Current Affairs 29 th March 2018 (IMPORTANT CURRENT Affairs) MoU between India and SACEP approved The Cabinet has approved the MoU between India and South Asian Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) for cooperation on Oil and Chemical Pollution in the South Asian Seas Region. It will promote cooperation between India and other maritime nation for protection of the marine environment. Indian coast guard will be the competent authority for implementation of Oil spill contingency plan Hot, metallic Earth-sized planet discovered Scientists have discovered a hot, metallic, Earth-sized planet- K2-229b - orbiting a dwarf star located 260 million light-years away. The planet is almost 20% larger than Earth but has a mass which is over two-and-a-half times greater.
K2-229b is also the innermost planet in a system of at least three planets, though all three orbit much closer to their star than Mercury. SEBI clamps down on derivative markets SEBI tightened the derivative markets framework to curb speculations and prevent small investors from entering the high-risk space. It also accepted the majority of the recommendations made by the Uday Kotak Committee on corporate governance. It introduced a concept of product suitability under which investors will have to show income or knowledge proof to deal in the derivatives segment. Cabinet approved scheme for School Education The Cabinet has approved an Integrated Scheme on School Education by combining Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan and Teacher Education from 1st April 2018 to 31st March 2020. The aim is to support the States in universalizing access to school education from pre-nursery to XII across India. The main emphasis of the scheme is to improve the quality of school education.
EPFO launches portal for pensioners EPFO has launched the pensioner s portal through which all EPFO pensioners may get the details of pension-related information. The pensioner s portal is a service where details like pension payment order number, payment order details, passbook information and other related information are available. It provides help to pensioners to know the status of their life certificate. CCEA approved Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the continuation of the Credit Guarantee Fund for Education Loans Scheme and continuation and modification of Central Sector Interest Subsidy Scheme. The scheme will cover loans for pursuing professional and technical courses to promote quality education. It will provide education loans to ten lakh students during this period. RBI slaps 58.9 cr fine on ICICI Bank RBI has imposed a penalty of Rs 58.9 crore on ICICI Bank for failure to adhere to held-tomaturity (HTM) guidelines.
This is the highest penalty imposed by RBI on a bank for a single incident. Under RBI guidelines banks have to split their holding of government securities into `held-tomaturity (HTM) and available for `available-for-sale category. New Jersey declares April as Sikh Awareness The US state of New Jersey has declared April as Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month as part of its effort to promote awareness of the faith. The resolution was adopted unanimously by both the New Jersey House of Representative and the Senate. The move would promote public awareness of the Sikh faith, recognizing important contributions of the Sikh community to US. NASA to launch planet hunting probe in April NASA s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) which aims to find alien worlds with capacity to harbour life is scheduled to launch on April 16 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The spacecraft will be looking for a phenomenon known as a transit, where a planet passes in front of its star. TESS will discover a number of planets whose atmospheric compositions.
Sri Lanka shifts May Day to May 7 The Sri Lankan government has decided to postpone International Workers Day events from May 1 to May 7 this year. This has been done to avoid an overlap with the Buddhist festival of Vesak. May 1 is significant internationally and commemorates the crucial gains made by working-class struggles. China resumes data sharing on Brahmaputra China pledged to continue data sharing of Brahmaputra and Sutlej waters. The decision was taken during the 11th meeting of the India-China Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) on Trans-border Rivers. The two-day meeting began on March 26 in Hangzhou. The data on water flows in both rivers is shared during the monsoons, to predict flooding, mainly in the northeast. WCD Ministry holds 1st National Conclave Ministry of Women and Child Development held First National Conclave on Psychological Trauma, Child Protection and Mental Illnesses.
The aim was to provide analysis of research, service provision and clinical practice in addressing psychological trauma in Indian children and adolescents. It provided a common platform for all stakeholders (Clinicians, Government and NGOs)working in this area. Central task force on AI recommends N-AIM A central task force on Artificial Intelligence (AI) has suggested creating a National Artificial Intelligence Mission (N-AIM) will serve as a nodal agency for coordinating AI related activities in the country. The task force was set up by the Union Commerce Ministry in August 2017. The task force members include those from government and the private sector. NITI Aayog releases Baseline Ranking The NITI Aayog has launched the baseline ranking for 115 aspirational districts. The baseline ranking stands on 49 indicators across five sectors that include health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resources, financial inclusion and skill development, and basic infrastructure. The ranking was released by Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog. Shekhar to head National Film Awards jury
Veteran director Shekhar Kapur has been appointed the chairman of the central panel of the 65th National Film Awards. The central panel comprises a chairperson and 10 other members, including five regional chairpersons who head the respective regional panels. The 11-member committee reportedly includes lyricist Mehboob, actress Gautami Tadimalla and director Rahul Rawail. Huge towers to publicise right time Two towers, about three times the height of the Qutab Minar, will be erected in the country for publicizing Indian Standard Time. The National Physical Laboratory has signed an agreement with IFR Information Dissemination Services Ltd., will set up the towers. It will use long wave radio technology to offer this time to a range of users, from phone companies to railway stations. Promila Gupta to take over as DGHS Dr Promila Gupta will take over as the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in the Health Ministry from April 2. She will succeed Dr B D Athani, currently in charge of the DGHS office.
Dr Promila Gupta is now currently the Additional Director of Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Win Myint elected new Myanmar president Myanmar s parliament has elected Win Myint as the country s next President. Win Myint has been a speaker in the lower house since 2012. Myanmar s President is elected by a joint sitting of the two houses of Parliament from among the country s three Vice- Presidents, representing respectively the Lower House, the Upper House and the military. Biggest space telescope launch delayed NASA has delayed the launch of its much awaited, $8 billion James Webb Space Telescope set to be the world s biggest space observatory until at least May 2020. The James Webb Space Telescope will be complementing the scientific discoveries of NASA s Hubble Space Telescope and other science missions. The observatory will solve mysteries of our solar system, according to NASA. MP govt launches Kadaknath app
The Madhya Pradesh government has come up with a mobile application to market rare chicken breed the Kadaknath. The MP Kadaknath mobile app aims to connect poultries that sale the breed with people from other parts of the country. Kadaknath breed is known for its taste and nutritional value, especially high percentage of protein.