Daily Current Affairs March 08 2022

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

CISF 53rd Raising Day – 6^th March

• The 53rd Raising Day ceremony of Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF) was organised on March 06, 2022, in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah has attended and addressed the Raising Day ceremony of CISF at Ghaziabad’s Indirapuram.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that CISF personnel risked taking care of fellow Indians and even lost their lives when Indians came back from abroad during the Corona pandemic.
• Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF) was set up under the act of the Parliament of India on March 10, 1969.
• Eventually, it was made an armed force of the Republic of India by another Act of Parliament passed on 15 June 1983.
• CISF is one of six paramilitary forces in India and functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Its headquarters is in New Delh

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Government has launched Donate-a-Pension programme:

• The government has launched Donate-a-Pension programme.
• It is an initiative under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) pension scheme where citizens can donate the premium contribution of their immediate support staff including domestic workers, drivers and helpers.
• Labour and Employment Minister Bhupender Yadav, under the programmee, workers in the unorganised sector with the age group of 18 to 40 years can register themselves and deposit a minimum of 660 to 2400 rupees every year depending on their age.
• The programme was launched as part of many initiatives by the Labour Ministry to be launched in the Iconic Week being celebrated by from 7th to 13th of march 2022.
• The Minister also launched e SHRAM on the UMANG app.

Government has approved continuation of Swatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana:

• Government has approved the continuation of the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana and its components for Financial Years 2021-22 to 2025-26.
• The proposal for continuation of the scheme was received from the Home Ministry.
• The decision shows the commitment of the Government to remember sacrifices of Freedom Fighters and taking inspiration from them during the year of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• Freedom Fighters and their eligible dependents have been sanctioned the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension.
• Presently, there are 23 thousand 566 beneficiaries across the country covered under this scheme.
• The amount of pension has been revised from time to time and Dearness Relief is also given since 2020.

Rajnath Singh has virtually inaugurated four-day Indo-Pacific Military Health Exchange conference:

• Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has virtually inaugurated, on March 07, 2022, the four-day Indo-Pacific Military Health Exchange (IPMHE) conference co-hosted by Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) and US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM).
• The theme of the conference is ‘Military Healthcare in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) World’.
• The conference, which will continue till March 10, 2022, aims to enhance cooperation and joint Manship in military medicine.
• It will cover many important topics including operational/combat medical care, tropical medicine, field surgery, field anaesthesia, aviation & marine medicine emergencies etc.

Narayan Rane launches Special Entrepreneurship Promotion Drive for Women – “SAMARTH”:

• On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2022, Union Minister for MSME, Shri Narayan Rane along with Minister of State for MSME, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma launched a Special Entrepreneurship Promotion Drive for Women -“SAMARTH” at New Delhi.
• Shri Rane announced a Special Entrepreneurship Promotion Drive for Women -“SAMARTH” being implemented by the Ministry to provide them an opportunity to be self-reliant and independent by undertaking self-employment opportunities.
• Under the Samarth initiative of the Ministry, following benefits will be available to aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs:
• 20% Seats in free Skill Development Programs organized under skill development schemes of the Ministry will be allocated for Women. More than 7500 women will be benefitted.
• 20% of MSME Business Delegations sent to domestic & international exhibitions under the schemes for Marketing Assistance implemented by Ministry will be dedicated to women owned MSMEs.
• 20% Discount on annual processing fee on NSIC’s Commercial Schemes
• Special Drive for registration of women-owned MSMEs under Udyam Registration

Department of Rural Development kick starts its Iconic Week celebration on the theme ‘Naye Bharat ki Naari’:

• The Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India will be celebrating its Iconic Week under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav from 7th – 13th March 2022 during the week of International Women’s Day.
• The Iconic Week’s theme to celebrate the contribution of rural women in India is ‘Naye Bharat ki Naari’ and the official hashtag is #NayeBharatkiNaari.
• During this period, the Department of Rural Development, through its various Programmes, has planned a series of celebratory events and activities at the National and State level.
• Each day of the Iconic Week has been dedicated to a sub-theme, which commemorates the opportunities harnessed by rural women, the social barriers broken by them or towards issues where rural women have taken unparalleled initiatives, particularly facilitated by the Ministry in collaboration with other Ministries and the States, to make a difference.

Minister of Electronics & IT Ashwini Vaishnaw to inaugurate Tech Conclave 2022:

• National Informatics Centre (NIC) is partnering with Governments in their digital initiatives for the last four decades.
• Over the years we have built state-of-the-art PAN-India ICT infrastructure, digital platforms & solutions for the exclusive use of the Government.
• They have worked with Central and State Governments in automating their processes and electronic delivery of citizen services.
• NIC has been hosting a Tech Conclave on Emerging Technologies, which are particularly useful in e-Government. “Next Gen Technologies for Digital Government” is the theme of this year’s Tech Conclave.
• Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Railways and Communications, will inaugurate the 3rd edition of the NIC Tech Conclave 2022, a two-day event held by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), on March 3rd and 4th, 2022 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
• Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship; and Electronics and Information Technology, will be the guest of honour at the event.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Pakistan continues to remain on FATF’s grey list

• The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has retained Pakistan on its terrorism financing “grey list” and asked Islamabad to address at the earliest the remaining deficiencies in its financial system.
• The decision was made after the conclusion of the 4 day FATF Plenary from Mar 01 to 04, 2022.
• Pakistan has been on the grey list of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) since June 2018 for failing to check money laundering, leading to terror financing, and was given a plan of action to complete it by October 2019.
• Now pakistan aimed to fully comply with the 2021 action plan on anti-money laundering and combating terror financing by the end of January 2023.

About FATF :

• FATF, a Paris-based global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog.
• Founded : 1989
• Headquarters: Paris, France
• President: Marcus Pleyer
• Membership : 39

About Pakistan :

• President: Arif Alvi
• Prime minister: Imran Khan
• Capital: Islamabad
• Currency: Pakistani rupee

CURRENT AFFAIRS : STATE NEWS

India’s first ambulance for street animals launched in Chennai,Tamil Nadu

• Blue Cross of India and Four Paws, an international animal welfare organisation, launched a mobile animal ambulance for street animals in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• The ambulance was flagged off by Madras High Court Justice Anita Sumanth on the Stray Animal Care programme will be a “hospital on wheels” with an on-board veterinarian to provide on-site treatment to injured and sick street animals.
• The animal ambulance will also a paraveterinary-worker-cum-driver.

Features of the ambulance :

• The ambulance will include a treatment table, two fans, an inverter, a fridge, and drawers for sterile products and bandages.
• It also comes with a washbasin, an anti-skid shock-absorbing mat, a stretcher trolley, a retractable doctor’s seat, a retractable tarpaulin, dog-catching equipment, two movable cages to hold dogs, and overhead cupboards.

About Blue Cross of India :

• Founded: 1959
• Motto: Animals—It’s their world too
• Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
• Founder : Captain Sundaram

About Four Paws :

• Founded : 1988
• Located at : Vienna, Austria

About TN :

• Governor: R. N. Ravi
• Capital: Chennai
• Chief minister: M. K. Stalin

Deputy CM Manish Sisodia inaugurates Delhi Teachers University

• Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia inaugurated the Delhi Teachers University in Outram Lane in Mukherjee Nagar area of Delhi.
• It would offer programmes such as BA-BEd and BSc-BEd and focus on fundamental and applied research in education.
• This is Delhi’s first of its kind university.

Aim :

• To prepare well-trained and highly qualified teachers.
• The university will offer a new-age, integrated teacher education programme after Class XII.
• It will also emphasise on fundamental and applied research in education by collaborating with national and international organisations.

Additional Info :

• The Delhi Assembly in January 2022 passed a bill for setting up a world-class teachers’ training university.

About Delhi :

• Chief minister: Arvind Kejriwal
• Governor : Anil Baijal

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

Coal Production During February 2022 Increases by Two per cent to 79.54 million Ton:

• India’s coal production increased by 2 % to 79.54 million Ton (MT) from 77.99 MT during February this year as compared to Feb 2020.
• As per the provisional statistics of Ministry of Coal, during Feb 2022, SCCL and Captives/Others registered a growth of 7.19% and 49.04% by producing 6.04 MT and 9.24MT.
• Whereas, CIL registered a negative growth of 2.87% by producing 64.26MT in comparison to 66.16MT in Feb 20.
• Coal Production of FY 22 has been compared with FY 20 as FY 21 has been considered as abnormal year due to Covid-19 pandemic.
• Out of the top 35 coal producing mines, 14 mines performed more than 100 per cent.

Indian Oil partners Kotak Mahindra Bank for co-branded credit card:

• Private lender Kotak Mahindra Bank and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd has announced a strategic partnership to launch the Indian Oil Kotak co-branded fuel credit card.
• The collaboration will offer more value to customers in the form of an enhanced rewards programme giving customers value on fuel spends and on special non-fuel and frequent-spend categories, such as dining and groceries.

About IOC:

• Chairperson: Shrikant Madhav Vaidya
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Founded: 30 June 1959

About Kotak Mahindra Bank:

• CEO: Uday Kotak
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founder: Uday Kotak
• Founded: February 2003

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

SBI appoints former Ujjivan Small Finance Bank CEO Nitin Chugh as DMD

• State Bank of India (SBI) has appointed former Ujjivan Small Finance Bank CEO Nitin Chugh as Deputy Managing Director (DMD) to drive digital banking operations.
• He has been appointed to SBI for an initial term of three years.

About Nitin Chugh :

• Chugh, who joined Ujjivan Small Finance Bank in 2019.
• Prior to this, Chugh was CEO and managing director of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank.
• He has also served as the Group Head of Digital Banking at HDFC Bank.

About SBI :

• Establishment : 1 July 1955
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Chairman : Dinesh Kumar Khara

About Ujjivan Small Finance Bank :

• Founded: 1 February 2017
• Headquarters: Bangalore, Karnataka
• MD & CEO : Ittira Davis

Delhi HC Chief Justice DN Patel appointed as chairperson of TDSAT

• The Central government appointed Justice DN Patel, Chief Justice of the High Court to the post of chairperson, Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT).
• Patel had been appointed as the TDSAT Chairperson for a period of four years, or till attaining the age of 70 years, or until further orders.
• Notification issued by the Law and Justice Ministry in this regard states that “as approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, the Central Government.

About Justice DN Patel :

• Patel was born on March 13, 1960.
• He enrolled as an Advocate on July 28, 1984 and practised at the High Court of Gujarat.
• He was appointed as a Special Counsel of the State of Gujarat in other High Courts.
• He was appointed as Chief Justice of Delhi High Court on 7th June, 2019.
• Before Delhi High Court, he served as Acting Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court and also served as Judge of Jharkhand High Court and Gujarat High Court.

About TDSAT :

• Established : 2000
• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Created by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 Amendment 2000.
• TDSAT was established to adjudicate disputes and dispose of appeals with a view to protect the interests of service providers and consumers of the telecom sector and to promote and ensure orderly growth of the telecom sector.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : MOU & AGREEMENTS

Government of Telangana, NSE sign MoU to fuel growth of MSMEs

• The Government of Telangana and the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to help MSMEs grow in
• As part of the MoU, NSE with the support of the Government of Telangana will conduct awareness drives through seminars, MSME camps, knowledge sessions, road shows, workshops to guide corporates across the State for fund raising on NSE Emerge platform.
• The Government of Telangana will facilitate MSMEs to get listed on the NSE Emerge, by considering ways to reimburse percentage of expenses incurred on raising of funds, with a pre-defined upper limit to encourage the MSMEs
• Telangana has been at the forefront to provide ease of business for the MSMEs.
• It has signed an MoU with the National Stock Exchange of India to enable SMEs to list on the NSE Emerge platform to raise capital in an efficient manner and scale up their business to compete globally.

Additional Info :

• At present, 241 companies from various sectors are listed on SME Emerge & the total funds raised on the platform till date is a little over Rs 3,683 crore.
• The platform has 10 companies from Telangana.

About Telangana :

• Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan
• Capital: Hyderabad
• Chief minister: K. Chandrashekar Rao

CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS

HANSA-NG successfully completes sea level trials at Puducherry

• India’s first indigenous Flying Trainer HANSA-NG designed and developed by CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore under the aegis of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, has successfully completed the sea level trials at Puducherry from 19th February to 5th March, 2022.
• On Feb 19, the aircraft was flown to Puducherry covering 140 nautical miles in one and half hours at a cruising speed of 155 km/hr.

Objective :

• To evaluate handling qualities, climb / cruise performance, balked landing, structural performance including positive & negative G, power plant and other systems performance.
• The aircraft was piloted by Cdr. K V Prakash and Wg. Cdr. Dilip Reddy of ASTE.
• The flight was monitored by CSIR-NAL designers and Wg. Cdr. Reeju Chakraborty as Flight Test Director from telemetry.

About HANSA-NG :

• HANSA-NG is one of the most advanced flying trainers powered by the Rotax Digital Control Engine.

Unique features :

• Just-In-Time Prepreg (JIPREG) Composite lightweight Airframe, Glass Cockpit, Bubble Canopy with wide panoramic view, electrically operated flaps
• It is designed to meet the Indian flying club needs and it is an ideal aircraft for Commercial Pilot Licensing (CPL) due to its low cost and low fuel consumption.

About Puducherry :

• Lieutenant Governor : Tamilisai Soundararajan
• Chief Minister : N. Rangaswamy
• Chief Secretary : Ashwani Kumar

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

DRDO Developed Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits Onboard EOS 04

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) developed Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (MMICs) that have been used in radar imaging satellite modules of EOS 04.
• It was launched by ISRO on 14th Feb 2022.
• Many of the MMIC were designed/ developed and produced at Solid State Physics Laboratory (SSPL) DRDO and Gallium Arsenide Enabling Technology Centre (GAETEC) foundry of DRDO.
• More than 30,000 modules have been produced at GAETEC foundry for various space missions.

About MMICs :

• Monolithic microwave integrated circuit, or MMIC is a type of integrated circuit (IC) device that operates at microwave frequencies (300 MHz to 300 GHz).
• MMICs are dimensionally small (from around 1 mm² to 10 mm²)

Functions :

• Microwave mixing, power amplification, low-noise amplification, and high-frequency switching.
• Most microwave test equipment is designed to operate in a 50-ohm

About DRDO :

• Founded : 1958
• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Chairman : Dr G. Satheesh Reddy
• Parent Agency : Ministry of Defence

About ISRO :

• Founded : 15 Aug 1969
• Headquarters : Bangalore, Karnataka
• Chairman : Sreedhara Panicker Somanath

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

ISSF World Cup: Indian women’s 25m pistol team bags gold medal in Egypt:

• Indian women’s 25m pistol team of Rahi Sarnobat, Esha Singh and Rhythm Sangwan won the gold medal by beating Singapore 17-13 in the ongoing International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World cup in Cairo, Egypt.
• It is the 5th medal for India in the tournament
• Earlier, Shriyanka Sadangi and Akhil Sheoran won bronze in the 50-meter rifle 3 positions at the mixed Team event in the tournament.
• India is currently placed second in the medals tally with five podium finishes, including three gold.

About ISSF

• Headquarters: Munich, Germany
• President: Vladimir Lisin
• Founded: 1907

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHOR

The Queen of Indian Pop: The Authorised Biography of Usha Uthup:

• The biography of pop icon Usha Uthup titled “The Queen of Indian Pop: The Authorised Biography of Usha Uthup” was released and it was originally written in Hindi titled “Ullas Ki Naav” by author Vikas Kumar Jha.
• “The Queen of Indian Pop: The Authorised Biography of Usha Uthup” is the English translation of the book, translated by the writer’s daughter Srishti Jha.
• The book is published by Penguin Random House India (PRHI).

About Usha Uthup:

• Usha Uthup, India’s undisputed icon of pop music, has enthralled an entire generation of listeners with her unforgettable voice and continues to do so.
• Completing fifty years as a professional singer in 2020 was just another milestone in her fabled career.
• The 74-year-old pop icon, who completed 50 years as a professional singer in 2020, is widely known for evergreen hits such as “Hari Om Hari”, “Rambha Ho” and “Jeete Hain Shaan Se”.
• She has sung in several Indian and foreign languages including Bengali, Hindi, English, German, Italian and Sinhalese.

A book titled ‘The Blue Book’ by authored by Journalist Amitava Kumar:

• Indian writer and journalist Amitava Kumar has authored a new book titled ‘The Blue Book: A Writer’s Journal’.
• The book has been published by HarperCollins India.
• Amitava Kumar uses water color drawings as well as words to depict the experience, both individual and collective, of the pandemic.
• The Blue Book is a rare species of magical realism where words become paintings, and paintings turn into beguiling (charming) literary anthropology of ‘reality and surreality’ that leaves us stunned.

Daily CA On Mar 08 :

• The 53rd Raising Day ceremony of Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF) was organised on March 06, 2022, in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
• The government has launched Donate-a-Pension programme.
• Government has approved the continuation of the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Yojana and its components for Financial Years 2021-22 to 2025-26.
• Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has virtually inaugurated, on March 07, 2022, the four-day Indo-Pacific Military Health Exchange (IPMHE) conference co-hosted by Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) and US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM).
• On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2022, Union Minister for MSME, Shri Narayan Rane along with Minister of State for MSME, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma launched a Special Entrepreneurship Promotion Drive for Women -“SAMARTH” at New Delhi.
• The Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India will be celebrating its Iconic Week under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav from 7th – 13th March 2022 during the week of International Women’s Day.
• National Informatics Centre (NIC) is partnering with Governments in their digital initiatives for the last four decades.
• The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has retained Pakistan on its terrorism financing “grey list” and asked Islamabad to address at the earliest the remaining deficiencies in its financial system.
• Blue Cross of India and Four Paws, an international animal welfare organisation, launched a mobile animal ambulance for street animals in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia inaugurated the Delhi Teachers University in Outram Lane in Mukherjee Nagar area of Delhi.
• India’s coal production increased by 2 % to 79.54 million Ton (MT) from 99 MT during February this year as compared to Feb 2020.
• Private lender Kotak Mahindra Bank and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd has announced a strategic partnership to launch the Indian Oil Kotak co-branded fuel credit card.
• State Bank of India (SBI) has appointed former Ujjivan Small Finance Bank CEO Nitin Chugh as Deputy Managing Director (DMD) to drive digital banking operations.
• The Central government appointed Justice DN Patel, Chief Justice of the High Court to the post of chairperson, Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT).
• The Government of Telangana and the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to help MSMEs grow in
• India’s first indigenous Flying Trainer HANSA-NG designed and developed by CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore under the aegis of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, has successfully completed the sea level trials at Puducherry from 19th February to 5th March, 2022.
• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) developed Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (MMICs) that have been used in radar imaging satellite modules of EOS 04 & it was launched by ISRO on 14th Feb 2022.
• Indian women’s 25m pistol team of Rahi Sarnobat, Esha Singh and Rhythm Sangwan won the gold medal by beating Singapore 17-13 in the ongoing International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World cup in Cairo, Egypt.
• The biography of pop icon Usha Uthup titled “The Queen of Indian Pop: The Authorised Biography of Usha Uthup” was released and it was originally written in Hindi titled “Ullas Ki Naav” by author Vikas Kumar Jha.
• Indian writer and journalist Amitava Kumar has authored a new book titled ‘The Blue Book: A Writer’s Journal’.