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Current Affairs Pocket PDF

Current Affairs Pocket PDF – March 2018

INDIAN AFFAIRS Cabinet Approvals On February 28, 2018, Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved following initiatives: i.Centres doubles guarantee for procurement of pulses, oilseeds at MSP from Rs 9500 crore to Rs19000 crore. ii. Union Cabinet has approved amendments to Housing and Telephone Facilities Rules,Constituency allowance rules and office expense allowance rules for Members of Parliament(MPs). iii.Cabinet approves bill to tackle human trafficking, improve rehabilitation of victims iv. Cabinet approves continuation of PMEGP beyond 12th Plan for 3 years Delhi government has decided to establish State Sanskrit Education Council to improve formal

education of Sanskrit in Delhi announced by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, Manish Sisodia On 28th February 2018,The Union territory of Lakshadweep joined UDAY (Scheme Ujwal DISCOM

Assurance Yojana) Scheme,by which it will receive an overall net benefit of around Rs. 8 crore through the UDAY Scheme.

On March 1, 2018, Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the proposal for establishment of National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA). The NFRA will have a Chairperson, a Secretary and three full-time Members.

• Independent regulator for the auditing profession. • In wake of the recent accounting scams across various jurisdictions, it has become necessary to have an

independent regulator.To have an independent regulator for the auditing profession was one of the key changes brought in by the Companies Act, 2013.

• Establishing NFRA will not only boost investor confidence in Indian businesses but will also align Indian norms with International practices.. Cabinet approves Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 On March 1, 2018, Union Cabinet approved the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018 to deal with those who escape overseas after committing financial malpractices in India.On 7th March 2018, Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the following initiatives: Cabinet approves the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2018 Cabinet approves two percent Dearness Allowance to Central Government employees that is increase

of 2% over the existing rate of 5% of the Basic Pay/Pension, to compensate for price rise Cabinet approves Recommendations of Inter-Ministerial Group on Stressed Assets in Telecom

Sector Cabinet approves continuation of Swatantra Sainik Samman Yojana (SSSY) during 2017-2020 with

an estimated cost of Rs. 2552.93 crore. Cabinet approves a Memorandum of Cooperation between India and France in the field of

environment Cabinet approves agri mechanisation promotion for crop residue management with a central fund of

Rs. 1151.80 crore On 7th March 2018, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the following initiatives. Cabinet approves an MoU between India and Hellenic on Renewable Energy Cooperation: Cabinet approves MoU between UPSC and Public Service Commission of Mauritius: On 7th March 2018, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved

the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2018 for introduction in the Parliament.The Bill brings down the specified value

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of a commercial dispute to 3 Lakhs from the current 1 Crore & will reduce time taken (presently 1445 days) to resolve commercial disputes of lesser value and will improve India's ranking in the Ease of Doing Business.

On March 21, 2018, Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved following initiatives: Cabinet Approves Scheduled Tribes Status to 2 Communities 'Parivara' and 'Talawara' In Karnataka Cabinet approves Opening of Missions in Africa to implement IAFS-III Cabinet approves North-East Industrial Development Scheme (NEIDS) 2017 to promote

employment in the North Eastern States of India, by providing incentives, primarily to the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Sector.

Cabinet approves Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission Which will provide a benefit cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year.

Cabinet approves extension of term of Commission constituted to examine the issue of Sub-categorization of OBC

Cabinet Approves Moving Official Amendments to Ban Commercial Surrogacy in India CCEA allows ITI Limited's FPO Cabinet approves continuation of higher education mission Cabinet approves central sector sericulture scheme

On March 21, 2018, Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved following bilateral agreements. Cabinet approves revised DTAA pact with Qatar for the avoidance of double taxation and for the

prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. Cabinet apprised of MoU between India and Guyana on cooperation in Renewable Energy to

encourage and promote technical bilateral cooperation on new and renewable energy. Cabinet approves closure of India Development Foundation of Overseas Indians Cabinet approves formation of TCIL's subsidiary in US

On March 28, 2018, Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved following initiatives: Cabinet approves NSDF, NSDC restructuring Cabinet gives nod to amendments in NMC Bill to replace the much criticised Medical Council of

India. Cabinet approves continuation of Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Education Loans Cabinet approves Export of all edible oils in bulk (except mustard oil) which will provide additional

marketing avenues for edible oils and oilseeds and will benefit the farmers as oilseeds will fetch better price owing to export demand.

Cabinet approves enhancing the coverage of Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana Cabinet approves strengthening of Krishi Vigyan Kendras Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the proposal of the Department of

Fertilizers to fix Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) Fertilizers for 2018-19.Click here to read more

STATE WISE NATIONAL NEWS Andhra Pradesh

• On March 22, 2018, Andhra Pradesh (AP) State Government launched, NAIPUNYA RATHAM or World on Wheels, a multi-utility vehicle aimed at taking technology to the remote corners of the state.This is a part of AP State Government’s ‘Smart village Smart Ward Programme’

• On March 28, 2018, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant launched the baseline ranking for the Aspirational Districts based on published data of 49 indicators.Mr. Kant also announced that the ‘Champions of Change’ Dashboard (created by NITI Aayog in partnership with the Government of Andhra Pradesh) for real-time data collection and monitoring will be open for public viewing


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from April 1, 2018. Arunachal Pradesh

• On 2nd to 4th March 2018, silver jubilee of the Losar, three days Festival was celebrated by Buddhist Community of Itanagar at the Nyokum Lapang Ground, in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh.This festival is celebrated as 'New Year' by the Buddhist community as per their calendar. Arunachal Pradesh Education Minister Honchun Ngandam was the chief guest at the event.

• On 13th March 2018, C-17 Globemaster, the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) largest transport aircraft, made a historic landing at Tuting Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in Arunachal Pradesh. The landing ground is just 30 km away from China.

Assam • On March 26, 2018, Assam State Government launched a special programme named ‘Mission

Sambavh’ to build one lakh toilets across the state under the Swachh Bharat Mission.Assam State government has set a target to make the state Open Defecation Free (ODF) during 2018.

• On March 12, 2018, Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma presented state's first e-Budget at the legislative Assembly.Assam State Budget 2018-19 has also been made available on Google app.

• Assam State Government has proposed an insurance scheme for journalists and their families in State budget for the year 2018-19.This is announced by Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that for the year 2018-19, budgetary allocation of Rs 63 crore for the Information and Public Relations Department that would implement schemes for journalists in Assam.

Goa • On March 20, 2018, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water

Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the Inland ferry services in Vasco, Goa.Several dignitaries including Union Minister of State for AYUSH (Independent Charge) Shripad Naik were present at the inauguration.

• On March 22, 2018, India has handed over a second advanced offshore patrol vessel (AOPV) to the Sri Lankan Navy.Construction work of this AOPV commenced in 2014 at the Goa Shipyard.It was officially handed over to Sri Lanka Navy Rear Admiral Neil Rosayro.

• On 3rd to 17th Match 2018, Shigmotsav 2018 is conducted in various regions of Goa. Shigmotsav or Shigmo is the biggest Hindu festival in Goa. During the festival, parades are conducted that depicts the life of Goan people.

Gujarat • On 21st March 2018, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) launched Free Wi-Fi Facility at

Udwada Village, in Valsad District, Gujarat.It is launched under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana Rs.16.48 Lakh has been allotted for implementing Wi-Fi by BSNL in Udwada Village.

• On March 25, 2018, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani stated that a seawater desalination plant, with capacity of 100 million litre water per day will be set up near Jodiya town in Jamnagar district because it faces severe water shortage especially during summer season.

• Surat district in Gujarat has become the first district in India to have 100 percent solar powered Primary Health Centers (PHC).All 52 PHCs in Surat are now powered by solar system. 150 out of 572 gram panchayats in Surat are now powered by solar system.

• On 25th March 2018, the Madhavpur Mela started at Madhavpur Ghed village in Porbandar district of Gujarat.This festival will feature art, dance, music, poetry, story-telling and folk drama from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and other North-Eastern States.

• On March 11, 2018, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State for External • The National Academy of Coastal Policing (NACP), India’s first coastal policing academy, has been

set up in Okha, in Devbhoomi Dwarka district of Gujarat. The Bureau of Police Research and




Development (BPRD) will pilot the setting up of NACP. The Border Security Force (BSF) will ensure security of the campus.

Haryana

• Monkey Business, a first co-working in South Asia that also provides onsite childcare was launched in South Point Mall, Gurugram, Haryana.It is Spread over 3000 sq ft, Monkey Business has thoughtfully designed play zone and includes a nap area, a feeding and diaper changing room.

• On March 6, 2018, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Mahesh Sharma, informed Rajya Sabha that headquarters of the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has been shifted from Chennai to Haryana's Ballabhgarh to ensure better coordination between the environment ministry and the board.

• On 7th March 2018, CEO of Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority, V Umashankar along with Sandeep Khirwar, Commissioner of Police, Gurugram, inaugurated Haryana’s first cyber police station,to facilitate registration of cyber offence related cases.

Himachal Pradesh • On 22nd March 2018, the 46th All India Police Science Congress began in Shimla, Himachal

Pradesh.It was organised by the Himachal Pradesh Police Department and The Bureau of Police Research and Development. It was held for 2 days.

• On March 5, 2018, Himachal Pradesh State Government approved the setting up of a regional-cum-facilitation centre of the National Medicinal Plants Board of the Ministry of Ayush. This centre will be set up in Jogindernagar town in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh.

Jammu & Kashmir

• On 25th March 2018, Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden, Asia's largest Tulip garden, in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, was opened for visitors.

Jharkhand

• Banlotwa has become the first 'alcohol-free' village in Ranchi district.Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das lauded the residents of the village for achieving this feat and has given Rs 1 lakh cash to the village head of Banlotwa.

• Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers, Ananthkumar has announced that Central Government has approved the setting up of a Plastic Park in Deoghar District of Jharkhand. The Plastic Park would be set up at a cost of Rs. 120 crores over an area of 150 acres. Besides, Mr. Ananthkumar also announced the setting up of Rs. 3.5 crore Plastic Recycling unit at Deoghar to handle the problem of plastic waste being generated due to tourist inflow.

Karnataka • On March 2, 2018, Karnataka Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah unveiled ‘Arogya Karnataka' (Healthy

Karnataka), a healthcare scheme to provide quality primary, secondary and tertiary treatment to Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL) families in Karnataka.

• On 8th March 2018, Karnataka government unveiled the State flag (nada dhwaja) for Karnataka. The flag is tricolor comprising yellow, white and red with State emblem at the centre. The state emblem is blue in colour named Gandaberunda. Gandaberunda is a mythical two-headed bird.

• On March 19, 2018, Karnataka State Government under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah (belonging to Congress Party) approved the separate religion status for the Lingayat community. The community constitutes about 17 percent of Karnataka's population mainly residing in northern parts of the state.

Kerala • On 21st March 2018, the jackfruit was declared as official fruit of Kerala.officially announced

by Kerala Agriculture minister V S Sunil Kumar The state animal is ‘Elephant’. The state bird is 'great hornbill'. The state flower is 'kanikkonna'.




Madhya Pradesh • On 8th March 2018 (International Women's Day), Akash Tripathi, MD of Madhya Pradesh West

Power Distribution Company (MPWPDC) said that MPWPDC launched a "Pink Electricity Zone' that will be managed by women staff comprises 25 women staff.

• On 8th March 2018, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the 'Mukhyamantri Mahila Kosh' scheme that will offer pension to unmarried women above 50 years of age.

• On 16th March 2018, Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the 5th 'Nadi Mahotsava' at Bandrabhan in Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh.It was started by late Union Minister Anil Madhav Dave. He urged people to cooperate in preserving of water.

Maharashtra • The Maharashtra government has partnered with Wikipedia, to spread the Marathi language and

enhance its online usage.Maharashtra government made this announcement on Marathi language day (27th February 2018).

• On 1st March 2018, M/s Satara Mega Food Park Pvt. Ltd., the first Mega Food Park in Maharashtra, was inaugurated by Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Minister of Food Processing Industries at Degaon village, Satara district of Maharashtra.This is the 12th Mega Food Park put to function in India. Central Government offers funds up to Rs. 50 Crore for each Mega Food Park project.

• On March 9, 2018, Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar presented the fourth budget of the incumbent BJP-led government under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis state budget for 2018-19 in legislative assembly while Minister of State for Finance, Deepak Kesarkar presented the budget in legislative council.Budget 2018-19 focused on farmers and youth.For fiscal 2018-19, revenue deficit is estimated at Rs. 15375 crore.

• On March 16, 2018, Maharashtra Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam announced that state government has decided to ban the use of plastic from March 18, 2018.Violation of these norms will be punishable with up to three months of jail term and/or will attract a penalty of Rs 5000-25000.

Manipur

• On March 18, 2018, Governor of West Bengal, Keshari Nath Tripathi inaugurated the 7th Women Science Congress at the ongoing 105th session of Indian Science Congress in Imphal, Manipur. Objective is to inspire young women to be a part of scientific community and engage themselves in active scientific research & also released a souvenir of Women Science Congress on the occasion.

• The Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Laboratory (IBSD), Imphal, & Loktak Development Authority (LDA) has established a floating laboratory in Loktak Lake, Manipur, inaugurated by Manipur's Forest and Environment Minister, Thounaojam Shyamkumar Singh.to continuously monitor its water quality and improve it with a budget of Rs 5. Lakh. Further equipments for Rs 20 lakh will be procured to improve its efficiency.

• On 16th March 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 105th session of the Indian Science Congress in Imphal, Manipur.Imphal has become the second city in the North-East India to host the Indian Science Congress. He inaugurated Luwangpokpa Multi-Sports Complex, Rani Gaidinliu Park, and few other projects after inaugurating the congress.

Meghalaya • The world’s longest sandstone cave named ‘Krem Puri’ has been discovered in Meghalaya.It was

measured by the Meghalaya Adventurers’ Association (MAA). It is 24,583 metres long. This cave is longer than the world record-holder Cueva Del Saman, a sandstone cave in Edo Zulia,


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Venezuela.The longest India cave is the Krem Liat Prah-Umim-Labit system in the Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya.

Mizoram • Dr Jitendra Singh said that, a food processing centre in collaboration with Israel will be launched in

Aizwal, Mizoram on 7th March 2018. This centre has been established through tripartite collaboration of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, Government of Israel and State Government of Mizoram.

Odisha

• Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched 'Ama Gaon, Ama Vikas' (our village, our development) programme with an objective to reach out to the people in rural areas of Odisha and involve them in developmental activities.

• On 5th to 10th March 2018, Odisha MSME International Trade Fair 2018 is held in Bhubaneswar, Odisha to focus mainly on food processing sector. The trade fair was inaugurated by Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

• On March 18, 2018, President Ram Nath Kovind released Rs 1000 and Rs 10 commemorative coins on Nabakalebara festival which observed in the Shree Jagannath Temple at Puri, Odisha.It is a symbolic recreation of the wooden forms of deities at Jagannath Temple, Puri. ‘Naba’ means new and ‘Kalebara’ is body.

• On 26th February 2018,Odisha government launched 'Khushi', a scheme that offers free sanitary pads to 17 lakh girl students from class 6 to 12 studying in all government and government –aided schools & will also provide sanitary pads at a subsidised price to rural women through ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist)workers in Odisha.

Punjab

• On 19th March 2018, Punjab government decided to impose a permanent ban on hookah bars in Punjab.Punjab cabinet approved an amendment to the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA), 2003 for the prevention and control of diseases caused by the use of tobacco products.

Rajasthan

• On 29th March 2018, Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated Rajasthan’s first mega food parkM/s Greentech Mega Food Park Private Ltd, at Roopangarh Village in Ajmer, Rajasthan.It has been established at a cost of Rs 113.57 crore.

• On 8th March 2018, on the occasion of International Women’s Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, launched the National Nutrition Mission at an event held at Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan.The Mission (NNM) has been formulated with a 3 year budget of Rs.9046.17 crore starting from 2017-18.

• On 9th March 2018,Rajasthan has become the second state in India after Madhya Pradesh to approve death sentence for those convicted of raping girls aged 12 years and below.Gulab Chand Kataria, Rajasthan home minister, introduced the Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Bill, 2018 in the assembly.Sections 376-AA and 376-DD have been added in the Indian Penal Code, 1860, in regard with rape and gang-rape of young girls.

Tamil Nadu • Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has granted environmental clearance for setting

up India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project at Bodi West hills in Theni district of Tamil Nadu.This Project is jointly supported by Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Department of Science and Technology (DST)

• On March 26, 2018, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswamy, unveiled an insect museum at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore, which is the first of its kind in IndiaThe lobby of this insect museum depicts the theme, "BUGS ARE KINGS".




• On 1st March 2018,Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami launched the toll free number 14417 through the 24-hour Education Guidance.The 24-hour Education Guidance Centre will provide information and guidance regarding school education. It was said that the help line was set up at a cost of Rs two crore.

Telangana

• On 20th March 2018, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao mandated teaching Telugu as a compulsory subject in all the public and private schools of the Telangana for the academic year 2018-2019.He said that, the Telugu University and the Sahitya Academy will decide the Telugu syllabus for various standards.

• On March 22, 2018, External Publicity and Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) launched an initiative, 'Videsh Aaya Pradesh ke Dwaar' in Hyderabad, Telangana with an aim to bring the domain of foreign policy closer to the people.

• On March 8 2018, Government of Telangana launched Women Entrepreneurship Hub (WE- Hub) India’s first state-led incubator exclusively for women entrepreneurs in Hyderabad.

• It was launched by Tessy Thomas, Director, ASL, DRDL and Vani Kola, Managing Director of Kalaari Capital, in the presence of IT & Industries Minister KT Rama Rao.Deepthi Ravula has been appointed as the CEO of WE Hub.

Uttar Pradesh • On March 12, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a number of schemes for the poor in

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. i. Firstly, PM Modi inaugurated a 101-megawatt solar power plant in Mirzapur ii. PM Modi announced Ayushman Bharat scheme to ensure better healthcare facilities for the poor. iii. Pradhan Mantri Poshan Mission Yojana to ensure nutrition to children, especially girls. iv.PM Modi also laid the foundation stone of various development projects worth over Rs. 800 crore and flagged off a new train - Kanshi-Patna Jan Shatabdi Express - between Varanasi and Patna.

• On the occasion of International Women’s Day,The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, in association with the Government of Uttar Pradesh, organized aWomen’s Convention called Swachh Shakti 2018 at Lucknow. Swachh Shakti 2018 has been hosted by Uttarpradesh Government.

Uttarakhand • On March 1, 2018, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurated the week-long

29th edition of annual International Yoga Festival (IYF) at Parmarth Niketan ashram in Rishikesh. However, 29th International Yoga Festival was officially inaugurated by Vice President, Venkaiah Naidu on March 3, 2018.

West Bengal

• According to data provided by the Minister of State for Rural Development, Ram Kripal Yadav in Rajya Sabha,West Bengal is the best performing State followed by Tamil Nadu in terms of allotting jobs and utilising funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).West Bengal Spent Rs.7335.31 Crore whereas Tamilnadu Spent Rs.5981.75 Crore

Other Important National Affairs

• On March 1, 2018,Central Government approved projects worth Rs 2919.55 crore under the ‘Nirbhaya Fund’ for eight major cities of India( Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad Ahmedabad and Lucknow).Mumbai is strengthening the "Police Didi" programme.

• Union Ministry of Textiles & the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) - New Delhi, will conduct a National Sizing Survey of India to develop an ‘India size chart’ for the garment industry. Approximate cost for the project would be Rs. 30 crore, out of which Rs. 21 crore would be provided by Union Ministry of Textiles while NIFT will chip in Rs. 9 crore.




• During February 2018, Legislative Assembly Elections were held in three North Eastern States - Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland. Counting for all these Legislative Assembly Elections was held on March 3, 2018.

• On March 5, 2018, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, Smiriti Irani inaugurated 2018 edition of FICCI Frames in Mumbai. 2018 edition of FICCI Frames, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FICCI’s) annual convention on the film and entertainment market is a three-day global convention covering the entire gamut of Media and Entertainment Industry viz. films, broadcasts (TV & Radio), Print Media etc.

• India's first helicopter taxi service (heli taxi) was launched in Bengaluru on March 5, 2018. This service has been launched by Kerala-based Thumby Aviation Private Limited, using a Bell 407 helicopter with a capacity of six passengers.

• Myanmar 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 note that India and Myanmar share a 1643 km unfenced border.

• On March 6, 2018, Delhi government approved a proposal for delivering rations in sealed packets at the doorstep to Public Distribution System (PDS) beneficiaries.The proposal was put forth by Department of Food, Supply and Consumer Affairs for providing doorstep delivery of wheat/flour, rice and sugar for eligible PDS beneficiaries.

• Fourth India-Europe 29 Business Forum (IE29BF) was held in New Delhi on 5th and 6th March 2018. IE29BF was created in 2014 by Union Ministry of External Affairs and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). Theme of IE29BF 2018 was ‘Synergising Economic Vision for Expanded Relations’ while Czech Republic was the ‘Focus Country’.

• On March 6, 2018, Forty Indian-origin students from nine countries met Railways Minister Piyush Goyal as part of Know India Programme (KIP).KIP is Indian Government ‘s initiative to engage with the Indian diaspora in the age group of 18 to 30 years.

• On 6th to 8th March 2018, ‘Vision for Future’ event is conducted to celebrate the 70 years of successful Indo-Russia ties, in New Delhi.The Vision for Future event is organised by Ministry of External Affairs of India (Eurasian Division). It is co-organised by International Federation of Indo-Russian Youth Clubs and BRICS International Forum.

• On 8th March 2018, Ananthkumar, Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, announced the launch of ‘Suvidha’ napkin, the 100% Oxo-biodegradable Sanitary Pad under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) initiated by the Department of Pharmaceuticals.

• On 7th March 2018, R K Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) Power and New & Renewable Energy, launched the National E-Mobility Programme to improve the e-mobility ecosystem that comprises vehicle manufacturers, charging infrastructure companies, fleet operators, service providers, etc. with the motto - “Healthier world, healthier country”.It is implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL).

• On 8th March 2018, P K Sinha, Cabinet Secretary, launched “I-Metros”, an association of all Indian Metro Rail companies, at the Conference on “Indian Metros: Collaborating for Excellence” conducted at Metro Bhawan, in New Delhi. It will be registered under Society Registration Act-1860 & act as a platform for sharing of ideas, knowledge, experience, best practices, innovations, etc..

• On 9th March 2018, Supreme Court passed an order permitting passive euthanasia in India.It is a condition where medical treatment is deliberately withdrawn to hasten the death of a terminally-ill person.The Constitution bench consisted of 5 judges. It was led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.Other judges present on the bench are: justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan.

• Diu has become the first and only Union Territory of India to achieve full solar energy efficiency.13 MW of electricity is generated from the solar power-generating systems in Diu. Out of which, 3MW is produced from rooftop solar plants and 10MW from other solar power plants.




• On 8th March 2018,On the International Women’s Day, Banaswadi railway station was declared South Western Railway (SWR) zone’s first all-woman railway station by Piyush Goyal, Union railway minister, through video link.It is 5th in India to attain the all-woman railway station status.

• On March 8,2018, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airport Authority of India and FICCI jointly organized the four-day biennial event ‘WINGS INDIA 2018 ‘ in Hyderabad. Theme of the four-day biennial event this year is ‘India-Global Aviation Hub’.

• India's biggest Media & Entertainment Services Market – enTTech 2018 was inaugurated in Mumbai on March 7, 2018.It was organized by Service Export Promotion Council (SEPC) in association with MEAI (Media & Entertainment Association of India) and TVAGA (Telangana VFX, Animation and Gaming Association). The event was supported by the Department of Commerce under Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

• India’s tallest tricolour flag hoisted in Belagavi in presence of in-charge Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi is 110m high from the base plate to the top while its size is 120X80 ft & weights 500kg.Previous tallest Flags hoisted are 1.107 metre in Pune 2.105 metre in Attari-Wagah border

• French President Emmanuel Macron was on a four-day official visit to India from 9th to 12th March, 2018 which is focused on strengthening bilateral ties between India and France.The bilateral trade between India and France for the period from April 2016 to March 2017 stood at $10.95 billion. France is the 9th largest foreign investor in India with a cumulative investment of $6.09 billion as on October 2017.PM Modi and French President hold delegation-level talks; 14 agreements inked in different areas Click here to read more

• Government of India has decided to institute 'Union Home Minister's Medal for Excellence in Police Investigation' award for best investigation of crime in order to encourage high professional standards in police forces.Eligibility: Officers ranging from Sub-Inspector to Superintendent of Police are eligible for this award.162 medals will be presented annually.

• As per fifth edition of the Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems (ASICS) by Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, Pune is the top city to show improvement in quality of governance in 2017.The survey was administered in 23 major cities across 20 Indian states and contained 89 questions. Top 5 cities in terms of Quality of Governance:

1 Pune 2 Kolkata 3 Thiruvananthapuram 4 Bhubaneswar 5 Surat

• Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Adarsh K Goel and Uday U Lalit barred foreign law firms and foreign lawyers practising in India for both litigatious (likely to engage in lawsuits) as well as non-litigatious activities.This judgement takes into consideration Bar Council of India Rules (BCI) that the Indian laws are of specialised nature and only those who have a exhaustive and holistic idea of its functioning, are permitted to practice law by it.

• On March 13, 2018, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and World Health Organization (WHO) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for enhanced cooperation in health sector.The agreement was signed by Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary (International Health) and Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director General of WHO in New Delhi.

• On March 13, 2018, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) announced that it will set up a multi-skill centre in partnership with the Gorkha Territorial Administration in Darjeeling.Announced by CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee at the inaugural session of the two-day Darjeeling Business Summit.

• On March 15, 2018, Lok Sabha passed the Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill, 2018.The amendment proposes a remedy which aims at the exact fulfilment of an obligation or specific performance of the contract rather than grant of a general relief or damages or compensation.




• On March 15, 2018, Lok Sabha passed Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017 was

introduced by Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar in the Lok Sabha during the winter session. which seeks to authorise Central Government to fix tax-free gratuity amount from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and period of maternity leave which would be enhanced to 26 weeks with an executive order.

• On March 14, 2018, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the first edition of Delhi Energy Dialogue (DED) 2018 in New Delhi.The dialogue was organised by Ashden India Collective (AIC) in alliance with the Climate Parliament and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). India currently offers 1 lakh crore of bio-fuel and bio-energy business to the world.

• Three-day annual Krishi Unnati Mela, focusing on ‘doubling farmers’ income’ began in New Delhi on March 16, 2018.The objective of Krishi Unnati Mela is to create awareness among farmers about latest agriculture related developments.

• Ministry of Health launches LaQshya program to benefit pregnant woman and newborn The quality improvement in labour room and maternity OT will be monitored through NQAS. Facility that obtains 70% score on NQAS will be given LaQshya certification.Facilities that obtain more than 90%, 80% and 70% score will be awarded Platinum, Gold and Silver badge respectively.The beneficiaries will receive Rs 6 lakh, Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh as incentive for Medical College Hospital, District Hospital and FRUs respectively

• On March 17, 2018, NITI Aayog released comprehensive roadmaps and detailed timelines for ‘Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital in Education (SATH-E)’ project, with an aim to become ‘Role Model States’ in school education. Blueprints were released by Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog and the Chief Secretaries of the three participating States - Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.

• National School of Drama (NSD) will be hosting the 8th edition of Theatre Olympics in Mumbai this is the first time India is hosting the festival from 24th March, 2018 to 7th April, 2018. Concept of Theatre Olympics was established in 1993 in Greece, and thereafter it was held in Japan (1999), followed by Russia (2001), Turkey (2006), South Korea (2010),China (2014) and Poland (2016). Theme for the 8th edition of Theatre Olympics is 'Flag of Friendship'

• On March 17, 2018, Indian Coast Guard commissioned C-437,which is 27.80 metres long, has displacement of 106 tonnes and can attain a maximum speed of 45 knots an interceptor boat at Porbandar. C-437 will not only strengthen the security umbrella of the West coast but will also help augment patrolling to prevent illicit activities such as smuggling, infiltration and illegal fishing.

• On March 14, 2018, Lok Sabha passed 21 amendments to the Finance Bill 2018 including an amendment to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.As per Representation of Peoples Act, political parties in India cannot accept foreign funds . The retrospective amendment to FCRA 2010 through Finance Bill 2018 will do away with the scope for scrutiny of a political party’s funding since 1976

• On March 15, 2018, R.K. Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Power and New & Renewable Energy informed the process of formulating a ‘Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (KUSUM)’ scheme which envisages, installation of grid-connected solar power plants each of capacity up to 2 MW in the rural areas & It will also provide for solarization of existing grid-connected agriculture pumps & farmers will be able to sell the power to power distribution companies (DISCOMs) and get extra income.

• On March 19, 2018, Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, Dr. Rajiv Kumar inaugurated the First India-Japan Workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction in New Delhi.This workshop has been jointly organised by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Union Ministry of Home Affairs and Government of Japan.





• On 20th March 2018, the 3rd National Conclave on Mines & Minerals will be held at Convention Hall in Hotel Ashoka, New Delhi.It is organized by the Ministry of Mines. Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) partners the event. Technical sessions will be conducted on Auction of Mineral Blocks & Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojna (PMKKKY), Impetus on Exploration, Sustainable Development Framework – Sharing of Best Practices.

• On 19th March 2018, President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated a Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (FINE) at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.Ram Nath Kovind also presented the Gandhian Young Technological Innovation Awards.FINE aims to recognise, display and reward innovations and to create a supportive ecosystem for innovators.

• On 20th March 2018, the 3rd edition of National Conclave on Mines and Minerals was held in New Delhi. Mines Minister Narendra Singh Tomar presented awards to 20 best performing mines with '5-Star' rating.

• India’s National Cultural Audiovisual Archives (NCAA) which is implemented by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) & powered by DIGITĀLAYA which is developed by C-DAC Pune. has been certified as the world’s first Trusted Digital Repository as per ISO 16363:2012 standard, granted by Primary Trustworthy Digital Repository Authorisation Body Ltd. (PTAB), United Kingdom.At present, 11 governmental and 10 non-governmental cultural organisations are the partnering institutions of NCAA.

• Indian Railways has launched an innovative analytical approach to enhance the deployment of electric and diesel locomotives run passenger trains.A software dependent mathematical decision support system will be utilised to improve the productivity of locomotives.This system has been developed by Ministry of Railways along with experts. In Budget 2018-19 this project will be implemented by Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS).

• On March 20, 2018, India Post paid a tribute to theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author Stephen Hawking by issuing a special cover on him.The special cover on Stephen Hawking was jointly issued by Chief Post Master General (CPMG) of Maharashtra and Goa Circle, H C Agrawal and Director of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) Dr Sandip Trivedi at an event held in the General Post Office (GPO), Mumbai

• On March 20, 2018, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) cabinet gave its in-principle approval for adopting the Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) which will be in addition to Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana for horticulture crops such as apple and saffron in the state.Farmers will be provided insurance coverage and financial support in the event of failure of any of the notified crops due to adverse weather incidences.

• NITI Aayog and Piramal Foundation have signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to work closely with the District Collectors and Key Government officials of 'Aspirational Districts' to support their transformation in terms of education, healthcare and nutrition.Piramal Foundation will work in close conjunction with the State Government, district administration, and concerned Central ministries in improving the identified indicators in the health and nutrition and education sectors.

• Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has stated that it has constituted a task force to review the Income Tax Act, 1961 and to draft a new Direct Tax Law which takes into consideration the prevailing economic scenario and economic needs of contemporary India.Suggestions and feedback from stakeholders and general public is provided on www.incometaxindia.gov.in.

• On 20th March 2018, Union Minister of Mines Narendra Singh Tomar launched a "sand mining framework" in order to help states to take action against illegal mining.The suggestions in this framework will offer a roadmap to the states that will help them to develop their policies and will act as a check on illegal mining of sand

• On 21st March 2018, International Yoga Fest was inaugurated by Union minister Jitendra Singh at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi, as a curtain raiser for the International Yoga Day (IYD) to be held on 21st June 2018.Four cities namely Jaipur, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Mysore have been shortlisted for conducting the main function of International Yoga Day 2018.




• On 20th March 2018, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) celebrated its 6th Foundation Day in New Delhi.The event was inaugurated by Dr. Harsh Vardhan. Theme: The theme for 6th Foundation Day of BIRAC was ‘Sustaining Innovation – A Market Driven Pathway’.

• On March 22, 2018, Parliament passed Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017 which authorises Central Government to fix tax-free gratuity amount and period of maternity leave with an executive order. After implementation of 7th Central Pay Commission recommendations, ceiling of tax-free gratuity amount for central government employees was increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.

• INS Ganga, an indigenously built frigate of the Indian Navy, was decommissioned in Mumbai on March 22, 2018.Commissioned on December 30, 1985, INS Ganga is a Godavari-class guided-missile frigate of the Indian Navy.Vice Admiral A K Bhal,was the Chief Guest for the ceremony, while Vice Admiral (Retd.) K K Kohli,was the special Guest of Honour.

• On March 22, 2018, Air India flight (AI 139) became the first flight to land at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport (Israel) after passing through Saudi Arabia air space.Saudi Arabia’s decision to permit Air India to use its airspace enabled it to take a shorter route, saving 2.10 hours of travel time.

• On March 23, 2018, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Thaawarchand Gehlot launched “First Indian Sign Language Dictionary of 3000 words” in New Delhi.It is developed by Indian Sign Language Research & Training Centre (ISLR&TC)

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has postponed launch of India's second lunar mission 'Chandrayaan-2' to october, which was to be launched in April 2018.Estimated cost is Rs. 800 crore.

• Chandigarh has become North India’s 1st city to install Digital Automatic Speed Gun Cameras to check vehicles driving above the permissible speed limit and issue chalan to to vehicle owner's residential address anyone driving above the stipulated city speed limit.

• Three Minesweeper ships of Indian Navy, INS Konkan, INS Cannanore and INS Cuddalore, were decommissioned in a ceremony at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam on March 23, 2018. Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command, Vice Admiral M S Pawar was the Chief Guest

• On March 22, 2018, Delhi government presented a 'green budget' aimed at controlling pollution and monitoring its impact on the environment.Rs. 53000 crore Budget for fiscal 2018-19 in which 26 programmes and schemes of transport, power, environment and PWD will be threaded together for devising a unified system of pollution control.

• Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has extended the deadline for linking of insurance policies with Aadhaar numbers indefinitely.This decision has been taken by IRDAI in accordance with Supreme Court of India’s order

• As per Census 2011 data, India is home to 413670 beggars. Among all state and Union Territories, highest number of beggars resides in West Bengal (nearly 81000 beggars), while Lakshadweep has only two beggars.Among UT, New Delhi has highest number of beggars.

• On 23rd March 2018, BJP national spokesperson Anil Baluni announced that, the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar (14th April) will be celebrated as 'Social Justice Day'.He was the first law minister of independent India. He is a founding father of the Republic of India.

• Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of Germany, was on a five-day official visit. Germany is also the 7th largest foreign direct investor in India.Bilateral trade between India and Germany in 2016-17 stood at USD 18.76 billion. Last German president to visit India was Joachim Gauck

• On March 26, 2018, International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), signed the Host Country Agreement in New Delhi.The Agreement gives ISA a juridical personality and authorises it to contract, to institute and defend legal proceedings and to acquire and dispose off movable and immovable properties.

• ‘Print Biennale India 2018’, the first-ever International Exhibition of Graphic Prints was inaugurated in New Delhi on March 25, 2018.The exhibition is being hosted by India’s National Academy of Art, the Lalit Kala Akademi.The exhibition has brought together participants from 17 countries

• In Varanasi, overhead power cables are being taken off after underground lines have been laid for more than 16 sq km. Former Union minister of state for power and coal Piyush Goyal announced that the project would cost Rs 432-crore &,line loss has reduced to 9.9% from 42.7%.




• Ministry of Communications has introduced the Cool EMS Service which is a one-way service from Japan to India with effect from 29th March that will allow Indian customers to import Japanese food items for personal use.Now,it is made available only in Delhi.

• On 27th March 2018, Tribal Affairs Minister, Jual Oram launched “ E-Tribes” India includes www.tribesindia.com, www.trifed.in and Retail Inventory Software and M-commerce app in NewDelhi‘Tribes India’ Banners were also launched at Amazon, Snapdeal, Paytm & GeM. Also TRIFED’s Handbook for Retail Trade and TRIFED’s quarterly magazine ‘Tribes Haat’ were inaugurated.

• The Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) has approved 'Study in India' programme to attract foreign students to study in India.This programme has several objectives including doubling India's market share of global education exports from less than 1 percent to 2 percent and improving global ranking of Indian educational institutes.

• On 23rd March to 1st April 2018, SARAS AajeevikaMela 2018 is held PragatiMaidan, New Delhi.It is organized by DAY-NRLM (Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission).

• According to National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey (NARSS) 2017-18, about 77% homes in rural areas of India have got toilets and over 93% households in villages have access to toilets are using them.It is selected under the World Bank support project to the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G).

• On March 27, 2018, Union Ministry of Power partnered with the Union Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship to train the manpower in six states for speedy implementation of SAUBHAGYA scheme.It aims to achieve universal household electrification in all parts of India in a time bound manner.

• Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli’s wax figure will soon be unveiled at Madame Tussauds, Delhi The main Madame Tussauds wax museum is in London and smaller museums are located in a number of other major cities of the world including New York, Berlin, Beijing, Tokyo, Singapore and Sydney.

• On March 27, 2018, SAP signed a Statement of Intent with NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across Indian schools, universities and industries. SAP will adopt 100 Atal Tinkering Laboratories

• With production of 1423 billion units (BU) in Financial Year 2016, India was the third largest producer of electricity in the world.India now produces more electricity than Japan and Russia, which had 27% and 8.77% more electricity generation capacity installed, respectively, than India seven years ago.

Country Electricity Produced (in BU) China 6015 US 4327 India 1423 Russia 1088 Japan 1018

• The CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) has extended the deadline for the PAN-Aadhaar linking

from the current last date of 31 March 2018 to 30 June 2018. This is the fourth extension offered by the government for individuals to link their Permanent Account Number (PAN) with their biometric ID (Aadhaar).

• On 28th March 2018, the government announced that, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has tied up with Airports Authority of India (AAI) to develop a green corridor covering 16.55 km in Varanasi.They have joined hands under "Adopt a Green Highway Programme" as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative of AAI.




INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

• On March 1, 2018,Pakistan will be placed on the ‘grey list’ from June 2018 as FATF has observed deficiencies in its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering of Terrorist Financing framework.Because of this reason it harder for Pakistan Government to raise money from foreign sources, including multilateral financing agencies.

• Marshall Islands has announced that, it will launch its own cryptocurrency and it will be circulated as legal tender along with the U.S. dollar. This cryptocurrency is named SOV. Marshall Islands has tied up with Neema, an Israeli financial technology startup, for issuing SOV.

• On March 5, 2018, Washington became the 1st state in US to pass its own net-neutrality law after US regulator, Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) repealed rules set during Obama administration that banned internet providers from blocking content or interfering with online traffic.

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

• On March 7, 2018, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced a USD 170 million projects aimed at advancing women's economic empowerment in India, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.

• Airports Authority of India (AAI) is participating in World ATM Congress (WATMC) 2018 which is being held in Madrid, Spain from 6th to 8th March 2018.In context of this news, abbreviation ATM stands for Air traffic Management.World ATM Congress is world's largest international air traffic management (ATM) exhibition .

• India seals agreement with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) to build 50, 000 homes in Gorkha and Nuwakot which is the worst-hit districts.India will give USD 8.41 million to the UNOPS and USD 7.41 Million to the UNDP to build 50, 000 homes.

• On March 8, 2018, eleven Pacific Rim countries signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in Chile aimed at lowering both non-tariff and tariff barriers to trade among signatory countries. . The eleven countries that signed the agreement are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, together represent 13.5 per cent of the global economy.

• On March 9, 2018, Director Generals of India’ Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) declared an 8.3 km stretch covers the Gunarmath and Kalyani Border Out Posts (BOPs) in India and the Puthkhali and Daulatpur BOPs in Bangladesh as the Indo-Bangladesh border as a 'crime-free zone'.

• On 7th to 9th March 2018, the World Ocean Summit 2018 was held in Riviera Maya, Mexico.This was the fifth World Ocean Summit. It was hosted by the Economist Group. Problems related to the world's seas and solutions to protect ocean resources were discussed in the summit

• On 10th March 2018, Bolivia unveiled its 200 km long flag, which it claims to be the world’s biggest flag.The flag extends between the cities La Paz and Oruro. It is made of blue cloth and features Bolivian national symbols. Its width is three meters.Bolivian people held the flag as a sign of support for Bolivia’s claim for access to the Pacific coast,which it lost to Chile in a war in the 19th century.

• On 12th March 2018, the Maldives Parliament approved the anti-defection bill with retrospective effect from 13th July 2017. As per the anti-defection bill, MPs elected on political party tickets will lose their seat if they leave their party, get expelled, or change parties.

• On 13th March 2018, Saudi Arabia's cabinet approved the national policy of the atomic energy program.The national policy limits all nuclear activities to peaceful purposes, within the limits drawn by international treaties Riyadh had invited US companies to participate in developing Saudi Arabia’s first atomic energy programme.

• On 14th March 2018, “Indian Images: People and Places”, a photo exhibition about India was inaugurated by India's Ambassador to Egypt Sanjay Bhattacharyya in Cairo, Egypt. at El-Sawy Cultural Center in Zamalek in Cairo, Egypt.This photo exhibition was held as a part of




the annual cultural festival 'India by the Nile'. It featured photos captured by Khaled Gawdat, an Egyptian photographer.

• On March 14, 2018, Member-countries of the World Health Organisation (WHO) South-East Asia Region, including India, committed to intensifying efforts to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) by 2030.This commitment was made during ‘End TB Summit’ in New Delhi.

• On March 14, 2018, US challenged Indian export subsidies schemes at the World Trade Organisation, stating that these programmes are creating an uneven playing field and are thus harming American manufacturers.Reference was being made to various schemes of Indian Government including Merchandise Exports from India Scheme,etc. As per Government data, thousands of Indian companies receive financial benefits to the tune of $7 billion annually through these schemes.

• Indian President Ram Nath Kovind was on a six-day official visit to island nations of Mauritius and Madagascar from March 11, 2018.These visits of President Kovind held lot of significance as Mauritius and Madagascar are located in Indian Ocean, a region where China has been increasing its naval presence in recent times. India announced a new USD 100 million Line of Credit for defence procurement by Mauritius.Click here to read more

• Sierra Leone, a West African country has become the first country in the world to deploy blockchain technology in election process. The blockchain based solution was developed by a Switzerland based voting technology company, Agora.It uses a publicly visible ledger for keeping track of elections has potential to complement and eventually replace electronic voting machines.

• United Nations Committee for Development Policy (CDP) has announced that Bhutan along with Kiribati, Sao Tome and Principe and Solomon Islands will be recommended for graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category, to move up from ranks of poorest nations on account of increasing national earning power as well as access to better health care. The recommendation has been sent to ECOSOC (the UN Economic and Social Council) for endorsement, which in turn will refer its decision to the UN General Assembly

• Qatar has announced a $50 million donation to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).It was announced at the extraordinary ministerial meeting of UNRWA held in Rome, Italy. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was present at the extraordinary ministerial meeting of UNRWA.

• On 16th March 2018, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte stated that, Philippines withdraws from ICC due to baseless and outrageous attacks by ICC.Teodoro Locsin, permanent representative of Philippines to the UN, submitted a letter stating Philippines’ withdrawal from ICC to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

• International Energy Agency (IEA) has stated that Global energy-related carbon emissions rose to a historic high of 32.5 gigatons in 2017 which marks a 1.4% increment over previous year.It has been largely attributed to higher energy demand and the slowing of energy efficiency improvements.

• Singapore Changi Airport has been rated as world's best airport for the sixth consecutive year by UK-based consultancy firm Skytrax.

Position Airport 2 Incheon International Airport in South Korea 3 Haneda Airport in Japan 63 Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai 64 Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru 66 Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi

• Australia has abolished its employer-sponsored 457 visa programme which was mainly used by Indians. It was replaced by a new Temporary Skills Shortage visa programme.

• India is among 20 nations that have pledged additional contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Qatar Pledged the highest


https://www.affairscloud.com/president-ram-nath-kovinds-six-day-visit-to-mauritius-madagascar/




additional contribution of USD 50 million while India pledged USD 5 million. • On March 23, 2018, United States (US) challenged China at World Trade Organsiation (WTO)

over intellectual property breaches.Based on these issues, US believes that China is giving unfair treatment to US companies and innovators trying to do business in China

• On March 23, 2018, world’s biggest cruise ship, ‘Symphony of the Seas’ was delivered to US company Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd. by French shipbuilder STX.It is 362 metres long and weighs nearly 228000 tonnes,bigger than ‘Harmony of the Seas’, which too was built by STX France and was delivered to Royal Caribbean in 2016

• Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Republic of Congo and Indonesia have signed Brazzaville Declaration that promotes better management and conservation of Cuvette Centrale region in the Congo Basin, the world’s largest tropical peatlands. The declaration was signed on the sidelines of the Third Partners Meeting of the Global Peatlands Initiative

• On March 26, 2018, Malaysia’s government proposed new legislation to counter fake news, under which, offender will be penalised with 10-year jail term.The bill defines fake news as any news, information, data and reports presented in the form of print, visuals or audio, which contains wholly or partly false content.

• On 24th March 2018, Earth Hour 2018 was observed all over the world.India pledged "Give Up To Give Back". People all over the world observed the Earth Hour 2018 by switching off non-essential lights for an hour between 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm.It is organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature

• On March 26, 2018, Sri Lankan Navy sunk a ship used by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the western seas.The LTTE vessel, A522 named 'We Ling" was taken by Sri Lankan Navy following the conclusion of the conflict

• On March 25, 2018, Indian Navy’s Talwar class frigate INS Tarkash carried out a greeting and training exercise with the U.S. Navy’s Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TRCSG).INS Tarkash sailed in formation with aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and the guided-missile destroyers USS Preble, USS Halsey and USS Sampson.

• The United Arab Emirates, with the help of Korea Electric Power Corp., has finished construction of its first commercial nuclear reactor.South Korean President Moon Jae-in participated in a ceremony to celebrate the facility’s completion. Barakah Unit 1 is the first of the four nuclear plants that U.A.E has planned to put in to operation by 2021.

• On March 27, 2018, Seychelles' opposition coalition (which holds a majority in Seychelles Parliament) stated that it would not ratify a deal signed with India to build military infrastructure on its Assumption Island.

• On 28th March 2018, the External Affairs Ministry announced that, India has increased its annual contribution to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from $1.5 million to $5 million for a period of 3 years from 2018-19.

BANKING & FINANCE

RBI in News • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed a limit of Rs. 5000 crore for foreign portfolio investors

(FPIs) to go long in Interest Rate Futures (IRFs).It is referred as an agreement to buy or sell a debt instrument at a specified future date, at a price that is fixed today, which is a derivative instrument based on an underlying security, which can either be a Government Bond or a Treasury Bill.

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to remove the per borrower loan limits for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) As of now, loans to Micro/ Small enterprises up to Rs. 5 crore and loans to Medium Enterprises up to Rs. 10 crore were classified as priority sector lending (PSL).However, with the removal of this cap, all loans to MSMEs involved in providing/rendering services will be classified as priority sector lending.As of now MSMED (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development) Act, 2006 defines




Micro & Small Enterprise 10 Lakh -2 Crore Medium Enterprise 2 Crore -5 Crore

• On March 5, 2018, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that it will conduct additional repo

operations during March 2018 to provide additional liquidity support to banks. Repo operations are undertaken by RBI to provide liquidity to banks which helps in overcoming temporary liquidity mismatches

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to remove the per borrower loan limits to Micro/ Small and Medium Enterprises (Services) for classification under priority sector lending. Loans to Micro/ Small and Medium Enterprises (Services) up to Rs 5 crore and Rs 10 crore, respectively, was considered priority sector lending (PSL) previously.

• RBI (Reserve Bank of India) has imposed a penalty of Rs 40 lakh on SBI (State Bank of India) as SBI failed to comply with RBI’s directions on detection and impounding of counterfeit notes,it came to know when RBI had inspected currency chests of two SBI branches.

• On March 12, 2018, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) entered into an agreement with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).IBBI and RBI will assist and co-operate with each other by sharing of information and resources for effective implementation of the Bankruptcy Code.

• In wake of several scams unearthed at public sector banks, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework aimed at maintaining the sound financial health of banks.The PCA framework stipulates risk thresholds for key areas such as capital, profitability and asset quality (tracked in terms of the net Non-Performing Assets ratio).

• Public sector banks that have been brought under PCA by RBI:IDBI Bank, Dena Bank, Bank of Maharashtra,Central Bank of India,UCO Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of India, Allahabad Bank, Corporation Bank and United Bank of India.

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon roll out limited edition coins of Rs 350 denomination to mark the 350th Birth Anniversary of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji.The reverse face of the coin shall bear the picture of “Takht Shri Harimandir Ji Patna Sahib”. Inscription “350TH PRAKASH UTSAV OF SRI GURU GOBIND SINGH JI” in Devanagari shall be written on the upper periphery and the same would be written in English language on the lower periphery of the coin.

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 58.9 crore on India’s largest private bank, ICICI Bank for failure to adhere to held-to-maturity (HTM) guidelines.A bank can sell only 5 per cent of HTM securities without any prior permission. If a bank sells more than 5%, it has to seek permission from RBI and disclose it on the annual report.

Technology in Banking Name of Entity Technology implemented Points to be noted Paytm 'Paytm for Business' in Tamilnadu To enable merchants to track payments,

view past collections and make settlements instantly

DCB Bank “DCB Remit”, Using DCB Remit, any resident Indian can register online and send money to 20 countries DCB Remit has been introduced in collaboration with Avenues Payments.

ICICI Bank ‘InstaOD’ Instant overdraft facility for MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) customers which can be availed online without visiting a branch and submitting physical documents.

Kotak Mahindra Bank voicebot ‘Keya’ The first artificial intelligence-powered voicebot in Indian banking sector. It is powered by Nuance




Delhi Metro, in association with IndusInd Bank

Metro Plus' debit card It will enable customers of indusind bank to use it for metro train rides as well as for all other regular debit card transactions

Bank of America Erica Its chatbot that can help customers check balances, remind about bills and answer bank-related questions

Loans issued by banks/others Loan issued by Received by Amount Points to be noted European Investment Bank (EIB)

Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA)

150 million Euros loan

Inked a agreement for a second line of credit (loc) which is for tenure of 15 years and includes a grace period of three years

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Indian Government $120 million loan

The third tranche of $500 million multi-tranche financing facility for the Railway Sector Investment Program approved by the ADB Board in 2011

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Government of India $80 million To modernize technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions in State of Himachal Pradesh .

MoU/Agreements in Banking & Finance

• On March 6, 2018, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with CSC e-governance Services (CSCeGS) to take Udyami Mitra portal to the unserved and the underserved Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).Through this portal entrepreneurs can apply for a loan without physically visiting bank branches.

• Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance has partnered with Can Fin Homes for a 3 year corporate agency tie up to sell its policies to home buyers.It said that, all of its life insurance products will be made available to customers of Can Fin Homes.

• On 10th March 2018, International Solar Alliance (ISA) and African Development Bank (AfDb), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Green climate fund (GCF), and New Development Bank (NDB) signed Joint financial partnership declarations. The agreements are aimed to deepen their cooperation to support Renewable Energy.

• On March 19, 2018, India's largest bank State Bank of India (SBI) and India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to offer mortgage guarantee scheme for prospective non-salaried and self-employed home loan.SBI expects that this arrangement will help increase home loan eligibility up to 15 per cent.

• On 21st March 2018, BHEL said that, it has signed a Technology Collaboration Agreement (TCA) with HLB Power, Republic of Korea which will help in developing in-house design, manufacture and testing facilities of very large size gates and dampers.

Other Important Banking & Finance News

• On March 1, 2018,Union Finance Ministry released a roadmap for consolidation of overseas operations of public sector banks. This decision seems like a tightening measure in wake of Rs. 12636 crore scam unearthed at Punjab Bank National (PNB).




Banks Highest number of Overseas Branches State Bank of India 52 Bank of Baroda 50 Bank of India 29

• In the October-December 2017 quarter (Q3) of the current fiscal, Indian economy grew at 7.2 per cent rate and there by regained its tag of world’s fastest growing economy. India regained its tag of fastest growing economy from China, as Chinese economy recorded a 6.8 per cent growth rate during October-December 2018 quarter (Q3) of the current fiscal. According to data compiled by US Treasury Department, India's exposure to US government securities stood at USD 144.7 billion at the end of 2017 and remained the 12th largest overseas holder of such securities.

• HDFC Bank and Happay, a business expense management solution provider, have entered in to a collaboration to introduce a new prepaid card-linked Travel and Entertainment (T&E) expense management solution which will help Indian firms to efficiently manage their business travel expenditure.

• On 5th March 2018, Citibank introduced a new variable interest rate mortgage product that will be linked to the 90-day Treasury bills and will change every quarter.Citibank will charge a spread above the 90-day Treasury bill rate based on the borrower profile.

• 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.

• India will join the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as its 69th member. EBRD is working for furthering the development of market-orientated economies and the promotion of private and entrepreneurial initiative in the European region.

• Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) has introduced ‘Vikas She Plus’, a loan scheme for women to help them with new ventures and for expanding or modifying their existing businesses.The scheme offers loan up to a maximum of Rs 2 lakh. Repayment period for the loan is 60 months under this scheme.

• Passport details of borrowers obtaining loans of Rs 50 crore and above has been made mandatory to take immediate action in case of fraud and to prevent defaulters from escaping away from India. Also, for all existing loans of over Rs 50 crore, banks have been mandated to obtain passport details of borrowers within 45 days.

• As per a report ‘Transactions 2025’ released by digital payments company AGS Transact in collaboration with ACI Worldwide, by 2025, India could witness around Rs 1 lakh crore worth of digital transactions every year due to back of consumer demand, policy push from the government, disruptive technology and services like taxi payments and ecommerce growth.

• On March 12, 2018, Federal Bank announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with two new broking partners, Celebrus Capital Ltd and Fortune Wealth Management Co India Pvt. Ltd. for providing Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) services to Non-resident Indians (NRIs).

• India’s largest bank, State Bank of India has slashed charges for non-maintenance of Average Monthly Balance (AMB) in savings accounts by nearly 75 per cent.Charges for Customers in Metro and Urban centres have been reduced from a maximum of Rs 50 per month plus Goods and Services Tax (GST) to Rs 15 plus GST per month while for Semi-Urban and Rural centres, the charges have been reduced from Rs 40 to Rs 12 per month.

• In a bid to plug the loopholes in the trade finance activities of banks, Reserve Bank of India has scrapped quasi bank guarantee instruments such as the Letter of Undertaking (LoU) and Letter of Comfort (LoC). With these two instruments being discontinued, Indian Banks will rely more on letter of credit for trade purposes. Letter of Credit is comparatively more secure as it carries transaction details such as purchase by the importer, date of issue and the material purchased.

• As per World Bank's biannual publication, India Development Update: India's Growth Story, India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for next financial year i.e. FY 2018-19 is projected at 7.3%.and will accelerate further to 7.5% in 2019-20.For the current financial year ending March 31,




2018, Indian economy’s growth rate is expected to be 6.7%.

• On March 14, 2018, Lok Sabha passed the crucial Finance Bill 2018 and Appropriation Bill for the next fiscal year i.e. 2018-19.Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley moved 21 amendments to the Bill containing taxation proposals for 2018-19.The Appropriation Bill lists outspending plans for 99 government ministries and departments for the year 2018-19.These are money bills, if Rajya Sabha does not return them to the Lok Sabha within 14 days, they would be considered as approved.

• As per World Bank’s bi-annual India Development Update, Indian goods and services tax (GST) regime is one of the most complex with the second highest tax rate in the world among a sample of 115 countries which have a similar indirect tax system.49 countries around the world have a single slab of GST, 28 countries have two slabs, and only five countries, including India, have four non-zero slabs.

• First Data, a global leader in commerce-enabling technology and Indian private sector bank, RBL Bank have entered into a partnership wherein First Data will help RBL Bank migrate their credit card customers to its latest proprietary software providing end-to-end card processing services.On account of this partnership, RBL Bank will be able to introduce innovative features for its clients and will be able to scale up transactions on a secure platform.

• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has raised the exposure limit under exchange traded currency derivatives (ETCD) for residents and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to USD 100 million across all currency pairs. Earlier exposure limit was USD 15 million for USD-INR contracts and USD 5 million for other currency pairs

• On March 15, 2018, Muthoot Finance Ltd., the flagship company of Muthoot Group tied up with Global IME Bank to expand its money remittance services between Indo-Nepal Corridor.As per the terms of the tie-up, Nepali migrant residing in India would be able to transfer money instantly (by paying nominal charge of Rs. 200) to their families in Nepal from any of the 4600 branches of Muthoot Finance.

• Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the regulator for the securities market in India has allowed the Universal Commodity Exchange (UCX) to discontinue operations as a commodity exchange.However, board of UCX had suspended trading operations with effect from July 16, 2014 on account of drastic decline in trading volume and did not make attempts for revival thereafter.

• On March 18, 2018, Axis Bank announced the opening of its new representative office in Sharjah,which is 3rd in United Arab Emirates (UAE).The Axis Bank commands a 20 per cent market share in the USD 12 billion dollar-a-year inward remittances market from the UAE

• On March 19, 2018, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order making it illegal for US citizens to purchase any cryptocurrency issued by Venezuela. The order prohibits U.S. citizens from engaging in transactions using Venezuela’s oil-backed currency, called the Petro.

• Indian Government-owned reinsurer, General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) has received permission to commence operations of 'GIC Syndicate 1947' from Lloyd's of London from April 2018.Lloyd’s is a United Kingdom-based insurance marketplace, where specialty underwriters provide reinsurance to global buyers by forming a syndicate.

• 'GIC Syndicate 1947' is thus the first Lloyd's syndicate to be backed entirely by capital from an Indian reinsurance entity.

• Online food ordering and delivery platform, Swiggy and India’s largest private bank, ICICI Bank have partnered to roll out two innovative digital solutions to facilitate a convenient and hassle-free way for delivery partners to transfer funds to Swiggy.The first one is a Unified Payment Interface (UPI) based solution which enables instant fund transfers on-the-go & the other depositing cash at automated Cash Deposit Machines (CDM) available at ICICI Bank

• Bank of India (BOI) has announced that it has closed down its operations of representative office in Yangoon (Myanmar) with effect from January 19, 2018. Apart from Yangoon, Bank of India is also said to have closed down its office in Botswana.


https://bit.ly/SBIPO2018



• Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) has announced that it will commence futures trading in brass on March 26, 2018.The launch will be an important milestone as it will be for the first time that a Brass Futures contract will be traded on an organised exchange anywhere in the world.

• On March 22, 2018, Equitas Small Finance Bank (SFB) rolled out ‘Yellow Army Savings Account’ to commemorate its association with the Indian Premium League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK).The Account’ will fetch interest rate of 6 per cent per annum for balance below Rs. 10 lakh and 6.5 per cent per annum for balance above Rs. 10 lakh.

• On March 23, 2018, HDFC Bank signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) which is an online marketplace under which, it will facilitate a host of transaction/banking related services for the portal.

• On March 22, 2018, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro decided to remove three zeros of the Venezuelan currency Bolivar fuerte with effect from June 4, 2018.This decision is aimed at controlling the prevailing hyperinflationary situation across Venezuela which witnessed 6147 percent price rise in last 12 months.

• In wake of Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s ban on letters of undertaking (LoU), UCO Bank is planning to merge its two branches in Hong Kong. Hong Kong being home to second highest number of foreign branches by Indian banks after the United Kingdom (UK).UK has highest number of Indian bank branches at 32, followed by Hong Kong with 17 branches.

• On March 26, 2018, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg stated that India is on track to double the size of its economy to $5 trillion by 2025.Presently it stands at USD 2.5 trillion, making it the sixth largest economy in the world.

• SWIFT has announced the extension of its gpi (Global Payment Innovation) Tracker to cover all payment instructions sent across the network. gpi tracker was introduced in May 2017 and now accounts for 10 per cent of entire SWIFT cross border payment traffic.

• Union Ministry of Finance has approved Government guarantee of Rs. 5000 crore in financial year 2017-18 for Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) bonds to be subscribed by Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).Previously they signed MOU,stating that LIC has to provide a financial assistance of Rs. 150000 crore for identified Railway projects from 2015 to 2019

• On 26th March 2018, Microsoft opened the 'Garage' at the Microsoft India Development Centre in Hyderabad, Telangana.It is a platform for Microsoft employees that encourages experimentation, working together across organisations and to discover ideas and develop prototypes, adding value to existing products.

• As per the latest global Automobile Sales Data, India has overtaken Germany to become the fourth largest automobile market in the world.During 2017, Automobile sales (including passenger and commercial vehicles) in India touched 4 million units, outpacing Germany’s 3.81 million vehicle sales.China has topped in this Auto Market.

• On March 26, 2018,Union Finance Ministry has stated that government's gross G-Sec borrowing will be only Rs. 2.88 lakh crore in H1 of 2018-19.This amount, as a percentage of total borrowing is only 47.5 percent as against 60-65 percent share in this period in previous years.

• On March 26, 2018, Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) announced that it will extend USD 500 million credit facility to ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) to fund various development projects in Africa.Total value of LOCs extended by Exim Bank to EBID has reached USD 1000 million.

• On March 26, 2018, Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT), India's first operational smart city and International Financial Services Centre (IFSC)signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP (DTTILLP) for mutual cooperation in areas related to international financial services.

• On March 27, 2018, SBI Cards announced that it has partnered with Indian Medical Association (IMA) to launch 'Doctor's SBI Card', which has unique proposition of ‘Doctor’s SBI Card is the professional indemnity insurance cover of Rs 10 lakh to protect doctors against professional risks and liabilities.

• Royal Bank of Scotland in India will facilitate to set up 'WomenInTech Forum that will work




towards encouraging women to take up careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).It will also provide mentoring and upskilling to increase the employability of women in STEM careers. Deloitte is the knowledge partner for this initiative.

• India’s largest bank, State Bank of India (SBI) has hiked interest rates on fixed deposits (FDs) over two years for retail customers with effect from March 28, 2018.

Below Rs.1 Crore 2 to 3 yrs increased from 6.50 % to 6.60% 3 to 5 yrs increased from 6.50 % to 6.70% 5 to 10 yrs increased from 6.50 % to 6.75%

• On 28th March 2018, Jana Small Finance Bank Limited commenced operations as a small finance bank.It aims to establish more than 500 banking outlets by 2019. It will initially open 19 branches in 18 states.It will focus on financial inclusion, as the core strategy of the bank. It will provide digitally-enabled services to its customers.

• Tax on long term capital gains (LTCG) on equity holdings, announced in Budget 2018 will come into effect from April 1, 2018.In Budget 2018,Exempting long-term gains from share sale from any tax creates bias against manufacturing and encourages shifting of investment to financial assets.10% LTCG tax would apply on gains exceeds Rs. 1 lakh.

• With an objective to encourage early-stage start-ups, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has decided to double the investment limit by angel funds in venture capital undertakings to Rs. 10 crore & also increase the maximum period of accepting funds from an angel investor from three years to five years.

• Fino Payments Bank is planning to deploy multi-utility Android-based mPOS devices across 10000 banking points across India in a phased manner.It thus eliminates the need for multiple devices that are currently used to facilitate finger print authentication and digital transactions.

• The government has announced that, it has planned to sell 76 per cent stake in Air India along with subsidiary Air India Express and a 50% stake in Air India SATS & also transfer the management control.Ernst & Young LLP India has been named the transaction adviser for this disinvestment process.

• Nepal Rastra Bank (Nepal’s Central Bank) has permitted domestic commercial banks to borrow funds from foreign banks and financial institutions in order to resolve liquidity crunch prevailing in Nepal’s banking system since past few months,now they can borrow loans up to 25 per cent of their core capital for the period from one year to five years.

• In order to prevent the possibility of manipulation in the prices of securities, especially government securities (G-Secs), on the last trading day of a quarter, Reserve Bank of India has changed the methodology used to normalise any aberration resulting from an attempt to manipulate the price by a cartel of banks at the last moment.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY NEWS

• On 28th February 2018,Avaada Power Pvt Ltd, stated that, it will invest Rs 3,500 crore to establish 500 MW solar projects in Andhra Pradesh .An agreement regarding this was signed at the 'CII Partnership Summit 2018' in Vishakhapatnam. Andhra Pradesh has a planned to achieve a goal of 18 GW of renewable energy capacities by 2021-22.

• On 1st March 2018,Tata Boeing Aerospace Ltd (TBAL) is a joint venture of Boeing Co. and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL).It was inaugurated by Union Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Telangana minister for Industries and IT, KT Rama Rao.This facility will be the only global producer of fuselages for AH-64 Apache helicopter delivered by Boeing.The first fuselage would be delivered in 2018.

• Central Government has raised import tax on crude and refined palm oil to the highest level in more than a decade.Import tax raised for crude palm oil -44 percent from 30 percent




refined palm oil- 54 percent from 40 percent • India is the world's biggest importer of edible oils. India relies on imports for 70 percent of its edible

oil consumption. • Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) entered into seven more Advance Pricing Agreements

(APAs),in which all are unilateral APAs and pertain to automobile, pharmaceuticals, Financial and Food & Beverages sectors taking the total number of APAs to 203 so far.

• On March 6, 2018, Microsoft announced that it has inked its first renewable energy deal in India for powering its new facility in Bengaluru.As per the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will purchase 3 megawatts of solar-powered electricity from Atria Power for its new office building in Bengaluru. ONGC Videsh Ltd. (OVL), an overseas subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IDRO Oil (a subsidiary of state-run Iranian Development and Renovation Organisation), in developing Susangerd field in Iran. As per the terms of the MoU, OVL and IDRO Oil will jointly bid for a USD 1 billion contract for development of Susangerd oilfield in southern Iran.

• With the first shipment of Liquefied natural gas (LNG) getting loaded on-board GAIL's first chartered LNG ship 'Meridian Spirit' on March 6, 2018, India has started importing natural gas from US under a 20-year deal.

• India-China bilateral trade has reached $84.44 billion in 2017, in spite of bilateral tensions like the Doklam issue.In 2017,India-China bilateral trade increased by 18.63% compared to the previous year and reached $84.44 billion. The volume of bilateral trade reached $80 billion for the first time.

• On 8th March 2018, Neewee and EFLIGHT, two start-ups accelerated at Airbus Bizlab India, inked their first contracts with Airbus and subsidiary NAVBLUE to implement their unique innovative ideas in aerospace.Neewee has come up with a solution called procuSense. These initiatives are in line with the government's 'Make in India' and 'Startup India' initiatives. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a total fine of nearly Rs 540 million on Jet Airways(Rs 398.1 million), SpiceJet(Rs 51 million) and IndiGo (Rs 94.5 million) for unfair business practices related to fixing fuel surcharge on cargo transport. This action was taken based on a cartelisation complaint filed by Express Industry Council of India

• According to an assessment done by leading brand valuation firm, Brand Finance, Tata Consultancy Services was named as the fastest growing IT services brand in the world.It has a total brand value of USD 10.391 billion; a growth of 14.4 percent from last year's total of USD 9.081 billion, with an increase of USD 1.309 billion.IBM & Accenture also took place in top 3

• On 10th March 2018, Spicejet Q400 Bombardier flight from Kolkata was the First flight to land in Pakyong Airport Sikkim.Pakyong Airport is 32 km away from Gangtok On 12th March 2018, Nasscom along with Facebook and WeWork launched Design4India Studio in Bengaluru, Karnataka.It is a dedicated design studio for web, mobile, augmented reality and virtual reality platforms for start-ups and designers which aims to eliminate the gap between design and technology by providing spaces for start-ups and designers to explore, innovate and build together.

• On 13th March 2018, Suzlon Energy announced the installation and commissioning of S128, claimed to be the largest wind turbine generator (WTG) in India.The first prototype of S128 has been commissioned at Sanganeri, in Tamil Nadu.It is available in 2.6 MW to 2.8 MW On 13th March 2018, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry C R Chaudhary said that, a total FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) of USD 208.99 billion has been received from April 2014 to December 2017.The sectors that have received maximum foreign investment are services, computer software and hardware, telecommunications, construction, trading, automobile, etc.

• Retail inflation has dipped to 4.44% in February from 5.07% in January 2018, as per data released by Central Statistics Office on 12th March 2018. Industrial Production increased by 7.5 % in January 2018 compared to 3.5 % in January 2017. This growth is due to improvement in manufacturing sector,which contributes 77.63% to the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). It improved by 8.7 % in January 2018 compared to 2.5 % in January 2017.

• On 14th March 2018, Boeing and TAL Manufacturing Solutions (TAL) signed a new contract to manufacture advanced composite floor beams for Boeing's 787-9/10 Dreamliners at TAL’s facility in Nagpur.Boeing India president Pratyush Kumar said that, Boeing provides advanced technology




support for this project with TAL. • On 16th March 2018, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi inaugurated the first 'Startup

hub' of Bihar in Patna.The work station and office space along with free of cost "plug and play" facility will be offered to 31 startup companies in the startup hubHe also said that, policy and structural reforms to encourage IT enable services and ESDM (Electronics System Design and Manufacturing) in Bihar had been recently initiated.

• Russia continues to be the largest arms supplier to India as per report produced by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).But its share of total imports has decreased. India is the world's biggest importer of major arms amounting to 12 per cent of the total global imports in the last five years

Place Country Percent 2 United States 15% 3 Israel 11% 4 France 4.6%

• India has imposed anti-dumping duty on import of Ofloxacin which is used for treatment of certain infections from China to protect domestic producers from below-cost shipments.Aarti Drugs, a pharmaceutical company had approached Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) for initiation of anti-dumping investigation and imposition of the duty on Ofloxacin exported to India from China which will be in the range of USD 2.58 to USD 9.48 per kg for three years.

• On March 19, 2018, government-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited announced that it has commissioned the first unit of 110 MW of the Kishanganga hydro-electric in J&K. The 340 MW Kishanganga hydro project is located in Bandipora district of J&K on the river Kishanganga (a tributary of the Jhelum). Bhel has so far commissioned 31 Hydro sets with a cumulative capacity of 1257 MW in J&K.

• Lockheed Martin has announced the setting up of F-16 jet production unit in India which will • be an exclusive one and will be in line with the 'Make in India' initiative. • In a bid to boost overseas sales in a surplus year of production, India Government has scrapped the

20 per cent sugar export duty.In the 2017-18 season ending on September 30, 2018, sugar production in India is likely to touch a record 29.5 million tonnes. This marks a 45 per cent increment over previous year, and is the main reason behind local sugar prices coming down by more than 15 per cent in the past six months.

• On 19th March 2018, IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) announced its partnership with Ola Cabs, in order to provide a book taxi option in its app and website for six month pilot project. This will offer Ola Cabs booking services to customers in the IRCTC Rail Connect App and on its website.

• On 19th March 2018, IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) announced its partnership with Ola Cabs, in order to provide a book taxi option in its app and website for six month pilot project. This will offer Ola Cabs booking services to customers in the IRCTC Rail Connect App and on its website. Cabs can be booked up to seven days in advance or on reaching the railway station.

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) have entered into a Technology Transfer Agreement (TTA) for production of space grade Lithium-Ion cells.It is developed by ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).

• On March 23, 2018, Telangana Industries Minister KT Rama Rao announced a reduction in Value Added Tax (VAT) on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) to 1 per cent from 16 per cent. This decision is likely to boost air traffic at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport located near Hyderabad which has completed 10 years of operations.

• On March 30, 2018, India received its first shipment of Liquefied natural gas (LNG) from US under a 20-year deal.Indian government-owned Gas Authority of India Ltd. (GAIL) has contracted 3.5 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass liquefaction facility in Louisiana, US.




• On March 30, 2018, Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy, R K Singh and Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat laid the foundation stone of the 60 MW Naitwar Mori Hydro Electric Project in the river Tons – a tributary of the Yamuna in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand.

MOUs/AGREEMENTS COUNTRIES & STATES

MoUs between Countries On February 28, 2018, Union Cabinet Chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved following bilateral agreements. No. MoU between Field 1. India and Fiji Renewable Energy

2. India and Macedonia Field of Health 3. India and Jordan Field of Manpower ,

Mining project, Cooperation in Customs Matters

4. India and Vietnam Economic and Trade Cooperation

5. India and Zambia Field of Judicial Cooperation

6. India and United Kingdom and Northern Ireland

Combating international criminality and tackling serious organised crime

7. India and South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme in cooperation on the response to Oil and Chemical Pollution in the South Asian Seas Region

8. India and Canada To establish bilateral cooperation in the field of Intellectual Property Rights (iprs

On March 14, 2018, Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved following bilateral agreements and initiatives. No. MoU between Field 1. India and Iran Field of Traditional Systems of Medicine

Agriculture and allied sectors Avoidance of Double Taxation and Fiscal Evasion

between India and Iran

2. India and Sri Lanka Field of Information Technology and Electronics

On 7th March 2018, Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the following initiatives: No. MoU between Field India and France Field of environment

Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreeme To facilitate MRAQ (Mutual Recognition of Academic Qualifications)





Prevention of the Illicit Consumption and Reduction of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and Chemical Precursors, and related offences

MoUs – States wise No State MoU with Field/Purpose 1. Punjab State

Government Nandan Nilekani’s e-Governments Foundation (e-Gov)

For managing of electronic governance of Urban Local Bodies (ulbs) across the state

2. Odisha State government

Tata Trusts For implementing the state’s decision on land rights settlement for slum dwellers in urban areas

3. Telangana government

Safran Electrical and Power SAS

For establishing an aerospace unit in Telangana. Cost for this will be Rs 52 crore

4. Odisha State Governmen

British Council For cooperation. They will support odisha state governments "mo school" (my school) initiative

5. Assam government

Airport Authority of India (AAI)

For sustainable development of human settlements at villages in Kamrup district

Other MoUs

• King Abdullah II of Jordan was on a three-day official visit to India from February 27, 2018 to March 1, 2018. On March 1, 2018, India and Jordan signed following 12 agreements in New Delhi in presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and King Abdullah II of Jordan.

MoU on Defence Cooperation Visa waiver for diplomatic and official passport holders Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) Manpower Cooperation Agreement MoU for cooperation in the field of Health and Medicine between India and Jordan MoU for setting up of the next generation Centre of Excellence (COE) in Jordan MoU for long term supply of Rock Phosphate and Fertilizer/NPK Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement Twining Agreement between Agra and Petra (Jordan) Cooperation between Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) and Jordan Media Institute (JMI): MoU between Prasar Bharati and Jordan TV MoU between University of Jordan (UJ) and ICCR regarding setting up of a Hindi Chair at the University

• On March 3, 2018, India and Vietnam signed following three Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) after talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang.

i.MoU between Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership, India (GCNEP) and the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (VINATOM) to strengthen the technical cooperation in the field of atomic energy for peaceful purposes. ii.MoU on economic and trade cooperation aimed at establishing a framework for enhancing economic and trade promotion. iii.Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam signed a work plan for the years 2018-2022.

• On March 1, 2018,India, Russia and Bangladesh signed a tripartite agreement which allows Indian firms to participate in construction and installation works in the “non-critical” category for the Rooppur nuclear power plant project in northwest Bangladesh.The MoU was signed in Moscow. Rosatom is constructing two nuclear reactors (with a capacity of 1200 MW each) in




Rooppur, which will be Bangaladesh’s first nuclear power project. • On 13th March 2018, International Air Transport Association (IATA) said that, it has signed a MoU

with the Ministry of Civil Aviation and National Aviation University to improve human resource availability in India's aviation industry.The three parties formalised this partnership in the presence of Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation at the Wings India 2018 event in Hyderabad.

• On March 19, 2018, four memorandum of understanding (MoUs) were signed in New Delhi under the aegis of the Ministry of Development of North East Region (DoNER) for promotion of tourism in the North-East India. i. The MoUs were signed between various entities in North East India and Airbnb ii. These MoU are aimed at creating hospitality micro-entrepreneurs iii.The aim of creating more sustainable accommodation options to enhance the hospitality service standards in North East Region and thereby doubling tourist growth rate in the next three years.

• Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to conduct skill development training programmes for agriculture and allied sector. skill development training programmes will be conducted on a regular basis at Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs).

• With an objective to secure a better future for the Kashmiri youth, Indian Army under the aegis of Chinar Corps has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) As per the terms of the MoU, Kanpur-based educational trust National Integrity and Educational Development Organisation (NIEDO) will provide quality faculty for professional coaching of Kashmir Youth, while HPCL will be the corporate partner for this project.

• On March 20, 2018, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun and Technology Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council (TIFAC), New Delhi signed an MoU for providing livelihood opportunities and augment income of the forest based communities TIFAC shall help ICFRE to refine and up-scale the technologies that have been developed and make it accessible to the end users including farmers and other stakeholders.

• On March 19, 2018, India and Hong Kong signed Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion.This pact is in accordance with Section 90 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 which authorises Indian Government to enter into an Agreement with a foreign country or specified territory for avoidance of double taxation of income.

• On 19th March 2018, India's Department of Space and the European Commission signed an agreement that will enable them to share earth observation data from each other's satellite.The agreement was signed by Philippe Brunet, director for Space Policy, Copernicus and Defence, on behalf of European Commission and by PG Diwakar, Scientific Secretary in the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on behalf of the Department of Space in Bengaluru.

• The Madhya Pradesh Animal Husbandry Minister Antar Singh Arya has inked a MoU with Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd (BFIL)MD Geoff Woolley to launch 'Pashu Dhan Sanjeevani - 1962', an animal healthcare programme.The service delivery process will be monitored through the 'Bharat Sanjeevani' software and a mobile app.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

NATIONAL Name Appointed as Entity/Place Points to be noted Justice Jawad Rahim

Acting chairperson National Green Tribunal (NGT)

Vinay Kumar Ambassador of India Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

He is at present Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.




Shri Ravi Thapar Ambassador of India Lebanon Presently Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs

Sangeeta Bahadur Ambassador of India Republic of Belarus She is at present the Additonal Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs.

Atul M. Gotsurve Ambassador of India Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

At present, he is Director in the Ministry of External Affairs

Virat Kohli Brand ambassador Luminous Power Technologies

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Brand ambassador Dream11

Virat Kohli Brand ambassador Uber Its first brand ambassador in India, thus embarking on a first-of-its-kind initiative across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region

Aamir Khan Brand ambassador Vivo Aamir Khan replaces actor Ranveer Singh

Katrina Kaif Brand ambassador ‘Educate Girls’ Katrina Kaif will work towards creating equal opportunities for girls to access quality education

Director Shekhar Kapur

Chairman 65th National Film Awards

Central panel consists of a chairperson and 10 other members which includes five regional chairpersons.

R Dinesh Chairman Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

He is a Joint Managing Director of T V Sundram Iyengar and Sons

Ravindra Rao Chief executive officer

Reliance Asset Reconstruction Company (RARC)

He succeeds Asokan Arumugam, Anil Ambani-led Reliance Capital is the principal sponsor of RARC.

Rakesh Makkar Chief executive officer (ceo)

Fullerton India Home Finance Company Limited (FIHFC

Fullerton India Home Finance Company Limited (FIHFC) is a subsidiary of Fullerton India Credit Company

Balesh Sharma Chief executive officer (CEO)

Vodafone Group and Aditya Birla Group

Earlier,he was the chief operating officer (COO) of Vodafone India

Indu Bhushan Chief executive officer (ceo)

Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission

Indu Bhushan is the Director General of East Asia Department, Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila, Philippines.

Conrad Sangma Chief minister Meghalaya 12th chief minister of Meghalaya in Shillong. He is the President of National People's Party (NPP).

Biplab Kumar Deb Chief minister Tripura Biplab Deb was elected leader of the BJP legislature party in Tripura. Jishnu Deb Burman will be the deputy Chief Minister of Tripura




Neiphiu Rio Chief minister Nagaland Neiphiu Rio belongs to the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP)

Prakriti Combat officer ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police

Prakriti is the first has woman officer in combat role in ITBP

Anjani Kumar Commissioner of Police

Hyderabad

shuttler Kidambi Srikanth

Deputy collector Andhra Pradesh government

He became the second youngest sportsperson in India after PV Sindhu to bag the Padma Shri award.

Chandra Bhushan Kumar

Deputy election commissioner

India

Sitanshu Kar Director general Press Information Bureau (PIB)

All India Radio's News Services Division (NSD) has been appointed him

Lt Gen Harpal Singh Director general Border Roads (DGBR).

Earlier he was Director General Military Training at Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Army)

Satya Pal Malik(Bihar Governor)

Governor Odisha Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik was given additional responsibility as Governor of Odisha

Pradeep Rao Head of corporate in South-east Asia for global banking

HSBC He was previously HSBC's managing director of Asia-Pacific consumer and retail sector.

Sunil Nayyar Managing director (md)

Sony India Sunil Nayyar currently serves as head of Retail Experience in Sony North America.

U.K. Sinha Non-executive independent director

Vedanta Limited He is the former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

K Vijay Raghavan Principal scientific advisor

Government of India He replaces R Chidambaram.He is a former director of National Centre for Biological Sciences & served as Secretary of Department of Biotechnology

David Wright Public interest director

BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange)

He worked with the European Commission

J S Rajput Representative Executive Board of UNESCO

He is a former director of NCERT & he received the Padma Shri award in 2014.

Vivek R Wadekar Special director Enforcement Directorate (ED)

Appointment was made by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)

Rahul Dravid State election icon Karnataka Assembly polls

Announced by Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar

A major bureaucratic reshuffle was done on 28th February 2018 and new appointments are as follows. Department New Secretary Special Secretary of Higher Education department R Subramanyam




New Secretary of Department of Personnel and Training in the Personnel ministry.

C Chandramouli

New Secretary of Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries.

Tarun Sridhar

Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs Surendra Nath Tripathi Director General of National Mission for Clean Ganga Rajiv Ranjan Mishra additional secretary and financial advisor at Ministry of Culture. Bipin Bihari Mullick Secretaty, Mines Department Anil Gopishankar Mukim secretary (coordination) in Cabinet Secretariat Inder Jit Singh Chemicals and Petrochemicals secretary P Raghvendra Rao

INTERNATIONAL

Name Appointed as Entity/Place Points to be noted Sanjeev Gupta Ambassador Industrial Cadets

programme in UK

Appointed by Britain's Prince Charles

Larry Kudlow Chief economic advisor

to US President Donald Trump

Larry Kudlow replaces Gary Cohn

Ryoko Azuma Commander of Warship unit

Japan First female chief of warship unit

Yi Gang Governor China's central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBOC)

Mr. Yi will succeed Zhou Xiaochuan, who has been holding the post since 2002.

Air Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan

Chief Pakistan air staff

Armen Sarkisian President Armenia First time in Armenia, president has been elected by the National Assembly instead of popular vote

Bidya Devi Bhandari President Nepal She was re-elected for a second term as President of Nepal

Xi Jinping President China Wang Qishan as vice president Russian President Vladimir Putin

President Russia Vladimir Putin's fourth term as president will continue till 2024

Martin Vizcarra President Peru He replaces Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.Martin Vizcarra had served as vice president and Peru's ambassador to Canada

Win Myint President Myanmar Win Myint replaces Htin Kyaw as President of Myanmar.

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi President Egypt Got re-elected for a second term Li Keqiang Prime minister China Li Keqiang was re-elected as Chinese

Prime Minister for a second five-year term.

Abiye Ahmed Prime minister Ethiopia Wang Yi - Chinese Foreign Minister

State councillor China Wang Yi has worked as China’s Vice Foreign Minister, China’s Ambassador to Japan and Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office




Rosemary DiCarlo Un political chief Becoming the first female UN Political Chief.She replaces Jeffrey Feltman.

Nanda Bahadur Pun Vice president Nepal Shasi Kala Dahal of CPN-Maoist Centre was elected vice-chairperson of the national assembly

Other important Appointments

• HCL Infosystems Ltd. has appointed Rangarajan Raghavan, as its director and managing director after Premkumar Seshadri, who resigned as the executive vice chairman and managing director of HCL Infosystems.Rangarajan Raghavan is the president of the Project and Services division of HCL Infosystems .

• On 3rd March 2018, Krishna Kumari Kohli became Pakistan's first Hindu woman to be elected to Senate. Krishna Kumari Kohli contested on behalf of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) from a constituency reserved for women candidates in Tharparkar district.

• On 5th March 2018, SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd announced that, has been named the nominee director on SBI Life Board by SBI. K Gupta is currently MD (Retail and Digital Banking) in SBI (State Bank of India).

• On 6th March 2018, Sandeep Bakhshi, MD and CEO of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, was re-appointed for a 2 year term with effect from 1stJune 2018 till 31 May 2020. He has worked as a deputy-managing director and head of retail at ICICI Bank.

• On March 10,2018 , Commerce and Industries Minister Suresh Prabhu was given additional charge of the Civil Aviation Ministry after the resignation of Ashok Gajapathi Raju of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).Raju and another Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Y S Chowdary had resigned from the council of ministers

• On 11th March 2018, the National People’s Congress (NPC) of China cleared an amendment to its constitution that will strike out a clause restricting the term of President to two five-year terms.This move paves way for Xi Jinping to continue as president of China beyond his term limit of 2023.

• US President Donald Trump has nominated Gina Haspel for the position of CIA Director. Gina Haspel was once reported to have run a secret prison in Thailand where the inmates were allegedly subjected to harsh interrogation techniques.Donald Trump recently removed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replaced him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo. He has nominated Gina Haspel for the position of CIA Director.

• On 15th March 2018, Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda was elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Himachal Pradesh for a second term. JP Nadda was the only candidate who filed nomination for the Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal Pradesh.

• On 19th March 2018, Mohammad Ashraf Sehrai was appointed the new chairman of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.Syed Ali Geelani and Ashraf Sehrai are among the founding members of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat.

• On 22nd March 2018, President Trump named John R. Bolton as his third national security adviser.He replaces Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster.He is a former American ambassador to the United

Nations.

• On 22nd March 2018, Sherry Rehman became the first woman Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, the upper house of parliament, in Pakistan.She was Pakistan's Ambassador to the US between 2011 and 2013. In 2015, she was elected to the Senate.

• BJP has won nine out of the 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha elections held





on 23rd March 2018.BJP candidates who won the election are: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Ashok Bajpai, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, Sakal Deep Rajbhar, Kanta Kardam, Anil Jain, Harnath Singh Yadav and G V L Narasimha Rao and Anil Kumar Agarwal.

• Pradosh Kumar Rath has been shortlisted as the new chairman cum managing director (CMD) of RINL (Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd).

• On 29th March 2018, Anoop Kumar Mittal was given one year extension as the chairman and MD (CMD) of NBCC with effect from 1st April 2018.He was also given additional charge of Director (Finance) of NBCC.

Resignation

• On 14th March 2018, Nepal's Chief Justice Gopal Parajuli was removed from his post by Nepal's Judicial Council for providing fake date of birth in order to remain longer in office.

• On 6th March 2018, US President Donald Trump's top economic adviser Gary Cohn resigned from his position.

• On 15th March 2018, Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar resigned after Slovenia’s top court invalidated the result of a government referendum.On 14th March 2018, the constitutional court invalidated the result of a referendum which approved a government infrastructure project. The project was to upgrade transport links to Koper port on the Adriatic coast.

• Mauritian President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, Africa's only female head of state and a renowned biologist, resigned from her post on March 17, 2018.She has resigned in wake of allegations against her for using a credit card provided by an NGO to buy items worth $26000 not related to her work.

• On 21st March 2018, Htin Kyaw, Myanmar’s first democratically elected President, announced his retirement due to ill health.He won the Presidential elections in 2016.He was the first Myanmar president to visit India in 2016.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Name of Awards Award Winner Field Points to be noted Political and Public Life Awards

Indian Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha

Lifetime achievement award for his contribution to the fields of arts and politics

He has been honoured with a at the annual ‘’ presented by Britain’s Asian Voice weekly newspaper. He is a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"Best Exhibitor Award" at 2018 ITB

India ITB Berlin (Internationale Tourismus-Borse Berlin) is the world's largest tourism trade fair which takes place annually in March at the Messe Berlin, Germany.

"Academy Award for Nobel Peace"

Dr Ketzia David Praka

Become the first Indian woman to receive this award in USA

International Kochon Prize 2017

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)

Awarded the for promoting research and development (R&D) in tuberculosis treatment

‘Grand Prix de Montreal’ Indian film "Halkaa" Has won the award at the 21st Festival International du Film Pour Enfants de Montreal Film (FIFEM). The film was directed by Nila Madhab Panda. Child actor Tathastu has acted as Pichku, the lead role.




"UK Golden Flame Award" Indian actress Simi Garewal

At the opening ceremony of the Tongues of Fire UK Asian Film Festival in London

2018 PRWeek US award ‘We Are Sikhs’ campaign

In the category of Public Cause

Ad campaign was launched by National Sikh Campaign (NSC), a non-profit organization

Best of India Short Film Festival in Los Angeles

Actor Jackie Shroff’s “Shunyata”

It was directed by Chintan Sarda.

Skytrax award Kempegowda International Airport

Best regional airport in India and Central Asia by air travelers, at the World Airport Awards at Stockholm in Sweden

G.K. Reddy Memorial National Award for 2017

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

Journalism

Airport Service Quality awards 2017

Sardar vallabhbhai patel

National ‘Water Digest Award’

Chhattisgarh Water Conservation-Diversion and increasing the irrigation capacity in Chhattisgarh

J C Daniel award Director Sreekumaran Thampi

Kerala's highest award for contributions to Malayalam cinema.

90th Academy Awards ceremony, popularly referred to as Oscars 2018, honouring the best films of 2017 was held in Los Angeles, California, United States. Fantasy drama film, ‘The Shape of Water’ got the most awards (in 4 categories) including the Best Picture Award. Oscars 2018 – Winners List Categories Winner Best Picture The Shape of Water Best Director Guillermo del Toro – The Shape of Water Best Actor Gary Oldman – Darkest Hour Best Actress Frances McDormand – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Best Supporting Actor Sam Rockwell – Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Best Supporting Actress Allison Janney – I, Tonya Best Original Screenplay Get Out – Written by Jordan Peele Best Adapted Screenplay Call Me by Your Name – James Ivory based on the novel by André

Aciman Best Animated Feature Film Coco Best Foreign Language Film A Fantastic Woman (Chile) in Spanish Best Live Action Short Film The Silent Child Best Animated Short Film Dear Basketball Best Original Score The Shape of Water – Alexandre Desplat Best Original Song "Remember Me" from Coco – Music and Lyrics by Kristen Anderson-

Lopez and Robert Lopez Best Sound Editing Dunkirk – Richard King and Alex Gibson Best Sound Mixing Dunkirk – Mark Weingarten, Gregg Landaker and Gary A. Rizzo Best Production Design The Shape of Water – Production Design: Paul Denham Austerberry; Set

Decoration: Shane Vieau and Jeff Melvin Best Cinematography Blade Runner 2049 – Roger A. Deakins




Best Makeup and Hairstyling Darkest Hour – Kazuhiro Tsuji, David Malinowski and Lucy Sibbick Best Costume Design Phantom Thread – Mark Bridges Best Film Editing Dunkirk – Lee Smith Best Visual Effects Blade Runner 2049 – John Nelson, Gerd Nefzer, Paul

Lambertand Richard R. Hoover Recognitions

• India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has retained the top spot on ‘IE 100 2018’, The List of Most Powerful Indians: IE 100 2018 – Top 5:

1 Prime Minister Narendra Modi 2 BJP President Amit Shah 3 Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra 4 RSS Head, Mohan Bhagwat 5 UPA Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi

• Navin Vardarajan, an Indian-American scientist, associate professor of chemical and bimolecular engineering was granted USD 1,173,420 to improve effectiveness of T-cell immunotherapy and Sanghyuk Chung an associate professor of biology and biochemistry was provided with USD 811,617 to define molecular targets for cervical cancer treatment by Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).

• On 3rd March 2018, Gadchiroli book reading, nearly 7,000 people participated in the book reading event conducted at Gadchiroli, Maharashtra.This event created a new Guinness world record breaking the Guinness world record created in Turkey on 18th May 2017.

• Forbes India has released its "W-Power Trailblazers" issue, listing 25 women achievers in business. This list is not a ranking. It is a qualitative selection.Some of the women featured in the list are: 1.Chiki Sarkar – publisher of Juggernaut Books 2.Adhuna Bhabani - founder-director of Bblunt 3.Anupriya Acharya - CEO (India) of Publicis Media 4.Kavitha Sairam - co-founder of FIB-SOL Life Technologies 5.Dina Wadia and Shivpriya Nanda - joint managing partners of J Sagar Associates Harry Athwal, an Indian-origin British man has been selected for 'Pride of Birmingham’ award in UK at the University of Birmingham on 8th March 2018.

• On March 8,2017,Britain's Queen Elizabeth II recognised SrishtiBakshi founder of Cross Bow Milesmovement from India as the 26th Commonwealth Point of Lightin honour for her exceptional service to empowering women in India. She created a mobile app where people from across the world can upload steps collected from their phone pedometers and join the campaigns 'Billion Steps For Women' drive.

• On 16th March 2018, Bhawana Kanth became the second woman pilot of Indian Air Force to fly solo in a fighter aircraft.Flying Officer Bhawana Kanth flew in a MiG-21 Bison aircraft from Ambala Air Force Station on 16th March 2018.The first woman pilot is Avani Chaturvedi.

Other Awards

• Architect Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi has been named the 2018 winner of architecture's highest honour , the Pritzker Prize announced by Tom Pritzker, chairman of the Hyatt Foundation in Chicago. Doshi is the first Indian and the 45th laureate to receive the award. The award ceremony will take place at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto this May.

• On March 10, 2018, renowned actor Amol Palekar was honoured with the ‘Godavari Gaurav’ award along with Classical singer Pandit Satyasheel Deshpande at an event in Nashik, Maharashtra.She received the award from noted Marathi writer Madhu Mangesh Karnik, who is the chairperson of the Prathishthan.Palekar has given impressive performance in several films like “Gol Maal” , “Choti Si




Baat” and“Chitchor”. • On 13th March 2018, ICMR was presented a cash prize of $65,000 by the Kochon Foundation. • An India-UK Joint Team has won the Newton-Bhabha Fund for a project on Groundwater Arsenic

Research in Ganga River Basin. The Fund is provided by the British Council.Prof Abhijit Mukherjee will lead the project at IIT Kharagpur

• Union Ministry of Power has been awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for successfully implementing e-Office system in the Ministry.e-office system is part of Government of India’s National e-Governance Programme and is aimed at improving the operational efficiency of the Government.

• On 14th March 2018, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Dr Jitendra Singh, awarded a Certificate of Appreciation to Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) which is received by Satyabrata Sahu, Joint Secretary and Mrs Seemantinee Sengupta, Senior Technical Director, HOD, NIC-MDWS for implementation of e-office software.

• Chattisgarh’s Krishi Vigyan Kendra has been named the best such centre in India for its initiatives like nutrition gardens and integrated farming techniques. It is affiliated to the IGKV Dr S K Patil, vice chancellor of IGKV in Raipur, and Birbal Sahu, coordinator of Kanker Krishi Vigyan Kendra, received the 'Pt Deendayal Upadhyay Krishi Vigyan Protsahan Award-2017' which has cash prize of Rs 25 lakh from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 17th March 2018 in New Delhi.

• On 20th March 2018, the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters said that, Canadian mathematician Robert Langlands has been named the winner of the Abel Prize for 2018.Robert Langlands will receive 6 million Norwegian kroner ($776,000) from Norway's King Harald V at an award function to be held in Oslo on 22nd May 2018.

• London-based South Asian Cinema Foundation (SACF) has received the Frederick Pincott Award for 2017 from the Indian High Commissioner, Y K Sinha for promoting Hindi cinema in Britain for the last 18 years. It was set up in London in January 2000 by Lalit Mohan Joshi.

• Bollywood actor-producer Anushka Sharma has featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2018 list.Indian badminton player PV Sindhu also appears in the list. Pakistani singer Momina Mustehsan is also seen in the list.

• On March 27, 2018, President Ram Nath Kovind presented Gallantry Awards and distinguished service decorations at the Defence Investiture Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. President Kovind presented three Kirti Chakra, 17 Shaurya Chakra, 14 Param Vishisht Seva Medals (PVSM), one Uttam Yudh Seva Medal (UYSM) and 22 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals (AVSM).

• Two Indian activists Mirnalini Dayal and Yogesh Kumar have been selected among 20 finalists for the Commonwealth Youth Awards 2018 for their contribution towards achieving gender equality. Mirnalini Dayal has been chosen for her work as a campaign leader for 'Health Over Stigma'. Yogesh Kumar has been shortlisted for establishing the social enterprise 'Even Cargo'.

CONFERENCE/SUMMIT IN NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL NEWS

No. Name of Summit/Conference Place Facts about the summit /conference 1 Two-day National Legislators

Conference New Delhi The theme of the conference is - "We

For Development". 2 conference of International Solar

Alliance (ISA) New Delhi Co- hosted by Indian President Ram

Nath Kovind and visiting French President Emmanuel Macron.

3 Conference on ‘Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) for Urban Areas – Opportunities and Challenges’

Kolkata This conference was organized by Ministry of Finance, AIIB, ASSOCHAM and Research and




Information System for Developing Countries (RIS).

4 ‘End TB Summit’ New Delhi co-hosted by Union Health Ministry, World Health Organisation (WHO) South East Asia Regional Office and Stop TB Partnership and launched ‘Tuberculosis Free India Campaign’.

5. Two-day Asia-Pacific Regional Conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)

New Delhi Theme: Challenges to Policing in 2020 - How is Cyber Space shaping our approach to Cybercrime and Terrorism,

6. Rising India Summit New Delhi Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, is the guest of honour.

7. first National Conference on Drug Law Enforcement

New Delhi This conference has been organised by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), under Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

8 National Conference on Down Syndrome

New Delhi This conference was organised by the National Trust under Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. A book entitled “Twilights Children” was released

9 5th India Maize Summit New Delhi It was organized by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

10 #Future, Kerala’s first-ever global digital summit

Kochi Theme of the Summit was “Towards a Digital Future”. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched the M-Kerala app

11 11th Rashtriya Rifles Biennial Conference 2018

Jammu and Kashmir The Conference was chaired by Chief of the Army Staff General Bipin Rawat.

• Central Government has sanctioned a grant of Rs 1000 crore for the second phase of the Impacting

Research Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT) India programme. Announcement in this regard was made by Union Minister for Human Resources and Development, Prakash Javadekar at the Visitors Conference held in New Delhi on March 6, 2018.

• On February 28, 2018,Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani attended the 27th Technological Conference of Indian Jute Industries' Research Association (IJIRA) on Shaping the Future of Jute, in

Kolkata, West Bengal.She also added that potential entrepreneurs who wish to start manufacturing of these jute-based sanitary napkins can benefit from the Mudra loan scheme of the government.

COMMITTEE/MEETING IN NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL NEWS

• On 28th February 2018,The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, launched the superhero mascots for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, at the Kakezuka school in Tokyo.





The Olympic mascot has a futuristic blue and white chequered pattern. The Paralympic mascot has a pink and white design inspired by cherry blossoms

• Central Government has constituted a Steering Committee to consider various issues relating to development of Financial Technology (Fintech) space in India.This committee will be headed by Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs(DEA) under Ministry of Finance.

• On 10th March 2018, the 26th meeting of the GST Council was held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. There is difference in the amount of IGST & Compensation Cess paid by importers at Customs

ports and input tax credit of the same claimed in GSTR-3B & great difference in self-declared liability in FORM GSTR-1 and FORM GSTR-3B.

The present system of filing of GSTR 3B and GSTR 1 is extended for 3 more months: April to June, 2018 untill new return system is finalized.

The provisions for deduction of tax at source (TDS) under section 51 of the CGST Act and collection of tax at source (TCS) under section 52 of the CGST Act will be suspended till 30.06.2018 & GST implementation Committee (GIC) will work on redressing the grievances caused to the taxpayers due to IT glitches.Click here to read more

• On 12th March 2018, Minister of State for Textiles Ajay Tamta said that, the government has constituted ‘Field Inspection and Scientific Evaluation Committee (FISEC)’ to investigate into illegal cultivation of HT (Herbicide Tolerant) cotton in 4 states namely Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

• First Interaction of 15th Finance Commission with the Members of Parliament was held on March 14, 2018 in New Delhi which will function in a different scenario wherein there is no Planning Commission and Government has removed the distinction between Plan and Non Plan grants.The meeting was held to convey the proposed schedule of the Commission’s work and its Terms of Reference (TOR) as well as to seek suggestions of Parliamentarians.

• 1st meeting of the Working Group on making India,was held on March 15, 2018 in New Delhi. The objective of Working Group is to make Indian economy a USD 5 trillion economy from the current USD 2.6 trillion economy. The meeting was chaired by Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu and was attended by representatives from NITI Aayog and other industry bodies including are CII and FICCI

• Informal meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministers was held in New Delhi on March 20, 2018.This meeting was called by India to explore options to reinvigorate the World Trade Organisation (WTO), by engaging in free and frank discussions.This meeting was attended by Ministers and Vice Ministers from 27 countries and WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo.

• First G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors under Presidency of Argentina was held on 19th and 20th March 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.Discussions at the this two-day meeting revolved around infrastructure development and the future of work in the digital arena.

• On 28th March 2018, SEBI accepted most of the recommendations of Uday Kotak Committee on Corporate Governance.SEBI has accepted to declare to split the posts of chairperson and managing director, making sure that both are not held by the same person. This change will come into effect on 1st April 2020 for the top 500 companies.

• The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry announced the members of the Central Press Accreditation Committee.It considers the names of correspondents and camerapersons who get Press Information Bureau (PIB) accreditation & is headed by the Prinicpal Director General of PIB as the ex-officio chairperson. It has 8 members.

• On 23rd March 2018, the 7th Session of India Egypt Joint Commission Meeting was held in New Delhi.It is led by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj & the Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

• On 27th March 2018, the 15th meeting of the India-US Counterterrorism Joint Working Group was held in New Delhi.The India delegation was led by Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary Mahaveer Singhvi. US delegation was led by U.S. State Department’s Principal Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Alina L. Romanowski.The next meeting of the Joint Working




Group will be hosted by the United States in 2019. • On March 26, 2018, a meeting between Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Suresh Prabhu and

China’s Trade Minister Zhong Shan was held in New Delhi.This meeting was held at China-India joint-group on Economic Relations, Trade, Science & Technology. India’s goods trade deficit with China for the first ten months of 20017-18 stands at $52 billion as against $0.6 billion in 2000-01.

RANKINGS India in Rankings Index/Report/Field Position Points to be noted Global Firepower (GFP) list 2017 4th out of 133 India at 4th rank, trails behind only US, Russia

and China Mastercard Index for Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE)

52 out of 57 Newzealand, Swedan, Canada are top three in this list

World Happiness Report 2018 133rd out of 156 Finland is topped at this list and Burundi is at the bottom of the World Happiness Report rankings. report is an annual report published by the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network

World Economic Forum's (WEF’s) Energy Transition Index

78th out of 114 Sweden topped in this list. The index is a part of first edition of ‘Fostering Effective Energy Transition report’,

Speedtest Global Index i.67th for fixed broadband ii. 109th for mobile internet speeds

Singapore topped the Fixed Broadband Speed Norway Mobile Internet Download Speed

Global Multidimensional Poverty Index

66th

Indian states or Cities in Rankings State or City Index/Report/Field Position Points to be noted Chennai India’s digital divide: how

broadband speed splits the nation’ by Ookla

1 highest fixed broadband download speed

Mumbai Knight Frank Wealth Report 2018

16th Monaco has topped in the list among 20 costliest cities in the world

New Delhi TripAdvisor’s top 25 travellers choice of destinations list for 2018

22nd Paris secured 1st rank in the global list of Travellers Choice awards for Destinations. New Delhi has secured 8th rank in Asia. The Asia list is topped by Bali in Indonesia

• Hurun Global Rich List is a ranking of US-dollar-billionaires in the world With 819 billionaires in 2018, China topped the countries list, followed by US (571 billionaires).

• As per a survey by Airports Council International (ACI), Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport has been rated as the world number one among airports handling more than 40 million passengers per annum.Among other Indian Airports, Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport has been ranked as the World’s Best Airport for customer experience.

• Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has become the first person with $100 billion wealth in Forbes magazine’s annual ranking of the world’s moguls 2018.The estimated wealth of Jeff Bezos according to Forbes magazine is $112 billion as on 9th February 2018.

• The HRD (Human Resources Development) ministry has decided to set up an innovation cell lead by a scientist,senior official and young professional to develop new ideas to encourage innovation in India.This decision is made after India improved by 6 ranks in the Global Innovation Index Ranking 60th rank in 2017 from 66th rank in 2016 on the Global Innovation Index Ranking




• As per a recent household survey conducted in Andhra Pradesh, the state attained a rank equivalent to 51st rank globally on Multidimensional Poverty Index whose index value is 0.0825 East Godavari has topped with index value of 0.0468 and Vizianagaram is at the bottom with a value of 0.1271..

• Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Summit in Mumbai by Kaspersky Labs said that India ranks 33rd worldwide in facing web-borne threats & added that India secured 37th place worldwide in attacks by local threats and 13th in incidents with malicious hosts located within the country.

• Singapore is the most expensive city in the world as per Worldwide Cost of Living 2018 which is a bi-annual study of 133 cities conducted by London-headquartered Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Rank City 129 Bengaluru, India 126 Chennai, India 124 New Delhi, India

• As per 20th annual Quality of Living world’s best city to live in survey by Mercer survey assesses living conditions in 231 cities of the world on 39 factors, grouped under 10 broad categories. Vienna, Austria has topped in this list.

• As per data compiled by Institute for Criminal Policy Research, India has a significantly lower imprisonment rate of 33 and United States has the highest imprisonment rate (666) among major countries

• San Francisco (overall rank 30th) is the highest ranking US city.Singapore at overall 25th rank and Montevideo at overall 77th rank are the highest ranking cities in Asia and Latin America, respectively.

• Capital of Mauritius, Port Louis (overall rank 83) is the best African city on the list. • Capital of Iraq, Baghdad (overall rank 231) has been adjudged as the least liveable city. • Honolulu (capital of Hawaii) has topped the inaugural City Sanitation ranking while Port au Prince

(capital of Haiti) is at the bottom.

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

• On March 21, 2018, Allahabad Bank stated that it has received approval from Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs for amalgamation of its fully-owned subsidiary All Bank Finance Ltd. (ABFL)offers fee-based services like debenture trusteeship, distribution of mutual fund schemes, investment advisory and portfolio management and security valuation.

• On 23rd March 2018, Reliance Industries (RIL) announced the merger of its digital music service JioMusic with Saavn, a streaming service provider.The company will continue as an over-the-top (OTT) media platform. It will be available for download in all app stores.

• Google has acquired Tenor, a GIF search engine for Android, iOS and desktop.Cathy Edwards, Director of Engineering, Google Images, said that, Tenor would introduce GIFs in Google Images and services like Gboard easily. It will help users to find and share GIF images easily.

DEFENCE

• On February 28, 2018, Indian Navy concluded a gruelling two-month long War Games. The War

Game on the Western seaboard was codenamed Exercise Paschim Lehar and on the Eastern Seaborad the code name was ENCORE (Eastern Naval Command Operational Readiness Exercise).

• On 28th February 2018, India successfully test-fired Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) Nag in desert conditions, at Pokhran's field firing range in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The ATGM Nag was developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

• On March 5, 2018, officials from India and the United States were at the Pokhran firing range (Rajasthan) to test-fire M777 ultra-light howitzers.In May 2017, Indian Army took delivery of two




M777 ultralight howitzers from BAE Systems, US under a contract signed between Indian and US Government in 2016.

• ‘MILAN 2018’, a multinational naval exercise hosted by Indian Navy began on March 6, 2018 at Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands.Objective behind MILAN 2018 is to expand regional cooperation and combat unlawful activities in critical sea lanes in Indian Ocean region.Theme of ‘MILAN 2018’ is 'Friendship Across the Seas'.

• Multilateral Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Air Force exercise, ‘Samvedna’ began off the coast of Kerala on March 12, 2018.In Hindi, Samvedna means 'Empathy'.Representatives from air forces of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are participating in this exercise.

• Over 5,000 Israeli and American troops train together through "Juniper Cobra" exercise in Israel. was started in 2001. It has been conducted every two years since then.It comprises field training, computer simulations and live-fire drills of sophisticated missile-defence systems Brig. Gen. Zvika Haimovich,it the chief of Israel's air defence command.

• Affairs General VK Singh and cricketer Gautam Gambhir attended the first edition of 'Soldierathon' in New Delhi. Cricketer Mohammad Kaif and Actor Varun Sood also witnessed this marathon.'Soldierathon' is a special marathon aimed at raising funds for welfare of Indian soldiers and their families & the funds will be donated to Indian Army's Artificial Limb Centre (ALC) and for the education of martyrs' children.

• On February 28, 2018, Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave approval to Capital Acquisition Proposals of the Services and Coast Guard valued at approximately Rs. 9435 crore in which it includes procurement of 41000 Light Machine Guns and over 3.5 Lakh Close Quarter Battle Carbines.

• Gulf Shield 1 Joint drills, organised by Saudi Arabia's Defence Ministry, started in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia from March 18, 2018.Objective of this drill is to enhance coordination and cooperation, modernise joint mechanisms and raise military readiness of participating countries.

• On 19th March 2018, Phase I of Varuna 18, an Indo-French Naval Exercise, began in Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) in Goa.Second and third phases will be conducted in Chennai and La Reunion Island respectively. Varuna 18 will be conducted in 3 sea areas: the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and South Western Indian Ocean. INS Kalavari, P8-I and Dornier Maritiem Patrol Aircraft and Mig 29-K fighter aircraft also take part in this exercise.

• On March 21, 2018, Union Defence Ministry released a notification stating that Indian government will now; fully fund the education of martyrs' children.Earlier,it was limited only up to Rs 10000 a month.

• Union Defence Ministry has released a draft policy aimed at promoting the domestic defence industry and positioning it to achieve a turnover of Rs 170000 crore in military goods and services by 2025.The aim is to make India self-reliant in terms of Defence Production and also to emerge as one of the top five manufacturers of defence platforms in the world.

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has bagged the "Most Informative Pavilion" award in the Pride of India Expo, in Manipur.The Expo was a part of the 105th Indian Science Congress (ISC) held in Manipur.

• On March 21, 2018, Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved Indian Air Force (IAF) plan to set up a forward fighter base close to Deesa in Banaskantha district of Gujarat.CCS has sanctioned Rs. 1000 crore.

• On 22nd March 2018, India successfully test fired the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with an indigenous 'seeker' at Rajasthan's Pokhran test range, enhancing the country's capability to hit enemy targets at a range of up to 400 km.It travels at speeds of up to Mach 3.0

• On 11th March 2018, Russia announced that, it successfully launched the high-precision Kinzhal (Dagger) missile hypersonic missile from a MiG-31 supersonic interceptor jet from an airfield in the South Military District in southwest Russia.The Speed of Kinzhal is 10 times the speed of sound.




SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Mobile Apps/Portal Launched by Purpose 'Delhi's Date with Democracy'

Delhi Government A mobile application that will serve as a platform for aspiring singers and dancers in the city to showcase their talent on a big stage.

“T App Folio” Telangana government A mobile governance application, for delivery of government to citizen (G2C) and business to citizen (B2C) services anytime and anywhere

‘Sukhad Yatra’ mobile App

Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways

It will allow users to report any emergency condition on the highway or highway-related feedback.

“www.udyamsakhi.org” Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)

A portal for women entrepreneurs of India

'Forest Fire Alert' Odisha forest department To track and fight forest fires during summer

“Scout-Me” All India Football Federation (AIFF)

To discover future players. Scout-me app has been developed by kush pandey.

www.epfindia.gov.in Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO)

To obtain pension-related information

Other Science and Technology News of National & International • Vodafone Germany, Nokia and Audi said that, they were jointly working to support this

project. Vodafone has appointed Nokia as its technology partner. Nokia would develop a space-grade network. PTScientists, a Berlin-based company, is also working on this project. A launch has been scheduled in 2019 from Cape Canaveral on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

• On March 19, 2018,Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath completed one year in office and on this occasion,he launched an anti-graft portal.The portal is aimed at taking action against any official who is involved in corruption or is encouraging it at any level.A multi-colour booklet titled ‘Ek Saal – Nayee Misaal’ with the punchline ‘Huaa Vikaas – Badha Vishwaas’ was unveiled.

• On 25th February 2018,Huawei Balong 5G01 is said to be world’s first 3GPP 5G commercial chipset having peak rate of 2.3 GBPS (gigabit per second). Vodafone is also collaborating with Huawei for this.

• On 1st March 2018, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah inaugurated ‘Shakti Sthala’ a solar

power park with 2,000 megawatt capacity at Pavagada in Tumakuru district of Karnataka.It was set up at a cost of Rs 165 billion.

• On March 1, 2018, Bharati Defence and Infrastructure Ltd (BDIL) delivered an interceptor boat, C-162(It is to be based at ICG’s Kochi unit) – to Indian Coast Guard (ICG) in Mangaluru, Karnataka.It is the Sixth in a series of 15 high speed interceptor boats being procured by Indian Coast Guard.

• On March 1, 2018,NASA launched GOES-S(Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites) to safeguard Western US: Alaska and Hawaii & Mexico and Central America by monitoring, forecasting and providing crisp images of hurricanes, wildfires, floods, mudslides and other natural calamities.GOES-16 is the first spacecraft in the series.


https://bit.ly/SBIPO2018



• For the first time, a team of astronomers from Arizona State University have discovered signals from the period when the universe's earliest stars emerged. The period when the universe's earliest stars emerged is referred to as ‘Cosmic Dawn’.

• On 2nd March 2018, the all-women Indian crew circumnavigating the globe on the Indian Navy Sailing Vessel (INSV) Tarini arrived at a port in Cape Town in South Africa. This expedition by the all-women Indian crew is named Navika Sagar Parikrama.

• A new malware named Saposhi has been detected, which can take over electronic devices and make them as ‘bots’ that can be exploited for any purpose.Saposhi has been detected recently by cyber security agencies.

• A team of researchers from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) of Bengaluru, have developed silver copper telluride (AgCuTe), a thermoelectric compound. Silver copper telluride (AgCuTe) is a thermoelectric material that can convert waste heat into electricity.

• An international team of scientists from the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) in Austria, Harvard University in Massachusetts, and Rice University in Texas,have provided the first proof of an exotic new state of matter, known as Rydberg polarons which basically involves making use of the space between the electron and the nucleus inside an atom, enough to fit other atoms inside.This is Published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

• Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) has undertaken development of a coded drug AYUSH QOL-2C for enhancing the quality of life of cancer patients. Clinical studies on breast cancer patients was done at St. John’s Medical College, Bengaluru and AIIMS, New Delhi. Studies on lung cancer patients was performed at Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Jaipur.

• IRCTC has introduced billing through Point of Sale (POS) hand held machines in trains. IRCTC is introducing POS billing machines in trains in phases. POS machines have already been introduced in train no. 12627-28, SBC-NDLS Karnataka Express on pilot basis.In the next phase, 100 POS machines are launched in 26 trains

• Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has developed “Fluorimeter”,which costs Rs 1 lakh,the instrument that measures traces of uranium in water.It was developed by the Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT). RRCAT is a unit of DAE based in Indore.

• NASA and SpaceX have tied up to search for exoplanets using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).It has been planned to launch TESS on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida

• On March 27, 2018, US space agency,NASA announced that during 2018, it will launch two new satellite missions to enhance the view of Earth's frozen regions.Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission & Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2)

• On March 29, 2018, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched India’s latest communication satellite GSAT-6A on board Geosynchronous rocket GSLV-F08 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. It will provide mobile communication to India through, multi-beam coverage facility.

• Scientists have discovered a hot, metallic, Earth-sized planet named “K2-229b” that orbits a dwarf star located 260 million light years away.It is located very close to its host star 0.012 AU. This distance is nearly a hundredth of the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

• On May 5, 2018, US Space agency, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will send ‘InSight’, the first-ever mission dedicated to exploring the deep interior of Mars using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport & will help to know about the earliest stages of Mars’ formation, 4.5 billion years ago

• On 29th March 2018, China successfully launched a Long March 3B rocket carrying two Beidou-3MEO satellites: Beidou-30 and Beidou-31 from the LC2 Launch Complex of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, Sichuan province, China.




• On March 30, 2018, Russia successfully tested its latest intercontinental ballistic missile Sarmat.It was launched from Plesetsk in northwestern Russia.It will replace the Soviet-era Voyevoda, which is known as "Satan" in the West.

• On March 29, 2018, Pakistan successfully test fired indigenously developed Submarine Launched Cruise Missile BABUR.It has a strike range of 450 KMs and is capable of delivering various types of payloads.

• Scientists have identified a new organ in human beings which has been dubbed the ‘interstitium’.It is made up of both strong (collagen) and flexible (elastin) connective tissue proteins.Researchers believe that Interstitium may even be one of the largest organ in the human body.

• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has given in-principle approval to National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) for design, development and certification of Hansa-NG, a next generation trainer aircraft of the two-seater Hansa-3 aircraft. Hansa-3, developed by NAL is India’s first all-composite light aircraft.Hansa-NG is a collaborative project between NAL and MESCO Aerospace.

• China has announced that, it is constructing the world's fastest wind tunnel.A Chinese researcher has said that, the 265 meter-long tunnel would be used to test hypersonic aircraft that can travel up to a speed of 30,625 kph. This speed is 25 times the speed of sound.

• Hellenic Space Agency, Greece’s first space agency was officially launched on March 19, 2018.Dr. Tom Krimigis, who is regarded as ‘Space Exploration Pioneer’ has been appointed Chairperson of the Board of Hellenic Space Agency.Greece has been a member of European Space Agency (ESA) since 2005

ENVIRONMENT

• A new species of Himalayan moth named “Eucyclodes gavissima” has been discovered in Papikonda National Park, Andhra Pradesh.An announcement regarding this was made by Anant Shankar, Divisional Forest Officer (wildlife), at a workshop on butterflies in Andhra Pradesh.

• A new species of water strider which is sixth in India named as ‘Ptilomera nagalanda Jehamalar and Chandra’ has been discovered in Intanki river, Peren district in Nagaland by scientists of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).Ventral part of its body is pale yellowish brown in colour. It has orange with black stripes on the dorsal side. Its legs are 11.79 mm long.

• On 20th March 2018, Sudan, the last surviving northern white male rhinoceros of the world, died after suffering age related ailments at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia national park, Kenya.It was the only surviving male northern white rhino. Now, only two female rhinoceros of that sub-species are living.

• Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB) said that, a cloned Assamese buffalo male calf named Sach-Gaurav was born for the first time. The calf was born to a Murrah buffalo with a weight of 54.2 kg

SPORTS Sports/Tournament/title Winner Points to be noted Snooker Team World Cup in Doha, Qatar

Indian duo of Pankaj Advani and Manan Chandra

India beat Pakistan by 3-2

ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico

Indian golfer Shahzar Rizvi Jitu Rai and Mehuli Ghosh won bronze medals

11th Tal Memorial chess in Moscow, Russia

Viswanathan Anand

ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico

Manu Bhaker Ravi Kumar has won bronze medal in the men’s 10m air pistol in the.

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2018 Australia




title,Malaysia Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel 2018 Formula One Grand

Prix of Australia Australia.Lewis Hamilton finished in the second position.Kimi Raikkonen finished in the third position

Wrestling • On 1st March 2018, Vinesh Phogat won silver medal in in the women’s 50kg freestyle event, at the

Asian Wrestling Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.List of winners:- Category Medal 50 Kg freestyle event Vinesh Phogat(Silver) defeated by Chun

Lei(China) 59 Kg freestyle event Sangeeta(Bronze) defeats Jieun Um(Korea) 82 kg Greco-Roman event Harpreet Singh(bronze) defeats

Khashimbekov(Uzbekistan) 55kg Greco-Roman event Rajendra Kumar(Bronze) defeats

Mirakhmedov(Uzbekistan) • On 2nd March 2018,Navjot Kaur became the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold in the Senior

Asian Championships under 65kg freestyle category in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. i.India’s Navjot Kaur defeated Japan's Miya Imai. Also, this is India's first gold medal in the 2018 Asian Wrestling Championships. ii,Sakshi Malik defeated Kazakhstan's Ayaulym Kassymova 10-7 and won bronze medal in the 62kg freestyle category.

Cricket • Rashid Khan,19 years old of Afghanistan has become the youngest captain in international

cricket.He took charge as captain for Afghanistan team as the previous captain Asghar Stanikzai was down with appendicitis.

• On 8th March 2018, India B team won the Deodhar Trophy 2017-18 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh.India B team defeated Karnataka team by six wickets Man of the Match: Ravikumar Samarth. Ravikumar Samarth of Karnataka team.

• On 15th March 2018, Nepal cricket team gained One-Day International (ODI) status for the first time.It has gained ODI status after it won over Papua New Guinea by six wickets in the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe on 15thMarch 2018.

• KL Rahul has been named the 'Cricketer of the Year' in the 6th edition of Wisden India Almanack that has been released recently

'Cricketer of the Year' Hall of Fame Deepti Sharma, Priyank Panchal, Hasan Ali Tamim Iqbal

Shantha Rangaswamy

• On 17th March 2018, former England batsman Kevin Pietersen announced his retirement from all

forms of Cricket.He was the captain of England cricket team in 2008-09 period.His international cricket career ended in 2014 when he was sacked by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

• On 28th March 2018, Steve Smith and David Warner were banned from playing for Australia by Cricket Australia after the ball-tampering scandal during the Cape Town Test against South Africa.i. It was found out that sandpaper was used in an attempt to rough up the ball.

• On 30th March 2018, Zimbabwe Cricket sacked its entire coaching staff and removed Graeme Cremer as captain after their failure to qualify for the 2019 World Cup.It is said that, Brendan Taylor would be made the captain of Zimbabwe team.

• On 30th March 2018, Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) appointed Irfan Pathan as the coach-cum-mentor of its senior stateside for the 2018-19 season.




Football • On 16th March 2018, FIFA lifted its three-decade ban on Iraq hosting international football matches,

allowing Arbil, Basra and Karbala cities to host official matches.Iraq will host a friendly tournament between Qatar and Syria on 21st March 2018 in Basra but organisers of the championship should take the final decision.

• On 25th March 2018, India U-16 football team won the Jockey Cup International Youth Invitational Football Tournament in Hong Kong.They defeated Hong Kong 4-2 in the final.The team was coached by Bibiano Fernandes.

Tennis

• On 3rd March 2018, the Maharashtra women's team won the interstate national tennis championship 2018 held in Chhattisgarh. The interstate national tennis championship 2018 was organised by the Chhattisgarh State Tennis Association (CSTA) under the guidance of All India Tennis Association (AITA) from 26th February to 3rd March 2018.

• Odisha will host the 80th Senior National Table Tennis Championships in Cuttack after 12 long years.Earlier, Odisha had hosted Senior National Table Tennis Championships in 2001 and 2006. It was decided at the 81st AGM (Annual General Meeting) of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), conducted recently in Gurugram.

• Tommy Haas of Germany, the Indian Wells Tournament Director, has announced his retirement from professional tennis.He became world number two in May 2002.He bagged silver medal in the Olympic Games in 2000 & he was made Tournament Director at Indian Wells in 2016.

Shooting • International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup was held in Guadalajara, Mexico from

1st to 12th March, 2018.India topped the medal tally at ISSF Shooting World Cup by winning four gold, one silver and three bronze.

Shooter Category Medal Shahzar Rizvi 10m Air Pistol Men’s Event Gold Manu Bhaker 10m Air Pistol Women’s Event Gold Akhil Sheoran Men's 50m Rifle 3 Position Gold Om Prakash Mitharval & Manu Bhaker 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team Title Gold Anjum Moudgil Women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions Silver Jitu Rai 10m Air Pistol Men’s Event Bronze Ravi Kumar Men’s 10m Air Rifle Event Bronze Mehuli Ghosh & Deepak Kumar 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team Event Bronze

• On 22nd March 2018, Indian shooter Elavenil Valarivan shot 249.8 in the finals & won gold medal in the junior women's 10m air rifle event at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun in Sydney, Australia.

Shooter Category Position Elavenil Valarivan along with Shreya Agrawal and Zeena Khitta

Team 1(Gold Medal)

Arjun Babuta men's 10m air rifle 3(Bronze Medal) • On 26th March 2018, Anish Bhanwala won gold medal in the men’s 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Junior

event at the ISSF Junior World Cup Rifle / Pistol / Shotgun in Sydney, Australia. China’s Cheng Zhipeng scored 27 hits and won silver medal.Another Indian team comprising Sandhu, Japtyesh Singh Jaspal and Mandeep Singh won bronze medal.

• On 28th March 2018, Muskan Bhanwala won gold medal in the Women’s 25m Pistol event at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Sydney, Australia.China's Sihang Qin bagged the silver medal. Thailand’s Kanyakorn Hirunphoem won bronze medal. Another Indian shooter Manu Bhaker finished in the




fourth position. Other sports

• Russia was banned by IOC due to state-sponsored doping during the Winter Olympics 2014 in Sochi. Russia has got back its Olympic membership, following its suspension from 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.

• On 1st March 2018,Prasanta Karmakar was suspended for 3 years by the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) due to allegations of recording videos of female para-swimmers at the National Championships 2017 in Jaipur.He was the first Indian para-swimmer.He was India’s swimming coach for the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

Medals Won by Prasanta Karmakar World Swimming Championships(2003)-Argentina Commonwealth Games(2010)

• Indian junior archers bagged three gold and three bronze medals to finish their Asia Cup Archery Stage 1 campaign.

Medals Archers Gold 1.Promila Daimary defeated Natalia Erdynieva of Russia (Womens recurve

individual) 2. Akash, Gora Ho and Gaurav Lambe defeated Mongolia's Adiyasuren Baasankhuu, Otgonbold Baatarkhuyag and Gantugs Jantsan(Indian Trio) 3. Muskan Kirar(women's compound individual section)

Bronze Madhu Vedwan Muskan Kirar

• Minerva Punjab FC beat Churchill Brothers FC 1-0 to win their maiden I-League title on Thursday at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula. They will now represent India in the 2019 AFC Champions League preliminary play-offs.On 11th March 2018,Senior National triathlon championship held in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The triathlon event consisted of 1.5 km of swimming, 40 km of cycling and 10 km of the run.

Category Name Medal Men’s Bishworjit Singh Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) Gold

KSH Minachandra(SSCB) Silver L Mahesh(Manipur) Bronze

Women’s Samira Abraham(Goa) Gold Pragna Mohan(Gujarat) Silver Monika Nagpure(Gujarat) Bronze

• Navjot Kaur has become world No 2 in the women's 65kg category in the latest rankings released by the United World Wrestling.Navjot Kaur recently became the first Indian woman to win a gold

medal at the Asian Championship in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The first position in 65kg category is occupied by Petra Olli of Finland. However, Navjot Kaur and Petra Olli both have 18 points.

• On 11th March 2018, Anindith Reddy was presented the 'FMSCI National MotorSports Person of the Year 2017’ award at a function held in Chennai. FIA world motor sport council member Gautam Singhania and FMSCI (Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India) president Akbar Ebrahim handed over the award to Anindith Reddy. KD Madan, a former FMSCI president and K1000 champion, was presented the FMSCI Lifetime Achievement Award.

• On 15th March 2018, India's Sanjivani Jadhav won bronze medal in women's 8km cross country race





in the 14th Asian Cross Country Championship at Guiyang in China. Sanjivani Jadhav covered in 28 minutes and 19 seconds.She was surpassed by China’s Li Dan (28:03) and Japan’s Abe Yukari (28:06).Indian women's team comprising Sanjivani, Swati Gadhave, Jhuma Khatun and Lalita Babar also bagged a bronze medal.

• On 17th March 2018, Chennaiyin FC won the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) 2017-18 title at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, Karnataka.Mailson Alves scored 2 goals and Raphael Augusto scored 1 goal for Chennaiyin FC team. Sunil Chhetri and Miku scored one goal each for Bengaluru FC team.

• On 15th March 2018, Deepa Malik bagged gold medal in the F53/54 Javelin event at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai.She has qualified for the Asian Para Games 2018 that will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia from 8th to 16th October 2018. She has received Arjuna award in 2012 and Padma Shri award in 2017.

• On 18th March 2018, India won the Nidahas Trophy at the R Premadasa Stadium, in Colombo, Sri Lanka.India beat Bangladesh in the finals by four wickets. Dinesh Karthik was named Man of the Match.

• On 5th to 18th March 2018, the Indian Wells Masters was held in Indian Wells, California, United States. Indian Wells 2018: i. The Indian Wells 2018 is also known as the 2018 BNP Paribas Open. The complete list of winners is given below:

Category Winner Runner-up Men's Singles Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) Roger Federer (Switzerland) Women's Singles Naomi Osaka (Japan) Daria Kasatkina (Russia)

Men's Doubles John Isner (United States) Jack Sock (United States)

Bob Bryan (United States) Mike Bryan (United States)

Women's Doubles Hsieh Su-wei (Chinese Taipei) Barbora Strycova (Czech Republic)

Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) Elena Vesnina (Russia)

• On 18th March 2018, the Paralympic Winter Games Pyeong Chang 2018 in South Korea, concluded with Team USA having its most successful performancein 16 years.It grabbed a total of 36 medals and topped the overall medal count.Oksana Masters became the female U.S. athlete to have won the highest number of medals in PyeongChang Olympics with five medals. Among men, Dan Cnossen won six medals and topped the count

• The National Boxing Academy in Rohtak, Haryana, is to host the World Series of Boxing (WSB) clash between Indian Tigers and the Astana Arlans from Kazakhastan on 31st March 2018.The Indian team's campaign is led by Sanjeet (+91 kg). He will fight with Abikhair Turlanbekov in a clash of titans.

• PV Sindhu has been chosen by IOA (Indian Olympic Association) as Indian contingent’s flag-bearer at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2018 at Gold Coast, Australia. She won bronze medal in the women’s singles badminton event at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014.

• On 24th March 2018, Pankaj Advani retained his Asian Billiards Championships title by winning over B Bhaskar 6-1 in the finals, in Yangon, Myanmar.India's Amee Kamani bagged the Asian Women's Snooker title by defeating Thailand’s Siripaporn Nuanthakhamjan 3-0.

• On 25th March 2018, Hockey Punjab won the 8th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship 2018 (A Division) at the Padma Shri Mohammad Shahid Synthetic Hockey Stadium in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.In the Bronze medal match, Railway Sports Promotion Board defeated Air India




Sports Promotion Board 5-3. • On 29th March 2018, 17th Sub-junior National Wushu Championship started in Jammu.It

is organised by the the Wushu Association of India jointly with J&K State Sports Council at MA Stadium.It was inaugurated by J&K Youth Services and Sports Minister Imran Raza Ansari at a ceremony at Police auditorium, Jammu.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Book Name Author Other Information “Namaste Shalom” Tarun Vijay, former

MP. Mr. Daniel Carmon, Israeli Ambassador to India.

Dr Jitendra Singh, launched this social media of a magazine on India-Israel relations,

‘Paramveer Parwane’ Dr Prabhakiran Jain It is published by Medha Books. General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Army Staff, released a book on Paramveer Chakra Awardees

‘Fulfilling Bapu’s Dreams

Prime Minister Modi’s Tribute to Gandhiji’ from Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

• Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has released the book named ‘A Tribute to Jagu’ as a tribute to former BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya.Avishek, son of Jagmohan Dalmiya, who is the joint secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) received the book.

• On 14th March 2018, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur released 'Mahila Suraksha', a handbook.The handbook has been brought out by the Shimla administration. It explains personal safety measures and safeguards related to crimes, and also about sexual harassment at workplace It also has important telephone and helpline numbers.

OBITUARY National Wise

Name of the person who passed away

Field Points to be noted

Arabinda Muduli, Odia Bhajan Singer His popular bhajans are Kala Saante Acha Kemante and Jaga Pain Niti Mali Phula.

Khagendra Jamatia Tripura Fisheries And Cooperation Minister

He was CPM candidate from the Krishnapur constituency.

T Thomas Former Hindustan Unilever (HUL) And Business Standard Chairman

He was Chairman of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) from 1973 to 1980.

Prafulla Das Literature He was honoured with the Sarala Award in 2014

Javed Abidi Disability Rights Activist

He was the Director of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP).

Sarat Mohanty Odia Comedian Justice D Sreedevi Former Judge Of The

Kerala High Court She had penned down an autobiography named ‘Aa Niyogathaal’.

Shammi Bollywood Actress M K Bhargav Former Chairman Of

Madhya Pradesh




Cricket Association (MPCA)

Shivaji Dasgupta A Doyen Of Indian Broadcasting & Chartered Accountant By Profession

He became the first Indian commentator to cover a football match from abroad

Pyarelal Wadali Sufi Singer Younger brother of Puran Chand Wadali of the Wadali Brothers fame

Patangrao Kadam Maharashtra Senior Congress Leader

He was also served as chairman of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).

Ranjan Roy Senior Journalist He was the chief of Times News Network (TNN). He was also a member of TNN’s national editorial board.

Begum Hamida Habibullah Former Uttar Pradesh Minister

She was a former Rajya Sabha member.

Ch Kamalamma Communist Leader She is also a freedom fighter

Jayendra Nath Chaturvedi First Commissioner Of Delhi Police

Former Director General of Uttar Pradesh Police, . He served as Chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC)

Narendra Jha Bollywood Actor Some of his popular works are: Haider, Kaabil, Mohenjo Daro, Ghayal Once Again, Raees, etc.

M Sukumaran Malayalam Writer He had received the Kendra Sahitiya Akademi and Keral Sahitiya awards.

Kedarnath Singh Hindi Poet He had received the Jnanapeeth award in 2013. In 1989 he received the Sahitya Akademi award

Sunil Sharma Journalist He was working as the bureau chief of 'Divya Himachal', a Hindi newspaper.

C R Chandradath Social Activist He was the director of Centre of Science and Technology for Rural Development (COSTFORD) in Thrissur

Ghulam Muhammad Mustafa Journalist He started his career with the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

V. Sriharsha Journalist He worked as a media consultant with the GMR Group after he had retired as Bureau Chief of ETV (Delhi) Earlier,

R K Dorendra Singh Former Manipur Chief Minister

He was the chief minister of Manipur four times between 1974 and 1993.

International wise Name of the person who passed away

Field Points to be noted

Davide Astori Italian footballer

Chung Jae-sung South Korean badminton player

Won bronze in the men's doubles at the London Olympics





Sir John Sulston UK’s pioneering geneticist

He was awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine or physiology in 2002

Ken Dodd Comedian He was a popular singer. His popular works are "Happiness" and "Tears".

Stephen Hawking British scientist He was well known for his work on black holes and relativity.He had also written several science books such as A Brief History of Time

Emily Nasrallah Lebanese author and feminist

She published her first book “Birds of September” in 1962.

Les Payne Journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner

Former president of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Seo Minwoo South Korean pop singer

He was a lead singer of the 100% band.Some of their popular songs are “Bad Boy,” "Want U Back," “Better Days,” and "Sketch U."

Linda Brown Helped to end US school segregation

Linda Brown along with her sister founded the Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research

IMPORTANT DAYS

Observed date/week

Day Other information

1st March Zero Discrimination Day On World AIDS Day Zero Discrimination Day 2018 campaign says people to ask themselves: “What if …”

3rd March UN World Wildlife Day The theme for World Wildlife Day 2018 is: “Big cats: predators under threat". World Wild Life Day is celebrated to create awareness about the world’s wild animals and plants and safeguard them.

8th March International Women's Day (IWD)

The theme for International Women's Day 2018 was chosen as - 'Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives'

11th March 33rd Inception Day National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) celebrated its at Mahipalpur, New Delhi & it releases “Citizen Services” Mobile App,which is launched by Rajiv Jain, Director of Intelligence Bureau (IB).

15th March World Consumer Rights Day World Consumer Rights Day was inspired by President John F Kennedy.The first World Consumer Rights Day was celebrated in 1983.Theme: “Making Digital Marketplaces Fairer”

16th March World Sleep Day Theme for World Sleep Day 2018: Join the Sleep World, Preserve Your Rhythms to Enjoy Life.

18th March 2018

Global Recycling Day It has been launched by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR). It also coincides with the 70th anniversary of BIR.

20th March International Day of Happiness

Theme for International Day of Happiness 2018: “Share Happiness”

20th March World Sparrow Day Theme for World Sparrow Day 2018: I love Sparrows. 21st March International Day for the

Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Theme for 2018: Promoting tolerance, inclusion, unity and respect for diversity in the context of combating racial discrimination.

21st March World Poetry Day It was adopted with an aim to support linguistic diversity and protect endangered languages

21st March International Day of Forests Theme for International Day of Forests 2018: Forests and




Sustainable Cities. 21st March World Down syndrome Day

(WDSD) The focus for World Down syndrome Day 2018 is: #WhatIBringToMyCommunity

22nd March World Water Day Theme for World Water Day 2018: Nature for Water 22nd March 106th foundation day of Bihar Theme is : “Centenary of Champaran Satyagraha and

Elimination of Dowry and Child Marriage 23rd March 'Youth Empowerment Day’of

Punjab the martyrdom day of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, Shaheed Sukhdev and Shaheed Rajguru

23rd March World Meteorological Day The theme is: "Weather-Ready, Climate-Smart." 24th March World TB Day The theme for World TB Day 2018 is: "Wanted: Leaders for a

TB-free world". 25th March International Day of

Solidarity to mark the anniversary of the abduction of Alec Collett, a former journalist who worked for the UNRWA

25th March International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Theme: “Remember Slavery: Triumphs and Struggles for Freedom and Equality”.

27th March World Theater Day India’s Ram Gopal Bajaj has been selected as one of the five authors for writing the World Theater Day message

Other News Related On Important Days

• JP Nadda, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare inaugurated the World Rare Disease Day Conference 2018 in New Delhi.World Rare Disease Day is celebrated on the last day of February every year. World Rare Disease Day was first introduced by EURORDIS and its council of National Alliances in 2008. The theme for World Rare Disease Day 2018 is “Research”.

• International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8th March every year.It was suggested by the 1910 International Socialist Woman's Conference to become an "International Woman's Day."

Some Initiative on womens day are • South Central Railway (SCR), Guntakal division, chose Chandragiri railway station near Tirupati as the “all-

women railway station”. • NITI Aayog launched the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) • Delhi High Court Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal becomes the first woman from the field of law and justice

to be conferred the 'Nari Shakti Puraskar', India's highest civilian honour for women. • Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurates DoPT Workshop on International Women’s Day on the theme of “Women

Empowerment, Opportunities and Challenges.” • World Kidney Day is celebrated annually throughout the world on the second Thursday of

March The theme of World Kidney Day 2018 is "Kidneys And Women's Health: Include, Value, Empower". The celebration was initiated by the joint committee of "International Society of Nephrology and International Federation of Kidney Foundations" and was first observed by 66 countries in 2006.

• Less Traffic Day was observed in Bengaluru for the second time on 11th March 2018. The first Less Traffic Day was observed on 11thFebruary 2018.It was planned by Karnataka Transport Minister HM Revanna. This has been initiated to reduce air pollution and traffic congestion.


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