10 PM Current Affairs Quiz: March 27, 2020

Due to the coronavirus epidemic, the launch event in Geneva on March 23, 2020 has been postponed to a later date. The report will be available online March 22, 2020. Celebration of World Water Day and launch of the United Nations World Water Development Report 2020 “Water and climate change” The United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR), published annually, is the flagship United Nations water report. WWDR is an official study that provides a comprehensive picture of the state of the world’s freshwater resources. Its production is coordinated by UNESCO WWAP and aims to provide decision-makers with the tools to formulate and implement sustainable water policies. The 2020 World Water Development Report focuses on “water and climate change”. It will be presented by the World Water Assessment Program (UNESCO-WWAP).

Scientists from Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, have developed a biofortified durum wheat variety MACS 4028, which shows high protein content. The wheat variety developed by the ARI scientists group on Wheat improvement, shown high protein content of about 14.7%, better nutritional quality having zinc 40.3 ppm, and iron content of 40.3ppm and 46.1ppm respectively, good milling quality and overall acceptability. MACS 4028, the development of which was published in the Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding, is a semi-dwarf variety, which matures in 102 days and has shown the superior and stable yielding ability of 19.3 quintals per hectare. It is resistant to stem rust, leaf rust, foliar aphids, root aphids, and brown wheat mite. The MACS 4028 variety is also included by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) programme for United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to alleviate malnutrition in a sustainable way and can boost the Vision 2022 “Kuposhan Mukt Bharat”, the National Nutrition Strategy. An endeavor to tackle the hidden hunger in the rural areas of India is being continued using traditional plant breeding approach to achieve “Kuposhan Mukt Bharat.”

Karnataka Government has decided to set up a Centre for Internet of Ethical Things in Bengaluru. It is collaboration with the World Economic Forum (WEF). It aims to bring together aspects of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and Ethics on a single platform.

In the wake of Preventive Measures of the Government of India to contain the spread of Covid-19, and to encourage people to #StayIn and #StayHome, the National Book Trust of HRD Ministry, in its efforts to encourage people to read books while at home, is providing its select and best-selling titles for FREE Download as part of its initiative of #StayHomeIndiaWithBooks! The 100+ books, in PDF format, can be downloaded from the NBT’s website https://nbtindia.gov.in. Available in Hindi, English, Asamiya, Bangla, Guajarati, Malayalam, Odia, Marathi, Kokborok, Mizo, Bodo, Nepali, Tamil, Punjabi, Telugu, Kannada, Urdu and Sanskrit, the book’s cover all genres of fiction, biography, popular science, teacher’s handbook, and majorly books for children and young adults. In addition, there are books by Tagore, by Premchand, and books on Mahatma Gandhi — all in all there are books for everyone in the family to read and enjoy. More titles will be added to the list.

Atal Bhujal Yojana is a central sector scheme under the ministry of Jal Shakti. The scheme was announced in the 2016-17, Union Budget.  It aims to recharge groundwater sources and ensure the efficient use of water by involving people at the local level. The funding pattern of the scheme is 50:50 between the Government of India and the World Bank.