SPOTLIGHT

Monthly Current Affairs

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RBI - NABARD - SEBI

SPOTLIGHT – MARCH 2021
BY- ANUJ JINDAL
 KEY BENEFITS OF OUR COURSES

Our course structure includes a lot of perks that are otherwise

unavailable elsewhere.
It is a comprehensive guide to help you crack the paper & secure
your dream position.

We provide personal solutions all queries using a Telegram group wherein Anuj Jindal
himself will clarify your doubts.

We curate the learning strategies of past year toppers to help you learn from the
success of the best

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Contents
NATIONAL NEWS ............................................................................................................................................................. 4
STATE NEWS .................................................................................................................................................................. 56
AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................................................... 74
DEFENCE NEWS.............................................................................................................................................................. 77
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ......................................................................................................................... 81
INTERNATIONAL NEWS .................................................................................................................................................. 86
REPORTS AND INDICES .................................................................................................................................................. 97
BANKING AND ECONOMY ............................................................................................................................................ 131
GDP FORECASTS ........................................................................................................................................................... 163
APPOINTMENTS ........................................................................................................................................................... 164
IMPORTANT DAYS ........................................................................................................................................................ 169
AWARDS....................................................................................................................................................................... 179
SPORTS ......................................................................................................................................................................... 187
MISCELLANEOUS .......................................................................................................................................................... 192
QUESTIONS .................................................................................................................................................................. 198

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 NATIONAL NEWS
1. 16th edition of FICCI Higher Education Summit was organized by FICCI in collaboration with
M/o Education and Commerce and Industry.
• Theme of the summit – Higher Education @2030: RISE – Resilience. Innovation.
Sustainability. Enterprise.

2. Production Linked Incentive Scheme of the central govt has been extended to two more
sectors – IT hardware and Pharmaceuticals.
• Now, the PLI scheme is being implemented in 13 sectors.
Pharmaceuticals:

® Tenure - FY21 to FY29

® The manufacturers will be grouped into three categories on the basis of their global
manufacturing revenue (GMR).

Group A
• Having GMR of up to Rs 5000 crores or above
• Incentive - Rs 11000 crores

Group B • GMR between Rs 500 crores to Rs 5000 crores

• Incentive - Rs 2250 crores

Group C • GMR of less than Rs 5 crores

• Incentive - Rs 1750 crore

® Total Incentive – Rs 15000 crores

® Total incremental sales of Rs 2,94,000 crores and total incremental exports of Rs
1,96,000 crores is estimated during six years from FY23 to FY28. The base year for
calculation of incremental value is 2019-20.
® All the goods under Pharmaceutical sector are divided into three categories. Bifurcation
of the % of incentives in the three categories of goods on yearly basis is as follows: -

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 Category 1 Category 2 Category 3

• 10% - 1 to 4 year • 10% - 1 to 4 years • 5% - 1 to 4 year

• 8% - 5th year • 8% - 5th year • 4% - 5th year
• 6% - 6th year • 6% - 6th year • 3% - 6th year

IT Hardware:

® Purpose – to boost domestic industry of IT hardware.

® Target Segments – Laptops, tablets, all in one PCs, and servers.
® Incentive – 4% to 2% / 1% for incremental sales of IT goods manufactured in India for a
period of 4 years. The value of incremental sales is calculated on the base year of 2019-
20.
® Outlay – Rs 7350 crores (incentive budget – Rs 7325 crores and Rs 25 crores is for
administrative expenses) for 4 years
® Expected employment generation – 1,80,000 in 4 years
® The scheme will provide impetus to Domestic Value Addition for IT Hardware which is
expected to rise to 20% - 25% by 2025.
13 sectors of PLI:

I. Advance Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery

II. Electronic/Technology Products
III. Automobiles & Auto Components
IV. Pharmaceuticals drugs
V. Telecom & Networking Products
VI. Textile Products: MMF segment and technical textiles
VII. Food Products
VIII. High Efficiency Solar PV Modules
IX. White Goods (ACs & LED)

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 X. Speciality Steel
XI. Mobile Manufacturing and Specified Electronic Components
XII. Critical Key Starting materials/Drug Intermediaries and Active Pharmaceutical
Ingredients
XIII. Manufacturing of Medical Devices.

3. “City Innovation Exchange” platform has been launched by Ministry of Housing and Urban
Affairs to connect the cities with innovators so that innovation can be fostered in urban areas.
• Innovators will find solutions to the pressing needs of the cities.
• The platform has been built on the concept of Open Innovation, i.e., proper flow of ideas
from ‘inside out and outside in’.
• Over 400 startups, 100 smart cities, more than 150 challenges statements and over 215
solutions are present on this platform at the time of its launch.

4. 5th edition of Asia Economic Dialogue (AED) 2021 was jointly organised by Pune
International Centre and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs virtually.
• Theme - “Post Covid-19 Global Trade and Finance Dynamics”.
• Foreign Affairs' ministers of six countries including India, Japan, Australia, Maldives,
Mauritius and Japan participated in the Dialogue among others.

5. Mobile Train Radio Communication (MTRC) System – first time for Indian Railways – has
been commissioned in Western Railway Trains in Mumbai.
• The system can reduce train accidents and prevent delays in trains. It works akin to air
traffic control systems in aircrafts.
• It will ensure smooth communication between trains. The new system has already been
installed in 90 out of 100 rakes running between Churchgate and Virar in Mumbai.
• Mobile Train Radio Communication system is based on the Terrestrial Trunked Radio
(TETRA) Digital technology.

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6. Union Minister for Rural Development has inaugurated Saras Aajeevika Mela 2021 at
Noida Haat.
• More than 300 rural self-help groups and craftsmen from 27 states are participating in the
Mela.
• It is an initiative by the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods
Mission (DAY-NRLM) under the Ministry of Rural Development, organised by the Council
for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) to help women
entrepreneurs.
• The initiative aims to bring the rural women Self Help Groups (SHGs) under one platform so
that they can showcase their skills, sell their products, and help them build linkages with
bulk buyers.

7. ISRO has launched Brazil’s optical earth observation satellite, Amazonia-1 (belonging to
Brazilian National Institute for Space Research), and 18 co-passenger satellites from
India [5] and the U.S.A. [13] on PSLV C51 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre
(SHAR) at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
• This was the 53rd flight of PSLV C51 and the first dedicated mission for New Space India
Ltd (NSIL), the commercial arm of ISRO.
• The mission was undertaken under a commercial arrangement with Spaceflight Inc., USA.
• Cohort of Indian Satellites include –
(i) Satish Dhawan SAT (SDSAT) built by Space Kidz India, a nano-satellite intended to
study the radiation levels, space weather and demonstrate long range communication
technologies.
(ii) UNITYsat - a combination of three satellites intended for providing radio relay services.
Developed by Jeppiar Institute of Technology, Sriperumbudur, G.H. Raisoni College of
Engineering, Nagpur and Sri Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology,
Coimbatore.
(iii) SindhuNetra - an Indian technology demonstration satellite. Developed by DRDO.
(iv) Anand – Developed by Pixxel. It could not be launched due to technical glitch.

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 • Prominent US satellites in the mission – SAI-1 NanoConnect-2 and 12 SpaceBEEs
satellites
• ISRO will launch 14 missions this year, including the Gaganyaan mission.

8. Central Revenues Control Laboratory (CRCL), New Delhi, under the Central Board of
Indirect Taxes & Customs has been recognized as a Regional Customs Laboratory (RCL)
of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) for Asia-Pacific Region.
• With its recognition as RCL, CRCL joins a select group of Customs Laboratories in the
region like those in Japan & Korea.

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 • The CRCL was established in 1939, CRCL is the headquarters of 14 Revenue
Laboratories.

Facts about Regional Customs Laboratory for Facts about WCO

Asia – Pacific Region

• The Lab was established in 2014 in • WCO HQ - Brussels, Belgium

Japan as a consequence of an MoU • WCO Members - 183 Members
signed between Japan and WCO. • WCO Establishment year- 1952
• Purpose – the lab helps in chemical • WCO Secretary General- Mr. Kunio
analysis of products for the purpose of Mikuriya
their classification in the tariff list.
• Some products are hard to differentiate
from each other because of their
similarity in appearance and properties.
Unless a proper chemical analysis is
done for the products, they cannot be
classified fairly in the tariff classification
list.

9. Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Thaawarchand Gehlot, launched the

"Sugamya Bharat App", a crowd-sourcing mobile application, and a handbook entitled
"Access - The Photo Digest".
• The app will enable people with disabilities and even the elderly to register accessibility-
related problems in buildings, in modes of transport or any infrastructure by uploading
pictures on it.
• The app and the handbook have been developed by the Department of Empowerment of
Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD).
• The app is a means for sensitising and enhancing accessibility in the three pillars of the
Accessible India Campaign i.e. built environment, transportation sector and ICT
ecosystem in India.

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 • The app provides five main features - four of which are directly related to enhancing
accessibility, while the fifth is specially for coronavirus-related issues.
• It is available in 10 regional languages.

10. Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Housing Affairs has
launched the field assessment of Swachh Survekshan (SS) 2021.
• It is the 6th edition of the annual cleanliness survey.
• SS was introduced by MoHUA in 2016 with only 73 cities as a competitive framework to
encourage cities to improve the status of urban sanitation while encouraging large scale
citizen participation.
• Implementing Agency – Quality Council of India
• Focus areas of SS 2021 – sanitation, wastewater treatment and reuse along with faecal
sludge, waste management and remediation of landfills.
• Parameters for measuring performance of cities / ULBs:
o Segregated Collection (7 indicators)
o Processing and Disposal (13 indicators)
o Sustainable Sanitation (5 indicators)
o Independent Validation Matrix (certification and citizen feedback)
o Citizen Engagement (10 indicators)
o Actions improving Citizen’s Experience - Direct Observation (2 Indicators)
o Innovation & Best Practices (2 indicators)

• Total number of Urban Local Bodies (population-wise) divided for the survey: -
Total - 3,898 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)

Cities with <1 Lakh Population (across the o Category 1 – 50,000 to 1,00,000 lakh
nation) population – 544 ULBs
o Category 2 – 25,000 to 50,000
population – 1,011 ULBs

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 o Category 3 – less than 25,000
population - 2,343 ULBs
Total – 476 ULBs

o Category 1 – 1 to 3 lakh population –

334 ULBs
o Category 2 – 3 to 10 lakh population –
Cities with >1 Lakh Population
99 ULBs
o Category 3 – 10 to 40 lakh population –
44 ULBs
o Category 4 – More than 40 lakh
population – 9 ULBs

• Ganga Towns will also be assessed on the basis of the following parameters:

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• New announcements – districts will also be ranked in this edition along with cities (the
number of cities will be announced later.)
o A new category was added - ‘Prerak DAUUR Samman’ in July 2020 only.

• Apps to collect citizen feedback - Vote for Your City App, Swachhata App and Swachh
Survekshan portal, amongst others.

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 Additional Facts:

• Performance of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) during 2014 - 4360 Urban

ULBs have been declared ODF, 2158 cities certified ODF+ and 551 cities certified
ODF++.
o Additionally, nearly 60,000 toilets across 2900+ cities have been made live on
Google Maps.
o In the area of solid waste management, 97% of wards have 100% door-to door
collection while 68% of the total waste generated is being processed.
o A total of six cities have been certified as 5 Star, 86 as 3 star and 65 as 1 star
under the Star Rating Protocol for Garbage Free Cities.
• Focus of second phase of SBM-U for 2021-26 –
o sustainable sanitation including faecal sludge and wastewater management,
o holistic solid waste management with a focus on curbing and ultimately eliminating
the use of single-use plastic (SUP),
o reducing air pollution through effective management of construction & demolition
waste,
o reducing soil pollution through remediation of legacy dumpsites.

11. The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India launched the
“Swachhta Saarthi Fellowship” under its “Waste to Wealth” Mission.
• The fellowship aims to recognize students, community workers/self-help groups, and
municipal/sanitary workers who are contributing significantly towards waste management.
• Students can apply at - https://www.wastetowealth.gov.in/fellowship. Information related to
fellowship will be provided at Invest India website.
• Three Categories of Awards under the Fellowships:

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 • School students from 9th to 12th classes.
Category-A • After selection, monthly payment of Rs 500 will be given
to students for one year.

• College students (UG, PG, Research students)

Category-B • After selection, monthly payment of Rs 1,000 will be
given to students for one year.

• Citizens working in the community and through SHGs,

municipal or sanitary workers working beyond
Category-C specifications of their job requirements/descriptions
• After selection, monthly payment of Rs 2000 will be
given to workers for one year.

• Waste to Wealth Mission – It is one of the nine national missions of the Prime Minister’s
Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC).

12. Central Govt, FICCI, and Better Than Cash Alliance (UN-based organization) hosted
Merchant Digitization Summit 2021: Towards Atma Nirbhar (Self Reliance) Bharat.
• Purpose – to find out ways for enhancing the digitization of merchants in India's North-
Eastern and Himalayan regions, and Aspirational districts.
• National Language Translation Mission can be used to disseminate digital payments
information, privacy clauses and consent in local languages for trust and empowerment.
• FICCI, GoI and Better Than Cash Alliance will continue their partnership this year also for
digitization of payments.
• India’s targets –
o Per day digital transactions - 1 billion (from an average of 2-3 billion digital
transactions monthly).
o Person to Merchant (P2M) digital payment transactions will scale to 10-12 billion
transactions every month.

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About National Language Translation Mission

• In the Union Budget 2021-22, the Finance Minister has announced to launch the National
Language Translation Mission for translating digital content in Indian Languages.
• The aim of this mission is to make digital content available in indigenous / local language to
increase the digital inclusion and literacy of the masses.
• In 2020, during the covid-19, the government had tied up with Reverie Technologies for
deploying language translation technology named Anuvadak to translate and publish the
MyGov Covid-19 page in 10 Indian languages.
• In 2020 only, Axis Bank had also launched a multi-lingual voice bot named AXAA to handle
customer queries and requests in over 10 Indian languages with over 160 dialects.

About Better Than Cash Alliance:

• Based at the United Nations, the Better Than Cash Alliance is a partnership of
governments, companies, and international organizations that increases the adoption of
digital payments to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Established - 2012
• Members - 75 members
• Secretariate – The alliance is hosted by the United Nations Capital Development Fund
(UNCDF), with offices in New York, Bogotà, Dakar, Dhaka, Kigali, London, Manila and New
Delhi.
• Managing Director - Ruth Goodwin-Groen
• India became a member of the Better Than Cash Alliance in 2015 to digitize payments to
achieve financial inclusion and to share success stories from Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan
Yojana, the world's largest financial inclusion program.

About FICCI:

• Established in 1927.
• President - Uday Shankar

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 • Secretary General - Dilip Chenoy
• Location – Delhi

13. 6th International Conference on Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices aka India Pharma &
India Medical Devices 2021 was held. This is an annual conference.
• Organizers – FICCI, Dept of Pharmaceuticals, Invest India and Govt of India
• Themes –
o India Pharma theme – “Indian Pharma Industry: Future is Now”
o India Medical Devices theme – “India MedTech Future: Innovate and Make in India
through Global”
• Targets –
o Total market size of Pharma industry in India - $130 billion by 2030
o Total market size of medical devices industry in India - $50 billion by 2025

• EY-FICCI released their joint report titled as ‘Indian Pharmaceutical Industry 2021:
Future Is Now’ which highlights ways to improve the sector. Facts of the report:
o In order to achieve the $130 bn target from $41.7 billion in 2020, India needs to
double its last decade’s growth rate from 6% to 12% in the next decade.
o Though the pharma industry has grown at a compounded annual growth rate
(CAGR) of approximately 13% over the two decades, in the last decade it was 8.5%
and has been lower at 6.2% over the past 5 years.
o In 2019, India's share of exports in the global pharmaceutical trade was only about
2.5%. The total market was worth $652 billion.
o The global pharmaceutical trade is expected to reach a size of $1-1.3 trillion by
2030. India’s ambition is to garner a global share of 6-7% by value to attain a size of
$73 billion in the global market.
• Winners of 6th India Pharma and India Medical Device Awards:

Category Winner

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 Special Award For Excellent Contribution Dr P. D. Vaghela
Towards Meeting The Challenges Faced By
Pharma And Medical Devices Industry During
The Covid-19 Pandemic

India Pharma Leader Award M/S Laurus Labs Limited

India Pharma Bulk Drug Company Of The M/S Metrochem Api Private Limited
Year Award

India Pharma Innovation Of The Year Award M/S Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited

India Pharma Corporate Social Responsibility M/S Lupin Limited

(Csr) Programme Of The Year Award

India Medical Devices Company Of The Year M/S Wrig Nanosystems Private Limited
Award

14. India and Norway have agreed to jointly work in the area of marine spatial planning in the
oceanic space for the next five years under the Indo-Norway Integrated Ocean Initiative.
• Lakshadweep and Puducherry have been identified as pilot sites for the project.
• The first meeting of the steering committee was held recently.
• In 2019, India and Norway signed an MoU on Indo-Norway Integrated Ocean Initiative.
• Both countries will endeavour to ensure that human activities at sea take place in an
efficient, safe and sustainable manner in areas such as energy, transportation, fisheries,
aquaculture and tourism.
• This Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) initiative will be implemented by the Ministry of Earth
Sciences (MoES) through National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) for India and
Norwegian Environment Agency through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway.
• The Government of India's expenditure on studies and planning for this initiative (for
Lakshadweep and Puducherry) are estimated to be around Rs 8-10 crores per annum.

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 • Earlier, NCCR had developed coastal management plans for Chennai, Goa and Gulf of
Kachchh, which proved very successful.
• Blue Economy is a part of GoI’s Vision of growth for 2030.The Ministry of Earth Sciences is
also preparing a Blue Economic Policy.

15. Ministry of Earth Sciences has released the draft of “Blue Economy Policy” in Feb 2021 for
stakeholders’ review.
• The policy document aims to enhance contribution of the blue economy to India’s GDP,
improve lives of coastal communities, preserve marine biodiversity, and maintain the
national security of marine areas and resources.
• Indian Coastline length - 7.5 thousand Km approx.
• Coastal states – 9
• Number of islands owned by India - 1,382

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 • Number of ports - nearly 199 ports, including 12 major ports that handle approximately
1,400 million tons of cargo each year.
• Thematic areas of the policy –
o National accounting framework for the blue economy and ocean governance.
o Coastal marine spatial planning and tourism.
o Marine fisheries, aquaculture, and fish processing.
o Manufacturing, emerging industries, trade, technology, services, and skill development.
o Logistics, infrastructure and shipping, including trans-shipments.
o Coastal and deep-sea mining and offshore energy.
o Security, strategic dimensions, and international engagement.

16. India hosted a high-level meeting of the International Commission on Large Dams.
• Organizers of the meeting - India’s Central Water Commission (CWC), Dam
Rehabilitation Improvement Project (DRIP) and National Hydrology Project (NHP).
• Title of ICOLD’s Symposium - “Sustainable Development of Dams and River Basins"
• Hydropower current capacity - 45.69 giga watt (GW), which is more than a tenth or
12.23% of India’s installed power generation capacity of 373.43 GW.
• Target of Hydroelectricity – addition of 45 GW
• Future plan – India is developing a North East Water Management Authority (NEWMA)
for developing all projects related to hydropower, agriculture, biodiversity conservation,
flood control, inland water transport, forestry, fishery, and eco-tourism in the region.
o The NEWMA will help in India’s efforts to establish prior user rights on water from the
rivers that originate in China.

About International Commission on Large Dams:

• Established – 1928
• President – Michael Rogers (USA)
• HQ – Paris, France

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 • Members - ICOLDs members are essentially practising engineers, geologists and scientists
form governmental or private organizations, consulting firms, universities, laboratories and
construction companies.
o ICOLDs has National Committees from more than 100 countries with approximately
10 000 individual members.
• ICOLDS has adopted a World Declaration on Dam Safety.

17. Indian school students have recently discovered and named 18 new asteroids as part of the
International Asteroid Discovery Project.
• These findings were acknowledged by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
• STEM and Space organization, along with the NASA’s International Astronomical
Search Collaboration (IASC - an online scientific program for kids to discover Asteroids
and Near-Earth Objects), conducted the project.
• Over the last two years, 150 students from all around India participated in this two month
long campaign to find asteroids, making this the largest asteroid discovery project in
India.
• International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) is a citizen science program
that helps citizens to get high-quality astronomical data. The initiative also aims to help in
discovery of asteroids.

18. 2nd edition of Global Bio-India 2021 was organized virtually by Dept of Biotechnology, CII,
Invest India, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), and Association of
Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE).
• Theme – Transforming Lives
• Tagline – Biosciences to Bio-economy
• Partner country – Switzerland and The Netherlands
• State Partner – Karnataka and Odisha
• Indian Biotechnology industry is valued at $70 billion in 2020 which is expected to
increase to $150 billion by 2025.

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 • The minister unveiled the “National Biotech Strategy” and also inaugurated the Virtual
Exhibition of Global Bio-India at the occasion.
• Global Bio-India Startup Conclave was also organized. Project Development Cell of
Dept of Biotechnology was launched during the Conclave.
• Indian Bio-Economy Report of ABLE and Biotech Investment Potential for Indian
States report of IFC were released.
• India is among the top-12 destinations for biotechnology in the world, with approximately
3% share in the global Biotechnology industry. Facts about India’s biotechnology sector:

19. Central Government is planning to replace the Technical Education Quality Improvement
Programme (TEQIP) with MERITE ('Multidisciplinary Education and Research Improvement in
Technical Education’) Project.
• Purpose – to improve the technical education in India.
Facts about Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme:

® Started in 2002 by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development along with World
Bank to upscale the quality of technical education and enhance capacities of institutions.

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 ® It is being implemented in phases.
® Phase 3 of TEQIP started in 2017 and will be completed by 2021. This phase focuses on
improving the engineering institutions.
® This phase also aims to improve quality and equity in engineering institutions in focus
states such as in low income states.

20. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Institute of Medical
Sciences and Research at IIT Kharagpur on the occasion of 66th Convocation of IIT
Kharagpur.
• The hospital has been set up with support from the Ministry of Education.

21. MapMyIndia (digital mapping company) company’s API has also been integrated into the
government’s Co-WIN portal to help people locate vaccination centres nearby.
• At present, registration and booking for appointment for COVID vaccination is done through
CoWIN portal ‘cowin.gov.in’ only.

22. ISRO has developing the "Space Entrepreneurship & Enterprise Development (SEED)" -
an exclusive space startup programme - to help startups and MSMEs which are working in the
field of space sector.
• Purpose – the program is a competitive early stage encouragement programme to
startups and MSMEs keen on developing products / services in focus areas of interest to
ISRO with the space agency helping them to use its facilities.
• ISRO, under the Department of Space (DoS), has set up three space technology
incubation centres – at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Tiruchirappalli,
Jalandhar and Agartala. Three more are in progress.

23. CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) has launched a 90-day scientific cruise
mission with 30 scientists to sample water, sediments, planktons and various organisms in
search of genomes and micro-nutrients.

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 • Benefit – It will help strengthen India’s research into commercial biotechnology applications
including anticancer treatments as well as help understand new climate change patterns.
• It will start from Visakhapatnam, touching the waters between Australia and Maldives, and
then circling back to Goa, covering 9,000 nautical miles by mid-May.
• Scientists expect to go as deep as 6 kilometres into the Indian ocean to collect samples.
• It is the first such project in the Indian ocean.

24. Govt has approved the implementation of CSIR Floriculture Mission in 21 States and Union
Territories of India.
• CSIR’s Societal Portal has also been launched. Developed by CSIR Team and MyGov
Team.
• Floriculture is a branch of horticulture that deals with the cultivation, processing and
marketing of ornamental plants.
• Focus of the mission - commercial floral crops, seasonal/annual crops, wild ornaments
and cultivation of flower crops for honey bee rearing.
• Market size – The Indian Floriculture market is expected to reach Rs. 47,200 crores by
2024 as against Rs. 15,700 crores in 2018.
• Implementing Agencies – CSIR, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Khadi
and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), APEDA and TRIFED, Fragrance and Flavour
Development Centre (FFDC), Kannauj, and Ministry of Commerce and MSME.
• Benefits of the Mission – Increasing farmer’s income, import substitution, increase the
share of Indian floriculture produce in the global market.

25. Telecom Equipment Export Promotion Council has organised India Telecom 2021, an
international business expo.
• It has been organised under Market access initiative scheme of Department of
Commerce with support from Department of Telecommunications and Ministry of External
Affairs.
• Market access initiative scheme is implemented by Ministry of Commerce and Industry
to promote India’s exports on a sustained basis.

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26. Atal Innovation Mission has partnered with Mathworks (a developer of mathematical
computing software for scientists and engineers) to strengthen the deep – tech start up
ecosystem in India.
• Under this partnership, startups supported by AIM will get access to the Mathworks’ tools,
engineering support, online trainings and other necessary required support.

27. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in collaboration with IIT Bombay, has decided to
form a Centre of Excellence in Gaming and other related areas.

28. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate ‘Maitri Setu’ bridge over the Feni river between
India and Bangladesh.
• Feni river flows between the Indian boundary in Tripura and Bangladesh. The 1.9 Km long
bridge joins Sabroom in India with Ramgarh in Bangladesh.
• The bridge was constructed by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development
Corporation Ltd at a project cost of Rs. 133 Crores.
• Tripura is set to become the ‘Gateway of North East’ with access to Chittagong Port of
Bangladesh, which is just 80 kms from Sabroom.
• An Integrated Check Post will be constructed at Sabroom for seamless movement of
passengers to and from India and Bangladesh. The ICP is being developed by Land
Ports Authority of India.

29. Indian Medicines Pharmaceutical Corporation Limited (IMPCL) of the Ministry of AYUSH
has partnered with Government e-Market (GeM) portal for selling its products online.

30. PM Narendra Modi held a virtual Summit with Swedish PM Stefan Lofven. It was the fifth
edition of the summit since 2015.

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31. DRDO has successfully carried out a flight demonstration based on Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet
(SFDR) technology from Integrated Test Range (ITR) Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.

32. Nasscom has launched ‘AI Gamechangers’ program to promote artificial intelligence (AI)-led
innovation in the country as part of the ‘AI for India’ mission.
• Microsoft is the innovation partner for the program.
• The program will recognize innovators for their successful AI implementation at Nasscom’s
Xperience AI Summit, one of the largest AI summits in India.
• Nasscom president - Debjani Ghosh

33. India launched a real-time vessel tracking system called as Sagar-Manthan: Mercantile
Marine Domain Awareness Centre (MMDAC) to track Indian and foreign vessels within
1,000-km of India’s coastline.
• Aim – to help seafarers and fishermen in the times of need.
• It will be operated by Directorate General of Shipping.
• India is sharing this system with Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
• This system was launched at the Maritime India Summit 2021.
• The central govt aims to operationalise 23 waterways by 2030.
• The govt is also aiming to strengthen the Eastern Waterways Connectivity Transport
Grid for regional connectivity with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar for effective
regional trade and cooperation.
• Mega ports with world-class infrastructure are being developed at Vadhavan, Paradip and
Deendayal Port in Kandla.

34. Ministry of Women and Child Development has classified all its major programmes under
three umbrella schemes -- Mission Poshan 2.0, Mission Vatsalya and Mission Shakti --
for their better implementation.
Mission Shakti – It will consist of policies and schemes for protection and empowerment of
women.

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 It will cover schemes like one stop centre, mahila police volunteer, women's helpline, Beti
Bachao Beti Padhao, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana among others and has been
allocated Rs 3,109 crore in the 2021-22 budget.

Mission POSHAN 2.0 - the government is merging the supplementary nutrition programme and
Poshan Abhiyan to launch Mission POSHAN 2.0 to strengthen nutritional content, delivery,
outreach, and outcomes.

In budget 2021-22, an amount of Rs 20,105 crore has been allocated to Mission POSHAN 2.0.

Mission VATSALYA – To look into child protection services and child welfare services and has
been allocated Rs 900 crore in the budget.

35. India’s first Forest Healing Centre (spread over 13 acres) has been established at Ranikhet
in Almora district in Uttarakhand.
• The centre was inaugurated by noted environmentalist from Ranikhet Joginder Bisht.
• The centre draws inspiration from Japanese technique of forest bathing (shinrin-yoku)
and ancient Indian traditions.
• The basic theme of the centre is “be silent, go slow, think less and feel more."

26
36. Asia’s and India’s first Dolphin Research Centre will be developed in Patna University in
Bihar. Foundation stone of it has been laid recently.
• Bihar accounts for 50% of the world’s river dolphin population.
• Dolphin, India’s National Aquatic Animal since 2009, is a highly endangered species under
Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
• Project Dolphin was announced last year by the Central Govt to protect dolphins.

37. National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has collaborated with SahiPay - an
Android-based integrated platform developed by Manipal Business Solutions - to promote
digital enablement and financial inclusion in the country.
• The aim is to promote nano-entrepreneurship amongst youth in the financial services
sector.
• The partnership aims to facilitate skilling of youth in digital financial services and
provide them with an opportunity to explore self-employment for sustainable livelihood.
• Candidates will be provided access to free digital skilling on ‘Online Entrepreneurship
Program’ through NSDC’s eSkill India portal.
• Training courses - Indian Banking and Financial Services Industry along with Digital
Payment Platform Operations through content such as Entrepreneurship, Know Your
Customer (KYC), Security and Compliances, Communication Skills, Banking Services,
AePS Banking, Payment Services (UPI, QR Code, Cards), Domestic Money Transfer,
Value Added Services (Bill Payments/Recharges) and SahiPay Platform & Services.
Note: Prepare eSkill portal of NSDC thoroughly.

38. From the 1st March 2021, Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV have been merged. Now,
Sansad TV will be the sole banner under which the proceedings, functions and features of the
Parliament will be telecasted.
• CEO of Sansad TV – Ravi Capoor (former IAS officer)

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 • Committee – A committee, headed by Surya Prakash (former Chair of Prasar Bharti), was
formed by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu in
2019, to recommend on the merger of these channels.

39. Central govt has announced to celebrate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to commemorate the 75th
anniversary of India’s independence in 2022.
• The celebrations are proposed to be launched 75 weeks prior to 15th August 2022 i.e. on
12 March, 2021, which is the 91st anniversary of the historic Salt Satyagraha led by
Mahatma Gandhi.
• To formulate the programs and events to be held on the celebration of 75th independence
day, a National Committee, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, with 259 members has been
constituted.
• A National Implementation Committee, under the chairmanship of Home Minister, had
earlier been constituted to guide the policies and programs to be undertaken by various
Ministries of Government of India under the India 75 commemoration.
• A Committee of Secretaries has also been set up for this purpose.

40. ISRO has developed the S-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and shipping it to Nasa for
integration with the L-band payload being developed by the US agency.
• Once the integration of the two radars is done, Nasa will send them to India where other
parts of the Nasa-ISRO SAR (NISAR) satellite will be built. ISRO will then use its GSLV
Mk-II rocket to launch NISAR from the Sriharikota launchpad.
• NISAR is expected to be launched in 2023.
About NISAR:

• India and the US had signed an agreement in 2014 to jointly develop the world’s first
earth observation satellite with two different radars that can produce very high-resolution
images to collect data day and night and in all weather, including during cloudy days.
o Nasa administrator Charles Bolden and the then Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan
signed this agreement.

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 • Benefits of the NISAR: -
o Its data can help people worldwide better manage natural resources and hazards
o Better understanding of the effects and pace of climate change
o Increase human’s understanding of the planet’s hard outer layer (crust)
o NISAR will be able to “measure changes in the Earth’s surface less than a
centimeter across”.
o It will also help measure and study dynamic surfaces, ice masses like Himalayan
glaciers, sea level rise and groundwater level.
• NISAR will weigh 2,800 kg.
• It is estimated to be the world’s most expensive imaging satellite. ISRO’s share of cost
is about Rs 788 crore and NASA’s is about $808 million (nearly Rs 5,890 crores).

41. Tribes India Aadi Mahotsav 2021 was held at Delhi Haat, New Delhi in February 2021. A
stall dedicated to 50 GI Tribal products was set up during the Mahotsav.
• A Van Dhan demo centre was also established.
• This Aadi Mahotsav is an excellent way to bring all tribal artisans from across the country in
a single place.
• India enacted the Geographical Indications (Registration and Protection Act), 1999,
which came into effect from September 15, 2003.

42. NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute have published “Mobilising Finance for EVs in
India: A Toolkit of Solutions to Mitigate Risks and Address Market Barriers” report.
• The cumulative investment requirement for the India’s EV transition between 2020 and
2030 is Rs 19.7 trillion (approximately $266 billion) across vehicles, charging stations, and
batteries.
• The projected size of the annual loan market for EVs in 2030 is Rs 3.7 trillion
(approximately $50 billion).
• Finances can prove to be a great hurdle in India’s journey towards EV transition. Therefore,
the report suggests that India should work on to developing ways for sustainable financing
for EVs.

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43. On March 4-5, TRIFED, in collaboration with Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of
Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie and Ministry of Culture, has organized the “Tribes
India GI Mahotsav” at the premises of LBSNAA.
• Aim – to sensitize IAS probationers about the GI tags so that they can in-turn formulate
policies that safeguard the interest of GI products in their region.
• Dr Rajani Kant (Padmashri winner) educated the Officer Trainees about the status of GI
products across India and the process for GI tagging and also spoke about the challenges
faced by tribal producers and artisans in getting the tag.
• TRIBES India outlet was inaugurated in LBSNAA premises to market and promote GI
products, along with tribal handicrafts and produce.
• TRIFED jackets made in the traditional geometric Ikat weaving style practised by the
weavers from Pochampally (Telangana) was also launched.
• This is a first of its kind exhibition featuring GI products from all over India.

44. Union Cabinet has approved the creation of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Nidhi
(PMSSN) as a single non-lapsable reserve fund in the public account.
• Purpose – to maintain the proceeds of share of Health from the proceeds of Health and
Education Cess levied under Section 136-b of Finance Act, 2007.
• The fund will be used for flagship schemes of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
namely,
o Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)

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 o Ayushman Bharat - Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs)
o National Health Mission
o Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY)
o Emergency & disaster preparedness and responses during health emergencies
o Any future programme/scheme that targets to achieve progress towards SDGs and
the targets set out in the National Health Policy (NHP) 2017.
• Administration and maintenance of the PMSSN is done by Ministry of Health & Family
Welfare.
• In any financial year, the expenditure on the above-mentioned schemes of the Ministry of
Health would be initially incurred from the PMSSN and thereafter, from Gross Budgetary
Support (GBS).
• In 2018, the then Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had replaced the education cess of
3% with the 4% health and education cess on the direct income tax liability of individuals.
• Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana was announced in 2003. Under it, 22 AIIMS
will be established and existing medical colleges and institutions will be upgraded.

45. India’s largest floating solar power plant of 100 MW has been set up by NTPC at
Ramagundam, Telangana.
• NTPC is in the process of implementing about 450 MW of solar capacity, out of which 217
MW is floating solar capacity. The solar power plant is a part of this process.

46. On the 30th foundation day of Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology, the
International Conference on Multifunctional Electronic Materials & Processing (MEMP)
2021 was inaugurated.
• The domestic production of electronic items has increased substantially at a
Compounded Annual Growth Rate of 23% between 2014-15 to 2019-20.
• India’s share in global electronics manufacturing has grown from 1.3% in 2012 to 3.6%
in 2019.

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47. WE Hub has announced to launch ‘UPSurge’, in collaboration with the Australian
government.
• We Hub is India’s first and only state-led incubator to foster and promote women
entrepreneurship to start up, scale up and accelerate with global market access.
• UPSurge is a pre-incubation programme to help women entrepreneurs from across
India.
• Earlier, the first WE Hub/Australia collaboration ‘Community Slate’ was set up in 2020.
Australia was WE-Hub’s first international partner.

48. Ministry of Labour has announced the convergence of Employees’ State Insurance
scheme and Ayushman Bharat- PM Jan Aarogya Yojana.
• Implication – Now, over 1 crore beneficiaries of the Employees’ State Insurance scheme in
113 districts of Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra will be able to
avail themselves of cashless medical treatment at hospitals empanelled with Ayushman
Bharat.
• Similarly, the beneficiaries registered for Ayushman Bharat can get cashless medical
treatment at 15 ESIC hospitals and medical colleges in Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka,
Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• The beneficiaries would need to produce their ESIC e-pehchan card or health passbook
and Aadhaar card.
Note: Cover both the schemes thoroughly from govt schemes bundle.

49. Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas’s Secretary Tarun Kapoor has inaugurated a first of
its kind India Energy Office (IEO) in Moscow, Russia to enhance energy partnership
between the two countries.
• The IEO will cover five top Indian entities -- Oil India Limited, ONGC Limited Videsh
Limited, GAIL (India) Limited, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, and Engineers India Limited.
• Purpose – The IEO will promote the interest of Indian oil and gas PSUs in Russia and of
Russian companies in India in the energy sector.

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 • India is looking to explore the opportunities in the Russian Far East. Also, India is keen to
explore a new sea route to source crude oil and LNG from Russian Arctic.

50. 29th edition of New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF) was held in virtual format for the first
time.
• Theme of the book fair was National Education Policy 2020.
• Organizer - National Book Trust and International Trade Organization of India.

51. A total of 40 scholars from six countries have been recommended for award of Indian Science
Research Fellowship (ISRF) 2021.
• Purpose - to establish research cooperation with neighbouring countries of India, which is
one of the mandates of DST’s (Department of Science and Technology) International
Science and Technology Cooperation.

About the of Indian Science Research Fellowship:

• In 2015, this fellowship was launched by the Dept of S&T to engage with neighbouring
countries (including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri
Lanka, and Thailand) in the field of Science & Technology.
• ISRF programme has provided an opportunity to the young researchers from neighbouring
countries to get access to the state of art facilities available in the Indian institutes /
universities.

52. Union Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public
Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal flagged off 3000 HP Cape Gauge Locomotive.
• The locomotive was indigenously developed by Banaras Locomotive Works, Varanasi.
• 3000 HP Cape Gauge Locomotive will be exported to Mozambique.

53. Ministry of External Affairs has inaugurated the South Asia Group on Energy (SAGE) at
Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS).

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 • RIS is a New Delhi–based autonomous policy research institute.

54. India’s first ‘Transgender Community Desk’ has been established at Gachibowli police
station, Telangana.
• It is a first-of-its-kind gender inclusive community policing initiative in the country.
• It is world’s first-ever help desk for the transgender community.

55. PM Narendra Modi and Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina inaugurated a new passenger train
service named “Mitali Express” between Dhaka and New Jalpaiguri (West Bengal) to mark
the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence.
• This is the third passenger train after Maitree Express (Dhaka-Kolkata) and Bandhan
Express (Khulna-Kolkata) running between the two neighbouring countries.
• The direct train between Dhaka and New Jalpaiguri will run through the Chilahati- Haldibari
cross border rail route.

56. ISRO and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) held a bilateral meeting
virtually.
• During the meeting, both agencies signed an Implementing Arrangement for collaborating
on rice crop area and air quality monitoring using satellite data.
• Also, they agreed to explore opportunities for cooperation in “space situational awareness
and professional exchange programme”.
• India and Japan are already working on a joint lunar polar exploration (LUPEX) mission
that aims to send a lander and rover to the Moon’s south pole by 2024.
• Early this month, India and Italy decided to explore opportunities in earth observation,
space science and robotic and human exploration.

57. Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has launched the Mera Ration
app to help migrant workers under government’s One Nation One Ration Card system.
• The app currently covers 32 states and union territories.

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 • All Indian citizens can register themselves on the app to get food grains at subsidised
prices.
• The Mera Ration app also allows users to check what they are entitled to, locate nearby
ration shops etc. It also supports biometric authentication.
• The app will soon start supporting 14 regional languages. Right now, it is only available in
English and Hindi.
• The app is only on Android for now.

58. Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) has launched the ‘SERB – PRoject
Information System & Management (SERB – PRISM)’ portal.
• SERB is a Statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST). Prof.
Ashutosh Sharma is Chairman, SERB, & Secretary, DST.
• This portal will provide all the information about the projects supported by SERB.

59. ISRO has launched the sounding rocket (RH-560) to study attitudinal variations in the neutral
winds and plasma dynamics from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota Range
(SHAR).
• RH-560 is a rocket of Rohini series of rockets. (RH stands for Rohini while the number in
the name indicates the diameter of the rocket in mm.)
• Other Rohini Series rockets are RH-200 and RH-300.
• Indigenous development of Rohini series rockets start from 1965. The launch of the first
sounding rocket US made ‘Nike Apache’ from Thumba near Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
on November 21, 1963, marked the beginning of the Indian Space Programme.

60. Indian Railways has integrated all railway helpline numbers (Rail Madad) into 139.

61. Laghu Udyog Bharati and IMS Foundation organised the 2nd edition of the TechBharat
conclave to bring stakeholders from health-tech and edu-tech sectors on a virtual platform.

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 • Union Budget 2021-22 allocated the "highest ever funding for the health sector" for 2021-22
(at Rs 2.2 lakh crore+)
• This is an increase of 137% in budgetary allocation towards this sector.

62. Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has reconstituted the Advisory Committee for the
Multidisciplinary Study of the River Sarasvati, which was constituted in 2017 by ASI, for a
term of 2 years.
• The earlier committee’s term ended in 2019.
• The committee would continue to be chaired by the Minister of Culture (Prahlad Singh
Patel).
• Officials from the governments of Gujarat, Haryana and Rajasthan are also a part of this
27 members committee.
• Purpose of the committee: -
o defining the Sarasvati river and its basin
o identifying “special items of geotechnical nature for study of the Sarasvati basin
o identifying “archaeological sites and areas for multidisciplinary research and to
assess their potential for development as centres of education and tourism”.

About Saraswati River:

• It is a mythical river which found its mention in Rigvedic, Later Vedic, and Post Vedic texts.
• Geologists have found its traces, thus proving its existence.
• It originated from the Shivalik glaciers.
• Its mouth was Arabian sea.
• It is claimed to be a supporting river of Satluj.
• It flowed from Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat. It is claimed that the course of Saraswati
was the same which Ghaggar-Hakra river is taking at present.
• Saraswati river used to meet Yamuna and Ganges at Triveni Sangam in Prayag, located in
Prayagraj (erstwhile Allahabad).

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63. MG Motor India has partnered with IIT Delhi's Centre for Automotive Research and
Tribology (CART) for research in the field of electric and autonomous vehicles.
• The partnership through Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT), IIT
Delhi will shift the automaker's focus on CASE mobility (Connected Autonomous Shared
Electric).

64. Atal Innovation Mission of NITI Aayog has signed a Statement of Intent with Aster DM
Health care to improve health care systems across the country through the mission’s
innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives.
• The SoI also aims to support the various initiative of AIM programs and AIM beneficiaries in
India to promote innovation and entrepreneurship amongst the aspiring entrepreneurs in
the area of digital health care.
• Aster Digital Health Incubator (ADHI – a part of Aster DM Healthcare Group) will support
various Atal Incubation Centers (AICs), Established Incubation Centres (EICs), Atal
Community Innovation Centres (ACICs) and Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) amongst other
initiatives of AIM within the country.
• The purpose is to deeply engage with AICs, EIC, and ATLs across the country to achieve
milestones in the area of health care innovative solutions with a focus on digital primary
care and establishing a rich eco-system of digital health entrepreneurship.

65. As part of Mission Sagar-IV, INS Jalashwa has arrived at Port Anjouan, Comoros to deliver
1,000 Metric Tonnes of rice on Mar 14, 2021.
• Mission Sagar was launched in 2020 to provide assistance to the countries in Indian Ocean
Region.

66. A high-level central team led by Dr S. K. Singh (Director, National Centre for Disease
Control) has been deployed to Haridwar to review medical care and public health
arrangements for Kumbh Mela, 2021.
• The team will also focus on the implementation of preventive measures to contain spread of
COVID- 19 during Kumbh Mela.

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67. Indian companies Wipro and Tech Mahindra are collaborating with Finnish companies for
development and expansion of 5G and 6G technologies for use in India and other markets.
• Both sides are planning to sign the renewed MoU between consortium of ten Finnish
universities and 23 IITs in India for cooperation in higher education sector.
• India has invited Finland to join International Solar Alliance and Coalition for Disaster
Resilience Infrastructure.
• India – EU Leaders’ summit will be held in Portugal in May, 2021 and India-Nordic
Summit 2021 will also see India’s and Finland’s participation.
• All these announcements were made in the virtual summit between PM Narendra Modi and
PM of the Kingdom of Sweden H.E. Stefan Löfven.

68. 6th India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Women’s Forum meeting was held virtually.
• The meeting was led by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, India.
• India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Trilateral Cooperation Forum is a unique platform
which brings together India, Brazil and South Africa.

69. Indian Railways has connected two ends of the main arch of the Chenab Bridge - world's
highest bridge – on Chenab River in Reasi district, Jammu and Kashmir.
• It is being built by Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd.

70. Dwarka Expressway (29 km) – India’s first-ever elevated Urban Expressway – will be
completed before 15 August 2022.
• It connects Dwarka in Delhi to Gurugram.
• It is being constructed under the Bharatmala Project.

71. Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs has extended the Khelo India Scheme to 2025-26
from 2021-22.
• Estimated expenditure of this scheme - Rs 8750 crore (for 2021-22 to 2025-26)

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 • For 2021-22, an amount of Rs 657.71 crore has been allocated for the scheme.
• The first Khelo India Games were held in 2018.

72. “India: Transforming To A Net-Zero Emissions Energy System” report has been released
by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and Shell.
• As per this report, India can achieve net-zero emission energy systems by 2050.
• This report mentions ways to achieve this ambitious target [for reading purpose only]: -
o Improve tech in clean energy to increase the share of renewable energy into total
energy consumption.
o Raise the share of hydrogen from negligible levels today to around 13% of final
energy consumption in 2050.
o Increase the use of bio-resources (biomass and liquid biofuels) more than twofold,
with residential biomass use declining and commercial biomass use (primarily in
industry) increasing substantially to account for two-thirds of all uses by 2050.
o Invest in infrastructure – particularly urban and industrial infrastructure – to reduce
the energy intensity of the economy by around 50% between 2020 and 2050.
o Establish significant carbon removal projects to achieve net-zero emissions in
India’s energy sector by 2050 to offset emissions from fast-growing sectors like
aviation.

73. India is planning to conduct airborne radar surveys to estimate the thickness of Himalayan
glaciers.
• The pilot study of this will be conducted in Lahaul-Spiti basin of Himachal Pradesh.
• Once the pilot project is done, similar studies will be conducted in Indus, Ganges and
Brahmaputra sub-basins.
• National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) under Ministry of Earth
Sciences has proposed to conduct the study, in collaboration with established Indian
researchers in India and abroad.
Knowledge nuggets:

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 Almost 33% of country’s thermal electricity and 52% of hydropower in the country is dependent
on the water from rivers originating in Himalaya.

India plans to add 45 gigawatts (GW) of hydropower capacity to its energy basket.

74. Applied Materials India (a subsidiary of US-based Applied Materials Inc.) has signed a
research and development (R&D) pact with Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
• Centre for Nanoscience and Engineering, IISc Bengaluru will work with Applied Materials
India to explore new applications and solutions in the field of advanced materials.
• Last year, Applied Materials India celebrated 15-years of collaboration with IIT Bombay in
the field of nanoelectronics and energy.

75. Central Government has set up a 10-member empowered committee for manufacturing in
high technology areas.
• This committee will be headed by the Minister of Commerce and Industry.
• The Committee will be serviced by the Department for Promotion of Industry and
Internal Trade (DPIIT).

76. ISRO has demonstrated free-space Quantum Communication at a distance of 300 m for the
first time ever at Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

77. In order to transform India into a circular economy, Union Govt has formed 11 committees.
• These aforementioned committees will be led by the concerned ministries for preparing
comprehensive action plans for transitioning from a linear to a circular economy in their
respective focus areas.
• With only 2% of the world’s landmass and 4% of freshwater resources, a linear
economy model would constrain India’s manufacturing sector and, consequently, the
overall economy. Therefore, it is important to shift to the circular economy model for
optimum utilization of resources.

40
 • Meaning of a circular economy - It refers to an economic model which relies on recycling,
remanufacturing, reusing. It leads to minimal waste generation, reduced input (natural
resources) deployment, and optimum utilization of resources.
o This system is in opposition to the linear model of production which works on take,
make and dispose model (as shown in the picture below).
S. No. Area of Focus of the Committee Concerned Ministry

1. Municipal Solid Waste and Liquid Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
Waste

2. Scrap Metal (Ferrous and Non- Ministry of Steel

Ferrous)
3. Electronic Waste Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology

4. Lithium Ion (Li-ion) Batteries NITI Aayog

5. Solar Panels MNRE

6. Gypsum Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal

Trade

7. Toxic and Hazardous Industrial Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals

Waste

8. Used Oil Waste Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

9. Agriculture Waste Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare

10. Tyre and Rubber Recycling Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal
Trade

11. End-of-life Vehicles (ELVs) Ministry of Road Transport and Highways

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78. Ministry of Labour and Employment has released a compendium on Consumer Price
Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW), which is a beginning of digitization of labour data.
• The CPI-IW is used to regulate the dearness allowance of government employees and
workers in the industrial sectors besides the fixation and revision of minimum wages in
scheduled employment.
• Last year, the govt had revised the base year for preparing the CPI-IW to 2016 from 2001.

42
79. Ministry of Jal Shakti has partnered with the United Nations Office for Project Services
and the Government of Denmark for the Jal Jeevan Mission.
• Purpose - to help bring tap water connections to 11 water-scarce districts in Uttar
Pradesh’s water-starved Bundelkhand and Vindhya regions under the Jal Jeevan mission.

80. NITI Aayog has constituted two task forces for the enforcement of contracts as well as
effective conciliation mechanism.
• First committee – It will suggest facilitation of speedy resolution of contractual disputes
between private entities and the government. It will be headed by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh
Kant.
• Second committee – It will recommend a policy framework for the enforcement of
contracts. It will be led by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar.

81. Central Government has appointed NABSanrakshan Trustee Pvt Ltd (NTPL) as a trustee for
Rs 750 crore Credit Guarantee Fund.
• This Credit Guarantee Fund has been created under Animal Husbandry Infrastructure
Development Fund (AHIDF).
• NABSanrakshan Trustee Pvt Ltd (NTPL) is the wholly owned subsidiary of NABARD.
• The AHIDF fund has a corpus of Rs 15,000 crores under the Atmanirbhar package.

82. Labour Bureau has signed a service level agreement with Broadcast Engineering
Consultants India Ltd (BECIL) for providing technical and manpower support for conducting
all India surveys, including on migrant workers.
• The surveys to be undertaken by Bureau will be integrated with the technology provided by
the BECIL to increase effectiveness and efficiency of the surveys.
• The manpower offered by BECIL for supporting these surveys will be offered Fixed Term
Employment (as per the new labour codes).

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83. Union Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy and Skill Development and
Entrepreneurship, Shri R K Singh has launched the GRAM UJALA programme.
• Under this program, LED bulbs will be distributed at Rs 10 to rural households. Each
household will get up to 5 LED bulbs.
• Under the programme, 7 watt and 12-Watt LED bulbs with 3 years warranty will be given to
rural consumers up to a maximum of 5 LED bulbs, against submission of working
Incandescent bulbs.
• The Gram Ujala programme will be implemented in villages of the 5 districts only. Meters
will be installed at the houses to measure the usage of bulbs.
• Under the GRAM UJALA programme, Convergence Energy Services Limited (a wholly
owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Ltd) will distribute high quality LED bulbs.
• In the first phase of this programme, 1.5 crore LED bulbs will be distributed across
villages of Aarah (Bihar), Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Vijaywada (Andhra Pradesh), Nagpur
(Maharashtra), and village in western Gujarat.
• Gram Ujala programme will be financed entirely through carbon credits and will be the
first such programme in India.
Let us understand the mechanism?

o This program will be financed by carbon credits.

o Carbon credit – The idea of carbon credit germinated into Kyoto Protocol of 1997.
Carbon credits allow carbon to be traded as any other commodity.

Suppose, USA (being a developed country) has a high demand for carbon emission than what is
allotted to it. India, on the other hand, is not able to emit carbon as per the quota allotted to it
under the carbon credit rules of Kyoto protocol.
Here, carbon credits would come in aid. India would sell its remaining quota of carbon credit to
USA so that it can fulfill its demands, in exchange of technology, money or any other
exchangeable commodity.

44
 o Now, through the LED bulbs, the govt aims to save its carbon credits. These saved units
of carbon credits would be sent to the UN for inclusion into the Shine Program of
activities.
o Afterwards, buyers (other countries) would be able to purchase these carbon credits from
India.
o India would use the money earned from selling the carbon credits to finance the cost of
disbursing LED bulbs.
o If all 300 million lights in India were replaced, the total energy savings would be 40,743
million kWh/year, avoided peak demand of 22,743MW/year and CO2 reductions of 37
million tons per year.
o GRAM UJALA programme will have a significant impact on India’s climate change action
energy savings of 2025 million KWh/year and CO2 reductions of 1.65 million T CO2/year.

84. ISRO will set up a Space Technology Incubation Centre (S-TIC) at the National Institute of
Technology, Rourkela (NIT Rourkela) for carrying out R&D activities.
• The incubation centre shall promote start-ups, capacity-building, innovations and research
in space technology in Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and the Andamans.
• ISRO will provide an annual grant-in-aid of ₹2 crore for a period of up to two years to NIT
Rourkela as seed money for setting up the S-TIC.

45
85. Fourth JPO-DPIIT Review Meeting was held between Japan Patent Office (JPO) and
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to further develop the
cooperative relationship in the field of intellectual property.
• In 2015, JPO and DPIIT signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) in the field of
Industrial Property.
• Since then, the JPO has been cooperating with the DPIIT to establish a framework in which
Japanese applicants can acquire IP rights in India promptly and smoothly.
• Since 2017, Japan and India have held the JPO-DPIIT Review Meeting every year for the
purpose of maintaining and strengthening the cooperative relationship in the field of IP.

86. 11th edition of India Chem-2021 was held in New Delhi on the theme of “India: Global
Manufacturing Hub for Chemicals and Petrochemicals”.
• Organizer - Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, in association with FICCI.
• India Chem is one of the largest composite events of the chemical and petrochemical
sector in the Asia-Pacific Region.
• Three bilateral events namely (i) India-Japan Chemical and Petrochemical Forum (ii)
India-EU Chemical and Petrochemical Forum and (iii) India-US Chemical and
Petrochemical Forum were organized with the objective to enhance bilateral trade and
investment opportunities in the sector.
• Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, DV Sadananda Gowda mentioned that Rs 8
lakh crore investment are in the pipeline in the Indian chemical industry by 2025.

87. Airports Authority of India (AAI) has agreed to assist the Bangladesh aviation regulator in
enhancing its capacity in terms of infrastructure and skilled manpower.
• India is currently celebrating 'Swarnim Vijay Varsh', the golden jubilee year marking the
1971 war victory over Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh.

46
88. Central government has constituted an experts advisory committee, headed by H K Mittal
from the Department of Science and Technology, for the overall execution and monitoring of
the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme.
• Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) has been approved for the period of next four
years starting from 2021-22.
• Corpus of the fund is Rs 945 crore.

89. Ministry of Electronics and IT has launched an innovative initiative - Mobile Seva.
• The initiative will be implemented by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing
(C-DAC).
• This initiative will enable all Government departments and agencies at the Centre, State
and Local levels in the country to deliver their services through various channels of mobile
such as SMS, IVRS, USSD, Mobile Application and AppStore.
• Mobile Seva AppStore is a government owned mobile application hosting platform. It has
been created to provide Indian mobile application developers a hosting platform for their
mobile application developed for delivery of public services through mobile devices.

90. Union Defence Ministry has signed a ₹1,188 crore deal with Bharat Dynamics Limited for
the supply of 4,960 Milan-2T Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) to the Indian Army.

91. Ministry of Ayush has set up interdisciplinary team of experts, chaired by Dr H. R

Nagendra (Chancellor of SVYASA) to explore the potential of Yoga as a productivity
enhancing tool for the population.
• National Productivity Council, New Delhi will be supporting the exploration.
• The committee will submit its preliminary recommendations by May 2021.

92. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has signed a loan agreement with the Tata
Cleantech Capital Limited (an NBFC) for 10 billion Japanese yen for the "Climate Change
Management Project" in India.

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 • Under the agreement, TCCL will offer loans to businesses that focus on renewable energy
generation, electric vehicles (EV) across India.
• This loan will be provided through the Private Sector Investment Finance scheme of JICA
and is co-financing with the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC).
• India is the world's third-largest emitter of greenhouse gas (GHG) at present.

93. Sir M Visvesvaraya Railway Terminal, India’s first centralised AC terminal, is situated in
Baiyappanahalli, Bengaluru.
• The new terminal would also help decongest the other two terminals in the Karnataka
capital, namely KSR Bengaluru and Yeshwantpur.

94. Bengaluru International Airport / Kempegowda International Airport has launched India’s
first dedicated Express Cargo Terminal for export and import of international couriers.
• The new facility will enable Bengaluru Airport to process 150,000 Metric Tonnes (MT)
annually, taking the Airport’s overall annual cargo capacity to 720,000 MT, from the existing
570,000 MT.
• Express Industry Council of India (EICI) will operate the Common-User Express
Terminal for other courier companies.
• Kempegowda International Airport is South India’s busiest Cargo Airport and 3rd busiest
overall.

95. India and the United States have launched U.S. India Artificial Intelligence (USIAI)
Initiative.
• The initiative is launched by the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF), a
bilateral organization funded by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), India, and
the U.S. Department of States.
• IUSSTF’s USIAI Initiative focuses on AI cooperation in critical areas that are priorities for
both countries.

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 • USIAI will serve as a platform to discuss opportunities, challenges, and barriers for bilateral
AI R&D collaboration, enable AI innovation, help share ideas for developing an AI
workforce, and recommend modes and mechanisms for catalyzing partnerships.
• Research, technology in artificial intelligence is being promoted and implemented in the
country through a network of 25 technology hubs, set up under the National Mission on
Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS).

96. Data Patterns India Pvt Ltd has handed over the indigenously made checkout system to
ISRO for its 'Gaganyaan' mission.

97. India and the U.S. have agreed to re-establish the U.S.- India Homeland Security Dialogue
which will be focused on issues such as cybersecurity, emerging technology, and violent
extremism.

98. Union Cabinet was informed about the progress made under the National Health Mission
(NHM).
• NHM targets include reducing MMR to 1/1,000 live births, reducing IMR to 25/1,000 live
births, reducing TFR to 2.1, bringing down prevalence of leprosy to less than 1 /10,000
population and incidence to zero in all districts.
• To achieve this, many initiatives were launched during 2019-20 such as:
o These initiatives, include Social awareness and Actions to Neutralize Pneumonia
Successfully (SAANS) that was launched to accelerate the methods to reduce
deaths due to childhood pneumonia.
o Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) scheme was launched to provide
assured, dignified, respectful and quality healthcare at no cost along with all existing
schemes for maternal and neonatal health have been brought under one umbrella
scheme.
o Midwifery Services Initiative aims to create a cadre of nurses in midwifery who are
skilled in accordance to competencies prescribed by the International Confederation
of Midwives (ICM) and are knowledgeable and capable of providing compassionate

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 women-centered, reproductive, maternal and new born health care services among
others.
o School Health and Wellness Ambassador Initiative - Two teachers in every
school will be made Health and wellness ambassador to spread awareness about
health issues.

99. India and France are working on their third joint satellite mission which is an earth
observation satellite mission with thermal infrared imager, TRISHNA (Thermal infraRed
Imaging Satellite for High resolution Natural resource Assessment).
• ISRO and French space agency CNES have undertaken two joint missions 'Megha-
Tropiques', which was launched in 2011, and 'Saral-Altika' in 2013.
• Also, ISRO and CNES have also finalised all interface control documents for
accommodating CNES's 'ARGOS' instrument in ISRO’s OCEANSAT-3 satellite.

100. Central govt has spent ₹118.2 million on the ambitious National Digital Health Mission
(NDHM).
• NDHM was launched in the union territories of Chandigarh, Ladakh, Dadra and Nagar
Haveli and Daman and Diu, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep.

101. India Meteorological Department (IMD) has launched a Climate Data Service Portal
with data of over 100 years which can be accessed by the public.
• The Climate Data Services Portal has been developed by IMD, Pune with user-friendly
platforms for climate data management and supply to the users.
• The major components of the portal are real-time monitoring of weather observations
recorded by IMD observatories.
• It also has a free download facility for gridded temperature and rainfall data of India,
climatological tables --- extremes and normal, information on monsoon rainfall and cyclone
frequencies.

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102. Thermax Babcock & Wilcox Energy Solutions (TBWES), a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Thermax has signed a Know-How Transfer and License agreement with Steinmüller Babcock
Environment GmbH (SBE), Germany for Waste to Energy technology.
• As a part of the agreement, TBWES will design, engineer, manufacture and sell Municipal
Solid Waste (MSW) fired waste to energy solutions incorporating SBE’s well-established
grate and boiler technology.

103. Ministry of Corporate Affairs has launched Central Scrutiny Centre (CSC) and Investor
Education and Protection Fund Authority’s (IEPFA) Mobile App to create a new corporate
and investor friendly ecosystem.
• Central Scrutiny Centre will primarily scrutinise the filings made by the users under straight
through processes, identify the data quality issues and irregularities, communicate the
same to the concerned Registrar of Companies so that corrective steps can be taken.
• The Mobile App aims at achieving the goal of financial literacy, spreading investors’
awareness, education, and protection among investors.

104. ISRO has partnered with Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) to
conduct joint research activities.
• This partnership will be similar to the JPL-Caltech model in the United States.
• In the JPL-Caltech model, JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) is federally funded by the
NASA and managed by Caltech (California Institute of Technology).
• To coordinate joint research activities between ISRO centres and IIST, a Capacity Building
Programme Office (CBPO) has been established at ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru as a
focal point.
• Also, an Empowered Overseeing Committee has been constituted to review and approve
the proposals.

105. UN Development Program has launched 'Sahi Disha' campaign to celebrate women's
livelihoods and entrepreneurship in rural India.

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 • The campaign will help women in rural India to access jobs and livelihoods and establish
enterprises to become more self-reliant.
• Disha initiative is a five-year collaboration between UNDP and the IKEA Foundation.
• The initiative will enable 1 million women through skilling and counselling services to
access job and livelihood opportunities across five states -- Delhi NCR, Haryana,
Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana.

106. Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of AYUSH have decided to set up
an Export Promotion Council to boost AYUSH exports.
• FICCI will coordinate with Department of Commerce and Industry for setting up this council.

107. Japan has approved loans and a grant totalling around 233 billion yen ($2.11 billion) for
several key infrastructure projects.
• The amount of 4.01 billion yen is for a project for the improvement of power supply in
strategically located Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This is Japan's first ever official
development assistance (ODA) to a project in the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
• The loans included 52.03 billion yen for the phase two of the Bengaluru Metro Rail project
and 119.97 billion yen for the phase four of the Delhi Metro.
• Japan has been supporting the Delhi Metro project from its beginning and has
cumulatively extended approximately Rs 47,000 crore in ODA loans since 1997.
• Japan will extend a loan of up to 11.30 billion yen for phase two of Himachal Pradesh crop
diversification promotion project.
• Another loan of 45.816 billion yen is being given for phase two of Rajasthan rural water
supply and fluorosis mitigation project.

108. President of India Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to the three bills:
First – National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NBFID) Bill, 2021.

ü Purpose – to create a Development Financial Institution for financing

infrastructural projects.

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 ü The National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development has been
established as a Corporate Body.
ü Authorised capital – Rs 1 lakh crores
ü Govt owned Equity capital in NBFID – Rs 20,000 crores
ü Grant Received from Govt – Rs 5,000 crores at the end of first financial year
ü Govt Guarantee – Govt will provide guarantee on the money borrowed by it from
foreign sources, up to an extent of 0.1%.
ü The government expects the DFI to leverage this fund to raise up to Rs 3 lakh
crore in the next few years.

o Functioning of NBFID:
ü It will provide financing to the projects where risk involved is high and beyond the
acceptance limits of commercial banks and financial institutions.

o Insertion in RBI Act, 1934:

ü In section 2, clause ccci, NaBFID means the institution established under the
section 3 of National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development Act,
2021.
ü In section 2, clause cccii, “Other Development Financial Institution” would mean a
Development Financial Institution which has been licensed under the section 29 of
the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development Act, 2021.
ü Other private individuals can also set up Development Finance Institution (DFI) by
getting license from RBI. RBI can issue the license in consultation with the Central
govt.

o Shareholding in the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development:

ü At present, the Central Govt holds 100% stake in the bank. This will be reduced to
26% subsequently.

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 ü Shares of NBFID may be held by: (i) central government, (ii) multilateral
institutions, (iii) sovereign wealth funds, (iv) pension funds, (v) insurers, (vi)
financial institutions, (vii) banks, and (viii) any other institution prescribed by the
central government.
ü Apart from the shareholders, the bank can borrow money from Central govt, RBI,
Scheduled Commercial Banks, Mutual Funds, and Multi-lateral Agencies like ADB
or World Bank.

o Tax Benefits:
ü NaBFID will also get a ten-year tax exemption on the income it earns from
financing infrastructure projects.
ü Similar private DFIs will get five-year tax break which can be extended by a
maximum of five years subject to riders, as per the Finance Act.

o Management of the NBFID:

ü It will be managed by Board of Directors.
ü Chairperson will be appointed by the Central govt in consultation with RBI.
ü The members of the Board include: (i) the Chairperson appointed by the central
government in consultation with RBI, (ii) a Managing Director, (iii) up to three
Deputy Managing Directors, (iv) two directors nominated by the central
government, (v) up to three directors elected by shareholders, and (vi) a few
independent directors (as specified).

Second – The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

o The Bill amends the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991.
o The Bill amends certain powers and responsibilities of the Legislative Assembly and the
Lieutenant Governor.

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 o The Bill provides that the term “government” referred to in any law made by the
Legislative Assembly will imply Lieutenant Governor (LG).
o This bill restricts the Legislative Assembly from making any rule in relation to the matters
of day-to-day administration of the NCT of Delhi and administrative decisions.
ü Further, the Bill provides that all such rules made before its enactment will be void.
o The Act specifies that on certain matters, as specified by the LG, his opinion must be
obtained before taking any executive action on the decisions of the Minister/ Council of
Ministers.

Third – Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2021.

o The Bill amends the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
o The Act empowers the central government to reserve any mine (other than coal, lignite,
and atomic minerals) to be leased through an auction for a particular end-use (such as
iron ore mine for a steel plant). Such mines are known as captive mines.
o The Bill provides that captive mines (other than atomic minerals) may sell up to 50% of
their annual mineral production in the open market after meeting their own needs.
ü The central government may increase this threshold through a notification. The
lessee will have to pay additional charges for mineral sold in the open market.
o The Bill proposes to make National Mineral Exploration Trust an autonomous body.
ü National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) was established by the Government of
India in 2015 under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act,
1957 to expedite mineral exploration in the country.

109. Ambassador of India in Japan Mr. Sanjay Kumar Verma signed an MoU with Japan’s
Institute of Material Structure Science’s Director Dr. KOSUGI Nobuhiro for starting the third
phase of the Indian beamline project in Japan.
• Indian beamline project is a facility for materials research set up under India-Japan
Scientific and Technological Cooperation.

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 • The phase would increase the number of young researchers from India to be trained in
advanced X-ray techniques of material research.
• The Indian beamline has been constructed and maintained by Saha Institute of Nuclear
Physics (SINP), Kolkata and Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific
Research (JNCASR), Bangalore.
• The India-Japan Scientific and Technological Cooperation project was initiated
between the Dept of Science and Technology and Japan’s High Energy Accelerator
Research Organization (KEK) in 2007.
o The first phase was during 2009-2015 to carry out front-ranking research in
advanced materials including nanomaterials.
o Phase II ran from 2016 to 2021.

STATE NEWS
1. Kushinagar airport has become the third licensed international airport of Uttar Pradesh.
• The other two international airports in the state are Chaudhary Charan Singh
International Airport in Lucknow and Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in
Varanasi.

2. Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat has launched "Gharoki Paachan, Chelik Naam"
(daughter’s name is a home’s identity) programme and development schemes worth Rs 42
crore in Nainital.

3. Haryana has launched the first phase of Mukhyamantri Antyodaya Parivar Utthan Yojana
(to begin from April 1, 2021).
• The scheme was launched on the occasion of 644th birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas.
• Under the scheme, efforts will be made to uplift 1 lakh families with low family income in the
state.

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 • Under the state’s Dr BR Ambedkar Awas Navinikarn Yojana, financial assistance was
increased to Rs 80,000 from Rs 50,000 for the repair of houses belonging to the Scheduled
Caste families living below the poverty line (BPL).
o Also, BPL families belonging to any category will be able to avail the benefits of Dr
BR Ambedkar Awas Navinikarn Yojana.
• Under the Sant Mahapurush Vichar Samman and Prasaar Yojana, a financial assistance
from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh will be provided to the social and religious organisations for
holding programmes on the birth anniversaries of the saint at the block and gram levels.
• The legal aid given to the Scheduled Caste has been increased to Rs 21,000 from Rs 11,
000.

4. Chhattisgarh has presented the state budget of Rs 97,106 crore for 2021-22.
• The budget defines the concept of development through the acronym HEIGHT, where H
stands for holistic development, E for education (equal opportunity for all), I for
infrastructure, G for governance, H for health and T for transformation.
• In the budget, a new special force called 'Bastar Tigers' has been announced to boost
anti-Naxal operations.
• A Chhattisgarh Cultural Zone will be constructed on the lines of Bharat Bhawan, Bhopal
in Nava Raipur.
Schemes mentioned in the budget:

Mukhyamantri Dharsa Development Scheme - to facilitate the farmers to reach the fields.
Under the scheme, kuccha streets in the village will be made pucca.

Swami Atmanand Government English Medium School Scheme – to develop English

medium schools in the state.

® In the first phase, 52 schools will begin in the state. A total of 119 schools will be set up
under the Swami Atmanand English Medium School scheme.
® The scheme was launched in 2020.

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 Saheed Mahendra Karma Tendupatta Sangrahak Samajik Suraksha Yojana – a social
security scheme for tendupatta collectors. It was launched in 2020.

Rajiv Gandhi Nyay Yojana – Launched in 2020, the scheme aims to ensure minimum income
availability to farmers growing one rabi and 13 kharif season crops in the state.

5. 39th Agartala International Book Fair was held with the theme of “Ek Tripura, Shrestha
Tripura”.
• Bangladesh troops and North-Eastern States including Sikkim will be performing various
cultural events on each day as part of the fair.

6. Madhya Pradesh has allocated Rs 4600 crore approx. for the Atal Jyoti Yojana in the state
budget 2021-22.
• The scheme aims to illuminate dark regions through establishment of solar street lights.

7. Gujarat govt has presented its state budget for 2021-22.

• 2nd edition of Van Bandhu Kalyan Yojana was announced with Rs. 1 lakh crore outlay for
the next five years. The 1st edition was launched in 2007 for the welfare of tribal population.
• MASIHA (Mukhyamantri Audyogik Shramyogi Ane Industrial Housing Aawas) scheme was
announced to develop houses for labourers at concessional rate on PPP model.
• Krishi Khedut Kalyan Yojana was also mentioned.
• Sagar Khedu Sarvangee Vikas Yojana – 2 was also announced.
• A Bulk Drug Industrial Park will be set up in Bharuch and a Medical Devices Park is
being set up in Rajkot.
• Mukhyamantri Amrutum (MA) and Ma-Vatsalaya Yojana were also allocated money.
o Ma-Vatsalaya Yojana is an extension of Mukhyamantri Amrutam Yojana. Both the
schemes aim to provide cashless tertiary care treatment to the BPL families in the
state. The Sum assured is up to Rs. 5,00,000/- per family per annum.
• Gujarat Budget mobile app was launched.

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8. Karnataka has launched the ‘Karnataka Engineering Research & Development
(Engineering R&D) Policy 2021’ to leverage the sector’s potential, create jobs and improve
the state’s contribution in the space through strategic interventions and bridging the gap
between academia and industry.
• In India, the ER&D sector is the fastest growing industry with a compound annual growth
rate (CAGR) of 12.8%. Meanwhile, the global Engineering Research and Development
industry is expected to reach spending of $2 trillion by 2025.
• The policy will also support industrial application of academic research, spend ₹10,000 per
student on training and certification as provide grants to universities to set up laboratories.

9. IBM and Govt of Goa have partnered to provide skills to students, job seekers and
entrepreneurs through IBM SkillBuild Program.

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 • The program will be implemented by IBM India, Department of Technical Education of Goa,
and REACHA (Research and Extension Association for Conservation Horticulture and
Agro-forestry).

10. Odisha is collaborating with International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid
Tropics (ICRISAT) to strengthen management of natural resources.
• Target beneficiaries - state’s Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups that are dependent
on agriculture.
• Districts covered – 12
• Tenure of MoU – 3 years
• ICRISAT will undertake capacity building initiatives, water harvesting, recording of
hydrological parameters and crop productivity, in addition to monitoring land use as well as
land cover through remote sensing and GIS.

11. Tripura government launched “Jagrut Tripura” digital platform to help people get benefits
from various schemes of the Centre and the state government.
• The platform was developed by EasyGov, a Jio Group company, and it will be available to
all the residents of Tripura.

12. Odisha government has signed an MoU with Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel for setting up a 12
million tonne (MT) per annum capacity steel project at an estimated investment of ₹50,000
crore in Kendrapara district.
• Chairman of ArcelorMittal - Lakshmi N. Mittal

13. UP govt launched "path pradarshak" free coaching facility across the state under the
'Mukhyamantri Abhyudaya Yojana' to provide a suitable atmosphere to the aspirants of
various competitive exams in Uttar Pradesh.
• The 'Mukhyamantri Abhyudaya Yojana' was launched to provide free coaching to
competitive exam candidates.

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14. Singorgarh Fort is located in the Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh. Its conservation work
has started.

15. Jharkhand has presented its first ever outcome-based budget. Schemes highlighted in
the budget:
• A new scheme named Alpkaleen Krishi Rin Rahat Yojana will be launched to provide
debt relief to farmers. In 2020-21, Rs 2,000 crore has been allocated to this scheme.
• Jharkhand Mukhyamantri Grameen Parivahan Yojana 2020 will be launched to provide
transport facilities in rural areas at subsidised prices.
• 'Bhimrao Ambedkar Awas Yojana' was launched in 2016 to provide housing units to
widows on the 125th birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar.

16. Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed a 200-feet bailey bridge on Joshimat-
Malari road across the Rishiganga river, Uttarakhand.
• The bridge restores connectivity to the 13 border villages in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district.
• The bridge has been named as 'The Bridge of Compassion' as a tribute to the fallen
Karma Yogis of the Reini power plant and the NTPC power plant.
• This bridge is replacing the 90-metre Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) bridge near Reini
village on Joshimat-Malari road which was washed away by the floods.

17. Jammu and Kashmir has launched ANMOL application to empower auxiliary nursing
midwives (ANMs) and frontline health workers in carrying out their day-to-day work efficiently
and effectively.
• The app has been launched under the National Health Mission for identification and
tracking of beneficiaries.
• The ANMOL application allows ANMs to enter and update records of beneficiaries on real-
time basis. This will ensure prompt update of data as well as improve the data quality and
accountability.

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 • The app also works in offline mode.

18. Odisha government has announced to set up a new department, namely the Department of
Mission Shakti to strengthen the 'self-help groups' in the state by bringing them all under
one platform.
• This will help to ensure greater focus and synergy and to avoid duplication in activities.
• Odisha will be the 2nd State after West Bengal to have a separate dept for women SHGs to
promote self-employment.

19. Rajasthan govt has collaborated with Denmark to set up a Centre of Excellence in Dairy
Sector in the state.
• This partnership entails better facilities to cattle rearers and sharing of Denmark’s expertise
in the field of dairy science and technology to Rajasthan.
• Denmark companies are providing technical support in water conservation and
purification works in Udaipur.

20. Odisha has established India’s first World Skill Centre at Mancheswar, with a financial
support from Asian Development Bank, under the Odisha Skill Development Project.
• Aim – the centre will impart advanced skills and create globally employable youth in the
State.
• The centre, built over an area of 4.5 lakh sq. ft, has been developed at an investment of Rs
1,342.2 crore on a cost sharing basis with the Asian Development Bank.
• It will provide skills training to 3000 students in eight trades.
• The State government has partnered with Institute of Technical Education Services
(ITEES), Singapore to support Odisha Skill Development Authority in operationalising the
centre.
• The State will create Odisha Skill Vision 2030 for the future course of action in the skill
development sector.

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21. Jammu and Kashmir administration launched the Super-75 scholarship scheme to support
the education of meritorious girls from poor families.
• This is line with this year's theme of the campaign of International Women's Day i.e.,
"Choose to Challenge" and to celebrate Azaadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav- India@75.
• Tejaswini scheme was launched under Mission Youth to provide financial assistance of
₹5 lakhs to the girls between the age group of 18 to 35 years to start their business.
• Mission Youth will provide 10% of the project cost under Tejaswini scheme and will also
pay the interest every year.
• The UT has made 88 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya and 88 Girls Hostels functional in
far-flung areas to decrease the school dropout rate of girls and enhance elementary
education levels.

22. Andhra Pradesh became India’s first state to incorporate Gender budget in its annual
budget for 2021-22. Important highlights:-
• On International Women’s Day, a total of 900 Disha vehicles for the women police were
flagged off in the state.
• The state also launched ''Swechha'' (meaning freedom), a programme intended to ensure
affordable access to health and menstrual hygiene in adolescent girls and women.
• Under the programme, the government would supply 10 sanitary napkins per month per
child to every adolescent girl studying in Classes 7 to 12 in all government schools, junior
colleges and residential institutions in the state from the next academic year, from July.

23. Maharashtra has released its state budget for 2021-22. Schemes announced in the budget:-
• Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule scheme – to ensure the safe travel of girls students in rural
areas, from their villages to the schools, via Maharashtra State Transport buses.
• Another important scheme was additional buses for the ‘Tejasvini Yojana’ scheme for
easy and safe travel of women in metro cities. The state is also planning to reserve 3%
funds from the District Plan for women and children.
• Rajmata Jijau Griha-Swamini Yojana – to ensure a concession of at least 1% on stamp
duty of the property, if the registration of the house is done in the name of a woman.

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 • Establishment of a first women’s battalion of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF)
was announced.

24. Uttarakhand’s state unit of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) signed an MoU with IBM
to improve the education standards among the female children of the state.
• The collaboration, 'IBM STEM for Girls' program, will be introduced in 130 secondary and
higher secondary schools across five districts in the state.
• The five districts are Dehradun, Pauri, Haridwar, Almora and Udham Singh Nagar.
• American India Foundation is the implementation partner in this program which aims to
increase the participation of girls and women in STEM careers.

25. Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) and Indian Oil
Corporation Limited have signed an MoU to develop a plastic park in Paradeep.
• It is going to be India’s first fully operational plastic parks.
• An incentive of Rs 2000 for each metric tonne of polypropylene granules from Paradip
Refinery shall be offered to the manufacturing units located in the Paradip Plastic Park till
March 31, 2030.
• Government of India approved six such parks across India and Paradip Plastic Park is one
of them.

26. Bareilly airport is the 8th airport of Uttar Pradesh under Regional Connectivity Scheme -
UDAN.
• UP is expected to have highest number of operational airports.

27. Delhi presented its first paperless budget (Deshbhakti Budget). Important highlights:
• Delhi’s first Sainik School and Delhi Armed Forces Preparatory Academy will be set up.
• Delhi aims to bid for 2048 Olympic Games.
• New scheme: Saheli Samanvay Kendra - Under this scheme, 500 Anganwadi hubs shall
be set up in various parts of Delhi which shall be used by women of nearby areas for four

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 hours everyday morning. These hubs can be used for incubating individual start-ups and to
promote the self-help group – ‘Samriddhi’.
• A special Mohalla clinic for women - 'Mahila Mohalla Clinic' – will be set up from next year.

28. Punjab government has presented its budget for 2021-22. New scheme announced in the
budget:
• “Kamyaab Kisan Khushaal Punjab” (K3P) — a three-year-long project — to improve the
incomes of farmers and promote “sustainable agriculture” and “farmer prosperity”.
• Purpose - to strengthen agricultural sector across several dimensions — for providing
livelihood, food and nutritional security to farmers, as well as making the state’s agriculture
sustainable.
• K3P will set up a centre of excellence for vegetables at Gobindgarh village in Fazilka
district.
• 25 Horticulture Estates will be set up in Punjab, with at least one Estate in each district, in
the next five years to provide modern technology to farmers.
• A Postgraduate Institute of Horticulture Research and Education (PGIHRE) in Amritsar
will be established and shall be made functional during 2021-22.

29. Mahasamruddhi Mahila Sashaktikaran scheme was launched in Maharashtra to boost the
confidence of women.
• Under this scheme, the names of the wives will be listed alongside their husbands on the
official agricultural land record of an individual or family registered with the state
government’s revenue department.
• The state Rural Development department will be the nodal body for implementing the
scheme.
• Special women marts will be set up and beneficiaries will be provided with financial
support, including low interest loans.
• Free legal advice will also be extended to rural women entrepreneurs. Subsidised
sanitary napkins will be distributed under the state government’s Asmita Yojana.

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30. Uttar Pradesh govt launched the ‘kalanamak’ rice festival in Siddharth Nagar. This crop is
being grown only in Siddharth Nagar in the state.
• In 2018, the state government included ‘kalanamak’ rice in the ‘one district-one product’
scheme.
• The cultivation of Kalanamak rice became unviable because of lower yield and high
investment over the years. Therefore, to increase its viability, PUSA Institute, Delhi, and
Acharya Narendra Dev University of Agriculture and Technology, Ayodhya, have
been researching on ‘kalanamak’ rice.
• This rice variety is packed with nutrition with 21.5% zinc, 12% iron, Omega 3 and Omega6.
• UP also organizes strawberry festival and jaggery festival.

About One District, One Product Scheme:

• This scheme was first introduced by Uttar Pradesh in 2018.

• At the national level, Ministry of Commerce and Industry is implementing this scheme.
According to the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, 35 states / UT’s ODOP’s have
been approved.
• The scheme aims to optimise production, productivity and income, preservation and
development of local crafts, promotion of art, improvement in product quality and skill
development. This scheme aims to take the local products to national and international
markets.
• State Export Promotion Committee (SPEC) and District Export Promotion Committee
(DEPC) have been constituted in all states and districts of India, except districts of the state
of West Bengal, for the implementation of this scheme.
• This concept of One District One Product originated in Japan.

31. Haryana has launched the first phase of Mukhyamantri Antyodaya Parivar Utthan Yojana
from April 1.
• Under this scheme, 1 lakh low income families will be uplifted in the state.

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32. Punjab has announced to partner with United Nations and other global agencies for the
empowerment of women.
• Under this partnership, 8 special initiatives like recruitment, helpline, helpdesks etc. were
launched on the International Women’s Day.
• Purpose of the collaboration – for safeguarding women from crimes, protecting their
rights and introducing gender sensitisation curriculum in school syllabus.
• What the state has achieved? - The state government has already provided 33%
reservation in government jobs, and 50% reservation in elections to panchayats and
municipal bodies.

Organization Purpose

• To initiate gender-focused projects, capacity-building of the

state on gender, economic empowerment of women and
violence against women.
• This partnership will enhance skill training for women,
UN Women
identification and enhancement of employability for them,
capacity building, and elimination of the anaemia disease.
• The state government is also launching Technical Fest
(Techshiksha) with UN Women, for providing placements
to women. Under the program, shortlisted girls will undergo
a training programme.
• For capacity-building of state departments, besides

UN Population Fund elimination of gender-based harmful practices such as

violence against women and girls, and gender-based sex
selection.

UNDP • To eliminate anaemia and malnutrition among women and

children.

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 J-PAL (Abdul Latif • The MoU with J-PAL would further boost gender
Jameel Poverty Action sensitisation curriculum programme in all government
Lab) schools.

FUEL (Friends Union for • MoU with FUEL will impart skills to the youth in line with the
Energizing Lives) Ghar Ghar Rozgaar scheme.

33. A tripartite concession agreement was signed between the National Mission for Clean
Ganga (NMCG), Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam and GA Infra Private Limited-Lahoty Buildcon
Limited to set up sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh.
• Moradabad is situated on the banks of the Ram Ganga, a tributary of River Ganga. Ram
Ganga is a critical polluting tributary of the Ganga.
• Moradabad and Bareilly are the two major towns located along the Ram Ganga river.
• NMCG has also approved the project for ''Pollution Abatement Works for River Ram Ganga
at Bareilly'' for construction of STP of 65 MLD.

34. According to the annual rich list of Hurun India, Maharashtra has the highest number of
High-Net-Worth-Individuals (HNI) in India, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka and Gujarat.
• These states together account for 46% of the 4.12-lakh millionaire households in the
country.
• Maharashtra has a total of 56,000 dollar- millionaire households. A household having an
annual income of more than USD 1 million is considered as a dollar-millionaire household.
• Maharashtra has the highest State GDP (GSDP). The state has been growing annually at
6.9% between FY13 and FY19 and the state is also home to 247 richest individuals.
• Uttar Pradesh has the second largest number of millionaire households at 36,000. Its
economy has been annually growing at 10.6% in the past one decade.
• In cities’ ranking, Mumbai -- which generates 6.2% of the national GDP – is at the top
followed by Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, and Chennai.

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35. J&K government has approved a proposal to provide interest-free loan up to Rs 2 lakh to
the urban homeless economically weaker section beneficiaries under Beneficiary Led
Construction (BLC) component of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U).
• The tenure of the BLC interest-free loan has been fixed at 10 years and includes a
moratorium of six months.

36. Manipur has emerged as the Champion State for implementing the Van Dhan Vikas Yojana.
• Van Dhan programme has emerged as a major source of employment for the local tribal
population in Manipur.
• Since the time that the programme was launched in the State in October 2019, 100 Van
Dhan Vikas Kendras have been established.

37. Bihar has become the first state in India to launch its own ethanol promotion policy (named
as Ethanol Production Promotion Policy, 2021) under the National Policy of Biofuels,
2018.

Features of the policy:

• Extraction of ethanol from maize (in addition to sugarcane) – allowed

• Subsidy – 15% of the cost of plant and machinery up to a maximum of Rs 5 crore +
existing incentives under the Bihar Industrial Investment Promotion Policy, 2016.
• Incentives for Mixing Ethanol in Oil – Under the new policy, financial assistance would
be provided to greenfield standalone manufacturing units producing fuel-grade ethanol and
supplying 100% of their ethanol to oil manufacturing companies under the Centre's ethanol
blending programme.
• In terms of ethanol production, Bihar is 5th in the country with 12 crore litres of ethanol
production while UP leads the pack with 159 crore litres. Through this policy, the state aims
to be the ethanol hub of India and generate 50 crore litres of ethanol every year.
• Centre’s Ethanol Blending Targets – 8.5% at present to 10% by 2022 (10% of ethanol
mixed with 90% of petrol) - and 20% by 2025.

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38. Jharkhand government has launched the SAAMAR (Strategic Action for Alleviation of
Malnutrition and Anaemia Reduction) campaign to tackle malnutrition in the state.
• The campaign aims to identify anaemic women and malnourished children and converge
various departments to effectively deal with the problem in a state where malnutrition has
been a major problem.
• SAAMAR has been launched with a 1000 days target, under which annual surveys will be
conducted to track the progress.

39. Uttar Pradesh has launched a first of its kind UPFPO Shakti Portal as part of Kisan Kalyan
Mission.
• The portal was developed with technical and funding support from the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation (BMGF).
• The portal aims to benefit the farmers associated with Farmer Producer Organization (FPO)
at the grassroots level.
• The portal will bring farmers, producer groups, traders and the agriculture and other allied
departments of the UP government on one platform.
• This initiative aims to enable farmers to expand their market base, reduce dependency on
mandis and facilitate national and trans-boundary trade.

40. Rajasthan has announced to launch the universal health scheme named Mukhyamantri
Chiranjeevi Yojana from May 1, 2021.

41. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan have
launched the Mission Gramodaya in Madhya Pradesh.
• Under the Gramodaya mission, besides providing housing facilities in rural areas, basic and
fundamental infrastructure will also be expanded.

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42. Andhra Pradesh govt has announced to set up "India's first government-run ambulance
network" for animals to further boost the animal husbandry and veterinary sector in Andhra
Pradesh.
• The State Animal Husbandry Department has been directed to set up one Mobile
Ambulance Veterinary Clinic at every assembly constituency.

43. Bihar is all set to become the first state in India to have two green energy efficient towns in
Rajgir and Bodh Gaya.
• The towns will start getting solar energy through the first of its kind renewable energy
project from 2023.
• To implement this project, 500-megawatt solar energy plants will be set up at Lakhisarai
and Bhagalpur. The state has also partnered with Solar Energy Corporation of India to
develop the plants.

44. Nagaland has launched the “i-Learn” app for capacity building and performance tracking of
Community Health Officer (CHO).
• Nagaland also launched Naga Telehealth- a telemedicine platform for ensuring continuity
of essential health services across all 189 Health and Wellness Centres in the State.
• This service has been launched in partnership with USAID’s project NISHTHA (which is
being implemented by Jhpiego).
• NISHTHA is project aims to improve the primary health care services in India.

45. Consulate General of India in South Africa has partnered with Uttar Pradesh to boost
tourism to India post COVID-19, highlighting the state’s various religious sites and other
attractions.

46. Kurnool Airport is the sixth civilian airport in Andhra Pradesh after Visakhapatnam, Tirupati,
Vijayawada (all three international) and Rajamahendravaram and Kadapa (domestic).

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47. Andaman and Nicobar Islands has achieved 100% Functional Household Tap Connection
(FHTC) coverage in Islands.
• With this, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands becomes the third state/UT in the country to
achieve the target after Goa and Telangana under Jal Jeevan Mission.

48. Uttar Pradesh has approved to launch the Affordable Rental Housing Scheme for the
students, poor people living in cities and the urban migrants.
• Beneficiaries - students, urban migrants, poor labourers, those belonging to economically
weaker section (EWS), low income groups including factory workers and people associated
with hospitality.
• Preference - Preference for the affordable rental housing scheme will be given to people
belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes, widows, working
women and minorities.
• The ARHC scheme will be implemented under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).
• The scheme will be implemented under two models. In the first model, existing state /
central govt buildings will be converted into ARHC and in the second model, new houses
will be constructed.
• All residences will be allotted on the rental basis only EWS/LIG category, urban
migrants/poor for minimum 25 years.

49. Maithri Aquatech (a company formed under the ‘Make in India’ initiative) has set up the
‘World’s First Mobile Water from Air Kiosk and Water Knowledge Centre’ in
Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
• This initiative is supported by GVMC (Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation) and
project SEWAH (Sustainable Enterprises for Water and Health) - an alliance between
USAID and SWN (Safe Water Network).
o USAID has partnered with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the Jal
Jeevan program.
• The kiosk will provide clean, mineral-enriched potable water generated from the air with the
help of MEGHDOOT solution (of Maithri Aquatech).

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About Maithri Aquatech:

• Maithri Aquatech is a Hyderabad based company which was formed to develop on

solutions to prevent exploitation of delicate water resources.
• Maithri Aquatech is a member of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC).

About MEGHDOOT:

• Maithri Aquatech has developed an innovative solution called MEGHDOOT (meaning

Messenger of the Sky’s in Sanskrit) which can generate water by harvesting the moisture in
the AIR on a highly cost-effective and scalable basis.
• MEGHDOOT is capable of producing 100% microbe-free potable water on a sustainable
basis.
• Meghdoot is the only Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG) to be approved by the Ministry
of Jal Shakti through the esteemed Dr R. A. Mashelkar Committee.
• Functioning of Meghdoot:

50. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has launched ‘Dekho Apna Pradesh’ to
promote tourism within the state.

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AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
1. The first consignment of Assam’s iron-rich ‘red rice’ was flagged off to the US.
• The 'red rice' is grown in the Brahmaputra Valley without the use of any chemical
fertilizers. The local rice variety is called ‘Bao-dhaan’.
• Kalanamak rice belongs to Uttar Pradesh.
• The government had set up the Rice Export Promotion Forum (REPF) under the aegis of
APEDA.

2. According to the data mentioned by Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare to the Lok
Sabha, Sikkim, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra lead in the usage of drip
irrigation.
• These states have more than half of the net cultivated farmlands under micro-irrigation.
• 27 States (incl. UTs) have less than 30% of their farmland watered by micro-irrigation.
Out of this, 23 states have less than 15% micro-irrigation.
• As per the data, the net irrigated area in the country is 68,649 thousand ha. Out of this,
the agriculture land covered under micro-irrigation is 12,908.44 thousand ha in which drip
irrigation is 6,112.05 thousand ha and sprinkler irrigation is 6,796.39 thousand ha.
• Hence, only 19% of the total irrigated land in the country is under micro-irrigation as on
February 3, 2021.
• If the current pattern of demand continues, about half of the demand for water will be
unmet by 2030.
• An impact evaluation study of micro-irrigation scheme carried out by the Department of
Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare found that irrigation cost is reduced by
20-50% with an average of 32.3% in micro-irrigation schemes.
• Also, electricity consumption is reduced by about 31% and the saving of fertilizers is in
the range of 7 to 42%, overall income enhancement of farmers is in the range of 20-68%
with an average of 48.5% because of the micro-irrigation schemes.

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3. Spices Board of India has set a target of achieving an export value of $5 billion by 2025 and
$10 billion by 2030.
• The export value in 2019-20 was $3 billion.

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 • This was announced at the international symposium on spices organised by the Indian
Society for Spices.
• There are 52 scheduled spices in the country which highlight an immense potential for
value addition in the spices sector.

4. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare signed an MoU with the Central Silk Board
(under the Ministry of Textiles) on a convergence model for the implementation of
Agroforestry in the silk sector under the ongoing Sub-Mission on Agroforestry (SMAF)
Scheme.
• Aim of this MoU – to promote agroforestry in silk cultivation; promotion of silk production in
India etc; increase the income of farmers.
What is Sub-Mission on Agroforestry (SMAF) Scheme?

• Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare has been implementing the
SMAF since 2016-17 as part of the recommendation of the National Agroforestry
Policy.
• Purpose - to encourage farmers to plant multi-purpose trees together with the agriculture
crops for climate resilience and an additional source of income to the farmers. This also
helps in enhanced feedstock and promotion of wood-based and herbal industry.
• At present, the SMAF scheme is being implemented in 20 States and 2 UTs.
What is National Agroforestry Policy?

• It was launched in 2014 at World Agroforestry Congress in Delhi.

• India was the first country to have such a comprehensive agroforestry policy.
• The basic objective of this scheme is to promote agroforestry through an integrated
approach such as by setting up a board for promotion of Agroforestry under the
Department of Agriculture & Family Welfare among other things.
• Meaning of Agroforestry – It is a practice of cultivating crops and growing trees
simultaneously. This practice not only helps in biodiversity and environment conservation
but also helps in increasing the income of farmers.

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 What is “SILK SAMAGRA” scheme?

• It is an Integrated Scheme for Development of Silk Industry has been able to sustain and
strengthen the Sericulture activities in the country.
• Tenure - 2017-18 to 2019-20
• Outlay - Rs.2161.68 crore for 3 years (FY18 to FY20)
• Components of the scheme –
1. Research & Development, Training, Transfer of Technology and I.T. Initiatives,
2. Seed Organizations,
3. Coordination and Market Development and
4. Quality Certification Systems (QCS) / Export Brand Promotion and Technology
Upgradation.

DEFENCE NEWS
1. Indian Air Force gifted Alouette III helicopter to the Bangladesh Air Force.
• On the other hand, Bangladesh Air Force gifted F-86 Sabre aircraft to Indian Air Force.
• Purpose – the aircrafts were exchanged to mark the 50th anniversary of 1971 war.
• Indian Air Force Chief RKS Bhadauria was also inducted into the 'Mirpur Hall of Fame' at
Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC), Dhaka.

2. For the first time, Indian Air Force has participated in the annual exercise of UAE’s Ex
Desert Flag held at Al-Dhafra airbase, UAE.
• Other participants - USA, France, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Bahrain.
• Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan and Greece are expected to be the “observers” of this exercise.
• The IAF is participating with six Su-30 MKI, two C-17 Globemaster and one IL-78 tanker
aircraft.

3. Indian Army has leased four Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) from Israel as part of
its emergency procurement programme.

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 • These UAVs have been made by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
• These are medium-altitude long endurance UAVs.
• This is the second significant contract under the provisions of the Defence Acquisition
Procedure 2020. First one was Sea-Guardian MALE UAVs from the United States.

4. First Strategic and Counter-Terrorism Dialogue between India and Nigeria was held at the
level of National Security Advisors from March 4-5, 2021 in New Delhi.
• India’s participant - National Security Adviser Ajit K. Doval,
• Nigeria’s participant - National Security Adviser Major General (Retd.) Babagana Monguno

5. The indigenously-instrumented Advanced Light Torpedo named Shyena, developed by the

Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), successfully cleared its maiden flight
trial with a parachute system from the Indian Navy’s Ilyushin Il-38 maritime patrol aircraft.
• This was the India’s first such trial where the indigenous lightweight torpedo was fired
from a fixed-wing aircraft.
• The torpedo, along with Torpedo Release Mechanism and Fire Control System, are
designed and developed by the NSTL.
• The parachute is designed by ADRDE, Agra.

6. Indian Navy has signed a contract with Suryadipta Projects Pvt Ltd (a Thane-based MSME)
to construct 11 ammunition-cum-torpedo-cum-missile (ACTCM) barges.
• The ACTCM barges will be used to undertake the mission needs for embarking or
disembarking ammunition, torpedo, missile, etc.

7. DRDO has demonstrated an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system to allow Indian Navy
submarines to operate for up to two weeks without having to surface to recharge its batteries.
• The technology has been successfully developed by DRDO-Naval Materials Research
Laboratory, with the support of industry partners Larsen & Toubro and Thermax.

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8. India and Uzbekistan armies conducted their joint military exercise named “DUSTLIK II” at
Foreign Training Node Chaubatia, Ranikhet, Uttarakhand.
• This is the 2nd edition of annual bilateral joint exercise of both armies. The first edition of the
exercise was held at Uzbekistan in Nov 2019.

9. INS Sumedha, an indigenously build Offshore Patrol vessel and Kulish, an indigenously built
guided missile corvette, are scheduled to make a port call at the historic port town of Mongla in
Bangladesh from 8th to 10th March 2021.
• This is the first time that any Indian Naval Ship is visiting the port of Mongla in Bangladesh.

10. Indian Navy has deployed four women officers onboard its warships for the first time since
1998.
• Four Indian Navy women officers have been deployed on warships. Two of them are posted
on the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya while two are deployed onboard the Indian naval
tanker ship INS Shakti.
• Lieutenant Commander Karabi Gogoi is the first lady officer to be posted as defence
attaches. She is currently deployed in Russia.

11. Indian Navy is all set to commission INS Dhruv - India's First Indigenous Nuclear Missile
Tracking Ship - to track satellites, strategic missiles and map the Indian Ocean bed later this
year.
• INS Dhruv has been built by Hindustan Shipyard Ltd at its Visakhapatnam facility with
help of DRDO and Indian Navy.
• India’s Strategic Force Command and National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO)
are the main intelligence partners for this ship.
• INS Dhruv is equipped with the active electronically scanned array radars (AESA) that
can monitor satellites of adversaries that are watching over India.
• Once the vessel is commissioned, India will be the only country outside the P-5 - the
US, the UK, China, Russia and France - to have this capability.

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12. Indian Navy conducted Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Royal Bahrain Naval Force
Corvette Al Muharraq in the Persian Gulf under Operation Sankalp.
• Maritime Security Operations, code-named as Operation Sankalp was initiated in the Gulf
region on June 19, 2019, in the aftermath of the attacks on merchant ships in the Gulf of
Oman.

13. Indian Naval Landing Craft Utility (LCU) L58, the eighth and last ship of the Landing Craft
Utility (LCU) Mark IV Class, was commissioned into the Indian Navy at Port Blair, Andaman &
Nicobar Islands.
• This ship has been indigenously designed and built by GRSE, Kolkata.

14. For the first time, the Indian navy and Madagascar navy conducted the Passage Exercise
(PASSEX) at Madagascar’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
• The INS Shardul and Malagasy Naval Ship Trozona participated.

15. Larsen & Toubro has developed the ICGS Vajra, its sixth vessel in the series of seven
offshore petrol vessels being built by the company under a Ministry of Defence contract.
• The seventh OPV ICGS Vigraha, was launched in October 2020.

16. India and the US conducted their Passage Exercise (PASSEX) in the Bay of Bengal.
• Indian Navy deployed its warship Shivalik and long-range maritime patrol aircraft P8I in the
'PASSEX' exercise while the US Navy was represented by the USS Theodore Roosevelt
carrier strike group.

17. Indian Navy has announced to participate in the multi-lateral maritime exercise La Pérouse of
France, for the first time.
• INS Satpura and INS Kiltan along with P8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft are
participating in it.
• The exercise is being conducted in the Eastern Indian Ocean Region from 05 to 07 April.

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 • Other participants in the exercise - Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Japan Maritime Self
Defence Force (JMSDF) and United States Navy (USN).

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
1. Union Cabinet has approved the signing of an MoU between India and France on renewable
energy cooperation.
• The MoU covers technologies relating to solar, wind, hydrogen and biomass energy.
• Functions of the MoU - The MoU entails exchange and training of scientific and technical
personnel; exchange of scientific and technological information and data; organisation of
workshops and seminars; transfer of equipment, know-how and technology; development of
joint research and technological projects.

2. Union Cabinet has approved the signing of an MoU between the Ministry of Agriculture of
Indian government and Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Fiji for cooperation in the
agriculture and allied sectors.
• Both countries will also promote investment in marketing and value addition of agricultural
commodities and also promote capacity development in the sector.
• A Joint Working Group (JWG) will be constituted to set down procedures and plan and
recommend programmes of cooperation towards achieving its aims through the executing
agencies of the two countries.

3. India has signed an agreement with Philippines for the sale of defence material and
equipment, which are likely to include BrahMos cruise missiles.
• The BrahMos missile is produced by an Indo-Russian joint venture named as BrahMos
Aerospace and it can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or from land platforms.

4. IIT-Jammu has signed an MoU with the Army's Northern Command for providing innovative
solutions to the Army through exhaustive research and development in Jammu and Kashmir.

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5. Ministry of Women and Child Welfare has signed an MoU with Invest India to enhance co-
operation in the thematic areas of Nutrition, Child Protection and Development, Women
Empowerment and convergent capacity building in mission mode.
• DRISHTI, under Invest India, will conduct input and output analysis research, and other
research as per requirement including coordinating with research agencies for primary,
secondary and tertiary research.

6. REC Limited, along with Power Finance Corp, has signed an MoU with Kholongchhu
Hydro Energy (KHEL) for financing of 600 MW hydroelectric project at Trashiyangtse,
Bhutan.
• The project is proposed to be funded in debt-equity ratio of 70:30 and as per the MoU.
• KHEL is a 50:50 JV company of SJVN (India) and Druk Green Power corporation
Limited, Bhutan.

7. National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) signed an MoU with a Japan
Railway Track Consultant Co. Limited for track work of the 237-km stretch between
Vadodara and Vapi in Gujarat for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail (MAHSR) project.
• The joint venture of Tata Consulting Engineers, Consulting Engineers Group, Aarvee
Associates Architects Engineers & Consultants and PADECO Company has got the
contract for the construction of civil works packages of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed
rail (MAHSR) project.

8. Union Cabinet has approved the MoU between the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and
Sports and the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment of Maldives for
cooperation in Sports and Youth Affairs.
• The MoU was signed in November last year.

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9. TRIFED and Arunachal Pradesh have signed an MoU for the implementation of the Minimum
Support Price (MSP) for Minor Forest Produce (MFP) Scheme and the Van Dhan Yojana in
the state.
• Under this agreement, 100 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras are planned to be set-up in the state
this year.
• The Rural Development Department in State of Arunachal Pradesh will be the nodal
agency for the implementation of this scheme while Arunachal Pradesh State Rural
Livelihood Mission (ArSRLM) will be the State Implementation Agency.
• This MoU has been signed under the ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest
Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) & Development of Value Chain
for MFP’ scheme which was started in 2013 by Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
• This is a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, drawing its strength from The
Forest Rights Act of 2005, to provide remunerative and fair prices to tribal gatherers of
forest produces.
Note: Prepare Van Dhan Yojana thoroughly.

10. ITC Ltd has signed an MoU with the Government of Karnataka to execute a Watershed
Development Programme.
• The program will cover over 1 million acres and 100 watersheds across the state.
• The MOU is a part of ITC’s Sustainability 2.0 agenda which encompasses forging
meaningful public-private-people partnerships to amplify impact and reach, it added. It also
aims at building the climate resilience of farmers by ensuring water security.

11. Union Cabinet has approved the signing of an MoU between Union Public Service
Commission (UPSC), India and Independent Administrative Reforms and Civil Services
Commission (IARCSC), Afghanistan.
• Purpose – to facilitate sharing of experience and expertise of both the parties in the area of
recruitment.
• Features of the MoU:

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 o Exchange of experience on modern approach to public service recruitment and
selection, particularly the functions of the UPSC and the IARCSC.
o Exchange of information and expertise including books, manuals and other
documents which are not of a confidential nature.
o Sharing of expertise in the use of Information Technology (IT) in the preparation of
written examinations and holding of Computer Based Recruitment Tests and Online
Examinations.
o Sharing of experience in Single Window System for expeditious scrutiny and speedy
disposal of applications.
o Sharing of experience and expertise on various processes involved in examination
system.

12. Union Cabinet was informed of a Memorandum of Cooperation signed between India and
Japan to achieve water security, improved irrigation facility and sustainability in water
resources development.
• Parties to the MoU: - Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, India and Water and Disaster Management Bureau,
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan.
• Purpose: - for cooperation in the field of water and delta management, and water
technology, to increase the exchange of information, knowledge, technology and scientific
allied experience, as well as implementation of joint projects between the two countries.

13. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and
National Small Industries Corporation Ltd (NSIC) signed an MoU to support and empower
agri entrepreneurs.
• The MoU aims to ensure cooperation in range of areas focussing on harnessing exports
potential of agricultural and processed food products manufactured by Micro, Small and
Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

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14. Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog and Amazon Web Services have signed a Statement
of Intent (SoI) to strengthen the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in India.
• Under the SoI, both organizations will be empowering school students with cloud computing
skills, and enabling entrepreneurs to build innovative education technology (EdTech)
solutions on the cloud.

15. Representatives of 132 identified cities have signed MoU for implementing the National
Clean Air Program (NCAP). NCAP was launched in 2019 by Ministry of Environment.
• A National Knowledge Network, comprising of air pollution experts, has been created to
assist the cities. The network will act as the technical advisory group.
• NCAP aims to reduce PM (2.5 and 10) emissions by 20-30% by 2024 from 2017 levels.
• Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad have signed an agreement with IIT-Delhi wherein the latter will
act as the knowledge partner of the cities.

16. Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has signed an MoU with CNB Logitech of Rs 100 crore
p.a. to monitor, track and optimise the movement of 50 lakh containers in EXIM trade.

17. PTC India has signed an initial pact with the National Productivity Council (NPC) to explore
business opportunities in consultancy services.

18. TRIFED has signed an MoU with Craft Village for design development as well as skill
development programmes for tribal artisans and crafts-persons.
• Craft Village is by ZEPHYR, an established organization that works for the training and
promotion of Craft Sector.

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 INTERNATIONAL NEWS
1. UK-based Liberty Steel Group has signed MoU with two European companies – Paul Wurth
(from Luxembourg) and SHS (from Germany) – to set up France's first hydrogen-based
steel making plant at Dunkerque in France.
• Liberty is owned by Indian-origin metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta. Liberty Steel Group is part
of diversified GFG Alliance, which has a presence in India.

2. Russia has launched its space satellite Arktika-M to monitor the climate and environment in
the Arctic region.
• The satellite will also be able to retransmit distress signals from ships, aircraft or people in
remote areas as part of the international Cospas-Sarsat satellite-based search and rescue
programme.
• Russia is also planning to send a second satellite in 2023. These two will offer round-the-
clock, all-weather monitoring of the Arctic Ocean and the surface of the Earth.

3. According to a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, coronavirus restrictions
led to a record 7% fall (2.6 billion tonnes) to 34 billion tonnes in global carbon emissions
last year.
• However, the drop will be short-lived unless efforts to phase out fossil fuel are intensified.
• In this study daily CO2 emissions across 71 countries and six economic sectors were
assessed.

4. Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina inaugurated Bhabhatron-II, an advanced digital cobalt

therapy machine at the Joseph Ravoahangy Andrianavalona Hospital (HJRA).
• This machine was donated by India to Madagascar. The announcement for the same was
made by President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind during his visit to Madagascar in 2018.
• It was developed by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai for the treatment of
cancer.
• Capital: Antananarivo

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 • Currency: Malagasy ariary

5. International Energy Agency has also confirmed that global CO2 emissions dropped by
5.8% (or 2,000 million tonnes of CO2) in 2020.
• It is the largest annual decline in CO2 emissions.
• Primary energy demand has dropped nearly 4% in 2020.
• 50% of the total global drop in CO2 emissions in 2020 was due to the decline in CO2
emissions from oil use in the transport sector.
• China’s, the world’s largest CO2 emitter, overall CO2 emissions in 2020 were 0.8% (or 75
Mt CO2) above the levels assessed at the end of 2019.
• India’s annual CO2 emissions declined by 7% (or 160 Mt CO2) in 2020, a stark contrast
with its average emissions growth of 3.3% from 2015 to 2019.

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 • In the power sector, CO2 emissions declined by 3.3% (or 450 Mt) in 2020, the largest
relative and absolute fall on record.
• Emissions in transport sectors was 14% in 2020 as compared to 2019 levels.
• The share of renewables in global electricity generation rose from 27% in 2019 to 29% in
2020, the biggest annual increase on record.
• According to UN, in order to keep the global temperature rise to 1.5-2 degrees Celsius this
century, emissions must decrease by 1-2 billion tonnes a year.

6. Sri Lanka has approved a proposal to develop the strategic Colombo Port's Western
Container Terminal (WCT) under a joint venture with India and Japan for a period of 35
years.
• The terminal will be built on the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) proposal.
• It will be developed as a public private partnership with Adani Ports and APSEZ.

7. World’s First Platypus Sanctuary will be developed in Australia as this semi-aquatic animal
faces threats of extinction.
• By 2022, Taronga Conservation Society Australia and New South Wales State
government will develop the facility, mostly ponds and burrows, at a zoo 391 km from
Sydney, which could house up to 65 platypuses.
• Platypus is an egg laying mammal.

8. UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution to declare 2023 as the International Year of
Millets.
• The resolution is sponsored by India.

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 • India's Permanent Mission to the UN also distributed savory millet snack "murukku" to all
UN Member States.
• 2016 to 2025 - UN Decade of Action on Nutrition
• 2016 – International Year of Pulses
• India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador - T S Tirumurti

9. UAE's National Central Cooling Company or Tabreed, and International Finance

Corporation (IFC) are planning to invest $400 million in India and South-East Asian countries
to build cooling service infrastructure.
• This JV will invest in district cooling, trigeneration and cooling as a service offering with a
primary focus on India followed by other South-East Asian countries.
• Tabreed and IFC have also formed a joint venture to establish a district energy
investment platform in Singapore.
• India Cooling Action Plan forecasts an eight-fold increase in demand through to 2038 and
the commercial real estate sector alone estimated to add 100 million refrigeration tons
in capacity during this period.
About the India Cooling Action Plan:

• India became the first country in the world to launch a Cooling Action Plan in 2019.
The plan aims to provide sustainable cooling and thermal comfort for all. This will also
help in reducing both direct and indirect emissions.
• Targets under the plan -
o reduce cooling demand across sectors by 20% to 25% by 2037-38,
o reduce refrigerant demand by 25% to 30% by 2037-38,
o Reduce cooling energy requirements by 25% to 40% by 2037-38,
o recognize “cooling and related areas” as a thrust area of research under national
S&T Programme,
o training and certification of 100,000 servicing sector technicians by 2022-23,
synergizing with Skill India Mission.
• Other benefits obtained from plan:

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 o Thermal comfort for all – provision for cooling for EWS and LIG housing,
o Sustainable cooling – low GHG emissions related to cooling,
o Doubling Farmers Income – better cold chain infrastructure – better value of
produce to farmers, less wastage of produce,
o Skilled workforce for better livelihoods and environmental protection,
o Make in India – domestic manufacturing of air-conditioning and related cooling
equipment’s,
o Robust R&D on alternative cooling technologies – to provide push to innovation in
cooling sector.

10. UNFCC has released its Initial NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions) Synthesis Report
which measures the progress of national climate action plans ahead of the 26th session of
Conference of its Parties (COP26) this November in Glasgow.
• A second report will also be released prior to the COP.
• 2021 is a “make or break” year to confront the global climate emergency according to
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

11. Wipro has joined the ‘Partnering for Racial Justice in Business initiative’ launched by the
World Economic Forum to promote a culture of diversity, inclusion, equity and justice for
people of all racial backgrounds in the workplace.

12. Ghana became the first country to receive vaccines through the COVAX initiative.
• COVAX initiative is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations
(CEPI) and WHO for global equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.

13. According to Bank of America’s Securities, the cost of lack of gender diversity and inclusion
will take 257 years to close the gap at the current rate.
• The gender gap has cost the world a whopping $70 trillion since 1990.

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 • Full gender equality globally can increase the world GDP by up to $28 trillion by 2025
and the loss of human capital wealth due to gender inequality alone is estimated at $160.2
trillion.
• The pandemic alone has cost women $1 trillion in income.
• The gender and race gaps in education and employment would have generated $2.6 trillion
more in economic output in 2019 and the cumulative gains from 1990 would have been $70
trillion at the 2019 dollar rate.

14. France has conducted its first military exercises in space codenamed as “AsterX” to test its
ability to defend its satellites.
• It is the first such exercise in the entire continent of Europe.
• The exercise is named after first French satellite Asterix from 1965.
• In 2019, France has also established its new space command at Toulouse in southwest
France.
• US Space Force and German space agencies are participating in this exercise.

15. China National Space Administration and Russian space agency Roscosmos have
signed an MoU for setting up an International Lunar Research Station on moon’s surface
and/or on the lunar orbit.
• No timeline for its construction has been revealed by both agencies.
• China has announced that this station will be open for other countries as well.
• Zhang Kejian, administrator of the China National Space Administration, and Russian
space agency Roscosmos chief Dmitry Rogozin signed the MoU.
• China is expecting to become world’s second nation to put a spacecraft (Tianwen-1) on
Mars, after USA.
• China is working on its own space station named as Tiangong (meaning Heaven’s Palace).

16. BRICS Contact Group on Economic and Trade Issues (CGETI) held their first meeting
under the chairmanship of India from March 9 to 11.

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 • The theme of BRICS this year is 'BRICS@15: Intra BRICS Cooperation for Continuity,
Consolidation and Consensus.'
• The BRICS officers tasked with CGETI will continue the work for 27th official level CGETI
meeting scheduled to be held in June.

17. For the first time in the world, a Japanese-Australian venture has begun producing
hydrogen from brown coal.
• The entire project’s cost is $390 million.
• It aims to show liquefied hydrogen can be produced commercially and exported safely
overseas.
• Through this project, both nations aim to create the first international supply chain for
liquefied hydrogen and export it.
• The project is being run by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and located in the state of
Victoria, Australia (home to a quarter of the world's known brown coal reserves).
• With the help of this project, Japan aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and boost
its annual hydrogen demand tenfold to 20 million tonnes by 2050.

18. First ever leader level summit of Quad group was held virtually.
• Participants – India (PM Narendra Modi); US (Pres. Joe Biden); Australia (PM Scott
Morrison); Japan (PM Yoshihide Suga)
• Three working groups will be set up:
o 1st – Vaccine expert working group: to ensure effective and safe vaccine
distribution by combining the capabilities of all the four countries.
o 2nd – Critical- and Emerging-technology working group: to facilitate cooperation
on international standards and innovative technologies of the future.
o 3rd - Climate working group: to strengthen climate actions globally on mitigation,
adaptation, resilience, technology, capacity-building, and climate finance.
• Quad group leaders agreed to expand Vaccine Maitri. India would produce a billion
COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2022.

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19. World Economic Forum has released the class of the Young Global Leaders (YGLs).
• This list includes 112 prominent personalities under the age of 40. The list includes
people who are involved in activities ranging from advocating for public healthcare to
campaigning for inclusivity in medical research.
• The Forum of Young Global Leaders was founded in 2005 by Klaus Schwab, founder
and executive chairman of the WEF.
• From India, following people are included in this list:
o Devi Sridhar (University Lecturer in Global Health Politics, University of Oxford, UK),
o Shreevar Kheruka (managing director and CEO of Borosil India)
o Srikanth Bolla (CEO of Bollant Industries, India),
o Deepika Padukone (founder of the Live Love Laugh Foundation, India),
o Ameya Prabhu (managing partner of UAP Advisors, India),
o Aditi Avasthi (founder and CEO of Indiavidual Learning, India),
o Gazal Kalra (co-founder of Rivigo, India),
o Hitesh Wadhwa (vice-president for strategic initiatives at Tech Mahindra, India),
o Hriday Ravindranath (chief technology and information officer, Global Services at BT
Group, India)

20. Japanese scientific research institute RIKEN and Fujitsu have developed world’s most
powerful supercomputer named Fugaku in Japan.
• It is being tested on the projects on Covid-19.

21. World Economic Forum has added 15 new lighthouse projects to its Global Lighthouse
Network.
• The Global Lighthouse Network is an inspiring group of organizations that exhibit the
essential characteristics of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
• The 15 projects include Renew Power, Hubli, Karnataka (world’s first clean energy
company to be recognized as a lighthouse) and Tata Steel’s Jamshedpur plant from
India.

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 • Tata Steel’s Kalinganagar Plant became the first Indian manufacturing plant to enter
the lighthouse network in 2019.

22. Italy has become a signatory to the International Solar Alliance under the amended ISA
Framework Agreement.
• The amended ISA Framework Agreement give its Membership to all Member States of the
UN.
• ISA signatory – 94 countries
• ISA ratified countries – 75 countries

23. World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2021 was co-organized by
International Telecommunications Union, UNESCO, UNDP and UNCTAD.
• It is one of the world's largest annual gathering of the ‘ICT for development’ community.
• Minister of State for Telecom, Shri Sanjay Dhotre, represented India at the World Summit
on Information Society Forum 2021.

24. According to WHO’s preliminary data of over 80 countries, healthcare for tuberculosis has
been reduced by 21% in 2020, owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
• An estimated 1.4 million fewer people received care for tuberculosis (TB) in 2020 than in
2019.
• Indonesia (42%), South Africa (41%), the Philippines (37%), and India (25%) witnessed the
biggest relative gaps.
• WHO expects that over half a million more people may have died from TB in 2020,
simply because they were unable to obtain a diagnosis.

25. Danish Red Cross has launched world’s first catastrophe bond for volcanic eruptions
that aims to raise up to $3 million from investors for providing aid in the aftermath of a volcanic
eruption.

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 • The bond will improve the provision and efficiency of humanitarian relief after eruptions of
10 volcanoes across three continents.
• The bonds are supported by insurance group Howden Group Holdings.
• This cat bond aims to transform the way disaster aid is activated and deployed by
mobilizing humanitarian assistance from global capital markets.
• 10 volcanoes covered through these bonds: - Mexico (Popocatépetl), Colombia (Nevado
del Ruiz), three in Ecuador (Cotopaxi, Tungurahua and Pichincha), two in Indonesia
(Merapi and Raung), one in Chile (Villa Rica), one in Guatemala (Fuego), and one in
Cameroon (Mt. Cameroon).
• In 2017, World Bank had also released the specialized bonds named as “Pandemic
Bonds” for providing financial support to the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility
(PEF) for developing countries facing the risk of a pandemic.

26. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will hold a joint anti-terrorism exercise named
“Pabbi-Antiterror-2021”.
• It was announced during the 36th meeting of the Council of the Regional Anti-Terrorist
Structure (RATS) held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
• Council of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) is headquartered in Tashkent,
Uzbekistan.
• RATS is a permanent organ of the SCO which serves to promote cooperation of member
states against terrorism, separatism and extremism.

27. 3rd International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI) is an annual

international conference and platform organized by Coalition for Disaster Resilient
Infrastructure (CDRI).
• European Union has joined Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
• United States has announced funds up to USD 9.2 million to support the global Coalition
for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
• CDRI was launched by India in 2019 at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New
York.

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 • India is the chair and UK is the first co-chair of CDRI.
• CDRI has 22 member countries and 7 organizations as partners.

28. World's first ship tunnel will be built in Norway to help vessels navigate the treacherous
Stadhavet Sea.
• This mile-long, 118-feet-wide tunnel, will be developed through the mountainous Stadhavet
peninsula in northwestern Norway.
• At present, ships navigating the surrounds of Stadhavet are often impacted by rough tides
and bad weather.

29. Maldives has inaugurated “Fiyavathi Home for Vulnerable Children” in Hulhumalé.
• This has been built with financial assistance from India worth USD 6.9 million (Rufiyaa 106
million).

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30. Singapore has announced to develop world’s largest floating solar farms.
• The project is being developed by Sembcorp Industries.

31. Pakistan has successfully test fired nuclear-capable ballistic missile Shaheen 1-A.

REPORTS AND INDICES

1. State of Environment Report, 2021 was released by Centre for Science and Environment
(CSE).
• Covid-19 impact - 375 million children (from new born to 14-year-olds) are likely to suffer
long-lasting impacts, ranging from being underweight, stunting (low height-for-age) and
increased child mortality, to losses in education and work productivity.
• School Dropouts: over 500 million children were forced out of school globally and India
accounted for more than half of them.
• Situation of Extreme Poverty: Over 115 million additional people might get pushed into
extreme poverty by the pandemic – and most of them live in South Asia.
• Pollution Levels Worsened: Out of the 88 major industrial clusters in India, 35 showed
overall environmental degradation, 33 pointed to worsening air quality, 45 had more
polluted water and in 17, land pollution became worse.
o Tarapur in Maharashtra emerged as the most polluted cluster.
o India’s air, water and land have become more polluted between 2009 and 2018.
o 67 million Indians died due to air pollution in 2019. The economic cost was over
$36,000 million, equivalent to 1.36% of the country’s GDP.
• Ranking: India ranked 117 among 192 nations in terms of sustainable development and
was now behind all South Asian nations except Pakistan.
• Best states in SDG implementation – Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil
Nadu and Telangana.
• Worst states in SDG implementation – Bihar, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya
and Uttar Pradesh.

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 • State of Environment 2021 is the annual report of Down to Earth magazine. Edited by
Sunita Narain (editor of Down To Earth).

2. NCAER released its 2nd edition of Land Record and Services Index (N-LRSI) 2021.
• Total states / UT - 32 states and UTs
• Parameters - digitisation of textual and spatial records, computerisation of the registration
process, and the quality of land records.
• Top performer – Madhya Pradesh (for the second year in a row), followed by West Bengal,
Odisha, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
o All the four states except West Bengal were in the top 5 last year as well. West
Bengal ranked 6th last year.
• The mean N-LRSI score across the 32 States/UTs has shown an increase of 16.6% in
2020-21, from 38.7 in 2019-20 to 45.1 in 2020-21 (out of 100 points).
• In the ‘extent of digitisation’ factor alone, Bihar shows maximum improvement,
followed by West Bengal, Tripura, and Karnataka.
• In terms of the ‘quality of land resources’, Karnataka is the leading state in terms of
improvement over 2019-20, followed by Bihar, Tripura and Goa.
• In terms of Accessibility of these land records by public, Odisha, West Bengal,
Karnataka, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are the top performing states.

Additional Facts:

• This index is supported by Omidyar Network India, through its Property Rights Research
Consortium initiative.
• This index is an integral part of the NCAER Land Policy Initiative (N-LPI) launched in
2019. The index assess the availability of digital land records for the public.
• In the 1st edition, only one state score more than 70 points. Now, there are 5 states.
• The states of Bihar, Karnataka, Tripura, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh
and Kerala have reported the most improvement in the 2nd edition.

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• All states have shown improvement. 29 states and UTs have shown positive change or
retained their scores in 2020-21.

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3. According to a World Bank’s report, 65% low- and lower-middle income countries have
reduced their education budgets due to the Covid-19, in comparison to only 33% high and
upper-middle income countries.
• The report was compiled in collaboration with UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring
(GEM) Report.
• The report assessed the short term impact of Covid-19 on education budgets of the govts.
• Number of countries assessed – 29 (representing 54% of world’s school and university
aged population)
• The countries were divided into three categories - low-income countries (only 3 countries
that are Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Uganda); lower-middle income countries (including India)
and upper-middle income nations.

4. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched the Ease of Living Index 2020 and
Municipal Performance Index 2020.
• These indices were released by the Ministry, in partnership with Institute for
Competitiveness.
• All the cities and municipalities have been categorised into two categories in these indices –
Million + Category and Less than Million Category.
• Total cities assessed in the index - 111 cities
Ease of Living Index 2020:

® Pillars of Assessment - Quality of Life, Economic Ability, Sustainability (accounts for

70% of the survey) and citizen perception (30%)
o The first three pillars of the Ease of Living index were further bifurcated into 13
categories. The categories are further based on 49 indicators.
® Top cities in Million + Category – Bengaluru (score 66.7), followed by Pune,
Ahmedabad, Chennai, Surat respectively.
® Top cities in Less than Million Category – Shimla (score 60.9), followed by
Bhuvneshwar, Silvassa, Kakinanda, Salem respectively.
® The first edition of the index was launched in 2018.

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Municipal Performance Index 2020:

® This is the first edition of the index. This is a supplement to the Ease of Living Index.
® Top municipalities in Million + Category – Indore (score 66.08), Surat, Bhopal, Pimpri
Chinchwad, and Pune respectively.
® Top municipalities in less than Million + Category – New Delhi MC (score 52.92),
Tirupati, Gandhinagar, Karnal, and Salem respectively.
® Parameters – Services, Finance, Planning, Technology, and Governance.

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5. As per WHO’s first World Report on Hearing, nearly 2.5 billion people worldwide – or 1 in 4
people – will be living with some degree of hearing loss by 2050.
• At least 700 millions of these people will require access to ear and hearing care and other
rehabilitation services unless action is taken.
• Over 27,000 children are born deaf every year in India.
• The report was launched on World Hearing Day (March 3). Theme of the World Hearing
Day is Hearing care for ALL! Screen. Rehabilitate. Communicate.
• Indian Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan, inaugurated six new
‘Outreach Service Centers for Communication Disorders’ across the country by All
India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH), Mysuru.
• ICMR-AIIMS and a Pictorial guidebook on “Prevent Hearing Loss” which is prepared by
DGHS-PGIMER (Directorate General of Health Services - Postgraduate Institute of Medical
Education and Research).

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6. UN Environment Program has released the Food Waste Index Report 2021, in collaboration
with Waste & Resource Action Program (WRAP).
• 931 million tonnes (1.3 billion tonnes) of food is wasted globally. This is equivalent to 17%
of the total global food production.
• 61% (570 million tonnes) of the food waste is generated by households, 26% by food
services, and 13% by retail.
• At the global level, 74 kg per capita of food is wasted every year.
• India’s situation - 50 kg per capita food is wasted every year in India at the household
level. India generates over 68 lakh tonnes of food waste every year.
• Region-wise – West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa have high per capita food wastage as
compared to South Asian, European, and North American countries.
• GHG emission – 8 to 10% of GHG emissions are generated from unconsumed food.

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 • SDG 12.3 deals with food wastage.

7. According to a report “Education: From Disruption to Recovery” by UNICEF, 247 million

children are impacted by the closure of 1.5 million schools in India in 2020.
• This is in addition to the over 6 million girls and boys who were already out of school even
before the COVID-19 crisis began.
• Worldwide, over 888 million children are facing disruption in their education.
• Online education is not apt as only 1 in 4 children has internet connectivity and access
to digital devices in India.
• Even before covid, only 24% households in India had access to the internet and there is a
large rural-urban and gender divide.
• According to UN, at least 332 million children are at a risk of mental disturbance due to
the lockdown. Lockdown has also increased violence and abuse against children.

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 • UNICEF, UNESCO, UNHCR, World Bank, and World Food Program are developing a
global framework for safe reopening of schools.
• In India, National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is finalizing
the guidelines for safe reopening of schools.

8. US think tank Freedom House has released the ‘Freedom in the World 2021: Democracy
under Siege’ report which assesses the situation of the year 2020.
• Total – 195 countries and 15 territories
• Top – Finland, Norway and Sweden with a score of 100
• Bottom – Tibet and Syria (score 1)
• Parameters – 25 indicators divided into political rights (0–40 weightage) and civil liberties
(0–60 weightage) categories.
• Total global population is 7.8 billion. Out of which, only 20% people live in free countries,
42% live in partly free and 38% live in not free countries.

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India Related Facts:

• India’s rank – 88 (score 67); category – partly free

o Last year, India’s rank was 83 (score 71) and category was free.
o This is the first time since 1997, that India slipped to partly free category.
• Parameter -wise scores of India – Civil Liberties: 33/60; and Political right: 34/40
• In terms of India’s freedom on internet, the score is 51 out of 100.

9. UNCTAD has released the “Technology and Innovation Report 2021” which assessed 158
countries on their capability of using, adopt and adapt frontier technologies in comparison to
their per capita GDPs.
Components of the index:

• The report provides a "country readiness index" that assesses the progress of
countries in using frontier technologies, considering their national capacities related to
physical investment, human capital and technological effort.

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 • It scores countries on five building blocks (parameters): ICT deployment, skills,
research and development (R&D), industry activity and access to finance.
• Frontier technologies are artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things, big data,
blockchain, 5G, 3D printing, robotics, drones, gene editing, nanotechnology and solar
photovoltaic.
• The report also mentions the country’s overperformance i.e., the difference between the
actual index rankings and the estimated index rankings based on per capita income.

Outcomes of the report:

• Most countries are lagging behind in their potential to use frontier technologies.
• The greatest overperformer is India, whose actual index ranking was 43, while the
estimated one based on per capita income was 108. Hence, India overperformed by 65
ranking positions.
• India is followed by the Philippines, which overperformed by 57 ranking positions. China
(position 25) and India perform well for R&D.
• Overall, the top five overperforming developing countries have lower rankings for ICT
connectivity and skills.
• According to the index, the United States, Switzerland and the United Kingdom are
best prepared for frontier technologies.

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 Suggestions of the report:

• The report suggested that developing countries need to strengthen their innovation
systems and diversify their production bases by mastering many existing technologies.
• Developing countries should align science, technology and innovation policies with
industrial policies.
• New technologies can re-invigorate traditional production sectors and speed up
industrialisation and economic structural transformation.

10. UNCTAD's Business-to-Consumer (B2C) E-commerce Index 2020 has been released.
• Purpose – the index ranks countries on their readiness to engage in online commerce.
• Total – 152 countries
• Top – Switzerland (by replacing Netherlands)
• India’s rank – 71
• Bottom – Niger
• In 2019, 97% of the Swiss population used the internet.
• The B2C e-commerce industry (online shopping) is worth an estimated $4.4 trillion globally
in 2018, up 7% from the previous year.

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• Parameters – access to secure internet servers, reliability of postal services and
infrastructure, and the portion of their population that uses the internet and has an account
with a financial institution or a provider of mobile money services.

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Additional facts mentioned in the report:

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 • The 10 developing countries with the highest scores are all from Asia and classified as
high-income or upper-middle-income economies.
• On the other hand, least developed countries occupy 18 of the bottom 20 positions.
• China at 55th and USA at 12th rank are the two largest B2C e-commerce markets.
Although both countries lead in several absolute measures, they lag in relative
comparisons.
• Even among G20 countries, the extent to which people shop online ranges from 3% in
India to 87% in the United Kingdom.
• In comparison to previous year, Hong Kong (China) replaced Australia, in the
composition of the top 10 positions. Among the top 10 developing economies, Oman
replaced Turkey.
• In 2019, an estimated 1.5 billion people, or 27% of the world’s population aged 15
years and older, shopped online.

11. UNICEF has released the “COVID-19 A threat to progress against child marriage” report.
• Over the next decade, up to 10 million more girls will be at risk of becoming child brides
as a result of the pandemic.
• Over the past decade, the proportion of young women globally who were married as
children decreased by 15% (or 25 million girls).
• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all
women and girls. SDG Target 5.3 seeks to end child, early and forced marriage by 2030.

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Source of Pic 2: UN Women India

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12. According to the World Air Quality Report 2020, released by the IQAir (Swiss air technology
company), Delhi is the 10th most polluted city in the world and the most polluted capital.
• The report assessed 106 countries on the basis of their PM2.5 levels.

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13. The Heritage Foundation (US think tank) has released the Global Economic Freedom
Index 2021.
• Total – 184 countries (out of these six countries were not ranked)
• Parameters – 12 indicators under four categories:

Rule of Law
Size of Government
Property Rights
Regulatory Efficiency
Judicial Tax Burden
Effectiveness Open Markets
Government Business
Government Spending Freedom Trade Freedom
Integrity Fiscal Health Labor Freedom Investment
Monetary Freedom
Freedom Financial
Freedom

• Top – Singapore (2nd time in a row) with a score of 89.7

• India’s rank – 121 (score 56.5)
o India’s score was same in 2020 as well.
o India’s rank out of the 40 Asia-Pacific countries is 26th.
o India is in the mid-range of the mostly unfree category.
o Suggestions - India needs to increase financial freedom and reform the tax code,
the investment regime, and the labour code.

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 • Bottom – North Korea
• Global average score - 61.6 (unchanged from last year). It is the highest score recorded in
the 27-year history of the Index.
• China is ranked 107th with a score of 58.4 points. While, USA is ranked at 20th rank.

Facts About The Index:

• July 2019 to June 2020 is the period of assessment.

• Big Breakthrough!!! - Hong Kong is excluded from the index for the first time ever. Hong
Kong had topped the list for 25 out of the previous 26 years prior to the current year.
o Reason for exclusion – the increasing control of China on Hong Kong.
• The Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom is an annual guide published to
measure the progress made in advancing economic freedom.
• The Foundation also believes that the ideals of economic freedom are strongly associated
with healthier societies, cleaner environments, greater per capita wealth, human
development, democracy, and poverty elimination.

14. World Bank has released the 'Connecting to Thrive: Challenges and Opportunities of
Transport Integration in Eastern South Asia' report.
• The report highlights the need and benefits of a seamless and sustainable transport system
for the economies of East South Asia.

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 • East South Asia countries - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal
Transport connectivity between India and Bangladesh:

• A seamless transport connectivity between India and Bangladesh has the potential to
increase national income by as much as 17% in Bangladesh and 8% in India.
• As per the report, the trade between India and Bangladesh is approx. USD 10 billion
below its current potential.
• Earlier reports of the World Bank suggest that Bangladesh's exports to India could
increase by 182% and India's exports to Bangladesh by 126% if the countries signed a
free-trade agreement.
• Improved transport connectivity between India and Bangladesh can increase exports
further, yielding a 297% increase in Bangladesh's exports to India and a 172% increase
in India's exports to Bangladesh.
• Restricted transit between India and Bangladesh also makes trade and transit from the
North-east India difficult. At present, there is only Siliguri Corridor in West Bengal (aka
Chicken’s neck) that connects North-East with the rest of the country.
• All this makes intra-country trade between the north-east and the rest of the country
gruelling. Therefore, the report suggests that connectivity between India and Bangladesh
is crucial for India’s own economy as well.
Regional Facts:

• Connectivity is integral to the economic growth of this sub region as 50% of the total
trade in East Asia is between neighbours, contrary to 22% in Africa. This highlights the
importance of connectivity in this region vis-à-vis the volume of trade.
• With the investments in connectivity - rail, inland waterways, and roads - the eastern sub-
region is poised to become an economic growth pole for South Asia.
Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement:

• Key highlight of the report - Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles

Agreement (MVA) was signed in 2015 to facilitate unrestricted cross-border movement of
cargo, passenger, and personal vehicles between these four countries.

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 o Under the agreement, trucks carrying export-import or transit cargo can move
inside the territories of other countries without trans-shipping to local trucks at
border land ports.
o The implementation of this agreement has delayed because all the countries are
working on some of the provisions of this agreement.

15. PwC has launched its 24th Annual Global CEO Survey.
• USA and China are the top two destinations for CEOs in terms of growth over the next
12 months.
• India is at 5th rank, which is a rank below than the previous ranking. India’s is surpassed by
UK (at 4th position). Germany is at the 3rd position. Japan is at 6th rank.
• The index covered 5,050 CEOs in 100 countries and territories, including India.
• 76% of CEOs worldwide expect the global economic recovery to improve in 2021.
• Trade conflict is a major concern in Germany and China which are export driven countries.

16. 11th edition of the QS World University Rankings 2021 by subject has been released.
• A total of 12 Indian universities and higher education institutions have achieved top-100
positions in their subject.
• In total, 25 Indian programs achieved top-100 positions – one fewer than in 2020’s edition.
• QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) is headquartered in London, UK.

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Subjects Top Rankers

Arts & Humanities Top – University of Oxford

India – None

Engineering and Technology Top - Massachusetts Institute of Technology

(MIT)

Indian – IIT-Bombay (49th), IIT-Delhi (54th), IIT-

Madras (94th)

Life Sciences & Medicine Top – Harvard University

India – None

Natural Sciences Top - Massachusetts Institute of Technology

(MIT)

India – IISc Bangalore (92nd)

Social Sciences & Management Top - Harvard University

India- None

• Above-mentioned subjects were the main subject heads. Under these, 51 different courses
are provided and Indian institutes’ ranking on these courses are provided in the table below.

Course Ranking of Top Indian Institute

Petroleum Engineering IIT-Madras (30th)

Mineral & Mining Engineering IIT-Bombay (41st)

IIT-Kharagpur (44th)

Business and Management IIM-Bangalore (76th)

IIM-Ahmedabad (80th)

Law OP Jindal Global University (76th), only private

university in top 100

Anthropology JNU, Delhi (51-100)

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 Development Studies DU (50)

17. Sweden-based V-Dem Institute has released the 5th edition of its report titled
“Autocratization Turns Viral: Democracy Report 2021”.
• India has been termed as an “Electoral Autocracy” in 2020 from Electoral Democracy.
• Electoral autocracies are now present in 87 states that are home to 68% of the global
population. Liberal democracies, the group says, are diminishing, and are home to only
14% of the people.
• India has fallen down by 23% on the Liberal Democracy Index of V-Dem. It is one of the
drastic changes any country has witnessed over 10 years.
• Top 3 democratic countries are Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.
• Number of democratic countries has also reduced from 41 in 2010 to 32 in 2020.
• Total 202 countries were assessed.
• India is equivalently autocratic as Pakistan and worse than Bangladesh and Nepal.
• Brazil and Turkey along with India have been downgraded.

18. JLL’s (Jones Lang LaSalle) Human Performance Index 2020 ranks India at the highest
rank in terms of workplace satisfaction (98%) followed by China.
• 81% of the Indian workplaces have flexible working conditions which is the highest
percentage in Asia-Pacific region.
• Only 1/3rd of the workplaces in the Asia Pacific have conducive environment to increase
employees’ performance.
• Technology workers (53 percent) and young professionals aged 25 to 34 (37 percent)
make up the majority of high performers.
• 1500 employees across Australia, China, India, Japan and Singapore were assessed.

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19. Asian Development Bank has released the “ADB's Support for the Sustainable
Development Goals: Enabling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through
Strategy 2030” report.
• According to the report, huge sum of investment will be required to implement SDGs.
• The Covid-19 pandemic is estimated to have pushed 162 million people in the region back
into poverty and economic growth in developing Asia contracted for first time in 60 years.

20. According to Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s
(SIPRI) report, Indian arm imports decreased by 33% between 2011–15 and 2016–20.
• Still, India continues to remain the second largest arms importer after Saudi Arabia.
• Reasons for decrease in Indian arm imports - complex and lengthy procurement
processes, attempts to reduce dependence on Russian arms by diversifying the network of
arms suppliers, and indigenization of defence equipment.
• India’s arms imports are expected to increase over the coming five years as India has
outstanding deliveries of combat aircraft, air defence systems, ships and submarines.
• In terms of exports, India accounted for 0.2% of the share of global arms exports during
2016-20, making the country the world's 24th largest exporter of major arms.
• Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Mauritius were the top recipients of Indian arms.

Rank-wise biggest
arm suppliers to Details
India

• Russia was the largest arms supplier between 2011–15 and

Russia – 1st 2016–20.

• However, Russia’s deliveries dropped by 53% between the two
periods and its share of Indian arms imports fell from 70 to 49%.
• India’s arms imports from France increased by 709% in 2016-20.
France – 2nd • Combat aircraft and associated missiles made up more than 50%
of arms imports.

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 • India’s arms imports from Israel rose by 82% in 2016-20.
Israel – 3rd • Half of the imports comprised of combat aircraft and associated
missiles.
• Arm imports from USA declined by 46% in 2016-20 period over

USA – 4th 2011-15. Therefore, USA became the 4th largest supplier of arms
to India.
• During 2011-15, USA was the 2nd largest arm supplier to India.

Global Scenario:

• Top 5 arms exporters – US, Russia, France, Germany, and China

• Top 5 arms importers – Saudi Arabia, India, Egypt, Australia and China
• US remained the largest arms exporter. It increased its global share of arms exports from
32 to 37%.

21. ‘Direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and response in South Asia’ report
has been released by UNICEF, WHO and the UN Population Fund.
• India is projected to register the greatest increase in the number of deaths among
children U-5 in South Asia in 2020 as well as the highest number of maternal deaths as
the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts the country’s health services.
• India is expected to spend nearly $10 billion on COVID-19 testing and healthcare
utilisation by September 2021, the biggest in the region.
• The report focusses on six most populous South Asian countries - Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
• COVID-19 is estimated to have cost the South Asian region more than $2.4 billion.
• In this manner, the region is expected to spend an additional $8.1 billion on COVID-19
diagnostic tests, and between $520 million and $2.4 billion on healthcare utilisation by
September 2021.

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 • India is likely to have the largest share of these costs wherein India will spend more than
$7.8 billion on testing and $1.7 billion on healthcare utilisations due to COVID-19 infections
leading to death by September 2021.
• India is expected to have the highest share of stillbirths followed by Pakistan and
Bangladesh.

22. UN World Water Development Report 2021 titled “Valuing Water” has been released by
UNESCO on behalf of UN Water.
• The report has been published in coordination with UNESCO World Water Assessment
Programme.
• Global population is expected to be 9 billion by 2040, and the reservoir’s capacity will be
around 7000 billion cubic metre.
• After an assessment of the world’s 400 largest river basins, water shortage was identified
in many parts of Africa, as well as Australia, northern China, India, Spain and western parts
of the United States of America.
• Average annual storage volume losses equalled about 1% of total built reservoir capacity,
and the estimated costs for restoring these losses were approximately $13 billion per year.
• As per the independent assessments, the world will face a Global Water Deficit of 40% by
2030.

23. UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has launched
Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report, 2021.
• At the current pace, the Asia Pacific region may achieve less than 10% of the SDG targets.
• The region is on track to reach only nine out of 104 measurable targets of the SDGs by
2030.
• The region will not be able to achieve gender equality (Goal 5), clean water and
sanitation (Goal 6), affordable and clean energy (Goal 7), decent work and economic
growth (Goal 8), climate action (Goal 13), life below water (Goal 14), and life on land
(Goal 15).

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 • Asia-Pacific region is responsible for more than half of the global greenhouse gas
emissions.
• As per the World Disasters Report 2020, the region faced a record number of climate-
related disasters, affecting tens of millions of vulnerable people already hit hard by the
COVID-19 pandemic.

24. UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs has launched 5th volume of State of the
World’s Indigenous Peoples titled as Rights to Lands, Territories and Resources.

25. WHO has released the “Violence Against Women Prevalence Estimates, 2018”.
• WHO, on behalf of the United Nations Inter-Agency Working Group on Violence Against
Women, conducted this study.

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 • Around 736 million women out of 852 million (1 in out of 3 women) have faced either
physical or sexual violence once in their lifetime.
• Majority of the women faced violence at the hands of their intimate partners.
• Oceania, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa have the highest prevalence of domestic
violence against women aged 15 to 49.
• Lowest rates are found in Europe, Central Asia, Eastern Asia, and South-Eastern Asia.
• In poorest countries, around 37% women face physical and sexual violence. Some
countries even have a 50% rate.

26. UNICEF has released “Reimagining WASH: Water Security For All” report.
• A total of 1.42 billion people, including 450 million children, live in areas of high or
extremely high water vulnerability at present.
• Essentially, 1 in 5 children in the world are living in water crisis.
• South Asia has the highest population of children living in areas of high or extremely high
vulnerability at 155 million.
• More than 20 million or 2 crores children are facing extremely high water vulnerability
in India.
• Global water demand will rise by 20-30% by 2050.
• The report identifies 37 hotspot countries (including India) which are facing high water
vulnerability.
• Hotspots countries are those which also meet any one of the following criteria: ≥ 60% High
Water Vulnerability; ≥ 40% Extremely High Water Vulnerability; ≥ 40% children in High and
Extremely High Water Vulnerability; ≥ 2M people in High and Extremely High Water
Vulnerability.

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27. According to the "Ultimate Military Strength Index" released by Military Direct, China has
the world’s most powerful military. China has scored 82 out of 100 points in the index.
• China is followed by USA, Russia, and India. China has the largest number of ships at 406.
• The index was calculated after taking into consideration various factors including budgets,
number of inactive and active military personnel, total air, sea, land and nuclear resources,
average salaries, and weight of equipment.
• USA is the world's biggest military spender with a budget of USD 732 billion per year
whereas China comes second with USD 261 billion, followed by India at USD 71 billion.
• India is 4th with a score of 61. India has 202 ships.

28. 9th World Happiness Report 2021 has been released by UN.
• Masterminds behind the report: John F. Helliwell, Richard Layard, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Jan-
Emmanuel De Neve, Lara B. Aknin, and Shun Wang.
• Total countries – 149 countries
• Top countries – Finland

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 • India’s rank – 139 (score 3.819)
• Bottom country – Afghanistan
• Parameters – The happiness study ranks the countries of the world on the basis of
questions from the Gallup World Poll. The results are then correlated with other factors,
including GDP and social security.

Additional Facts:

• The aforementioned rankings are based on the countries’ performance in the last 3 years.
• In 2019, India was ranked 140th.
• Neighbouring countries performed better than India - Pakistan ranking 105th, Bangladesh
at 101st and China is at 84th.
• World Happiness Report 2021, issued by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions
Network, focuses on the effects of COVID-19 and how people all over the world have fared.

29. 9th edition of International Intellectual Property Index has been released by US Chamber of
Commerce Global Innovation Policy Centre (GIPC).
• It is an annual index to evaluate Intellectual Property rights in 53 countries from patent
and copyright policies to commercialisation of IP assets and ratification of international
treaties.
• Overall, global IP score improved in 2020 in 32 of the 53 economies.
• Top – USA, United Kingdom and Germany.
• India’s rank – 40th (score 38.4 out of 100)
o India has shown improvement in scores over past years. Overall score of India has
increased from 36.04% in seventh edition to 38.46% in eighth edition.
o Among BRICS countries, India registered the second-highest growth in nine editions
with an overall improvement of over 13%.
• Parameters – 50 intellectual property-related indicators

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30. According to a research study undertaken by international driver education company Zutobi,
South Africa is the world's most dangerous country in terms of roads.
• India is the 4th most dangerous country in the world in terms of roads.
• Thailand is at the 2nd position while US is at the 3rd spot.
• Total 56 countries were assessed.
• World’s safest roads are in Norway, Japan, and Sweden respectively.
• Total five factors were used to assess a country’s rank.
o These factors included estimates on the number of road traffic deaths per 100,000
population;
o the percentage of car occupants who use a seat-belt when travelling in the front of a
vehicle;
o and the proportion of road traffic deaths which have been attributed to alcohol
consumption over the national legal limit.
o The maximum speed limit on motorway.

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 o Blood alcohol content restrictions.

31. International Energy Agency has released the “World Energy Transitions Outlook: 1.5°C
Pathway” report.
• This presents options to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C and bring CO2 emissions
closer to net zero by mid-century via various technological solutions.
• 90% of the total electricity will be sourced from renewable energy, 6% will be from natural
gas and remaining from nuclear energy by 2050.
• $ 131 trillion investments (nearly $ 4.4 trillion average per annum) between 2021 to 2050
will be required for transition into renewable energy. This would be an increment of 30% in
the planned investments.

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32. World Bank has published the World Development Report 2021:Data for Better Lives that
focusses upon the power of data.
• Only 11% low-income countries make their data open (Not Accessible To General Public
or research institution), the report flagged.
• The comparable rate for lower-middle-income countries was 19%, for upper-middle-income
countries 22% and high-income countries 44%.
• Only 50% of the countries had a national statistical plan that was fully funded as of 2019.
While 93% of high-income countries had a fully funded national statistical plan, not a
single low-income country had one.

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 • Only 10 of the 54 gender-specific indicators (19%) in the United Nations-mandated
sustainable development goals (SDGs) were widely available. This indicates wide gaps in
the availability of data on women and girls.
• The report also highlights evident data infrastructural gaps between rich and poor countries.

About India:

• India monitors 54 out of the 130 SDG indicators. Overall, the number of monitored
indicators has increased.
• However, India has also dropped four indicators from its tracking list.
• National Data Sharing & Accessibility Policy (NDSAP): India launched this policy to
increase the accessibility and easier sharing of non-sensitive data amongst the registered
users and their availability for scientific, economic and social developmental purposes.
• Open Government Data (OGD) Platform: This platform was also launched by India to
facilitate open access to the data generated and to increase transparency, accountability,
citizen engagement, collaboration, better governance, decision making & innovation.
• Focus on Digital Governance: India has launched many initiatives to provide govt
services online to the citizens.

33. According to a report by Bank of America (BofA) Securities, Covid-19 has pushed back
India's $5 trillion GDP goal by 3 years to FY32.
• As per the report, the Indian government has set a target of becoming a $5-trillion (Rs 362
lakh crore) economy by 2030.
• However, as per PM Narendra Modi’s speech in 2019, India would become a $5 trillion
economy and a global economic powerhouse by 2024-25.

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 BANKING AND ECONOMY
1. Fino Payment Bank has entered into the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India
Act, 1934. Now, it has become a scheduled commercial bank. But, it still remains the payment
bank.
• Therefore, there are six payment banks in India.
• Benefits to Fino – it can enhance its banking position in the treasury and participate in LAF
(Liquidity Adjustment Facility) window.
• Another payment bank in the second schedule is India Post Payment Bank.
• All the banks mentioned in the Second Schedule are the called as the scheduled banks
and those which are not covered are classified as Non-scheduled banks.
• Categories of Banks in India:

Types of
Banks

Non-
Scheduled
scheduled
Banks
banks

Commercial Cooperative
Banks Banks

Public Small Urban Co-

Sector Private Finance op banks
Regional Foreign
Banks sector Banks &
Rural Banks Banks Rural Co-op
(Nationalis banks Payment
ed Banks) Banks banks

Scheduled Banks Non-Scheduled banks

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 Covered in Second schedule of RBI Act, 1934 Not covered

Minimum Paid up capital – Rs 5 lakh or above Less than Rs 5 Lakhs

They can borrow from RBI for their normal They can’t, except in emergency or “abnormal
banking purposes. circumstances."

They will have to comply with CRAR and other They don’t have to fulfil these technical
compliances. requirements.

Note: You can check out the latest list of banks in the Second Schedule at this link -
https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/Content/PDFs/LSCBSC925ABF8A7E04824BA04596DF5C44006.PDF

2. Indian Overseas Bank and SBI General Insurance have signed a corporate agency
agreement to sell its insurance products to bank’s customers.

3. Aditya Birla Health Insurance Company Ltd. has launched an industry-first health
insurance policy named “Activ Health policy” with 100% premium return as
HealthReturnsTM.
• Activ health app has also been launched to help customers track their health, access the
details of their health insurance, and avail health care services.
Features of the policy:

• It is Asia's first ever health insurance plan offering mental illness counselling
coverage.
• It is industry-first plan to cover unlimited homeopathy telemedicine.
• It has an in-built international cashless treatment covered for up to Rs 3 to 6 crore.
• The consumer is rewarded through a cash-equivalent which can be used for either
health-related expenses like buying medicines, paying for diagnostic tests, day care
treatment, out-patient expenses (OPD), and alternative treatments (which are
traditionally excluded), or most importantly can be used towards the payment of future
premium.

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4. Ashok Leyland (owned by Hinduja Group) announced to buy 38% stake of Nissan
International Holding in Hinduja Tech Ltd for Rs 70.20 crore.
• Following the acquisition, HTL will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Chennai-
based Ashok Leyland.
• At present, Leyland owns 62% in the paid-up share capital of HTL. Rest is with Nissan.
Hinduja Tech was founded in 2009.
• Ashok Leyland chairperson - Dheeraj Hinduja

5. RBI has released its latest report on Currency and Finance (RCF) for 2020-21 for "Reviewing
the Monetary Policy Framework".
• The report mentioned that the inflation target of 4% with a +/-2% tolerance band is
appropriate for the next five years.
• The focus of flexible inflation targeting (FIT) on price stability augurs well for further
liberalisation of the capital account to globalise Indian rupee.
• The study has taken October 2016 to March 2020 period for assessment. Flexible
inflation targeting (FIT) framework was operationalized in 2016.
• During 2016-20, the headline CPI inflation averaged 3.9% in India, with a decline in
inflation volatility, which shows the success of FIT in terms of its primary mandate.
• Trend Inflation has fallen from 9% to 3.8-4.3% because of FIT. This indicates that 4% is the
appropriate level of the inflation target for India.
o Trend inflation is the trend / rate of core inflation that will prevail in long term.
• According to RBI, the threshold inflation which impairs growth is 5-6%. Therefore, a
tolerance level of 6% can be maintained in the Indian economy.

6. Alliance Insurance has launched “SMEInsure” portal to bring 5 crore Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) under the insurance category.
• This new portal aims to help SME sector manage their insurance related processes through
a single platform.

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7. Reliance Industries has increased its stake in skyTran Inc to 54.46%.
• The acquisition of stake is being done through a subsidiary Reliance Strategic Business
Ventures.

8. Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) has signed an MoU with NSE, India INX
International Exchange, National Securities Depository (NSDL) and Central Depository
Services (India) for setting up Market Infrastructure Institutions (MII) at GIFT city.
• MII comprises of an International Bullion Exchange, Clearing Corporation and Depository
at Gujarat International Financial Trade (GIFT) City.
• This is being done as per the International Financial Services Centres Authority (Bullion
Exchange) Regulations, 2020 and other applicable laws.

9. SEBI has relaxed the Minimum Public Offer requirement for large issuers.
Existing Updates Updated Rankings

The Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, SEBI Board decided to recommend changes
1957 stipulates that issuers with post issue to the securities contracts regulation rules for
market capitalisation of at least ₹4,000 crore issuers with post issue market capitalisation
or more must offer to public at least 10% of exceeding ₹1,00,000 crore.
their post issue market capitalisation.

Further, such issuers are also required to The requirement of MPO for such issuers will
achieve a minimum public shareholding of at be reduced from 10% of post issue market
least 25% within three years from the date of capitalisation (existing provision) to ₹10,000
listing. crore plus 5% of the incremental amount
beyond ₹1,00,000 crore.

- These issuers shall be required to achieve at

least 10% public shareholding in two years

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 and at least 25% public shareholding within
five years from the date of listing.

10. SBI Mutual Funds has launched its first overseas offering titled SBI International Access
— US Equity FOF.
• It is an open-ended fund of funds scheme investing in mutual fund scheme/ETFs that invest
in US markets, which are domiciled overseas.
• The scheme will invest 95-100% of its net assets generally in Amundi Funds – US Pioneer
Fund (including ETFs), which invest predominantly in the US markets.
• SBI International Access – US Equity FoF may also invest in other mutual funds/ETFs,
which are domiciled overseas and invest predominantly in US markets.
• The scheme will be benchmarked to S&P 500 Index, after converting it to Indian Rupee.
• The customers interested in the scheme are required to invest at least Rs 5,000 for the first
time. However, for additional purchase the minimum application amount is Rs 1,000.
• There is no upper cap for the investment in this fund.

11. World Bank has planned to introduce a $100-million credit guarantee scheme to boost
India’s rooftop solar programme.
• The scheme will allow micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to avail concessional
debt financing for setting up rooftop solar units.
• World Bank scheme, along with State Bank of India (SBI) and the MSME ministry to
accelerate adoption of rooftop solar units, will help MSMEs access credit of around $1
billion.
• This assumes significance given that India added around 4 gigawatts (GW) of rooftop solar
capacity out of its 40 GW target by 2022.
• Rooftop solar installations are part of India’s renewable energy target of 175 GW to help
reduce its carbon footprint by 33-35% from the 2005 levels, as part of global climate change
transition commitments adopted by 195 countries in Paris in 2015.

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 • World Bank is collaborating with SBI to implement a $648 million financing and technical
assistance programme for solar rooftops.

12. Telangana Grameena Bank and Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank became first
Regional Rural Banks in the country to adopt video-KYC facility.
• The two regional rural banks were selected by State Bank of India to implement the pilot
project of the video-KYC, which will be offered at all 14 RRBs sponsored by SBI.
• Digital Insta Savings Account mobile app of Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank
(APGVB) and Telangana Grameena Bank (TGB) was also launched by State Bank of India
chairman Dinesh Kumar Khara.

13. Cashfree (a Bengaluru based company) has partnered with PayPal to enable international
payments for merchants.
• With this partnership, businesses can use the PayPal Express Checkout option.
• Prices of all products will be shown in over 28 currencies and customers with a PayPal
account will be able to use the PayPal Express Checkout button and pay in their preferred
currency.

14. State Bank of India has partnered with JPMorgan to use the US bank’s blockchain
technology named as Liink to speed up overseas transactions.
• SBI is the first bank in India to go live on the network.
• Liink is meant for a peer-to-peer network, with financial institutions, corporates and fintech
companies subscribing to it internationally.
• This enables users to make secure as well as peer-to-peer data transfers with greater
speed and control. It also mitigates risks involved in cross-border transactions.
• SBI has integrated Liink into its operations to exchange payments-related information with
other financial institutions.

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15. National Stock Exchange (NSE) on has signed an agreement with Small Industries
Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to explore the feasibility of a debt capital platform for
the MSMEs.
• This is in line with the recommendations of an expert committee on MSMEs, headed by
former Sebi chairman U K Sinha.
• Debt Financing is a way of availing working capital loans / capital expenditure loans by
pledging debt instruments.

16. Arya (Post-harvest agritech firm) has partnered with Canara Bank for collateral management
and warehousing services.
• The objective is to support and extend finance to farmers, farmer producer organisations
(FPOs), processors and various depositors stocking their produce in warehouses managed
by Arya.
• Arya located in Uttar Pradesh. MD of Arya - D.Chattanathan and Prasanna Rao

17. Siemens Ltd has completed the acquisition of 99.22% equity shares in C&S Electric Ltd from
the company's promoters for Rs 2,100 crore.

18. Central Government has introduced amendments to the Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017
to improve the working of the Insurance Ombudsman mechanism and make it more
consumer friendly.
• Ombudsman mechanism is administered by the Executive Council of Insurers, which has
now been renamed as the “Council for Insurance Ombudsmen”.
• Earlier, the Ombudsman was allowed only for disputes. But now, it has been extended to
cover the deficiencies in any service on the part of insurers / insurance-agents / brokers
and other insurance-intermediaries.
• Now, the insurance brokers have been included in the Ombudsman mechanism. This
indicates that brokers will also get punishment/ penalty for negligence of their duty.

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 • Electronic Mode – for complaint filing, “complaints management system” to track the
status of complaints, hearings through video-conferencing – has been included in
Ombudsman mechanism.
• In case of any Ombudsman vacancy, the workload of resolving the consumers’
grievances will be shifted to another ombudsman so that customers don’t face any delays.
• The selection committee of Ombudsman should also include an individual with a track
record of promoting consumer rights or advancing the cause of consumer protection in the
insurance sector.
• Time and Cost efficiency for consumers in resolving the complains should be achieved
through new rules.

19. Exim Bank has extended a Line of Credit of $10.40 million to Eswatini (Swaziland) on
behalf of the Indian government for projects in sectors including IT, disaster management and
agriculture.
• This is a soft loan (loans which are given at a lower interest rate or loans which extend
other concessional benefits in the favour of the borrower).
• With the signing of this agreement, Exim Bank, till date has extended three LoCs to
Eswatini, taking the total value to USD 68.30 million.

20. Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (headquartered in Dharwad) has signed an MoU with Our
Food Pvt Ltd (Visakhapatnam).
• Purpose – for providing processing units / machines / equipment to farmers through the
bank loan.
• Under the MoU, vendor will ensure supply, delivery and installation of high-quality,
standardised and branded equipment/machinery as per the requirement of the farmer.
• Also, Our Food Pvt Ltd will procure the processed materials and sell them to bulk buyers.
Thus, the organization will help in marketing of the agricultural produce.
• Chairman of KVGB - P Gopi Krishna
• MD of Our Food Pvt Ltd - Bala Reddy

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21. Axis Securities has launched 'YIELD' - an online platform to buy and sell bonds as well as
debentures in the secondary market.
• YIELD is the first-of-its-kind initiative that allows retail investors direct access to the debt
instruments.
• The platform trades only 'AAA' to 'A' rated quality debt instruments for investment in the
secondary market.
• The trades and settlement of transactions executed will be reported on the BSE NDS (new
debt segment) platform.

22. SEBI has cancelled the certificate of registration of Sahara India Financial Corporation as a
sub-broker because of its failure to fulfil the “fit and proper” criteria.

23. Central govt is planning to sell up to 16% (7.52 crore shares) stake in IRCON International
through an offer for sale (OFS) to raise about Rs 662 crore.
• Disinvestment target for FY21 - Rs 2.10 lakh crore (Rs 1.20 lakh crore from Central
Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) stake sale and Rs 90,000 crore from sale of government
stake in financial institutions).

24. Bharat Petroleum Corp. has announced to sell its 61.65% stake in Numaligarh Refinery Ltd.
(Assam) for $1.3 billion as part of its own privatization process.
• Numaligarh Refinery’s shareholding pattern – BPCL (61.65%), Oil India Ltd. (26%) and
Assam govt (12.35%).

25. Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has kept the interest rates unchanged
on provident fund deposits at 8.5% for financial year 2020-21.

26. As per the provisional data from the Ministry of Commerce, China has again emerged as
India's biggest trade partner in 2020.
• US and UAE are at the 2nd and 3rd positions as India’s trading partners.

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27. Reliance Power has formed a joint venture with Jera Co. Inc (headquartered in Japan) to
develop a new gas-fired power generation project in Bangladesh.
• The company has achieved financial closure for the project with a group of lenders
including Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Asian Development Bank.
• The project is to build, own, and operate a 745-MW natural gas combined-cycle power
project in Meghnaghat near Dhaka.

28. Kotak Mahindra Bank has signed an MoU with Indian army to handle the salary account of
the Army personnel.
• Army personnel will be able to get benefits of Kotak’s exclusive offers.

29. PNB Housing Finance has signed a co-lending agreement with Yes Bank in the retail home
loans segment.
• In 2020, the RBI allowed the co-origination of housing finance companies (HFCs) with
banks to enable non-banking finance companies and other banking institutions to
collaborate for providing loans.

30. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has partnered with SBI Payments to launch
the ‘RuPay SoftPoS’ for Indian merchants.
• Purpose - to transform NFC enabled smartphones into merchant Point of Sale (PoS)
terminals for the retailers.
• Merchants will now be able to accept contactless payments of up to ₹5000 through a simple
tap and pay mechanism on their smartphones.

31. HDFC ERGO General Insurance has introduced Business Kisht Suraksha — a unique
cover aimed at protecting the balance sheet of MFIs, financial institutions and banks in the
event of a catastrophe or natural disaster.

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 • It aims to limit the impacts on the balance sheet of financial institutions, due to non-payment
of EMIs by borrowers, resulting out of listed calamities.
• HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company is a 51:49 joint venture between Housing
Development Finance Corporation Ltd. (HDFC) and ERGO International AG; the primary
insurance entity of the Munich Re Group of Germany.

32. LinkedIn Opportunity Index 2021 has been released to assess the manner women perceive
their opportunities.
• 85% of women in India have missed out on a raise, promotion because of their gender.

33. RBI has published its State of the Economy Report. The report highlights the situation of
refiners’ business.

34. HDFC Bank has launched 'SmartUp Unnati' for women entrepreneurs.
• It has been launched for the bank’s existing customers of the SmartUp program. Initially, it
will target 3000 women enrolled in the SmartUp programme.
• Under the program, senior women personnel of the bank will train women entrepreneurs for
one year to help them achieve their goals.
• In 2018, the bank had launched an online mentoring platform for banking start-ups under its
SmartUp Program. Under the SmartUp programme, the bank is working with various state
governments, incubators and accelerators to promote entrepreneurship.

35. Axis Bank has launched its banking services on WhatsApp.

• This initiative is in line with the bank’s ‘Dil Se Open’ philosophy, to build sharper customer
focus and greater convenience through constant innovation.

36. Ministry of Commerce and Industry has released the data on FDI inflows in India during the
first 9 months of FY21 (April-December 2020).

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 • India has attracted total FDI inflow of US$ 67.54 billion during April to December 2020. It is
the highest ever for the first ninth months of a financial year and 22% higher as
compared to the first ninth months of 2019-20 (US$ 55.14 billion).
• FDI equity inflow grew by 40% in the first 9 months of F.Y. 2020-21 (US$ 51.47 billion)
compared to the year ago period (US$ 36.77 billion).
• FDI inflow increased by 37% in 3rd Quarter of 2020-21 (US$ 26.16 billion) compared to 3rd
quarter of 2019-20 (US$ 19.09 billion).
• FDI has three components: equity capital, reinvested earnings and intra-company loans, as
per the World Investment Report 2007 of UNCTAD.

37. For the first time, RBI will conduct simultaneous purchase and sale of securities (aka
Operation Twist) along with open market operations to stabilize yields.
• Purchase of ₹20,000 crore and sale of ₹15,000 crore, and open market operations of ₹5000
crore will be conducted on 10 March.
• RBI will purchase securities maturing in 2025, 2028, 2030 and 2033, and sell short-dated
securities maturing in November this year, and February and May of next year.

38. Fastrack (Titan-owned youth accessories brand) has partnered with SBI’s Yono to provide
digital payment option to the buyers of its products.

39. Federal Bank has partnered with Mastercard to issue its independent credit card for its
customers.
• Also, the bank partnered with Fiserv to enable the digitisation of the end-to-end card
issuance and processing cycle.

40. BSE Investments Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of BSE, has signed a joint venture
agreement with Frontier Agriculture Platforms Private Limited (FAPL) for developing
innovative solution for the agriculture produce trading markets.

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 • As part of this joint venture, FAPL bought a 40% equity stake in BSE E-Agricultural
Markets Limited (BEAM).
• This partnership aims to enhance the access of investors to the agricultural markets and
create a single market for agricultural commodities.

41. Indian Bank has announced to divest its stake in joint venture entity ASREC (India) Ltd as
part of the monetisation of the bank's non-core assets.
• The bank holds a 38.26% stake in ASREC (India) Ltd.
• ASREC is an asset reconstruction company in which Bank of India, Union Bank of India,
LIC and Deutsche Bank are the shareholders. The company buys NPAs of banks.
• Indian Bank got RBI’s permission in 2004 to carry out activities under the Securitisation
and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest
(SARFAESI) Act 2002.

42. AckoDrive has partnered with IDFC FIRST Bank to issue free FASTags.
• These FASTags can also be used for contactless payments for fuel purchase at HPCL
pumps.

43. Yes Bank has launched Yes Essence - A Holistic Banking Proposition For Women.
• Under the Yes Essence, a suite of services will be provided to the women customers of the
bank.
• The services will be offered to customers belonging to various categories like salaried,
senior citizen, homemaker and entrepreneur.
• The suite includes some of the common benefits for all classes of customers, which are:
o Accelerated YES REWARDZ points
o Complimentary healthcare package
o Preferential pricing on loans
o Fee waiver on Demat and trading account
o High cash withdrawal & Shopping limits on Debit Cards

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44. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank has launched 'Garima Savings Account' for its women
customers.
• It will offer multiple customised benefits to women, including up to a maximum of 7% rate of
interest on the savings account.
• Ujjivan SFB started its banking operations in February 2017 with pilot branches in
Bengaluru.

45. Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank (headquartered in Dharwad) has launched the ‘Vikas Asha’
loan scheme for women.
• This new loan scheme is exclusively for women to meet business-related needs, including
purchasing machinery/equipment/vehicle, and working capital requirements under micro
and small enterprises, including retail trade.
• Under this scheme, the bank will extend loan up to a maximum of ₹10 lakh with a
repayment period of 84 months.

46. Aquaconnect (aquaculture tech company) has partnered with Bank of Baroda for facilitating
formal credit for 1.6 million aquaculture farmers.
• The company aims to target Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Orissa and later
extend it to other states of India.
• Credit access will be provided under the Kisan Credit Card scheme at an annual interest
rate of 10%. The fish and shrimp farmers can also avail the advisory services and quality
farm inputs from Aquaconnect platform.
• Under this partnership, Bank of Baroda has extended loan for up to Rs 10 lakhs under
KCC scheme and fisheries loan.
• Higher credit limits can also be availed under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana
(PMMSY) and The Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF)
schemes on case to case basis.
Note: Prepare all the schemes mentioned in the news thoroughly.

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47. DBS Bank India has partnered with TRRAIN (Trust for Retailers & Retail Associates of India),
a non-profit engaged in training and placement of youth in e-commerce & retail sectors.
• Purpose – to upskill the differently abled youth and individuals who are affected by the
pandemic.
• The training will be conducted through one-year-long pan-India program, a combination
of classroom and online training sessions, at TRRAIN centres in different cities.
• This partnership is a part of the 'DBS Stronger Together Fund' initiative.

About DBS Bank India’s social initiatives:

• 'DBS Stronger Together Fund' – launched in 2020 to help people affected by the Covid-
19 pandemic. Corpus of the fund is Rs 10.5 million. Through the fund, the bank provided
about 4.5 million meals and care packs to affected individuals across Singapore, Hong
Kong, China, India, Indonesia, and Taiwan [no need to remember countries’ name].
• 'Towards Zero Food Waste' – launched in 2020 to reduce food waste.
• Partnership with UNICEF – The bank also partnered with UNICEF, United Way,
Metropolis Labs and others to scale up public health infrastructure, provide medical
supplies and equipment, and sponsor-free testing for the underprivileged.

48. Magicbricks has partnered with Razorpay and HDFC Bank to create a secure online solution
for rent payments through credit cards.
• A secured ‘Pay Rent’ feature will be provided.

49. FDI in the insurance sector has been increased to 74% from 49% by virtue of the Insurance
(Amendment) Bill, 2021, which amends the Insurance Act, 1938.
• This bill has been passed by the Parliament.

50. E-invoicing under the GST regime will become mandatory for companies with a turnover of
Rs 50 crore and more from April 1, 2021 for business to business transactions.

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 • This will be the third phase of e-invoicing roll out, which was rolled out for entities with Rs
500 crore and more turnover from October 1 last year and later extended to entities with Rs
100 crore and above from January 1 this year.
• Sectors like transportation, insurance and banking companies, other financial institutions,
non-banking financial companies, goods transportation agencies, and passenger
transportation services are exempt from e-invoicing.
• Also, units in special economic zones too are exempt from this.

51. Samsung Electronics’ System LSI Business, Mastercard, and Samsung Card have signed
an MoU to develop a biometric card that features a built-in fingerprint scanner to authorize
transactions securely at in-store payment terminals.
• This fingerprint biometric payment card will increase the security of transactions.

52. Karur Vysya Bank and Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company jointly
announced launching of the co-lending business in a partnership.

53. Axis Bank has introduced wearable contactless payment devices to enable customers pay
on the go.
• Called ‘Wear ‘N’ Pay’, the devices come in the form of a band, key chain and watch loop,
and are available at a fee point of ₹750.
• Customers can wave it at a PoS machine for transactions up to ₹5,000, beyond this limit, a
PIN is required to complete the transaction.

54. SBI has topped the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s (MeitY’s) Digital
Payment Scorecard for the third consecutive month.
• SBI processed 64 crore transactions on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform and
has a user base of 13.5 crore.
• 67% of its total transaction volume was done through digital platforms.

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 • SBI accounts for a fourth of all mobile banking transactions in the country and its net
banking is used by over 8.5 crore customers and has the highest traffic in its segment.
• SBI’s debit cards have a 30% share of the market in card spends and a 29% share in
transaction volume.

55. Paytm has launched ‘Smart PoS’ application to enable merchants to accept debit and credit
card payments through their smartphone.
• Also, Paytm has launched the new version of its Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled
‘Soundbox’, which provides instant voice-based confirmations of payments to merchants.
• Paytm aims to reach 50 million merchants in the next two years.
• The Smart PoS is supported by the ‘Paytm for Business’ app and enables merchants to
start accepting contactless card payments using near field communication (NFC)
technology.
• The company has partnered with financial services institutions, including Visa and
MasterCard, for facilitating card payments for Smart PoS.

56. According to the 'India FinTech: A $100 Bn opportunity' report by Boston Consulting
Group (BCG) and FICCI, India’s Fintech companies are expected to touch $150-160 billion
in valuation by 2025.
• In order to achieve this valuation, Indian Fintech will need investments of $20-25 billion
over the next five years.
• Number of Fintech, at present - over 2,100 (of which 67% were set up over the last 5
years alone).
• Present value of the Fintech industry - USD 50-60 billion.
• Since Jan 2020, three new Unicorns and five new Soonicorns (USD 500 Mn valuation)
have emerged in the fintech industry.
• The number of Indian FinTech Unicorns will more than double over the next few years.

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57. According to a report by Amazon Web Services, the number of employees requiring digital
skills in India will need to increase nine-fold by 2025 from its strength of 12% digitally skilled
employees.
• The research was conducted across six countries in the APAC region, including Australia,
India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.
• At present, nearly 150 million workers in six APAC countries apply digital skills on the job.
• The number of people who would be in need of digital skills is expected to increase over
800 million by 2025.
• Top five digital skills in-demand in India are:
o cloud architecture design (34%);
o software operations support (31%);
o website, game, or software development (28%);
o large-scale data modelling (28%);
o cybersecurity skills (27%).
• In order to meet the projected demand of digitally skilled employees, the six APAC
countries will need an estimated 5.7 billion digital skill sessions, and India will need a total
of 3.9 billion digital skill sessions, over the next five years.
• Title of the report - ‘Unlocking APAC’s Digital Potential: Changing Digital Skill Needs and
Policy Approaches’.

58. Edelweiss General Insurance, in partnership with InterMiles, has launched Edelweiss
Group Domestic Travel Insurance.
• This product is a free cancellation air travel policy to handle all cancellation concerns of
the customers.

59. RBI has removed IDBI Bank from its prompt corrective action (PCA) framework, which was
imposed in May 2017.
• PCA was imposed after it had breached certain regulatory thresholds, including capital
adequacy, asset quality and profitability.

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60. SEBI has formed a group of experts under SEBI’s Primary Market Advisory Committee
(PMAC) to examine the feasibility of introducing Special Purpose Acquisition Companies
(SPACs) like structures in India.
• Purpose - to explore the potential of SPACs while at the same time building adequate
checks and balances in regulatory framework to take care of the associated risks.
• SPACs are formed to raise capital in an initial public offering (IPO) with the purpose of
using the proceeds to identify and merge with a target company.
• SPACs are usually formed by private equity funds or financial institutions, with expertise in
a particular industry or business sector.

61. JP Morgan has successfully tested a blockchain transaction in space using Danish space
firm GomSpace’s satellites.
• It is the world’s first bank-led tokenised value transfer in space, executed via smart
contracts on a blockchain network, established between satellites orbiting the earth.
• The transaction was executed between two GOMX-4 satellites in the Low Earth orbit
(LEO).
• This is a major step towards developing a potential peers-to-peer satellite marketplace in
the long term, allowing data transfers between satellites against payment, as private
companies prepare to launch their own constellations.

62. SEBI has capped mutual funds' investment in certain debt instruments with special features
like non-convertible debentures which can be converted into equity upon trigger of a gloomy
event.
• A mutual fund house shall not invest more than 10% in such instruments issued by a
single issuer.
• Additional Tier 1 bonds and Tier 2 bonds issued under Basel III framework are some
instruments which may have special features as referred.
• According to SEBI, there are no specified investment limits presently for these instruments
with special features and these instruments may be riskier than other debt instruments.

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 • Also, a debt mutual fund scheme can invest at most 10% of its net assets in such debt by
all issuers and at most 5% of net assets under management in such debt sold by a single
issuer.
• The maturity of the perpetual bonds shall be treated as 100 years from the date of
issuance. Perpetual bonds are quasi debt instruments without any fixed maturity.
• SEBI's new regulations will come into effect from April 1, 2021.

63. BNP Paribas Cardif (HQ - France) has sold 4.99% stake in SBI Life Insurance.

64. Ministry of Commerce and Industry is in the process of developing a portal - Atmanirbhar
Niveshak Mitra - for easing the process for domestic investors.
• The portal is in the testing phase and will be launched by May 1, 2021.
• The ministry is also working on webpage that will be available in regional languages and
mobile app.
• The portal will provide daily updates on various things that include policies and new
initiatives by central and state governments; information about approvals; licenses,
clearances and different schemes and incentives; information on manufacturing clusters
and land availability; and applicable taxation system.
• The portal will have a dedicated digital investment promotion and facilitation team at
Invest India.

65. USA has become the second biggest oil suppliers of India by overtaking Saudi Arabia.
• Iraq continued to be the top oil seller to India.

66. Fourth Partner Energy (4PEL), Indian company, has set up a joint venture with Indonesia’s
Indika Energy, named as Empat Mitra Indika Tenaga Surya (EMITS).
• Purpose of the JV - for setting up integrated solar, storage and electric vehicle (EV)
charging projects in Indonesia.
• EMITS expects to bring in at least $500 Mn into Indonesia in the next 5 years.

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 • Shareholding Pattern in EMITS – 51% by Indika Energy and 49% by 4PEL (based in
Hyderabad)
• Fourth Partner Energy also has an equal JV with Lithium Urban Technologies to set up
solar powered EV charging infrastructure in India.
• Fourth Partner Energy has investors including TPG Capital that has invested through its
impact investment arm The RISE Fund. 4PEL has an operation portfolio of 400 MW.

67. India has become the 4th largest forex reserve holder by surpassing Russia, according to
International Monetary Fund’s data.
• Reason – accumulation of dollars by Reserve Bank of India to fend off any sudden
economic shock. The accumulation is a consequence of rare current-account surplus, rising
inflows into the local stock market and foreign direct investment.
• India’s foreign currency holdings were $580.3 billion as of March 5 as against Russia’s
$580.1 billion.
• China has the largest reserves, followed by Japan and Switzerland.
• India’s reserves are enough to cover roughly 18 months of imports.

68. RBI has asked all banks to extend Cheque Truncation System (CTS) to all branches across
the country by September 30, 2021 to make cheque settlement process faster in the country.

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 • Under the CTS, instead of physical movement of a cheque issued by a drawer, an
electronic image of the cheque is transmitted to the paying branch through a clearing
house, along with relevant information.
• CTS is in use since 2010 and presently covers around 1,50,000 branches.

69. SEBI has allowed Paytm Payments Bank (or Paytm UPI handle) to enable fast and seamless
payment mandates for IPO applications.
• For this, the Paytm Payments Bank partnered with Paytm Money.
• Paytm Money aims to bring 10 million Indians to equity markets by the financial year 2022.
• Now, customers can make payments towards IPOs through Paytm’s UPI handle.
• Paytm Money aims to open over 3.5 lakh Demat accounts by year-end and expects 60% of
users to be from small cities.
• PPBL MD and CEO - Satish Gupta

70. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched ‘UPI-Help’ feature on BHIM
app as a part of Digi-Help stack by NPCI.
• Purpose - to address issues and resolve complaints of users while conducting UPI
transactions.
• This UPI-Help shall help users register complaint online using their BHIM UPI app for UPI
transactions as well as resolve complaints online for person-to-person transactions.

71. Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India has launched Bachat Plus, a non-linked,
participating, individual life assurance savings plan.
• This plan allows applicants to either pay the premium in lump sum or avail the 5-year
limited premium paying option.
• This plan – available for sale for a maximum period of 180 days – would provide the tax-
saving option under Section 80C of Income Tax Act.
• Also, the applicants availing the single premium option will be able to avail the LTC Scheme
benefits.

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 • The minimum policy term may be opt for is 10 years and maximum 25 years under all the
options, except for the age range of 41 years to 44 years under the single premium Option
A, where the policy term may be availed is between 10 years and 16 years.

72. Vayana Network (a supply chain financing platform) has partnered with CRIF India, an RBI-
approved credit bureau, to introduce the Good Business Score (GBS).
• GBS will help Indian MSMEs measure and manage their business health effectively.
• GBS will help MSMEs signal their worth to prospective business partners, stand apart from
competition, and improve by understanding their own strengths and weaknesses.
• The score is based on ongoing GST data, from which parameters such as frequency,
recency, value of actual transactions and business dependency across customers, are
derived.
• A good score can also serve as a certificate to attract new business leads.

73. State Bank of India has been awarded the first Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR)-
linked $100 million External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) deal by Indian Oil Corporation
Ltd (IOCL) for five years.
• SOFR is an identified replacement for US Dollar London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR),
which is expected to be phased out at the end of 2021.

74. RBI has imposed a penalty of ₹2 crore on State Bank of India (SBI) for contravention of
certain provisions of Section 10 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and RBI’s specific
directions issued to the bank on payment of remuneration to employees in the form of
commission.
• Specifically, RBI has referred to contravention of section 10 (1) (b) (ii) of the BR Act,
whereby no banking company shall employ or continue the employment of any person
whose remuneration or part of the remuneration takes the form of commission or of a share
in the profits of the company.

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75. Indian Oil Corporation and Israeli battery developer Phinergy have formed a 50:50 joint
venture to manufacture ultra-lightweight metal-air batteries for electric vehicles (EVs).
• Maruti Suzuki and Ashok Leyland are this JV’s first customers.
• The JV will replace lithium with aluminium to make batteries that will charge faster and give
a longer run.

76. Deutsche Bank and Continuum Energy Levanter Pte Ltd (a subsidiary of Continuum Green
Energy) have executed the world’s first green hedging transaction.

77. Punjab National Bank has incorporated PNB Cards & Services, a wholly owned subsidiary
of the bank, to handle the credit card business of the bank.

78. International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Standard Chartered Bank have
partnered to offer IATA EasyPay service providers in India for enabling greater payment
flexibility to travel agents.

79. United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US International
Development Finance Corporation (DFC) have announced a $41 million-loan guarantee
program to finance investment in renewable energy projects by Indian SMEs.

80. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised $307 million from panda bond issue in more
than a decade, representing its largest-ever borrowing in an Asian local currency.
• ADB is a regular borrower in the mainstream international bond markets but has also led
issuances in developing Asian countries as part of its efforts to promote local currency bond
markets as an alternative to bank lending.

81. Union Bank of India has partnered with SMC Global Securities, a retail brokerage house, to
offer online trading services to the bank's customers.

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82. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) has acquired 31.5% stake of Windy
Lakeside Investment in the Gangavaram Port (GPL) for Rs 1,954 crore.
• GPL is located near the Visakhapatnam Port.
• With this acquisition, it would have an 89.6% stake in the port.

83. The Central government has announced to sell up to 16.12% stake in Tata Communications
Ltd through an Offer for Sale.

84. Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has launched 'Bharat e Market' - a vendor
onboarding mobile app – for its upcoming portal.
• The app will enable businesses and service providers to register on the portal and create
their own "e-dukaan".
• CAIT Secretary General - Praveen Khandelwal

85. SEBI has amended valuation rule of perpetual bonds via circular.
• As per the amended rules, the deemed residual maturity of Basel III additional tier-1
(AT-1) bonds will be 10 years until 31 March 2022.
• If the issuer does not exercise call option for any ISIN then the valuation and calculation of
Macaulay Duration shall be done considering maturity of 100 years from the date of
issuance for AT-1 Bonds and Contractual Maturity for Tier 2 bonds, for all ISINs of the
issuer.

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 • The circular mentioned that the period will be increased to 20 and 30 years over the
subsequent six-months.
• From April 2023 onwards, the residual maturity of AT-1 bonds will become 100 years from
the date of issuance of the bond.

86. POWERGRID, a central PSU under Ministry of Power, has established an e-Tendering Portal-
PRANIT for promoting less paperwork and ease of operation, making the tendering process
more transparent.
• The portal has been certified by Standardisation, Testing and Quality Certification
Directorate (STQC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

87. RBI has set up a standing external advisory committee, chaired by former RBI deputy
governor Shyamala Gopinath, to evaluate applications for universal banks and small finance
banks (SFBs).
• The committee has five members.
• The panel will have a tenure of three years. The secretarial support to the committee would
be provided by RBI’s Department of Regulation.
• In 2016, RBI released guidelines for “on-tap” licensing of universal banks in the private
sector and in 2019, guidelines for “on-tap” licensing of SFBs.
• In both guidelines, RBI had indicated that a standing external advisory committee (SEAC)
would be constituted, which would evaluate the application in these spaces.

88. Central government has fully exited Tata Communications Ltd by selling its 26.12% stake
and has got Rs 8,846 crore in the process.

89. According to RBI’s data, India's export of software services stood at US$ 128.6 billion during
2019-20, which is a 9.1% growth over the previous year.

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90. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has hiked the
maximum cover under the standard health insurance plan – Arogya Sanjeevani Policy –
from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
• Insurers are mandated to offer a sum insured between Rs 50,000 to Rs 10 lakh under the
Arogya Sanjeevani policy as against the previous range of Rs 1 lakh - Rs 5 lakh.

91. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India and British High Commission launched a
publication titled “Handbook on Ethics for Insolvency Professionals: Ethical and Regulatory
Framework”.
• The handbook is based on inputs on the best practices followed by the Insolvency
Practitioners in the United Kingdom and aims to stimulate the highest standards of ethics
and professionalism among the Insolvency Professionals.

92. Competition Commission of India has approved the acquisition of 51% equity share of North
Eastern Electricity Supply Company of Odisha (NESCO) by Tata Power Company
Limited (TPCL) from Grid Corporation of Odisha Limited (GRIDCO).

93. Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd has signed an agreement with Jaiprakash Power
Ventures Ltd (JPVL) to acquire 74% stake in Jaypee Powergrid Ltd.
• Jaypee Powergrid Ltd is a joint venture between Power Grid Corporation and JPVL.

94. Central government has announced to sell its 15% stake in Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd via an offer
for sale to raise nearly Rs 750 crore.
• RVNL was incorporated as a 100% owned PSU of the Ministry of Railways in 2003.
• RVNL aims to raise extra-budgetary resources for Railways and implement projects relating
to creation and augmentation of capacity of rail infrastructure on fast-track basis.

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95. National Stock Exchange (NSE) has acquired a 26% equity stake in the Indian Gas
Exchange (IGX), the country’s first physical delivery-based gas exchange under India Energy
Exchange.
• ONGC has also bought a 5% stake in the exchange.
• Adani-Total Gas, Torrent Gas, and GAIL (India) already own a 5% stake each in the
exchange.
• Indian Gas Exchange currently offers trading in five contracts at three physical hubs -
Hazira and Dahej in Gujarat and KG Basin in Andhra Pradesh.

96. Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has launched ‘IOB Trendy’, a savings account for the
millennial population (aged between 21 – 38 years) in the country.
• The account may be self or jointly operated.
• Features of IOB Trendy: -
o No ‘Opening Balance’ requirement
o No charges for non-maintenance of balance in the first month
o Need to maintain a daily minimum balance of ₹10,000 or a daily minimum balance of
₹5,000
o Need to maintain a digital turnover (transactions using IOB ATM / CDM / IOB Mobile
Banking or Internet Banking etc.) of minimum of ₹20,000 per month.
o Free personalised accident (death) insurance cover of ₹5 lakh if the quarterly
average balance is ₹1 lakh and above,
o Auto-sweep facility when the balance exceeds ₹50,000 among others

97. According to Bloomberg’s data, Indian stocks gained the most among the world’s top 10
nations by market value in FY21 (2020-21).
• India’s aggregate market capitalization increased by 88% in dollar terms in FY21.
• Despite the sharp rise, India remained at the eighth position among countries with a
market capitalization of $2.8 trillion.
• US (m-cap: $45.83 trillion), China ($10.57 trillion), Canada ($2.89 trillion) are the top 3
countries in terms of m-cap.

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98. Union Bank of India has launched a co-branded “UNI – CARBON CARD” in collaboration
with HPCL on the Rupay platform.
• The card allows its holders to avail cashbacks and other benefits while purchasing fuel by
using this card at HPCL’s outlets.
• The card limit offered is 20% of gross Annual income with minimum of Rs 50,000/- with no
upper limit.

99. SEBI has introduced a new penal structure for commodity derivatives segment in the event of
delivery default.
• All clearing corporation, having commodity derivatives segment, should have an
appropriate deterrent mechanism to avoid wilful delivery default and ensure adequate
compensation to the non-defaulting counterparty.
• The penalty for delivery default by seller will now be 4% and 3% of the settlement price plus
replacement cost, respectively.
• With regard to futures contracts on agri-commodities, the penalty on seller in case of
delivery default would be 4% of settlement price along with replacement cost (difference
between settlement price and average of three highest of the last spot prices of 5
succeeding days after the commodity pay-out date, if the average price so determined is
higher than settlement price, else this component will be zero).

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 • In case of futures contracts on non-agri commodities, the penalty on defaulters would be
3% of settlement price along with replacement cost.
• SEBI has directed to deposit 1.75% of the settlement price to Settlement Guarantee Fund
(SGF) of the clearing corporation, while up to 0.25% of settlement price may be retained by
such corporation towards administration expenses.
• 1% of settlement price in case of non-agri goods or 2% of settlement price in case of agri
goods plus replacement cost will go to a buyer who was entitled to receive the delivery.

100. ICICI Bank has partnered with BillDesk and Razorpay to launch ‘EMI @ Internet
Banking’ – an instant EMI (Equated Monthly Instalments) facility on its internet banking
platform.
• The facility aims to offer increased affordability to millions of pre-approved customers, as it
enables them to convert their high-value transactions up to ₹5 lakh into easy monthly
instalments.

101. Adani Green Energy Ltd will buy 50 megawatt (MW) solar project in Telangana from
Toronto-headquartered SkyPower Global.
• The project is located in Telangana and was commissioned in Oct 2017.

102. Niyo (neo-banking platform), in partnership with Equitas Small Finance Bank and Visa,
has launched NiyoX— a mobile banking solution for millennials.
• Niyo’s Co-founder and CEO - Vinay Bagri

103. SEBI has approved changes in the framework of Innovators Growth Platform (IGP) under
the SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018 to make the
platform more accessible to the companies / start-ups.
• Aim – to make listing for start-ups easier.
Framework Amendments Existing

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Tenure & Percentage for 1 year – holding of 25% of 2 year - holding of 10% of pre-
holding pre-issue capital pre-issue capital of the issuer issue capital of the issuer
company company

Terminology Changed to 'Innovators Earlier, the term was

Growth Platform Investors' 'Accredited Investor'.

Threshold limit for open offer 49% 25%

to companies under IGP

IPO and lock-in period IPO-bound start-ups shall -

allocate up to 60% of the
issue size to any eligible
investor with a lock-in of 30
days on such shares.

De-listing requirements if the acquirer or promoter -

shareholding, along with the
shares tendered and
accepted, reaches 75% of the
total issued shares of that
class, and

at least 50% of the public

shareholding is tendered and
accepted.

Criterion for shifting to the Allocate 50% of the capital to -

BSE / NSE from IGP qualified institutional buyers.

• The reverse book-building mechanism will not be applicable to startups who wish to go
private.

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 • SEBI (Delisting Of Equity Shares) Regulations, 2009 and SEBI (Alternative Investment
Funds) Regulations, 2012 are other important regulations of SEBI.

104. Yes Bank has announced the launch of YES Essence Plus – a unique accelerator
program to support women-led startups in partnership with SHEROES, the women-only social
network.
• Over a 10-week period, the startups will receive training through virtual workshops
conducted by industry experts under this program.

105. Tata Motors Ltd has signed an MoU with the State Bank of India to provide affordable
finance schemes for its prospective customers for small and light commercial vehicles.
• As part of the MoU, Tata Motors will also expand its reach in the rural areas via SBI’s
network in the rural areas.

106. Karnataka Bank, in partnership with IIFL Securities Limited, launched “KBL Smart
Trade” -a unique facility in which all Karnataka Bank customers can access IIFL Securities
Demat & Trading account solution for their capital market needs.

107. BharatPe has rolled-out its innovative lending product- Distributor to Retailer (D2R)
Finance for empowering Small and Medium Enterprises.
• The product is designed to provide instant liquidity to distributors, wholesalers, traders and
dealers across industry verticals.
• Under D2R Finance, the company will offer collateral-free loans of up to Rs. 50 lakhs for a
period of 7 days to 30 days.
• BharatPe also shared that it has already facilitated D2R loans of Rs. 50 crores in the first
month of launch and aims to facilitate disbursals of Rs. 2500 crores via this new product in
the next fiscal year (FY22).

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 GDP FORECASTS
1. OECD Economic Outlook, Interim Report March 2021 has forecasted India’s GDP growth
forecast at 12.6% for 2021-22 and 5.4% for 2022-23.
• 2020-21 GDP forecast for India: (-) 7.4%
• Global economy to grow at 5.6% for 2021-22.
• Global GDP for FY23 – 4%
• Global GDP for FY21 – (-) 3.4%

2. CRISIL has forecasted an 11% GDP growth rate for India in 2021-22.
• GDP Growth rate for FY21 – (-) 8%
• GDP growth to average 6.3% between fiscals FY23 and FY25, which would be lower than
the 6.7% average growth seen in the decade preceding the pandemic.

3. Fitch Ratings has revised India's GDP growth estimate to 12.8% for 2021-22, in its latest
Global Economic Outlook.
• GDP growth will be 5.8% in FY23.

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 • Fitch expects world GDP to grow by 6.1% in 2021. Global GDP will decline by 3.7% in
2020-21.

4. Moody’s Analytics has forecasted a 12% GDP growth rate for India in 2021.
• 2020 GDP – (-) 7.1%
• Moody’s Analytics makes calendar year projections while Moody’s Investors Service
provides fiscal year estimates.

5. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has forecasted a -6.9%
GDP growth rate in 2020 and 5% in 2021 for India in its latest Trade and Development 2020
update.
• Global GDP – (-) 3.9% in 2020 and 4.7% in 2021.

6. S&P Global Ratings has increased India's growth forecast for financial year 2021-22 to
11%.
• S&P Global Ratings raised Asia Pacific's growth forecast to 7.3% for 2021.

APPOINTMENTS
1. Shri Jaideep Bhatnagar has taken over as the Principal Director General of Press
Information Bureau.

2. Mary Kom has been appointed as the chairperson of the International Boxing
Association's (AIBA) champions and veterans committee.
• This committee was formed in December last year.

3. Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj has been given the additional charge as the
secretary of the revenue department.

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4. NABARD Chairman G R Chintala has taken over the vice-chairmanship of the Asia Pacific
Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA).
• Present Chairman of APRACA - DPK GUNASEKERA (from Sri Lanka)
• 73rd EXCOM and 22nd General Assembly Meeting of the APRACA was held in New Delhi
recently.

About Asia Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association:

• The idea of establishing a Regional Association to promote cooperation and facilitates

mutual exchange of information and expertise in the field of rural finance was first
proposed at the Regional Seminar on Agricultural Credit for Small Farmers, sponsored by
the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the Pacific in October 1974.
• Subsequently, under the auspices of FAO, APRACA was launched in New Delhi, India, on
October 14, 1977, concurrent with the 3rd FAO Asian Conference on Agricultural Credit and
Cooperatives (October 10-14, 1977 in New Delhi).
• The General Secretariat of APRACA was established at the FAO Regional Office for Asia
and the Pacific (FAO-RAP) premises in Bangkok, Thailand.
• A total of 37 institutions from 16 countries (including India) joined the APRACA as founding
members. Now, the number of members has increased to 86 institutions in 24 countries.

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 • First chairman of APRACA - Mr. G.V.K. Rao from India; First Secretary General - Mr.
C.Y. Lee.

5. Glenmark Pharma has appointed cricketer Rohit Sharma as brand ambassador for its
product Candid Powder.

6. Ajai Malhotra has become the first Indian to be elected as Chairperson of the Advisory
Committee of the UN Human Rights Council.
• Malhotra first joined the Indian Foreign Services in 1977.

7. Tirath Singh Rawat has sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand.

8. Arcil (Asset reconstruction company) has appointed Pallav Mohapatra as its new chief
executive officer and managing director.
• Prior to this, Mahapatra was the MD & CEO of Central Bank of India.

9. Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Girish Chandra Murmu has been re-
appointed as the Chairman of the Panel of External Auditors of the United Nations for the
year 2021.
• He was the chairman in 2020 as well. Murmu has also been on the UN Board of Auditors
from 1993 to 1999 and from 2014 to 2020.
• Currently, Murmu is the external auditor of the World Health Organization, Geneva
(2020 - 2023) and Food & Agriculture Organization, Rome (2020 - 2025) and Inter
Parliamentary Union (2020-2022) among others.

About the Panel of External Auditors of the United Nations:

• Established - In 1959, UN General Assembly had established the Panel of External

Auditors, comprising the individual external auditors from the UN member nations, who are
also heads of supreme audit institutions of their respective countries.

166
 • Members - Presently, the panel consists of 13 countries -- India, Germany, Chile, China,
United Kingdom, France, Philippines, Switzerland, Italy, Ghana, Indonesia, Canada and
Russia.
• Secretariate - The Panel is hosted by UN Headquarters in New York.
• Purpose - The panel aims to achieve a greater degree of collaboration and coordination,
and exchange of information on audit methods and findings, among the Panel members.
o The panel also helps the United Nations and its Specialized Agencies to take
prudent financial decisions.

10. Thomas Bach (German) has been re-elected for an additional four-year term as President of
the International Olympic Committee (IOC) till 2025.
• Bach was an athlete with specialization in foil fencing. He won Olympic gold medal in 1976.
He is a lawyer as well.

About International Olympic Committee:

• IOC was created in 1894 by Pierre De Coubertin; the first Olympic Games of the modern
era opened in Athens on 6 April 1896.
• HQ - Lausanne, Switzerland
• Members – At present, 103 members (including Indians*), 47 honorary members, and 1
honorary president- Count Jacques Rogge.
o Indians – At present, Narinder Batra (who is also the President of Indian Olympic
Association and FIH) and Nita Ambani are members of IOC.

11. Central government’s Department of Personnel and Training has appointed Dr G P

Samanta as the new Chief Statistician of India (CSI). His tenure is of 2 years.
• Dr Samanta was currently deputed as an advisor in the RBI's Department of Statistics and
Information Management.

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12. Satishwar Balakrishnan has been appointed as the managing director and CEO of Aegon
Life Insurance.

13. Deepak Mishra has been appointed as the next director and chief executive of the Indian
Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).
• Mishra is a practice manager in the World Bank's macroeconomics, trade, and investment
global practice. He has held various positions in the World Bank.
• Prior to joining the World Bank, he worked at Tata Motors, Federal Reserve Board and
University of Maryland.

14. Kapil Dev (cricketer) was inducted as one of the board members of the Professional Golf
Tour of India (PGTI).
• Mr Gautam Thapar, Chairman & CEO, Avantha Group is President of PGTI.

15. Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan has been appointed as the
Chairman of the Stop TB Partnership Board (an international organization) for a tenure of 3
years.
• Established in the year 2001, the ‘Stop TB Partnership’ is mandated to eliminate
Tuberculosis as a public health problem.

16. NeoGrowth Credit Pvt. Ltd (a lender to small businesses) has appointed cricketer Ajinkya
Rahane as its brand ambassador.

17. Union Minister Anurag Thakur became the first serving MP to be appointed as Captain in
the Territorial Army.

18. Saurabh Garg has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Unique
Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

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 • Sanjeev Kumar has been appointed as the Chairman of Airports Authority of India
(AAI).
• Atish Chandra will be Chairman and Managing Director of Food Corporation of India
in the rank and pay of Additional Secretary.

19. Indian Police Service officer MA Ganapathy has been appointed as the Director-General of
National Security Guard (NSG).
• IPS officer Kuldep Singh has assumed the additional charge as the Director General of
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

20. Samia Suluhu Hassan has become the first woman President of Tanzania.
• Capital: Dodoma
• Currency: Tanzanian shilling

21. Denis Sassou Nguesso has been re-elected as the President of the Republic of Congo.
• Capital: Brazzaville
• Currency: Central African CFA franc

IMPORTANT DAYS
1. National Protein Day is observed on February 27 in India.
• Theme - ‘Powering With Plant Protein’
• The first Protein Day was celebrated on February 27, 2020 in India.

2. National Science Day is celebrated every year on February 28.

• Theme - "Future of STI: Impacts on Education, Skills, and Work"
Category Sub-categories and its Winners

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 National Science and Technology Outstanding Story in PDF Category- Dr
Communication Awards, Augmenting Writing Sangeeta Dutta
Skills for Articulating Research (AWSAR)
First Prize in PhD category - Ms Pooja Maurya
awards

Rajendra Prabhu Memorial Appreciation Shield S. Anil Kumar, Kerala

for outstanding work in science media and
journalism

Appreciation Shield for National S&T S&T Awards in India: Dr Lalit Mohan, Society
Databases for Environment & Development (SED), Delhi

Indian origin Academicians Abroad: Dr. Rajesh

Bhatia & Team, Punjab Engineering College
(PEC), Chandigarh

Science and Technology Communication National Award for Outstanding Efforts in

Awardees Science & Technology Popularization among
Children -- (1) Indian Resource and
Development Association, Haryana (2) Dr.
Mihir Kumar Panda, Odisha

National Award for Outstanding Efforts in

Science & Technology Communication through
Print Media including Books and Magazines:
Dr S. Anil Kumar, Kerala

National Award for Outstanding Efforts in

Science & Technology Communication in the
Electronic Medium: Dr Krishna Kumari Challa,
Telangana

3. World Wildlife Day is observed on March 3 by UN.

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 • Theme - "Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet"
• The day marks the signing of Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973.
• CITES Secretariate is in Switzerland.

4. National Safety Day is observed on March 4 to celebrate the establishment of the National
Safety Council in 1966. 2021 was the 49th edition of this day as it was first celebrated in
1972.
• Theme of the day - Sadak Suraksha (Road Safety).
• National Safety Week is from March 4 to 10.
• The National Safety Council is a non-profit and self-financing organisation running at the
national level. It was set up by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
• It aims to raise awareness about safety protocols and measures that need to be undertaken
seriously to avoid any type of accidents or mishappenings.
• Chairman of NSC - S.N. Subrahmanyan (CEO and Managing Director of L&T Ltd)

5. National Security Day or Rashtriya Suraksha Diwas is observed on March 4 to praise the
work of security forces.
• Ajit Doval is the National Security Advisor.
• The National Security Council was established in 1998.

6. CISF Raising Day is observed every year on March 10. It was set up under an act of the
Parliament of India on March 1969 with a strength of around 2,200 personnel.
• CISF stands for Central Industrial Security Force, which is a part of Central Armed Police
Force in India.

7. Women’s History Month will take place from March 1- March 31, 2021.
• Theme - "Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to Be Silenced."

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 • The month has been observed annually in the month of March in the United States since
1987.

8. International Women’s Day is observed on March 8 by UN.

• Theme - Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world
• The theme of International Women’s Day challenge is “#ChooseToChallenge”.

Events related to International Women’s Day 2021:

A) PNB Housing Finance has launched 'Women With Wheels' initiative, in partnership
with Delhi-based NGO Azad Foundation, on the occasion of the International Women's
Day.
• This initiative is part of the PNB’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project called
‘SHE'.
• The initiative will facilitate underprivileged women gain driving skills and also donate
electric cars to women in Jaipur and Indore.
B) On the International Women’s Day, Google Inc. launched the ‘Women Will’ web
platform (in Hindi and English) to support 1 million rural women entrepreneurs in
India to pursue their ambitions and improve their livelihoods.
• Google also announced a $500,000 Google.org grant to Nasscom Foundation to train
100,000 women Agri workers in Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan,
Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh on digital and financial literacy.
• The Foundation will set up a helpline where the women can get counselling on their
entrepreneurship-related queries.
• Initially, Google will work with 2,000 ‘Internet Saathis’ to help the women entrepreneurs.
C) Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly known as Victoria Terminus) in Mumbai was lit
up in pink two days before International Women's Day. It is a UNESCO World Heritage
Site.

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D) For the first time in the history of the world maritime sector, an all-women crew
onboard Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) vessel MT Swarna Krishna was flagged off.
This event also commemorated the diamond jubilee of SCI (estb. on Oct 2, 1961).
E) Grant Thornton (based in USA) has released the “Women in Business 2021” report.
ü This report highlights the gender diversity in senior management among the world’s
midmarket businesses. The report assesses gender diversity on six pillars - championing
the business case; knowing your diversity data; identifying and sourcing talent; opening
up development and enhancement opportunities; retaining diverse employees; and
creating an inclusive culture.
ü Global average percentage of women in senior management is 31%. India’s average is
at 39%.
ü India ranks 3rd globally in terms of women in senior management.
ü Globally, businesses with at least one woman in senior management has increased to
90%, the same stands at 98% in India.
ü India occupies 47% of the businesses having women CEOs or managing directors on
board compared with 26% globally.

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9. National Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Awareness Day is observed on March 10 every
year in India by DIPSI (Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group in India) since 2016.
• India became the first country in the world to declare the GDM Day.

174
10. World Kidney Day is observed on the second Thursday of March (11 March 2021).
• Theme - Kidney health for Everyone, Everywhere – Living Well with Kidney Disease.
• 2021 is the year of “Living Well with Kidney Disease”.

11. International Day of Mathematics is celebrated on March 14 every year.

• Theme - "Mathematics for a Better World"
• Pi Day is also celebrated on March 14.

12. International Day of Action for Rivers is observed on March 14.

• Theme - 'Rights of Rivers'.
• 2021 was the 24th edition of this day.
Note: Prepare National Clean Ganga Mission thoroughly.

13. World Consumer Rights Day is observed on March 15.

• Theme - Tackling Plastic Pollution

14. National Vaccination Day or National Immunization Day was observed on March 16, 2021
to raise awareness about polio and Covid elimination.

15. Global Recycling Day is observed on March 18.

• Theme - “Recycling Heroes”

16. Ordnance Factory Day is observed on March 18.

• The Ordnance Factory Board was established in 1712.

17. UN French Language Day is observed on March 20.

• Theme - francophone women, resilient women
• There are six official languages of the UN. Following are the official language days with
their dates of observation: -

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 o Arabic (18 December)
o Chinese (20 April)
o English (23 April)
o French (20 March)
o Russian (6 June)
o Spanish (23 April)

18. International Day of Happiness is observed on March 20 by UN.

• Theme - 'Happiness For All, Forever’

19. International Day of Forests is observed on March 21 by UN.

• Theme - "Forest restoration: a path to recovery and well-being."

20. World Water Day is observed on March 22.

• Theme - "valuing water"
• UNESCO, in partnership with National Mission for Clean Ganga, the United Schools
Organization (USO), Water Digest and India based global animation major Toonz Media
Group, launched “H2Ooooh! – Waterwise program for children of India” last year.
o This program encouraged school students between the age of 6-14 years to submit
story ideas for animated short films to raise awareness on water conservation and its
sustainable use.
• Union Ministry of Jal Shakti has signed an MoU with Uttar Pradesh and Madhya
Pradesh govt for Ken-Betwa River Linking Project.
o It is the first project of the National Perspective Plan for interlinking of rivers.
o The Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP) is the river interlinking project that aims to
transfer surplus water from the Ken river in MP to Betwa in UP to irrigate the
drought-prone Bundelkhand region.
o The project will also benefit the districts of Jhansi, Mahoba, Lalitpur and Hamirpur of
Uttar Pradesh.

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 o The transfer of water will take place through the proposed Dhaudan Dam and a 221
km-long canal.
• JSA: Catch the Rain campaign, which was announced in December 2020, was launched
by PM virtually. The campaign will be carried out in all districts of the country.

21. World Meteorological Day is observed on March 23 by World Meteorological Organization.

• Theme - ‘the ocean, our climate and weather’.

22. World Tuberculosis Day is observed on March 24 each year.

• Theme - ‘The Clock is Ticking’.
• Lakshadweep (UT) and the district of Budgam (J&K) were declared TB-free as per the
State TBI Index.
• India has 30% of the world's TB cases. India’s target is to end tuberculosis by 2025.
• National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (1997) have led to an unprecedented
increase in TB notifications and significant improvements in timely diagnosis, adherence,
and treatment outcomes.
• Indigenously developed cost-effective, point-of-care molecular diagnostic machines
(called TrueNAT) were deployed to test for both Covid-19 and TB across the country.
• Himachal Pradesh was adjudged best State in the country on World TB Day.

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 • Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Harsh Vardhan, launched IDEFEAT TB Project and
Corporate TB pledge.
• India TB Summit 2021 was held on the theme of “Reimagining TB Care in India”. It was
organized by Survivors Against TB, Pi Consulting and Indian Express.
• India TB Report 2021 was also released.
Key Findings:

• Tuberculosis notifications reduced to 18.02 lakh in 2020 from 24.04 lakh in 2019 due to
lockdown and diversion of resources. This is a 25% reduction between Jan to Dec 2020.
• This is the first time since the TB strategic Plan (2017-2025) came into effect that the
notifications have dropped.
• India aims to meet the global target of eliminating the bacterial infection by 2025 — five
years ahead of schedule.
• According to the plan, TB kills an estimated 4,80,000 Indians every year and more than
1,400 every day.

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 AWARDS
1. “2021 TIME100 Next” annual list has been released to recognise the top 100 individuals doing
excellent work in different fields.
Categories Toppers Indians Featuring in the
respective categories

Artists Dua Lipa -

Phenoms Maitreyi Ramakrishnan -

(Actress of Canadian actress
of Tamil Sri Lanka origin)

Leaders Sanna Marin Vijaya Gadde (Chief Legal

Officer of Twitter)

Rishi Sunak (Britain’s Finance

Minister)

Apoorva Mehta (Founder &

CEO of Instacart)

Advocates Marcus Rashford Shikha Gupta (Doctor and

Executive Director of ‘Get Us
PPE’

Chandra Shekhar Aazad (only

Indian Activist on the list)

Innovators Telfar Clemens Rohan Pavuluri (Founder of

Upsolve)

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2. Golden Globes Awards 2021 – annual awards given by Hollywood Foreign Press
Association to recognize talent in international and American film and American TV industry –
have been announced.
Categories Winners

Best Picture – Drama Nomadland

Best Picture - Musical/ Comedy Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Best Actress - Motion Picture – Drama Andra Day FOR The United States VS. Billie
Holiday

Best Actor - Motion Picture – Drama Chadwick Boseman FOR Ma Rainey’s Black
Bottom

Best Actress - Motion Picture - Musical/ Rosamund Pike, I Care A Lot

Comedy

Best Actor - Motion Picture - Musical/ Comedy Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat Subsequent
Moviefilm

Best Director - Motion Picture Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture Aaron Sorkin, The Trial OF THE Chicago 7

Best Picture – Animated Soul

Best Picture - Foreign Language Minari, Us

Best Drama Series The Crown

Best Musical/ Comedy Series Schitt’s Creek

Best Television Motion Picture The Queen’s Gambit

Best Actress - Television Motion Picture Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen’s Gambit

Best Actor - Television Motion Picture Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True

Best Television Actress - Drama Series Emma Corrin, The Crown

Best Television Actor - Drama Series Josh O’connor, The Crown

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 Best Television Actress - Musical/ Comedy Catherine O’hara, Schitt’s Creek
Series

Best Television Actor - Musical/ Comedy Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso

Series

3. Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards 2021 were announced.

• Dhundiraj Govind Phalke (Dadasaheb) was the Father of Indian Cinema. He was a
producer-director-screenwriter.

4. Swadhinta Puraskar is the highest civilian award of Bangladesh.

• In 2021, it was given to 9 individuals and 1 organization.

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5. Hurun Global Rich List 2021 has been released.
• Top – Elon Musk (Tesla CEO)
• Mukesh Ambani at 8th rank.

6. President Ram Nath Kovind has presented a baton of honour and a letter of appreciation
to former Puducherry lieutenant governor Kiran Bedi in recognition of her service in the Union
territory of Puducherry.

7. Telangana Lt. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan (also a Physician) was one of the winners
among the Top 20 winners of Global Women of Excellence Award for 2020.
• Top 20 women include US V-P Kamala Harris.
• The award instituted by the US Congressional Multi Advisory Task Force led by
Congressman Danny K. Davis.
• The award will be presented during the 9th Congressional International Women’s Day Gala
at Naperville, Illinois, the USA, on March 7.

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8. Indian-American Naureen Hassan has been named as the First Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer (COO) of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
• New York Fed President and CEO - John C. Williams
• She was, most recently, the Chief Digital Officer for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
(MSWM).

9. Koneru Humpy (Chess player from Andhra Pradesh) has won the BBC Indian Sportswoman
of the Year (ISWOTY) award for 2020.
• Anju Bobby George (former long jumper) won the Lifetime Achievement award. She is
the only athlete to win a World Championship athletics medal for India.
• Emerging Player of the Year award was won by Manu Bhaker (airgun shooter). This
award was added to the list for the first time.
• BBC director general - Tim Davie; the awards are based on public vote. The BBC Indian
Sportswoman of the Year initiative was launched in 2019.
• In 2020, Indian badminton player PV Sindhu became the first person to win BBC ISWOTY
Award.

10. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has received the prestigious International
“King Bhumibol World Soil Day - 2020 Award” conferred by the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), Rome.
• Reason – for creating awareness about soil health.
• Launched in 2018, the King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award acknowledges individuals or
institutions that raise public awareness of soils by organising successful and influential
World Soil Day celebrations.

11. Former President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, has won the 2020 Ibrahim Prize for
Achievement in African Leadership.
• Issoufou is the sixth recipient of the Ibrahim Prize, which is awarded on criteria of good
governance, democratic election and respect of terms limits.

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12. Mohankrishna Bohara has been chosen for the 30th Bihari Puraskar Award for his critical
work ‘Taslima: Sangharsh aur Sahitya’.
• KK Birla Foundation confers this award.

13. Sahitya Akademy Awards 2020 have been announced. Some prominent awardees:
• Poet Arundhathi Subramaniam - For her poetry collection When God is a Traveller in
English.
• Politician-writer M Veerappa Moily - For his epic poetry titled Sri Bahubali
Ahimsadigvijayam in Kannada.
• Writer-director Venita Coelho has been named as the recipient for the Bal Sahitya
Puraskar 2020 for her book Dead as a Dodo.
• English author Yashica Dutt received the Yuva Puraskar for her memoir Coming Out As
Dalit among other recipients of the respective awards.
• The award is worth Rs 1,00,000. The award is announced for 20 regional languages.
Note: You can visit the full list of winners at

http://sahitya-akademi.gov.in/awards/akademi%20samman_suchi.jsp

14. Kerala's tuberculosis eradication programme has won national honour from the Union
Govt for reducing the prevalence of the disease through various systematic initiatives.
• Kerala is the only state which has been chosen for the recognition in the state category.
• TB prevalence in Kerala has been reduced by 37.5% in the last five years as part of
achieving the sustainable development goals.
• This progress was achieved through various projects including "Akshaya Kerala' under the
"My Tuberculosis Free Kerala" scheme implemented by the state Health Department.

15. 63rd Grammy Awards, 2021 have been announced. The awards are organized Los Angeles.
It is given in the field of music.

16. 2021 Pritzker Architecture Prize has been given to Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe
Vassal.

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 • The award was established by the Pritzker family of Chicago through their Hyatt Foundation
in 1979 to honour living architecture.
• In 2018, architect Balkrishna Doshi became the first Indian to win this prize.

17. 67th National Film Awards, 2019 was held.

• Most Film Friendly State Award – Sikkim

18. India has conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize 2020 upon Bangladesh's 'Father of the Nation'
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
• The award was received by his daughters - Premier Sheikh Hasina and her younger sister
Sheikh Rehana.
• Mr. Modi arrived in Bangladesh on a two-day visit to attend the celebrations of the golden
jubilee of the country's independence, the birth centenary of ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman and hold talks with his counterpart Hasina.
• The Gandhi Peace Prize is an annual award instituted by the Government of India since
1995, the 125th birth anniversary commemoration year of Mahatma Gandhi.
• It was for the first time that the award was given away posthumously.

185
 • For the year 2019, the award was given to (Late) His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al
Said of Oman.

19. HDFC Bank was adjudged the 'India's Best Bank for SMEs' at the Asiamoney Best Bank
Awards 2021.
• Asiamoney is a financial magazine based in Hong Kong.

20. Amitabh Bachchan will be first Indian cinema personality to be honoured with an award by
the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF).
• He has got this award for his dedication and contribution to the preservation of the world’s
film heritage.
• The FIAF is a worldwide organisation headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. It comprises of
film archives and museums from across the world.

186
21. Renowned Hindi writer Professor Sharad Pagare has been chosen for the Vyas Samman-
2020 for his novel ‘Patliputra ki Samragi’.
• Vyas Samman is a literary award given by K.K. Birla Foundation on an annual basis.

22. ESAF Small Finance Bank has been awarded ‘Great Place to Work’ certification by the
Great Place to Work Institute.

23. Singer Asha Bhosle has been selected for the Maharashtra Bhushan award.

SPORTS
1. Former India cricketer and Karnataka captain R. Vinay Kumar announced his retirement from
international and First-Class cricket.
• He hails from Davanagere, Karnataka. He is nicknamed as "The Davangere Express".

2. Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has won the gold medal in the women's 53-kg category at
XXIV Outstanding Ukrainian Wrestlers and Coaches Memorial in Kyiv, Ukraine.

3. All India Football Federation has confirmed Odisha as the venue for the 2020-21 edition of
the Hero India Women’s League.
• This is the fifth edition of the IWL, which began in 2016 and was held in Delhi.
• Gokulam Kerala FC is the current champion of this game as on Feb 14, 2020.
• 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup – India
• 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup – India

4. Ministry of Sports has restored the recognition of the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI)
after 10 years.
• The recognition has been granted till December 31 this year. The GFI was de-recognised
by the ministry in 2011 because of infighting in the body.

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 • The ministry has also considered Sudhir Mittal's election as president in the polls held in
November 2019 and Kaushik Bidiwala as treasurer and S Shanti Kumar as General
Secretary.

5. Jammu and Kashmir has topped the medals tally in the 2nd edition of Khelo India Winter
National Games that was held in Gulmarg in the north Kashmir's Baramulla district.
• Medals won by J&K- 11 gold, 18 silver and 5 bronze medals.
• The event was organised by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in
collaboration with the J&K Sports Council and the Winter Games Association of
Jammu and Kashmir.

6. Indian shuttlers Varun Kapur and Malvika Bansod have won the men's and women's
singles titles respectively at the 2021 Uganda International in Kampala, capital of Uganda.

7. Kieron Pollard (West Indies cricketer) has become just the third batsman in international
cricket to hit 6 sixes in an over.
• Pollard achieved the feat when he hit Sri Lanka's Akila Dananjaya out of the park 6 times in
the 6th over of West Indies' successful chase in the first T20I at the Coolidge Cricket
Ground in Antigua.
• Yuvraj Singh had become the first player to hit 6 sixes in an over in T20I cricket against
England's Stuart Broad in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007.

8. Deepak Kumar has won the silver medal at the 72nd Strandja Memorial Tournament
(boxing) in Sofia, Bulgaria.

9. VIVO is back as the title sponsor for IPL 2021, which was confirmed by IPL governing council
chairman, Brijesh Patel.

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10. 35th edition of the Boxam Tournament (in Boxing) was hosted by Spanish Boxing
Federation in Castellón de la Plana, Spain.
• Indians won 10 medals (with only one gold medal which is won by Manish Kaushik in 63kg
category). Indian contingent had 14-members (8 men and 6 women).

11. YONEX Swiss Open 2021 (badminton tournament) was held in Basel, Switzerland.
• Men’s singles – Viktor Axelsen; followed by India’s Kidambi Srikanth at 3rd rank
• Women’s singles – Carolina Marin; followed by India’s PV Sindhu

12. Indian cricket team won the Anthony de Mello Trophy in defeating England in 2020-21 test
series which was held at Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad.
• Player of the match – Rishabh Pant
• Player of the series – Ravichandran Ashwin
• After this series, India qualified for the World Test Championship final against New
Zealand to be held at Southampton's Ageas Bowl Stadium in UK from June 18-22.
o This is the maiden edition of World Test Championship 2019-21.

13. National Anti-Doping Agency's (NADA) disciplinary panel has imposed sanctions on
weightlifter Madhavan R and boxer Ruchika for doping.

14. Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat won the gold medal in 53kg at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking
Series event held at Rome, Italy.
• Bajranj Punia also won gold in men’s 65kg category.
• Total 8 medals were won by Indian team, including 2 gold, 1 silver, and 5 bronze medals.
• Rankings – Vinesh Phogat (No. 1 in 53kg) and Bajrang Punia (No.1 in 65 kg category).
• This was organized by the United World Wrestling (UWW).

15. ISSF World Cup Shotgun was organized in Cairo, Egypt by International Shooting Sport
Federation (ISSF) from Feb 22 to Mar 5.

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 • Trap shooting and Skeet shooting were the events in this tournament.
• Indian Women’s trio (Kirti Gupta, Manisha Keer and Rajeshwari Kumari) won silver in
Trap Shooting and men’s team won bronze in skeet shooting.
• Russia is at the top in medal tally and India is at 7th rank with 2 medals.
• ISSF World Cup Rifle / Pistol / Shotgun will be held in New Delhi, India from Mar 18 to
Mar 29.

16. Bhavani Devi (a sabre fencer) has become the first Indian fencer to book an Olympics
berth for Tokyo Olympics 2020.
• She is an 8-time national champion in fencing.

17. International Boxing Association (AIBA) has announced India as the host of Asian Boxing
Championships 2021 named as Asian Elite Men & Women Boxing Championships 2021.
• It will be hosted in New Delhi from May 21-31, 2021.
• AIBA HQ - Lausanne, Switzerland

18. Mithali Raj became the first Indian woman cricketer and second internationally to
complete 10,000 runs across all formats.

19. Rawalpindi's historic KRL Stadium was renamed after cricketer Shoaib Akhtar (nicknamed
as Rawalpindi Express).

20. Girl Gang (a track by New Zealand singer Gin Wigmore) has been announced as the official
song of the 2022 ICC Women’s World Cup.
• The tournament will be hosted in New Zealand from March 4 to April 3, 2022.

21. YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships 2021 was held.
• Men’s winner – Lee Zii Jia (Malaysia)
• Women’s winner – Nozomi Okuhara (Japan)

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22. India has won the Paytm T20I trophy 2021 against England held at Narendra Modi Stadium,
Ahmedabad.

23. FIFA has collaborated with the United Nations on Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to
launch the Global Integrity Programme to fight and prevent match manipulation.
• This comprehensive international programme is aimed at providing all 211 member
associations with enhanced knowledge and tools.

24. Former Ireland cricket captain Gary Wilson has retired from professional cricket.

25. Mumbai cricket team won the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2020-21. Prithvi Shaw became the first
player to score 800 runs in a single edition.

26. Navi Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bhubaneswar have been finalised as the three venues for
the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup football tournament to be hosted by India in February.
• India is also scheduled to host the next edition of the FIFA Women's U-17 World Cup in
2022.
• The DY Patil Stadium (Navi Mumbai), TransStadia (Ahmedabad) and the Kalinga Stadium
(Bhubaneswar) will host the matches.
• AIFF president - Praful Patel (also a FIFA council member)

27. Achanta Sharath Kamal (paddler / table tennis player) has become the first Indian paddler
to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020.
• He got selected at the Asian Olympic Qualification tournament in Doha.
• Sutirtha Mukherjee and Manika Batra are the female paddlers who qualified for Tokyo
Olympics.

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28. Avinash Sable (Indian track and field athlete) has set a new national record in the men's
3000m steeplechase event in the ongoing Federation Cup.

29. World Shooting Para Sport World Cup 2021 was held at Al Ain, UAE.
• Ukraine topped the medal tally, followed by UAE at second and India at third rank.
• Singhraj and Manish Narwal won the gold medals for India. One silver and four bronze
medals were also won by India.

30. Indian cricket team has won the 1st edition of the Road Safety World Series T20 2020-21 in
Raipur, Chhattisgarh against Sri Lanka.

MISCELLANEOUS
1. “The Mystery of The Parsee Lawyer” book has been written by Shrabani Basu.

2. “Advantage India: The Story of Indian Tennis” book has been authored by Anindya Dutta.

3. Hillary Rodham Clinton (former US secretary of state) and Louise Penny (novelist) has
written the “State of Terror” book.

4. “Joe Biden: American Dreamer” book has been written by Evan Osnos.

5. “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Power: 5 Battlegrounds” book has been authored
by Rajiv Malhotra.

6. Computer maker HP has made its first ever consumer PC using plastic waste in ocean.
• The company has manufactured the Pavilion 13, Pavilion 14, and Pavilion 15 Laptops using
the ocean-bound plastics.

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7. M. G. George Muthoot, former chairman of Muthoot Group, has passed away.

8. Starship SN10 spacecraft – prototype was successfully tested by SpaceX.

• SN10 is short for "Serial No. 10".

9. Veteran Indian athlete Ishar Singh Deol, a recipient of the Dhyan Chand National Sports
Award, has passed away.

10. “The Frontier Gandhi: My Life and Struggle” is the autobiography of Abdul Ghaffar Khan.
• Imtiaz Ahmad Sahibzada translated this book in English.
• Abdul Ghaffar Khan was also known as Bādshāh Khān or Bāchā Khān and honourably
addressed as Fakhr-e-Afghan, was an Pashtun independence activist against British
colonial rule in India.

11. “Dynasty to Democracy: The untold story of Smriti Irani’s Triumph” book has been
written and translated by Anant Vijay.
• The book was originally written in Hindi as Amethi Sangram: Aitihasik Jeet Ankahi Dastan.
• The book details about Smriti Irani’s win against Rahul Gandhi in Amethi’s election of 2019.

12. “The Green Queens of India – A nation's pride" is a one-of-its-kind compilation of the
extraordinary works done by women forest officers in conserving the forest and wildlife.
• The book was published by Indian Forest Services Association.
• It is launched by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

13. “Karunanidhi: A Life” book has been written by A.S. Panneerselvan.

• The book is based on writer-turned-politician Muthuvel Karunanidhi. He was the chief
minister of Tamil Nadu for five terms and leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)
for over five decades.
• The foreword of the book has been written by N Ram (editor of The Hindu).

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14. “Baanjh: Incomplete Lives of Complete Women” book has been written by Susmita
Mukherjee.

15. Jammu and Kashmir has celebrated the festival of Maha Shivratri as 'Herath'.

16. Google shared a Doodle on its home page commemorating 'India's Satellite Man' - Udupi
Ramachandra Rao (Indian professor and scientist) on the occasion of the 89th birth
anniversary.
• Rao was the chairman of ISRO from 1984 to 1994. He even supervised the launch of
India's first satellite, 'Aryabhata', in 1975.
• He was born in Karnataka.

17. ‘Hunchprose’ book has been written by Ranjit Hoskote.

18. A new species of wētā – a giant flightless cricket that is endemic to New Zealand – has been
named Hemiandrus jacinda for being Labour-party red in colour and “long-limbed”.
• The insect has been named after New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, in her
honour.

19. Veteran Kathakali practitioner and exponent Guru Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair, one of the
oldest practitioners of the classical art form, has died.

20. Author-poet Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan has written Prince with a Paintbrush: The Story of
Raja Ravi Varma.
• This new illustrated book brings alive the life and times of celebrated Indian artist Raja Ravi
Varma (b. on April 29, 1848, in a village in Kerala). He passed away in 1906.

21. “My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future” memoir has been authored by Indra Nooyi
(former PepsiCo CEO).

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22. “Saving Us” book has been written by Katharine Hayhoe.

23. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari released a digital e-book titled Dawn Under
The Dome.
• Authors - Swati Pandey and Orchida Mukherjee

24. “Undertow” book has been written by Jahnavi Barua.

• It is her 3rd novel.

25. ‘What’s Up With Me’ is Tisca Chopra’s book.

26. “Gandhi in Bombay: Towards Swaraj” book has been written by Usha Thakkar and
Sandhya Mehta.

27. “India's Power Elite: Caste, class and cultural revolution” book has been written by
Sanjaya Baru.

28. ‘The Pain-Free Mindset’ has been written by Dr Deepak Ravindran.

29. “Full Spectrum: India's Wars, 1972-2020” book has been authored by Arjun Subramaniam.

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30. “Battle Ready for the 21st Century” book has been authored by AK Singh and Narender
Kumar.

31. Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu, has released "Bringing Governments and
People Closer" book.
• The book was authored by Dr M Ramachandran, IAS (Retd), Chancellor, The ICFAI
University, Dehradun.

32. “Indians: A Brief History of a Civilization” book has been written by Namit Arora.

33. “My Experiments with Silence'” is the debut book of actor Samir Soni.

34. Chinar Day (80th raising day of Chinar Corps) was celebrated in Srinagar, J&K.
• Chinar Corps was raised during World War II at Barrackpore, 1942.
• Since 1972, the Chinar Corps has been committed to the mission of ensuring the security of
the Kashmir region from external aggression and internal security challenges.
• Chinar Corps is headquartered in J&K.

35. “Escaped: True Stories of Indian Fugitives in London” book has been written by Danish
Khan and Ruhi Khan.

36. “Names of the Women” book has been written by Jeet Thayil.

37. A new bacterial strain has been found on International Space Station (ISS) which has been
named as Methylobacterium ajmalii, in honour of the renowned Indian biodiversity scientist,
Dr Ajmal Khan (a former professor at Annamalai University in Tamil Nadu).
• The discovery of this bacteria suggests the possibility of astronauts growing their own
vegetables while in space.

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38. “1232 km: The Long Journey Home” book has been authored by Vinod Kapri.
• The book is based on the reverse migration in 2020.

39. “From Incremental to Exponential: How Large Companies Can See the Future and
Rethink Innovation” book has been authored by Alex Salkever, Ismail Amla, and Vivek
Wadhwa.

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QUESTIONS

198
Q.1) Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Program’ through NSDC’s eSkill India portal.
Welfare signed an MoU with the Central Silk Which institution has developed SahiPay
Board (under the Ministry of Textiles) on a platform?
convergence model for the implementation of
[a] Expertrons
Agroforestry in the silk sector under the
ongoing Sub-Mission on Agroforestry (SMAF) [b] Manipal Business Solutions
Scheme. The MoU aims to promote
agroforestry in silk cultivation; promotion of [c] Crysta
silk production in India; increase the income
[d] Wipro
of farmers etc. When was the National
Agroforestry Policy adopted? [e] GetVantage

[a] 2014

[b] 2012 Q.4) From the 1st March 2021, Lok Sabha TV
and Rajya Sabha TV have been merged.
[c] 2011
Now, Sansad TV will be the sole banner
[d] 2010 under which the proceedings, functions and
features of the Parliament will be telecasted.
[e] 2009 The first CEO of Sansad TV will be Ravi
Capoor (former IAS officer). In order to
actualize this merger, a committee was
Q.2) Where is India’s first Forest Healing formed by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and
Centre located? Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu in
2019, to recommend on the merger of these
[a] Dehradun
channels. Who heads this committee?
[b] Haridwar
[a] Former Chair of Lok Sabha TV
[c] Nainital
[b] Former Chair of Rajya Sabha TV
[d] Ranikhet
[c] Former Chair of Zee Entertainment
[e] Haldwani Enterprises Limited

[d] Former Chair of Prasar Bharti

Q.3) National Skill Development Corporation [e] Former Chair of BBC Entertainment
(NSDC) has collaborated with SahiPay to
promote digital enablement and financial
inclusion in the country. The MoU aims to Q.5) Where is the 'The Bridge of
promote nano-entrepreneurship amongst Compassion' located?
youth in the financial services sector. Also,
[a] Uttarakhand
the partnership aims to facilitate skilling of
youth in digital financial services and provide [b] Himachal Pradesh
them with an opportunity to explore self-
employment for sustainable livelihood. [c] Gujarat
Candidates will be provided access to free
[d] Delhi
digital skilling on ‘Online Entrepreneurship
[e] West Bengal Saathis’ to help the women entrepreneurs. In
order to celebrate the Women’s Day,
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (a UNESCO
Q.6) Recently, the Union Territory of Jammu World Heritage Site) in Mumbai was lit up in
and Kashmir has launched an application to pink two days before International Women's
empower auxiliary nursing midwives (ANMs) Day. For the first time in the history of the
and frontline health workers in carrying out world maritime sector, an all-women crew
their day-to-day work efficiently and onboard Shipping Corporation of India (SCI)
effectively. The app has been launched under vessel ____ was flagged off. This event also
the National Health Mission for identification commemorated the diamond jubilee of SCI
and tracking of beneficiaries. The application (estb. on Oct 2, 1961).
allows ANMs to enter and update records of
[a] MT Suvarna Swarajya
beneficiaries on real-time basis. This will
ensure prompt update of data as well as [b] MT Swarna Krishna
improve the data quality and accountability.
[c] MT Sampurna Swarajya
The app also works in offline mode. Name
the application. [d] MT Swarna Kalash
[a] Paramparagat [e] MT Swarna Pushp
[b] Sashakt

[c] Aangan Q.8) Which state has collaborated with

Denmark to set up a Centre of Excellence in
[d] Anmol
Dairy Sector in the state?
[e] Swasth
[a] West Bengal

[b] Madhya Pradesh

Q.7) On the International Women’s Day,
[c] Uttar Pradesh
Google Inc. launched the ‘Women Will’ web
platform (in Hindi and English) to support 1 [d] Gujarat
million rural women entrepreneurs in India to
pursue their ambitions and improve their [e] Rajasthan
livelihoods. Along with this, Google also
announced a $500,000 Google.org grant to
Nasscom Foundation to train 100,000 women Q.9) Recently, Odisha has established India’s
Agri workers in Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, first World Skill Centre at Mancheswar under
Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar the Odisha Skill Development Project. The
Pradesh on digital and financial literacy. centre will impart advanced skills and create
Initially, Google will work with 2,000 ‘Internet globally employable youth in the State. The

200
centre, built over an area of 4.5 lakh sq. ft, understanding of the effects and pace of
has been developed at an investment of Rs climate change, increased human’s
1,342.2 crore. It will provide skills training to understanding of the planet’s hard outer layer
3000 students in eight trades. The State (crust), worldwide better manage natural
government has partnered with Institute of resources and hazards etc. In which year was
Technical Education Services (ITEES), the agreement signed by NASA and ISRO for
Singapore to support Odisha Skill developing this satellite?
Development Authority in operationalising the
[a] 2012
centre. This centre has been opened with a
financial support of one of the following [b] 2009
agencies. Identify the agency.
[c] 2014
[a] World Bank
[d] 2015
[b] IMF
[e] 2016
[c] AIIB

[d] ADB
Q.11) Super-75 scholarship scheme is an
[e] European Investment Bank education scheme that aims to support the
education of meritorious girls from poor
families in a UT. This is line with this year's
Q.10) Recently, ISRO has developed the S- theme of the campaign of International
band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Women's Day i.e., "Choose to Challenge"
shipped it to Nasa for integration with the L- and to celebrate Azaadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav-
band payload being developed by the US India@75. Which UT has launched this
agency under the NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) scheme?
satellite mission. Once the integration of the
[a] Delhi
two radars is done, Nasa will send them to
India where other parts of the Nasa-ISRO [b] Puducherry
SAR (NISAR) satellite will be built. ISRO will
then use its GSLV Mk-II rocket to launch [c] Ladakh
NISAR from the Sriharikota launchpad, which
[d] Chandigarh
is expected to become a reality only by 2023.
NISAR is world’s first earth observation [e] J&K
satellite with two different radars that can
produce very high-resolution images to
collect data day and night and in all weather, Q.12) Recently, Tribes India GI Mahotsav
including during cloudy days. Some of the was organized by the TRIFED along with
benefits of NISAR includes better Ministry of Culture to sensitize IAS

201
probationers about the GI tags so that they Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. The fund
can in-turn formulate policies that safeguard will be used for implementation of certain
the interest of GI products in their region. Dr flagship schemes of the Ministry of Health &
Rajani Kant (Padmashri winner) educated the Family Welfare. In any financial year, the
Officer Trainees about the status of GI expenditure on the above-mentioned
products across India and the process for GI schemes of the Ministry of Health would be
tagging and also spoke about the challenges initially incurred from the PMSSN and
faced by tribal producers and artisans in thereafter, from Gross Budgetary Support
getting the tag. During the event, TRIBES (GBS). Which of the following schemes
India outlet was inaugurated to market and cannot avail the benefit of this fund?
promote GI products, along with tribal
[a] Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan
handicrafts and produce. TRIFED jackets
Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)
made in the traditional geometric Ikat
weaving style practised by the weavers from [b] National Health Mission
Pochampally (Telangana) was also launched.
Where was this event organized? [c] Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha
Yojana
[a] Laxmanrao Inamdar National Academy
For Co-op Research, Gurugram [d] Ayushman Bharat - Health and Wellness
Centres
[b] Deen Dayal Upadhyay Kaushal Vikas
Centre, Faridabad [e] Bhamashah Swasthya Bima Yojana

[c] AISECT Training Centre, Delhi

[d] Access Livelihoods Consulting India Q.14) Where is India’s largest floating solar
Limited, Andhra Pradesh power plant established?

[e] Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of [a] Warangal

Administration, Mussoorie
[b] Vikarabad

[c] Bhongir
Q.13) Union Cabinet has approved the
[d] Ramagundam
creation of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya
Suraksha Nidhi (PMSSN) as a single non- [e] Sangareddy
lapsable reserve fund in the public account.
This fund aims to maintain the proceeds of
share of Health from the proceeds of Health Q.15) Recently, a total of 40 scholars from six
and Education Cess levied under Section countries have been recommended for award
136-b of Finance Act, 2007. Administration of Indian Science Research Fellowship
and maintenance of the PMSSN is done by (ISRF) 2021. The purpose of giving this

202
fellowship is to establish research Q.17) What is India’s score in the UNCTAD's
cooperation with neighbouring countries of Business-to-Consumer (B2C) E-commerce
India, which is one of the mandates of DST’s Index 2020?
(Department of Science and Technology)
[a] 20.3
International Science and Technology
Cooperation. This fellowship was launched by [b] 57.1
the Dept of S&T primarily to engage with
neighbouring countries (including [c] 80.9
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives,
[d] 78.6
Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand) in
the field of Science & Technology. ISRF [e] 43.4
programme has provided an opportunity to
the young researchers from neighbouring
countries to get access to the state of art Q.18) The Heritage Foundation's Index of
facilities available in the Indian institutes / Economic Freedom is an annual guide
universities. When was this Indian Science published to measure the progress made in
Research Fellowship launched? advancing economic freedom. The
Foundation believes that the ideals of
[a] 2011
economic freedom are strongly associated
[b] 2008 with healthier societies, cleaner
environments, greater per capita wealth,
[c] 2015
human development, democracy, and poverty
[d] 2016 elimination. This year’s index has achieved a
big breakthrough by eliminating Hong Kong
[e] 2017 from its ranking for the first time ever. On the
other hand, Singapore has continued to excel
in this ranking for a second time in a row.
Q.16) Where is India’s first ‘Transgender Talking about India, the South Asian nation
Community Desk’ established? has been put in mid-range of the mostly
unfree category with a score of 56.5. Which
[a] Nongpok Sekmai police station
of the following is not a parameter of Global
[b] AWPS-Suramangalam police station Economic Freedom Index 2021?

[c] Gachibowli police station [a] Rule of Law

[d] Kharsang police station [b] Size of Government

[e] Bokaro Jharia OP [c] Regulatory Efficiency

[d] Open Market

203
[e] Digital Inclusivity

Q.22) Which organization has launched

'Women With Wheels' initiative?
Q.19) “AsterX” is the space military exercise
of which country? [a] India Infoline Finance Limited

[a] France [b] Hinduja Leyland Finance Limited

[b] Germany [c] Ujjivan Financial Services Limited

[c] UK [d] Bajaj Holdings & Investment Limited

[d] China [e] PNB Housing Finance

[e] Russia

Q.23) Who is the president of International

Olympic Committee?
Q.20) Which two countries have signed an
MoU for setting up an International Lunar [a] Jacques Rogge
Research Station on moon’s surface and/or
[b] Anita DeFrantz
on the lunar orbit?
[c] Thomas Bach
[a] China and Russia
[d] Yu Zaiqing
[b] Denmark and Netherlands
[e] Narinder Batra
[c] UK and Japan

[d] India and USA

Q.24) Recently, Ministry of Women and Child
[e] USA and Canada
Development has classified all its major
programmes under three umbrella schemes -
- Mission Poshan 2.0, Mission Vatsalya and
Q.21) Which bank has launched the ‘Vikas
Mission Shakti -- for their better
Asha’ loan scheme for women?
implementation. Mission Shakti will consist of
[a] Ujjivan Small Finance Bank policies and schemes for protection and
empowerment of women. It will cover
[b] India Post Payments Bank schemes like one stop centre, mahila police
volunteer, women's helpline, Beti Bachao Beti
[c] AU Small Finance Bank
Padhao, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana
[d] Bandhan Bank Yojana among others and has been allocated
Rs 3,109 crore in the 2021-22 budget. Under
[e] Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank

204
Mission POSHAN 2.0, the government is [c] Maharashtra
merging the supplementary nutrition
[d] Andhra Pradesh
programme and Poshan Abhiyan to launch
Mission POSHAN 2.0 to strengthen nutritional [e] Chhattisgarh
content, delivery, outreach, and outcomes.
Mission VATSALYA aims to look into child
protection services and child welfare
Q.27) Maharashtra has released its state
services. How much amount has been
budget for 2021-22. Some of the important
allocated for the Mission Vatsalya in the
schemes announced in the state budget were
Union Budget for 2021-22?
Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule scheme that aims
[a] Rs 500 crores to ensure safe travel of girls students in rural
areas, from their villages to the schools, via
[b] Rs 1000 crores Maharashtra State Transport buses. Another
important scheme was additional buses for
[c] Rs 900 crore
the ‘Tejasvini Yojana’ scheme for easy and
[d] Rs 1200 crores safe travel of women in metro cities. The
state is also planning to reserve 3% funds
[e] Rs 1500 crores
from the District Plan for women and children.
Apart from these, Rajmata Jijau Griha-
Swamini Yojana was also in the limelight.
Q.25) From which country has India leased This scheme aims to provide concession on
Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicles as part of the stamp duty of the property, if the
its emergency procurement programme? registration of the house is done in the name
of a woman. What is the percentage of
[a] USA
concession to be provided in the Rajmata
[b] UK Jijau Griha-Swamini Yojana scheme?

[c] Israel [a] 1%

[d] France [b] 5%

[e] Germany [c] 2%

[d] 3%

Q.26) Which is the first state India to release [e] 4%

a gender focused budget for 2021-22?

[a] Madhya Pradesh

Q.28) Where is India’s first fully operational
[b] Telangana plastic park located?

205
[a] Guntur programme to help women entrepreneurs
from across India. After the signing of this
[b] Srikakulam
arrangement, the “country in question” has
[c] Vishakhapatnam become the WE-Hub’s first international
partner. Identify the name of the country?
[d] Machilipatnam
[a] Singapore
[e] Paradeep
[b] Australia

[c] Germany
Q.29) With which country does India conduct
DUSTLIK - a joint army exercise? [d] Japan

[a] Uzbekistan [e] USA

[b] Russia

[c] Oman Q.32) Which of the following scheme of

Ministry of Labour and Employment has been
[d] Israel merged with Ayushman Bharat- PM Jan
Aarogya Yojana?
[e] UAE
[a] Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana

[b] National Career Service Project

Q.30) Where is the Mongla port located?
[c] Employees’ State Insurance scheme
[a] Bhutan
[d] Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojna
[b] Nepal
[e] Deendayal Upadhyay Shramev Jayate
[c] India
Karyakram
[d] Bangladesh

[e] Myanmar
Q.33) In which country has India opened its
first of its kind India Energy Office to enhance
energy partnership between the two
Q.31) WE Hub, India’s first and only state-led
countries?
incubator to foster and promote women
entrepreneurship to start up, scale up and [a] Indonesia
accelerate with global market access, has
[b] Japan
partnered with an international government to
launch ‘UPSurge’. It is a pre-incubation [c] Philippines

206
[d] Singapore Q.35) With which country has India
collaborated for the lunar polar exploration
[e] Russia
(LUPEX) mission that aims to send a lander
and rover to the Moon’s south pole by 2024?

Q.34) Recently, Mitali Express has been [a] Australia

inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi and
[b] France
Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina. This is the
third passenger train after Maitree Express [c] Japan
(Dhaka-Kolkata) and Bandhan Express
[d] USA
(Khulna-Kolkata) running between the two
neighbouring countries. This new passenger [e] Russia
train is a symbol of refreshed friendship
between India and its pal. The direct train
between Dhaka and New Jalpaiguri will run
Q.36) Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and
through the Chilahati- Haldibari cross border
Public Distribution has launched the Mera
rail route. This Chilahati- Haldibari cross
Ration app to help migrant workers under
border rail route itself is a story worth
government’s One Nation One Ration Card
listening to. This rail link has been recently
system. The app currently covers 32 states
reopened after approximately 55 years to
and union territories but it will be soon
allow passage of trains between Bangladesh
expanded to other places as well. This app
and West Bengal. This breakthrough aims to
allows all Indian citizens to register
strengthen India-Bangladesh’s endeavours to
themselves on the app to get food grains at
strengthen their bilateral relationship. Talking
subsidised prices. Also, the Mera Ration app
about the Mitali Express, this train service
allows users to check what they are entitled
connects West Bengal with Dhaka. What is
to, locate nearby ration shops etc. It also
the exact point which will be connected with
supports biometric authentication. The app is
Dhaka through this train?
only on Android for now. This app is only
[a] Durgapur available in English and Hindi at present but it
will soon start to support a total number of __
[b] Asansol regional languages?
[c] Birbhum [a] 14
[d] Purulia [b] 22
[e] New Jalpaiguri [c] 10

[d] 16

[e] 11

207
 countries need to strengthen their innovation
systems and diversify their production bases
Q.37) Which state has launched
by mastering many existing technologies
Mahasamruddhi Mahila Sashaktikaran
among other suggestions. How many
scheme?
countries were assessed in this report?
[a] Maharashtra
[a] 171
[b] Uttar Pradesh
[b] 180
[c] Chhattisgarh
[c] 158
[d] Jharkhand
[d] 192
[e] Bihar
[e] 135

Q.38) UNCTAD has released the

Q.39) How many Indian cities are in top 30
“Technology and Innovation Report 2021”
rankings of World’s most affected air polluted
which assessed countries on their capability
countries, as per IQAir’s World Air Quality
of using, adopt and adapt frontier
Report 2020?
technologies in comparison to their per capita
GDPs. The report provides a "country [a] 15
readiness index" that assesses the progress
[b] 22
of countries in using frontier technologies,
considering their national capacities related to [c] 10
physical investment, human capital and
technological effort. As per this report, most [d] 5
countries are lagging behind in their potential
[e] 25
to use frontier technologies. On the other
hand, greatest overperformer is India, whose
actual index ranking was 43, while the
Q.40) Which organization released the
estimated one based on per capita income
'Connecting to Thrive: Challenges and
was 108. India overperformed by 65 ranking
Opportunities of Transport Integration in
positions. India is followed by the Philippines,
Eastern South Asia' report?
which overperformed by 57 ranking positions.
China (position 25) and India perform well for [a] UNCTAD
R&D. According to the index, the United
States, Switzerland and the United Kingdom [b] IMF
are best prepared for frontier technologies.
[c] FICCI
The report suggested that developing

208
[d] PHDCCI [c] Shreevar Kheruka

[e] World Bank [d] Gazal Kalra

[e] Hitesh Wadhwa

Q.41) Which two countries are producing

hydrogen from brown coal for the first time in
Q.44) Which bank has launched 'SmartUp
world?
Unnati' under which senior women personnel
[a] Japan and Australia of the bank will train women entrepreneurs for
one year to help them achieve their goals?
[b] India and Sri Lanka
[a] ICICI Bank
[c] USA and Singapore
[b] HDFC Bank
[d] Spain and Italy
[c] Axis Bank
[e] UK and France
[d] Bandhan Bank

[e] Dhanlaxmi Bank

Q.42) What is India’s rank in PwC’s 24th
Annual Global CEO Survey?

[a] 10th Q.45) Which bank has recently launched

banking services on WhatsApp under its ‘Dil
[b] 22nd
Se Open’ philosophy?
[c] 70th
[a] Yes Bank
[d] 5th
[b] IDBI Bank
[e] 101st
[c] Federal Bank

[d] Axis Bank

Q.43) Who among the following has been
[e] Kotak Mahindra Bank
appointed in the World Economic Forum’s
Young Global Leaders from India for his/ her
contribution towards Live Love Laugh
Q.46) BSE Investments Limited, a wholly
Foundation, India?
owned subsidiary of BSE, has signed a joint
[a] Srikanth Bolla venture agreement with Frontier Agriculture
Platforms Private Limited (FAPL) for
[b] Deepika Padukone
developing innovative solution for the

209
agriculture produce trading markets. As part [e] Aquaconnect
of this joint venture, FAPL bought ____
percent equity stake in BSE E-Agricultural
Markets Limited (BEAM)? Q.49) Which bank has partnered with
TRRAIN (Trust for Retailers & Retail
[a] 50%
Associates of India), a non-profit engaged in
[b] 30% training and placement of youth in e-
commerce & retail sectors?
[c] 25%
[a] Deutsche Bank India
[d] 40%
[b] Citi India
[e] 15%
[c] HSBC India

[d] DBS Bank India

Q.47) Which bank has launched 'Garima
Savings Account' initiative for its women [e] Barclays Bank
customers to allow them to offer multiple
customised benefits, including a maximum of
7% rate of interest on the savings account? Q.50) What is the projected GDP growth rate
for India for FY22 by OECD?
[a] Janalakshmi Small Finance Bank
[a] 9.8%
[b] A U Small Finance Bank
[b] 7.6%
[c] ESAF Small Finance Bank
[c] 5.4%
[d] Ujjivan Small Finance Bank
[d] 12.6%
[e] Capital Small Finance Bank
[e] 13.7%

Q.48) With which company has Bank of

Baroda partnered for facilitating formal credit Q.51) Which of the following act was
for 1.6 million aquaculture farmers? amended to increase the limit of FDI in
insurance sector in India to 74%?
[a] Farm2Fam
[a] Insurance Act, 1961
[b] SFarmsIndia
[b] Insurance Act, 1953
[c] KhetiGaadi
[c] Insurance Act, 1861
[d] Crofarm

210
[d] Insurance Act, 1938 [e] Pritam Singh

[e] Insurance Act, 1941

Q.55) Who has been re-appointed as the

Chairman of the Panel of External Auditors of
Q.52) Where is the General Secretariat of
the United Nations for the year 2021?
Asia Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit
Association located? [a] Jorge Bermúdez

[a] Thailand [b] Kay Scheller

[b] Philippines [c] Hou Kai

[c] Singapore [d] Girish Chandra Murmu

[d] Malaysia [e] Gareth Davies

[e] South Korea

Q.56) Who is the Chief Statistician of India?

Q.53) Who has become the first Indian to be [a] Prahlad Singh Patel
elected as Chairperson of the Advisory
[b] Jitendra Singh
Committee of the UN Human Rights Council?
[c] Raj Kumar Singh
[a] Ajai Malhotra
[d] G P Samanta
[b] Suresh Prakash
[e] Mahendra Nath Pandey
[c] Surya Chaturvedi

[d] Neha Chaupal

Q.57) Which Indian was one of the winners
[e] Krishna Dev
among the Top 20 winners of Global Women
of Excellence Award for 2020?

Q.54) Who has sworn in as the new Chief [a] Anju Bala
Minister of Uttarakhand?
[b] Deepa Jayakumar
[a] Shyam Veer Saini
[c] Arpita Ghosh
[b] Kamalendumati Shah
[d] Aparna Yadav
[c] Shoorveer Singh Sajwan
[e] Tamilisai Soundararajan
[d] Tirath Singh Rawat

211
 Q.61) What is the total incentive given under
the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for
Q.58) Who has won the BBC Indian
Pharmaceutical sector?
Sportswoman of the Year (ISWOTY) award
for 2020? [a] Rs 15000 crores

[a] Anju Bobby George [b] Rs 5000 crores

[b] Manu Bhaker [c] Rs 8000 crores

[c] Koneru Humpy [d] Rs 10000 crores

[d] Mithali Raj [e] Rs 2000 crores

[e] Elavenil Valarivan

Q.62) In how many categories are the

pharmaceutical products divided in the
Q.59) Who has won the YONEX Swiss Open
Production Linked Incentive Scheme for
2021 in men’s singles?
Pharmaceutical sector?
[a] Kento Momota
[a] Seven
[b] Anders Antonsen
[b] Ten
[c] Chou Tien Chen
[c] Two
[d] Viktor Axelsen
[d] Three
[e] Chen Long
[e] Five

Q.60) Who is the translator of “The Frontier

Q.63) Recently, the central govt has
Gandhi: My Life and Struggle” book in
launched the Production Linked Incentive
English?
Scheme for IT sector to provide impetus to
[a] Arundhati Roy Domestic Value Addition for IT Hardware
which is expected to rise to 20% - 25% by
[b] Anita Desai 2025. The scheme will target four sectors
namely Laptops, tablets, all in one PCs, and
[c] Preeti Shenoy
servers. What is the base year for calculating
[d] Sudha Murty the value of incremental sales under this
scheme?
[e] Imtiaz Ahmad Sahibzada
[a] 2019-20

212
[b] 2018-19 [c] It aims to create smart cities in accordance
with the needs of children and women
[c] 2017-18
[d] It aims to connect innovators with the
[d] 2015-16
cities to resolve the pressing challenges of
[e] 2020-21 the latter

[e] Over 500 startups, 100 smart cities, more

than 150 challenges statements and over 215
Q.64) Recently, FICCI Higher Education solutions are present on this platform at the
Summit was organized by FICCI in time of its launch
collaboration with M/o Education and
Commerce and Industry to give a platform to
experts for deliberations on expansion of the
Q.66) Where is the Lal Bahadur Shastri
higher education in India. The theme of the
International Airport located?
Summit was Higher Education @2030: RISE
– Resilience. Innovation. Sustainability. [a] Uttar Pradesh
Enterprise. which envisages the target for
[b] Madhya Pradesh
higher education by the year 2030. Which
edition of the Summit took place recently in [c] Gujarat
2021?
[d] Delhi
[a] 10th
[e] Rajasthan
[b] 5th

[c] 13th
Q.67) The 5th edition of the Asia Economic
[d] 16th Dialogue 2021, which was jointly convened
by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and
[e] 21st
Pune International Centre (PIC), saw a
number of prominent dignitaries,
policymakers, high-level bureaucrats and
Q.65) Which of the following statement is
leading experts from across the world
correct about the “City Innovation
participating in this virtual conference. This
Exchange”?
conference was aimed at providing a platform
[a] It has been launched by Ministry of for discussion to foreign ministers and senior
Electronics and Information Technology officials of various countries for
understanding the profound challenges that
[b] It aims to improve the calculation of socio- Covid-19 is posing to the growth and stability
economic dimensions of the Census Towns of the global economy. Which of the following
for the purpose of Census 2021 is the theme of this dialogue?

213
[a] Resilient Global Growth in a Post-
Pandemic World
Q.69) Which of the following helicopter has
[b] Post Covid-19 Global Trade and Finance been gifted to the Bangladesh Air Force by
Dynamics Indian Air Force on the occasion of 50th
anniversary of 1971 war?
[c] Global Finance in a Post Covid-19 World
[a] Alouette III helicopter
[d] Asia’s Role in Global Currency
Realignment and Financial Stability [b] F-86 Sabre aircraft

[e] Perspectives on India’s International [c] Aero Ae-45

Development Cooperation
[d] Avro Anson I

[e] Bristol Blenheim I

Q.68) Which of the following statement is
incorrect about the State of Environment
Report, 2021? Q.70) ISRO has launched Brazil’s optical
earth observation satellite, Amazonia-1
[a] It is an annual report of PwC, jointly
(belonging to Brazilian National Institute for
released with Centre for Science and
Space Research), and 18 co-passenger
Environment
satellites from India [5] and the U.S.A. [13] on
[b] The report mentions that 375 million PSLV C51 rocket from the Satish Dhawan
children (from new born to 14-year-olds) are Space Centre (SHAR) at Sriharikota, Andhra
likely to suffer long-lasting impacts, ranging Pradesh. Out of the 5 satellites of India, one
from being underweight, stunting (low height- was the Satish Dhawan SAT (SDSAT) which
for-age) and increased child mortality, to is a nano-satellite intended to study the
losses in education and work productivity radiation levels, space weather and
demonstrate long range communication
[c] Over 500 million children were forced out
technologies. Which company has developed
of school globally and India accounted for
the SDSAT satellite?
more than half of them
[a] Skyroot Aerospace
[d] India ranked 117 among 192 nations in
terms of sustainable development and was [b] Pixxel
now behind all South Asian nations except
[c] Space Kidz India
Pakistan
[d] Jeppiar Institute of Technology
[e] Out of the 88 major industrial clusters in
India, Tarapur in Maharashtra emerged as [e] Agnikul Cosmos
the most polluted cluster

214
Q.71) Which state has launched the "Gharoki communication between trains. The new
Paachan, Chelik Naam"(daughter’s name is a system has already been installed in 90 out of
home’s identity) programme? 100 rakes running between Churchgate and
Virar. In which state is the system launched
[a] Uttarakhand
by the Indian Railways?
[b] West Bengal
[a] Maharashtra
[c] Tripura
[b] Karnataka
[d] Assam
[c] Odisha
[e] Himachal Pradesh
[d] West Bengal

[e] Andhra Pradesh

Q.72) Haryana has launched the
Mukhyamantri Antyodaya Parivar Utthan
Yojana to uplift 1 lakh families with low family Q.74) Central Revenues Control Laboratory
income in the state. The scheme was (CRCL), New Delhi, under the Central Board
launched on the occasion of 644th birth of Indirect Taxes & Customs has been
anniversary of ____. Other schemes recognized as a Regional Customs
launched on this occasion are Dr BR Laboratory (RCL) of the World Customs
Ambedkar Awas Navinikarn Yojana, Sant Organisation (WCO) for Asia-Pacific Region.
Mahapurush Vichar Samman and Prasaar When was the World Customs Organization
Yojana? formed?

[a] Guru Ravidas [a] 1980

[b] Guru Angad Dev [b] 1952

[c] Guru Gobind Singh [c] 1963

[d] Guru Ram Das [d] 1950

[e] Guru Arjan Dev [e] 1940

Q.73) Mobile Train Radio Communication Q.75) UK-based Liberty Steel Group has
(MTRC) System has been launched for the signed MoU with two European companies –
first time in Indian Railways. The system can Paul Wurth (from Luxembourg) and SHS
reduce train accidents and prevent delays in (from Germany) – to set up France's first
trains. It works akin to air traffic control hydrogen-based steel making plant at
systems in aircrafts. It will ensure smooth Dunkerque in France. Liberty is owned by

215
Indian-origin metals tycoon Sanjeev Gupta. [a] Russia
The Liberty Group is a part of which of the
[b] Germany
following companies?
[c] Spain
[a] Royal Dutch Shell
[d] Britain
[b] GFG Alliance
[e] France
[c] Vitol Group

[d] Hiranandani Group

Q.78) How many people will be living with
[e] FCA Group
some degree of hearing loss by 2050,
according to the first ever World Report on
Hearing of WHO?
Q.76) Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina
inaugurated Bhabhatron-II, an advanced [a] 1 billion
digital cobalt therapy machine at the Joseph
[b] 1.5 billion
Ravoahangy Andrianavalona Hospital
(HJRA). This machine was gifted to the [c] 4 billion
nation by India. Where is Madagascar
located? [d] 2.5 billion

[a] Arabian Sea [e] 0.5 billion

[b] Andaman Sea

[c] Artic Ocean Q.79) Recently, Fino Payments Bank has

entered into the Second Schedule of RBI Act
[d] Indian Ocean 1934. This accords the nomenclature of a
Scheduled Bank to the Fino Payments Bank
[e] Laccadive Sea
and allows leeway to the bank in following
some financial parameters like participation in
the Liquidity Adjustment Facility window of
Q.77) Arktika-M satellite has been recently
RBI among other things. The Second
launched to monitor the climate and
Schedule of RBI Act has only two payment
environment in the Arctic region. Among its
banks till now. Which of the following is the
other functions, the satellite will also be able
other payment bank mentioned in the second
to retransmit distress signals from ships,
schedule?
aircraft or people in remote areas as part of
the international Cospas-Sarsat satellite- [a] Jio Payments Bank
based search and rescue programme. Which
[b] Airtel Payments Bank
country has launched this satellite?

216
[c] Paytm Payments Bank

[d] India Post Payment Bank Q.82) Recently, RBI has released its report
on Currency and Finance (RCF) for 2020-21
[e] NSDL Payments Bank
for "Reviewing the Monetary Policy
Framework". The report states that the
inflation target of 4% with a +/-2% tolerance
Q.80) Which of the following is not a feature band is appropriate for the next five years.
of the Activ Health policy - industry-first health This report also sheds some light on the
insurance policy – launched by Aditya Birla relevance of flexible inflation targeting (FIT)
Health Insurance Company Ltd.? on price stability, apart from justifying the
inflation range for India. When was the FIT
[a] It provides 100% premium return as
Framework operationalized by RBI?
HealthReturnsTM
[a] 2014
[b] It is Asia's first ever health insurance plan
offering mental illness counselling coverage [b] 2016
[c] It is industry-first plan to cover unlimited [c] 2019
homeopathy telemedicine
[d] 2003
[d] It has an in-built international cashless
treatment covered for up to Rs 3 to 6 crore [e] 2005

[e] It provides expense coverage under

National Digital Health Mission
Q.83) Who has taken over as the Principal
Director General of Press Information
Bureau?
Q.81) Which company has launched
“SMEInsure” portal to bring 5 crore Small and [a] Jaideep Bhatnagar
Medium Enterprises (SMEs) under the
[b] Sandeep Biswas
insurance category?
[c] Mohan Kalra
[a] Acko General Insurance
[d] Keshav Gupta
[b] Alliance Insurance
[e] Priya Deshmukh
[c] Cholamandalam MS General Insurance
Co. Ltd.

[d] Liberty General Insurance Ltd. Q.84) When is the National Protein Day
observed?
[e] National Insurance Co. Ltd.
[a] February 27

217
[b] March 11

[c] April 16 Q.87) Recently, the Office of the Principal

Scientific Adviser to the Government of India
[d] January 19
launched the “Swachhta Saarthi Fellowship”
[e] May 22 under its “Waste to Wealth” Mission. The
fellowship aims to recognize students,
community workers/self-help groups, and
municipal/sanitary workers who are
Q.85) What is Mukesh Ambani’s rank in the
contributing significantly towards waste
Hurun Global Rich List 2021?
management. In how many categories has
[a] 10th this fellowship been divided?

[b] 8th [a] Three

[c] 7th [b] Five

[d] 5th [c] Seven

[e] 11th [d] Twelve

[e] Ten

Q.86) Swachh Survekshan was introduced by

MoHUA in 2016 with only 73 cities as a
Q.88) Which state has launched Swami
competitive framework to encourage cities to
Atmanand Government English Medium
improve the status of urban sanitation while
School Scheme?
encouraging large scale citizen participation.
Recently, Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, [a] Chhattisgarh
Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Housing
Affairs has launched the field assessment of [b] Bihar
Swachh Survekshan (SS) 2021. Which of the
[c] Madhya Pradesh
following is the implementing agency of the
survey? [d] Rajasthan

[a] FICCI [e] Uttar Pradesh

[b] CII

[c] NASSCOM Q.89) Recently, Merchant Digitization Summit

2021: Towards Atma Nirbhar (Self Reliance)
[d] Quality Council of India
Bharat was hosted by Central Govt, FICCI,
[e] Assocham and Better Than Cash Alliance (UN-based

218
organization) to find out ways for enhancing signed an MoU on Indo-Norway Integrated
the digitization of merchants in India's North- Ocean Initiative under which both countries
Eastern and Himalayan regions, and will endeavor to ensure that human activities
Aspirational districts. At the summit, the govt at sea take place in an efficient, safe and
of India exuded confidence that the National sustainable manner in areas such as energy,
Language Translation Mission can be used to transportation, fisheries, aquaculture and
disseminate digital payments information, tourism. Under this marine spatial planning
privacy clauses and consent in local initiative, two sites have been selected as the
languages for trust and empowerment. How pilot for this project. Which are these two
many countries are a member of the Better sites?
Than Cash Alliance?
[a] Andaman & Nicobar and Kerala
[a] 75
[b] Karnataka & Odisha
[b] 110
[c] Tamil Nadu & Andhra Pradesh
[c] 193
[d] Lakshadweep & Puducherry
[d] 171
[e] Gujarat & Maharashtra
[e] 120

Q.92) Ministry of Earth Sciences has

Q.90) How much market size of the released the draft of “Blue Economy Policy” in
pharmaceutical industry does the govt of Feb 2021 for stakeholders’ review. The policy
India aim to achieve by 2030? document aims to enhance contribution of the
blue economy to India’s GDP, improve lives
[a] 400 billion
of coastal communities, preserve marine
[b] $250 billion biodiversity, and maintain the national
security of marine areas and resources.
[c] $130 billion There are seven thematic concerns of the
policy. The policy mentions facts like the
[d] $10 billion
length of Indian Coastline is 7.5 thousand Km
[e] $500 billion approx., number of islands owned by India is
1,382 along with the number of coastal states
in India. How many coastal states are in
Q.91) India and Norway have recently agreed India?
to jointly work in the area of marine spatial
[a] Nine
planning in the oceanic space for the next five
years under the Indo-Norway Integrated [b] Seven
Ocean Initiative. In 2019, India and Norway

219
[c] Three Q.95) Recently, 2nd edition of Global Bio-
India 2021 was organized virtually by Dept of
[d] Five
Biotechnology, CII, Invest India,
[e] Six Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance
Council (BIRAC), and Association of
Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE). What
was the theme of the summit?
Q.93) Which country hosted the high-level
meeting of the International Commission on [a] Biosciences to Bio-economy
Large Dams?
[b] Transforming Lives
[a] Norway
[c] Biotechnology and India
[b] Denmark
[d] AI: Scope of Development in
[c] Netherlands Biotechnology
[d] Germany [e] Biotechnology for Covid-19
[e] India

Q.96) India has signed an MoU with one of

the below mentioned countries in the field of
Q.94) Which of the following application has
renewable energy cooperation. The MoU
been developed by Department of
entails exchange and training of scientific and
Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities to
technical personnel; exchange of scientific
enable people with disabilities and even the
and technological information and data;
elderly to register accessibility-related
organisation of workshops and seminars;
problems in buildings, in modes of transport
transfer of equipment, know-how and
or any infrastructure by uploading pictures on
technology; development of joint research
it?
and technological projects. Identify the
[a] Divyang Sarthi country.

[b] Abhyudaya [a] France

[c] Viklang Sathi [b] Australia

[d] Sugamya Bharat [c] Japan

[e] Viklikrit Sashaktikaran [d] Germany

[e] United Kingdom

220
Q.97) With which country has India signed an [c] IIT Kharagpur
MoU for cooperation in the agriculture and
[d] IIT Bombay
allied sectors?
[e] IIT Delhi
[a] New Zealand

[b] New Papua Guinea

Q.100) Where will Asia’s and India’s first
[c] Mauritius
Dolphin Research Centre be developed?
[d] Fiji
[a] Bihar
[e] Democratic Republic of Congo
[b] Madhya Pradesh

[c] Gujarat
Q.98) Central Government is planning to
[d] Haryana
replace the Technical Education Quality
Improvement Programme (TEQIP) with [e] Tamil Nadu
MERITE ('Multidisciplinary Education and
Research Improvement in Technical
Education’) Project to improve the technical
Q.101) In which exercise of UAE has Indian
education in India. When was the TEQIP
Air Force participated for the first time?
program launched?
[a] Desert Flag
[a] 2002
[b] Red Flag
[b] 2017
[c] Iron Claw 2
[c] 2014
[d] CARAT
[d] 2008
[e] Little Sparta
[e] 2019

Q.102) Which state is collaborating with

Q.99) PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the Dr
International Crops Research Institute for the
Syama Prasad Mookerjee Institute of Medical
Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to strengthen
Sciences and Research at one of the IIT from
management of natural resources for the
the options below. Identify the IIT?
benefit of state’s Particularly Vulnerable
[a] IIT Ropar Tribal Groups that are dependent on
agriculture?
[b] IIT Madras
[a] Odisha

221
[b] West Bengal boost the farmer’s income, floriculture import
substitution, increase the share of Indian
[c] Chhattisgarh
floriculture produce in the global market. The
[d] Madhya Pradesh focus of the mission will be commercial floral
crops, seasonal/annual crops, wild ornaments
[e] Maharashtra and cultivation of flower crops for honey bee
rearing. This mission will be implemented by
CSIR, Indian Council of Agricultural Research
Q.103) NCAER released its 2nd edition of (ICAR), Khadi and Village Industries
Land Record and Services Index (N-LRSI) Commission (KVIC), APEDA and TRIFED,
2021. Which of the following state is the new Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre
entrant in the top 5 rankings of this index? (FFDC), Kannauj, and Ministry of Commerce
and MSME. How much is the expected
[a] Madhya Pradesh
market size of Indian Floriculture market by
[b] West Bengal 2024 as against the present Rs. 15,700
crores in 2018?
[c] Odisha
[a] Rs. 45,000 crores
[d] Maharashtra
[b] Rs. 75,000 crores
[e] Tamil Nadu
[c] Rs. 65,000 crores

[d] Rs. 47,200 crores

Q.104) Which cities have topped in the Top
cities in Million + Category and Top cities in [e] Rs. 55,000 crores
Less than Million Category respectively of the
Ease of Living Index 2020?
Q.106) With which IIT has Ministry of
[a] Bengaluru & Shimla
Information and Broadcasting collaborated to
[b] Pune & Leh set up a Centre of Excellence in Gaming and
other related areas?
[c] Ahmedabad & Karimnagar
[a] IIT Bombay
[d] Surat & Murshidabad
[b] IIT Ropar
[e] Delhi & Indore
[c] IIT Delhi

[d] IIT Roorkee

Q.105) Recently, Govt has approved the
implementation of CSIR Floriculture Mission [e] IIT Kharagpur
in 21 States and Union Territories of India to

222
 [e] Maldives and Sri Lanka

Q.107) Empat Mitra Indika Tenaga Surya is a

joint venture between Indonesia’s Indika
Q.109) Nasscom has launched ‘AI
Energy and a Hyderabad based company for
Gamechangers’ program to promote artificial
setting up integrated solar, storage and
intelligence (AI)-led innovation in the country
electric vehicle (EV) charging projects in
as part of the ‘AI for India’ mission. The
Indonesia. EMITS expects to bring in at least
program will recognize innovators for their
$500 Mn into Indonesia in the next 5 years.
successful AI implementation at Nasscom’s
The joint venture will entail 51% shareholding
Xperience AI Summit, one of the largest AI
for the Indika Energy and 49% for the Indian
summits in India. Which company is the
company. Name the Indian company?
innovation partner of Nasscom for the
[a] ReNew Power program?

[b] Bounce [a] IBM

[c] Avaada Energy [b] Tata Consultancy Services

[d] Fourth Partner Energy [c] Wipro

[e] Cygni Energy [d] HCL Technologies

[e] Microsoft

Q.108) Recently, India launched a real-time

vessel tracking system called as Sagar-
Q.110) Which year has been designated as
Manthan: Mercantile Marine Domain
the International Year of Millets by UN?
Awareness Centre (MMDAC) to track Indian
and foreign vessels within 1,000-km of India’s [a] 2023
coastline. This system aims to help seafarers
and fishermen in the times of need. It will be [b] 2025
operated by Directorate General of Shipping.
[c] 2022
India is sharing this system with two
countries. Identify the correct set of countries. [d] 2026

[a] Bangladesh and Thailand [e] 2030

[b] Myanmar and Vietnam

[c] Cambodia and Laos Q.111) Who is the chairperson of

Archaeological Survey of India’s Advisory
[d] Japan and Australia
Committee for the Multidisciplinary Study of
the River Sarasvati?

223
[a] V. Vidyavathi Q.114) Recetnly, INS Jalashwa has arrived at
Port Anjouan to deliver 1,000 Metric Tonnes
[b] Prahlad Singh Patel
of rice under Mission Sagar-IV. In which
[c] Rahul Jain country is the Port Anjouan located?

[d] Alok Mohan Nayak [a] Madagascar

[e] Aditya Jachak [b] Somalia

[c] Mozambique

Q.112) MG Motor India has partnered with [d] Comoros

Centre for Automotive Research and
[e] Tanzania
Tribology (CART) for research in the field of
electric and autonomous vehicles. CART is
incubated by which of the following IITs?
Q.115) Which of the following is India’s first-
[a] IIT-Bhuvneshwar ever elevated Urban Expressway (under
construction)?
[b] IIT-Madras
[a] Delhi–Mumbai Expressway
[c] IIT-Bombay
[b] Amritsar-Jamnagar Expressway
[d] IIT-Delhi
[c] Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway
[e] IIT-Ropar
[d] Delhi-Meerut Expressway

[e] Dwarka Expressway

Q.113) With which organization has Atal
Innovation Mission of NITI Aayog has signed
a Statement of Intent to improve health care
Q.116) Who heads the 10-member
systems across the country?
empowered committee for manufacturing in
[a] Apollo Hospitals high technology areas?

[b] Aster DM Health care [a] Anil Gupta

[c] Dr. Lal PathLabs Ltd. [b] Piyush Goyal

[d] Fortis Healthcare Ltd. [c] Ravi Singh

[e] Indraprastha Medical Corporation Ltd. [d] Bhoovan Soran

[e] Niranjan Sethi

224
 [e] Harinder Preet Singh

Q.117) With which country has Ministry of Jal

Shakti has partnered along with the United
Q.120) Which organization has been chosen
Nations Office for Project Services for the Jal
as the trustee for Rs 750 crore Credit
Jeevan Mission?
Guarantee Fund under the Animal Husbandry
[a] Germany Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF)?

[b] Netherlands [a] Nabcons

[c] Denmark [b] Nabkisan Finance Ltd.

[d] Finland [c] NABSAMRUDDHI Finance Limited

[e] United Kingdom [d] NABKrushak Samrudhi Finance Ltd

[e] NABSanrakshan Trustee Pvt Ltd

Q.118) Who heads NITI Aayog’s task force

for facilitating speedy resolution of contractual
Q.121) In how many districts will the GRAM
disputes between private entities and the
UJALA programme be implemented?
government?
[a] Five
[a] Samkit Shah
[b] Ten
[b] Manoj Shinde
[c] Twenty One
[c] Nitesh Ranjan
[d] Fifty
[d] Amitabh Kant
[e] Seventy
[e] Rasaal Dwivedi

Q.122) Where has announced to ISRO set up

Q.119) Who heads the NITI Aayog’s task
a Space Technology Incubation Centre?
force to recommend a policy framework for
the enforcement of contracts? [a] NIT Surathkal
[a] Rajiv Kumar [b] NIT Warangal
[b] Som Parkash [c] NIT Calicut
[c] Basant Garg [d] NIT Durgapur
[d] Vijay Bhaskar [e] NIT Rourkela

225
 [c] Jaunpur

Q.123) Who heads the Central govt’s experts [d] Shahjahanpur

advisory committee for the overall execution
[e] Siddharth Nagar
and monitoring of the Startup India Seed
Fund Scheme?

[a] R. RamaChandran Q.126) Which state has launched the

Mukhyamantri Antyodaya Parivar Utthan
[b] Guruprasad Mohapatra
Yojana?
[c] H K Mittal
[a] Maharashtra
[d] Sushant Sudan
[b] Karnataka
[e] T.N. Krishnan
[c] Gujarat

[d] Uttar Pradesh

Q.124) What is the name of the portal
[e] Haryana
launched by Ministry of Electronics and IT for
enabling all Government departments and
agencies at the Centre, State and Local
levels in the country to deliver their services Q.127) Which state has partnered with J-PAL
through various channels of mobile such as (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab) to
SMS, IVRS, USSD, Mobile Application and boost gender sensitisation curriculum
AppStore? programme in all government schools?

[a] SelfScan [a] Assam

[b] Mobile Seva [b] Punjab

[c] Champions [c] Uttarakhand

[d] YUKTI [d] Himachal Pradesh

[e] Elements [e] Rajasthan

Q.125) Which of the following places has got Q.128) Which state has the highest number
a GI tag for Kalanamak Rice? of High-Net-Worth-Individuals (HNI) in India,
as per annual rich list of Hurun India?
[a] Ambedkar Nagar
[a] Uttar Pradesh
[b] Aligarh

226
[b] Gujarat Malnutrition and Anaemia Reduction)
campaign to tackle malnutrition in the state?
[c] Tamil Nadu
[a] Tamil Nadu
[d] Maharashtra
[b] Maharashtra
[e] Karnataka
[c] Andhra Pradesh

[d] Telangana
Q.129) Which state has emerged as the
Champion State for implementing the Van [e] Jharkhand
Dhan Vikas Yojana?

[a] Assam
Q.132) With which organization has Uttar
[b] Arunachal Pradesh Pradesh partnered to launch a first of its kind
UPFPO Shakti Portal as part of Kisan Kalyan
[c] Tripura
Mission?
[d] Manipur
[a] Amnesty International
[e] Meghalaya
[b] World Vision International

[c] Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Q.130) Which state has become the first state
[d] Human Rights Watch
in India to launch its own ethanol promotion
policy (named as Ethanol Production [e] Care International
Promotion Policy, 2021) under the National
Policy of Biofuels, 2018?
Q.133) Which state has announced to launch
[a] Kerala
the universal health scheme named
[b] Bihar Mukhyamantri Chiranjeevi Yojana?

[c] Himachal Pradesh [a] Telangana

[d] Punjab [b] Uttarakhand

[e] Haryana [c] Nagaland

[d] Madhya Pradesh

Q.131) Which state has launched the [e] Rajasthan

SAAMAR (Strategic Action for Alleviation of

227
Q.134) Where is the Mission Gramodaya [e] Maldives
launched by Union Agriculture Minister
Narendra Singh Tomar?
Q.137) With which state TRIFED has signed
[a] Madhya Pradesh
an MoU for the implementation of the
[b] Uttar Pradesh Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Minor
Forest Produce (MFP) Scheme and the Van
[c] Uttarakhand
Dhan Yojana in the state?
[d] Haryana
[a] Arunachal Pradesh
[e] Punjab
[b] Bihar

[c] Uttar Pradesh

Q.135) What is the name of the Indian Navy
[d] Meghalaya
Ship which will be India's First Indigenous
Nuclear Missile Tracking Ship - to track [e] Maharashtra
satellites, strategic missiles and map the
Indian Ocean bed?
Q.138) With which company has Government
[a] INS Dhruv
of Karnataka signed an MoU to execute a
[b] INS Imphal Watershed Development Programme in the
state?
[c] INS Viraat
[a] Tata Consultancy Services
[d] INS Rajput
[b] Infosys
[e] INS Ranjit
[c] Wipro

[d] ITC Ltd

Q.136) With which country has Union Ministry
of Youth Affairs and Sports, India signed an [e] HCL Technologies
MoU for cooperation in Sports and Youth
Affairs?
Q.139) Which country possesses the world’s
[a] Philippines
most powerful supercomputer?
[b] Indonesia
[a] Denmark
[c] Sri Lanka
[b] Germany
[d] Singapore
[c] South Korea

228
[d] Japan [c] Danish Refugee Council

[e] Spain [d] Plan International

[e] BRAC

Q.140) Which has become the world’s first

clean energy company to be recognized as a
Q.143) “Pabbi-Antiterror-2021” is the joint
lighthouse by World Economic Forum’s
anti-terrorism exercise of which of the
Global Lighthouse Network?
following multi-lateral organizations?
[a] Tata Power
[a] Indian Ocean Rim Association
[b] Renew Power
[b] BIMSTEC
[c] Torrent Power
[c] ASEAN
[d] Mytrah Energy
[d] Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
[e] Hero Future Energies
[e] Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Q.141) Which of the following is the newest

Q.144) Which country is the first co-chair of
member to join the International Solar
Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure?
Alliance?
[a] France
[a] Italy
[b] Netherlands
[b] Nauru
[c] USA
[c] Dominican Republic
[d] UK
[d] Republic of Guinea
[e] Russia
[e] Mali

Q.145) Which of the following is the best

Q.142) Which organization has launched
democracy as per the V-Dem Institute’s
world’s first catastrophe bond for volcanic
Autocratization Turns Viral: Democracy
eruptions?
Report 2021?
[a] GIZ
[a] India
[b] Danish Red Cross
[b] Finland

229
[c] Netherlands [b] Goal 6

[d] Denmark [c] Goal 13

[e] UK [d] Goal 11

[e] Goal 5

Q.146) Which country ranks highest in terms

of workplace satisfaction in JLL’s (Jones
Q.149) What would be the global reservoir’s
Lang LaSalle) Human Performance Index
capacity in 2040 as per the UN World Water
2020?
Development Report 2021 - “Valuing Water”?
[a] Norway
[a] 100000 billion cubic metre
[b] Sweden
[b] 1000 billion cubic metre
[c] Finland
[c] 12000 billion cubic metre
[d] Singapore
[d] 7000 billion cubic metre
[e] India
[e] 9000 billion cubic metre

Q.147) As per the Stockholm International

Q.150) How many children are living in areas
Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI) report,
of high or extremely high water vulnerability
Indian arm imports decreased by __ percent
at present as per the “Reimagining WASH:
between 2011–15 and 2016–20?
Water Security For All” report of UNICEF?
[a] 60%
[a] 680 million
[b] 44%
[b] 450 million
[c] 57%
[c] 500 million
[d] 33%
[d] 750 million
[e] 70%
[e] 1000 million

Q.148) Which of the following Sustainable

Q.151) What is India’s score in the "Ultimate
Development Goal details about the Gender
Military Strength Index" of Military Direct?
Equality?
[a] 23
[a] Goal 17

230
[b] 56 [c] 5th

[c] 98 [d] 6th

[d] 78 [e] 3rd

[e] 61

Q.155) Which organization has established

an e-Tendering Portal-PRANIT for promoting
Q.152) Which edition of the World Happiness
less paperwork and ease of operation,
Report was released in 2021?
making the tendering process more
[a] 9th transparent?

[b] 11th [a] NTPC

[c] 15th [b] Indraprastha Power Generation Co. Ltd.

[d] 5th [c] POWERGRID

[e] 20th [d] Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd.

[e] Delhi Transco Ltd.

Q.153) What is India’s rank in the World

Happiness Report 2021 of UN?
Q.156) Who heads RBI’s standing external
[a] 140 advisory committee to evaluate applications
for universal banks and small finance banks
[b] 121 (SFBs)?
[c] 139 [a] Mahesh Kumar Jain
[d] 63 [b] Rajeshwar Rao
[e] 78 [c] Viral Acharya

[d] Shyamala Gopinath

Q.154) What is India’s rank in terms of largest [e] Michael Patra
forex reserve holder, according to
International Monetary Fund’s data?

[a] 4th Q.157) Who has been appointed as the next

director and chief executive of the Indian
[b] 10th

231
Council for Research on International [a] Dharmendra
Economic Relations?
[b] Anupam Kher
[a] V. Radha
[c] Paresh Rawal
[b] Anju Mohan
[d] Amitabh Bachchan
[c] Rajinder Khurana
[e] Madhuri Dixit
[d] Manmeet K Nanda

[e] Deepak Mishra

Q.161) Who heads the interdisciplinary team
of experts set up by the AYUSH Ministry to
explore the potential of Yoga as a productivity
Q.158) When is the International Day of
enhancing tool for the population?
Action for Rivers observed?
[a] Shripad Yesso Naik
[a] March 3
[b] Sushil R Gaikwad
[b] March 11
[c] Gurpreet Singh
[c] March 21
[d] H. R Nagendra
[d] March 16
[e] K.K. Singh
[e] March 14

Q.162) With which company has Japan

Q.159) Where is Betwa River located?
International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
[a] Madhya Pradesh signed a loan agreement for 10 billion
Japanese yen for the "Climate Change
[b] Karnataka Management Project" in India?
[c] Gujarat [a] Power Finance Corporation Limited
[d] Andhra Pradesh [b] Tata Cleantech Capital Limited
[e] Himachal Pradesh [c] Shriram Transport Finance Company
Limited

[d] Bajaj Finance Limited

Q.160) Who has become the first Indian
cinema personality to be honoured with an [e] Muthoot Finance Ltd
award by the International Federation of Film
Archives?

232
Q.163) Which state has announced to set up [d] Myanmar
"India's first government-run ambulance
[e] Sri Lanka
network" for animals?

[a] Maharashtra
Q.166) With which country has India signed a
[b] Gujarat
Memorandum of Cooperation to achieve
[c] Chhattisgarh water security, improved irrigation facility and
sustainability in water resources
[d] Andhra Pradesh
development?
[e] Telangana
[a] Cambodia

[b] Netherlands
Q.164) Which state is planning to become the
[c] Japan
first state in India to have two green energy
efficient towns? [d] Denmark

[a] Madhya Pradesh [e] Norway

[b] Assam

[c] Sikkim Q.167) Which country is developing the

World's first ship tunnel?
[d] Goa
[a] Germany
[e] Bihar
[b] South Korea

[c] Japan
Q.165) Recently, Union Public Service
Commission (UPSC), India has signed an [d] Denmark
MoU with Independent Administrative
[e] Norway
Reforms and Civil Services Commission
(IARCSC) to facilitate sharing of experience
and expertise of both the parties in the area
of recruitment. Which country does this Q.168) Which country has developed
IARCSC belong to? “Fiyavathi Home for Vulnerable Children” with
India’s grant?
[a] Bhutan
[a] Sri Lanka
[b] Nepal
[b] Maldives
[c] Afghanistan

233
[c] Indonesia [b] 10%

[d] Philippines [c] 5%

[e] Viet Nam [d] 15%

[e] 23%

Q.169) What is India’s score in the

International Intellectual Property Index of US
Q.172) Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has
Chamber of Commerce Global Innovation
launched ‘IOB Trendy’, a savings account for
Policy Centre?
which age group of population?
[a] 40
[a] 31 – 50 years
[b] 38.4
[b] 18 – 30 years
[c] 27.8
[c] 30 – 50 years
[d] 53
[d] 21 – 38 years
[e] 90.8
[e] 25 – 40 years

Q.170) How much stake has the Central Govt

Q.173) With which company has Union Bank
announced to sell in the Rail Vikas Nigam
of India collaborated to launch a co-branded
Ltd?
“UNI – CARBON CARD”?
[a] 23%
[a] NTPC
[b] 15%
[b] HPCL
[c] 37%
[c] ONGC
[d] 50%
[d] BHEL
[e] 70%
[e] GRSE

Q.171) How much stake has National Stock

Q.174) Who has been appointed as the Chief
Exchange bought in the India Gas
Executive Officer (CEO) of Unique
Exchange?
Identification Authority of India?
[a] 26%
[a] Saurbah Garg

234
[b] Suraj C. Naik [d] Banka

[c] Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha [e] Bhagalpur

[d] Dinesh Setia

[e] Pramod Kumar Pathak Q.178) Who has won the Vyas Samman-
2020?

[a] Shashi Ranjan Kumar Vidyarthi

Q.175) Who has been appointed as the
Chairman of Airports Authority of India? [b] Sharad Pagare

[a] Dharmendra Singh Gangwar [c] Vikram Singh

[b] Roshan Jaggi [d] A. Raghu

[c] P.N. Ranjit Kumar [e] Yash Veer Singh

[d] Sanjeev Kumar

[e] Manoj Nesari Q.179) Which bank was adjudged the 'India's
Best Bank for SMEs' at the Asiamoney Best
Bank Awards 2021?
Q.176) When is World Tuberculosis Day
[a] SBI
observed?
[b] Indian Overseas Bank
[a] March 12
[c] HDFC Bank
[b] March 24
[d] Bank of Baroda
[c] March 15
[e] Bandhan Bank
[d] March 21

[e] March 19
Q.180) Which of the following is not among
the venues of the 2022 AFC Women's Asian
Q.177) Which of the following places have Cup football tournament?
become TB-Free in India?
[a] Navi Mumbai
[a] Budgam
[b] Bhubaneswar
[b] Arwal
[c] Ahmedabad
[c] Aurangabad
[d] Motera

235
[e] None of the Above Q.184) Where is Sir M Visvesvaraya Railway
Terminal, India’s first centralised AC terminal,
located?
Q.181) Who is the author of “Indians: A Brief
[a] Yesvantpur
History of a Civilization” book?
[b] Krishnarajapuram
[a] Vijayalakshmi Bharadwaj
[c] Bapunagar
[b] Namit Arora
[d] Baiyappanahalli
[c] Chinta Srinivas Rao
[e] Bareja
[d] Suresh Kumar

[e] M.A. Qasmi

Q.185) Which airport has launched India’s
first dedicated Express Cargo Terminal for
Q.182) “My Experiments with Silence” is the export and import of international couriers?
debut book of which of the following?
[a] Indira Gandhi International Airport
[a] Samir Soni
[b] Chennai International Airport
[b] Hima Das
[c] Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport
[c] Anupam Kher
[d] Rajiv Gandhi International Airport
[d] Ayushman Khurana
[e] Kempegowda International Airport
[e] Sonu Sood

Q.186) Which company has handed over the

Q.183) Where is the Asiamoney indigenously made checkout system to ISRO
headquartered? for the 'Gaganyaan' mission?

[a] Thailand [a] Godrej Aerospace

[b] Japan [b] Larsen & Toubro

[c] Singapore [c] Antrix Corporation

[d] Hong Kong [d] Data Patterns India Pvt Ltd

[e] Indonesia [e] Dhruva Space

236
Q.187) Which of the following is not one of [e] Russia
the targets of National Health Mission?

[a] reducing MMR to 1/1,000 live births

Q.190) Which state has launched the “i-
[b] reducing IMR to 25/1,000 live births Learn” app for capacity building and
performance tracking of Community Health
[c] reducing TFR to 2.1
Officer?
[d] reducing prevalence of leprosy to less
[a] Nagaland
than 1 /10,000 population
[b] Bihar
[e] reducing prevalence of diabetic
retinopathy to less than 2 / 1,00,000 [c] Meghalaya
population
[d] Assam

[e] West Bengal

Q.188) When was the 'Saral-Altika' mission
launched by ISRO?
Q.191) With which country has Indian Navy
[a] 2009
conducted the Passage Exercise (PASSEX)
[b] 2013 in the Persian Gulf under Operation Sankalp?

[c] 2011 [a] Oman

[d] 2020 [b] Kuwait

[e] 2019 [c] Bahrain

[d] Saudi Arabia

Q.189) With which country has ISRO [e] United Arab Emirates
launched an earth observation satellite
mission with thermal infrared imager,
TRISHNA? (It is the third joint satellite Q.192) Recently, GRSE, Kolkata has handed
mission with this country.) over the Indian Naval Landing Craft Utility
(LCU) L58 to Indian Navy. L58 is the __ and
[a] Japan
last ship of the Landing Craft Utility (LCU)
[b] Australia Mark IV Class?

[c] France [a] Fifth

[d] Canada [b] Seventh

237
[c] Eighth [a] Nirman

[d] Sixth [b] Asha

[e] Tenth [c] Umeed

[d] Nayi Kiran

Q.193) With which country has Indian Navy [e] Sahi Disha
conducted the Passage Exercise (PASSEX)
for the first time in the former’s Exclusive
Economic Zone, in the month of March 2021? Q.196) Which country has announced to
develop world’s largest floating solar farms?
[a] Senegal
[a] Maldives
[b] Guinea
[b] Singapore
[c] Angola
[c] South Korea
[d] Madagascar
[d] Japan
[e] Namibia
[e] Denmark

Q.194) Which company has developed the

ICGS Vajra, its sixth vessel in the series of Q.197) How much investments would be
seven offshore petrol vessels under a required by the world between 2021-50 for
Ministry of Defence contract? transition into renewable energy, as per the
International Energy Agency’s “World Energy
[a] Mahindra Defence Systems
Transitions Outlook: 1.5°C Pathway” report?
[b] Ordnance Factory Board
[a] $ 100 trillion
[c] Bharat Dynamics Ltd
[b] $ 131 trillion
[d] Larsen & Toubro
[c] $ 60 trillion
[e] Tata Advanced Systems
[d] $ 200 trillion

[e] $ 50 trillion
Q.195) What is the name of the campaign
launched by UN Development Program to
celebrate women's livelihoods and Q.198) Which country is the world's most
entrepreneurship in rural India? dangerous country in terms of roads, as per a

238
research study undertaken by international
driver education company Zutobi?
Q.201) With which bank has Niyo partnered
[a] Bolivia to launch NiyoX— a mobile banking solution
for millennials?
[b] Argentine
[a] Dhanlaxmi Bank
[c] Pakistan
[b] Janalakshmi Small Finance Bank
[d] India
[c] Equitas Small Finance Bank
[e] South Africa
[d] Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank

[e] Paytm Payments Bank

Q.199) What is India’s rank in terms of
market-capitalization in the world, as per the
Bloomberg’s data?
Q.202) What is India’s GDP growth rate for
[a] 8th 2021 as per the United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development’s Trade and
[b] 1st
Development 2020 update?
[c] 5th
[a] 6.9%
[d] 10th
[b] 8.2%
[e] 12th
[c] 5.9%

[d] 5%
Q.200) With which organization has ICICI
[e] 7%
Bank partnered to launch ‘EMI @ Internet
Banking’ – an instant EMI (Equated Monthly
Instalments) facility on its internet banking
Q.203) Where is Nagarjuna Sagar Dam
platform?
located?
[a] Razorpay
[a] Andhra Pradesh
[b] BillDesk
[b] Madhya Pradesh
[c] Niyo
[c] Tamil Nadu
[d] Both A and B
[d] Telangana
[e] Both B and C
[e] Kerala

239
 Q.207) What is the theme of World
Tuberculosis Day 2021?
Q.204) Which state does Godavari River
originate from? [a] It's Time

[a] Maharashtra [b] The Clock is Ticking

[b] Andhra Pradesh [c] Act On [Their] Commitments

[c] Odisha [d] Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free world

[d] West Bengal [e] Unite to end TB

[e] Jharkhand

Q.208) Who has become the first Indian

paddler to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic
Q.205) Who has been appointed as the
Games 2020?
Director-General of National Security Guard?
[a] Harmeet Desai
[a] Pijush Das Gupta
[b] Sathiyan Gnanasekaran
[b] Nidhi Malhotra
[c] Anthony Amalraj
[c] MA Ganapathy
[d] Manav Thakkar
[d] Raman Kant Sood
[e] Sharath Kamal
[e] Narender Kumar

Q.209) Who is the author of “Escaped: True

Q.206) Who has become the first woman
Stories of Indian Fugitives in London” book?
President of Tanzania?
[a] Danish Khan
[a] Majaliwa Kassim Majaliwa
[b] Ruhi Khan
[b] Philip Mpango
[c] Fatima Norain
[c] Samia Suluhu Hassan
[d] Both A and B
[d] Denisa Sassou Nguesso
[e] Both A and C
[e] Hage Geingob

Q.210) Who is the author of “Names of the

Women” book?

240
[a] Milind Soman [d] Satyadev Barman

[b] Roopa Pai [e] Mandira Bedi

[c] Jeet Thayil

1 A 51 D 101 A 151 E 201 C

2 D 52 A 102 A 152 A 202 D
3 B 53 A 103 B 153 C 203 D
4 D 54 D 104 A 154 A 204 A
5 A 55 D 105 D 155 C 205 C
6 D 56 D 106 A 156 D 206 C
7 B 57 E 107 D 157 E 207 B
8 E 58 C 108 E 158 E 208 E
9 D 59 D 109 E 159 A 209 D
10 C 60 E 110 A 160 D 210 C
11 E 61 A 111 B 161 D
12 E 62 D 112 D 162 B
13 E 63 A 113 B 163 D
14 D 64 D 114 D 164 E
15 C 65 D 115 E 165 C
16 C 66 A 116 B 166 C
17 B 67 B 117 C 167 E
18 E 68 A 118 D 168 B
19 A 69 A 119 A 169 B
20 A 70 C 120 E 170 B
21 E 71 A 121 A 171 A
22 E 72 A 122 E 172 D
23 C 73 A 123 C 173 B
24 C 74 B 124 B 174 A
25 C 75 B 125 E 175 D
26 D 76 D 126 E 176 B
27 A 77 A 127 B 177 A
28 E 78 D 128 D 178 B
29 A 79 D 129 D 179 C
30 D 80 E 130 B 180 D
31 B 81 B 131 E 181 B

241
32 C 82 B 132 C 182 A
33 E 83 A 133 E 183 D
34 E 84 A 134 A 184 D
35 C 85 B 135 A 185 E
36 A 86 D 136 E 186 D
37 A 87 A 137 A 187 E
38 C 88 A 138 D 188 B
39 B 89 A 139 D 189 C
40 E 90 C 140 B 190 A
41 A 91 D 141 A 191 C
42 D 92 A 142 B 192 C
43 B 93 E 143 D 193 D
44 B 94 D 144 D 194 D
45 D 95 B 145 D 195 E
46 D 96 A 146 E 196 B
47 D 97 D 147 D 197 B
48 E 98 A 148 E 198 E
49 D 99 C 149 D 199 A
50 D 100 A 150 B 200 D

242
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