Weekly Current Affairs Revision Quiz – Set 1

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) undertook the first launch of the year 2021, with 19 satellites,  which included 637-kg Amazonia-1 satellite of Brazil as its primary passenger and 18 other co-passenger satellites.

• The Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) observes the “Civil Accounts Day” every year on March 01, 2021, since its inception in 1976.
• The year 2021 marks the 45th Civil Accounts Day

• It has been organised by the Ministry of Rural Development, under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).

• The Russian space corporation Roscosmos successfully launched its first satellite to monitor the Arctic’s climate and environment.
• The satellite called “Arktika-M”, was launched on February 28, 2021, onboard Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

• Theme 2021 – “Transforming lives” with the tag line “Biosciences to Bio-economy”.

• The Reserve Bank of India has included the Fino Payments Bank in the Second Schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
• This inclusion gives Fino Payments Bank, the status of scheduled commercial bank or simply scheduled banks.

• The banker-turned-author Anindya Dutta has come out with his new book titled “Advantage India: The Story of Indian Tennis”, which is about the history of Indian tennis.

Star Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat defeated 2017 world champion Vanesa Kaladzinskay of Belarus to win a gold medal at the XXIV Outstanding Ukrainian Wrestlers and Coaches Memorial tournament, held in Kiev on February 28, 2021. Haryana’s Bhiwani-based Vinesh won in in the 53kg bout with 10-8 lead.

• Odisha has been chosen as the host for the forthcoming Hero Indian Women’s League (IWL) 2020-21 edition, by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). 2021 tournament will be the fifth edition of IWL

• Theme of Zero Discrimination Day 2021: “End Inequalities”

• Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot launched the “Sugamya Bharat App” on March 02, 2021, through video conference in New Delhi.
• The App has been developed by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

The World Wildlife Day is observed every year on March 3 to celebrate and raise awareness about the world’s wild fauna and flora.

• For the first time ever, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is participating in Exercise Desert Flag-VI, which has been organised from March 03 to 27, 2021 at Al-Dhafra airbase, UAE.
• Ex Desert Flag is an annual multi-national large force employment warfare exercise hosted by the United Arab Emirates Air Force.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) reached Colombo, to participate in the 70th-anniversary celebrations of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF). The IAF aerobatic display teams, namely Suryakiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) (fixed wing) and Sarang (rotary wing), along with Light Combat Aircraft Tejas will participate in the air show.

• Theme 2021:  “Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet”.

• World Hearing Day is held on 3 March each year by World Health Organisation (WHO).
• Theme of World Hearing Day 2021: Hearing care for ALL!: Screen. Rehabilitate. Communicate.

The Government of India has notified comprehensive amendments to the Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017, for better resolution of policyholders’ complaints regarding insurance service deficiencies, in a timely, cost-effective and impartial manner.

• Indian Scientists at Aryabhatta Research Institute of observational sciences (ARIES), Nainital, have indigenously designed and developed a low-cost optical Spectrograph named as Aries-Devasthal Faint Object Spectrograph & Camera (ADFOSC).
• It has been commissioned on the 3.6-m Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT), in Nainital district of Uttarakhand.

• The 10th Edition of Hurun Global Rich List 2021 was released on March 02, 2021, which ranked 3228 billionaires from 2,402 companies and 68 countries.

Central Bank of India

Centre has appointed IPS officer Kuldiep Singh to hold additional charge as the Director General (DG) of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), with effect from March 01, 2021

• The football club Mumbai City FC defeated ATK Mohun Bagan 2-0 in the final league game to clinch the 2020-21 Indian Super League (ISL) Winners Shield.

• The National Safety Day (NSD) is celebrated every year on March 4 by National Safety Council (NSC) of India. In 2021, we are observing the 50th NSD.
• The National Safety Day Theme 2021 is “Sadak Suraksha (Road Safety)”.

• In India, March 4 is celebrated as National Security Day (Rashtriya Suraksha Diwas) every year, in the honor of the Indian Security Forces.

The 11th edition of the QS World University Rankings was released on March 04, 2021.
The QS World University Rankings 2021 ranks the top 1,000 universities from around the world, covering 80 different locations. There are 47 new entrants in the list.The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), United States has retained its top position as the best university for the ninth year in a row.

On March 03, 2021, the 193-member United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) unanimously adopted the resolution, sponsored by India, declaring 2023 as the International Year of Millets.

The Udaipur Science Centre was inaugurated by Governor of Tripura Ramesh Bais at Udaipur, Tripura on February 28, 2021. It has been developed by the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM).

SpaceX

• The BrahMos missile is produced by an India-Russian joint venture “BrahMos Aerospace” and it can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or from land platforms.
• It is the fastest supersonic cruise missile in the world.

• Bengaluru topped the Ease of Living Index 2020, released by Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri on March 04, 2021.

• The World Bank is planning to introduce a $100-million credit guarantee scheme to boost the rooftop solar programme in India for MSMEs.

• Six-time world champion boxer Mary Kom has been appointed as the Chairperson of the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) Champions and Veterans Committee.

• Manpreet Vohra has been appointed as the High Commissioner of India to Australia.
• Vohra, a 1988 batch Indian Foreign Service Officer, is presently Ambassador of India to Mexico.

India commemorated the ‘Chabahar Day’ on March 04, 2021 on the sidelines of the Maritime India Summit-2021 which was held from March 2-4, 2021.

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and SBI Payments have partnered to launch “RuPay SoftPoS” for Indian merchants. RuPay SoftPoS will enable merchants to use their near-field communication (NFC)-enabled smartphones as point of sale (PoS) terminals and accept payment up to Rs 5,000 through a simple tap and pay mechanism.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the virtual India-Sweden summit on March 05, 2021, with the Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Lofven.

The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has topped the medals tally in the second edition of Khelo India Winter National Games.

The Australian conservationists have unveiled their plan to build the world’s first refuge for the platypus, a duck-billed mammal, that are facing extinction due to climate change. The new facility will promote breeding and rehabilitation of these iconic creatures, which are native to Australia.

The 75 years of India’s Independence will be observed on 15 August 2022

Employees’ Provident Fund is a statutory body established by the Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 and is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Labour and Employment

Axis Securities has launched a first-of-its-kind initiative called ‘YIELD’, that will allow retail investors direct access to the debt instruments, YIELD is an online platform to buy and sell bonds as well as debentures in the secondary market.

Leading Indian economist Ligia Noronha has been appointed as the Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The board of Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has kept the interest rates on Provident Fund deposits for the financial year 2020-21 at 8.5 percent.The rate has been kept unchanged, as in 2019-20.

Centre has given additional charge of the post of Revenue Secretary to the current Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj. Bajaj, a 1988-batch Haryana-cadre IAS officer, replaces Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey, upon his superannuation on February 28, 2021.

The Government of India has set up a 259-member high-level national committee, to be headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to commemorate 75 years of India’s independence.

Indian-origin Naureen Hassan has been appointed as the first Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the New York-based Federal Reserve Bank, by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

National Education Policy-2020

M G George Muthoot, the Chairman and Whole Time Director of the Muthoot Group, has passed away. He was 71.

HDFC ERGO General Insurance has launched a product called “Business Kisht Suraksha”, to provide a unique cover to MFIs, financial institutions and banks in the event of a catastrophe or natural disaster.

Forty scholars from six countries have been awarded with Indian Science Research Fellowship (ISRF) 2021.