NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Government Reconstitutes National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR)
Under the Chairmanship of Amit Shah: The government has reconstituted the
National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR). The Union Home Minister
Amit Shah is the chairperson of this NPDRR, which is a multi-stakeholder and
multi-sectoral decision making body on disaster management.
Other Members of NPDRR: Members- Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External
Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, HRD
Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Housing and
Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. Minister of each state government
and union territory dealing with disaster management, a member of the state
disaster management authority, mayors of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai,
Bangalore and Hyderabad, and municipal commissioners of these cities
Vice-Chairpersons- Minister of state in-charge of disaster management in the
home ministry and the vice-chairman of the National Disaster Management
Authority. Ex-officio members- Ten chairpersons of urban local bodies, to be
nominated by the urban development ministry, 10 representatives of Panchayat
Raj Institutions, to be nominated by the panchayat raj ministry, four Lok Sabha
members, two Rajya Sabha members, and the Union home secretary and secretaries
of departments concerned.
Functions of the NPDRR: Review the progress
made in the field of disaster management from time to time. Appraise the extent
and manner in which the disaster management policy has been implemented by the
central and state governments, and other agencies concerned, Advise on
coordination between the central and state governments.
2.
Tamil Nadu tops in Poshan Abhiyan’s participants list: The Central Government is implementing the
flagship programme Poshan Abhiyan for improving the nutritional status of
Indian citizens. This programme helps children, adolescents, pregnant women,
and lactating mothers by leveraging technology. The importance of being given
to the programme is evident from the fact that as many as 14 Central Departments
and all the State Governments are being involved in the programme. Tamil Nadu
tops the list of the states in terms of the number of participants in the
programme. The Integrated Child Development Scheme has been in force for long
in the southern state that has got rejuvenated with the Centre’s Poshan
Abhiyaan mission. The programme is revitalizing India by reaching out to the
children and mothers across the nation.
Note: Poshan Abhiyan is a government
mission to ensure the nutrition of children, women, and pregnant mothers in
impoverished areas.
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu: Edappadi K
Palanisamy; Governor: Banwarilal Purohit
3.
Sanitary pad disposal bags to be made mandatory from Jan 2021: According to Union
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, The Union Government has decided to
make sanitary napkin disposal bags mandatory from January 2021. He has stated
that Sanitary napkin makers will be asked to supply a biodegradable bag with
each napkin from January 2021. He said cleanliness norms in force in municipal
areas will now be applicable to villages having a population of more than
3,000.
Note: Prakash Javadekar is present Union
Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Union Minister of
Information & Broadcasting and Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises.
4.
‘COVA Punjab’ mobile app launched by Punjab Govt.: Chief Secretary of
Punjab, Karan Avtar Singh has launched a mobile application, COVA Punjab. COVA
stands for Corona Virus Alert. This app has been developed by the Department of
Government Reforms and Public Grievances in consultation with the Health and
Family Welfare Department to spread awareness by sharing various travel and
preventive care advisories.
Note: Chief Minister of Punjab: Captain
Amarinder Singh; Governor: VP Singh Badnore
5.
India plans to launch Chandrayaan-3 by first half of 2021: According to the
Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Jitendra Singh, a possible
schedule for the launch of Chandrayaan-3 is planned to be implemented in the
first half of 2021. The preparation of Chandrayaan-3 has been done by taking
lessons from the previously launched Chandrayaan-2, a Moon mission which was
launched in 2019, in which the Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO)’s
Vikram Lander lost contact following a hard landing on the Moon’s surface.
Chandrayaan-3 will be designed to increase design, capacity with a cost of
around Rs 610 crore, including Rs 360 crore for the launch rocket.
Note: Headquarters of ISRO:
Bengaluru,Karnataka; Chairman of ISRO: K. Sivan; ISRO established: 15 August
1969.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
India Gets Observer Status in Indian Ocean Commission: India has been
admitted to the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) as an observer state. This makes
India, the fifth nation to receive Observer status in IOC. The other four
observers are China, Malta, European Union and International Organisation of La
Francophonie (OIF). With this move, India would lead to greater security
cooperation with countries in East Africa. It facilitates collective engagement
of India with the islands in Western Indian Ocean (WIO). It also boosts Indian
cooperation with France that has strong presence in the WIO and lends depth to
India’s SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) policy of PM Narendra
Modi 2015.
Note: Established in 1982, IOC is an
inter-governmental organization that coordinates maritime governance in the
south-western Indian Ocean. The IOC is composed of five African Indian Ocean
nations namely: Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion (an overseas region of
France), and Seychelles. Secretary General– Hamada Madi
2.
Ashraf Ghani Takes Oath as President of Afghanistan for Second Term: Afghanistan’s
incumbent President Ashraf Ghani took oath of the post for a second term on 9
March 2020. He was elected for the first term on 21 September 2014.
Note: Capital of Afghanistan: Kabul,
Currency: Afghan afghani
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
Manpreet Singh and Rani Rampal bags Player of the Year Award 2019 at Hockey
India 3rd Annual Awards: Indian hockey players Manpreet Singh and Rani Rampal
claimed the Dhruv Batra Player of the Year Award 2019 for Men and Women
respectively during the 3rd Annual Hockey India Awards 2019 in New Delhi on 8
March 2020. Harbinder Singh won the prestigious Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand
Lifetime Achievement Award 2019. List of Winners:
Hockey India Dhruv Batra Player of the Year
(Male): Manpreet Singh
Hockey India Dhruv Batra Player of the Year
(Female): Rani Rampal
Hockey India Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime
Achievement Award: Harbinder Singh
Hockey India Jugraj Singh Award for
Upcoming Player of the Year (Men – Under 21) 2019: Vivek Sagar Prasad
Hockey India Asunta Lakra Award for
Upcoming Player of the Year (Women – Under 21) 2019: Lalremsiami
Hockey India Ajit Pal Singh Award for Midfielder
of the Year 2019: Mandeep Singh
Hockey India Pargat Singh Award for
Defender of the Year 2019: Harmanpreet Singh
Hockey India Baljit SIngh Award for
Goalkeeper of the Year 2019: Krishan B Pathak
Hockey India Jaman Lal Sharma Award for
Invaluable Contribution 2019: Sports Authority of India
Hockey India Presidents Award for
Outstanding Achievement 2019: Government of Odisha
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
Moody’s Slashes India’s growth projection for 2020 to 5.3%: The ratings agency
Moody’s Investors Service has revised the growth projections for India to 5.3%
in 2020 from earlier prediction of 5.4% , in its latest Global Macro Outlook,
as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. On 17 February, Moody’s had reduced
India’s growth projection from 6.6% to 5.4% for 2020. It has also revised the
2020 baseline growth forecasts for all G-20 economies and expects these
countries, to grow by 2.1% in 2020, 0.3 percentage point lower than our
previous forecast. It must be noted that OECD had slashed India’s growth forecast
for 2020-21 by 110 basis points to 5.1%.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
Mahindra-Ford venture set to name Anurag Mehrotra as Chief Executive: The Managing
Director of Ford India, Anurag Mehrotra was appointed as the Chief Executive
officer for the new joint venture formed by Mahindra and Ford with effect from
April 1, 2020. This joint venture is formed to develop and sell Ford branded
cars in India and other emerging markets. The joint venture created is valued
at $275 million (Rs 1,925 crore).
Mahindra will own the controlling stakes of 51 per cent, while Ford will
own 49 percent stakes in the new company.
Other appointments: Pankaj Sonalkar will be
the chief operating officer of the Joint Venture; Sachin Arolkar will take
charge of the finances and Abhimanyu Sen will take charge of Human Resources.
No comments:
Post a Comment