Important Days:
1. March 23 - Youth Empowerment Day. The Punjab Government observed March 23, 2018, the martyrdom
day of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, Shaheed Sukhdev and Shaheed Rajguru as
'Youth Empowerment Day'. In the state-level
function organised at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of Bhagat Singh in
Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder
Singh paid homage to the three freedom fighters. To mark
the occasion, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh also launched a state-wide
programme to administer the oath to Drug Abuse Prevention Officers (DAPOs).
Programmes at the district level were presided by the state ministers.
2.
March 24 - World
Tuberculosis Day (WTD) is observed every year to raise public awareness about
the global epidemic of Tuberculosis (TB) and efforts to eliminate the disease. The theme of World TB Day 2018 is “Wanted: Leaders for a
TB-free world”. WTD is observed to commemorate discovery of Mycobacterium
tuberculosis, bacillus (bacteria) causing TB on 24th March, 1882 by German
microbiologist Robert Koch.
National:
1.
Krem Puri- the world’s
longest sandstone cave was discovered near Laitsohum village in Mawsynram area
in East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya. This
sandstone cave is also India’s second longest cave in general category after
limestone Krem Liat Prah-Umim-Labit system. The cave is 24,583 metres (24.5 km)
in length and is known for its complex cave systems hidden under its undulating
hills. Krem Puri cave system also has fossils of dinosaurs, especially
Mosasaurus, a giant reptile that lived 66-76 million years ago.
2.
NAIPUNYA RATHAM or World
on Wheels- the multi utility vehicle was launched at State Secretariat in
capital Amaravathi , by Andhra Pradesh Government ‘s Chief Minister
N.Chandrababu Naidu. As a part of Smart village
Smart Ward Programme ,it will facilitate and look to improve digital literacy,
digital skills and create awareness on various government schemes that are
underway in Andhra Pradesh. It is aimed at taking technology and innovation to
the remote corners of Andhra Pradesh. The first phase of Naipunya Ratham will
cover 13 districts and 28 smart villages in collaboration with Hewlett Packard
(HP), Entrepreneurship Development. State Government will soon roll out 12 more
Naipunya Rathams by May 2018.
3.
Payment of Gratuity
(Amendment) Bill, 2017 has been passed by the parliament to empower government
to fix period of maternity leave and tax-free gratuity amount with an executive
order. The Bill seeks to amend Payment of
Gratuity Act, 1972 on two issues related to maternity leave and ceiling of
gratuity payable to an employee. Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 allows for
payment of gratuity to employees in any establishment, factory, mine, oilfield,
plantation, port, railways, company, or shop employing 10 or more
workers. Under it, employees are paid gratuity if they have provided at
least 5 years of continuous service at time of termination. Gratuity is
calculated based on 15 days of wages for each year of continuous and complete
service, subject to a ceiling.
4.
Renowned Indian painter
Raja Ravi Varma’s untitled painting of Tilottama was sold for $795,000 (around
Rs 5 crore) at Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary South Asian art auction in New
York. The winning bid was made by anonymous
private collector.
5.
India’s first Sign
Language Dictionary of 3000 words has been launched by the Ministry of Social
Justice & Empowerment. The dictionary has been
developed by Indian Sign Language Research & Training Centre (ISLR&TC)
under Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD). This
dictionary is available in both print and video formats. It will help to bring
uniformity in sign languages which are used by differently abled people
especially people with hearing or speech impairment. ISL dictionary consists of
various categories of words for example legal terms, medical terms, academic
terms, technical terms and daily use words. It has English and Hindi terms to
help deaf children to learn English.
6.
‘Videsh Aaya Pradesh ke Dwaar’-
an engagement programme with regional media in Hyderabad, Telangana was
launched by the External Publicity and Public Diplomacy Division of Ministry of
External Affairs (MEA). The initiative aims
enhance public diplomacy outreach of MEA and its commitment to take objectives
of foreign policy to people at grassroot-level.
7.
The first-ever National
Conference on Drug Law Enforcement was held in New Delhi. It was inaugurated by Minister of State for Home Affairs
Hansraj Gangaram Ahir. The 2-day conference was organized by Narcotics Control
Bureau (NCB), Ministry of Home Affairs. NCB is nodal drug law enforcement and
intelligence agency of India. It is responsible for fighting drug trafficking
and the abuse of illegal substance.
8. The Union 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. The information was shared by Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan
Singh while addressing MPs in a consultative committee meeting in New Delhi on
March 22, 2018. The Minister said that millet cultivation in India has declined
due to change in dietary habits and unavailability of millets. As a result of this, level of nutrients like proteins, Vitamin-A,
iron and iodine have fell in women and children.
9. The voting for 25 Rajya Sabha seats spread over 7 states, which
began at 9 am on March 23, 2018 concluded at 4 pm on the same day. The counting of votes was undertaken at 5 PM in the state
capitals. Among a total of 58 Rajya Sabha seats to be filled, 33
candidates from 10 states were declared elected unopposed on March 15. Seven
union ministers including Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar were among
them. Voting for the remaining 25 seats was held in Uttar Pradesh,
West Bengal, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Telangana and Kerala.
While in Uttar Pradesh, 11 candidates are in the fray for 10 seats, in West
Bengal six candidates are in the fray for 5 seats. In the remaining states, three candidates are contesting for two
seats in Jharkhand, five candidates are in the field in Karnataka for four
seats and four candidates are in the fray for three seats in Telangana.
10. The Delhi High Court on March 23, 2018 set aside the Centre's
notification disqualifying 20 AAP MLAs in the office-of-profit case. The ruling was passed by a two-judge bench comprising Justices
Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar, who remanded the plea of AAP MLAs back to
the Election Commission which will hear it afresh. Terming the Election
Commission's recommendation on disqualification as vitiated, the bench stated
that there was a violation of natural justice and no oral hearing was given to
the MLAs before disqualifying them as legislators of the Delhi Assembly.
International:
1.
An agreement to create
African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), one of the world’s largest free
trade blocs have signed by the 44 African countries from total 55 members of
African Union (AU).The agreement was signed at a
summit held in Kigali, Rwanda. AfCFTA will bring together 1.2 billion people
with combined gross domestic product (GDP) of more than $2 trillion from entire
continent of Africa comprising 55 countries.
2. US President Donald Trump has announced 60 billion US dollar
tariffs on China for its alleged unfair trade practices. President Trump directed US Trade Representative Robert E.
Lighthizer to announce within 15 days a proposed list of products to be hit
with the tariff raise. The USTR has already
identified potential targets- 1,300 product lines worth about 48 billion
dollars. Besides this, Trump also asked Treasury Secretary Steven
Mnuchin to come up with a list of restrictions on Chinese investment. The
US currently has about 500 billion dollars of trade deficit with China.
Science & Technology/
defence:
1.
The launch of India’s
second lunar mission ‘Chandrayaan-2’ has been postponed from April 2018 to
Oct-Nov, 2018 by ISRO as experts have suggested more tests. It will be launched on board of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch
Vehicle Mk III (GSLV-F10). The spacecraft (orbiter) weighs around 3,290 kg and
it will orbit around moon and perform objectives of remote sensing moon.
2.
Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) has entered into Technology Transfer Agreement (TTA) with
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) to transfer technology for
manufacturing space grade Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) cells. The ISRO uses Li-Ion batteries as power sources for satellite
and launch vehicle applications due to their high energy density, reliability
and long cycle life. Lithium-ion battery or Li-ion battery is type of
rechargeable battery that contains several cells.
3.
The global energy-related
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions rose to historic high of 32.5 gigatonnes in 2017
due to higher energy demand and slowing of energy efficiency improvements
according to International Energy Agency (IEA). The global energy demand rose by 2.1% in 2017 to 14,050 million
tonnes of oil equivalent, more than twice previous 2016 rate, boosted by strong
economic growth. The demand raised by 0.9% in 2016 and 0.9% on average over
previous 5 years.
4.
Fluorimeter, an instrument
to measure traces of uranium in water has been developed by the Raja Ramanna
Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), an Indore-based unit of Department of
Atomic Energy (DAE). The device is capable of examining
traces of uranium in sample of water from 0.1 PPB (Parts-per-billion) unit to
100 PPB. It costs around Rs 1 lakh. For mass production of this instrument, DAE
has transferred its technology to its other unit, Electronics Corporation of India
Ltd (ECIL). The device will be especially helpful in areas like Punjab where
uranium traces in water sources have been found to be at dangerous levels. The
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has fixed permissible radiological limit
to 60 PPB of uranium concentration for drinking water.
5.
Supersonic cruise missile
BrahMos was successfully flight-tested for first time with indigenously
developed seeker at Pokhran test range, Rajasthan. So far, seeker, a critical technology in missiles was imported
from Russia. During the test missile with India-made seeker flew in its
designated trajectory and target with pin-point accuracy. The indigenous seeker
was developed by Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad, in collaboration with
other DRDO labs. It is considered as significant milestone in indigenous
missile technology and would reduce import dependence.
6.
INS Ganga (F22)- Indian
Navy’s indigenously built warship was decommissioned in Mumbai, Maharashtra
after over three decades of service. INS Ganga
(F22) was a Godavari-class guided-missile frigate of the Indian Navy. It was
built by Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai and was commissioned into Indian Navy on
30 December 1985. The Godavari class was first indigenous warship design and
development initiative of Indian Navy.
Economy:
1.
World’s first brass
futures contracts have launched by India’s largest commodities exchange
platform, Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX). It will facilitate brass stakeholders to hedge their price
risk. MCX Brass futures will be the first non-ferrous contract with compulsory
delivery option. It will provide its stakeholders with more organised and
robust price discovery platform. MCX is country’s first listed commodity
futures exchange that facilitates online trading, and clearing and settlement
of commodity futures transaction thereby providing platform for risk
management.
Appointments/Resignations:
1. John R Bolton (Former US Ambassador to the United Nations) has
been appointed as the new National Security Adviser to US President Donald
Trump, replacing Lt Gen H R McMaster. Bolton would be assuming
his new role from April 9, 2018. The announcement in this regard was made
by President Trump through his twitter handle.
Awards & Honours:
1.
Abel Prize 2018 – the
prestigious prize was won by Canadian mathematician Robert P. Langlands (81)
for his visionary programme connecting representation theory to number theory. He will receive the award from Norway’s King Harald V at an
award ceremony in Oslo in May 2018. It is awarded annually by Norwegian Academy
of Science and Letters to one or more outstanding mathematicians. The award was
established by Government of Norway in 2001 and awarded annually since 2003. It
is named after 19th century Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel.
Sports:
1. The world badminton governing body, BWF released its latest
ranking list on March 22, 2018. The list saw India shuttler HS Prannoy jump up
four places to regain his world number 12 spot. Indian men's doubles combo of
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have also managed to break into the
top 20 in the latest ranking. Another duo of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki
Reddy also improved to stand at the 24th position. Second-ranked Kidambi Srikanth also narrowed his gap with world
no 1 Viktor Axelsen. P V Sindhu however, remained static at the third
sport. Saina Nehwal, who was ousted on the opening day of All England
Open 2018, also remained static at the 12th spot. Sai
Praneeth however, slipped to the 15th position due to his first-round exit at
All England Open.
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