Daily Current Affairs: March 28 & 29, 2021

Daily Current Affairs (March 28 & 29, 2021) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness, Static GK, and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness, and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

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National News

Uttar Pradesh Government organised a ‘Banana Festival’ in Kushinagar

• Uttar Pradesh Government organised a ‘Banana Festival’ in Kushinagar from 22 March to 25 March, which witnessed the participation of at least 35 farmers and entrepreneurs.
• The State Government had in 2018 organised the One District One Product (ODOP) scheme to promote traditional enterprise.

Uttar Pradesh          

• Capital: Lucknow
• Chief Minister: Yogi Adityanath
• Governor: Anandiben Patel
• National Park: Dudhwa National Park (Tiger Reserve)
• Zoological Park: Shaheed Ashfaq Ullah Khan Prani Udyan (Gorakhpur), Kanpur Zoological Park, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Zoological Garden

India imposed anti-dumping duty on Chinese-made PET resin

• India had imposed anti-dumping duty on Chinese bottle-grade PET (polyethylene terephthalate) resin which is used to make bottles and jars for mineral water, carbonated soft drinks, and pharmaceutical products among other goods, to offset the damage to the domestic industry.
• Dumping is a situation of international price discrimination, where the price of a product, when sold in the importing country, is less than the price of that product in the market of the exporting country.
• An anti-dumping duty is a protectionist tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value.

Advertising Standards Council of India joined the UN Women‘s gender programme called Unstereotype Alliance

• Advertising industry watchdog, Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) announced that it had become a founding ally of the UN Women’s gender-based programme called Unstereotype Alliance.
• The Unstereotype Alliance is a thought and action platform that seeks to eradicate harmful gender-based stereotypes in all media and advertising content.
• The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality — Unstereotype Alliance is convened by the UN Women that brings together partners and seeks to collectively use the advertising industry as a force for good to drive positive change all over the world.

International News

India and the US started a two-day naval exercise PASSEX in the eastern Indian Ocean region

• India and the US kicked off a two-day naval exercise in the eastern Indian Ocean Region, reflecting the growing congruence in their defence and military partnership.
• The Indian Navy deployed its warship Shivalik and long-range maritime patrol aircraft P8I in the PASSEX exercise while the US Navy was represented by the USS Theodore Rosevelt carrier strike group.

United States

• Capital: Washington DC
• Currency: US Dollar
• President: Joe Biden

India offered 49 technologies to Bangladesh under the RuTAG program

• Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and think through Consulting Bangladesh announced a partnership to jointly promote and commercialise grassroots technologies developed in India and Bangladesh.
• The announcement was made as part of the RuTAG Technology Commercialization Programme, which is led by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India and implemented by FICCI.
• A bouquet of 49 technologies received under the RuTAG (Rural Technology Action Group) programme will be offered to industries, social startups and NGOs in Bangladesh.

India and South Korea agreed for joint production and export of military hardware

• India and South Korea had agreed to joint production and export of military hardware, enhance intelligence sharing and boost cooperation in cyber and space domains as a part of the overall expansion of defence and security ties.

South Korea

• Capital: Seoul
• Currency: South Korean Won
• Prime Minister: Chung Sye-Kyun
• President:  Moon Jae-In

2020 was a record year for the global wind power industry: Global Wind Report 2021

• 2020 was the best year in history for the global wind industry, with 93 GW of new capacity installed, which is a 53 per cent year-on-year increase. This growth is not sufficient to ensure the world achieves net-zero by 2050.
• The world needs to be installing wind power three times faster over the next decade in order to stay on a net-zero pathway and avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC)

• Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium
• CEO: Ben Backwell
• Founded: 2005

India and Bangladesh signed five MoUs in various fields

• India and Bangladesh signed five MoUs in the fields of disaster management, trade, NCC, ICT and setting up of sports facilities on the concluding day of the 2-day long official visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited 50 young entrepreneurs from Bangladesh to connect with India’s startup ecosystem and also announced a direct passenger train named ‘Mitali Express’ that will be run between Dhaka and New Jalpaiguri, West Bengal.

Bangladesh

• Capital: Dhaka
• Currency: Taka
• Prime minister: Sheikh Hasina
• President: Abdul Hamid

Banking and Economy

RBI extended restrictions on Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank till 30 June

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the restrictions on the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank further three months till 30 June 2021. The decision was taken in the backdrop of financial condition of the bank which is likely to make the reconstruction process complex and time-consuming.
• The restrictions on the bank’s activity were first placed in September 2019, after the central bank took cognisance of a major financial irregularity. The restrictions were consecutively extended and were set to expire on 31 March 2021.

Union Bank of India and HPCL launched co-branded contactless RuPay card “UNI-CARBON CARD”

• Union Bank of India and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited have launched “UNI-CARBON CARD”, a co-branded contactless RuPay credit card.
• The users of this card will get 16X reward points, which would be equivalent to 4% cashback, on fuel spends worth Rs. 500 and above at over 18000 HPCL outlets across the country.
• Cardholders will be able to enjoy many freebies and offer brought out by the NPCI (National Payment Corporation Of India), such as entertainment, lifestyle, travel, shopping and food delivery.
• This card is contactless “Tap & Go” and an NCMC (National Common Mobility Card) in line with the Government of India’s directives.

Union Bank of India

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• MD & CEO: G Rajkiran Rai
• Tagline: Good People to Bank With

BharatPe launched instant liquidity facility ‘Distributor to Retailer Finance’ to empower SMEs

• BharatPe has rolled-out its innovative lending product “Distributor to Retailer (D2R) Finance”, which will focus specifically on empowering Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
• The product is designed to provide instant liquidity to distributors, wholesalers, traders, and dealers across industry verticals. Distributor to Retailer (D2R) finance would offer collateral-free loans of up to Rs. 50 lakhs for a period of seven days to 30 days.
• D2R is a short-term loan that is innovatively designed to address the constant liquidity challenges faced by SMEs and its loan disbursals will be done within a business day.

Karnataka Bank and IIFL Securities launched the “KBL Smart Trade”

• Karnataka Bank and IIFL Securities Limited, a broking and advisory firm, have joined hands to introduce the “KBL Smart Trade”. It is a facility under which all Karnataka Bank customers can access IIFL Securities demat and trading account solutions for their capital market needs.
• ‘KBL Smart Trade’ is a two-in-one account facility, where the demat and trading account features are clubbed. The bank will also benefit by way of enriched customer engagement and retention, resulting in augmented CASA funds to the bank.

Karnataka bank

• Headquarters: Mangalore
• CEO: Mahabaleshwara MS
• Tagline: “Your Family Bank Across India”

Acquisitions and Mergers

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) signed a Rs. 100 crore agreement with CNB Logitech

• The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) signed an MoU with CNB Logitech worth Rs. 100 crores per annum for monitoring, tracking, and optimise the movement of as many as 50 lakh containers in foreign trade.
• According to Invest India, around 95 per cent of the country’s merchandise trade is handled by maritime transport.
• The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, situated in Maharashtra, is the country’s largest port. It handles 55 per cent of the country’s cargo across all major ports.

Tata Motors signed a three-year MoU with SBI for financial assistance of light commercial vehicles

• India’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, Tata Motors has inked a three-year MoU with the State Bank of India (SBI) to offer unique financial assistance for the purchase of Tata Motors’ range of small and light commercial vehicles.
• This collaboration will also stir demand for Tata Motors’ BS6 range of vehicles. Through this partnership, the two business entities will exercise SBI’s Contactless Lending Platform technology to ensure uniformity, transparency, and a reduced turnaround time in the loan approval process.

Tata Motors:

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD & CEO: Guenter Butschek
• Establishment: 1945

Science and Technology

Pakistan successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable ballistic missile Shaheen-1A

• Pakistan successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 900 kilometres. The test of Shaheen-1A was aimed at re-validating various design and technical parameters of the weapon system, including an advanced navigation system.
• Shaheen-1A, with its sophisticated and advanced guidance system, is a highly accurate missile system.

Awards and Recognitions

Carmen Maria Machado won the Rathbones Folio Prize 2021

• The American author Carmen Maria Machado has won the Rathbones Folio Prize 2021 for her memoir “In the Dream House”, which examines the domestic abuse she was subjected to by her ex-girlfriend.
• The Rathbones Folio Prize is a literary award that was launched by London-based publisher The Folio Society in the initial two years (2014-2015).

Books and Authors

Vinod Kapri’s new book titled “1232 km: The Long Journey Home” set to be released in May 2021

• Journalist turned filmmaker Vinod Kapri’s compelling book, “1232 km: A Long Journey Home”, will release in May 2021. 1232 km is about the journey that seven migrants from Bihar — Ritesh, Ashish, Ram Babu, Sonu, Krishna, Sandeep, and Mukesh, undertook on their bicycles that lasted for seven days and seven nights.
• The book will be published by HarperCollins India.

Obituary

Noted journalist and writer Anil Dharker passed away at 74

• Indian journalist and writer Anil Dharker passed away at the age of 74. He was a columnist and writer, an architect, and a member of the advisory committee of the film censor board. He was the author of The Romance of Salt, a book on Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi March.
• He was also a member of the National Centre for the Performing Arts theatre committee and a columnist for the NCPA’s monthly magazine.

Sports News

Indian men and women won gold in a trap team event at the ISSF World Cup 2021

• Shotgun shooters Prithviraj Tondaiman, Lakshay Sheoran, and Kynan Chenai ended India’s campaign at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup 2021 with a gold medal in the men’s trap team event.
• The Indian trio of Shreyasi Singh, Rajeshwari Kumari, and Manisha Keer claimed the gold medal in the women’s trap team final.

International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF)

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

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Daily Current Affairs Quiz – March 28 & 29, 2021