Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2021

Notes:
India’s foreign-exchange reserves surpassed that of Russia to become the world’s fourth largest. India’s central bank the RBI continues to hoard dollars to cushion against any sudden outflows.
India’s foreign currency reserves reached USD 580.3 billion as of March 5, surpassing Russia’s USD 580.1 billion holdings. China has the largest forex reserves, followed by Japan and Switzerland.

Notes:
India’s COVID 19 vaccination drive has reached an important milestone of administering 3 crore vaccinations to the public in a record time.
India has become one of the very few countries to achieve this fete. India commenced its vaccination drive on 16th January 2021 and this milestone has been achieved in a shortest possible time.

Notes:
The United States of America has become India’s second largest supplier of oil after Iraq. The USA has overtaken Saudi Arabia as the second largest oil supplier to India.
USA is the world’s top producer of oil and imports from the USA currently stands at 545,300 barrels per day, which is 48% more in February 2021 as compared to January 2021. Trade war between USA-China and the production cuts by Saudi Arabia- OPEC countries are the major reasons for increased oil imports from the USA.

Notes:
The Cabinet has cleared a Bill to set up a development financial institution (DFI) with an initial paid-up capital of Rs 20,000 crore.
The DFI aims to mobilise around Rs 3 trillion from markets in a few years to provide long term funds to infrastructure projects. The government will give Rs 5,000 crore as grants to the institution. The DFI will be government-owned at first and the stake will be brought down to 26 per cent.

Notes:
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) recently released the World Energy Transitions Outlook report.
It was unveiled during the virtual Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD 2021). As per the report, all countries should switch over to renewable energy sources by using Covid as an opportunity.

Notes:
Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has recently passed away at the age of 61. He was Tanzania’s first president to die while in office.
He has been the most prominent coronavirus sceptics since the pandemic emerged. John Magufuli was re-elected for a second term in 2020, winning 84% of the vote in the country’s elections.

Notes:
The United States Agency for international development (USAID) and US international development finance corporation (DFC) have announced a USD 41 million loan guarantee programme. This is intended to sponsor loans to Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to access reliable power including roof top solar projects.

Notes:
Nowruz is the Iranian and Persian New Year festival. India participated in Nowruz celebrations held at the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Beijing.
SCO is an intergovernmental organisation consisting of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan. It is headquartered in Beijing, China.

Notes:
The Council of Europe accord, created in Istanbul, pledged to prevent, prosecute and eliminate domestic violence and promote equality.
Turkey President Tayyip Erdogan pulled Turkey out of an international accord designed to protect women. However, people who see the pact as key to combating rising domestic violence, have been expressing their concerns.

Notes:
According to a study released by defence website Military Direct, China has the strongest military force in the world.
As per the study, China is followed by the USA at the second place, followed by Russia. India stands at number four, followed by France. The study calculated the “ultimate military strength index” through various factors including budgets, number of military personnel and resources etc.