Current Affairs Quiz - March 2022

Notes:
The Polar Science and Cryosphere Research (PACER) scheme is implemented through National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
It comprises of the Antarctic program, Indian Arctic program, Southern Ocean program and Cryosphere and Climate program. The scheme is organising 41st Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica. PACER scheme has recently been approved for continuation during 2021-2026.

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:
India has crossed a landmark milestone as the eSanjeevani telemedicine service of Union Health Ministry has crossed 3 crore tele-consultations.
The service has set a new record by completing 1.7 lakhs consultations in a day. States that are leading in terms of adoption of eSanjeevani are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and West Bengal. eSanjeevani, has two variants: eSanjeevani Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centre (AB-HWC) and eSanjeevaniOPD.

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 ILO Governing Body has elected Gilbert F. Houngbo as the Organization’s 11th Director-General. Houngbo, who is currently President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), will assume office in October 2022.
He is also the first African to hold the Director-General post of ILO. The current Director-General, Guy Ryder, from the United Kingdom, has held the office since 2012.

Notes:
As part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) organized Yamunotsav, at ITO Yamuna Ghat to celebrate the glory of Yamuna with a pledge to keep it clean.
NMCG is funding the construction of sewerage infrastructure for River Yamuna amounting to around Rs. 2300 crore.

Notes:
The Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya, a museum dedicated to prime ministers of India, is set to be inaugurated on April 14 to coincide with B R Ambedkar’s birth anniversary.
Being built on a 10,000-square metre land adjacent to the Nehru Memorial Museum in Delhi, the museum covers the life and times of all 14 Indian prime ministers so far. The museum which is being built at a cost of Rs 271 crore was approved in 2018.

Notes:
Ministry of MSME, Government of India and the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad, organised a ‘Mega International Summit on MSMEs’ at the India International Centre, New Delhi.
The two-day summit was attended by entrepreneurs, academicians, policymakers, industry leaders,  industry associations, start-ups, social impact organizations, MSMEs and self-help groups from India and across the world.

Notes:
Indian Actor Deepika Padukone was honoured at the TIME 100 impact awards, for her work on mental health through her organisation ‘Live Love Laugh’ foundation.
This is the second honour by the TIME magazine for the ace actress. The Time100 – Impact Awards honours the “global leaders who have gone above and beyond to move their industries and the world forward.”

Notes:
As many as 313 central sector and centrally sponsored schemes from 53 ministries have been onboarded on the DBT Bharat Portal.
The Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) programme was launched to bring transparency through the transfer of subsidies to the beneficiaries through their bank accounts. There were 98 crore beneficiaries (cash) and 81.9 crore beneficiaries (kind) in 2020-21.