Current Affairs Weekly One Liners : March 06 – March 12

Current Affairs Weekly One Liners :

March 06 – March 12

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

1. P. Govt. Wants INS Viraat Turned Into Luxury Hotel with the proposal of 50:50 sharing between the Government of India and Andhra Pradesh.
2. The Centre has launched the first ever across-the-river survey in the Gangato determine the population of endangered Gangetic dolphin in Uttar Pradesh to Bijnor.
3. The Bhitarkanika National Park officials have rescued an endangered barn owl, under the Wildlife Act, from a village in Odisha’s Kendrapara district.
4. The country’s tallest flag hoisted from the India-Pakistan border at Attari with total height of 365 feet. Previously, Ranchi had the tallest national flag at 300 feet.
5. The 21- Nation Indian Ocean Rim Association Summit held In Jakarta. Theme- “Strengthening maritime cooperation for a peaceful stable and prosperous Indian ocean”.
6. In the 19^thAsian security conference held at the Institute of defence and security, India will submit a resolution in united nation for comprehensive convention on International terrorism (CCIT).
7. NRIs visiting India, are finding it difficult to exchange the demonetized currencies of Rs.1000 and Rs.500 notes, NRIs can avail this till June 30, 2017.
8. India’s unemployment rate halved from 5 %in August 2016 to 4.8 %in February this year and among major States, Uttar Pradesh as first, stated by Ecoflash
9. Hatsun Agro Product has commissioned wind power plant with 24 MW capacity in Tuticorin district, Tamil Nadu. ‘
10. Chandigarh will be hosting a three-day long‘Destination North East’ 2017 ‘3’ H Mission event organized by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
11. The Times Higher Education(THE) revealed the ‘Best Small Universities in the World 2017’in which IISc Bangalore stood at number  The first position is grabbed by Cal Tech of the United States of America
12. Himachal Pradesh denies pension benefits. Out of 39000 PSU employees around 32000 receive pension and only a few are denied of these benefits.
13. Rishikes his considered to be the unofficial yoga capital of world.

14. North Eastern state Tripura agreed to supply 60 MW of power to Bangladesh, the country has been already receiving 100 MW from March 23, 2016.
15. Haryana government had prepared a Tirtha Darshan scheme for senior citizens aged above 60. Around 400 destination scan be visited under the scheme.
16. As per the latest Economic Survey of Delhi, the per capita income is likely to cross Rs. 3 lakhduring 2016-17
17. Railways have introduced 33 per cent of sub-quota for women in the allotment of food stalls at rail premises as promised in the Rail Budget 2016-17, aims to empower women economically,
18. CBSE has launched a mobile app for students of Class 10 and 12 called The Exam Locator App, facilitates in locating exam centres on the basis of the students’ roll numbers.
19. India is likely to receive drugs from a rapid supply facility routed through the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and malaria (GFATM).
20. PFC, a NBFC has sanctioned a term loan of Rs 2,703.88 croreto West Bengal Power Development Corporation Ltd for construction of Unit 5, 660 MW under phase III of Sagardighi Thermal Power Station in Murshidabad.
21. Prime Minister Modi released a commemorative postage stamp on 100^thanniversary of the Yogoda satsangsociety founded by Paramahansa Yogananada 1917.
22. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced investment of Rs 12,000 crore in upgrading eight state highways to National Highways in Gujarat.
23. India had the highest bribery rate among the 16 Asia-Pacific countries surveyed by Transparency International Vietnam with 69%. China reported a much lower 26%.
24. Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje presented a 1,66,000-crore.Except a 15% increase in the value added tax on tobacco products, no new tax proposal was made in the Budget.
25. The government has made having an Aadhaar cardmust for poor women to avail of free cooking gas (LPG) connection under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.
26. Uttarakhand now has two tiger reserves– the Corbett Tiger Reserve and the Rajaji Tiger Reserve. Uttarakhand becomes the first State in North India to get four tiger reserves.
27. Karnataka government launched a comprehensive web-based platform ‘Pratibimba’, will serve as a tool to improve efficiency in governanceand allow citizens to track government’s progress.
28. On International Women’s Day across Odisha, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched a toll-free helpline number 181for women in distress.
29. Jammu and Kashmir government will organise a first-of-its-kind 15-day festival from April 1to showcase the treasures of Asia’s largest tulip garden.
30. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that Clean India missionhas virtually turned into a mass movement and over 100 districts became open defecation free (ODF).
31. India announced an Open Acre age Licensing Policy (OALP)for conducting oil and gas exploration where they want to drill on their own this will allow pricing and marketing freedom to operators.
32. Jammu and Kashmir minister of food, civil supplies and consumer affairs minister Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali inaugurated “Habbi” the first smart tribal village in Jammu and Kashmir.
33. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers spectrum Technology in the service of society award was awarded to Indian Institute of Technology Madras for the year 2017 for its solar direct current inverter
34. The Employee’s Provident Fund Organization has extended the date of submission of digital life certificate through Jeevan Pramaan patra to March 31^st2017 from 28^th February 2017.
35. With the efforts to improve airport services and passenger facilities Airport Authority of India has achieved the target of placing
36. Goa’s biggest Hindu folk festival, Shigmo, will begin on March 14. The festival also depicts the Goan lifein traditional folk danceslike Ghode Modni, Goff, and Fugdi.
37. Scientistsof CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography in Visakhapatnam found three new canyons (deep valley with steep sides) in depths of the Bay of Bengal, close to Kovvada in Srikakulam district. The last were discovered in 1963.
38. Himachal  Pradesh’s Forest Department has claimed that there are around 564 bird species living in the hill State, which accounts for 45% of the total 1,263 bird species found in India.
39. INS Tillanchang, a Water Jet Fast Attack Craft was commissioned into the Indian Navy by Vice-Admiral Girish Luthra, in Karwar, Karnataka.
40. The Railways extended passenger services on the newly constructed broad gauge line from Ranchi in Jharkhand to Tori in Bihar about extending 29.5 km
41. The Centre has issued draft rules through prepaid payment instruments (PPIs), popularly called e-wallets, to develop an information security policy that ensures that the systems operated by them are secure.
42. The government has spent Rs 2.42 lakh crore on purchase of defence equipment from 2013-14 fiscal to 2015-16 fiscal.
43. The Rajya Sabha passed the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016, to guard against claims of properties of migrants of China and Pakistan
44. The States of Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand have decided to conduct a synchronized elephant census between May 9 and 12.
45. National thermal power corporation Limited commissioned of 45 MW solar plant in Bhadla Rajasthan.
46. Rajasthan in association with UNICEF and the United Nations Population Fund(UNFPA) plans to reduce Infant Mortality Rate with target of 12 per 1000.
47. 12th CII–EXIM Bank conclave on India–Africa project enters partnership in NewDelhi to discuss cooperation in trade, regional integration & Infrastructure development
48. Lok Sabha Passed The Admiralty Bill jurisdiction in High courts located in coastal states of India and this jurisdiction extends upto territorial waters.
49. Central Government has planned to launch a new centre for ornamental fisheries with cost of Rs. 61 crore will be launched by  National Fisheries  Development
50. Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra singh launched a mobile app and website “Mere Hunar HP”. Skilled and semi – skilled persons can apply for various jobs as per their convenience.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

1. North Korea fired four banned ballistic missiles that flew about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), with three of them landing in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
2. A two-week-long Indo-Nepal joint military exercise Surya Kiran began at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand with an aim to enhance anti-terror cooperation.
3. India and Portugal joins to further explore opportunities to strengthen ties in the field of information and communication technology,
4. China’s banking system has become the world’s largest by assets with $33tnat the end of 2016, versus $31tnfor the euro zone, $16tn for the US and $7tn for Japan.
5. The fifth editionof “India by the Nile” festival began in Cairo Egypt. It commemorates the 70 years of India’s Independence and its diplomatic relations with Egypt.
6. Qatarairwaysplans to set up a fully foreign entity owned airline in India. According to the present norms, an air operator permit is granted to a company only if it is registered in India.
7. An inaugural Commonwealth summit focused on stimulating trade kicked off in London, targeting an increase in intra-group trade to $1 trillion by 2020, from $750 billion.
8. South Korea president Park Geun hye was impeached by the constitutional court as he was accused of colluding with a friend who alleged pressured companies to donate money in return for government favours.
9. Director General of Cellular Operators Association of India announced that the meet will concentrate more on South East Asian Markets. India is hosting the conference for the first time in Pragati Maidan at Delhi.
10. Chinahas inductedJ-20 stealth fighters in the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), along with the Y-20 transport planes and H-6K bombers.
11. Pakistan’s Parliament passed landmark bill to regulate marriages of minority Hindus in the country.
12. Indiaand Belgium signed a protocol to avoid double taxation in New Delhi. This protocol will help the Union Government in its fight against the black money.

BANKING, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

1. Nokiaand BSNL will team up for 5G ecosystem in India; including its Air-Scale radio access and Air-Frame data centre platform for extreme broadband and ultra-reliability and low-latency communication.
2. HDFC Bank announced the launch of an electronic virtual assistant (EVA), an artificial intelligence-driven chatbot, for customer services.
3. Deutsche Bank announced plans to raise at least $8.5 billion in capital and sell off a stake in its asset management business, in a move to help shore up the
4. JSW Steel takes over Ilva plant at Taranto in southern Italy. JSW will invest about $400 million (Rs.2,600 crore) for a 35 per cent stake in Ilva.
5. Netflix announced partnerships with Bharti Airtel, Videocon d2h for set top boxes and Vodafone for payment to expand its reach in the Indian market.
6. Tech Mahindra Ltd, will buy S.-based healthcare IT consulting firm CJS Solutions Group for an enterprise value of $110 million for the  implementation of electronic medical records (EMR) software.
7. TRAI provide internet for 2 paise per MB against the existing rates of around 10 paisein the mobile telecom market.
8. LIC will step up sale of non-single premium policies to about 25 per cent in 2017-18 to bring balance in its business growth profile.
9. RBI will soon issue Rs 10 denomination notes with enhanced security features for the circulation, with inset letter ‘L’ year 2017, will be on the reverse of the note.
10. TATA Power DDL has become the first Indian power utility to deploy tele-protection services deal with Nokia. The enhanced system will allow to minimize the disruption to the end consumer.
11. State Bank of India has decided to reintroduce penalty on non-maintenance of minimum balance from April 1, in case of failure to maintain Monthly Average Balance (MAB will attract penalty of up to Rs 100 plus service tax.
12. Payments platform PayPal partners with Make My Trip, , to facilitate hotel and holidays booking in addition to airline tickets.and holiday packages
13. Global rating agency Fitch said Indian economy will grow by 1 per cent in the current fiscal before stepping up to 7.7 per cent in the next two financial years.
14. Country’s largest lender State Bank of India launched a new facility to enable its employees to work from home using mobile devices.
15. IDFC has become the first bank to launch the biometric-based payment system Aadhaar Pay through its network.
16. Billionaire Uday Kotak sold 76 crore shares, or 1.5% of his personal stake, in Kotak Mahindra Bank for Rs.2,255 crore to two Canadian pension fund managers in an open market transaction..
17. Karur Vysya Bank launched three technology services – FAST again association with Indian Highways Management Company, United Payment Interface mobile app, and Bharat Bill Payment System.
18. Oil India Limited has signed an MoU with the University of Houston. The major focus of the MoU is collaboration in the areas of Improved Oil Recovery and Enhanced Oil Recovery.
19. Google has announced the acquisition of Kaggle, a start—up that hosts a number of data scientists, for an undisclosed amount. Kaggle is going to maintain independent brand
20. Tata Signs Pact With Volkswagen and Skoda to explore strategic alliance opportunities for joint development of products in India.
21. German Development Bank (KfW)and Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) signed a loan agreement for €200 million to enhance energy efficiency in India
22. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India planned to set up an office for “Telecom Ombudsman” to address complaints and grievances of consumers.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

1. Scientists have successfully stored a computer operating system, which can unlock DNA’s nearly full storage potential by squeezing more information.
2. Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana developed the country’s first genetically-modified varieties of cotton — the seeds of which could be reused by farmers.
3. The Jammu and Kashmir State Archaeology Department has discovered over 800 coins dating back to the 11th, 12th Century in Budgam district.
4. Scientists at NASA have located the Chandrayan – I spacecraft still circling some200 km above the lunar.
5. A3,500-year-old colossal mass burial ground, of the Megalithic period, has been unearthed by a research team of Tirupati-based Sri Venkateswara University.
6. India successfully test fired Supersonic cruise missile Brahmos at Balasore Odisha coast. successful test fired the extended range beyond 400kms.

APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

1. S.K. Thorat of Indian council for social science research retires. Central government appoints Prof. Ashok Modak and Satish Mittal to select the Chairman.
2. Public health expert  Srinath Reddy has been appointed as Advisor to the Odisha Government by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
3. Cairn India announced the appointment of former Chevron executive Melody Meyer and ex-CEO of BSG Resources Atul Gupta as executive advisors. .
4. Senior diplomat Manjeev Singh Puri was appointed as India’s new envoy to Nepal.
5. Kanungo was appointed Deputy Governor Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for three years.
6. Ford foundation appointed Pradeep Nair as regional director of  India,  Nepal  and  SriLanka.  He will succeed David Hulse.
7. Venkatesh currently working as the Ambassador of India to Kingdom of Spain, he is now accredited as ambassador of India to Andorra with his residence in Spain.

Awards

1. A new Guinness World Record has been set in Germany for the fastest-solved Rubik’s cube by a robot, Sub1 reloaded which unscrambled the puzzle in just 637 seconds with 21 moves. \
2. Lalji Singh,former director of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has been selected for ‘SERB Distinguished Fellow’ award by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) of Government of India.
3. President Pranab Mukherjee will give away the Nari Shakti Puraskar to Rajasthan Minister of State for Women and Child Development, on International Women’s Day. Rajasthan has been selected for its work on improving child sex ratio.
4. The 48th Kerala State Film Awards chose Vidhu Vincent was chosen the best director, becoming the first woman to win the award in its 48- year-old history.
5. Rajiv Gandhi Hyderabad International airport  ranks first in the world in airport service quality, in the category of more than 40 million passengers annually.
6. Jaipur airport is the best airport in the world in the category of 2 to 5 million passengers per annum across the world.
7. Canara Bank has been declared as the winner of ‘Social Banking Excellence Award’ by  P.V. Bharathi Executive Director received the award from Arjun Ram Meghwal, Minister of State for Finance.
8. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan played a character of Sarabjit Singh’s sister Dalbir Kaur won the best actress award at the International Film Festival and Awards of Australia.
9. “Harvard foundation” Artist of the year was awarded to Viola Davis of South Carolina, the only African – American actress to win the triple crown of acting The Academy award, Emmy award and the Tony Award.
10. Eminent Konkani writer Mahabaleshwar Sailhas been honoured with the Saraswati Samman 2016for his novel ‘Hawthan’.
11. Mohan Bhagwat was awarded Doctor of Science degree by the Maharashtra  Animal and Fisheries Sciences University.
12. Thailand Contestant Jiratchaya Sirimongkolna(transgender) win is crowned as Miss Tiffany Universe 2016.

SPORTS

1. American Sam Querrey captured his ninth ATP title by defeating Rafael Nadal in Mexico Open and end the Spaniard’s run of perfection.
2. Andy Murray solidified his position at the top of the rankings through defeat of Fernando Verdasco to win the Dubai Tennis Championships for the first time.
3. Baleno RS, with 89 points from the three races, clinched the team championships at the Nexa P1 Powerboat Indian Grand Prixof the Seas.
4. The Indian men’s Rugby team defeated Pakistan to secure the 7th rank at the Asia Men’s Rugby Sevens Trophy held at Aspire Rugby Field in Doha, Qatar. Philippines won the trophy.
5. Indian women’s hockey team beat Belarus as a part of India’s preparations ahead of the Hockey World League (HWL)Round 2 tournament in Canada in April.
6. Ashwin stands quickest to take 250 test wickets in 45 games erasing the record held by Richard Hadlee (62 games). For India, Anil Kumble took 86 matches and Harbhajan Singh 93.
7. Uruguay’s Pablo Cuevashas won his third straight Brazil Open tennis titleby defeating Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain
8. The Indian cricket team’s sponsorship rights, for the next five years, have been sold for a record high of 1,079 crore. Oppo will replace Star India Pvt. Ltd.
9. South Africa’s AB de Villiers has displaced Australia’s David Warner at the top of the ICC rankings for ODI batsmen.
10. Boxing Federation of India (BFI)has announced a10-member squad for the Chemistry Cup international event to be held in Halle, Germany.

OBITUARY

1. Eminent socialist leader,former Union Minister and former Speaker of the Lok Sabha Rabi Ray passed away
2. Thomas Starzl, who pioneered liver transplant surgery in the 1960s and was a leading researcher into anti rejection drugs, has died.
3. Well-known musician, researcher and singer Kalikaprasad Bhattacharya was killed in a road accident in Bardhaman district. He was 56.
4. John Surtees, the only person to win World Championship in two- and four-wheeler racing, died.
5. Nobel Prize Winner George A. Olah, whose work won paved the way of producing less polluting forms of gasoline, has died.

IMPORTANT DAYS

1. International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 3^rd, 2017. Theme of the event – ‘Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030’, asking for #Be Bold For Change.
2. World Kidney Day is observed annually on the 2nd Thursday in March. 2017 Theme: Kidney Disease & Obesity

BOOKS & AUTHORS

The Mughal City of Old Delhi a book by Swapna Liddle, covering the trajectory of Delhi since its establishment of the Mughal capital till India’s independence.