Daily Current Affairs: March 24, 2021

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Important Days

International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims – 24 March

• International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims day was observed every year on 24 March since 1980. The day was proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly on 21 December 2010.

World Tuberculosis Day – 24 March

• World Tuberculosis Day is observed on 24 March every year to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of tuberculosis and to step up efforts to end the global epidemic. World Tuberculosis Day is observed to commemorate the anniversary of Robert Koch’s discovery of the TB bacteria in 1882.
• Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs.
• 2021 Theme: “The Clock is Ticking”

National News

Andaman & Nicobar achieved 100% functional household tap connection coverage under Jal Jeevan Mission

• Andaman and Nicobar Islands Governor Admiral DK Joshi declared that the UT achieved 100 percent Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) coverage in the Islands.
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands became the third state/UT in the country to achieve the target after Goa and Telangana under Jal Jeevan Mission.

Jal Jeevan Mission:

• Jal Jeevan Mission is envisioned to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India. The Mission was launched on 15 August 2019.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands  

• Capital: Port Blair
• Governor: Devendra Kumar Joshi

Sanjay Dhotre released a commemorative postage stamp on 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi first visit to Odisha

• Union Minister of State for Education, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology Sanjay Dhotre digitally released a commemorative postage stamp on 100 Years of the first visit of Mahatma Gandhi to Odisha.
• The commemorative postage stamp celebrates an important event of Indian History which is the first visit of Mahatma Gandhi to Odisha on 23 March 1921. It energized the Non-Cooperation movement and strengthened the cause of the freedom struggle.

Union government raised Provident Fund deposit threshold limit to Rs.5 lakhs for tax-free interest

• Union government raised the deposit threshold limit to Rs.5 lakhs per annum in provident fund for which interest would continue to be tax-exempt. This would be applicable to those cases where no contribution is made by employers to the retirement fund.
• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget provided that interest on employee contributions to provident fund over Rs 2.5 lakhs per annum would be taxed from 1 April 2021.

LT Foods became the first company to be certified by UN-backed Sustainable Rice Platform

• LT Foods Limited had become the first company globally to be certified with the highest level of verification- L3 by UN-backed Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) ecolabel. It enabled the company to use the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) verified logo on the packs of rice produced by verified 1,000+ farmers growing sustainable rice.

International News

Union Cabinet approved an MoU between India and Afghanistan on public service recruitment

• The Union Cabinet approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), India, and Independent Administrative Reforms and Civil Services Commission (IARCSC), Afghanistan.
• The MoU will strengthen the relationship between IARCSC and UPSC. It will facilitate sharing of experience and expertise of both parties in the area of recruitment.

Afghanistan

• Capital: Kabul
• Currency: Afghan afghani
• President: Ashraf Ghani

India and Kuwait announced a joint commission to boost ties in energy

• India and Kuwait decided to establish a joint ministerial commission that will formulate a framework to strengthen ties in sectors like energy, economy, investment, manpower and labour and information technology.
• The Joint Commission Meeting will be co-chaired by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his visiting Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah.

Kuwait

• Capital: Kuwait City
• Currency: Dinar
• Prime Minister: Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah

Union Cabinet approved Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between India and Japan in the field of water resources

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India and Water and Disaster Management Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan in the field of water resources.
• MoC was signed for the development of long-term cooperation in the field of water and delta management, and water technology in order to increase the exchange of information, knowledge, technology, and scientific allied experience.

Japan

• Capital: Tokyo
• Currency: Japanese yen
• Prime minister: Yoshihide Suga

Banking and Economy

Fitch raised India’s GDP growth projection to 12.8% from 11% for FY22

• American credit rating agency Fitch has revised India’s GDP growth estimate to 12.8% for the next fiscal year (FY22) from the previous 11% on the back of a stronger carryover effect, a looser fiscal stance, and better virus containment. Fitch also expects GDP growth to ease to 5.8% in Fiscal Year 2023.
• The rating agency notes that it no longer expects the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut its policy rate, owing to a brighter short-term growth outlook and a more limited decline in inflation than it had forecast.

ESAF Small Finance Bank awarded with ‘Great place to work’ certification

• ESAF Small Finance Bank had been awarded ‘Great place to work’ certification by the Great place to Work Institute.
• The certification is the result of an employee survey conducted by the third-party global authority on recognising high-trust and performance culture at workplaces. This recognition acknowledges the bank’s commitment and credibility amongst its employees.

ESAF Small Finance Bank

• Headquarters: Mannuthy, Thrissur
• Chairman: PR Ravi Mohan
• MD and CEO: K Paul Thomas

Science and Technology

POWERGRID launched certified e-Tendering Portal “PRANIT” to lead to less paperwork

• Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID), a central PSU under the Ministry of Power has established an e-Tendering Portal “PRANIT” which will lead to less paperwork and ease of operation, making the tendering process more transparent.
• It has been certified by Standardisation, Testing and Quality Certification Directorate (STQC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India.
• POWERGRID is now the only organisation in India to have an eProcurement solution on SAP Supplier Relationship Management (SRM), complying with all applicable requirements relating to security and transparency as stipulated by STQC.

ISRO demonstrated India’s first free-space quantum communication over 300 metres

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully demonstrated free-space Quantum Communication over a distance of 300 m, for the first time in the country.
• A number of key technologies were developed indigenously to accomplish this major feat, which included the use of indigenously developed “NAVIC” receiver for time synchronisation between the transmitter and receiver modules, and gimbal mechanism systems instead of bulky large-aperture telescopes for optical alignment.
• 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.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)

• Headquarters: Bengaluru
• Founder: Vikram Sarabhai
• Director: Kailasavadivoo Sivan

Russia launched Soyuz Rocket into space carrying 38 satellites from 18 countries

• The Russian space agency, ROSCOSMOS launched a rocket in space carrying 38 foreign satellites for 18 countries (including South Korea, Japan, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Italy, and Brazil) that lifted off from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
• Among 38 satellites ‘Challenge-1’ is the first satellite made completely in Tunisia, which was created by the Telnet telecommunications group.

Russia

• Capital: Moscow
• Currency: Russian Rouble
• President: Vladimir Putin
• Prime Minister: Mikhail Mishustin

Appointments

Indian-American Vivek Murthy appointed as Joe Biden’s surgeon general

• US Senate confirmed Indian-American Vivek Murthy appointed to President Joe Biden’s Surgeon General, handing the administration one of its top public health officials amid the coronavirus pandemic.
• Murthy served as the Surgeon General under the Obama administration from 2014 to 2017. He is a distinguished Physician and former Vice Admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.

IPS Rashmi Shukla took charge as special Director-General of South Zone

• Only woman officer at Additional Director General (ADG)/SDG level rank in rank Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Rashmi Shukla has taken charge of Special Director-General (SDG) South Zone (SZ). She will be handling three important sectors covering Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Puducherry.
• Shukla was appointed as SDG on 19 March and was on induction since she joined the force and visited various places where the CRPF is deployed.

Cipla re-appointed Umang Vohra as MD and Global CEO for 5 years

• Cipla board of directors approved the re-appointment of Umang Vohra, Managing Director designated as Managing Director and Global Chief Executive Officer of the company for a further period of five years from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2026.
• Vohra joined Cipla in 2015 and has been the MD & Global CEO of the company since 1 September 2016.

Awards and recognitions

Kerala’s TB eradication programme bagged award

• 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

India ranked 40^th on International Intellectual Property Index

• The index is released annually by the US chamber of commerce Global Innovation Policy Centre (GIPC), the Index evaluates Intellectual Property rights in 53 global economies from patent and copyright policies to commercialisation of IP assets and ratification of international treaties.
• India ranked 40^th in 2020 scoring 38.4 out of 100 on a set of 50 intellectual property-related indicators.

Obituary

Acclaimed Polish poet Adam Zagajewski passed away at 75

• Renowned Polish poet Adam Zagajewski passed away at the age of 75. He was a leading figure in Poland’s New Wave or Generation ’68, a literary movement of the late 1960s that called for a simple language to relate directly to reality.
• Zagajewski’s “Try to Praise the Mutilated World,” was translated into English by Clare Cavanaugh and published in The New Yorker.

Poland

• Capital: Warsaw
• Currency: Złoty
• President: Andrzej Duda
• Prime Minister: Mateusz Morawiecki

Sports News

Nikhat Zareen and Gaurav Solanki won a bronze medal at Bosphorus Boxing Tournament held in Turkey

• Indian boxers Nikhat Zareen (51kg) and Gaurav Solanki (57kg) won a bronze medal at the Bosphorus Boxing Tournament in Turkey.
• Asian Championships bronze medalist Nikhat Zareen defeated reigning world champion Ekaterina Paltceva of Russia in the pre-quarterfinals and two-time world champion Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan in the quarter-finals to make her way into the top four.

Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar won a gold medal in men’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions in ISSF world cup

• India’s Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar won the gold medal in the men’s 50m Rifle 3 positions event at the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi. The 20-year-old became the youngest in history to win a shooting World Cup gold in the 3 Positions event.
• The two other Indian shooters in the final, Sanjeev Rajput finishing sixth and Niraj Kumar came at the last position.

International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF):

• Headquarters: Munich, Germany
• President: Vladimir Lisin
• Founded: 1907

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Daily Current Affairs Quiz – March 24, 2021