VINTAGE

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 21^st, 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH  21^st, 2019

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 Education"

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 today.

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

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.      2019 Theme : "Mitigating and countering rising nationalist populism and extreme supremacist ideologies"

5.     World Puppetry Day is being observed today.  

6.     Kazakhstan's Parliament has voted to rename the country's capital Astana as 'Nursultan', in honour of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev. 

a.      Kazakhstan's new President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had proposed the move to rename the capital in honour of Nazarbayev, who announced his resignation on Tuesday after 30 years in power. Nazarbayev's daughter, Dariga, was elected speaker of the Senate.

7.     Italy is going to join China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), with the two countries expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during President Xi Jinping's visit to Rome this week. 

a.      4 Italian ports could reportedly be opened to Chinese investments for BRI. 

b.      Note : The US has warned Italy against joining the Chinese initiative.

8.     New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced an immediate ban on the sale of Assault Rifles and Semi-Automatics nearly a week after the terror attack on mosques in Christchurch that killed 50 people. 

a.      Ardern announced a buyback scheme for the banned weapons.

9.     Holi is being celebrated across the country today. 

a.      The festival of colours signifies the victory of good over evil and the arrival of spring.

10.Barely a year after the discovery of the world’s longest sandstone cave Krem Puri in Mawsynram region of Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district, now a cave with the deepest shaft in the country has been discovered.

a.      India's deepest shaft cave Krem Um Ladaw has been discovered in Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills district.

b.      The discovery was made during the 28th edition of the annual ‘Caving in the Abode of the Clouds Expedition’ that took place between February 3 and 28. 

11.The Mizoram Assembly unanimously passed a bill that seeks to detect foreigners illegally residing in the northeastern state, that shares an over 700-km border with Bangladesh and Myanmar.

a.      Introducing The Mizoram Maintenance of Household Registers Bill, 2019, Chief Minister Zoramthanga said the influx of foreigners into the state through its porous borders has remained a serious concern for several decades.

b.      The measures proposed under legislation are intended to provide credible individual identification system and to prevent "usurpation" of benefits of developmental schemes by those who are not entitled, the bill says.

12.For the first time, Uttar Pradesh is taking a census of Otters in its protected areas. 

a.      The exercise that began in the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR), will be completed by the end of this month.

13.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has turned down IDBI Bank's proposal to change its name following the transfer of 51% stake to LIC. 

a.      The lender had sought approval to change its name to either LIC IDBI Bank or LIC Bank. 

b.      Note : Earlier this month, RBI changed the categorisation of IDBI Bank to a private lender from a public sector lender.

14.Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has launched smart garbage bins made of stainless steel. 

a.      These smart garbage bins will be able to send a signal to the garbage collection vehicle about the ‘fill-up’ position of the bin, aiding better cleaning and lower human intervention.

b.      The environment-friendly garbage bins will be made of SAIL SALEM stainless steel. 

c.      These will be installed in underground Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) pits at the Smart Garbage Station. This will help prevent the spread of stink and diseases.

15.The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

a.      Under the MoU, both sides have agreed to assist and co-operate with each other for the effective implementation of the Code.

16.United States today announced that its 1st exascale supercomputer will be functional by 2021 that will be capable of carrying minimum one 'exaFLOPS' or a billion-billion calculations per second. 

a.      'Aurora' supercomputer, combined with artificial intelligence-based abilities, is aimed to be 7 times faster than most powerful system built to date. 

17.Kassym-Jomart Tokayev sworn in as the new President of Kazakhstan.

a.      He has replaced Nursultan Nazarbayev, who resigned after almost 30-year rule yesterday.

18.Organisers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics today unveiled a cherry-blossom shaped torchfor the Games as the city prepares for the famed flower season to begin in coming days.

a.      The top part of the torch is shaped in the traditional emblem of the sakura, or cherry blossom using the same cutting-edge technology as in production of Japan's bullet trains.

b.      The shiny rose-gold torch, which is 71 centimetres (28 inches) long and weighs 1.2 kilograms (2 pounds 10 ounces), uses aluminium construction waste from temporary housing built for victims of the 2011 quake and tsunami.

c.      Fukushima was chosen as the starting point for the Olympic torch relay. 

d.      The passing of the flame is scheduled to start on March 26, 2020, and the torch will head south to the sub-tropical island of Okinawa -- the starting point for the 1964 Tokyo Games relay -- before returning north and arriving in the Japanese capital on July 10.

e.      Japan has dubbed the 2020 Games the "Reconstruction Olympics" and wants to showcase recovery in regions devastated by the disaster.

19.Young Indian shuttlers Lakshya Sen (76th) and Riya Mookerjee (94th)  today broke into the top-100 among Men’s and Women’s singles players in the latest World Badminton Rankings. 

a.      Japan's Kento Momota is leading the men's chart while Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying is topping the women's singles list.

20.Sheik Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi will host the T10 League for the next 5 years, starting with the 2019 season.

a.      Abu Dhabi Cricket, in partnership with Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC) and the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), has signed a five-year agreement with the organisers of the T10 League.