Daily Current Affairs 24th March, 2018

Daily Current Affairs 24 March 2018 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

Ambedkar Jayanti to be celebrated as ‘Social Justice Day’

One of the BJP’s spokesperson announced that the birth anniversary of India’s Dalit social reformer Dr BR Ambedkar will be celebrated as ‘Social Justice Day’.

• Born into a poor Dalit family, on 14 April 1891, Ambedkar became independent India’s first law minister, the principal architect of the Constitution of India and a founding father of the Republic of India.

5th India Maize Summit 2018 held in New Delhi

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) organized the 5th edition of India Maize Summit on March 23rd , 2018 at FICCI, Federation House, New Delhi.  FICCI has been organizing India Maize Summit since 2013 and after the success of last four editions, FICCI has now declared this as an Annual event.

• The 5th edition of India Maize Summit aims at providing a common platform to all stakeholders to outline the opportunities in maize and deliberate on actions that are required at the policy and operational level to unleash the potential of Maize.

Mahila Shakti Kendra scheme to empower rural women through community participation

Government of India has approved Mahila Shakti Kendra scheme for the period 2017-18 upto 2019-20 to empower rural women through community participation.

• In extension to the umbrella scheme Mission for Protection and Empowerment for Women, the cabinet ministry had launched a new scheme namely Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra Scheme in November 2017.

All India Police Science Congress kicks off in Himachal

The two-day 46th All India Police Science Congress organised by the Himachal Pradesh Police Department and The Bureau of Police Research and Development held in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.

Thaawarchand Gehlot launches first Indian Sign Language (ISL) Dictionary

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot launched the first Indian Sign Language (ISL) Dictionary of three thousand words. The basic aim of developing the ISL Dictionary is to remove communications barriers between the deaf and hearing communities as it is focused on providing more information in Indian sign language.

• The dictionary has been developed by Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre under Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.

Agricultural credit target for FY 2018-19 up to Rs 11 lakh crore

The government has fixed the agriculture credit target of 11 lakh crore rupees for the year 2018-19 against last year’s target of 10 lakh crore rupees.

• The government fixes agriculture credit disbursement targets for the banking sector every year.

Kerala Government launched mKeralam mobile app

Kerala, which last year became the first Indian State to declare Internet a basic human right, has notched up another first to its credit by launching mKeralam, an app that will serve as a single window for accessing thousands of government services.

• mKeralam application is onboarded with 100 services across 17 different departments under the Kerala Government. The major aim of this application is to enable a citizen for all kinds of interactions and services with the state government in a fast, seamless and cost-effective manner.

K’taka Govt declares minority status to Lingayats community

The Karnataka Government has declared minority status to the Lingayats community. It was announced after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led government accepted the suggestions of Nagamohan Das committee to grant a separate religion status to the Lingayats community.

• The Lingayats also known as the Veerashaiva community owes loyalty to the social reform movement of the 12th century initiated by Basaveshwara.

Ahmedabad airport receives award for ‘Most Improved Airport’

Fructifying the continuous efforts to make the journey of passengers more comfortable, the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad has received the award for the ‘Most Improved Airport’ in the Asia Pacific region, in Airport Service Quality awards 2017 organised by the Airport Council International (ACI).

Navy decommissionsed 3 minesweepers

The Indian Navy has decommissioned 3 Karwar-class minesweepers ‘Konkan’, ‘Cannanore’ and ‘Cuddalore’. These minesweepers ‘retired’ as operational ships after three decades of service in the Indian Navy.

• Each of these minesweepers sailed nearly 30,000 nautical miles during their operational life, which is comparable to circumnavigating the globe four and a half time.

BUSINESS

Equitas Bank ties up with CSK, launches Yellow Army Savings Account

Equitas Small Finance Bank has launched a new ‘Yellow Army Savings Account’ to increase its customer base through its association with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), a franchise of the Indian Premium League (IPL).

• The yellow army savings account will offer an interest rate of six per cent per annum for balance below ₹10 lakh and 6.5 per cent per annum for balance above ₹10 lakh. The average quarterly balance requirement will be ₹10,000 per account.

Reliance Industries to merge Jio Music with Saavn

Mukesh Ambani-helmed Reliance Industries Ltd announced an integration with leading music app Saavn for its digital music service JioMusic. The combined entity is valued at over $1 billion, with JioMusic’s implied valuation at $670 million.

SPORTS

Olympian Sindhu to be flag-bearer of India in CWG 2018

Rio-Olympic silver-medalist PV Sindhu will be the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent for the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia to be held from 4 Apr 2018 to 15 Apr 2018.

Shooter Manu wins gold at Junior World Cup

Teenager Manu Bhaker nailed her second World Cup gold medal inside a month, winning the womens 10m Air Pistol title at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World in Sydney, Australia.

Pankaj Advani retains his Asian billiards title

Pankaj Advani has defended his Asian Billiards Championships title. In the summit clash at Yangon in Myanmar, Advani defeated his practice partner B Bhaskar 6-1. With this win, Advani remains the reigning Indian, Asian and world champion in billiards for 2017-18.

APPOINTMENTS

Martin Vizcarra sworn in as Peru’s new president

Peruvian regional governor Martin Vizcarra was sworn in as the country’s new president, after his predecessor Pedro Pablo Kuczynski abruptly resigned over a corruption scandal.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Earth Hour observed on 24th March 2018

Earth Hour was observed from 8:30 to 9:30 on 24th March 2018. It is the world’s largest grassroots movement for the environment where people around the globe unite to take a stand against climate change by turning off non-essential lights for one hour. It is a global initiative of the World Wide Fund for Nature India or WWF-India.

• This year, WWF-India is launching the “Give Up to Give Back” initiative to inspire organisations, institutions and individuals to make the choice to curb some habits, practices and lifestyles that burden lives and environment. The campaign includes taking steps like giving up single-use plastics, fossil fuels and e-waste among others.

World Tuberculosis Day: 24 March

World Tuberculosis Day, observed on 24 March each year, is designed to build public awareness about the global epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) and efforts to eliminate the disease. 

• World TB Day is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by the World Health Organization (WHO).
• The theme of World Tuberculosis Day in 2018 is “Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free world”.

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