Current Affairs Daily Digest – March 12 2019
1. Dr. A.K. Mohanty takes over as Director BARC
Dr. A.K. Mohanty, distinguished Scientist and Director, physics group of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and Director, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata took over as Director, BARC from Shri K.N. Vyas, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Atomic Energy.
Dr. Mohanty graduated from the 26thbatch of the BARC Training School and joined Nuclear Physics Division of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in 1983. During the past 36 years, Dr. Mohanty has worked in several areas of nuclear physics covering collision energy from sub-Coulomb barrier to relativistic regime.
2. 34th edition of Aahar – the International Food and Hospitality Fair commences in New Delhi
The 34th edition of Aahar – the International Food and Hospitality Fair commenced in New Delhi . The five-day fair, organised by India Trade Promotion Organisation, ITPO, features wide range of food products, machinery, food and beverages equipment, hospitality and decor solutions, confectionery items from over 560 participants from India and foreign countries.
The foreign participants in the fair are from countries including China, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, Spain, USA and UK among others.
3. Veteran Hindi Newsreader Vinod Kashyap passes away at 88
Veteran Hindi Newsreader Vinod Kashyap has passed away following a prolonged illness. She was 88. She served All India Radio for about 30 years.The veteran newsreader started her career in Radio as a drama artist.
4. New visa agreement between Maldives & India comes into force
The new visa agreement between Maldives and India has come into force . The agreement will provide a liberal visa policy for Maldivians seeking medical treatment as well as education and business opportunities in India. The visa deal will allow Maldivian businessmen and tourists to stay in India for 90 days without a visa. Maldivians with tourist visas can also stay in India for treatment if they suffer a sudden medical issue.
The agreement was reached during the visit of Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to India last December. Both the governments had agreed to implement the visa facilitation agreement after completing the required procedures.
5. Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs meets PM Modi
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The visiting dignitary is on a day-long visit to India.
Earlier, Mr Adel al-Jubeir also met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. This is the third meeting between the two leaders in over a fortnight. The two leaders had met during the meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Abu Dhabi earlier this month.
6. Mizoram’s first Lokayukta sworn-in
Retired IAS officer C Lalsawta becomes the first Lokayukta of Mizoram. Governor Jagdish Mukhi administered him the oath of office at the Raj Bhawan in Aizawl.
7. EC appoints three special observers for Jammu and Kashmir
The Election Commission (EC) has formed a three-member committee to assess the situation on the ground in Jammu and Kashmir before it takes a decision about holding the Assembly elections in the troubled state.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora said , the three members of the committee are two retired IAS officers Noor Mohammed and Vinod Zutshi and a retired IPS officer, A.S. Gill.
8. Zinedine Zidane re-appointed as coach of Spanish football club Real Madrid till 2022
Zinedine Zidane has been re-appointed as the coach of Spanish football club Real Madrid till 2022. The Frenchman replaces Santiago Solari, who was sacked after less than five months in charge. Former Real midfielder Zidane had resigned from the club after leading it to three consecutive Champions League titles.
9. US Olympic medallist cyclist Kelly Catlin passes away aged 23
Olympian Kelly Catlin, who helped the United States win the women’s pursuit team silver medal at the 2016 Rio Games, has died. The three-time world champion was 23.
Catlin won gold medals with the U.S. women’s team pursuit team at the 2016, 2017 and 2018 world championships.She was a graduate of the University of Minnesota.
10. Pinaka guided weapons system successfully test fired
Defence Research and Development organisation, DRD0 successfully test fired the PINAKA guided WEAPON rocket system from Pokhran range in Rajasthan. the weapon system is equipped with state-of-the-art guidance kit comprising of an advanced navigation and control system. The weapon systems impacted the intended targets with high precision and achieved desired accuracies.
11. PNB sanctions loans worth Rs 689 crore to 1,600 MSMEs via 59-minute loan portal
State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) has sanctioned loans worth Rs 689 crore to over 1,600 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through the psbloansin59minutes.com portal as part of its effort to promote such industries.
Under the Mudra Yojana, the bank has offered loan to over 2.69 lakh small entrepreneurs this fiscal (till February 14, 2019).
12. Saudi Arabia replaces India as world’s largest arms importer
Saudi Arabia has now become the largest importer of arms in the world, having pushed India to the second spot, according to the premier Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
the institute identified Saudi Arabia, India, Egypt, Australia and Algeria as the five top arms importing countries and the United States, Russia, France, Germany and China as the five top arms exporting nations.
For more than the last eight years, India was the largest arms importer in the international market.
13. Avengers: Endgame’ co-director Joe Russo to visit India in April
“Avengers: Endgame” co-director Joe Russo will be visiting India in April to engage with the Indian audience. He is looking forward to his trip.
Joe, one half of the Russo brothers, has picked up India as his first destination as a part of their “Avengers: Endgame” promotion tour in the Asia Pacific region. He will be in Mumbai on April 1 and April 2.
14. Lucknow to host biggest children’s film festival
The Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow will host the biggest children’s film festival in which several eminent personalities from India and abroad will be present. The nine-day fest, starting from April 4, is being organised by the City Montessori School (CMS), the world’s largest city school as per the Guinness World Records.
During the fest, educational and entertaining children’s films from 101 countries will be screened. The entry is free. Cash prizes worth Rs 10 lakh will be awarded to films in various categories by a jury comprising Nils Mamros from Denmark, Lali Kiknavelidze from Georgia, Vidyashankar N. Nois and Shyama Prasad and Vinod Ganatra from India.
15. Matildas launch new kit for Women’s World Cup
Australian women’s national team will wear brand new kit with the words “Never Say Die” printed inside at the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup, starting on June 7 in France.
The all-new Australia home kit unveiled by Nike is part of a first-ever national team collection designed exclusively for the Australian team, which shows the growing popularity of the top quadrennial event of women’s football.
The words “Never Say Die”, a reference to a common rallying cry among the players, are printed inside the kit.
16. Jharkhand bans e-cigarettes
The Jharkhand government banned the sale and usage of e-cigarettes in the state, according to an official notification.
“E-cigarettes are the new method of nicotine use. It affects the embryos in pregnant woman. It also causes mental problem. The sale, distribution, advertisement, import and usage of e-cigarettes have been banned with immediate effect,” the notification issued by the state’s health department said.
“E-cigarettes usually contain ingredients like propylene glycol (PG) and glycerol, mixed with concentrated flavors and optionally, a variable percentage of nicotine.
17. Indian media, entertainment to cross $33 bn by 2021
The Indian media and entertainment sector revenues reached $23.9 billion in 2018, and are expected to cross $33.6 billion by 2021, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.6 per cent, said a study released. The report by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) and Ernst & Young LLP was launched at the inaugural session of the Ficci Frames 2019.
While television retained its position as the largest segment, growth is expected to come from digital, which is expected to overtake filmed entertainment in 2019 and print by 2021.
In 2018, the media and entertainment sector registered a growth of 13.4 per cent over 2017.
