Daily Current Affairs and GK | 29 March 2022

Topic: International News

1. Robert Abela sworn in as Prime Minister of Malta.

• Labour’s party candidate Robert Abela wins the election with a huge margin.
• The Labour party has won the election with a margin of around 40000 votes.
• It is the third successive victory for the Labour Party. It receives 55.11 percent of the total vote.
• The main opposition party Nationalist Party has got 41.74 percent of the votes.
• The voter turnout in the election was 85.6 percent, the lowest in a Maltese general election since 1955.
• Malta:
  • It is the tenth-smallest country in the world in terms of population.
  • It is the fourth-most densely populated country in the world.
  • It is located in the central Mediterranean Sea.
  • Valletta is the capital of Malta.

Topic: National News

2. Government has given in-principle approval for setting up of 21 Greenfield Airports across India.

• Out of these, 8 Greenfield airports have been operationalized.

• These eight airports are Sindhudurg, Shirdi, Kalaburagi, Kushinagar, Orvakal (Kurnool), Durgapur, Pakyong and Kannur.
• Under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik), 154 Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) airports have been identified for the operation of RCS flights.
• Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) - UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) was launched by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in October 2016.
• The scheme was launched to stimulate regional air connectivity and make air travel affordable to the masses.

Topic: Reports and Indices

3. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has published ‘Annual Frontier Report, 2022’.

• As per the report, Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh is second-most noise polluted city globally.
• In 2021, noise pollution of 114 decibels was recorded in Moradabad.
• Dhaka is the most noise polluted city globally. It recorded noise pollution of 119 decibels (dB).
• Islamabad is the third most noise polluted city globally.
• Thirteen cities in the list are from South Asia. Out of these 13 cities, five are from India.
• The names of the other four Indian cities are Kolkata (89 dB), Asansol (89 dB), Jaipur (84 dB), and Delhi (83 dB).
• Irbrid (60 dB) of Jordan, Lyon (69 dB) of France, Madrid (69 dB) of Spain, Stockholm (70 dB) of Sweden, and Belgrade (70 dB) of Serbia are the quietest cities in the world.
• In its 1999 guidelines, WHO had recommended sound frequency of 55 dB as standard for residential areas and 70dB as standard for traffic and business sectors.
• UNEP Annual Frontier Report, 2022 is titled ‘Noise, Blazes, and Mismatches’.
• Noise pollution is the presence of excessive or unwanted sounds. Noise pollution may cause hypertension, lack of sleep, anxiety, and damage to hearing.

Topic: Appointments

4. ILO has announced that Gilbert Houngbo will be its next Director General.

• Gilbert F. Houngbo is the former Prime Minister of Togo. He will assume office in October 2022.
• He will be the 11th Director-General of ILO. He will be the first African to hold the post.
• His term will be five-year-long starting from 1 October 2022.
• Gym Ryder is the current Director-General of ILO. Ryder has held office since 2012. Ryder is from the United Kingdom.
• International Labour Organization (ILO):
  • It is a specialized agency of the United Nation consisting of 187 countries.
  • It was formed in 1919 with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
  • It develops international labour standards and advances social justice.

Topic: State news / West Bengal

5. PM Modi will address 'Matua Dharma Maha Mela 2022' on 29th March.

• On the occasion of Shree Shree Harichand Thakur's 211th birth anniversary, PM Modi will address Matua Dharma Maha Mela 2022 at Thakurbari in West Bengal.
• During the pre-independence era, Shree Shree Harichand Thakur ji dedicated his life to the oppressed, downtrodden, and deprived people of undivided Bengal.
• In 1860, he began a social and religious movement in Orakandi, Bangladesh, which led to the formation of the Matua Dharma.
• All India Matua Mahasangha is hosting Matua Dharma Maha Mela 2022 from March 29 to April 5, 2022.

Topic: Sports

6. Railway won the Obaidullah Khan Hockey Cup.

• The men's hockey team of Indian Railways won the prestigious Obaidullah Khan Heritage Hockey Cup, which was held in Bhopal (MP) from March 21 to March 27, 2022.
• The Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) team defeated Army XI by 2-1 in the final match.
• Arjun of Railway was chosen as Man of the Tournament.
• Joginder, Jasjit, and Niyaz Rahim, the man of the match, best defender, and best midfielder, were all from the Railways.
• On the 21st of March, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan, inaugurated the famous hockey tournament at Major Dhyanchand Stadium in Bhopal.
• It began in 1931 as the Obaidullah Gold Cup and has produced numerous international players.
• It has been organized this year after a six-year gap. The competition was last won by BPCL in 2016, where the Railways team was runner-up.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

7. Ministry of Defence has signed a contract for building eight Fast Patrol Vessels for Indian Coast Guard.

• The contract has been signed with Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL), an Indian Government-owned shipbuilding company.
• As per the contract, eight Fast Patrol Vessels for Indian Coast Guard will be constructed at a total project cost of 473 crore rupees.
• The vessels will be indigenously designed, developed and manufactured by GSL.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Art and Culture

8. First phase of Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav 2022 concluded in Rajamahendravaram, Andhra Pradesh on 27 March 2022.

• Governor of Andhra Pradesh Biswabhusan Harichandan and Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and DoNER G. K. Reddy had inaugurated the festival on 26 March 2022.
• Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav (RSM) is being organized for the first time in Andhra Pradesh & Telangana.
• It started with a discourse on Bhagvad Gita by Sri Gangadhar Sastry.
• Aloka Kanungo presented a classical Odissi dance performance on the occasion.
• The 2^nd and 3^rd phases of RSM will be held at Warangal and Hyderabad on March 29-30 and April 1-3, respectively.
• Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav (RSM):
  • It is the flagship festival of the Ministry of Culture.
  • It aims to preserve, promote, and popularize India’s rich cultural heritage.

Topic: Indian Polity

9. Lok Sabha passed a bill to include Tripura’s Darlong community in Scheduled Tribes list.

• The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022 has been passed by Lok Sabha. It will amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.
• The bill has a provision to include the Darlong community as a sub-tribe of the Kuki tribal community in the list of Scheduled Tribes.
• Darlong community of Tripura has a population of 11000. They are actively involved in education and cultural activities.
• Tripuri or Debbarma, Jamatia, Noatia, Uchoi, Chakma, Mog, Lushai, Kuki, Garo, Khasi, Lepcha, and Halam are the main tribal communities of Tripura.
• 19 tribal communities of Tripura live under Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council formed on January 18, 1982.
• Scheduled Tribes:
  • Around 8.6% of India’s population belongs to the Scheduled Tribes community.
  • The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes was formed to monitor all matters related to Scheduled Tribes.
  • As per the 2011 Census, Madhya Pradesh has the highest tribal population in India. Meghalaya has the lowest Scheduled Tribe population.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

10. M Veerappa Moily and H V Hande received Lifetime Achievement APJ Abdul Kalam Award at the 12th edition of Sansad Ratna Awards.

• At the 12^th edition of the Sansad Ratna Awards, 11 MPs have been honoured in various categories.
• Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra presented the awards at the Maharashtra Sadan.
• N K Premachandran and Shrirang Appa Barne received the ‘Sansad Vishisht Ratna’ award for their outstanding performance.
• Bidyut Baran Mahato (Jharkhand), Heena Vijayakumar Gavit (Maharashtra), and Sudhir Gupta (Madhya Pradesh) got the Sansad Ratna Award for their remarkable performance.
• Amar Patnaik (Odisha) and Fauzia Tahseen Ahmed Khan (Maharashtra) got the award in the ‘sitting members’ category.
• The awardees have been selected on the basis of their performance from the beginning of the 17^th Lok Sabha till the end of the winter session.
• Arjun Ram Meghwal and T S Krishnamurthy chaired the Sansad Ratna Awards Committee.
• Sansad Ratna Awards:
  • It was started on the suggestion of APJ Abdul Kalam.
  • It is given to top-performing parliamentarians.
  • It was first given by APJ Abdul Kalam in 2010.

Topic: Indian Polity

11. Parliamentary Standing Committee asks for constituency wise analysis of CSR spending by top 10 companies in India.

• Recently, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has asked Ministry of Corporate Affairs to analyze CSR spending of top 10 private companies sector wise and parliamentary constituency wise.
• Ministry is asked to submit the report within three months.
• Ministry of Corporate Affairs has introduced a new form CSR2 where the companies have to give more details about CSR spending including list of projects, where they are spending, etc.
• The committee has also asked the MCA to fill the posts lying vacant at Serious Fraud Investigations Office (SFIO) within the next financial year to increase the case disposal rate.
• CSR- Corporate Social Responsibility:
  • It was made a mandatory provision for companies under the Companies Act 2013 to take up projects towards social welfare activities.
  • Reliance Industries Limited is the top company in India in terms of CSR spending followed by ONGC Limited and Infosys Limited.
• Standing Committee on Finance:
  • It deals with the matters related to Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, NITI Aayog and Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
  • There are 31 members in the committee- 21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha. The tenure of the members of the Committee is one year.

Topic: Appointments

12. Shashidhar Sinha elected as new Chairman of BARC India.  

• Shashidhar Sinha has replaced Punit Goenka, who was the Chairman for previous two terms (three years).
• Sinha is also on Advertising Agencies Association of India’s board.
• BARC India:
  • It was formed in 2010 by various stakeholders’ bodies such as Indian Broadcasting Federation, Advertising Agencies Association of India etc. 
  • It is headquartered in Mumbai. Nakul Chopra is its CEO. 

Topic: Space and IT

13. "Param Shakti", a Petascale Supercomputer, inaugurated at IIT Kharagpur under National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).

• The system was designed and implemented by HPC Technologies team, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).
• NSM is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
• Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, Governor of West Bengal, inaugurated the supercomputer on March 27, 2022.
• The supercomputing facility aims to speed up research and development in the computational and data sciences in multidisciplinary domains.
• In March 2019, IIT Kharagpur and the Centre for Development in Advanced Computing (CDAC) signed an MoU to develop this state-of-the-art Supercomputing Facility with 17680 CPU cores and 44 GPUs.
• Additionally, IIT Kharagpur established the Centre for Computational and Data Science, whose mission is to train researchers in supercomputer-accelerated research and development.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: National News

14. Decentralized Waste Management Technology Park to be inaugurated in New Jaffrabad, East Delhi.

• On March 29, 2022, the Waste to Wealth Mission of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India will inaugurate the Decentralised Waste Management Technology Park in New Jaffrabad, East Delhi.
• It is inaugurated in collaboration with the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC), for onsite processing of fresh municipal solid waste.
• It aims to create a scalable onsite processing technology park that can be replicated, with the aim of zero waste and zero energy.
• The advantages of a Technology Park are given below:
  • Decentralized on-site waste processing
  • Minimum Land Requirement
  • Possibility of onsite waste treatment, processing, compaction, and energy conversion
  • Reducing Secondary Waste Transportation Costs
  • Heading towards Zero landfill
  • Extended/replicated in different cities of India