Daily Current Affairs for State Exams: 29 March 2022

Daily Current Affairs 29/03/2022

Important News: World

UP’s Moradabad 2nd most noise polluted city globally: UNEP Report

Why in News

The city of Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh is the second-most noise polluted city globally, according to the recent ‘Annual Frontier Report, 2022’ published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Moradabad has recorded noise pollution of a maximum of 114 decibels (dB).

Key Points

The report ranks 61 cities around the world.
The highest noise pollution of 119 dB has been recorded in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
At third place is Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, where the noise pollution level has been recorded at 105 dB.
The report identifies 13 noise-polluted cities in south Asia.
Five of these, including Moradabad, are in India, which have recorded alarming levels of noise pollution: Kolkata (89 dB), Asansol (89 dB), Jaipur (84 dB), Delhi (83 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.
The noise pollution figures given in the report relate to daytime traffic or vehicles.

Note:

Sounds with a frequency over 70 dB are considered harmful to health.
The World Health Organization (WHO) had recommended a 55 dB standard for residential areas in the 1999 guidelines, while for traffic and business sectors, the limit was 70 dB.
The WHO set the limit of noise pollution on the road at 53 dB in 2018, taking into account health safety.

Source: TOI

Important News: India

Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and UAE unveiled

Why in News

Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry announced the unveiling of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 28 March 2022 during his visit to the UAE.
Shri Goyal is in UAE to participate in ‘Investopia Summit’ and ‘World Government Summit’ being held in Dubai on 28th March 2022 and 29th March 2022 respectively.

Key Points

India-UAE CEPA was signed on 18 February 2022 in New Delhi during the India-UAE Virtual Summit held between Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Chairman of the Executive Council.

The salient features of India-UAE CEPA are as follows:

The India-UAE CEPA is the first deep and full free trade Agreement to be signed by India with any country in the past decade.

Timelines:

The negotiations for India-UAE CEPA were concluded in a record span of 88 days.
The Agreement is expected to enter into force on 01 May 2022.

Note:

From US$ 180 million per annum in the 1970s, India-UAE bilateral trade has steadily increased to US$ 60 billion (₹4.55 lakh crore) in FY 2019-20 making the UAE, India's third largest trading partner.
With exports to the UAE valued at US$ 29 billion for the year 2019-20, the UAE is also the second largest export destination of India, while Indian imports from the UAE were valued around US$ 30 billion, including 21.83 MMT (US$ 10.9 billion) of crude oil.
The UAE is also the 8th largest investor in India with an estimated investment of US$ 18 billion.

Other Types of Trade Agreements:

Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA)
Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA)
Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA)
Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT)

Source: Business Standard

Union Minister Anurag Thakur launches TEJAS skilling project at Dubai Expo

Why in News

Union Minister Anurag Thakur launched TEJAS (Training for Emirates Jobs And Skills) at Dubai Expo 2020, a Skill India International Project to train overseas Indians.

Key Points

The project is aimed at skilling, certification and overseas employment of Indians.
Tejas is aimed at creating pathways to enable the Indian workforce to get equipped for skill and market requirements in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Tejas aims at creating a 10,000 strong Indian workforce in UAE during the initial phase.

Note: Dubai Expo 2020 is a World Expo, currently hosted by Dubai in the United Arab Emirates from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022.

Source: HT

Red Fort Festival - Bharat Bhagya Vidhata

Why in News

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani inaugurated the ten-day mega Red Fort Festival - Bharat Bhagya Vidhata (25^th March, 2022- 3^rdApril, 2022) at the iconic 17^th- century monument, Red Fort in Delhi.

Key Points

The Red Fort festival-Bharat Bhagya Vidhata is being organised by the Ministry of Culture.
More than 70 master craftsmen have displayed their craftsmanship at the venue.
The Ministry of Culture, Government of India, along with Red Fort’s “Monument Mitra”, Dalmia Bharat Ltd. have conceptualized the mega event as a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Source: PIB

Important News: Defence

DRDO successfully flight tests Indian Army version of MRSAM off Odisha coast

Why in News

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted two successful flight tests of the Indian Army version of Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) at Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.

Key Points

The first launch was to intercept a medium altitude long range target and second launch was for proving the capability of a low altitude short range target.

About Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM):

This MRSAM version is a Surface-to-Air Missile developed jointly by DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Israel for use by the Indian Army.
The MRSAM Army weapon system comprises multi-function radar, mobile launcher system and other vehicles.
It is a land based variant of the Barak Air and Missile Defence System (AMD).

Source: Indian Express

Important News: Appointment

Pramod Sawant takes oath as Goa CM for second consecutive term

Why in News

BJP leader Pramod Sawant took oath as Chief Minister of Goa for the second consecutive term.

Key Points

Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr. Sawant.
The BJP had won 20 of the 40 seats in Goa.
Sawant was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Goa for the first time in March 2019 after Manohar Parrikar's death.

Source: Indian Express

Important News: Award and Honours

Oscar Awards 2022; Will Smith wins first Oscar as best actor; Dune bags six awards and CODA takes three

The 94th Academy Awards (Oscar Awards) ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films released between March 1 and December 31, 2021.
Will Smith won the first Oscar as Best Actor of his career for his performance in King Richard. Jessica Chastain won Best Actress for The Eyes of Tammy Faye.
CODA was the big winner, winning the Best Picture award. The film was nominated in three categories and won all three.
Dune won six awards at the Oscars out of its ten nominations.

Some of the other prominent awards:

Best Picture: CODA
Best Actor: Will Smith for King Richard
Best Actress: Jessica Chastain for The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Best Director: Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog
Best Supporting Actor: Troy Kotsur for CODA
Best Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose for West Side Story
Best Documentary Short Subject: The Queen of Basketball
Best International Feature Film: Drive My Car

Source: Newsonair

Important News: Sports

Swiss Open Badminton Championships 2022: PV Sindhu wins women's singles title

Why in News

In Swiss Open Badminton Championships 2022, two-time Olympic medallist V. Sindhu has won the Women’s Singles title beating Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungpha.

Key Points

This is the 2nd title for PV Sindhu in Basel, where she won her maiden World Championships title in 2019.
This is also the 2nd title of the 2022 season for Sindhu after she won the Syed Modi India International in January.

Source: Indian Today

BYJU’S named as official sponsor of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

Why in News

Ed-tech company BYJU’S has been named as an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

Key Points

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place in Qatar from 21 November to 18 December, 2022.
Bengaluru-headquartered BYJU’S has offices in 21 countries and its products are present in over 120 countries.

Source: TOI