Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2021

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.

Notes:
The Indian Railways has successfully launched the prototype of Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) AC three-tier economy class coach. It has been designed and rolled out by Railways’ coach factory in Kapurthala.
Presently these LHB coaches are put to use only in special trains and super-fast trains. These coaches are expected to be introduced in all express and mail trains by the railways.

Notes:
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has recently inaugurated three space incubation technology centres in NIT – Nagpur, Bhopal and Rourkela.
This is aimed to encourage and give a platform for space entrepreneurs in India. ISRO has already opened three such centres at NIT Agartala, Trichy and Jalandhar.

Notes:
According to a study released by defence website Military Direct, China has the strongest military force in the world.
As per the study, China is followed by the USA at the second place, followed by Russia. India stands at number four, followed by France. The study calculated the “ultimate military strength index” through various factors including budgets, number of military personnel and resources etc.

Notes:
The Union Power Ministry’s Maharatna PSU – Power Grid has launched an e-tendering portal – “PRANIT”.
This portal is aimed to make the tendering process by power grid more transparent and decreases the paperwork in the process. This portal has been certified by Standardisation, Testing and Quality Certification Directorate (STQC), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Notes:
The Union Jal Shakti Ministry has partnered with the United Nations Office for Project Services and with the Government of Denmark for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
The tie up aims to bring tap water connections to 11 water-scarce districts in Uttar Pradesh’s Bundelkhand and Vindhya regions.

Notes:
The Union Defence Ministry has inked a deal with Mahindra Defence Systems Ltd worth Rs.1,056 crore. The deal is for procurement of 1,300 light combat vehicles to be used by the Indian Army.
The induction of these vehicles manufactured by Mahindra Defence is planned to be completed in 4 years.

Notes:
American credit rating agency Fitch releases the report titled ‘Global Economic Outlook GEO’. In its recent edition, it has revised India’s GDP growth estimate to 12.8% for next fiscal.
Earlier, the ratings agency had estimated a growth rate of 11%. The reasons stated are a stronger carryover effect, a looser fiscal stance, and better virus containment. Fitch also expects GDP growth to ease to 5.8% in Fiscal Year 2023.

Notes:
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced a competency-based assessment framework for classes 6-10 based on the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The assessment aims to improve the overall learning outcomes of students mainly covering three subjects namely English (reading), Science, and Maths. British Council along with AlphaPlus as the UK knowledge partner, designed and developed this framework.

Notes:
Veteran Hindi writer Sharad Pagare will be conferred with the prestigious Vyas Samman -2020 award.
The poet was selected for his novel ‘Patliputru Ki Samragi.’ The Vyas Samman is provided by K K Birla Foundation for excellent Hindi literary work authored by an Indian citizen, published during the last 10 years.