Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 03 March 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 03 March 2021

::NATIONAL::

PM Modi inaugurates Maritime India Summit 2021

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday inaugurated ‘Maritime India Summit 2021’ through video conferencing.
Minister of Transport of Denmark Mr Benny Englebrecht, Chief Ministers of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, Union Ministers Shri Dharmentdra Pradhan and Shri Mansukh Mandaviya were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister invited the world to come to India and be a part of India’s growth trajectory. India is very serious about growing in the maritime sector and emerging as a leading Blue Economy of the world. Through the focus areas of upgradation of infrastructure, boosting reform journey, India aims to strengthen the vision of Aatamnirbhar Bharat, he said.
He noted that instead of a piecemeal approach focus is on the entire sector as one. He informed that capacity of major ports have increased from 870 million tonnes in 2014 to 1550 million tonnes now. Indian ports now have measures such as: Direct port Delivery, Direct Port Entry and an upgraded Port Community System (PCS) for easy data flow. Our ports have reduced waiting time for inbound and outbound cargo. He also informed that mega ports with world class infrastructure are being developed in Vadhavan, Paradip and Deendayal Port in Kandla.
The Prime Minister asserted that “Ours is a Government that is investing in waterways in a way that was never seen before. Domestic waterways are found to be cost effective and environment friendly ways of transporting freight. We aim to operationalise 23 waterways by 2030.” He also pointed out that India has as many as 189 lighthouses across its vast coastline. “We have drawn up a programme for developing tourism in the land adjacent to 78 lighthouses.

::INTERNATIONAL::

China’s biggest annual political meetings known as the Two Sessions will kick off in Beijing

China’s biggest annual political meetings known as the “Two Sessions” or 'lianghui' will kick off in Beijing on Thursday at the Great Hall of the People amid stringent COVID-19 restrictions, at a time when China is facing a number of major political challenges, including the aftermath of the coronavirus and the ongoing rivalry with the United States.
The top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) with around 2000 members will begin its session on 4th March while around 3,000 members body, the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s legislature will begin its meeting on 5th March. But despite a packed agenda including discussion and passage of the next five-year plan for development and reform, this year’s lianghui, or “two sessions”, will be shorter than usual two weeks long, as it was last year.
The ‘two sessions’ this year are especially noteworthy. The 2021 gatherings of the top advisory and legislative bodies are particularly important because they will mark the start of the next five-year plan, the country’s fourteenth and coincide with the Communist Party’s centenary year. Another focus area will be President Xi Jinping’s “2035 vision”—a grand blueprint that will build momentum as he heads toward an unprecedented third leadership term. Early suggestions for the plan have indicated that China is aiming to become a mid-income country and double its 2020 GDP in 2035.

::ECONOMY::

Government amends Insurance Ombudsman Rules for better resolution of policyholders’ complaints regarding insurance service deficiencies

Government on 2nd March 2021 notified comprehensive amendments to the Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017, with a view to improve the working of the Insurance Ombudsman mechanism to facilitate resolution of complaints regarding deficiencies in insurance services in a timely, cost-effective and impartial manner.
The amended rules have enlarged the scope of complaints to Ombudsmen from only disputes earlier to deficiencies in service on the part of insurers, agents, brokers and other intermediaries. Further, insurance brokers have been brought within the ambit of the Ombudsman mechanism, by empowering the Ombudsmen to pass awards against insurance brokers as well.
Under the amended rules, the timeliness and cost-effectiveness of the mechanism has been substantially strengthened. Policyholders will now be enabled for making complaints electronically to the Ombudsman and a complaints management system will be created to enable policyholders to track the status of their complaints online. Further, the Ombudsman may use video-conferencing for hearings. To enable access to relief through the Ombudsman mechanism even when there is vacancy in the office of a particular Ombudsman, provision has been made for giving additional charge to another Ombudsman, pending the filling of the vacancy.
A number of amendments have been made for securing the independence and integrity of the Ombudsman selection process, while also building in safeguards to secure the independence and impartiality of the appointed persons while serving as Ombudsmen.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

Karnataka launches engineering research and development policy

The Karnataka government launched the ‘Karnataka Engineering Research & Development (Engineering R&D) Policy 2021’ as a measure to leverage the sector’s potential, create jobs and improve the state’s contribution in the space through strategic interventions and bridging the gap between academia and industry. Bengaluru accounts for 34% of all the multinational corporations (MNC) in the country and nearly 50% of the fortune 500 companies have a presence in India’s IT capital.
“The ER&D sector in the country is the fastest growing industry with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.8%. Meanwhile, the global Engineering Research and Development industry is expected to reach spending of $2 trillion by 2025.
Considering this scenario, this policy aims to prepare the state to make use of the future opportunities emanating from this sector,” said CN Ashwatha Narayana, Karnataka’s deputy chief minister and in-charge of IT/BT, science and technology portfolios.

::SPORTS::

Virat Kohli became the first cricketer to make 100 million followers on Instagram

Indian skipper virat kohli became the first Asian celebrity to reach the 100 million followers milestone on Instagram, and fans couldn’t keep calm. As the ace cricketer scored a century on the popular photo-video sharing app, desi fans were left in a frenzy congratulating the ‘century machine’ both on and off the field.
Along with his name, #100MillionViratiansOnInsta started to trend across social media sites as fans cheered for the captain. Even ICC welcomed Kohli in 100M club with a post as he joined other star athletes and celebrities in the elite league. While Portuguese footballer Christiano Ronaldo tops the chart with 266 million followers, singer Ariana Grande is second in the list with 224 million followers, followed by actor and former WWE superstar Dwayne Johnson with 220 million followers.