Current Affairs - 01 Mar 2022

Daily Current Affairs of 01 Mar 2022. Follow Current Affairs on daily Basis in on post. Current Affairs PDF for Competitive Exams

Janaushadhi Diwas week to be observed from 1st March to 7th March

Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers will organize the Janaushadhi Diwas from 1st March to 7th March 2022. On 7th March 2022, the 4th Jan Aushadhi Diwas will be celebrated. The theme of 4th Janaushadhi Diwas: “Jan Aushadhi-Jan Upyogi”. The Government has set a target to increase the number of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) to 10,500 by the end of March 2025.

The objective of Janaushadhi Week and Day:

To create awareness about the usages of generic medicines and the benefits of Jan Aushadhi Pariyojana. Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) was launched by the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Government of India in November 2008 to provide quality generic medicines available at affordable prices to all.

NSO projects GDP growth for India in 2021-22 at 8.9%

National Statistical Office (NSO) has released the second advance estimates of national accounts. The GDP growth rate projection as per NSO for 2021-22 (FY22) and 2020-21 (FY21) is given below:

For 2021-22 (FY22)= 8.9% (earlier it was 9.2% in first advance estimates)
For 2020-21 (FY21)= -6.6% (earlier it was -7.3%)

According to NSO data, Gross Value Added (GVA) growth in the manufacturing sector growth remained almost flat at 0.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2021-22, compared to a growth of 8.4 per cent a year ago.

International Women’s Day Week begins

The Women and Child Development Ministry celebrates the International Women’s Day week from the 1st of March as an Iconic Week as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. As a part of the week-long celebration, the Ministry will organize various events and social media campaigns covering a variety of themes related to women’s safety and empowerment.

This will mark an occasion to celebrate the progress made towards achieving gender equity and women’s empowerment but also to critically reflect on accomplishments and strive for a greater momentum towards gender equality. It will kick off tomorrow in collaboration with the Bureau of Police Research and Development to raise awareness on the safety and security of women.

Whole week programme Schedule:

The focus of the events on 2nd March will be on the role played by One Stop Centres in supporting women in distress. The Ministry will launch the Street Manoraksha Project in collaboration with NIMHANS Bengaluru. It will emphasize psychosocial well-being and aims at improving the mental health of women in India.
On 3rd March 2022, the theme for the celebration is ‘Women of Tomorrow’. There will be a panel discussion on topics like Young Women in STEM – Opportunities, Challenges and Solutions followed by #NariShaktiVarta Fireside Chat on financial literacy with the Union Minister of Women and Child Development.
On the 4th and 5th of next month, a two-day National Workshop with State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights on Contemporary issues pertaining to Child Rights will be organised in Bhopal.
On 7th, the Back to School Campaign will be launched focusing on supporting out-of-school girls.
On 8th March, Nari Shakti Puraskaar will be given. The International Women’s Day Conference for Women Police Delegates from all States and UTs will also be organised.

Pooja Jatyan became 1st Indian to win a silver in Para Archery World Championships

Para-archer, Pooja Jatyan has scripted history as she became the first Indian to win a silver in an individual section of the Para World Championships in Dubai, UAE. She lost to Italy’s Patrilli Vincenza in the final to be content with the silver medal. India ended its campaign with two silver medals, a first for the country.

India has won 2 Silver medals for the first time in the Para Archery World Championship. The compound mixed pair of Shyam Sundar Swamyand Jyoti Baliyan had earlier opened India’s account by winning a silver medal.

Legendary West Indies spinner Sonny Ramadhin passes away

West Indies spin legend, Sonny Ramadhin has passed away at the age of 92. He was a part of the side that won its first away series in England in 1950. He made his Test debut against England at Old Trafford in 1950. Ramadhin ended up playing 43 Tests and taking 158 wickets at an average of 28.98. Ramadhin played 184 first-class matches and scalped 758 wickets at an average of 20.24. He moved to England after taking retirement from the sport in the late 1960s.

Russia destroyed the largest plane in the world ‘Mriya’

Russian invasion to Ukraine, Russia destroyed the largest plane in the world called “Ukraine’s Antonov-225 cargo plane”. The plane was destroyed outside Kyiv. According to weapons manufacturer Ukroboronprom, restoring “AN-225 Mriya” would cost over USD 3 billion and could take over five years. The aircraft was unique to the world. The An-225 aircraft was located at Hostomel Airport when Russia launched an attack on the Ukrainian airport on February 24, 2022. It was destroyed on February 27.

About the plane:

The aircraft was designed to airlift Energia rocket’s boosters and Buran-class orbiters for Soviet space program. It was developed to replace the Myasishchev VM-T.
The original mission and objectives of An-225 are almost similar to that of the United States’ Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. The lead designer of the An-225 was Viktor Tolmachev.
It was 84 meters long and could transport up to 250 tonnes of cargo at a speed of 850 kilometres per hour.

28th DST-CII India- Singapore Technology Summit 2022

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), New Delhi in partnership with the Department of Science & Technology (DST), GoI hosted the 28th edition of the DST – CII Technology Summit on 23^rd and 24^th of February 2022. The Summit was held virtually. Singapore is the Partner Country for this year’s Technology Summit. Technology Summit has been very crucial in providing significant opportunities to build and improve bilateral technology partnerships over a period of more than two decades. Dr Jitendra Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister of State , Ministry of Science and Technology, GoI.

OBJECTIVES OF THE SUMMIT:

This Technology summit will provide the right platform to further improve the interaction; will help to explore more opportunities in the businesses and investment areas, and to upgrade the bilateral cooperation.
It is expected that the summit is going to be a turning point by leading to interaction amongst a big and important group of technology experts, government leaders, elite scholars, industry stalwarts and start-ups from both countries.
The focus of the summit would be making Smarter Cities, Space, Industry 4.0 and Advanced Engineering, Healthcare, Precision Medicine, etc.

ORGANIZERS:

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), New Delhi in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology, GoI.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

The chairman of the Technology Summit: Vipin Sondhi;
President of CII: Thachat Vishwanaath Narendran;
Director-General of CII: Chandrajit Baneerjee.

“Industry Connect 2022” inaugurated by Union Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya

Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Chemicals & Fertilizers has inaugurated the seminar on “Industry Connect 2022”: Industry and Academia Synergy. The stress is on the importance of innovation & technology for the progress of the country and it is for the greater industry-academia partnerships. The innovative zeal and manufacturing quality products at scale will help the Prime Minister’s vision of Make in India and Make for the World.

During the Seminar, there were two technical sessions organised. Many officials from the CIPET, TDB (Technology Development Board) and various industry associations were also present on in this seminar.

ORGANISERS:

The Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals.
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India.
Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET).
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

OBJECTIVES OF THE SEMINAR:

The first objective is to focus on R&D – Laboratory to Industry.
The second objective is to do the Skill Gap Analysis for the Human Capital in Petrochemicals Sector.
Another objective is to Support Aatmanirbhar Bharat by providing the Indigenous Technology and Aatmanirbhar CIPET with the assistance of the Industry Connect.
The final objective is for the Support of Technology with the assistance of the Technology Development Board to establish coordination between industry and academia for this sector.

ATTENDEES:

Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Chemicals & Fertilizers.
Mr Kamal Nanavaty, President, CPMA.
Prof (Dr) Shishir Sinha, Director General, CIPET.

IOC Withdraws Top Olympic Honour From Vladimir Putin

The International Olympic Committee has stripped Russian President Vladimir Putin of the Olympic Order award in response to the invasion of Ukraine. International Olympic Committee urged sports federations and organisers to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from international events following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia’s participation in the World Cup play-offs next month is also in doubt after FIFA plans to allow them to play on neutral territory were dismissed as “unacceptable” by rivals. The IOC last week urged all international sports federations to cancel forthcoming events in Russia, angry at Moscow violating an “Olympic Truce” with its attack on Ukraine.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

International Olympic CommitteeHeadquarters: Lausanne, Switzerland;
International Olympic Committee President: Thomas Bach;
International Olympic Committee Founded: 23 June 1894, Paris, France.

Japan and India renews the Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA)

Japan and India have renewed the Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA) the size of which is up to USD 75 billion. The BSA is a two-way arrangement where both authorities can swap their local currencies in exchange for the US Dollar. The interest rate charged in this case is fixed at the time of signing the agreement and hence it reduces the risk caused due to fluctuations in the exchange rate. The actual Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA) was signed between the Bank of Japan and the Reserve Bank of India in 2018.

What does BSA between India and Japan mean?

It means that Japan and India can borrow money from each other in either their currency i.e Indian Rupee or Japanese Yen or US Dollar. This can be further explained as mentioned below:
When India wants to borrow money from Japan it can borrow in US Dollars or Japanese Yen up to the limit of $75 billion.
When Japan wants to borrow money from India it can borrow in US Dollars or Indian Rupees up to the limit of $75 billion.
The countries will pay interest on the amount actually borrowed at an interest rate fixed at the time of borrowing the money.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Japan Capital: Tokyo;
Japan Currency: Japanese Yen;
Japan Emperor: Naruhito;
Japan Prime minister: Fumio Kishida.

Prof Bhushan Patwardhan named as chairman of NAAC

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has appointed educationist and research scientist Professor Bhushan Patwardhan as chairman, of the executive committee of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Bengaluru. The position was vacant after Prof Jagadish Kumar was appointed as chairman of UGC.

Prof Patwardhan is currently a national research professor designated by the Ministry of Ayush, Government of India, and a distinguished professor at the Interdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU).

About the NAAC:

NAAC is an autonomous body established by the UGC on September 5, 1994, with Prof Ram Reddy as founding chairman and Prof Arun Nigavekar as its first director.
NAAC undertakes assessment and accreditation of higher educational institutions (HEI) such as colleges, universities, or other recognized institutions to assess the quality status of these institutions.
NAAC grades are based on predefined criteria of assessment of quality and performance denoting Very good (A), Good (B), Satisfactory(C), and Unsatisfactory (D) levels respectively. NAAC accreditation is a globally accepted indicator of the credibility and quality of the institution and has bearing on the academic, financial, and perceptual benefits.

Quantum Key Distribution tech tested by DRDO successfully between Vindhyachal & Prayagraj

A team of scientists, for the first time in the country, from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi successfully demonstrated a Quantum Key Distribution link between Prayagraj and Vindhyachal in Uttar Pradesh, spanning over 100 kilometres.

KEY POINTS:

This technological breakthrough was accomplished using a commercial-grade optical fibre that was already on the market. The country has shown domestic safe key transfer technology for bootstrapping military grade communication security key hierarchy, according to the DRDO.
This technological advance was made possible by the use of a commercially available optical fibre. According to the DRDO, the country has shown a domestic secure key transfer technique for bootstrapping military grade communication security key hierarchy.
G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary of Defense R&D and Chairman of DRDO, thanked the scientists and professors of DRDO and IIT Delhi for the successful demonstration of this technology. He noted this in his speech to the scientific community as one of the shining examples of synergistic research between the DRDO and the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
Professor Rangan Banerjee, Director of IIT Delhi, also commended the DRDO faculty and scientists involved in this breakthrough for their dedicated initiatives to strengthen the country’s technological capability.

Quantum key distribution:

Quantum key distribution is a secure communication tech method that uses quantum physics to construct a cryptographic protocol. It allows two parties to generate a shared secret key that is only known to them and can be used to encrypt and decrypt messages.

Google starts ‘Play Pass’ subscription in India

Google has announced the launch of ‘Play Pass’ subscription service in India that will provide Android device users access to over 1,000 applications and games without ads, in-app purchases, and upfront payments. Play Pass, which is currently available in 90 countries, will offer a high-quality and curated collection of 1000+ titles across 41 categories from developers across 59 countries including many from India, Google said in a statement.

About the Play Pass:

Play Pass will give users access to well-known games like Jungle Adventures, World Cricket Battle 2, and Monument Valley, along with apps such as Utter, Unit Converter and AudioLab, Photo Studio Pro, Kingdom Rush Frontiers TD, among others.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Google CEO: Sundar Pichai;
Google Founded: 4 September 1998;
Google Headquarters: Mountain View, California, United States.

Bank of Maharashtra launches “Project Banksakhi” in Odisha

Public sector lender, Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has announced the launch of “Project Banksakhi” in Odisha in collaboration with Mahagram & Sunivesh India Finance Services Pvt. Ltd. for Online Bank Account opening. It will provide doorstep and hassle-free access to the people of Odisha for opening bank accounts. The people of Odisha using our innovative customer-friendly financial services and best in class customer experience across digital and physical touchpoints.

Bank of Maharashtra has been catering to the banking needs of customers offering a spectrum of banking products and financial services covering Retail, Agri and MSME sectors to its more than 2 crore customers. Apart from its physical delivery channels, the bank offers various digital platforms like mobile banking, internet banking, AEPS, ATM-Debit Card, 24×7 customer care centre for accessing uninterrupted banking services to its customers.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

Bank of Maharashtra Headquarters: Pune;
Bank of Maharashtra CEO: A. S. Rajeev (2 Dec 2018–);
Bank of Maharashtra Founded: 16 September 1935.

First ‘Smart Managed EV Charging Station’ commissioned by BSES

A subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure, SES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) has commissioned India’s first ‘Smart Managed EV Charging Station’ in the New Delhi. BYPL is backed by Bombay Suburban Electric Supply (BSES). It is executed by Fortum Charge & Drive, and it will be the first ever BYPL managed Smart EV Charging Station.

KEY POINTS:

The smart managed EV charging station can charge five Electric vehicles at the same time.
This Station is located at BYPL’s 11 kV Sub Station building, which is in Mayur Vihar Extenstion in New Delhi.
According to the company, more such smart EV charging stations will be rolled out in South, West, East and Central Delhi in the coming future.
It is different from the conventional EV charging stations, as this EV charging station can be installed with the BYPL’s SCADA system.
BSES is also preparing to play a major role in the emerging EV sector. BSES is planning to install more such smart EV charging stations for the public use.

Growing Demand of EV:

The growing incidence of the EV charging load is also adding to the high power demand of the power utilities.
DR compatible smart managed EV charging stations will increasingly play an important role in managing the power load through efficient management of the distribution network.
This EV station is also Demand Response (DR) compatible and is an important demand side management (DSM) tool.

What is EV Charging?

An EV or Electric Vehicle Charging Station or network is a system of recharging electric vehicles at a developed infrastructure. Many governments, car manufacturers, and charging infrastructure providers are looking forward to create such networks. As of November 2020, the largest fast-charging location was in California with 56 charging points.