1) World Sleep Day 2022 observed on 18th March
•World Sleep Day is observed on the Friday before the March equinox every year to highlight the importance of quality sleep. This year, it falls on March 18. World Sleep Day is a celebration of sleep and a call to action on important issues related to sleep, including medicine, education, social aspects and driving. It is organized by the World Sleep Day Committee of the World Sleep Society with the objective to lessen the burden of sleep problems on society through better prevention and management of sleep disorders.
The theme of the day:
•‘Quality Sleep, Sound Mind, Happy World’ is the theme for World Sleep Day this year to raise awareness about the impact of sleep on the mind and body.
2) Global Recycling Day 2022 celebrated on 18th March
•The Global Recycling Day is observed every year on the 18th of March to recognise the importance of recycling as a resource, not waste. The day strives to urge world leaders that recycling must be a global issue and encourage people to think resourcefully and not waste when it comes to the goods around us.
What is this year’s theme?
•This year, the event’s focus will be on the “recycling fraternity” – those who put themselves on the frontline to collect waste and recycling during the multiple lockdowns.
3) India’s Ordnance Factories’ Day: 18 March
•The Ordnance Factories’ Day is observed on the 18th of March every year. The production of India’s oldest Ordnance Factory, which is at Cossipore of Kolkata, was started on the 18th of March, 1802. OFB is the 37th largest defence equipment manufacturer in the world, 2nd largest in Asia, and the largest in India.
•The day is celebrated by displaying the rifles, guns, artillery, ammunition etc in exhibitions all over India. The celebrations start with a parade and the exhibition will also display the photographs of various mountaineering expeditions.
4) International Day of Happiness 2022
•International Day of happiness is observed every year around the world on March 20. The United Nations started celebrating this day in 2013, but the resolution for the same was passed on July 12, 2012. The resolution was initiated by Bhutan which shed the light on the importance of National Happiness.
International Happiness Day 2022: Theme
•The theme for Happiness Day 2022 is Keep Calm, Stay Wise and Be Kind. Keeping cool and calm in every possible situation is the key to happiness and satisfaction. Staying wise in tough situations lead to wiser steps and success. Being Kind to others in their needs, mistakes and errors will help them grow and also make them feel better.
5) 36th edition of the International Geological Congress to be held in New Delhi
•On a virtual platform, the 36th International Geological Congress (IGC) will be placed here on March 20-22, 2022, with the topic Geosciences: The Basic Science for a Sustainable Future. The 36th International Geophysical Congress is a collaboration between the Ministries of Mines and Earth Sciences, the Indian National Science Academy, and the Science Academies of Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
•Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi and Minister of State Science & Technology; Minister of State Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space Dr Jitendra Singh are expected to inaugurate the Congress.
6) Flight Control System Integration complex inaugurated by Defence Minister in Bengaluru
•Shri Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister, inaugurated a seven-story Flight Control System (FCS) Integration facility at the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a DRDO laboratory in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Pilots of combat aircraft will also receive simulator training at the complex. It is one of the most essential components of the complex, according to Shri Rajnath Singh.
7) Karnataka govt developed Dishaank app to ensure easy access to land records
•The Survey Settlement and Land Records (SSLR) unit of Karnataka’s revenue department is ensuring easy availability of original land records through an app called Dishaank. The Dishaank app is developed under the Geographical Information System (GIS) program of the Karnataka State Remote Sensing Applications Center (KSRSAC). The KSRSAC provides satellite data to agencies such as the SSLR unit for innovative use. Dishaank leverages Karnataka’s decision to digitize land records under the Bhoomi project.
8) CAMS launched by Central Record keeping Agency under NPS
•The go-live and opening of the Central Record Keeping Agency (CRA) under the National Pension System has been announced by Computer Age Management Services Limited (CAMS), India’s largest registrant and transfer agent of mutual funds (a SEBI regulated business). CAMS was chosen as a CRA by the sector regulator, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), to broaden the services available to NPS subscribers and the ecosystem.
•The National Pension Scheme (NPS), a voluntary retirement scheme created and administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), was launched by the Central Government on January 1, 2004 to assist in the building of a retirement corpus.
9) Hurun Global Rich List 2022: Elon Musk Tops
•SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk has bagged the top position on the 2022 M3M Hurun Global Rich List, with a total net worth of $205 billion. The 2022 M3M Hurun Global Rich List is published by research and luxury publishing group Hurun India in association with realty firm M3M.
10) Moody’s lowers India’s GDP forecast for CY22 to 9.1%
•Rating agency Moody’s has revised downwards the economic growth forecast of India by 40 basis points to 9.1 per cent in the Calendar Year 2022 (CY2022), due to adverse effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the global economy. Earlier in February 2022, Moody’s estimated India’s GDP in CY2022 to 9.5 percent. Moody’s has projected India’s GDP growth forecast for the Calendar Year (CY) 2023 at 5.4 percent.
•Moody’s, in a statement, said India is particularly vulnerable to high oil prices given that it is a large importer of crude oil. Because the country is a surplus producer of grain, agricultural exports will benefit in the short term from high prevailing prices.
11) Prashant Jhaveri joining “Flipkart Health+ as CEO
•Flipkart Health+ announced the appointment of Prashant Jhaveri as its new CEO. He will be in charge of Flipkart’s entry into India’s fast-growing healthcare sector. Jhaveri was the CEO of Apollo Health and Lifestyle Limited and MediBuddy before joining Flipkart Health+. Earlier in his career, he worked with Medi Assist Group as the chief business officer.
12) SBI to set up Innovation, Incubation, and Acceleration Centre at Hyderabad
•The State Bank of India (SBI) will set up an Innovation, Incubation, and Acceleration Centre (IIAC) at Hyderabad, Telangana which will be operational in six to nine months of on-boarding a consultant. This Centre will be the bank’s in-house capability to enhance its current performance and drive higher top-line growth through innovation. It will help the bank to develop a set of technologies, knowledge, and skills for the introduction of new products and services. It will act as a central body to govern and drive fin-tech partnerships and implement change across the bank.