Daily Current Affairs, 23rd March 2019

1) Martyr’s Day: 23rd March

•The nation is observing Shaheed Diwas or Martyr’s Day on 23rd March. Each year, March 23, homage is paid to the great revolutionary fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev who sacrificed their lives for the country.

•In the year 1929, on 8th of April he together with his companions threw bombs over the Central Legislative Assembly reading slogan “Inquilab Zindabad”. It was on March 23, 1931, three young freedom fighters were hanged to death in the Lahore Central Jail (Now in Pakistan).

2) President Administers Oath Of Office to Justice PC Ghose As Lokpal Chief

•President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office to Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose as the country’s first Lokpal. The oath was administered at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

•Justice Ghose, a former Supreme Court judge, was named the country’s first Lokpal, the anti-corruption ombudsman. The Lokpal and the Lokayukta Act, which envisages appointment of a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states to look into cases of corruption against certain categories of public servants, was passed on 2013.

3) 7 Indians Marked In “World’s 100 Most Influential People in Climate Policy for 2019”

•The “100 Most Influential People in Climate Policy” list is comprised of seven Indian names including Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Dr Harsh Vardhan, who took important measures to combat climate change. The list is prepared by Apolitical, a peer to peer learning platform for governments. The list has been topped by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Congresswoman, US Congress).

•Here are the other 5 names from India: 

1.Mukta Tilak– Mayor of Pune.
2.Jyoti Kirit Parikh- Executive director of Integrated Research and Action for Development.
3.Sunita Narain- Director of the Centre for Science and the Environment.
4.Vandana Shiva- Founder of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Natural Resource Policy.
5.Upendra Tripathy- Director general of the International Solar Alliance.

4) Vice Admiral Karambir Singh To Take Over As Next Chief of Naval Staff

•The Government of India has appointed Vice Admiral Karambir Singh, presently Flag Officer Commander-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) Eastern Naval Command as next Chief of the Naval Staff with effect from May 31, 2019. The present Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba retires on the same day.

•Born on November 03, 1959, Vice Admiral Karambir Singh was commissioned on July 01, 1980 into the Executive Branch of the Indian Navy. Vice Admiral Karambir Singh is a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington. Vice Admiral Karambir Singh has been decorated with the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM). 

5) In a 1st, SpiceJet Joins International Air Transport Association

•Indian low-cost airlines SpiceJet has joined the International Air Transport Association (IATA). SpiceJet is the first Indian budget carrier to join the IATA,which has over 290 airlines as members.

•The membership of IATA will allow SpiceJet to explore and grow its collaborations with international member airlines of IATA through interlining and code shares and also enables to seamlessly expand the network options for its passengers in future.

6) India Clinch SAFF Women’s Championship For 5th Time

•India has lifted South Asian Football Federation SAFF Women’s Championship fifth time in a row. Keeping its winning streak India defeated host Nepal in the final by 3-1 in Biratnagar, Nepal. 

•India’s Dalmia Chhibber scored first goal of the match in 26th minute. India’s Indumathi Kathiresan and Sabitra Tamang of Nepal remained top scorer of the tournament, both scored four goal each.