Current affairs 07 March 2023

India ranks 108th on Electoral Democracy Index 2023.

• According to the V-dem Democracy report 2023, India ranks 108th in the Electoral Democracy Index.
• India's ranking dipped from the 100th position in 2022 to 108th this year in the report's Electoral Democracy Index (EDI) while 97th in the Liberal Democracy Index (LDI).
• Denmark ranked first with the highest comprehensive score of 0.89 in the LDI, followed by Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, and Estonia.
• Pakistan slipped two steps lower at 106th in the LDI and 110th in the EDI

India's per capita income doubled since 2014-15.

• According to National Statistical Office (NSO), the estimated annual per capita (net national income) at current prices for 2022-23 is Rs 1,72,000, showing a growth of around 99% from Rs 86,647 in 2014-15.
• However, after adjusting for inflation (constant prices), the per capita income has risen by approximately 35% from Rs 72,805 in 2014-15 to Rs 98,118 in 2022-23.
• The average growth of India’s per-capita income in real terms from 2014 to 2019 was 5.6 percent per annum.

President Murmu launched "Catch the Rain-2023"campaign.

• President Droupadi Murmu has launched the Catch the Rain-2023 as part of efforts to turn the conservation of water into a mass campaign in the run-up to the monsoon season.
• The theme of the 2023 campaign was Source Sustainability for Drinking Water.
• The president also conferred 18 awards under Swachh Bharat Mission – Grameen, Jal Jeevan Mission, and National Water Mission.
• She has released a compendium of case stories titled Swachh Sujal Shakti Ki Abhivyakti.

Karnataka beats Meghalaya to clinch Santosh Trophy football after 54 years.

• Karnataka won its 5th Santosh Trophy National Football Championship title after defeating Meghalaya by 3-2 in the final at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
• Karnataka last won the title 54 years ago.
• Earlier, Services won third place beating Punjab 2-0 in the play-off match held before the final.
• Most successful team: West Bengal (32 titles)
• Santosh Trophy was founded in 1941 and organized by the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

UN inks "High Seas Treaty" in a bid to protect ocean bodies of the world.

• The United Nations (UN) has inked the first ‘High Seas Treaty’ in a bid to protect the ocean bodies of the world that lie outside the national boundaries and form almost two-thirds of the world's oceans.
• This treaty now brings 30% of the world's oceans into the protected domain, puts more money into marine conservation, and sets new rules for mining at sea.
• The last agreement on ocean protection was signed 40 years ago in 1982 - the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.