Current Affairs - March 15, 2018 Current Affairs

Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the two-day Asia-Pacific Regional Conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) in New Delhi. The theme of the conference is "Challenges to Policing in 2020 - How is Cyber Space shaping our approach to Cybercrime and Terrorism, how do we perform within it and take advantage of it".

Suzlon Energy announced the installation and commissioning of S128, claimed to be the largest wind turbine generator (WTG) in India. The first prototype of S128 has been commissioned at Sanganeri, in Tamil Nadu. It is under testing. It is expected to be certified in 2018. The S128 WTG is available in 2.6 MW to 2.8 MW variants. It offers hub heights up to 140 meters. Suzlon Energy also claims that the wind mill also consists of India's largest rotor blade of size 63 m with a rotor diameter of 128 m.

Anindith Reddy was presented the 'FMSCI National MotorSports Person of the Year 2017' award at a function held in Chennai. Anindith Reddy is 26 years old. He hails from Hyderabad. FIA world motor sport council member Gautam Singhania and FMSCI (Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India) president Akbar Ebrahim handed over the award to Anindith Reddy. KD Madan, a former FMSCI president and K1000 champion, was presented the FMSCI Lifetime Achievement Award.

The first regional conference on 'Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) for Urban Areas - Opportunities and Challenges' was held in Kolkata. This conference was organized by Ministry of Finance, AIIB, ASSOCHAM and Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS). Eight such regional conferences will be held prior to the third annual meeting of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to be held in Mumbai from 22 June to 27 June 2018. Issues related to infrastructures development, sustainable infrastructure, mass rapid transportation system, port and coastal infrastructure, urban development etc. were discussed in the conference.

Citigroup has rolled out a service that allows customers to check certain banking information through Facebook Messenger, the American banking giant revealed to CNBC. The service, a conversational computer program - or chatbot - is available to Citi's consumer banking clients in Singapore beginning Thursday. A spokeswoman said the bank plans to roll out the service in Hong Kong and Australia later this year before moving onto other markets in which Citi operates.

The Haryana government will constitute a committee to find a solution to polluted water flowing in Yamuna river affecting the four districts of the state. The committee, led by State Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Om Parkash Dhankhar, will discuss the issue with the Delhi government and the Centre. It was announced by the Chief Minister of Haryana in the Haryana Assembly during Zero hour to the issue of quality of water in Okhla Barrage and effulents entering Yamuna from 37 polluted channels in Delhi.

Odisha will host the Senior National Table Tennis Championships after 12 long years. Earlier, Odisha had hosted Senior National Table Tennis Championships in 2001 and 2006. The 80th Senior National Table Tennis Championships is expected to be held in Cuttack, Odisha. It was decided to make Odisha the host of 80th Senior National Table Tennis Championships at the 81st AGM (Annual General Meeting) of the Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI), conducted recently in Gurugram.

As many as 10,000 Artificial Intelligence-powered CCTV cameras will be installed at over 4,500 junctions and main roads across Bengaluru to ensure safety of women. It is Termed as 'Smart Eyes', the security camera system will monitor areas on real-time basis. The Centre recently approved 667 crore for Bengaluru under the Nirbhaya Fund to ensure safety of women in public places.

Nasscom along with Facebook and WeWork launched Design4India Studio in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Design4India Studio is a dedicated design studio for web, mobile, augmented reality and virtual reality platforms for start-ups and designers. It aims to eliminate the gap between design and technology by providing spaces for start-ups and designers to explore, innovate and build together. Design4India studio has been built at WeWork's facility in Bengaluru. It aims to introduce the element of design in the early stage of young companies and offer the skills and tools required.

Federal Bank announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with two new broking partners, Celebrus Capital Ltd and Fortune Wealth Management Co India Pvt. Ltd. for providing Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) services to Non-resident Indians (NRIs). Reserve Bank of India's Portfolio Investment Scheme enables NRIs to purchase and sell shares and convertible debentures of Indian companies on a recognized stock exchange through their NRI Savings Account with a designated bank branch. Including the above stated entities, Federal Bank has partnered with total nine broking companies, for providing NRI clients, the facility to invest in shares and debentures of Indian companies in the secondary market. These strategic tie-ups are in line with Federal Bank's objective to double the PIS business in terms of a number of accounts and total volume.

Begum Hamida Habibullah, former Uttar Pradesh minister, died due to a long term illness at her home in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.Begum Hamida Habibullah was 102 years old. She was a former Rajya Sabha member. She entered politics and joined the Congress party around 1965. She became an MLA from Haidergarh. She was made the state minister of social and Harijan welfare, national integration and civil defence from 1971 to 1973. She was tourism minister from 1971 to 1974. She was also a member of the Executive Committee of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) till 1980. She was the president of Mahila Congress, UPCC, in the 1972 to 1976 period.

Odisha forest department has launched an app to track and fight forest fires during summer, recently. This app was launched on 3rd March 2018. Also, a Whatsapp group named 'Forest Fire Alert' has been formed for sharing information on tracking, preventing and fighting forest fires between forest officials and local people who help the forest officials. The Forest Survey of India (FSI) monitors the forests and when there is a fire, information is send to state forest department.Forest officials reach the spot and photos are uploaded in the Whatsapp group and app. This ensures that, officials reach the spot without fail.

The Telangana government is setting up an Rs. 100-crore Apparel Super Hub in Sircilla. It signed a memorandum of understanding with Kay Ventures to roll out the project. To be set up on 20 acres, the hub will be completed in three phases. The first phase will be taken up with an investment of Rs. 30 crores in a year. While the State government will infuse 90 percent of the phase-1 funds, Kay Ventures and its associates will take care of the balance amount.

Stephen Hawking (76), the legendary British theoretical physicist, has passed away in Cambridge, United Kingdom on March 14, 2018. Known for his unique way of speaking while living his life in a wheelchair, Hawking became an emblem of human determination and curiosity. He is known for his groundbreaking work with black holes and relativity. He contracted motor neurone disease in 1963 and was given two years to live but he went on to study at Cambridge and became one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists since Albert Einstein. Mr Hawking was the author of several popular science books, including 'A Brief History of Time', which sold more than 10 million copies and was translated into 40 different languages. The physicist had won the Albert Einstein Award, the Wolf Prize, the Copley Medal, and the Fundamental Physics Prize. His life story was the subject of the 2014 film 'The Theory of Everything', starring Eddie Redmayne.

Gina Haspel, the newly nominated first-ever female director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is a career intelligence officer with more than 30 years' experience. Ms. Haspel, 61, has extensive overseas experience and has served as chief of the station on several postings. Her leadership positions in Washington include deputy director of the National Clandestine Service - the CIA agent that co-ordinates clandestine operations - and chief of staff for the director of the National Clandestine Service.

Amazon.com Inc launched its first-ever debit card in Mexico, part of a push to encourage shoppers without bank accounts to buy online. Part of the challenge is attracting consumers who are wary of online fraud and do not have access to credit and debit cards. Less than a third of adults in Mexico have credit cards, according to a 2017 government report.