Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 21 March 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 21 March 2021

::NATIONAL::

'Vision of self-reliance India is dependent on water connectivity,' says PM Modi

  • Union minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and chief minister of Shivraj Singh Chouhan were also part of the event.
  • Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday stressed the importance of water conservation as he launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign virtually. Speaking during the launch, PM Modi called for participation from every citizen of the country and said that as the country is moving on the path of development, the crisis of water is also increasing.
  • The launch was organised to mark World Water Day to raise awareness about water conservation in the country. Union minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan were also part of the event.
  • "The water availability is very crucial for 21st century India," he also said.
  • PM Modi also announced that after the launch of JalJeevan Mission, "about 4 crore new families have got tap connection in such a short time." "Just one and a half years ago, out of 19 crore rural families in our country, only 3.5 crore families used to get water from the tap," he said during the launch.

::INTERNATIONAL::

8 Hong Kong democracy activists set to return from China after jail terms

  • They were among 12 activists whose boat was intercepted at sea by mainland authorities in August 2020 allegedly en route to the democratic island of Taiwan.
  • Eight Hong Kong democracy activists detained in China last year for illegally crossing the border were due back in the city on Monday after completing jail terms, in a case that drew international attention and concern over their treatment.
  • They were among 12 activists whose boat was intercepted at sea by mainland authorities in August 2020 allegedly en route to the democratic island of Taiwan.
  • All had faced charges in Hong Kong over the pro-democracy protest movement and are expected to be taken directly into custody on their return.
  • Among the eight is Andy Li, arrested under a sweeping national security law Beijing imposed on the Asian financial hub in June 2020 that critics say is aimed at crushing dissent.
  • Pro-democracy activists began fleeing Hong Kong for democratic Taiwan from the early months of the protests in 2019, most of them legally by air, but some by boat, activists in Taipei have told Reuters.
  • Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the guarantee of freedoms not seen on the mainland, including freedom of speech and assembly.

::ECONOMY::

Finance Ministry asks Sebi to address issues that led to NSE outage

  • The trading at NSE resumed from 03:30 pm and trading hours were extended from 03:30 pm to 05:00 pm for the day in all the three stock exchanges -- NSE, BSE and MSEI -- to enable investors to square off their existing positions.
  • The finance ministry has asked markets regulator Sebi to take necessary measures to address issues that led to the outage at National Stock Exchange recently.
  • In a written reply to the LokSabha on Monday, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur said that on February 24, 2021, the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) took a decision to halt trading from 11:40 am due to technical issues.
  • However, the system of interoperability among clearing corporations, which allows market participants to consolidate their clearing and settlement functions at a single clearing corporation, irrespective of the stock exchange on which the trade is executed, continued to remain functional.
  • Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) had made a net investment of ₹2,332 crore on February 24, 2021.
  • NSE is one of the largest derivatives exchanges in the world and accounts for the leading market share (by total turnover) in India - 93.2 per cent in equity cash trading and 99.9 per cent in equity derivatives trading during 2019-20.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

Space and Sea Explorer dives to deepest point on Earth

  • Space and sea explorer Richard Garriott is the first person in the world to have explored the North Pole, the South Pole, flown to the International Space Station and descended to the deepest point on Earth - the Mariana Trench.
  • Space and sea explorer Richard Garriott is the first person in the world to have explored the North Pole, the South Pole, flown to the International Space Station and descended to the deepest point on Earth - the Mariana Trench.
  • "It is literally the deepest place on Earth," Garriott, a video game developer, told Reuters on Thursday. "It is almost 11,000 meters of sea water deep - that is deeper than Mount Everest is high above sea level, by a couple thousand meters at least."
  • Garriott got back from the dive less than a week ago and said it took about four hours to descend 7 miles (11 km) to the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean. The trip, which was in a small vessel designed to withstand the enormous pressure at those depths, was to collect geological, water and sea creature samples for research.

::SPORTS::

Kohli one ton away from equaling Tendulkar's feat, breaking Ponting's record

  • India captain ViratKohli will be on the verge of equallingSachin Tendulkar's huge ODI feat and surpassing Ricky Ponting's massive record when he steps out to bat in the first ODI against England at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune.
  • It has also been 1 year and 222 days since Kohli scored a century in the 50-overs format. His last ODI hundred was against Australia at Ranchi on March 8th, 2019.
  • Currently, Kohli and Ponting are both tied at the top position in the list of captains with the most centuries in international cricket (41).
  • With a ton in the first ODI, Kohli will also equal Ponting's tally of most centuries as captain (22) in the ODIs.

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