Daily Current Affairs 1st March, 2021

Daily Current Affairs 1 March 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Chenab bridge: World’s highest rail bridge set to complete by March 2021
Chenab bridge, the world’s highest railway bridge, is all set to complete an important construction milestone by March 2021.

• As part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project (USBRL), Indian Railways is constructing a bridge over the Chenab river.
• The Chenab bridge is being made at a height of 359 metres above the river bed – making it the highest railway bridge in the world.
• The railway bridge is being built to cross the deep gorge, and the main arch has a span length of 467 metres, which Indian Railways claims is the largest in the country.

Govt to form Centre of Excellence in gaming & other related areas in collaboration with IIT Bombay
Government has decided to form Centre of Excellence in gaming and other related areas in collaboration with IIT Bombay.

• Addressing the opening ceremony of virtual exhibition and prize announcement of Khel Khel Mein through video conference, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said, IIT will start the courses from this year itself.

PM Modi inaugurated Maritime India Summit-2021 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Maritime India Summit-2021 through video conferencing. Denmark is the partner country for the three-day summit.

• The three-day Summit -2021 is organized by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways on a virtual platform www.maritimeindiasummit.in.
• The Summit visualize a roadmap for India’s Maritime sector for next decade and will work to propel India to the forefront of the Global Maritime Sector.

Bihar’s traditional toys like ‘Kaniya-Putri’ on display in India Toy Fair
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the virtual India Toy Fair 2021 via video conference.

• Over 1,000 exhibitors from across 30 states and Union territories will display their products in e-commerce enabled virtual exhibition.
• It will showcase traditional Indian toys as well as modern toys including electronic toys, plush toys, puzzles and games.
• Participants from Bihar have come up with traditional doll making art like Kaniya-Putri which is an important part of folk-culture in the state.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

India to fund NRs 530 million for reconstruction of total 25 health posts in Nepal
Embassy of India in Nepal signed four Memorandums of Understandings (MoUs) for the reconstruction of 25 health posts in the Himalayan country.

• Twelve health posts are located in Dhading district and 13 are located in Sindhupalchowk district and these health posts, damaged during the 2015 earthquake will be reconstructed at a cost of NR 530 million. 
• The Central Building Research Institute (CBRI)-Roorkee, a premier institute of India in the field of earthquake-resilient reconstruction, will be providing technical assistance for the reconstruction.

BANKING & FINANCE

Rupee Co-operative Bank gets extension from RBI
The Rupee Co-operative Bank Ltd, Pune has been granted extension for its banking licence by the RBI for further three months.

• It is recognition by RBI of satisfactory performance of the Bank and that too against total restrictions on banks’ activities.
• Till January 2021, the bank has made total recovery of Rs 258.11 crore and aggregate operating profit of Rs 53.19 crore during the last four years. The bank is earning profit consecutively for the last four years.

Aditya Birla Insurance launches new health policy
Aditya Birla Insurance has launched a health policy offering up to 100 per cent return of the premium if the customer did not make a claim in earlier years.

• The offering is a new version of its existing Activ Health policy that provides a comprehensive health protection with extensive wellness benefits.
• The offer of giving up to 100 per cent return of the premium or up to 100 per cent reload of the sum insured is based conditions that the customer has been leading a healthy lifestyle and continuously renewing the policy, and the bonus will be accumulated in the form of health returns.

SBI General Insurance signs Corporate Agency Agreement with Indian Overseas Bank
Public sector Indian Overseas Bank has signed a corporate agency agreement with SBI General Insurance to retail its insurance products to bank customers.

• The agreement signed for distribution of non-life offerings with SBI General Insurance to offer a range of general insurance solutions and innovative products to the customers of the bank.

Fino Payments Bank upgraded to Scheduled Commercial Bank status
Reserve Bank of India notified that it has included Fino Payments Bank in the Second Schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

• All banks which are included in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 are Scheduled Banks. These banks comprise Scheduled Commercial Banks and Scheduled Co-operative Banks.

SPORTS

Sports Ministry Restores Recognition of Gymnastics Federation of India
The Sports Ministry has restored the recognition of the faction-ridden Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI) after 10 years, taking into records Sudhir Mittal’s election as president in the polls held in November 2019.

• The recognition has been granted for the period till 31st December 2021.
• The GFI was de-recognised by the ministry in 2011 because of infighting in the body, and since then it remained so till the ministry’s order to recognise it.

Deepak Kumar wins silver at Strandja Memorial Tournament in Bulgaria
In Boxing, Deepak Kumar (52kg) wins the silver medal at the 72nd Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.

• He lost the final face-off in a split decision against Daniel Asenov of Bulgaria in the men’s flyweight.
•  Naveen Boora (69 kg) had earlier settled for a bronze medal after going down to the gold medallist of Asian Games Bobo-Usmon Baturov of Uzbekistan in the semifinals. With this, India has signed off with two medals at the Strandja Memorial Tournament this year.

Vinesh Phogat bags Gold in Ukraine wrestling event
Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat has won the gold medal in the women’s 53-kg category at XXIV Outstanding Ukrainian Wrestlers and Coaches Memorial in Kyiv, Ukraine.

• Vinesh Phogat defeated world number seven Vanesa Kaladzinskaya of Belarus in the finals to win the gold medal and make a winning return to her first competitive outing since the Covid-19 induced lockdown.

APPOINTMENTS

Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar New Chief of Western Naval Command
Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar  took over as Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Western Naval Command.

• He succeeded Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar, who served at the helm of this premier command since January 2019, and who retired after an illustrious career spanning 40 years.
• Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy and was commissioned in the Navy on January 1, 1983.

Economic Affairs Secy Tarun Bajaj gets additional charge of Dept of Revenue
Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs Tarun Bajaj has been given additional charge of Department of Revenue.

• He has been given additional charge after superannuation of Revenue Secretary Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 

ISRO successfully launches Brazil’s Amazonia 1 satellite, along with 18 other passenger satellites
India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C51 (PSLV-C51) rocket loaded with 19 satellites from Brazil, USA and India lifted off from the rocket port at Sriharikota successfully.

• After four stages of separation, the rocket launched  Brazil’s 637 kilogram Amazonia 1 satellite, its primary passenger.
• Later after a gap of more than an hour it launched the remaining 18 passenger satellites. This is the first commercial mission of New space India limited.

Indian Students Discover 18 New Asteroids as Part of a Global Science Programme
The International Astronomical Union (IAU), an organisation that assigns official names and designations to celestial bodies, has recently confirmed the discovery of 18 new asteroids by Indian students as part of a global science programme.

• The International Asteroid Discovery Project was conducted by STEM and Space, an organisation working towards the learning of astronomy and space science in India, along with the International Astronomical Search Collaboration (IASC) as part of a NASA citizen science project.
• Over the last two years, 150 students from all around India participated in this two-month-long campaign to find asteroids, making this the largest asteroid discovery project in India.

BOOKS & AUTHORS 

“Advantage India: The Story of Indian Tennis” by Anindya Dutta
The banker-turned-author Anindya Dutta has come out with his new book titled “Advantage India: The Story of Indian Tennis”, which is about the history of Indian tennis.

• The book revolves around pre-Independence tennis and early players like Ramanathan Krishnan and Vijay Amritraj.
• Westland Sport is the publisher of the book.

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Science Day
National Science Day is celebrated every year on February 28.

• This day recalls the notable invention “Raman Effect” by India’s greatest scientist C V Raman.
• The theme for National Science Day 2021 is “Future of STI: Impacts on Education, Skills, and Work”. The National Science Day 2021 aims to motivate the students to gain hands-on experience in the field of science.

National Protein Day
Every year on February 27th, National Protein Day draws public attention and awareness on the health benefits of protein.

• It’s also a day to learn more about different sources of plant and animal protein.
• This year’s theme ‘Powering with Plant Protein’ of Protein Day shines the spotlight on plant-based sources of protein and encourages citizens at large to learn and know more about different types of sources available and their importance in daily meals for better nutrition and health.

Rare Disease Day
Rare Disease Day (RDD) has been held annually on the last day of February to spread awareness about rare diseases, and the need for us to act now to recognise these diseases sooner .

• This year Rare Disease Day falls on 28th February. 
• The theme of this year’s Rare Disease Day is  telehealth. 

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