Current Affairs 30 March 2022

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs  30 March 2022, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2022 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Telecom Secretary Releases The TEC Report K.Rajaraman, Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, has released two reports namely:

• Rollout of Small Cells for 5G Networks by leveraging Street Furniture
• Internet of Things (IoT)/ Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Standards for Smart Cities

The objective of the report is to achieve a timely, hassle-free rollout of 5G services and the development of a standardized ecosystem for Smart Cities in India.  

• These reports have been prepared by the respective divisions of the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), DoT, Government of India, with multi-stakeholders’ consultation.

Key Points:
i.Since introduction of 5G networks in India is in the pipeline, the need for small cells will be inevitable due to the introduction of higher spectrum bands. It necessitates denser network deployments to support larger traffic volumes per unit area.
ii.The report on Rollout of Small Cells for 5G Networks by leveraging Street Furniture will facilitate a standard approach for the proliferation of denser small cell infrastructure in India. 
iii. The Technical Report on IoT/ICT standards for Smart Cities covers the national and international guidelines and standards related to the development of IoT/ICT-based smart infrastructure in various verticals of Smart Cities.
iv.The report also discusses the International Telecommunication Union‘s (ITU) standards for IoT and smart cities, as well as the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for evaluating city smartness.
Note: The Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) is the technical arm of the DoT and it is responsible for standardization and related aspects of the telecom sector.

UNESCO Includes Meghalaya’s Natural Root Bridges On Tentative List Of World Heritage SitesThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) includes Meghalaya’s “Living Root Bridges or Jingkieng Jri” on a tentative list of World heritage sites. At present there are about 100 living root bridges around 70 villages of Meghalaya’s subtropical terrain region.
i.Villagers, (especially Khasi and Jaintia tribal communities) build and maintain these bridges from the past for more than 600 years.
Purpose Of The Root Bridge:
Villagers of Meghalaya grow these living root bridges to cross the water bodies, they do it by training the Indian rubber fig tree (ficus elastica) on both sides of water bodies over a period of about 10 to 15 years where the roots form the bridge.
Uses Of The Root Bridge:
i.These roots also prevent soil erosion, landslides and stabilise the soil.
ii.These roots not only provide bridges but also absorb carbon dioxide prevailing in the atmosphere. 
iii.In 2021, a National Convention on the root-bridges was held to find unique species of orchids, amphibians, and mammals on the root-bridges.
iv.The elasticity of the bridge makes the structure strong, so that it can withstand upto a capacity of 50 people.
2022 Tentative list of UNESCO:
The Geoglyphs of Konkan region of Maharashra, Sri Veerabhadra Temple and Monolithic Bull (Nandi) at Lepakshi of Andhra Pradesh have made it to the Tentative list of UNESCO world heritage sites in 2022.
About United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)
Director General –  Audrey Azoulay
Established – 1945
Headquarters – Paris, France

Highlights of Wings India 2022: Asia’s Largest Event on Civil Aviation held in Hyderabad, Telangana i.On March 24-27, 2022, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) jointly organized Wings India 2022 on the theme ‘India@75: New Horizon for Aviation Industry’ at Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Telangana is the host state of the event.
ii.Wings India is a forum connecting buyers, sellers, investors, and other stakeholders for new business acquisition, investments, policy formation and regional connectivity.
iii.The Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport), has won two major awards for its customer-centric approach, smart innovations, and adoption of cutting-edge technology.
iv.The Airports Authority of India (AAI), under its R & D (Research & Development) initiative has signed an agreement with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for the joint, indigenous development of Air Traffic Management Systems (ATMS)
About Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA):
Union Minister – Jyotiraditya Scindia (Rajya Sabha- Madhya Pradesh)
Minister of State – Vijay Kumar Singh (Constituency – Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh)
>> Read Full News

India plans to start building 10 Nuclear Power Plant in ‘Fleet Mode’India is set to put in motion construction of 10 ‘fleet mode’ nuclear reactors over the next three years.The First Pour of Concrete (FPC) for a 700 MegaWatts (MW) Kaiga Atomic Power Plant, Karnataka units 5 & 6 are scheduled by 2023.
i.The centre had approved the construction of 10 indigenously developed Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactors (PHWRs) of 700 MegaWatts (MW) each in June 2017 with a total cost of Rs 1.05 Lakh crore.
ii.Also by 2024, The FPC for Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Praiyonjan units 3 & 4 and the Mahi Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Projects units 1 to 4 were planned to begin construction.
iii.And the FPC for the Chutka Madhya Pradesh Atomic Power Project units 1 & 2 are expected by 2025.
iv.The FPC signals the beginning of construction of nuclear power reactors from the pre-project stage which includes excavation activities at the project site.
v.The Karnataka’s Kaiga Atomic Power Plant units 5 & 6 and Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Praiyonjan units 3 & 4 were agreed to be built under Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Model.
vi.Currently, India operates 22 reactors with a total capacity of 6780 MegaWatt (MW), among which one 700 MW reactor at Kakrapar Atomic Power Station in Gujarat was connected to the grid in January 2021.
About Indian Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactor – 700:
i.Indian Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactor is designed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).
ii.It is a Generation III reactor developed from the earlier CANDU (Canada Deuterium Uranium-Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactor) based 220 MW and 540 MW designs. 
iii.The Indian Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactor has been upgraded to generate electricity capacity of 700 MW.
iv.India’s first pair of PHWRs of 220 MW each were set up at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan in the 1960s with Canadian support (Canada Deuterium Uranium-Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactor).
Fuel – Natural Uranium
Moderator – Heavy Water

IAF & IOCL Launched an Initiative ‘Fleet Card – Fuel on Move’ to Speed Up IAF Convoy Movements

Indian Air Force (IAF) in collaboration with Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) started an initiative called ‘Fleet Card – Fuel on Move’ for the management of fuel supply chain and energy security for IAF.

• It was launched by the Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Chief of Air Staff at Headquarters Western Air Command, Subroto Park  in New Delhi.
• HQ Western Air Command was earmarked as lead agency in the implementation and execution of this innovative concept of “Fuel on Move”.

What is ‘Fleet Card – Fuel on Move’:
i.The initiative of IAF will provide a paradigm shift to the logistics management of fuel.
ii.Earlier, under the existing system, the IAF procures fuel from various agencies and distributes it within the Air Force establishments.

• From this initiative, the IAF will be able to utilize the vast network of retail fuel distributors across India to refuel its vehicles on the move.

iii.The availability of Fleet Card will permit the convoy to refuel at any IOCL fuel stations. Therefore it will  increase the pace of movement and reduce the lead time for readiness at operational locations.
About Indian Air Force (IAF):
Headquarters- New Delhi, Delhi
Founded-1932
Chief of the Air Staff (India)-Vivek Ram Chaudhari

MoD and GSL inks for the construction of eight Fast Patrol Vessels for Indian Coast GuardOn March 28, 2022, The Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a contract worth Rs 473 crore with Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) for the construction of eight Fast Patrol Vessels (FPV) for the Indian Coast Guard while meeting the objectives of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
i.The contract was signed by Joint Secretary (Maritime & Systems), Shri Dinesh Kumar and the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Goa Shipyard Limited, Commodore Bharat Bhushan Nagpal (Retd) in New Delhi.
ii.The eight Fast Patrol Vessels (FPV) will be indigenously designed and manufactured by Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) under Buy {Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)} Category.
iii.The Fast Patrol Vessels (FPV) has the capability to operate in shallow waters and enhance the security apparatus along the coastline of India.
About Ministry of Defence:
Defence Minister – Rajnath Singh (Loksabha MP, Constituency- Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) )
Minister of State for Defence – Ajay Bhatt (Loksabha MP, Constituency- Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar (Uttarakhand) )
About Goa Shipyard Limited:
Headquarters – Vasco da Gama, Goa
Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) – Commodore Bharat Bhushan Nagpal (Retd)

Union Jal Shakti Minister Launches Sujlam 2.0 Campaign for greywater management in New DelhiOn the Occasion World Water Day 2022, The Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat launches Sujalam 2.0 campaign for greywater management in a virtual summit hosted by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) in New Delhi.
i.The objective of the campaign is to manage greywater through people’s participation by mobilising communities, institutions like panchayats, schools, anganwadi to undertake greywater management.
ii.The Sujlam 2.0 Campaign saw a Joint Advisory signed by nine Ministries namely the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of  Rural Development, Ministry of  Women & Child Development, Ministry of  Youth Affairs and Sports, Ministry of  Tribal Affairs, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of  Education, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Ministry of  Panchayati Raj on how greywater management will be taken up at their level based on convergence model.
iii.Greywater refers to domestic wastewater generated in households or office buildings from streams without fecal contamination, i.e., all streams except for the wastewater from toilets. Sources of greywater include sinks, showers, baths, washing machines or dishwashers.
About World Water Day 2022:
i.The United Nations World Water Day is annually observed across the world by 22nd March to celebrate water and focus on the importance of freshwater.
ii.Theme of World Water Day 2022 is – ‘Groundwater: making the invisible visible’.
About Ministry of Jal Shakti:
Minister of Jal Shakti – Gajendra Singh Shekhawat (Loksabha MP, Constituency – Jodhpur (Rajasthan))
Minister of State for Jal Shakti – Bishweswar Tudu (Loksabha MP, Constituency – Mayurbhanj (Odisha))

GoI Sets an Ambitious Target of Creating 220 New Airports by 2025

Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Union Civil Aviation Minister, announced that the Government of India (GoI) planned to develop as many as 220 new airports by 2025, citing the aviation industry as a major component of India’s economy.
India has progressed in both domestic and international travel since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

• In the following years, cargo flights for perishable food items will be boosted by 30%, with 133 new flights.
• The government also intends to build 33 new domestic cargo terminals, 15 new pilot training schools, more jobs, and a greater focus on the drone sector.

Highlights:
i.As a step toward expanding the civil aviation sector, the pilot’s licence will be simplified in the coming days using cutting-edge technologies.
ii. Around 90 flights sent to five countries evacuated students from Ukraine. The Indian force conducted 14 sorties and operated four C17 Globe Masters during the evacuation.
iii.India has a women pilot strength of 15%, which is significantly higher than in other parts of the world, with only 5% of pilots being female
iv.Brownfield and Greenfield Airports 

• The Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the private sector will invest Rs 1 lakh crore in the next 2-3 years to develop aviation infrastructure.
• AAI plans to create three new greenfield airports in the country: Hollongi, Hirasar, and Dholera, as well as 42 brownfield airports.
• In the greenfield area, the private sector will invest Rs 30,664 crore. At Mopa, Navi Mumbai, Jewar, and Bhogapuram, four private-sector airports will be created.
• Brownfield airports would get a total investment of Rs 34,000 crore, with seven new airports being built on brownfield in Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Mangalore, Guwahati, and Ahmedabad.

Note: Greenfield airports are those that are specifically built on an undeveloped location, whereas brownfield airports are those that have an existing structure or are being remodelled for a new airport.

Home Minister Amit Shah Attended CRPF’s 83rd Raising Day Parade in Jammu

Amit Shah, Union Minister for Home Affairs attended the 83rd Raising Day parade of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) held at Maulana Azad Stadium in Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir(J&K) as Chief Guest. 

• The 83rd CRPF Raising Day was observed on 27th July 2021.  
• This is the first time that CRPF Raising Day celebrations is conducted outside Delhi. 
• CRPF is the largest armed force in India which consists of 246 battalions and 3.25 lakh soldiers. 

BANKING & FINANCE

DBS Bank India & EaseMyTrip Partnered to Launch Green Debit Card 

DBS Bank India signed a partnership agreement with EaseMyTrip to launch an environment-friendly international debit card or green debit card, made up of  99% recycled polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material. This is the first-ever 99% recycled PVC debit card. 
Objective- Through this collaboration, EaseMyTrip aims to promote sustainability and incentivise sustainable tourism.
Highlights: 
i.The digibank (digital bank) EaseMyTrip Green Debit Card provides exclusive travel-related offers to customers and rewards them for adopting eco-friendly practices. This move  will reduce carbon footprint.
ii.The green card will offer  attractive deals on bookings made through the EaseMyTrip website and mobile app.

• It will offer a 10% discount up to Rs.2000 on flight ticket bookings and up to 17% discount on stays at selected eco-friendly hotels.

iii.The card allows withdrawal up to Rs.1,50,000 per day from any bank’s ATM in India and overseas and allows purchases worth up to Rs.1,50,000 in India and up to Rs.1,00,000 across merchant outlets globally.
What is polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material?
It is  a strong synthetic plastic polymer. It is prefered for being  lightweight, sturdy and abrasion-resistant material.It offers great tensile strength and is rigid by nature.
About DBS Bank India Limited: 
Headquarters- Mumbai, Maharashtra 
MD & CEO- Surojit Shome

First Wildlife Bond Issued by World Bank to Save Africa’s Black Rhino

The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD) has created the world’s first kind of Wildlife Conservation Bond (WCB), also known as the “Rhino Bond,” in support of South Africa’s efforts to protect the endangered species.

• It is a five-year, USD 150 million Sustainable Development Bond, matures in 2027, that includes a potential performance payment from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
• It will contribute to protecting and increasing black rhino populations in two protected areas in South Africa: The Addo Elephant National Park (AENP), managed by the South African National Parks (SANParks) and The Great Fish River Nature Reserve (GFRNR), managed by Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA).

The WCB is a first-of-its-kind, outcome-based financial instrument that directs investments toward conservation goals. Based on the success of this program,this could be expanded to protect black rhino populations in Kenya as well as other wildlife species such as lions, tigers, gorillas, and orangutans.
Why Rhinos?
i.Rhinos are considered an umbrella species that plays a crucial role in shaping entire ecosystems on which countless other species depend.
ii.The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the Black Rhino (Diceros bicornis) as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
iii. Through the WCB, investors support and finance the activities that help to protect and grow a critically endangered species with clear conservation targets.
About Wildlife Conservation Bond (WCB) or the Rhino Bond:
i.It was issued by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) at 94.84 percent of the nominal aggregate amount, with a maximum Conservation Success Payment of US $13.76 million.
ii.Credit Suisse Group AG structured the bond and acted as joint bookrunner with Citibank.
iii. Conservation Alpha has been tasked with determining the success of the programme and its payments. The verification agent is the Zoological Society of London(ZSL).

Equitas SFB Launches Limited Edition ‘Equitas Bank CSK Debit Card’

Equitas Small Finance Bank (SFB) Limited has announced the launch of a limited edition Chennai Super Kings (CSK) branded debit card that can be availed along with an experience at ‘Equiverse’ virtual world. 

• It is the first bank to introduce the Equitas Bank CSK Debit Card in the Equiverse, a special edition debit card for Chennai Super King (CSK) fans who shared space with the team’s avatars in this virtual experience at www.equiverse.in.

Equitas has partnered with CSK and other teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the fourth time in 2022. The bank had their logo with the CSK team in IPL 2021, portraying themselves as the “BankBehindEveryChampion.”
Key Points:
i.The bank has concentrated on advertising its savings account, which pays up to 7% interest to retail customers.
ii.Any new account applicant can choose the CSK debit card and open an account online from anywhere.
iii. With the recent rate modifications for savings and RTDs, the bank hopes to empower its customers by offering better interest rates on their savings accounts, fixed deposits, and recurring deposits.
About Equitas Small Finance Bank Limited:
MD & CEO – Vasudevan Pathangi Narasimhan
Establishment – September 5, 2016
Headquarters – Chennai, Tamil Nadu

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Central Govt’s total liabilities rise to Rs 128.41 lakh cr in Q3FY22

In accordance with the latest public debt management report by the Ministry of Finance, the Central Government’s total liabilities rose to Rs 128.41 lakh crore in December quarter (Q3FY22) from Rs 125.71 lakh crore in Q2FY22.

• This increase reflects a quarter-on-quarter increase of 2.15%.

Key Points:
i.In absolute terms, the total liabilities, including liabilities under the ‘Public Account’ of the government, jumped to Rs 1,28,41,996 crore in Q3FY22 as compared to Rs 1,25,71,747 crore in Q2FY22.
ii.Public debt accounted for 91.60% of the total outstanding liabilities in Q3FY22.
iii.Nearly 25% of the outstanding dated securities had a residual maturity of less than 5 years.
iv.The yields on the 10-year benchmark security increased from 6.22% in Q2FY22 to 6.45% in Q3FY22.
v.The ownership pattern of the central government securities indicates that the share of commercial banks stood at 35.40% in Q3FY22, lower than 37.82% in Q2FY22.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS      

BBC Honoured Indian Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu with BBC ISWOTY 2021 Award

Indian Weightlifter, Padma Shri Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, who became the first Indian weightlifter to win a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, has won the 3rd edition of the (British Broadcasting Corporation) BBC Indian Sportswoman Of The Year(ISWOTY) 2021. 
The award ceremony was hosted by Tim Davie, Director-General of BBC in New Delhi, Delhi.
Other Awards:
i.BBC Lifetime Achievement Award 2021: 
Karnam Malleswari, former Indian weightlifter. And the 1st Indian woman to win a medal at the Olympics in 2000.
ii.BBC Emerging Indian Sportswoman of the Year 2021: 
Shafali Verma, the youngest female cricketer who played for India in the Women’s Twenty20(T20) International match in 2019.  
>> Read Full News 

Duff & Phelps Report: Cricketer Virat Kohli ranked India’s Most Valued Celebrity 2021

According to the Celebrity Brand Valuation Report 2021 (7th Edition) titled “Digital Acceleration 2.0.” released by Duff & Phelps (Now Kroll), Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli was ranked as India’s most valued celebrity for the 5th consecutive time in 2021. The brand value of Virat Kohli has dropped from USD 237.7 million in 2020 to USD 185.7 million in 2021.

Top 3 Persons:

Alia Bhatt has ranked 4th with a brand value of USD 68.1 million and has become the most valued female celebrity. She is the youngest celebrity among the top 10 and she is the most valued brand amongst female Bollywood actors.
About Kroll:
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Jacob Silverman
Headquarter – New York, United States(US)
>> Read Full News  

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS   

ICICI & HDFC Bank To Acquire up to 15% Stake in IDRCL 

On 28 March, 2022 the ICICI Bank Ltd (ICICI Bank) & HDFC Bank signed an investment agreement for a 15% stake in India Debt Resolution Company Ltd (IDRCL). The  IDRCL was established to manage stressed assets in India. 

• The approval for the deal was given by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.
• IDRCL works in tandem with the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) to clean up bad loans.

ICICI Bank Acquisition:
The investment would consist of a total cash consideration of upto Rs.7.5 crore in multiple equity tranches.
Note- In March 2022, the ICICI bank also signed an agreement to acquire a 5%stake in National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL).
About Stressed assets:
It is a broader term and comprises NPAs (Non-performing Assets), Restructured loans and Written off assets.
Stressed assets = NPAs + Restructured loans + Written off assets

• NPAs– A loan whose interest/installments has not been paid for more than 90 days.
• Restructured Loans – Loans which have been restructured by giving a longer duration for repayment, lowering interest or by converting them to equity.
• Written off Assets – loans which aren’t counted as dues. They are compensated through some other way.

HDFC Bank Acquisition:
HDFC Bank will also acquire a 15% equity stake in IDRCL for Rs. 7.50 crore. The first tranche of equity investment for Rs 3 crore is expected to be complete by 31 March 2022. The investment will be in multiple tranches.
About  ICICI Bank Ltd (ICICI Bank):
It was formed in 1955 at the initiative of the World Bank, the Government of India and representatives of Indian industry &  Incorporated in 1994.
CEO & MD- Sandeep Bakhshi 
Headquarters-Mumbai, Maharashtra.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

WB Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar Inaugurates Petascale Supercomputer PARAM Shakti at IIT Kharagpur 

Jagdeep Dhankhar, Governor of West Bengal(WB), inaugurated the Petascale Supercomputer PARAM Shakti under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) – a joint initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) at Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) Kharagpur in West Bengal. 
Petascale computing refers to computing systems capable of calculating at least 10^15 floating-point operations per second (1 petaFLOPS). 
Background:
In March 2019, IIT Kharagpur and the Centre for Development in Advanced Computing (CDAC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish PARAM Shakti, the state-of-the-art Supercomputing Facility with 17680 Central Processing Unit (CPU) cores along with 44 Graphics processing unit(GPUs).
About PARAM Shakti:
i.The supercomputer PARAM Shakti is based on a heterogeneous and hybrid configuration of Intel Xeon Skylake processors and NVIDIA Tesla V100.
ii.The system was designed and implemented by the HPC Technologies team, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).
iii.This facility has pioneered in using Rear Door Heat Exchangers (RDHx) based efficient cooling systems to obtain a high power usage effectiveness. RDHx Systems Help With High-Density Data Center Cooling. 
Structure:
i.It consists of 2 Master nodes, 8 Login nodes, 10 Service/Management nodes and 442 (CPU+GPU) nodes with a total peak computing capacity of 1.66 (CPU+GPU) PFLOPS performance. 
ii.The systems are based on Intel Xeon SKL G-6148, NVIDIA Tesla V100 with a total peak performance of 1.6 PFLOPS. 
iii.The cluster consists of compute nodes connected with Mellanox (EDR) infiniBand interconnect network and the system uses the Lustre parallel file system.
Testing:
The system has been tested extensively by both IIT Kharagpur and CDAC for commercial, open-source and in-house software pertaining to diversified applications.
Key Points:
i.This high-performance computational facility will support researchers to solve large scale problems in different fields of science and engineering. 
ii.The identified focus areas in which supercomputing based research will be of great value are Computational Fluid Dynamics, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data Analytics, Climate Change & Digital Earth, Computational Biology, Cryptography & Security, Smart Infrastructure & Sustainable Cities, Smart Materials etc.
Additional info:
i.The IIT Kharagpur has also established the Centre for Computational and data science with a mandate to train researchers in supercomputer accelerated Research & Development(R&D).  
ii.Previously in March 2022, CDAC has designed and installed a ‘Made in India’ Petascale supercomputer named “PARAM Ganga” at IIT Roorkee under National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).

SPORTS

India Secures 8th Position At World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2022 in Dubai  

The 13th Fazza International Para Athletics Championships of World Para Athletics Grand Prix 2022 held at Dubai, UAE from 21 March to 24 March 2022, in which India secured 8th position with 14 medals.

• India secured 5 Gold, 6 Silver and 3 Bronze medals.
• Total of 29 athletes have represented India.

Events And Records By Indians:

Gold Medal Winners :-

• Sprinter, Pranav Prashant Desai won India’s first gold medal at the 2022 World Para Athletics Grand Prix, claimed Gold in the men’s 200m T64 final. Desai also claimed Gold in 100m men T63/64 final race.
• Javelin Thrower Mohit made an impressive throw of 54.71m distance to win Gold medal.
• Indian long jumper Someswara Rao Ramudri made a leap of 6.40m to take the long jump men T64 gold medal.
• Ramsingbhai Govin Padhiyar secured gold medal in the High Jump T42 event by clearing 1.84m.  

Other Medal Winners:-
i.Indian para athlete Dharambir set a new Asian record in the men’s F32/51 club throw event and secured silver.
ii.Devendra Singh secured silver in the F44 men’s discus throw event.
iii.Jyoti Behera secured bronze in 400m women’s final T37/38/47 final.
iv.Shailesh Kumar secured Silver in the High Jump T42 event.
v.Mohammed Yasser secured silver in the shot put final F42/46 event.
Overall Medal Standings:
Position 1 – Colombia 25 medals (12 gold)
Position 2 – Algeria 16 medals (11 gold)
Position 3 – Thailand 30 medals (8 gold)

OBITUARY

Former CM of Sikkim B.B. Gurung Passed Away 

Bhim Bahadur Gurung (B.B. Gurung), Former and 3rd Chief Minister(CM) of Sikkim has passed away at his residence in Lumsui in Gangtok, Sikkim. He was born on 11th October 1929 at Chakung (present-day West Sikkim), Sikkim.

About B.B. Gurung
B.B. Gurung served as a teacher and a staff reporter in a Calcutta(Kolkata)-based newspaper the Amrita Bazar Patrika and he also edited the first news-based Nepali Journal of Sikkim, called Kanchenjunga.
Political career:
i.He started his political career with Sikkim Rajya Congress Party in 1947 and was later appointed as the General Secretary in 1958.
ii.In 1967, he was elected as Executive Councillor of the Sikkim Rashtriya Congress Party and remained in the party until 1971.
iii.He was elected to the Vidhan Sabha and served as the speaker of the First Sikkim Legislative Assembly from 1977 to 1979.
iv.He served as the 3rd CM of Sikkim from 11 May to 24 May 1984, the shortest term in the history of Sikkim. 
v.Between 2014 and 2015 he served as the political advisor to the CM of Sikkim. 

BOOKS & AUTHORS

NITI Aayog & FAO Launch Book Titled Indian Agriculture towards 2030

The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (MoA&FW), Narendra Singh Tomar released a book titled ‘’Indian Agriculture towards 2030: Pathways for Enhancing Farmers’ Income, Nutritional Security and Sustainable Food and Farm Systems’’ at the  event. It is published by Springer Publications.

• The event was organized by NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India)  and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
• The book was edited by Ramesh Chand, Pramod Joshi and Shyam Khadka.

About the book:
i.The book highlights the outcomes of the process of a national dialogue by NITI Aayog and the MoA&FW, Ministry of  Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, facilitated by FAO since 2019.
ii.The book also emphasized the unprecedented challenges faced by agriculture at  a global and national level.
Indian Agriculture towards 2030-Themes:

• Transforming Indian Agriculture
• Structural Reforms and Governance
• Dietary Diversity, Nutrition and Food Safety
• Managing Climate Risks in Agriculture
• Science, Technology and Innovation
• Symbiosis of Water and Agricultural Transformation in India
• Pests, Pandemics, Preparedness and Biosecurity
• Transformative Agroecology-Based Alternatives for a Sustainable and Biodiverse Future

About NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India):
Formed-1 January 2015
Headquarters- New Delhi, Delhi
CEO-Amitabh Kant

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Piano Day 2022 – March 29 

World Piano Day is annually observed across the globe on the 88th day of the year (mostly falls on 29th or 28th March), which is the same as the number of keys on the piano, with an aim to celebrate the Piano, an acoustic, keyboard, stringed percussion instrument.
The World Piano Day 2022 falls on 29th March 2022. 

• The World Piano Day 2023 will be observed on 29th March 2023. 

Background:
i.The idea of Piano Day was initiated by German pianist/composer/producer Nils Frahm. 
ii.The first-ever World Piano day was celebrated on 29th March 2015.
>> Read Full News 

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