Latest Current Affairs – March 06 2018
1. Washington becomes 1st US state to set net-neutrality rules
Washington became the first state to set up its own net-neutrality requirements after U.S. regulators repealed Obama-era rules that banned internet providers from blocking content or interfering with online traffic. The Federal Communications Commission voted in December to gut U.S. rules that meant to prevent broadband companies such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon from exercising more control over what people watch and see on the internet. The regulations also prohibited providers from favoring some sites and apps over others.
2. Biplab Kumar Deb to be next Chief Minister of Tripura
The BJP’s Biplab Kumar Deb has been named the new chief minister of Tripura. Deb was unanimously elected leader of the BJP legislature party in the state, and will stake claim to form government in Tripura before Governor Tathagata Roy. In Assembly election results, the BJP routed the CPM, which had been in power in Tripura for as long as 25 years.
3. Government sets up panel on Fintech to make regulations more flexible
The government has set up a panel to find ways to make it easier for financial technology firms to do business and for authorities to deploy their services to further the goals of financial inclusion. The eight-member panel, led by department of economic affairs secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, will find ways of using fintech in “critical sectors of the economy”, including the financing of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), delivery of e-services to the vulnerable sections of society, and management of land records and other government services.
4. Indian Railways plans provision of cheap bio-degradable pads at 8,000 stations
Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said he wants to run a campaign, ensuring that all women are provided with the benefit of bio-degradable sanitary pads in rural areas. The Railway Minister also said that he was exploring the possibility of facilitating manufacturing units for cheap and bio-degradable sanitary pads at 8,000 railway stations of the country.
5. Union Minister Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani inaugurates FICCI Frames 2018
Union Information and Broadcasting and Textiles Minister Smriti Zubin Irani inaugurated FICCI Frames 2018,with the theme ‘Creative Future: Coronation of Digital Consumer’, in Mumbai. The inauguration was followed by a conversation between Irani and Karan Johar, Filmmaker and Chief Mentor, FICCI.
6. Neil Basu: Indian-origin UK officer appointed new Chief of Scotland Yard’s Counter-terrorism Unit
Senior Indian-origin Scotland Yard officer Neil Basu has been appointed as the counter-terrorism chief. Basu, currently the Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner, will be promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations. He will take charge as the force’s National Lead for Counter-Terrorism (CT) and the Head of the Met Police’s Specialist Operations following the resignation of incumbent Mark Rowley on March 21.
7. Saposhi: Threat of new malware looms over cyberspace
A new threat looms large on the horizon of cyberspace. After Mirai and Reaper, cybersecurity agencies have detected a new malware called Saposhi, which is capable of taking over electronic devices and turning them into ‘bots’, which can be then used for any purpose, including a Distributed Denial Of Service attack which, with enough firepower, can cripple entire industries.
Malwares like Saposhi, Reaper and Mirai are primarily aimed at DDoS attacks, in which the malware first creates a network of bots — called a botnet — and then uses the botnet to ping a single server at the same time. As the number of pings are far beyond the server’s capacity, the server crashes and denies service to its consumers.
8. India’s first HeliTaxi service launched in Bengaluru
IT capital Bengaluru became the first city in the country – mimicking Sao Paulo in Brazil – to have a HeliTaxi when a privately owned helicopter service took to the skies, delivering its first three passengers to Kempegowda International Airport from Electronic City in 15 minutes, which otherwise would have taken nearly two hours by road. Bookings can be made by downloading the Thumby mobile app (Heli Taxii) where seats can be booked online.
9. Iraq overtakes Saudi Arabia as India’s biggest Oil Supplier
Iraq has overtaken Saudi Arabia by a wide margin to become India’s top crude oil supplier, meeting more than a fifth of the country’s oil needs in the current financial year. Iraq is followed by Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela in second, third, and fourth positions respectively. India’s dependence on the Middle East for its crude oil needs has increased from 58% in 2014-15 to 63.7% in the April-January period of this fiscal.
10. WTO to set up compliance panel in solar dispute case between India, US
The WTO’s dispute settlement body has agreed to set up a panel to determine whether India has complied with its ruling in a case against the US regarding domestic content requirements for solar cells and modules.
In 2016, India had lost a case against the US at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) after the global trade body stated that power purchase agreements signed by the Indian government with solar firms for its National Solar Mission did not meet international trade norms.
11. NFAI to host Women’s Film Festival, pay tribute to Sridevi
To mark the International Women’s Day, a Women’s Film Festival is being organized from during March 9 – 11, 2018 at National Film Archives of India (NFAI), Pune The festival is being organized jointly by NFAI, Aashay Film Club and the AAYAM Group of Women in Media. This will be the 9th edition of the festival. The theme of this year’s edition is Travelling Women.
12. Veteran actor Shammi dies at 89
Veteran actor Shammi, who acted in over 200 films and some popular television serials and was known for her impeccable comic timing, died today after a prolonged illness. She was 89. Born as Nargis Rabadi in a Parsi family, Shammi featured in many popular films, including “Ustad Pedro”, “Bhai- Bahen”, “Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi”, “Half Ticket”, “Jab Jab Phool Khile”, “Ittefaq”, “The Burning Train”, “Kudrat”, “Awara Baap”, “Swarg”, “Shirin Farhad Ki Toh Nikal Padi” and others.
13. Paytm unveils ‘Paytm for Business’ mobile app for TN
Mobile wallet company Paytm has come out with an business application aimed at serving merchants in Tamil Nadu who can track payments, navigate past collections and can also make settlements instantly. The ‘Paytm for Business’ app, available on Android Play Store, for merchants and business partners who accept Paytm at their offline stores in the state. The new mobile application allows Paytm’s three lakh strong merchant base in Tamil Nadu to make payments instantly, navigate past collections and track settlements made to their bank accounts.
14. Lanka declares state of emergency to quell communal tensions
Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency for 10 days to rein in the spread of communal violence between majority Sinhala and minority Muslims in the country’s scenic Kandy district that left two persons dead and damaged several mosques and homes. Violence, triggered by the death of a Sinhalese man at the hands of a mob last week, erupted yesterday in the Theldeniya area of the central hill district popular with tourists. The government sent troops and elite police commandoes to Kandy to restore order and enforce the curfew.
