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IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 24^th, 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH  24^th, 2019

1.     (24th March) is World Tuberculosis (TB) Day. 

a.      Today is World Tuberculosis Day. The day is observed on 24th March every year to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of TB, and to step up efforts to end the global epidemic. 

b.      The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB. 

c.      Tuberculosis is one of the top ten causes of death worldwide.  

d.      In India, the government has taken many steps in order to tackle the problem of TB by 2025. 

e.      Theme of World Tuberculosis (TB) Day 2019 : ‘It’s time’ 

f.        This year's theme focusses on the urgency to act on the commitments made by global leaders to scale up access to prevention and treatment of the disease, build accountability and ensure sufficient and sustainable financing including for research among others.

g.      This day is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO). The remaining 7 are, 

                                                i.      World Health Day

                                             ii.      World Blood Donor Day

                                           iii.      World Immunization Week

                                           iv.      World Malaria Day

                                              v.      World No Tobacco Day

                                           vi.      World Hepatitis Day 

                                         vii.      World AIDS Day.

2.     The Indian naval crew has rescued more than 192 people in the Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique in Africa.

a.      3 Indian ships, INS Sujata, ICGS Sarathi and INS Shardul are undertaking Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief in coordination with local authorities and the High Commission of India, Maputo.

b.      Medical assistance has been provided to around 1,400 people in medical camps set up by the Indian Navy.

c.      Helicopter Chetak took several sorties to facilitate aerial survey by Disaster management officials of Mozambique, for evacuation of people in coordination with local authorities and for dropping of food and water packets in cyclone-affected areas.

d.      Note : Indian Navy was the first responder in the evolving humanitarian crises in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai that hit Mozambique earlier this month causing widespread destruction and loss of lives.

3.     Italy has signed a non-binding protocol with China to take part in Beijing's new Silk Road of transport and trade links stretching from Asia to Europe. 

a.      Note : Italy became the 1st G7 country to sign up for the project.

b.      Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte both attended a ceremony in Rome yesterday for the signing of 29 Memoranda of Understanding, which Italian media said were worth 5.6 to 8 billion US Dollars.

4.     Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena today handed over a proposal seeking to declare the Theravada Tripitaka, the sacred ure of Buddhists, as a UNESCO World Heritage.

a.      The proposal was officially handed over during a national ceremony held in Kandy to the UN resident coordinator in Sri Lanka, Hanaa Singer.

b.      Note : The Theravada Tripitaka was declared a National heritage of Sri Lanka by President in January this year.

c.      Buddha’s teachings were initially propagated through word of mouth for generations till the Tripitaka was finally written down in Sri Lanka about 100 years BC. 

d.      The teachings are contained in three volumes titled ‘Sutta, Vinaya and Abhidhamma’.

5.     In it’s Global Economic Outlook report, Fitch Ratings has cut India’s economic growth forecast for the next financial year 2019-20 starting from April 1 to 6.8 per cent from its previous estimate of 7 per cent, on the account of weaker than expected momentum in the economy.

6.     The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has postponed the implementation of Indian Accounting Standards by the banks for the second straight year. 

a.      It said necessary legislative amendments are still under consideration by the government. 

7.     Japan has donated $69 million to the United Nations World Food Programme to provide vital aid to 28 countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, with the biggest shares of the money being earmarked for Yemen and Iraq.

a.      World Food Programme is a leading humanitarian organization saving lives and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience.

8.     Honoring the best Hindi Language films of the year 2018, the 64th Filmfare Awards 2019 ceremony was held at Jio Garden, BKC, Mumbai. 

a.      The ceremony was hosted by bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Rajkumar Rao and Vicky Kaushal. 

b.      Alia Bhatt won the Best Actress award for her role in 'Raazi', clinching the Filmfare top actress trophy for the second time. 

c.      Ranbir Kapoor was named the Best Actor for portraying Sanjay Dutt in 'Sanju'. 

d.      Complete Winners List of 64th Filmfare Awards 2019

i)      Best Actor (Popular) : Ranbir Kapoor, Sanju

ii)    Best Actress (Popular) : Alia Bhatt, Raazi

iii) Best Actor (Critics) : Ranveer Singh, Padmaavat and Ayushmann Khurrana, AndhaDhun

iv)  Best Actress (Critics) : Neena Gupta, Badhaai Ho

v)    Best Film (Popular) : Raazi

vi)  Best Film (Critics) : Sriram Raghavan, AndhaDhun

vii)             Best Director : Meghna Gulzar, Raazi

viii)           Best Debut Actor (Female) : Sara Ali Khan, Kedarnath

ix)  Best Debut Actor (Male) : Ishaan Khatter, Beyond The Clouds

x)     Lifetime Achievement Award : Sridevi 

xi)  Best Action : Vikram Dahiya And Sunil Rodriguez, Mukkabaaz

xii)              Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Male) : Gajraj Rao, Badhaai Ho and Vicky Kaushal, Sanju

xiii)           Best Actor In A Supporting Role (Female) : Surekha Sikri, Badhaai Ho

xiv)            Best Dialogue : Akshat Ghildial, Badhaai Ho

xv)Best Original Story : Anubhav Sinha, Mulk

xvi)            Best Actor (Male) in a Short Film : Hussain Dalal, Shameless

xvii)         Best Actor (Female) in a Short Film : Kirti Kulhari, Maya

xviii)       People's Choice Award for Best Short Film :  Plus Minus

xix)            Best Short Film (Fiction) : Rogan Josh

xx) Best Short Film (Non-Fiction) : The Soccer City

xxi)            Best Playback Singer (Male) : Arijit Singh for Ae Watan, Raazi

xxii)          Best Playback Singer (Female) : Shreya Ghoshal for Ghoomar, Padmaavat

xxiii)       Best Sound Design : Kunal Sharma, Tumbbad

xxiv)        Best Music Album : Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Padmaavat

xxv)          Best Lyrics : Gulzar, Ae Watan, Raazi

xxvi)        Best Background Score : Daniel George, AndhaDhun

xxvii)     Best Choreography : Kruti Mahesh Midya, Jyoti Tomaar for Ghoomar, Padmaavat

xxviii)   Best Cinematography : Pankaj Kumar, Tumbbad

xxix)        Best Editing : Pooja Ladha Surti, AndhaDhun

xxx)           Best Costume : Sheetal Sharma, Manto

xxxi)        Best Production Design : Nitin Zihani Chaudhary and Rajesh Yadav, Tumbbad

xxxii)      Best VFX : Red Chillies Fx, Zero

xxxiii)   Best Debut Director : Amar Kaushik, Stree

9.     The Indian Premier League 2019  also known as IPL 12, started yesterday. 

a.      The season will end on 12th May 2019.

b.      Every year, a glittering opening ceremony precedes the first game of the season. 

c.      However, this time around there was no such ceremony.

d.      The money which was due to be spent in the opening ceremony was donated to the martyred jawans in the recent Pulwama attacks.

e.      Defending champions Chennai Super Kings defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by 7 wickets in the opener at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium to register their 7th straight victory against the Bengaluru-based side.