Current Affairs - March 28, 2019 Current Affairs

Lalit Kala Akademi (LKA) announced 15 winners of the 60th Annual Academy Awards. All the awardees will be honoured with a plaque, a shawl and prize money of Rs 1 lakh at the 60th National Exhibition of Art, scheduled from March 25 to April 8 at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) and Sir JJ School of Art in Mumbai.

Infosys, a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, and Roland-Garros Grand Slam tennis tournament, also called the French Open, announced a three-year strategic technology partnership. The partnership aims to re-imagine the tennis experience for the fans and the players globally.

India and the US signed an agreement for exchange of country-by-country (CbC) report. The move will give huge relief to subsidiaries of US-headquartered companies in the taxation-related matter. The agreement was signed by PC Mody, Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), and Kenneth I Juster, US Ambassador to India. The agreement for the exchange of CbC reports, along with the Bilateral Competent Authority Arrangement between the two competent authorities, will enable the two countries to automatically exchange the reports filed by the ultimate parent entities of the multinational enterprises in the respective jurisdictions pertaining to the years commencing on or after January 1, 2016.

Assam State government has launched initiatives to educate voters. Folk song competitions, quiz programmes and appeals by celebrities are some of the initiatives being undertaken by the election office in Assam for attracting women, first-time voters, people with physical disabilities and senior citizens to cast their votes. Sprinter Hima Das, Whitley Awardee and environmentalist Purnima Devi Barman, singer Tarali Sarma, body builder Golap Rabha and actor Kopil Bora have been roped in as State icons to create awareness about the election process. District election officers have been directed to reach out to the maximum number of voters in the constituencies under their jurisdiction. Polling stations with low female voter turn-out have been identified and 'mahila voter rallies' are being held.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Apprised about MoU between India and Saudi Arabia for cooperation in the field of Housing.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given an approval for cooperation on youth matters between India and Morocco. And also signed a MoU to promote exchange of information and technical cooperation in the field of Housing and Human Settlement.

An agreement has been signed between India and the African Union to establish an India-Africa health sciences collaborative platform. The MoU will pave the way for cooperation in research and development, capacity building, health services, pharmaceutical trade and manufacturing capabilities for drugs and diagnostics. To carry forward the vision of a structured and concrete partnership in the health sector, the MEA partnered with Indian Council of Medical Research and had jointly organised the first India-Africa Health Sciences Meet in 2016 in New Delhi.

The 2nd edition of Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships aka Tong Yun Kai Cup 2019 was held in Queen Elizabeth Stadium, Hong Kong. The championship was organized by Badminton Asia and Hong Kong Badminton Association. China has grabbed the championship by defeating Japan with 3-2. In the mixed doubles, Chinese pair He Jiting and Du Yue has defeated apanese pair Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino by 21-17, 21-17. In the men's doubles, Yugo Kobayashi and Takuro Hoki of China beat Han Chengkai and Zhou Haodong of Japan by 16-21, 21-18, 21-13. In the women's doubles, Li Yinhui and Du Yue won for China by beating Ayako Sakuramoto and Yukiko Takahata with 21-16, 21-19.

Social Media giant, Facebook has launched two new India-specific tools viz. "Candidate Connect" and "Share You Voted" to boost civic engagement on its platform during the Lok Sabha elections 2019 that commence in April. Both these tools will be made available in 12 local languages. Candidate Connect feature will provide contesting candidates to upload 20 second videos in which they can introduce themselves and highlight how they will address outstanding challenges in their constituencies if elected to office. Voters will be able to watch these videos of candidates contesting from their respective constituencies and also from other constituencies. Candidate Connect feature aims to provide an opportunity for candidates to engage with the electorate.

International Day for Achievers (IDA) observed on 24th March every year to honor the achievers who have shown determination and confidence on their journey.In this regard, achievers from different fields are honored for motivating people to achieve their goals.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approves MoU between India and Indonesia on combating illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and its precursors.

Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Limited has discovered oil in the Krishna Godavari basin on India's east coast. The company has notified the management committee, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas of an oil discovery in the second exploratory well H2, located in block KG-OSN-2009/3, Krishna-Godavari Basin, east coast of India. Vedanta Limited holds 100% participating interest in the block. The first exploration well, A3-2, drilled in the block was a gas discovery.

Veselin Matic, who took Iran to an Asian Games bronze medal in 2010, is set to be appointed as the new head coach of the Indian men's basketball team. The Serbian's name had been cleared by the sports ministry. A veteran international coach, Matic helped Iran qualify for its first ever World Championship (2010) with victory in the 2009 FIBA Asia Championship.

Bank of Baroda has signed an MoU with agriculture services companies to develop an agriculture digital platform, Baroda Kisan, which will provide solutions for agricultural requirements. BoB has signed the agreement with Skymet Weather Services, Weather Risk Management Services, BigHaat, Agrostar India, EM3 Agri Services, and Poorti Agri Services. The platform intends to make a holistic approach towards solving agricultural plights by means of providing reliable and customised information, inputs for use, the convenience of renting farm equipment, and market linkage for sale of agriculture produce.

In Shooting, Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary have won a Gold medal in the 10-meter Air Pistol Mixed team event at the 12th Asian Airgun Championship at Taoyuan in Taipei. The pair made it to the Final after smashing the world record in the qualification. A second Indian team, comprising Anuradha and Abhishek Verma, also reached the Finals but finished fourth.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched a special programme for schoolchildren called Young Scientist Programme or Yuva Vigyani Karyakram (VUVIKA), in tune with the government's vision "Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan". The program is primarily aimed at imparting basic knowledge on space technology, space science and space applications to the younger ones with the intent of arousing their interest in the emerging areas of space activities.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has launched a programme, titled "Lose to Win", to help overweight employers to shed extra kilos and adopt a healthy lifestyle. The programme involves adopting a healthy diet and engaging in physical activity, helping employees lose excessive weight within 8 weeks. The programme team comprises nutritionists and health educators from Health and Education Department of the ministry. Apart from awareness sessions, the programme includes a workshop on healthy nutrition where the participants are briefed on essential topics, including how to read food labels as well as explaining the make-up of balanced diets.

International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade was observed all over the world on 25th March of every year to raise awareness about the dangers of racism and to honour and to remember people who suffered for the slavery system. The theme for International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade 2019 was "Remember Slavery: The Power of the Arts for Justice". The day was first observed in 2008, which was recognized by United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) after adopting a resolution in 2007.

Vijayawada railway station, one of the busiest railway junctions in the country, has received Gold Rating by the Indian Green Building Council. Council Chairman Meka Vijaya Sai presented the gold rating shield to Divisional Railway Manager R Dhananjayulu on 25 March 2019. The station boasts of 100% LED lighting, five star rated fans, pumps and motors, and solar water heating systems.

Naresh Goyal, the founder of Jet Airways (India) Ltd, has resigned from the board of the troubled airline after a meeting with the airlines board of directors. The lenders will immediately pump in about Rs.1,500 crore into Jet Airways by way of issue of appropriate debt instruments against security of assets. A bidding process will be initiated by lenders for issuing shares to a new investor in Jet Airways in June.