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Current Affairs Magic Current Affairs magic March 25 to 31, 2018 www.globalias.in 1 Weekly Current Affairs Update For the Week: March 25 to 31, 2018 HEADLINES Section A: INDIA Govt introduces Swachh Bharat Summer Internship for college students Training programme to link Madarsa teachers with mainstream education system launched CBSE to conduct re-exam for Class X Maths, Class XII Economics following paper leak NCERT books to have QR codes from 2019-20 Govt. to issue Rs 350 coin to mark birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh N-TB app launched on World Tuberculosis Day HSI/India partners with CCMB to promote lab grown meat Shekhar Kapur appointed Chairman of central panel of 65th National Film Awards Vineet Joshi appointed first Director General of National Testing Agency (NTA) Promila Gupta to take over as DGHS (officer incharge) in Health Ministry SC appoints Justice Jawad Rahim as Acting Chairperson of NGT Indu Bhushan appointed CEO of 'Ayushman Bharat' mission K. Vijay Raghavan appointed Principal Scientific Adviser Ex-NCERT Director J. S. Rajput to represent India on UNESCO's Executive Board Veteran journalist V. Sriharsha passes away Section B: INDIA & THE WORLD Cabinet approves MoU with South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme DoP launches Cool EMS service between India and Japan China agrees to share Brahmaputra river data with India Indians least criminal among world's major economies: Report India, Pakistan call truce over envoys First US shale gas reaches India; GAIL's Dabhol terminal receives cargo USA, India hold naval training exercise India to host 3R Regional Forum in Asia and the Pacific in April CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership held Cabinet approves India-UK MoU on organised crime Sushma Swaraj meets Japanese PM Shinzo Abe Section C: WORLD US expels 60 Russian intelligence officials; orders closure of Seattle Consulate Pak successfully test fires Submarine Launched Cruise Missile BABUR Russia tests new nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile Sarmat UAE celebrates completion of first nuclear power plant in Arab world New Jersey declares April as Sikh Awareness Month 68 killed in fire at police detention facility in Venezuela First non-stop flight between Australia, UK makes history World Theatre Day celebrated on March 27 International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery observed US diplomat DiCarlo becomes first female UN political chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi reelected Egypt's President Myanmar elects U. Win Myint as new president North Korean leader Kim Jong-un secretly visits Beijing, meets President Jinping Linda Brown, who helped end US school segregation, dies at 75

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Page 1: Weekly Current Affairs update - Global IAS · 2018-05-12 · Current Affairs Magic Weekly Current Affairs Update Current Affairs magic March 25 to 31, 2018 1 Weekly Current Affairs

Current Affairs Magic

Weekly Current Affairs Update

Current Affairs magic March 25 to 31, 2018 www.globalias.in

1

Weekly Current Affairs Update

For the Week: March 25 to 31, 2018

HEADLINES

Section A: INDIA

Govt introduces Swachh Bharat Summer Internship for college students

Training programme to link Madarsa teachers with mainstream education system launched

CBSE to conduct re-exam for Class X Maths, Class XII Economics following paper leak

NCERT books to have QR codes from 2019-20

Govt. to issue Rs 350 coin to mark birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh

N-TB app launched on World Tuberculosis Day

HSI/India partners with CCMB to promote lab grown meat

Shekhar Kapur appointed Chairman of central panel of 65th National Film Awards

Vineet Joshi appointed first Director General of National Testing Agency (NTA)

Promila Gupta to take over as DGHS (officer incharge) in Health Ministry

SC appoints Justice Jawad Rahim as Acting Chairperson of NGT

Indu Bhushan appointed CEO of 'Ayushman Bharat' mission

K. Vijay Raghavan appointed Principal Scientific Adviser

Ex-NCERT Director J. S. Rajput to represent India on UNESCO's Executive Board

Veteran journalist V. Sriharsha passes away

Section B: INDIA & THE WORLD

Cabinet approves MoU with South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme

DoP launches Cool EMS service between India and Japan

China agrees to share Brahmaputra river data with India

Indians least criminal among world's major economies: Report

India, Pakistan call truce over envoys

First US shale gas reaches India; GAIL's Dabhol terminal receives cargo

USA, India hold naval training exercise

India to host 3R Regional Forum in Asia and the Pacific in April

CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership held

Cabinet approves India-UK MoU on organised crime

Sushma Swaraj meets Japanese PM Shinzo Abe

Section C: WORLD

US expels 60 Russian intelligence officials; orders closure of Seattle Consulate

Pak successfully test fires Submarine Launched Cruise Missile BABUR

Russia tests new nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile Sarmat

UAE celebrates completion of first nuclear power plant in Arab world

New Jersey declares April as Sikh Awareness Month

68 killed in fire at police detention facility in Venezuela

First non-stop flight between Australia, UK makes history

World Theatre Day celebrated on March 27

International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery observed

US diplomat DiCarlo becomes first female UN political chief

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi reelected Egypt's President

Myanmar elects U. Win Myint as new president

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un secretly visits Beijing, meets President Jinping

Linda Brown, who helped end US school segregation, dies at 75

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Current Affairs magic March 25 to 31, 2018 www.globalias.in

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'Babette's Feast' actress Audran dies at 85

Lys Assia, Eurovision‘s first-ever winner, dies at 94

Section D: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

GSAT-6A communication satellite successfully put in orbit

Central task force on AI recommends setting up of N-AIM

China launches 2 satellites to boost its navigation system

Historic agreement signed to protect the world‘s largest tropical peatland

Scientists claim to have discovered new organ in human body

Section E: AWARDS

Chhattisgarh bags 'Water Digest Award' for best water conservation and irrigation facility

SACF receives Frederick Pincott Award

NRI entrepreneur Joginder Sanger wins 'Business Personality' award in UK

Scorsese to receive Golden Coach award at Directors' Fortnight

Section F: BANKING & FINANCE

IBBI notifies amendments relation to regulations on Insolvency Professionals

Govt notifies new accounting standard, effective April 1

Govt keeps small savings interest rates unchanged

Sale of 2nd tranche of electoral bonds from April 2-10

Indian Railway Finance Corporation bonds get government guarantee

RBI slaps Rs 59 cr fine on ICICI Bank for violating bond sale norms

Frauds cost Rs 181.7 bn to banking sector in FY17, says IiAS report

Jana Small Finance Bank commences operations

Section G: ECONOMY

NITI Aayog releases Baseline Ranking of Aspirational Districts

Cabinet approves amendments to National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill

Cabinet approves enhancing the coverage of Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana

Govt. to sell majority shareholding in Air India; new owner to be named on May 28

India's external debt rises to US$ 513.4 billion end December 2017

Forex reserves rise by $1.19 bn to $422.53 bn as on March

Tax-free gratuity ceiling raised to Rs 20 lakh

PAN-Aadhaar linking deadline extended to June 30: CBDT

Cabinet approves continuation, strengthening and establishment of KVKs till 2019-20

Cabinet approves continuation of Nutrient Based Subsidy and City Compost Scheme till 2019-20

Cabinet approves restructuring of NSDF, NSDC to strengthen governance

CCEA approves continuation of Credit Guarantee Fund for Education Loans Scheme

Cabinet approves export of all edible oils in bulk (except mustard oil)

Cabinet approves formulation of a new Integrated Scheme for School Education

India‘s share in world‘s GDP was 3.1% in 2017

India is world‘s third largest electricity producer

Skill India joins hands with power ministry for SAUBHAGYA scheme

Govt. to borrow Rs 2.88 lakh crore in first half of 2018-19

SARAS Aajeevika Mela 2018 inaugurated in New Delhi

Govt begins process of selling enemy properties; issues guidelines

Deadline for linking Aadhaar with welfare schemes extended to June 30

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Tribal Affairs Ministry launches ―E-Tribes India‖

Section H: CORPORATE

Anushka Sharma, PV Sindhu make it to Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list

Facebook revamps privacy settings

Twitter introduces ‗Timestamps‘ for live videos

WhatsApp introduces feature to enable users to migrate their data to a new number easily

Google launches DeepMind's AI-powered text-to-speech service

SAP SE to adopt 100 Atal Tinkering Labs in 2018

RIL sells U.S. shale assets to Sundance

Microsoft sets up first Indian 'Garage' for staff projects at Hyderabad

India ranks 67th in fixed line, 109th in mobile broadband speed: Ookla

Toyota, Suzuki deepen India bonding

BMW Group rolls out ‗Skill Next‘ for engineering students

Six Indian start-ups selected for Israel's MassChallenge programme

India is now world's fourth largest automobile market

India is now the world‘s No 1 almond importer

Barrick Gold founder Peter Munk dies at 90

Section I: STATES

MP‘s black chicken Kadaknath wins GI tag, beats Chhattisgarh‘s claim

MP to raise retirement age for govt employees to 62 years

MP govt to refer to widows as 'kalyani', announces pension

Rajasthan‘s first mega food park inaugurated in Ajmer district

NHAI joins hands with AAI for green corridor in Varanasi

Entry to Taj Mahal restricted to three hours from April 1

ADB approves $80 mn loan for job oriented project in Himachal

Punjab Assembly passes Bill to ban hookah bars

Foundation stone laid for SJVNL hydro project in Uttarakhand

West Bengal tops the list of states with most number of beggars

AAI signs MoU with Assam govt to develop villages in Kamrup

Assam CM launches 'Mission Sambhav' campaign for toilet construction

Assam CM launches toll-free helpline number for women

Mizo, Assam officials agree to maintain status quo at disputed border area

Gujarat Assembly passes bill providing for upto 3 years in jail for use of fake caste certificates

Gujarati becomes compulsory in schools of Gujarat

Jagannath temple Ratna Bhandar to be opened after 34 years

India's first insect museum opened in Tamil Nadu

Andhra CM inaugurates International Yachting Festival

Kerala Assembly adopts bill to hike salaries of MLAs

Kerala govt. to procure 3 marine ambulances from Cochin Shipyard

Andhra Pradesh appoints shuttler K. Srikanth as Deputy Collector

Rahul Dravid named state election icon for Karnataka

Section J: SPORTS

India finishes second in medals tally at ISSF Junior World Cup in Sydney

Afghanistan beat West Indies to win World Cup qualifying final

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Varun Aaron to play for Leicestershire in English County cricket

Australia cricket coach Lehmann to quit after South Africa series

Warner, Smith banned for 1 year for ball-tampering scandal in South Africa

Afghanistan‘s Rashid Khan becomes fastest to 100 ODI wickets

India U-16 boys win Hong Kong football tourney

Punjab crowned National hockey champion

Sebastian Vettel wins F1 season opening Grand Prix in Melbourne

Fabiano Caruana to play for world chess title after winning candidates tournament

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Section A: INDIA

NEWS ROUND UP

Govt introduces Swachh Bharat Summer Internship for college students

Aimed at engaging college students in the government's cleanliness drive, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has introduced a Swachh Bharat

Summer Internship (SBSI), for them to conduct sanitation drives in villages during summer vacation. The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is the

coordinating ministry for the Centre's ambitious Swachh Bharat Mission.

The SBSI aims to engage lakhs of educated youths across the country, develop their skills and orientation for the sanitation sector, amplify mass awareness

and cement the people's movement (Jan andolan) aspect of Swachh Bharat Mission.

Under the terms of the internship, candidates would be required to undertake 100 hours of activities including creation of sanitation infrastructure, system

building and behaviour change campaigns in and around nearby villages.

Every intern who completes the SBSI will also be provided a Certificate of Internship by the Swachh Bharat Mission.

The ministry said the University Grants Commission had agreed to provide 2 credit points as an elective' under the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) to

students in higher educational institutions who would be undertaking and completing the SBSI.

The internship will be implemented in association with the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

Training programme to link Madarsa teachers with mainstream education system launched

Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on March 27, 2018 launched training programme to link Madarsa teachers with mainstream education

system.

Minority Affairs Ministry, in collaboration with Jamia Millia Islamia University, has organised residential training programme for 40 Madarsa teachers and

distributed certificates after completion of training. These teachers will provide mainstream education like- Science, Maths, Computer, Hindi, English etc.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs has been working with commitment to ―3E- Education, Employment & Empowerment‖. In the last about six months,

thousands of educational institutions of all Minority communities including Madrasas, have been included in the mainstream education system by connecting

them with "3T-Teacher, Tiffin, Toilet".

CBSE to conduct re-exam for Class X Maths, Class XII Economics following paper leak

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will conduct a re-examination for the Class X Maths and Class XII Economics papers over reports of the

paper leak. Dates for fresh examinations are yet to be announced. CBSE students appeared for the Class 10 Mathematics paper on March 28, while the Class

12 Economics exam was held on March 26.

NCERT books to have QR codes from 2019-20

NCERT published textbooks would have QR codes from next year (2019-20) which will help students to understand chapters better by watching a film or

reading additional content on laptops and digital boards, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said on March 29, 2018. Quick Response (QR) Code is a machine-

readable code consisting of an array of black and white squares, typically used for storing web-links or other information for reading by the camera on a

smart-phone.

Govt. to issue Rs 350 coin to mark birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh

Government will come out with a Rs 350 commemorative coin to mark 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th and last Sikh Guru. This was

announced by the finance ministry on March 27, 2018. The coin with standard weight of 35 gram will have 50 per cent silver, 40 per cent copper and 5 per

cent each of nickel and zinc. The obverse will bear the rupee symbol and denominational value '350' in international numerals below the Lion Capitol. The

reverse side will bear the picture of Takht Shri Harimandir Ji Patna Sahib in the centre. The years '1666' and '2016' in international numerals will be on the left

and right periphery of the coin.

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N-TB app launched on World Tuberculosis Day

Under-nutrition brings with it the risk of death in a person with tuberculosis (TB). And this is the critical indicator that N-TB, a mobile phone-based nutrition

assessment and counselling application is looking to address. N-TB allows healthcare workers who handle TB patients calculate the right BMI and nutrition

levels. The app was launched on World TB Day on March 24, 2018. Theme was theme: 'Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free world‘. This app is based on the Revised

National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP).

HSI/India partners with CCMB to promote lab grown meat

Humane Society International (HSI), India on March 28, 2018 said it has partnered with Hyderabad-based CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology

(CCMB) to develop and promote a laboratory grown meat in India.

RECENT BOOKS

Status Single: The Truth About Being A Single Woman In India by Sreemoyee Piu Kundu

The Circle by Dave Eggers

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The Unseeing Idol of Light by K.R. Meera

Windows of Vidarbha: Making of Shadows by Kota Neelima

History of Education Policymaking in India by Varun Aggarwal

Diwali in Muzaffarnagar: Stories by Tanuj Solanki

NEWSMAKERS

Shekhar Kapur appointed Chairman of central panel of 65th

National Film Awards

Veteran director Shekhar Kapur has been appointed as chairman of the central panel of the 65th

National Film Awards. Mr Kapur is known for his work in

Hindi cinema and International cinema.

The central panel comprises a chairperson and 10 other members, including five regional chairpersons who head the respective regional panels. Film writer

Imtiaz Hussain will be the regional chairperson of South 1- panel. Mehboob has been appointed as the regional chairperson of South -2 panel.

Film actress Gautami Tadimalla is the regional chairman of the North panel while Director Rahul Rawail is the regional chairperson of the Western panel.

Director P Sheshadri is the regional chairperson of Eastern panel. The other members of the panel include Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, Tripurari Sharma, Rumi

Jaffery, Ranjit Das and Rajesh Mapuskar.

Vineet Joshi appointed first Director General of National Testing Agency (NTA)

The government on March 30, 2018 appointed senior bureaucrat Vineet Joshi as the Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which will

conduct the entrance examinations for higher educational institutions organised by the CBSE, AICTE and other bodies. He has been appointed to the post for

five years.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had, in his budget speech of 2017-18, announced the setting up of the NTA "as an autonomous and self-sustained premier

testing organisation to conduct all entrance examinations for higher educational institutions".

The establishment of the NTA will relieve the CBSE, AICTE and other bodies of the responsibility of conducting these entrance examinations.

The NTA will be chaired by an eminent educationist appointed by the Human Resource Development ministry.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) will be the Director General to be appointed by the government. There will be a Board of Governors comprising members

from user institutions. The Director General will be assisted by 9 verticals headed by academicians/experts.

Promila Gupta to take over as DGHS (officer incharge) in Health Ministry

Additional Director General of Health Service Dr Promila Gupta will take over as the DGHS (officer incharge) in the Health Ministry from April 2. She will

succeed Dr B D Athani, currently incharge of the DGHS office. Athani was given the charge "with full powers" in January after DGHS Dr Jagdish Prasad

proceeded on an "earned leave" due to a vigilance probe pending against him.

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SC appoints Justice Jawad Rahim as Acting Chairperson of NGT

The Supreme Court on March 27, 2018 appointed Justice Jawad Rahim, judicial member of National Green Tribunal (NGT), as the acting chairperson of the

green panel. A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said that the new acting chairperson will

discharge his duties until a regular appointment is made and will take part in selection process of other members of the NGT.

Indu Bhushan appointed CEO of 'Ayushman Bharat' mission

Indu Bhushan was on March 27, 2018 appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Centre's ambitious Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection

Mission (ABNHPM). Bhushan is currently the Director General of East Asia Department at Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila, Philippines. He has been

appointed to the post for a period of two years. Bhushan has been with the ADB since 1997. He holds a PhD in Economics and Master of Health Sciences

from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, it said.

K. Vijay Raghavan appointed Principal Scientific Adviser

K. Vijay Raghavan, Outgoing Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, was on March 26, 2018 appointed Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of

India for three years on a contract basis.

Ex-NCERT Director J. S. Rajput to represent India on UNESCO's Executive Board

The Centre on March 25, 2018 announced the nomination of Professor J S Rajput, former Director of the National Council of Educational Research and

Training (NCERT), as India's representative to the Executive Board (EXB) of UNESCO. He is a recipient of Padma Shri UNESCO acknowledged his contributions

by selecting him for the Prestigious Jan Amos Comenius Medal for outstanding contributions in research and innovations in the year 2004.

Veteran journalist V. Sriharsha passes away

Veteran journalist Veturi Sriharsha died in New Delhi on March 27, 2018 at the age of 62. Sriharsha was working as a media consultant with the GMR Group

after retiring as Bureau Chief of ETV (Delhi). He had previously worked with The Indian Express, Pioneer and Deccan Chronicle.

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Section B: INDIA & THE WORLD

NEWS ROUND UP

Cabinet approves MoU with South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28, 2018 approved signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India

and South Asian Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) for cooperation on the response to Oil and Chemical Pollution in the South Asian Seas

Region.

The MoU intends to promote closer cooperation between India and other maritime nations comprising the South Asian seas region namely Bangladesh,

Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka for protection and preservation of marine environment in the region.

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) will be the Competent National Authority and national operational contact point for implementation of "Regional Oil Spill

Contingency Plan" under the MoU and shall respond to oil and chemical spills on behalf of Government of India. Further, ICG Maritime Rescue Coordination

Centres (MRCCs) will be the national emergency response centre for marine incidents.

DoP launches Cool EMS service between India and Japan

Department of Posts (DoP) under Ministry of Communications has launched the Cool EMS Service between India and Japan, to be operational from March 29,

2018.

Cool EMS service is one-way service from Japan to India which allows customers in India to import Japanese food items for personal use which is allowed

under Indian regulations.

Initially, Cool EMS Service will be available in Delhi only. Food items will be carried by Japan Post in special cool boxes containing refrigerant to preserve the

quality of the food items and addressee will collect them from Foreign Post office, located at Kotla Road here.

All other features like track and trace of Express Mail Service (EMS) will be available for Cool EMS service as well.

China agrees to share Brahmaputra river data with India

China on March 28, 2018 said it has agreed to share the Brahmaputra river water data with India, which it had withheld in 2017 after the Doklam military

stand-off. The announcement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry came a day after India and China held talks over the trans-border rivers in the eastern Chinese

city of Hangzhou.

The 11th

meeting of the India-China Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) on Trans-Border Rivers was held in Hangzhou and the two sides reviewed the

achievements made by the previous meetings as well as bilateral cooperation on emergency response and hydrological information provision.

The Brahmaputra originates from China's Tibet and flows into Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. For India, hydrological data is helpful in preparing for the floods

its northeast states.

Indians least criminal among world's major economies: Report

According to the Institute for Criminal Policy Research‘ s data on the number of prisoners lodged in jails worldwide, the United States, with 666 of every one

lakh Americans behind bars, has the highest imprisonment rate among major countries. India has a significantly lower imprisonment rate -- 33 of every one

lakh Indians are behind bars. However, Russia and Brazil fare poorly with figures of 410 and 323, respectively.

United States also tops the chart of the highest numbers of prisoners at 2,145,100, followed by China at 1,649,804 and Brazil 672,722. India came in at

number five with 419,623.

What is noteworthy is the fact that the majority of Indians in jail are not convicted criminals, but people awaiting completion of trial -- at 67.2% against 20.3%

in the United States and 36.2% in Brazil.

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India, Pakistan call truce over envoys

The protracted spat between India and Pakistan over harassment of respective diplomatic staff ended on March 30, 2018. According to An official

announcement, both sides will ensure safety of each other‘s diplomats, families of diplomats and diplomatic premises. ―India and Pakistan have mutually

agreed to resolve matters related to the treatment of diplomats and diplomatic premises, in line with the 1992 ―Code of Conduct for the treatment of

diplomatic/consular personnel in India and Pakistan,‖ a press release from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced. A similar announcement was

made by the Pakistani side.

First US shale gas reaches India; GAIL's Dabhol terminal receives cargo

India's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo from America landed at the Dabhol regasification terminal in Maharashtra on March 30, 2018. This is part of a

$32-billion supply deal for 20 years that GAIL signed with the Dominion Energy Cove Point project in Maryland and Cheniere Energy Inc's Sabine Pass Project

in Louisiana.

USA, India hold naval training exercise

Indian Navy‘s Talwar class frigate INS Tarkash carried out a ―greeting and training‖ exercise on March 25, 2018 with the U.S. Navy‘s Theodore Roosevelt

Carrier Strike Group (TRCSG).

India to host 3R Regional Forum in Asia and the Pacific in April

India will host the 8th

3R Regional Forum in Asia and the Pacific in Indore from April 9 to 12, 2018. The Forum is being co-organised by the Ministry of

Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) Government of India, the Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan (MOEJ), and the United Nations Centre for

Regional Development (UNCRD), under the theme of "Achieving Clean Water, Clean Land and Clean Air through 3R and Resource Efficiency-A 21st Century

Vision for Asia-Pacific Communities". In 2009, the Regional 3R Forum in Asia was established at Japan‘s proposal as a platform for broad cooperation on

promotion of the 3Rs – reduce, reuse and recycle – in Asia.

CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership held

Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu has said, India is giving top most priority to its relationship with Africa. He was giving the keynote address at

the 13th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership in Delhi on March 25, 2018. 35 Ministerial delegations from over 20 countries

participated in the three-day conclave.

Cabinet approves India-UK MoU on organised crime

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28, 2018 approved the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between

India, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland regarding cooperation and exchange of information for the purposes of combating international criminality

and tackling serious organised crime. India and the United Kingdom already have a 1995 agreement in place concerning the investigation and prosecution of

crime and tracing, restraint and confiscation of the proceeds and instruments of crime, currency transfers and terrorist funds.

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NEWSMAKERS

Sushma Swaraj meets Japanese PM Shinzo Abe

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Tokyo on March 30, 2018. The two leaders discussed ways to strengthen the

bilateral ties. Swaraj, who was on her first visit to Japan in the capacity of the External Affairs Minister, had reached Tokyo on March 28 to attend the ninth

India-Japan Strategic Dialogue. She met her counterpart Taro Kano on March 29 and the two leaders reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral ties.

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Section C: WORLD

NEWS ROUND UP

US expels 60 Russian intelligence officials; orders closure of Seattle Consulate

The US on March 26, 2018 expelled 60 Russian diplomats, describing them as "intelligence officers" and ordered closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle,

days after Washington warned of retaliation for the use of nerve agent against a former Russian spy in the UK. All Russian diplomats, connected to the

country's intelligence agencies, and their families have been given seven days' time to leave the country. The White House said this is in retaliation to the use

of nerve agent against former spy Sergei Skripal in the United Kingdom, which blames Russia for the attack. Moscow has denied these allegations. The United

Kingdom has already expelled 23 Russian diplomats.

Pak successfully test fires Submarine Launched Cruise Missile BABUR

Pakistan on March 29, 2018 conducted successful test fire of indigenously developed Submarine Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM) BABUR having a range of

450 kms. The missile was fired from an underwater dynamic platform, which successfully engaged its target with precise accuracy, meeting all the flight

parameters.

Russia tests new nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile Sarmat

The Russian military says it has successfully tested its latest intercontinental ballistic missile Samrat on March 30, 2018. The missile was launched from

Plesetsk in north-western Russia. Sarmat is intended to replace the Soviet-designed Voyevoda, the world's heaviest ICBM known as "Satan" in the West.

UAE celebrates completion of first nuclear power plant in Arab world

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) celebrated on March 26, 2018 completion of the first-ever nuclear power plant in the Arab Gulf region. The $20 billion

Barakah plant west of Abu Dhabi has been constructed by a consortium led by Korea Electric Power Corp in nine years.

New Jersey declares April as Sikh Awareness Month

The US state of New Jersey has declared April as 'Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month' as part of its effort to promote awareness of the faith. The

resolution was adopted unanimously by both the New Jersey House of Representative and the Senate. The state wants to acknowledge the lasting

contributions of the Sikh people and the essential role they play in New Jersey's diverse community, a media release said on March 28, 2018.

68 killed in fire at police detention facility in Venezuela

In Venezuela, 68 people were killed in a fire at a police detention facility in the central city of Valencia on March 27, 2018. Authorities said dozens of people

were feared dead after rioting and a fire in the cells of a Venezuelan police station in Carabobo state.

First non-stop flight between Australia, UK makes history

The first non-stop flight between Australia and the UK started from Perth on March 24 and landed in London on March 25, 2018. Qantas Flight QF9

completed its 14,498km journey in just over 17 hours. The aeroplane was the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

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World Theatre Day celebrated on March 27

World Theatre Day was celebrated on March 27, 2018. Initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI), World Theatre Day is annually celebrated

by ITI Centres and the international theatre community. On this day, several national and international theatre events are organised.

International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade was observed on March 25, 2018. Every year on 25 March, the

Day offers the opportunity to honour and remember those who suffered and died at the hands of the brutal slavery system, borne of the largest forced and

legally sanctioned movement of people in human history.

NEWSMAKERS

US diplomat DiCarlo becomes first female UN political chief

Long-serving American diplomat Rosemary DiCarlo was on March 29, 2018 appointed to become the first woman to head UN political affairs, one of the

most high-profile positions at the world body. DiCarlo will replace Jeffrey Feltman, another American who held the post of under-secretary-general for

political affairs since 2012, overseeing UN efforts to end conflicts worldwide. A former deputy US ambassador to the United Nations, DiCarlo brings more

than 35 years of experience in public service and academia.

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi reelected Egypt's President

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was on March 29, 2018 reelected for a second term with 92 per cent of the vote. Some 23 million of the 60 million

registered voters turned out during the three days of polling that ended on March 28.

Myanmar elects U. Win Myint as new president

The Myanmar parliament in Naypyidaw on March 28, 2018 elected the country's lower house speaker and legislator U. Win Myint as the new President. The

newly sworn president is a member of the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD), which came into power in March 2016, ending decades of military

dictatorial rule. Myint is considered a trusted confidant of Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who is legally barred from holding the post of the

president by the military-drafted constitution. His appointment as the new president comes at a time, when the Suu Kyi administration has been under

massive pressure from the international community in handling the Rohingya crisis and the slow implementation of political and economic reforms.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un secretly visits Beijing, meets President Jinping

China on March 28, 2018 announced that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un came on a visit to Beijing and met Chinese President Xi Jinping. His visit from

March 25 to 28, 2018 was described as "unofficial". Kim is due to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in April month and US President Donald Trump in

May on North Korea's nuclear tests.

Linda Brown, who helped end US school segregation, dies at 75

Linda Brown, who was at the centre of the landmark 1950s court battle leading to the desegregation of US public schools, died at age 75 on March 25, 2018.

The US Supreme Court ruling on the Brown vs Board of Education case in 1954 was a key moment in the movement to end widespread discriminatory

practices against black people in the United States.

'Babette's Feast' actress Audran dies at 85

French actress Stephane Audran, best known for her leading role in the Oscar-winning "Babette's Feast", died on March 27, 2018 at the age of 85. "Babette's

Feast" won best foreign film Oscar in 1989. Audran also won best actress at the Berlin film festival in 1968 for "Les Biches" (The Hinds).

Lys Assia, Eurovision‟s first-ever winner, dies at 94

Swiss singer Lys Assia, the first-ever winner of the Eurovision Song Contest, has died aged 94. Assia, who won the first edition of the contest in 1956 in

Lugano, Switzerland, with the song Refrain, passed away on March 23, 2018. She came second in the contest in 1958.

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Section D: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

GSAT-6A communication satellite successfully put in orbit

ISRO‘s latest communication satellite GSAT-6A was launched onboard Geosynchronous rocket GSLV-F08 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota

(AP) on March 29, 2018 and successfully placed in the designated orbit.

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F08), fitted with indigenously developed cryogenic third stage, injected the satellite into orbit about 18

minutes after its lift off.

The satellite would provide a thrust to mobile communication through multi-beam coverage facility. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K

Sivan described the mission as a success.

This marks the 12th

flight of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV-F08 and sixth flight with indigenous Cryogenic upper stage.

GSAT-6A, is similar to GSAT-6, a high power S-band communication satellite built on I-2K satellite bus with a mission life of about ten years.

Central task force on AI recommends setting up of N-AIM

A central task force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) has suggested creating a National Artificial Intelligence Mission (N-AIM) that will serve as a nodal agency for

coordinating AI related activities in the country.

The report of the task force, set up by the Union Commerce Ministry in August 2017, has also said "AI should be seen as a scalable problem solver in India

rather than only as a booster of economic growth." IIT Madras Professor V Kamakoti was Chairman of the task force.

According to the report, Artificial Intelligence "is the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programmes."

The task force, whose members include those from government and the private sector, besides the academia, has identified 10 domains in India, including

Manufacturing, FinTech, Agriculture/Food Processing and Education for implementation of AI.

China launches 2 satellites to boost its navigation system

China on March 30, 2018 successfully launched two satellites with a single rocket to strengthen its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS).

The Long March-3B rocket, carrying the two satellites, lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The two satellites

are coded as the 30th and 31st members in the BDS.

Named after the Chinese term for Big Dipper, the BeiDou system started providing independent services over China in 2000. It is being projected by Beijing

as a rival to the American Global Positioning System (GPS).

A report in the state-run Xinhua news agency said the Chinese navigation system will serve countries along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by the end of

2018.

By around 2020, when the BDS goes global, it is expected to have more than 30 satellites.

Historic agreement signed to protect the world‟s largest tropical peatland

In an unprecedented move to protect the Cuvette Centrale region in the Congo Basin, the world‘s largest tropical peatlands, from unregulated land use and

prevent its drainage and degradation, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Republic of Congo and Indonesia on March 23, 2018 jointly signed the

Brazzaville declaration that promotes better management and conservation of this globally important carbon store

There is a lot at stake in the protection of these peatlands: the equivalent of three years of global greenhouse gas emissions are stored in the Congo Basin,

emissions that could be released if the peatlands are degraded or the natural wetlands drained.

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To preserve the future of these valuable natural peatlands that were only mapped scientifically in their entirety for the first time in 2017– the DRC and the

Republic of Congo established a transboundary collaboration agreement. The agreement noted the importance of good land use and infrastructure planning

that takes the nature of peatlands into account.

Peatlands are wetlands that contain a mixture of decomposed organic material, partially submerged in a layer of water, lacking oxygen. The complex

biodiversity of the peatlands means they are home to a variety of species, but their high carbon content makes them uniquely vulnerable to incineration if

they are drained. The declaration recognizes the importance of the scientific breakthrough of mapping the world‘s largest tropical peatland area.

Both the Republic of the Congo and the DRC are in the process of planning economic concessions for agriculture, oil and gas mining, and logging.

Unregulated exploitation of the peatlands could potentially be detrimental to the environment and to the climate, as it could release the carbon emissions

that have been locked in for millennia.

Peatlands have grown over the course of 10.000 years, and they can be destroyed in a matter of days if the land use is not sensitive to the nature of the

peatlands.

The declaration was signed on the sidelines of the Third Partners Meeting of the Global Peatlands Initiative, taking place in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, on

21-23 March 2018.

The meeting also fostered a deep collaboration between Indonesia and the countries of the Congo Basin. Indonesia, the nation in the world with the most

experience on peat management issues, stepped up as a valuable partner in South-South development cooperation.

Scientists claim to have discovered new organ in human body

Lurking just under your skin might be a new organ only now identified for the first time, revealed a new study published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Researchers from New York University's School of Medicine claimed to have found a new organ and named it as "interstitium."

It's nearly everywhere—just below the skin's surface, surrounding arteries and veins, casing the fibrous tissue between muscles, and lining our digestive tracts,

lungs, and urinary systems.

It looks like a mesh. The interstitium is a layer of fluid-filled compartments strung together in a web of collagen and a flexible protein called elastin.

Previously, scientists thought the layer was simply dense connective tissue.

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Section E: AWARDS

Chhattisgarh bags 'Water Digest Award' for best water conservation and irrigation facility

Chhattisgarh bagged the National 'Water Digest Award' for Water Conservation-Diversion and for increasing the irrigation capacity in the State. The Award is

presented every year by globally renowned magazine 'Water Digest'-which focuses mainly on water resources. The award is given in association with Central

Water Resources River Development and Ganga Cleaning Ministry, UNESCO, Central Water Board, Central Water Commission and Ganga Purification

National Mission.

SACF receives Frederick Pincott Award

South Asian Cinema Foundation (SACF), a London-based organisation 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. The institution has been active in boosting original research and books on Indian films, also

inviting and honouring filmmakers from India, along with documentary filmmaking and producing classic silent films with live music at the British Film

Institute (BFI).

NRI entrepreneur Joginder Sanger wins 'Business Personality' award in UK

NRI entrepreneur Joginder Sanger, Chairman of Mastcraft Group and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, has won the 'Business Personality of the year 2018' award in

the UK for a high level of commitment and enthusiasm in leading his business to success. Sanger received the award during the Eastern Eye Asian Business

Awards ceremony in London on March 23, 2018.

Scorsese to receive Golden Coach award at Directors' Fortnight

Veteran filmmaker Martin Scorsese will be honoured with the Carrosse d'Or, also known as Golden Coach award, at the Directors' Fortnight in Cannes. The

award is presented by SFR (the French Film Directors' Guild) and the 75-year-old director will receive the honour on May 9 during the opening ceremony of

the festival sidebar. The Carrosse d'Or award has been presented since 2002 by the filmmakers of the SRF to honour one of their own during Directors'

Fortnight opening ceremony. The recipient is chosen from the international filmmaking community for the innovative qualities, courage and independent

bent of his/her mind in their work.

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Section F: BANKING & FINANCE

IBBI notifies amendments relation to regulations on Insolvency Professionals

The IBBI on March 28, 2018 notified the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Professionals) (Amendment) Regulations, 2018 (Amendment

Regulations).

Subject to meeting other requirements, an individual shall be eligible for registration as insolvency professional if he has passed the Limited Insolvency

Examination within the last 12 months and has completed a pre-registration educational course from an insolvency professional agency, as may be required

by the Board.

An individual with the required experience of 10/15 years is eligible for registration as insolvency professional. In addition, an individual with little or no

experience shall be eligible for registration as insolvency professional on successfully completing the Graduate Insolvency Programme, as may be approved

by the IBBI.

As a condition of registration, an insolvency professional shall undergo continuing professional education as may be required by the IBBI.

A company, a registered partnership firm or a limited liability partnership shall be eligible for recognition as an insolvency professional entity, if its sole

objective is to provide support services to insolvency professionals, who are its partners or directors, as the case may be. Its networth should be not less than

one crore rupees.

An insolvency professional shall not outsource any of his duties and responsibilities under the Code.

An insolvency professional shall disclose the fee payable to him, the fee payable to the insolvency professional entity, and the fee payable to professionals

engaged by him to the insolvency professional agency of which he is a professional member and the agency shall publish such disclosure on its website.

Govt notifies new accounting standard, effective April 1

Companies will have to adopt more detailed revenue recognition ways from April 1 as the government has notified a new accounting standard.

The Corporate Affairs Ministry has notified Indian Accounting Standard (Ind AS) 115 which would be effective from the new financial year, starting April 1,

2018.

Ind AS 115 will help in more transparent accounting of revenues and have an impact on companies operating in diverse sectors, including technology, real

estate and telecom.

The objective of Ind AS 115 is to establish the principles that an entity should apply to report useful information to users of financial statements about the

nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from a contract with a customer.

Once it is in force, the other two standards Ind AS 18 and 11, which are related to revenue and construction contracts, would be withdrawn.

Ind AS is converged with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

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Govt keeps small savings interest rates unchanged

The government on March 28, 2018 decided not to tinker with the interest rates on small savings schemes, including NSC and PPF, for the April-June quarter.

Accordingly, the rates of interest on various small savings schemes for the first quarter of financial year 2018-19 starting April 1, 2018 shall remain unchanged

from those notified for the fourth quarter of financial year 2017-18.

Interest rate for the five-year Senior Citizens Savings Scheme has been retained at 8.3 per cent. The interest rate on the senior citizens' scheme is paid

quarterly.

Interest on savings deposits has been retained at 4 per cent annually.

Public Provident Fund (PPF) and National Savings Certificate (NSC) will fetch annual interest rate of 7.6 per cent while Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) will yield

7.3 per cent and mature in 11 months.

The girl child savings scheme Sukanya Samriddhi Account will offer 8.1 per cent rate.

Term deposits of 1-5 years will fetch interest rate of 6.6-7.4 per cent, to be paid quarterly, while the five-year recurring deposit is pegged at 6.9 per cent.

While announcing the quarterly setting of interest rates in 2016, the finance ministry had said that rates of small savings schemes would be linked to

government bond yields. The move is expected to see banks lowering their deposit rates in line with the small savings rate offered by the government.

In another notification, the ministry said it has decided to extend submission of Aadhaar details for small savings scheme investors from March 31, 2018 until

further orders.

Sale of 2nd

tranche of electoral bonds from April 2-10

The sale of second tranche of electoral bonds will take place from April 2-10 at SBI's 11 designated branches, the finance ministry said on March 28, 2018.

Electoral bonds are being pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties and bring transparency in political funding.

The bonds worth Rs 222 crore were issued by SBI during the first tranche which ended on March 10.

The government had notified the Electoral Bond Scheme in January. As per its provisions, a person who is a citizen of India or an entity incorporated/

established in India can purchase electoral bonds.

Registered political parties which have secured not less than 1 per cent of the votes polled in the last election of Lok Sabha or legislative assembly will be

eligible to receive electoral bonds.

SBI is the only authorised bank to issue such bonds. A person being an individual can buy electoral bonds, either singly or jointly, with other individuals.

An electoral bond will be valid for 15 days from the date of issue. No payment would be made to any payee political party if the bond is deposited after

expiry of the validity period.

The bond deposited by any eligible political party into its account would be credited on the same day.

Indian Railway Finance Corporation bonds get government guarantee

The Finance Ministry on March 26, 2018 approved government guarantee of Rs. 5000 crore in the current financial year for Indian Railway Finance

Corporation (IRFC) bonds to be subscribed by Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).

Ministry of Railways had entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with LIC in March 2015 by which LIC has to provide a financial assistance of Rs.

150000 crore for identified Railway projects from 2015 to 2019.

As per the terms of this MoU, IRFC has been raising funds from LIC by issue of bonds having a tenor of 30 years and remitting the funds to Ministry of

Railways for construction of Railway projects. However due to exposure limit constraints as per IRDA guidelines; LIC has not been able to subscribe to IRFC

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bonds beyond a certain limit. In order to overcome the exposure limit constraint, Ministry of Finance has approved Government guarantee so that LIC can

subscribe to Government guaranteed bonds without any limit as per IRDA guidelines.

RBI slaps Rs 59 cr fine on ICICI Bank for violating bond sale norms

The Reserve Bank has imposed a penalty of Rs 58.9 crore on the country's leading private sector lender ICICI Bank for violating its directions on direct sale of

securities.

"The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed through an order dated March 26, 2018, a monetary penalty of Rs 589 million on ICICI Bank Limited for non-

compliance with directions issued on direct sale of securities from its HTM (held-to-maturity) portfolio and specified disclosure in this regard," the central

bank said in a notification issued on March 29, 2018.

ICICI Bank said the violation was "due to a genuine misunderstanding on the timing of the applicability of RBI's directions in this matter".

Imposing the penalty, RBI said it was being done in exercise of powers vested in RBI under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 after taking into account failure

of the bank to adhere to the directions issued by central banker.

This action, RBI added, was based on the deficiencies in regulatory compliance.

As per RBI guidelines, banks need to classify investments into three categories of held-for-trading (HFT), available-for-sale (AFS) and held-to-maturity (HTM).

The securities required to be held till maturity fall under HTM category. In case the sale of securities from this category exceeds 5 per cent of the required

investment under HTM, banks need to disclose that in their audited annual financial statements, the market value of the HTM investments and have to

indicate the excess of book value over market value.

But ICICI Bank had not made this disclosure at that time but had disclosed in the annual report 2016-17.

Frauds cost Rs 181.7 bn to banking sector in FY17, says IiAS report

The domestic banking sector reported a total of 12,553 fraud cases worth Rs 181.70 billion in fiscal 2016-17, with state-run Bank of Maharashtra registering

the highest number of such cases. This was revealed in a report by proxy advisory firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS).

While Bank of Maharashtra reported 3,893 cases of fraud, private sector lender ICICI Bank came a close second with 3,359 cases and HDFC Bank the third

with 2,319 fraud cases, in 2017-18.

In terms of the quantum, Punjab National Bank (PNB) had reported the highest amount of frauds at Rs 28.10 billion in the last financial year, followed by Bank

of India at Rs 27.70 billion, State Bank of India at Rs 2,420 crore and Bank of Maharashtra at Rs 2,041 crore.

The report comes amid a string of banking frauds recently, including the Rs 14-billion PNB scam involving billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul

Choksi.

"In 2016-17, the Indian banking sector reported 12,553 frauds aggregating to Rs 181.7 billion (Rs 18,170 crore)," IiAS said.

Jana Small Finance Bank commences operations

Jana Small Finance Bank (SFB) commenced its banking operations on March 29, 2018. The Bengaluru headquartered Jana SFB was formerly known as

Janalakshmi Financial Services.. Ajay Kanwal, MD & CEO of Jana SFB, said the bank will create a strong and differentiated franchise to serve the underserved

with world-class governance and execution.

SFBs are allowed to undertake basic banking services such as acceptance of deposits, lending to unserved and underserved, including small business units,

small and marginal farmers, micro and small industries and the unorganised sector entities.

The idea of small finance banking operations comes from a government proposal, announced in Budget 2014-15, to begin differentiated banking services

with the intent to meet the credit and remittance needs of small businesses, unorganised sector, low income households, farmers and migrant work force.

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Section G: ECONOMY

NITI Aayog releases Baseline Ranking of Aspirational Districts

The NITI Aayog on March 28, 2018 launched the baseline ranking for 101 aspirational districts based on 49 indicators across five developmental areas of

Health and Nutrition, Education, Agriculture and Water Resources, Financial Inclusion and Skill Development, and Basic Infrastructure.

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said that a few more districts will be added to the list taking the total to around 115.

From May 2018 onwards, the districts will be ranked on their incremental progress.

Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh, Rajnandgaon in Chattisgarh and Osmanabad in Maharashtra figure in the top three spots of the ‗Baseline Ranking of

Districts‘. The worst performing districts in the country are Mewat (Haryana), Asifabad (Telangana) and Singrauli (Madhya Pradesh).

NITI Aayog in partnership with the Government of Andhra Pradesh has created a dashboard for monitoring the real-time progress of the districts.

This will reveal which districts are performing well and which are lagging behind. So there will be pressure from district level officials to the MLAs, MPs and

the Chief Minister to improve the performance of those districts creating a healthy competition among them.

Cabinet approves amendments to National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28, 2018 approved certain official amendments to the National Medical Commission

(NMC) Bill. These are based on feedback from parliamentary committee medical students and practitioners regarding certain provisions of the Bill. The

Amendments include the following:

Final MBBS examination will be National Exit Test

Having considered the common demand by the students not to subject them to an additional licentiate exam for the purpose of getting license to practice,

the Cabinet has approved that the final MBBS examination would be held as a common exam throughout the country and would serve as an exit test to be

called the National Exit Test (NEXT). Thus, the students would not have to appear in a separate exam after MBBS to get license to practice. NEXT would also

serve as the screening test for doctors with foreign medical qualifications in order to practice in India.

No bridge course provision for AYUSH practitioners to practice modern medicine

The provision dealing with bridge course for AYUSH practitioners to practice modern medicine to a limited extent has also been removed. It has been left to

the State Governments to take necessary measures for addressing and promoting primary health care in rural areas.

Seats under fee regulation increased

The maximum limit of 40% seats for which fee would be regulated in private medical institutions and deemed universities has been increased to 50% seats.

The fee would include all other charges taken by the colleges.

Number of nominees from States and UTs in NMC increased

Responding to the demands from States to increase their representation in the NMC, the nominees of States and UTs in the NMC have been increased from

3 to 6. The NMC will comprise of 25 members of which at least 21 will be doctors.

Penalty for medical college non-compliant with the norms

Another major concern gathered during discussion with stakeholders was the wide range of monetary penalty, ranging from one half to ten times the annual

fee recovered from a batch, to be imposed in a graded manner on a medical college non-compliant with the norms. The clause has been replaced with a

provision which provides different options for warning, reasonable monetary penalty, reducing intake, stoppage of admission leading up to withdrawal of

recognition.

Punishment for unqualified medical practitioners or quacks

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The government is concerned about the quality and safety of health care being made available to the citizens and the need to act strictly against unqualified

practitioners or quacks. The punishment for any unauthorized practice of medicine has been made severe by including a provision for imprisonment of up to

one year along with a fine extending up to Rs. 5 lakhs.

Cabinet approves enhancing the coverage of Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28, 2018 gave its approval for enhancing the scope of

Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY).

The Government of India will now contribute the Employer's full admissible contribution for the first three years from the date of registration of the new

employee for all the sectors including existing beneficiaries for their remaining period of three years.

PMRPY has been in operation since August, 2016. In this scheme, Government is paying the 8.33% contribution of Employers to the Employees' Pension

Scheme (EPS) in respect of new employees (who have joined on or after 1st April 2016) having a new Universal Account Number (UAN), with salary up to Rs.

15,000/- per month.

The scheme has a dual benefit i.e. on the one hand the employers are incentivized for increasing the employment base of workers in the establishments, and

on the other hand a large number of workers will find jobs in such establishments. A direct benefit is that these workers will have access to social security

benefits of the organized sector.

Govt. to sell majority shareholding in Air India; new owner to be named on May 28

The Centre released the Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) to invite Expressions of Interest (EoIs) for the strategic divestment of Air India, and its

shareholding in Air India Express and Air India SATS Airport Services Ltd, on May 28, 2018.

The Centre proposes to carry out the strategic disinvestment of AI by transferring management control and selling its 76 per cent equity share capital in the

airline. This will include AI‘s shareholding interest of 100 per cent in Air India Express and 50 per cent in Air India SATS.

Interested parties who qualify will be called to submit Request for Proposals on the basis of which the government will decide the winner.

The confirmed selected bidder has to continue using the ―Air India‖ brand for AI business operations for a minimum specified number of years on terms to be

detailed at a later stage.

The PIM document clarifies that Air India Engineering Service Ltd, AI Air Transport Services, Hotel Corporation of India and Alliance Allied Services Ltd, all

subsidiaries of AI, will not be part of the proposed transaction.

Eligibility of bidders

To submit an EoI, a bidder must have a minimum net worth of Rs.5,000 crore while funds may also qualify on the basis of minimum investible funds.

In addition, a bidder must have shown a positive profit after tax in at least three of the immediately preceding five financial years from the deadline of the

EoI.

Any private limited company, public limited company, limited liability partnership, body corporate, whether registered or incorporated in India or outside

India or fund in each case which is eligible to invest under the laws of India, can bid either as a sole bidder or as part of a consortium.

India's external debt rises to US$ 513.4 billion end December 2017

India's External Debt Stock stood at US$ 513.4 billion end December 2017, recording an increase of US$ 41.6 billion (8.8%) over the level at end-March 2017.

The rise in external debt during the period was primarily due to the increase in commercial borrowings, NRI deposits and short term debt.

On a sequential basis, total external debt at end-December 2017 increased by US$ 17.6 billion (3.6%) from the end-September 2017 level.

The maturity pattern of India's External Debt indicates dominance of long-term borrowings. At end-December 2017, long-term external debt accounted for

81.0% of India's total external debt, while the remaining (19.0%) was short-term external debt.

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The shares of Government (Sovereign) and non-Government debt in the total external debt were 21.2% and 78.8% respectively, at end-December 2017 with

the former's share increasing from 19.4% at end-March 2017.

US dollar denominated debt accounted for 48.2% of India's total external debt at end-December 2017, followed by Indian rupee (37.3%), SDR (5.7%),

Japanese Yen (4.6%), Euro (3.2%) and others (1.0%).

The foreign exchange cover to total external debt improved to 79.7% at end-December 2017 as compared to 78.4% at end-March 2017.

The ratio of short-term external debt by original maturity to foreign exchange reserves stood at 23.8% at end-December 2017 as compared to 23.2% at

end September 2017 and 23.8% at end-March 2017.

Forex reserves rise by $1.19 bn to $422.53 bn as on March

India's foreign exchange (Forex) reserves increased by $1.19 billion as on March 23, official data showed on March 30, 2018.

According to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) weekly statistical supplement, the overall Forex reserves rose to $422.53 billion from $421.33 billion reported

for the week ended March 16.

India's Forex reserves comprise of foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs) and the RBI's position with the International

Monetary Fund (IMF).

Segment-wise, FCAs -- the largest component of the Forex reserves -- increased by $1.13 billion to $397.29 billion during the week under review. Besides the

US dollar, FCAs consist of nearly 20-30 per cent of major global currencies. It also includes investments in US Treasury bonds, bonds of other selected

governments and deposits with foreign central and commercial banks.

In addition, the country's gold reserves value rose by $52.7 million to $21.61 billion.

Similarly, the SDRs value increased. It inched up by $3 million to $1.54 billion, while the country's reserve position with the IMF edged up by $4 million to

$2.08 billion.

Tax-free gratuity ceiling raised to Rs 20 lakh

The government on March 29, 2018 notified doubling of the limit of tax-free gratuity to Rs 20 lakh in private sector.

The notification follows changes in the Payment of Gratuity Act which had empowered the government to fix the ceiling of the retirement benefit through an

executive order.

After implementation of the 7th Central Pay Commission, the ceiling of tax-free gratuity amount for the central government employees was increased from

Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.

So far, formal sector workers with five or more years of service are eligible for Rs 10 lakh tax-free gratuity after leaving job or at time of superannuation.

The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, was enacted to provide for gratuity payment to employees engaged in factories, mines, oilfields, plantations, ports, railway

companies, shops or other establishments.

The law is applicable to employees, who have completed at least five years of continuous service in an establishment that has 10 or more persons.

The amendment bill approved by Parliament earlier in March 2018 had also empowered the government to fix the period of maternity leave. Accordingly, the

central government has fixed the total period of maternity leave in the case of a female employee to 26 weeks.

The change with respect to maternity leaves comes against the backdrop of the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017, enhancing the maximum

maternity leave period to 26 weeks.

PAN-Aadhaar linking deadline extended to June 30: CBDT

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The CBDT on March 27, 2018 extended the deadline for the PAN-Aadhaar linking to June 30. The policy-making body of the tax department issued an order

extending the deadline from the current last date of March 31.

The latest order by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has come in the backdrop of the Supreme Court, earlier this month, directing extension of the

March 31 deadline for linking Aadhaar with various other services.

This is a fourth extension given by the government for individuals to link their Permanent Account Number (PAN) with their biometric ID (Aadhaar). The

earlier deadlines for linking the two databases were July 31, August 31 and December 31, 2017, with the last being March 31, 2018.

The government has now made quoting of Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns (ITRs) as well as obtaining a new PAN.

Section 139 AA (2) of the Income Tax Act says that every person having PAN as on July 1, 2017, and eligible to obtain Aadhaar, must intimate his Aadhaar

number to the tax authorities.

Cabinet approves continuation, strengthening and establishment of KVKs till 2019-20

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28, 2018 approved the proposal of the Department of

Agricultural Research and Education for continuation/strengthening, upto 2019-20, of 669 Krishi Vigyan Kendras(KVKs) established till 31.03.2017, 11

Agricultural Technology Application Research Institutes (ATARIs), support to the Directorates of Extension Education (DEEs) of Agricultural Universities (AUs)

and all special programmes associated with the Scheme and establishment of 76 spill over KVKs as already approved in the 12th Plan.

The financial outlay for the KVK Scheme [including Directorate of Knowledge Management in Agriculture (DKMA)] for 2017-20 shall be of Rs 2,82,400.72 lakh.

KVKs would act as knowledge and resource centre in the field of agriculture in the district and would build models of technology uptake and farmers'

empowerment leading to support Government of India‘s initiative of doubling farmers' income.

Cabinet approves continuation of Nutrient Based Subsidy and City Compost Scheme till 2019-20

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28, 2018 approved the proposal of the Department of

Fertilizers for continuation of Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) and City Compost Scheme (CCS) beyond 12th Five Year plan till 2019-20.

The total expenditure for continuation of both the schemes till 2019-20 will be Rs. 61,972 crore. The expenditure for the scheme will be on actual basis since

national roll out of DBT entails 100% payment of subsidy to fertilizer companies on sale of fertilizers to farmers at subsidized rates.

The subsidy on the P&K fertilizers and Market Development Assistant (MDA) on City Compost will be provided on the subsidy rates approved by the CCEA on

annual basis.

The continuation of the NBS Scheme and CCS will ensure that adequate quantity of P&K is made available to the farmers at statutory controlled price.

Cabinet approves restructuring of NSDF, NSDC to strengthen governance

The Union Cabinet on March 28, 2018 approved restructuring of National Skill Development Fund (NSDF) and National Skill Development Corporation

(NSDC) to strengthen governance, implementation and monitoring framework.

The restructuring will ensure better corporate governance, transparency and accountability in operations of NSDC besides strengthening the oversight role of

NSDF.

The NSDC and the NSDF were set up by the Ministry of Finance for implementing coordinated action for skill development.

CCEA approves continuation of Credit Guarantee Fund for Education Loans Scheme

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28, 2018 gave its approval for continuation of Credit

Guarantee Fund for Education Loans Scheme and continuation and modification of Central Sector Interest Subsidy Scheme with a financial outlay of Rs. 6,600

crore for period from 2017-18 to 2019-20.

Modifications in the present proposal include the following:

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In order to allow more students to access the benefit, (and also considering that the average loan size has been only Rs. 4 lakhs), the ceiling on the loan

amount has been refixed at Rs. 7.5 lakhs.

The moratorium period would be course period + 1 year.

The scheme would cover loans for pursuing professional/technical courses from NAAC/NBA accredited Institutions/programmes or Institutions of National

Importance or Central Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs). This condition would however, be applicable with prospective effect, and would not apply to the

current loans.

Cabinet approves Export of all edible oils in bulk (except mustard oil)

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28, 2018 approved the proposal of Ministry of Commerce &

Industry for removal of prohibition on export of all varieties of edible oils except mustard oil. Mustard oil will continue to be exported only in consumer packs

upto 5 Kgs and with a minimum export price of US $ 900 per tonne. Removing of restrictions on export of all edible oils is likely to provide additional

marketing avenues for edible oils and oilseeds and will benefit the farmers by way of better realisation for oilseeds.

Cabinet approves formulation of a new Integrated Scheme for School Education

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28, 2018 approved the proposal of Department of School

Education and Literacy to formulate a Integrated Scheme on School Education by subsuming Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha

Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE) from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2020. An estimated allocation of Rs 75,000 crore over the period has been

approved. The objective of the scheme is to support States in universalizing access to school education from classes pre-nursery to XII across the country. The

main emphasis of the Integrated Scheme is on improving quality of school education by focussing on the two T's - Teacher and Technology.

India‟s share in world‟s GDP was 3.1% in 2017

As per the information available from World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), the contribution of India to world‘s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),

measured as share of GDP of India in world GDP (at current prices in US$ terms) is consistently increasing since 2014. As per the available data, this share in

2017 is the highest. India's share in world GDP at current prices in US$ terms (per cent): 2014-2.6%, 2015: 2.8%, 2016: 3% and 2017: 3.1%.

India is world‟s third largest electricity producer

India‘s electricity production grew 34% over seven years to 2017, and the country now produces more energy than Japan and Russia, which had 27% and

8.77% more electricity generation capacity installed, respectively, than India seven years ago.

India produced 1,160.10 billion units (BU) of electricity–one BU is enough to power 10 million households (one household using average of about 3 units per

day) for a month–in financial year (FY) 2017. Electricity production stood at 1,003.525 BU between April 2017-January 2018, according to a February 2018

report by India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) which is a trust established by the commerce ministry.

With a production of 1,423 BU in FY 2016, India was the third largest producer and the third largest consumer of electricity in the world, behind China (6,015

BU) and the United States (4,327 BU).

Renewables made up only 18.79% of India‘s energy. About 65% of installed capacity continues to be thermal.

As of January 2018, India has installed power capacity of 334.4 gigawatt (GW), making it the fifth largest installed capacity in the world after European Union,

China, United States and Japan.

Skill India joins hands with power ministry for SAUBHAGYA scheme

Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) on March 27, 2018 partnered with the Ministry of Power to support the successful execution of the

Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojna (SAUBHAGYA) scheme.

The scheme aims to achieve universal household electrification in all parts of the country at a cost of Rs 16,320 crore, including Gross Budgetary Support of

Rs 12,320 crore from the government.

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To support the successful execution of SAUBHAGYA scheme, a vocational training program has been launched in six states of Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh,

Jharkhand, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. Participants will be trained between the two job roles of Lineman Distribution (Multiskilled) and Technical Helper in

these six focus states.

The training infrastructures available with ITIs at district level as well as the infrastructures available with the State Power Distribution Utilities will be utilized

for skill training of the candidates ensuring successful implementation of the scheme.

Govt. to borrow Rs 2.88 lakh crore in first half of 2018-19

The central government in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on March 26, 2018 deliberated over its borrowing programme for 2018-19 and

finalised its borrowing calendar for the first half of 2018-19 (April-September). The government's gross G-Sec borrowing in the first half of 2018-19 will be Rs.

2,88,000 crore. This makes up only 47.5 percent as against 60-65 percent share in this period in previous years. The government had budgeted for 2018-19

Gross G-Sec borrowing of Rs. 6,05,539 crore.

SARAS Aajeevika Mela 2018 inaugurated in New Delhi

Union Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Mines Narendra Singh Tomar on March 26, 2018 inaugurated the SARAS Aajeevika Mela 2018 in

New Delhi. The Ministry is implementing the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission which aims at making the rural women

confident, aware and self-dependent.

The SARAS Aajeevika Mela is an attempt to provide direct marketing platform to the rural women producers so that they get proper prices for their products

by eliminating middle men.

The Ministry promotes rural haats for providing a platform for SHG women and other producers in the rural areas to sell their produce. The Ministry is

planning to set up 22000 rural haats all over the country during the FY 2018-19.

Govt begins process of selling enemy properties; issues guidelines

The government has started the process of monetisation of more than 9,400 enemy properties by issuing guidelines and directing the office of the custodian

to submit a list of all such movable and immovable assets within three months, officials said.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has also constituted a valuation committee at the district level, headed by the district magistrate, and an inter-ministerial

disposal committee, headed by an additional secretary, so that the process could be completed in a time-bound manner.

The move comes after the amendment of the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Act 2017 and the Enemy Property (Amendment) Rules, 2018,

which ensured that the heirs of those who migrated to Pakistan and China during partition and afterwards will have no claim over the properties left behind

in India.

The government has vested these properties in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India, an office instituted under the central government.

Among the 9,280 properties left behind by Pakistani nationals, the highest 4,991 properties are located in Uttar Pradesh followed by West Bengal which has

2,735 such estates. There are 487 such properties in Delhi.

Among the 126 properties left behind by Chinese nationals, the highest 57 are located in Meghalaya followed by West Bengal with 29. Assam has seven such

properties.

Deadline for linking Aadhaar with welfare schemes extended to June 30

The government on March 28, 2018 extended by three months to June 30 the deadline for linking of Aadhaar with welfare schemes, where the benefits are

funded from the Consolidated Fund of India. The earlier deadline for the same was March 31, 2018.

The deadline for linking bank accounts and mobile phone numbers with Aadhaar has already been extended indefinitely, till the five-judge constitution bench

delivers its judgement on petitions challenging the validity of the biometric scheme and its enabling law.

The CBDT has extended the deadline for the PAN-Aadhaar linking to June 30.

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Tribal Affairs Ministry launches “E-Tribes India”

The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India, (TRIFED), under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, is going Digital. The ―e-Tribes India‖ was

launched on March 27, 2018 by Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram.

The launch of e-Tribes, TRIFED‘s websites included www.tribesindia.com, www.trifed.in and Retail Inventory Software and M-commerce app. Besides, the

occasion also saw the launch of ‗Tribes India‘ Banners at Amazon, Snapdeal, PayTm and GeM. TRIFED‘s Handbook for Retail Trade and TRIFED‘s quarterly

magazine ‗Tribes Haat‘ were also released.

TRIFED has developed its own e-commerce (electronic commerce) website i.e., tribesindia.com for sale of all its products and to tap m-commerce (mobile

commerce) too. An Android App is also in place as well on Google store (Tribes India).

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Section H: CORPORATE

Anushka Sharma, PV Sindhu make it to Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list

Over 300 entrepreneurs and innovators across 13 categories have been named by Forbes under its 'Asia 30 Under 30' 2018 list.

The edition of Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 has selected names that meet three broad criteria -- the extent of impact of their achievements, and their ability to

disrupt the status quo; scalability of the business or line of work and; their potential to stay a long-term player.

Forbes has selected names in various sectors including entertainment, finance and venture capital, retail, social entrepreneurs and enterprise technology.

Here is the full list of Indians in ‗Asia 30 Under 30' 2018 list

Anjali Batra: Cofounder, Food Talk India

Bhumika Arora: Model

Nishanth Chopra: Founder, Oshadi

Trishneet Arora: Founder, TAC Security

Toshendra Kumar Sharma: Founder, Tosh Innovations Private Limited

Ashwin Ramesh: CEO, Synup

Raghav Sarin: Head, Sapiens X

Apurv Agarwal, Kanika Jain, Vikas Gulati and Rishabh Ladha: Cofounders, SquadRun Solutions

Nikhil Kapur: Principal, GREE Ventures

Varun Malhotra: Vice President, Quona Capital

Abhinav Pathak, Saketh, Yogesh Ghaturle and Sathya Narayanan: Cofounders Perpule

Arun Venkatachalam: Analyst, Habrok Capital Management

Manoj Meena and Sibabrata Das: Cofounders, Atomberg Technologies

Sanvar Oberoi, Yash Kotak and Jahan Peston Jamas: Cofounders, BOHECO

Nikhil Bohra: Founder, Krimanshi Technologies

Rahul Gayam: CTO, Gayam Motor Works

Aakriti Kumar: Founder, Differniture Spaces

Anu Meena: Founder, AgroWave

Nishith Rastogi: Founder, Locus.sh

Jasveer Singh: Founder, QiK Rooms

Vinesh Sinha: Founder, FatHopes Energy

Ashutosh Srivastavaand and Pranav Manocha: Cofounders, We-Convert

Yashraj and Yuvraj Bharadwaj: Cofounders, Zenith Vipers

Anand Chowdhary and Nishant Gadihoke: Cofounders, Oswald Labs

Raghav Sarin: Head, Sapiens X

Diva Sharma: Inventor

Padmanabh Singh: Polo Captain, Indian National Polo Team

Gautam Raj Anand: Founder, Hubhopper

Iqubal, Purkayastha, Pandey: Cofounders, Inshorts

Shobhit Banga and Supriya Paul: Cofounders, Josh Talks

Shwetal Shah: Head of Partnerships and Outreach, Erase All Kittens

Sri Charan Lakkaraju and Frederick Devarampati: Cofounders, stuMagz

Anshul Tewari: Founder, Youth Ki Awaaz

Anushka Sharma: Actress

Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain: Cofounders, Ather Energy

Gaurav Munjal, Hemesh Singh and Roman Saini: Cofounders, Unacademy

Rohit Ramasubramanian, Karan Gupta, Himesh Joshi and Arjit Gupta: Cofounders, Zefo

Ankiti Bose and Dhruv Kapoor: Cofounders, Zilingo

Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal: Cofounders, Meesho

Dhruv Sharma: Founder, GuestHouser

Rishi Gaurav Bhatnagar: Founder, Kaavadia

Ankit Prasad: Founder, Bobble Keyboard

Farid Ahsan, Bhanu Pratap Singh and Ankush Sachdeva: Cofounders, ShareChat

Phalgun Kompalli and Ravijot Chugh: Cofounders, UpGrad

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Smriti Mandhana: Athlete, Cricket

P.V. Sindhu: Athlete, Badminton

Gauri Angrish: Founder, CAREDOSE

Bellatrix Aerospace: Cofounders, Bellatrix Aerospace

Deepanjali Dalmia: Founder, Heyday Care

Kshitij Garg: Founder, Healers at Home

Jugal Anchalia and Abhishek Kumar: Cofounders, JustDoc

Priya Prakash: Founder, HealthSetGo

Prabhdeep Singh: Cofounder, StanPlus Tech

Facebook revamps privacy settings

Facebook on March 28, 2018 unveiled new privacy settings aiming to give its users more control over how their data is shared, following an outcry over

hijacking of personal information at the giant social network.

The updates include easier access to Facebook‘s user settings and tools to easily search for, download and delete personal data stored by Facebook.

Facebook said a new privacy shortcuts menu will allow users to quickly increase account security, manage who can see their information and activity on the

site and control advertisements they see.

The new features follow fierce criticism after it was revealed that millions of Facebook users‘ personal data was harvested by a British firm linked to Donald

Trump's 2016 presidential campaign — although Facebook said the changes have been ―in the works for some time‖.

Earlier in March 2018, whistleblower Christopher Wylie revealed that political consulting company Cambridge Analytica obtained profiles on 50 million

Facebook users via an academic researcher's personality prediction app.

The app was downloaded by 2,70,000 people, but also scooped up their friends' data without consent — as was possible under Facebook‘s rules at the time.

Twitter introduces „Timestamps‟ for live videos

Twitter on March 30, 2018 introduced ―Timestamps‖ - a new feature that will make it easier for its users to share a key moment from long, live videos. This

will help to draw attention to the specific moment in a live video. Previously, they could only Tweet an entire live video which made it difficult to discuss what

matters most.

To use the feature, users need to just tap to share a live video. It will then pop up and they can use the scroll bar to select the time they want the followers to

start watching. Those seeing the tweet will start watching at the time within the video the user shared.

The ―Timestamps‖ update has started rolling out on Twitter for Android and iOS devices.

WhatsApp introduces feature to enable users to migrate their data to a new number easily

WhatsApp on March 30, 2018 rolled out a new feature in a Beta update that will soon enable iOS, Android and Windows Phone users migrate their data to a

new number without much hassle. The new "Change Number" feature update is currently available in the 2.18.97 Android beta update on Google Play Store.

The user will have to select the "Change Number" option in WhatsApp Settings and then Account.

After inserting the required old and new phone numbers, WhatsApp will ask which contacts have to be notified about your new number.

After the migration, in the recipient's phone, all shared messages in the old chat will be transferred in the new one and in the chat will appear a new bubble,

indicating that the user has a new number.

Google launches DeepMind's AI-powered text-to-speech service

Google on March 28, 2018 launched a voice synthesiser called "Cloud Text-to-Speech" which is powered by its Britain-based Artificial Intelligence (AI)

subsidiary DeepMind. The service is now available for developers to add it in their own applications. A text-to-speech service is a form of speech synthesis

that converts text into spoken voice output. Google's text-to-speech powers the voices in service like Google Assistant, Search and Maps.

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SAP SE to adopt 100 Atal Tinkering Labs in 2018

German tech company SAP SE on March 27, 2018 signed a pact with NITI Aayog's Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) under which the company will adopt 100

Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) in 2018 to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in schools.

SAP SE will select among secondary schools from Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

ATLs are play workspaces with state-of-the-art technologies like 3D printers, robotics, sensor technology kits, Internet of things (IoT), miniaturised electronics

to stimulate innovation among students of class 6-12th.

So far AIM has selected 2,441 schools across the country to establish ATLs, out of which 1,100 tinkering labs are operating.

RIL sells U.S. shale assets to Sundance

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL), through its subsidiaries Reliance Eagleford Upstream Holding LP and Reliance Holding USA, has agreed to sell its interest in

certain acreage, producing wells and related assets in the western portion of its Eagle Ford shale assets to Sundance Energy Inc. for $100 million.

Microsoft sets up first Indian 'Garage' for staff projects at Hyderabad

Microsoft announced on March 26, 2018, March 26, the formal opening in Hyderabad of the Microsoft Garage, a facility that supports its employees'

endeavours in experimentation and encourages problem solving in new and innovative ways.

India ranks 67th in fixed line, 109th in mobile broadband speed: Ookla

India is ranked 67th

for fixed broadband and 109th

for mobile internet speeds in February, according to internet speed testing analysis firm Ookla. The

February Speedtest Global Index shows Norway at pole position in the world for mobile internet with an average download speed of 62.07 Mbps. Singapore

takes the top spot for fixed broadband with a 161.53 Mbps average download.

Toyota, Suzuki deepen India bonding

Toyota and Suzuki have taken the next big step in forging their India partnership which could eventually lead to a deeper alliance in the coming years. On

March 29, 2018, the two companies issued a statement where they referred to a ‗mutual supply of hybrid and other vehicles‘ for the Indian market. This will

see Suzuki supply its Baleno and Vitara Brezza to Toyota which, in turn, will supply the Corolla to its Japanese ally.

BMW Group rolls out „Skill Next‟ for engineering students

BMW Group India will distribute 365 engines and transmission units free to engineering and technical institutes across the country to help students get

hands-on training in modern automobile technology. This is part of ‗Skill Next‘ a technical training initiative launched by the German automobile

manufacturer on March 29, 2018 at its Chennai car plant. As part of the programme cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and a four-member student team from

College of Engineering, Anna University, bolted together an engine and transmission unit and mated it to a soon-to-be-released X3 body at company‘s main

assembly line.

Six Indian start-ups selected for Israel's MassChallenge programme

IT industry body NASSCOM on March 29, 2018 said that six of its incubated start-ups have been selected for the 2018 batch of Israel's MassChallenge

accelerator programme. The start-ups include an agri-technology company Intello Labs, IoT-enabled smart water purifier OCEO WATER, and Ziroh Labs. The

other three start-ups include Olivewear, S&I Engineering Solutions and Streamingo Solutions. MassChallenge is a global network of zero-equity start-up

accelerators which offer mentoring, tailored programming, complimentary workspace, and access to corporate partners. Start-ups were evaluated on their

ability to demonstrate impact and potential for ideas ranging from scientific breakthroughs to industry disruptions by an expert judging panel.

India is now world's fourth largest automobile market

India‘s automobile sales, including passenger and commercial vehicles, grew 9.5 percent and more than 4 million units in 2017 were sold, making the country

world‘s fourth largest automobile market, according to a report in the Economic Times. India raced past Germany to take the 4th position with the latter

selling 3.8 million units and growing by a modest 2.8 percent. The Suzuki Motor subsidiary's passenger-vehicle sales jumped 15 percent to more than 1.6

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million in 2017, boosting its market share by 2.6 percentage points to 49.6 percent. Other brands like Hyundai, Tata, Renault, Honda and Ford have also been

churning out new products consistently to keep buyers excited, thereby increasing sales of new cars.

India is now the world‟s No 1 almond importer

Almond imports into India rose 7 per cent to worth $600 million in 2017 against $560 million in 2016, according to Almond Board of California data. India has

overtaken China and Spain to emerge as the world‘s largest consumer of the nut in recent times.

NEWSMAKERS

Barrick Gold founder Peter Munk dies at 90

Canadian mining magnate Peter Munk, who built Barrick Gold Corp from a single mine into the world's largest producer of gold, has died at the age of 90,

the company said on March 28, 2018. He was named a Companion to the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian honour, in 2008 for his charitable

work and business accomplishments. Munk forged Barrick to dominate the gold mining industry via a string of acquisitions after founding the Toronto-based

company in 1983.

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Section I: STATES

MP‟s black chicken Kadaknath wins GI tag, beats Chhattisgarh‟s claim

Madhya Pradesh has won the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Kadaknath, a black-feathered chicken known for its flavourful meat and found mainly in the

tribal district of Jhabua, trumping Chhattisgarh‘s claim over the breed.

The GI certification for the chicken was notified in GI Journal No 104 dated March 28, according to the Madhya Pradesh animal husbandry department.

The coveted tag, awarded by the GI registry in Chennai, indicates that a product possesses certain qualities exclusive to its land of origin. Kashmiri Pashmina,

Darjeeling tea, Kancheepuram silk and Tirupati Laddoo have all been granted GIs.

The GI tag will ensure that no one else can use the name Kadaknath while selling any other black chicken.

Madhya Pradesh filed an application with the GI registry office in 2012 and the Chhattisgarh government filed its claim in 2017.

Kadaknath is in demand not only because of its taste but also due to its low cholesterol and high protein content. It sells at about Rs 500 per kg, which is

around five times the price of normal broiler chicken.

The Chhattisgarh government had applied for the GI tag following the success of a breeding project in Dantewada district.

The Madhya Pradesh government on March 28 had launched a mobile application to market rare chicken breed--the "Kadaknath"--whose black meat is in

high demand for its nutritious content and purported medicinal properties. The "MP Kadaknath" mobile app aims to connect poultries that sale the breed

with people from other parts of the country. The breed in is found in Jhabua and Alirajpur districts of the state.

MP to raise retirement age for govt employees to 62 years

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on March 30, 2018 announced raising the retirement age of state government employees to 62 years

from the current 60 years. There are about five lakh regular government employees in the state.

MP govt to refer to widows as 'kalyani', announces pension

The Madhya Pradesh Government on March 27, 2018 cleared a monthly pension scheme of Rs 300 to widows in the age group of 18-79 years besides

financial assistance of Rs two lakh for their remarriage. The state cabinet approved the "Mukhyamantri Kalyani Sahayata Yojana" in a meeting chaired by the

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. From here on, the state government will refer to a widow as "kalyani".

Rajasthan‟s first mega food park inaugurated in Ajmer district

Union Minister for Food Processing Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated the Greentech Mega Food Park Private Ltd, the first mega food park in Rajasthan at

Roopangarh Village in Ajmer district on March 29, 2018. The park has been set up at a cost of Rs. 113.57 crore and will benefit around 25,000 farmers.

NHAI joins hands with AAI for green corridor in Varanasi

The NHAI has joined hands with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for developing a green corridor along a 16.55 km stretch in Varanasi. A formal

Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) was signed towards this between AAI and NHAI on March 28, 2018. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and

AAI have collaborated under "Adopt a Green Highway Programme" as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative of AAI.

Entry to Taj Mahal restricted to three hours from April 1

Entry to the Taj Mahal in Agra will be restricted to only three hours starting from April 1, 2018, according to a notice issued by the Archaeological Survey of

India (ASI). The decision was taken to reduce "human load" on the 17th

century monument. The crowd management at the white marble mausoleum had

become a huge challenge for the CISF, as on holidays and weekends the number of visitors exceeded 50,000, excluding children below 15 years who can

enter for free and therefore not recorded.

ADB approves $80 mn loan for job oriented project in Himachal

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Multi-lateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved USD 80 million loan for Himachal Pradesh to fund modernisation of technical and

vocational education and training (TVET) institutions and improve skills ecosystem to help boost employability of the youth. ADB and the central government

inked the USD 80 million loan agreement for the Himachal Pradesh Skills Development Project in New Delhi on March 28, 2018.

Punjab Assembly passes Bill to ban hookah bars

The Punjab Assembly in Chandigarh on March 28, 2018 passed a Bill that provides for imposing a permanent ban on the 'hookah' bars in the state. The

Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) (Punjab

Amendment) Bill, 2018 is aimed at reducing the use of tobacco in various forms.

Foundation stone laid for SJVNL hydro project in Uttarakhand

Union Power Minister R.K. Singh and Uttrakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on March 30, 2018 laid the foundation stone of public sector company

SJVNL's 60 MW Naitwar Mori Hydro Electric Project. The project is located at Mori on the Tons river, a major tributary of the Yamuna on the Ganga basin, in

Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd's (SJVNL) Chairman and Managing Director Nand Lal Sharma said that the project would be

commissioned in 48 months.

West Bengal tops the list of states with most number of beggars

The government has come out with the total number of beggars in the country. As per the data released by Union ministry of Social Justice, there are around

4 lakh beggars in total. The highest number of beggars, 81,000, are in West Bengal. Lakshadweep, a union territory, has only two people begging for their

livelihood. West Bengal is followed by Uttar Pradesh and Bihar at number two and three respectively. The figures were given by Social Justice Minister Thawar

Chand Gehlot in a written reply to Lok Sabha in March 2018. As per the minister‘s statement, a total number of 4,13,670 beggars are residing in India,

including 2,21,673 males and 1,91,997 females beggars in the country.

AAI signs MoU with Assam govt to develop villages in Kamrup

The Airport Authority of India (AAI) on March 26, 2018 signed an MoU with Assam government under its Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) initiative for

sustainable development of human settlements at villages in Kamrup district. The AAI would provide financial assistance under its CSR initiative of Rs 4.58

crore for the Kamrup district as per the estimates prepared by the UNDP to improve the resilience of communities around Guwahati Airport.

Assam CM launches 'Mission Sambhav' campaign for toilet construction

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on March 26, 2018 launched the 'Mission Sambhav' campaign, which aims at spreading the message of toilet

construction in 33 districts of the state. The scheme aims to promote mass mobilisation through public representatives, local units of security forces, NGOs,

and colleges.

Assam CM launches toll-free helpline number for women

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched '181-Sakhi', a toll-free helpline number for women in Guwahati on March 29, 2018. The women can use

the helpline for any kind of assistance, including a medical emergency, and not just in the event of a threat to their safety. The service is presently being

launched for one shift and will be open from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM. However, it will be made available 24x7 shortly.

Mizo, Assam officials agree to maintain status quo at disputed border area

The governments of Mizoram and Assam have agreed to maintain status quo in the disputed border area of Kolasib-Hailakandi districts following a visit by

officials of both the states and the Centre. A spot verification was conducted on March 27, 2018 by officials of both the neighbouring states under the

supervision of Joint Secretary (North East) of Ministry of Home Affairs. The border separating Hailkandi of Assam and Kolasib of Mizoram witnessed violence

early in March when members of a Mizoram students' body, the Mizo Zirlai Pawl, tried to construct a rest house on NH 154. The Assam police had resorted to

lathicharge, and several students and journalists were injured in the incident.

Gujarat Assembly passes bill providing for upto 3 years in jail for use of fake caste certificates

The Gujarat Legislative Assembly in Gandhinagar on March 28, 2018 passed a bill which makes use of fake caste certificates to take benefit of reservations a

punishable offence. 'The Gujarat Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes (Regulation of Issuance and Verification of Caste

Certificates) Bill, 2018' was passed unanimously. Apart from rigorous imprisonment, the offender will have to pay a fine of up to Rs 50,000. The fine shall not

be less than Rs 10,000.

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Gujarati becomes compulsory in schools of Gujarat

The Gujarat government has made it mandatory for all schools in the state to teach Gujarati language to their students, Education Minister Bhupendrasinh

Chudasama said on March 27, 2018. Making the announcement in the Assembly, Chudasama said: "Irrespective of the board they are affiliated to, including

the CBSE, ICSE, IB, CISEC or IGCSE, teaching Gujarati will be mandatory for every school in the state. "To familiarise the students of the state with Gujarati

language, the government has decided to make it a mandatory subject in classes 1 to 8," he told the House.

Jagannath temple Ratna Bhandar to be opened after 34 years

The Odisha government on March 28, 2018 granted permission to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) of Puri to open the Ratna Bhandar after

34 years for inspection by the Archaeological Survey of India. No assessment of the ornaments or valuables kept inside the Ratna Bhandar will be undertaken

and only visual inspection of its roof and walls will be done. Precious jewellery and ornaments of the deities are kept in the Ratna Bhandar which was last

inspected in 1984 and only three of its seven chambers had been opened then. No one knows exactly what was stored in the other chambers. The Orissa

High Court is monitoring the repair work undertaken by the ASI in the 12th

century shrine since 2016.

India's first insect museum opened in Tamil Nadu

India‘s first insect museum was inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore on March

26, 2018. The Rs. 5 crore museum, established at a 6,691 sqft area, is dedicated to insects and claimed to be the first of its in the country. It would display

insects preserved as specimens as also live ones depicting their different developmental stages, images, videos and models of their unique behaviour, habits

and habitats.

Andhra CM inaugurates International Yachting Festival

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu flagged off the International Yachting Festival in Visakhapatnam on March 29, 2018. Conducted by the

State government, the festival is being held from March 29 to April 1. The Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) is facilitating necessary support for conducting the

festival to make it a grand event.

Kerala Assembly adopts bill to hike salaries of MLAs

The Kerala Assembly on March 28, 2018 passed a bill proposing to nearly double the salaries and allowances of ministers, MLAs, the Speaker, Deputy

Speaker, Leader of Opposition, and chief whip with effect from April 1. With the revision, the salaries and allowances of ministers and others would increase

to Rs 90,500 from Rs 55,000 and that of MLAs from Rs 39,500 to Rs 70,000. The bill suggesting revision of salaries and allowances was based on the

recommendation of Justice (retd) J M James Commission. The last revision was made in 2012.

Kerala govt. to procure 3 marine ambulances from Cochin Shipyard

The Kerala Government on March 27, 2018 decided to procure three marine ambulances constructed by Cochin Shipyard Ltd in the wake of cyclone Ockhi,

which struck the state in 2017, claiming several lives. The ambulances are being procured from the funds also donated by BPCL and Cochin Shipyard.

NEWSMAKERS

Andhra Pradesh appoints shuttler K. Srikanth as Deputy Collector

Ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth was on March 29, 2018 appointed as a Deputy Collector by the Andhra Pradesh government. Chief Minister N

Chandrababu Naidu handed over the appointment letter to him in Amravati in the presence of former All-England champion and celebrated badminton

coach Pullela Gopichand. In November 2017, the State Cabinet passed a resolution deciding to appoint Srikanth as Deputy Collector in Group-1 service.

Earlier, Srikanth became the second youngest sportsperson in India after Rio Olympic silver-medallist PV Sindhu to have received the coveted Padma Shri

award.

Rahul Dravid named state election icon for Karnataka

Cricketer Rahul Dravid has been named as the state election icon by electoral authorities for the May 12 assembly elections in Karnataka. The Election

Commission of India on March 27, 2018 announced a single phase poll for the 224-member Karnataka Legislative Assembly on May 12. Counting of votes will

be taken up on May 15.

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Section J: SPORTS

India finishes second in medals tally at ISSF Junior World Cup in Sydney

Muskan Bhanwala clinched the gold medal in the women's 25m pistol as India finished right behind toppers China in the medals tally at the ISSF Junior World

Cup in Sydney on March 28, 2018. The team gold in women's 25m pistol was won by Muskan, Manu Bhaker and Devanshi Rana. Their country-mates Gaur,

Mahima Turhi Agrawal and Tanu Rawal secured silver. Indian trio of Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Ayush Rudraraju and Gurnilal Singh Garcha bagged the team

silver in men's junior skeet with a total of 348.

India thus ended with 22 medals, matching China's nine gold but slipped to second in the overall medal count. India also secured five silver and eight bronze

medals.

On March 27, Manu Bhaker and Anmol secured India's seventh gold medal in the ISSF junior World Cup by winning the Mixed 10m Air Pistol event. Genemat

Sekhon bagged an individual bronze medal in the junior Women's Skeet. In the Mixed 10m Air Rifle event, 17-year-old Shreya Agrawal and 19-year-old Arjun

Babuta completed the podium in third place.

On March 26, Anish Bhanwala bagged a gold medal in the Men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event. He also teamed up with Anhad Jawanda and Adarsh Singh to

win the Team Silver medal in the event.

Afghanistan beat West Indies to win World Cup qualifying final

Afghanistan defeated West Indies by 7 wickets in the final of world cup qualifying tournament in Harare on March 25, 2018. Leg-spin sensation Rashid Khan

became the fastest bowler ever to reach 100 one-day international wickets as the West Indies were bowled out for 204 in 46.5 overs, before big-hitting

opener Shahzad smashed 84 as Afghanistan knocked off the runs with 9.2 overs to spare. Both Afghanistan and West Indies had already made sure of their

places in the 2019 World Cup by topping the 10-team qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe.

Varun Aaron to play for Leicestershire in English County cricket

Indian fast bowler Varun Aaron will turn up for Leicestershire during the upcoming season of English Country Cricket. Aaron has played for India in 9 Tests

and equal number of ODIs and was a part of the Indian side during the 2014 series in England. He has earlier played county cricket for Durham.

Australia cricket coach Lehmann to quit after South Africa series

Darren Lehmann on March 29, 2018 said he would quit as coach of the scandal-tainted Australia cricket team after the fourth and final Test of the ongoing

series in South Africa. His decision follows 12-month bans given to Captain Steve Smith and Vice-captain David Warner for the roles they played in ball

tampering in Cape Town during the third Test on March 17. Opening batsman Bancroft was banned for nine months for his part in the affair.

Warner, Smith banned for 1 year for ball-tampering scandal in South Africa

Steve Smith and David Warner were on March 28, 2018 slapped with a one-year international ban and ousted from this year's IPL, while Cameron Bancroft

was suspended for nine months by Cricket Australia for their role in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa. The lengthy bans on the trio effectively rule

them out of the November-December home series against India. Tim Paine will captain Australia in the final Test match in Johannesburg.

Afghanistan‟s Rashid Khan becomes fastest to 100 ODI wickets

Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan on March 25, 2018 became the quickest to notch 100 ODI wickets after he dismissed West Indies batsman Shai Hope in

the final of the ICC World Cup Qualifier 2018 in Harare. He smashed the record held by Australian Mitchell Starc, who took 52 matches to get to the triple-

figure mark. Rashid Khan, however, has achieved the feat in just 44 games.

India U-16 boys win Hong Kong football tourney

The India U-16 team emerged champions in the Jockey Cup International Youth Invitational Football Tournament with a 4-2 victory over Hong Kong U-17 in

the final in Hong Kong on March 25, 2018. The tournament was an U-17 event where India fielded their U-16 National Team. This was the team's third

consecutive victory in as many days. The Indians had earlier defeated Chinese Taipei (4-0) and Singapore (3-1).

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Punjab crowned National hockey champion

Hockey Punjab were crowned champions of the 8th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship after they came from a goal down to defeat Petroleum

Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) 2-1 in the final in Lucknow on March 25, 2018. Gurjinder Singh scored the goal for PSPB in the 3rd

minute. Hockey Punjab won

from two goals by Sarvanjit Singh in the 53rd and 60th minutes. In the Bronze medal match, it was defending champions Railway Sports Promotion Board

(RSPB) who defeated Air India Sports Promotion Board 5-3 on penalties after the scores were tied at 1-1 after regulation time.

Sebastian Vettel wins F1 season opening Grand Prix in Melbourne

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany won the Australian Grand Prix, the first of the Formula One season, in Melbourne on March 25, 2018. Mercedes

driver Lewis Hamilton of UK finished second while another Ferrari driver Kimi Räikkönen of Finland finished third.

Fabiano Caruana to play for world chess title after winning candidates tournament

The American grandmaster Fabiano Caruana will challenge for Magnus Carlsen‘s world chess championship in London this fall after winning the candidates

tournament in Berlin on March 27, 2018. No player born in the United States has won or even competed for a world championship since Bobby Fischer in

1972.