Current Affairs: March 11-12th, 2018

March 11-12th, 2018

1. Australia beat England to lift Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia.

• World champions Australia has lifted the coveted Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey title on defending champions England.
• Australia has now won the prestigious tournament for the 10th time.
• Argentina finished at the 3rd spot after beating hosts Malaysia who ended at the 4th spot.
• Meanwhile, India finished a disappointed 5th in the six-nation tournament. In the classification match for the fifth and sixth places, India defeated Ireland.

2. India and France resolve to further strengthen bilateral relations.

• Both the countries signed 14 agreements in nuclear energy, defense, environment, and other areas.
• On the occasion, PM Modi said, France and India have a very long history of bilateral cooperation in defense, security, space and high technology.

3. India wins Best Exhibitor Award at ITB – Berlin.

• The ITB Berlin (Internationale Tourismus-Börse Berlin) is the world’s largest tourism trade fair. Best Exhibitor Award (BEA) is considered as a quality indicator for an attractive performance at ITB. This year, the BEA was awarded to India.
• ITB-Berlin World Tourist Meet was convened at German capital Berlin from 7th to 10th of this month.
• India was represented by Tourism Minister K. J. Alphons along with Ministry officials and more than 100 countries participated in the ITB-Berlin meet.
• India’s Incredible India presented a short film named “Yogi of the Racetrack ” in the meet. The short film got 3.2 million hits in 60 hours.

4. PM Modi, French President Macron inaugurate solar power plant in Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron had jointly inaugurated 101 megawatt solar power plant at Dadar Kala village in Uttar Pradesh.
• It is one of the largest solar projects in the country has been set up by French company ENGIE. The company was awarded the project in 2016 with the cost of Rs. 680 crore.
• UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister of Renewable Energy RK Singh, UP Finance Minister Rajesh Agrawal Renewable Energy Minister Brajesh Pathak and Union Minister of Health Anupriya Patel were present on the occasion.

5. President Ram Nath Kovind asked Indian diaspora in Mauritius to become a living bridge between the two countries.

• Addressing Indian diaspora and youth at Gandhi Institute in Port Louis, the President said, the Indian community in Mauritius comprises those who trace their roots to different states ranging from Bihar to Tamil Nadu.
• Praising the island nation on its sanitation record, Mr. Kovind said, Swachh Mauritius is in many ways a model for Swachh Bharat.
• He also said India and Mauritius can share developmental and economic experiences in agriculture and dairy farming, tourism and textiles, coastal zoning and urbanization, and skilling and education.
• The President held talks with his Mauritian counterpart Ameenah Gurib-Fakim. He was received at the airport by Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth and other leaders of the country.
• Mr. Kovind held Delegation Level talks with Mauritian PM. India and Mauritius have signed 4 MoUs including in the field of education, culture, yoga.

6. Slovakia’s skier Henrieta Farkasova wins first gold of Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

• The Paralympics has started with a glittering ceremony that mixed spectacular light shows and fireworks with traditional Korean performances and modern pop music in Pyeongchang.
• Slovakia’s Farkasova was the first to take gold, skiing to victory in the women’s vision-impaired downhill category, accompanied by her guide Natalia Subrtova.
• While the USA clinched a hat-trick of victories as sporting action got under away at Games marked by a rapid inter-Korean thaw.

7. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to arrive in Leh on a day-long visit to border district of Jammu and Kashmir.

• Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to attend a Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) function at Leh town in Jammu and Kashmir.
• She held talks with representatives of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council and also with local farmers and women Self Help Groups. She is expected to review security situation on India-China border with the top army officers.
• Static Part: DRDO:- Headquarters: New Delhi|Founded: 1958|Director: Avinash Chander.

8. ISSF World Cup: Akhil Sheoran wins gold in 50m Rifle 3-Position in Mexico.

• Indian shooter Akhil Sheoran clinched a gold medal in men’s 50m Rifle 3-Position at ISSF Shooting World Cup at Guadalajara in Mexico.
• In his first-ever World Cup participation, 22-year-old Akhil shot 455.6 in the final to leave behind Austria’s Bernhard Pickl in second place with 452.
• Hungarian Istvan Peni got 442.3 points in total to take the bronze medal. This was India’s fourth gold medal after Manu Bhaker, Om Prakash Mitharval and Shahzar Rizvi, bagged the yellow metal in the competition so far.
• India now tops the medal tally with a total of nine medals.

9. The US lauds India’s role in economic development of Afghanistan.

• The United States has said, India has played a responsible role in the economic development of Afghanistan.
• Speaking at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department, Ms. Alice Wells said, over the last several years, New Delhi’s role in the economic development and reconstruction of Afghanistan has been appreciated by the Afghan government.
• Ms. Wells ruled out a recent request from the Taliban for a direct talk with the White House unless it engages with the elected government of Afghanistan. She said, there is a way to end the conflict with international support and it is now up to the Taliban leaders to respond to the serious offer of talks from the Afghan President.
• Static Part: Afghanistan:- Capital: Kabul|Currency: Afghani|President: Ashraf Ghani.

10. ISA-ADB, NDB, GCF, AfDB, and AIIB aims for joint declarations of Financial partnership in New Delhi.

• The International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the African Development Bank (AfDb), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Green climate fund (GCF), and the New Development Bank (NDB) signed Joint financial partnership Declarations.
• The International Energy Agency (IEA) also signed a Joint partnership Declaration with the ISA.
• The objective of the agreements is to deepen their cooperation in support of Renewable Energy. ISA is working for deployment of over 1000 GW of solar energy and mobilizing more than USD 1000 billion into solar energy by the year 2030.
• Static Part: 1. International Solar Alliance (ISA) is an alliance of more than 121 countries was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris.
  2. African Development Bank (AfDb):- President- Akinwumi Adesina| Headquarters: Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.
  3. Asian Development Bank:- President- Takehiko Nakao|Headquarters- Philippines.
  4. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank:- President- Jin Liqun |Headquarters‎: ‎Beijing, China.
  5. New Development Bank:- President- K. V. Kamath|Headquarters- Shanghai, China.

11. Suresh Prabhu Gets Additional Charge Of Civil Aviation Ministry after Ashok Gajapathi Raju resignation.

• Commerce and Industries minister Suresh Prabhu was given additional charge of the Civil Aviation Ministry, a day after the resignation of TDP’s Ashok Gajapathi Raju was accepted by President Ram Nath Kovind.
• The President, as advised by the Prime Minister, has directed that Suresh Prabhu, Cabinet Minister, shall be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, in addition to his existing portfolio.

12. Noted actor Amol Palekar was honored with the ‘Godavari Gaurav’ award at an event in Nashik.

• The 73-year-old actor, known for his performance in films like “Gol Maal”, “Choti Si Baat”, “Chitchor” among others, was presented with the award, which has been instituted by city-based “Kusumagraj Prathishthan”.
• Classical singer Pandit Satyasheel Deshpande also received the ‘Godavari Gaurav’ award. The award was given by noted Marathi writer Madhu Mangesh Karnik, who is the chairperson the Prathishthan.