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Current Affairs 20th March 2018: Daily GK Update

Dear Aspirants,
The General Awareness Section of Banking Exams covers numerous sections in it like Banking Awareness, Static GK, and Current Affairs. But the most important thing that you might have noticed is that both the Banking Awareness and Static Awareness questions asked in the General Awareness Section are based on Current Affairs only. The questions on Static and Banking Awareness are related to the countries, events or anything that has been in news for a while. Here is the Daily GK Update to get you acquainted with the top events that made the headlines today!!

Current Affairs 20th March 2018: Daily GK Update

National News


1. 1st National Workshop on POSHAN Abhiyan Held in New Delhi

Current Affairs 20th March 2018: Daily GK Update |_3.1
i. The first National workshop on POSHAN Abhiyan involving all the states and union territories was held at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra, New Delhi. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has organised the day-long workshop with participation from all the states/UTs.
ii. The Ministry of WCD had also launched five e-ILA (e-Incremental Learning Approach) courses and two ECCE(Early Childhood Care and Education) software modules.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-
  • POSHAN Abhiyan was launched in March 2018 by the PM Modi in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan.
  • It has been set up with a three year budget of Rs.9046.17 crore commencing from 2017-18.

2. India and EU Signed Agreement on Sharing Earth Observation Data
Current Affairs 20th March 2018: Daily GK Update |_4.1
i. India and the European Union (EU) have signed an agreement that will enable them to share earth observation data from each other’s satellites. The pact was inked in Bengaluru.
ii. The Copernicus programme provides a wide range of applications like climate change, land, ocean and atmosphere monitoring as well as support in forecasting, management and mitigation of natural disasters. Under this arrangement, Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO will share data from its earth observation satellites.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-
  • The European Union is a unique economic and political union between 28 European countries.
  • The European Economic Community (EEC), created in 1958, and initially increasing economic cooperation between six countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
  • In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

3. BHEL Commissions 1st Unit of Kishanganga Hydro Project in Jammu & Kashmir

Current Affairs 20th March 2018: Daily GK Update |_5.1
i. State-run power equipment maker BHEL has commissioned 1st unit of 110 MW of the Kishanganga hydroelectric project (HEP) of NHPC in Jammu and Kashmir.
ii. Located on the river Kishanganga, a tributary of the Jhelum in Bandipora district, all the three units of the 340 MW project will generate 1,350 million units (MU) of clean electricity annually.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-
  • Atul Sobti is the CMD of BHEL.
  • BHEL Stands for Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.

4. NCAA Becomes World’s 1st Trusted Digital Repository

Current Affairs 20th March 2018: Daily GK Update |_6.1
i. National Cultural Audiovisual Archives (NCAA) project of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, implemented by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) has been certified as the world’s first Trusted Digital Repository as per ISO standard, granted by Primary Trustworthy Digital Repository Authorisation Body Ltd. (PTAB), United Kingdom.
ii. The primary objective of the NCAA is to identify and preserve the cultural heritage of India available in audiovisual form through a process of digitization and making it accessible to the people.


5. Government Approves Plastic Park to be Set Up in Deoghar, Jharkhand

Current Affairs 20th March 2018: Daily GK Update |_7.1
i. Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Ananthkumar announced that the Government of India has approved the setting up of a Plastic Park in Deoghar District, Jharkhand.
ii. The project would be set up at a cost of Rs. 120 crores in an area of 150 acres. Mr. Ananthkumar also announced the setting up of Rs. 3.5 crore Plastic Recycling unit at Deoghar to tackle the menace of plastic waste being generated due to the place being a tourist attraction.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-
  • Jharkhand CM- Raghubar Das, Governor- Droupadi Murmu.

International

6. International Day of Happiness- 20 March
Current Affairs 20th March 2018: Daily GK Update |_8.1
i. Since 2013, the United Nations has celebrated the International Day of Happiness (on 20th March) as a way to recognise the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world. The theme for IDH 2018 is “Share Happiness” – focusing on the importance of relationships, kindness and helping each other.
ii. The World Happiness Report 2018 was also released recently in which Finland was ranked as the happiest country and Burundi in East Africa is the unhappiest place in the world. India ranks 133rd in the report.


7. World Sparrow Day- 20 March

Current Affairs 20th March 2018: Daily GK Update |_9.1
i. World Sparrow Day is observed on 20 March every year globally to create awareness about the protection of sparrows. The theme for this year’s WSD is ‘I Love Sparrows’.
ii. The first World Sparrow Day was observed in 2010 across the globe. The theme has been inspired by the hope that more and more of us will celebrate the relationship between people and Sparrows.

Appointments


8. Atul M. Gotsurve Appointed Next Ambassador of India to Republic of Korea

Current Affairs 20th March 2018: Daily GK Update |_10.1
i. Atul M. Gotsurve has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
ii. He is currently Director of the Ministry of External Affairs. He is the IFS officer of 2004 batch.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-
  • Republic of Korea Capital: Pyongyang, Supreme leader: Kim Jong-un, Currency: North Korean won.

9. Yi Gang Named Head of People’s Bank of China

Current Affairs 20th March 2018: Daily GK Update |_11.1
i. US-educated economist Yi Gang has been named the next governor of China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC). Mr Yi has been deputy governor of the bank since 2008.
ii. It was one of a raft of appointments as the annual sitting of China’s rubber-stamp parliament, the National People’s Congress, draws to a close.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

  • China Capital– Beijing, Currency- Renminbi, President- Xi Jinping.

Banking/Business News

10. SBI Signed MoU With IMGC
Current Affairs 20th March 2018: Daily GK Update |_12.1
i. India’s largest lender SBI and India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC) signed a pact to offer mortgage guarantee scheme for prospective non-salaried and self-employed home loan customers.
ii. The offering will help increase home loan eligibility up to 15% within the regulatory norms. The MoU between SBI and IMGC is a strategic initiative which will enable to improve housing loan volumes in the non-salaried segment.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-
  • IMGC is a joint venture between National Housing Bank, Genworth Inc International Finance Corporation and Asian Development Bank.
  • It is providing mortgage default guarantee to the lending Institutions in India.
11. Axis Bank Opens Representative Office in Sharjah
Current Affairs 20th March 2018: Daily GK Update |_13.1
i. Axis Bank had opened a representative office in Sharjah, to better serve its customers in the emirate and to expand its retail offerings to customers in the neighbouring northern emirates. 
ii. The representative office is the third such Axis Bank office in the UAE after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The UAE has the largest NRI community in the world, with a diverse population base of approximately 3.3 million NRIs.

Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-

  • Axis Bank CEO and MD- Shikha Sharma, Head Office- Mumbai.
12. IRCTC Ties Up With Ola
Current Affairs 20th March 2018: Daily GK Update |_14.1
i. With an aim to providing first-and-last-mile connectivity, railway PSU IRCTC announced a partnership with cab aggregator Ola, giving commuters an option book taxi on its app.
ii. The tie-up, a six-month pilot project, will give customers access to Ola booking services when they visit the IRCTC Rail Connect App and on its website.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-
  • Headquarter of Ola is in Bangalore, Karnataka. 
  • CEO of Ola is Bhavish Aggarwal.


Sports

13. Purva Barve Wins Women’s Singles U-19 Title at Israel Junior 2018
Current Affairs 20th March 2018: Daily GK Update |_15.1
i. India’s Purva Barve has won the Women’s Singles (Under-19) title at the Israel Junior 2018 Badminton tournament held in Rishon LeZion, Israel.
ii. She has defeated the third-seeded and top-ranked Russian Anastasiia Pustinskaia in three sets. The title is her first in 2018 and third overall. Earlier she won the Israel Junior 2017, Italian Junior International 2017 apart from a bronze at the Russian Junior White Nights 2017.
Static/Current Takeaways Important for NABARD Grade-A Exam 2018-
  • Israel Capital- Jerusalem, Prime minister- Benjamin Netanyahu, Currency- Israeli new shekel, President- Reuven Rivlin.

Obituaries

14. Veteran Hindi Poet Kedarnath Singh Passes Away
Current Affairs 20th March 2018: Daily GK Update |_16.1
i. Renowned Hindi poet and critic Kedarnath Singh passed away at the age of 83. 

ii. Prof. Singh was a recipient of the Jnanapeeth award in 2013. He won the Sahitya Akademi award in 1989 for his poetry collection Akaal Mein Saras.

Read GK Update in Hindi Here

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