” Notes: utkal diwas, also known as odisha day, commemorates the formation of odisha on april 1, 1936. it signifies the state’s cultural and historical significance, marking the end of a struggle for a separate identity from british colonial rule. celebrated annually, it showcases odisha’s rich heritage through festivities, including decorations and cultural displays. the state flag’s colors symbolize odia pride and unity, highlighting the event’s importance in preserving the region’s traditions and identity.”

” Notes: Adani total energies biomass limited (atbl), a subsidiary of adani total gas limited (atgl), has commissioned the first phase of barsana biogas plant in mathura, uttar pradesh. the project, developed in three phases, will have a total capacity of 600 tonnes per day, producing 42 tonnes per day of compressed biogas (cbg) and 217 tonnes per day of organic fertilizer. it’s set to be india’s largest agri-waste-based bio-cng plant, costing over ₹200 crore, utilizing advanced anaerobic digestion technology for sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

The UNESCO executive board added 18 new sites to the global geoparks network in march 2024 bringing the total number of sites to 213 across 48 countries the new sites are located in belgium the netherlands brazil china croatia denmark finland france greece hungary poland portugal and spain

” Notes: traditional products from tripura, matabari pera prasad and rignai pachara textiles, have recently earned geographical indication (gi) tags, bringing the state’s total to 4 gi protected products. matabari pera prasad, a sweet from tripureswari temple, is made from milk and sugar. rignai pachara textiles, traditional hand-woven attire, symbolize tripura’s cultural heritage. these products’ gi recognition highlights their significance and authenticity, attracting global attention and marketing opportunities.”

” Notes: documents obtained through an rti application by tamil nadu’s bjp chief k. annamalai reveal india’s inconsistent approach to the katchatheevu island dispute with sri lanka. katchatheevu, a small island in the palk strait, lacks a permanent settlement and freshwater source. administered by both india and sri lanka historically, a 1974 agreement marked its boundary. indian fishermen, particularly from tamil nadu, face challenges due to conflicting claims over the island.”

” The united nations children’s fund (unicef) india, international institute of health management research (iihmr) delhi, and the indian institute of technology (iit) bombay (mumbai, maharashtra) have jointly launched, ‘digital health enterprise planning course’, a comprehensive 10-week health course.i. the course aims to enhance healthcare delivery by utilising digital technologies in line with the sustainable development goals (sdgs) and the gidh.ii. the startup incubation and innovation centre (siic) at the iit-kanpur (uttar pradesh-up), signed a corporate social responsibility (csr) agreement with gliders india limited, a public sector undertaking (psu), under the ministry of defence(mod), to spearhead innovation in the healthcare sector.”

” As per the latest data released by Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s International Investment Position (IIP) as of December 2023 showed a decline in net claims of Non-Residents on India by USD12.2 billion during the period from October to December 2023 to USD 370.4 billion as the end of December 2023.i. Main reason for the decline is the increase in reserve assets, surging by USD34.8 billion during Q3 FY24.ii. As per RBI data, the ratio of India’s international financial assets to international financial liabilities increased from 70.9%, a quarter ago to 72.4% in December 2023.”

” L&t finance holdings ltd (ltfh), a subsidiary of larsen & toubro (l&t) limited, has received approval from the registrar of companies (roc) to change its name to “l&t finance limited(ltf)” with effect from 28th march 2024. in december 2023, ltfh(now ltf) completed the merger of its subsidiaries, namely l&t finance ltd., l&t infra credit ltd., and l&t mutual fund trustee ltd., with itself to create a “single lending entity”.”

” The government of India (goi) has approved a simple reversionary bonus for the postal life insurance (pli) scheme and rural postal life insurance (rpli) scheme for the fiscal year 2024-25 (fy25) without changing the bonus rate.i. the rates of bonus for the fy25 will be applicable from 1st april 2024.ii. bonus rate of pli scheme: for whole life assurance (wla/suraksha),  the rate of bonus will be at rs.76 per thousand of sum assured.iii. bonus rate of rpli scheme: the bonus rate for wla will be rs.60 per thousand of sum assured and for endowment assurance (ea) (including children policy) the rate is fixed at rs.48 per thousand of sum assured. click here to read more.”

” India’s Anupama upadhyaya defeats tanya hemanth (india) to win the women’s singles title of the orlen polish open 2024, held from 20th to 24 march 2024 in wilanow sports centre, warsaw, poland. it was anupama’s fifth international women’s singles title.i. the indian pair m.r. arjun and dhruv kapila won the men’s doubles title by defeating denmark’s william kryger boe and christian faust kjær in the finals.ii. denmark’s victor ørding kauffmann won the men’s singles title by defeating jia heng jason teh (singapore) in the finals.”

” A joint venture (jv) between the rail vikas nigam limited (rvnl) and salasar techno engineering limited (stel), the private steel manufacturer, has bagged  “rwanda transmission system reinforcement and last mile connectivity project (tsrlmc)”, a transmission project of rwanda in central africa. the project is valued at about rs 60 crore (usd 7.152 million).i. the order, secured from the energy development corporation limited (edcl), is set to be executed by the stel in 18 months. rvnl owns 51% stake in the joint venture, while stel owns the remaining 49%.”

The satcom Industry Association of india (sia-india) has signed a memorandum of understanding(mou) with the brazilian association of satellite telecommunications companies (abrasat -associação brasileira das empresas de telecomunicações por satélite ) to boost advancement in the space sector.i. the mou aims to foster collaboration and drive innovative ventures and technological cooperation between india and brazil.

” Kutch Copper Limited, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) led by Gautam Adani, commissioned the first unit of its greenfield copper refinery project at Mundra, Gujarat, by dispatching the maiden batch of cathodes to customers.i. Adani Enterprises invested nearly USD 1.2 billion to set up a 0.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) copper smelter in the first phase.ii. The plant is set to achieve a full-scale capacity (1 MTPA) by Financial Year 2028-29 (FY29) (March 2029).iii. 15% capital allocation for environmental protection.”

” The indian boxing contingent won 26 medals (5 gold, 9 silver, and 12 bronze) in the youth world boxing cup 2024 (33rd adriatic pearl tournament) held at the hotel splendid conference & spa resort in budva, montenegro, from 3rd to 11th march 2024.i. russia topped the medal tally with eight gold medals. india finished second with five gold medals, while poland was in the third position with three gold medals.ii. chanchal chaudhary won a gold medal in the women’s youth light fly (50kg) category by defeating valeria amparan of mexico. click here to read more.”

Ampin energy transition private limited received 25 million euro investment from oeeb – oesterreichische entwicklungsbank ag (development bank of austria) in a long term financing to support the energy expansion plans of ampin energy. this will also support ampin to establish a local 1-gigawatt(gw) solar cell and module production facility in odisha.i. ampin energy aims to build a renewable energy portfolio of 10 gw by 2030