NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Nirmala Sitharaman launches Central Scrutiny Centre and IEPFA mobile App: Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman virtually inaugurated Central Scrutiny Centre (CSC) and Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority’s (IEPFA) Mobile App. The two tech-enabled initiatives have been launched by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to leverage digital solutions to achieve the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Digitally empowered India.
About the Moblie App: The Mobile App will
focus on financial literacy by spreading investors’ awareness, education, and
protection among investors. The Mobile App has been developed for citizen engagement
and information dissemination to promote awareness among investors.
About the Central
Scrutiny Centre: The Central Scrutiny Centre will scrutinize
certain Straight Through Process (STP) Forms filed by the corporates on the
MCA21 registry and flag the companies for more in-depth scrutiny.
2. Hardeep Singh Puri inaugurates Kurnool Airport in Andhra Pradesh: Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Civil Aviation, Hardeep Singh Puri has inaugurated the Kurnool Airport, in Andhra Pradesh virtually. The flight operations at Kurnool airport will begin on 28 March 2021. This airport has been developed under the Regional Connectivity Scheme, Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN).
About the airport: Kurnool airport
will bring the region closer to major hubs in South India by providing direct
flight operations to Bangalore, Vishakhapatnam and Chennai. Kurnool is the 6th
airport in Andhra Pradesh to become functional after Kadapa, Visakhapatnam,
Tirupati, Rajahmundry & Vijayawada.
Note: Chief Minister
of Andhra Pradesh: YS Jagan Mohan Reddy; Governor: Biswa Bhusan Harichandan.
3. Vizag gets mobile water from air kiosk and Water Knowledge Centre: The Hyderabad-based startup, Maithri Aquatech has set up the world’s first mobile water-from-air kiosk and ‘Water Knowledge Centre’ in the smart city of Visakhapatnam. This initiative is supported by Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) and project SEWAH (Sustainable Enterprises for Water and Health) – an alliance between USAID and SWN (Safe Water Network).
About the kiosk: The kiosk will
provide clean potable water from the air by making use of Maithri Aquatech’s
Meghdoot solution as a source to generate water with no dependency on
groundwater as well as surface water resources. The kiosk will also function as
a Water Knowledge Resource Centre (WRKC) by creating awareness and imparting
necessary information to members of the local underserved communities as well
as nearby schools on the benefits of good water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
practices.
4. Principal Scientific Advisor K. VijayRaghavan gets extension: The government has extended the term of Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) K. VijayRaghavan by a year. He was appointed PSA in 2018 after retiring as Secretary of, Department of Biotechnology. His contract ends on April 2 but has now been extended until April 2022. Since the pandemic began, the Office of the PSA has been among the key coordinating agencies with industry, research bodies, health and science ministries to accelerate the development of diagnostics, drugs and vaccines. The PSA office has also been instrumental in formulating the National Science Innovation and Technology Policy as well as the forthcoming National Research Foundation.
5. Sanjeev Kumar appointed as Chairman of Airports Authority of India: IAS Sanjeev Kumar has appointed as Chairman of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Kumar is a 1993-batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved his appointment.
Note: Airports
Authority of India Headquarters: New Delhi; Airports Authority of India
Founded: 1 April 1995.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Bangladesh celebrates 50 years of independence: Bangladesh celebrates 50 years of its Independence and National Day on 26 March, coinciding with the grand celebration of the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On March 26, 1971, Bangladesh was proclaimed as an independent nation by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and this led to Bangladesh Liberation War when war ensued between Pakistan and Bangladesh liberation forces with Indian support. History of the Day:
(1) It was 50 years
ago on the night of March 25, 1971, that Pakistan’s military launched a violent
crackdown on the city of Dhaka, then part of East Pakistan, to quell a rising
nationalist movement seeking independence for what is today known as
Bangladesh.
(2) The fight for
independence can be traced back to Britain’s colonial rule of the Indian
subcontinent and the new nations that were carved out after its end in 1947.
(3) There were India
and Pakistan, the latter split into West Pakistan and East Pakistan. The war
would rage until December when India joined on the side of Bangladesh.
(4) Finally, on
December 16, 1971, Pakistan forces surrendered and Bangladesh celebrated its
freedom.
Note: Prime Minister
of Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina; Capital: Dhaka; Currency: Taka; President of
Bangladesh: Abdul Hamid.
2. World Theatre Day: 27th March: World Theatre Day is observed globally on 27th March every year. World Theatre Day was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI), France. It is celebrated annually on the 27th March by ITI Centres and the international theatre community. This day is a celebration for those who can see the value and importance of the art form “theatre”, and acts as a wake-up-call for governments, politicians and institutions which have not yet recognised its value to the people and to the individual and have not yet realised its potential for economic growth.
Every year the Executive Council of ITI
chooses an outstanding theatre personality to write the message for World
Theatre Day. The author of the Message of World Theatre Day 2021 is Helen
MIRREN, United Kingdom. The first World Theatre Day Message was written by Jean
Cocteau in 1962.
3. Earth Hour 2021: 27th March: Every year, the Earth Hour is celebrated worldwide on the last Saturday of March month to show support for the fight against climate change and commitment towards a better planet. Earth Hour 2021 is being marked on March 27, 2021. The Earth Hour 2021 theme will focus on “Climate Change to Save Earth.” The Day is a worldwide movement organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), encouraging individuals, communities, corporates, and households to turn off their lights for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. It was started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 to raise awareness for energy consumption and its effects on the environment.
Note: World Wide Fund Headquarters: Gland,
Switzerland; World Wide Fund Founded: 29 April 1961, Morges, Switzerland; World
Wide Fund President and CEO: Carter Roberts.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Yogasana Included in Khelo India Youth Games 2021: Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has included Yogasana in Khelo India Youth Games 2021 in a bid to develop it as a competitive sport. Yogasana sport for both male and female categories have been included in Khelo India Youth Games, 2021. Rijiju has written a reply in the Lok Sabha that the government has also given recognition to the National Yogasana Sports Federation (NYSF) for the promotion and development of Yogasana in the country. An International Yogasana Sports Federation was formed under the presidentship of yoga guru Baba Ramdev with HR Nagendra as secretary-general in November 2019.
2. Ministry of Sports Decides to Extend “Khelo India” scheme from 2021-22 to 2025-26: The Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports Shri Kiren Rijiju has announced that the Sports Ministry has decided to extend the Khelo India scheme for a period of five years, from 2021-22 to 2025-26. An amount of Rs. 8750 crore has been estimated as financial implication of the new Khelo India Scheme (2021-22 to 2025-26) by the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC). It must be noted that an amount of RS. 657.71 crore has been allocated in the Budget Estimate (B.E.) for the year 2021-22 under the Khelo India Scheme. The scheme was launched in 2016–17, to improve India’s sports culture at the grass-root level through organized talent identification, structured sporting competitions and infrastructure development.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. ICICI Bank launches instant EMI facility on its internet banking platform: ICICI Bank announced the launch of an instant EMI (Equated Monthly Instalments) facility on its internet banking platform. Called ‘EMI @ Internet Banking’, the facility aims to offer increased affordability to millions of pre-approved customers, as it enables them to convert their high-value transactions up to ₹5 lakh into easy monthly instalments. It also brings in enhanced customer experience as customers get the benefit of EMIs instantly and in a fully digital manner. ICICI Bank is the first in the industry to introduce an instant EMI facility on its internet banking platform. The Bank has tied up with BillDesk and Razorpay, leading online payment gateway companies to offer this facility.
2. NABARD arm appointed as trustee for credit guarantee fund by Government: NABARD’s wholly-owned subsidiary NABSanrakshan Trustee Pvt Ltd (NTPL) has been appointed by the government as a trustee for Rs 750 crore Credit Guarantee Fund under Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF). The government has set up AHIDF with a corpus of Rs 15,000 crore as part of the Aatmanirbhar package. The Credit Guarantee Fund will provide credit guarantees to eligible entities assisted under AHIDF. The fund shall be operationalised under a trust – Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. Asha Bhosle to be honoured with ‘Maharashtra Bhushan’: Legendary singer Asha Bhosle will be honoured with the prestigious Maharashtra Bhushan Award for the year 2020. A committee chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray decided to select Ms Bhosle for the award for the year 2020. Ms Bhosle, whose sister Lata Mangeshkar won the award for 1997, said she got to know from Mr Thackeray that she has been selected for the award for 2020. Ms Bhosle received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2000.
About the award: The award,
instituted in 1996 by the State government to recognise distinguished work and
achievements of eminent persons from the State, representing different walks of
life, carries a cash prize of ₹10 lakh and a citation. The first Maharashtra
Bhushan awardee was Marathi writer P.L. Deshpande and the last winner of this
award was historian Babasaheb Purandare who got it for the year 2015.
Note: Maharashtra
Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari; Maharashtra Capital: Mumbai; Maharashtra CM:
Uddhav Thackeray.
DEFENCE
1. Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘Vajra’ commissioned to the Indian Coast Guard: L&T-built Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) ICGS Vajra was commissioned into the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) by General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff, at Chennai. ICGS Vajra is the sixth vessel in the series of seven OPVs being built by L&T under a Ministry of Defence contract signed in the year 2015. Like the five OPVs in the series, ICGS Vajra was also delivered ahead of the contractual schedule.
What is an Offshore
Patrol Vessel: OPVs are long-range surface ships, capable
of operation in maritime zones of India, including island territories with
helicopter operation capabilities. Their roles include coastal and offshore
patrolling, policing maritime zones of India, control and surveillance,
anti-smuggling and anti-piracy operations with limited wartime roles. It can
attain a sustained speed of up to 26 knots. The entire design and construction
process has been certified by the American Bureau of Shipping as well as the
Indian Registrar of Shipping and overseen by the ICG’s resident team at
Kattupalli.
No comments:
Post a Comment