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By admin: March 28, 2022

Pramod Sawant Sworn in as Goa Chief Minister for the second time

Tags: Popular State News

Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) leader Pramod Sawant was sworn in for the second time as the Chief Minister of Goa on 28 March 2022.

He and 8 other ministers were  administered the oath of office and secrecy by the Goa Governor Mr.  PS Sreedharan Pillai  at the Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Stadium, Panaji.

The event was attended by Prime Minister Modi  and other top BJP leaders and Ministers.

Highlights 

• Pramod Swant became the chief Minister of Goa in 2019 after the death of the incumbent Chief Minister Manhoar Parrikar.

• He  won his  Sanquelim Assembly seat by defeating Dharmesh Saglani of the Congress party in the recently held Goa Legislative Assembly election in 2022. 

• The election to constitute the 8th Goa Legislative Assembly was held on 14 February 2022.

• BJP won 20 seats in the  40 member Goa Assembly . 

• The party enjoys the support of three Independents and two Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) legislators. This is the third consecutive government of the BJP in the coastal state.  

• Pramod Sawant is the 13 Person to become the Chief Minister of Goa.

• He is an Ayurvedic medical practitioner by profession.

PMGKAY extended till September 2022

Tags: National News

The Government of India has extended the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) scheme for another six months, till September 2022 (Phase VI). The phase V of the scheme was to end on 31 March 2022.This will cover nearly 80 crore beneficiaries across India.

PMGKY is the world's largest food security programme which was launched  in April 2020 to provide relief to the poor  and  migrant population suffering due to the corona -19 induced lockdown and the consequent hardship faced by them.

Features of the PMGKAY 

• PMGKAY is a part of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) to help the poor fight the battle against Covid-19.

• Its nodal Ministry is the Ministry of Finance.

• Under this scheme, the government  Provides  additional free of cost  5 kg per person per month food-grains (rice/wheat) to around 80 crore beneficiaries of National Food Security Act (NFSA) including the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) beneficiaries.  

• The scheme is fully funded by the government of India 

• The Government has spent approximately Rs. 2.60 Lakh Crore so far and another Rs. 80,000 Crore will be spent over the next 6 months till September 2022 taking the total expenditure under PM-GKAY to nearly Rs. 3.40 Lakh Crore

• The Government of India  had allocated about 759 Lakh Million Tonnes (LMT) of free foodgrains under the PM-GKAY till Phase V. With another 244 LMT of free foodgrains under this extension (Phase VI), the aggregate allocation of free foodgrains under the PM-GKAY now stands at 1,003 LMT of foodgrains.

• The PMGKAY has now been linked withOne Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) plan  where migrant workers can get the benefit of the scheme through any ration shops in India.

Phases of the  PMGKAY Scheme 

Phase I  from April to June 2020

Phase II  from July to November 2020

Phase III from December 2020 to May 2021 to June 2021

Phase IV from July 2021 to November 2021

Phase V from December 2021 to March 2021 

Phase VI from April 2022 to September 2022 

Important Government Scheme

National Food Security act (NFSA)

The Public distribution system in India is covered under the National Food security act 2013. It covers 75% of the rural population and 50% Urban areas. 

• Food Grains are provided to beneficiaries in two categories,Antodaya Anna Yojana(AAY) and Priority Household  (PHH).

• The Antodaya Anna Yojana beneficiaries get 35 kg of foodgrains per month and the Priority Household gets 5kg per person per month .

• The beneficiary gets rice/wheat or coarse cereals at a highly subsidised price . 

For One Nation One Ration Card scheme  kindly see 2 February 2022 post

UP Government extends free ration scheme

Tags: State News

The first decision taken by the Yogi Adiyanath  government after coming to power in Uttar Pradesh was to extend the free ration scheme to 15 crore  people of the state by three more months till 30 June, 2022. The scheme was to end in March 2022. The  free food scheme was considered to be one of the main reasons for the success of the BJP in the recently concluded state legislative Assembly election.

• The Government of India had launched the  Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) in April 2020 to provide relief to the poor and migrant population suffering due to corona -19 pandemic  induced  lockdown and the consequent hardship faced by them. The  beneficiaries were provided 5 kg of wheat/rice per unit (family member) per month through the Public Distribution System (PDS). 

• The scheme continued till November 2021, after which the Uttar Pradesh government decided to continue with the scheme on its own.

• In addition, the state government also decided to provide 1 kg of whole chana, 1 litre of edible oil and 1 kg of salt once every month to the beneficiaries.

• The people of Uttar Pradesh get ration under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) and the National Food Security Act (NFSA). 

• The estimated expenditure of the project is around Rs 4000 crore. 

Also see 25 march 2022 post for UP

Ritu Khanduri first woman speaker of Uttarakhand Assembly

Tags: Popular Person in news

Ritu Khanduri  Bhusan of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was unanimously elected as the first woman speaker of the fifth Uttarakhand legislative Assembly on 26 March 2022. 

Ritu Khanduri Bhushan who was elected from the Kotdwar constituency by defeating her Congress'  rival Surendra Singh Negi seat by a margin of 3,687 votes.

Important for Exam 

• The first woman speaker of a state Legislative Assembly in India was Shanno Devi. She was the speaker of the Haryana State Legislative Assembly from 6 December 1966 to 17 March 1967. She was a member of the Congress party.

• The first woman speaker of the Lok Sabha was Meria Kuamr of the Congress Party . She was the Speaker of Lok Sabha  from 2009 to 2014. 

Also see the 23 March 2022 post 

Iga Swiatek is the New Women No1 In Tennis

Tags: Person in news Sports News

Poland's Iga Swiatek secured the World Number One title in women's tennis by defeating Swiss player Viktorija Golubic at the WTA Miami Open.

• Three time Grand slam champion, Ashleigh Barty’s decision to retire and step out of the rankings opened the door for Iga Swiatek to the top of the WTA Rankings.

• Iga became the first Polish player to hold that distinction. 

• Swiatek became the first Polish player to win a Grand Slam singles title, at the 2020 French Open. With this, she became the youngest singles champion at the French Open since Rafael Nadal in 2005, and the youngest women's singles champion at a major championship since Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon in 2004.

• Swiatek becomes the 28th woman to reach the Women Tennis Association (WTA) pinnacle and the youngest since Caroline  Wozniacki of Denmark in 2010.

• The current number 1 male player in Tennis is Novak Djokovic of Serbia  

About WTA

• The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organising body of women's professional tennis. 

• The WTA's corporate headquarters is in St. Petersburg, Florida, with its European headquarters in London and its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Beijing.

• The Women's Tennis Association was founded in June 1973 by Billie Jean King.

Anurag Thakur launches TEJAS Skilling Project at Dubai Expo

Tags: National

Union minister Anurag Thakur, who is in Dubai to participate in the India Pavilion in Dubai Expo 2020, launched Training for Emirates Jobs And Skills (TEJAS) on  27 March 2022. He was visiting the Indian Pavilion at theExpo 2020 Dubai, being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 

•  The TEJAS  project is aimed at skilling, certification and overseas employment of Indians. Tejas is aimed at creating pathways to enable Indian workforce to get equipped for skill and market requirements in UAE.

• Tejas aims at creating a 10,000 strong Indian workforce in UAE during the initial phase.

 Expo 2020 Dubai 

World Expos are one of the oldest and largest international events on the Earth which take place every five years and last for six months.

• Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo ever hosted in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region. 

• Expo 2020 Dubai  will run for six months from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022.

• The Theme of the Expo 2020 Dubai is “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future” 

Kindly Also see 19 February 2022 post 

P V Sindhu wins and Prannoy loses Swiss Open

Tags: Sports News

Ace Indian shuttler and double Olympic medalist, P V Sindhu grabbed the 2022 Swiss Open title with a straight-game win over Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan (21-16, 21-8) in the summit clash of the Swiss Open Super 300 badminton tournament at the St. Jakobshalle Arena in Basel, Switzerland. 

• In this same venue, Sindhu claimed the World Championships gold in 2019.

• This is her second title of the year—she won the Syed Modi India International in Lucknow in January 2022.

• Sindhu is the second Indian woman to win the Swiss Open, Saina Nehwal having won it in 2011 and 2012.

Indonesian shuttler Jonatan Christie grabbed the Men’s Singles title defeating India’s H S Prannoy in the finals. (12-21, 18-21)

P V Sindhu is the first and only Indian to become the Badminton World Champion and only the second individual athlete from India to win two consecutive medals at the Olympic Games (2016 Rio Olympics - Silver and 2020 Tokyo Olympics - Bronze)

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visits Nepal after India Visit

Tags: International News

The Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Nepal in the last leg of his South Asian tour. He first visited Pakistan and participated in the Summit of the Foreign Minister’s of the Organisation of Islamic Countries held in Islamabad, Pakistan. He then visited Afghanistan before making a surprise visit to India. From India, he visited Nepal on 26 March 2022.

• This is the first visit of a high-ranking Chinese official to Nepal since Sher Bahadur Deuba became the Prime Minister of Nepal in July last year.

• China and Nepal signed nine MOU(Memoranda of Understanding )

• Under the economic and technical cooperation, China will increase its annual assistance to Nepal from Rs. 13 billion to Rs. 15 billion.

• Another agreement is on cooperation on the feasibility study of China-Nepal Power Grid interconnection where China will finance the new alignment of the Ratamate-Rasuwagadhi- Kerung transmission line.

• China will donate an additional 4 million doses of the Sinovac covid vaccine to Nepal.

Important for Exam 

Nepal 

It is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is located between India to the east, south, and west and the Tibet area of China to the north.

President of Nepal : Bidhya Devi Bhandari 

Prime Minister of Nepal : Sher Bahadur Deuba 

Capital of Nepal : Kathnmadu 

Currency : Nepalese rupee

It has the world's highest mountain peak:  Mount Everest in the Himalayas.

El Salvador declares state of emergency after gang killings

Tags: International News

The Central American country of El Salvador parliament has approved  the state of emergency that temporarily suspended some constitutional protections in the country following a wave of killings attributed to criminal gangs.

• At least 62 people were reported killed on 26 March in a gang war in the country. 

• The Parliament of the country approved the request of the  President of El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele, to impose an emergency in the country.

El Salvador 

• It is the smallest of the Seven Central American countries of  Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Belize. 

• Capital : San Salvador 

• Currency : United States Dollar, Bitcoins.

• President : Nayib Bukele

West Indies secure test series win against England

Tags: Sports News

West Indies men’s cricket team completed a ten-wicket win on the fourth day of the third Test in Grenada, National Cricket Stadium to secure a series win (1-0) over England. With this England ends its tour of the West Indies.

• The first match was played at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua and the second match was played at Kensington Oval, Barbados. Both the matches ended in a draw.

• With this West Indies won the first edition of the Richards–Botham Trophy.

• West Indies captain, Kraigg Brathwaite is declared the player of the series.

• Joe Root captained the English side.

Normal International Flights resume from India

Tags: National News

Normal International flights from India resumed on 27 March 2022 after a gap of almost two years. International flights were suspended from March 2020  after the corona pandemic.

• six Indian airlines will connect 27 countries and 60 international airlines could provide connectivity to 40 countries.

• Until now, travel to and from India was confined to 37 countries with limited flights under “air bubble” agreements.

Important for Exam 

The regulator of the Civil Aviation sector in India : DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation). It comes under the  Union Ministry of Civil Aviation

Union Civil Aviation Minister : Mr  Jyotiraditya Scindia 

Also see the 17 March 2022 post 

Verstappen wins Formula 1's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Tags: Sports News

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at Jeddah, the second round of the 2022 Formula 1 World Championship, after a thrilling battle with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

• This is his first win of the season and the 21st win of his career.

• He is the first Dutch motorist to win the Formula One (F1) motor car racing championship.

About F1

• The F1 World Championship season consists of a series of motor car  races, known as Grands Prix, held usually on purpose-built circuits (Example - Buddh International Circuit, Noida), and in a few cases on closed city streets.

• Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton hold the record for the most World Drivers' Championships, both having won the title on seven occasions. 

• Sebastian Vettel was the youngest to win the title.

• FIA Headquarters - Paris

• 2022 Formula 1 World Championship started with Bahrain GP at Sakhir Circuit

India To Build Nuclear Power Plants In "Fleet Mode" From 2023

Tags: Science and Technology

The Government of India plans to start construction of ten 'fleet mode' nuclear reactors over the next three years, with the first pour of concrete for a 700 MW atomic power station in Karnataka's Kaiga slated for 2023.

Under the fleet mode, a nuclear power plant is anticipated to be built over a period of five years from the first pour of concrete(FPC).

• The first pour of concrete (FPC) marks the beginning of construction of nuclear power reactors from the pre-project stage which includes excavation activities at the project site.

• The officials of the Department of Atomic Energy informed the Parliamentary panel on science and technology that the “ FPC of Kaiga units 5&6 is expected in 2023; FPC of Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Praiyonjan units 3 & 4 and Mahi Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Projects units 1 to 4 is expected in 2024; and that of Chutka Madhya Pradesh Atomic Power Project units 1 & 2 in 2025”.

• The Centre had approved construction of 10 indigenously developed pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWR) of 700 MW each in June 2017. The ten PHWRs will be built at a cost of Rs 1.05 lakh crore.

• The PHWRs, which use natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as moderator, have emerged as the mainstay of India’s nuclear power programme.

• India’s first pair of PHWRs of 220 MW each were set up at Rawatbhata in Rajasthan in the 1960s with Canadian support.

• As many as 14 PHWRS of 220 MW each with standardized design and improved safety measures were built by India over the years.  Indian engineers further improvised the design to increase the power generation capacity to 540 MWe, and two such reactors were made operational at Tarapur in Maharashtra.

For additional information on Nuclear power, kindly see the 24 March 2022 post.

DRDO test-fires two surface-to-air missiles

Tags: Defence

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted two successful flight tests of the Indian Army version of Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) at Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha on March 27, 2022.

• This MRSAM version is a Surface-to-Air Missile developed jointly by DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Israel for use by the Indian Army.

•  It is capable of engaging multiple targets at ranges up to 70 kms.  

• The MRSAM Army weapon system comprises multi-function radar, mobile launcher system and other vehicles.

Important for Exam 

DRDO chairman :  Dr G Satheesh Reddy 

The chairman of DRDO is also the Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister.

Thailand’s Nitithorn Thippong wins inaugural DGC Open, India’s Ajeetesh Sandhu finishes second

Tags: Sports News

Thailand’s Nitithorn Thippong defeated Ajeetesh Sandhu from India on the first play-off hole to claim the DGC Open on the Lodhi course at Delhi Golf Club.

This is his maiden win on the Asian tour.

About Asian Tour-

• The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf tour in Asia except for Japan, which has its own Japan Golf Tour.

• Asian PGA was founded in 1994 with the inaugural season played in 1995. 

• Official money events on the tour count for World Golf Ranking points.

• The Asian Tour is administered from Singapore. 

• The chairman of the board is the Indonesian businessman Jimmy Masrin.

CODA wins Best Film at Oscars 2022

Tags: National News

The 94th Academy Awards ceremony or Oscars, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honoured the best films released between March 1 and December 31, 2021, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 27, 2022.

Winners List -

• Best picture - CODA. This is the first movie made by a streaming service (APPLE) to win Best Picture Oscar

• Best actress - Jessica Chastain. She got the award for acting in the film The Eyes of Tammy Faye

• Best actor - Will Smith. He got the award for acting in the film King Richard

• Best director - The Power of the Dog. She got the award for directing the film Jane Campion

• Best original song - Music and Lyric by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell. They got the award for the title track of the film “No Time to Die”

• Best adapted screenplay - CODA

• Best original screenplay - Belfast 

• Best international feature - Drive My Car (Japan)

• Best supporting actress - Ariana DeBose. She got the award for acting in the film West Side Story

• Best supporting actor - Troy Kotsur. He got the award for acting in the film CODA

• Best animated feature - Encanto

• Best original score - Hans Zimmer. He got the award for the film Dune

Tamil film, Pebbles, directed by P S Vinothraj, was sent as India’s Official Entry at the 94th Academy Awards.

Indian Oscar winners till date-

• Bhanu Athaiya in 1982 received the Oscars for the “Best Costume Design” for the movie “Gandhi”

• Satyajit Ray received an Honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement in 1992

• A R Rahman won two Oscars in 2009 for the movie “Slumdog Millionaire” in the category of “Best Original Score” and “Best Original Song for Jai Ho”

• Resul Pookutty in 2009 won the Oscars for “Best Sound Mixing” for the film “Slumdog Millionaire”

• Gulzar in 2009 won the Oscars for “Best Original Song for Jai Ho” for the film “Slumdog Millionaire”