Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2021

Notes:
The Union Agriculture Ministry’s flagship scheme PM Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM KISAN) has completed 2 years on 24th February 2021.
This is a 100% central sector scheme, under which income support of Rs.6000/- per year would be given to farmer families in three instalments. The funds would be directly transferred to the beneficiaries through DBT mode.

Notes:
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has recently launched the City Innovation Exchange (CiX) platform.
The platform aims to bring together academia, businesses, and the government to design innovative solutions for the challenges of the cities. The platform has over 400 start-ups, 100 smart cities, more than 150 challenge statements and over 215 solutions when it was launched.

Notes:
British think-tank, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said military spending touched USD 1.8 trillion in the year 2020.
Global military spending rose 3.9% compared to the last year. The U.S. remained the world’s largest defence spender in 2020, followed by China. The rapid military expansion of China is the reason for the rise in Asian spending.

Notes:
The ISSF World Cup was scheduled to be held in Changwon, South Korea, from April 16 to 27. It was recently announced that the tournament has been postponed due to restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, the Indian team withdrew from the tournament because of South Korea’s mandatory two-week quarantine rules, which would come in the way of the shooters’ training.

Notes:
Black-browed Babbler, which was considered to be extinct, has reappeared after 170 years. The bird has been spotted in Borneo of Indonesia.
The bird was first described by scientists around 1848 and it was then considered to be extinct. According to Global Wildlife Conservation, two men accidentally photographed the bird in Borneo, Indonesia.

Notes:
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has extended the re-appointment of Pramod Chandra Mody as Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
PC Mody, a 1982-batch Indian Revenue Service officer, was appointed as the CBDT Chairman in February 2019. His tenure was extended in August last year for six months.

Notes:
Prime Minister Modi inaugurated ‘Maritime India Summit 2021’, organised by the Ministry of Sports, Shipping and Waterways.
India also launched a real-time vessel tracking system called ‘Sagar-Manthan: Mercantile Marine Domain Awareness Centre (MMDAC)’. It is to be operated by DG Shipping and can also track foreign vessels as well as foreign vessels.

Notes:
World Hearing Day is observed on 3 March to raise awareness about the measures that can be taken to prevent hearing loss.
It is a campaign held each year by Office of Prevention of Blindness and Deafness of the World Health Organization (WHO). The theme of the campaign for 2021 is Hearing Care for All.

Notes:
Karnataka government recently unveiled Engineering Research and Development Policy 2021 to strengthen research and development in the field of engineering.
This policy seeks to sustain and augment the state’s leading role in engineering research and development and attract investments for the same.

Notes:
The government has recently notified comprehensive amendments to the Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017.
As per the amendments, the insurance brokers are brought within the ambit of the Government. It also allowed policyholders to file online complaints. The scope of complaints also include deficiencies in service by insurers, agents, brokers and other intermediaries.