Daily Current affairs - March 23, 2018 for all competitive exams
- World Meteorological Day is celebrated every year on
23 March to commemorate the entry into force in 1950 of the convention
that created the World Meteorological Organization. The day also
highlights the contribution that National Meteorological and Hydrological
Services make to the safety and well-being of society.
- Theme: Weather-Ready, Climate-smart
It originated from the International
Meteorological Organization (IMO), which was founded in 1873. The date of the
establishment of the World Meteorological Organization in 23 March 1950 has
been named World Meteorological Day. This organization announces a slogan for
World Meteorology Day every year, and this day is celebrated in all member
countries
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Government decides to declare 2018 as National
year of Millets
The government has decided
to declare 2018 as ‘National Year of Millets to boost the cultivation of
millets like ragi and jowar on a mission mode to achieve nutritional security.
- This was stated by Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan
Singh in a consultative committee meeting in New Delhi.
- The push will promote cultivation of jowar, bajra,
ragi. Under NFSM, maize and jau are also promoted separately.
Union minister Thaawarchand Gehlot launches
first Indian sign language dictionary
Social Justice and
Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot launched the first Indian Sign
Language Dictionary of three thousand words at a function in New Delhi.
- The basic aim of developing the ISL Dictionary is to
remove communications barriers between the deaf and hearing communities as
it is focused on providing more information in Indian sign language.
- Its aim is to give deaf people the constitutional
right to speech and opportunity of freedom of expression and also bringing
them into the mainstream of the society.
- First Indian Sign Language Dictionary of 3000 words
has been launched. As per the census 2011, there are 50, 71,007 Deaf
people and 19, 98,535 with speech disability in India.
The dictionary has been developed by
Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre under Department of
Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. Soon many new words will be added
in this dictionary.
The ISL dictionary has focused on
providing more information in Indian Sign Language and hoped that more and
more people use this dictionary and get the benefit.
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Andhra Pradesh government launches Naipunya
Ratham or World on wheels
Andhra Pradesh government
launched, Naipunya ratham or World on wheels, a multi-utility vehicle which
aims to bring technology to the remote corners.
- It was launched at the Secretariat in Amaravathi.
Chief Minister N.Chandrababu Naidu announces that the Government will roll
out 12 more Naipunya Rathams by May this year.
- As part of the Smart village Smart Ward Programme,
the Naipunya Rathaams will facilitate and look to improve digital
literacy, digital skills and create an awareness on various government
schemes that are underway in the new state of Andhra Pradesh.
One app, 1,000 services:
mKeralam
Kerala, which last year
became the first State to declare Internet a basic human right, has notched up
another first by launching mKeralam, an app that will serve as a single window
for accessing thousands of government services.
- Developed by the Kerala State Information Technology
Mission, the app will initially offer 100 citizen-oriented public services
of 20 departments, before eventually expanding to 1,000 services from more
than 80 departments.
- The services accessible via mKeralam are already
available throughwww.kerala.gov.in.
Chandigarh becomes North
India’s 1st city to install digital automatic speed gun cameras
Chandigarh has become the
1st city in North India to install Automatic Speed Gun
Cameras with digital displays for traffic management.
- The high-tech speed cameras are equipped with night
vision technology and will record the speed of oncoming traffic, helping
Chandigarh Police to issue challans to anyone driving above the city speed
limits.
- Chandigarh also happens to be among a few cities to
accept driving on high-beam inside the city limits as a punishable
offence.
Delhi govt. presents Rs.
53,000 crore budget
Exceeding Rs. 50,000 crore for the first
time, the Delhi government Rs. 53,000 crore budget for 2018-2019 thapt focused
once again on education but added new features such as a ‘Green Budget’ and
timelines for all proposed projects.
- Presenting the fourth budget of the Aam Aadmi Party
dispensation, Finance Minister Manish Sisodia said “trickle-up economics”,
as opposed to the trickle-down model adopted by others, had been the
guiding principle of the government since it took office in February 2015.
- In simple words, the trickle-up model is one where
economic policies of the government directly benefit the poor and
middle-class citizens leading to better education, health and a rise in
their income levels.
- The subsidy schemes for water and power were
continued. Education once again got the largest share of the pie, with 26%
or Rs. 13,997 crore allocated for the sector.
- In a first, a section dedicated to schemes to reduce
pollution and boost clean energy in the form of a ‘Green Budget’ was
included. Spread over four departments, 26 schemes were proposed,
including purchase of 1,000 electric buses and several subsidies for those
who switch to clean fuel.
Trickle-down economics, also referred
to as trickle-down theory, is an economic theory that advocates reducing
taxes on businesses and the wealthy in society as a means to stimulate
business investment in the short term and benefit society at large in the long
term.
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World’s longest Sandstone
cave discovered in Meghalaya
The North-eastern state
Meghalaya of India, is home to the longest sandstone cave in the
world at 24,583m, with dinosaur fossils from 66-76 million years ago.
- The sandstone
cave named Krem Puri was first discovered in 2016, but during the
recent 25-day expedition by the Meghalaya Adventurers’ Association
(MAA), the actual length of the cave was uncovered.
- It is 6,000m
longer than the current listed sandstone cave in the world, Cueva El
Samán, (18,200m) in Venezuela.
Maldives lift emergency
after 45 days
Maldives
President Abdulla Yameen lifted the emergency imposed 45 days ago,
when the country had plunged into a political and constitutional crisis
following a Supreme Court order.
- The top court had ordered in February to release
nine political prisoners including exiled opposition leader Mohamed
Nasheed.
- The release has allowed Nasheed to return
from self-imposed exile in London and contest presidential elections later
this year.
US to impose $60
billion tariff on Chinese imports
President Trump would
impose about $60 billion worth of annual tariffs on Chinese imports.
- However, the White House granted exemptions to
American allies from steel and aluminum tariffs that go into effect on
Friday, including the EU.
- The Trump administration has decided to exempt the
European Union, South Korea, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico
- The tariffs will be published within 15 days; will
target 1,300 lines of Chinese goods, everything from shoes and clothing to
electronics.
ISRO ties up with BHEL
ISRO has entered into a
Technology Transfer Agreement (TTA) with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited
(BHEL), to transfer the technology for the manufacture of space grade
Li-Ion cells.
- The TTA was signed at ISRO Headquarters, Bengaluru.
This Li-ion cell
Technology Transfer will enable BHEL to produce space grade Li-Ion cells
which can meet the country’s space programme requirements.
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Navy warship INS Ganga decommissioned in
Mumbai
INS Ganga, an indigenously
built frigate of the Indian Navy, was decommissioned in Mumbai after over three
decades of service.
- Commissioned on December 30, 1985, the ship
represented a big step forward in the nation’s warship building
capability.
- The ceremony was attended by several officers and
men, now retired, who had served on board the ship. The impressive
ceremony saw the naval ensign hauled down for the last time at sunset.
The chief guest for the ceremony was
Vice Admiral A K Bhal, himself a former crew member of the ship from 1989 to
1991.
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Cockroach DNA reveals
mighty little secrets
The American cockroach is
the largest common house cockroach, about the length of a AA battery. Also called
the water bug, it can live for a week without its head. It eats just about
anything, including faeces, the glue on book bindings, and other cockroaches,
dead or alive.
- All these feats and more are
encoded in the American cockroach’s genome. The complete set of genetic
instructions was sequenced by Chinese scientists and published this week
in Nature Communications .
In China, the cockroach is often
called “xiao qiang”, meaning “little mighty”, said Sheng Li, an entomology
professor at South China Normal University in Guangzhou and lead author of
the paper. “It’s a tiny pest, but has very strong vitality.
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ISRO to launch GSAT-6A
communication satellite on March 29
The Indian Space
Research Organisation will launch the communication satellite GSAT-6A on
March 29.
- The satellite will be launched on
board the GSLV Mk-II (GSLV F08) from the Satish Dhawan Space
Centre in Sriharikota at 4.56pm on March 29.
- This will be the GSLV’s 12th
flight and sixth flight with indigenous cryogenic stage.
- The rocket is set to take off from
the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
GSAT-6A, weighs 2140kg, it
is a high power S-band communication satellite.
It will provide a platform
for developing technologies such as 6m S-Band unfurlable antenna, handheld
ground terminals and network management techniques useful in future
satellite-based mobile communication applications. GSAT-6 weighing 2132 kg
was launched on board GSLV Mk II D6 on August 27, 2015.
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African Continental Free Trade Area
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has been signed by 44
African countries at a summit of the African Union in Kigali, Rwanda. If
successful, it will be the biggest trade trade agreement since the formation of
the World Trade Organization in 1995.
- Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy
and most populous country, as well as a host of others did not sign the
agreement.
- African heads of government agreed
to establish a continental free trade area in 2012 and started
negotiations in 2015. The draft agreement commits countries to removing
tariffs on 90% of goods, with 10% of “sensitive items” to be phased in
later.
- The agreement will also liberalise
services and aims to tackle so-called “non-tariff barriers” which hamper
trade between African countries, such as long delays at the border.
Eventually, free movement of people and even a single currency could
become part of the free trade area.
The AfCFTA has the potential to bring over 1.2bn people together into the
same market. The bloc of 55 nations would be the largest in the world by
member states. The AfCFTA could improve trade between African countries,
which in 2016 estimates stated accounted for only 10%. By reducing barriers
to trade, such as removing import duties and non-tariff barriers, African
countries hope to boost intra-continental business.
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Google developing its own
blockchain-related technology
Technology giant Google is
developing a blockchain-like ledger system in order to differentiate its cloud
business from rivals.
- The company would also reportedly
offer a version that other companies can run on their own servers.
Blockchain technology, which powers
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, is used to securely record transactions
and process data over the Internet.
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New India Assurance launched mediclaim policy
named ‘New India Global Mediclaim Policy’
New India Assurance Company,
India’s largest non-life insurance company, launched a comprehensive worldwide
mediclaim policy named ‘New India Global Mediclaim Policy’.
- The policy will cover an insured’s
hospitalisation expenses for treatments like cancer, neurosurgery, heart
surgery, organ transplant and bone marrow transplant in hospitals outside
India.
- There are two major plans, one
covering hospitalisation at medical centres in Asian countries, and
another which offers the same service, worldwide.
- The medical coverage plan in Asian
countries offers a lifetime cover of $1 million and the worldwide lifetime
coverage insures an individual for $2 million.
New India Assurance
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Headquarters
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Mumbai
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Tagline
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India’s premier general insurance company
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MD and CEO
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G. Srinivasan
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Allahabad Bank gets nod
for ABFL Merger
According to the officials
of Allahabad Bank, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has allowed the
amalgamation of its wholly own subsidiary - All Bank Finance Ltd
(ABFL)-with the lender.
- The ABFL offers a basket of
fee-based financial services such as trusteeship services, investment
advisory and portfolio management services, distribution of Mutual Funds
schemes and other corporate services including valuation of security and
so on.
India on the way to become
the third largest tourist economy
India is on the path to
become the third largest travel and tourism economy by 2028 in terms of direct
and total GDP.
- World Travel & Tourism
Council (WTTC) has published in it’s 2018 economic impact
report.
- India will add nearly 10 million
jobs in the tourism sector by 2028 and that the total number of jobs
dependent directly or indirectly on tourism will increase from 42.9
million in 2018 to 52.3 million in 2028.
Gloria Guevara, president
and chief executive of WTTC said the biggest single area of improvement for
travel and tourism in India is infrastructure.
Regional Connectivity
Scheme will open up 350 unserved and underserved airports and airstrips. The
government aims to make the country a global cruise destination with
a new cruise port in Mumbai.
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1st National conference on
Drug law enforcement inaugurated
The Minister of State for
Home Affairs, Hansraj Gangaram Ahir inaugurated the two-day first
National Conference on Drug Law Enforcement in Delhi.
- The conference is being organised
by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Union Home Minister
Shri Rajnath Singh will be the Chief Guest at the closing session. More than
50 State and Central law enforcement agencies involved in combating drug
trafficking will participate in this Conference.
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105th Indian science
congress- DRDO gets ‘most informative pavilion’ award
Defence Research & Development
Organisation (DRDO) has received the ‘Most Informative Pavilion’
Award in Pride of India Expo organized as part of the 105th Indian
Science Congress at Manipur University, Imphal.
- DRDO participated in the expo
showcasing cutting-edge indigenous defence technologies with over 150
exhibits and models from 18 DRDO laboratories.
John Bolton Replaces
McMaster as US National Security Adviser
The 45th President of USA
Donald Trump has announced that the former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton
will be the New US National Security Adviser.
- He would replace present National
Security Adviser H.R. McMaster.
Balesh Sharma named CEO of
Vodafone-Idea India merged entity
Vodafone Group Plc’s Indian
unit and Idea Cellular, which are in the process of merging their
operations to create the country’s biggest telecoms carrier,
named Vodafone veteran Balesh Sharma as the new chief executive for the
combined venture. Sharma is currently the chief operating officer at
Vodafone India.
- Akshaya Moondra, the current
chief financial officer at Idea, will become the finance chief at the
combined firm. Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Idea’s parent Aditya
Birla conglomerate, will be the non-executive chairman of the merged
telecoms company.
Pankaj Advani qualifies for knockouts at
Asian Billiards Championship
All four Indian cueists,
including multiple-time world champion Pankaj Advani, qualified for the
knockout stage at the Asian Billiards Championship in Myanmar.
- In the event being held at Yangon,
Advani will be up against home favorite Aung Htay, while Dhvaj Haria faces
Singapore’s Peter Gilchrist in the quarterfinals.
In the women’s snooker draw, Amee
Kamani got the top seed spot while Varshaa Sanjeev and Keerath Bhandaal found
a berth in the knockouts. Vidya Pillai failed to qualify.The under-21
knockout saw no Indian qualifying.
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Elavenil Valarivan wins
Gold in junior ISSF world cup shooting
Indian shooter Elavenil
Valarivan shattered the qualification world record in 10-meter
women’s air rifle event of the season’s first junior ISSF World Cup
in Sydney, Australia.
- Arjun Babuta bagged his second
junior world cup medal, claiming a bronze in men’s 10-meter air rifle
event.
Australia beat India in
the women’s T20 Tri-series
Australian
women defeated India with a six-wicket victory in the opening match of the
T20 Tri-Series.
- Australia now has unbeaten record
on tour having outclassed the hosts 3-0 in the ODI series.
- Australia equalled their
highest-ever chase in shortest format, comfortably winning in 18.1 overs.
Zimbabwe lose 2019 cricket
World cup qualifier
Zimbabwe lost a
must-win qualifier match against the already eliminated United Arab Emirates by
three runs.
- The world Cup will be held in
England and Wales in 2019. Zimbabwe has failed to reach the Cricket World
Cup for the first time since 1983.
Ireland and Afghanistan
will be playing a knockout match on Friday, with the winner qualifying for
the World Cup and playing the West Indies in the qualification final.
Zimbabwe would qualify if
Ireland and Afghanistan play to a low-scoring tie. If there’s no result,
Ireland advances on net run rate.
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