Daily Current Affairs and GK | 17 and 18 March 2024

Topic: Geography

1. Volcano eruption occurred on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland.

• A volcano has erupted once again on the Reykjanes Peninsula in Iceland. It is the fourth eruption since December.
• Smoke and bright orange lava have been released into the air by the volcano.
• Until March 2021, the Reykjanes peninsula had not experienced an eruption for eight centuries.
• A state of emergency has been declared in southern Iceland.
• The evacuation of nearby areas, including the renowned tourist attraction, Blue Lagoon, has started.
• The eruption started in the earth about three kilometres long between Stora-Skogfell and Hagafell mountains on the Reykjanes Peninsula.
• Keflavik International Airport and other regional airports in Iceland remain unaffected by the explosion.

Topic: Sports

2. Rachin Ravindra became the youngest player to receive the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal.

• New Zealand's Rachin Ravindra became the youngest recipient of the Sir Richard Hadlee Medal.
• He received the award at 24 years of age. Ravindra was named as the ICC's Emerging Player of the Year for 2023.
• He also received the Best Male Cricketer of the Year award in New Zealand.
• Daryl Mitchell was the winner of the Richard Hadlee Medal in 2022.
• The Sir Richard Hadlee Medal is an annual award introduced in 2011 by New Zealand Cricket.
• It is named in honour of New Zealand cricketer, Sir Richard Hadlee.

Topic: Sports

3. Royal Challengers Bangalore won their first Women's Premier League title.

• On 17 March, Royal Challengers Bangalore defeated Delhi Capitals by 8 wickets to win WPL 2024 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi.
• Delhi Capitals set a target of 114 runs, and RCB reached that total with 115 for 2 in 19.3 overs.
• Sophie Molineux was declared player of the match in the final.
• In 2023, Mumbai Indians won the Women's Premier League trophy by defeating Delhi Capitals.
• Women's Premier League (WPL):
  • It is a women's Twenty20 cricket match and is owned and operated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
  • This was the second season played, with five teams.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Awards and Prizes

4. TM Krishna and Neena Prasad selected for the Sangita Kalanidhi and Nritya Kalanidhi awards respectively.

• The Sangita Kalanidhi Award of the Music Academy for 2024 will be given to Noted Carnatic vocalist and Magsaysay award winner Thodur Madabusi Krishna.
• Considered the equivalent of the Oscars for Carnatic music, the award is given by the Music Academy in Chennai.
• Dr. Neena Prasad will receive the Nritya Kalanidhi Award 2024.
• The Mridangam player Parasala Ravi (V. Raveendran Nair) and vocalist Geetha Raja will receive the Sangita Kala Acharya Awards.
• Thiruvaiyyaru Brothers S. Narasimhan and S. Venkatesan will receive TTK Awards.
• TTK Award will also be presented to violinist H.K. Narasimhamurthy.
• Dr. Margaret Bastin will receive the Musicologist Award.
• The academic sessions of the 98th Annual Conference and Concerts of The Music Academy will be presided over by the Sangita Kalanidhi awardee.
• It will be held between December 15, 2024, and January 1, 2025.
• Sangita Kalanidhi awardee will receive the award, together with those selected for the Sangita Kala Acharya, the TTK, and the Musicologist awards at the Sadas on January 1, 2025.
• On January 3, 2025, the Nritya Kalanidhi Award winner will receive the award at the inauguration of the Music Academy’s 18th Annual Dance Festival.

Topic: National News

5. Lok Sabha elections will be held in 7 phases from April 19.

• On 16 March, the election schedule for the general elections in 2024 as well as assembly elections in four states was announced by the Election Commission.
• The counting of votes will take place on June 4.
• In addition, the election schedule for the assembly elections in Sikkim, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh was also announced by the Election Commission.
• There are 97 crore registered voters in India and more than 10.5 lakh polling stations manned by 1.5 crore personnel. There will be 1.82 crore first-time voters in this election.
• On June 16, 2024, the tenure of the current Lok Sabha is ending.
• There are 543 Lok Sabha seats in the country, out of which 84 parliamentary constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Castes and 47 for Scheduled Tribes.
• The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into force with the announcement of the election schedule.
• MCC is a set of guidelines issued to regulate political parties and candidates before elections.
• The rules cover issues relating to speeches, polling day, polling booths, portfolios, the content of election manifestos, processions, and general conduct, so as to ensure free and fair elections.

Topic: Important Days

6. Ordnance Factories Day 2024: 18 March

• Every year on March 18, Ordnance Factories Day is observed.
• The aim of the day is to honor the employees of Indian ordnance factories who work day and night to serve the country by providing the best quality arms and ammunition to the Indian Armed Forces.
• Indian Ordnance Factories play a significant role in protecting the country and strengthening the Indian Armed Forces.
• In 1775, the Board of Ordnance was formed at Fort William, Kolkata, to meet growing demands for arms and ammunition for the British army in India.
• In 1787, a gunpowder factory was built at Ishapore, and a gun carriage factory was built at Cossipore, Kolkata. It is now known as Gun and Shell Factory, Cossipore.
• Ordnance Factory Day is celebrated on 18 March to commemorate the day when the Ordnance Factory was formed at Cossipore, Kolkata.

Topic: National News

7. Startup Mahakumbh started on 18 March 2024 in New Delhi.

• It is one of the largest events that showcase India’s startup ecosystem.
• It will continue till the 20th of March 2024 at Bharat Mandapam.
• It will have pavilions on AI, B2B, agritech, deeptech, climate tech, fintech, gaming, esports, incubators and accelerators.
• This event aims to connect startups with venture capitalists, investors and likely corporate partners.
• This event will be attended by over 2000 startups, 30000 future entrepreneurs, and 50000 business visitors and over 500 incubators and delegations from ten countries. 
• Bharat Innovates is the central theme of the event.
• It is led by combined efforts of ASSOCHAM, nasscom, Bootstrap Incubation & Advisory Foundation, TiE and Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association (IVCA).
• DPIIT Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said India has third largest startup ecosystem.

Topic: National News

8. Sheetal Devi has been announced by Election Commission as its National Person with Disability (PwD) Icon.

• Her name was declared at an Exhibition Cricket Match between Indian Deaf Cricket Association Team and the Delhi and District Cricket Association team.
• This match was held in Delhi and organised by the Election Commission.
• Election Commission organised this match in association with the Board of Control for Cricket in India to promote voter education and inclusivity.
• Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu graced the event.
• A dedicated Voter’s Guide for PwDs and Senior Citizen Electors was also launched by the Election Commission.
• Sheetal Devi is a Para Archer and Arjuna Awardee. She got Arjuna Award 2023 on 9 January 2024.
• She is the first and only international para-archery champion without upper limbs.

Topic: International News

9. For the fifth time, Vladimir Putin won the Russian Presidential Elections.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin won the Presidential Elections for the fifth time.
• He got another six-year term with 87 per cent of the vote. The other candidates got less than 5 per cent votes.
• Communist candidate Nikolai Kharitonov finished second and Vladislav Davankov came third.
• Vladimir Putin will become the longest-serving Russian leader since Catherine the Great in the 1700s.
• President of Russia:
  • The president of the Russian Federation is the executive head of state of Russia.
  • The President of Russia is the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces.
  • A presidential candidate must be a citizen of the Russian Federation and should be at least 35 years old.
  • After the constitutional changes in 2020, the president can serve more than two terms.

Topic: Defence

10. Joint Military Exercise “LAMITIYE-2024” is scheduled to take place from March 18th to 27th.

• A contingent from the Indian Army will participate in the 10th edition of the Joint Military Exercise “LAMITIYE” with Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF). 
• Exercise “LAMITIYE-2024” is significant for fostering cooperation between India and Seychelles.
• The term ‘LAMITIYE’ means ‘Friendship’ in the Creole language.
• 45 personnel from the renowned GORKHA RIFLES of the Indian Army are taking part in this exercise.
• The main aim of the exercise is to improve interoperability in Sub-conventional Operations within Semi-Urban environments.
• Participants will engage in different activities, including Field Training Exercises, combat discussions, lectures, demonstrations, and a Validation Exercise.
• Both armies seek to elevate their proficiency in tackling contemporary security challenges.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Awards and Prizes

11. Greeshma Kuthar and Ritika Chopra received the Chameli Devi Jain Award 2024.

• The independent journalist Grishma Kuthar and Ritika Chopra of the Indian Express jointly won the Chameli Devi Jain Award 2024 for Outstanding Woman Media Person of the Year.
• The winners were selected from over 65 entries from women journalists by an independent jury.
• The jury comprises senior journalist Radhika Ramaseshan (Chair), author Mariyam Alavi, and Down to Earth managing editor Richard Mahapatra.
• On March 15, the award was presented to the winners.
• Ms. Kuthar is an independent multimedia journalist engaged in in-depth research and long-form investigative reporting from conflict-torn areas like Manipur.       
• Ms Chopra is Chief, of the National Bureau (Government) and National Education Editor at The Indian Express, Delhi.
• Chameli Devi Jain Award:
  • The Chameli Devi Jain Award was set up by the Media Foundation in 1980 for Outstanding Woman Media Person of the Year.
  • The award is named after Chameli Devi Jain, who was a freedom fighter and community reformer who was imprisoned during India’s independence movement.
  • It is a prominent award given to Indian women media persons who have reported on topics like social development, politics, equity, gender justice, health, war and conflict, and consumer values.  
  • In 1981, Neerja Chowdhury won the inaugural award.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Rankings

12. In the Grievance Redressal Assessment Index, the Home Ministry ranked among the top 10 ministries.

• In the Grievance Redressal Assessment Index (GRAI) in 2023-24, the Ministry has consistently been ranked among the top 10 ministries, performing well in all 15 specified indicators.
• With an average redressal time of eight days against the standard 30 days, the Home Ministry has performed exceptionally well by redressal 48,837 public complaints during 2023-24.
• Only 10% of complaints resulted in appeal which is one of the lowest among ministries and citizen satisfaction is also 40%.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Ranking

13. ‘Democracy Report 2024’ has been released by the Gothenburg-based V-Dem Institute.

• According to the ‘Democracy Report 2024’, India emerged as “one of the worst autocratizers”.
• The V-Dem report categorises countries into four regime types based on their score in the Liberal Democratic Index (LDI).
• Liberal Democracy, Electoral Democracy, Electoral Autocracy, and Closed Autocracy are the four regime types of the Liberal Democratic Index.
• This index indicates whether a country is turning more democratic (‘democratising’) or more autocratic (‘autocratising’).
• As per the report, in 2023, 42 countries were undergoing autocratisation.
• India accounts for about half of the population living in autocratising countries.
• Democratisation took place only in 18 countries which accounted for just 400 million people.
• As per the report, 71% of people in the world live in autocracies.

Topic: National Appointments

14. Navneet Kumar Sehgal became the new chairman of the Prasar Bharati.

• Former IAS officer Navneet Kumar Sehgal assumed charge as the new Prasar Bharati Chairman.
• Navneet Kumar Sehgal is a 1988-batch retired bureaucrat of UP cadre.
• He will succeed A Surya Prakash who completed his term as Chairman in 2020.
• The post is being filled after a gap of 4 years. He has handled many key assignments in the Yogi Adityanath government.
• Prasar Bharati oversees the operations of Doordarshan and All India Radio.
• Prasar Bharati was formed in November 1997. It is headquartered in New Delhi.