Weekly Current Affairs (25th March 2019 – 30th March 2019)

National

1. Vijayawada railway station, one of the busiest railway junctions in the country, has received Gold Rating by the Indian Green Building Council.
2. The CBSE is set to introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI), Early Childhood Care Education (ECCE), and Yoga as skill subjects in the school curriculum for the upcoming academic session.
3. PM Narendra Modi addressed the nation. PM Modi announced that India has entered its name as an elite space power.
4. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has prohibited imparting distance degree programmes in agriculture.

International

1. Italy has signed a non-binding protocol with China to take part in Beijing’s new Silk Road of transport and trade links stretching from Asia to Europe.
2. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena handed over a proposal seeking to declare the Theravada Tripitaka as a UNESCO World Heritage.
3. Oslo, the capital city of Norway will become the world’s first city to install wireless, induction-based charging stations for its fleet of electric taxis with an aim to have a zero-emission cab system by the year 2023 according to a report by Reuters.
4. The world’s largest e-waste recycling plant has been opened in Dubai Industrial Park, Dubai by ‘Enviroserve’ company with a total cost of USD 5 million.
5. The Pakistan government approved a proposal to establish a corridor that will allow Hindu pilgrims from India to visit Sharada Peeth.
6. European Parliament adopted controversial copyright reforms championed by news publishers and the media business.
7. Israeli researchers have discovered the world’s longest salt cave named ‘Malham’.
8. Shanghai has become the world’s first district using both 5G coverage and broadband gigabit network.

Economy and Business

1. The Reserve Bank of India has slapped a penalty of Rs 2 crore on Punjab National Bank for non-compliance of regulatory directions with regard to SWIFT operations.
2. ITC has sold its John Players apparel brand and related trademarks and intellectual property to Reliance Retail.
3. Transfer of shares of listed companies can be done only in the demat form from 1 April 2019, as said by SEBI on 27 March 2019.
4. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) announced that it has recorded cargo movement of more than 200 million metric tonnes (MMT) at nine ports along the east and west coasts, becoming the first Indian port operator to achieve the milestone.
5. State-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has completed the acquisition of majority stake in REC Ltd by transferring Rs 14,500 crore to the government.

Sports

1. Chennai Super Kings batsman Suresh Raina has become the first ever cricketer to reach 5,000 runs in Indian Premier League.
2. Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary bagged a Gold medal in the 10 m Air Pistol Mixed team event at the 12th Asian Airgun Championship at Taoyuan in Taipei.
3. The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended adding breakdancing, skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
4. 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.

Awards

1. Peter Tabichi won the Global Teacher Prize 2019.
2. A consortium of 2 Indian oil companies, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Indian Oil Corporation Limited have been awarded the exploration rights for Abu Dhabi Onshore Block 1.
3. President Ram Nath Kovind has been awarded the Grand Order of King Tomislav with Sash and Grand Star by the President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic for his exceptional contribution to the advancement of overall relations and development of mutual cooperation between India and Croatia and for promoting friendship and partnership between the people of both the countries.
4. Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen was awarded the prestigious Bodley Medal.
5. Swiss-based NRI scientist Dr Rajendra Joshi has been conferred with the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Award by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind.
6. The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) was presented the ‘Best Sports Federation’ Award in the country by the Association Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM).
7. Three trailblazers in artificial intelligence have been honoured with the 2018 Turing Award by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM).

Appointments

1. Jet Airways Founders Naresh Goyal and wife Anita Goyal have stepped down from the board of the cash-strapped airline. With this, Naresh Goyal ceases to be Chairman.
2. Election Commission of India appointed K K Sharma as Special Central Police Observer for the States of West Bengal and Jharkhand.
3. In Goa, Dipak Pauskar was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister by Governor Mridula Sinha at the Raj Bhavan in Dona Paula.
4. Vice Admiral MA Hampiholi, AVSM NM assumed charge as Director General Naval Operations on 27 March 2019.
5. Goa Minister for Tourism and Sports, Manohar Ajgaonkar has been appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state.
6. The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) has re-appointed Kenichi Ayukawa as Managing Director (MD)and CEO for three years.

Science and Tech

1. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch 29 satellites including the primary payload EMISAT, on the first of April.
2. India’s lunar mission Chandrayaan 2, scheduled to launch in April, will carry NASA’s laser instruments that allow scientists to make precise measurements of the distance to the Moon.

Defence

1. Indian Air Force (IAF) on March 25 inducted the four heavy-lift Chinook helicopters at Chandigarh’s Air Force Station 12 Wing.
2. Admiral Sunil Lanba commissioned a Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Training Facility – ABHEDYA, at INS Shivaji, Lonavla on 25 March 2019.
3. First Indian Army Mountaineering Expedition to Mt Makalu (8485m) comprising five Officers, two JCOs and eleven OR was flagged off by Director General Military Training.
4. Indian Navy’s frontline corvette INS Kadmatt reached Malaysian archipelago Langkawi.

Obituaries

1. Kala Prapoorna awardee Vinjamuri Anasuya Devi (99-years) passed away due to illness at Houston, USA.
2. Celebrated Malayalam writer and poet Ashita passed away at the age of 63 in Thrissur, after fighting a long battle with cancer.
3. Veteran journalist and academician Prafulla Rajguru passed away at the age of 82.
4. Pioneering Soviet-era cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky (84-years) passed away.
5. Scott Walker, one of the most innovative and enduring songwriters of the 20th century, has died aged 76.

States

1. Tashigang, a Himachal Pradesh village at an altitude of 15,256 feet has now become the highest polling station in the world.

Miscellaneous

1. In accordance with the preliminary world airport traffic rankings for 2018 released by Airports Council International (ACI), Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) of New Delhi has elevated 4 ranks to reach at 12th spot in terms of the busiest airport as compared to 2017’s 16th spot.
2. India emitted 2,299 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2018, a 4.8% rise from 2017, according to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
3. Former Vice President of India Hamid Ansari has launched Navin Chawla’s (former Chief Election Commissioner of India) new book titled ‘Every Vote Counts’ in New Delhi.
4. N.K. Singh (Chairman-15th Finance Commission of India) has launched the book “Indian Fiscal Federalism”.
5. Rima Das joined Toronto International Film Festival’s Share Her Journey as their official ambassador.

Agreements

1. An agreement has been signed between India and the African Union to establish an India-Africa health sciences collaborative platform.
2. Election Commission of India (ECI) and Indian Railways have collaborated for Voter Awareness campaign for Lok Sabha Election 2019.
3. GAIL India Ltd signed an agreement with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) for cooperation in the development of solar power projects.