CURRENT AFFAIRS SNIPPETS 21st March 2022
CURRENT AFFAIRS SNIPPETS
21st March 2022
International News
Russian court bans Facebook and Instagram,
classifies Meta as 'extremist'
A Russian court on Monday banned Facebook and Instagram in the country
after classifying their parent company Meta Platforms as an
"extremist" organisation. The ban does not include WhatsApp, Russia's
TASS news agency reported. Russia had earlier blocked access to Instagram after
Meta said it would allow Ukrainian users to post messages urging violence
against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
NATO military exercise ‘Cold Response 2022’ begins in Norway
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has organised the massive
military drill ‘Cold Response 2022’ in Norway from March 14, 2022, and will
continue till April 01, 2022. The
exercise is held in Norway every second year, for NATO Allies and partners.
Cold Response is a long-planned and defensive exercise where Norway and its
allies exercise in defending Norway against external threats. The exercise has
been planned and informed about long before the war in Ukraine. The Norwegian-led exercise provides an
opportunity to train together in cold weather conditions over challenging
terrain and demonstrates NATO’s ability to respond decisively to any threat,
from any direction. Around 30,000 troops
from 27 nations are taking part in the 2022 edition of the exercise, with about
220 aircraft and more than 50 vessels. This is the largest ‘Cold Response’
being exercise conducted in Norway since the 1980s.
NATIONAL
Pushkar Singh Dhami named as Uttarakhand CM
Uttarakhand's caretaker CM Pushkar Singh Dhami has been chosen as the
new state CM after BJP won 47 seats in the 70-member Assembly in the
recently-concluded elections. Dhami had lost the Khatima seat to Congress
candidate Bhuwan Chandra Kapri, who won by a margin of over 6,500 votes. Dhami
had earlier taken charge as CM in July 2021.
Pramod Sawant to continue as Goa Chief
Minister for 2nd term
Goa's caretaker CM Pramod Sawant has been chosen as the CM of the state
for a second term, days after BJP won 20 seats in the 40-member Goa assembly.
Notably, this will be the third straight term of the BJP in Goa. Reports
suggest that the swearing-in ceremony of the new government will tentatively
take place between March 23-25.
Late CDS Gen Bipin Rawat awarded Padma
Vibhushan, his daughters receive honour
India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, who died
in a helicopter crash in December 2021, was awarded the Padma Vibhushan
posthumously on Monday. His daughters Kritika and Tarini received the award
from President Ram Nath Kovind on their father's behalf. General Rawat's wife
and 12 others were also killed in the same crash.
₹5,000 cash for those who help road accident
victims in TN: CM
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday said that people who will
help provide medical care facilities to road accident victims in the state will
be given a cash reward of ₹5,000. CM Stalin had earlier launched 'Innuyir
Kaappon', a scheme providing free medical treatment within the first 48 hours
to those injured in road accidents.
Who is Swami Sivananda, the 125-yr-old yoga
guru awarded the Padma Shri?
Born in 1896, in Sylhet district (now in Bangladesh), Swami Sivananda
practices yoga every day and eats food without oil and spices. For the last 50
years, he has been serving 400-600 leprosy-affected beggars by arranging food,
clothes and other essentials for them in Puri. In an earlier interview, he said
he owed his age to "yoga, discipline and celibacy".
S Phangnon Konyak to be Nagaland's first
woman Rajya Sabha MP
BJP leader S Phangnon Konyak is set to become the first woman Rajya
Sabha MP from Nagaland after winning the Rajya Sabha seat on Monday.
"Women comprise 50% of the electorate. While Naga women have been very
actively involved in politics, they haven't been forthcoming to contest the
elections," she said. Konyak is the second Naga woman parliamentarian.
35th Surajkund International Crafts Mela begins in Haryana
The Governor of Haryana, Bandaru Dattatraya and Chief Minister of Haryana,
Manohar Lal Khattar formally inaugurated the 35th edition of the world-famous
Surajkund International Crafts Mela at Surajkund in Faridabad district of
Haryana. The event is organized jointly
by the Surajkund Mela Authority & Haryana Tourism in collaboration with
Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and External Affairs. In 2022, the ‘Theme State’ in Jammu &
Kashmir and Uzbekistan is the partner nation.
Rajesh Gopinathan re-appointed as MD and CEO of TCS for five years
The board of IT major, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced the
re-appointment of Rajesh Gopinathan as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of the company for five years. His second term will begin from February 21,
2022, to February 20, 2027. Rajesh Gopinathan was first appointed as the CEO and
MD of TCS in 2017. Under his leadership,
the company has strengthened its position with the revenues increasing from
$17.6 billion in the financial year ended March 31, 2017, to $22.2 billion in
the financial year ended March 31, 2021.
Jay Shah’s term extended by one year as a President of Asian Cricket
Council
The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has unanimously extended the tenure of its
incumbent President Jay Shah for a period of one year. The decision was taken
during the annual general meeting of ACC on March 19, 2022. Jay Shah is the Secretary of the Board
of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) since 2019. Shah was first appointed as
the President of ACC in January 2021, replacing Nazmul Hassan, the President of
the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). Shah's
extension was proposed by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) president Shammi Silva and
the nomination was backed unanimously by all the members of the ACC.
Manipur CM lists govt's 3 priorities after
taking oath for 2nd term
Manipur CM N Biren Singh on Monday listed his government's three
priorities after taking oath for his second consecutive term as Chief Minister.
He said his government's "primary duty [is to] wash out corruption from
the state". He added that his second and third priorities are to
"wash out any kind of drug-related matter" and bring
"insurgents...to the negotiating table".
Banking, Business and Economy
Pushkar Singh Dhami named as Uttarakhand CM
Uttarakhand's caretaker CM Pushkar Singh Dhami has been chosen as the
new state CM after BJP won 47 seats in the 70-member Assembly in the
recently-concluded elections. Dhami had lost the Khatima seat to Congress
candidate Bhuwan Chandra Kapri, who won by a margin of over 6,500 votes. Dhami
had earlier taken charge as CM in July 2021.
PhonePe acquires Pune-based
micro-entrepreneur platform GigIndia
Walmart-owned PhonePe on Monday announced that it has acquired Pune-based
GigIndia, a network for freelance micro-entrepreneurs. PhonePe did not reveal
the financial details of the deal. As part of the acquisition, GigIndia will be
integrated with the digital payments platform. GigIndia has 1.5 million
entrepreneurs and over 100 enterprises as customers, the company said in its
press release.
Employees' PF interest rate cut reflects
today's realities: Nirmala Sitharaman
Nirmala Sitharaman spoke about the lowering of interest on the
Employees' Provident Fund from 8.5% to 8.1% for 2021-22. She said, "EPFO's
central board has representatives from different stakeholders who have taken
this call...It had been 40 years since the rate wasn't brought down." She added,
"There are today's realities that keep us in context with the
decisions."
NPCI designed “UPI Lite – On-Device wallet” functionality for UPI user
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) designed the “UPI Lite –
On-Device wallet” (“UPI Lite”) functionality for UPI users for small value
transactions. About 75% of the total
volume of retail transactions (including cash) in India are below Rs 100
transaction value. Further, 50% of the total UPI transactions are having a
transaction value of up to Rs 200/-. To easily process such small value
transactions, NPCI has launched this facility of “UPI Lite”. UPI Lite will process transactions in near
offline mode i.e. debit offline and credit online, and at a later point, UPI
Lite will process transactions in complete offline mode i.e. debit and credit
both offline. The upper limit of a UPI Lite payment transaction shall be Rs.
200. The total limit of UPI Lite balance for an “On-device wallet” shall be Rs.
2,000 at any point of time. Replenishment
of funds in UPI Lite shall only be allowed in online mode with additional
factor authentication (AFA) or using UPI AutoPay which has been registered by
the User in online mode with AFA.
BPCL becomes the first to offer digital payment to non-internet users
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a 'Maharatna' and Fortune Global
500 company, has teamed up with UltraCash Technologies Pvt. Ltd. to provide
BharatGas customers with a voice-based digital payment option for booking LPG
cylinders. Customers who do not have
access to a smartphone or the internet can use this feature to book cylinders
and pay via the 'UPI 123PAY' system. Customers
can call the common number 080 4516 3554 from a non-internet phone to reserve a
BharatGas cylinder for themselves or for friends in simple steps and in a
secure manner thanks to the collaboration with Ultra Cash.
Govt. increased timeline to 10 years for startups for converting debt
investment into equity
According to a news release from the DPIIT, the government has extended the
deadline for companies to convert debt financing into equity shares by up to 10
years, a measure that is likely to provide comfort to emerging enterprises
dealing with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Previously, convertible notes may be
converted into equity shares for up to five years after the initial convertible
note was issued. That time frame has now been increased to ten years.
Awards News
Suresh Raina felicitated with ‘Sports Icon’ award by Maldives government
Former India cricketer Suresh Raina has been awarded the prestigious ‘Sports
Icon’ award at the Maldives Sports Awards 2022. The Maldives government
felicitated Raina for his various achievements throughout his career. Raina was nominated alongside 16
international sportspersons, including former Real Madrid player Roberto
Carlos, Jamaican Sprinter Asafa Powell, former Sri Lankan captain and cricketer
Sanath Jayasuriya and Dutch football legend Edgar Davids among others. Raina is known for aiding the Indian cricket
team to its World Cup glory back in 2011 and has also won the Indian Premier
League(IPL) trophy four times with the Chennai Super Kings(CSK) franchise. He is the first Indian player to score 6000
as well as 8000 runs in a Twenty20 career and the first-ever cricketer to reach
5,000 runs in IPL. He also holds the record for scoring the most fifties in
Champions League T20 history.
Sportstar Aces 2022: Neeraj Chopra wins Sportsman of the Year award
Tokyo Olympic gold medallist, Neeraj Chopra claimed the coveted ‘Sportstar of
the Year (Male)’ award at the 2022 Sportstar Aces Awards. Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, who claimed the
silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, received the ‘Sportstar of the Year
(Female)’ award. The Aces Awards
celebrate the spirit of excellence in sport and hope to inspire our athletes
and sportspersons to continue to strive to break new records and reach new
pinnacles of glory.
Other awardee's in the list:
Lovlina Borgohain (Sportswoman of the Year, Individual Sports),
Avani
Lekhara (Parathlete of the Year, Female),
Pramod
Bhagat (Special Recognition award),
Savita
(Sportswoman of the Year, Team Sports), and Rupinder Pal Singh (Sportsman of
the Year, Team Sports).
Arif
Khan wins Special Recognition Award at Sportstar Aces 2022.
Former
Indian hockey team captain Ajit Pal Singh was conferred the ‘Lifetime
Achievement award. Ajit was part of two Olympic bronze-winning teams, including
one at the 1972 Munich Games.
Sports News
F1 Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 won by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari- Monaco) has won the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix
2022 at the Bahrain International Circuit, a motor racing circuit in the west
of Bahrain. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari –
Spain) came second while Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) came third.
This was the first Formula One race of 2022.
Pankaj
Advani won Asian Billiards title for 8th time
Indian cueist Pankaj Advani has defeated Dhruv Sitwala to win his eighth title
at the 19th Asian 100 UP Billiards Championship 2022. It was held in Doha,
Qatar. Overall this is Advani’s 24th international title and 8th Asian crown. Earlier, Advani had held off the stiff
challenge of Pauk Sa of Myanmar to secure a spot in the final. He managed a 5-4
win after his opponent fought back strongly to level the match at four frames
each.
.
Books and Authors News
‘Road to 1000’ book released by Sportstar and The Hindu group
Sportstar and The Hindu group released a coffee-table book, ‘Road to 1000’, at
the 2022 Sportstar Aces Awards at The Taj Mahal Palace hotel. The book is a
520-page, special collection with 1000 pictures to commemorate Indian cricket’s
journey. ‘Road to 1000’ was released by
former India cricketers Sunil Gavaskar, Syed Kirmani, Dilip Vengsarkar,
Mohammad Azharuddin, Chandrakant Pandit and Nilesh Kulkarni here. On February
6, India played its 1,000th ODI against the West Indies in Ahmedabad, becoming
the first team to record the feat. India's
World Cup triumphs in 1983 and 2011, under Kapil Dev and M. S. Dhoni respectively,
remain the major highlights in Indian ODI history. Sportstar reporters and
photographers travelled the world to cover the Indian cricket team in the 1980s
and 1990s. This is the best tribute to Indian cricket.
Important Days
21st March observed as International Day of Forests
The International Day of Forests (also known as World Forestry Day) is
celebrated every year on March 21. The main aim of the day is to raise
awareness of the significance of all types of forests. The day is to celebrate to raise awareness of
the importance of all types of forests, and trees outside forests, for the
benefit of current and future generations as well as to increase the public
awareness among communities about the values, significance and contributions of
the forests to balance the life cycle on the earth. The theme for 2022 is "Forests and
sustainable production and consumption."
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 March the
International Day of Forests (IDF) in 2012. The Day celebrates and raises
awareness of the importance of all types of forests.
World Sparrow Day 2022: Date, theme, history
World Sparrow Day (WSD) is celebrated every year on March 20th. This day is
meant to raise awareness about the house sparrow and the dangers it confronts.
The purpose of World Sparrow Day is to raise awareness and protect the bird all
across the world. A few years ago, house
sparrows were commonly seen in people's homes. As a result of rising noise
pollution, the bird is now on the edge of extinction. The theme of World Sparrow Day is "LOVE
Sparrows." More individuals are likely to join in a range of events and
campaigns geared at sparrow conservation as a result of focusing on this issue. World Sparrow Day was established by Mohammed
Dilawar, the founder of The Nature Forever Society. He started several
projects, including the biodiversity Photo Contest, the annual Sparrow Awards,
Project Save Our Sparrows, and the Common Bird Monitoring of India programme. The first World Sparrow Day was held in the
year 2010. In 2011, the World Sparrow Awards were established.
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed
annually on 21 March to remind people about the negative consequences of racial
discrimination. The 2022 edition of the International Day focuses on the theme
“VOICES FOR ACTION AGAINST RACISM”. The
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed
annually on the day the police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire and
killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid "pass
laws" in 1960.
20th March celebrates as World Oral Health Day
The World Oral Health Day is marked every year on March 20. The day aims to
raise global awareness of the issues around oral health and the importance of
oral hygiene so that governments, health associations and the general public
can work together to achieve healthier mouths and happier lives. The theme for World Oral Health Day 2021-2023
is: Be Proud Of Your Mouth. The FDI
World Dental Federation launched World Oral Health Day in 2007. The day was
originally celebrated on 12th September in remembrance of FDI founder, Dr
Charles Godon. Later, it was changed to 20th March in 2013 to avoid conflict
with the FDI World Dental Congress in September.
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