2023 Current Affairs

2023 was a landmark year for India – the G20 Presidency, Chandrayaan-3 and the Men’s Hockey World Cup in Odisha. Questions on these events continue to appear in OPSC, OSSC, OSSSC, SSC, Railway and Banking exams. Here is a topic-wise summary of the most important current affairs of 2023.

Odisha

• FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 was held in Bhubaneswar (Kalinga Stadium) and Rourkela from 13 to 29 January 2023. Germany won the title. Odisha became the first state to host the Men’s Hockey World Cup twice in a row (2018 and 2023).
• The Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela was built for the 2023 World Cup and is among the largest hockey stadiums in the world.
• In July 2023, Naveen Patnaik became the second longest-serving Chief Minister in India’s history, overtaking Jyoti Basu of West Bengal.

National

• New Parliament building was inaugurated on 28 May 2023.
• Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (106th Constitutional Amendment) was passed in September 2023, reserving one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for women.
• The Reserve Bank of India announced the withdrawal of ₹2,000 notes from circulation on 19 May 2023; they remain legal tender.
• Three bills to replace the IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act – the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam – were passed by Parliament in December 2023.
• Operation Kaveri (April 2023) evacuated Indians from Sudan; Operation Ajay (October 2023) brought back Indians from Israel.

International relations

• India held the G20 Presidency with the theme “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – One Earth, One Family, One Future”.
• The G20 Leaders’ Summit was held in New Delhi on 9–10 September 2023 at Bharat Mandapam. The African Union was made a permanent member of the G20.

Science and space

• Chandrayaan-3 landed near the Moon’s south pole on 23 August 2023, making India the first country to land near the lunar south pole. 23 August is now celebrated as National Space Day.
• Aditya-L1, India’s first solar observatory mission, was launched on 2 September 2023 towards the Sun–Earth L1 point.

Sports

• Neeraj Chopra won gold in javelin at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest (August 2023) – India’s first gold at the championships.
• At the Asian Games in Hangzhou, India won a record 107 medals, including 28 gold.
• ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 was hosted by India. Australia beat India in the final at Ahmedabad on 19 November 2023.

Awards

• At the 95th Academy Awards (March 2023), “Naatu Naatu” from RRR won Best Original Song, and “The Elephant Whisperers” won Best Documentary Short Film.

Other years: 2024 · 2022 · 2021 · All current affairs