CURRENT AFFAIRS DAILY DIGEST

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1. Major Rohit Suri awarded Kirti Chakra

The military investiture ceremony held in the Durbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan marked both the high and low points of the military under the Narendra Modi Government. While the second highest peacetime gallantry award ‘Kirti Chakra’ went to a young officer, Major Rohit Suri, who was part of the surgical strikes last year, the seniormost Lieutenant General Eastern Army Commander Praveen Bakshi, who was side stepped in the appointment of the Army Chief, was awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, the highest Distinguished Service Medal.

2. Upendra Tripathy Appointed as Full Time Interim Director General of ISA

Mr. Upendra Tripathy appointed as the Interim Director General (IDG) of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) on a full time basis. Mr. Upendra Tripathy was the Former Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy from 1st April, 2014 until 31st October 2016. Mr. Tripathy is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Karnataka Cadre. He has worked with local, provincial and union governments in India for the last 36 years.

3. Madhabi Puri Buch appointed as SEBI whole time member

The government has announced Madhabi Puri Buch as new whole time member of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). This appointment also marks a departure from the regular practise of hiring Sebi board members, who typically were men coming from the public sector. This is the first time that a women and a person from private sector has been chosen for a key post with the market regulator.

4. Majuli all set to become India’s 1st carbon neutral district

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched initiatives to develop Majuli, world biggest river island, as India’s first carbon neutral district and as a biodiversity heritage. Launching “Forests are Lives” campaign to celebrate the importance of Assam’s rich forest and biodiversity, the Chief Minister urged people of the state to take a pledge to conserve its biodiversity to make a pollution free state.

5. Cabinet approves North East Road Network Connectivity Project Phase I

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for development of 403 kms of National Highways in Meghalaya and Mizoram. Out of 403 km, approximately 52 kms will be in Meghalaya and 351 km in Mizoram. The project will be executed in EPC Mode.  The estimated cost is Rs 6,721 crore including cost of land acquisition, resettlement and other pre-construction activities.

The projects will be taken up for implementation during the financial year 2017-18. The civil works are expected to be completed by 2021 and maintenance works are expected to be completed by 2025.

6. Cabinet approves proposal for Amendments to the NABARD Act, 1981

Amendments to National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act, 1981 as proposed in the draft Bill with such changes of drafting and of consequential nature, as may be considered necessary by Legislative Department. The Amendments,  include provisions that enable Central Government to increase the authorized capital of NABARD from Rs. 5,000 crore to   Rs. 30,000 crore and to increase it beyond Rs. 30,000 crore in consultation with RBI, as deemed necessary from time to time.

7. Cabinet approves MoU between India and the USA on cooperation in the field of Cyber Security

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been apprised of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-ln) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the US Homeland Security Department on cooperation in the field of Cyber Security. The MOU was signed on 11th January 2017 in New Delhi.

8. ICRISAT, ICAR join hands for crop improvement

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) would work together on crop improvement and agronomy programmes for grain legumes and dryland cereals. ICAR and ICRISAT, recently signed an agreement in New Delhi, in which climate-smart crops, smart food and digitalisation of breeding database were identified as some of the core areas of research.

9. India ranks 122nd in World Happiness Report

India ranked 122nd, behind terror-riven Pakistan and poorest-of-poor Nepal in the global list of the happiest countries, according to a global report. India ranked at 122 out of 155 countries in the World Happiness Report 2017, four notches below its previous rank of 118.Norway moved from No. 4 to the top spot in the report’s rankings.

10. RBI proposes to fix upper limit in PPIs at Rs 1 Lakh

The RBI has proposed to fix the upper limit for Pre-paid Payment Instruments at Rs 1 lakh in view of growing usage of PPIs for purchase of goods and services. The RBI had received requests from stakeholders and other entities for relaxations in certain areas while strengthening the norms for safety and security, risk mitigation and customer protection aspects related to usage of PPIs.

11. Russia’s VTB bank to shut India office

Russian bank VTB has decided to close its only office in India to cut costs but will continue to work in India. The decision to shut the branch in India was taken as part of a strategy of VTB Group aimed at optimising costs. We will continue to work on the Indian market, expanding our cooperation with local partners. Russian bank VTB has decided to close its only office in India to cut costs but will continue to work in India. VTB is also planning to cut costs in Europe by slimming down its operations to focus on Frankfurt.

12. ICICI Bank launches new app for rural customers

India’s largest private sector bank by consolidated assets, announced the launch of a mobile banking app for rural customers that allow them to access banking services as well as information on agri services. The app is open for both bank customers as well as others and is available in eleven different languages.  Named ‘Mera iMobile’, it allows users in rural areas to avail as many as 135 services some of which are unprecedented in the industry on their mobile phone.

13. March 22: World water day observed globally

World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. In 2017, the theme for World Water Day is ‘Wastewater’.

An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day.

14. March 21: International Day of Forests

March 21 is the United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Forests, which promotes the importance of forests and trees in our lives. The 2017 theme is ‘Forests and energy’.This global celebration of forests provides a platform to raise awareness of the importance of all types of woodlands and trees, and celebrate the ways in which they sustain and protect us. This year we highlight the importance of wood energy in improving people’s lives, powering sustainable development and mitigating climate change.

15. March 21: World Down Syndrome Day

March 21 is observed annually as World Down Syndrome Day. It  day to create awareness and honor people who have the unique triplication of the 21st chromosome that causes Down Syndrome. Organizers of the day want to get people talking about World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) by getting people to wear.

Down syndrome: A genetic chromosome 21 disorder causing developmental and intellectual delays.

16. March 21: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March. On that day, in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid pass laws. Proclaiming the day in 1966, the United Nations General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.

17. March 21: world poetry day

World Poetry Day, which is celebrated on 21 March, is special day observed in respect towards the practice of poetry by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The special day is celebrated with an aim to to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world. The UNESCO session, while declaring the day, had said that day is observed to “give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements”.

18. ISRO commissions world’s 3rd largest hypersonic wind tunnel

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) created history by commissioning the world’s third largest hypersonic wind tunnel at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram. A wind tunnel is used to study the effects of air flowing past a solid object—in ISRO’s case, space vehicles. With the space agency lining up big missions like the ‘Reusable Launch Vehicle’ (RLV), ‘Two Stage to Orbit’ (TSTO) rockets, air breathing propulsion systems, and the human space flight programme for the future, the aero-thermodynamic modelling of such vehicles in a hypersonic environment is vital for optimal designs.

19. India’s Vidya Pillai wins Women’s World Snooker silver medal

Indian’s Vidya Pillai who settled for a silver medal at the event of Women’s World Snooker Championship in Singapore on 19th March.  Vidya securing the first international medal for India in 2017. Vidya fell the short by four points with the score of 54-50 in the favour of Hong Kong’s Ng On Yee who is a former world champion. Yee is eight-time women’s national snooker champion. The 26-year-old had previously won the gold medal at the IBSF World Team Snooker Championship in the year 2013.

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