Daily Current Affairs and GK | 31 March 2021

Topic: Corporates/Companies

1. Facebook and Google will connect Southeast Asia and America through Undersea cable.

• Facebook and Google are planning to connect Southeast Asia and America through an undersea cable.
• It will help in increasing the internet connection capacity between the regions.
• The first two cables, named Echo and Bifrost, will be laid through a new diverse route crossing the Java Sea.
• The cables will first connect North America and Indonesia. The “Echo” will be constructed by google in partnership with Indonesian telecommunications’ company XL Axiata by 2023.
• Bifrost will be built by Telin, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s Telkom, and Singaporean company Keppel by 2024.

Topic: Defence

2. Indian Navy will take part in the France-led ‘La Pérouse’ joint exercise in the Bay of Bengal.

• Indian Navy will participate in the France-led ‘La Pérouse’ joint exercise in the Bay of Bengal from April 5 to 7.
• Navies of Australia, Japan and the US will also participate in this joint exercise.
• This three-day-long joint exercise will include maritime drills, communication systems overseas, complex combat operations, etc.
• After the ‘La Pérouse’ joint exercise, Varuna naval exercise between India and France will be held. This year the United Arab Emirates will also participate in this exercise.
• Recently, the Indian Navy participated in the Malabar exercise and Passage exercise with Vietnam.

Topic: International News

3. A 25-year “strategic cooperation pact” signed between China and Iran.

• A 25-year “strategic cooperation pact” has been signed between China and Iran.
• The pact has been signed by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif.
• Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is on a six-nation tour to West Asia. He is visiting Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, UAE, Bahrain and Oman.
• The details of the pact are not immediately available. But it contains political, strategic and economic components.
• Earlier this week, China and Russia formally requested US to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as soon as possible.
• JCPOA is an agreement reached by Iran and P5+1 (China France, Germany, Russia, UK and US) in July 2015. JCPOA is commonly known as Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal.
• It was finalized and adopted in 2015. However, it was implemented in January 2016.

Topic: Appointments

4. Soma Mondal, Chairman of SAIL, elected as new Chairperson of Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE).

• Soma Mondal, Chairman of SAIL, has been elected as the new Chairperson of Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE).
• Pradip Kumar Das, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), has been given the role of Vice Chairman after biennial (once in two years) elections.
• R.K. Sinha, Ranjan Kumar Mohapatra, Amitabh Banerjee and Alok Verma are other members elected to the executive board of SCOPE for a term of two years (2021-23).
• SCOPE is an organization representing the Central Government Public Enterprises.
• Soma Mondal is the current chairman of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). She is the first woman chairman of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).

Topic: National News

5. Centre is planning to introduce a 14-digit identification number to every plot of land in India.

• Centre is planning to introduce a 14-digit identification number to every plot of land in India within a year.
• As per the Department of Land Resources, Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) scheme was launched in 10 states this year. ULPIN will be launched across India by March 2022.
• Land parcel will be identified based on their longitude and land coordinates. This is the next step in DILRMP.  
• Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP) was started in 2008. It was extended several times. Now, the department has proposed further extension until 2023-2024.
• NGDRS (National Generic Document Registration System) is also an initiative taken by Department under DILRMP.  

Topic: Awards and Prizes

6. Dr. Sharankumar Limbale to get Saraswati Samman 2020.

• Dr. Sharankumar Limbale will get Saraswati Samman 2020 for his book Sanatan.
• Dr. Sharankumar Limbale is a noted Marathi writer.  His book Sanatan was published in 2018
• Sanatan is an important social and historical document of the Dalit struggle.
• Saraswati Samman carries fifteen lakh rupees, a citation and a plaque. It was started by KK Birla Foundation in 1991.
• It is recognised as the most prestigious and highest literary award in the country.
• Dr. Sharankumar Limbale is best known for his autobiography Akkarmashi. The Outcaste is the title of English translation of Akkarmashi. Towards an Aesthetics of Dalit Literature is another notable work by Dr. Limbale.

Topic: Sports

7. India reaches seventh position on ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League standings.

• India has reached the seventh position on ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League standings.
• In the third ODI, India won over England by seven runs. In the series, India won over England by 2-1.
• However, England remains top ranked team in ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League standings.
• Super League started in July 2020 with England’s three match series against Ireland.
• 12 full members of ICC and Netherlands are participating in the Super league.
• The Super League will take place until 2023. It is a part of 2023 Cricket World Cup qualification process. 
• Top eight teams in Super League will automatically qualify for the 2023 World Cup. 2023 World Cup is scheduled to take place in India. 

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Reports and Indices

8. NITI Aayog released ‘Investment Opportunities in India’s Healthcare Sector’ report.

• NITI Aayog released a report on ‘Investment Opportunities in India’s Healthcare Sector’. It includes investment opportunities in hospitals, medical devices and equipment, health insurance, telemedicine, etc.
• Healthcare is one of the important sectors of the Indian economy. The Healthcare industry has been growing at the rate of 22% since 2016 and it is expected to reach USD 372 billion in 2022.
• Many factors like the ageing population, a growing middle class, rising proportion of lifestyle diseases, an increased emphasis on public-private partnerships and adoption of digital technologies have contributed to the growth of the Indian healthcare sector.
• Details of the Report:
  • It provides information about the employment generation potential of the Healthcare Sector and the prevailing business and investment climate in the first section.
  • The second section highlights the key factors for the growth of healthcare sector.
  • In the third section, it elaborates policies and investment opportunities in the hospital, health insurance, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, medical devices, medical tourism, etc.
  • It emphasizes the expansion of private hospital to tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
  • It supported the domestic manufacturing of pharmaceuticals through performance-linked incentives schemes.
  • It also highlights the prospects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other mobile technology in the Indian healthcare system.

Topic: Miscellaneous

9. TRIBES India store inaugurated in Jabalpur.

• TRIFED opened its 131st showroom in Jabalpur on 25 March 2021. It is the third outlet of TRIBES India in Madhya Pradesh.
• The main objective of the expansion of the retail outlet of TRIFED is to empower the tribal people. It will help them in getting a fair price for their products.
• The showroom will have tribal handicrafts and handlooms from all states of India. It will also have products of Van Dhan such as immunity booster, organic grains, spices, herbal teas, etc.
• TRIFED, under the brand name TRIBES INDIA, markets the handcrafted products directly procured from the tribal in India.
• TRIFED:
  • It was established in 1987.
  • It aims at the social and economic development of tribal people in the country through the marketing of tribal products.
  • It is the national nodal agency for tribal welfare.
  • It works under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

(Source: DD News)

Topic: Sports

10. ICC Women’s World Cup 2022: ‘Girl Gang’ will be the official song for the tournament.

• Gin Wigmore’s song ‘Girl Gang’, the female empowerment anthem, will be the official song for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2022.
• Girl Gang song stands for, I figured I needed to follow through and take care of some business.
• The tournament is scheduled from 4 March to 3 April 2022 and it will be hosted by New Zealand.
• The 2022 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup will be the twelfth edition of the Women’s Cricket World Cup.
• It was originally scheduled for 6 February to 7 March 2021 but was postponed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• International Cricket Council:
  • The International Cricket Council is the global governing body of cricket.
  • It was established in 1909 by the representatives of Australia, England, and South Africa as the Imperial Cricket Conference.
  • It is headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
  • Its Chairman is Greg Barclay.
  • Its CEO is Manu Sawhney.

Topic: International News

11. Republic of the Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso re-elected with 88% of the vote.

• The President of the Republic of the Congo, Denis Sassou Nguesso, won the election with 88.57 percent of the vote. Guy-Brice Parfait Kolelas, the only main rival, has won 7.84 percent of the vote.
• In his 36 years long career, he came into power for the first time in 1979.
• In 2015, he reformed the constitution and removed the age-limit of 70 years to contest in the election so that he could fight in the next election.
• Republic of the Congo:
  • It is an African nation.
  • Its capital is Brazzaville.
  • Its currency is the Central African CFA franc.
  • Clément Mouamba is the Prime Minister of the Congo.

Topic: Reports and Indices

12. Global Wind Report 2021 released by Global Wind Energy Council.

• The 16^th edition of the annual report of the Global Wind Energy Council has been released before the conference of COP26.
• According to a new report by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the capacity to generate electricity from wind jumped by 53 percent in 2020.
• In 2020, 93 gigawatts (GW) capacity was installed. Reports show this is not sufficient for the world to reach a ‘net zero’ emission status by 2050.
• According to the report, the world needs to install a minimum of 180 GW of new wind power capacity every year.
• China and the USA were the largest Installers of Wind Power in 2020. Both installed 75% of the total Wind Energy installed in 2020.
• Around the world, presently, a total of 743 GW of wind energy capacity has been installed.