Current Affairs Quiz - March 2022

Notes:
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) is chaired by the Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Recently, the Council approved the procurement of Rs 8,357 crore worth of military platforms and hardware.
The procurement proposals were accorded “Acceptance of Necessity” at the meeting. The proposals include procurement of night sight (Image Intensifier), light vehicles GS 4X4, Air defence fire control radar (light) and GSAT-7B satellite.

Notes:
On 24 March, the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims is observed.
The Day was proclaimed in 2010 by the United Nations General Assembly. It pays tribute to Monsignor Óscar Arnulfo Romero, who fought against violations of human rights in El Salvador, who was murdered on 24 March 1980.

Notes:
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) extended the term of Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg by a year until September 30, 2023.
At the NATO summit in Brussels, the US President Joe Biden and other NATO leaders agreed to extend Stoltenberg’s term. He was a former Norwegian prime minister and was named NATO Secretary-General in 2014. His term was due to expire in September 2021.

Notes:
HDFC Mutual Fund filed a scheme information document (SID) with SEBI for India’s first Defence Fund – HDFC Defence Fund.
It is an open-ended equity scheme, which will invest in defence & allied sector companies. The allied sectors include aerospace, explosives, shipbuilding, industries or stocks present on the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) list.

Notes:
The renowned hydrologist Wilfried Brutsaert is awarded the Stockholm Water Prize 2022 for his outstanding work to quantify environmental evaporation.
Professor Emeritus Wilfried Brutsaert, fondly known as Mr Evaporation, is the world’s leading authority on terrestrial evaporation. His works help to make accurate predictions of the impact that climate change has on local rainfall patterns and water sources.

Notes:
Union Ministry of Earth Sciences recently announced that the tropical Indian Ocean has experienced a rapid increase in ocean warming.
The average rise in sea surface temperature of about 1 degree Celsius (°C) was observed over the period of 1951-2015, at 0.15°C per decade. The western Indian Ocean region experienced a four-fold rise in marine heat-waves events and the North Bay of Bengal experienced a two-to-three fold rise.

Notes:
During the 12th session of the Sansad Ratna Awards Committee, the inaugural Lifetime Achievement APJ Abdul Kalam Award given to 95-year-old veteran MLA of the Tamil Nadu assembly, Dr H V Hande, a former health minister. Former Karnataka chief minister Veerappa Moily, veteran MLA and MP, was also the recipient of this award.
Supriya Sule and Amar Patnaik are among 11 MPs who were honoured at the Sansad Ratna Awards 2022, awarded by the Prime Point Foundation.

Notes:
The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has bagged the ‘Covid champion’ award at Wings India 2022.
It is Asia’s largest event on civil aviation jointly organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and FICCI. CIAL was selected for the implementation of a project named ‘Mission Safeguarding’ during the Covid pandemic to ensure safe travel at Kochi Airport.

Notes:
A new edition of Aadi Bazaar has been recently inaugurated at Ekta Nagar, Kevadia, Statue of Unity in Gujarat.
The 11-day long exhibition has been organised by TRIFED of Ministry of Tribal Affairs. It will feature exhibition and sale of tribal handicrafts, art, paintings, fabric, and jewellery from across 10 states of the country.

Notes:
The President of India Ram Nath Kovind, presented the third National Water Awards and launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign 2022 in New Delhi.
The Government of India in 2019 launched the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan’ and in the same year ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’ was also launched. On 22nd March in 2021, on ‘World Water Day’, the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain’ campaign was launched, to urge citizens to conserve water.