Daily Current Affairs 14th March, 2020

Daily Current Affairs 14 March 2020 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Nitin Gadkari requests Lok Sabha members to spread information about “Udyam Sakhi” portal
Minister of micro, small and medium enterprises, Nitin Gadkari requested the Lok Sabha members to spread the information about “Udyam Sakhi” Portal for awareness about government schemes and to facilitate the networking of women start ups, entrepreneurs, investors, incubators, mentors, students and enterprise facilitators.

• Minister also informed that only 2012 women have benefitted from this portal till last week

UP govt launches schemes for skill development & employment generation for youths
Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath has launched three ambitious schemes Kaushal Satrang, Yuva Hub and apprenticeship scheme in Lucknow.

• This three schemes for skill development and employment generation for youths in the state and also announced to depute ”Arogya Mitras” at all primary health centres to inform people about govt health schemes.

Union Cabinet approves construction of 780 km Green National Highway Corridor
The Union Cabinet has approved construction of 780 km Green National Highway Corridor project with an investment of Rs 7660 crore in partnership with the World Bank.

• The highway will connect Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

Amitabh Bachchan To Raise Awareness About Coronavirus
In the wake of the rising misinformation around the novel coronavirus, the Government of India and The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) joined hands and roped in megastar Amitabh Bachchan to raise awareness about COVID-19

Centre sanctions Rs 365 cr for Sabroom ICP in Tripura
The Centre has sanctioned Rs365 crore for constructing a new Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Sabroom, the southernmost town in South Tripura district, about 130 km.

• This will be the second ICP along the Indo-Bangla border in the state after Akhaura ICP here, which was set up in 2013.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Facebook launches ‘Pragati’ to boost women
Facebook India called for applications for its CSR initiative, Facebook Pragati, powered by N/Core (The/Nudge Centre for Social Innovation).

• The initiative will incubate and accelerate early-stage women-led non-profits that are working to drive women entrepreneurship and to spread awareness and adoption of technology among women in India.
• Facebook Pragati will award four grants of up to ₹50 lakh for each non-profit to scale their work.

SPORTS

Saurashtra clinch maiden Ranji Trophy title after taking first innings lead against Bengal
Jaydev Unadkat-led Saurashtra clinched its maiden Ranji Trophy title against Bengal in the final played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.

• It is their first-ever win in the history of India’s premier domestic competition

APPOINTMENTS

Bill Gates steps down from Microsoft’s board of directors
Microsoft announced that its co-founder Bill Gates has stepped down from the company’s board of directors to dedicate more time to his philanthropic priorities including global health and education.

• Gates will, however, continue to serve as the technology advisor to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Smartphone brand iQOO appoints Virat Kohli as brand ambassador
Chinese smartphone brand iQOO announced the appointment of Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli as its new brand ambassador. 

• iQOO is a sub-brand of Vivo in China which has entered India as a separate entity and is ready to launch a 5G smartphone recently.

Actor Randeep Hooda named ambassador for migratory species
Internationally-renowned conservationist Ian Redmond OBE, award-winning explorer and environmentalist Sacha Dench and Indian actor and equestrian and Bollywood actor Randeep Hooda were named CMS Ambassadors for Migratory Species until 2023 under the redesigned Ambassadors Programme launched at CMS COP13.

• The launch of the redesigned programme took place on the opening day of the Thirteenth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)

AWARDS

WGSHA enters Limca Book of Records for India’s first Living Culinary Arts Museum
Team WGSHA is proud to announce that the culinary museum in WGSHA has been listed in Limca Book of Records as India’s First Living Culinary Arts Museum.

• The culinary art academic block housing the museum was opened in April 2018, spread approximately over 25,000 sq ft and is shaped in the form of a giant pot very similar to the ones found in Harappa

Nita Ambani named alongside Serena Williams & Simone Biles in World’s 10 Most Influential Women in Sports list
Sports business network, iSportconnect releasing its ‘Influential Women in Sport’ list for 2020. In this list Nita Ambani, the owner of Mumbai Indians cricket team franchise, has been named in the list of 10 most influential women in sports for 2020 alongside likes of tennis superstar Serena Williams and gymnast Simone Biles.

• Tennis stars Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka also figure on the list that included Ellie Norman, Director of Marketing and Communications, Formula 1, Cathy Engelbert, Commissioner, WNBA, Fatma Samoura, Secretary-General, FIFA, Mary Davis, CEO, Special Olympics, and Clare Connor, Managing Director – Women’s Cricket, ECB.

OBITUARIES

Former Olympic javelin champion Dana Zatopkova passes away
Dana Zatopkova, the 1952 Olympic javelin champion and wife of four-time Olympic champion Emil Zatopek, passed away. She was 97.

• Besides the gold from the Helsinki Olympics, Zatopkova won the Olympic silver in Rome in 1960.
• In 1958, she set the world record of 55.73 metres at the age of 35. She became the European champion in 1954 and 1958.

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