Current Affairs 19 March 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 19 March 2021, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2021 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.

Our Current Affairs March 2021 events will help you to get more marks in Banking, Insurance, SSC, Railways, UPSC, CLAT and all State Government Exams. Also, try our Latest Current Affairs Quiz and Monthly Current Affairs 2021 PDF which will be a pedestrian to crack your exams.

Read Current Affairs in CareersCloud APP, Course Name –  Learn Current Affairs – Free Course – Click Here to Download the APP

We are Hiring – Subject Matter Expert | CA Video Creator | Content Developers(Pondicherry)

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

IOCL, Phinergy Ltd form JV to manufacture Metal-Air Batteries;2 Indian firms sign LoIOn March 17, 2021, An ‘Equal’ Joint Venture (JV) called ‘IOC Phinergy Private Limited’ of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) & Israeli firm Phinergy was formalised. Under the JV, both entities will also undertake research and development, assembly, manufacturing & sale of Aluminium-Air batteries for the Indian market.

• Objective – To manufacture Ultra-Lightweight Metal-air Batteries for Electric Vehicles (EVs) using Aluminium Air Batteries (Al-Air) technology.
• The partnership will help India in realizing  ‘Atma Nirbhar’ for energy requirements.
• The JV also aims to develop fuel cells & Indigenous hydrogen storage solutions for promoting green mobility (with a focus on electric vehicles).
• Dharmendra Pradhan, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Dr Yuval Steinitz, Minister of Energy, Israel were present during the launch.

First Customers

• Maruti Suzuki & Ashok Leyland signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with the new JV ‘IOC Phinergy Private Limited’  for support &  commercialization of its  Al-Air Technology.

About Phinergy:
CEO – David Mayer
Headquarters – Lod, Israel
<<Read Full News>>

India’s First Elevated Urban Expressway to be completed by 2022
According to a recent inspection by Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Jairam Gadkari to India’s First Grade Separated Urban Expressway ‘Dwarka Expressway’ ,it will be expected to complete before 2022 Independence Day i.e August 15.

• The total length of the expressway is 29 km, of which 18.9 km falls in Haryana and the remaining 10.1 km is in Delhi. It connects Dwarka in Delhi to Gurugram,Haryana has been constructed under the Bharatmala Project at a price of ₹8,662 crores.

Gist about this Expressway:-
i. This will be called an engineering marvel of India with the longest (3.6 kilometers) and widest (8 lanes) Urban Road Tunnel in India.
ii. Also India’s first 9-kilometer long 8-lane flyover (34-meter wide) on a single pier with 6-lane service roads.
iii. There will be a fully automated tolling system with 22 lanes toll plaza and the whole project will be equipped with Intelligent Transportation System (ITS).
iv. The project has a total estimated consumption of two lakh MT of steel, which is 30 times that of Eiffel Tower, France. The total estimated consumption of 20 lakh Cum of Concrete is six times of the Burj Khalifa building, UAE.
Bharatmala Pariyojana (Project) is a centrally-sponsored and funded road and Highways project of the Government of India. This program will subsume all existing Highway Projects including the flagship National Highways Development Project (NHDP), launched by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1998.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Italy joins ISA under the amended ISA Framework AgreementOn March 17, 2021, Italy joined the International Solar Alliance (ISA) (also known as International Agency for Solar Policy and Application (IASPA)) after signing the amended ISA Framework Agreement.  Vincenzo de Luca, Ambassador of Italy to India signed the Italian membership to the ISA.

• The new ISA Framework Agreement came into force on January 8, 2021.
• Under the new amended framework, the membership of ISA is open to all member states of the United Nations. Previously, it was open to countries that were partially or entirely located within the Tropics.

• The signed copies of the agreement were received by an additional secretary (ER) as representative of MEA. MEA is the depositary of the ISA Framework Agreement.

International Solar Alliance
It was launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi & the then-French President Francois Hollande ahead of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP21 in Paris.

• It is an alliance of over 121 countries.
• At present 73 countries have signed and ratified the ISA Framework Agreement.

About Italy:
President – Sergio Mattarella
Capital – Rome
Currency – Euro (EUR)
<<Read Full News>>

Around 736 Million Almost 1 In 3 Women Across the Globe Face Physical and Sexual Violence: WHO Reporti.On 9th March 2021, the World Health Organization(WHO) has launched a report titled “Violence Against Women Prevalence Estimates, 2018”. The report was based on the WHO’s largest study on the prevalence of violence against women.
ii.The study conducted by WHO on behalf of The United Nations Inter-Agency Working Group on Violence Against Women Estimation and Data (VAW-IAWGED) states that around 736 million to 852 million women across the globe i.e., 1 in 3 women have faced physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.
iii.This is the first of its kind study by WHO since 2013 that focus on both violence by intimate partners and sexual violence by non-partners. The report compiles the data from 158 countries.
iv.Around 31% of women aged between 15 to 49 and 30% of women aged 15 and older has been subjected to physical or/and sexual violence from their male intimate partners or sensual violence from a not intimate partner at least once since the age of 15.
About WHO:
Director-General– Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Headquarter– Geneva, Switzerland
<<Read Full News>>

India to record Largest Increase in Child and Maternal deaths in South Asia in 2020 due to COVID-19: UNICEF UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) in partnership with WHO, UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) has released a report called ‘Direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 pandemic and response in South Asia’. The report has released estimates which anticipate that India will record the largest increase of deaths among children aged 5 years (15%) & Maternal deaths (18%) among 6 South Asian Countries in 2020 due to pandemic.

• The 6 South Asian Countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan & Sri Lanka.
• Disruption in Sexual, reproductive, maternal, neonatal & child health services due to COVID-19 is expected to have a substantial impact on maternal & child mortality.

Estimates
Child Deaths

• The report anticipates an increase of 1, 54, 020 deaths (Increase of 15%) among children aged 5 years in India.

Maternal Deaths

• The Number of maternal deaths in India is anticipated to increase in 2020 by 7,750 deaths (Increase of 18%).

Effects due to Prolong school closure

• Due to prolonged closure of schools due to COVID-19 around 9 Million primary and secondary school-aged children are expected to permanently drop out of schools. The highest number is expected in India – 7 Million.

About UNICEF:
Executive Director– Henrietta Holsman Fore
Headquarters – New York, United States of America
<<Read Full News>>

BANKING & FINANCE

Deutsche Bank Executed World’s First Green Hedge with ContinuumOn March 16, 2021, Deutsche Bank and Continuum Energy Levanter Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Continuum Green Energy (Continuum) executed the world’s first green hedging transaction based on a specially designed green hedge framework with a second party opinion.
Green Hedge Framework:

• The green hedge with a framework manages the currency exposure while ensuring investors receive their returns on the green bond.
• The forex (Foreign Exchange) hedge solution is for a tenor of 6 years in US dollars/Indian rupees on a notional of $185 million.
• The solution is based on Continuum’s green bond framework and linked with their green bond US dollar primary issuance.

About Deutsche Bank:
Establishment – 1870
Headquarters – Frankfurt, Germany
CEO -Christian Sewing
<<Read Full News>>

PNB Set up ‘PNB Cards & Services Ltd’ –  A Subsidiary to Manage Credit Card Business On March 16, 2021, Punjab National Bank (PNB) set up a wholly-owned subsidiary named PNB Cards & Services Ltd to provide the non -financial support services related to the credit card business of the bank.
Key Points:

• The company has been incorporated by the Registrar of Companies(ROC), Delhi

• The authorized capital of PNB Cards & Services Ltd is Rs 25 crore and the paid-up capital is Rs 15 crore
• According to the RBI data, the number of outstanding credit cards at the end of December 2020 of PNB stood at over 4.3 crores (43,402,879)

Existing Card services:

• HDFC Bank is the largest credit card issuer in India and SBI Cards is the second-largest pure-play credit-card issuer in the country.

About Punjab National Bank(PNB):
Founded– May 19, 1894
Commenced Operations– April 12, 1895
MD & CEO – CH. S. S. Mallikarjuna Rao
Headquarters– New Delhi, India
Tagline– The name you can bank upon
<<Read Full News>>

IATA partners with Standard Chartered Bank for providing EasyPay ServicesInternational Air Transport Association (IATA) has partnered with Standard Chartered Bank for providing ‘EasyPay’ services to Travel Agents in India. It will provide greater payment flexibility to travel agents.

• ‘EasyPay’ is a ‘pay as you go’ service which aims to replace the traditional billing and settlement plan payment methods (Cash or Credit Card).
• It aims to increase the digitisation of payments and is expected to boost cash flows for the aviation industry & travel agents.
• Standard Chartered Bank will be one of the IATA’s EasyPay service providers in India.
• It will be available to all IATA accredited agents in India.

About the International Air Transport Association (IATA):
Director General and CEO – Alexandre de Juniac
Headquarters – Montreal, Canada
Members – 295 Airline members
<<Read Full News>>

USAID, DFC announces USD 41 Million for financing Renewable Energy solutions in IndiaUnited States Agency for International Development (USAID) & US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has announced a USD 41 Million (~ INR 297 Crore) Joint Loan Portfolio guarantee program for financing investments in renewable energy solutions including rooftop solar installations by Indian Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

• Objective – To address the Financial hurdles facing rooftop solar project installations in India. It will benefit SMEs & residential consumers for securing finances needed for installing and using rooftop panels.
• At present,  SMEs account for 48% of total energy consumed in India’s industrial sector.  Installing Rooftop solar power will enable SMEs to get access to reliable power & will also reduce their electricity costs.
• USAID will also provide technical assistance for addressing the quality and safety concerns in the rooftop solar market.

Partner Agencies
USAID & DFC have partnered with US-based Encourage Capital & 2 Indian NBFCs (Non-Banking Financial Companies) namely  – ‘cKers Financial’ & women-owned ‘Electronica Finance Limited (EFL)’ for addressing the challenge of financing Rooftop Solar projects.
India’s Targets:

• The government aims to achieve 40 GW renewable energy capacity by 2022 through the installation of rooftop solar projects.

About the United States Agency for International Development (USAID):
Acting Administrator – Gloria D. Steele
Headquarters – Washington D.C., USA
<<Read Full News>>

SEBI fines Rs.53 lakhs on 6 Entities for Violating SAST Regulations

On 16th March 2021, Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) fined Rs.50 lakhs on 4 individuals & 1 entity, Rajika Malhotra, Muskaan Malhotra, Shairee Malhotra, Makkanlal Sharma and Sirhind Steel Ltd. and Rs.3 lakhs fine on Ravi Malhotra for lapses on making disclosure while dealing with Aroma Enterprises (India) shares. The fine is imposed as they violated the provisions of SAST (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeover) Regulations.

Union Bank of India & SMC Global Securities Join Hands to Offer Online Trading
Union Bank of India(UBI), one of the Indian government-owned banks headquartered in Mumbai and SMC Global Securities, offering brokerage services became partners to provide online trading services to the bank’s customers. Customers can trade using the portal www.smctradeonline.com apart from desktop and mobile applications.
Gist about Union Bank of India
i.In 2012, the bank launched India’s First Talking bilingual accessible ATM specially made for the benefit of visually challenged at the Vastrapur, Ahmedabad.
ii. In 2008, the bank became the 1st Large nationalized Bank to achieve 100 % Core Banking Solution (CBS) networking and also became 1st Public sector Bank to launch Mobile Banking Facility named ‘U Mobile’.
iii.MD and CEO – Rajkiran Rai.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS          

Dr Harsh Vardhan Appointed as the Chairman of ‘Stop TB Partnership Board’i.On 17th March 2021, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MoHFW) was appointed as the Chairman of ‘Stop TB Partnership Board’ for a term of 3 years starting from July 2021. The appointment is in recognition of his contribution to the movement to eradicate Tuberculosis(TB) from India by 2025. He will succeed Dr. Luiz Henrique Mandetta, Minister of Health of Brazil.
ii.On 25th September 2019, Union Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan launched the “TB Harega Desh Jeetega” campaign along with the National TB Prevalence Survey.
iii.The Stop TB Initiative was established following the 1st session of the Ad Hoc Committee on Tuberculosis Epidemic held in March 1998 in London.
About Stop TB Partnership:
Executive Director– Dr Lucica Ditiu
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
<<Read Full News>>

NeoGrowth Appointed Ajinkya Rahane as its Brand AmbassadorOn March 17, 2021, NeoGrowth Credit Pvt., Ltd announced the appointment of Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane as its brand ambassador for one year. Rahane will feature in a campaign of the company named “Keeping it simple”.

• In the campaign, Ajinkya Rahane will talk about the ease of procuring loans through NeoGrowth for small businesses which will be released in the first week of April.

Objective: The campaign will show the day-to-day struggles of small businesses and wishes to convey to them that obtaining and repaying loans is not a tough task
Key Points about NeoGrowth:

• It is aiming to increase its direct sales growth from the current 35% to more than 50%, by motivating small business owners to seek direct loans from the company.
• The average loan size provided by the company is in the range of Rs7 lakh to Rs 8 Lakh.
• Focus: It focuses on first-generation entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs, and first-time borrowers.
• Currently, they are having Rs 1,300 crore worth of assets and planning to take it to Rs2, 000 crores.

About Ajinkya Rahane

• He is the current vice-captain of the Indian cricket team in Test cricket.

About NeoGrowth Credit Pvt.
Establishment – 2013
Chairman -D.K Khaitan
Managing Director (MD) – P.K. Khaitan
Headquarter – Mumbai, Maharashtra

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS        

Adani Ports Acquired 31.5% In Gangavaram Port from Warburg Pincus for Rs. 1,954 CroreOn March 17, 2021, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones (APSEZ) Ltd, a subsidiary of the diversified Adani Group acquired a 31.5 % stake in Gangavaram Port Limited (GPL) which is held by Windy Lakeside Investment Limited (an affiliate of Warburg Pincus) for around Rs 1,954 crore.

• The acquisition expands APSEZ’s market share to 30% across 12 locations in India

Key point:

• GPL has a paid-up equity share capital of 51.7 Cr shares of which 58.1 % is owned by DVS Raju and Family (Promoter), 10.4 % by the Andhra Pradesh government, and 31.5% by Warburg Pincus.
• In which APSEZ is now acquiring the Warburg Pincus share and it is also under discussion with DVS Raju and Family for their 58.1% stake.

About Gangavaram Port Limited(GPL):

• GPL is all-weather, deep water, the multi-purpose port which is located in the northern part of Andhra Pradesh next to Vizag Port.
• It is the 2nd largest non-major port in Andhra Pradesh with a 64 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) capacity established under a concession from the Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP) that extends till 2059.
• It handles a diverse mix of dry and bulk commodities including Coal, Iron Ore, Fertilizer, Limestone, Bauxite, Sugar, Alumina, and Steel. It is the gateway port for a hinterland spread over 8 states across India.
• It is capable of handling fully laden super-cape size vessels of up to 200,000 Dead Weight Tonnage(DWT).

About Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones (APSEZ) Ltd:
APSEZ – India’s largest private Ports & Logistics company
Headquarter – Gujarat, India
CEO – Karan Adani
Chairman – Gautam Adani

Govt to Sell up to 16.12% stake in Tata Communications via OFS

On March 15, 2021, Government of India(GoI) is likely to sell 16.12% stake in Tata Communications (erstwhile VSNL) via Offer For Sale(OFS) at the floor price of ₹1,161 per equity share.It would fetch Rs. 5,334 crore to the GoI. Immediately after the OFS, the government shall sell the remaining(10%) equity shares held by it in the company to Panatone, arm of Tata Sons.

• With regard to this, President, GoI signed an amendment agreement with Panatone Finvest Ltd, Tata Sons Private Ltd and the company for sale of the entire shareholding.
• Currently, GoI holds 26.12 per cent stake while Panatone Finvest holds 34.80 per cent and Tata Sons holds 14.07 per cent.The remaining 25.01 per cent is with the public.
• Offer For Sale(OFS)- It is a simpler method of share sale through the exchange platform for listed companies. The mechanism was first introduced by SEBI in 2012.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

KRAS begins Delivery of MRSAM Missile kits to Indian Armed ForcesKalyani Rafael Advanced System  (KRAS), a joint venture of India’s Kalyani Strategic Systems (KSSL) and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense System has started the delivery of BARAK-8 Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) kits to the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force. The kits will be delivered from  the Hyderabad plant of KRAS.’

• In 2019, KRAS bagged a USD 100 Million Contract for manufacturing 1, 000 BARAK-8 MRSAM missile kits.
• Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is the custodian of the missile programme & Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) the integrator.
• The Missile kits will be supplied through Rafael to BDL.
• Designed by RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems Ltd (100% Rafael design output & Indigenous content less than 30%).

About Kalyani Rafael Advanced System  (KRAS):
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Rudra B Jadega
Location – Hyderabad, Telangana
<<Read Full News>>

CAIT Launches Vendor Onboarding App for its upcoming ‘Bharat e Market’
Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) launched a vendor onboarding mobile app for its upcoming e-commerce portal ”Bharat e-Market”. This application allows businesses and service providers to register on the portal and create their own “e-dukaan(an online shopping store)”.

• There will be no charge for creating an e-dukaan nor any commission on business done on the portal. The other e-commerce portals are charging commission from 5% to 35% on transactions done on their portal.
• Bharat e-Market has been developing with the motive of supporting e-commerce traders and consumers of India against foreign e-commerce companies which said to be violating the country’s FDI policy norms.
• No foreign investment in the portal will be accepted and users’ data will remain in India.

Nokia partners with Microsoft, Amazon Web Services & Google to develop a cloud-based 5G radio solutions

On 15th March 2021, Finnish telecom manufacturer, ‘Nokia’ announced partnership with Microsoft, Amazon Web Service and Google to develop a new cloud-based 5G radio solution with Nokia’s Radio Access Network (RAN) Technology. Nokia’s 5G RAN will be developed with high level innovative inputs from Google’s Cloud Anthos platform, Microsoft Azure & Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (Amazon EKS) and AWS Local Zones.

SPORTS

Mithali Raj becomes 1st Indian & 2nd International Woman Cricketer to score 10, 000 International RunsMithali Raj became 1st Indian Woman Cricketer & 2nd International Women Cricketer (after England’s Charlotte Edwards) to score 10, 000 runs in International Cricket across all 3 formats of Cricket.

• She achieved the record during the 3rd ODI Between India & South Africa Women’s team which took place on March 12, 2021 at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.
• Mithali Raj has scored 6, 974 runs from 212 One Day Internationals (ODI); 2, 364 runs from 89 T20 Internationals & 663 runs in 10 Test matches.
• Mithali Raj hails from Rajasthan; she made her debut for India in June 1999.

1st to reach 7, 000 runs

• She became the First Woman Cricketer to complete 7, 000 runs in Women’s ODI cricket.
• She reached the milestone in her 213th Match, which was the 4th ODI of the 5-match series against South Africa at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.
• Previously, England’s Charlotte Edwards was the 1st player to score 6, 000 runs in Women’s ODIs. She retired from International Cricket in 2016, and is the 2nd leading run scorer with 5, 992 runs.

About Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI):
President – Sourav Ganguly
Head Office – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Rawalpindi’s KRL Stadium renamed after Shoaib Akhtar

The cricket authorities in Rawalpindi has renamed historic KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi, Pakistan as Shoaib Akhtar Stadium to honour Akhtar for his services to Pakistan cricket for years.

OBITUARY

Tanzania President John Magufuli Passed Away at 61On 17th March 2021, John Pombe Magufuli, the President of Tanzania and leader of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi party passed away at the age of 61 at a hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He was born on 29th October 1959, in Chato, Tanzania.  He was the first president of Tanzania to die while holding office.
i.Samia Hassan Suluhu, the first female Vice President of Tanzania is set to become the First Female President of Tanzania.
ii.According to the constitution of Tanzania, in the absence of the President, by reason of death, then the Vice-President shall be sworn in and become the President for the unexpired period of the term of five years.
About John Magufuli:
i.John Maguguli was first elected as the President of Tanzania in 2015.
ii.He was again elected as the President for a 2nd term in 2020.
iii.He was first elected as a member of Parliament in 1995.
iv.He has also served as the minister of Works, Transport and Communications from 2000 to 2005 and 2010 to 2015
About Tanzania:
Vice President– Samia Hassan Suluhu
Prime Minister– Kassim Majaliwa
Capital– Dodoma
Currency– Tanzanian shilling

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Dr. Deepak Ravindran Authored A Book Titled “The Pain-Free Mindset”Dr. Deepak Ravindran, the lead of Pain therapy at Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, United Kingdom(UK) has authored a book titled “The Pain-Free Mindset: 7 Steps to Taking Control and Overcoming Chronic Pain”. The book was published by Vermillion, an imprint of Penguin.

• This is the first book by a medical physician in the UK in the past 15 years to provide an overview that new scientific advances in understanding the nervous system will support us in overcoming pain.

About the book:
i.The book was commissioned by Vermillion in 2020
ii.The book describes MINDSET as an acronym for Medication, Intervention, Nervous system, Diet, Sleep, Exercise and Therapies.
iii.The book states that the general public and healthcare professional has to create the mindset that pain is an evolutionary mechanism of safety and not a sign of danger.
iii.The book features an effective set of techniques that can be used to gain control over pain and overcome pain.
iv.The book contains tips backed by science and case studies that can change the mindset about pain.
About Dr. Deepak Ravindran:
i.Dr. Deepak Ravindran is one of the consultants in the UK who has dual certification in musculoskeletal medicine and pain medicine.
ii.He has been serving as a consultant in pain medicine for more than a decade at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust in the UK.
iii.He has supported to develop and lead the Longcovid (Post-COVID) service for Berkshire County.

Full Spectrum: India’s Wars 1972-2020 a book authored by Arjun SubramaniamFull Spectrum: India’s Wars 1972-2020 is the book authored by retired Air Vice Marshal (Dr) Arjun Subramaniam about the war and conflict in contemporary India over the past five decades which is published on 8 October 2020 by HarperCollins India.
About the book:

• It is his second book and it explores the trials and tribulations, successes and failures of India’s armed forces in the post-1971 period
• It is covering major operation that the armed forces have participated including insurgencies in the north-east, terrorism and proxy wars in Jammu and Kashmir, separatist violence in Punjab, the IPKF intervention in Sri Lanka
• It fuses the strategic, operational, tactical, and human dimensions of war and conflict into a racy narrative that reflects their changing character in modern times.

His First Book: India’s Wars: A Military History, 1947-1971

• It provides detailed accounts of the conflicts from Independence to 1971.
• This includes the first India-Pakistan war of 1947-48, the liberation of Hyderabad and Junagadh, the campaign to evict the Portuguese from Goa in 1961, and the full-blown wars against China and Pakistan.

About Arjun Subramaniam:
He is a retired fighter pilot from the IAF (Indian Air Force) and airpower analyst and strategic commentator who is currently a Visiting Professor at Ashoka and Jindal Universities.

A new book, “Saving Us” by Katharine Hayhoe set to launch in SeptemberKatharine Hayhoe, the present Chief scientist at the Nature Conservancy, authored a book on Climate change, titled “Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World ” that is set to be released on 21st September 2021. The book will project the combined perspective of Ms. Hayhoe’s research & personal stories to provide overwhelming evidence of climate change.
About Katharine Hayhoe:
i.At present, she serves as the Chief Scientist at ‘the Nature Conservancy’.
Note- The Nature Conservancy is a United States based Non-Profit Organisation, that works on Environmental Conservation since 1951.
ii.In 2019, she was honoured with the “Champion of the Earth” award, the highest environmental honor of the United Nations (UN).
iii.The Canadian born, is an atmospheric scientist & professor of political science at Texas Tech University.
iv.She also hosts the PBS digital series “Global Weirding”.
Other Books by Katharine Hayhoe:

• All We Can Save
• A Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-Based Decisions
• Downscaling Techniques for High-Resolution Climate Projections: From Global Change to Local Impacts

General Bipin Rawat releases the new book, “Battle Ready for 21st Century” On 17th March 2021, India’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat along with Former Chief of the Army Staff, Gen Deepak released a book, “Battle Ready for 21st Century” at Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS). The book was co-edited by Lt Gen AK Singh, Distinguished Fellow CLAWS & Brigadier Narender Kumar, a visiting Fellow CLAWS.
i.The book methods to strategically manage border conflict in future in all possible fonts- Land, Air, water, cyber & cognitive domains to avoid war.
ii.Foreword of the book was written by Arun Prakash, former Naval Chief.
iii.Former Chief of the Army Staff Gen NC Vij and Prof Gautam Sento have commented on the book to identify the need for building capabilities.
iv.The book critically examines India’s past history of wars and the urgent need for capacity building to prevent accidental wars.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Global Recycling Day 2021 – March 18i.The Global Recycling Day is annually observed across the globe on 18th March to promote the importance of recycling across the globe. The day calls for the world to work together to change the mindset of governments, business, communities and individuals across the globe to consider recyclables as resources.
ii.The theme of the Global Recycling Day 2021 is “Recycling Heroes”. 
iii.The Global recycling day was initiated by the BIR and supported by Global Recycling Foundation and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization,
iv.The first-ever global recycling day was observed on 18th March 2018. 
About BIR:
BIR was the first federation to support the interests of the recycling industry on an international scale.
President– Tom Bird
Director General– Arnaud Brunet
Founded in 1948
<<Read Full News>>

Ordnance Factory Day 2021 – March 18i.Ordnance Factory Day is annually observed by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) on 18th March to mark the foundation of the first Ordnance Factory at Cossipore near Kolkata in 1801. The day is celebrated by the Indian Ordnance Factories, under the Ministry of Defence.
ii.The 18th March 2021 marks the 220th Ordnance Factory Day. 
iii.On 18th March 1802, the Gun Carriage Agency established by the British at Cossipore, Kolkata started the production, which marked the first industrial establishment of Ordnance Factories in India.
iv.Presently, the network of Indian Ordnance Factories comprises 41 factories, 9 Training Institutes, 3 Regional Marketing Centres and 4 Regional Controllers of Safety.
About Ordnance Factory Board(OFB):
Chairman– C S Vishwakarma (Director General, Ordnance Factories)
Headquarters– Kolkata, West Bengal
The OFB came into existence on 2nd April 1979
<<Read Full News>>

STATE NEWS

J&K Govt approved to establish Ratle Hydroelectric Power Corporation to develop 850 MW HEP on Chenab River

On 17th March 2021, the Administration Council of Jammu & Kashmir(J&K) under the chairship of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha approved the incorporation of Ratle Hydro-electric Power Corporation, a joint venture company(JVC), to implement 850 MW Ratle Hydro-Electric Project (HEP) on river Chenab in Kishtwar district.

• The authorised capital of the JVC is Rs 1,600 crore with initial paid-up capital of Rs 100 crore.
• Out of the paid-up capital, J&K State Power Development Corporation Ltd (JKSPDCL) will contribute Rs 49 crore as initial equity.

The MoU to execute the project was signed between the Government of J&K, JKSPDCL and NHPC on 3rd January 2021.
The JVC will develop the 850 MW Ratle HEP at an estimated cost of Rs 5,281.94 crore.

*******

Click Here View – AC Excluded News 2021

Current Affairs Today (AffairsCloud Today)