Current Affairs March 31st 2022| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

NITI Aayog and FAO Launches Book Titled Indian Agriculture towards 2030:

• Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW) Shri 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.
• Published by Springer, Indian Agriculture towards 2030 captures the outcomes of the deliberative process of a 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.

Indian Agriculture towards 2030 covers the following themes:

• Transforming Indian Agriculture
• Structural Reforms and Governance
• Dietary Diversity, Nutrition and Food Safety
• Managing Climate Risks in Agriculture
• Science, Technology and Innovation
• Symbiosis of Water and Agricultural Transformation in India
• Pests, Pandemics, Preparedness and Biosecurity
• Transformative Agroecology-Based Alternatives for a Sustainable and Biodiverse Future

IAF UNVEILS NEW INITIATIVE FOR REFUELLING ITS CONVOYS:

• The Indian Air Force has unveiled a new initiative with the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd under which its convoys will be to refuel at fuel stations of the state-run energy major.
• The defence ministry, ‘Fleet Card – Fuel on Move’ has been rolled out to facilitate the refuelling of convoys belonging to the IAF.
• The new initiative was launched by Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari.
• Under the existing system, the IAF procures fuel from various agencies and distributes it within the Air Force establishments.
• The IAF convoys have to go to Air Force stations for refuelling.
• With the advent of the Fleet Cards, the IAF will be able to utilise the vast network of retail fuel distributors across the country to refuel its vehicles on the move.

NMCG Organizes ‘Yamunotsav’ At ITO Yamuna Ghat:

• The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has organized Yamunotsav in association with a group of NGOs at ASITA East River Front, ITO Bridge, to celebrate the glory of Yamuna with a “pledge to keep it clean”.
• While under Namami Gange Programme, the focus was on the main stem of Ganga Basin and the positives results are now showing, the target now is to clean River Yamuna and ensure that 3 big STPs being constructed are completed by December 2022 with the support of stakeholders, preventing all the major drains and dirty water from falling into Yamuna
• The NMCG is investing roughly Rs. 2300 crore in the construction of sewerage infrastructure for the River Yamuna.

PM Modi To Inaugurate Museum of All Former PMs Of India on April 14:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the All-Former Prime Ministers Museum in New Delhi on April 14, 2022.
• The 270 crore projects will be inaugurated on April 14, 2022, at the Teen Murti Bhavan complex which was the residence of ex-PM Jawaharlal Nehru.
• The museum will be a tribute to all the former Prime Ministers of India
• PM Modi made an announcement on the same at the BJP Parliamentary Meeting at the Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi.
• The Museum will showcase the life, times and contribution of all 14 Prime Ministers of India so far, except for the collections and works on Jawaharlal Nehru, who has a separate Nehru Memorial Museum, which was also his residence.

Piyush Goyal inaugurates Indian Jewellery Exposition Centre building in Dubai:

• Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, 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.
• Piyush Goyal called upon the G&J Industry to triple their exports target from about $35 billion exports at present to go for a 100 billion Dollar target worldwide.
• 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.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & FINANCE

RBI Governor lays Foundation Stone of Learning and Development Centre (LDC) of BRBNMPL

• Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), laid foundation stone for the establishment of a Learning and Development Centre (LDC) of the Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited (BRBNMPL), in Mysuru.

About LDC :

• LDC is being established with active collaboration from Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL), a wholly owned Schedule ‘A’ Miniratna Category-I company of Government of India and Bank Note Paper Mill India private Limited (BNPMIPL), a joint venture of BRBNMPL and SPMCIL.
• It will act as a forum for robust knowledge dissemination, thus ensuring that the best practices, experiences, and innovations are shared efficiently in a congenial environment to ensure uniformity in banknote production, quality and supply.
• The centre will be governed by BRBNMPL.

About RBI :

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

ICRA lowers FY23 GDP growth forecast to 7.2% from 8%           

• Ratings agency ICRA has lowered the growth forecast for India’s GDP in 2022-23 (FY23) to 7.2 percent.
• Earlier projection was 8 percent.
• ICRA has projected the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expansion in FY22 at 8.5 percent, modestly lower than the National Statistical Office’s (NSO’s) second advance estimate of 8.9 percent.

About ICRA :

• Established : 1991
• Headquarters : Gurgaon,Haryana, India
• CEO & MD : N.Sivaraman

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Shashi Sinha appointed as new BARC India chairman

• Shashi Sinha, has been elected as the new chairman of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC India).
• He will replace Punit Goenka, MD & CEO of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, who has been the chairman of BARC India for the last 3 years.

About Shashi Sinha :

• Sinha is the chief executive officer (CEO) at IPG Mediabrands India and also a representative and board member of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAI).
• He is heading all the three media agencies of IPG in India namely, Lodestar, Initiative and BPN.
• He is also an honourable member of the prestigious Facebook India Client Council.

About BARC :

• Founded : 2010
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Chairman : Punit Goenka
• CEO : Sunil Lulla
• BARC is a self-regulated, not-for-profit Joint Industry Body (JIB) registered with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) to represent Indian broadcasters (IBF), advertisers (ISA), and advertising and media agencies (AAAI).

Uday Kotak To Step Down As The Chairman Of IL&FS

• Uday Kotak will step down as the Chairman of the board of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) after his term ends on April 2.
• CS Rajan, Managing Director, IL&FS has been appointed as Chairman and Managing Director for six months with effect from April 3 by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

About Uday Kotak :

• Uday Suresh Kotak is an Indian billionaire banker and the executive vice chairman and managing director of Kotak Mahindra Bank.
• He took over as President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the year 2020-21.

Note :

• In 2003, Kotak Mahindra Finance Ltd. became the first company in India’s corporate history to receive a banking license from Reserve Bank of India.

About IL&FS :

• Founded : 1987
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• IL&FS is an Indian state-funded infrastructure development and finance company.
• Crisis-hit Infrastructure IL&FS has resolved nearly 55% of the group’s outstanding debt over the last three-and-a-half years

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma Re-elected as President of BAI

• Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma was re-elected unopposed as the president of Badminton Association of India (BAI) for another four years term from 2022 to 2026 at the general body meeting held in Guwahati.
• He was elected during the General Body Meeting of BAI in Guwahati on March 25, 2022.
• The jumbo-sized newly-elected Executive Council will also have 11 vice-presidents alongside eight joint-secretaries and an equal number of committee members.

The newly-elected office-bearers:

• President: Himanta Biswa Sarma;
• Vice-president: Abdul Bari Siddiqui, Ajay Kumar, Anbumani Ramadoss, Narhar Thakur, Oma Datt Sharma, Pullela Gopichand, Ratu Techi, Sekhar Chanda Biswas, S Muralidharan, Viraj Sagar Das and Watizulu Suzumeren Jamir.
• Hon General Secretary: Sanjay Mishra
• Hon Treasurer: Arun Hanumandas Lakhani
• Joint-secretaries: Anil Krishna Rao Choughule, Konda Prabhaker Rao, KK Sharma, Mayur V Parikh, N Shyamkumar Singh, Omar Rashid, P Anakamma Choudary and Surinder Mahajan
• Executive members: BS Mankoti, Bamang Tago, H Lalnunsiama, Krishnanand Jaiswal, Nileen Kumar, Pradeep Srikrishna Gandhe, Pynbianglang Laloo, Sukanta Das, Sanjib Kumar and Ve Arunachallam.

About Himanta Biswa Sarma :

• Sarma was born on 1 February 1969 in Gandhi Basti, Ulubari, Guwahati.
• He is an Indian politician who serves as the 15th and current Chief Minister of Assam.
• He is also the Badminton Asia vice-president and a member of the Badminton World Federation Executive Council.
• He was elected as Badminton Association of India (BAI) chief for the first time in 2017.

About BAI :

• Founded : 1934
• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
• President : Himanta Biswa Sarma

CURRENT AFFAIRS : AWARDS & HONORS

President Ram Nath Kovind to confer National Water Awards 2022 – Uttar Pradesh adjudged in best state category

• On March 29, 2022, The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind will felicitate the winners of the 3rd National Water Awards at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
• The President will also launch the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign 2022 during the event.
• Catch the Rain campaign will continue to be implemented this year till 30th November 2022.

List of winners of 2022 National Water Awards :

In the Best State category :

1. Uttar Pradesh
2. Rajasthan
3. Tamil Nadu

In “Best District” Category :

North Zone :

1. Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh
2. Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar, Punjab

South Zone :

1. Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala
2. Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh

East Zone :

1. East Champaran, Bihar
2. Godda, Jharkhand

West Zone :

1. Indore, Madhya Pradesh
2. Vadodara, Gujarat & Banswara, Rajasthan ( Joint Winner )

North-East Zone :

1. Goalpara, Assam
2. Siang, Arunachal Pradesh

In “Best Village Panchayat” Category :

North Zone :

1. Dhaspad, Almora, Uttarakhand
2. Jamola, Rajouri, J&K
3. Balua, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

South Zone :

1. Yelerampura Panchayat, Tumakuru District, Karnataka
2. Vellaputhur Panchayat, Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu
3. Elappully Grama Panchayat, Palakkad District, Kerala

East Zone :

1. Telari Panchayat, Gaya District, Bihar
2. Chhindiya Panchayat, Surajpur District, Chhattisgarh
3. Guni Panchayat, Khunti District, Jharkhand

West Zone :

1. Takhatgadh, Sabarkantha, Gujarat
2. Kankapar, Kachchh, Gujarat
3. Surdi, Solapur, Maharashtra

North-East Zone :

• Sialsir, Sirchip, Mizoram
• Aminda Simsanggre , West Garo Hills, Meghalaya
• Chambagre, West Garo Hills, Meghalaya

In “Best Urban Local Body” Category :

1. Vapi Urban Local Body, Gujarat
2. Dapoli Nagar Panchayat, Maharashtra
3. Madurai Municipal Corporation, Tamil Nadu

In “Best Media (Print & Electronic)” Category :

1. Mission Paani (Network 18)
2. Agrowon, Sakal Media Pvt. Ltd (Adinath Dattatray Chavan)
3. Sandesh Daily Bhuj Edition

In “Best School” Category :

1. Govt. Girls Hr. Secondary School, Kaveripattinam, Tamilnadu
2. Amalorpavam Lourds Academy, Thiruvalluar, Puducherry
3. Amity International School, Noida, UP & Govt. Middle School, Manapet, Puducherry ( Joint Winner )

In “Best Institution/RWA/Religious organization for Campus usage” Category :

1. Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Jammu
2. IIT Gandhinagar, Gujarat
3. lndian Oil Corporation Limited Faridabad

In “Best Industry” Category :

1. Welspun India Textile Ltd., Gujarat
2. Hyundai Motor India Ltd., Tamil Nadu
3. Trident (Textile) Ltd., Punjab & Steel Authority of India Ltd., New Delhi ( Joint Winner )

In “Best NGO” Category :

• Coastal Salinity Prevention Cell, Ahmedabad
• Vivekananda Kendra NARDEP, Kanyakumari
• Gramvikas Sanstha, Aurangabad & Vivekananda Research and Training Institute, Bhavnagar ( Joint Winner )

In “Best Water User Association” Category :

1. Panchgachiya MDTW WUA, Hooghly, West Bengal
2. Hatinada Champa Purulia, West Bengal
3. Amtore Mini River Lift Irrigation WUA, Purulia, West Bengal

In “Best Industry for CSR activities” Category :

1. ITC Limited, Kolkata, West Bengal
2. Adani Foundation, Gujarat
3. HAL, Bengaluru, Karnataka & Dharampal Satyapal Ltd., Noida, Uttar Pradesh ( Joint Winner )

About National Water Awards :

• National Water Awards are given by the Ministry of Jal Shakti for exemplary work in the field of water resource management.
• The first National Water Award was launched in 2018.

Deepika Padukone Receives TIME100 Impact Award

• Bollywood actress, producer and entrepreneur Deepika Padukone was conferred one of the awardees of the TIME100 Impact Awards 2022.
• The awards were presented at the Museum of the Future in Dubai.
• She has got featured on the inaugural TIME100 Impact Awards list for her work in the mental health struggles and raising awareness, through her LiveLoveLaugh Foundation.
• This is the second honor by the TIME magazine for Deepika, (earlier she was one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018 by TIME).
• Apart from Deepika, six other global leaders have also been honored with the award.

About TIME100 Impact Awards

• TIME100 Impact Awards, is a recognition of leaders who, through sustained effort, have done extraordinary work to shape the future of their industries and the world at large.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS

US & Philippines begins ‘Balikatan 2022’ largest-ever military drills                

• On March 28, 2022, The United States military and the Philippines military started the large-scale annual joint military drills in the Southeast Asian country Balikatan 2022.
• The exercise will take place across Luzon in the Philippines region near Taiwan,from March 28 to April 8, 2022.
• The participants in the exercise, codenamed Balikatan 2022, include 3,800 Filipino and 5,100 US military personnel, as well as observers from various armed forces in the region.
• The drills will focus on “maritime security, amphibious operations, live-fire training, urban operations, aviation operations, counterterrorism, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief”.
• It also includes a command post exercise that tests both forces’ ability to plan, command and communicate in a simulated environment.

About US :

• Capital: Washington, D.C.
• President: Joe Biden
• Currency: United States Dollar

About Philippines :

• Capital: Manila
• Currency: Philippine peso
• President: Rodrigo Duterte

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

WB Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurates supercomputer PARAM Shakti at IIT Kharagpur

• On March 27, 2022, the Governor of West Bengal, Jagdeep Dhankhar, inaugurated a Petascale Supercomputer PARAM Shakti under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) – a joint initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Department of Science and Technology (DST) at IIT Kharagpur.

Aim :

• To accelerate research and development activities in multidisciplinary domains of computational and data sciences of IIT Kharagpur and other academic and research and development institutes.

About PARAM Shakti :

• The system has been tested extensively by both IIT Kharagpur and CDAC for commercial, open-source and in-house software pertaining to diversified applications.
• The new high-performance computational facility would aid researchers to solve large-scale problems of different fields of Science and Engineering.
• Some of the identified focus areas in which this supercomputing-based research will be of great value addition are Computational Fluid Dynamics, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, Climate Change & Digital Earth, Computational Biology, Cryptography & Security, Smart Infrastructure & Sustainable Cities, Smart Materials etc.

Note :

• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between IIT Kharagpur and the Centre for Development in Advanced Computing (CDAC) in March 2019 to establish this state-of-the-art Supercomputing Facility with 17680 CPU cores along with 44 GPUs.
• This facility has pioneered in using RDHX based efficient cooling systems to obtain a high power usage effectiveness.

About West Bengal :

• Chief minister: Mamata Banerjee
• Capital: Kolkata

About MeitY :

• Cabinet Minister : Ashwini Vaishnaw
• Minister of State : Rajeev Chandrasekhar
• Secretary : Ajay Prakash Sawhney

About DST :

• Established : May 1971
• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Minister of Science and Technology : Jitendra Singh
• Parent Agency : Ministry of Science and Technology

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITION AND MERGERS

PVR & INOX Leisure announced merger combined entity to be called as  PVR Inox Ltd:

• Multiplex giants PVR and Inox has announced the merger of their two companies in what may well be one the biggest business deals of the year.
• Merger to bring together two of India’s best cinema brands to deliver an unparalleled consumer experience with a network of more than 1,500 screens
• Shareholders of Inox will get PVR shares in a pre-approved ‘swap’ ratio of 3:10; this means three equity shares of PVR can be swapped for 10 of Inox.
• Inox will have a 16.66 per cent stake in the new firm and PVR will have 10.62 per cent stake.
• The merger is subject to approval by shareholders of both companies as well as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), stock exchanges, and other regulatory approvals as required

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

Canada Qualifies for FIFA World Cup finals for first time in 36 years:

• Canada men’s football team qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals for only the second time ever with a 4-0 rout of Jamaica.
• Canada become 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 nation’s only previous appearance in the tournament was 1986 in Mexico.
• John Herdman’s squad needed only a draw against Jamaica to capture one of the three spots from the CONCACAF (North, Central American and Caribbean) region for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in November.
• When Herman was hired in 2018, men’s football had little relevance in Canada due to poor World Cup qualification results and the popularity of ice hockey.
• Since taking over, the team’s fortunes have quickly turned around with their FIFA ranking jumping from 89th to 33rd since February 2018.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHOR

A New book titled ‘Spoorthi Pradatha Sri Somayya’ authored by K Syam Prasad:

• The Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has released a book titled ‘Spoorthi Pradatha Sri Somayya’ authored by K Syam Prasad.
• The book narrates life story of noted social worker from Andhra Pradesh, late Shri Somepalli Somaiah.
• He inspired youth to dedicate their lives to social welfare.
• Somepalli Somaiah was born in 1927 in the “Parlamili” village of Prakasham district.
• He dedicated his life to reform and the betterment of society for 50 years.
• He participated in the Satyagraha of 1948 and was against the ban on RSS (Rashtriya Seva Sangh) and was jailed for the same.

Daily CA On March 31:

• Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW) Shri 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.
• The Indian Air Force has unveiled a new initiative with the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd under which its convoys will be to refuel at fuel stations of the state-run energy major.
• The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has organized Yamunotsav in association with a group of NGOs at ASITA East River Front, ITO Bridge, to celebrate the glory of Yamuna with a “pledge to keep it clean”.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the All-Former Prime Ministers Museum in New Delhi on April 14, 2022.
• Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, 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.
• Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), laid foundation stone for the establishment of a Learning and Development Centre (LDC) of the Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited (BRBNMPL), in Mysuru.
• Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), dedicated Varnika, the Ink Manufacturing Unit of Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited (BRBNMPL), a wholly owned subsidiary of RBI to the nation in Mysore.
• Ratings agency ICRA has lowered the growth forecast for India’s GDP in 2022-23 (FY23) to 2 percent.
• Shashi Sinha, has been elected as the new chairman of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC India) & he will replace Punit Goenka, MD & CEO of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, who has been the chairman of BARC India for the last 3 years.
• Uday Kotak will step down as the Chairman of the board of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) after his term ends on April 2.
• Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma was re-elected unopposed as the president of Badminton Association of India (BAI) for another four years term from 2022 to 2026 at the general body meeting held in Guwahati.
• On March 29, 2022, The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind will felicitate the winners of the 3rd National Water Awards at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
• Bollywood actress, producer and entrepreneur Deepika Padukone was conferred one of the awardees of the TIME100 Impact Awards 2022.
• On March 28, 2022, The United States military and the Philippines military started the large-scale annual joint military drills in the Southeast Asian country Balikatan 2022.
• On March 27, 2022, the Governor of West Bengal, Jagdeep Dhankhar, inaugurated a Petascale Supercomputer PARAM Shakti under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) – a joint initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Department of Science and Technology (DST) at IIT Kharagpur.
• Multiplex giants PVR and Inox has announced the merger of their two companies in what may well be one the biggest business deals of the year.
• Canada men’s football team qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals for only the second time ever with a 4-0 rout of Jamaica.
• The Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has released a book titled ‘Spoorthi Pradatha Sri Somayya’ authored by K Syam Prasad.