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Current Affairs Today – 31st March 2021

NEWS AT A GLANCE

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Drug Checking – Observed on Mar 31

The International Day of Drug Checkingtakes 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.
Objectives:
Raise awareness of drug checking as a harm-reduction approach so that more people can have the opportunity to check their drugs to make more informed decisions.
Promote the use of personal drug-checking using home reagent testing kits, which are easily attainable online.

International Transgender Day of Visibility : Observed on Mar 31

International Transgender Day of Visibility is an annual event occurring on March 31 dedicated to celebrating transgender people and raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide, as well as a celebration of their contributions to society.
The day was founded by US-based transgender activist Rachel Crandall of Michigan in 2009.

World Backup Day : Observed on Mar 31

World Backup Dayis marked every year on March 31 the day aims to 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, the World Backup Day began as World Backup Month, by a hard drive company named Maxtor which was later acquired by Seagate Technology.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Education Minister inaugurates Anandam The Center for Happiness in IIM Jammu

Union Minister of Education Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’inaugurated “Ānandam: The Center for Happiness” virtually on March 30, 2021 at Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Jammu.
The name ‘Ānandam’ is taken from the Indian wisdom tradition where the pure consciousness is known as “anandam”.
The Centre will work for the well-being of all by incorporating happiness in the academic curriculum of students, which includes knowing the truth, doing well and enjoying the beauty around.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Founder of Art of Living Foundation, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar also virtually graced the occasion.
Pokhriyal congratulated IIM Jammu for the new venture and defined the need for Ānandam.
He said that incorporating happiness in the academic curriculum of students is a very crucial step towards empowering the nation.

I&B Minister flagged off DEMU train from Phaltan to Pune

Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar flagged off DEMU train from Phaltan to Pune via Lonand through video conferencing.
The new train will provide better transport facilities to the people of the region.
Mr Javadekar mentioned, Railway has taken several measures to provide better facilities to commuters.
This includes introduction of Bio-toilets, wifi facility and simplified reservation on IRCTC.
He said more than five thousand Railway stations have been provided with Wi-Fi which enable passengers to access the World Wide Web and opened their horizon of knowledge.

Govt make 22 new routes in operational in last three days under UDAN scheme

Government has operationalised 22 new routes in the last three days under the UDAN scheme.
This is part of Endeavour to connect the unconnected regions.
Out of these new routes, six routes have been operationalised in North-East India.
The Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik, UDAN is a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Civil Aviation envisaged to make air travel affordable and widespread in the country.
The scheme intends to boost inclusive national economic growth, employment opportunities and air transport infrastructure development across the nation.
Till date, 347 routes have been operationalised under the UDAN scheme.
The Civil Aviation Ministry said the first direct flight from Shillong, Meghalaya to Agartala in Tripura under the UDAN scheme was flagged off.
The flight operation on Shillong – Silchar route was successfully commenced.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

New Zealand become second country after India to pass Miscarriages Bereavement Leave Law

The New Zealand Parliamenthas recently passed legislation to provide leave for miscarriage and for stillbirth
The Bill allows mothers and their partners the right to paid leave following a miscarriage or still birth, without having to tap into sick leave.
Employees will get three days leave when a pregnancy ends with a stillbirth.
With this, New Zealand has become only the second country in the world to do so.
India is the only other country in the world with similar legislation that provides leave for miscarriage and stillbirth.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

Cyber criminals attack MIDC computer systems last week in Maharashtra

In Maharashtra, cyber criminals attacked Maharashtra’s Industrial Development Corporation’s (MIDC) computer systems last week.
MIDC, in a statement said, cyber attackers have sent an email asking ransom.
All the systems of MIDC are hosted on private and local servers and it uses Trend Micro antivirus.
Infected computers were immediately disconnected from the network to minimize the impact.
But the virus has affected works at regional offices of MIDC.
The corporation has registered a complaint with Mumbai Police’s cyber unit and various measures are being taken up to minimize the impact of attack and to further enhance systems.

J&K govt assemble one day awareness programme for farmers

In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, as part of Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav celebrations, a one-day awareness programme for farmers was organized by the Revenue Department at Revenue Training Complex, Jammu.
A detailed presentation was given by Regional Director Surveys & Land Records, through which the farmers were informed about the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme, (DILRMP) under which, an Integrated Land Information Management System is being developed across the country, which includes geo-mapping of land and digitization of revenue records.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

India real GDP growth to be 7.5 to 12.5 per cent: World Bank

India’s economy has bounced back amazingly from the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown over the last one year, but it is not out of the woods yet, according to the World Bank, which in its latest report has predicted that the country’s real GDP growth for fiscal year 21/22 could range from 7.5 to 12.5 per cent.
The Washington-based global lender, in its latest South Asia Economic Focus report released ahead of the annual spring meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said that the economy was already slowing when the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING NEWS

RBI announces average base rate of 7.81% for NBFC-MFIs

Various loans offered by Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC) and Micro Finance institutes (MFI) are expected to be cheaper from April 1.
Reserve bank of India communicated that the applicable base rate to be charged as 81 per cent.
It is lower by 15 basis points (0.15 %) as compared to the current quarter.
Last year it was 76 during the same period.
On the last working day of every quarter, RBI advises interest rates to be charged by NBFC-MFIs to their borrowers in the ensuing quarter.
It is based on the average of the base rates of the five largest commercial banks.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENT NEWS

A P Moller-Maersk decided to appoint chief technology officer Navneet Kapoor to the board

The Boardof Directors of P. Moller – Maersk has decided to appoint Chief Technology & Information Officer (CTIO) Navneet Kapoor to the Executive Board with effect from 1 April 2021.
The appointment is both recognition of the role Technology plays for the transformation of P. Moller – Maersk, and the strategic leadership capabilities of Navneet Kapoor.
As CTIO, Navneet Kapoor leads the efforts to build competitive advantage from technology, a central element in the Strategy of the company.
The company is in the middle of a multi-dimensional digital transformation that aims to build a new technology platform offering new digital products to our customers supported by standardized and automated processes across the company.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU’s AND AGREEMENTS

SpiceJet and Avenue Capital signs MoU

Low-cost carrier and country’s largest regional player, homegrown carrier SpiceJetsaid it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with New York-based Avenue Capital Group, for financing, acquisition and sale and lease-back of 50 new planes.
The MoU sets out the next steps and conditions upon which Avenue, as part of the deal, will assist with placing SpiceJet’s new aircraft portfolio.
It includes sale and lease-back of and also the assumption of ownership of potentially up to 50 of these aircraft.
Avenue Capital Group specializes in the field of aircraft leasing and has identified the new planes to be ordered by Spice Jet as a unique opportunity for investment.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS

Indian Navy Participate in French Naval Exercise in Bay of Bengal with QUAD member Countries

India is to participate in France-led naval drill La Perouse for the first time in the Bay of Bengal.
It will be held from April 5 to 7, 2021.
Australia, Japan and the US (the other Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) member countries) will also participate in La Perouse.
This is the first time that the Indian Navy will be part of the France-led war game ‘La Perouse’.
Until now, India was not invited for the French naval exercise.
After La Perouse, another important naval exercise, the India-French Varuna exercise, will also take place.
This time, it will also include the United Arab Emirates
It will take place in the last week of April in the Western Indian Ocean.
About Indian Navy :
Founded: 26 January 1950
Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS): Vice Admiral G. Ashok Kumar
Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS): Vice Admiral M. S. Pawar
Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS): Admiral Karambir Singh
Commander-in-Chief: President Ram Nath Kovind

CURRENT AFFAIRS : ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

BPCL sells entire 61.5 % stake in Numaligarh refinery for Rs 9,876 cr

On March 26, 2021, The BPCL sold its entire 5% stake in Numaligarh Refinery (NRL) in Assam to a consortium of Oil India and Engineers India and government of Assam for Rs 9,876 crore.
This sale purchase agreement was signed on March 25th, 2021.
Agreement Carried out between BPCL and Consortium of oil india limited.
Oil India (OIL) acquired 39,84,36,929 equity shares, or 54.16% stake in NRL.
Engineers India (EIL) bought 3,21,46,957 equity shares, or 4.37% stake, in NRL.
The remaining 2.29 crore equity shares have been transferred to Government of Assam for Rs 499.99 crore.

About BPCL :

Headquarters: Mumbai
Founded: 1952
Chairman & MD :Padmakar

About OIL :

Headquarters: Noida
Founded: 18 February 1959

About NRL :

NRL is primarily engaged in the business of refining petroleum products having revenue of Rs 14,073 crore in FY 2020.
NRL is the largest customer of OIL’s crude produced from its North Eastern fields.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Using blockchain technology ITI, Thalamus Irwine debut healthcare services

ITI Limited, India’s telecom products manufacturing arm, and Thalamus Irwine, a local startup have come together to develop a technology for storing medical data on blockchain.
They conducted a Proof of Concept (PoC) with as many as 300 patients on March 25, 2021.
It also enabled the Centre’s ambitious One Nation One Health Card initiative.
One Nation One Health Card offers a level-playing field and consistency in health records would help to check future pandemics within a matter of minutes through a real-time scenario with distributed ledger technology (DLT)
Both ITI and Thalamus would also conduct the next PoC at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, and would jointly pitch for the prestigious One Nation One Health Card initiative once launched commercially.
India is one of the few countries to start a blockchain-based health data record system

About Thalamus Irwine :

Chief Executive : Rishabh Sharma

About ITI :

Chairman : RM Agarwal
Established at : 1948
Headquarters : Bangalore, Karnataka
ITI has become the first public-sector firm to data available using blockchain technology.

Cochin Shipyard Ltd. delivers MV ‘Sindhu’, passengers cum Cargo Vessel for A&N Island

Cochin Shipyard Ltd. delivers MV ‘Sindhu’ A 500 pax passengers cum 150 MT Cargo Vessel built indigenously for Andaman and Nicobar Island.
The Protocol signing & handing over ceremony was held on board the vessel at Cochin Shipyard On March 27, 2021.
This project is a part of a series of Four Passenger vessels comprising 2 nos 500 Pax and 2 nos 1200 pax at a total order value of approx: 1400 crores under the “Make In India” initiative of the Government.
The second 500 pax sister vessel is presently under advanced stage of construction and is also expected to join the fleet in the current year.
The Protocol documents were signed by Capt. Ashutosh Pandey, Director of Shipping Services (DSS), representing A&N Administration and Shri Sivakumar A, General Manager (Ship Building for CSL in the presence of Shri Madhu S Nair, CMD CSL, Directors.
The basic design of the vessel has been developed using world renowned Naval Architects Knud E Hansen of Denmark collaborating with M/s Smart Engineering and Design Solution, Kochi.
This vessel which can cruise at 16 knots is built to the highest standards of the Indian Register of Shipping and American Bureau of Shipping meeting the Indian Merchant Shipping rules and is customized for Indian requirements with very high level of safety and comfort comparable to the international standards.

About Cochin Shipyard Ltd :

Founded: 29 March 1972
Headquarters: India
Chairman & MD : Madhu S Nair
Located at : Cochin, Kerala

About andaman and nicobar islands :

Governor : D K Joshi
Capital : Port Blair

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BOOKS & AUTHORS

NAME PLACE ANIMAL THING – Debut book for Daribha Lyndem

The book of Daribha lyndem titled NAME PLACE ANIMAL THING .
It was Published by Zubaan Publishers Private Limited.

About the book :

This book detailed the story of a young Khasi girl (referred to as D) in Shillong during the early 2000s.
The book interconnects the stories built on each other to cover the breadth of a childhood, and move into the precarious awareness of adulthood.

About Daribha Lyndem :

DARIBHA LYNDEM is a writer and civil servant from Shillong.
Name Place Animal Thing is her first book.
She currently works with the Indian Revenue Service and a Deputy Commissioner of Customs

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SPORTS NEWS

Thisara Perera Becomes First Sri Lankan To Hit Six Sixes In An Over

On March 28, 2021, All-rounder Thisara Perera became the first Sri Lankan to hit six sixes from one over.
The 31-year-old achieved the feat during his unbeaten 13-ball 52 while captaining Sri Lanka Army in a group match against Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club.
It was also the second-fastest half-century by a Sri Lankan in List A cricket, after former Sri Lanka all-rounder Kaushalya Weeraratne’s 12-ball half-century for Ragana Cricket Club against Kurunegala Youth Cricket Club in November 2005.
Perera is the ninth cricketer in the world to have achieved this feat in professional cricket, after Garfield Sobers, Ravi Shastri, Herschelle Gibbs, Yuvraj Singh, Ross Whiteley, Hazratullah Zazai, Leo Carter and recently Kieron Pollard.
Perera has played six Tests, 166 ODIs and 64 T20 Internationals.

In ISSF Shooting World Cup India tops the medals tally with 15 gold, 9 silver & 6 bronze

India finished at the top of the medals table at the 2021 ISSF World Cup New Delhi.
It was held from 18 to 29 March 2021 at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi.
India Procured 30 medals which included 15 gold, 9 silver and 6 bronze.
In that USA came second with eight medals including four gold, three silver and one bronze.

Gold Medal Winners

Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar – Men’s 50 metre rifle three positions
Saurabh Chaudhary, Shahzar Rizvi and Abhishek Verma – Men’s 10 metre air pistol team event
Swapnil Kusale, Chain Singh and Neeraj Kumar – Men’s 50 metre rifle three positions team event
Gurjoat Khangura, Angad Vir Singh Bajwa and Mairaj Ahmad Khan – Men’s Skeet team event
Kynan Chenai, Prithviraj Toidaiman, Lakshay – Men’s Trap team event
Chinki Yadav – Women’s 25 metre pistol
Yashaswini Singh Deswal – Women’s 10 metre air pistol
Yashaswini Singh Deswal, Manu Bhaker, Shri Nivetha Paramanantham – Women’s 10 metre air pistol team
Rahi Sarnobat, Manu Bhaker, Chinki Yadav – Women’s 25 metre pistol event
Rajeshwari Kumar, Shreyasi Singh, Manisha Keer – Women’s Trap event
Saurabh Chaudhary/Manu Bhaker – 10 metre air pistol Mixed Team event
Divyansh Singh Panwar/Elavenil Valarivan – 10 metre air rifle Mixed Team
Tejaswini/Vijayveer Sidhu – 25 metre rapid fire pistol Mixed Team
Sanjeev Rajput/Tejaswini Sawant – 50 metre rifle three positions Mixed Team
Angad Vir Singh Bajwa/Ganemat Sekhon – Trap Mixed Team

Silver Medal Winners

Vijayveer Sidhu – Men’s 25 metre rapid fire pistol
Saurabh Chaudhary – Men’s 10 metre air pistol
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Deepak Kumar, Pankaj Kumar – Men’s 10 metre air rifle team event
Vijayveer Sindhu, Adarsh Singh, Gurpreet Singh – Men’s 25 metre rapid fire pistol team event
Rahi Sarnobat – Women’s 25 metre pistol
Manu Bhaker – Women’s 10 metre air pistol
Anjum Moudgil, Shreya Saksena, Gaayathri Nithyanandam – Women’s 50 metre rifle three positions team event
Parinaaz Dhaliwal, Kartiki Singh Shaktawat, Ganemat Sekhon – Women’s Skeet team event
Abhidnya Ashok Patil/Gurpreet Singh – 25 metre rapid fire pistol Mixed Team

Bronze Medal Winners

Divyansh Singh Panwar – Men’s 10 metre air rifle
Abhishek Verma – Men’s 10 metre air pistol
Manu Bhaker – Women’s 25 metre pistol
Ganemat Sekhon – Skeet
Abhishek Verma/Yashaswini Singh Deswal – 10 metre air pistol Mixed Team
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar/Sunidhi Chauhan – 50 metre rifle three positions Mixed Team

About ISSF :

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

Lewis Hamilton wins Bahrain Grand Prix 2021

On March 28, 2021, Lewis Hamilton won the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix.
It was held at Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain.
This was Lewis Hamilton’s 96th Formula one Victory.
Bahrain Grand Prix is the inaugural GP of the 2021 Formula one world championship.

About Formula one world championship :

It was Organized by Federation International de L’Automobile.

About FIA :

President: Jean Todt
Headquarters location: Paris, France

Daily CA On Mar 30 :

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and had a discussion on the Afghan peace process.
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will attend the 9th Ministerial Conference of Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process on Afghanistan at Dushanbe in Tajikistan.
The new version of Exam Warriors written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now available with many new mantras for students as well as parents.
Jal Jeevan Mission has achieved a new milestone of providing over 4 Crore rural households with tap water supply.
Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and US Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm have agreed to revamp India-US Strategic Energy Partnership (SEP).
Government has received multiple expressions of interest for privatisation of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL).
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has once again extended the restriction imposed on scam-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bankfor a further period of 3 months till June 30, 2021.
The Congolese politicianDenis Sassou Nguesso has been re-elected president of the Republic of the Congo with 88.57 percent of the vote.
Finance Industry Development Council has appointed T T Srinivasaraghavan, Managing Director, Sundaram Finance as Chairman Emeritus, FIDCand Sanjay Chamria, VC & MD, Magma Fincorp & Umesh Revankar, MD, Shriram Transport Finance Co. Ltd. as its Co-Chairmen with effect from April 1, 2021.
Noted American author Carmen Maria Machadohas won the Rathbones Folio prize for the year 2021.
Vaccine developers Bharat Biotech International, Biovet and Sapigen Biologix on March 29 collaborated with CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology to enhance indigenous vaccines and health care solutions.
State-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) will buy out the share of its JV (joint venture) partner SP Ports Pvt. Ltd (SPPPL) in 5 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) LNG re-gasification terminal at Chhara, Gujarat.
The “World Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives” was released by the World Bankon March 24, 2021.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the year 2020 was the best year in history for the global wind industry as this sector installed 93GW of new capacity in 2020, according to a new report titled ‘Global Wind Report 2021,released by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC– Headquarters location: Brussels, Belgium).
In the first, the navies of India and Madagascar conducted joint patrolling of Madagascar’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and also conducted a Passage Exercise (PASSEX).
On March 25th, 2021, Edelweiss Infrastructure Yield Plus (EIYP), an alternative investment fund by Edelweiss Alternative Asset Advisors, acquired 74 per cent stake in French energy major, Engie Group’s, solar portfolio in India.
Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare addressed the 7th annual summit of NATHEALTH.
Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor & Veteran banker Kamalesh Chandra Chakrabarty passed away

Daily CA On Mar 31 :

The International Day of Drug Checkingtakes place on March 31 every year since 2017 to ensure people are educated on drugs and aware of their effects.
International Transgender Day of Visibility is an annual event occurring on March 31 dedicated to celebrating transgender people and raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide, as well as a celebration of their contributions to society.
World Backup Dayis marked every year on March 31 the day aims to reminds us to protect our precious digital documents as we’ve become more reliant on technology.
Union Minister of Education Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’inaugurated “Ānandam: The Center for Happiness” virtually on March 30, 2021 at Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Jammu.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar flagged off DEMU train from Phaltan to Pune via Lonand through video conferencing.
Government has operationalised 22 new routes in the last three days under the UDAN scheme.
The New Zealand Parliamenthas recently passed legislation to provide leave for miscarriage and for stillbirth
In Maharashtra, cyber criminals attacked Maharashtra’s Industrial Development Corporation’s (MIDC) computer systems last week.
In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, as part of Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav celebrations, a one-day awareness programme for farmers was organized by the Revenue Department at Revenue Training Complex, Jammu.
India’s economy has bounced back amazingly from the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide lockdown over the last one year, but it is not out of the woods yet, according to the World Bank, which in its latest report has predicted that the country’s real GDP growth for fiscal year 21/22 could range from 7.5 to 12.5 per cent.
Various loans offered by Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC) and Micro Finance institutes (MFI) are expected to be cheaper from April 1.
The Boardof Directors of P. Moller – Maersk has decided to appoint Chief Technology & Information Officer (CTIO) Navneet Kapoor to the Executive Board with effect from 1 April 2021.
Low-cost carrier and country’s largest regional player, homegrown carrier SpiceJetsaid it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with New York-based Avenue Capital Group, for financing, acquisition and sale and lease-back of 50 new planes.
India is to participate in France-led naval xdrill La Perouse for the first time in the Bay of Bengal.
On March 26, 2021, The BPCL sold its entire 5% stake in Numaligarh Refinery (NRL) in Assam to a consortium of Oil India and Engineers India and government of Assam for Rs 9,876 crore.
ITI Limited, India’s telecom products manufacturing arm, and Thalamus Irwine, a local startup have come together to develop a technology for storing medical data on blockchain.
Cochin Shipyard Ltd. delivers MV ‘Sindhu’ A 500 pax passengers cum 150 MT Cargo Vessel built indigenously for Andaman and Nicobar Island.
The book of Daribha lyndem titled NAME PLACE ANIMAL THING .
On March 28, 2021, All-rounder Thisara Perera became the first Sri Lankan to hit six sixes from one over.
India finished at the top of the medals table at the 2021 ISSF World Cup New Delhi.
On March 28, 2021, Lewis Hamilton won the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix.It was held at Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain.