Current Affairs Updates - 24th March 2018

Current Affairs Updates - 24th March 2018

In our today's Current Affairs Updates - 24th March 2018 we have provided some of the Latest Current Affairs news on National, International, Schemes, Summits and Events. Some of these like the app "mKeralam" launched by Kerala government, Singapore Chang Airport being the World's best and the Decommission of INS Ganga are some of the noticeable news headlines amongst all the other kinds. These are in fact very important for the upcoming examinations and a lot of questions can come up from these sections. We will be providing GK points related to the CA headlines given below in our Static One Liner and GK Note Down points. We also request our readers to go through the Daily Current Affairs Quiz on a regular basis.

First in India & World

Chandigarh Becomes North India’s 1st City to Install Digital Automatic Speed Gun Cameras

• Chandigarh – The City Beautiful – has become the 1st city in North India to install Automatic Speed Gun Cameras with digital displays for traffic management, joining Kolkatta to install such system. 

National Affairs

The Union government has declared 2018 as ‘national year of millets’

• Nutrient-rich millets have got a boost with the Union government deciding to declare 2018 as the ‘national year of millets’. This decision has been taken following a request by Karnataka, which is the country’s leader in the millet sector.

Jackfruit declared Kerala’s official fruit

• The aim is to promote the ‘Kerala jackfruit’ as a brand in markets across the country and abroad, showcasing its organic and nutritious qualities, he said. This will also help in boosting the fruit’s production and sale, besides increasing its value-added products.

Vodafone Group and Aditya Birla Group have appointed Balesh Sharma as chief executive officer (CEO) 

• The Aditya Birla Group intends to nominate current MD Himanshu Kapania as non- executive Board member of the merged entity, while Vodafone India CEO Sunil Sood will join the Vodafone Group (Africa, Middle East, Asia, Pacific) leadership team. 

First 'Indian Sign Language' Dictionary Of 3000 Words Launched In Delhi

• The dictionary was developed by Indian Sign Language Research & Training Centre (ISLR&TC) under Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), M/o Social Justice & Empowerment.

BIRAC celebrates 6th Foundation Day

• The Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) recently celebrated its 6th Foundation Day in New Delhi. Themed as ‘Sustaining Innovation – A Market Driven Pathway’, the event was attended by a large number of dignitaries from the scientific and industry sectors both from within the country and overseas.

Google celebrates shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan's 102nd birthday

• Search engine Google paid tribute to Shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan, one of India's most beloved musicians, on his 102nd birth anniversary with a special doodle.

The AAP government today presented its Rs 53,000 crore budget for 2018-19 in the Assembly, which laid emphasis on environment, health, education and water.

• This is the first “Green budget” of the government for effective containment of pollution in the city, the Deputy CM said in the budget session of the Assembly. 

The government will now fully fund the education of martyrs' children

• The concession applies to the children of officers from the armed forces, 'persons below officer rank' missing in action, and those disabled or killed in action. This scheme covers around 3,400 children and entails an expenditure of around Rs 5 crore a year currently.

India is expected to establish itself as the third largest travel and tourism economy by 2028 in terms of direct and total GDP, a 2018 economic impact report by World Travel & Tourism Council 

• The WTTC report, released globally on Thursday, also said India will add nearly 10 million jobs in the tourism sector by 2028 and that the total number of jobs dependent directly or indirectly on the travel and tourism industry will increase from 42.9 million in 2018 to 52.3 million in 2028.

International Affairs

US President Donald Trump has announced 60 billion US dollar tariffs on China for its alleged unfair trade practices.

• The White House yesterday said the actions were necessary to counter unfair competition from China’s state-led economy. 
• The move is seen as a direct shot in a brewing trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. 

Singapore airport rated world's best, Mumbai ranked 63rd

• The Singapore Changi Airport has been named the world's best airport for the sixth consecutive year by consultancy firm Skytrax. The Incheon International Airport in South Korea and Haneda Airport in Japan were placed second and third respectively. While the Mumbai airport has been ranked 63rd, the airports in Bangalore and Delhi are at 64th and 66th place respectively.

John Bolton to replace McMaster as Trump's national security adviser

• HR McMaster has resigned as Donald Trump’s national security adviser and will be replaced by John Bolton, the hawkish former US ambassador to the United Nations

Science & Technology

An instrument to measure traces of uranium in water has been developed by a unit of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)

• The instrument, "Fluorimeter", has been developed by the Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), an Indore-based unit of the DAE.

Defence & Railway News

INS Ganga, an indigenously built frigate of the Indian Navy, was decommissioned, after over three decades of service.

• The ceremony was attended by several officers and men, many now retired, who had served on board the ship.

Application / Portal 

Kerala, which last year became the first State to declare Internet a basic human right, has notched up another first by launching "mKeralam", an app that will serve as a single window for accessing thousands of government services.

• Developed by the Kerala State Information Technology Mission, the app will initially offer 100 citizen-oriented public services of 20 departments, before eventually expanding to 1,000 services from more than 80 departments.

Agreements/ MoUs Signed

ISRO has entered into a Technology Transfer Agreement (TTA) with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), which is one of the country’s leading PSUs, to transfer the technology for the manufacture of space grade Li-Ion cells. 

• ISRO uses Li-Ion batteries as power sources for satellite and launch vehicle applications due to their high energy density, reliability and long cycle life. Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) of ISRO at Thiruvananthapuram has successfully developed the technology to produce space grade Li-ion cell, demonstrated the performance of the cell under various testing conditions and established its cycle life characteristics in accelerated mode.

BHEL inks tech pact with Korea-based HLB Power

• State-run power equipment maker BHEL on Wednesday said it has entered into a technology collaboration agreement (TCA) with HLB Power, Republic of Korea.

Merger & Acquisitions

State-run Allahabad Bank on Wednesday said the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has allowed the amalgamation of its wholly own subsidiary - All Bank Finance Ltd (ABFL)-with the lender.

• The ABFL offers a basket of fee based financial services such as trusteeship services (debenture trustee/security trustee), investment advisory and portfolio management services, distribution of Mutual Funds schemes and other corporate services including valuation of security and so on.

Summit /Conference / Events

Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir inaugurates first National Conference on Drug Law Enforcement 

• The minister said, the problem of drug trafficking assumes importance for India as it lies in the “Golden Crescent” and “Golden Triangle” as a transit route for drug mafia.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has been signed by 44 African countries at a summit of the African Union in Kigali, Rwanda.

• The summit was a step forward for the AU's 2063 project for closer African integration, with 27 member states also signing a commitment for the free movement of persons.

Awards & Honours: Sports

Indian shooter Elavenil Valarivan shattered the world record and claimed the gold medal in 10m women's air rifle event of the season's first junior ISSF World Cup

• Besides her individual podium finish, Elavenil also combined with Shreya Agrawal and Zeena Khitta to claim the team gold medal.

Teenager Vivaan Kapoor bagged the trap bronze medal in the ISSF junior World Cup here today, continuing the Indian shooting team's impressive run in the tournament. 

• The podium in the trap event was completed by India's Kapoor who previously finished 18th at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Porpetto, Italy, his only other ISSF start. 

Awards & Honours: Miscellaneous

Canadian mathematician Robert Langlands has been named as the winner of the Abel Prize for 2018 "for his visionary programme connecting representation theory to number theory,"

• Langlands' insights were so radical and so rich that the mechanisms he suggested to bridge these mathematical fields led to a project named the Langlands programme

Indian startup Uravu that has developed a technology to create water from the air is among the five finalists in a global competition.

• The two-year competition is to create a device that extracts a minimum of 2,000 liters of water per day from the air using 100% renewable energy.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday presented the G.K. Reddy Memorial National Award for journalism to senior journalist and television presenter Karan Thapar.

• Speaking about Mr. Reddy, the former PM said, “Mr. G.K. Reddy had great credibility and what appeared in The Hindu under his name was something which everybody respected and waited for. Media should use its freedom to promote objectivity and must support and strengthen democratic values that we all cherish. ”

Obituary 

Les Payne, Pulitzer Prize-Winner And NABJ Founder, Dies At 76

• Les Payne, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who spent his career at Newsday expanding coverage beyond local issues to include international stories first as a reporter, then as a columnist and editor — all while vehemently crusading for racial equality — has died at his home in Harlem, N.Y. He was 76.