Current affairs : March 8th, 2017 for all competitive exams
International Women's Day is observed globally on
8th March every year.
The theme of International Women's Day (IWD) 2017
campaign is 'Be Bold For Change'.
International Yoga fest to begin in New Delhi
The two-day International Yoga fest will begin in
New Delhi. Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu will inaugurate
the fest at Talkatora stadium.
- More
than 3,500 participants including eminent yoga gurus, yoga masters,
scholars, policy makers and representatives from 15-18 countries will
participate in this mega event.
Nari
Shakti Puraskars 2016:
Nari Shakti
Puraskars 2016 will be presented by the President on the eve of International
Women’s Day.
- To
acknowledge Women’s achievements, the Government of India confers Nari
Shakti Puraskars on eminent women and institutions in recognition of their
service towards the cause of women empowerment. The Nari Shakti Awards
were initiated in the year 1999.
- The
Ministry of Women and Child Development announces these national level
awards for eminent women, organisations and institutions.
- The
Nari Shakti Puraskar carries a cash award of Rs.1 Lakh and a certificate
for individuals and institutions.
Jal
Kranti Abhiyan launched in Delhi
National
conference on Jal Kranti Abhiyan was recently held in Delhi. Participating in
the conference representatives from water user associations, NGOs and other
agencies gave useful suggestions to make Jal Kranti Abhiyan a success.
- The
daylong conference was organized by Ministry of Water Resources, River
Development and Ganga Rejuvenation as part of Jal Kranti Abhiyan. About
700 participants representing various stakeholder groups such as farmers,
Panchayat members, officials, NGOs and students attended the conference.
- Jal
Kranti Abhiyan was launched on June 05, 2015 to consolidate water
conservation and management in the country through a holistic and
integrated approach involving all stakeholders making it a mass movement.
Bridge
across River Narmada at Bharuch inaugurated
In a major
relief for people travelling on the Vadodara- Surat section of NH-8 (New
NH-48), a new four lane, Extradosed Bridge across river Narmada at Bharuch was
recently dedicated to the nation.
- The
1.4 km ‘Extradose’ cable stayed bridge is the longest in India and the
second such bridge in the country after Nivedita Setu over Hooghly.
- The
bridge is 20.8 metres wide, with 14.5 metre carriageway and 3 metre
footpath. It is supported on 9 Pylons of 36 meter height on pile
foundation of 1.5 metre diameter. The bridge will be lit by more than 400
LED lights.
Hyderabad airport ranks 1st in the world in
airport service quality
GMR group led Rajiv Gandhi Hyderabad
International Airport has secured first position in the world in the
prestigious Airports Council International (ACI) Airport Service
Quality (ASQ) survey in the 5-15 million passengers per annum (MPPA)
category for the year 2016.
- The
survey shows that Hyderabad Airport has steadily improved its score from
4.4 in 2009 to 4.9 in 2016, according to a GMR's Hyderabad International
Airport limited (GHIAL).
First smart tribal village inaugurated in Jammu and
Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Food, Civil
Supplies, and Consumer Affairs Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali inaugurated the first
smart tribal model village 'Habbi' in Rajouri district of
Jammu and Kashmir.
- The
Rural Development Department has introduced smart classes in schools,
better roads, electricity, and water facility in the village.
Commonwealth
unveils initiative to stamp out domestic violence
The
Commonwealth is launching an initiative to help member states tackle domestic
violence, which it said remained a “stubborn stain” on communities,
disproportionately impacting women.
- The
programme, which is being launched on Women’s Day, will continue through
till 2018, when there is expected to be an accord on ending domestic
violence in the Commonwealth.
- The
“Peace in the home” programme will include toolkits to help governments
across the Commonwealth involve multiple agencies — such as schools,
doctors and hospitals, as well as government — and law enforcement
agencies to work together effectively, and will help countries highlight
and share details of initiatives that had been particularly successful at
dealing with domestic violence.
India
first in bribery rate, says global NGO
The Global
Corruption Barometer for the Asia Pacific Region was released recently by
Transparency International (TI) – an anti-corruption global civil society
organisation.
- India
had the highest bribery rate among the 16 Asia Pacific countries. Nearly
seven in 10 Indians who had accessed public services had paid a bribe.
- Japan
has the least bribery rate, where only 0.2% of the respondents reported
paying a bribe.
- India
was followed closely by Vietnam where around two thirds (65%) had paid a
bribe when accessing public services.
Al
Nagah-Ii 2017 joint exercise started in Himachal Pradesh:
Second edition
of the joint exercise between the Indian and Oman Armies has begun with the
Opening Ceremony at Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh.
- The
previous edition of the Exercise was held at Muscat, Oman in 2015.
- The
aim of this exercise is to acquaint both forces with each other’s
operating procedures, improve the interoperability in conducting joint
operations in the backdrop of counter insurgency/ counter terrorism
environment as also to enhance the existing military relationship between
the Indian Army and the Royal Army of Oman.
National
Awards for Innovation in Educational Administration:
The National
Awards for Innovation in Educational Administration were recently presented to
the participants in New Delhi.
- The
Awards have been instituted by the National University of Educational
Planning and Administration (NUEPA), New Delhi.
- The
main objective of the programme is to recognize innovative ideas and
practices adopted by district and block level education officers for
effective management of the educational administrative system at district
and block levels, and ensuring institutional development and performance
at school level.
Indo-
Nepal joint military exercise Surya Kiran – XI commenced:
Indo – Nepal
Joint Military Exercise Surya Kiran – XI has commenced at Pithoragarh.
- In
this 14 days exercise, Nepal Army is being represented by the officers and
troops of the elite DURGA BAKSH Battalion while the EKTA SHAKTI Battalion
of The Punjab Regiment is participating on behalf of the Indian Army.
- This
is eleventh such battalion level exercise between the two countries aimed
at training of troops in counter insurgency operations in mountainous
terrain.
PAU
develops country’s first Bt cotton varieties:
Punjab
Agricultural University has successfully developed the country’s first Bt
cotton varieties.
- The
ICAR has identified three varieties, namely PAU Bt 1, F1861 and RS 2013,
for cultivation in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan. It is a cheaper alternative
to Bt cotton hybrid seed.
IISc
among world’s best 10 varsities:
The Indian
Institute of Science (IISc.) has been ranked in the top 10 of Times Higher
Education’s (THE) Best Small Universities-2017 global rankings that looks only
at universities with fewer than 5,000 students.
- At
rank 8, IISc. is the only Indian university in the list of 20, and is also
the second-highest ranked Asian University.
FM
releases the Revised General Financial Rules (GFR) 2017
The Finance
Minister Shri Arun Jaitley recently released the Revised General Financial
Rules (GFRs) – 2017.
- The
Revised GFR -2017 aims to provide a framework within which an organization
manages its business in a financially prudent manner without compromising
its flexibility to deal with varied situations.
- The
new GFRs 2017 will enable an improved, efficient and effective framework
of fiscal management while providing the necessary flexibility to
facilitate timely delivery of services.
SBI launches 'Work from Home' facility for
employees
Country's largest lender State Bank of India
launched a new facility to enable its employees to 'work from home'.
- The
Board of the bank has recently approved the 'Work from Home' policy to
enable its employees to work while at home using mobile devices to address
any urgent requirement they may have, that prevents their traveling to
work.
- The
lender will be using mobile computing technologies and shall have
continuous control over all the enabled devices.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan wins best actress award
The actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who played the
character of Sarabjit Singh’s sister Dalbir Kaur, has won the Best Actress
award for Sarabjit at the International Film Festival and
Awards of Australia (IFFAA).
Bengal’s Popular Folk Singer Kalikaprasad Bhattarcharya
Dies
Popular Bengali folk music singer Kalika Prasad
Bhattacharya died in a road accident at Palsit in West Bengal.
- The
folk singer voiced in films like Jaatishwar (2014), Moner Manush (2010)
and Bhuban Majhi (2017).
Cuevas wins third Brasil Open tennis title
Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas won his third consecutive
Brasil Open title by beating Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas in a final.
- Doubles Men's Category: Winners- Rogério Dutra Silva (Brazil) and André Sá (Brazil), Runner Up- Marcus Daniell (New Zealand) and Marcelo Demoliner (Brazil).
