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. It, however, pegged economic growth rate to come down to 5.4 per cent in 2022-23, which would be higher by 0.6 percentage points than its earlier estimates.
Daily Current Affairs
GDP to grow at 11% in FY22, says Crisil
Crisil expects the Indian economy to grow at 11% in fiscal 2022, after an estimated 8% contraction this fiscal due to the pandemic. The growth, it said, will be driven by four factors — people learning to live with the new normal, flattening of the COVID-19 affliction curve, roll-out of vaccines, and investment- focused government spending.
E-invoice mandatory for biz with over Rs 50 cr turnover from Apr 1
The Union government has made it mandatory for businesses with more than Rs. 50 crore turnover to generate e-invoices for B2B transactions from April 1. E-invoicing will be extended to firms with a turnover over Rs. 50 crore from April 1, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs said in a notification.
Daily Current Affairs
Paytm unveils Smart PoS, Soundbox device
Financial services platform Paytm unveiled a new application — ‘Smart PoS’— which will enable merchants to accept debit and credit card payments through their smartphone. The company also announced the new version of its Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled ‘Soundbox’, which provides instant voice-based confirmations of payments to merchants. The Smart PoS is supported by the ‘Paytm for Business’ app.
GST compensation shortfall released to States reaches to one lakh six thousand crore rupees
The GST compensation shortfall released to States has reached to one lakh six thousand crore rupees. Finance Ministry has released the 19th weekly instalment of two thousand 104 crore rupees to the States to meet the GST compensation shortfall. Out of this, an amount of over two thousand 103 crore rupees has been released to seven States and an amount of five lakh has been released to the Union Territory of Puducherry.
The Ministry said, till now, 96 percent of the total estimated GST compensation shortfall has been released to the States and Union Territories with the Legislative Assembly. The Central Government had set up a special borrowing window in October last year to meet the estimated shortfall of one lakh 10 thousand crore rupees in revenue arising on account of implementation of GST.
Daily Current Affairs
BEL pays interim dividend of 140 % on its paid-up capital to Govt for 2020-21
Defence Public Sector Undertaking Bharat Electronics Limited, BEL paid interim dividend of 140 per cent on its paid-up capital to the Government for financial year 2020-21. Chairman and Managing Director of BEL M V Gowtama presented the Interim Dividend cheque of 174 crore 43 lakh 63 thousand 5 hundred 69 rupees payable on the shares held by the President of India, to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi. This is the 18th consecutive year that BEL is paying interim dividend. It had paid a total dividend of 280 per cent on its paid-up capital for the financial year 2019-20.
Indian Women's team defeats South Africa by 9 wickets to level series by 1-1
Indian Women's team registered a comprehensive nine-wicket victory over South Africa in the second ODI in Lucknow to level the five-match series at 1-1. Chasing the victory target of 158 runs set by South Africa, Indian team easily scored 160 for one in just 28.4 overs. Smriti Mandhana scored a blistering half-century.
Daily Current Affairs
Ravichandran Ashwin declared Player of the month by ICC
India's premier off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was named the ICC men's Player for the Month of February for his stellar show against England in a four-match Test series at home which India won to qualify for the World Test Championship final. Ashwin who scored a total of 176 runs across these games and took 24 wickets, was the unanimous choice to win in the men's category for February and garnered the most votes in the fan vote.
England's Tammy Beaumont was adjudged the women's Player of the Month.
India to play their inaugural WTC final against New Zealand in Southampton from June 18-22
India will play their inaugural World Test Championship final against New Zealand at Southampton’s Ageas Bowl Stadium from June 18-22, confirmed by BCCI president Sourav Ganguly. Virat Kohli’s India will face New Zealand in the final following their 3-1 home series victory against England last week.
Daily Current Affairs
Chess player Koneru Humpy from Andhra Pradesh wins BBC ISWOTY for 2020
Chess player Koneru Humpy from Andhra Pradesh has won the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award (ISWOTY) for 2020, following a public vote. She beat sprinter Dutee Chand, airgun shooter Manu Bhaker, wrestler Vinesh Phogat and India hockey captain Rani Rampal to the award. Humpy is the World Rapid Chess champion having won the title in December 2019 after a two-year maternity break. In 2020, she won the Cairns Cup, an elite-level tournament for the top female players. Former long jumper Anju Bobby George was given the Lifetime Achievement award for her contribution to Indian sport. She remains the only athlete to win a World Championship athletics medal for her country. England's cricketer Ben Stokes announced the winner of the Emerging Player of the Year award, with Manu Bhaker receiving the honour, which was added to the awards for the first time. The BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year initiative was launched in 2019 to celebrate female achievements in sport and highlight the issues and challenges faced by women and girls in India.
Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Komalika Bari top archery trials
Three women archers Deepika Kumari, Ankita Bhakat and Komalika Bari from Jharkhand topped the National Olympic trials held in Pune to qualify for the Olympic qualifiers of the Archery Recurve team event to be held in Paris in July this year. After clearing the Olympic qualifiers for the team event in Paris, India will secure a place for Team Event in Archery for Tokyo Olympics. Deepika Kumari from Jharkhand has already secured her place for the Single's Event in Archery for Tokyo Olympics.