Latest Current Affairs – March 24 2018
1. PV Sindhu to be India’s flag-bearer at Commonwealth Games
India’s Rio Olympics silver medalist shuttler PV Sindhu is set to be the Indian contingent’s flag-bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia. She was reportedly contending with Saina Nehwal and MC Mary Kom for the honour, but was chosen following a better Olympic result. Sindhu won a bronze at the 2014 edition in Glasgow.
2. Manu Bhaker wins gold on last shot at World Cup
India’s 16-year-old shooter Manu Bhaker won a gold on her last shot in the women’s 10-metre air pistol event at the Junior World Cup in Sydney. This comes after Bhaker won a gold, also on the last shot, at the Senior World Cup in Mexico earlier this month. India are second in the medal’s tally with 11 medals.
3. ‘Earth Hour’ to be observed on March 24 at 8:30 PM
The World Wildlife Fund for Nature is organising the twelfth annual ‘Earth Hour’ on March 24/2018, from 8:30 to 9:30 PM local time. The worldwide event encourages individuals to turn off non-essential lights for one hour as a symbol of their commitment to the planet. First held in Sydney, Australia in 2007, the lights-off event reached record 178 countries in 2016.
4. Arun Jaitley elected to Rajya Sabha for 4th consecutive term
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has been elected to the Rajya Sabha for the fourth consecutive term. Jaitley, who was nominated as the BJP candidate from Uttar Pradesh, has served as a Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat for 18 years. CM Yogi Adityanath has announced that all 9 BJP candidates have won the Rajya Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh.
5. PM Modi receives German President at Rashtrapati Bhavan
PM Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind has received German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Steinmeier, who is on a 5-day visit to India, is accompanied by his wife Elke Büdenbender and will hold talks with PM Modi in areas of trade and investment.
6. Kerala CM launches mKeralam app for government services
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday launched the mKeralam app which will offer government services through a unified interface. According to reports, the users will be able to avail over 100 services initially, but the number of services offered will eventually increase to around 1,000. Public Wi-Fi will also be set up so that people can use the app.
7. India welcomes UN launch of decade of action on water
India has welcomed the launch of an ambitious decade for action on water, expressing hope that concerted action by the international community will help in meeting the challenges of ensuring sustainable solutions to the requirement of clean water. The Decade, launched on March 22 on World Water Day, calls for a greater focus on the sustainable development and integrated management of water resources.
8. March 24 – World Tuberculosis Day
World Tuberculosis Day is observed on March 24 every year to raise public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of tuberculosis (TB) and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic. The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease.
Despite significant progress over the last decades, TB continues to be the top infectious killer worldwide, claiming over 4 500 lives a day. The emergence of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) poses a major health security threat and could risk gains made in the fight against TB.
The theme of World TB Day 2018 – “Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free world”- focuses on building commitment to end TB
9. India’s first sign language dictionary released
Country’s first-of-its-kind dictionary, which aims to bring uniformity in sign languages used by hearing and speech impaired people across the nation. The Indian Sign Language (ISL) dictionary, which has been developed by the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC), comprises 3,000 Hindi and English words and their corresponding graphic representation of the signs which are used in daily life. The dictionary is available both in print and video format.
10. Parliament passes Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017
Parliament has passed a key bill that will empower the government to fix the amount of tax free gratuity and the period of maternity leave with an executive order.
The legislation will enable the government to enhance the ceiling of tax free gratuity to Rs 20 lakh from the existing Rs 10 lakh for employees falling under the Payment of Gratuity Act.
11. Global carbon emissions hit record high in 2017: IAE
Global energy-related carbon emissions rose to a historic high of 32.5 gigatons last year, after three years of being flat, due to higher energy demand and the slowing of energy efficiency improvements. Global energy demand rose by 2.1 percent last year to 14,050 million tonnes of oil equivalent, more than twice the previous year’s rate, boosted by strong economic growth, according to preliminary estimates from the IEA.
