Dear Champions, as you all know that a lot of competitive exams have been notified consequently. Candidates have to prepare themselves according to the level of competition and expectation of  the Recruitment board. Regarding that one of the most important topic is Daily Current Affairs. Current Affairs in the form of contemporary events of national & international play a crucial role in almost every competitive exams like Banking, Insurance, SSC, UPSC, TNPSC, Railway etc.

Current affairs are the most dynamic yet scoring among all sections and need to be prepared from the right source. Here, we cafunsta team, providing  Daily GK Updates, Current Affairs Questions, and Monthly  current affairs pdf.

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March 29 | Daily Current Affairs 2021

IMPORTANT DAYS

1. World Piano day is observed on which date?
A) 28th March
B) 27th March
C) 26th March
D) 25th March
E) 29th March
Answer: E) 29th March

• Piano Day, an annual worldwide event founded by a group of likeminded people, takes place on the 88th day of the year – in 2021 it’s the 29th March – because of the number of keys on the instrument being celebrated.
• The aim of the day is to create a platform for piano related projects in order to promote the development of musical dimensions and to continue sharing the centuries-old joy of playing piano.

SPORTS

2. Thisara Perera becomes first Sri Lankan to hit six sixes an over. Perera is _____ cricketer in the world to have achieved this feat in professional cricket?
A) 3
B) 9
C) 8
D) 5
E) 7
Answer: B) 9

• All-rounder Thisara Perera became the first Sri Lankan to hit six sixes in an over in any form of professional cricket during a domestic tournament near here.
• The 31-year-old achieved the feat during his unbeaten 13-ball 52 while captaining Sri Lanka Army in a group match against Bloomfield Cricket and Athletic Club in the Major Clubs Limited Over List A tournament at the Army Ground in Panagoda town.
• Perera is the ninth cricketer in the world to have achieved this feat in professional cricket, after Garfield Sobers, Ravi Shastri, Herschelle Gibbs, Yuvraj Singh, Ross Whiteley, Hazratullah Zazai, Leo Carter and recently Kieron Pollard.
• Perera has played six Tests, 166 ODIs and 64 T20 Internationals.

Thisara Perera – First Sri Lankan to hit six sixes an over.

3. Who is the first Indian women cricketer made a new record by completing first ten thousand runs in the test cricket?
A) Smriti Mandhana
B) Harmanpreet Kaur
C) Poonam Raut
D) Jhulan Goswami
E) Mithali Raj
Answer: E) Mithali Raj

Mithali Raj – First Indian women cricketer made a new record by completing first ten thousand runs in the test cricket.

4. Young Indian GM Leon Luke Mendonca emerged victorious in the 2nd Kumania GM chess tournament in which country?
A) South Africa
B) China
C) India
D) Brazil
E) Hungary
Answer: E) Hungary

• Young Indian GM Leon Luke Mendonca emerged victorious in the 2nd Kumania GM chess tournament in Kisújszállás, Hungary, with a score of 6.5 points from nine rounds.
• The 15-year-old, who became India’s 67th Grandmaster in December last, remained unbeaten and finished with four wins and five draws.
• The Indian teenager had won the first edition of the tournament in November 2020.

Young Indian GM Leon Mendonca – 2nd Kumania GM tournament in Hungary.

OBITUARY

5. Jalal Adeni passes away. He was served as film Director of which language?
A) Odia
B) Tamil
C) Malayalam
D) Gujarati
E) Marathi
Answer: A) Odia

• Renowned Odia film Director, Producer and Composer Jalal Adeni passed away at his residence at Buxi Bazar in Cuttack.
• He directed and produced an Odia movie – Hira Moti Manika– in 1981.
• He is also known for his works in films like ‘Pujarini’ and ‘Basanti Apa’.
• He has also directed a couple of Hindi films including ‘Jamana Kya Kahega’ in 1982.

Jalal Adeni – Noted Odia film composer, director.

BANKING AND FINANCE

6. The New Development Bank (NDB) has approved a loan of up to $1 billion to support healthcare workers treating patients for COVID-19 in which country?
A) South Africa
B) China
C) India
D) Brazil
E) Russia
Answer: E) Russia

• The New Development Bank (NDB) has approved a loan of up to $1 billion to support healthcare workers treating patients for COVID-19 in Russia.
• The NDB was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, a group of emerging economies known as the BRICS. It set up an Emergency Assistance Facility in April 2020 to provide up to $10 billion in crisis-related assistance to its member countries.

New Development Bank:
Hq: Shanghai, China
Head: Marcos Troyjo

Russia:
Capital: Moscow
Currency: Russian Ruble

BRICS development bank – $1 billion loan for Russia’s frontline health workers.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

7. Which organisation released a report named World Development Report 2021:Data for Better Lives?
A) AfDB
B) IMF
C) World Bank
D) NDB
E) ADB
Answer: C) World Bank

World Bank:
Founded: 1944
Members: 189 countries (IBRD), 173 countries (IDA)
Hq: Washington D.C, US
Head: David Malpass

World Bank – Report named World Development Report 2021:Data for Better Lives.

8. According to Bank of America (BofA) Securities report, Covid-19 pushes back India’s $5 trn GDP goal by how many years to FY32?
A) 5
B) 1
C) 2
D) 4
E) 3
Answer: E) 3

• The pandemic-induced shocks to the economy which have already shaved off 15.7 per cent of the GDP from the previous year, will delay the ambitious target of becoming the third largest economy by three years to 2031-32 now, says a report.
• Currently, the country is the fifth largest economy in the world behind Germany.
• The government has set a target of becoming a USD5-trillion economy by 2030.
• We now expect the domestic economy to emerge as the world’s third largest economy in FY32, from FY29 earlier, due to the pandemic shocks.
• It should touch Japan’s nominal GDP in 2031 (in USD terms) if it grows at 9 per cent and in 2030 if it grows at 10 per cent,” a Bank of America (BofA) Securities report said.
• The report however did not ascribe a size to either the domestic economy, which stood at USD 2.65 trillion in 2019-20, or to that of Japan, which in 2020 stood at USD 4.87 trillion.
• This assumes a realistic 6 per cent real growth, 5 per cent inflation and 2 per cent rupee depreciation, the report added.
• In 2017, BofA had predicted that the country would emerge as the third largest economy in 2027-28 based on its assumption of the demographic dividend, growing financial maturity, and the emergence of mass markets.
• Further, sustained policy easing is finally bringing down real lending rates that have been a drag on growth since 2016.
• If the GDP grows at 10 per cent, as BofA assumed earlier, this will be achieved in 2029-30 and if it grows at 9 per cent, overtaking Japanese economy will be pushed back by three years to 2031-32.
• Also, for the growth to pick up and sustain, the credit to GDP ratio, a proxy for financial maturity, should climb to 102 in 2031-32 from 44 per cent in 2001-17 and 25 per cent during 1980 and the 1990s.

Bank of America (BofA) Securities report – Covid-19 pushes back India’s $5 trn GDP goal by 3 years to FY32.

9. New bacteria found on International Space Station named after Indian scientist ______?
A) Arjun Khan
B) Amal Khan
C) Aravind Khan
D) Ashok Khan
E) Ajmal Khan
Answer: E) Ajmal Khan

• The Discovery of a novel bacterial strain aboard the International Space Station (ISS) suggests the possibility of astronauts growing their own vegetables while in space, says a new study by researchers based at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory(JPL), among other institutions.
• The new bacterial strains discovered from different locations aboard the ISS flights may help in creating the “fuel” to help plants withstand such stressful situations.
• The findings of the study were published in a recent issue of the journal Frontiers in Microbiology.
• Genetic analyses revealed them to be closely related to Methylobacterium indicum.
• The researchers named the novel species as Methylobacterium ajmalii, in honour of the renowned Indian biodiversity scientist, Dr Ajmal Khan, a former professor at Annamalai University in Tamil Nadu.
• The genome analysis of Methylobacterium ajmalii strains revealed the presence of genes that are involved in promoting plant growth.
• The research teams were led by Dr. Kasthuri Venkateswaran of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, C.C. Wang of WorldQuant Initiative for Quantitative Prediction, Professor Appa Rao Podile from the University of Hyderabad (UoH) with expertise on plant growth-promoting bacteria and plant microbiome and Dr. Ramprasad, a CSIR-pool Scientist.

Methylobacterium ajmalii – New bacteria found on International Space Station named after Indian scientist Ajmal Khan.

AWARDS

10. Sports magazine Sportstar honoured which state with Decade’s Best State for Promotion of Sports for the period from 2011 to 2020?
A) Nagaland
B) Madhya Pradesh
C) Mizoram
D) Uttar Pradesh
E) Odisha
Answer: E) Odisha

• Sports magazine Sportstar honoured Odisha with Decade’s Best State for Promotion of Sports for the period from 2011 to 2020.
• Renowned Hockey star M M Somaya handed over the award to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at a special function organised at the convention hall of Loka Seva Bhawan glittered with eminent sportspersons of the country.

Odisha:
Capital: Bhubaneswar
Chief Minister – Naveen Patnaik
Governor – Ganeshi Lal

Sportstar – Honour Odisha with “Decade’s best state for promotion of sports”.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

11. Astrome has developed an innovative wireless product that gives fibre like bandwidth at fraction of cost of fibre to help telecom operators deliver reliable low-cost internet services to suburban and rural areas. It is incubated startup of which institution?
A) IIT Kharagpur
B) IIT Kanpur
C) IIT Mandi
D) IIT Madras
E) IISc Bangalore
Answer: E) IISc Bangalore

• Astrome, a women-led startup, has developed an innovative wireless product that gives fibre like bandwidth at fraction of cost of fibre to help telecom operators deliver reliable low-cost internet services to suburban and rural areas.
• The wireless product called Giga Mesh could enable telecom operators deploy quality, high-speed rural telecom infrastructure at 5 times lower cost.
• Rural connectivity customers and defence customers who have already signed up for pilots will soon witness the demonstration of this product by Astrome.
• The deep tech startup incubated at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and supported by DST-ABI Woman Startup Program of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India proved their millimeter-wave multi-beam technology in the lab in 2018, for which the company has been granted a patent in India and US. Since then, the technology has been converted to a powerful and scalable product called Giga Mesh, which can solve much of the last mile connectivity telecom needs of our country.
• The product has been proven on the field and also integrated with partner products for its upcoming commercialization.
• Astrome also received the ITU SME Award for the Most Promising Innovative Solution in Connectivity, a major recognition for this product from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
• They also got selected by a prestigious 5G accelerator program called Evo Nexus (sponsored by Qualcomm) which will help them launch their product in the global market.

Astrome – Deep-tech for reliable low-cost internet services to rural areas.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

12. “World’s first full-scale ship tunnel” gets go ahead to be built in which country?
A) New Zealand
B) Australia
C) Iraq
D) Iran
E) Norway
Answer: E) Norway

• The 1.7-kilometre Stad Ship Tunnel, which will have a pair of stone entrances designed by Snøhetta, has been given the green light and construction is now set to begin in 2022.
• The Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) received an assignment letter from the Ministry of Transport and Communications to begin preparing for the construction of the project.
• Designed to make shipping safer along the west coast of Norway, the Stad Ship Tunnel will connect the Kjødepollen bay and Vanylvsfjorden so that cargo and passenger ships of up to 16,000 tonnes can avoid dangerous shipping routes around the Stad peninsula.
• It is believed to be the first tunnel for large ships built anywhere in the world.
• Originally announced in 2017, the project has since received the official backing of the Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) and funding from the state.
• The Ministry of Transport and Communications is now preparing a proposition for the parliament to be presented in spring.
• Once the project has parliamentary approval, plans are in place to sign a contractor before the end of this year for construction to begin in early 2022.

Norway:
Capital: Oslo
Currency: Norwegian Krone

Norway – “World’s first full-scale ship tunnel”.

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

13. Representatives of state pollution control boards, urban local bodies and Institutes of Repute signed a MoU for how many identified cities to implement city-specific action plans under NCAP?
A) 131
B) 133
C) 134
D) 135
E) 132
Answer: E) 132

• Representatives of state pollution control boards, urban local bodies and Institutes of Repute signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for 132 identified cities to implement city-specific action plans under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).
• The NCAP is a long-term, time-bound, national level strategy to tackle air pollution problem across the country in a comprehensive manner with targets to achieve 20-30 per cent reduction in particulate matter concentrations by 2024, with 2017 as base year.
• Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar was also present during the signing of MoU.
• He said concerted efforts are required by state governments and all concerned for improving air quality in the country, and exhorted all to work in mission mode

Representatives of state pollution control boards, urban local bodies and Institutes of Repute – MoU to implement action plan in 132 cities under clean air programme.

14. Which company inks pact with CSC SPV to create demand aggregation for EVs, other initiatives?
A) NHPC
B) NTPC
C) NMDC
D) NHAI
E) CESL
Answer: E) CESL

• Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL) signed a pact with CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd (CSC SPV) to create demand aggregation for electric mobility, solar, energy-efficiency solutions and other initiatives of CESL.
• CESL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), signed the pact with CSC SPV, to create demand aggregation for electric mobility, solar, energy-efficiency solutions and other initiatives of CESL, the company said in a statement.
• The agreement was signed between CESL Managing Director & CEO Mahua Acharya and CSC SPV Managing Director Dinesh Kumar Tyagi in the presence of EESL Group Executive Vice-Chairperson Saurabh Kumar and other dignitaries from EESL, CESL and CSC.
• Under the agreement, CESL and CSC will aggregate demand and carry out feasibility studies for projects in renewables (decentralised solar), energy efficiency (solar micro-grids, solar-based agricultural pump-sets), e-mobility (EV charging stations, battery charging stations and battery swapping stations), and battery energy storage systems

CESL + CSC SPV – Create demand aggregation for EVs, other initiatives.

15. Mullanpur stadium named after Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Cricket Stadium. This stadium is related to which state?
A) Punjab
B) Madhya Pradesh
C) Mizoram
D) Uttar Pradesh
E) Odisha
Answer: A) Punjab

• The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium under construction at Mullanpur has been named Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Cricket Stadium.
• In the PCA annual general body meeting held at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali, the decision was unanimously approved.
• PCA president Rajinder Gupta chaired the meeting and lauded the efforts of Maharaja Yadavindra Singh as a test cricketer and administrator.
• Patiala royal late Maharaja Yadavindra Singh, who was the father of Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh, had played a test match for India in 1934.

Punjab:
Capital: Chandigarh
CM: Captain Amarinder Singh
Governor: V P Singh Badnore

Mohali’s Mullanpur stadium – Named after Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Cricket Stadium.

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