Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2021

Notes:
India’s first undersea tunnel is being constructed in Mumbai, as a part of the Coastal Road project of the city. It is expected to be completed by the year 2023.
The twin tunnels have a length of 2.07 km of which around a kilometre will be under the Arabian Sea. The undersea tunnel will be 20 metres below the seabed.

Notes:
Indian social activist Anjali Bharadwaj has been selected as one of 12 anti-corruption champions announced by the United States.
The 48-year-old activist served as an active member of the Right to Information Movement in India for over two decades. She is also the founder of the Satark Nagrik Sangathan (SNS), which aims to promote transparency and accountability in government.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet approved a proposal to impose President’s Rule in Puducherry. Earlier, the Congress-led Government in the Union territory lost power during a vote of confidence.
The Cabinet took the decision as no party came forward to stake claim to form the government in the UT, following the resignation of the Chief minister V Narayanasamy. After the Lieutenant Governor had recommended President’s Rule, the Cabinet has approved the same.

Notes:
Australia has passed a new law, which will require digital platforms like Facebook and Google to pay local media outlets and publishers to link their content in news feeds or search results.
The “News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code” aims to remunerate the news media businesses for the content they generate. Earlier, Google agreed to pay the publishers for news content in France.

Notes:
For the year 2021, the chairmanship of BRICS is vested with India.
India has commenced its chairship with the inauguration of 3-day-long Sherpas’ meeting. The meeting was chaired by Secretary (CPV & OIA) of Ministry of External Affairs. During the meet, India introduced to the member countries its themes and priorities for the year 2021.

Notes:
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has recently launched the City Innovation Exchange (CiX) platform.
The platform aims to bring together academia, businesses, and the government to design innovative solutions for the challenges of the cities. The platform has over 400 start-ups, 100 smart cities, more than 150 challenge statements and over 215 solutions when it was launched.

Notes:
India’s foreign minister S. Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi recently had a phone conversation.
During the conversation, both the countries have agreed to set up a hotline, amidst various stand-offs. The foreign Ministers also acknowledged the disengagement of troops from the north and south banks of Pangong Tso lake.

Notes:
The National Bamboo Mission (NBM) was originally launched as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in 2006-07, under the Agriculture Ministry. It was then restructured with the Cabinet approval in 2018.
Recently, the National Bamboo Mission along with the NITI Aayog and Invest India to organise a conference, National Consultation on Opportunities and Challenges for Bamboo in India’. Union Minster Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the conference, along with various Ministers and officials.

Notes:
The virtual meet of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors was organised recently under the chairmanship of Italy. India was represented by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The meeting was aimed to discuss policy actions for economic recovery. Discussion on impact of climate change on financial stability was also made in the meeting.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Karnataka B.S. Yediyurappa has recently launched the ‘Namma Cargo’ service in the state.
Under this initiative, the state road transport corporation buses would carry cargo parcels to generate additional revenue to the state. This is being implemented in 109 bus stations in Karnataka and select locations of neighbouring states.