Important Current Affairs 16th March 2021

INTERNATIONAL

‘Burqa ban’ in Sri Lanka

• The Pakistani High Commissioner in Colombo has raised concern over Sri Lanka’s recent announcement on outlawing the burqa, noting that such a ban would “injure” the feelings of ordinary Muslims in Sri Lanka and elsewhere.

• Sharing a news report on the development, head of the Pakistani mission Saad Khattak on Monday said in a Twitter thread: “The likely ban on Niqab #SriLanka will only serve as injury to the feelings of ordinary Sri Lankan Muslims and Muslims across the globe. At today’s economically difficult time due to Pandemic and other image related challenges faced by the country at international fora, such divisive steps in the name of Security, besides accentuating economic difficulties, will only serve as fillip to further strengthen wider apprehensions about fundamental human rights of minorities in the country.”

NATIONAL

First project Genome Mapping in Indian Ocean will be launched

• In the Indian Ocean, the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) will launch the first-of-its-kind project of Genome Mapping.

• Indian Ocean covers about 20% of the Earths’s water surface and so is the third largest water bocy in the world.

• Its objective is to bather samples of genome mapping of microorganisms in the Indian Ocean.

• It is also necessary to understand the biochemistry and the response of the Ocean to climate change, nutrient stress and increasing pollution.

• The cost of the project and duration is Rs 25 crore and will take around three years to complete.

• Samples will be collected by the researchers from several stretches of the ocean at an average depth of about 5 km.

• It is just like gene mapping whish is carried out on blood samples collected from humans, the scientists will map these in the bacteria, microbes found in the ocean.

• Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) mapping shows the nutrients present in them and also those lacking in various parts of the ocean.

Odisha Farmer’s Solar Car Gets Thumbs-Up Online

• An Odisha farmer gained attention of people on social media by generating electric four-wheeler that runs on a solar powered battery.

• Sushil Aggarwal from Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district had built a four-wheeler powered by an 850 Watts motor and 100 Ah/54 Volts of battery.

• After fully charged the vehicle can travel up to 300 km. He told that he had built this car inside a workshop at his home during the COVID-19 lockdown.

• He told that the solar-powered battery took around 8 and a half hours to be fully charged. He further stated that “It is a slow charging battery. Such batteries have a long life, it will last 10 years.”

• All the work on his vehicle including motor winding, electrical fitting and chassis work were done in my workshop with the help of two other mechanics and a friend who advised me on electric works,” he added.

Kalanamak Rice Festival to be held in UP

• After the grand success of the Strawberry Festival in Jhansi and the Jaggery Festival in Lucknow, the Uttar Pradesh state government is organising a three-day 'Kalanamak Rice Festival' in Siddharthnagar district from March 13.

• Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in his sustained efforts of creating new income opportunities for the farmers, has stressed on promoting the localised production and providing them with a market.

• Kala Namak Rice, grown in this region, is One District One Product (ODOP) of some Eastern UP districts.

SPORTS

Vijay Hazare Trophy: Prithvi Shaw Becomes First Player to Score 800 Runs

• Mumbai skipper and opening batsman Prithvi Shaw answered his critics in a strong fashion as he became the first player to register more than 800 runs in a single edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy – the domestic one-day tournament of India. Shaw, who was dropped from India’s Test squad after his twin failures in Australia, achieved the feat in the ongoing final between Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.

• Carrying his blistering form, Shaw played a blinder of a knock – 73 off 39 balls – in the final to provide Mumbai dominant start in the 313 chase against UP. In eight matches of Vijay Hazare Trophy, the 21-year-old scored 827 runs at a staggering average of 165.40 and strike-rate of 165.40.

Ultimate Battle Founder- An Online eSports Platform

• Founder of Ultimate Battle is Tarun Gupta. It is an online eSports platform where gamers can test their mettle against others without paying a fee. India is still small in this segment, gamers need platforms that can give them competitive exposure to improve their skills.

• Therefore, Ultimate Battle invites and encourages players to try popular eSports titles of all kinds against other players. It is a complete product of India and it does not charge players money to participate in competitive gaming through the platform.

eSports titles of today and tomorrow

• Ultimate Battle consists of PC gaming titles like DOTA 2, FIFA 20, CS:GO (Counter Strike: Global Offensive) and the PC version of PUBG. Also, mobile titles like Garena Free Fire and Doodle Army 2: Mini Militia.

• According to Tarun Gupta, “With Ultimate Battle, our vision was to bring eSports to the forefront, organise events and celebrate gaming in all its glory.” He also added that “the platform also serves as a go-to platform to kickstart one’s career in the competitive circuit. All the eSports athletes will get essential exposure and a platform where they can enhance their tactical skills, strategies & coordination”.

• This platform provides players multiple avenues to win rewards or recognitions in the form of eSports Tournaments. Rewards are in the form of cash prizes and ‘UB Coins’. These coins that players win are then redeemable as in game items, Google play credits, merchandise and more.

• He also said that the involvement of upcoming technologies like AR and VR and their role in shaping the future of eSports. Hopefully in the near future VR-based competitive games will be developed and hit the mainstream.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Consumer Rights Day 2021

• It is celebrated on 15 March across the world annually to spread awareness about the rights of consumers and their needs.

• A special message was sent by President John F Kennedy to the US Congress on 15 March, 1962 and so the day was inspired by him. In the message he formally addressed the issue of consumer rights.  To do so, he was the first leader.

• The history behind the World Consumer Rights Day is that the first consumer movement was observed in 1983 and since then every year it is observed to mobilize an action on important issues and campaigns.

• The theme of World Consumer Rights Day 2021 is 'Tackling Plastic Pollution’. It will raise awareness and engage consumers globally to adopt and promote more sustainable practices. The last year theme was ‘The Sustainable Consumer’. This year the campaign will also focus on the central role that consumer advocates governments and businesses can play in tackling the global plastic pollution crisis.

National Vaccination Day: March 16

• The National Vaccination Day, (also called the National Immunization Day), is celebrated every year on March 16 in India, to convey the importance of vaccination to the entire nation. The prime purpose behind the celebration of National Vaccination Day is to make all people aware of arming against polio and eradicating it completely from the world. In 2021, the National Vaccination Day is important as the country has started its biggest Covid-19 immunization programme.

• The day was first observed in the year 1995. It was in 1995 that India started the Pulse Polio Programme and the first dose of Oral Polio Vaccine was given. According to the World Health Organization, immunization is a process through which an individual’s immune system becomes fortified against foreign harm causing agent.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Sahitya Akademi Award 2020

• The National Academy of Letters have announced the names for the “Sahitya Akademi Award 2020 on March 12, 2021. The names were announced during the opening of annual “Festival of Letters” event.

• The award will be bestowed upon the politician-writer M Veerappa Moily, poet Arundhathi Subramaniam along with other 20 writers. Subramaniam have won the award for her poetry collection called “When God is a Traveller” in English. Veerappa Moily has been named for his epic poetry called “Sri Bahubali Ahimsa Digvijayam” in Kannada language. The list comprises of seven books of poetry, five short stories, four novels, two plays, and one memoir and one epic poetry in 20 Indian languages. The awards for Nepali, Malayalam, Odia and Rajasthani Languages will be announced later.

Gowsalya Shankar nominated for International Woman of Courage 2021 Award

• The U.S. Consulate honoured Tamil Nadu-based anti-caste activist and human rights defender Gowsalya Shankar with a nomination for the International Woman of Courage (IWOC) Award in the city.

• The IWOC Award Certificate of Nomination was handed over to her by U.S. Consul General in Chennai Judith Ravin at an event ‘Courageous Women Inspire a Better World’ held in the city. Ms. Gowsalya was U.S. Mission India’s nominee for the 2021 U.S. Secretary of State’s IWOC Award, which honours women who have demonstrated exceptional courage, strength, and leadership in acting to improve the lives of others.

• Malini Parthasarathy, Chairperson, The Hindu, and V. Suresh, National General Secretary of the People’s Union of Civil Liberties, also spoke on the theme of courageous women.

Grammy Awards 2021 Announced: Check the list of Winners

• The 63rd edition of the annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021. The 2021 Grammy awards recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, between September 1, 2019, to August 31, 2020. The award is presented by The Recording Academy to recognize achievements in the American music industry. Beyonce received the most nominations with nine, as well as the most awards with four.

Grammy Awards 2021:

Sl. No.	Category	Winner
1.	Album Of The Year	“Folklore” by Taylor Swift
2.	Record Of The Year	“Everything I Wanted” by Billie Eilish
3.	Best New Artist	Megan Thee Stallion
4.	Best Rap Album	“King’s Disease” by Nas
5.	Best R&B Album Winner	“Bigger Love” by John Legend
6.	Best Rap Song	“Savage” by Beyoncé, Shawn Carter, Brittany
7.	Best Country Album	“Wildcard” — Miranda Lambert
8.	Song Of The Year	“I Can’t Breathe” by Dernst Emile II, H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas
9.	Best Rock Album	“The New Abnormal” by The Strokes
10.	Best Rock Song	“Stay High” by Brittany Howard, songwriter (Brittany Howard)
11.	Best Dance/Electronic Album	Bubba by Kaytranada
12.	Producer of the Year, Classical	David Frost
13.	Best Music Video	Brown Skin Girl by Beyoncé, Blue Ivy & WizKid
14.	Best Country Song	Crowded Table by Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby & Lori McKenna
15.	Best Folk Album	All the Good Times
16.	Best Comedy Album	Black Mitzvah by Tiffany Haddish