IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 28^th, 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH  28^th, 2019

1.      India's Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale held bilateral talks with his Nepalese counterpart Shanker Das Bairagi in Kathmandu today.

a.       They reviewed all aspects of bilateral partnership between India and Nepal and exchanged views on issues of mutual interest.

b.       Both sides also agreed to strengthen the traditionally close, friendly and multi-faceted partnership between the two countries.

2.      Indian Foreign Secretary Gokhale  is on a 2 day visit to Nepal.

a.       During this visit, he called on Prime Minister of Nepal K P Sharma Oli and Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali.

3.      President Ram Nath Kovind today had a bilateral meeting with the President of Republic of Latvia Raimonds Vcjonis at Zagreb before concluding his state visit to Croatia.

a.       During Mr Kovind's visit, India and Croatia signed 4 MOUs for cooperation in the field of tourism, Sports and also Establishment of the Hindi and Sanskrit Chair at University of Zagreb.

b.       The President also participated in the India-Croatia Business Forum and addressed the students at the University of Zagreb. President has since left for Bolivia on the second leg of his three-nation tour.

c.       On the second leg of his tour, President will reach Bolivia on March 29th. 

d.       In Bolivia, the President will hold delegation level talks with his counterpart. 

e.       He will participate in India-Bolivia business forum and interact with students.

4.      Tashigang, a Himachal Pradesh village at an altitude of 15,256 feet, is now the highest polling station in the world. 

a.       Situated about 29 km from the India-China border, the polling station covers two villages, Tashigang and Gete, that have 48 voters, of which 30 are men. 

b.       Note : Earlier, a polling station at 15,000 feet was the highest in India.

5.      The government has decided to infuse ₹5,042 crore into state-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) ahead of its merger with two other public sector lenders, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank. 

a.       The capital infusion will be by way of preferential allotment of equity shares, BoB stated. The merger of the three lenders would be effective from April 1.

6.      Guatemala has dragged India into the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism alleging that India's sugar subsidies to farmers are inconsistent with global trade rules. 

a.       The Central American country also sought consultations with India under the rules governing the settlement of disputes. 

b.       This comes weeks after Brazil and Australia challenged India's sugar subsidies at WTO.

7.      The Supreme Court has warned the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) of contempt proceedings for failing to disclose information regarding annual inspection report of various banks under the RTI Act. 

a.       The apex court gave the RBI a week's time to comply with its directions. 

b.       The court had earlier held that "RBI is supposed to uphold public interest and not the interest of individual banks".

8.      The Government of Nepal is organizing "Nepal Investment Summit 2019" on March 29 -30 in Kathmandu.

a.       The main objective of the event is to project Nepal as a favourable investment destination.

b.       The summit will unveil potential opportunities for investment in various sectors in Nepal including Hydropower, Tourism, Infrastructure, Industry, Transport, Agriculture and Information and Communication Technology.

9.      An agreement has been signed between India and the African Union to establish an India-Africa health sciences collaborative platform.

a.       The MoU will pave the way for cooperation in research and development, capacity building, health services, pharmaceutical trade and manufacturing capabilities for drugs and diagnostics. 

10. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Chairman Satheesh Reddy identified the target destroyed by India's anti-satellite system yesterday as a military satellite launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). 

a.       Weighing 750 kg, Microsat R was launched on January 24 for the test and moved into a different orbit a week later. 

b.       As the US is tracking over 250 debris pieces, Reddy said they would vanish in 45 days.

c.       He also said that the space debris created from its anti-satellite missile test would burn out in less than 45 days on entering Earth's atmosphere.

d.       Note : China conducted a similar test in 2007 at over 800-km altitude, fragments of which could still be in orbit.

11. A recently published new study by Chicago University scientists claims Mars had flowing rivers occurring at "hundreds of locations", many of which were twice as wide as those of Earth. 

a.       Scientists studied over 200 ancient Martian river beds across the red planet, using satellite images and data from NASA's Curiosity rover. The rover had landed on Mars in 2012.

12. Nobel laureate Amartya Sen was awarded the Bodley Medal by the University of Oxford for his outstanding contribution in various fields, including literature, culture, science and communication.

a.       The medal is awarded by the university’s Bodleian Libraries, some of the oldest and largest libraries in western Europe that houses rare manuscripts and collections linked to India. 

b.       The medal was instituted in 1646 by Thomas Bodley, founder of the libraries.

13. Singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh today unveiled his wax figure at the Madame Tussauds museum in New Delhi, making him the 1st turbaned Sikh to have a statue at the museum. 

14. Comoros President Azali Assoumani was re-elected today according to results published by the electoral commission of the Indian Ocean archipelago.

a.       Azali, who first took office in 2016, was way ahead of his closest rival Mahamoudou Ahamada, who garnered only 14.62 percent of the ballots cast. 

b.       About Comoros :

i)       Comoros is a volcanic archipelago (an extensive group of islands) off Africa’s east coast, in the warm Indian Ocean waters of the Mozambique Channel.

ii)     Capital : Moroni

iii)   Currency     : Comorian franc

iv)   Official Languages : Comorian, Arabic, French

v)     President : Azali Assoumani

vi)   Vice Presidents : 

(1)  Abdallah Said Sarouma

(2)  Djaffar Ahmed Said

(3)  Moustadroine Abdou

15. Goa Minister for Tourism and Sports, Manohar Ajgaonkar has been appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state. 

a.       Ajgaonkar had left the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) to join the BJP yesterday. 

16. State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Rajnish Kumar has announced the lender is "most likely" to suggest its former chief Arun Kumar Purwar to head the interim board of Jet Airways. 

a.       Jet Airways Founder Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal recently stepped down from the carrier's board.

b.       Note : Banks led by SBI will take over 50% stake in the carrier.

17. India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki today re-appointed Kenichi Ayukawa as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for a period of 3 years effective April. 

a.       This would be Ayukawa's third term as the company's head. 

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 27^th, 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH  27^th, 2019

1.     (27th March) is World Theatre Day (WTD). 

a.      This day was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute. 

2.     US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation recognising Israel's sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights. 

a.      Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was with Trump at the White House as he signed the presidential proclamation.

b.      Note : Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in 1981 in a move not recognised internationally.

3.     European Parliament today adopted controversial copyright reforms championed by news publishers and the media business. 

a.      Under the reform, European law for the first time would hold platforms legally responsible for enforcing copyright, requiring them to check everything that their users post to prevent infringement.

4.     Pakistan government has approved a proposal to establish a corridor which would allow Hindu pilgrims from India to visit Sharda Peeth in the region of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). 

a.      Sharda Peeth Corridor will be the 2nd corridor to be established after the Kartarpur Corridor which provides access to Gurudwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan.

5.     The Supreme Court today announced that "A disease caused by insect bite in natural course of events wouldn't be considered an accident".​ 

a.      The ruling was given in a matter of insurance cover for a bank employee who died due to malaria from mosquito bite in Mozambique.

6.     Election Commission has appointed Special Expenditure Observers for six States in view of the forthcoming elections. 

a.      These states are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Nagaland and Telangana. 

b.      Special observers will supervise and monitor the work being done by the electoral machinery. 

c.      Gopal Mukherjee - Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

d.      D D Goel - Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland

e.      Shailendra Handa - Maharashtra and Gujarat 

f.        Madhu Mahajan - Karnataka and Tamil Nadu

7.     Punjab and Haryana High Court has barred the mentioning of caste in the FIRs. 

a.      The court directed its judicial officers and the governments of Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, not mention the caste of the accused, victims or witnesses in any of the proceedings before it.

8.     To boost civic engagement on its platform during the Lok Sabha elections 2019 that commence in April, social Media giant, Facebook has launched 2 new India-specific tools viz. “Candidate Connect” and “Share You Voted”. 

a.      Candidate Connect : 

i)      This feature will provide contesting candidates to upload 20-second videos in which they can introduce themselves and highlight how they will address outstanding challenges in their constituencies if elected to office. 

ii)    It will also let them highlight their past achievements.

iii) Voters will be able to watch these videos of candidates contesting from their respective constituencies and also from other constituencies. 

b)    Share You Voted :

i)      This feature will provide people with polling information and enable them to announce and celebrate the fact that they have voted.

ii)    Facebook will send out reminders to people on polling dates in their constituencies under ‘Share You Voted’ tag.

9.     Bank of Baroda has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Agriculture services companies to develop an agriculture digital platform titled Baroda Kisan, which will provide solutions for agricultural requirements.

a.      The platform intends to make a holistic approach towards solving agricultural plights by means of providing reliable and customised information, inputs for use, convenience of renting farm equipment, and market linkage for sale of agriculture produce.

b.      The initiative is being executed by ITCoE (It center of Excellence) of Bank of Baroda, in partnership with IBM India.

c.      Managing Director of Bank of Baroda : P S Jayakumar

10.American multinational technology company Apple has introduced its own credit card titled 'Apple Card' that is built within the iPhone's Apple Wallet app. 

a.      Further, it introduced a physical titanium card without card number, CVV security code, expiration date or signature, for shopping at locations where Apple Pay isn't accepted. 

b.      The virtual card will be available for US users later this year.

11.India and Bangladesh are going to start a cruise service that would take passengers through the Sunderbans to Dhaka.

a.      The move aims to strengthen inland waterway routes between the two countries.

12.India and Croatia signed key agreements in the fields of Sports, Tourism and also Establishment of the Hindi and Sanskrit Chair at University of Zagreb. 

13.The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) today successfully conducted an Anti-Satellite (A-SAT) missile test, Mission Shakti from Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha.

a.      A DRDO - developed Ballistic Missile, Defence Interceptor Missile successfully engaged an Indian orbiting target satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in a Hit to Kill mode.

b.      An official release said, the interceptor missile was a three-stage missile with two solid rocket boosters. Tracking data from range sensors has confirmed that the mission met all its objectives.

c.      The test has demonstrated the nation’s capability to defend its assets in outer space.

d.      With this, India has registered herself as a space power today and till now only US, Russia and China have achieved this. He said, now India is the fourth country to achieve this feat.

14.All 8 members of the Lokpal were administered the oath of office today.

a.      The Chairperson of the anti corruption ombudsman Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose administered the oath of office to them. 

b.      Besides Chairperson, the President Ram Nath Kovind had appointed 4 Judicial members Judicial Members :

i)      Dilip B. Bhosale

ii)    Pradip Kumar Mohanty

iii) Abhilasha Kumari 

iv)  Ajay Kumar Tripathi 

b)    Non-judicial members :

i)      Archana Ramasundaram

ii)    Dinesh Kumar Jain

iii) Mahender Singh 

iv)  Indrajeet Prasad Gautam

15.Election Commission of India has appointed former Director General of Border Security Force K K Sharma as a Special Central Police Observer for Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal and Jharkhand.

a.      The poll body also appointed former IPS officer Mrinal Kanti Das as Special Central Police Observer for Tripura and Mizoram.

16.The 2018 Turing Award, known as the “Nobel Prize of computing,” has been given to a trio of researchers who laid the foundations for the current boom in artificial intelligence.

a.      Yoshua Bengio, Geoffrey Hinton, and Yann LeCun — sometimes called the ‘godfathers of AI’ — have been recognized with the $1 million annual prize for their work developing the AI subfield of deep learning.