Current Affairs Quiz - March 2022

Notes:
Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, has cleared the procurement of 14 items for over 380 crore rupees from the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) startups or MSMEs.
These items will be procured by the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. The DAC also approved the new simplified procedure for procurement from the iDEX startups and MSMEs.

Notes:
Mukhyamantri Park Saundaryakaran Yojana is a scheme being implemented by the Government of Delhi.
As part of the scheme, the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal directed officials to transform 17 city forests in the national capital in an area of about 3000 acres to ‘World-Class level’ Forests.  1,500 parks are being transformed in collaboration with 450 Resident Welfare Association (RWAs) under ‘Community Parks’ initiative.

Notes:
The Himachal Pradesh Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Mohali as knowledge partner for the upcoming Medical Devices Park at Nalagarh in Solan district.
NIPER, Mohali, is set to establish a Centre for Excellence in the Medical Devices Park to enable industry-academia linkage.

Notes:
An ancient clay pot was recently unearthed at Maligaimedu excavation site in Ariyalur, in the state of Tamil Nadu.
The phase II excavation project at Maligaimedu in Gangaikonda Cholapuram was recently inaugurated by Chief Minister MK Stalin. A 25 cm high, 12.5 cm wide, ancient clay pot was unearthed recently. Besides this, a 30-layer brick wall and a clay spoon were excavated.

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 ‘National Tuberculosis Prevalence Survey’ was recently released by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. He also released the country’s ‘annual TB report’
As per the report, Delhi had the highest prevalence (747) in 2019-2021 while Gujarat had the lowest (137). TB prevalence among India’s adults was 312 per 100,000 in 2019-2021. For every 2.84 persons with TB, only 1 was registered in the national surveillance system.

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:
The National Commission for Women (NCW) in collaboration with Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) has launched a ‘Legal Aid Clinic’.
It will act as a single-window facility for resolving grievances of women by offering them free legal assistance. Women can access the facility to access free legal advice and counseling where legal services advocates in the panel of DSLSA will help women.

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.