These current affairs are written in a easy to remember format and are useful for competitive exams like - UPSC Civil Services, UPPSC, BPSC, MPPPSC, State PSCs and other competitive examinations.
Competition Commission of India (CCI)
On March 24, Competition Commission of India (CCI) ordered for a probe into WhatsApp's new privacy policy to be completed within 60 days.
Both Facebook and WhatsApp, in their separate pleas, have contended that, this was not a competition issue is before the Supreme Court, the CCI did not need to order the probe.
Competition Commission of India (CCI) was established on 14 October 2003 as a statutory body for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 and promoting competition throughout India and to prevent activities that have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India.
The Commission comprises a Chairperson and not less than 2 and not more than 6 other members appointed by the Central Government.
Polity
Raisina Dialogue 2021
Addressing the inaugural session of the annual Raisina Dialogue conference co-hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Modi said - India has supplied vaccine to over 80 countries.
Mr. Modi also thanked other leaders speaking at the four-day conference, including Rwandan President, Danish Prime Minister, Australian Prime Minister and the President of the European Council.
The Raisina Dialogue, started in 2016 is a multilateral conference on geopolitics and geo-economics held annually in New Delhi, India.
The conference is hosted by the Observer Research Foundation, an independent think tank, in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs of India.
Observer Research Foundation is an independent global think tank based in Delhi, India.
International Relations
S-400 Triumf Missile System
In the last three years, since 2018, the defence trade between India and Russia was $15 billion because of some big ticket defence deals like S-400 air defence systems.
The delivery schedule for the S-400 long range air defence systems is on track and deliveries are expected to begin by November, 2021.
In October 2018, India had signed a $5.43 billion deal with Russia for five S-400 regiments despite objections from the U.S.
The S-400 Triumf is a mobile, surface-to-air missile system (SAM) designed by Russia. It is the most dangerous operationally deployed modern long-range SAM (MLR SAM) in the world, considered much ahead of the US-developed Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD).
The system can engage all types of aerial targets including aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and ballistic and cruise missiles within the range of 400km, at an altitude of up to 30km.
The system can track 100 airborne targets and engage six of them simultaneously.
Defence
Association of Indian Universities (AIU)
Mr. Modi will address the AIU's annual meet and a national seminar of Vice-Chancellors, and will also release four books related to Bhim Rao Ambedkar.
Association of Indian Universities (AIU), an apex body of higher education in the country, is conducting its 95th annual meet on April 14 and 15.
This is an occasion for the AIU to showcase its past year's achievements, present its financial statement and delineate the scheme of activities for the forthcoming year.
A national seminar of Vice-Chancellors on the theme Implementing National Educational Policy-2020 to Transform Higher Education in India is also being organized during the meet.
Polity
World Health Organization (WHO)
The World Health Organization called for a halt to the sale of live wild mammals in food markets to prevent the emergence of new diseases such as COVID-19.
WHO, World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and UNEP call on all national competent authorities to suspend the trade in live caught wild animals of mammalian species for food or breeding and close sections of food markets selling live caught wild animals of mammalian species.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was set up in 1972 for coordinating the UN's environmental activities and assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices.
International Relations
Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions(CAATSA)
A top Republican Senator has urged the Biden administration to give CAATSA waiver to India for buying Russian S-400 missile defence system.
CAATSA is a tough U.S. law which authorises the administration to impose sanctions on countries that purchase major defence hardware from Russia.
In October 2018, India signed a $5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems.
Defence
Fukushima nuclear station
Japan will release more than one million tonnes of contaminated water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear station into the sea, a move opposed by neighbors including South Korea and its own fishing industry.
Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power time will begin filtering the water to remove harmful isotopes, leaving only tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen hard to separate from water.
Tritium is considered to be relatively harmless because it does not emit enough energy to penetrate human skin.
International Relations