Dear
Aspirants,
Welcome
to Mentor for Bank Exams. We have brought this Current Affairs Daily Updates
– 20th March 2018 for you here. Read till the end to know all
important news for the day. Stay tuned and follow this series to improve your
general knowledge. We strive to give you every information at one point so that
you don’t have to waste your time searching for it on the internet. So, read on
and enjoy the current affairs for today.
Daily Current Affairs – 20th March 2018
1. Vladimir Putin has been elected again the President of Russia
·
Vladimir Putin will lead Russia for another six years,
after securing an expected victory in presidential election.
- Putin
recorded his best election performance with 76.67 per cent of
the vote.
- It is
the fourth term of Putin as President of Russia and he is already Russia’s
longest-serving leader since Stalin.
2. Two-day informal World Trade Organisation Ministerial meeting has
recently started in Delhi
·
Representatives from 50 countries will be gathering in
New Delhi on 19-20 March for an informal World Trade Organisation (WTO)
ministerial meeting.
- The
informal meeting of ministers will provide an opportunity to engage in
free and frank discussions with the hope that it will lead to political
guidance on some major issues.
3. Indian Navy has started Defence exercise – Varuna-2018 with French
Navy in Vasco da Gama, Goa
·
The first phase of Indo-French joint naval exercise
Varuna 2018 began on March 19, 2018 at the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) in Vasco
da Gama, Goa.
- French
submarine and frigate Jean de Vienne and Indian destroyer INS Mumbai and
frigate Trikand with their integral helicopters will be participating in
the exercise.
- The
first phase of the exercise will conclude on March 24, 2018.
- The
second and third phases of the exercise will be held at the Chennai coast
in April 2018 and in La Reunion Island in May 2018, respectively.
4. NITI AAYOG has released a project SATH-E to introduce a system wide
governance transformation in School Education
·
NITI Aayog will release comprehensive roadmaps and
detailed timelines for its initiative ‘Sustainable Action for Transforming
Human Capital in Education (SATH-E)’ project.
- Shri
Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog and the Chief Secretaries of the States of
Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha will release the forward-looking
blueprints after a day-long workshop.
- Three
participating States of SATH-E’s programme –Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh
& Odisha.
5. Mauritius President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim resigns
·
Mauritius President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim resigned after
being embroiled in a scandal over her use of a credit card to buy luxury
personal items.
- Gurib-Fakim,
Africa’s only female head of state, submitted her resignation in the
“national interest,” her lawyer Yousouf Mohamed said.
- Her
resignation would take effect on March 23.
6. Manduadih station to be renamed Banaras railway station
- The
Railway Ministry is considering renaming the Manduadih railway station as
Banaras railway station.
- Manduadih
is among one of the four railway stations in the city besides Varanasi
Junction, popularly known as Varanasi Cantt Railway Station, Varanasi City
and Kashi.
7. Lalu Prasad convicted in another fodder scam case
·
Special CBI court in Ranchi on March 19, 2018
convicted Rashtriya Janata Dal Chief Lalu Prasad in another scam case and
acquitted former Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra in the case.
- This
is the fourth case relating to the fodder scam, for the fraudulent
withdrawal of Rs 3.13 crore from the Dumka treasury.
8. Sony India appoints Sunil Nayyar as MD
·
Sony India announced the appointment of Sunil Nayyar
as its Managing Director (MD) in place of Kenichiro Hibi.
- Nayyar
is the first Indian to be appointed as Managing Director for Sony India.
He presently holds the position in Sony North America as head of Retail
Experience.
9. Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik given additional charge as Governor of
Odisha
- According
to the President's Secretariat, Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malikhas
been given additional charge as the Governor of Odisha.
- Dr. SC
Jamir, who is the present Odisha governor, is completing his tenure today.
- Mr.
Malik will discharge the additional functions until regular arrangements
are made.
10. International Day of Happiness being observed today
- The 'International
Day of Happiness' is celebrated throughout the world on the 20th
of March.
- The
day was founded by United Nations adviser ‘Jayme Illien’ on June
28, 2012.
- The
World Happiness Report 2018, ranks 156 countries by their
happiness levels, and 117 countries by the happiness of their immigrants.
- The
main focus of this year’s report, in addition to its usual ranking of the
levels and changes in happiness around the world, is on migration within
and between countries.
11. Eminent Hindi poet Kedarnath Singh passes away
- Renowned
Hindi poet & Jnanpith awardee Kedarnath Singh (84-year)
passed away in Delhi after a prolonged illness.
- He was
a professor and head of the Department of Hindi department at Jawaharlal
Nehru University’s Indian Language center.
- Among
his essays and stories are Kalpana aur Chhayavad, Kabristan Mein
Panchayat, Hindi Kavita Mein Bimb Vidhan and Mere Samay ke Shabd.
- He won
the Sahitya Akademi Award (in 1989) for his poetry collection Akaal Mein
Saras and Janapith Award (in 2013).
12. India and EU sign an agreement on sharing earth observation data
- India
and the European Union (EU) have signed an agreement to share earth
observation data from each other's satellites.
- The
agreement was signed by Philippe Brunet, Director for Space Policy,
Copernicus and Defence, on behalf of the European Commission, and by PG
Diwakar (Scientific Secretary) in Bengaluru.
- The
Copernicus programme provides a wide range of applications like climate
change, land, ocean and atmosphere monitoring as well as support in
forecasting, management and mitigation of natural disasters.
- Indian
Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will share data from its earth
observation satellites.
- The
European Commission will provide India full and open access to the data
from the Copernicus Sentinel family of satellites using high bandwidth
connections from data hub to data hub.
13. First National workshop on ‘Poshan Abhiyaan’ held in Delhi
- Today,
the first National workshop on ‘Poshan Abhiyaan’ held in New Delhi to
implement the campaign in a fast track mode across the country.
- The
workshop will provide a complete orientation on the campaign to provide
handholding in using the software involved and to augment the convergence
with different Ministries in implementing the campaign for improved
Nutritional outcomes.
- Earlier
this month, ‘Poshan Abhiyaan” was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan.
- The objective
of the ‘Abhiyaan’ to ensure holistic development & adequate nutrition
for pregnant women, mothers, and children.
- The
programme also targets to reduce the level of stunting, under-nutrition,
anemia and low birth rate.
14. English Cricketer Kevin Pietersen announces Retirement
- English
Cricketer Kevin Pietersen (37 years) has announced his
retirement from the International cricket.
- Pietersen
has 8,181 runs in 104 tests, 4,440 runs in 136 ODIs and 1,176 runs in 37 Twenty20
Internationals.
15. SBI & IMGC sign MoU to offer mortgage guarantee backed home loan
- The
State Bank of India (SBI) and India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC)
have signed a pact to offer mortgage guarantee scheme for prospective
non-salaried and self-employed home loan customers.
- Under
this, product applicant can avail higher finance based on risk grade of
the borrower, by opting for IMGC default guarantee cover.
- IMGC
is a joint venture between National Housing Bank, Genworth Inc
International Finance Corporation and Asian Development Bank.
