VINTAGE

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 7^th, 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 7^th, 2019

1.     India and Pakistan will hold talks to discuss and finalise the modalities for the Kartarpur corridor at the Indian side of the Attari-Wagah border on 14th March 2018.

a.      India also proposed that a technical level discussion on the alignment of the corridor be held on the same day on the sidelines of this meeting.

2.     Malaysia has become a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), in a boost for the beleaguered institution at a time it faces growing criticism.

a.      The ICC is the world's only permanent war crimes court and aims to prosecute the worst abuses when national courts are unable or unwilling.

b.      Note : With this, Malaysia becomes the 124th member of the court since its establishment in 2002.

3.     Janaushadhi Diwas is being celebrated across the country today. 

a.      Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with owners of Janaushadhi Kendras and beneficiaries of the Janaushadhi scheme, under which the government provides quality medicines at affordable rates.

b.      More than five thousand 50 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana Kendras, PMBJP, are functional in 652 districts.

4.     3 Jharkhand districts Chatra, Sahibganj and Hazaribagh have topped in the ranking of aspirational districts by Niti Aayog for the December 2018-January 2019 period.

a.      Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant released the list of 112 aspirational districts across six developmental areas. 

b.      Sonbhadra (UP), Sahibganj and Chatra (Jharkhand) emerged as the top three ranking districts on the education parameter.

5.     Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Chennai Central railway station will be renamed after AIADMK founder and former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran. 

6.     The Finance Ministry has announced the rollout of a new ₹20 coin shaped like a "Dodecagon (12-edged polygon)".

a.      The new coin will be heavier than all the existing coins at 8.54 grams. 

b.      The obverse side of the coin will bear Lion Capitol of Ashoka Pillar while the reverse will have the denominational value "20" with rupee symbol "₹" above.

7.     The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has fined at least 19 banks including SBI and ICICI Bank over the past few days for not complying with its guidelines on the use of global payments network SWIFT. 

a.      The combined penalties amounted to over ₹40 crore.

b.      SWIFT stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank FinancialTelecommunications.

c.      SWIFT is a messaging network used by financial institutions to securely transmit information and instructions using a system of codes.

8.     Justice AK Sikri, the second-most senior judge of the Supreme Court, retired today. 

a.      A lawyer for 22 years, Justice Sikri became a judge in 1999 at the Delhi High Court. 

b.      Sikri, who also served as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, was involved in a total of 4,570 judgments including the Aadhaar verdict last September.

9.     The Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA), Bhubaneswar has won the 2018 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) award as the leading airport in size and region. 

10.President Ram Nath Kovind will present the Nari Shakti Puraskar 2018 (highest civilian honour for women in India) in New Delhi tomorrow.

a.      The Women and Child Development Ministry confers Nari Shakti Puraskar to women and institutions in recognition of their relentless service towards the cause of women empowerment and social welfare. 

b.      This year, 44 awardees have been selected for this prestigious award.

11.Jerry Merryman (86), one of the three people at Texas Instruments who invented the world's first handheld calculator, passed away.

12.The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has appointed scientist Ajit Kumar Mohanty as its new Director for a period of 3 years.

a.      Mohanty is currently the Director of Physics Group in BARC and holds the Director's position at Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics.

13.India has nominated member of Niti Ayog, Ramesh Chandra to head Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). 

a.      Ramesh Chand’s candidature is challenged by Qu Dongyu of China, Medi Moungui of Cameroon, Catherine Geslain-Laneelle of France and Davit Kirvalidze of Georgia.

b.      To get elected to the post of Director-General of FAO, the candidate needs to secure the majority of the 194 members. 

c.      Important Point to Note : The only Indian to head the FAO is Binay Ranjan Sen (1956 to 1967).

14.Indian field hockey player Manpreet Singh was today named Captain of the 18-member Indian hockey team to play in the upcoming 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.

a.      The prestigious tournament will be held in Ipoh, Malaysia from the 23rd of this month.