Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (March 31, 2021) for CSS, PMS

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March 31, 2021: National / International Current Affairs

1. PM gives petroleum portfolio to his aide on power

• A day after the removal of Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh from the office of finance minister, Prime Minister Imran Khan on March 30, 2021 gave the additional charge of petroleum ministry to his special assistant on power Tabish Gauhar.
• In an ongoing reshuffle in the federal cabinet, Mr Gauhar has replaced Nadeem Babar who had been asked to step down last week over last year`s fuel crisis.
• In a notification, the cabinet division said the prime minister `has been pleased to re-designate Mr Tabish Gauhar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Power as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Power and Petroleum, on honorary basis, with immediate effect`.

2. Multi-billion development package for GB approved

• The prime minister on March 30, 2021 approved what is believed to be a historic multi-billion development package for Gilgit Baltistan while pledging that development of the region was among the priorities of his government.
• The uplift package was approved in a meeting on development of GB held here and presided over by the prime minister, a press release issued by the PM House`s Media Wing said.
• The meeting was attended by federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, Finance Minister Mohammad Hammad Azhar, Minister for Communications Murad Saeed, Minister for Information Technology Amin-ul-Haq, GB Chief Minister Khalid Khursheed, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission and other senior officials

3. $2.5bn raised in govt`s first foray into international market

• A day after ouster of Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, the government raised $2.5 billion in three dollar bonds of five, 10 and 30 years from the international capital market on March 30, 2021.
• Receiving over 50 per cent over-subscription to $5.3bn, this was the first international capital market transaction since the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf came to power in August 2018. Last week`s revival of the $6bn IMF programme after a year of virtual suspension followed by $1.3bn commitment from the World Bank have improved investor confidence.
• Meanwhile, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on March 30, 2021 received $498.7 million (equivalent to SDR 350) tranche from the International Monetary Fund

4. 100 die in highest single-day toll this year

• As Pakistan reported 100 deaths from coronavirus within just 24 hours, the current year`s highest death toll in a single day, the number of critical patients in the country reached an all-time record of 3,749 with over 80pc oxygenated beds occupied in Peshawar, Swat and Gujranwala hospitals on March 30, 2021.
• At least 4,084 more people, including the outgoing finance minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, contracted the virus in the past one day, according to official sources, which also confirmed that the number of active cases across the country surged to 48,566

5. Chinese company starts beer production in Hub

• A Chinese liquor company, the Hui Coastal Brewery and Distillery Limited, which was granted a licence in 2018 for making beer, has formally started production at its plant in Balochistan`s industrial town of Hub.
• An official of the provincial excise and taxation department confirmed on March 30, 2021 that the company had been granted a licence which it had applied for in 2017.
• The company registered itself with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) on April 30, 2020, after completing installation of liquor plant in Hub town

6. Govt announces Rs3.8 billion interest-free loans for youth

• The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on March 30, 2021 announced that it would give away Rs3.8 billion interest-free loans to the youth of the province.
• According to an official statement, the initiative will support around 3,500 businesses and benefit more than 10,500 families.
• The youth loan scheme was approved during meeting of the planning and development department that was chaired by additional chief secretary Shakeel Qadir Khan here

7. ADB okays $300m for hydropower plant in KP

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved on March 30, 2021 a $300 million loan to finance the construction of a 300-megawatt hydropower plant that will increase the share of clean energy in the country`s power generation mix besides improving the energy security.
• The plant will add 1,143 gigawatt-hours of clean energy annually to the country`s energy mix, enhancing the sector`s reliability and sustainability. The plant, which will incorporate seismic strengthening and climate-proofing measures, will be built on the Kunhar River near Balakot city and commissioned by 2027

8. SpaceX test rocket breaks apart before landing

• SpaceX chalked up another failed landing on March 30, 2021 for its futuristic, bullet-shaped Starship, as the prototype Mars rocket broke apart right before touchdown. A camera on the rocket froze not quite six minutes into the test flight, and dense fog in South Texas obscured views of the ruptured rocket. Other video showed debris raining down and explosions could be heard.
• `At least the crater is in the right place` SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk tweeted.
• Musk said something significant happened shortly after the engine firings for landing: `Should know what it was once we can examine the bits later today. In addition, one of the three engines had trouble during the ascent, he noted

9. US report highlights serious rights violations in India and Pakistan

• The US State Department`s annual report on human rights on March 30, 2021 identified unlawful, arbitrary and extrajudicial killings and disappearances as major issues in both India and Pakistan.
• The report which covers incidents reported in 2020 highlighted 32 extrajudicial killings in the first half of 2020 in the Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The statistics include the deaths of 63 civilians, 89 security force members, and 284 insurgents across India as a result of insurgency attacks

10. One-third of vaccines made for poor nations stay in India

• India itself has received more than a third of the nearly 28 million Indian-made AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine doses delivered so far by the global programme for poor countries, according to data from UNICEF and a source.
• The revelation that the largest allocation of doses India has supplied to the Covax programme never actually left the country could add to criticism of India and Covax, after New Delhi decided to delay big exports of vaccines that poor countries around the world had been counting on

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