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March 17 | Daily Current Affairs 2021

IMPORTANT DAYS

1. National Vaccination Day is observed on which date?
A) March 17
B) March 16
C) March 15
D) March 14
E) March 13
Answer: B) March 16

National Vaccination Day:

• India observes National Vaccination Day every year on March 16.
• It was first celebrated at the time when the National Pulse Polio vaccination drive was launched, in 1995.
• However, this year, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, National Vaccination Day is of great importance because India has emerged as a leader in the vaccination drive against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Poshan Pakhwada Being Celebrated from 16th to 31st March:

• Ministry of Women and Child Development is celebrating Poshan Pakhwada from 16th to 31st March, 2021.
• Addressing nutritional challenges through Food Forestry and organizing Poshan Panchayats are the key focus areas for Poshan Pakhwada 2021.
• To address nutritional challenges, distribution of 4 saplings of nutrition rich plants per Anganwadi Centre (AWC) in the Aspirational Districts will be done under the supervision of local panchayat and DM/DC by National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Ministry of AYUSH.
• Poshan Panchayat will be organized involving members of PRIs for generating awareness on topics like malnutrition prevalence and its consequences, Poshan Vatika, food forestry, identification of SAM/MAM children and its management.
• Poshan Abhiyaan, launched by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 8th March 2018, has reached a long way in ensuring wider people’s participation.
• Poshan Abhiyan endeavors to improve nutritional outcomes in a holistic manner in convergence with other Ministries.
• Behavioral change at individual and community level is an important component to achieve the desired goals of Poshan Abhiyan.

OBITUARY

2. Ram Swaroop Sharma passed away. He related to which party?
A) YSR
B) ADMK
C) AIADMK
D) Congress
E) BJP
Answer: E) BJP

• BJP MP from Himachal Pradesh Ram Swaroop Sharma, 62, was found dead at his residence in Delhi.
• Born at Jalpehar village in Mandi district on June 10, 1958, Mr. Sharma was a two-time MP.
• He was elected to the 16th and 17th Lok Sabha from Mandi parliamentary constituency in 2014 and 2019 respectively.

Former Union minister Dilip Gandhi dies:

• BJP leader and former Union minister Dilip Gandhi died at a hospital in New Delhi.
• Gandhi had served as the Minister of State for Shipping in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led central government.
• The BJP leader, who started his career as a corporator in late 80s, had won the Lok Sabha elections three times since 1999 from Ahmednagar in Maharashtra.

Himachal Pradesh
Capital: Shimla
CM: Jai Ram Thakur
Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya

Ram Swaroop Sharma – BJP MP from Himachal Pradesh.

3. Barrister Moudud Ahmed passed away. He was served as Prime Minister of which country?
A) Bangladesh
B) Finland
C) Iraq
D) Iran
E) New Zealand
Answer: A) Bangladesh

• Bangladesh erstwhile prime minister Barrister Moudud Ahmed died in Singapore.
• He served the nation as law minister, prime minister and vice president of the country.
• He was one of the founding members of BNP.
• He also joined Jatiya Party, but soon he returned to the BNP. After the 2001 elections, he served as Minister of Law and Justice.
• Moudud Ahmed was elected five times from Companiganj Upazila of Noakhali district.

Bangladesh:
Capital: Dhaka
Currency: Bangladeshi Taka
President: Mohammad Abdul Hamid
Prime Minister: Sheikh Hasina

Moudud Ahmed – Bangladesh former PM.

RANKING

4. According to a wealth report by Hurun India, Which city has leads the country in wealth creation?
A) Telangana
B) Tamil Nadu
C) Mizoram
D) Karnataka
E) Maharashtra
Answer: E) Maharashtra

• With 56,000 dollar-millionaire households, Maharashtra leads the country in wealth creation followed by Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Gujarat, says a report.
• These states together account for 46 per cent of the 4.12-lakh millionaire households in the country.
• According to a wealth report by Hurun India, known for its annual rich list, there were 4.12 lakh dollar-millionaire households last year in the country, which has been one of the fastest wealth-creating economies producing the third-most number of billionaires annually.
• When it comes to cities, Mumbai—which generates 6.2 per cent of the national—GDP—leads with 16,933 millionaire households, followed by Delhi with 15,861 millionaire households.
• The national capital contributes 4.94 per cent of the country’s GDP.

BANKING AND FINANCE

5. Reserve Bank of India imposed a penalty of how much amount on State Bank of India (SBI) for contravention of norms?
A) Rs 1 crore
B) Rs 2 crore
C) Rs 3 crore
D) Rs 4 crore
E) Rs 5 crore
Answer: B) Rs 2 crore

• Reserve Bank of India imposed a penalty of Rs 2 crore on State Bank of India (SBI) for contravention of norms, including specific directions to the lender on remuneration to its employees in the form of commission.
• The penalty has been imposed for contravention of certain sections of Banking Regulation Act and its specific directions of RBI issued to the bank on payment of remuneration to employees in the form of commission.

Reserve Bank of India:
Act: Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors– 4 (Bibhu Prasad Kanungo, Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao)

State Bank of India:
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Head: Dinesh Kumar Khara
Tagline: With You all the way, Pure Banking Nothing Else, The Nation Bank on Us, The Banker to Every Indian, A Bank of the Common Man.

Reserve Bank – Impose Rs 2 crore penalty on SBI for contravention of norms.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

6. According to NPCI, which Bank was the top remitter on the UPI platform in February?
A) Indian Bank
B) UBI
C) IOB
D) BoB
E) SBI
Answer: E) SBI

• SBI was the top remitter on the UPI platform in February, while Paytm Payments Bank led the chart in the beneficiary segment, as per data published by the National Payments Corporation of India.
• PhonePe topped the app category on the UPI platform in terms of volume and amount involved in the transactions that it facilitated.
• According to the data published by NPCI, State Bank of India (SBI) recorded
  656.92 million remittance transactions in February, that is money was sent out from the bank using the UPI platform.
• It was followed by HDFC Bank with 207.27 million remittance transactions, Axis Bank (164.27 million), Paytm Payments Bank (149.32 million) and ICICI Bank (148.98 million).
• Paytm Payments Bank led the UPI beneficiary category with 389.24 million transactions, which means money was received by the account holders through the UPI platform.
• It was followed by SBI with 352.24 million transactions, Yes Bank (272.55 million), ICICI Bank (211.14 million) and Axis Bank with 204.37 million UPI beneficiary transactions.
• PhonePe was followed by Google Pay with 827.86 million transaction involving Rs 1,74,455.33 crore, Paytm Payments Bank (340.71 million transactions, Rs 38,493.52 crore) and BHIM (20.44 million transactions, Rs 6,379.91 crore)

NPCI – SBI, Paytm Payments Bank, PhonePe lead in UPI transactions in February.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

7. India’s Power Elite: Caste, Class and Cultural Revolution is authored by whom?
A) Suba Baru
B) Keerthana Baru
C) Sanjaya Baru
D) Suga Baru
E) Vanaja Baru
Answer: C) Sanjaya Baru

• Sanjaya Baru, former advisor to Manmohan Singh, will take readers from the corridors of Parliament to Delhi’s hidden durbars as he tells the “untold story” of Indian society in his new book.
• In “India’s Power Elite: Caste, Class and Cultural Revolution”, to be released in April by Penguin Random House India under its Viking imprint.

Book Titled “Battle Ready for 21st Century” Released at Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS):

• A book titled “Battle Ready for 21st Century” co-edited by Lt Gen AK Singh, Distinguished Fellow CLAWS and Brig Narender Kumar, Visiting Fellow CLAWS was released by Gen Bipin Rawat, CDS and Gen Deepak Kapoor, Former Chief of the Army Staff at Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS).

Books :

• Full Spectrum: India’s Wars 1972-2020 is authored by Air Vice Marshal (Dr) Arjun Subramaniam.
• ‘The Ventilator Project – How the IIT Kanpur Consortium Built a World-class Product during India’s Covid-19 Lockdown’ by authors Srikant Sastri and Amitabha Bandyopadhyay.

India’s Power Elite: Caste, Class and Cultural Revolution – Authored by Sanjaya Baru – Published by Penguin Random House India.

APPOINTMENTS

8. Govt forms experts committee for Startup India Seed Fund Scheme. Who is headed in this committee?
A) H L Mittal
B) H A Mittal
C) H S Mittal
D) H C Mittal
E) H K Mittal
Answer: E) H K Mittal

• The government has constituted an experts advisory committee which will be responsible for the overall execution and monitoring of the Start-up India Seed Fund Scheme.
• According to an office memorandum of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the committee will evaluate and select incubators for allotment of funds under the scheme, monitor progress and take all necessary measures for efficient utilisation of funds towards fulfilment of objectives of the scheme.
• The committee, it said, would be chaired by H K Mittal from the Department of Science and Technology.
• The other representatives would include members from DPIIT, department of biotechnology, science and technology, electronics and IT, Niti Aayog, and expert members from startup ecosystem.
• Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) has been approved for the period of next four years starting from 2021-22.
• It will be implemented with effect from April 1, 2021.
• Rs 945 crore corpus will be divided over the next four years for providing seed funding to eligible startups through eligible incubators across India.
• The scheme is expected to support about 3,600 startups.

Government – Form experts committee for Startup India Seed Fund Scheme – Chair by H K Mittal.

9. Who is appointed as brand ambassador of NeoGrowth Credit Pvt. Ltd?
A) Ajinkya Rahane
B) Virat Kholi
C) M S Dhoni
D) Sachin Tendulkar
E) Rohit Sharma
Answer: A) Ajinkya Rahane

• MPL launches new campaign to promote esports with Leander Paes and Geeta Phogat as Brand Ambassadors.
• Mobile Premier League, India’s largest esports and mobile gaming platform, has launched a national print and TV campaign called ‘Maidan Naya, Khel Wohi’ to encourage participation and promote a culture of esports in the country.
• The brand has roped in Olympic Medallist and multiple Grand Slam Winner Leander Paes and Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist Geeta Phogat as Brand Ambassadors to raise awareness about esports and the discipline and the ethos of an ace esports athlete.

Ajinkya Rahane – Brand ambassador of NeoGrowth Credit Pvt. Ltd.

10. Who has been appointed Chairman of the Stop TB Partnership Board?
A) Nirmala Sitharaman
B) Amit Shah
C) Ramnath Kovind
D) Narendra Modi
E) Harsh Varthan
Answer: E) Harsh Varthan

• Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan has been appointed Chairman of the Stop TB Partnership Board in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the movement to eradicate the infectious disease from India by 2025.
• Dr Vardhan will hence serve a three year term, commencing July 2021, as the Chair of the Board of Stop TB Partnership.
• The Stop TB Partnership is a unique international body with the power to align actors all over the world in the fight against TB.
• Established in the year 2000, the ‘Stop TB Partnership’ is mandated to eliminate Tuberculosis as a public health problem.
• The organization was conceived following the meeting of the First Session of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Tuberculosis Epidemic held in London in March 1998.

Health and Family Welfare, Science and Technology; and Earth Sciences:
Minister: Dr Harsh Vardhan
Constituency: Chandni Chowk, Delhi

Harsh Vardhan – Chairman of ‘Stop TB Partnership Board’.

AWARDS

11. Who won the BBC Indian Sportswoman-of-the-Year award?
A) Saina Mizra
B) Koneru Humpy
C) Manu Bhaker
D) Hima Das
E) Mary Kom
Answer: B) Koneru Humpy

• World rapid chess champion Koneru Humpy has won the BBC Indian Sportswoman-of-the-Year award.
• The Lifetime Achievement award went to veteran athlete Anju Bobby George.
• Young shooter Manu Bhaker winner of the Emerging Player-of-the-Year award.

Koneru Humpy – BBC’s Indian sportswoman of the year.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

12. India, which country announce digital partnership in IT, mobile technology?
A) USA
B) Finland
C) Iraq
D) Iran
E) New Zealand
Answer: B) Finland

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Finnish counterpart Sanna Marin announced a digital partnership in information and communications technology, future mobile technologies and digital education at a virtual summit.
• The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the two leaders also announced a sustainability partnership involving renewable and clean energy, circular economy and sustainable mobility.
• In the summit, Modi and Marin reaffirmed their strong commitment to multilateralism, a rules based international order and to work towards sustainable development goals and combating climate change.
• The two prime ministers also exchanged views on the coronavirus pandemic including on vaccine solidarity and emphasied the unprecedented global efforts in speeding up the development and scaling up of manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccine.
• The two sides also announced a high-level dialogue between the education ministries of both the countries to expand cooperation in the area.

Finland:
Capital: Helsinki
Currency: Euro

India + Finland – Announce digital partnership in IT, mobile technology.

13. Cabinet approves MoU between India, which country on cooperation in Sports, Youth Affairs?
A) Maldives
B) Iran
C) Iraq
D) UAE
E) Australia
Answer: A) Maldives

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was apprised of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment of the Republic of Maldives for cooperation in Sports and Youth Affairs.

Maldives:
Capital: Malé
Currency: Maldivian rufiyaa

Cabinet – Approve MoU between India, Maldives on cooperation in Sports, Youth Affairs.

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

14. Which organization partnership with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has developed The eponymous Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM)?
A) DRDO
B) IIT Madras
C) IIT Bombay
D) ISRO
E) NITI Aayog
Answer: A) DRDO

• The Indian military’s first tri-service missile, which will protect naval warships, air force bases and army combat units from airborne attacks took a step towards full-scale production with the roll-out of its first components.
• The eponymous Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) has been developed for the army, navy and air force by the Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO), in close partnership with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
• The delivery was of the first batch of MRSAM components being manufactured in Hyderabad by an Indian joint venture (JV) called Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems (KRAS).

DRDO:
Abbreviation: Defence Research and Development Organisation
Founded: 1958
Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi
Chairman: G. Satheesh Reddy

DRDO + Israel Aerospace Industries – Develop The eponymous Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM).

15. Ethanol blending in Petrol will be increased from existing 8.5 per cent to 20 per cent by which year?
A) 2025
B) 2024
C) 2023
D) 2022
E) 2021
Answer: A) 2025

• Ethanol blending in Petrol will be increased from existing 8.5 per cent to 20 per cent by 2025.
• Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today informed that the target year for achieving 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol which was initially kept as 2030 has been further reduced by 5 more years.
• India can achieve 10% ethanol blending target in 2022.

2025 – Ethanol blending in Petrol to be increased from existing 8.5% to 20% .

16. Rajya Sabha passed a bill to raise the upper limit for permitting abortions from the present ___ weeks to 24 weeks for “special categories of women”?
A) 20
B) 22
C) 21
D) 19
E) 18
Answer: A) 20

• Rajya Sabha passed a bill to raise the upper limit for permitting abortions from the present 20 weeks to 24 weeks for “special categories of women” including rape survivors, victims of incest, minors and the differently-abled.
• The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 was passed by voice vote.
• The bill was passed by Lok Sabha about a year ago.
• A demand to send the bill to a select committee of Rajya Sabha was defeated by voice vote, along with some other amendments proposed by members.

Parliament – Pass bill to raise upper limit for abortions to 24 weeks in special cases.

17. Which state/UT initiated the project “Awaam Ki Baat” – a Radio program?
A) Karnataka
B) Mizoram
C) Delhi
D) Ladakh
E) Jammu & Kashmir
Answer: E) Jammu & Kashmir

• Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha initiated the project “Awaam Ki Baat” – a Radio program by launching its website here at Raj Bhavan.
• The half-an-hour long Radio program to be aired every third Sunday of the month (to start from April), is one of the many sequential steps of broader program aimed at disseminating the progressive steps taken by the government and providing the public with a platform to speak, write and interact with the administration, thereby voicing their suggestions, ideas and creative proposals’.
• ‘Awaam Ki Baat’ is a novel initiative aimed at seeking the feedback from the public to make the process of governance interactive, participative and people-centric.

Jammu and Kashmir:
Capital: Srinagar(summer), Jammu(winter)
Governor: Manoj Sinha

J&K LG – “Awaam Ki Baat” website to strengthen concept of ‘Jan Bhagidari’.

18. Who addressed the opening ceremony of International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure through video conference?
A) Nirmala Sitharaman
B) Amit Shah
C) Ramnath Kovind
D) Narendra Modi
E) Harsh Varthan
Answer: D) Narendra Modi

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi addressed the opening ceremony of International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure through video conference.
• Prime Minister of Fiji, Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom were present on the occasion.
• Participants from national governments, experts from international organizations, academic institutions and the private sector also participated in the conference.
• The Prime Minister pointed out that the year 2021 is a particularly important year.
• We are approaching the mid-point of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris agreement, and the Sendai Framework.
• The expectations from COP-26, to be hosted by the UK and Italy later this year, are high.
• This partnership on resilient infrastructure must play its important role in helping meet some of those expectations.

Prime Minister, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Space and All important policy issues and All other portfolios not allocated to any Minister:
Minister: Narendra Modi
Constituency: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Shri Narendra Modi – Address International Conference on Disaster resilient Infrastructure.

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