Daily Current affairs - March 8, 2018 for all competitive exams
International
Women’s Day is being celebrated on March 8 across the world. It is an annual
marker that aims to bring attention to women’s accomplishments and obstacles.
- The
theme for International Women’s Day 2018 is: The Time is Now: Rural
and urban activists transforming women’s lives
- International
Women's Day 2018 campaign theme is #PressforProgress. The theme aims to encourage women to raise voice for their
rights and promote growing global movement to support gender parity.
The first
Women’s Day was celebrated on February 28, 1909, in New York by the
Socialist Party of America. The day was dedicated to the 15,000 women
who marched through New York in 1908 as part of the garment strike.
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NITI Aayog Launches Women Entrepreneurship
Platform
NITI Aayog launched the Women Entrepreneurship
Platform (WEP), on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
- The
initiative is aimed at building an ecosystem for women across India to
realize their entrepreneurial aspirations, scale-up innovative initiatives
and chalk-out sustainable, long-term strategies for their businesses.
- CEO,
NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant, launched the WEP platform at NITI Aayog
premises in New Delhi.
- The
WEP theme song “Naari Shakti” composed and sung by Shri Kailash
Kher was released on this occasion.
Udyam Sakhi Portal Launched for Women
Entrepreneurs
On the occasion of International Women’s
Day, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
(MSME) launched a portal for women entrepreneurs of India:
www.udyamsakhi.org.
- The
portal was unveiled by the Minister of State (I/C) of MSME, Giriraj Singh,
in a program in New Delhi.
- The
portal is a network for nurturing entrepreneurship and creating business
models for low-cost products and services in order to empower
women and make them self-reliant and self-sufficient.
Government launched #YesIBleed Campaign
The government
has launched the #YesIBleed menstrual hygiene campaign.
- “#Yes
I Bleed” aims to create a holistic approach to the issue of menstruation,
which is an experience that transcends culture, class, and caste. The
campaign has been initiated formally across all multi-media platforms, including
Facebook and YouTube to spread awareness about the issue.
The United
Nations has recognised menstrual hygiene as a global public health and a
human rights issue yet across the globe. “Period poverty” as some call it, is
a reality for millions of women and girls.
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Government launched National E-Mobility programme
The government
has launched the National E-Mobility Programme.
- The
Programme aims to provide an impetus to the entire e-mobility ecosystem
including vehicle manufacturers, charging infrastructure companies, fleet
operators, service providers, etc.
- The
Programme will be implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited
(EESL) which will aggregate demand by procuring electric vehicles in
bulk to get economies of scale.
Energy
Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) will issue a fresh tender for additional
10,000 e-vehicles. These electric vehicles will replace the existing fleet of
petrol and diesel vehicles.
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A toll-free number for highway users
A 24×7 Unique
Toll Free Helpline “1033” has been launched for road users on National
Highways.
- NHAI
had assigned the work for establishment of the Helpline using 4-digit toll
free number “1033” to IHMCL.
- A
single 4-digit Toll Free Universal Access Number (UAN) “1033”
- Single
point of contact for public in case of accident or other emergencies on
National Highways
- Single
point contact for reporting issues related to National Highways e.g.
obstruction of highways due to a fallen tree, dharna, flat tyre, bad road
condition etc.
- Professional
call center agents with 24×7 availability.
40 Indian origin students as a part of Know India Programme
Forty
Indian-origin students from nine countries are in India as part of the 46th edition
of Know India Programme (KIP).
- Madhya
Pradesh is the partner state for this edition of the programme.
Know India
Programme is a flagship programme of Ministry of External Affairs for
engagement with Indian origin youth (between 18-30 years) to
enhance their awareness about India, its cultural heritage, art and to
familiarise them with various aspects of contemporary India.
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Higher quota for Muslims, STs flawed, Centre
tells Telangana
The Bill passed by the Telangana government to enhance
reservation for Muslims and Scheduled Tribes for admission to educational
institutions and for State services to 12% and 10% respectively has hit a
roadblock at the Centre.
- The
Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has said that the provisions
of the Telangana legislation are in violation of a 1992 Supreme Court
order that capped quota at 50%.
The Telangana Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Reservation of Seats in Educational Institutions and of
Appointments or Posts in the Services under the State) Bill, 2017, was passed
by the Telangana Assembly on April 16 last year. Currently, Muslims have 4%
reservation and Scheduled Tribes 6%.
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Delhi’s Women’s Day gift: panic buttons
On the eve of International Women’s Day, in a move to bolster
the security of women passengers, the Delhi government has announced a pilot
project under which state-run buses would be installed with Panic Alarm
Systems.
- Transport
Minister Kailash Gahlot said on the occasion that panic alarms would be
the third line of defence to ensure women’s safety.
- The
project is being implemented in collaboration with a Bangalore-based NGO,
Project Durga, which works on women’s safety and gender equity in public
spaces.
CCI slaps Rs. 54 cr. fine on 3 airlines
The Competition Commission slapped a total penalty of more
than Rs. 54 crore on Jet Airways, InterGlobe Aviation and SpiceJet for unfair
business practices with respect to fixing fuel surcharge on cargo transport.
- Passing
an order on the same complaint for the second time in nearly three years,
the watchdog has directed the airlines to “cease and desist” from
anti-competitive practices.
- A
fine of Rs. 39.81 crore has been imposed on Jet Airways while penalties on
InterGlobe and SpiceJet are Rs. 9.45 crore and Rs. 5.10 crore
respectively.
Competition Commission of India is a statutory body of the
Government of India responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002
throughout India and to prevent activities that have an appreciable adverse
effect on competition in India. It was established on 14 October 2003. It
became fully functional in May 2009 with Dhanendra Kumar as its first
Chairman
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Aadhaar not mandatory for NEET
In a huge relief to thousands of students, a Constitution
Bench of the Supreme Court stayed a CBSE notification making it mandatory for
aspirants to produce their Aadhaar or its enrolment proof mandatory in order to
register or appear for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2018.
- The
Supreme Court had already made it clear in a series of interim orders that
Aadhaar would continue to be voluntary till a final decision is taken by
the court about its constitutional validity.
India-China bilateral trade hits the historic
high of $84.44 billion in 2017
The India-China bilateral trade reached $84.44
billion last year, a historic high notwithstanding bilateral tensions over a
host of issues.
- A
rare novelty of the bilateral trade otherwise dominated by
the Chinese exports was about 40 percent increase in Indian exports
to China in 2017.
- The
bilateral trade in 2017 rose by 18.63 percent year-on-year to reach $84.44
billion.
The bilateral trade stagnated around $70
billion for several years despite the leaders of both the countries setting
$100 billion as a target for 2015.
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Coca-Cola
to launch first alcoholic drink
Soft drinks giant Coca-Cola is breaking has plans
to launch its first alcoholic drink aimed at Japan’s growing alcopop market.
- The
world’s largest soft drink company is eyeing the burgeoning demand for
“Chu-Hi” canned sparkling flavoured drinks.
- Since
it was created in May 1886 at a soda fountain in Atlanta, Georgia by John
S Pemberton, the recipe for Coca-Cola has been kept a secret.
ESA building Air-Breathing Electric Thruster (ABET)
The European
Space Agency (ESA) is building Air-Breathing Electric Thruster (ABET) that can
possibly extend the working life of satellites by years and even help with
interplanetary travel using just the air around it as a propellant.
- An
air-breathing engine works by collecting the sparse air at the edge of the
atmosphere and compresses it to a point that it becomes thermalised
ionised plasma. It then fires out the plasma using an electric charge to
achieve thrust.
An air
breathing thruster could keep a satellite operational for extended periods of
time if it only uses the air around it for fuel instead of propellants.
This
Air-Breathing Electric Thruster (ABET) does not operate in complete vacuum,
but works in low Earth orbit (LEO) – altitude of 2,000 km or less– notes the
ESA. At LEO, the air is scarce, but not entirely absent. In fact, there is
enough air to cause a drag on spaceships and satellites. This is why there
are on-board engines installed on satellites to correct course every time it
moves out of position.
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Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma youngest
Indian on Forbes list of billionaires
Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma the youngest
Indian billionaire according to Forbes magazine.
- While
92-year-old Samprada Singh, chairman emeritus of Alkem Laboratories Ltd,
is the oldest, according to Forbes magazine.
- Sharma
ranked 1,394th on the list with a fortune of $1.7 billion, is the only
Indian billionaire in the under-40 league.
Wings India 2018 held in Hyderabad
The biennial
event on Civil Aviation and Aerospace titled “Wings
India 2018” is being held in Hyderabad.
- The
event with the theme “India-Global Aviation Hub” is organised jointly by
the Union Civil Aviation Ministry, Airports Authority of India and the
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
“Wings India
2018” aims to be the most comprehensive platform in the region for the
interactions, forging alliances, investments and air connectivity between the
States and the global aviation players/ stakeholders. It will have a special
focus on connecting the cities and towns aimed at increasing the regional
connectivity in the country.
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4th India-Europe 29 Business Forum Held in New
Delhi
The fourth India-Europe 29 Business Forum
(IE29BF) took place in New Delhi.
The theme of IE29BF 2018 was ‘Synergising
Economic Vision for Expanded Relations’.
- For
IE29BF 2018, Czech Republic was the ‘Focus Country’.
- Eighteen
other European countries participated in the Forum.
World ATM Congress 2018 Held in Spain
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is
participating in World ATM Congress (WATMC) 2018 being held
in Spain.
- Now
entering its sixth year, World ATM Congress is the world's largest
international air traffic management (ATM) exhibition and conference
attracting thousands of delegates each year.
'Vision for Future' Event to Marks 70 Years of
Indo-Russia Ties Held in New Delhi
An event named 'Vision for
Future' was held in New Delhi to commemorate 70 years of the
Indo-Russia ties. The event sought to expose the youth to the dynamic
opportunities of cooperation between the two countries.
1. The
program inaugurated at the Pravasi Bhartiya Kendra was organised
by the Ministry of External Affairs (Eurasia Division) and
the International Federation of Indo-Russian Youth Clubs.
Nari Shakti Puraskar 2017
Nari Shakti
Puraskars 2017 were presented to 30 women 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.
2018 Pritzker prize for Balkrishna doshi
Balkrishna
Doshi is the newest winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, known as the
Nobel for architects.
- He
has built more than a hundred buildings that reflect his investment in
local materials, social change and the environment. He is the first
Indian to receive the award.
The
international prize, which is awarded each year to a living architect/s for significant
achievement, was established by the Pritzker family of Chicago through their
Hyatt Foundation in 1979. It is granted annually and is often referred to as
“architecture’s Nobel” and “the profession’s highest honor.” The award
consists of $100,000 (US) and a bronze medallion. The award is conferred on
the laureate/s at a ceremony held at an architecturally significant site
throughout the world.
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Vivek R Wadekar Appointed New Special Director
in ED
IRS officer Vivek R Wadekar was appointed as
the new Special Director in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) by the
government.
- He
has been appointed for the tenure of five years. The
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi issued an order appointing the officer of the Income Tax
Department to the new post.
