Current Affairs - March 20, 2018 Current Affairs

Three-day annual Krishi Unnati Mela, focusing on 'doubling farmers' income' began in New Delhi on March 16, 2018. The objective of Krishi Unnati Mela is to create awareness among farmers about latest agriculture related developments. Farmers and agri-scientists from various parts of India will be attending this Mela. 800 stalls displaying latest agriculture and allied sector technologies have been set up at the venue of Krishi Unnati Mela. A theme pavilion on doubling of farmers income, organic farming, cooperatives, farm inputs, has also been set up to familiarise farmers with the latest developments in the farming techniques.

United Nations Committee for Development Policy (CDP) has announced that Bhutan along with Kiribati, Sao Tome and Principe and Solomon Islands will be recommended for graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category. These four nations will be recommended to move up from ranks of poorest nations on account of increasing national earning power as well as access to better health care. At the United Nations (UN), LDC category is assessed using three criteria viz. gross national income per capita, economic vulnerability and human assets (health and education targets). Countries in this category are reviewed on these criteria at interval of three years. In order to be eligible for being recommended to graduate from LDC, a country must meet two of the three criteria. As per CDP the above listed four countries have fulfilled this condition and have thus been recommended for graduation. The recommendation has been sent to ECOSOC (the UN Economic and Social Council) for endorsement, which in turn will refer its decision to the UN General Assembly.

Philippines informed the UN Secretary-General its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC). Teodoro Locsin, permanent representative of Philippines to the UN, submitted a letter stating Philippines' withdrawal from ICC to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The letter stated that, Philippines was withdrawing from the Rome Statute. The Rome Statute set up the ICC in 1998. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte stated that, Philippines withdraws from ICC due to baseless and outrageous attacks by ICC against him and his administration. ICC had attempted to investigate Rodrigo Duterte on his anti-drugs campaign earlier.

The Indian Navy and the French Navy have conducted bilateral maritime exercises since May 1993. Since 2001, the exercises have been named VARUNA and there have been fifteen editions of the same till date. The last edition of VARUNA was conducted off the French Coast in April 2017. This year to VARUNA-18 would be conducted in three sea areas, namely, the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and South Western Indian Ocean. The conduct of VARUNA and the special impetus on taking this Navy-to-Navy cooperative engagement forward was reiterated in the Joint Statement made by the Prime Minister of India and the President of France.

On 16th and 17th March 2018, the Rising India Summit organized by Network 18 is held in New Delhi. This is the first edition of News18 Rising India Summit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered keynote address at the summit. Paul Krugman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, is the guest of honour. The summit focuses on strategic affairs, sports, entertainment and defence. This summit is a conclusion of Rising Series hosted by Network 18 in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala, etc.

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the first edition of Delhi Energy Dialogue (DED) 2018 in New Delhi. The dialogue was organised by Ashden India Collective (AIC) in alliance with the Climate Parliament and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). While inaugurating the dialogue, Mr. Pradhan stated that India is a happening place for energy as every day 40 million people are going to hydrocarbon retail points to meet their demand and 190 million people are getting the benefit of subsidies. He also added that by 2040, India's energy consumption will grow by compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4 per cent and India currently offers 1 lakh crore of bio-fuel and bio-energy business to the world.

The 14th Asian Cross Country Championship at Guiyang in China. Athletes from the host nation took the individual senior honours while Japan swept the four team titles on offer at the 14th Asian Cross Country Championships in Guiyang, China. Indian women's team comprising Sanjivani, Swati Gadhave, Jhuma Khatun and Lalita Babar also bagged a bronze medal. Performance of three best finishers of a country in the individual race is taken into account for team medal.

Dr. Rajiv Kumar, the Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, has inaugurated the first-ever India-Japan Workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction in New Delhi on March 19, 2018. The 2-day workshop is being jointly organised by the Ministry of Home Affairs, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Government of Japan. The workshop marks the beginning of the formal implementation of the initiatives agreed under the Memorandum of Cooperation signed between the two countries on Disaster Risk Reduction in September 2017. It will identify possible areas of cooperation of India with Japan in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction.

The first phase of Indo-French joint naval exercise 'Varuna 2018' has kickstarted at the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) in Vasco, Goa on March 19, 2018. The exercise is being held in the Arabian Sea off the Goa coast. French submarine and frigate Jean de Vienne and Indian destroyer INS Mumbai and frigate Trikand with their integral helicopters, Indian submarine Kalvari, P8-1 and Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft and a Mig 29K fighter aircraft are participating in the exercise which will conclude on March 24, 2018. The next two phases would be held off the Chennai coast next month and in La Reunion Island in May 2018. Indian and French navies have been conducting bilateral maritime exercises since May 1993.

With an aim to providing first-and-last-mile connectivity, railway PSU IRCTC announced a partnership with cab aggregator Ola, giving commuters an option book taxi on its app. The tie-up, a six-month pilot project, will give customers access to Ola booking services when they visit the IRCTC Rail Connect App and on its website. The Ola cab facility will provide all the services offered.

The United Nations has celebrated the International Day of Happiness (on 20th March) as a way to recognize the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world. The theme for IDH 2018 is "Share Happiness" - focusing on the importance of relationships, kindness and helping each other. The World Happiness Report 2018 was also released recently that ranks 156 countries by their happiness levels, and 117 countries by the happiness of their immigrants. Finland was ranked as the happiest country in the list and Burundi in East Africa is the unhappiest place in the world. India ranks 133rd in the report after Pakistan (75th), China (86th) and Nepal (101st).

Juan Martin del Potro from Argentina has won the Indian Wells Masters Tennis tournament 2018 by defeating Roger Federer in a thrilling final by 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 in California on March 18, 2018. Federer, the 20-time Grand Slam champion, was vying for a record sixth title in California, but it was Del Potro who clinched his maiden ATP Masters 1000 trophy. Del Potro also became the first player to beat Federer this year.

Nepal cricket team gained One-Day International (ODI) status for the first time. Nepal cricket team has gained ODI status after it won over Papua New Guinea by six wickets in the World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe on 15thMarch 2018. This is a significant achievement for Nepal as that Nepal cricket board is currently suspended by ICC.

Axis Bank announced the opening of its new representative office in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The representative office in Sharjah is Axis Banks third office in UAE. As UAE is home to 3 million Non-resident Indians (NRIs) and this representative office will focus on remittances business. It is to be noted that Axis Bank commands a 20 per cent market share in the USD 12 billion dollar-a-year inward remittances market from the UAE.

India's Purva Barve won the Women's Singles (Under-19) title at the Israel Junior 2018 Badminton tournament held in Rishon LeZion, Israel. She has defeated the third-seeded and top-ranked Russian Anastasiia Pustinskaia in three sets. The title is her first in 2018 and third overall. Earlier she won the Israel Junior 2017, Italian Junior International 2017 apart from a bronze at the Russian Junior White Nights 2017.