Current Affairs 20 March 2023

ANS : D 

• World Oral Health Day is observed on March 20, every year.
• The day aims to create awareness about the significance of oral health.
• It also tries to educate individuals about the different oral hygiene practices that one should be following on daily basis.
• In the year 2021, a three-year-long theme was launched for World Oral Health Day, that is, “Be Proud of Your Mouth.” 
• This year this theme will focus on the importance of caring for your mouth at every stage of life. 
• Oral diseases, while largely preventable, pose a major health burden for many countries and affect people throughout their lifetime, causing pain, discomfort, disfigurement, and even death.
• It is estimated that oral diseases affect nearly 3.5 billion people worldwide.
• Oral diseases are caused by a range of modifiable risk factors common to many non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including sugar consumption, tobacco use, alcohol use, and poor hygiene, and their underlying social and commercial determinants.

ANS : B 

• Renowned Carnatic vocalist and musician Bombay Jayashri has been chosen for the coveted Sangita Kalanidhi award of the prestigious Music Academy, Chennai.

• The Music Academy also declared names for Nritya Kalanidhi, Sangita Kala Acharya, TTK, and Musicologist awards for the year 2023.
• The awards will be presented to the winners on January 1 and 3 2024.

ANS : A 

• Sergio Perez won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on 19 March 2023.
• Max Verstappen came second.
• Two-time champion Fernando Alonso finished third in his Aston Martin.
• He was closely followed by the Mercedes pair George Russell and Lewis Hamilton.

ANS : C 

• India’s 20 km race walkers Vikash Singh and Paramjeet Singh Bisht have qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics as well as 2023 World Championships during the Asian Championships.
• Vikash and Paramjeet finished second and third in the open category men’s section of the Asian 20km Race Walking Championships, clocking 1:20:05sec and 1:20:08sec respectively, behind Qian Haifeng (1:19:09) of China.

ANS : B 

• Riya Sachdeva won both the singles and doubles titles in the Asian under-16 tennis tournament at the Singha Sports Academy.
• Riya beat Aakruti Sonkusare 6-2, 6-4 in the girls’ final.
• She partnered Sejal Bhutada to beat Akanksha Ghosh and Arzan Khorakiwala 6-0, 6-3 in the doubles final.
• Aradhya Kshitij won the boys’ title, beating second seed Levin Safoor Mydeen. 

ANS : D 

• They emerged as the top-ranked contingent with 10 medals, including 5 gold.
• The Indian contingent also won four silver and a bronze in a field of 156 archers from 13 countries.
• The compound women’s teams of Pragati, Aishwarya Sharma and Parneet Kaur clinched gold defeating Kazakhstan.
• The men’s compound team, comprising Pawan, Venkat and Priyansh, though finished second best, losing to Malaysia 225-226.
• The junior men’s recurve team of Pawan, Parth and Rampal then defeated Saudi Arabia in a keenly-contested match 5-2 to clinch gold.
• India finished 1-2 in the men’s recurve individual category with Rahul defeating Rampal for the top podium finish.
• Besides India, the other competing countries were Australia, Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Hong Kong China, Singapore, Macau and Jordan.

ANS : D 

• Prime Minister of Japan Kishida Fumio will arrive in New Delhi on 20 March 2023 for a two-day visit to India.
• During the visit, he will hold a meeting with PM Narendra Modi.
• The two leaders will discuss bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest.
• The visiting dignitary will give the 41^st Sapru House Lecture.
• Since the last Summit meeting held in March 2022 between India and Japan, now is a significant time to engage on a bilateral level as both New Delhi and Tokyo are holding the Presidencies of the G20 and G7, respectively.
• India and Japan share ‘Special Strategic and Global Partnership’.
  • India-Japan relations were elevated to ‘Global Partnership’ in 2000, ‘Strategic and Global Partnership’ in 2006, and ‘Special Strategic and Global Partnership’ in 2014.
  • Regular Annual Summits have been held between India and Japan since 2006 (the last Annual Summit was held in March 2022 in New Delhi).
• Japan is the fifth largest investor in India.

ANS : D 

• Nagaland is all set to host the G20 Business Summit 2023 at Kohima on April 5, 2023.
• About 110 delegates are being expected to visit, of which about 100 will be from 28 G20 countries and the remaining from international organizations that are part of the grouping.
• Delegates from big continental corporations, ambassadors and other senior representatives of their respective countries will be attending the summit.
• The business meeting will mainly focus on agriculture & allied services, the food processing industry and tourism. 
• Through this event, the State will be able to create investment opportunities.
• Besides the business summit and cultural events, showcasing the strengths of Nagaland will be another highlight of the event.
• The business meetings will take place at the State Banquet Hall on April 5.
  • Thereafter, a cultural evening is scheduled at Kisama Naga Heritage Village where the famous Hornbill Festival will be showcased for the guests.

ANS : D 

• India and the Maldives conducted the 4^th Defence Cooperation Dialogue (DCD) in Male on March 19, 2023.
• The dialogue was co-chaired by Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane and his Maldivian counterpart, Chief of Defence Force, Maldives National Defence Forces Major General Abdulla Shamaal.
• This DCD is the highest institutionalised interactive mechanism between the two countries.
  • Its significance in chartering the future course of relations between both the Armed Forces was highlighted by the importance given to the talks by the two nations.
• During the interaction, ongoing bilateral defence cooperation activities were reviewed and both sides expressed satisfaction at the increasing engagements.
• The talks covered the existing bilateral exercises, with both countries agreeing to increase the complexity of these drills.
• The Armed Forces of India & the Maldives continue to seek bilateral cooperation in multiple fields and the increased engagements are a positive sign for the future of bilateral relations.

ANS : D 

• Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and officials of the Kho Kho Federation will take part in the inaugural program.
• The event will conclude on the 23 March 2023.
• The event is being organised by the Kho Kho Federation of India in association with the Assam Kho Kho Association and Bodoland Territorial Region government.
  • The government of Assam also extended its support for the competition.
• Altogether nine countries -India, Bangladesh, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Bhutan, Iran, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia are participating in the competition.
• Over 700 players and officials will participate in the four-day event.