Current Affairs March 20th & 21st 2022| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Happiness:

• The International Day of Happiness is celebrated throughout the world on 20 March.
• The theme for Happiness Day 2022 is Keep Calm, Stay Wise and Be Kind.
• Keeping cool and calm in every possible situation is the key to happiness and satisfaction.
• Bhutan initially prioritized the value of National Happiness over National Income in the 1970s.
• Bhutan is known for adopting the goal of Gross National Happiness over Gross National Product at the 66th General Assembly.
• It was established by the United Nations General Assembly on 28 June 2012.
• The International Day of Happiness aims to make people around the world realize the importance of happiness within their lives.

India’s Ordnance Factories’ Day: 18 March

• Ordnance Factory Day is observed across India on 18 March to commemorate the foundation of the first ordnance factory at Cossipore near Kolkata in the year 1801.
• The erstwhile ordnance factories, which operated under the Ministry of Defence (MoD), were responsible for supplying arms, ammunition and clothing to the country’s armed forces.
• The Indian Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), which comprised 41 institutions, ceased to exist from 1 October last year.
• The OFB was split into seven public sector undertakings (PSUs), which continue to supply the country’s armed forces with a variety of military equipment.
• OFB was founded in 1775 and its Headquarters is in Ayudh Bhawan, Kolkata.
• OFB consists of 41 Ordnance Factories, 9 Training Institutes, 3 Regional Marketing Centres and 5 Regional Controllerates of Safety, which is spread all over India.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

NCRTC unveils coaches of India’s first rapid rail for Delhi-Meerut corridor:

• The National Capital Regional Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has unveiled the coaches of India’s first rapid rail for the Delhi – Meerut corridor.
• The Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) train will run on the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor and cover a distance of 82 km in just 55 minutes.
• The new RRTS train is a completely new design of train designed to provide a good travelling experience for passengers.
• The coaches will be equipped with modern features including wide standing space, CCTV cameras, sockets for laptop and mobile charging, dynamic route maps, auto control ambient lighting system and heating ventilation and air conditioning system.
• The RRTS train will be the first in the country to have a business or ‘premium’ coach on a regional corridor.
• The train will be capable of accommodating 1500 passengers at once.
• The train has been designed to have a setting resembling the one on an aircraft.

Visakhapatnam railway station to implement Centre’s ‘One Station, One Product’:

• Visakhapatnam railway station will be implementing the ‘One Nation, One Product’ concept, the Railway Board informed.
• It will become the first station in the East Coast railway to implement the concept.
• It would be running on a pilot basis for 15 days.
• According to Waltair Divisional manager, Etikoppaka toys and handicraft products from the village will be showcased and sold at the Vishakapatnam station.
• Visakhapatnam railway station of East Coast Railway has been identified as the first station in the zone for implementation of the ‘One station One Product

CURRENT AFFAIRS : STATE NEWS

West Bengal celebrates Dol Utsav, welcomes spring season

• The people of Bengal celebrated the festival of colors, predominantly known as Dol Utsav in the state through cultural programs, marking the onset of spring season.
• The festival of colors is celebrated across India with much zeal. People throw “gulaal” or powder color on each other and sing and dance to mark the festival.
• On this day people celebrate the victory of good over evil.
• In Eastern India, the festival of spring is celebrated as Dol Jatra, Dol Purnima, Dol Utsav and Basanta Utsav.
• Dol Jatra or Dol Purnima is celebrated on a full moon day, and the festival is dedicated to Lord Krishna.
• The day also marks the last festival of the year as per the Bengali calendar.

About West Bengal :

• Chief minister: Mamata Banerjee
• Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar
• Capital: Kolkata

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & ECONOMY

Kotak Mahindra Bank signs MoU with Business France

• Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Business France, the French national agency in charge of the development of exports and international investments in France, to support companies in the Indo-French corridor.
• The signing ceremony was chaired by Eric Fajole, Regional Director, French Embassy in India and Ms. Sudha Balakrishnan, Business Head, MNC Banking Group, Kotak Mahindra Bank in France.

Objectives of the MoU:

• To promote business and start-up ecosystem cooperation and identify business and investment opportunities in India and France.
• Kotak Mahindra Bank will be amongst Business France’s privileged Indian banking partner for French companies.
• Business France will accompany Kotak Mahindra Bank’s Indian clients in their entry in France.
• To collaborate for knowledge roundtables organized by Business France India and be exclusive Knowledge or Banking Partner for select events.
• To provide sector expertise through speaker representation and/or knowledge publications such as whitepapers, presentations etc.

Note :

• With this Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd became the first bank in India to tie-up with Business France for promoting business & start-up ecosystem in India & France

About Kotak Mahindra Bank :

• Founded: February 2003
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Chairman, MD & CEO : Uday Kotak
• It is India’s third largest private sector bank by assets and by market capitalization.

About Business France  :

• Chairman :  Pascal Cagni
• Director General : Christophe Lecourtier
• Founded : 2015
• It is a merger between UBIFRANCE and the French Agency for International Investment (InvestInFrance)

SEBI amends rules governing alternative investment funds

• Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has amended the rules pertaining to investment aspects of certain categories of alternative investment funds (AIFs) & the new norms called Sebi’s AIF Regulations, 2022.

About the amendments :

• Under the rules, Category III AIFs can invest not more than 10 percent of the investable funds in an investee company, directly or through investment in units of other AIFs.
• Various types of funds such as hedge funds, PIPE Funds, etc. are registered as Category III AIFs.
• The large value funds for accredited investors of Category III AIFs can invest up to 20 per cent of the investable funds in an investee company, directly or through investment in units of other AIFs.

About AIFs :

• In India, alternative investment funds (AIFs) are defined in Regulation 2(1) (b) of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012.
• It refers to any privately pooled investment fund, (whether from Indian or foreign sources), in the form of a trust or a company or a body corporate or a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP).

About SEBI :

• Founded: 12 April 1988 and given Statutory Powers on 30 January 1992 through the SEBI Act, 1992.
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Chairperson :  Madhabi Puri Buch

USAID, Mastercard enters partnership to foster digital empowerment of women

• US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Mastercard have partnered to foster digital empowerment of women in India through an initiative called ‘Project Kirana’.

About ‘Project Kirana’ :

• Project Kirana is a business development and digital financial literacy programme for women entrepreneurs.

Aim :

• To increase revenue streams, expand financial inclusion, and enable the adoption of digital payments and other digital tools by women-owned-and-operated kirana shops.
• It is the two-year program, implemented by DAI and ACCESS Development Services, is working in select cities of Uttar Pradesh like Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi.
• Since Project Kirana’s launch in November 2020, more than 2,100 women have benefitted from the programme.
• Together, USAID and Mastercard are supporting women participants to build financial and digital literacy skills on topics such as banking, digital payments, saving, credit and insurance etc.

About USAID :

• Founded: 3 November 1961
• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
• Administrator : Samantha Power
• Founder : John F. Kennedy
• Motto : From the American people
• The USAID is an independent agency of the United States federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance.

About Mastercard :

• Founded: 3 November 1966
• CEO: Michael Miebach
• Executive Chairman : Ajay Banga
• President & CEO : Michael Miebach
• Headquarters : New York, U.S

SBI to provide $1-bn credit line to Sri Lanka to Battles Severe Economic Situation

• The State Bank of India (SBI) and the Government of Sri Lanka signed USD 1 billion Line of Credit (LOC) for procurement of food, medicines and other essential items, amid the island nation’s worsening economic crisis.
• The signing ceremony was held at the Ministry of Finance in the presence of Rajapaksa, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
• During this the Ministers discussed wide-ranging issues of mutual interest and economic cooperation.
• New Delhi has agreed to several economic arrangements with Colombo including:
• A currency swap arrangement of $400 million (over Rs 3,037.32 crore)
• A debt deferral of $515 million (Rs 3,911.25 crore) for two months

Note :

• Earlier, the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) had extended a line of credit of USD 500 million for financing the purchase of petroleum products to Sri Lanka which is facing a financial crisis.

About Sri Lanka :

• President: Gotabaya Rajapaksa
• Capitals: Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
• Currency: Sri Lankan rupee

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

BPCL Launches Voice-Based LPG Cylinder Booking, Payment Facility Via ‘UPI 123PAY’ For Non-Internet Users:

• Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has partnered with UltraCash Technologies Pvt Ltd to offer voice-based digital payment facility for BharatGas consumers for booking their LPG cylinders.
• Through this feature, the consumers who do not have smart phones or internet can book their cylinders and make the payment through ‘UPI 123PAY’.

About BPCL:

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: 1952
• Chairman: Arun Kumar Singh

IIT Madras, RBI Innovation Hub join hands to boost fintech startups:

• India’s leading deep-tech startup hub spearheaded by IIT Madras Incubation Cell (IITMIC) and RBI Innovation Hub (RBIH), a wholly owned subsidiary of Reserve Bank of India, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together in developing the ecosystem necessary to support and scale fintech startups in India.
• Through this strategic collaboration, the two organizations will jointly provide incubation support and nurture early-stage startups with innovative and disruptive solutions and accelerate their scale-up journey.
• In addition, IITM Incubation Cell and RBIH may collaborate on projects including policy whitepapers, research papers under this partnership.
• The aim of the project is to empower startups to scale with agility and deploy technological innovations that transform India’s Fintech landscape.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

RBI extends Rajeev Ahuja’s term as RBL Bank MD & CEO for 3 more months

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has approved the extension of the term of Rajeev Ahuja, interim managing director and CEO of RBL Bank for three months with effect from March 25, 2022, or till the appointment of a regular MD & CEO.
• He was appointed after the then MD & CEO Vishwavir Ahuja went on leave, a day after RBI appointed one of its chief general managers as an additional director.
• The bank had appointed a search committee to identify candidates for the post of MD and CEO from within and outside the bank.

Note :

• The appointment of Additional Director/s in private banks is undertaken under Section 36AB of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 as and when it is felt that the board needs closer support in regulatory or supervisory matters.

About Rajeev Ahuja :

• Ahuja holds a Masters in Business Administration from IIM, Ahmedabad and a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Delhi.
• He was Managing Director – Investor Sales Business (South Asia) with Citigroup, India.
• Earlier, Rajeev Ahuja was serving as the Executive Director of RBL Bank.

Recent news :

• In 2021, Ahuja was appointed as interim MD & CEO of the bank for a period of three months with effect from December 25, 2021.

About RBI :

• Founded : 1 April 1935
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra India
• Governor : Shaktikanta Das
• Deputy governors : Mahesh Kumar Jain, M. Rajeshwar Rao,Michael Patra and T. Rabi Shankar.

About RBL Bank :

• Founded: August 1943
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

CURRENT AFfAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS

ICG’s 5th Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) Saksham Commissioned In Goa

• Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar commissioned Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Saksham, the fifth in the series of 105-metre Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) class, at Goa .
• The ICGS Saksham is commanded by Deputy Inspector General P Rajesh and manned by 10 officers and 95 sailors.

About ICGS Saksham :

• The OPV has been designed and built indigenously by Goa Shipyard Limited and fitted with advanced technology, navigation and communication equipment, sensors and machinery.
• The ship has been equipped with an Integrated Bridge System (IBS), Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS), Power Management System (PMS) and High Power External fire-fighting (EFF) system.
• It is designed to carry a twin-engine helicopter and four high-speed boats including two inflatable boats for boarding operation, search & rescue, law enforcement and maritime patrol.
• Also the ship is capable of carrying limited pollution response equipment to contain oil spill in the seas.
• It displaces approximately 2,350 tons (gross registered tonnage) and is propelled by two 9,100 KW diesel engines to attain a maximum speed of 26 knots & has an endurance of 6,000-nautical mile at economical speed.

Additional Info :

First Four of the ICGS are

1. ICGS Sachet
2. ICGS Sujeet
3. ICGS Sarthak
4. ICGS Sajag

About Ministry of Defence :

• Defence Minister : Rajnath Singh
• Minister of State : Ajay Bhatt

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHOLOGY

NASA rolls out Artemis 1 moon mission to the launch pad for 1st time

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration ‘s Artemis 1 mega moon rocket was rolled out for the first time for its testing debut at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
• The agency’s huge crawler-transporter 2 vehicle began hauling the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule from KSC’s Vehicle Assembly Building to Pad 39B .
• Artemis 1 will jump-start that vision, sending an uncrewed Orion on a roughly month-long journey around the moon & the launch is expected in May or June 2022.

Note :

• The Space Launch System is the only rocket capable of sending humans into deep space.
• Artemis 1 will be followed by Artemis 2, a crewed mission around the moon, in 2024.
• Artemis 3, NASA’s first planned moon landing since 1972, is set for no earlier than 2025.

About NASA :

• Established : 1958
• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
• Administrator : Bill Nelson
• NASA is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and space research.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : RANKING & INDEX

Telangana becomes 1st state to implement CDI

• Telangana has started documenting crop diversification trends in the form of an index for the first time in the country & first state in India to adopt Crop Diversification Index (CDI).
• According to the CDI, the state grows 77 varieties, with roughly 10 crops, predominantly grains, favored for diversification.

Top three districts in terms of crop diversification Index in telangana :

1. Nirmal
2. Vikarabad
3. Sangareddy

• It was also discovered that Peddapalli, Karimnagar, and Suryapet were the three least diverse areas & in these regions where paddy farming is common, the maize cropping area has declined dramatically while the cotton cropping area has expanded.

About CDI Index :

• The CDI index has a starting value of one.
• It represents the proportion of total cultivated area devoted to a single crop.
• Many districts in the state have index values ranging from 0 to 5, and the higher the score, the greater the agricultural diversification.
• The index was calculated using the area under 77 different crops, along with all food, non-food, and cash crops, and also the area under floriculture.
• The score will serve as a benchmark for future agricultural diversification in the state.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

Railways to Participate in Weightlifting National Championships to retain the title:

• National Weightlifting Championships (Men & Women)- 2021-22 will be held at Bhubaneshwar (Odisha) from 19.03.2022 to 31.03.2022.
• Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB), the sports arm of Indian Railways (IR) will be sending a strong contingent from Indian Railways in this Championship.
• Indian Railways Men team has been winners in the National Weightlifting Championships continuously for last 04 years and Railways Women team have been winners in the last 02 National Championships.
• It is also a matter of records that Indian Railways sportspersons have played an excellent role in bringing laurels to the country at the international platforms.
• Be it Commonwealth Games, Asian Games or the Olympics, IR sportspersons have a large contribution in performance of India.
• Indian Railways have produced star weightlifters like Ms. S. Mirabai Chanu, who brought silver medal for the country in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and became the first ever weightlifter from India to win a silver medal at Olympics, Arjuna awardees like Mr. Sathish Sivalingam, Ms Renu Bala, Ms. Sanjita Chanu and many more.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

American Astrophysicist Eugene Parker passes away:

• Eugene Parker, the pioneering astrophysicist whose name graces NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission, died at the age of 94.
• Eugene Parker witnessed the launch of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Parker Solar Probe in 2018, the first NASA mission named after a living person, and became the first person to witness the launch of a spacecraft named after them.

Daily CA On Mar 20 & 21:

• The International Day of Happiness is celebrated throughout the world on 20 March.
• Ordnance Factory Day is observed across India on 18 March to commemorate the foundation of the first ordnance factory at Cossipore near Kolkata in the year 1801.
• The National Capital Regional Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has unveiled the coaches of India’s first rapid rail for the Delhi – Meerut corridor.
• Visakhapatnam railway station will be implementing the ‘One Nation, One Product’ concept, the Railway Board informed.
• The people of Bengal celebrated the festival of colors, predominantly known as Dol Utsav in the state through cultural programs, marking the onset of spring season.
• Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Business France, the French national agency in charge of the development of exports and international investments in France, to support companies in the Indo-French corridor.
• Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has amended the rules pertaining to investment aspects of certain categories of alternative investment funds (AIFs) & the new norms called Sebi’s AIF Regulations, 2022.
• US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Mastercard have partnered to foster digital empowerment of women in India through an initiative called ‘Project Kirana’.
• The State Bank of India (SBI) and the Government of Sri Lanka signed USD 1 billion Line of Credit (LOC) for procurement of food, medicines and other essential items, amid the island nation’s worsening economic crisis.
• Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has partnered with UltraCash Technologies Pvt Ltd to offer voice-based digital payment facility for BharatGas consumers for booking their LPG cylinders.
• India’s leading deep-tech startup hub spearheaded by IIT Madras Incubation Cell (IITMIC) and RBI Innovation Hub (RBIH), a wholly owned subsidiary of Reserve Bank of India, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together in developing the ecosystem necessary to support and scale fintech startups in India.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has approved the extension of the term of Rajeev Ahuja, interim managing director and CEO of RBL Bank for three months with effect from March 25, 2022, or till the appointment of a regular MD & CEO.
• Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar commissioned Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Saksham, the fifth in the series of 105-metre Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) class, at Goa.
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration ‘s Artemis 1 mega moon rocket was rolled out for the first time for its testing debut at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
• Telangana has started documenting crop diversification trends in the form of an index for the first time in the country & first state in India to adopt Crop Diversification Index (CDI).
• National Weightlifting Championships (Men & Women)- 2021-22 will be held at Bhubaneshwar (Odisha) from 19.03.2022 to 31.03.2022.
• Eugene Parker, the pioneering astrophysicist whose name graces NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission, died at the age of 94.