Daily Current Affairs
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Daily Current Affairs Nepal’s ruling party splits Nepal’s ruling party of ex-Maoist rebels and fellow communists split after the top election body ruled its name was unlawful, pushing the country into further political uncertainty. The NCP was formed in 2018 following a merger between Mr. Oli’s communist party CPN-UML and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) of former rebel leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal. But the party had no right to the NCP name, the Supreme Court ruled because another, separate communist faction was already using it. The Himalayan nation has been roiled by months of turmoil after Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli dissolved Parliament in December and accused members of his Nepal Communist Party (NCP) of being uncooperative. US offers temporary refuge to tens of thousands of Venezuelans The U.S. will allow tens of thousands of Venezuelans to seek refuge, in a significant policy shift from the Trump era. Temporary Protected Status is being offered to people who fled political repression and economic chaos in the South American country. Joe Biden’s administration said over 300,000 indivi- duals are estimated to be eligible for temporary protection status. Daily Current Affairs First Quad summit on March 12 The top leaders of India, the US, Japan and Australia will hold their first summit in a virtual format under the framework of the Quadrilateral coalition or Quad on March 12, in a major move to further expand cooperation in the Indo-Pacific amid rising global concerns over China's growing assertiveness in the region. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the leaders will discuss regional and global issues of shared interest, and exchange views on practical areas of cooperation towards maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. Biden imposes curbs on drone strikes President Joe Biden has suspended drone strikes outside of war zones where U.S. forces are operating, reversing the policy of his predecessor Donald Trump, who had given the military free rein in countries such as Somalia. Any drone strikes planned against jihadist groups outside of Afghanistan, Syria or Iraq will have to be approved by the White House. Daily Current Affairs In a first, China launches ‘virus passport’ China has launched a health certificate programme for Chinese international travellers, leading the world in plans for so-called virus passports. The digital certificate, which shows a user’s vaccination status and virus test results, is available for Chinese citizens via a programme on Chinese social media platform WeChat. The certificate is being rolled out to help promote world economic recovery and facilitate cross-border travel. Although the certificate is meant for travel in and out of China, it is currently only available for use by Chinese citizens, and it is not yet mandatory. PM inaugurates Maitri Setu between India and Bangladesh to boost connectivity and enhance economic opportunities for people of both countries Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the Maitri Setu on Feni river connecting India and Bangladesh will help improve connectivity and enhance economic opportunities for people of both the countries. Virtually inaugurating the Maitri Setu on Feni river connecting Sabroom in South Tripura to Ramgarh in Bangladesh, Prime Minister Modi said that the entire region is being developed as a trade corridor between India and Bangladesh. He said that along with Tripura, it will also benefit Assam, Mizoram and Manipur which will get connected with Bangladesh and other countries of SouthEast Asia. Prime Minister Modi said that with the inauguration of the Maitri Setu, Agartala has become the closest city of India to the International sea port. Daily Current Affairs More than 20 lakh COVID vaccine doses administered across country in last 24 hours India has crossed a landmark in Covid 19 Vaccination as more than twenty lakh Covid Vaccine Doses administered across the country in the last 24 hours. Union Health Ministry said, the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed two crore 30 lakh. The Ministry said, more than 43 lakh 74 thousand beneficiaries aged more than 60 years and over seven lakh beneficiaries aged more than 45 years with specific co-morbidities were vaccinated till date. Exercise Dustlik-II: Indian Army to showcase counter-terror skills At Exercise Dustlik-II between India and Uzbekistan from March 10-19, the Indian Army will showcase its Counter Insurgency (CI) and Counter Terrorism (CT) skills. The focus will be on people-centric intelligence based surgical operations, incorporating technological advancements to minimise collateral damage. The broad aim of the exercise is CI, CT operations in mountainous, rural and urban scenarios under United Nations (UN) mandate and the Army will share the experiences and lessons it has gained in Kashmir. India has a series of joint exercises scheduled in the next financial year beginning April 2021 including with Central Asian Republics — Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan — in addition to Mongolia and Russia as part of its growing engagement with the region. Daily Current Affairs India’s Electric Vehicle financing industry projected to be Rs 3,70,000 Crore in 2030 India’s Electric Vehicle financing industry is projected to be Rs 3,70,000 Crore in 2030. This was said in the report titled Mobilising Electric Vehicle Financing in India, which was released by NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute India. The report highlights the role of finance in India’s transition to electric vehicles. NITI Aayog has said that India’s Electric Vehicle ecosystem has so far focused on overcoming adoption hurdles associated with technology cost, infrastructure availability, and consumer behaviour. Uttarakhand CM Rawat resigns Trivendra Singh Rawat resigned as the chief minister of Uttarakhand, following a meeting with party president J.P. Nadda. Rawat met Governor Baby Rani Maurya at Raj Bhavan and submitted his resignation. Rawat, who was scheduled to complete four years in office on 18 March, was summoned to Delhi amid mounting pressure from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership to replace him ahead of the assembly elections due next year. The BJP won the 2017 assembly elections in Uttarakhand with a huge majority of 57 seats and Rawat took over as the chief minister. With this, Rawat joins the list of Uttarakhand CMs who have been unable to complete their term. The only Uttarakhand CM who completed five years in office was late Narayan Dutt Tiwari (2002-07). Daily Current Affairs ISRO develops radar for joint earth observation satellite mission with NASA ISRO has completed development of a Synthetic Aperture Radar capable of producing high-resolution images for a joint earth observation satellite mission with the U.S. space agency NASA. The mission is targeted to be launched in 2022. NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) is a joint collaboration for a dual-frequency L and S-band SAR for earth observation. NISAR will be the first satellite mission to use two different radar frequencies (L-band and S-band) to measure changes in our planet's surface less than a centimetre across 157 new medical colleges approved under CSS in three phases: Government The Union Government said that 157 new medical colleges have been approved under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) in three phases. In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, Health and Family Welfare Minister, Dr. Harshvardhan said that these new medical colleges are attached with existing district and referral hospitals. He further said, under the scheme, a new medical college can be taken up by upgradation of a district hospital. In phase-I of the scheme, 58 districts in 20 states and union territories have been approved for establishment of medical colleges. Daily Current Affairs One crore 11 lakh houses sanctioned under PMAY-U so far, says MoHUA The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has said that so far one crore 11 Lakh Houses have been Sanctioned under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban. Of these 73 lakh are grounded and over 43 lakh have been delivered. Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that the Ministry is committed to realizing the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide Housing for All by 2022. NITI Aayog along with DEA organises National-level virtual workshop on asset monetization NITI Aayog, along with the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), organized a national-level virtual workshop on asset monetization. Chaired by the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, the workshop engaged with the Chief Secretaries of States and Administrators of Union Territories. The workshop elaborated on the strategic context of core and non-core asset monetization, along with detailed discussions on the need for and modality of such monetization. Daily Current Affairs Sugar production in country during current sugar season 2020-21 estimated to be at 310 lakh Metric Tonnes The sugar production in the country during the current sugar season 2020-21 is estimated to be at 310 lakh Metric Tonnes as against the estimated domestic consumption of 260 Lakh Metric tonnes. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Raosaheb Danve said that till February this year, 222 Lakh Metric Tonnes of sugar has been produced by the domestic sugar mills. Banking and Economy India's GDP to expand by 12.6 percent says Organisation for Economic Co- operation and Development The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has raised the projection for India’s economic growth rate by 4.7 percentage points at 12.6 per cent for 2021-22. In its interim report on economic outlook, OECD said, activity moved above pre-pandemic levels in India, helped by strong fiscal and quasi-fiscal measures and a recovery in manufacturing and construction.