Current Affairs Quiz 28th March 2022 : Daily GK Update Quiz

Exp. SIDBI joined hands with Meghalaya to develop MSME ecosystem

The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has signed an MoU with Meghalaya Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation Limited (MiDFC), Government of Meghalaya.

Under the MoU, SIDBI and the Government of Meghalaya will work in tandem to facilitate the development of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) ecosystem in Meghalaya.

SIDBI will assist Meghalaya in advancing its entrepreneurial development. It will contribute to the expansion of MSME clusters. It will assist Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), development organizations, and MSMEs in developing their capabilities.

SIDBI also encourages the Government of Meghalaya to make use of the low-cost financing available for the development of the MSME infrastructure in the state under the SIDBI Cluster Development Fund (SCDF).

Exp. India signed pact with WHO to set up global traditional medicine centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat

Ministry of Ayush (MoA), Government of India signed an agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO) to set up the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (WHO-GCTM) in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

The Government of India invested USD 250 million in the GCTM. It will provide people from different regions to have access to safe and effective treatment.

The onsite launch of the new WHO -GCTM will take place on April 21, 2022. Jamnagar will serve as the hub, the new centre is being designed to engage and benefit all regions of the world.

Aim: To support countries in developing policies and action plans to strengthen the role of traditional medicine as part of their journey to universal health coverage and a healthier, fairer and safer world.

Exp. Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana extended for 6 months

The Centre has extended Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) for another six months, from April to September 2022.

In the 6th phase, each beneficiary will get an additional five kg of free ration per person every month to the normal quota of food grain. This means that each disadvantaged family would receive roughly double the usual allotment.

So far, the government has spent over Rs. 2.60 lakh crore, with another Rs. 80,000 crores set to be invested over the next six months through September 2022, bringing the total expenditure under PM-GKAY to roughly Rs. 3.40 lakh crore.

The scheme was implemented on 26th March 2020.The program comes under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

Exp. PVR & INOX Leisure announced merger, Ajay Bijli appointed MD of merged entity PVR INOX Ltd

Multiplex companies INOX Leisure Ltd and PVR Ltd announced merger of their two companies. Inox have a 16.66% stake in the new firm and PVR will have 10.62% stake.

After the formalities of merger, the company will be known as PVR Inox Limited. Ajay Bijli will be MD of PVR Inox Limited, Sanjeev Kumar will be executive director and Pavan Kumar Jain will be non-executive chairman of the consolidated board.

The merger is subject to approval by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

Exp. 5th BIMSTEC Summit hosted by Sri Lanka

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will attend the 5th BIMSTEC Summit on 30 March 2022. The Summit Meeting will be hosted by Sri Lanka via virtually, the current BIMSTEC chair.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will also visit Sri Lanka from March 28 to March 30 where he will attend the meeting of the BIMSTEC Foreign Ministers.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a group of Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.

Exp. Bank of India invested Rs 108.81 crore in NARCL

The Bank of India (BoI) has invested around Rs 108.81 crore in National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL), under the preferential share issue.

Following this, BoI’s shareholding in NARCL is set to become 9% as of 21st March 2022. NARCL is an asset reconstruction company backed by the government, Incorporated in July 2021.

Exp. Max Life Insurance partnered with PhonePe to offer financial protection to consumers

Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd partnered with PhonePe to launch its ‘Max Life Smart Secure Plus Plan’ for its customers.

It is a non-linked non-participating individual pure risk premium life insurance plan on the PhonePe app to enhance financial protection for digitally-savvy customers.

The license for direct broking was granted to PhonePe by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). It allows the selling of insurance on the respective apps.

The customers of PhonePe can avail comprehensive financial coverage for their families with premiums starting from ₹4,426 annually. The term plan can be purchased on the PhonePe app in a seamless manner.

Customers can also choose a sum assured up to ₹10 crore and facility to policies renewal on the PhonePe app.

Exp. Gilbert Houngbo from Togo appointed next Director-General of International Labour Organization

Gilbert Houngbo from Togo will be the next Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Houngbo was elected by the UN agency’s governing body, comprising representatives of governments, workers and employers during their meeting in Geneva.

Houngbo, former Prime Minister of Togo, will be the 11th head of the agency and the first African to hold the post.

His five-year term will begin on October 1, 2022. The current Director-General, Guy Ryder, from the United Kingdom, has held the office since 2012.

Exp. Shashi Sinha appointed as new Chairman of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India

The board of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India has elected IPG Mediabrands India CEO Shashi Sinha as the new chairman.

He will take over from Punit Goenka, who served as chairman of the TV viewership measurement agency for the last three years. Sinha, who also represents the Advertising Agencies Association of India as its board member, has played a key role in the formation of BARC.

Exp. 94th Oscars Awards 2022 announced: Will Smith & Jessica Chastain won Best actor & Best actress award

On March 27, the 94th Academy Awards were held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood entirely in person for the first time since the pandemic began.

The film The Power of the Dog was nominated for 12 awards. Dune came in second with ten, followed by Belfast and West Side Story, both with seven. Six nominations were given to King Richard.

Best Picture: CODA

Best Director: Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Will Smith (King Richard)

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)

Exp. 94th Oscars Awards 2022 announced: Will Smith & Jessica Chastain won Best actor & Best actress award

On March 27, the 94th Academy Awards were held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood entirely in person for the first time since the pandemic began.

The film The Power of the Dog was nominated for 12 awards. Dune came in second with ten, followed by Belfast and West Side Story, both with seven. Six nominations were given to King Richard.

Best Picture: CODA

Best Director: Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Will Smith (King Richard)

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)

Exp. 94th Oscars Awards 2022 announced: Will Smith & Jessica Chastain won Best actor & Best actress award

On March 27, the 94th Academy Awards were held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood entirely in person for the first time since the pandemic began.

The film The Power of the Dog was nominated for 12 awards. Dune came in second with ten, followed by Belfast and West Side Story, both with seven. Six nominations were given to King Richard.

Best Picture: CODA

Best Director: Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)

Best Actor in a Leading Role: Will Smith (King Richard)

Best Actress in a Leading Role: Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)

Exp. Cochin International Airport won ‘Covid champion’ award at Wings India 2022

The Cochin International Airport Limited has won the ‘Covid champion’ award at Wings India 2022.

The Covid champion award was received by CIAL Managing Director S Suhas IAS from Civil Aviation Minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia. CIAL has been awarded for the successful implementation of a meticulous project named ‘Mission Safeguarding’ during the pandemic time to ensure safe travel at Kochi Airport.

The Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru won two the ‘Best Airport’ under the General Category and the ‘Aviation Innovation’ Award at the event.

Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) won the ‘Aviation Sustainability & Environment’ award by Wings India Awards 2022 for its efficient green practices.

Wings India is Asia’s largest event on civil aviation, including Commercial, General and Business Aviation. The programme has been organised jointly by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and FICCI in collaboration with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at the Begumpet airport in Hyderabad from March 24 to 27, 2022.

Exp. Wilfried Brutsaert won Stockholm Water Prize 2022

Professor Emeritus Wilfried Brutsaert has been named as the Stockholm Water Prize Laureate 2022. He has been awarded for his groundbreaking work to quantify environmental evaporation.

Wilfried Brutsaert is Professor in Engineering Emeritus at Cornell University, USA. His innovative works on Evaporation and Hydrology are of lasting theoretical and practical importance, particularly in view of climate change. In addition, Wilfried Brutsaert has pioneered novel approaches to understanding changes in groundwater storage.

The Stockholm Water Prize is the world’s most prestigious water award and is often described as the Nobel Prize of water. The prestigious Prize has been awarded since 1991 to people and organizations for extraordinary water-related achievements. The Prize is awarded by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) in cooperation with the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Exp. Indian Navy’s Western Naval Command conducted offshore security exercise ‘Prasthan’

Western Naval Command of the Indian Navy organized an offshore security exercise, ‘Prasthan’ in B-193 platform of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in Offshore Development Area (ODA) off the Mumbai coast on 23 March 2022.

The exercise is conducted in every six months to ensure offshore security which aims to integrate efforts of all maritime stakeholders involved in offshore defence.

Apart from the Naval forces, exercise saw participation from the Indian Air Force, Coast Guard, ONGC, Mumbai Port Trust, Jawahar Lal Nehru Port Trust, Customs, state fisheries department, Mercantile Marine Department and Marine Police.

Exp. India won 2022 SAFF U-18 Women’s Championship title

Indian team managed to win the South Asian Football Federation U-18 Women’s Football Championship title 2022 held at Jamshedpur in Jharkhand.

India lost to Bangladesh by 0-1 but still emerged as champions of the tournament on the account of having a superior goal difference of +11 as compared to Bangladesh’s +3.

The highest goal scorer of the tournament was Lynda Kom (Manipur), she scored five goals in the tournament. The championship was held for the first time in Nepal in August 2015.

Exp. PV Sindhu won Women’s Singles title at Swiss Open Badminton 2022

PV Sindhu has defeated Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungpha the women’s singles title at the Swiss Open Super 300 badminton tournament.

This is her second women’s singles title of the season. She had won her first title of 2022 in the Syed Modi International Super 300 in Lucknow. This is Sindhu’s 16th win over Busanan in 17 events. She is the first and only Indian to win the Badminton World Champion.

In the men’s singles title of the Swiss Open Super 300 badminton tournament, Indian badminton player HS Prannoy lost to Jonatan Christie (Indonesia). However, Prannoy suffered a 12-21, 18-21 defeat against Asian Games gold medallist and fourth seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in a 48-minute summit clash to finish runner-up.