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Current Affairs March 30,2021

 


TV Somanathan named finance secretary by ACC

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of T V Somanathan as the new Finance Secretary. He will replace Ajay Bhushan Pandey who superannuated in February 2021. Somanathan, a 1987 batch IAS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, was currently serving as the Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finanace. 

Earlier, he has served as a joint secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office. Somanathan was awarded the Gold Medal for the Best IAS trainee of his cohort. He holds a PhD in Economics from Calcutta University and is a chartered accountant, chartered management accountant and chartered secretary.



International Jazz Day: 30 April

The International Jazz Day is celebrated on 30 April every year to highlight the importance of jazz and its diplomatic role in uniting people in all corners of the globe. The 2021 celebration marks the 10th Anniversary of International Jazz Day. The day was created on the idea of jazz pianist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock.

What is Jazz?

The musical form of Jazz was developed by African Americans. It was influenced by both European harmonic structure and African rhythms. It originated in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

History of International Jazz Day

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed 30 April as International Jazz Day on November 2011. The day was designated to bring together communities, schools, artists, historians, academics, and jazz enthusiasts from across the world to celebrate and learn about the art of jazz and its impact.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • Director-General of UNESCO: Audrey Azoulay.
  • UNESCO formation: 4 November 1946.
  • UNESCO Headquarters: Paris, France.



Ayushman Bharat Diwas: April 30

Every year, the Ayushman Bharat Diwas is celebrated on April 30 in India. The Ayushman Bharat Diwas is celebrated to achieve twin missions. They are to promote health and wellness to the poor and also to provide insurance benefits to them. The day aims to promote affordable medical facilities in remote areas of the country based on the Socio-Economic Caste Census database. It will also promote health and wellness and provide insurance benefits to the poor.

What is Ayushman Bharat Scheme?

  • The Scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April 2018.
  • According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Ayushman Bharat Scheme has so far operationalised 75,532 Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre. It has fixed a target of 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centre by 2022.
  • The beneficiaries are chosen from the Socio-Economic Census Database.
  • It is the largest health cover in the world.
  • It aims to provide five lakh rupees of health cover per family per year.
  • The beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana is from the bottom 40% of the Indian Population.
  • The scheme also covers fifteen days of pre-hospitalisation and fifteen days of post-hospitalisation. This includes the expenses of medicines and tests.
  • The scheme subsumed the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana.
  • The scheme has packages that include knee replacement, bypass and other treatments provided at 15% cheaper than the Central Government Health Schemes.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • Minister of State (IC) of the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH): Shripad Yesso Naik.


American Astronaut-Pilot Michael Collins Passes Away
The American astronaut, Michael Collins, who was the command module pilot for the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, has passed away, after losing his battle to cancer. During the three-man Apollo 11 crew mission in 1969, Collins kept the command module flying while the other two members, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon. Collins spent seven years of his career as an astronaut with NASA.



NATO military exercises launched in Albania

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has launched joint military exercises "DEFENDER-Europe 21" in Albania with thousands of military forces from the United States and other countries in the first such large-scale drills since World War II in the Western Balkans. Albania is playing a critical part in the DEFENDER-Europe 21 exercise with Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore operations taking place. 

About the exercises:

  • DEFENDER-Europe is an annual large-scale U.S. Army-led, multinational exercise, defensive in nature and focused on deterring aggression, which this year focuses on building operational readiness and interoperability with NATO and a greater number of allies and partners over a wider area of operations than ever before.
  • Around 28,000 U.S., allied and partner forces from 26 nations will conduct nearly simultaneous operations across more than 30 training areas in more than a dozen nations from the Baltics and Africa to the critical Black Sea and Balkan regions.


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