IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 26th, 2018

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 26th, 2018

1. (26th March) is the Independence Day of Bangladesh.
a. This day commemorates the country's declaration of independence from Pakistan in the year 1971.
b. Important Points to Know about Bangladesh
i. Capital - Dhaka
ii. Currency - Taka
iii. National language - Bengali
iv. President - Abdul Hamid
v. Prime Minister - Sheikh Hasina
vi. Chief Justice  :  Syed Mahmud Hossain
2. The 45th anniversary of the Chipko movement is being observed today.
a. Although the Chipko Movement has its origins in the 18th century Rajasthan, it found momentum in the 1970s as a way to protect forests.
b. In the year 1973, the women in modern-day Uttarakhand formed a circle around the trees in order to protect them from being cut after the government gave a plot of forest area to a sports goods company.
3. The Telangana Assembly today passed a bill making the teaching of Telugu language in schools compulsory.
a. According to the Telangana (Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Telugu in Schools) Act, the language will be a mandatory subject for Classes 1-10 from the upcoming academic session.
4. The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly today unanimously passed a resolution recommending the Centre to rename the Kolhapur airport as the 'Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj Airport'.
5. Srinagar's Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden was opened for visitors.
a. This is Asia's largest tulip garden.
b. This year, 12.5 lakh tulip bulbs of 48 varieties were sown in the garden by the floriculture department.
6. The 1st-ever International Print Biennale, an International Exhibition of Graphic Prints was held in New Delhi.
a. This exhibition was organised by Lalit Kala Akademi.
7. The Ministry of Human Resource Development has nominated former NCERT director J S Rajput as India’s representative to Executive Board (EXB) of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
8. The Allahabad Bank received approval from Ministry of Corporate Affairs for amalgamation of its fully-owned subsidiary All Bank Finance Ltd. (ABFL) with itself.
a. The All Bank Finance offers fee-based services like debenture trusteeship, distribution of mutual fund schemes, investment advisory and portfolio management and security valuation.
9. WhatsApp has started testing payments through QR codes for selected users in its latest beta update.
a. Users can scan the code, enter the amount payable and UPI PIN for verification to send money.
10. To encourage domestic assembling of panels, the government has slashed the customs duty on 'open cell', a key component used in the manufacturing of LED and LCD television panels, from 10% to 5%.
11. Swiggy, India’s largest food ordering and delivery platform has partnered with ICICI Bank, the country's largest private sector bank by consolidated assets, to roll out two innovative digital solutions to facilitate a convenient and hassle-free way for its delivery partners to transfer funds to Swiggy.
a. It includes a Unified Payment Interface (UPI) based solution for instant fund transfers on-the-go and an option for facilitating cash deposits at automated Cash Deposit Machines (CDM) available at ICICI Bank branches and ATM locations across the country.
12. Bank of India said it has been allowed to terminate/close its Yangon representative office with effect from January 19, 2018 by Myanmar’s Ministry of Planning and Finance, Directorate of Investment and Company Administration.
a. Following BoI’s move, there are now only two Indian financial entities -- United Bank of India and Export-Import Bank of India – with representative offices in Yangon.
b. State Bank of India has a full-fledged branch there.
13. Sudan, the world's last remaining male northern white rhino has died in Kenya at age 45.
a. There are now just two female members of the subspecies left.
14. Rajasthan's Jaipur Wax Museum is going to introduce a Robot guide to welcome visitors and give them information like a 'well-trained guide'.
15. The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (Ahmedabad) has received theaward for 'Most Improved Airport' in the Asia-Pacific region by the Airports Council International (ACI).
16. India Post paid tribute to recently died theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking by issuing a special cover on him.
a. ’A Brief History of Time’, ‘The Universe in a Nutshell’, ‘On the Shoulders of Giants” are some of the popular books written by Stephen Hawking.
17. After ball tampering allegations, Steve Smith has stepped down as IPL side Rajasthan Royals' captain.
a. Indian cricketer Ajinkya Rahane has been named as the new Captain of Rajasthan Royals.
18. India's 15-year-old shooter Anish Bhanwala won a Gold medal at the ISSF Junior World Cup in the 25m rapid fire pistol event.

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 25th, 2018

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 25th, 2018

1. (25th March) is International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade.
a. This day aims to raise awareness about the dangers of racism and prejudice in today's world.
b. Theme for the year 2018 : “Remember Slavery: Triumphs and Struggles for Freedom and Equality”.
2. India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) and India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC) have signed an agreement to offer mortgage guarantee scheme for prospective non-salaried and self-employed home loan customers.
a. The offering will help increase home loan eligibility up to 15 per cent within the regulatory norms.
3. Hong Kong is going to pay 2.8 million citizens a cash handout of up to HK$4,000 (over ₹33,000) amid reports of a ₹1-lakh crore surplus in its annual budget.
a. The beneficiaries would include those who did not directly benefit from the budget, including the ones who do not own property or receive any government allowances.
4. The 1st regularly scheduled non-stop flight between Australia and the United Kingdomhas landed in London after a journey of over 17 hours.
a. The 14,498-km journey from Australian city Perth was completed in Qantas' newest aircraft, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
b. The flight has become one of the longest in the world by distance.
5. Tata Power today appointed Praveer Sinha as the firm's new MD & CEO with effect from May 1.
a. Sinha is going to replace Anil Sardana, whose exit was announced earlier this year.
6. Vijay Sankar, deputy chairman of The Sanmar Group, has been appointed honorary consul general for Denmark in Chennai, by the queen of Denmark, with the concurrence of the government of India.
a. His consular district consists of the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka and the Union Territory of Pondicherry.
7. Reliance Asset Reconstruction Company (RARC) today announced the appointment of Ravindra Rao as its new Chief Executive Officer.
a. He will replace Asokan Arumugam, who has led RARC for the last four years and is retiring.
8. Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai today elected Chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Political Party Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, replacing Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
9. Stock exchange major BSE Ltd. (Bombay Stock Exchange) has appointed former European Commission official David Wright as a Public Interest Director.
10. Veteran actress and talk show host Simi Garewal has been felicitated with a "UK Golden Flame Award" for her contribution to Indian cinema.
11. KL Rahul has been named 'Cricketer of the Year' in the 6th edition of Wisden India Almanack, which has just been released.
a. Shantha Rangaswamy, India's first woman cricket superstar, has been inducted into the Wisden India Hall of Fame alongside Erapalli Prasanna.
12. India's Rio Olympics silver medalist shuttler PV Sindhu is set to be the Indian contingent's flag-bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.
13. Steve Smith and David Warner have stepped down as Australia captain and vice-captain respectively for the last two days of the ongoing Test against South Africa in Cape Town as a result of the explosive ball-tampering row.
a. Wicketkeeper Tim Paine will act as captain for the Newlands Tests.
14. Indian billiards player Pankaj Advani beat his training partner B Bhaskar 6-1 in the Asian Billiards Championships' final to become the reigning Indian, Asian and world champion in billiards for 2017-18.

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 22th, 2018

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 22th, 2018

1. (22nd March 2015) is World Water Day.
a. This day is a United Nations initiative to celebrate clean water and bring attention to those who don’t have enough of it.
b. The first World Water Day was celebrated in 1993 after the United Nations approved of the same.
c. Theme of World Water Day 2018 : 'Nature for Water'
2. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is on a 3 day visit to India.
a. This will be his 1st visit to India as the President of Germany after the Angela Merkel government took charge in Berlin on March 14.
b. Aim of this Visit : To strengthen bilateral ties.
3. Maldives' President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom today lifted the state of emergencyimposed in the country after a period of 45 days.
a. The emergency was imposed after Maldives' Supreme Court ordered the release of nine jailed opposition MPs including the country's first democratically-elected President Mohamed Nasheed.
4. The Union Cabinet today approved the Ayushman Bharat - National Health Protection Mission.
a. Aim : To provide an annual health cover of ₹5 lakh to 10 crore poor families.
b. According to Union Budget, this is 'world's largest health protection scheme'.
c. The Centre will fund 60% expenditure incurred by the scheme.
5. The Kerala government today declared Jackfruit as the official fruit of the state.
a. Note : Kerala produces 30 to 60 crore jackfruits every year, and revenue of around ₹30,000 crore could be generated through jackfruit products.
6. Scrapping the ₹10,000 cap on funding for education of martyrs' children, the government cleared the way to fully fund the education of children of armed forces personnel missing, killed or disabled on duty.
7. To promote employment in North Eastern Region states including Sikkim, the Union Cabinet has approved North East Industrial Development Scheme (NEIDS), 2017.
a. This scheme will have financial outlay of Rs. 3000 crores upto March, 2020.
8. Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu inaugurates 3-day India Chemicals and Plastics Exhibition at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai.
9. India signed agreement with UN to build homes 50000 Houses for Nepal's April 2015 earthquake victims.
a. India will give USD 8.41 million to UNOPS (United Nations Office for Project Services) and USD 7.41 Million to the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) to build 50000 homes by this agreement.
10. Formidable Supersonic Cruise Missile BrahMos today successfully flight tested from Pokhran test range in Rajasthan.
a. The precision strike weapon with Indian-made seeker flew in its designated trajectory and hit the target with pin-point accuracy.
11. Walmart India today appointed Sameer Aggarwal, a former executive at American fast food chain KFC, as Executive Vice-President and Chief Strategy & Administrative Officer.
a. He will lead the finance, technology, legal, audit and strategy functions of the company.
12. Noted actor Amol Palekar was honoured with the ‘Godavari Gaurav’ award, which has been instituted by ‘Kusumagraj Prathishthan’
a. The award was given by noted Marathi writer Madhu Mangesh Karnik, who is the chairperson the Prathishthan.
13. The Singapore Changi Airport has been named the world's best airport for the sixth consecutive year by consultancy firm Skytrax.
a. The Incheon International Airport in South Korea and Haneda Airport in Japan were placed second and third respectively.
b. Note : Mumbai airport has been ranked 63rd, the airports in Bangalore and Delhi are at 64th and 66th place respectively.
14. Meeting for the first time under Chairman Jerome Powell, the US Federal Reserveofficials, today raised the interest rate by 25 bps to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%.
a. The benchmark rate is closely tied to consumer interest rates, affecting auto loans, mortgage loan and credit cards.
b. The US central bank also forecast at least two more hikes for 2018.
15. The Cheque Books of 6 Banks that merged with State Bank of India (SBI) will become invalid after March 31.
a. Customers of erstwhile associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank have been asked to apply for new cheque books to avoid inconvenience.
16. Citi Bank India has launched India's first home loan linked to the 3-month Government of India Treasury Bill benchmark rate.
a. This will give home buyers the opportunity to take part in a floating rate benchmarked to a publicly available external reference rate, which is driven by market forces, and in line with international markets such as the US, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
17. Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) has launched ‘Vikas She Plus’, a loan scheme for women to take up new ventures or for expanding/modifying the existing enterprises.
a. This scheme provides loan up to a maximum of ₹2 lakh with a repayment period of 60 months.
b. Chairman of KVGB : S Ravindran
18. The Parliament today passed the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill which will increase the ceiling of tax-free gratuity amount to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 10 lakh.
a. Further, this will allow the government to increase the gratuity ceiling from time to time without amending the law.
19. Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government today presented its 1st “green budget” in the assembly, with an emphasis on education, health and environment.
a. Out of the total Rs 53,000 cr budget, Rs 13,999 crore has been allocated for education sector in the state.

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 21th, 2018

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 21th, 2018

1.   (21st March) is 'International Day of Forests'.

a.    This day was initiated by the United Nations to raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests and trees. 

b.    As per the UN, around 1.6 billion people, including over 2,000 indigenous cultures, depend on forests for their livelihood.

c.    Theme for 2018 : "Forests and Sustainable Cities"

2.   World Poetry Day is being observed today.

a.    This day was declared by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1999.

b.    The purpose of the day is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world.

3.   World Down Syndrome Day is being observed.

4.   International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is being observed across the world.

a.    On this day, in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid pass laws.

b.    Proclaiming the day in 1966, the United Nations General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.

c.    2018 Theme : "Promoting tolerance, inclusion, unity and respect for diversity in the context of combating racial discrimination"

5.   World Puppetry Day is being observed.  

6.   Oklahoma is going to become the 1st US state to use Nitrogen gas for executions.

a.    The state is turning to nitrogen after it and other states became unable to acquire drugs required for lethal injections because of opposition from manufacturers to their products being used for capital punishment.

b.    Note : Nitrogen is an odorless and tasteless gas that makes up about 78 per cent of the air humans breathe but causes death when inhaled without any oxygen.

7.   Austria's capital city Vienna has been rated the world's most liveable city for the ninth consecutive year by Mercer in its annual Quality of Living survey. 

a.    Top 3 in the List :

i.     Vienna (Austria)

ii. Zurich (Switzerland)

iii. Auckland (New Zealand) & Munich (Germany)

b.    Important Points to Note :

i. Iraq's capital city Baghdad has been rated the least liveable city for the tenth consecutive year. 

ii. Hyderabad and Pune have been rated India's most liveable cities in the list. 

8. The Supreme Court today ruled that government authorities cannot charge more than₹50 as application fee for those seeking information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. 

a. The apex court also said authorities cannot charge more than ₹5 per page for photocopy and the applicants do not have to mention the "motive" in the RTI application.

9. The Union Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers has approved proposal of setting up ofPlastic Park in Deoghar District, Jharkhand. 

a. The project will be set up at cost of Rs.120 crores in an area of 150 acres.

10. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has banned the display of arms during Ram Navami celebrations on Sunday.  

11. The Telangana government has decided to make Telugu a mandatory subject till Class 10 in all public and private schools. 

12. Investment bank Goldman Sachs has downgraded its forecast for the Indian economy in the wake of the alleged $2-billion PNB fraud. 

a. It lowered its real GDP forecast on India for 2018-19 to 7.6% from 8% earlier. 

13. With a market capitalisation of $768 billion, Jeff Bezos-led Amazon today overtook Alphabet for the first time to become the world's second most valuable company.  

14. To enable Indian enterprises to efficiently manage their business travel expenditure,Happay, a business expense management solution provider, in collaboration with HDFC bank, introduced a new prepaid card-linked Travel and Entertainment (T&E) expense management solution.

15. With Happay-HDFC Bank prepaid cards and Happay mobile app in their pockets, business travellers will be able to easily seek trip advances, get trip itineraries pre-approved by management, do trip bookings and file trip expenses digitally and on the move.

16. US-based company Nimbus Data has unveiled world's largest solid state drive (SSD) ExaDrive DC100 with 100 TB of storage. 

a. Note : This comes a month after Samsung unveiled an SSD offering around 30 TB of storage.

17. The Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) under the Department of Biotechnology celebrated its 6th foundation day with the theme ‘Sustaining Innovation: A market driven pathway’.

18. India and Hong Kong today signed a double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) that seeks to improve transparency in tax matters and help curb tax evasion and avoidance.

19. NITI Aayog and Piramal Foundation have inked Statement of Intent (SoI) to work closely with District Collectors and key officers of ‘Aspirational Districts’ to support their transformation in terms of healthcare, education and nutrition. 

a.    The collaboration is for four years with the option to continue, based on mutual agreement.

20. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship have signed MoU to conduct skill development training programmes for agriculture and allied sector. 

a. These skill development training programmes will be conducted at Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs).

21. Htin Kyaw, who became Myanmar's first democratically elected President in 2016, has resigned from the position with immediate effect.

a.   Note : Kyaw is believed to have been holding the post only for ceremonial purposes, with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi acting as the country's de facto leader.

22. Ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth and former tennis player Somdev Devvarman received the country's fourth-highest civilian award, Padma Shri, from President Ram Nath

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 20th, 2018

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 20th, 2018

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 20th, 2018

1. (20th March) is 'International Day of Happiness'.
a. This day is observed by the United Nations to recognise the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world.
b. Theme of International Day of Happiness 2018 : "Share Happiness - focusing on the importance of relationships, kindness and helping each other".
2. (20th March) is World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People.
3. World Sparrow Day.
a. It is an international initiative by theNature Forever Society of India in collaboration with the Eco-Sys Action Foundation (France) and numerous other national and international organisations across the world.
b. This day is designated to raise awareness of the house sparrow and other common birds to urban environments, and of threats to their populations.
c. Theme of World Sparrow Day 2018 :  "I LOVE Sparrows"
4. The Indo-French joint naval exercise Varuna-18 was recently held in Arabian Sea off Goa coast.
a. This exercise was conducted in 3 sea areas. They are ,
o Arabian Sea
o Bay of Bengal
o South Western Indian Ocean
o This exericse was conducted in 3 phases. They are,
o Anti-submarine Phase
o Air defence Phase
o Asymmetric Engagement Phase
o Aim of Varuna 18 : To explore measures to facilitate operational-level interactions between Indo-French armed forces and increase mutual cooperation, considering the common global threats.
5. Indian Railways has formally handed over a total of 18 1350 HP AC/DC diesel electric locomotives to Myanma Railways.
a. Note : It was the first project completed in current Indian Line of Credit (LoC).
6. The Gulf Shield – 1 military exercise of 23 countries including Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states was recently held in Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia.
a. This exercise was organised by the Defence Ministry of Saudi Arabia.
7. The Punjab government today cleared a proposal mandating Chief Minister and otherstate ministers to pay the income tax on their salaries themselves.
o Note : This new proposal will reduce the burden on state exchequer by around ₹10.72 crore.
8. The Karnataka government has accepted the suggestion of an expert panel and soughtseparate religion status for the Lingayat community.
a. The recommendation will now be forwarded to the Centre, which will take the final call on the matter.
b. The casteless sect was founded by 12th-century social reformer Basavanna, who was opposed to Brahminical practices.
9. President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (FINE) in New Delhi.
a. The 5-day festival is an initiative of Rashtrapati Bhavan to recognise, respect, showcase, reward innovations and foster supportive ecosystem for innovators.
10. In an effort aimed at rebuilding the economy, Greece today established the country's first space agency titled the Hellenic Space Organisation.
a. With the establishment of the agency, Greece aims to make gains in various sectors, including telecommunications, defence, medical applications, agriculture, among others.
11. GE Aviation's GE9X, world's largest jet engine, has completed its first test flight in the US.
a. The GE9X features a front fan with 11.2 feet diameter and 16 fourth-generation carbon fiber composite fan blades.
12. 56-year-old Mangala Mani has become ISRO's first woman scientist to spend 403 days in Antarctica.
13. India’s Department of Space (DoS) and European Union (EU) have signed cooperation agreement related to sharing of earth observation satellite data.
a. The agreement aims to strengthen and stimulate cooperation on earth observation and mutual access to data from EU’s Sentinel series of satellites and from Indian earth observation satellites.
b. The data sharing will provide mutual benefits, in particular in pursuit of United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
14. Sahitya Akademi Award winning Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh (83) passed away.
a. He was best known for his poetry collection titled "Akaal Mein Saaras", for which he received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1989 and the Jnanpith Award in 2013.
15. Sony India has appointed Sunil Nayyar as its 1st Indian Managing Director.
a. He will replace Kenichiro Hibi, who is going to retire in April 2018.
16. To help boost overseas sales in a year of surplus production, the Indian government has scrapped the 20% sugar export tax.
a. Important Note : India is world's second-largest producer of sugar after Brazil.
17. The UK has reached a legal agreement with the European Union (EU) to end the Brexit transition by December 31, 2020.
a. The transitional period will begin from March 29, 2019. The agreement also gives EU citizens arriving in the UK during the transition the same rights and guarantees as those who arrive before Brexit.
18. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today filed a chargesheet against former Canara Bank CMD RK Dubey and two former executive directors of cheating and forgery in the alleged loan default of over Rs 68 crore sanctioned in 2013.
19. London based Andria Zafirakou honored with the World's Best Teacher Award.
a. Zafirakou has been credited with visiting pupils' homes, holding extra lessons and organising sports clubs for girls from conservative communities.
b. She received $1 million (₹6.5 crore) in prize money.