Important TNPSC Current Affairs March (11-20) 2021

Topic: Awards and Honours

King Bhumibol World Soil Day – 2020 Award

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) received the prestigious International “King Bhumibol World Soil Day – 2020 Award” conferred by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Rome.

The award was announced on the eve of World Soil Day – 2020 (5th December 2020) in view of the ICAR’s excellent contributions in “Soil Health Awareness” on the theme “Stop soil erosion, save our future” (2019 theme).

About King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award:

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.

The award, sponsored by the Kingdom of Thailand, is named after King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand for his lifelong commitment to raising awareness of the importance of sustainable soil management and rehabilitation for food security, poverty alleviation and more.

The former winners of the Award include Practical Action in Bangladesh in 2018 and the Costa Rican Soil Science Society (AACS) in 2019.

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR):

It is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. It was established on 16th July 1929 and was formerly known as the Imperial Council of Agricultural Research. It is headquartered at New Delhi.

ICAR is the organisation responsible for the coordination, guidance and management of agricultural research and education in India.

In this capacity, ICAR oversees one of the largest networks of agricultural research and education institutes in the world, covering the whole country in the fields of horticulture, soil science, fisheries and animal sciences among others.

_

Topic: Welfare Oriented Govt Schemes and Their Utilities

Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Nidhi

Union Cabinet has approved the creation of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Nidhi (PMSSN).

About the fund:

It will be a single non-lapsable reserve fund for share of Health from the proceeds of Health and Education Cess.

The accruals into the PMSSN will be utilised for the flagship schemes of the Health Ministry including Ayushmann Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) and National Health Mission and Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) and also disaster preparedness, and responses during health emergencies.

In any financial year, the expenditure on such schemes of the Health Ministry would be initially incurred from the PMSSN and thereafter, from Gross Budgetary Support (GBS).

Significance:

The major benefit will be enhanced access to universal and affordable health care through availability of earmarked resources, while ensuring that the amount does not lapse at the end of financial year.

_

Topic: Profile of States

Country’s biggest floating solar power plant

The country’s biggest floating solar power plant till date, by generation capacity, is being developed by the NTPC in the reservoir of its thermal plant at Ramagundam in Peddapalli district, Telangana. It is set to be commissioned by May-June next.

Generation Capacity:  100 megawatts.

_

Topic: New inventions on Science and Technology

Fugaku: World’s most Powerful Supercomputer

The Japanese scientific research institute called RIKEN and Fujitsu started developing the “Fugaku” six years ago. It is the world’s most powerful supercomputers. Now this supercomputer is fully ready and developed in Japan and is now available for the research use.

Key facts:

This supercomputer has been developed with the aim of making the device core of the computing infrastructure of Japan. Then the supercomputer was tested for the particular projects in order to combat COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. Now the Fugaku is fully open and available for shared use.

The Research Organization for the Information Science and Technology (RIST) of Japan has selected some 74 projects which will use this supercomputer in the financial year 2021. RIST has also proposed for the development of the new projects in several categories and has invited the researchers who are interested to apply for the same.

_

Topic: Historical Diary of Events

Dandi March to Mark 75 Years of Independence

The Prime Minister has flagged off a commemorative ‘Dandi March’ (on 12th March) to launch the celebrations of the 75th year of Independence – ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

About the 2021 Dandi March:

The padyatra is being undertaken by 81 marchers from Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad to Dandi in Navsari, a journey of 386 km. The march will end after 25 days, on 5th April 2021. Descendants of those who walked the Salt March (in 1930) will be honoured.

Marchers will traverse the route in memory of the 78 who accompanied Mahatma Gandhi in 1930 from Ahmedabad to Dandi and two others who had joined mid-route.

About the 1930 Dandi March:

The Dandi March, also known as the Salt March and the Dandi Satyagraha was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

The march lasted from 12th March, 1930 to 6th April, 1930 as a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly.

On 12th March, Gandhiji set out from Sabarmati with 78 followers on a 241-mile march to the coastal town of Dandi on the Arabian Sea. There, Gandhi and his supporters were to defy British policy by making salt from seawater.

At Dandi, thousands more followed his lead, and in the coastal cities of Bombay and Karachi, Indian nationalists led crowds of citizens in making salt.

_

Topic: Terms in News, Latest Diary of Events

What is space hurricane?

Scientists from China recently discovered a space hurricane for the first time ever above the North pole. Previously, it was believed, space hurricanes were a theoretical phenomenon.

Key facts:

As per their report, the hurricane measured roughly 600 miles across and rained down charged electrons for as long as eight hours. The space hurricane spun counterclockwise at speeds up to 4,700 miles per hour, the academic paper reported. The hurricane was reported in space directly above the North Pole.

Why it matters?

The new finding could help scientists learn more about how the Sun affects Earth’s atmosphere, gathering more details on how space weather might harm satellites and other objects in orbit.

What are space hurricanes?

They are thought to be a result of the solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field interacting. It is a huge, funnel-like, spiral geomagnetic storm that occurs above the polar Ionosphere of Earth, during extremely quiet conditions.

They are related to the aurora borealis phenomenon, as the electron precipitation from the storm’s funnel produces gigantic, cyclone-shaped auroras.

They are made up of plasmas, consisting of extremely hot ionized gases that rotate at extremely high speeds.

Formation:

Space hurricanes are caused by plasma unleashed from the sun as solar wind. These charged particle clouds travel through space and fuel magnetic storms as they interact with magnetic fields.

Impact:

The researchers think these kinds of storms could create more drag on satellites and interfere with radio signals and communications, making these events particularly important to understand.

_

Topic: Sports and Games

Mithali Raj: 1st Indian woman cricketer to score 10,000 international runs

The veteran Indian women’s cricketer Mithali Raj has become the first Indian woman cricketer that has completed 10,000 international runs in all the cricket formats. She also become the second woman cricketer at the international level to complete 10000 runs.

Mithali Raj leads the One Day International (ODI) team of India has joined the Charlotte Edwards of England in elite club. She achieved the milestone of 10,2000 after she hit a boundary off the Anne Bosch in 28th over of Indian innings in ongoing third ODI match against South Africa. However, after reaching the milestone she departed in the very next ball. She scored 36 runs on 50 balls and hit 5 boundaries during the inning.

_

Topic: Awards and Honours

Sahitya Akademi Award 2020

The National Academy of Letters have announced the names for the “Sahitya Akademi Award 2020 on March 12, 2021.

In the “Novel Category”, Sellaatha Panam (Tamil) authored by Imaiyam won the award in Tamil language.

Arundhathi Subramaniam have won the award for her poetry collection called “When God is a Traveller” in English.

_

Topic: International Events

First Leaders’ Summit: QUAD

Recently, the Prime Minister addressed the first summit of the leaders’ of the QUAD (Quadrilateral Framework). The meeting was hosted by the USA on a virtual platform. Earlier in February 2021, QUAD ministerial meeting discussed issues across Indo-Pacific and the military takeover in Myanmar.

QUAD is a grouping of India, USA, Australia and Japan which aims to safeguard the interests of democratic nations in the Indo-Pacific region and address global challenges.

Focus: On pressing crises, such as Covid-19, climate change and emerging technologies.

QUAD pledged to promote a free, open rules-based order, rooted in international law to advance security and prosperity and counter threats to both in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

_

Topic: Sports and Games

Bhavani Devi- First Indian Fencer to Qualify for Olympics

Indian Fencer, Bhavani Devi, has created a history and has become the first Indian fencer to qualify for Olympics in Women’s individual Sabre. The fencer finds her place in the Tokyo Olympics by the “Adjusted Official ranking method” on March 14, 2021. Now the fencer will take part in the Tokyo Olympics which is scheduled to be organised from July 23, 2021 to August 8, 2021.

About Bhavani Devi: Her complete name is Chadalavada Anandha Sundhararaman Bhavani Devi. She was born on 27 August 1993.  The Indian sabre is supported by GoSports Foundation under the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme.

_

Topic: Profile of States, General Administration

Project RE-HAB

A pilot project RE-HAB (Reducing Elephant-Human Attacks using Bees) has been launched in Karnataka which entails installing bee boxes along the periphery of the forest and the villages to mitigate human-elephant conflict.

These spots are located on the periphery of Nagarahole National Park and Tiger Reserve, which is a known conflict zone. It is intended to create “bee fences” to thwart elephant attacks in human habitations using honeybees.

Advantages:

The bee boxes will dissuade elephants without causing any harm to them. Extremely cost-effective as compared to various other measures such as digging trenches or erecting fences. The initiative will increase honey production and farmers’ income.

_

Topic: Profile of States

World’s highest railway bridge

It is being constructed over the Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir. The ₹1,250-crore bridge will be 359 metres above the Chenab river bed. The rail line is expected to be 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower. Once completed, it will surpass the record of the Beipan river Shuibai railway bridge (275 m) in China.

_

Topic: Latest Diary of Events

World Air Quality Report 2020

The World Air Quality Report, prepared by Swiss organisation IQAir, mentions that 22 of the top 30 most polluted cities globally are in India. The Report aggregated PM2.5 data from 106 countries.

World Capital City Ranking:

Delhi has been ranked as the world’s most polluted capital city followed by Dhaka (Bangladesh), Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), Kabul (Afghanistan), Doha (Qatar).

World Country Ranking:

Bangladesh has been ranked as the most polluted country followed by Pakistan and India. The least polluted country is Puerto Rico, followed by New Caledonia, US Virgin Islands respectively.

World City Ranking:

Hotan in China is the most polluted city with an average concentration of 110.2 µg/m³ followed by Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh at 106.