the lack of reliable drinking water for all.

The ‘Saudi-Iran Détente’ is a peace deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia which was recently brokered by China.
It is seen as Beijing’s step towards gaining a major influence in West Asia, where it has economic and political interests and rivalry with the US and the western powers.

Kavilmadam Ramaswamu Parvathy of India has served in leading roles at the WFP in Turkiye and Afghanistan. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been appointed as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Tajikistan

The capital of Karnataka, Bengaluru, has received the Partnership for Healthy Cities award at a summit in London for the effective implementation of smoke-free laws effectively. Bengaluru has also received a cash prize of $ 1,50,000. The global summit brought together officials from more than 50 countries to discuss public health concerns. As per BBMP Chief Commissioner, Bengaluru has been applauded for its efforts to curb public smoking. Bengaluru’s effort has resulted in a reduction of public-place smoking from 18.2% in 2017 to 13.3% in 2021. The number of display signs of no-smoking in Bengaluru has also increased from 23.1% in 2017 to 75% in 2021.

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation declined to a 25-month low of 3.85 percent in February 2023.
This is the ninth straight month of decline in WPI-based inflation. According to government data, the fall is due to the easing prices of manufactured items, fuel, and power. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had hiked key interest rates by 25 basis points to 6.50 percent, saying core inflation remains sticky.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has permitted banks from 18 countries to open Special Vostro Rupee Accounts (SVRAs) to settle payments in rupees. 60 such approvals have been given by the RBI. These 18 nations include Botswana, Fiji, Germany, Guyana, Israel, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, New Zealand, Oman, Russia, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, and the United Kingdom.

Indian Railways has set a target of becoming a ‘net-zero carbon emitter’ by 2030, said Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. The Railways plans to achieve this ambitious target in two steps: A complete transition to electric trains by December 2023 and powering the trains and stations primarily through non-renewable sources by 2030.

To leverage the reach of UPI and the strength of credit card products, Canara Bank in collaboration with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) launched the Rupay Credit Card through UPI using the BHIM app. This integration allows customers to connect their Rupay Credit Card to UPI and conduct merchant transactions without needing the physical card, resembling UPI’s account-based transactions.

Surekha Yadav, Asia’s first woman loco pilot has become the first female to operate the semi-high-speed Vande Bharat Express train. Ms. Yadav piloted the Vande Bharat Express train between Solapur station and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai.

According to railways and telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the first bullet train in India will begin service in August 2026. The project will stimulate the economy because several of the suppliers to the project have begun receiving export orders. The government intends to start operating the first bullet train in August 2026. The goal is to run the bullet train on a larger section in 2027. The Indian railways are building the country’s first bullet train from Ahmedabad, Gujarat to Mumbai, Maharashtra over a 508-kilometer route.

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries will host the second edition of ‘World Food India-2023’ in November 2023 in New Delhi. WFI-2023 will focus on promoting India as a global food processing hub, highlighting culinary diversity, attracting investment, and exploring business opportunities. Five key elements of WFI-2023 include Millets, Innovation and Sustainability, White Revolution 2.0, Making India an export hub, and Technology and Digitization.

The MSME Competitive (LEAN) Scheme was launched by the Union Ministry of MSME to improve the global competitiveness of Indian MSMEs. The scheme will encourage MSMEs to adopt LEAN manufacturing practices, such as 5S, Kaizen, KANBAN, and Visual workplace. The scheme aims to transform Indian MSMEs into world-class manufacturers through LEAN manufacturing practices.

The Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) is a 14-digit alpha-numeric number generated based on the latitude and longitude of land parcels. Its purpose is to provide the authoritative source of truth on any parcel of land or property. The Department of Land Resources will be organizing a national conference in New Delhi to discuss the implementation of ULPIN or Bhu-Aadhaar.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) recently released the Landslide Atlas of India, which identifies landslide hotspots in the country. It includes a database of landslide-prone regions of India based on events during 1998 – 2022, mainly along the Himalayas and the Western Ghats.

The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 was enacted by the Indian Parliament to prevent money laundering. The Indian Government has expanded the Prevention of Money-laundering Act (PMLA) to include transactions involving the exchange, transfer and safekeeping of virtual digital assets.

Governor R.N. Ravi returned to the State government the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Bill, passed by the Assembly. It was cited that the House did not have “legislative competence” to frame it. The state Cabinet has decided to table the Bill again, which intends to ban online gambling in Tamil Nadu. As per Article 200, if a Bill is passed by the House a second time, with or without any amendments, and presented to the Governor for assent, the Governor shall not withhold assent.

Everywhere Everything all at once got the  “Best Movie Award” at the 95th OSCAR Awards.

The Elephant Whisperers got OSCAR Award under “Best Documentary Short Film” at the 95th OSCAR Awards.

On the 95th OSCAR Awards Function, the OSCAR committee declared OSCAR Award for “Naatu Naatu” under ‘Best Original Song’. It’s the first Indian film to achieve the OSCAR award in any category. RRR Music Director M.M. Keeravani and Lyricist Chandrabose received the prize in Los Angeles.