Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2021

Notes:
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that the state will organise the ’Kalanamak Rice Festival’.
Kala Namak Rice, grown in the state, is One District One Product (ODOP) of some Eastern UP districts. The state had earlier organised Strawberry Festival in Jhansi and the Jaggery Festival in Lucknow.

Notes:
In the recent budget, the Himachal Pradesh government has decided to start planting seabuckthorn in the cold desert areas of the state.
It is a shrub which produces an orange-yellow coloured edible berry, which has been widely used for treating stomach, heart and skin problems. The shrub is found in dry areas such as the cold deserts of Ladakh and Spiti, Himachal Pradesh.

Notes:
Gowsalya Shankar belonging to Tamil Nadu has been awarded with the International Woman of Courage (IWOC) Award by the US Consulate in Chennai recently.
She has been running a trust named Shankar Social Justice Trust since 2017 which aims to fight atrocities against caste-based violence.

Notes:
The highest honours in the music industry – Grammy awards were announced recently and presented to the winners. The function was hosted by South African comedian, television host and producer Trevor Noah.
Taylor Swift’s music album “Folklore” was adjudged the Grammys Album of the Year Award.

Notes:
The Bengaluru airport has launched India’s first dedicated Express Cargo Terminal recently. It has been constructed by the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) at an area of 200,000 sq.ft.
The facility would be used exclusively for export and import of international couriers by leading logistics firms like DHL Express and FedEx Express.

Notes:
During the year 2020-21, India as a whole has generated 366 crore person days of work under MGNREGS. This is the highest ever employment generation under the scheme.
Among the states, Rajasthan has generated the highest employment of 43 crore person days, which is followed by West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Notes:
Senior IPS officer M.A Ganapathy was appointed as the Director General of National Security Guard (NSG).
The 1986 batch officer is currently serving as the Director General, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS). Another IPS officer Kuldiep Singh was appointed as the Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force.

Notes:
The United Nations Department Of Economic And Social Affairs (DESA) publishes the latest edition of the State of the World’s Indigenous People report.
As per the report, the world’s indigenous peoples live in areas around 80 per cent of the planet’s biodiversity. But many of them still struggle to maintain their legal rights to lands and resources.

Notes:
The Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was approved by the Rajya Sabha recently. It seeks to increase foreign direct investment limit in the insurance sector to 74 per cent from the current 49 per cent.
As per the bill, majority of those in board of directors and key management persons would be resident Indians, with at least 50 per cent of directors being independent directors.

Notes:
The World Happiness Report 2021 has been released recently but the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. The report measures the well-being by relying on three main indicators: life evaluations, positive emotions, and negative emotions.
Out of 149 countries, India has been ranked at 139. Finland is adjudged as the world’s happiest country as per the report.