Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2021

Notes:
To mark the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Bangladesh, a new passenger train service between Dhaka and New Jalpaiguri is set to commence this month.
The direct train between Dhaka and New Jalpaiguri will run through the Chilahati-Haldibari cross border rail route. New Jalpaiguri station is the largest railway station of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone.

Notes:
Indian cricket team skipper Virat Kohli became the first Asian celebrity to reach the 100 million followers-milestone on Instagram.
Portuguese star footballer Christiano Ronaldo tops the chart with 266 million followers, followed by singer Ariana Grande with 224 million followers and former WWE superstar Dwayne Johnson with 220 million followers. Footballers Messi and Neymar are also in the Top-5 list.

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.

Notes:
Lavender is being cultivated in Jammu as part of the Aroma Mission that was launched in 2016. Lavender is an aromatic herb with medicinal properties.
It is a commercially important crop cultivated mainly for production of essential oils. Each litre of lavender essential oil is sold for INR 10,000.

Notes:
The World Health Organisation (WHO) released the first World Report on Hearing recently. It was launched ahead of World Hearing Day on March 3.
As per the report, nearly 2.5 billion people worldwide, which is almost 1 in 4 people, will be living with some degree of hearing loss by 2050. The report also warns that at least 700 million of these people will require access to hearing care and rehabilitation services.

Notes:
The Dwarka Expressway project, with an outlay of Rs.7,000 crore, will connect Kherki Daula and Shiva temple in Mahipalpur in Delhi
This project was handed over by the Haryana government after several delays to the National Highways Authority of India in 2016. It is being developed in 4 phases with 2 phases in Gurugram and the other 2 in Delhi.

Notes:
Bao dhaan is a variety of red rice that is rich in iron. It is cultivated in the alluvial soil in the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam.
Recently, the first consignment of ‘red rice’ was flagged off to the United States of America (USA). The unique feature of the rice is that it is grown without the use of any chemical fertilizer.

Notes:
Old growth forests or virgin forests are those forests that have reached great age and bear no visible signs of human activity. About one third of the world’s forest are old growth forests.
A huge portion of them is in Russia, Brazil and Canada. The relatively undisturbed environment provided by these forests give rise to unique ecological features and are home to a range of wildlife species.

Notes:
Ace Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia has regained the top spot in the world rankings after he clinched a second successive gold medal at the Matteo Pallicone Ranking Series.
In the 65kg freestyle event final in Rome, he defeated his Mongolian counterpart to win gold. Bajrang Punia also won gold in the tournament last year. He had also earned his quota for the Tokyo Olympics.

Notes:
The Indian Railways has integrated all railway helplines into single number 139 (also called as the Rail Madad Helpline).
The number would be used for quick grievance redressal and enquiry during the journey, including all types of complaints and queries during travel. Another important Helpline no. 182 would also be discontinued from April 2021 and will be merged into 139.