Current Affairs - March 17, 2018 Current Affairs

Sangeeta Bahadur was named the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Belarus. Sangeeta Bahadur is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) Officer of the 1987 batch. She is at present the Additonal Secretary in Ministry of External Affairs. She has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Belarus.

As per a recent household survey conducted in Andhra Pradesh, the state attained a rank equivalent to 51st rank globally on Multidimensional Poverty Index. On the global Multidimensional Poverty Index, India ranked at 66th position with an index value of 0.1911. As per Multidimensional Poverty Index Report 2017, launched by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on March 13, 2018, Andhra Pradesh's index value is 0.0825. Thus on a comparative basis, Andhra Pradesh can be placed at 51st position. The survey was conducted by Vision Management Unit, Planning Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh in collaboration with Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), University of Oxford, UK.

KL Rahul has been named as the 'Cricketer of the Year' in the 6th edition of Wisden India Almanack. Beside this, Shantha Rangaswamy, India's first woman superstar, has been inducted into the Wisden India Hall of Fame alongside Erapalli Prasanna. Shantha was the first lady to captain the Indian women's team. The Almanack pays a tribute to India's women cricketers, with a wonderful cover picture of celebration at the World Cup. With over 900 pages of essays, commentary, statistics, portraits, and images, Wisden India Almanack is a joyful ride through the entire last season. The magazine also provides insights into the future challenges that are to come.

HSBC appointed Pradeep Rao as its head of corporates for South-east Asia for global banking. As head of corporates for South-east Asia for global banking of HSBC, Pradeep Rao will work on strategic dialogue with HSBC's important clients in South-east Asia. He was previously HSBC's managing director of Asia-Pacific consumer and retail sector. He will be based in Singapore. He will report functionally to Rajeev Sahney, head of corporates for Asia-Pacific, and locally to Stephen Williams, head of global banking for South-east Asia.

Actor Jackie Shroff's short film "Shunyata" has won an award at Best of India Short Film Festival in Los Angeles, US. 'Shunyata' is short fiction film which runs for 22 minutes. It was directed by Chintan Sarda. It was produced by Sarda and Sunil Khedekar. The movie was screened at a theatre in Los Angeles. The jury selected 'Shunyata' as the best film. The award ceremony was held at Mack Sennett Studios on 3rd March 2018. It received a cash prize of $1,000.

The Government of India (GoI) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a $120 million loan agreement for completion of works for double-tracking and electrification of railways tracks along high-density corridors to improve operational efficiency of Indian railways. The tranche 3 loan is part of the $500 million multi-tranche financing facility for Railway Sector Investment Program approved by the ADB Board in 2011. The loan amount will be used to complete the ongoing works commenced under earlier tranches. The purpose of the project is to increase the efficiency of the rail infrastructure through electrification, introduction of modern signaling system, and doubling rail tracks on key routes in the country. ADB loan has a 20-year term, including a grace period of 5 years, an annual interest rate determined in accordance with ADB's London interbank offered rate (LIBOR)-based lending facility, and a commitment charge of 0.15% per year.

Indian film "Halkaa" has won the 'Grand Prix de Montreal' award at the 21st Festival International du Film Pour Enfants de Montreal Film (FIFEM). "Halkaa" was directed by Nila Madhab Panda. Child actor Tathastu has acted as Pichku, the lead role. "Halkaa" was selected among seven international children's films in the official competition of the festival held from 8th to 11th March 2018.

"Indian Images: People and Places", a photo exhibition about India was inaugurated by India's Ambassador to Egypt Sanjay Bhattacharyya in Cairo, Egypt. This photo exhibition was held as a part of the annual cultural festival 'India by the Nile'. It featured photos captured by Khaled Gawdat, an Egyptian photographer. 60 photographs taken in different parts of India were displayed in the exhibition. They depicted everyday life in India, landscapes, tourist places, cultural performances, people's faces and colourful costumes.

India ranked at 78th, lower than its emerging market peers like Brazil and China, among 114 countries on the World Economic Forum's (WEF) energy transition index. The list was topped by Sweden. The report titled 'Fostering Effective Energy Transition' ranks countries on how well they are able to balance energy security and access to environmental sustainability and affordability. The Top 5 Countries in the List are- 1. Sweden, 2. Norway 3. Switzerland 4. Finland, 5. Denmark.

The 105th session of the Indian Science Congress (ISC) has been inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Manipur Central University in Imphal on March 16, 2018. The focal theme of the 5-day ISC is "Reaching the Unreached Through Science & Technology". Approx 5,000 delegates from all over the country and 2,000 scientists along with four Nobel Laureates will grace the event. The Indian Science Congress is an annual event, usually held in the first week of January. The 104th ISC was held at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.

First Interaction of 15th Finance Commission with the Members of Parliament was held on March 14, 2018 in New Delhi. The meeting was held to convey the proposed schedule of the Commission's work and its Terms of Reference (TOR) as well as to seek suggestions of Parliamentarians. In context of this news, it is important to note that unlike previous Finance Commissions, the 15th Finance Commission will function in a different scenario wherein there is no Planning Commission and Government has removed the distinction between Plan and Non Plan grants. In coming days, 15th Finance Commission will conduct meetings with state level stakeholders.

Baskaran Adhiban from India has clinched the title in the 33rd Reykjavik Open Chess Tournament 2018 with an impressive performance that saw him win five of the nine games. He became only the second Indian after Abhijeet Gupta (in 2016) to win the prestigious Reykjavik Open.

India will host the 17th Annual Conference of International Competition Network 2018 (ICN2018) for the first time from 21st to 23rd March 2018 in New Delhi. The ICN advocates adoption of superior standards and procedures in competition enforcement around the world, formulates proposals for procedural and substantive convergence, and facilitates effective international cooperation to the benefit of member agencies, consumers and economies worldwide.

World Consumer Rights Day was observed all over the world on 15th March every year to create awareness about consumer rights. World Consumer Rights Day was inspired by President John F Kennedy. He sent a special message on issues of consumer rights to the US Congress on 15th March 1962. The first World Consumer Rights Day was celebrated in 1983. Theme: "Making Digital Marketplaces Fairer" is the theme for World Consumer Rights Day 2018.

Larry Kudlow has been named the new chief economic advisor to US President Donald Trump. Larry Kudlow replaces Gary Cohn as Donald Trump's chief economic adviser. Larry Kudlow is 70 years old.