Dear Readers, Here we have given the list of Important Weekly Current Affairs of Mar 01st to 07th Mar 2023. Candidates those who are preparing for Upcoming SBI Clerk 2023 and other competitive exams can make use of it.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

• Zero discrimination day 2023 is celebrated on March 1^st
• World Civil Defence Day is celebrated on March 1st, 2023.
• World Wildlife day 2023 is celebrated on March 3rd, 2023.
• World Hearing Day is announced to be celebrated on March 3rd
• National Safety Day 2023 is celebrated on March 4th, 2023.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

• Indian Railways achieved a significant milestone in Railway electrification
• The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has recently removed the clause that people beyond 65 years could not receive cadaver organ transplants
• The “Chip 4” semiconductor alliance recently held its first meeting of senior officials
• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has specified a comprehensive group standard for millets
• As per the response from the Election Commission (EC) through RTI has disclosed that over 60% of India’s 94.5 crore voters in India have linked their Aadhaar number to their voter IDs
• Chintan Shivir on “Drugs: Quality Regulation and Enforcement” was inaugurated by health minister Mansukh Mandaviya
• 14th Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav was formally inaugurated by President Droupadi Murmu
• In order to increase domestic production, the Center plans to establish 10 "Clean Plant Centers" as the demand for fruits like apple, avocado and blueberry has increased over time
• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved the renaming of Aurangabad city as “Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar” and the Osmanabad cit y as “Dharashiv”.
• India’s unemployment rate dropped to a five-year low in July-June 2021-22 to 4.1 per cent, according to the latest annual Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), released by the National Statistical Office
• Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the Revised Guidelines on Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS)-2023
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the NITI Aayog hosted a hackathon with young people from across the world to contribute ideas and innovations to promote sustainable living and climate-positive behaviour as part of the Government of India's Mission LiFE
• NCERT selects Educational Testing Service (ETS) for establishing national assessment regulator PARAKH
• UIDAI added a new safety feature for Aadhaar Card
• The government has approved the procurement from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at a cost of over 6,828 crore rupees
• The government collected more than 1.49 lakh crore rupees in GST revenue in February 2023
• The Supreme Court has constituted an expert committee on issues emerging from the Hindenburg Research Report on Adani Group companies
• President Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the 7th International Dharma-Dhamma Conference in Bhopal
• The award was announced at 'The India Dialogue' organized by the Institute for Competitiveness (IFC) Stanford University's US Asia Technology Management Center (USATMC)
• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology recently launched the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) portal under the IT Rules, 2021
• The Ministry of Education (MoE) is set to launch a self-assessment platform for Indian students

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• For the first time, the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for economic cooperation with the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government.
• The government of Bangladesh signed an agreement with the International Solar Alliance (ISA) to increase the use of solar energy in Bangladesh.
• Italian Prime Minister (PM) Ms Giorgia Meloni will be the chief guest and keynote speaker at the 8th Raisina Dialogue.
• Japan will provide loans worth Rs 2,288 crore to India for the Mumbai Trans-Harbour Link Project in Maharashtra and a Super-Specialty Cancer and Research Centre in
• India hosted the first meeting of the Governing Board of BIMSTEC Energy Centre (BEC) in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• The first meeting of the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group (ACWG) meeting is being organized in Gurugram, Haryana, India.
• India hosted Quad Foreign Ministers meeting in New Delhi & the meeting will be chaired by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
• The United Kingdom (UK) and European Union (EU) agreed upon the ‘Windsor Framework’ & it will replace the Northern Ireland Protocol.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

• Water Resources Minister, Roshi Augustine, launched a robotic scavenger Bandicoot under the Guruvayur Sewerage Project in Thrissur district by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), as part of the 100-day action plan of the state government.
• Karnataka Chief Minister Shri Basavaraj Bommai has confirmed the construction of the India’s first Marina which will be constructed at Byndoor in the Udupi district, Karnataka
• The 31st edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF) is being organised from 25th Feb, 2023 to 5th Mar, 2023 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi,

• In first, the Irinjadappilly Sri Krishna Temple in Kerala's Thrissur district used a mechanical, life-like elephant for performing rituals.
• Uttarakhand will set up India’s 1st government  'Mother Milk Bank' in the state.
• The Tamil Nadu (TN) government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for implementing Urban Cooling Programme in TN to meet the objectives under the Tamil Nadu State Action Plan on Climate Change.
• Odisha Steel and Mines Minister Prafulla Mallick has informed that gold mines have been found at different places in 3 districts of Odisha- Deogarh, Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj.
• The Asia's longest-ever cycle race was flagged off from Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar (J&K) and will culminate at Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu (TN)..

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

• IREDA is planning to establish an office in Gujarat's GIFT City to finance Renewable Energy projects in foreign currency
• Amazon has announced that it will join the Indian government’s ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) platform
• Foreign direct investment (FDI) into India declined by 15 per cent to USD 36.75 billion during the April-December this fiscal, according to the latest Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade data
• Essar Group announced a fresh investment of $3.6 billion in setting up an Essar Energy Transition (EET) to spearhead green energy transition projects in the UK and India
• JPMorgan is proposing a new Asian credit index with a lower weighting for China alongside its existing $85 billion Asian credit index amid rising geopolitical tensions and declining interest in Chinese real estate bonds
• National Stock Exchange (NSE) has received permission from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to roll out rupee-denominated Nymex WTI crude oil and natural gas (henry hub) futures contracts in its commodity derivatives segment.
• Indian automaker Tata Motors launched its first vehicle scrapping facility in Jaipur, Rajasthan
• Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) grew by 7.8% (provisional ) in January 2023 in comparison to the Index of January 2022
• Reliance Industries Ltd is foraying into the business of commercial property development and has set up a subsidiary called Reliance SOU Ltd

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND ECONOMY

• Niva Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited (Formerly Max Bupa Health Insurance Company Limited), one of India’s largest independent health insurers, launched ‘ReAssure 2.0,’ which includes many industry-first features.
• The World Bank will provide USD 1.78 billion in assistance to Turkey to help with relief and recovery efforts after devastating earthquakes in Turkey and neighbouring Syria.
• The Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA) has reduced the timeline for withdrawal from the National Pension System (NPS) subscribers for processing partial withdrawal requests from 4 working days (T+4) to 2 working days (T+2) across all Central Record Keeping Agencies (CRAs).
• IDFC Mutual Fund (MF) is set to launch India's first international debt fund, the IDFC US Treasury Bond 0-1 Year FOF (fund of funds).
• The Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) announced a strategic partnership with Experian India, In order to strengthen the digital security of the services.
• RBL Bank and Export-Import Bank of India (India Exim Bank), have entered into an agreement under the Trade Assistance Programme (TAP), to support cross-border trade transactions.
• Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has diluted its shareholding in ‘Industrial Investment Trust Limited’(IITL) from 12,25,017 to 7,57,966 Equity Shares decreasing its shareholding from 5.433% to362% of the paid-up capital.

• As a step to curb asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) from breaching income recognition norms, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stated that ARCs will deduct amounts from net-owned funds while calculating the Capital Adequacy Ratio.
• Bharti AXA Life Insurance, announced its bancassurance partnership with Unity Small Finance Bank (Unity Bank), a new-age, digital first bank for the distribution of life insurance products through the Bank’s network of 111 branches and 206 offices pan-India.
• India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a new retail term deposit scheme called Amrit Kalash Deposit.
• Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance (ABSLI), the life insurance subsidiary of Aditya Birla Capital Limited (ABCL), has launched a new-age savings solution ABSLI Nishchit Aayush Plan.
• The International Monetary Fund laid out a nine-point action plan for crypto assets.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed restrictions on 5 cooperative banks due to their deteriorating financial condition.
• The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has received approval from markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to launch the rupee-denominated NYMEX WTI crude oil and natural gas (henry hub) futures contracts in its commodity derivatives segment.
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed in principle to provide Rs 1,311.20 crore under phase-1 of the proposed infrastructure development investment programme in Himachal Pradesh (HP) to strengthen tourism infrastructure in HP.
• ESAF Small Finance Bank and electric equipment manufacturer V-Guard Industries signed an agreement to provide financing options to customers looking to install solar rooftop power systems.
• The stock broker Angel One Limited, formerly known as Angel Broking Limited has received an in-principle approval from Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for sponsoring a mutual fund.
• According to the data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), significant offtake from retail and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) increased credit to services by 5% year-on-year (YoY) in Jan 2023 as against 5.7% in Jan 2022.
• Private sector lenders IDFC First Bank Limited and the Federal Bank Ltd partnered with the association of microfinance institutions (MFIs) Sa-Dhan and Delhi-based fintech solutions provider NextGen to encourage feature phone users to use UPI123Pay to make digital payments.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of over ₹06 crore on Amazon Pay (India) Private Limited for non-compliance with certain provisions related to Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) and Know Your Customer (KYC) direction.
• New India Assurance, the largest non-life insurance company in the country, announced the launch of its surety insurance bond business.
• Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC), the public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Railways, and HDFC Bank, India's largest private sector bank has partnered to launch one of India's most rewarding co-branded travel credit cards, known as the IRCTC HDFC Bank Credit Card.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed a Rs 5,000 cap on withdrawals by individual customers from Tamil Nadu (TN)-based Musiri Urban Co-operative Bank.
• Himachal Pradesh (HP) Chief Minister (CM) Shri Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has launched UPI (Unified Payments Interface) and ‘Swadhan-e-pension-Gov’ services for Kangra Central Cooperative Bank
• The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ShowReel for developing an online digital platform to support innovators & promote Entrepreneurship in

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

• SS Rajamouli’s RRR has achieved laudable success as the spectacular action drama film bags five awards at the Hollywood Critics Association Awards ceremony 2023 in Los Angeles, California.
• President DroupadiMurmu has presented the SangeetNatakAkademi awards and fellowships for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021
• The 2023 Marconi Prize has been awarded to Hari Balakrishnan, the Fujitsu Professor of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• Austin Butler wins BAFTA Awards 2023 for Best Actor and Cate Blanchett for Best Actress
• Vinod Kumar Shukla, at 87, has won the PEN America award for lifetime achievement in literature, one of the most coveted literary prizes worldwide
• India has won the award for implementing best practices in telecom policy and regulation

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

• Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has appointed Mr Rajan Amba as Managing Director (MD) of Jaguar Land Rover India, from March 1, 2023.
• In a first-of-its-kind nomination, an Indian Dr K Govindaraj has been nominated as FIBA (Fédération Internationale de Basketball) Asia president.
• Former bureaucrat Mr Shailesh Pathak has been appointed as the new Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) with effect from March 01, 2023.
• Beverage maker PepsiCo has appointed Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh as its brand ambassador.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has picked a longtime solar scientist who heads its heliophysics division, Dr Nicola Fox to become the S. space agency’s science chief – the first woman named to serve in the role.
• Senior Indian Information Service (IIS) officer Rajesh Malhotra has been appointed as the principal director general of the Press Information Bureau (PIB).
• The government has appointed Jishnu Barua, former Assam chief secretary, as chairperson of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC).
• A Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Ms. Rashmi Shukla has been appointed as the Director-General of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).
• Hekani Jakhalu of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) has become the first woman legislator to be elected to the Nagaland Legislative Assembly of 60 members.
• A member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), Mr Vo Van Thuong, was elected as the new President of Vietnam by the National Assembly (NA) till the term ending 2026.
• The ruling party candidate, Mr Bola Tinubu(70) has defeated vice president Mr Atiku Abubakar (opposition People’s Democratic Party) to win the disputed presidential election in Nigeria.
• Pakistan Prime Minister (PM) Mr Shehbaz Sharif has appointed Mr Sardar Ramesh Singh Arora as the Ambassador-at-Large for Kartarpur Corridor as part of efforts to attract Sikh pilgrims from across the world.
• Karnataka Bank Ltd has appointed Mr Abhishek Sankar Bagchi as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the bank on a contract basis.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING AND REPORTS

• West Bengal maintained its lead while Uttar Pradesh stood at the bottom among large state categories on the second edition of the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Index 2022, an indicator of literacy among children below 10 years of age.
• Karnataka and Gujarat are the top states in adopting clean energy transition
• Reliance Jio has climbed up to number two rank up from fifth place last year in a list of the top 10 strongest telecom brands in the world
• Chennai-based water technology firm Va Tech Wabag Ltd. (Wabag) said it had been ranked among the top three water companies globally by Global Water Intelligence (GWI), London, for ensuring safe and clean drinking water and sanitation to more than 88.8 million people across the globe

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ENVIRONMENT

• Birdwatchers across 35 States and Union Territories uploaded more than 46,000 bird lists, making India take the second spot after the United States of America

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

• In order to further the existing cooperation in the realm of maritime safety and security, IFC-IOR signed an MoU with Regional Coordination Operations Centre (RCOC), Seychelles.
• Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) announced signing Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with Cisco and the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), DRDO
• Kerala entered into an agreement with UN Women, boosting women-friendly activities in the State’s tourism sector by training stakeholders who include young representatives and civil organisations
• Mpower, a mental health initiative from the Aditya Birla Education Trust, is collaborating with NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences) towards expanding the implementation of Tele MANAS mental health support services across India
• The IIT Madras is partnering with the General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) to develop a urine-based tuberculosis diagnosis or screening
• The India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA) and IBRAFE, Brazil, have signed a MoU at the recently held sixth edition of the Pulses Conclave in Mumbai to establish co-operative actions to contribute to the food security of both countries
• Tata Motors, India’s largest electric passenger vehicle manufacturer, has signed an agreement with ride-hailing company Uber to supply 25,000 electric vehicles (EVs)
• The Ministry of Rural Development and Meesho, one of India’s major online marketplaces, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to drive digital inclusion of all women registered under State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLMs) and enable them to sell online
• Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) will collaborate with Lulu Group – the international retail hypermarket chain – to promote Indian nutritional millets and value-added products in West Asia.
• Tamil Nadu and UNEP sign MoU for implementing the urban cooling program
• India and Australia signed a ‘Framework Mechanism for Mutual Recognition of Qualifications’ that will help ease the mobility of students and professionals between the two countries

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE NEWS

• The first Missile cum Ammunition (MCA) Barge, Yard 75 (LSAM 7) was launched by Rear Admiral Sandeep Mehta at Guttenedevi, launch site of SECON, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh (AP).
• Indian Air Force (IAF) will take part in multinational exercise Cobra Warrior at the Waddington Air Force Base of the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom (UK).
• Under the Operation Sadbhavna Programme, Indian Air Force (IAF) has arranged 3 flights to evacuate stranded passengers from Jammu to Leh and Chandigarh to Thoise in Nubra.
• The Civil Aviation Research Organisation, (CARO), a facility with advanced simulators being established in Hyderabad, will become fully operational by the end of 2023.
• The Indian Air Force (IAF) is participating in Exercise Shinyuu Maitri with the Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• Russian space agency Roscosmos has successfully launched the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft to bring back 3 astronauts stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) following a leak in the cooling system in their Soyuz capsule.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITION AND MERGERS

• Private sector lender Axis Bank has completed the acquisition of Citibank’s India consumer business and non-banking financial company (NBFC) consumer business.
• Japanese conglomerate Softbank divested 3.85% or 2.8 crore shares of its stake in Gurgaon- based logistics firm Delhivery for Rs 954 crore through open market transactions.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

• Australia won the ICC Women's Twenty20 World Cup 2023 title
• LeBron James has confirmed his status as one of the most dominant NBA players in history after passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record
• Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh has been honored with the Player-of-the-Year award by the Asian Chess Federation (ACF) for clinching the gold medal with a record-breaking score of 9/11 in the 44th Chess Olympiad at Mahabalipuram last year
• Men’s National Hockey Team of India designates South Africa’s Craig Fulton as the new Chief Coach
• Sayantan Das became India’s 81st Chess Grandmaster as well as the 11th player from West Bengal to bag the honour after he crossed the 2500-mark in live ratings and won the Cannes Open with a score of 7.5 out of 9.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHORS

• A book titled ‘COACHING BEYOND: My Days with the Indian Cricket Team’ authored by R. Kaushik & R. Sridhar
• The 'World Book Fair' in New Delhi is being organized from the 25th of feb to the 5th of march at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

• Former President Pratibha Patil’s husband Devisingh Ransingh Shekhawat passed away at the age of 89 in Pune, Maharashtra.
• The French football great who scored a record 13 goals in a single edition of the 1958 World Cup, Just Fontaine, has passed away at the age of 89.
• Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi passed away at the age of 90 in New Delhi, Delhi, India.
• A former Indian diplomat and the recipient of Padma Bhushan,Chandrashekhar Dasgupta passed away at the age of 82.