Current Affairs 9th March

National Affairs

1. Guidelines for the Transportation of Dangerous and Hazardous Goods, published by the BIS as IS 18149:2023

The “IS 18149:2023 – Transportation of Dangerous Goods Guidelines” have been issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to improve safety when transporting dangerous, hazardous goods that pose a threat to public safety, property, and the environment. The Transport Services Sectional Committee, SSD 01, of BIS formulated these.

 

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution (MoCAP) issued the notification in this regard.

 

The following are the guidelines:

 

For the safe handling, packaging, and transportation of hazardous goods in India, BIS has introduced these. Accidents and potential harm to people and the environment will be reduced as a result.

 

Standardizing transportation practices and establishing a new standard for the secure transportation of hazardous materials are the primary goals of these guidelines.

 

Key Points:

 

The classification, packaging, labeling, and marking, handling, documentation, stakeholder roles, training, transportation, emergency actions, and provisions for dangerous, hazardous goods segregation were all covered by the guidelines.

 

For the safe transportation of dangerous goods, it is for all stakeholders, including vehicle owners/transport agencies, contractors, consignors, consignees, operators, and drivers of dangerous goods/substances.

 

What goods pose a threat?

 

These are things and substances that could harm people, property, or the environment. It includes poisonous and infectious substances, radioactive substances, corrosive substances, oxidizing substances, organic peroxides, explosives, gases, flammable liquids, flammable solids, and other diverse dangerous substances.

2. Swachhotsav, a Women-Led Swachhata Campaign, was launched by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

Under the Swachh Bharat Mission Urban[SBM(U)] 2.0, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched “Swachhotsav,” a three-week women-led swachhata campaign. On March 8, 2023, it went live ahead of International Women’s Day.

 

During the event, he also launched the inaugural Women Icons Leading Sanitation & Waste Management (WINS) Challenge-2023. The Successes Challenge 2023 will perceive high-influence ladies business people or ladies drove endeavors attempting to accomplish metropolitan swachhata. Beginning on March 8, nominations for the WINS Awards 2023 will be accepted.

 

Aim:

 

The goal of Swachhotsav is to acknowledge and celebrate the shift from women working in sanitation to women leading sanitation.

 

Key Points:

 

A Swachhata Yatra, which will begin on March 10, 2023, and will end on March 30, 2023—the day that the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has designated as the International Day of Zero Waste—will be part of the campaign.

As part of the Yatra, representatives from 34 States and UTs will travel to 24 States and UTs.

 

Through the swachhata pledge, Women Self Help Groups (SHGs) will be encouraged to pledge their support for the “Garbage-Free Cities (GFC)” vision during the yatra.

 

On March 30, there will be a Swachh Mashaal March, which will follow cleanliness drives that will be held in every ward of a participating ULB (Urban Local Body) at public places, open plots, water bodies, railway tracks, and public restrooms.

 

To honor women from all walks of life who will take the lead in making the GFC mission a success, a series of events and activities will be held in various cities.

3. FRINJEX-23: 1st Indo-France joint Military Exercise held in Thiruvananthapuram

On March 7-8, 2023, Pangode Military Station in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala hosted the inaugural FRINJEX-23, a joint military exercise between the French and Indian armies.

The purpose of the exercise is to enhance the tactical interoperability, coordination, and cooperation of the two forces.

 

“Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Operations in a Contested Environment” is the exercise’s theme.

 

Key Points:

 

Both the Indian Army and the French Army took part in the exercise for the first time, and each contingent had a Company Group.

 

Indian Army troops based in Thiruvananthapuram and the French 6th Light Armoured Brigade led the largest contingent ever. There are 111 troops and six officers in the French contingent.

 

Both nations will be able to work together for peace and harmony through the joint exercise.

 

As part of the exercise, a joint command post will be set up and put into action to protect a potential location for a camp for Internally Displaced People (IDP) to carry out joint humanitarian aid and move disaster relief supplies.

International Affairs

1. UNICEF Report on Undernourished and Overlooked: Malnutrition in Mothers Increased by 25% in Crisis-hit Countries 

According to the most recent report from UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), “Undernourished and Overlooked: A Worldwide Nourishment Emergency in Juvenile Young ladies and Ladies” delivered on seventh Walk 2023, the quantity of intensely malnourished pregnant also, breastfeeding ladies to be expanded by 25% between 2020 (5.5 million) and

2022 (6.9 million) in 12 nations that are impacted by the ongoing food and nourishment

emergency.

 

Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Chad, and Yemen make up the 12 nations.

The report was released before March 8, 2023, International Women’s Day.

 

The report’s key findings:

 

According to the estimates in the report, more than 1 billion adolescent girls and women worldwide suffer from undernutrition, which includes anemia, micronutrient deficiency, underweight, and short height.

 

The global goals of halving anemia in adolescent girls and women and reducing low birthweight in newborns by 30% by 2030 are not being met in any region.

 

Anemia and starvation: 68% of adolescent girls and women in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are underweight, and 60% of adolescent girls and women have anemia.

 

Hunger in children: South Asia and subSaharan Africa are home to 73% of all babies born underweight and 74% of children with stunting.

According to the report, roughly half of children become stunted during pregnancy and the first six months of life (i.e., when a child is completely dependent on the mother for nutrition) and 51 million children under the age of two worldwide are stunted. Between 2019 and 2021, the gender gap in food insecurity increased by more than twice to 126 million.

 

Sixty-six percent of children born to girls between the ages of 15 and 19 who have not yet reached full maturity are from South Asia or sub-Saharan Africa.

Banking and Finance

1. Kotak AMC launches Digital Campaign to promote Digital Literacy among Women

Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company Limited launched a digital campaign titled “DigitALL:” on March 8, 2023, International Women’s Day. to help women become digitally literate. Innovation and technology for gender equality.

 

The campaign uses the hashtag #IncludeAll to advocate for everyone’s digital inclusion.

In the digital campaign, female employees of the Kotak Group tell their stories about how they teach other women how to use technology to support and empower them.

Economy and Business

1. Adani Power Limited amalgamates 6 Subsidiary Companies

The National Company Law Tribunal’s Ahmedabad Bench approved the fusion of six Adani Power Ltd. (APL) wholly-owned subsidiary businesses on February 8, 2023: APML, Adani Power Maharashtra Ltd. The Adani Power Rajasthan Ltd. Power Corporation of Udupi (UPCL); (REL) Raipur Energen Ltd. Raigarh

 

Energy Age Ltd (REGL); as well as Adani Power (Mundra) Ltd.

APL made the announcement on March 7, 2023, that it had merged its six subsidiaries with itself, including Adani Power (Mundra).

 

APL stated that it will publish comparative period numbers and a financial statement for the financial year (FY) 2022-23 based on the merger of the companies in accordance with applicable accounting standards.

2. First cohort of Google for Startups Accelerator for Indian female founders Concludes

On 7th March 2023, Google, an American multinational technology company, concluded the 1st cohort of its Startup Accelerator Program for Indian female entrepreneurs. It launched its first edition of ‘Google For Startups Accelerator– India Women Founders‘, a three-month programme, in 2022. The three-month programme included curriculum and engagement opportunities that addressed issues such as network access, capital, hiring challenges, and mentorship. 

 

Note: Paul Ravindranath is the programme manager of the Google for Startups Accelerator India.

Science and Technology

1. ISRO successfully carries out Controlled Re-Entry Experiment of MT-1 Satellite

The controlled re-entry experiment of the decommissioned orbiting Megha-Tropiques-1 (MT-1) satellite in an uninhabited area of the Pacific Ocean between 5 degrees south (°S) to 14°S latitude and 119 degrees west (°W) to 100°W longitude was successfully completed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on March 7, 2023.

 

It was carried out in Bengaluru (Karnataka) from the Mission Operations Complex in ISTRAC (ISRO Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network).

 

Key Points:

 

The last two de-support consumes were executed by terminating four 11 Newton engines installed the satellite.

 

The satellite disintegrated structurally after entering the denser layers of the Earth’s atmosphere.

 

The re-entry aero-thermal flux analysis confirms that no large satellite debris fragments remain.