Current affairs 03 March 2023

Vinod Kumar Shukla wins PEN/Nabokov Lifetime Achievement Award 2023.

• Hindi writer Vinod Kumar Shukla (87) has won the 2023 PEN America award for lifetime achievement in literature.
• It is one of the most coveted literary prizes worldwide.
• His acclaimed novels like Naukar Ki Kameez (1979) and poetry collections like Sab Kuch Hona Bacha Rahega (1992).
• He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award in 1999 for Naukar Ki Kameez, the Atta Galatta-Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize in 2019, and the Mathrubhumi Book of the Year award in 2020.

UAE: World’s 1st free zone for digital and virtual asset companies.

• The government of Ras Al Khaimah, one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), plans to establish RAK Digital Assets Oasis.
• This announcement was made at the Blockchain Life 2023 conference.
• It would be the world's first free zone dedicated to digital and virtual asset companies.
• This would be a purpose-built, proper innovation-enabling free zone for non-regulated activities in the virtual assets sector.
• UAE Capital: Abu Dhabi; UAE Currency: Dirham.

Agri Minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela.

• Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has inaugurated the three-day-long Pusa Krishi Vigyan Mela in New Delhi.
• It is being organized with the theme Nutrition, Food, and Environmental Protection with Shree Anna.
• The event also conducts technical sessions on contemporary issues in Agriculture, including the development of Shree Anna-based value chain, Smart Farming Model, Sustainable Agriculture, and Farmer Producer Organisations.

Asia's longest ever cycle race flagged off from Srinagar, J&K.

• Asia's longest-ever cycle race was flagged off from Bakshi Stadium in Srinagar (J&K) and will culminate at Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu).
• The race will cover the longest highway, National Highway-44 distance of 3651 kilometers, passing through twelve major states, three major metropolitan cities, and over twenty major cities of the country.
• It has been accorded the status of Asian Ultracycling Championship by the World Ultracycling Association.

Government e-Marketplace (GeM) commemorates the success of "SWAYATT".

• Government eMarketplace (GeM) has commemorated the success of SWAYATT initiative.
• This initiative aims to promote Startups, Women, and Youth Advantage Through eTransactions (SWAYATT) on GeM.
• It was established by GeM in February 2019.
• Goal: To stimulate the inclusion of diverse categories of sellers and service providers on the portal.
• It was achieved by taking aggressive measures to simplify their training and registrations.
• GeM CEO: P.K. Singh