Current context: Mizoram exported its first consignment of Anthurium flowers to Singapore, boosting agro-based exports from the Northeast.

About Anthurium:

• Native Range: America(Mexico to Argentina, including the Caribbean).
• India Cultivation: Widely grown in Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal.

Features:

• Herbaceous plant, epiphytic or terrestrial, with spadix and colorful spathe (red, pink, orange).
• Contains calcium oxalate crystals; sap is skin/eye irritant.

Economic & Cultural Significance:

• Exports: Part of India’s floriculture exports worth USD 86.62 million (FY 2023-24).
• Importing Countries: USA, Netherlands, UAE, UK, Canada.
• Mizoram’s Anthurium Festival: Promotes tourism and local enterprise.
• Livelihood Impact: Supports rural income, especially for women farmers in the Northeast.

• World Theatre Day 2025 will be celebrated from March 27-30 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• The theme for 2025 is “Theatre and a Culture of Peace.”
• It was established by the International Theatre Institute (ITI) in 1962.
• The day honors the role of theatre in promoting cultural dialogue and fostering global harmony.

Current Context: HDFC Bank launched the Embassy Fixed Deposit, a USD-based foreign currency deposit scheme for diplomats, non-diplomatic staff, and diplomatic missions.

Key Facts

• Minimum Deposit: USD 5,000; increments of USD 1,000.
• Tenures: 1, 3, 6 months, and 1 year.
• No automatic renewal; reinvestment requires a new request.

Interest and Withdrawal

• Monthly updated interest rates.
• Premature Withdrawal: Penalty of 0.5% on actual duration; no interest if effective rate is negative.
• Significance: Tailored for diplomats with secure and flexible investment options.

Current context: Mythili Balasubramanian appointed as Interim MD & CEO of Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company (EARC).

• Experience: Over 40 years in banking, NPA resolution, and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) processes.

Current context: Justice Harish Tandon has been appointed Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court, succeeding Justice Chakradhari Sharan Singh, who retired on January 19, 2024.

• Ajay Seth, a 1987 batch IAS officer (Karnataka cadre), is appointed as India’s Finance Secretary, succeeding Tuhin Kanta Pandey.
• As Economic Affairs Secretary (since 2021), he led infrastructure financing, public-private partnerships, and external borrowings.

Stumped is an autobiography co-authored by Syed Kirmani, Debashish Sengupta, and Dakshesh Pathak.

Focus: Chronicles Syed Kirmani’s career and India’s historic 1983 Cricket World Cup victory.

Highlights:

• Kapil Dev’s legendary 175 not out against Zimbabwe, pivotal in Indian cricket history.
• Insightful and humorous narration of India’s 1983 World Cup triumph.

Vinod Kumar Shukla, an eminent Hindi writer, has been awarded the 59th Jnanpith Award, India’s highest literary honor, for his remarkable contribution to Hindi literature.

Key Facts

• First from Chhattisgarh: First recipient from the state to receive this honor.
• 12th Hindi Writer: 12th Hindi writer to be honored with the Jnanpith Award

Award Components

• Cash Prize: ₹11 lakh
• Statue: Bronze Saraswati statue
• Citation: Accompanying the award

Current Context: Gujarat has made significant progress in tuberculosis (TB) elimination, achieving 95% of its registration and treatment targets in 2024, under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Program.

Key Facts:

• Registration and Treatment:
  • Target: 145,000 TB patients.
  • Achieved: 137,929 registered (95%), with 124,581 completing treatment (90.52% success rate).
• Financial Support:
  • Scheme: Nikshay Poshan Yojana (NPY).
  • Incentive: Rs 1,000/month for each TB patient during treatment.
  • Reach: 131,501 patients supported.
• Nutritional Support:
  • Nikshay Mitras Registered: 10,682.
  • Nutrition Kits Distributed: 349,534 kits to TB patients.
• 100-Day Intensive TB Campaign:
  • Launched in December 2024, covering 16 districts and 4 municipal corporations.
  • Screening:75 lakh people screened.
  • New Cases: 16,758 TB patients identified (as of March 20, 2025).

Current Context: On World Water Day (March 22, 2025), Union Jal Shakti Minister R. Patil launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain 2025 campaign in Panchkula, Haryana.

Important Facts

• Focus: Water conservation and management through community participation and innovative strategies.
• Collaboration: Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the Haryana Government.

New Initiatives Launched

• Mukhyamantri Jal Sanchay Yojana: For scientific water resource management.
• Water Resources Atlas for Haryana: Assists in efficient water management.
• Jal-Jungle-Jan: Ek Prakritik Bandhan Abhiyan: Strengthens the ecological link between rivers, springs, and forests.

Innovative Projects in Haryana

• Community sanitation complexes and liquid waste management systems.
• Gobar Dhan project: Promotes biogas generation from cattle dung.
• Solid waste management sheds for improved waste management.

Significance

• Promotes sustainable water management and environmental conservation.
• Aligns with the government’s focus on climate resilience and community-driven solutions.