Daily Current Affairs and GK | 24 March 2022

Topic: Personality in News

1. Maldives Government felicitated Suresh Raina with 'Sports Icon' award.

• Suresh Raina has been honoured with the prestigious 'Sports Icon' award at the Maldives Sports Awards 2022. He was awarded for his various achievements throughout his career.
• He was nominated alongside 16 international sportspersons including cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya, Jamaican Sprinter Asafa Powell, etc.
• Suresh Raina was part of the Indian Cricket team which has won the World Cup in 2011. He played for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise for many years in the IPL.
• Maldives Sports Awards 2022 ceremony was held on 17 March at Synthetic Running Track in Male.
• The event was chaired by the President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

2. American mathematician Dennis P. Sullivan has won Abel prize for 2022.

• Sullivan has been given award for his contributions to topology and its algebraic, geometric and dynamical aspects.
• Dennis Parnell Sullivan’s contributions include developing new way of understanding rational homotopy theory, which is a subfield of algebraic topology.
• He and his wife had discovered a new invariant for a manifold based on loops, thereby creating the field of string topology.
• He has also won Steele Prize, the 2010 Wolf Prize in Mathematics and the 2014 Balzan Prize for Mathematics.
• Topology is a branch of mathematics. It is related to the properties of surfaces that do not change when deformed. Topologically, a circle and a square are the same.
• Abel prize:
  • It is awarded by Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.
  • It is named after Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel. It was started in 2002.
  • The first Abel Prize was awarded in 2003 to Jean-Pierre Serre.
  • Srinivasa S.R. Varadhan is the only person of Indian origin to have won this prize. He won it in 2007.
  • Karen Keskulla Uhlenbeck is the only woman mathematician to win this prize.

Topic: Personality in News

3. Jiya Rai becomes world’s youngest and fastest female swimmer to swim across Palk Strait.

• She swam from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka to Dhanuskodi in Tamil Nadu.
• She covered a distance of 29 km in 13 hours and 10 minutes. She is a 13 year old Maharashtra girl. She is suffering from Autistic spectrum disorder.
• Para-Swimming Federation of India conducted the event. Goa Shipyard Ltd provided financial support for it.
• The previous record was held with Bhula Chowdhary. In 2004, Bhula Chowdhary covered the distance in 13 hours and 52 minutes.
• Jiya Rai was earlier given Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Purashkar (PMRBP) – 2022.
• She is the first and youngest autistic girl to swim from Worli to the Gateway of India.
• She holds world record in open water swimming. She aims to become the first and youngest para swimmer in the world to swim seven oceans.
• Jiya earned three gold medals at the Twentieth National Para-swimming Championship-2020 in March 2021.

Topic: Art and Culture

4. 4^th edition of Bhartiya Chitra Sadhna’s Chitra Bharati Film Festival will start on 25 March 2022.

• The film festival will start at new campus of Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication, located at Bishnkhedi, Bhopal.
• Actor Akshay Kumar will attend inaugural ceremony of this three-day film festival.
• The film festival will end on March 27 at the Rabindra Bhavan, Bhopal.
• Chief Guest at the closing ceremony will be Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur.
• Bhartiya Chitra Sadhna organizes Chitra Bharati Film Festival at the national level every two years.

Topic: Sports

5. Australian tennis player Ash Barty announced her retirement.

• Ashleigh Barty, the current World No. 1 tennis player, has announced her retirement from tennis at the age of 25.
• She announced her retirement in less than two months after winning her third Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open.
• She has won 15 titles including Roland-Garros in 2019, the Championships in 2021, and the Australian Open in 2022.
• She has won three grand slam titles - Wimbledon, Australian Open, and the French Open.

Topic: Biotechnology and Diseases

6. Ayush Ministry to conduct clinical trial of treating rheumatoid arthritis from Ayurveda.

• The world's first multicenter phase -3 clinical trial examining the efficacy of Ayurveda in the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis is being conducted by the Ayush Ministry.
• In accordance with the stringent International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human – Good Clinical Practice (ICH- GCP) guidelines, the clinical trial will be carried out.
• Dr. Daniel Erick Furst, a renowned rheumatologist at the University of California Los Angeles is closely monitoring the trial.
• The study is likely to start in May 2022 and will be completed in the next two years.
• It will be conducted by AVP Research Foundation and Central Council for Research in Ayurveda (CCRAS).
• Rheumatoid Arthritis is an inflammatory and autoimmune diseases in which the immune system of the affected person attacks the healthy cells of the body causing inflammation in the affected parts of the body. It mainly affects the joints like the joints in the hands, wrists, and knees.

Topic: National News

7. BRICS Vaccine R & D Centre has been launched by Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya.

• BRICS Vaccine R&D Centre was proposed to be established in 2018 Johannesburg Declaration.
• In 2018, South Africa was the first to propose the establishment of a BRICS vaccine R&D centre.
• Dr. Mandaviya proposed that BRICS countries should work together to support initiatives like ACT-A, COVAX, CEPI, etc., to achieve WHO’s target of vaccinating 70% of world’s population with COVID-19 vaccines by mid-2022.
• He said that India has so far approved 9 vaccines for Covid-19 emergency use, of which 5 are indigenous.
• Wang Zhigang, China’s Minister of Science and Technology, chaired the launch ceremony.
• Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator is a global collaboration to speed up development, production and equitable access to tests, treatments and vaccines for COVID-19. It was launched in April 2020.
• India supplies vaccines to over 150 countries and meets 65-70% of WHO’s vaccine requirements.

Topic: Defence

8. A joint exercise between Indian Army and Maharashtra Police has been organized by Indian Army’s Agnibaaz Division.

• Exercise Suraksha Kavach 2 was organized at Lullanagar, Pune on 22 March 2022.
• The exercise aimed to harmonize drills and procedures of Army and Police to counter any likely terrorist actions in Pune.
• Indian Army’s Counter Terrorism Task Force (CTTF) and Maharashtra Police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad took part in the exercise.
• Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs), Dog Squads and Bomb Disposal Teams of both agencies also participated in the exercise.
• Agnibaaz Division (41 Artillery Division) is part of Indian Army’s Southern Command headquartered at Pune.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Defence

9. Defence Ministry approved military acquisitions worth Rs 8,357 crore.

• Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved the procurement of military equipment including air defence fire control radar and GSAT-7B satellite.
• The approved military acquisitions proposals also include the procurement of night sight (image intensifier), and light vehicles GS 4X4.
• The procurement of these equipment and systems will enhance the operational preparedness of armed forces.
• It will help provide better visibility, enhance mobility, improve communication, and enhance the capability to detect enemy aircraft.
• DAC has also approved policy initiatives of the Defense Acquisition Process-2020. These measures will accelerate the pace of indigenization and bring self-reliance to the defense industry.
• The DAC has also approved procurements of 14 equipment amounting to Rs 380.43 crore from the iDEX startups and MSMEs.

Topic: State News/ New Delhi

10. Union Cabinet approved a bill to merge Delhi’s municipal corporations.

• The Union Cabinet gave nod to the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022. It is likely to be tabled in the Parliament in the ongoing budget session.
• This bill aims to merge three municipal corporations — South Delhi, North Delhi, and East Delhi.
• The Municipal Corporation of Delhi was trifurcated in 2012 to decentralize governance. The unequal division of resources between the civic bodies has increased the disparity.
• Under this bill, some more amendments have also been approved in the original Act of 1957 to improve governance and increase transparency.
• Before division, MCD was the second-largest civic body in the world.

Topic: National News

11. Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat launched Sujlam 2.0 Campaign.

• On the occasion of World Water Day, Sujlam 2.0 Campaign has been launched for greywater management at an event hosted by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
• The main objective of the campaign is to involve people in the management of greywater.
• Under this campaign, the government is planning to mobilize communities and institutions like panchayats, schools, Anganwadi to undertake greywater management.
• In this campaign people will collectively assess the situation, plan and implement greywater management activities.
• Sujlam 2.0 campaign will focus on the creation of institutional-level greywater management assets.
• Sujlam 1.0 campaign was launched in August 2021.
• Around 31 billion liters of greywater are generated every day in India. If it is treated properly, can be used for farming and gardening.
• Greywater is clean water generated from bathroom sinks, showers, tubs, and washing machines.

Topic: Indian Economy

12. India achieved highest ever goods export target of USD 400 billion.

• India created history by achieving an export target of USD 400 billion nine days ahead of the intended deadline.
• India’s export has increased by 37% compared to last year. The exports in the financial year 2020-21 were USD 292 billion.
• On average, India exported USD 46 million goods every hour, and USD 33 billion every month.
• According to the commerce ministry, India has exported goods worth $37 billion in December 2021, which is the highest ever in a month.
• India’s export of agriculture and processed food products has increased by 23% as compared to last year.
• Top Exports and Imports of India:
  • The top exports of India are Refined Petroleum, Diamonds, Packaged Medicaments, Jewellery, and Rice.
  • The top imports of India are Crude Petroleum, Gold, Coal Briquettes, and Petroleum Gas.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Important Days

13. World Tuberculosis Day: March 24

• World TB Day is observed every year on 24 March.
• It is observed to mark the date when in 1882 Dr. Robert Koch discovered Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
• The theme of World TB Day 2022 is 'Invest to End TB Save Lives'.
• It is commemorated annually to raise awareness about the health, social and economic consequences of tuberculosis.
• SDG target 3.3: By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases, and other communicable diseases.
• India has set the target to eradicate Tuberculosis by 2025.
• Tuberculosis:
  • Tuberculosis spread through the air and usually attacks the lungs. It can also affect other parts of the body.
  • Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a type of bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
  • It is treatable and preventable.

Topic: Defence

14. India and Uzbekistan armies participating in 3rd edition of a joint exercise “DUSTLIK”.

• The joint training exercise “DUSTLIK” is being conducted at Yangiarik from 22 to 31 March 2022.
• The last edition of DUSTLIK was conducted in Ranikhet (Uttarakhand) in March 2021.
• Troops of Grenadiers Regiment from the Indian side and troops of the North-Western Military District of Uzbekistan are participating in this exercise.
• The joint exercise will focus on Counter-Terrorism operations in semi-urban terrain. The exercise will focus mainly on sharing tactical-level drills and learning best practices from each other.
• The main aim of the exercise is to enhance understanding, cooperation, and interoperability between both armies.
• Grenadiers battalion is one of the highly decorated battalions of the Indian Army.