Daily Current Affairs and GK | 9 March 2021

Topic: Miscellaneous

1. Google launched “Women Will Web” platform on the occasion of Women’s Day.

• Google launched the “Women Will Web” platform for supporting 1 million women entrepreneurs of rural India.
• The Women Will web platform will help rural women in starting a business through tutorials and mentorship programme. It will be available in English and Hindi language.
• It has been launched as part of the Google Internet Saathi programme. It will help in increasing the contribution of women to the economy of the country.
• The Internet Saathi Programme was launched by Google in 2015 to impart digital literacy training to women across villages.
• Google:
  • It was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998.
  • Alphabet Inc is the parent company of Google.            
  • Sundar Pichai is the current CEO of Google.

Topic: State News/ Tripura

2. Tripura government launched Digital platform ‘Jagrut Tripura’ to boost e-governance.

• The Tripura government has launched the digital platform “Jagrut Tripura” to promote e-governance in the state. It has been launched by Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb.
• It will help people in availing the benefits of various scheme of the Centre and the state government. Around 102 schemes will be available on this platform.
• ‘Jagrut Tripura’ platform has been developed by EasyGov, a Jio Group company.
• It will empower people to get the benefits of government schemes through technology.
• Tripura:
  • It is a hilly state in northeastern India, surrounded by Bangladesh on three sides.
  • Its capital is Agartala.
  • The Governor of Tripura is Ramesh Bais and Chief Minister is Biplab Kumar Deb.
  • Hozagiri and Garia are the main folk dances of Tripura.

Topic: Appointments

3. Indian-American Naureen Hassan appointed as First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

• Board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York appointed Indian-American Naureen Hassan as First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the bank.
• Her appointment as First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Federal Reserve Bank of New York will come into effect from 15 March.
• Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System approved her appointment. As First Vice President, Indian-American Naureen Hassan will be an alternating voting member of Federal Open Market Committee.
• John C. Williams is President and CEO of the New York Fed (Federal Reserve Bank of New York)
• Indian-American Naureen Hassan has earlier served as Chief Digital Officer for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
• Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s headquarters is located in Manhattan, New York. Its headquarter building is known as 33 Liberty Street.  

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

4. The inaugural session of TechBharat 2021 addressed by Dr. Harsh Vardhan.

• Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan addressed the inaugural session of TechBharat 2021.
• TechBharat 2021 is an e-conclave that brings together stakeholders from Health Tech & Edutech sectors.
• Udyog Bharati and IMS Foundation organized the second edition of TechBharat on a virtual platform.
• TechBharat 2021 was held on 5 March and 6 March. TechBharat 2021 is the second edition of TechBharat.
• Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that equity in the delivery of healthcare needs to be ensured, and health care spending should be increased.
• He also said that there has been increase of 137% in allocation for the healthcare in Union Budget 2021-22. He also spoke about other schemes and initiatives already covered in the Union Budget 2021-22.

Topic: Miscellaneous

5. Minister of State for Culture and Tourism inaugurated All-Women’s Art Exhibition titled ‘Akshya Patra’.

• On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel has inaugurated the All-Women’s Art Exhibition titled ‘Akshya Patra’
• More than 250 workers from 12 countries have participated in this Exhibition. It is scheduled to be organised between 8 March to 20 March.
• It has given an opportunity to female artists from India and the world to showcase their work.
• It is being organised by the Lalit Kala Akademi at Rabindra Bhavan in New Delhi.
• Lalit Kala Akademi:
  • It was established in 1954.
  • It is a national academy for fine arts.
  • It is responsible for promoting and propagating Indian art.
  • It works under the Ministry of Culture.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Art and Culture

6. PM will release Eleven Volumes of Srimad Bhagavadgita Manus.

• PM Narendra Modi will release 11 Volumes of Manuscript with commentaries by 21 scholars on shlokas of Srimad Bhagavadgita on 9 March 2021.
• The Manuscript is published by Dharmarth Trust. It has been designed with exceptional diversity and subtlety of Indian calligraphy.
• For the first time, commentaries by many Indian scholars are being brought together for a comprehensive and comparative understanding of Srimad bhagavadgita.
• Srimad Bhagavadgita:
  • It is a holy manuscript of Hindus.
  • It is part of Mahabharta scripture.
  • It is a dialogue between the warrior-prince Arjuna and the god Krishna during the Battle of Kurukshetra.
  • It contains 18 chapters and 700 verses.

Topic: Reports and Indices

7. Singapore ranked first in the Economic Freedom Index 2021.

• The Heritage Foundation, a think tank of US, has released the Economic Freedom Index 2021.
• Singapore has topped in the Economic Freedom Index for the second consecutive year. It has improved its score due to improvement in government spending.
• In the Economic Freedom Index 2021, New Zealand is in second place with 83.9 points, Australia is in third place with 82.4 points, Switzerland is in the fourth position with 81.9 points and Ireland is in fifth position with 81.4 points.
• For the first, Hongkong has been excluded from this ranking. According to the Heritage Foundation, the economic policies of Hong Kong are now under the direct control of China.
• India has been ranked in the 121^st position in the 2021 Index, with a score of 56.5 points.
• India is in the 26^th Position among Asia-Pacific countries. India has improved its score in business freedom.
• Economic Freedom Index:
  • It was started by Heritage Foundation in 1995.
  • It is a medium for analyzing the economy of 184 countries. 
  • It is based on the 12 indicators classified into four categories. The categories are:
    • Rule of law
    • Size of government
    • Regulatory efficiency
    • Open markets

Topic: International News

8. Australia suspended defence cooperation with Myanmar over a coup.

• The Australian government has announced to suspend its defence cooperation with Myanmar. It has also decided not to provide any humanitarian assistance to the military government of Myanmar.
• Australia has taken this decision due to the military coup and the detention of an Australian citizen.
• Australia has suspended the defense training program with Myanmar for the next five years. The humanitarian assistance of Australia will now focus on the poor people of Myanmar.
• Australia has also demanded to release Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint from prison.
• Australia:
  • It is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and other smaller islands.
  • It shares maritime borders with East Timor, Indonesia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and the islands of New Caledonia.
  • It is the sixth-largest country in the world in terms of area.
  • Scott John Morrison is the Prime Minister of Australia.
  • Currency: Australian dollar

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

9. Women and Child Development Ministry classified all programmes under 3 Umbrella Schemes.

• The Women and Child Development Ministry has classified all schemes under three umbrella schemes -Mission Poshan 2.0, Mission Vatsalya and Mission Shakti.
• This step has been taken for the effective implementation of various programmes of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• Mission Poshan 2.0: It has been announced in the Union Budget of 2021-22. All supplementary nutrition programme will be merged into Mission Poshan 2.0. It aims for improving the Nutritional status of children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
• Mission Vatsalya: All programmes related to child protection services and child welfare services will be merged under it. The Government has allocated Rs 900 crores for Mission Vatsalya in the Budget 2021-2022.
• Mission Shakti: All schemes associated with the protection and empowerment of women will be merged into it. Schemes like one stop centre, women’s helpline, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana will now be covered under the Mission Shakti.

Topic: Defence

10. India-Uzbekistan exercise ‘Dustlik’ begins in Uttarakhand.

• India-Uzbekistan Joint Military Exercise ‘Dustlik-2’ started at Chaubatia in Uttarakhand. It is the second edition of the ‘Dustlik’ exercise.
• The first edition of the ‘Dustlik’ exercise was held in Tashkent in November 2019.
• The ‘Dustlik-2’will be focused on carrying out counter-terror operations in mountainous rural and urban areas.
• Nearly 45 military personnel of both countries will participate in ‘Dustlik-2’. Indian Army will be represented by 13 Kumaon, known as the Rezang La battalion.
• It is scheduled to be organised between 9 March to 21 March.
• In January 2021, the air forces of India and France held a joint exercise Desert Knight-21 at Jodhpur Air force station in Rajasthan.
• Recently, the Indian Air Force has participated in the ‘Exercise Desert Flag-06’ at Al-Dhafra airbase in UAE.