NATIONAL NEWS

Exercise ‘Prasthan’

• The Western Naval Command of the Indian Navy organized an offshore security exercise, Prasthan within the Offshore Development Area (ODA) in Mumbai.
• The exercise was conducted on the B-193 platform of ONGC located about 38 nm west of Mumbai.
• This exercise is conducted every six months to make sure offshore security.
• The Indian Air Force, Coast Guard, ONGC, Mumbai Port Trust, Jawahar Lal Nehru Port Trust, Customs, state fisheries department, Mercantile Marine Department, and also the Marine Police participated in the exercise.
• The exercise provided all stakeholders a practical experience to assess their readiness to respond and combat contingencies within the Western ODA and also to work together during a coordinated manner.

India’s First ‘Steel Road’

• India's first-ever 'steel slag road' was built and inauguratedIt in Hazira industrial area Surat, Gujarat.

• India's first-ever ‘steel slag ’road has been built by ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India with Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) India, the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) and NITI Aayog.
• It is under the initiative of the Waste to Wealth and Clean India Campaign. The road is 1 kilometer long and has six lanes.
• This steel slag road is built with 100 per cent processed steel slag.

Aadi Bazaar

• A Celebration of the Spirit of Tribal Culture and Cuisine was started from 26 March to 05 April, 2022 in Ekta Nagar, Kevadia Statue of Unity in Gujarat's Narmada district.
• The 11-day exhibition, was inaugurated by Smt. Nimishaben Suthar, Minister of State for Tribal Development, Health, Family Welfare, and Medical Education, Government of Gujarat.
• It will showcase organic tribal goods and handcrafted wares at the landmark monument, Statue of Unity.

National Dolphin Day

• On 25 March 2022, during the 67th meeting of the commission of the National Board for Wild Life in New Delhi, the Union Minister for Environment, Forest, and global climate change, Bhupendra Yadav has designated 5 October as National Dolphin Day each year.
• It is to create awareness for the conservation of Dolphins, beginning from 2022.
• The government through the National Water Development Agency and Jal Shakti Ministry has started a programme.
• Dolphins act as ideal ecological indicators of a healthy aquatic ecosystem.
• Therefore, the conservation of the dolphins will benefit the survival of the species.

BANKING

DBS Bank India Partners with EaseMyTrip

• DBS Bank India and EaseMyTrip has announced to launch an environment-friendly international debit card made using 99 percent recycled polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material.
• The Digi bank EaseMyTrip Green Debit Card provides exclusive travel-related offers to customers and rewards them for adopting eco-friendly practices.
• It offers a 10 percent discount up to Rs 2,000 on flight ticket bookings and up to 17 percent discount on stays at eco-friendly hotels and resorts.
• This card allows withdrawal up to Rs 1,50,000 per day from any bank's ATM in India and overseas and allows purchases worth up to Rs 1,50,000 in India and up to Rs 1,00,000 across merchant outlets globally.

SPORTS

National Para Athletics Championships

• The 20th National Para Athletics Championships is set to commence at the Kalinga Stadium and KIIT University in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
• The three-day event is scheduled to take place between March 28 to March 31, 2022.
• A total of 982 para-athletes including 758 athletes with physical disabilities, 153 visually impaired athletes will participate.
• The championships will help to identify potential medal winners who will represent India at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and Asian Para Games scheduled to take place in 2022.

SAFF U-18 Women's Championship

• India emerged as winners of the SAFF U-18 Women's Football Championship held at Jamshedpur in Jharkhand.

• Although India lost to Bangladesh, 0-1 in the final league match but still emerged champions of the tournament on account of better goal difference.

• India enjoyed a better goal difference of 11 in comparison to 3 of Bangladesh.
• Lynda Kom, who scored five goal goals in the tournament was emerged valuable player and the highest goal scorer of the tournament.

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Report

• United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) published a report titled ‘Annual Frontier Report-2022’.

• Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh has been ranked as the most noise-polluted city globally.

• As per the report, the city recorded sound pollution of 119 decibels at its highest (dB) in 2021.
• Moradabad from Uttar Pradesh came second on the list with sound pollution of 114 decibels.
• Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan is third with maximum sound pollution of 105 dB.
• The quietest cities in the world are Irbrid at 60 dB, Lyon at 69 dB, Madrid at 69 dB, Stockholm at 70 dB, and Belgrade at 70 dB.
• A total of 61 cities around the world are ranked within the report, out of which 13 cities are from South Asia, while 5 among them are from India.
• For residential areas, the sound limit of 55-dB is standard, while for traffic and business sectors, this limit is 70-dB.

AWARDS & PRIZES

Oscars Awards 2022

• The 94th Academy Awards were held in Los Angeles, California to honour the best in cinema.

• It was held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and were hosted by Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes.

• It is honoured by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
• Awards will be presented in 23 categories, which are determined based on voting by members of the academy.
• Dune directed by Denis Villeneuve leads the awards total with 6 wins. The film which was nominated under 10 categories has bagged 6 awards for Cinematography, Film Editing, Music, Production Design, Sound and Visual Effects.

List of the winners:

• Best Actor in a leading role: Will Smith, for the film ‘KingRichard’.

• Best Actress in a leading role: Jessica Chastain, for the film The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

• Best Picture: CODA.
• Best Director: Jane Campion.
• Best Actor in a supporting role: Troy Kotsur.
• Best Actress in a supporting role: Ariana DeBose.

3rd National Water Awards

• President Ram Nath Kovind will felicitate the winners of the 3rd National Water Awards at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.

• Ministry of Jal Shakti presents 57 awards to States, Organizations and Individuals in 11 different categories including Best State, Best District, Best Village Panchayat and Best Urban Local Body.

• The award winners in different categories will be given a citation, trophy and cash prize.
• Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu will get the first, second and third prize in the Best State category.
• The National Water Award focuses on the good work and efforts made by individuals and organisations across the country in attaining the government’s vision of a Jal Samridh Bharat.
• The first National Water Award was launched by the Jal Shakti Ministry in 2018.
• During the event, the President will also launch the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign 2022 which will continue to be implemented this year till 30th of November.

2022 Stockholm Water Prize

• Belgian hydrologist Wilfried Brutsaert has been awarded the 2022 Stockholm Water Prize.

• The Stockholm Water Foundation awarded it to Professor Brutsaert for his groundbreaking work to quantify environmental evaporation.

• His innovative approach has helped improve climate modelling and tools that assess how much water that is available.
• The Stockholm Water Prize is the World’s most prestigious water award and is often described as the Nobel Prize of water and has been awarded from 1991.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Chief Minister of Goa

• BJP leader Pramod Sawant took oath as chief minister of Goa for the second consecutive term at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee stadium in Taleigao, Goa.

• Goa governor P S Sreedharan Pillai administered the oath of office.

• Eight other cabinet ministers also took oath of office.
• In the second tenure the government will focus on employment generation, tourism and restarting mining activities in Goa.