DAILY GK 22-23 MAR 2026

 DAILY GK 22-23 MAR 2026

1.       WHOLE-TIME MEMBER OF SEBI

·         The Government of India (GoI) appointed KompellaVenkata(K.V.) Ramana Murty as a Whole-Time Member (WTM) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for a tenure of three years.

·         With this appointment, SEBI now has its full complement of four WTMs.

·         The other members include Amarjeet Singh, Kamlesh Chandra Varshney, and Sandip Pradhan.

·         SEBI Established in 1988 and granted statutory powers in 1992.

·         SEBI regulates India’s securities markets, protects investors, and ensures market transparency, with whole-time members playing key roles in policy and supervision.

 


2.       PM OF NEPAL

·         Balendra Shah (35), a leader of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) and former rapper, was sworn in as the youngest Prime Minister of Nepal.

·         Nepal’s President Ram Chandra Paudel administered the oath of office and secrecy to Balendra Shah during a swearing-in ceremony held at the President’s Office in Sheetal Niwas, Kathmandu.

·         Balendra Shah succeeded Sushila Karki, who served as the Interim PM for six months following the political upheaval of 2025.

·         The RSP, under the leadership of Balendra Shah, secured a massive 182 seats out of a total of 275 seats in the House of Representatives (HoR).

 

3.       WORLD YOUTH PARLIAMENT 2026

·         Stuti Pradhan, a young leader from Sikkim, was selected to represent India at the World Youth Parliament (WYP).

·         WYP is an international platform that unites young delegates from countries including South Korea, the United Arab Emirates(UAE), Kuwait, Chad, Thailand, Yemen, and others to discuss global challenges and develop youth-led policy solutions.

 

4.       DENTAL COMMISSION REPLACES DENTAL COUNCIL OF INDIA

·         The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) constituted the National Dental Commission (NDC), replacing the Dental Council of India (DCI).

·         This newly constituted body aimed to transform Dental Education aimed at improving the quality of dental education and aligning it with global standards.

·         NDC has been established as a statutory body under National Dental Commission (NDC Act, 2023) which came into force on March 19, 2026, repealing the Dentist Act, 1948.

·         Three autonomous bodies been constituted under NDC:The Undergraduate and Postgraduate Dental Education Board has been tasked to oversee dental education.

·         Dental Assessment and Rating Board will regulate accreditation and institutional assessment.

·         Ethics and Dental Registration Board will administer professional conduct and registration of dentists.

·         Dr. Sanjay Tewari has been appointed as the Chairperson of newly formed NDC, with Dr. Mousumi Goswami as its part-time member.

 

5.       PRAMBANAN TEMPLE IN INDONESIA

·         India and Indonesia announced a collaborative initiative to restore the Prambanan Temple complex in the Special Region of YogyakartaIndonesia.

·         Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple complex located in Sleman near Yogyakarta, in Java, Indonesia, and is locally known as Roro Jonggrang.

·         The temple was built in the 9th century by the Sanjaya dynasty and is dedicated to the Hindu Trimurti—Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma.

·         It was recognised as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in 1991.

·         The complex reflects a blend of indigenous Javanese styles and South Indian Pallava influences and comprises 240 temples with intricate carvings from the Ramayana and other Hindu epics.

 

6.       5G INNOVATION HACKATHON 2026

·         The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), under Ministry of Communications, launched the ‘5G Innovation Hackathon 2026’, the second edition of its flagship initiative under the ‘100 5G Use Case Labs program’, to promote indigenous, scalable solutions using 5G (Fifth Generation), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies.

·         Open to students, start-ups, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and independent innovators across India, the hackathon runs till 17 April 2026, with final results announced on 1 October 2026.

·         5G Innovation Hackathon 2026Provides Rs.50 lakh seed funding, financial assistance, and access to 100 5G Use Case Labs for testing, validation, and refinement.

·         The competition offers a total prize pool exceeding Rs. 10lakh, with Rs. 5,00,000 for the first prize, Rs. 3,00,000 for the second prize, and Rs. 1,50,000 for the third prize, along with a Rs. 50,000 award for the Best Idea.

 

7.       BHARAT ELECTRICITY SUMMIT

·         The first edition of Bharat Electricity Summit (BES 2026) was held in New Delhi, bringing together global stakeholders to strengthen India’s energy transition and power sector reforms.

·         Theme: The theme of the four-day Summit was “Electrifying Growth. Empowering Sustainability. Connecting Globally”. 

·         The BES 2026 was organised by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the MoP.

·          The next edition will be held in 2028 at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

 

8.       NATIONAL AI SKILLING INITIATIVE, MY WAVES

·         Union Minister AshwiniVaishnaw, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB), launched three major initiatives namely: National AI Skilling InitiativeMyWAVES and the implementation of Advanced Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) and in-buil satellite tuners in Television (TV) sets for enhancing access to Doordarshan (DD) Free Dish services, in New Delhi.

·         The programme was launched in partnership with Google and YouTube. 

·         It is designed to train 15,000 participants from the creative and media sectors.

·         It is being implemented through the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT).

·         MyWaves is introduced as a new feature within the WAVES OTT platform that will allow citizens to create, upload and share content.

·         This new initiative will enable the viewers to watch DD Free Dish channels directly on their TV sets without the need for a separate set-top box, thereby reducing additional costs, wiring, and the hassle of multiple remotes.

 

9.       GUJARAT PASS UNIFORM CIVIL CODE

·         The Gujarat Legislative Assembly headed by Bhupendra Patel, Chief Minister (CM) of Gujarat, passed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill titled ‘Gujarat Uniform Civil Code, 2026’ which provides a common legal framework to govern marriage, divorce, succession, and live-in relationships irrespective of religion.

·         With this, Gujarat became the second state in India after Uttarakhand to pass the bill.

·         The new law will extend across Gujarat and apply to its residents even outside the state, but will exclude Scheduled Tribes (STs) and other groups whose customary rights are protected under the Constitution.

·         Registration of live-in relationships is now mandatory for couples residing in the state, while it remains optional for residents living outside the state.

·         The law also specifies that failure to register a live-in relationship within 1 month could attract maximum 3 months of imprisonment or a fine of Rs 10,000.

·         The bill prohibits bigamy, stating that a marriage is valid under the UCC only if neither party has a living spouse at the time of marriage.

 

10.    REVAMPED UDAN SCHEME FOR AIR CONNECTIVITY

·         The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Narendra Modi approved the launch and implementation of the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) – Modified Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN), aimed at strengthening regional air connectivity and expanding aviation infrastructure across the country.

·         The revamped programme aims to deepen regional air connectivity, especially in underserved and unserved areas.

·         It is also expected to drive economic growth, trade and tourism in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.

·         The scheme will be implemented over a 10-year period from Financial Year 2026-27 (FY27) to FY36.
Financial Outlay: The total financial outlay of the scheme is Rs 28,840 crore (Cr).

·         The government expects the revamped Udan programme to connect around 120 new destinations and cater to nearly 40 million (Mn) passengers.

 

11.    BRICS CCI WE SUMMIT 2026

·         The 6th edition of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Chamber of Commerce and Industry Women Empowerment (BRICS CCI WE) Summit was held in New Delhi.

·         The theme for the 2026 summit was “Women in Innovation, Science Leadership, Innovation & Entrepreneurship (WISE) – Inspiring Change, Shaping Tomorrow.”

·         The 6th BRICS CCI WE Summit was organised by the BRICS CCI WE vertical with support from the BRICS Women Business Alliance (BRICS WBA).

·         A significant highlight of the summit was the unveiling of Mission ShakthiSAT .

 

12.    INDIAN NAVY LAUNCHES ‘OPERATION URJA SURAKSHA’

·         The Indian Navylaunched ‘Operation Urja Suraksha’(Energy Protection) to escort, guide and safeguard India-bound energy shipments through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. 

·         The purpose of the mission is to protect India’s energy security, with 22 India-bound vessels currently identified for escort, including 20 high-priority ships carrying critical supplies of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas), LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) and crude oil.

·         The mission involves the deployment of more than 5 frontline warships around the critical maritime chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz.

·         The operation has already achieved notable success with the Indian LPG carriers Pine Gas and Jag Vasant successfully navigating the Strait of Hormuz under naval escort.

·         This follows the successful escorting of other vital ships, such as the LPG carriers Shivalik and Nanda Devi, as well as the crude oil tanker Jag Laadki.