Current Affairs Quiz - March 2022

Notes:
The Government e-Market (GeM) portal was launched in 2016, for online purchases of goods and services by all the central government ministries and departments.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GeM announced that the portal has crossed Rs 1 lakh crore during this fiscal year. GeM is among the top five e-public procurement systems globally. The top five states that are buying from the portal are Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.

Notes:
Solomon Islands, a country of hundreds of islands in the South-Pacific, has confirmed that it is drafting a security deal with China.
As per media reports, a Chinese military base could potentially be set up on the island to Australia’s north. This step has triggered concern in neighbouring Australia and other Western allies in the Indo-Pacific.

Notes:
Minister Rajnath Singh launched a tourism portal to facilitate online booking of guided tours to the road infrastructure projects of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
In the initial phase, only e-booking for a guided tour to Atal Tunnel, Rohtang, will be available through the portal. The world’s highest motorable road at Umling La Pass, Sela Tunnel and Nechiphu Tunnel are among the projects which will be included later.

Notes:
Ministry of Defence has signed a contract worth Rs 887 crore with Larsen & Toubro for acquisition of Two Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs) under the “Buy-Indian’’ category.
L&T will deliver the MPVs which will be indigenously built in India to the Indian Navy in another two years. The vehicles can perform maritime surveillance, surface and underwater firing exercises, launching of torpedoes and giving Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) support.

Notes:
The Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare released the Final Estimates of 2020-21 and First Advance Estimates of 2021-22 of Area and Production of various Horticultural Crops.
Total Horticulture production in 2020-21 is estimated to a record 334.60 Million Tonne, an increase of about 4.4% over that achieved in 2019-20. Production of Fruits and Vegetables is estimated to be 102.48 Million Tonne and 200.45 Million Tonne respectively. Total Horticulture production in 2021-22 is estimated to be 333.3 Million Tonne, (decrease of 0.4%) over 2020-21.

Notes:
The U.S. Senate approved a bill to provide USD 52 billion in subsidies for semiconductor chips manufacturing. The legislation was sent to the House of Representatives, to launch a formal process known as a “conference”
The chip shortage has disrupted production across the globe. The Senate earlier passed chips legislation in June that also authorized USD 190 billion to strengthen U.S. technology and research.

Notes:
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has tied up with the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) for ‘Fleet Card — Fuel on Move’ program.
The fleet card will enable IAF vehicles to refuel at any IOCL station, rather than the current practice of refuelling at only Air Force stations. This will be implemented for its fleet of vehicles that carry personnel, equipment and even bombs and missiles by road.

Notes:
IIT Kharagpur has launched the peta-scale supercomputer PARAM Shakti inaugurated by West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.
PARAM Shakti was developed under the National Supercomputing Mission, a joint initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Science and Technology. Supercomputer ‘PARAM Ganga’ was earlier installed at IIT Roorkee.

Notes:
US President Joe Biden proposed USD 1.8 billion to support free and open, and secure Indo-Pacific Region and the Indo-Pacific Strategy.
He also proposed USD 400 million for the Chinese Malign Influence Fund. The funds were announced as part of USD 773 billion annual Defence Budget, which prioritizes China as the Department’s pacing challenge.

Notes:
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. Has launched the world’s longest commercial passenger flight by distance.
It has planned to reroute its New York-Hong Kong service to avoid Russian airspace, and that would be the longest flight. The distance of 16,618 kilometers is covered at 17 hours would surpass Singapore Airlines’ New York service, which takes about 17-and-a-half hours to cover 15,349 km.