Current Affairs March 2, 2018

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Current Affairs March 2, 2018 World News India has the third highest number of billionaires in the world: Report According to Hurun s Global Rich List 2018, with 31 new Indians on the list and with a

1 Current Affairs March 2, 2018 World News India has the third highest number of billionaires in the world: Report According to Hurun s Global Rich List 2018, with 31 new Indians on the list and with a total of 131 names, India comes third after China and USA. China with 819 names and USA with 571 are way ahead in terms of number of billionaires. Industrialist Mukesh Ambani remains India s richest person with a sharp surge of 30 per cent in his net worth to $26 billion, pushing his global rank to 21st on a worldwide rich list topped by Bill Gates. The list ranked 2,694 billionaires from 68 countries and from 2,157 companies in another record-breaking year for the world s billionaires. South American country Guyana issued Holi stamps Guyana, a South American country, issued four postage stamps with the theme of Phagwah (Holi) in the year Interestingly, the stamps were printed in the denominations of 6, 25, 30 and 40 cents. They depicted Lord Krishna celebrating the festival of colours with Radha and the gopis.

2 National News Central Government approves Rs 2900 crore to make cities safer for women Women and Child Development Ministry approved projects worth over Rs 2,900 crore under the Nirbhaya fund for eight major cities to make them safer for women. These cities are Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Lucknow. The decision was taken after a meeting of Empowered Committee, which is headed by Women and Child Development Secretary. Dr Bhamre inaugurates Annual Army Seminar Raksha Rajya Mantri Dr Subhash Bhamre inaugurated one-day Annual Army Seminar for on Contribution of the Army towards Nation Building at Manekshaw Centre New Delhi. Objective of the seminar is to highlight the contributions of the Indian Army towards Nation building and identify new spheres and areas for future participation. Finance Minister Inaugurates GPF and EPPO Modules on 42nd Civil Accounts Day The Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Shri Arun Jaitley said that there is a certain amount of sanctity which must remain attached to the Government Accounting System. Delivering the Inaugural Address at the 42nd Civil Accounts Day function in national capital, the Finance Minister said that while there are Government Departments that can function with a fairly high amount of accuracy, the Civil Accounts Department is one that cannot afford to err because a small error can lay a huge foot prints. NHAI to deploy all women toll collecting staff on international Women s Day The National Highways Authority of India has decided to deploy all women toll collecting staff in day shift on at least one toll plaza close to the city area, in every state and UT of the country on 8th March 2018, International Women s Day. If this initiative is successful, then it will be implemented across all toll plazas under operation by NHAI within the next 3 months. The Regional Officers have been instructed in this regard.

3 Western Naval Command Concludes Exercise Paschim Leher (XPL-18) The Western Naval Command of the Indian Navy concluded a large scale operational exercise in the Arabian Sea. The three week long exercise termed Exercise Paschim Leher (XPL), tested the operational readiness of the Western Naval Command and the execution of it's operational plans. Over 40 naval assets including the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, frontline ships of the Western Fleet and Eastern Fleet (including the newly inducted Kolkata class), submarines, potent missile vessels of the 22nd Killer Squadron, Patrol vessels and craft of the Local Flotilla and Indian Coast Guard participated in the exercise. State News Maharashtra govt ties up with Wikipedia to promote Marathi In a first, the Maharashtra government has announced collaboration with online encyclopedia Wikipedia to promote Marathi globally and increase its online usage. The move is aimed at providing Marathi-speaking people a single platform to interact and help reach Maharashtra people who have settled abroad. They will be encouraged to write about their profession in their native language. Phirangipuram to be all-women rail station An all-women railway station is launched at Phirangipuram, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. The railway station on the Guntur-Narsaraopet line would be handed over to an allwomen crew from the station master to the signalling staff. Only the third-of-its-kind railway station in the country after Jaipur s Gandhi Nagar and Mumbai s Matunga, the all-women station is set to create history. Tamil Nadu launches 24 hour helpline for students Calming the students over the stressful situation created because of the ongoing exam fever, the State of Tamil Nadu has launched a 24 hour helpline for the first time in the country. This helpline would provide information on education and offer guidance to the students.

4 Chief Minister K Palaniswami formally launched the toll-free number through the 24-hour Education Guidance Centre set up at the Secretariat that would offer information relating to school education and offer guidance to students. Palaniswami launched the facility at a function, following the announcement in the Assembly that a toll-free helpline would be set up at Rs 2 crore. Earlier, the Education Minister K A Sengottaiyan had informed that a special student helpline shall be set up. This would serve as a platform where students and parents can get their grievances addressed. And career guidance will also be provided for higher secondary students. This will be of great help for the students in rural areas. Banking & Economy Public sector banks to consolidate 35 overseas operations The union government asked Public Sector Banks (PSBs) to consolidate 35 overseas operations. Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar said in a tweet that 69 overseas operations have also been identified for further examination. The Expressing government's commitment to clean and responsible banking, Mr Kumar said, the overseas operations of the state-owned banks will be rationalized. The move comes in the wake of the recent Punjab National Bank scam in which Nirav Modi allegedly cheated the bank in connivance with PNB staff and officials of overseas branches of other state-owned banks. RBI allows higher position limit for FPIs in interest rate futures Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed a limit of Rs crore for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to go long in Interest Rate Futures (IRFs). An agreement to buy or sell a debt instrument at a specified future date, at a price that is fixed today, is referred to as Interest Rate Futures (IRFs). IRF is a derivative instrument based on an underlying security, which can either be a Government Bond or a Treasury Bill. Currently, the FPI limit for Government Securities (G-Secs) is mutually interchangeable between investments in G-Secs and investment in IRF, with long position in IRF capped at 90% of G-Sec limit. The decision to increase the position limit has been taken to further market development and to ensure that FPIs can access IRFs in an uninterrupted way.

5 Sports Indian cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur joins Punjab Police as DSP Indian woman cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur from her first day as Deputy Superintendent of Police. This lady has done us proud and I m confident she ll continue to do so. My best wishes, CM Singh wrote. Kaur was awarded the post for her performance in Women s World Cup. Vinesh Phogat settles for silver at Asian Wrestling Championships Vinesh Phogat won silver medal in in the women s 50kg freestyle event, at the Asian Wrestling Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. India s Vinesh Phogat was defeated 2-3 by China s Chun Lei in the finals of women s 50kg freestyle event. She won silver medal in the women s 50kg freestyle event. India s Sangeeta defeated Korea s Jieun Um in the women s 59kg freestyle event and won a bronze medal. India s Harpreet Singh defeated Uzbekistan s Khashimbekov 11-3 and won a bronze medal in the 82kg Greco-Roman event. India s Rajendra Kumar defeated Uzbekistan s Mirakhmedov and won bronze medal in the 55kg Greco-Roman event. Awards & Honours Indian-American scientist Navin Vardarajan awarded grant for cancer research Navin Vardarajan, an Indian-American scientist, along with a fellow researcher, has been granted over USD 1.1 million for cancer research. Navin Vardarajan and Sanghyuk Chung of University of Houston, were granted funds by Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). Navin Vardarajan is an associate professor of chemical and bimolecular engineering. He was granted USD 1,173,420 to improve effectiveness of T-cell immunotherapy. Sanghyuk Chung is an associate professor of biology and biochemistry. He was provided with USD 811,617 to define molecular targets for cervical cancer treatment.

6 Appointments & Resignations Rangarajan Raghavan appointed director & managing director of HCL Infosystems HCL Infosystems Ltd. has appointed Rangarajan Raghavan, as its director and managing director. Rangarajan Raghavan is the president of HCL Infosystems Ltd. He has been appointed director & managing director of HCL Infosystems with effect from 1st April His appointment has been made after Premkumar Seshadri resigned as the executive vice chairman and managing director of HCL Infosystems. Rangarajan Raghavan joined HCL in He has held various important positions in the company. At present he is the president of the Project and Services division of HCL Infosystems. Important Days Zero Discrimination Day Zero Discrimination Day is an annual worldwide event observed on 1 March every year. The event promotes diversity and recognizes that everyone counts. The symbol for Zero Discrimination Day is the butterfly, widely used by people to share their stories and photos as a way to end discrimination and work towards positive transformation. Zero Discrimination Day 2018 campaign says people to ask themselves: What if and assess their own actions.

U.S Govt shutdown. MeitY launches Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative. Government launches Liveability Index to rate 116 Indian cities

U.S Govt shutdown. MeitY launches Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative. Government launches Liveability Index to rate 116 Indian cities U.S Govt shutdown The US government officially shutdown today for the first time in five years. This happened after the Senate rejected a shortterm spending bill to keep the federal government running.