NATIONAL NEWS
International Yoga Festival begins in Rishikesh
The seven-day International Yoga Festival was inaugurated by Agriculture Minister Subodh Uniyal, head of Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad (ABAP) Narendra Giri and Patanjali Yogpeeth chairman Acharya Balakrishna in Rishikesh.
- The festival is being jointly organised by Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) and Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN).
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
IAF participates for 1st time in Exercise Desert Flag in UAE
Indian Air Force (IAF) will participate for the first time in Exercise Desert Flag which is beginning in Al-Dhafra airbase in UAE.
- Exercise Desert Flag is an annual multi-national large force employment warfare exercise hosted by the United Arab Emirates Air Force.
- The Indian Air Force is participating in the Exercise along with air forces of United Arab Emirates, United States of America, France, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Bahrain. The exercise will conclude on 27th of this month.
India described Sri Lanka as "Priority One" partner in the defence sphere and said the participation of its military aircraft in the 70th anniversary celebration of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) is indicative of the growing cooperation, camaraderie and friendship between the two militaries.
- The SLAF is celebrating its 70th Anniversary on March 2 and to commemorate the historical event, a Fly Past and an Aerobatic Display is being organised for the first time in the country at a grand scale.
One in every four individuals, or around 2.5 billion people, across the world will experience mild-to-profound hearing loss by 2050, said World Health Organization (WHO) in a new report.
- It is estimated that at least 700 million people will suffer from disabling hearing loss and require ear and hearing care, WHO said.
- WHO defines disabling hearing loss as greater than 40 decibels (dB) loss in adults and greater than 30 dB in children.
- Exposure to excessive noise, was cited by the first World Report on Hearing as one of the reasons for the disability. Genetic causes, complications at birth, certain infectious diseases, chronic ear infections, the use of particular drugs and ageing are the other factors mentioned by WHO.
BANKING & FINANCE
World Bank plans $100-mn guarantee scheme for solar rooftop projects
The World Bank plans to introduce a $100-million credit guarantee scheme to boost India’s rooftop solar programme, which has not gained enough traction.
- The scheme will allow micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to avail concessional debt financing for setting up rooftop solar units, said two people aware of the development requesting anonymity.
- The World Bank scheme, along with State Bank of India (SBI) and the MSME ministry to accelerate adoption of rooftop solar units, will help MSMEs access credit of around $1 billion.
Telangana Grameena Bank (TGB) and Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB) have launched digital savings account opening facility through Video-Know Your Customer (KYC).
- Both banks, sponsored by SBI, will change the complexion of rural economy and make the parent bank ‘proud’.
- With this, TGB and APGVB have become the first among RRBs in the country to adopt state-of-the-art technologies having full security features for zero contact onboarding of customers, which are at par with commercial banks.
Homegrown payments and banking technology company, Cashfree announced its partnership with PayPal to enable international payments for merchants.
- With this integration, businesses can show the prices of all products in over 28 currencies.
- Customers with a PayPal account will be able to use the PayPal Express Checkout button and pay in their preferred currency.
SPORTS
ICC Rankings: Smriti Mandhana Slips Two Places, Jhulan Goswami Retains Fifth Spot
Indian opener Smriti Mandhana slipped two places to sixth among batters but Jhulan Goswami retained her fifth spot among bowlers in the latest ICC women’s ODI Players’ rankings.
- Another veteran Mithali Raj with 687 points remained at 9th to be the second Indian batswoman in the top 10. Besides Goswami (691), Poonam Yadav (679), Shikha Pandey (675) and Deepti Sharma (639) are the other Indian bowlers in the top-10. All of them retained their previous ranking spots.
- Jess Jonassen of Australia continued to top the bowling chart with 804 points, followed by compatriot Megan Schutt (735).
- On the other hand, England opener Tammy Beaumont has jumped five places to grab the top position at the ICC Rankings for batters in the ODI format. Beaumont overtook the likes of West Indian Stafanie Taylor, New Zealand’s Amy Satterthwaite Australia captain Meg Lanning to lead the chart in the Women's ODI Player Rankings.
- Among the all-rounders, Deepti Sharma retained her fourth spot in the list headed by Ellyse Perry of Australia.
APPOINTMENTS
Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh takes over as ENC chief
Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh took over as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command from Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain at an impressive ceremonial parade held at the Naval Base in Visakhapatnam.
- Atul Kumar Jain has been transferred to New Delhi to assume charge as the Vice Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC).
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Lok Sabha TV & Rajya Sabha TV merged into one single entity, Sansad TV
The Lok Sabha TV and the Rajya Sabha TV channels have been officially merged into one single entity called Sansad TV.
- Retired Indian Administrative Service officer Ravi Capoor was appointed the chief executive officer of the channel for one year on March 1.
- The decision is in line with the proposals of a panel headed by former Prasar Bharati chairperson A Surya Prakash. The panel was set up by Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu after consulting with Speaker Om Birla in November 2019.
OBITUARIES
BJP MP Nand Kumar Singh Chauhan passes away
BJP MP from Khandwa, Nand Kumar Singh Chauhan passed away in Medanta Hospital, Delhi-NCR. He was 69.
- The leader started his political career in 1978 from the Shahpur Municipal Council and was later elected as member of the Madhya Pradesh Assembly.
- He was an MLA from 1985 to 1996. He was elected as the Lok Sabha member for the first time in 1996 and got re-elected in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2014 and 2019.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
"The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer" book by Shrabani Basu
The book titled ‘The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer: Arthur Conan Doyle, George Edalji and the case of the foreigner in the English village’ authored by Shrabani Basu is set to release in the UK next week and in India on March 10.
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Wildlife DayThe United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) celebrated World Wildlife Day on March 3 every year to raise awareness about global wildlife and plants.
- The theme of World Wildlife Day 2021 "Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet" is set in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
World Hearing Day is observed on March 3 each year to raise awareness of how to prevent deafness and hearing loss and to promote ear and hearing care across the world.
- The theme for this year is 'Hearing Care for All: Screen, Rehabilitate, Communicate'.
The Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) celebrated its 9th Foundation Day on 01 March 2021 at its Headquarter in New Delhi.
- The Land Ports Authority of India or LPAI is a statutory body working under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing border infrastructure in India.
- It manages several Integrated Check Posts all across Borders of India.
The 45th Civil Accounts Day was celebrated on March 1,2021 in New Delhi. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was the Chief Guest of the event.
- This annual event was celebrated for the first time by virtual mode and was enthusiastically attended by Indian Civil Accounts Service ICAS officers and staff of the Civil Accounts Organisation.
No comments:
Post a Comment