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Current Affairs Updates - 14th March 2018

Current Affairs Updates - 14th March 2018

Current Affairs Updates - 14th March 2018

Achieversrule has brought to you the Latest and the Updated Current Affairs Updates - 14th March 2018. These are very important for the upcoming examinations of Bank like IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, SSC CGL, SSC CHSL and other government exams. They are divided into various sections from National, International, Schemes, Obituary and Science and Technology. We would ask our readers to go through each of the points in details and also follow the Daily One Liner Static and GK Note Down Points that will be uploaded at the end of the day and practice the Daily Current Affairs Quiz for better performance in the examination.
New Appointments: National
Sitanshu Kar appointed as the new PIB chief replacing Frank Noronha.
  • Incumbent Frank Noronha, who took over in 2014 after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government came to power, will retire on April 30. Sitanshu Kar will replace him as principal director general of PIB, according to a statement from the information and broadcasting ministry.
Committees in News
The Centre  constituted the Mahanadi Water Dispute Tribunal for adjudication of longstanding disputes between Odisha and Chhattisgarh over sharing of Mahanadi river water.
  • The tribunal with three members was formed under Section-4 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 following a directive of the Supreme Court on January 23, said a notification of the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
Banking, Economic & Financial Affairs
ICICI Bank has launched instant overdraft ‘InstaOD’ facility for MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) customers in a completely online and paperless manner
  • Customers can get overdraft facility up to Rs 15 lakh for a year anytime, anywhere using the bank’s Internet and mobile banking app.
The State Bank of India reduced its charges on non-maintenance of an average monthly balance (AMB) in savings account by up to 75 percent, effective April 1.
  • The charges for non-maintenance of AMB for customers in metro and urban centres have been reduced from a maximum of Rs 50 per month plus goods and services tax (GST), to Rs 15 per month plus GST. The above revision will benefit 25 crore bank customers.
National Affairs
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a number of schemes for the poor in Varanasi and emphasized on harnessing solar energy for cooking. 
  • After inaugurating a 101-megawatt solar power plant in Mirzapur along with French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr. Modi laid the foundation stone of various development projects worth over Rs. 800 crores in Varanasi. 
A Bill to empower the authorities to confiscate and sell assets of economic offenders, especially bank fraudsters and scamsters who have fled the country, was introduced in the Lok Sabha
  • The Economic Offenders Bill 2018 was introduced by Shiv Pratap Shukla, Minister of State for Finance, in the Lower House amidst din over the PNB scam.
Karnataka's ‪‪Belgaum‬ is now home to India's tallest flag
  • India's tallest national flag was on Monday unfurled in Belagavi (also known as Belgaum) in Karnataka. The event was attended by leaders, schoolchildren, and leaders of Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Sikh institutions at the Kote Kere front. 
Bharat Heavy Electricals has secured a significant order worth Rs.736 Crore for supply of Steam Generators from Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL).
  • The Steam Generators will be used for a 700 MWe Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) to be installed at Gorakhpur Haryana Anu Vidyut Pariyojna (GHAVP) in Fatehabad district of Haryana. The Steam Generators will be manufactured at the Tiruchirappalli plant of BHEL.
According to data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), India’s factory output, measured by Index of Industrial Production (IIP) recorded overall 7.5% growth in January 2018.
  • Factory output grew at 7.1% in December 2017, before hitting 25-month high of 8.4% in November 2017.
Persisting failure to build a robust defence production industry has ensured that India continues to remain in the strategically-vulnerable position of being the world’s largest arms importer, accounting for 12% of the global imports from 2013-2017.
  • Arms import by India  increased by 24% between 2008-2012 and 2013-2017 periods, as per data on international arms transfers released by global think-tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
The annual retail inflation eased for the second straight month in February to 4.44 percent, as food prices fell
  • Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast February’s consumer price inflation to ease to 4.80 percent from 5.07 percent in the previous month.
International Affairs
The Maldives Parliament has approved the anti-defection bill with retrospective effect amidst boycott by opposition MPs. 
  • According to the bill, MPs elected on political party tickets will lose their seat if they leave their party, get expelled, or switch parties.The bill would take effect from 13th July 2017, meaning that the 12 MPs that switched to the Opposition last year would lose their seats.
Science & Technology
A new planet near the habitable zone around a bright cool star has been found.
  • The scientists have confirmed the existence of 15 new planets - including one 'super-Earth' that could harbour liquid water - orbiting small, cool stars near our solar system.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is set to peer into reservoirs of interstellar water to understand the origin and evolution of key building blocks for habitable planets. 
  • A molecular cloud is an interstellar cloud of dust, gas, and a variety of molecules ranging from molecular hydrogen (H2) to complex, carbon-containing organics. 
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope is set on an Indiana Jones-type quest to uncover a rare ancient “relic galaxy” hidden in our cosmic backyard that has remained unchanged for the past 10 billion years.
  • The wayward stellar island may provide valuable insights into the origin and evolution of galaxies.
Schemes / Programme
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a campaign to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) from India by 2025
  • After inaugurating the Delhi End-TB Summit here, the prime minister launched the TB-free India Campaign to take the activities under the National Strategic Plan for TB Elimination forward in a mission mode for ending the epidemic by 2025.
Agreements/ MoUs Signed
India announced a new Line of Credit of USD 100 million for defence procurement by Mauritius as the two sides signed many agreements on the second day of President Ram Nath Kovind's visit.
  • The agreements were signed after President Kovind held delegation-level talks with Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and members of his Cabinet.
Summit /Conference / Events
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the ‘Mary Kom Regional Boxing Foundation’ in Imphal on March 16 and present in the long-awaited event will be Olympic medallists -- boxer Vijender Kumar and wrestler Sushil Kumar.
  • Nestled at the foot of Langol hills in Manipur’s Imphal West district, Mary Kom’s Boxing Academy, spread across 3.3 acres, is around 10 km from state capital Imphal. It currently houses 45 young boxers, including 20 girls, at the three-storey building.
Chandigarh will host Play Write 2018, India’s first of its kind Sports Literature Festival on March 17-18.
  • It will bring together sports personalities who have either written books or have been the subject of one or more books themselves including 106-year-old Fauja Singh marathon runner, Indian Women’s Rugby Team besides many others.
Awards & Honours: Miscellaneous
The government has decided to institute an award  'Union Home Minister's Medal for Excellence in Police Investigation'  for carrying out best investigation of crime, for promoting high professional standards among police forces.
  • It will be given to the best investigators of police forces of the states, union territories and the central investigating agencies, an official statement said.
Vietnam's Nguyen Huong Giang was crowned "Miss International Queen" in Thailand on Friday at one of the world's top beauty pageants for transgender women.
  • Vietnam's Nguyen Huong Giang (C), flanked by first runner up Australia's Jacqueline (R) and Thailand's Rinrada Thurapan, reacts after winning the title of Miss International Queen 2018.
Obituary 
Begum Hamida, pioneer in women empowerment, dies at 101
  • She worked with SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association), which promoted self employment for women and the art of Lucknow's famous chikankari.
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