Daily Current affairs - March 6, 2018 for all competitive exams
Out of 133 countries, India is ranked
fourth on a global index for its military strength, only the United
States, Russia and China are ranked above India on the list, according to
the latest report of the Global Firepower index 2017.
- Neighbouring Pakistan
is ranked 13th. India maintained its position above France in the top
five military powers in the world.
Centre invites Cauvery basin States for talks
The Union Water Resources Ministry has invited Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry to participate in a Chief Secretary-level
meeting scheduled in Delhi on March 9 to discuss the Supreme Court’s recent
verdict in the Cauvery water dispute.
- The
Centre so far has not taken any step for the setting up of the Board,
hoped that the Cauvery Management Board would be set up within six weeks
as per the verdict of the apex court.
Biplab Deb to be Tripura's New Chief Minister
The Bharatiya Janata Party has named the party'
State president Biplab Kumar Deb as the chief ministerial candidate for
Tripura. He will replace Manik Sarkar.
- Jishnu
Devvarma has been named for Deputy Chief Minister.
- The
decision was announced after the meeting of BJP Legislature Party in
Agartala. The swearing-in ceremony is likely to be held on March 8.
India’s first helitaxi launched in Bengaluru
IT capital
Bengaluru has become the first city in the country to have a HeliTaxi.
- The
first helitaxi service is being provided by a Bell 407 helicopter.
Haryana would set up Cooperative Election Authority
The Haryana
government has announced that a Cooperative Election Authority would be set up
in the State for supervising the election process in cooperative bodies.
- The
Constitution (Ninety Seventh Amendment) Act 2011 relating to the
co-operatives is aimed to encourage economic activities of cooperatives
which in turn help progress of rural India.
As per the
amendment the changes done to constitution are: In Part III of the
constitution, after words “or unions” the words “Cooperative Societies” was
added
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India, China step up engagement
India and China are seeking to step up the pace in improving
ties, with two high-level ministerial meetings this month leading to a summit
meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping,
and a slew of engagements through the year.
- The
leaders had decided during their [post-Doklam] Xiamen meeting in August
last year that they must heighten the frequency and level of meetings, and
we hope to see many more engagements in 2018 than before
- 2017
as a “difficult year” for ties, with the 73-day Doklam standoff and
differences over Masood Azhar and the Nuclear Suppliers Group membership
raising temperatures.
World’s largest military of China reduces troop
size to 20 lakh
China, the world’s largest military, has reduced its troop
size to 20 lakh by decommissioning 3 lakh troops.
- The
move came as part of China’s goal to restructure its command system and
refocus its spending on modernising the military.
- China
announced a defence budget of $175 billion for this year.
Marshall Islands to launch world-first digital legal tender
The Marshall
Islands will launch the world’s first legal tender cryptocurrency. A law in
this regard has been passed by the parliament.
- The
Marshall Islands has partnered with Israeli company Neema to issue 24
million units of the Sovereign (SOV) digital currency.
- The
SOV will require users to identify themselves, thus avoiding the anonymity
that has kept bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from gaining support from
governments.
Venezuela
had launched the Petro cryptocurrency in February. Unlike the Petro, the
Sovereign (SOV) will be recognized in law as legal tender, holding equal
status as the US dollar, which is the Pacific island nation’s current
currency.
Cryptocurrency is fundamentally a decentralised
digital currency transferred directly between peers and the transactions are
confirmed in a public ledger, accessible to all the users.
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France seeks to rebuild cultural ties with Iran
Journalists flooded Iran’s National Museum for the arrival of
more than 50 artworks from the Louvre — the first major show by a Western
museum in the country’s history.
- The
show reflects France’s determined use of cultural diplomacy as it seeks to
rebuild traditional ties with Iran, even as their officials hold tense
talks over political and security issues.
- The
doors were unsealed for journalists at the National Museum in central
Tehran, which is currently celebrating its 80th anniversary, a day ahead
of the public opening.
- The
show marks the culmination of two years of work since a cultural exchange
agreement was signed during a visit by Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani to
Paris in January 2016.
Sri Lanka imposes state of emergency over
communal violence
Sri Lanka imposed a 10-day nation-wide state of emergency due
to clashes between the Buddhist and Muslim communities in the Kandy district.
- The
move is aimed at preventing the spread of violence to other parts of the
country, a government spokesperson said.
- The
government further warned to take stern action against those instigating
violence through social media.
WTO agreed India’s request for Dispute Settlement Body (DSB)
The World
Trade Organisation’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) has agreed to India’s
request for setting up a panel to determine whether the country complied with a
previous ruling striking down its domestic content requirements for solar cells
and modules.
- In
2016, New Delhi had lost a case against the US at the WTO after the global
trade body stated that power purchase agreements signed by the Indian
government with solar firms for its National Solar Mission did not meet
international trade norms.
- The
US, which is of the opinion that New Delhi continues to apply the
“WTO-inconsistent measures”, had in December last year approached the
Geneva-based multi-lateral organisation demanding action against India for
non-compliance of the WTO ruling.
- India,
however, has been maintaining that it has complied with the WTO’s ruling.
India had requested the WTO to set up a panel to determine its compliance
with the rulings of the dispute.
The General
Council convenes as the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) to deal with disputes
between WTO members. Such disputes may arise with respect to any agreement
contained in the Final Act of the Uruguay Round that is subject to the
Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes
(DSU).
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Threat of new malware looms over cyberspace
A new threat looms large on the horizon of cyberspace. After
Mirai and Reaper, cybersecurity agencies have detected a new malware called Saposhi,
which is capable of taking over electronic devices and turning them into
‘bots’, which can then be used for any purpose, including a Distributed Denial
of Service attack which, with enough firepower, can cripple entire industries.
- Saposhi
is similar in its intensity to Reaper, which was taking over millions of
devices at the rate of 10,000 devices per day. Various cybersecurity
agencies are currently keeping tabs on it to get a better idea of what it
is capable of
In October last year, the Computer Emergency Response Team
(CERT), a Central government body that deals with cyberattacks, had issued an
alert about Reaper, a highly evolved malware capable of not only hacking
devices like Wi-Fi routers and security cameras, but also hiding its own
presence in the bot — a device taken over by a malware.
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RBI Slaps Penalty on Axis Bank and Indian
Overseas Bank
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed
a penalty of Rs 3 crore on private sector Axis Bank for violation of
non-performing asset (NPA) classification norms, and Rs 2 crore on
state-run Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) for not complying with the Know Your
Customer (KYC) regulations.
- A
statutory inspection of Axis Bank, with reference to its financial
position, revealed "violations of various regulations issued by RBI
in the assessment of NPAs", or bad loans.
India remains 12th largest foreign holder of US govt. securities
According to latest official
data, India is the 12th largest overseas holder of US government securities,
just behind oil rich Saudi Arabia, whose holding stood at USD 147.4 billion in
December 2017.
- The
holding of India went up to USD 144.7 billion in December last, an
increase of little over USD 26 billion compared to the year-ago period.
In 2017,
neighbouring China was the largest holder of US government securities with
holdings to the tune of USD 1.18 trillion, followed by Japan at USD 1.06
trillion. At the third position was Ireland whose exposure rose to USD 326.5
billion.
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Smriti Irani inaugurated FICCI Frames 2018 in
Mumbai
The Union Minister for Information &
Broadcasting and Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani inaugurated the FICCI
Frames 2018, in Mumbai.
- She
has also released the FICCI-EY Media & Entertainment Report 2018
named 'Re-imagining India's M&E Sector'.
- As
per the report, the Indian M&E sector hit Rs 1.5 trillion ($22.7
billion) in 2017, growth of around 13% over 2016. With its
current trajectory, it is expected to cross Rs 2 trillion ($31
billion) by 2020, at a CAGR of 11.6%.
2-day National seminar on Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam held in New Delhi
The two-day
national seminar “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” was recently conducted at New Delhi.
- The
seminar was organised to spread the message that indigenous values and
teachings of Vedas can only help India achieve its lost glory and attain
the status of “Vishwa Guru” once again.
- Meaning
of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: It is a Sanskrit phrase found in Hindu texts
such as the Maha Upanishad, which means “the world is one family”.
Neil
Basu appointed Scotland Yard’s counter-terror chief
Neil Basu, reputed for his work in combating
terror, has been appointed the new head of counter-terrorism operations of
Scotland Yard.
- Basu,
whose father is of Indian origin, is the first ethnic minority officer to
take on the key role.
- He
took up his current role as senior national coordinator for
counter-terrorism in October 2016.
Sunil Gavaskar named commissioner of T20 Mumbai
League
Legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar was
named as the commissioner of the inaugural edition of the T20 Mumbai
League.
- All
the matches of the League, in which six teams are participating, will be
held at the iconic Wankhede Stadium.
- The
announcement to appoint Gavaskar was made by the Mumbai Cricket
Association (MCA).
MS Dhoni Becomes Brand Ambassador Of Gaming
Platform Dream 11
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become a brand
ambassador of gaming platform Dream11.
- Currently,
the gaming platform has a user base of 2 crore sports fans playing
"fantasy cricket, football, kabaddi and NBA".
