Important Current Affairs 18th March 2018

Important Current Affairs 18th March 2018

Current Affairs 18th March 2018: NATIONAL  NEWS

Cabinet approves recommendations of inter-ministerial group on the encumbered assets in telecom sector

●        Under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union Cabinet today gave its approval for two important steps to increase investment, telecom and strengthening the sector.
●        In addition to the currently approved 10 installments, by giving opportunity of one time to opt for maximum installments (maximum of 16 installments).
●        Incremented installments are based on the principle that the net present value of the outstanding payment (NPV) is preserved as per the notice regarding inviting applications for spectrum auction from 2012.

Cabinet Approves Mediation and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2018

●        In the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union Cabinet has approved the introduction of mediation and reconciliation legislation, 2018 in the Lok Sabha.
●        It is part of the Government's effort to encourage institutional arbitration to resolve disputes and it makes India a center of strong alternative dispute resolution (ADR) system.

500 quintals of mango wood will be burned to reduce pollution

●        A nine-day grand law has started from Sunday in Meerut city of UP.
●        350 Brahmins from Varanasi are doing great things with 500 quintals of mangoes on the Bhansali ground in the city so that 'pollution can be reduced'.
●        On behalf of the Sri Ayut Chandi Mahayagya Samithi, the Yagna has been built in the ground and 108 Havan Kunds have been constructed.
 
 Smart electricity meter
 
●        By installing smart electricity meter in May you will become a smart user.
●        After this you will be able to operate your home appliances remotely.
●        It will also know which appliance is consuming more power .
●       This will allow you to use more power consuming appliances like Geyser in off-peak hours, when the cost of electricity will be reduced.

Cabinet approves MoU on renewable energy cooperation between India and Helenik

●        The Union Cabinet was apprised of the agreement on cooperation between India and Helenik in renewable energy sector.
●        This MoU was signed during November 2017 during the visit of His Excellency Foreign Minister, His Excellency Nicos Kottajeet to New Delhi.
●        On behalf of India, the MoD was signed by External Affairs Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj and Helenik Foreign Minister HE NICHOS Kottajeet.

Union Cabinet approved the MoU between the Union Public Service Commission and the Public Service Commission of Mauritius.

●        Under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Union Cabinet has approved the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Union Public Service Commission and the Public Service Commission of Mauritius.
●        The Memorandum will strengthen the existing relationship between the Union Public Service Commission and the Public Service Commission of Mauritius.
●        This will facilitate exchange of experiences and expertise of the two sides in the recruitment area.
●        The Memorandum will develop institutional contacts between the two public service commissions.

Current Affairs 18th March 2018: GLOBAL NEWS
 
Informal WTO Ministerial Meeting will be held in New Delhi on March 19-20, 2018

●        Representatives from 50 countries will be gathered to participate in the informal World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Meeting, which will be held in New Delhi on March 19-20, 2018.
●        The informal meeting of the ministers will provide an opportunity to participate in the free and debatable debate with this hope that the result will give a political direction on some important issues.
  

Chief of Staff of Staff Committee and Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba will visit America (March 19-23)

●        Chief of Staff of Staff Committee and Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba will travel to the United States from 19 to 23 March 2018 on a bilateral visit.
●        The aim of their visit is to strengthen cooperation between the armed forces of India and the US and explore new opportunities for defense cooperation.
 Global

Putin wins historic victory for fourth time
 
●        Russian President Vladimir Putin has once again won a historic victory in the elections held on Sunday.
●        He has got more votes than 2012 in this election. At a time when relations between Russia and the West are going through a bad phase, the people of Russia have chosen Putin as the President for the next 6 years.
●        Now he will be in the post till 2024.

Current Affairs 18th March 2018: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

 7th Women Science Congress inaugurated in Imphal

●        Mr. Keshari Nath Tripathi, Governor of West Bengal, while expressing the need for empowerment of women through innovative use of built technology, has stressed that women need to be brought to the mainstream of national development.
●        Inaugurating the 7th Women Science Congress in 105th session of Indian Science Congress in Imphal today, Shri Tripathi said that representation of women in science and technology is far less than expected.
 

 IIIDEM organized 12-day training program for 'ITC countries', 'capacity building for election management' in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs

●        India is organizing a 12-day training program, 'Capacity Building for Election Management' under the International Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) program of the Ministry of International Economic and Electoral Management (IIIDE), Ministry of External Affairs.
●        This program will run from 05 to 16 March 2018. 21 senior officers of 21 countries of ITec are participating in this program.
 

The number of Indian rich people who left the country in 2017 was the highest since 2014
 
●        The number of Indian nobility who left the country last year was the highest since 2014.
●        India's millionaires are ahead of countries such as China and France.
●        The reason behind leaving the country of the rich is being considered as strict vigilance on the black money.
●        Since 2014, almost 23,000 millionaires have left India, the highest number of 7000 people left the country last year.

 Current Affairs 18th March 2018: SCHEMES

Cabinet clears the freedom Sainik Samman Yojana (SSY) for 2017-2020

●        Under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of Freedom Sainik Samman Yojana (SSY) during the 2017-2020 even after the 12th Five Year Plan.
●        The period of 12th Five Year Plan has expired on March 31, 2017.

Current Affairs 18th March 2018: ECONOMY

 86 percent of the country's population does not have health insurance
 
●        The Healthcare Federation of India (Nathealth) says that the government should make health insurance compulsory for all citizens of the country and the health sector should be given primary area status.
●        Nathelth said that currently only 4% of the population of the country has health insurance coverage.
●        In India, 86 per cent of the total expenditure on health care is not covered.
 
SEBI ban imposed on investment adviser

●        Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India has banned Research Analyst Anirudh Sethi from the securities market, while screwing up investment advice given by online investment advisory companies without registration.
●        He has also been asked to return money collected from investors.
●        SEBI found that many deposit entries of Rs 36,000 were found from different parts of the country between April 1, 2013 and April 20, 2016 in Sethi's bank account.
 
No claimant for Rs 11,300 crore deposited in 64 banks across the country

●        According to the recent data released by the Reserve Bank , there are no claimants of Rs 11,302 crore deposited in more than 3 crore accounts of 64 banks in the country .
●        The highest amount is Rs 1,262 crore in the State Bank of India, whereas in Punjab National Bank, 1,250 crore and other government banks, the total amount is Rs 7,040 crore, which has no claimants.
●        However, this amount is only a small part of Rs 100 lakh crore deposited in banks across India.