Current Affairs Quiz 21st March 2024 Quiz

Exp. ICAR and Krishi Jagran signed MoU for the dissemination & promotion of ICAR’s initiatives for the growth of Indian Agriculture

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Krishi Jagran Pvt Ltd have signed a MoU for the dissemination & promotion of ICAR’s initiatives for the growth of Indian Agriculture and farmers’ welfare.

Dr. U.S. Gautam, Deputy Director General (Agril. Extension) ICAR and Shri M.C Dominic, Founder & Editor-In-Chief, Krishi Jagran Pvt Ltd, signed the MoU for their respective organisations.

The MoU will help in the Video production of ICAR Success Stories on social media platforms and promote the success stories of ICAR-developed technologies across India.

It will also help generate Video Bytes of senior officials and Writeups in relevant Krishi Jagran magazine editions on ICAR initiatives.

Exp. CCI Approves Ultra Tech Cement’s ₹ 7,600 crore buyout deal of Kesoram’s cement business

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the acquisition of Kesoram’s Cement Business by UltraTech Cement Limited.

The deal is estimated to be valued at ₹7,600 crore, including the debt the company will take on from Kesoram.

The proposed combination relates to the acquisition of the grey cement business of Kesoram Industries Ltd by UltraTech Cement Ltd.

UltraTech Cement, the flagship company of Aditya Birla group, had in November last year announced that it has acquired the cement business of Kesoram Industries in a share-swap deal.

Post-acquisition, UltraTech’s annual cement capacity will reach 149.14 mt, including its overseas operations. The proposed transaction will accelerate UltraTech’s path to achieve the stated goal of 200 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in India.  

Exp. India’s 1st Battery Energy storage GigaFactory to be launched in J&K

GoodEnough Energy will start operations at India’s first battery energy storage gigafactory in the northern region of Jammu and Kashmir by October.

The facility will help industry in cutting more than 5 million tons of carbon emissions in a year.

GoodEnough has already spent 1.5 billion rupees ($18.07 million) on the 7 gigawatts per hour (GWH) facility and will spend 3 billion rupees by 2027 to raise capacity to 20 GWH.

Battery energy storage projects are critical to India’s ambitious plan to expand its renewable energy capacity to 500 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, from 178 GW at present.

India has set a 2070 goal for becoming net zero.

Exp. Kiren Rijiju gets additional charge after Pashupati Kumar Paras resigns from Union cabinet

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju was given additional charge of Ministry of Food and Processing Industries following the resignation of Pashupati Kumar Paras from the Union Council of ministers.

The minister accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of doing “injustice” with his Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP) by excluding it from the seat-sharing deal with allies for the Lok Sabha polls in Bihar.

Pashupati Kumar resigned after the BJP-led NDA announced its seat-sharing pact and gave five seats to the Chirag Paswan-led LJP (Ram Vilas), ignoring his faction’s claims.

Pashupati Kumar joined the Cabinet as minister of food processing industries in July 2021 after a mid-term reshuffle of the Cabinet.

Exp. World Happiness Report – India ranks 126th; topped by Finland

The 2024 World Happiness Report has been released, with Finland as the happiest country for the seventh consecutive year.

India ranked 126 out of the 143 countries listed.

Denmark and Iceland retain their positions at second and third place, respectively, with Sweden following closely at fourth. Notably, Costa Rica and Lithuania have broken into the top 20 list for the first time, securing ranks 12 and 19, respectively.

Afghanistan retained its status as the unhappiest country in the world for yet another year. Joining Afghanistan at the bottom of the list are Lebanon, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, and Congo.

India ranked at 126 place, same as last year. All of India’s neighbouring countries ranked higher, with China at 60, followed by Nepal at 93, Pakistan (108), Myanmar (118), Sri Lanka (128), and Bangladesh (129).

The annual report evaluates happiness levels across more than 140 nations, considering factors such as social support, income, health, freedom, generosity, and the absence of corruption.

Data is sourced from various outlets, including the Gallup World Poll, and the report is published annually in celebration of the International Day of Happiness on March 20.

Collaborators include the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Gallup, and the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre.

Top 20 happiest countries

1. Finland
2. Denmark
3. Iceland
4. Sweden
5. Israel
6. Netherlands
7. Norway
8. Luxembourg
9. Switzerland
10. Australia

Exp. Airtel PB partners with Noise and Mastercard to unveil ‘A New Way To Pay’

Airtel Payments Bank has partnered with Noise, India’s premier wristwatch brand, and Mastercard, a worldwide payments technology business, to launch A New Way to Pay.

The institutions have collaborated to create the Bank’s Airtel Payments Bank Smart Watch, which aims to revolutionise contactless payments by redefining and making them more accessible to a wider user base.

These smartwatches, built by Noise and powered by Airtel Payments Bank, will improve Tap and Pay capabilities and the user experience by introducing the convenience of contactless payments via smart wearables.

The new smartwatch is now available for purchase for INR 2,999.

Customers with an Airtel Payments Bank savings account can purchase this smartwatch using the Airtel Thanks App. The Airtel Payments Bank Smart Watch allows customers to make daily payments ranging from INR 1 to INR 25,000.

Recent Facilities Launched in Banking & Insurance Sector

• IndusInd Bank introduced Indus PayWear, a new wearable payment solution, available on Mastercard.
• Bank of Baroda launched BoB Earth Green Term Deposit Scheme with 7.15% interest
• Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank launched a new loan scheme called ‘Vikas Spoorty’
• Future Generali India Insurance launched a women’s health insurance plan “HEALTH POWHER”
• Kotak Life Insurance launched a non-linked participating product Kotak G.A.I.N

Exp. Gross Direct Tax collections for FY 2023-24 register a growth of 18.74%.

The provisional figures of Direct Tax collections for the Financial Year 2023-24 (as on 17.03.2024) show that Net collections are at Rs. 18,90,259 crore, compared to Rs. 15,76,776 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding Financial Year (i.e. FY 2022-23), representing an increase of 19.88%.

The Net Direct Tax collection of Rs. 18,90,259 crore (as on 17.03.2024) includes Corporation Tax (CIT) at Rs. 9,14,469 crore (net of refund) and Personal Income Tax (PIT) including Securities Transaction Tax (STT) at Rs. 9,72,224 crore (net of refund).

The provisional figures of Gross collection of Direct Taxes (before adjusting for refunds) for the Financial Year 2023-24 stand at Rs. 22,27,067 crore compared to Rs. 18,75,535 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding financial year, showing a growth of 18.74% over the collections of FY 2022-23.

Exp. Kumar Venkatasubramanian appoints as CEO of P&G India

Leading FMCG maker P&G India has appointed Kumar Venkatasubramanian as CEO of the company, with effect from 1 May 2024.

The current CEO, L V Vaidyanathan will leave the company to pursue personal interests after 28 years of service.

Kumar is currently leading the P&G business in Australia and New Zealand as CEO.

Before the Australia role, Kumar was leading sales team in P&G India until 2020.

Recent Appointment

• Governor of Telangana and LG of Puducherry – C. P. Radhakrishnan (additional charge)
• Government spokesperson –Sheyphali Sharan (replace Manish Desai)
• Director General of All India Radio (AIR) – Maushami Chakraborty (replace Vasudha Gupta)
• National PwD icon by EC – Para Archer Sheetal Devi
• Chairman of Prasar Bharati – Navneet Kumar Sehgal (replace A Surya Prakash)
• Chairman of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) – Rahul Singh (replace Nidhi Chiber)

Exp. Vinay Kumar appointed Indian Ambassador to Russia

Vinay Kumar, an Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1992 batch, has been named as the next Ambassador of India to Russia.

Kumar currently holds the position of Ambassador of India to Myanmar.

Russia, where elections were held recently, has been a longstanding partner of India, with diplomatic ties between the two countries serving as a cornerstone of India’s foreign policy.

About Russia

• Capital – Moscow
• Currency – Rubel
• President – Vladimir Putin

Exp. 3rd summit for Democracy hosted by South Korea

South Korea hosted the 3rd Summit for Democracy in Seoul in a hybrid format.

The Summit for Democracy was started by American President Joe Biden in 2021 to address the emerging challenges to democracy from authoritarianism and defend and promote human rights.

The Summit was opened by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was joined by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

About South Korea

• Capital – Seoul
• Currency – South Korean Won
• Prime Minister – Han Duck-soo
• President – Yoon Seok-youl

Exp. Prabowo Subianto elected as new President of Indonesia

Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto has been elected as president of the world’s third-biggest democracy.

Defence Minister Prabowo and his vice-presidential running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka received more than 96 million votes, commission chairman Hasyim Asy’ari said, roughly 58.6 percent of the total count and enough to secure a first-round majority.

Anies Baswedan secured nearly 41 million votes, or 24.9 percent of the total count, while Ganjar Pranowo received 27 million votes, more than 16 percent.

Prabowo, 72, was widely predicted to win the presidency on his third attempt. He will take over the presidency in October after a transition period.

About Indonesia

• Capital – Jakarta
• Currency – Rupiah
• Official language – Indonesian
• President – Prabowo Subianto

Newly Appointed Prime Minister & President

• PM of Palestinian – Mohammad Mustafa
• President of Pakistan – Asif Ali Zardari (14th)
• Prime Minister of Pakistan – Shehbaz Sharif (2^nd term)

• President of Finland – Alexander Stubb
• Prime Minister of Kazakhstan – Olzhas Bektenov

Exp. IIT Madras develops customisable ‘Electric Standing Wheelchair’

IIT Madras has developed an indigenous electric standing wheelchair called ‘NeoStand,’ claimed to be India’s most customizable wheelchair for the benefit of wheelchair users.

The wheelchair was launched at the campus in the presence of Professor V Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, faculty, researchers, dignitaries, supporters of this project, and users of these rehabilitative devices.

The NeoStand is a compact standing wheelchair equipped with navigation for its motorized standing mechanism. Users can easily switch from sitting to standing at the touch of a button.

Tata Elxsi sponsored the journey of NeoStand under its corporate social responsibility initiative. The development and design were spearheaded by the TTK Center for Rehabilitation Research and Device Development (R2D2) at IIT Madras and NeoMotion, which took the lead in bringing this product to the marketplace.

IITs in News

• Indian Navy & IIT Kharagpur signed a MoU to drive innovation through research partnership
• Max India’s subsidiary partners with IIT Delhi for senior citizen care
• MoRD partners with IIT Delhi to work collaboratively in Geospatial Technology and Artificial Intelligence
• NICDC joined hands with IIT Delhi to enhance development of greenfield smart cities
• AFMS signed MoU with IIT Roorkee to foster research in improving combat medical support & patient care of serving personnel

Exp. 21 March – World Poetry Day

World Poetry Day is celebrated on every year on 21 March.

This day is dedicated to poetry and the celebration of literature in all forms.

It is a time to recognize the importance of poetry in society and to promote its usage as a means of expression and communication.

Theme 2024 – Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Exp. 21 March – World Forestry Day

World Forestry Day, also known as International Day of Forests, is celebrated on March 21 each year.

The day aims to promote the sustainable management, conservation, and development of all types of forests for the benefit of current and future generations.

Theme 2024 – Forests and innovation: new solutions for a better world.

It was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 to raise awareness about the importance of forests and trees.

Exp. 20 March – World Oral Health Day

World Oral Health Day is celebrated every year on March 20.

Objective – To spread awareness around oral health and its intricate link with your overall health.

Theme 2024 – A Happy Mouth is A Happy Body

World Oral Health Day was first celebrated September 12, 2007, on the birthday of FDI founder Dr Charles Godon. It was organised by the FDI World Dental Federation to raise global awareness around importance of oral health and hygiene.

However, in 2013, the FDI decided to move the date to March 20 in order to avoid conflict with other events and to align with the international calendar. For the past decade, the day is being celebrated on March 20 to promote oral health education, prevention, and advocacy worldwide.