Important Current Affairs 15th March

2018
If you are appearing for any Government Recruitment Exam, it is important that you are
familiar with the happenings around the world. Current Affairs is an important part of
your syllabus apart from English, Quantitative Aptitude or Logical Reasoning! Thus, we
bring you the Important General Awareness in PDF. Now, Banking, SSC and Insurance
aspirants can read the update containing all the Important Current Affairs 15th March
2018. You can also attempt yesterday's current affairs quiz:

Current Affairs Quiz - 14th March 2018

• IAF lands its heaviest aircraft in Arunanchal

o The Indian Air Force (IAF) for first time flawlessly landed its largest
transport US-manufactured aircraft, C-17 Globemaster at strategic Tuting
Advanced landing ground in Arunachal Pradesh.
o The landing of this aircraft is seen as part of IAF’s move to strengthen its
overall operations in the border state.
o The aircraft is used for airlift missions, transporting troops and cargo.

• Lebanese author Emily Nasrallah passed away

o Acclaimed Lebanese author and feminist Emily Nasrallah, who articulated
women’s experiences in her writing about Lebanon’s civil war, has died at
the age of 87.
o Nasrallah began her career as a journalist and published her first book,
“Birds of September,” in 1962.

1|Page
 o She was the author of several books for adults and children and was
awarded regional and international prizes for her work.

• India and Madagascar inks deal

o India and Madagascar have signed an agreement under which, both the
countries will explore various ways of co-operation in the field of defence.
o An amended air service agreement was also signed to support efforts
towards improving connectivity between the two countries.
o The Madagascar President decorated President Ramnath Kovind with
second highest civilian honour Grand Cross.

• Indian football team re-enters in top-100

o The Indian football team has re-entered into the top-100 of the FIFA
world rankings and is now placed at 99th.
o In 2017 the Indian team broke into the top-100 three times, rising as high
as 96th in July- the second best ever after the 94th place attained in
February 1996. But it ended the year at the 105th spot.
o Among Asian countries, the Indian team is at the 13th spot.

• India ranks 78th on energy transition index

o India has been ranked at 78th among 114 countries on the World
Economic Forum’s (WEF) energy transition index.
o The index listed countries based on their ability to balance energy security,
environmental sustainability and affordability.
o The overall list was topped by Sweden, followed by Norway at the 2nd
position and Switzerland at the 3rd rank.

• Bali Going Quiet For 'Day Of Silence'

2|Page
 o Indonesia's tourist island Bali is set to go quiet with Internet service and
flights temporarily halted for a "Day of Silence".
o Known locally as Nyepi, people on the island are expected to stop all work
and play and remain indoors.
o Effigies known as Ogoh-Ogoh, which represent demons, will be paraded
through the streets before they're burned to symbolise renewal and
purification.

• MoU between India and Sri Lanka

o The Union Cabinet has approved MoU inked between India and Sri Lanka
for promoting cooperation in field of IT.
o The MoU aims to promote co-operation in the areas such as e-governance,
m-governance, electronics-public services delivery, cyber security,
software technology parks, startups etc.
o It will be implemented by constituting a Working Group comprising
representatives from both the sides.

• IATA partners with civil aviation ministry

o The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Civil Aviation
and the National Aviation University to enhance human resource
availability in India's aviation industry.
o The 3 parties to the MoU formalised this partnership on sidelines of Wings
India 2018.
o India is expected to be 3rd largest aviation market in the world.

• India offers Madagascar USD 80 million LoC

3|Page
 o India has decided to offer Madagascar a USD 80 million Letter of Credit
(LoC) for agriculture and mechanisation.
o Madagascar is straddled in the Indian Ocean and alongside the strategic
Mozambique channel.
o The island country is the fourth largest in Africa, in terms of size and is
around 300 times bigger than Mauritius.
o Madagascar is also a member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

• AYUSH Drug QOL-2C for Cancer Patients

o Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) has
undertaken the development of a coded drug AYUSH QOL-2C for cancer
patients.
o The clinical studies were conducted at St. John’s Medical College,
Bengaluru and AIIMS, New Delhi in breast cancer patients.
o The study was also conducted at Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital and
Research Centre, Jaipur in lung cancer patients.

• Urea subsidy to continue till 2020

o The Cabinet has approved the continuation of the urea subsidy till 2020.
The government also approved implementation of direct benefit transfer
(DBT) for disbursement of fertiliser subsidy.
o The Centre subsidises the difference between the cost of delivered
fertilisers at the retail store and the MRP paid by farmers.
o The subsidy scheme will ensure that urea is available to the farmers.

• Scientists Find Ultra-Rare Ice-VII on Earth

o Scientists have found the first-ever samples of naturally occurring ice-VII
on Earth. The samples were found in a diamond.

4|Page
 o Ice-VII is unique in that it remains stable even as pressure increases
dramatically. It’s 1.5 times more dense than normal ice.
o The formation of ice-VII doesn’t require freezing temperatures — as long
as the pressure is high enough, ice-VII can form at room temperature.

• Delhi, Bangalore among cheapest cities

o New Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai are among the cheapest cities in the
world, according to an Economist Intelligence Unit's "The Worldwide Cost
of Living" survey.
o Syria's capital, Damascus is the cheapest city in the world.
o Singapore is the world's most expensive city.
o The Worldwide Cost of Living is a biannual survey that compares 400
individual prices across 160 products and services.

• WHO's southeast Asia region pledge to end TB

o Countries of WHO's South East Asia Region pledged to end tuberculosis
by 2030 and India assured its support to them for meeting their goals in
eliminating the disease.
o The participating countries signed the 'Delhi End TB Summit Statement of
Action', which will ensure that their TB plans are fully funded.
o India will support all member countries in meeting their goals of becoming
TB-free"

• HRD Ministry to set up ‘Innovation Cell’

o The Human Resource Development Ministry would soon set up
"innovation cell" that would explore ideas to strengthen innovation efforts
in education.

5|Page
 o The “Innovation Cell” would be headed by a scientist and would be
comprised of a senior ministry official and young professionals.
o The move comes after India’s ranking in the Global Innovation index
Ranking moved up to 60 in 2017 from 66 in 2016

• NCRB launches Mobile App useful for Citizens

o The National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) has introduced Citizen
Services Mobile App, which is a bouquet of 9 police related services.
o These services will provide a smooth interface between Citizens and Police.
o Another feature of the App also enables a complainant to download FIR.
o States/UTs can host this App on their platform through which citizens can
register Police Complaint.

• Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation

o The Union Cabinet has approved an Agreement for the Avoidance of
Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes
on income between India and Iran.
o The Agreement will stimulate flow of investment, technology and
personnel from India to Iran & vice versa.
o The agreement will improve transparency in tax matters and will help curb
tax evasion and tax avoidance.

• Pune tops in improved quality governance

o Pune has emerged as the top city to show improvement in the quality of
governance according to a survey.
o The other cities that came in the top five include Kolkata,
Thiruvananthapuram, Bhubaneshwar and Surat.
o Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy conducted the survey.

6|Page
 o The worst performers for this year were Bengaluru, Chandigarh,
Dehradun, Patna and Chennai.

• World Bank sees India's growth at 7.3%

o According to the World Bank's "India Development Update", India’s
economic growth will accelerate to 7.3% in 2018-19, from 6.7% in 2017-
2018.
o The World Bank said sustaining a growth rate higher than 7.5% will
require contributions from all domestic sectors and support from the
global economy.
o The report also highlights several challenges facing the Indian economy
that need attention.

• Finland is the happiest nation on earth

o Finland has overtaken Norway to become the happiest nation on earth,
according to the UN's 2018 World Happiness Report.
o Burundi in East Africa is the unhappiest place in the world.
o For the first time, the UN also examined the happiness levels of
immigrants in each country.
o The World Happiness Report is an annual publication from the UN
Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Attempt Daily Current Affairs Quiz

7|Page