Daily Current Affairs and GK | 23 March 2021

Topic: International News

1. Dutch PM Mark Rutte wins his fourth election.

• Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte has won his fourth election.
• Mark Rutte will form a new coalition government led by his centre-right VVD party.
• Based on 88% of votes counted, the VVD party has won 35 seats while the Centre-left D66 party has won 24 seats.
• In January 2021, his government had resigned over a child welfare fraud scandal.
• He is the third-longest serving Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
• The Netherlands is a country in Western Europe whose capital is Amsterdam and the currency is Euro.
• Political system in Netherlands:
  • Prime Minister is the head of the government.
  • The Netherlands is governed by a proportional representation (PR) system.
  • The Netherlands is usually governed by a coalition of different political parties.

Topic: Important Days

2. Bihar Diwas is celebrated on 22 March.

• Bihar Diwas is celebrated every year on March 22 to mark the formation of Bihar. On 22 March 1912, Bihar was carved out as a separate province in the British Indian Empire.
• ‘Jal Jeevan Hariyali’ has been the theme of this year’s Bihar Diwas celebration. It has been selected to raise awareness about the water problem of the state.
• Bihar:
  • It is located in the eastern part of India.
  • It shares its boundary with Uttar Pradesh, Nepal, West Bengal and Jharkhand.
  • It is divided into two parts by the river Ganga.
  • It is the third-largest state by population and twelfth-largest by territory.
  • It has 40 Lok Sabha seats, 16 Rajya Seats and 243 Legislative assembly seats.
  • Phagu Chauhan is the Governor of Bihar.
  • Madhubani painting is a famous painting of Bihar.
  • It has the second-lowest Urban Population in India.

Topic: Important Days

3. World Meteorological Day: 23 March

• World Meteorological Day is celebrated every year on 23 March to commemorate the establishment of the World Meteorological Organization.
• The main objective of this day is to highlight the role of people in protecting the atmosphere of Earth.
• The theme of this year’s World Meteorological Day is “The ocean, our climate and weather”.
• The United Nations has announced the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) to improve the management of ocean and coastal zones resources.
• World Meteorological Organization:
  • It was established on 23 March in 1950.
  • The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 193 countries.
  • The organization is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Topic: Important Days

4. Martyrdom Day/ Shaheed Diwas: 23 March

• Martyrdom day is observed every year on 23 March to pay tribute to the sacrifice of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.
• The British rulers had hanged Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev for their revolutionary activities against British rule on 23 March in 1931.
• On 8 April 1929, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt threw bombs at the Central Legislative Assembly in the protest of the Public Safety Bill and the Trade Dispute Bill.
• Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged on the charge of assassinating British officer John Saunders in 1928.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: International News

5. India supplied two Mobile Harbour Cranes to Iran.

• India has supplied two Mobile Harbour Cranes (MHC) to Iran under a contract agreement for supplying 6 MHC. The consignment of two Mobile Harbour Cranes (MHC) has arrived at Chabahar port.
• Mobile Harbour Cranes (MHC) has the capacity to lift 140 metric tons of weight. It will help India Ports Global Limited (IPGL) in providing seamless services for Container, Bulk and General Cargo at Shahid Beheshti Port.
• It is an important step towards the infrastructure development of ‎Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar.
• On 23 May 2016, India and Iran had signed a bilateral agreement for Equipping, Mechanizing and starting Operations at Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar.
• Chabahar Port consists of two separate port named Shahid Kalantri and Shahid Beheshti.
• Chabahar Port:
  • Chabahar is a port located on the coast of the Gulf of Oman.
  • It is strategically important for India as it provides connectivity to Iran and Afghanistan bypassing Pakistan.
  • It is jointly developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan.
  • Chabahar is also the southernmost city of Iran.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Reports and Indices

6. As per a study, Indian military is the world’s fourth strongest military.

• According to a study by the defence website ‘Military Direct’, the Chinese Military is the strongest military force in the world.
• USA is in second place, followed by Russia in third place.
• India with 61 points has been ranked in fourth place, it is followed by France with 58 points. The U.K. is in the 9^th position with a score of 43.
• The “ultimate military strength index” has been released by a defence website Military Direct. It is based on different factors like budget, military personnel, total air, sea, land and nuclear resources, average salaries, and weight of equipment.
• The United States is the largest military spender with a budget of $732 billion per year, followed by China. India is the world’s third-biggest military spender.
• The United States has the largest number of airships while China has the largest number of sea warships.

Topic: Indian Polity

7. Government notified new rule and said that Aadhaar is not mandatory for pensioners to get Jeevan Pramaan.

• Government has notified the new rule and said that Aadhaar is not mandatory for pensioners to get Jeevan Pramaan.
• Jeevan Pramaan is a digital life certificate, which pensioners require to collect their pensions.
• Government has also said that Aadhaar verification is not mandatory for government’s instant messaging solution ‘Sandes’. 
• Government has also made Aadhaar verification voluntary for the attendance management at public offices.
• Sandes was released for the first time in August 2020. It was earlier known as s Government Instant Messaging System (GIMS).

Topic: Government Scheme and Initiatives

8. National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development Bill 2021 introduced by Finance Minister in Lok Sabha.

• National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development Bill 2021 has been introduced by Finance Minister in Lok Sabha.
• The bill will allow government to set up a Development Finance Institution to fund infrastructure projects.
• Setting up of Development Finance Institution was recently approved by Union Cabinet.
• Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill-2021 was also passed by Rajya Sabha. It club seven castes of Tamil Nadu under one nomenclature of Devendrakula Vellalars.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

9. 67^th National Film Awards- winner list for all categories announced.

• The 67^th National Film Awards have been announced to honour films from 2019. The Directorate of Film Festivals has organized this event.
• The Directorate of Film Festivals was set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to organize national and international film festivals in India.

• The complete list of the winners in each category:
  • Best Feature Film: Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea (Malayalam)
  • Best Actor (shared): Manoj Bajpayee for “Bhonsle” (Hindi), and Dhanush for “Asuran” (Tamil)
  • Best Actress: Kangana Ranaut for “Panga” (Hindi) and “Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi” (Hindi)
  • Best Supporting Actress: Pallavi Joshi for The Tashkent Files (Hindi)
  • Best Supporting Actor: Vijay Sethupathi for Super Deluxe (Tamil)
  • Best Director: Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan for Bahattar Hoorain (Hindi)
  • Best Debut Film of a Director: Mathukutty Xavier for Helen (Malayalam)
  • Best Action Direction: Avane Srimannarayana (Kannada), Vikram Mor

• National Film Awards:
  • It is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. It was established in 1954.
  • It is being administered by the Indian government’s Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

10. India conferred Gandhi Peace Prize 2020 on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rehman.

• Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman has been honored the Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2020 by India.
• Late Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said of Oman has been conferred with the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2019.
• These prestigious awards of 2019 and 2020 have been given posthumously for the first time.
• Rs 1 crore, a citation, a plaque, and an exquisite traditional handloom item are presented to the winner of the Gandhi Peace Prize award.
• Since 1995, the Government of India is annually giving the Gandhi Peace Prize award.
• The Prime Minister of India has chaired the jury for Gandhi Peace Prize and is comprised of two ex-officio members.

Topic: Space and IT

11. India and France Working on Third joint Space Mission: K. Sivan

• K. Sivan, chairman of the ISRO, stated that India and France are working on the third joint satellite mission. The bilateral space collaboration is entering into multiple domains, including the human spaceflight program.
• Many French companies want to tap up the opportunities given by the central government with recent reforms injected into the space sector.
• Two joint missions, ‘Megha-Tropiques’ and SARAL-Altika, were started by ISRO and the French space agency National Centre for Space Studies (CNES).
• Both agencies have finalized documents to include CNES’s ARGOS instrument in ISRO’s OCEANSAT-3 satellite.
• Indian Space Research Organisation:
  • The Indian Space Research Organisation is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bangalore.
  • It was formed in the year 1969.