vajra prahar: indo-us joint military exercise · topics such as ashtanga yoga, bhakti yoga,...

Headlines Conrad Sangma sworn in as CM of Meghalaya Biplab Deb to be the new Tripura Chief

Minister RBI fines Axis Bank, Indian Overseas Bank Paytm unveils ‘Paytm for Business’ app in

Tamil Nadu Sri Lanka declares state of emergency after

Buddhist-Muslim clash

Headlines Indian Navy concludes gruelling two-month

long war games “ENCORE” India’s first helicopter taxi service launched in

Bengaluru Shigmotsav 2018 organised in GoaMyanmar puts off border pact with India International Yoga festival held in Rishikesh

Headlines Global Firepower ranks India’s military as

fourth strongest, Pakistan on 13th

Young 16 year old Manu Bhaker clinched gold,Ravi Kumar bagged bronze in ISSF World Cup

Veteran Bollywood actress Shammi passesaway at 89

Conrad Sangma sworn in as CM of Meghalaya

On 6th March 2018, Conrad Sangma took

charge as Chief Minister of Meghalaya.

Conrad Sangma – CM of Meghalaya:Conrad Sangma took oath as the 12th chief

minister of Meghalaya in Shillong. He isthe President of National People’s Party(NPP).

The oath was administered by MeghalayaGovernor Ganga Prasad. 11 CabinetMinisters also took oath during theceremony.

In the election, National People’s Party (NPP)won 19 seats. It has support from 6 UnitedDemocratic Party (UDP) MLAs, 4 People’sDemocratic Front (PDF) MLAs, 3 BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) MLAs, 2 Hill State People’sDemocratic Party (HSPDP) MLAs and anindependent MLA.

It has a combined strength of 34 MLAs in theAssembly against Congress party that had won21 seats on its own.

Biplab Deb to be the new Tripura Chief Minister

On 6th March 2018, Biplab Kumar Deb was named the new chief minister of

Tripura.

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Biplab Deb – new Chief Minister of Tripura: Biplab Deb was elected leader of the BJP legislature

party in Tripura. He will take charge as Chief Ministerof Tripura before Governor Tathagata Roy.

He will take charge on 9th March 2018. Jishnu DebBurman will be the deputy Chief Minister of Tripura.

The Tripura Assembly election results wereannounced on 3rd March 2018. BJP won over CPM(Communist Party of India – Marxist). CPM had beenruling Tripura for 25 years.

RBI fines Axis Bank, Indian Overseas Bank

On February 27, 2018, Reserve Bank of India imposed a penalty of Rs. 3 crore on Axis

Bank for non-compliance of Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IRAC)

norms and a penalty of Rs. 2 crore on Indian Overseas Bank for non-compliance with

Know Your Customer (KYC) norms.

Penalty on Axis Bank and Indian Overseas Bank: In case of Axis Bank, a statutory inspection of RBI

with reference to bank’s financial position on March31, 2016, discovered violations of variousregulations in the assessment of non-performingassets.

In the case of IOB, RBI detected a fraud in one ofIOB’s branches, which was traced to non-compliancewith KYC norms.

The penalty was imposed after evaluating banks’reply and oral submissions in context of abovematters.

Quick Facts about Axis Bank and Indian Overseas Bank:

Axis BankIndian Overseas Bank

Founded in 1993 1937

HeadquartersMumbai, Maharashtra

Chennai, Tamil Nadu

Current MD & CEO

Shikha SharmaR. Subramania Kumar

Paytm unveils ‘Paytm forBusiness’ app in Tamil

NaduPaytm haslaunched ‘Paytm forBusiness’ app in TamilNadu to enablemerchants to trackpayments, view pastcollections and makesettlements instantly.

Paytm for Business The ‘Paytm for Business’ app is available in

Android Play Store. This app is available in 10regional languages.

It can be used by merchants and businesspartners who use Paytm as payment mode attheir offline stores in Tamil Nadu.

Using this app, merchants can accept paymentsdigitally and immediately view their transactionswithout waiting for a confirmation SMS or e-mail.

Merchants can check the details of everytransaction and download it daily orweekly. They can also check estimated time ofbank settlement through the app.

About Paytm:♦ Founder – Vijay Shekhar Sharma

Sri Lanka declares state of emergency after Buddhist-Muslim clash

On March 6, 2018, Sri Lankan Government declared a state of emergency for 10 days to

prevent the spread of communal violence between majority Sinhala and minority

Muslims in Kandy district.

State of emergency in Sri Lanka: The violence in Kandy was triggered by the death

of a Sinhalese man at the hands of a mob lastweek.

In the ensuing violence, 10 mosques, 75 shops and32 houses belonging to the minoritycommunity were damaged.

In order to contain the violence by imposing curfewand restoring order, Sri Lankan Government hassent troops and elite police commandoes to Kandy.

This will be the first time since August 2011, thata state of emergency will be in force in Sri Lanka.

During emergency, troops are deployed on thestreet and the armed forces are authorised tosearch and arrest people without a warrant.

Indian Navy concludesgruelling two-month longwar games “ENCORE”On February 28, 2018,Indian Navyconcluded a gruellingtwo-month long WarGames.

War Games of Indian Navy: The War Games were conducted on both, the

Western Seaboard of India as well as the EasternSeaboard, extending from the Northern Arabian seaoff the coast of Gujarat to the Southern Indian oceanoff the Sunda Straits near Indonesia

The War Game on the Western seaboard wascodenamed Exercise Paschim Lehar and onthe Eastern Seaborad the code name was ENCORE(Eastern Naval Command Operational ReadinessExercise).

Conducting War Games on both theseaboards was in line with Indian Navy’sthreat perceptions of a two-front war.

All operational ships, submarines andaircraft of Indian Navy, Air Force andCoast Guard along with men andequipment of the Army participated inthese War Games.

India’s first helicopter taxi service launched in Bengaluru

India’s first helicopter taxi service (heli taxi)

was launched in Bengaluru on March

5, 2018.

Details about India’s first helicopter taxi service: The first trip of the heli taxi was between Electronic

City and Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluruand was completed in 15 minutes.

This service has been launched by Kerala-based ThumbyAviation Private Limited, using a Bell 407 helicopter witha capacity of six passengers.

Currently, the heli taxi will operate between ElectronicCity and Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluruonly. However, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) airportwill also be added in the next few weeks.

Seats can be booked online by downloadingthe Thumby mobile app (Heli Taxi).

The fare for this route is fixed at Rs 3500 perseat plus Goods and Services Tax (GST) at18%.

Shigmotsav 2018 organised in Goa

On 3rd to 17th Match 2018, Shigmotsav 2018 is conducted in various regions of

Goa.

Shigmotsav 2018:Shigmotsav or Shigmo is the biggest Hindu

festival in Goa. During the festival, paradesare conducted that depicts the life of Goanpeople.

The parade features folk performances bylocal men and women. Folk dances likeGhode Modni and Fugdi are performed.

Shigmotsav 2018 focuses on traditional folkdances and performance of mythological scenes.

During the parade, Goan people are seen incolorful dresses with multi coloured flags andthey play large musical instruments like DholTasha and flutes.

Myanmar puts off border pact with IndiaMyanmar has indefinitely postponed

signing an agreement with India to streamline the free movement of

people within 16 km along the border.

In context of this news it is important to notethat India and Myanmar share a 1643 kmunfenced border.

Indian states that share border with Myanmar areArunachal Pradesh (520 km), Nagaland (215 km),Manipur (398 km) and Mizoram (510 km).

In January 2018, Union Cabinet had approved theagreement between India and Myanmar on landborder crossing with a view to enhance economicinteraction between people of the two countries.

Indian Government at Centre had also directed allthe above mentioned states to distribute “borderpass” to the residents living within 16 km from theborder.

However, Myanmar has indefinitely deferred signingthe agreement citing domestic compulsions.

Quick Facts about Myanmar:♦ Capital – Naypyidaw

♦ Currency – Burmese kyat♦ Current President – Htin Kyaw♦ Important River – Irrawaddy

International Yoga festival held in RishikeshUttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra

Singh Rawat inaugurated the week-long 29th edition of

annual International Yoga Festival (IYF) at Parmarth Niketan

ashram in Rishikesh.

Highlights of 29th International Yoga Festival: However, 29th International Yoga Festival was

officially inaugurated by Vice President, VenkaiahNaidu on March 3, 2018.

The International Yoga Festival has beenorganised by Parmarth Niketan Ashram inassociation with Union Ministry of AYUSH,Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board andGarhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Ltd.

In addition to daily yoga classes, 200 sessions ontopics such as Ashtanga yoga, Bhakti yoga,Kundalini yoga and Ganga yoga will be conductedduring the course of this event.

More than 80 saints, yogacharyas, presenters andexperts from nearly 20 countries will take part inthese sessions.

Over 1500 yoga practitioners from 94 countrieshave gathered in Rishikesh for this week-longfestival.

Global Firepower ranks India’s military as fourth strongest, Pakistan on 13th

In terms of military prowess, India has ranked 4th out of 133 countries on the

Global Firepower (GFP) list 2017.

Global Firepower List 2017 – Highlights:i. India at 4th rank, trails behind only US,Russia and China.

Details about Global Firepower List 2017: Ranking in Global Firepower List is based on

Country’s Power Index Score, which is arrived atby assessing the countries on 50 parameters.

Available manpower is the most importantparameter and thus countries with largepopulation tend to rank higher.

Geographical factors, natural resources, logisticalefficiency and local industry also affect the finalranking.

Although nuclear stockpiles are not taken intoconsideration, recognised/suspected nuclearweapons possession fetches a bonus.

More importantly, ranking does not solely rely onnumber of weapons available, rather it focuses onweapons diversification.

The ranking formula does not penalise landlockednations for lack of navy. Besides, it allows smaller,though more technologically-advanced, nationsto compete with larger, lesser-developed ones.

Global Firepower List 2017 –Highlights:

India at 4th rank, trailsbehind only US, Russia andChina.

India and China’s high rankcan be largely attributed toa sizeable number of armedpersonnel, which is themost important rankingparameter.

Global Firepower List 2017: 1 United States 2 Russia 3 China 4 India 5 France 6 United Kingdom 7 Japan 8 Turkey 9 Germany 10 Egypt

Young 16 year old Manu Bhaker clinched gold, Ravi Kumar

bagged bronze in ISSF World Cup

India’s Manu Bhaker has wongold medal in the women’s10m air pistol and Ravi Kumarhas won bronze medal in themen’s 10m air pistol in theISSF World Cup in Guadalajara,Mexico.

Bhaker clinched gold, Ravi Kumar bagged bronze in ISSF World Cup:

Manu Bhaker defeated Mexico’s Alejandra Zavala with10.8 in the last shot of the 24 shot final of the women’s10m air pistol.

She topped with 237.5 and won gold medal in thewomen’s 10m air pistol. She is just 16 years old.

Alejandra Zavala finished at the second position with237.1 and France’s Celine Goberville came third with217.0 in the women’s 10m air pistol.

Ravi Kumar won bronze medal in the men’s 10m air rifleevent. This is his first World Cup medal.

Veteran Bollywood actress Shammi passes

away at 89On 6th March2018, Bollywood actressShammi died aftersuffering a long-termillness.

Death of Shammi:Shammi was 89 years old. She was well

known for the comic roles she had played.She has acted in more than 200 movies. She

has also performed in TV shows. Some ofher popular movies are: ‘Coolie No 1’, ‘Hum’,‘Gopi Kishan’, ‘Hum Saath-Saath Hain’.

QUIZ1. Who sworn as a new CM of Meghalaya?a. Mukul Sangmab. Purno Sangmac. Conrad Sangmad. D. D. Lapang

QUIZ1. Who sworn as a new CM of Meghalaya?a. Mukul Sangmab. Purno Sangmac. Conrad Sangmad. D. D. Lapang

2. Conrad Sangma who took oath asthe 12th chief minister of Meghalaya belongsto which Political party?a. Nationalist Congress Partyb. Trinamool Congressc. Meghalaya Democratic Partyd. National People’s Party

2. Conrad Sangma who took oath asthe 12th chief minister of Meghalaya belongsto which Political party?a. Nationalist Congress Partyb. Trinamool Congressc. Meghalaya Democratic Partyd. National People’s Party

3. Name the new chief minister of Tripura ?a. Manik Sarkarb. Biplab Debc. Dasarath Debd. None of these

3. Name the new chief minister of Tripura ?a. Manik Sarkarb. Biplab Debc. Dasarath Debd. None of these

4. What is the tagline of Indian OverseasBank?

a. Badhti ka naam zindagib. Together we canc. Good People to Grow Withd. Trusted Family Bank

4. What is the tagline of Indian OverseasBank?

a. Badhti ka naam zindagi (Axis Bank)b. Together we can (Canara Bank)c. Good People to Grow Withd. Trusted Family Bank (Dena Bank)

5. Paytm unveils ‘Paytm for Business’ app inwhich state?

a. Tamil Nadub. Karantakac. Delhid. None of these

5. Paytm unveils ‘Paytm for Business’ app inwhich state?

a. Tamil Nadub. Karantakac. Delhid. None of these

6. R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadiumis in which country?

a. Indiab. Sri Lankc. Myanmard. Mauritius

6. R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadiumis in which country?

a. Indiab. Sri Lankc. Myanmard. Mauritius

7. Kempegowda International Airport is inwhich state of India?

a. Bengaluru, Karnatakab. New Delhi, Delhic. Mumbai, Maharashtrad. Hyderabad, Telegana

7. Kempegowda International Airport is inwhich state of India?

a. Bengaluru, Karnatakab. New Delhi, Delhic. Mumbai, Maharashtrad. Hyderabad, Telegana

8. Ghode Modni and Fugdi are the danccestyle of which state of India?

a. Maharastrab. Goac. Karanatakad. Kerala

8. Ghode Modni and Fugdi are the danccestyle of which state of India?

a. Maharastrab. Goac. Karanatakad. Kerala

9. International Yoga festival held in ______?a. Kedarnathb. Rishikeshc. Haridward. Nanital

9. International Yoga festival held in ______?a. Kedarnathb. Rishikeshc. Haridward. Nanital

10. Manu Bhaker is associated with whichgame?

a. Shooting b. Snookerc. Chessd. Hockey

10. Manu Bhaker is associated with whichgame?

a. Shooting b. Snookerc. Chessd. Hockey