Daily GK Update - 25th March, 2021

 NATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Andhra Pradesh to launch India’s first Govt-Run Animal Ambulance Network: The state government of Andhra Pradesh has decided to set up “India’s first government-run ambulance network” for animals. This decision was taken in order to further boost the animal husbandry and veterinary sector in the state. Ambulance network as one of its main missions in order to help in reaching out to the distressed animals to provide them with proper animal healthcare. The Animal Husbandry Department was directed to set up one Mobile Ambulance Veterinary Clinic at each of the assembly constituency. About the programme:

(1) A total of 175 mobile ambulances (veterinary) clinics will be placed at Assembly Constituency Level on the lines of 108 Services for providing Veterinary services at the doorstep.

(2) These mobile ambulances shall provide veterinary first aid services along with spot diagnosis and attending to emergency cases. One of the major facilities these ambulances will provide is the ‘Hydraulic Lift’ facility to lift animals and shift them to the nearest Government Veterinary Facility in case of emergency.

(3) One veterinary doctor, One Para-veterinary worker, will be assigned to every ambulance.

(4) These ambulances will also have a 24/7 toll-free call centre.

(5) The department of Animal Husbandry has briefed CM that there are around 1576 veterinary dispensaries established across the state, with around 1376 veterinary doctors recruited. The chief minister said that more veterinary doctors need access to better functioning and better treatment.

Note: Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy; Governor: Biswa Bhusan Harichandan.

2. World TB Day 2021: Kerala’s TB eradication programme bags national honour: Kerala’s tuberculosis eradication programme had won national honour as the state bagged the Union government’s award for reducing the prevalence of the disease through various systematic initiatives. Kerala is the only state had chosen for recognition in the state category. The southern state has reduced the TB prevalence rate by 5 per cent in the last five years as part of achieving sustainable development goals. The nation has set an ambitious goal to achieve “End Tuberculosis” by reducing the incidence of new TB cases by 80% by 2025, five years ahead of UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Note: Kerala CM: Pinarayi Vijayan; Kerala Governor: Arif Mohammad Khan.

3. Ramesh Pokhriyal inaugurates Shaheed Bhagat Singh Smarak in New Delhi: The Union Minister of Education, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, virtually inaugurated the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Smarak in New Delhi on March 23, 2021. The inauguration took place on the occasion of a programme organised by the University of Delhi on ‘Shaheed Diwas’ to pay homage and commemorate 90 years of martyrdom of our national icons of the Indian National Movement –Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru.

4. POWERGRID Launches Certified E-Tendering Portal “PRANIT”: Power Grid Corporation of India (POWERGRID) has launched an “e-Tendering Portal” called ‘PRANIT’ to make the tendering process more transparent. The portal ”PRANIT” will involve less paperwork and allow ease of operation, which in turn will make the tendering process more transparent. The portal has been certified by Standardisation, Testing and Quality Certification Directorate (STQC), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, GoI. POWERGRID is the only organization in India to have an e-procurement solution on SAP Supplier Relationship Management (SRM), complying with all applicable requirements relating to security and transparency as stipulated by STQC.

Note: Power Grid Corporation of India Founded: 23 October 1989; Power Grid Corporation of India Headquarters: Gurgaon, India.

5. ISRO Demonstrates India’s First Free-Space Quantum Communication: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully demonstrated free-space Quantum Communication over a distance of 300 metres, with several technologies developed within the country. The demonstration included live video conferencing using quantum-key-encrypted signals, at Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, between two line-of-sight buildings within the campus. The experiment was done at night to ensure that there is no interference from the direct sunlight. This is a major milestone achievement for unconditionally secured satellite data-communication using quantum technologies.

Note: ISRO Chairman: K.Sivan; ISRO Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka; ISRO established: 15 August 1969.

                                INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1. Russia Launches 38 Satellites From 18 Countries Into Space: Russian space agency ‘Roscosmos’ successfully launched 38 foreign satellites into orbit, onboard Soyuz-2.1a carrier rocket from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The 38 satellites belonged to 18 countries including South Korea, Japan, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Italy and Brazil. One of these satellites named ‘Challenge-1’ was the first-ever satellite made completely in Tunisia, which was created by the Telnet telecommunications group. In 2018, a Soyuz rocket carrying a Russian cosmonaut and a NASA astronaut failed mid-flight, forcing the crew to carry out an emergency landing. Both survived without injuries.

Note: Russia President: Vladimir Putin; Russia Capital: Moscow; Russia Currency: Russian Ruble.

2. India, Japan agree for greater cooperation in patent verification: India and Japan have agreed to recognize each other’s offices to act mutually as competent International Searching and International Preliminary Examining Authority (ISA/IPEA) for any international patent application filed with them. This memorandum of cooperation on the industrial property was arrived at during the 4th review meeting between DPIIT and Japan Patent Office.

India had approved an MoC between the Indian Patent Office (IPO) and the JPO for entering into a PPH on a pilot basis for three years. This is a reciprocal arrangement, so the JPO will also be able to accelerate the prosecution of a Japanese application using positive examination results received from the IPO. The IPO will only offer acceleration for patent applications in certain technical fields such as physics, computer science, IT, electronics, metallurgy and automobiles.

Note: Japan Capital: Tokyo; Japan Currency: Japanese yen; Japan Prime minister: Yoshihide Suga.

3. International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade: 25th March: International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is observed annually on 25th March every year. This day offers the opportunity to honour and remember those who suffered and died at the hands of the brutal slavery system. International Day also aims to raise awareness about the dangers of racism and prejudice today. 2021 Theme: “Ending Slavery’s Legacy of Racism: A Global Imperative for Justice”

History of the day: International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is a United Nations international observance designated in 2007 to be marked on 25 March every year.

Note: United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA; Secretary-General of the United Nations: Antonio Guterres.

4. International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members: 25th March: The International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members is observed annually on 25 March by the United Nations. The day is marked each year on the anniversary of the abduction of Alec Collett, a former journalist who was working for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) when he was abducted by armed gunman in 1985. His body was finally found in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley in 2009.

Purpose of the day: The International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members has taken on even greater importance in recent years, as attacks against the United Nations intensify. This is a day to mobilize action, demand justice and strengthen our resolve to protect UN staff and peacekeepers, as well as our colleagues in the non-governmental community and the press.

 OTHER UPDATES:

 

SPORTS

1. Shreyas Iyer Signs Up With Lancashire For Royal London Cup 2021: English county Lancashire has announced the overseas signing of India batsman Shreyas Iyer for the 2021 Royal London Cup. Iyer becomes 6th Indian to sign for Lancashire. Iyer will arrive at Old Trafford on July 15 ahead of the start of the 50-over tournament and will remain with Lancashire for the duration of the month-long group stage. The top-order batsman is regarded as one of the most attacking and fluent stroke players in Indian cricket and he has played in 21 ODIs and 29 T20 Internationals for his country.

The signing of Shreyas Iyer signals the latest step in Lancashire’s long association with Indian cricket, which stretches back more than 50 years when India wicketkeeper-batsman Farokh Engineer joined the county in 1968. He would go on to become a Lancashire legend and now serves as a vice-president of the club. Since Engineer retired, four other Indian players — Murali Kartik, Dinesh Mongia, VVS Laxman, and Sourav Ganguly — have represented Lancashire.

2. India’s Singhraj wins gold in Para Shooting World Cup 2021: Indian para-athlete Singhraj won the gold medal in the 2021 Para Shooting World Cup at Al Ain in the UAE. He defeated Uzbekistan’s Server Ibragimov to get the top honour in the P1 – Men’s 10m Air Pistol SH1 final. Singhraj pipped Rio 2016 bronze medallist Ibragimov by a thin margin of 2.8 points. The final score read 236.8-234. Turkey’s former Paralympic champion Muharrem Korhan Yamaç took the bronze with 214.4 points. With this, India has moved to third place in the medals table. India has now two medals on its list – one gold and one bronze.

AWARDS AND HONOURS

1. France’s Jean-Philippe Vassal and Anne Lacaton win Pritzker Architecture Prize 2021: Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, known for transforming and revitalizing neglected buildings across France, have been named winners of Pritzker Architecture Prize equivalent to the Nobel Prize. Vassal, 67, and Lacaton, 65, received the accolade- which was first awarded in 1979 and comes with $100,000 in prize money- for their work transforming urban housing into uplifting and sustainable spaces on modest budgets. Moreover, Lacaton became the first French female architect to ever win the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

DEFENCE

1. Pabbi-Anti-Terror 2021: India, Pakistan and China to hold anti-terror exercise: The eight-member bloc said that the decision to hold the joint exercise ‘Pabbi-Anti-Terror 2021’ was announced during the 36th meeting of the Council of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, including India, Pakistan and China, will hold a joint anti-terrorism exercise this year. “Decisions have been made to improve cooperation between the competent authorities of the SCO member states in identifying and suppressing channels that finance terrorist activities. Delegations of the competent authorities of India, Kazakhstan, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the RATS Executive Committee attended the meeting.

OBITUARIES

1. Acclaimed Egyptian feminist Nawal Saadawi passes away: Nawal Saadawi, a renowned Egyptian feminist, psychiatrist and novelist, whose writings have stirred controversy for decades in an overwhelmingly conservative society passed away. She was a fierce advocate of women rights in Egypt and the Arab world. In 2005, she was awarded the Inana International Prize in Belgium, a year after she received the North-South prize from the Council of Europe. In 2020, Time Magazine named her on their 100 Women of the Year list. She was the founder and head of the Arab Women’s Solidarity Association and co-founder of the Arab Association for Human Rights.