NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. India and the WHO have agreed to
establish a global traditional medicine centre in Jamnagar: The World Health
Organization (WHO) and the Government of India signed a memorandum of
understanding to create the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Gujarat.
According to a WHO statement, the onsite opening of the new WHO global centre
for traditional medicine in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India, will take place on April
21, 2022.
Key Points:
a)
In
Jamnagar, Gujarat, India, a new WHO centre will be established. While Jamnagar
will serve as the center’s hub, the new facility will engage and benefit people
from all over the world.
b)
With
a USD 250 million investment from the Indian government, this worldwide
knowledge hub for traditional medicine intends to harness the potential of
traditional medicine from around the world using modern science and technology
to improve people’s and the planet’s health.
c)
According
to the WHO declaration, “traditional medicine” includes ancient methods like
acupuncture, ayurvedic medicine, and herbal mixes, as well as modern
pharmaceuticals used to preserve health and prevent, diagnose, and cure
physical and mental illness.
2. Piyush Goyal inaugurates Indian
Jewellery Exposition Centre building in Dubai: The Union Minister
of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal has inaugurated the Indian Jewellery
Exposition Centre (IJEX) building in Dubai, UAE, during his visit to Dubai to
participate in the India Pavilion at Dubai Expo 2020. During the launch of
IJEX, the minister called upon the export members of the Gem and Jewellery
Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) to go for a USD 100 billion export target
annually from the current USD 35 billion.
IJEX will be a one-stop destination for the
world to source Indian jewellery in Dubai and the platform will enable GJEPC
members to display goods and book orders throughout the year. From India, 15
states and nine central ministries are participating in Dubai Expo, which will
end on March 31, 2022.
3. IFS officer Renu Singh appointed
Forest Research Institute (FRI) director: Dr Renu Singh has been appointed by
the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) as the next
director of the Forest Research Institute (FRI) in Dehradun. She will be the
institute’s second woman director. Singh joined as FRI director after AS Rawat,
director-general, ICFRE, handed over his additional charge of director FRI to
her.
4. NITI Aayog and FAO Launch Book
Titled Indian Agriculture towards 2030: Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’
Welfare (MoA&FW), Narendra Singh Tomar has released a book titled “Indian
Agriculture towards 2030: Pathways for Enhancing Farmers’ Income, Nutritional
Security and Sustainable Food and Farm Systems”, at an event organized by NITI
Aayog and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
Indian Agriculture towards 2030 captures
the outcomes of the deliberative process of national dialogue by NITI Aayog and
the Ministries of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare; and Fisheries, Animal
Husbandry and Dairying, and facilitated by FAO since 2019.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. HURUN Global U40 Self-Made
Billionaires 2022: India ranks 4th: Hurun Research Institute has released the
Hurun Global Forty and Under Self-Made Billionaires 2022, which ranks the
self-made billionaires in the world (in terms of US dollars) aged forty years
and under. The Hurun Report 2022 lists 87 Self-Made Billionaires in the world
aged 40 and under, which is up by 8 from last year.
Country-wise: The USA leads the
list with 37 self-made billionaires. China is second with 25 billionaires,
followed by the United Kingdom (8), India (6) and Sweden (3) respectively in
the top five.
Individual: Meta CEO Mark
Zuckerberg is the world’s richest self-made billionaire aged 40 and under with
a total wealth of $76 billion. He is followed by ByteDance CEO Zhang Yiming,
FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, and Facebook co-founder
Dustin Moskovitz, respectively.
Immigrant Billionaires: 20 of the Hurun
Global U40 are born and brought up in countries different to where they live
today. These immigrant billionaires chose the USA (8), UK (7) and UAE (2) to
live in today, and came originally from Russia mostly, followed by China, India
and Ireland.
2.
International Transgender Day of Visibility: 31st March: The International
Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) occurs annually on March 31 to raise
awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide, while also
celebrating their contributions to society.
History of the Day: The day was
founded by US-based transgender activist Rachel Crandall of Michigan in 2009.
As a reaction to the lack of LGBT recognition of transgender people, citing the
frustration that the only well-known transgender-centred day was the
Transgender Day of Remembrance which mourned the murders of transgender people
but did not acknowledge and celebrate living members of the transgender
community. The first International Transgender Day of Visibility was held on
March 31, 2009.
3.
World Backup Day: 31st March: World Backup Day is marked every year on
March 31. The day reminds us to protect our precious digital documents as we’ve
become more reliant on technology. It is a day for people to learn about the
increasing role of data in our lives and the importance of regular backups.
Originally, World Backup Day began as World Backup Month, by a hard drive
company named Maxtor which was later acquired by Seagate Technology.
4.
International Day of Drug Checking: 31st March: The International
Day of Drug Checking takes place on March 31 every year since 2017 to ensure
people are educated on drugs and aware of their effects. The day aims to
promote harm reduction initiatives of drugs and reduce drug-related risks.
Along with it, it also marks promoting harm reduction actions of drugs and
reduces drug-related risks. Their goal on the 31st of March is to raise public
awareness of the availability of drug checking services and companies from
across the planet.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. Canada reaches Football World Cup
for first time since 1986: Canada has qualified for the Qatar 2022 football World
Cup for the first time in 36 years, after thoroughly beating Jamaica 4-0 in
Toronto. The North American nation have booked their place at the finals for
the first time since Mexico in 1986. Canada is top of the CONCACAF qualifying
group and has now secured its place at a World Cup finals tournament for the
first time since 1986. Canada becomes the 20th team to qualify for the 2022
FIFA World Cup which will feature 32 nations vying for the ultimate prize in
Qatar from November 21 to December 18. The remaining 12 teams will be decided
in the coming days before the draw on April 1 to determine the eight groups.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. RBI unveiled framework for
geo-tagging of payment system touch points: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has
released the framework for geo-tagging of payment system touchpoints. The
framework is part of the central bank’s focus for deepening digital payments
and providing inclusive access to all citizens of the country. Geo-tagging of
payment system touchpoints will enable proper monitoring of the availability of
payment acceptance infrastructure like Points of Sale (PoS) terminals, Quick
Response (QR) codes, etc.
About the Geo-tagging of Payment
System:
Geo-tagging of Payment System TouchPoints/ acceptance infrastructure under
Section 10 (2) read with Section 18 of Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007
(Act 51 of 2007). This system will be deployed by banks / non-bank Payment
System Operators (PSOs) to ensure proper monitoring of the availability of payment
acceptance infrastructure. The framework was issued on the lines of the
Monetary Policy Statement 2020-21of October 08, 2021.
There are broad categories of physical
infrastructure for digital payment transactions carried out by customers using
payment touch points. Firstly, banking infrastructure comprises bank branches,
offices, extension counters, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) / Cash Deposit
Machines (CDMs), Cash Recycler Machines (CRMs), micro-ATMs used by Business
Correspondents (BCs), etc. Secondly, payment acceptance infrastructure such as
Points of Sale (PoS) terminals, Quick Response (QR) codes deployed by
banks/non-bank Payment System Operators (PSOs), etc.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
PVR & INOX Leisure announced merger combined entity to be called PVR Inox
Ltd: Multiplex
companies INOX Leisure Ltd and PVR Ltd have announced the merger of their two
companies. Inox will have a 16.66% stake in the new firm and PVR will have a
10.62% stake. After the formalities of the merger, the company will be known as
PVR Inox Limited. Ajay Bijli will be Managing Director of PVR Inox Limited,
Sanjeev Kumar will be executive director and Pavan Kumar Jain will be
non-executive chairman of the consolidated board.
The merger is subject to approval by the
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), stock exchanges, and other
regulatory approvals as required. Merger to bring together two of India’s best
cinema brands to deliver an unparalleled consumer experience with a network of
1,546 screens across 341 properties in 109 cities.
Note: PVR Cinemas Founded: June 1997; PVR
Cinemas Headquarters: Gurugram; PVR Cinemas Founder & CEO: Ajay Bijli.
2. FedEx appoints Indian-born Raj
Subramaniam as new CEO: The world’s largest express transportation company
FedEx has announced that its new Chief Executive Officer will be Indian
American Raj Subramaniam. He has more than 30 years of global experience across
strategy and operations and has led the company through a period of tremendous
growth.
The US multinational courier delivery giant
was previously helmed by Frederick W Smith. Smith, chairman and CEO, will step
down from this position on June 1. He will now be its executive chairman. In
his new role, Smith said he looks forward to focusing on Board governance as
well as issues of global importance, including sustainability, innovation, and
public policy. Smith had founded FedEx in 1971.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. President Kovind Confers National
Water Awards 2022: The
President of India, Ram Nath Kovind has presented the 3rd National Water Awards
in New Delhi. National Water Awards is given for exemplary work in the field of
water resource management. The first National Water Award was launched in 2018,
by the Jal Shakti Ministry. A total of 57 National Water Awards for 2022 have
been conferred to states, organizations and others in 11 different categories.
|
Category |
Zone |
Awardees |
|
Best State |
1. Uttar Pradesh |
|
|
Best District |
North |
Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh) and Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar (Punjab); |
|
South |
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) and Kadapa (Andhra Pradesh); |
|
|
East |
East Champaran (Bihar) and Godda (Jharkhand) |
|
|
West |
Indore (Madhya Pradesh) and Vadodara (Gujarat) and Banswara
(Rajasthan) |
|
|
Northeast |
Goalpara (Assam) and Siang (Arunachal Pradesh) |
|
|
Best Village Panchayat |
North |
Dhaspad, Almora, Uttarakhand |
|
South |
Yelerampura Panchayat, Tumakuru District,
Karnataka |
|
|
East |
Telari Panchayat, Gaya District, Bihar |
|
|
West |
Takhatgadh, Sabarkantha, Gujarat |
|
|
North-East |
Sialsir, Sirchip, Mizoram |
|
|
Best Urban Local Body |
Vapi Urban Local Body, Gujarat |
|
|
Best Media (Print & Electronic) |
Agrowon, Sakal Media Pvt. Ltd. (Adinath Dattatray
Chavan) |
|
|
Best Institution/RWA/Religious organization for Campus usage |
Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Jammu |
|
|
Best Industry |
Trident (Textile) Ltd., Punjab |
|
|
Best NGO |
Gramvikas Sanstha, Aurangabad |
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