Daily GK and Current Affairs Quiz – 3rd March 2021

Correct Answer – C. Russia

Explanation: The Russian space corporation Roscosmos successfully launched its first satellite to monitor the Arctic’s climate and environment. The satellite called “Arktika-M”, was launched on February 28, 2021, onboard Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. This satellite will help to collect information to solve operational meteorology and hydrology problems, and monitoring the climate and environment in the Arctic region.

Important Points:

• Russia President: Vladimir Putin.
• Russia Capital: Moscow.
• Russia Currency: Russian Ruble

Correct Answer – B. Sri Lanka

Explanation: Indian High Commission in Colombo has described the island nation of Sri Lanka as its “Priority One” partner in the defence sphere and reiterated the assurance of fullest cooperation in the field of defence and security.

The assertion comes at a time when the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) is gearing up for the celebration of its 70th anniversary on 2 March.The SLAF is celebrating its 70th Anniversary on March 2 and to commemorate the historical event, a Fly Past and an Aerobatic Display are being organised for the first time in the country at a grand scale. A total of 23 Indian Air force (IAF) and Indian Navy aircraft will also partake in the event. Indian High Commission has called the participation indicative of the growing cooperation, camaraderie and friendship between the armed forces of the two nations.

Important Points:

• Sri Lanka Capitals: Colombo, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte.
• Sri Lanka President: Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
• Sri Lanka Currency: Sri Lankan rupee.

Correct Answer – B. Eastern Naval Command

Explanation:Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh took over as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of Eastern Naval Command (ENC).  He replaces Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain. Atul Kumar Jain has been transferred to New Delhi to assume charge as the Vice Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC).Vice Admiral A.B. Singh inspected the ceremonial guard and reviewed platoons of naval personnel drawn from various ships and establishments of the ENC. He was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2011 and Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2016.

Important Points: 

• Eastern Naval Command Headquarter: Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
• Eastern Naval Command Founded: 1 March 1968.

Correct Answer – B. Jaideep Bhatnagar

Explanation: The former head of the News Services Division of All India Radio, Jaideep Bhatnagar, took over as Principal Director General of the Press Information Bureau.  Prior to his current charge as head of the organisation, Bhatnagar has worked in PIB for six years in different capacities. He will take over from Kuldeep Singh Dhatwalia, who superannuated on February 28, 2021.

About the Jaideep Bhatnagar:

Bhatnagar, a 1986-batch Indian Information Service (IIS) officer, earlier served in Doordarshan News as head of the Commercial, Sales and Marketing Division.He has also served as Prasar Bharati Special Correspondent West Asia covering 20 countries and later went on to head the News Services Division of AIR.

Important Points: 

• PIB has its Headquarters in New Delhi.
• The Press Information Bureau was established in June 1919.

Correct Answer – B. Drama: Nomadland

Explanation: The Golden Globe Awards 2021 was held to recognise excellence in film, both American and international, and American television. This was the 78th edition of the annual event, which honoured the best in American television, as well as film in 2020 and early 2021, as chosen by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

American TV series “The Crown” won the most awards for the ceremony with four awards. Late American actor Chadwick Boseman won the Golden Globe award for Best Actor in Drama category, posthumously, for his portrayal of Levee Green in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

Winners in the Film category: 

• Best Film – Drama: Nomadland
• Best Film – Musical/Comedy: Borat Subsequent Movie film
• Best Director: Chloe Zhao for Nomadland
• Best Actress – Drama: Andra Day for The United States vs. Billie Holiday
• Best Actor – Drama: Chadwick Boseman for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Best Actress – Musical/Comedy: Rosamund Pike for I Care A Lot
• Best Actor – Musical/Comedy: Sacha Baron Cohen for Borat Subsequent Movie film
• Best Supporting Actress: Jodie Foster for The Mauritanian
• Best Supporting Actor: Daniel Kaluuya for Judas And The Black Messiah
• Best Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin for The Trial of the Chicago 7
• Best Foreign Language Film: Minari
• Best Animated Feature: Soul
• Best Original Score: Soul
• Best Original Song: ‘Io Si (Seen)’ from The Life Ahead
• Winners in the Television category:
• Best TV Series – Drama: The Crown
• Best TV Series – Musical/Comedy: Schitt’s Creek
• Best Limited Series, Anthology or TV Film: The Queen’s Gambit
• Best Actress – Drama: Emma Corrin for The Crown
• Best Actor – Drama: Josh O’Connor for The Crown
• Best Actress – Musical/Comedy: Catherine O’Hara for Schitt’s Creek
• Best Actor – Musical/Comedy: Jason Sudeikis for Ted Lasso
• Best Supporting Actress: Gillian Anderson for The Crown
• Best Supporting Actor: John Boyega for Small Axe
• Best Actress (Limited Series, Anthology or TV Film): Anya Taylor-Joy for The Queen’s Gambit
• Best Actor (Limited Series, Anthology or TV Film): Mark Ruffalo for I Know This Much Is True

Correct Answer – C. Virat Kohli

Explanation:  India captain Virat Kohli has recorded another century, albeit not on the pitch this time, as he became the first cricketer in the world to have 100 million followers on social media platform Instagram.

• The 32-year-old Kohli is also the first person in the Asia-Pacific region to achieve the feat.
• Kohli is also the fourth most followed sportsperson on Instagram.

• Portugal football star Cristiano Ronaldo tops the chart with 265 million followers, ahead of Argentina football captain and FC Barcelona legend Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Neymar, who are second and third in the list with 186 million and 147 million followers respectively.

Correct Answer – C. NASSCOM

Explanation: NASSCOM is launching an ‘AI Gamechangers’ program to promote artificial intelligence (AI)-led innovation in the country.Microsoft is the innovation partner for the program,As part of the ‘AI for India’ mission, the program seeks to recognize impactful and scalable AI-based innovation in the country.Nasscom and Microsoft will work closely to develop and promote the AI Gamechangers program, built on a shared commitment towards accelerating the adoption of AI across key sectors.The program will recognize innovators for their successful AI implementation at Nasscom’s Xperience AI Summit, one of the largest AI summits in India.

Correct Answer – C. 5%

Explanation: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) during its board meeting eased the listing norms for large companies by enabling them to divest a minimum 5% in the IPO (Initial public offering), instead of 10%. Also, for raising the public float to 25%, the term has increased to 5 years instead of 3 years.The minimum public float for large firms with post-issue market capital exceeding Rs 1 trillion is reduced from 10% of post-issue market capital (existing provision) to Rs 10,000 crore. In addition to this, there will be 5% of the incremental amount beyond Rs 1 trillion.A company with a post-issue market cap of Rs 2 trillion will have to divest a minimum of 7.5%, instead of 10%.

Correct Answer – D. State Bank of India

Explanation: Telangana Grameena Bank (TGB) & Andhra Pradesh Grameena Vikas Bank (APGVB) became India’s 1st RRBs to launch Digital Savings Account opening facility through Video-Know Your Customer (KYC) facility.Both RRBs are sponsored by the State Bank of India (SBI).Launched virtually by Dinesh Kumar Khara, Chairman of SBI.‘zero contact’ feature will be enabled the onboarding of customers which are equivalent to commercial banks.CASA (Current Account Savings Account) Portfolio will be increased of both RRBs.TGB operates in 18 districts in Telangana, while APGVB operates in 19 districts of Telangana & 5 districts of Andhra Pradesh.

Correct Answer – E. 3 March

Explanation : The World Wildlife Day has been observed across the world on 3rd March raise awareness of the world’s wild fauna and flora.The theme of World Wildlife Day 2019 is “Life Below Water: For people and planet”.

Correct Answer – B. Norway

Explanation: India and Norway have agreed to jointly work in the area of marine spatial planning in the oceanic space for the next five years.This is a part of the Indo-Norway Integrated Ocean Initiative under the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries in 2019.Lakshadweep and Puducherry have been identified as pilot sites for the project.

Norway: 

• Capital – Oslo.
• Currency – Norwegian krone.
• Prime Minister – Erna Solberg.
• National Sport – Cross-country skiing.

Correct Answer – B. Inflexor Ventures

Explanation: Venture Capital firm Inflexor Ventures has launched a DeepTech Fellowship programme under which they will provide seed to series A funding to startups that are part of their $100 million funds.It has also joined hands with 100X.VC, a sector-agnostic fund that invests in early-stage startups.Inflexor’s team will hold specialized workshops, experience sharing, and one-on-one mentoring.

Correct Answer – C. New Jalpaiguri

Explanation: A new passenger train service between Dhaka, Bangladesh, and New Jalpaiguri, West Bengal is set to start on 26 March 2021 marking the 50th Anniversary of the liberation of Bangladesh.The direct train will run through the Chilahati-Haldibari cross-border rail route.There are two passenger trains currently running between Bangladesh and India which are the Maitree Express and Bandhan Express.

Bangladesh: 

• Capital – Dhaka.
• Currency – Bangladeshi Taka.
• President – Abdul Hamid.
• Prime Minister – Sheikh Hasina.

Correct Answer: B. Nirmala Sitharaman

Explanation: The Global Bio-India 2021 conclave, the largest biotechnology conglomerate, concluded on 3 March 2021.It was a three-day event focussing on different aspects of biotechnology.Minister of Science and Technology Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the event on 1 March 2021.Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman, was the special guest at the inaugural session.