DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS : MARCH 4 & 5, 2018

 NATIONAL

North East Assembly Elections 2018 – Results:

• Legislative Assembly Elections were held in three North Eastern States – Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland in February 2018. Counting for all these Legislative Assembly Elections was held on March 3, 2018.
• Consolidating its position as a dominant force in the Northeast, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday scripted a spectacular victory in the CPI(M)-held Tripura(43 seats)in alliance with Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura (IPFT) and
• In Nagaland BJP (12 seats) and NDPP (17 seats) will form the government along with support from a Janata Dal (United) MLA and an independent.
• The ruling party, Indian National Congress led by incumbent Chief Minister MukulSangma won (21 seats) and emerged as the single largest party.National People’s Party (NPP) (19 seats) has got the second highest number of seats. NPP, BJP (2 seats) and three other parties will have an alliance under NPP’s leader Conrad Sangma to form a non-Congress Government in Meghalaya.

Tripura

• Capital: Agartala
• Chief Minister: Manik Sarkar
• Governor: Tathagata Roy

Nagaland

• Capital: Kohima
• Chief Minister: T R Zeliang
• Governor: Padmanabha Acharya

Odisha govt launches ‘AmaGaon, AmaVikas’ programme:

• The Odisha government has launched a programmeAmaGaon, AmaVikas (Our Village, our development) to reach out to the people in rural areas and involve themselves in the developmental activities.
• Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik flagged off mobile video vans for ‘AmaGaonAmaVikas’ programme that will move across the State to highlight various welfare schemes at villages in the state.
• Through these Wi-Fi enabled latest technology video wall vans, people can directly send their grievances to the Chief Minister’s Office at the Secretariat in

Odisha

• Capital: Bhubaneswar
• Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik
• Governor: C. Jamir

Karnataka unveils healthcare scheme Arogya Karnataka:

• Siddaramaiah said the ‘Arogya Karnataka’ (Healthy Karnataka) will providequality primary, secondary and tertiary treatment to both BPL and APL families in the state.
• It is a step towards a healthier and more productive Karnataka. The state will bear about 30 per cent of the treatment cost.
• It aimed at benefitting about 43 crore households in the state.

Karnataka

• Capital: Bengaluru
• Chief Minister:Siddaramaiah
• Governor: VajubhaiVala

INTERNATIONAL

India signs various agreement with Vietnam:

List of MoUs/Agreements signed during the State visit of President of Vietnam to India:

• MoU on Economic and Trade Cooperation. The purpose of the MoU is to establish a framework for enhancing economic and trade promotion.
• Work Plan for the years 2018-2022 between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam. The purpose of this Work Plan is to promote cooperation in transfer of technology and exchange of visits of technical experts in the fields of agriculture and allied
• MoU on Cooperation between the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership, India (GCNEP) and the Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (VINATOM).The purpose of the MoU is to strengthen the technical cooperation in the field of atomic energy for peaceful purposes.

Vietnam

• President: TrầnĐạiQuang
• Capital: Hanoi
• Currency: Vietnamese dong

BANKING & BUSINESS

India replaces China as world’s fastest growing economy, GDP growth at 7.2% in Q3:

• The Indian economy grew at 2 percent in October-December 2017, and will likely expand 6.6 percent in 2017-18, amid strong revival signs in consumption spending and investment activity.
• India regained its tag of fastest growing economy from China, as Chinese economy recorded a 8 per cent growth rate during October-December 2017 quarter (Q3) of the current fiscal.

India remains 12th largest foreign holder of US govt securities:

• India’s exposure to US government securities rose sharply to a high of USD 144.7 billion at the end of 2017, according to latest official data.
• The country remained the 12th largest overseas holder of such securities, just behind oil rich Saudi Arabia, whose holding stood at USD 147.4 billion in December 2017.
• In 2017, neighbouringChina was the largest holder of US government securities with holdings to the tune of USD 1.18 trillion, followed by Japan at USD 1.06 trillion. At the third position was Ireland whose exposure rose to USD 326.5 billion.
• Among the BRICS countries, India had the third largest exposure while that of Russia was lower at USD 102.2 billion.

APPOINTMENTS

NPP’s Conrad Sangma stakes claim to form government in Meghalaya:

• National People’s Party (NPP) leader Conrad Sangma met Meghalaya Governor Ganga Prasad to stake claim to form the next government in the state with the support of 34 MLAs. He will replace Mukulsagma.

Meghalaya

• Capital: Shillong
• Chief Minister: Conrad Sangma
• Governor: BanwarilalPurohit
• (Additional charge)

 AWARDS

Gadchiroli book reading event sets new Guinness world record:

• As many as 7,000 people participated in a book reading event here and managed to break a Guinness world record set in Turkey in May last year.
• “Gadchiroli” is mostly known for Naxal violence but this event will create a positive image for the district across the world. We wanted to propagate the message of non-violence and ensured maximum participation of school students.
• The objective is to disseminate Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence and message of peace.

Shatrughan Sinha wins lifetime achievement award in UK:

• Actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to the fields of arts and politics at a ceremony in the UK’s Parliament complex.The annual ‘Political and Public Life Awards’ presented by Britain’s Asian Voice weekly newspaper.

Oscar winners 2018: the full list

All the winners from the 90th Academy Awards held at Dolby Theatre, Calfornia,USA.

·                     Best documentary: Icarus

·                     Best foreign language film: A Fantastic Woman

·                     Best supporting actress: Allison Janney, I, Tonya

·                     Best animated short: Dear Basketball 

·                     Best animated film: Coco 

·                     Best editing: Dunkirk

·                     Best documentary short: Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405

·                     Best live action short: The Silent Child

·                     Best score: The Shape of Water

·                     Best director: Guillermo del Toro, The Shape of Water

·                     Best actor: Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

·                     Best actress: Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

·                     Best picture:The Shape of Water 

• Best supporting actor: Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

 SPORTS

Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan becomes youngest International Cricket Captain:

• Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan achieved a massive feat when he became the youngest top-ranked player as per ICC Rankings. Rashid joined JaspritBumrah as the top-ranked player in ODI rankings at the conclusion of the series against South Africa.
• The World’s No. 2 ODI bowler Rashid led Afghanistan, after regular skipperAsgharStanikzai was diagnosed with appendicitis.

ISFF World Cup: Indian shooter Shahzar Rizvi clinches gold; Jitu Rai and Mehuli Ghosh bag bronze

• Indian shooter Shahzar Rizvi clinched gold with a world record score while Jitu Rai grabbed bronze in 10m air pistol men’s final in the ISSF World Cup at Guadalajara in Mexico.
• Mehuli Ghosh added another medal to India’s tally as she shot world junior record 228.4 points to win bronze medal in the women’s 10m air rifle event.

Maharashtra women’s team wins interstate national tennis championship 2018 in Chhattisgarh:

The Maharashtra women’s team won the interstate national tennis championship 2018 by defeating Delhi team held in The championship was organised under the auspices of the All India Tennis Association (AITA) by the Chhattisgarh State Tennis Association (CSTA).

OBITUARY

Literateur Prafulla Das passes away:

• LiterateurPrafulla Das passed away at his residence at Rajkanika in Kendrapara district.
• He was a recipient of the prestigious “Sarala Award 2014” for his achievement “Banhimana” in the literary field.

Italian footballer DavideAstori dies aged 31:

• Fiorentina captain and Italy international DavideAstori died of a sudden illness at the age of 31.

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