Daily Current Affairs and GK | 25 March 2021

Topic: Indian Polity

1. S A Bobde recommends Justice N V Ramanna’s name as the next Chief Justice of India.

• Chief Justice of India S A Bobde has recommended the government to appoint Justice NV Ramanna as the next Chief Justice of India.
• Chief Justice of India Justice S A Bobde is retiring on 23^rd April 2021. He is the 47^th Chief Justice of India.
• Chief Justice of India:
  • Under Article 124 of the Indian Constitution, the President appoints the Chief Justice of India.
  • The senior-most judge of the Supreme Court is appointed as the Chief Justice of India.
  • Chief Justice of India holds office until the age of 65 years.
  • A judge of the Supreme Court can be removed by the President only after the resolution passed by the Parliament.
• Supreme Court Collegium:
  • A collegium is a group of the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice of India.
  • It recommends the appointment of judges and lawyers in the Supreme Court.

Topic: Sports

2. Aishwary Tomar wins gold medal in 50m rifle 3 positions event at ISSF World Cup.

• Indian shooter Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar won a gold medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event at the ISSF World Cup.
• Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar becomes the youngest player to win a gold medal in the 3 Positions event at ISSF World Cup.
• He is a Tokyo Olympics quota-holder.
• He had won the bronze medal in the 50 metre rifle 3 positions event at the 2019 Asian Shooting Championships.
• India has won 8 golds, 3 silvers and 4 bronze medals so far in this tournament.
• ISSF World Cup 2021 is scheduled to be held from March 18 to 29 in New Delhi.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

3. Union Power Minister launched GRAM UJALA scheme in Varanasi.

• Union Power Minister R K Singh launched the GRAM UJALA scheme in Varanasi after launching in Arrah, Bihar, on 19 March.
• Under this scheme, Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) will distribute high-quality LED bulbs at an affordable cost of Rs 10 per bulb in rural areas.
• In the first phase of this scheme, around 1.5 crores LED bulbs will be distributed across villages of Aarah (Bihar), Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Vijaywada (Andhra Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharashtra), and Gujarat.
• The scheme will help in achieving the CO₂ reduction target of 1.65 million T CO2/year and it will also provide better illumination at an affordable cost.
• Under this programme, 7 watt and 12-Watt LED bulbs will be provided in the rural areas to save energy.  It will be implemented in villages of the 5 districts only.
• UJALA scheme:
  • It was started in 2015 to distribute LED bulbs at subsidized rates.
  • The scheme is under the Ministry of Power and implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL).

(Source: PIB)

Topic: National News

4. Union Education Minister inaugurated Shaheed Bhagat Singh Smarak.

• On the occasion of Martyrdom Day, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” inaugurated Shaheed Bhagat Singh Smarak in a programme organised by Delhi University.
• Union Education Minister also announced that the existing collection of books of freedom fighters at the smarak would be converted into ‘Shahid Smriti Pustakalaya’.
• The Minister also paid tribute to Bhagat Singh in the Chamber located in the basement of the Viceregal Lodge of the University. It is where Bhagat Singh was imprisoned for a day during a court trial.
• Martyrdom day is observed every year on 23 March to pay tribute to the sacrifice of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.
• Bhagat Singh:
  • He was a socialist revolutionary and Indian freedom fighter.
  • He founded Naujawan Bharat Sabha in 1926.
  • He was a member of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association.

Topic: Miscellaneous

5. Asia’s largest Tulip Garden in Srinagar opened for visitors.

• Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden in Srinagar has been opened for tourists from today. It is the largest tulip garden in Asia.
• The tulip garden is spread over 30 hectares in the foothills of the Zabarwan Range. It is located along the bank of Dal Lake.
• It has 15 lakh tulips flowers of more than 64 varieties.
• It was opened in 2007 to boost floriculture and tourism in Kashmir
• The Tulip Festival is organised between March and May in Srinagar. Tulips in Kashmir remain in bloom for 15-20 days in the last week of March.
• The Badaam Wari Garden has also been opened for tourists on 21 March.

(Source: J&K Govt website)

Topic: Defence

6. Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘Vajra’ commissioned to enhance coastal security.

• Indian Coast Guard ship ‘Vajra’ has been commissioned into service for enhancing coastal security capability.
• It is designed and built by Larsen and Toubro Ship building Limited at Kattupalli, Chennai. It is the sixth in the series of seven offshore patrol vessels to be constructed by Larsen & Toubro Ltd.
• It is equipped with 30mm and 12.7mm Guns and it can carry one twin-engine helicopter and four high-speed boats for performing coastal security operations.
• It can also perform oil spill response operations at sea.
• It is fitted with highly sophisticated navigation and communication systems.
• It will be commanded by Deputy Inspector General Alex Thomas and will be deployed for EEZ surveillance at Tuticorin.
• Earlier, an indigenously built Coast Guard ship ‘Sujeet’ has been commissioned at Goa.
• Indian Coast Guard:
  • It is an armed force, maritime, search and rescue, and law enforcement agency.
  • It works under the Ministry of Defence.
  • It is headquartered in New Delhi.
  • It was established on 18 August 1978.

Topic: Sports

7. ICC released T20 Player rankings; Virat Kohli moved to fourth position.

• Recently, ICC has released the Men’s T20I Player Rankings.
• India captain Virat Kohli has moved to the fourth position after his outstanding performance against England in the five-match series.
• Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma is in the 14^th position in the latest Men’s T20 Player rankings.
• Shreyas Iyer moved to the 26^th position while Bhuvneshwar Kumar has moved to the 24^th place.
• In the ICC ODI Player Rankings, Shikhar Dhawan has moved to the 15^th position and Bhuvneshwar Kumar moved to top 20.
• South African spinner Tabraiz Shamsi tops ICC T20 bowler rankings and Dawid Malan of England has topped the ICC T20 batsmen rankings.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Awards and Prizes

8. Vyas Samman – 2020 will be conferred on Hindi Writer Sharad Pagare.

• The Hindi writer Sharad Pagare will be honoured with the prestigious Vyas Samman-2020.
• He will be awarded for his novel ‘Patliputra Ki Samragi.’
• Vyas Samman:
  • It was started in 1991.
  • K.K. Birla Foundation gives this award annually to those people of India who worked in Hindi language literature and have published their work in the past 10 years.
  • Rs. 4 lakh cash, a citation and plaque are presented to the winner of the Vyas Samman.
  • Vyas Samman – 2019 had been awarded to Nasira Sharma for her novel ‘Kagaz ki Nav’.

Topic: State News / Andhra Pradesh

9. Andhra Pradesh is going to launch India’s first government-run animal ambulance network.

• Andhra Pradesh will launch India’s first government-run animal ambulance network.
• This initiative’s main objective is to reach out to the distressed animals and provide them with proper animal healthcare.
• CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy further said that the Animal Husbandry Department would set up one Mobile Ambulance Veterinary Clinic at every assembly constituency.
• A total of 175 mobile ambulances (veterinary) clinics will be set up at the Assembly Constituency Level for providing Veterinary services at the doorstep.
• In case of emergency, ‘Hydraulic Lift’ will be provided to lift animals and shift them to the nearest Government Veterinary Facility.
• On each ambulance, a veterinarian and a para-veterinary worker will be appointed.

Topic: MoU/Agreements

10. Union Cabinet approved an MoU between India’s UPSC and Afghanistan’s IARCSC.

• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed between the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) of India and the Independent Administrative Reforms and Civil Services Commission (IARCSC) of Afghanistan, after the approval of the Union Cabinet.
• The relationship between IARCSC and UPSC will be strengthened after this MoU.
• They will share experience on the modern approach to public service recruitment and selection process.
• They will share information on the use of Information Technology (IT) to prepare written examinations and hold of Computer Based Recruitment Tests and Online Examinations.
• Sharing of books, manuals, and other non-confidential documents will be part of this MoU.
• Union Public Service Commission (UPSC):
  • It is India’s premier central recruiting agency for public servants.
  • It was established in the year 1926.
  • Its headquarters is in New Delhi.
  • The chairman of the UPSC is Pradeep Kumar Joshi.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Rankings

11. Fitch ratings revised India’s GDP growth projection for 2021-2022 from 11% to 12.8%.

• In its latest Global Economic Outlook (GEO), American credit rating agency Fitch has revised India’s GDP growth projection for 2021-2022 from 11% to 12.8%.
• The agency further said that recovery of India’s GDP growth from the lockdown-induced recession has been faster than expected.
• However, GDP is expected to remain below the pre-pandemic forecast trajectory of Fitch.
• As per Fitch, recovery of GDP during the second half of 2020 reached above the pre-pandemic level.
• S&P, Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings are known as Big Three credit-rating agencies.

Topic: Reports and Indices/Rankings

12. DGFT to assist states and Union Territories in preparing an annual export-ranking index.

• Commerce Ministry has said that Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) will assist states and Union Territories in preparing an annual export-ranking index.
• The Annual export-ranking index of each district will be prepared based on its export competitiveness.
• Central government is working on developing districts as export hubs to decentralize export promotion activities.
• A district export action plan will be prepared. Under this plan, goods and services with export potential in the district will be identified.