Current Affairs: March 5-6th, 2018

March 5-6th, 2018

 

1. MS Dhoni Becomes Brand Ambassador of Gaming Platform Dream11.

• India’s 2011 World Cup-winning skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has become a brand ambassador for gaming platform Dream11. The former India Test skipper, who had led the country to a famous triumph in the inaugural World T20 Championship in 2007, would be the new face of the gaming platform’s multi-channel marketing campaigns and brand engagement activities.
• Currently, the gaming platform has a user base of 2 crore sports fans playing “fantasy cricket, football, kabaddi, and NBA”, according to the release.

2. ‘The Shape of Water’ Wins Best Picture at Oscars.

• The 90th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.
• The Academy Awards are a set of 24 awards given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
• In Oscar 2018, The Shape of Water won a leading four awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Guillermo del Toro.
• James Ivory became the oldest person to win an Oscar with his award win for best-adapted screenplay for the film ‘Call Me By Your Name’.
• Basketball legend and five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant has won an Oscar for his animated short film ‘Dear Basketball’.
• The Oscar trophies are plated with the same gold as NASA’s $8.9-billion James Webb Space Telescope, according to the space agency.
• Tatum Beatrice O’Neal became the youngest person to win an Oscar at the age of 10 in 1974. She won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for the 1973 film Paper Moon.
• ‘Loving Vincent’, the world’s first hand-painted feature film, has been nominated in the ‘Animated Feature Film’ category at Oscars 2018.
• Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya became the first Indian to get an Oscar when she received the Best Costume Design award at the 55th Annual Academy Awards in 1983. She shared the award with British costume designer John Mollo for their work in the film ‘Gandhi’.
• The 1957 film ‘Mother India’ was the first Indian film to be nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars.

3. International Yoga Festival Held in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand.

• Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurated the week-long 29th annual, world-famous International Yoga Festival (IYF) in Rishikesh’s Parmarth Niketan.
• The IYF offers daily classes with more than 80 revered saints, Yogacharya, presenters, and experts from nearly 20 countries around the world.

4. After 25 years, Manik Sarkar steps down as Tripura CM.

• Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar tendered his resignation to Governor Tathagata Roy, who asked him to continue in office till the next Chief Minister takes over.
• The BJP-IPFT coalition has swept the polls, winning 43 of the 59 seats for which elections were held.
• The BJP secured 35 seats in the 60-member assembly while its ally IPFT, a tribal based party, has won eight seats.

5. Rs. 5600 crore Sanctioned Under Swadesh Darshan Scheme and Rs. 687.92 crore Under PRASHAD Scheme.

• A total amount of Rs. 5638.87 crore was sanctioned with the release of Rs. 2148.17 crore since 2014-15 till date under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism. Under the Swadesh Darshan scheme, thirteen thematic circuits have been identified for development.
• Meanwhile, under the PRASHAD scheme, 23 projects have been sanctioned to 15 States for a total amount of Rs.687.92 crore with the release of Rs.241.28 crore since 2015-16 till date. The objective of the ‘National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) is of holistic development of identified pilgrimage and heritage destination.
• Static Part: K. J. Alphons is the Union Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism.

6. An Indian-origin man in the UK, Harry Athwal has been chosen for a special award.

• Harry Athwal, 44, from Birmingham had been holidaying in Spain when the attackers drove down Las Ramblas at speed, killing 13 people and injuring more than 100.
• One of their victims was a young boy aged about seven but hero Athwal refused to let him die alone in the last year’s Barcelona terror attack, has been selected for this year’s ‘Pride of Birmingham’ award.

7. Telangana CM announces Rs 2 crores for gymnast Aruna Reddy.

• Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has announced a cash prize of Rs two crore to Buddha Aruna Reddy, who won a historic bronze medal at the recently-concluded World Gymnastics Tournament in Melbourne.
• The Chief Minister congratulated and felicitated the gymnast for her historic win at an event in Pragati Bhavan.
• In addition, Aruna’s coach Brij Kishore would also be given some assistance. State Sports Minister Padma Rao, Telangana Sports Authority Chairman A Venkateswar Reddy, Aruna’s mother Subhadramma and her sister Pavani were also present at the felicitation programme.

8. The Marshall Islands is the First Country to Launch its Own Cryptocurrency as Legal Tender.

• The Marshall Islands is creating its own digital currency in a bid to raise money. In doing so it becomes the first country in the world to recognize a cryptocurrency as legal tender.
• The small Pacific Island nation passed the Sovereign Currency Act to create the ‘sovereign’, or SOV. The cryptocurrency will have equal status with the US dollar and, unlike many cryptocurrencies, users will have to reveal their identity in order to use SOV.
• Static Part: Marshall Islands:- Capital- Majuro|Currency- United States Dollar.

9. Andaman and Nicobar Command is hosting Milan 2018 from March 6 to March 13, 2018.

• Andaman and Nicobar Command hosting a multinational mega event ‘Milan 2018’.
• The Indian Navy will host the multi-national MILAN series of exercises at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar islands.
• Under the aegis of the Andaman and Nicobar Command, it is being held at Port Blair with the underlying theme of ‘Friendship Across the Seas’.
• Milan 2018 aims to showcase the rich heritage and pristine natural beauty of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the foreign visitors.
• The inaugural address has been delivered by Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba besides presentations by eminent speakers.

10. Literateur Prafulla Das passes away in Odisha.

• Literateur Prafulla Das passed away at his residence at Rajkanika in Kendrapara district. He was 91.
• He was a recipient of the prestigious “Sarala Award” for his achievement in the literary field.
• ‘Banhimana’, the biography of freedom fighter Malati Chaudhury, brought him the Sarala Award in 2014.

11. RBI Slaps Penalty of 3 crores on Axis Bank and Indian Overseas Bank.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 3 crore on private sector Axis Bank for violation of non-performing asset (NPA) classification norms, and Rs 2 crore on state-run Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) for not complying with the Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations.
• A statutory inspection of Axis Bank, with reference to its financial position, revealed “violations of various regulations issued by RBI in the assessment of NPAs”, or bad loans.
• Static Part: 1. Axis Bank CEO- Shikha Sharma, Headquarter- Mumbai.
  2. MD & CEO of IOB- R. Subramaniakumar, Headquarters- Chennai.

12. D. Jitendra Singh attended the social media launch of “Namaste Shalom”.

• The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh launched the social media of “Namaste Shalom”, a magazine devoted to India-Israel relations.
• The magazine is edited by former MP Shri Tarun Vijay. Israeli Ambassador to India, Mr. Daniel Carmon and other dignitaries were also present.

13. Spring festival Shigmotsav 2018 Celebrated in Goa.

• Shigmotsav has been organized enthusiastically in Goa. Shigmotsav or Shigmo is one of the several cultural festivals of the coastal state, and is celebrated through colors, costumes, music, dance and parades.
• Shigmo parades offer glimpses of Goan life depicted through folk dance and music performances by locals.
• Static Part: Goa:- CM- Manohar Parrikar|Governor- Mridula Sinha.

14. Viswanathan Anand wins the Rapid event at Tal Memorial in Russia’s capital Moscow.

• Viswanathan Anand won the rapid event at the 11th Tal Memorial chess in Moscow. The World rapid champion finished the event with 6 points while Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (with 5 points) came second.
• The event is a 10-player single round-robin competition where players have 25 minutes to make all of their moves, and receive a 10-second increment from move 1.

15. The Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting and Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani inaugurated the FICCI Frames 2018, in Mumbai.

• Mrs. Irani has also released the FICCI-EY Media & Entertainment Report 2018 named ‘Re-imagining India’s M&E Sector’.
• As per the report, the Indian M&E sector hit Rs 1.5 trillion ($22.7 billion) in 2017, the growth of around 13% over 2016. With its current trajectory, it is expected to cross Rs 2 trillion ($31 billion) by 2020, at a CAGR of 11.6%.
• Static Part: FICCI:- Stands for Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry|President of FICCI- Rashesh Shah.