DAILY GK: 14,15 MAR 2021
1.INDIA’S
1ST BULLET TRAIN PROJECT
• National
High-Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) & Japan Railway Track
Consultant Co. Limited (JRTC) virtually signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) for Track works in the 237-km stretch between Vadodara & Vapi in
Gujarat for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) also known as Bullet
Train Project.
• It
will strengthen the ‘Make in India’ initiative & ensure the transfer of
technology from the Japanese high-speed rail system to India.
2.‘AZADI KA AMRIT MAHOTSAV’ (INDIA@75)
• PM
Narendra Modi inaugurated the curtain raiser activities of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit
Mahotsav’ (India@75) at the event organised in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
• He
also flagged off the Padyatra from Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad to Dandi, Gujarat
as a part of the India@75 programme.
• This
marks the 91st anniversary of Gandhi’s 1930 Dandi March.
• Union
MoS Prahlad Singh Patel led the first lap of 75 kilometers of the padyatra.
3.3000
HP CAPE GAUGE LOCOMOTIVE FOR EXPORT TO MOZAMBIQUE
• Union
Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal flagged off the two 3000 Horse Power (HP)
Cape Gauge Locomotive for export to Mozambique.
•
It was indigenously developed by Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW), Varanasi, a
production unit of Indian Railways.
• This
is BLW’s first AC-AC traction system3000 HP, Cape Gauge locomotive.
• These
Locomotives will be exported through Rail India Technical and Economic Service
(RITES) Ltd.
4.SOUTH
ASIA GROUP ON ENERGY (SAGE) AT RIS
• Indian
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringala inaugurated the South Asia Group of
Energy (SAGE) at the Research & Information System for Developing Countries
(RIS) in New Delhi.
• He
highlighted various initiatives taken by India through its ‘Neighbourhood
First’ policy.
• Note
– India is the largest producer and consumer of energy in this region.
5.INDIA’S
FIRST ‘TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY DESK’
• India’s
1st ‘Transgender Community Desk’ launched in Gachibowli Police Station,
Hyderabad, Telangana by Cyberabad Police chief VC Sajjanar.
• It
is the world’s first-ever help desk for the transgender community and it will
be managed by a Police Liaison Officer and a member of the transgender
community who is designated as a community coordinator.
6.NEW
PASSENGER TRAIN SERVICE BETWEEN DHAKA AND NEW JALPAIGURI
• A
new passenger train service between Dhaka, Bangladesh and New Jalpaiguri, West
Bengal, India is set to start from the 26th of March 2021 marking the 50th
Anniversary of the liberation of Bangladesh.
• The
direct train between Dhaka and New Jalpaiguri will run through the
Chilahati-Haldibari cross-border rail route.
7.PWC’S
GLOBAL CEO SURVEY
• According
to PwC’s (PricewaterhouseCoopers) 24th Annual Global CEO Survey, India emerged
as the 5th most attractive growth destination in the world. India has slipped
one position to 5th, after being surpassed by the United Kingdom which took the
4th Position.
• The
USA emerged as the Number one market favored by CEOs over the next 1 year
followed by China, Germany.
• The
survey covered 5, 050 CEOs in 100 Countries & Territories including India.
•
Japan took the 6th position overtaking Australia.
• 76%
of CEOs expect the global economic recovery to improve in 2021.
8.1ST
EVER LEADER-LEVEL SUMMIT OF QUAD COUNTRIES
• The
First-ever Leader-Level Summit of 4 QUAD
(Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) countries – India, Japan, USA &
Australia took place virtually.
Participants
• Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
• US
President Joseph Biden
• Australian
Prime Minister Scott Morrison
• Japan
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga
Major Announcements
• The
4 Countries agreed to work towards an ‘open’ & ‘free’ Indo-Pacific region.
• Proposals
for setting up 3 Expert Working Groups in areas of Vaccines, emerging
technology & Climate were cleared.
• They
agreed to produce 1 Billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines across Asia by 2022 to
fight the pandemic.
• It
would be funded by US & Japan, while Australia will contribute in
logistical aspects.
9.FIRST
INDIAN TO RECEIVE UN’S ASIA ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT AWARD
• Sasmita
Lenka, Divisional Forest Officer, Athagarh Forest Division, Odisha received the
United Nations’s 2020 Asia Environmental Enforcement Awards under the category
Impact and Gender Leadership.
• She
became the first Indian to receive the award.
• The
2020 theme of the 5th edition Asia Environmental Enforcement Awards “Fighting
Transboundary Environmental Crimes”.
10.LUPEX
MISSION
• The
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) & Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency (JAXA) virtually reviewed the progress made under the Joint Lunar Polar
Exploration (LUPEX) mission.
•
LUPEX is a robotic Lunar mission that aims to send a lander and rover to the
Moon’s south pole in the year 2024.
11.ISRO
LAUNCHES SOUNDING ROCKET RH-560
• Indian
Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched a new Sounding rocket from its
Rohini Series, RH-560 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), Sriharikota Range
(SHAR), Andhra Pradesh.
• This
Sounding rocket will help in carrying out studies in the upper Atmospheric
regions, on Altitude Variations in the Neutral Winds and Plasma Dynamics.
12.INSECT
NAMED AFTER NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER
• Hemiandrus
jacinda is a species of wētā,a giant flightless cricket and native to New
Zealand was first described by Steven A. Trewick.
• It
was named after New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and was published in
Zootaxa journal.
13.OLIVIER
DASSAULT DIED IN HELICOPTER CRASH
• French
Billionaire and Member of French National Assembly, Olivier Dassault of Les
Republicains party died in a helicopter crash in Normandy, France at age 69.
• Olivier
Dassault the heir of Dassault Groupe (Dassault Aviation, Le Figaro etc) was
born on 1st June 1951 in Boulogne-Billancourt, France.
• He
was the son of businessman and politician Serge Dassault.
14.1ST
INDIAN WOMEN CRICKETER TO SCORE 10,000 INT RUNS
• Mithali
Raj became the first Indian woman to score 10000 runs in international cricket
across all formats.
• She
achieved the feat with a boundary off Anne Bosch in the 28th over of India’s
innings during the ongoing third ODI against South Africa.