Current Affairs Quiz - March 2022

Notes:
Hyderabad FC lifted their maiden Indian Super League title after defeating Kerala Blasters in the final match held in Goa.
Hyderabad FC skipper Joao Victor, Khassa Camara and Halicharan Narzary scored for their team. Kerala Blasters ended second for the third time in a final clash.

Notes:
Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr Mansukh Mandaviya launched the BRICS Vaccine R&D Centre and Workshop on Vaccine Cooperation with other BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) leaders.
The BRICS Vaccine R&D Centre was proposed to be set up as part of the 2018 Johannesburg Declaration. In the New Delhi Declaration of the XIII BRICS Summit, the leaders committed to launch BRICS Vaccine R&D Centre in virtual format. WHO’s R&D blueprint and International Health Regulations will be the guiding principles for this Centre.

Notes:
The Union Budget 2022-23 proposed that 5-7% biomass pellets will be used in thermal power plants, resulting in CO2 saving of 38 MMT annually
The Ministry of Power has mandated blending of biomass pellets made primarily of agro residue along with coal, under the “Revised Policy for Biomass Utilization for power generation through Co–firing in Coal based Power Plants”. The obligation shall increase to 7% with effect from two years after the date of issue of this order.

Notes:
World number one Ashleigh Barty has announced that she will retire from professional tennis at the age of just 25.
Ashleigh Barty won three Grand Slam singles events, including this year’s Australian Open in January. She became the first home player to win the Australian Open men’s or women’s singles title in 44 years.

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:
The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system, located in Australia. As per a new study, fish in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef are losing their colour.
The study revealed that relationship between the colouration of the fish communities and the environment is likely to be impacted by global environmental change.

Notes:
NITI Aayog, in partnership with the Institute of Competitiveness, released the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2021.
As per the report, most of the Coastal States of India are the best performers, and Gujarat was the top-performer. The EPI ranks states and UTs on 4 main pillars namely ‘Policy; Business Ecosystem; Export Ecosystem; Export Performance’ and 11 sub-pillars.

Notes:
European External Action Service (‘EEAS’) announced a joint declaration by the EU, Australia, Comoros, India, Japan, Mauritius, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, and Sri Lanka.
The ‘Declaration on Privacy and the protection of personal data’-Strengthening trust in the digital environment aims to improve international cooperation to promote high data protection and privacy standards.

Notes:
Bulgaria has recently abolished its controversial “Golden passports” scheme, which offers citizenship of the EU member state in return for substantial investment.
The scheme made it possible for foreigners to acquire residency when they invested a minimum of 500,000 euros in Bulgaria, and citizenship when they invested one million euros. The European Commission has called for the abolition of such schemes as they provide ways for money laundering.

Notes:
The Karnataka government has announced Vinaya Samarasya Yojana, an awareness programme meant to eradicate untouchability in Gram Panchayats across the state.
The scheme has been named after a three-year-old Dalit boy Vinay, whose family was slapped a fine of Rs 25,000 by the village leaders last year for the boy’s act of entering into a local temple.