CURRENT AFFAIRS 28TH MARCH

Govt approves appointments of new NIA, NDRF, BPRD chiefs

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointments of new chiefs for the National Investigation Agency (NIA), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD).
Maharashtra cadre officer Sadanand Vasant Date has been appointed the new NIA chief, Piyush Anand the NDRF DG and Rajeev Kumar Sharma as the director general of BPRD. Date and Sharma are from the 1990 batch of the Indian Police Service (IPS) while Anand is of the 1991 batch.
Date, who is from the Maharashtra cadre, was awarded Presidents Medal for Gallantry for his role in saving lives and countering terrorist during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Date is currently heading the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). The NIA is the country’s premier investigation agency.
The three officers will take charge on March 31 upon the superannuation of the three current chiefs- Dinkar Gupta of NIA, Atul Karwal of NDRF and Balaji Srivastava of the BPRD.

Ramakrishna Mission chief Swami Smaranananda Maharaj dies at 95

The president of Ramakrishna Math and Mission Swami Smaranananda Maharaj passed away at the age of 95.
Swami Smaranananda Maharaj took charge as the 16th president of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission after the death of Swami Atmasthananda.
Swami Smaranananda was born in 1929 in Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, and he joined the Ramakrishna Mission at the age of 22 in 1952.
Srimat Swami Smaranananda ji Maharaj, the revered President of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission dedicated his life to spirituality and service. He left an indelible mark on countless hearts and minds. His compassion and wisdom will continue to inspire generations.

S. Korea, Japan to cooperate in developing satellite navigation system

South Korea and Japan will cooperate in the development and operations of regional satellite navigation systems in East Asia.
The two countries signed a memorandum of cooperation to develop and operate their satellite systems in the region.
Officials from the two sides held their first technical working meeting in Seoul as they discussed the progress of Japan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System and the Korean Positioning System.
The two sides discussed steps to facilitate interoperations between their satellite systems.
The two nations may collaborate with European nations and India in the satellite navigation system operations.

Korea:

Capital: Seoul
President: Yoon Suk Yeol
Prime Minister: Han Duck-soo
Currency: Korean Republic won

Ireland to get its youngest ever Prime Minister after Leo Varadkar quits

Simon Harris, who is set to become Ireland’s youngest ever prime minister after being appointed party leader, will be hoping his social media skills and fresh face can save his party’s flagging fortunes as elections loom.
The 37-year-old, who the media has already dubbed the “TikTok Taoiseach” — the name for the Irish prime minister, pronounced “Tee-shock” -beats the previous record holder, his predecessor Leo Varadkar, who was 3 8 when he took the top job in 2017.

Simon Harris:

Born in 1986, he grew up in the small coastal town of Greystones near Dublin, the son of a taxi driver.
He dropped out of a college course in journalism and French in Dublin after one year to concentrate on an already promising political career.
Harris entered politics by campaigning for autism services for his autistic younger brother, and later founded a charity.

Mumbai overtakes Beijing as Asia's billionaire capital

Even as confidence in the Indian economy grew to record levels, India has had a strong year adding almost 100 billionaires this year as compared to last year, according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2024.
According to the report, Mumbai has overtaken Beijing to become Asia’s billionaire capital and Top-3 cities globally.
The number of billionaires in Mumbai is now 92, compared with 91 in Beijing, according to the report.

India’s Performance:

India added the second-highest number of new billionaires (94) after the US (109).
With 271 billionaires, India is now the third-ranked country globally, surpassing Germany.
Mumbai overtook Beijing to become Asia’s billionaire capital for the first time.
Indian billionaires’ cumulative wealth reached US$1 trillion, surpassing China’s average wealth per billionaire (US$3.2 billion vs US$3.8 billion).

Adani Ports acquires 95% stake in Gopalpur Port

Adani Ports has acquired a 95% stake in Odisha’s Gopalpur Ports for an enterprise value of Rs 3,080 crore.
This move is aimed at strengthening Adani Ports’ presence on the east coast of India.
The deal involves acquiring a 56% stake from Shapoorji Pallonji Group (SP Group) and a 39% stake from Orissa Stevedores, two existing shareholders of Gopalpur Ports.
Gopalpur Ports, located in Odisha, handles a diverse range of dry bulk cargo, including iron ore, coal, limestone, ilmenite, and alumina. sfhis acquisition is expected to complement Adani Ports’ existing operations and contribute to its goal of achieving cargo volume parity between the east and west coasts of India.

Adani Ports & SEZ:

Founded: 26 May 1998
Founder: Gautam Adani
Headquarters: Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Chairman & MD: GautamAdani
CEO: Karan Adani

International Astronomical Union approves Chandrayaan-3 landing site name 'Shiva Shakti'

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has given its stamp of approval to the name ‘Shiva Shakti’ for the landing site of India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission.
According to the Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature by the IAU, the name ‘Shiva Shakti’ is derived from Indian mythology, symbolising the duality of nature with the masculine aspect represented by Shiva and the feminine aspect by Shakti.
The name Shiv Shakti was given to Vikram Lander’s landing site on 26 August 2023 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Additionally, he declared August 23 as “National Space Day” in India, commemorating the day of Vikram Lander’s touchdown on the Moon.
On August 24, 2023, India became the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole as the Chandrayaan-3 overcame numerous challenges before its historic touchdown on the lunar surface.
Last week, ISRO was honoured with the prestigious Aviation Week Laureates Award for its successful Chandrayaan-3 mission.

CCI approves Adani Power's 100% acquisition of Lanco Amarkantak Power

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the 100% acquisition of Lanco Amarkantak Power by Adani Group’s Adani Power. Earlier this month, Adani Power received the Committee of Creditors’ approval for the resolution plan to acquire insolvent Lanco Amarkantak Power.
Adani Power has been aggressively expanding its capacity. This is the company’s second acquisition under the insolvency resolution process in the financial year.
As per a government notification: “The Adani Power Limited (Acquirer), a part of the Adani Group, is a company incorporated under the laws of India. The Acquirer is engaged in the business of thermal power generation in India. The Acquirer operates its thermal power plants across multiple states in India, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kamataka, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. Adani group is a global integrated infrastructure player with businesses in key industry verticals – resources, logistics and energy.”

Bassirou Diomaye Faye Named As Senegal's Next President

In Senegal, little known opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye has been named as the country’s next president, less than two weeks after being released from prison to run in the election.
The former Prime Minister who was the other frontrunner, and who was backed by incumbent President Macky Sall, conceded def eat based on preliminary results. Sall followed with congratulations, also naming 44-year old Faye as the winner.
It was Senegal’s fourth democratic transfer of power since gaining independence from France in 1960.

Senegal:

Capital: Dakar
President: Bassirou Diomaye Faye
Prime Minister: Sidiki Kaba

South Korea-built nuclear reactor connected to UAE power grid

South Korea’s state-run utility company, Korea Electric Power Corp. has announced the successful connection of the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the nation’s power transmission grid.
The Unit 4 plant, which commenced operations earlier this month, delivered its first megawatts of carbon-free electricity.
This will contribute an additional 1,400 megawatts of zero-carbon emission electricity to the UAE’s grid.
This milestone marks a significant achievement for South Korea, as the Barakah nuclear power plant project represents the country’s first export of a domestically developed commercial atomic power plant.

South Korea