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By admin: March 25, 2022

Yogi Adityanath sworn in second time as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh

The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP ) leader Yogi Adityanath was sworn in as the 22nd Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh by the Governor Mrs. Anandiben Patel on 25 March 2022. Yogi Aditya nath who was made Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 2017 was sworn in for the second time as the Chief Minister.

The swearing in ceremony was held at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana cricket stadium , Lucknow. The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top BJP leaders and Ministers.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by the Chief Ministers of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the center . Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar ,Assam Chief Minister Hemanta Biswa Sarma , Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan , Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Das , Manipur Chief Minister N.Biren Singh, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Prema Khandu, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jairam Thakur were present during the ceremony.
52 ministers were sworn in including Brajesh Pathak and Keshav Prasad Maurya as Deputy Chief Minister
The BJP won 255 seats in the 403 Uttar Pradesh legislative Assembly which went to the polls in 2022. The alliance partner Apna Dal won 12 seats and the NISHAD party won 6. The total seats won by BJP and its alliances are 273.
The election to constitute the 18th Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly was held in seven phases from 10 February to 7 March 2022.

About Yogi Aditya Nath

Yogi Adityanath contested the assembly election from Gorakhpur Urban seat and won it by defeating Samajwadi Party candidate Sabhawati Shukla by a margin of 1,03,390 votes.
He is a five time Member of Parliament from Gorakhpur constituencies (in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014 )
Yogi Adityanath has become the first chief minister of Uttar Pradesh to return to power after completing a full tenure of five years.
The last chief minister to win consecutive terms in Uttar Pradesh (undivided) was Narayan Dutt Tiwari in 1985. This makes Yogi Adityanath the first chief minister to retain power in 37 years.
He was born as Ajay Singh Bisht in Pauri Garhwal in Uttrakhand .
In 2014 he became the head mahant of the Gorakhnath Math located in Gorakhpur after the death of mahant Aavaidyanath.
The first Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh was Gobind Ballabh Pant (1950-1952) of the Congress party.

International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Tags: Important Days

Every year, March 25 is observed as International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade. It was first observed in 2008.

Transatlantic slave trade refres to the 10 million to 12 million African men and women who captured in Africa and were transported by the Europeans as slave across the Atlantic ocean to the Americas from the 16th to the 19th century.
2022 Theme: “Stories of Courage: Resistance to Slavery and Unity against Racism”.

RBI launches Innovation Hub in Bengaluru

Tags: Economy/Finance

The Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Shri Shaktikanta Das inaugurated the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) on March 24, 2022 in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

The RBI has set up the RBIH as a Section 8 company under Companies Act, 2013, with an initial capital contribution of ₹100 crore to encourage and nurture financial innovation in a sustainable manner through an institutional set-up.
Former Infosys Chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan has been appointed as the Chairman of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub. It will also include other eminent persons from industry and academia as members.
RBIH aims to create an ecosystem that focuses on promoting access to financial services and products for the low-income population in the country.
The Hub would bring convergence among various stakeholders (BFSI Sector, Start-up ecosystem, Regulators & Academia) in the financial innovation space.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visits India

Tags: International News

The Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi reached India on 25 March 2022, He is the most senior Chinese official to visit India after the border clash in Galwan, Ladakh which led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers and 4 Chinese soldiers in June 2020. Since the Galwan clash, troops of both countries have been deployed on the Line of Actual control along the border.

Wang Yi came to India after his visit to Pakistan, Afghanistan and he will also visit Nepal from India.
India sharply criticised Wang's comment in the Organisation of Islamic States foreign ministers meeting held in Islamabad, where he supported Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir.
Wang last visited India for the Special Representative-level border talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Kumar Doval in December 2019.
The visit of Wang Yi is seen as an attempt by the Chinese leadership to ensure the participation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the forthcoming BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China , South Africa) summit to be held in China in 2022.
Also both countries are close to Russia and there is pressure on both the countries from western countries to isolate Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar has identified three “mutuals' ' to normalise the strained ties between India and China. Three “mutuals” are mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests.
The Chinese by supporting Pakistan on Kashmir issue and its deployment of troops along the borders with India is seen by India as going against the three “mutuals” identified by S. Jaishankar.

G-7,EU,NATO holds emergency meeting on Russia Ukraine Conflict

Tags: International News

In an unprecedented move the Western countries leader held an extraordinary summit meeting in Brussels, Belgium on 24 March 2022 to put pressure on the Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

The Group of 7 or G-7 ,European Union (EU) and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO ) was held back to back on 24 March 2022.
The three back to back summit meeting which was attended by the President of Joe Biden is an attempt by the western countries to show solidarity to Ukraine and to present a united stand against Russia.

Highlights of the meeting

NATO leaders agreed to help Ukraine protect itself against any chemical, biological or nuclear attacks by Russia.
NATO, which has already increased its troop deployment to 40,000 along the eastern border of Russia from the Baltic to the Black Sea, has agreed to set up new combat units in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.
The alliance also warned China not to support Russia’s war effort or to take any actions that will help Russia circumvent the western sanctions on Russia.
NATO turned down Ukrainian requests to defend Ukraine's skies by imposing a no-fly zone and said again, it will not send troops to Ukraine for fear of being dragged into a full-on military confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia.

EU Meeting

At the European Union summit meeting ,the United States promised to supply the EU with 15 billion cubic metres more of liquefied natural gas this year than had been planned before so as to curb the European bloc's reliance on Russian gas.
Russia supplies 40% of the EU's gas needs and more than a quarter of its oil imports. Those most dependent on this supply - in particular Germany - are reluctant to take a step that would have a major economic impact.

President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy also addressed the leaders via videoconference.

Russia does not want Ukraine to become a member of either the European Union or NATO. It fears if Ukraine joins these western blocs then the security of Russia will be compromised.

Important for Exam

European Union

It is a political and Economic group of 27 European countries .
The European Economic Community was launched in 1957 and it became the European Union in 1993 with the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty.
Member countries of EU : Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Headquarters of the European Union : Brussels

G-7 or Group of Seven countries

The G7 (Group of Seven) is an organisation of the world's seven largest advanced economies, which dominate global trade and the international financial system.

They are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Russia joined in 1998, creating the G8, but was excluded in 2014 for its annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine .
It has no permanent secretariat .
The 2021 summit meeting was held in England
The 2022 summit meeting will be held in Germany .

Exercise Cold Response of NATO

Tags: International News

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is undertaking a large-scale military exercise in Norway code named Cold Response 2022. The military exercise is organised by Norway every two years.
About 30,000 troops from 27 countries from Europe and North America are participating in the exercise which are being held in March and April 2022.
The exercise assumed significance after the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.
The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has announced that he will visit Norway on 25 March 2022 to witness the exercise just after the NATO, EU, G-7 summit meeting in Brussels on 24 March 2022.

Important for Exam

NATO

It is a military alliance which was set up after the signing of the Washington Treaty on 4 April 1949 in Washington , United States of America.

It was set up to combat threats from the communist countries led by the Soviet Union in Europe. After the breakup of the Soviet Union ,Russia is considered as the successor state of the Soviet Union and Russia is seen as a threat by NATO.
Initially there were 12 member countries but at present there are 30 member countries.
Headquarters of the NATO : Brussels , Belgium
Member : Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.

Curfew in Kota on Kashmir files movie

Tags: Popular State News

The District administration in Kota, Rajasthan has imposed section 144 of the Cr Pc(Code of Criminal Procedure ) 1973, to maintain law and order in view of the screening of the film “The Kashmir Files “ and forthcoming festivals in the area. The Kota district authorities imposed Section 144 of the CrPC from 22 March to 21 April.

As per the orders, four or more people won't be allowed to gather at any place in the district. Further, no meetings, demonstrations, or processions are allowed. However, government events, recruitment processes, police departments, and COVID-19 vaccination centers have been exempted from this.
The district administration's move to impose Section 144 of the CrPC had sparked a controversy as the order mentioned that law and order may be affected by anti-social elements during festivals to be held in these periods and due to the screening of "The Kashmir Files".
However, there has not been any ban on the screening of the film .

The Kashmir File Film

The film is based on events in 1990 when more than 2 lakh Kasmiri Pandits (Hindus) fled from Jammu and Kashmir. It was the start of the Pakistan sponsored militancy in Jammu and Kashmir which took an Islamist colour and Kashmiri pandits were threatened to either leave Kashmir or convert to Islam. Kashmiri pandits were selectively killed by the Islamic militants to scare the community.
The film has become controversial as the film portrays the killing of Kashmiri pandits as a genocide and the critic accusses the film of increasing Islamophobia.
In New Zealand a campaign has been launched against the screening of the film as it is accused of being anti- muslim.

What is Important for Exam

Producer of Film : Vivek Agnihotri, Abhishek Aggarwal ,Pallavi Joshi

Director of the film : Vivek Agnihotri

Written By : Vivek Agnihotri and Saurabh Aggarwal

Actor of the film : Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Pallavi Joshi, Mithun Chakraborthy;

The movie was released in 2022 and has been made in Hindi language.

48th Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC held in Islamabad

Tags: International Relations

The 48th Council of Foreign Ministers meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was held in Islamabad, Pakistan on 22 -23 March 2022. The session coincides with the 75th-anniversary celebrations of Pakistan's Independence Day.

The theme of the conference was :"Building Partnerships for Unity, Justice, and Development."
The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan raised the Kashmir issue at the conference, saying the 57-member body has not been able to make any impact at all as it’s a "divided house".
China, though not a member of the OIC, was represented by its foreign minister Wang Yi who supported Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir .
India rejected the reference to Kashmir in the OIC declaration issued after the conference saying Kashmir was an integral part of India .

Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC)

The Organisation of the Islamic Conference was established by the First Islamic Summit Conference held in Rabat, Morocco, in September 1969.

It was set up to protect the interest of Muslims in the world.
Total Members : 57 countries
Headquarters : Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
India which has the third largest muslim population in the world after Indonesian and Pakistan is not the member of OIC.

India won two medals at the WTT Contender Doha 2022

Tags: Sports News

Indian Table Tennis players won two medals at the recently concluded World Table Tennis (WTT) Contender Doha 2022. The WTT Contender took place at Lusail Sports Arena, Doha from 21-24 March 2022.

Medal winners for India

G Sathiyan and Manika Batra finished as runner-up in the mixed doubles of WTT Contender Doha 2022, losing to the top-seeded Chinese Taipei pair of Lin Yun-Ju and Cheng I-Ching.
Achanta Sharath Kamal won the bronze medal in the men’s singles after he lost the semi final match against Yuan Licen of China.

Men’s Singles Final

Dang Qiu of Germany won the gold medal by defeating the Chinese player Yuan Licen in final

Women’s Singles Final

Fan Siqi of China won the gold medal by defeating the fellow Chinese Zhang Rui in the final

Men’s Doubles Final

The Swedish pair of Kristian Karlsson/Mattias Falck won the gold medal by defeating the German pair of Ricardo Walther/Killian Ort in the final .

Women’s Doubles Final

The Japanese pair of Miyuu Kihara/Miyu Nagasaki won the gold medal by defeating the Chinese pair of Huang Yi-Hua/Chen Szu-Yu in the final.

Byju’s named the official sponsor of Fifa World Cup 2022 in Qatar

Tags: Sports

Indian education technology firm Byju’s has been named an official sponsor of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Byju has become the first Indian company to be a sponsor of the FIFA men’s football world cup.

The Bengaluru-based firm is also a sponsor for the Indian cricket team

The FIFA Men’s World Cup is scheduled to kick off from November 21 this year in Qatar. The final match of the global tournament will be played on December 18. It is the most prestigious tournament in football, organised every four years, and is one of the biggest sporting events and the biggest single-sport event in the world.

About FIFA-

FIFA is a non-profit organization that describes itself as an international governing body of association football, futsal, and beach soccer. It is the highest governing body of association football.

FIFA was founded in 1904 at Paris, France.
Headquarters - Zurich, Switzerland
President - Gianni Infantino
United States, Mexico, and Canada will host FIFA World Cup 2026
Russia hosted FIFA World Cup 2018

Pritzker Architecture Prize 2022

Tags: Awards

Diebedo Francis Kere of Burkina Faso has become the first African and the first black person to be awarded architecture’s highest international honour, the 2022 Pritzker Architecture Prize.

The Pritzker Architecture prize is considered the Nobel Prize of architecture.
The award consists of $100,000 (US) and a bronze medallion.
In 2018, Indian architect Balkrishna Vithaldas won this award.

About the Pritzker Prize

Founded in 1979 by Jay A. Pritzker and his wife Cindy, the award is funded by the Pritzker family and sponsored by the Hyatt Foundation.
It is given every year.

Oxygen Plus - Smartphone-based portable oxygen kit

Tags: Science and Technology

An easy to handle and transport, multi-modal, smartphone-based, field-portable oxygen concentrator called Oxygen Plus was designed by GRS India, a Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DIPP) Government of India, recognized start-up.

The device can be used by for oxygen support during medical emergencies, trauma as well as disasters to protect people from the risk of breathing contaminated air.

Ravindra Jadeja replaces MS Dhoni as the new CSK Skipper

Tags: Sports

Ravindra Jadeja will replace Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the Captain of the Chennai Superking(CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 season. M.S Dhoni who has captained CSK team since the start of IPL in 2008 has voluntarily stepped down as the captain of CSK.

Under Dhoni the CSK team has emerged as one of the the most successful teams in the IPL winning four titles in the nine finals they have reached.
Mumbai Indian has won five IPL titles.

About Chennai Super Kings-

Home Ground - M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
Coach - Stephen Fleming (Former Captain of New Zealand Cricket Team)
They are the current defending Champion having won the title of IPL 2021 Season
In January 2022, CSK became India's first unicorn sports enterprise
The Super Kings have won the IPL title four times (in 2010, 2011, 2018, and 2021).
In addition, they have also won the Champions League Twenty20 in 2010 and 2014.
The team served a two-year suspension from the IPL(2015-2017)

October 5 designated as National Dolphin Day

Tags: Important Days

Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupendra Yadav informed that October 5th is designated as National Dolphin Day to be celebrated every year as a historic step in creating awareness for conservation of Dolphins

The decision was taken in the 67th meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wild Life.

In India, mostly Gangetic dolphins, a species of freshwater dolphins, are sighted in long deep river reaches in Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Gangetic river dolphins were declared national aquatic species in 2010.

2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships

Tags: Sports

The 18th World Athletics Indoor Championships was held from 18 to 20 March 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia. World's top athletes participated in a total of 26 events.

Shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor, Long jumper M Sreeshankar and Sprinter Dutee Chand represented India at the event.
The United States won the highest number of medals (19) whereas Ethiopia won the highest number of Gold (4).
The World Athletics Indoor Championships is held every two years and the first was held in 1985 at Paris, France.
The 19th World Athletics Indoor Championship will be held in Nanjing China in 2023
The 20th Championship will be held in Glasgow, Great Britain, in 2024.
The World Athletics Indoor Championships are a biennial indoor track and field competition.
It is Organised by the World Athletics formerly known as the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

GIF inventor Steve Wilhite dead from COVID-19 complications

Tags: Person in news

Stephen Wilhite, the inventor of the internet-popular short-video format, the Graphics Interchange Format (GIF), died on 14 March 2022 at the age of 74 due to covid -19 complications. His wife gave this information on 24 March 2022 to news media in the United States.