Daily Current Affairs – 14 April 2023

This post contains the current affairs for 14 April 2023. These current affairs are important for banking exams, insurance exams and other competitive exams like IBPS PO and Clerk, SBI PO and Clerk, RBI Assistant and Grade B, etc. You can also attempt our Current Affairs Quiz after reading our daily current affairs.

National

SECI gets ‘Miniratna Category-I’ status

• The Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI) has been accorded the status of ‘Miniratna Category-I’ Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) on April 10, 2023.
  
• SECI is a company of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to facilitate the implementation of the National Solar Mission (NSM).
• It is the only Central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) dedicated to the solar energy sector. 
• It is the primary implementing agency of MNRE for renewable energy schemes.

Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary of UP witnesses presence of tigers for first time

• Based on the latest 2022 Tiger Census report, the Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh witnessed the presence of tigers for the first time.
• The evidence of the existence of tiger in the region was based on photographic record, since the latest census was only camera based.
• The Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary, lies in Shravasti, Balrampur and Gonda districts of Uttar Pradesh and is spread over 452 sq kms of land.

Three-day International Conference on Defence Finance and Economics held in New Delhi

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the three-day International Conference on Defence Finance and Economics in New Delhi. 
• Over 350 eminent policymakers, academics and government officials participated from India and abroad participated in the conference, organised by Ministry of Defence (Finance).
• Foreign delegates were from the USA, UK, Japan, Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Kenya.
• The main topic of discussions ranged from international perspective on strategic allocation of defence budget, the importance of human resource management in Defence and the significance of defence spending for a state’s national security. 

International

United States and Philippines launch biggest joint drill ‘Balikatan’ in South China Sea

• The United States and the Philippines are undertaking their largest-ever joint military drills, known as Balikatan, in water across the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
• Balikatan means ‘shoulder to shoulder’ in Tagalog.
• The military drills began on April 11 and will end on April 28, 2023.
• More than 17,000 soldiers, including about 12,200 American troops, 5,400 members of the Philippines armed forces (AFP) as well as representatives from other countries are taking part in the annual event.

Ranking

India ranks 5th among countries making highest investment in AI

• According to annual AI Index report, released by Stanford University, India ranked fifth in terms of investments made in startups offering artificial intelligence (AI)-based products and services in 2022.
• In 2022, India made overall investment of $3.24 billion in the AI startups.
• As per the index, the AI startups in India received total funding of $7.73 billion in the last decade. This makes India the sixth leading country with the most AI investments between 2013 and 2022.
• Overall, the United States has topped the 2022 index for making highest investment in AI, of $47.36 billion.
• China (13.41), UK (4.37) and Israel (3.24) makes top five countries respectively in the index.

India ranks 77th among 142 countries with highest crime rate; Venezuela tops: World of Statistics report

• Based on the ranking of the world’s “most criminal countries” released by the World of Statistics, Venezuela is the top-most country with highest criminal rate.
• It is followed by Papua New Guinea (2), Afghanistan (3), South Africa (4), Honduras (5), Trinidad (6), Guyana (7), Syria (8), Somalia (9) and Jamaica (10), respectively.
• India is placed at 77 spots. The US and UK are at 55th and 65th rank, respectively.
• The least criminal countries in the list are Qatar (142), UAE (141), Taiwan (China) at 140
• Separately, according to the Population Review (WPR), the top most countries with highest crime rate in 2023 are Venezuela, Papua New Guinea, South Africa and Afghanistan respectively.

Banking

SBI launches its Coffee Table Book ‘The Banker to Every Indian’

• The State Bank of India (SBI) has launched its coffee table book named ‘The Banker to Every Indian’.
• The book chronicles around the Bank’s journey since 75 years of Indian independence and SBI’s glorious 200-year history.

Important Days

Jallianwala Bagh Massacre’s 104th Anniversary observed on 13 April 2023

• The 104th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre was observed on April 13, 2023.
• The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre took place on April 13, 1919 at Jallianwala Bagh in Punjab’s Amritsar.
• It was an incident in which the troops of the British Indian Army, under the command of Colonel Reginald Dyer, fired machine guns into a crowd of unarmed protesters and pilgrims, who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh, to mark the occasion of Baisakhi.
• The incident is seen as a major turning point in the national freedom movement of India.
• According to British government records, 379 people including men, women, and children were killed while 1,200 were wounded in the firing. However, other sources reports the number of dead at well over 1,000.

Ambedkar Jayanti 2023: 14 April

• Ambedkar Jayanti ( also known as Bhim Jayanti) is an annual festival observed on 14 April to commemorate the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar.
• The Day has been observed as an official public holiday throughout India since 2015.
• In 2023, we are marking the 132nd birth anniversary of Babasaheb, who was born on 14 April 1891..
• Dr. Ambedkar is known as the Father (chief architect) of the Indian Constitution.
• He was the first Law and Justice Minister of the country after the independence.
• Dr. Bhim has been bestowed with the country’s highest civilian honor, Bharat Ratna in 1990 posthumously.

WHO World Chagas Disease Day : 14 April 

• The World Chagas Disease Day is observed on 14 April to raise the public awareness and visibility among people about Chagas Disease (also called American trypanosomiasis) and the resources needed for the prevention, control or elimination of the disease.
• The WHO approved the designation of Chagas Disease Day on May 24, 2019 at the 72nd World Health Assembly.  It is one of 11 official global public health campaigns marked by WHO.
• The first World Chagas Disease Day was observed on 14 April 2020.
• The day has been named after Carlos Ribeiro Justiniano Chagas, the Brazilian doctor who diagnosed the first case on 14 April 1909.

Obituary

Noted Bangladeshi heath care activist and freedom fighter Zafrullah Chowdhury passes away

• The noted Bangladeshi public health activist, Zafrullah Chowdhury, who is famously known for his work in formulating the Bangladesh National Drug Policy in 1982, has passed away.
• He was 81.
• He won the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1985  for his work in the public health sector.
• In 1971, he fought for independence during Bangladesh Liberation War.

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