PM Modi Virtually Attends First Quad Summit 2021
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga come together for the first QUAD Summit. The meeting was held virtually during which the four participants will exchange views on different areas of cooperation like maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, COVID-19, emerging and critical technologies, maritime security, and climate change.
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue nations are planning to counter China by cooperating and pool their resources to fund new production technologies and development projects. The world leaders talked about the cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and its development. President Biden also said that they are launching a new pact for the manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines.
About the QUAD:
QUAD is also known as the Asian NATO. It is an informal strategic forum comprising India, the United States, Japan, and Australia. The forum is maintained by semi-regular summits, military drills and information between member countries. The idea of QUAD was first brought up by the then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe back in 2007. Since then the representatives from the member countries have met regularly and worked together. However, this was the first-ever meeting between the national heads of the QUAD countries.
Govt to launch “Atmanirbhar Niveshak Mitra Portal”
The commerce and industry ministry has stated that the central government is working to develop a portal called “Atmanirbhar Niveshak Mitra Portal” for information dissemination, hand-holding, and facilitation of domestic investors. The portal Atmanirbhar Niveshak Mitra is currently is in the testing phase. It will be launched by May 1, 2021. The ministry is also working on a webpage which will be available in regional languages and mobile app.
About the portal:
- This portal is being developed in order to strengthen efforts to promote domestic investments. It is being developed by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
- The portal will help in providing daily updates on several things including the policies and new initiatives by the central and state governments, information regarding the approvals, licenses, clearances several schemes & incentives. It will also be providing information regarding the manufacturing clusters and land availability.
- The portal will provide its support to the investors throughout their business journey and will help them in getting all the information ranging from finding the investment opportunity, exploring incentives & taxes which are applicable to their businesses, raw material availability, sources of funding, training, tender information and management requirement.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Minister of Commerce and Industry: Piyush Goyal.
Govt launches Mera Ration Mobile App
In order to facilitate the ‘One Nation-One Ration Card’ system in the country, the government has launched ‘Mera Ration’ mobile app to benefit citizens in identifying the nearest fair price shop. This app will benefit especially those ration card holders who move to new areas for livelihoods. The app is developed by the government in association with NIC “to facilitate various “One Nation-One Ration Card” related services among the National Food Security Act (NFSA) beneficiaries, particularly migrant beneficiaries, fair price shop dealers and other relevant stakeholders.
About Mera Ration Mobile App
- With the help of the app, the beneficiaries can easily check details of food grain entitlement, recent transactions and the Status of their Aadhaar seeding.
- The migrant beneficiaries can also register their migration details with the help of the application. Beneficiaries can also enter their suggestions or feedback.
- Implementation of the One Nation-One Ration Card system ensures availability of ration to beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and other welfare schemes, especially the migrant workers and their families, at any fair price shop (FPS) across the country.
Mithali Raj becomes 1st Indian woman cricketer to score 10K Int’l runs
The veteran Indian women’s cricketer Mithali Raj has become the first Indian woman cricketer that has completed 10,000 international runs in all the cricket formats. She also becomes the second woman cricketer at the international level to complete 10000 runs. She achieved the milestone of 10,000 after she hit a boundary off the Anne Bosch in 28th over of Indian innings in the ongoing third ODI match against South Africa.
Achievements of Mithali Raj:
- Mithali, playing her 212th ODI for India, achieved the landmark during the third match of the bilateral series against South Africa. The cricketer is the recipient of several National and International awards.
- She won the Arjuna Award in the year 2003 and Padma Shri in the year 2015.
- She is the only female cricketer who has captained in more than one ICC ODI World Cup Final that is in the year 2005 and 2017.
- She also become the first woman to complete 20 years in International cricket in the year 2019.
India Chaired the First Meeting Of BRICS CGETI
Under the chairship of India, the First Meeting of the BRICS Contact Group on Economic and Trade Issues (CGETI) was held from 9th March 2021 to 11th March 2021. The 2021 theme of the BRICS is “BRICS@15: Intra BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation, and Consensus”.
India presented the calendar of events for BRICS CGETI 2021, this includes the priority areas for deliverables, schedule and scope of the MSME roundtable conference workshop on Services Statistics, and the BRICS Trade Fair. A series of presentations on the proposed deliverables during India’s chairship under the BRICS CGETI track was made in a separate session by the concerned departments of the government of India.
The proposed deliverables were:
- Action plan based on the document “Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership 2025” adopted during the Russian Presidency in 2020
- BRICS Cooperation on Multilateral Trading system including cooperation for the TRIPS Waiver proposal at WTO;
- Framework for Consumer Protection in E-Commerce;
- Non-Tariff Measures (NTM) Resolution Mechanism;
- Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) Working Mechanism;
- Co-operation framework for the protection of Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge
- BRICS Framework on Co-operation in Professional Services.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- BRICS Establishment: 2009.
- BRICS Members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
- The First BRICS Ministerial Meeting was held on 20th September 2006.
Tata Motors launches ‘Wheels of Love’ to support parenthood
Tata Motors has launched ‘Wheels of Love’, a holistic programme that supports new parents in the workforce. This is a move to promote a progressive culture of care, inclusion and sensitisation within the organisation across levels. A specially curated book, also aptly titled, Wheels of Love, puts forth various beliefs to enable new and expectant parents to successfully manage the needs of a growing family while also fulfilling their career goals. This guide book also provides valuable insights for managers to support their team members as they progress through the various stages of parenthood.
The most important aspects of the program include:
- Announcing pregnancy in the workplace, understanding the manager’s dilemma, managing work performance effectively, handing over the job, managing maternity leave and transitioning back to work
- Mother and Manager guides to help you navigate through the different stages of motherhood, parenting, and getting back to work
- Dedicated counseling sessions for new parents to deal with emotional and psychological challenges that may arise
- One-to-one classes for pregnant / new mothers and their managers on how to manage work transitions
- Assigning a friend to the new mothers to keep in touch with their workplaces during the maternity leave
- Staff resource groups, a special community of new parents to get involved, share insights and experiences
- Webinars on relevant topics including how to prepare for newborn babies, childcare tasks for couples with dual careers, and much more
Tata Motors will continue to prioritize Diversity and Inclusion to harness the collective strength of its workforce and develop innovative business solutions to improve the community and contribute to the overall growth of the country.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Tata motors HQ: Mumbai; CEO: Guenter Butschek.
PM Narendra Modi Launches Kindle Version Of Bhagavad Gita
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Kindle version of Swami Chidbhavananda’s ‘Bhagavad Gita’ via video conferencing. The event has been organised to commemorate the sale of over 5 lakh copies of the Swami Chidbhavanandaji’s Bhagavad Gita. Swami Chidbhavanandaji is the founder of Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam Ashram at Thirupparaithurai, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu.
Chidbhavananda Ji was devoted to India’s regeneration. He noted that Swami Vivekananda’s Madras lectures inspired Swami Chidbhavananda Ji to put the nation above everything else and serve the people.
DoT Launches Online Certificate Course on 5G Technology
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched a new online certificate course on 5G technology to be conducted by the National Telecommunications Institute for Policy Research, Innovation and Training (NTIPRIT), which is the training institute of DoT. The course, which will be conducted from 9 March 2021 onwards, is 36 hours long and will be conducted over a period of 12 weeks every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm. Participants will also be allowed to record the session if they happen to miss it.
What the DoT Online Certificate Course on 5G Technology Will Cover?
DoT hopes that this course would act as a capsule programme for learning overall 5G technology from the perspective of Policymaking. The following topics will be covered under the course:
- The evolution from 1G to 5G.
- Introduction to 5G: Standardisation bodies, timelines and roadmaps, IMT 2020 vision and requirement, the spectrum for 5G, new radio, architecture, deployment options, global launches, availability of 5G devices, and use cases.
Participants will be given one assignment every week, and two exams of two hours each mid-term. While launching the 5G certification course, Anshu Prakash highlighted the importance of exploiting the potential of 5G to the full and making possibilities like Machine-to-Machine Communications, Internet of Things a reality. For that, he stressed having a team of Master Trainers, 5G Security experts, and so on. within DOT who will formulate the roadmap for education and awareness in 5G technology in India and also identify lacunae in existing legislations with the coming of 5G technology.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Minister of Communications: Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Himachal CM inaugurates Swarnim International Shivratri Fair
The famous Swarnim International Shivratri Fair has begun with Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur formally launching it at the historic Paddal ground, Himachal Pradesh. Thousands of people dressed in their traditional attire participated in the procession carrying their local deities dancing all the way up to Paddal ground.
Over 150 deities participated in the ‘Jaleb’, the traditional Shobha Yatra from almost all parts of the district. Earlier, the Chief Minister participated in the Pagri Ceremony and performed Puja at Shri Raj Madhav Rai Temple. Chief Minister felicitated the people of the State on the auspicious occasion of International Shivratri festival, which was being celebrated this year as Swarnim International Shivratri Fair to mark glorious fifty years of Statehood.
Important takeaways for all competitive exams:
- Chief Minister of HP: Jairam Thakur; Governor of HP: Bandaru Dattatraya.
