1). NPCI transfers automatic bill payments business to new subsidiary.
As
per RBI directive, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has
transferred all its Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) transaction mandates to a
new subsidiary called NPCI Bharat BillPay Limited (NBBL).
BBPS
is an interoperable bill payments platform used by banks, fintech companies and
biller merchants to automate bill collection and request solutions.
NBBL
has come into effect from April 1, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NPCI.
NPCI
is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement
systems in India.It is formed underPayment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
2). National Aquifer Mapping And Management program.
National
Aquifer Mapping And Management program (NAQUIM) was initiated in 2012 as a part
of the Ground Water Management and Regulation scheme.
Key objectives;
To
delineate and characterize the aquifers.
Develop
plans for sustainable ground water management in the country.
It
is being implemented by Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Jal Shakti.
An
aquifer is a body of porous rock or sediment saturated with groundwater.
There
are two general types of aquifers confined and unconfined.
3). Army War College.
The
Army War College (AWC), Mhow celebrated its Golden Jubilee today to mark 50
glorious years of its inception as the premier training institute of Indian
Army.
The
College is the fountain-head of all tactical training in the Indian Army and
solely responsible for training officers of the Indian Armed Forces and from
friendly foreign countries.
The
College is the leading seat for learning of Warfare, carrying out research in
tactics, logistics, contemporary military studies and improvement in military
doctrine.
The
college was originally established as the College of Combat at Mhowin Madhya
Pradesh on 1 April 1971.
It
was spun out of the Infantry School, Mhow. In 2003, the college was renamed as
the Army War College, Mhow.
The
Army War College with its proud distinctive identity stands by the inscribed
motto ‘Yuddhaya Karir Nischaya’ which means ‘Into Battle With Resolve.
4). My NEP 2020 platform of NCTE Portal.
Ministry
of Education launched the “MyNEP2020” Platform of the National Council for
Teacher Education (NCTE) Web Portal.
Platform
seeks to invite suggestions/inputs/membership from the stakeholders for
preparing a draft for the development of National Professional Standards for
Teachers (NPST) and National Mission forMentoring Program membership (NMM).
NCTE
was established under the NCTE Act 1993 as a statutory body. Its objectives
include Planned and coordinated development of the teacher education system.
Regulation
of norms and standards in teacher education system and their proper maintenance
and topics related thereto.
5). 5 MoUs signed between India-Bangladesh.
India
and Bangladesh signed 5 MoUs in the fields of Disaster Management, trade, NCC,
ICT and setting up of sports facilities.
They
discussed bilateral issues covering areas of commerce and trade, water
resources, security and defence, power and energy among others.
Foundation
stone was laid for infrastructure development for power evacuation facilities
from the Rooppur Nuclear power plant.
The
Bangladesh leg of the Banagabandhu-Bapu Digital Exhibition was inaugurated by
the two Prime Ministers. It will be taken to other parts of the world including
the UN.
6). Resolution 46/L1.
India
abstained from voting on a resolution in the United Nations Human Rights
Council (UNHRC) that makes a wide-ranging and damaging commentary on the human
rights situation in Sri Lanka.
Resolution
46/L1 has decided, among other things, to “strengthen” the Office of the High
Commissioner on Human Rights “to collect, consolidate, analyse, and preserve
information and evidence and develop possible strategies for future
accountability processes for gross violations of human rights or serious
violations of international humanitarian law in Sri Lanka.
It
refers to “persistent” lack of accountability for rights abuses committed
through the years by “all parties” in Sri Lanka, including the LTTE.
Most
seriously, it expresses a lack of confidence in the ability of the present government
in Colombo to address the shortcomings.
Among
the 14 countries that abstained were Japan, Indonesia, Bahrain and Nepal. Among
the 11 that voted against were China, Cuba, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russia, and
Venezuela.
7). Watergate scandal.
G
Gordon Liddy, the former FBI agent and Republican adviser who was widely
considered the mastermind behind the 1972 Watergate break-in, died at the age
of 90. He passed away at his daughter’s house in Virginia, his son told the
Associated Press.
The
Watergate Scandal, in which a group of men tied to former President Richard
Nixon’s re-election campaign broke into the Democratic headquarters in
Washington DC’s Watergate complex, is often regarded as one of the darkest
chapters in US history.
It
led to the country’s first and only presidential resignation — an issue that
was cited repeatedly towards the fag end of Donald Trump’s tenure as president,
when he was facing impeachment for his role in the Capitol Hill riots.
Liddy
was famously known to have been unapologetic about his role in the Watergate
crimes, for which he spent over four years in prison, including 100 days in
solitary confinement.
About Watergate scandal:
On
June 17, 1972, at 2:30 am, five burglars were caught breaking into the
Democratic National Committee’s headquarters at the Watergate Hotel, just over
a kilometre away from the White House.
The
prowlers, who were caught wiretapping phones and stealing documents, were later
found to be linked to President Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign.
The
break-in was not their first attempt at breaching the DNC headquarters. After
they failed to complete their mission during a previous attempt at forced
entry, they returned a month later to finish the job.
8). 17th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting.
External
Affairs Minister S Jaishankar underlined the importance of connectivity between
members of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and
Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), which marks its silver jubilee next year.
They
encouraged Member States to complete their internal procedures for adoption of
the BIMSTEC Charter and endorsed Rationalization of Sectors and Sub-sectors of
cooperation under the BIMSTEC framework which will be adopted at the next
BIMSTEC Summit.
The
meeting welcomed the proposal of the Chair to hold the Fifth BIMSTEC Summit in
Sri Lanka in next few months in consultation with the Member states.
The
meeting took note that the BIMSTEC Centre for Weather and Climate, being hosted
in India, is fully functional with the state of the art facilities to provide
Disaster Early Warnings.
8). Index of eight core industries.
The
Office of the Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and
Internal Trade, Ministry ofCommerce and Industry released Index of Eight Core
Industries for February, 2021.
The
decline of 4.6% is witnessed in all 8 sectors.
It
accounts 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial
Production (IIP).
8
core sectors includes Refinery Products (28.04%),Electricity (19.85%), Steel (17.92%),
Coal (10.33%), Crude Oil(8.98%), Natural Gas (6.88%), Cement (5.37%),
Fertilizers (2.63%).
9). Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital
Currency Bill, 2021.
The
corporate affairs ministry has announced companies will have to disclose any
holding or dealings in cryptocurrencies or virtual currencies in their
financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies.
All
companies will now have to disclose in their statutory financial filings to the
RoC any profit or loss on transactions involving cryptocurrency.
The
amount of cryptocurrency held on the reporting date, and any deposits or
advances received from anyone for the purpose of investing in cryptocurrencies
or virtual currencies.
The
government’s new bill – Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital
Currency Bill, 2021 — aims to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies while
setting the stage to roll out the legal framework for an “official digital
currency”.
The
Centre will take a calibrated approach to cryptocurrencies and will not close
the window on experimentation with cryptocurrencies.
10). African elephants.
According
to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), African elephants are
under threat due to poaching and habitat loss.
African
elephants are the largest land animals on Earth.They are slightly larger than
their Asian cousins and can be identified by their larger ears. (Asian
elephants have smaller, rounded ears.)
There
are two species of African elephant.
Savanna
elephants are larger animals that roam the plains of sub-Saharan Africa.
Forest
elephants are smaller animals that live in the forests of Central and West
Africa.
Savanna
elephants are now endangered and the forest elephants are critically
endangered.
11). Wind Pattern and Ventilation Index Forecast.
Air
quality over Delhi-NCR is likely to remain in Moderate category.It is published
by Ministry of Earth Science.
Other similar initiatives launched
by ministry:
MAUSAM
APP: Forecast weather conditions of around 450 cities, which will show the
weather conditions of the past 24 hours and seven days.
MEGHDOOT
APP: provide location, and crop and livestock-specific weather-based agro
advisories to farmers in local languages.
DAMINI APP:
It is developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) for
Lightning Warning.
12). Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
Rajinikanth
has been nominated for this coveted award for his contribution as an actor,
producer and screenwriter.
The
award was introduced in 1969 by the government to honour the Father of Indian
Cinema, Dhundiraj GovindPhalke Popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke.
He
made the first Indian Feature film Raja Harishchandra (1913).
The
award is announced by Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and recognises
the contribution of film personalities and their outstanding contribution to
the growth and development of Indian Cinema.
The
first recipient of this award was Devika Rani.
