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Monthly Current Affair GK Digest: March 2023

Published on Friday, April 07, 2023
Monthly Current Affair GK Digest: February 2023

G-20 meeting of Anti Corruption Working Group begins in Gurugram

Current Context: The G-20 meeting of Anti Corruption Working Group in Gurugram was the first meeting of the group under India's chairpersonship and Italy as the co-chair country. The meeting was held from 1st to 3rd March 2023 at a hotel in Gurugram, Haryana.

About

  • The meeting was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Personnel & PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh who said that India will reaffirm unified action to ensure zero tolerance against corruption and deepen commitments towards countering graft globally.
  • The meeting was attended by over 90 delegates from 20 members countries, 10 invitee countries and 9 international organizations such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
  • The meeting focused on topics such as asset recovery fugitive economic offender formal and informal channels of cooperation for information sharing,beneficial ownership transparency, and capacity building.
  • The meeting also discussed ways to strengthen law enforcement cooperation for action against corruption and related economic crimes
  • The meeting concluded with a call for enhancing mutual legal assistance, extradition requests, asset recovery requests, exchange of financial intelligence and other information among G-20 members.
  • The meeting also agreed on a draft work plan for 2023-24 which will be submitted to the G-20 leaders' summit in Jakarta later this year.

Moody’s ups India’s GDP growth projection for 2023 to 5.5%

Current Affairs: Moody's Investors Service is a global rating agency that provides credit ratings, research and analysis for various sectors and entities. On March 1st 2023, Moody's raised India's economic growth forecast for 2023 to 5.5% from 4.8% pegged earlier.

Details

  • The main reason for this revision was the higher capital expenditure proposed in the Union Budget 2023-24, which aimed to boost infrastructure spending and revive the economy after the Covid-19 pandemic. Moody's also cited a sustained economic momentum as a positive factor for India's growth outlook.
  • Moody's also raised its growth projections for other G-20 economies such as the US, Canada, the Euro area, Russia, Mexico and Turkiye, accounting for a stronger end to 2022.
  • According to Moody's, India had the highest growth rate of all G-20 countries followed by China at 5% and Indonesia at 4.8%.
  • For fiscal 2023-24, the Reserve Bank of India has projected real GDP growth at 6.4% while the Economic Survey had estimated it in the range of 6% to 6.8%.
  • Moody's said that India's growth outlook was supported by a strong recovery in private consumption and investment, as well as a favourable base effect from the sharp contraction in 2022.
  • Moody's also noted that India's fiscal deficit target of 6.8% of GDP for 2023-24 was higher than expected, but it reflected a credible commitment to fiscal consolidation and transparency.
  • Moody's said that India's credit profile remained constrained by low per capita income, high public debt, weak financial sector and governance challenges.
  • Moody's also warned that India faced downside risks from potential new waves of Covid-19 infections, geopolitical tensions with China and Pakistan, social unrest and environmental shocks.

ISRO conducts flight test of cryogenic engine

Current Context: ISRO has successfully test fired the CE-20 cryogenic engine of its moon mission rocket on February 24 at its Propulsion Complex (IPRC) at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu³. The engine will be used for the third stage of India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk III) that will launch Chandrayaan-3.

Key Highlights

  • A cryogenic engine is a type of rocket engine that uses very low-temperature liquid propellants such as liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. These propellants are stored at extremely low temperatures and are pumped into a combustion chamber where they ignite and produce thrust.
  • A cryogenic engine works on the principle of reaction thrust, which means that it throws mass in one direction and relies on the opposite force in the other direction.
  • According to The Week, ISRO has successfully conducted the key test on cryogenic engine for Chandrayaan-3 mission on February 28 at its Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at Valiamala near Thiruvananthapuram. The test was carried out for a planned duration of 25 seconds and demonstrated all performance parameters
Some of the advantages of using a cryogenic engine are:
  • It is more environmentally-friendly than other options because it produces less greenhouse gases and pollution.
  • It is non-toxic and non-corrosive, which makes it safer to handle and store.
  • It has a higher mass flow rate than fossil fuels, which means it produces more thrust and power with less fuel consumption.
  • It has a high-specific impulse, which means it can achieve higher speeds and altitudes with less propellant mass.

India exports seafood to over 120 countries

Current Context: According to, India is one of the largest fish producing countries in the world with a production of 14.73 million metric tonnes.It exports seafood to over 120 countries and is among the top 5 fish exporting countries in the world.Nearly 16 % of the country’s agricultural exports constitute fish and fish products.India is also one of the largest exporters of farmed shrimps.

Key Facts

  • Reports that India is targeting to reach USD 14 billion by 2025 in marine products export.
  • States that India's seafood market is expected to recover by 2022 boosted by a rise in domestic demand and exports.
  • Mentions that India has launched a National Surveillance Programme for Aquatic Animal Diseases (NSPAAD) to ensure quality and safety of seafood products.

Some of the main challenges faced by Indian seafood exporters are:
    • Lack of adequate cold storage and transportation facilities, which affects the quality and shelf-life of the products.
    • Congestion at ports and roads¹, which causes delays and increases costs.
    • Stringent quality standards and regulations imposed by importing countries, which require compliance with hygiene, traceability, labelling, etc.
    • Competition from other seafood exporting countries like China, Vietnam, Thailand, etc, which offer lower prices and higher volumes.

Bola Tinubu wins Nigeria presidential election

Current Context: Bola Tinubu has won Nigeria's presidential election against Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi. He is a former governor of Lagos and a leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party. He got 37% of the vote,while his main rivals got 29% and 25% respectively. 

Key Points

  • The election was disputed by the opposition parties, who called it a sham and demanded a rerun. Tinubu based his campaign on his record of rebuilding Lagos, Nigeria's biggest city.
Some of Tinubu's achievements are:

  • He established the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion.
  • He built five additional general hospitals in Lagos state to provide better health care services.
  • He initiated several urban renewal projects, such as the construction of new roads, bridges, housing estates and markets.
  • He introduced free education at primary and secondary levels, and increased funding for tertiary institutions.
  • He played a key role in forming the All Progressives Congress (APC), a coalition of opposition parties that defeated the incumbent People's Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 and 2019 general elections.

This digest is not complete. Read the complete digest on the General Awareness Course.

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