Current
Affairs Daily Updates: 05 March 2018
AWARDS AND
HONOURS
Oscars 2018: Sam
Rockwell wins Best Actor in a supporting role
- Sam Rockwell today won the
Academy Award for the Best Actor in a supporting role for his portrayal of
a racist-yet-redeemable police officer in Martin McDonagh's "Three
Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri".
- The 49-year-old actor has
earlier won a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for
the critically-acclaimed performance in the film.
- Supporting actress- Allison
Janney (I, Tonya)
Foreign Lanugage Flim- A
Fantastic Woman
Animated feature- Coco
Film editing- Dunkirk
As full information is
not available at the time or preparing the document, the complete list will be
updated tomorrow.
BANKING AND
ECONOMY
India's exposure to US
govt securities touches $144.7 bn in 2017
- India's exposure to US
government securities rose sharply to a high of 144.7 billion US
dollars at the end of 2017.
- India remained the 12th
largest overseas holder of such securities.
- China was the largest holder of US Government
Securities (G-Sec) with a holding of $ 1.18 trillion followed
by Japan with $ 1.06 trillion.
RBI tightens PSL norms
for banks by directing them to create sub-targets
- RBI tightened the Priority
Sector Lending (PSL) norm by directing foreign banks to
mandatorily create sub-target under PSL category.
- The PSL norms mandates banks
to 40% of total loan to be extendedto sectors like
agriculture, MEMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), health,
education etc.
- Now within this 40%,
sub-categories will be created- 8% for MSMEsand another 7.5%
for micro enterprises only.
- It will be applicable from
next financial year (1st April 2018) and to foreign banks with
more than 20 branches in India.
- RBI removed the prior condition
that only loans up to Rs 5-10 crore
IMPORTANT
DAYS OBSERVED
World Wild Life Day
observed on 3rd March
- 3rd March is celebrated as World
Wildlife Day around the world.
- Theme- Big Cats:
predators under threat
- Objective- create
awareness about world’s wild animals and plants
- Significance- on this day
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora (CITES) was signed.
INTERNATIONAL
AFFAIRS
Saudi Arabia hosts its
first marathon for women
- Saudi Arabia hosted its first
marathon for women on Saturday.
- The event came after Riyadh
hosted its first international half-marathon in late
February.
- This is after a series of moves
by the states to improve the condition of women such as: allowing women to
drive cars, lifting ban on movies, motor show only for women, allowing
them to open business without permission of male guardians, cheer players
in football match, recruiting in army etc.
- These progressive measures are
being taken under the guidance of Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.
About Saudi Arabia:
Capital- Riyadh
currency- Riyal
NATIONAL
AFFAIRS
Meghalaya: NPP leader
Conrad Sangma to be sworn-in as CM tomorrow
- National People's Party leader Conrad
Sangma will be sworn-in as the next Chief Minister of Meghalaya
tomorrow.
- Mr Sangma enjoys the support of
34 newly elected MLAs from BJP, HSPDP, United Democratic Party, Peoples
Democratic Front and Independent. NPP had won 19 seats in a 60 seats
Assembly of Meghalaya.
- A former minister of Meghalaya,
Conrad Sangma is the son of former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma.
Karnataka launches
universal healthcare scheme: Arogya Karnataka
- Karnataka launched ambitious ‘Arogya
Karnataka’ scheme in Bengaluru.
- It aims to provide free
treatment to all patients regardless of income.
- The project with an estimated
cost of Rs 2,000 crore which aims to cover 1.4
crore families will be implemented in all government hospitals
from March 5.
- The scheme promises free
treatment up to Rs 1.5 lakh for each Below Poverty Line (BPL) family in
private hospitals every year.
- The government will foot 30% of
bills up to Rs 1.5 lakh in case of Above Poverty Line (APL) families.
I&B Minister
Smiriti Irani inaugurates FICCI Frame in Mumbai
- Information and Broadcasting
Minister Smiriti Irani has inaugurated 2018
edition of FICCI Frame in Mumbai.
- This year a maiden edition of
Content Market has been added with over 70 buyers for a curated slate of
new Indian Films.
- Smriti Irani has said that the
government is aiming to set up within two months a single-window clearance
system for filmmakers to facilitate all types of clearances faster and
under one roof.
- The government is aiming to
bring organisations like National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and
Children's Film Society of India (CSFI) under one umbrella.
PM addresses Youth
Convention at Tumakuru, Karnataka, via video conference
- Prime Minister addressed a State
Level Youth Convention at Tumakuru, Karnataka, via video
conference.
- Theme- Youth Power: A Vision for
New India
- The Convention at Tumakuru is
being organised to mark the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the Ramakrishna
Vivekananda Ashram, Tumakuru.
- It coincides with 125th
anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s address in Chicago, as well as
celebrate Sister Nivedita’s 150th birth anniversary.
Gadchiroli police to
organise largest book-reading event
- Gadchiroli police in Maharashtra are aiming to break a
world record of highest number of people coming together to listen to a
book-reading.
- More than 7,000 people would
attend reading of a chapter from "Gandhi Vichar Aani Ahimsa"
(Gandhian thought and non-violence) at the Gadchiroli police headquarters
ground.
- The objective is to disseminate
Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence and message of peace.
- It aims to break the Guinness
World Record created last year in 2017.
About Maharashtra:
Capital- Mumbai
CM- Devendra
Fadnavis
Governor- C.
Vidyasagar Rao
Gymkhana ground, Brabourne stadium, Wankhende stadium-
Mumbai
National parks- Pench,
Tadoba, Sanjay Gandhi National Park
UNESCO World heritage
sites- Ajanta caves, Ellora caves, Elephanta cave,
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST, earlier Victoria Terminus)
DefExpo 2018 –
showcasing ‘India
- DefExpo 2018 will, for the first time,
project India’s Defence manufacturing capabilities to the world.
- Organized near Chennai
in Tamil Nadu
- Tagline- India: The
Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub
- It will showcase HAL’s
domestically designed and manufactured fourth-generation Light Combat
Aircraft (LCA) - Tejas; Advanced Light Helicopter – Dhruv
etc.
- India is one of the few
countries of the world with capabilities to design a naval vessel from
scratch to finish.
- It will also unveil India’s
capabilities in manufacturing Scorpene class submarine.
- Indian shipbuilding is marked
with growing indigenisation levels now reaching 90%.
SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY
Astronomers detect for
the first time light coming from first star of universe
- A team of astronomers from Arizona
State University have discovered for the first time signals from
“cosmic dawn” — the moment when the universe's earliest stars emerged.
- When the universe was formed in
the Big Bang event 13.8 billion years ago there was no sun, no stars, no
light, it was a dark place.
- 3,70,000 years after the Big
Bang first atoms, primordial hydrogen was formed.
- Only when the universes cooled
sufficiently for attractive force of gravity to overcome the repulsive
thermal force the first stars emerged around 13.6 billon years ago.
- The team was led by astronomer
Judd Bowman and included an Indian Nivedita Mahesh.
SPORTS
AFFAIRS
India's Manu Bhaker
wins Gold at ISSF World Cup
- Manu Bhaker won the gold medal in 10
metre Air Pistol Women event at the ISSF (International Shooting
Sport Federation) World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico.
- The 16-year old Haryana
girl shot 237.5 points to bag top position.
- Alejandra Zavala Vazquez of Mexico
bagged Silver, Celine Goberville won Bronze.
- India has so far bagged 4 medals
- two gold and two bronze at the event. Another gold was won by Shahzar
Rizvi in men’s 10 m air pistol.
OBITUARY
India’s noted disable
right activist Javed Abidi died
- India’s noted disable
right activist Javed Abidi died at the age of 53. He
was the founder of Disability Right Group (DRG) was the director of
National Centre for Promotion of Employment.
- Italy International Footballer Davide
Astori was found dead in his hotel room. He passed away at the
age of just 31 in his sleep last night.
