March 2018 Current Affairs Important Highlights (One-Liners)

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Friends, here are the Major Current Affairs Highlights of March 2018. These one-liners cover all important International, National, MOUs, Indexes, Banking, Technology, Books & Authors, Committees and Sports affairs of October month (from 1st to 31st March 2018). We will  provide the pdf version soon, but we advise you to write these on your own so that you wont forget them again. All the Best and Happy Reading :)

March 2018 Current Affairs Highlights (One-Liners) 

• 3rd March 2018 was observed as World Wildlife Day with the theme 'Big Cats'.
• 15th March 2018 was observed as the World Consumer Rights Day with theme ‘Making digital marketplaces fairer’.
  
• 17 year old Gora Ho from the tribal belt of Jharkhand has won the team recurve event Gold at Asia Cup Archery Stage 1. 
• 17th IAAF World Indoor Championships were recently held in Birmingham (United Kingdom). USA topped the medal tally with 18 medals (6 Gold, 10 Silver and 2 Bronze).
• 18-year-old Indian shooter Elavenil Valarivan set a qualification world record before claiming a Gold medal in the 10-metre air rifle women junior event at the ISSF Junior Shooting World Cup in Australia.
• 1st March 2018 was observed as Zero Discrimination Day with the theme “What if …”.
• 20th March 2018 was observed as the 'International Day of Happiness' with the theme "Share Happiness - focusing on the importance of relationships, kindness and helping each other".
• 20th March 2018 was observed as World Sparrow Day with the theme  "I LOVE Sparrows".
• 21st March 2018 was observed as 'International Day of Forests' with the theme "Forests and Sustainable Cities".
• 11 Pacific Rim countries have formally entered into Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (also known as CP TPP or TPP11) in Santiago, Chile. It will be world’s third largest trade bloc after European Union (EU) and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
• 22nd March 2018 was observed as World Water Day with the theme 'Nature for Water'.
• 22nd World Information Technology Congress (WITC) 2018 was recently held at Hyderabad (Telangana). Theme of WITC 2018 : Future Enterprises.
• 23rd March 2018 was observed as World Meteorological Day with the theme "Weather-Ready, Climate-Smart".
• 24th March 2018 was observed as World Tuberculosis (TB) Day with the theme “Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free world”.
• 25th March 2018 was observed as "International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade" with the theme  “Remember Slavery: Triumphs and Struggles for Freedom and Equality”.
• 2nd Thursday of March (8th March) was observed as World Kidney Day with the theme “Kidneys & Women’s Health. Include, Value, Empower”.
• 3-day annual Krishi Unnati Mela held at New Delhi with a focus on doubling the farmers' income.
• 4th March 2018 was observed as the National Safety Day with the theme "Reinforce Positive Behavior at the Workplace to Achieve Safety and Health Goals".
• 56-year-old Mangala Mani has become ISRO's first woman scientist to spend 403 days in Antarctica. 
• 5th World Ocean Summit 2018 was recently held at Riviera Maya, Mexico. Focus : Global fight against plastic pollution.
• 6th Annual Garuda Shakti exercise between the Special Forces of the Indian Army and the Indonesian Army was recently held at Bandung.
• 8th March 2018 was observed as the International Women’s Day with the theme #PressforProgress.
• A report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has revealed that India was the largest weapons importer in the world over the last five years, accounting for 12% of the total global imports. Russia was India's largest supplier, accounting for 62% of the imports.
• Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan became the Youngest Cricketer at 19 years, 165 days to captain a national side after leading the team as interim captain against Scotland.
• After 56 years, the Government has shifted headquarters of Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to Ballabhgarh in Faridabad District of Haryana from Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• Amid a shortage of banknotes in the country, Venezuelan city of Elorza has begun issuing its own currency. The currency, which is available in two denominations, features the face of local independence leader José Andrés Elorza.
• Arunachal Pradesh Assembly has passed Arunachal Pradesh Land Settlement and Records Amendment Bill, 2018. This bill will allow the state's tribal people to have ownership rights over their land for the first time.
• Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government  presented its 1st “green budget” in the assembly, with an emphasis on education, health and environment. Out of the total Rs 53,000 cr budget, Rs 13,999 crore has been allocated for education sector in the state.
• As part of the 1st leg of his 2 nation visit (Mauritius and Madagascar) President Ram Nath Kovind visited Mauritius. During this visit, Kovind inaugurated World Hindi Secretariat building in Port Louis, Mauritius.
• Australia has abolished the subclass 457 visa category used by skilled overseas workers, especially Indians, to promote employment of locals. The programme allowed companies to employ skilled workers for up to four years.
• Bank of India announced it has been allowed to terminate/close its Yangon representative office with effect from January 19, 2018 by Myanmar’s Ministry of Planning and Finance, Directorate of Investment and Company Administration. Following BoI’s move, there are now only two Indian financial entities -- United Bank of India and Export-Import Bank of India – with representative offices in Yangon.
• Bengaluru  observed the 2nd edition of Less Traffic Day on 11th April 2018.
• Bolivia's President Evo Morales unfurled 200 km long and 3 metre wide National flag. This flag is claimed to be world’s biggest flag.
• China has announced that it had already met its 2020 carbon dioxide emissions reduction target in 2017.
• China has announced that it will spend $175 billion on Defence this year. This is nearly 4 times as compared to India's $45-billion defence budget.
• China has topped the Hurun Global Rich List 2018 with 819 billionaires, beating the United States which had 571 billionaires. Jeff Bezos of Amazon stood at first place with $123 billion.
• China voted to amend its Constitution to remove a provision that bans more than two consecutive presidential terms. This move allows current President of China Xi Jinping to serve indefinitely.
• Chinese President Xi Jinping became the country's first leader to take oath on the Constitution after he was unanimously re-elected to serve indefinitely. 
• Citi Bank India has launched India's first home loan linked to the 3-month Government of India Treasury Bill benchmark rate.
• Cricketer Gautam Gambhir, who led Kolkata Knight Riders to two Indian Premier League titles, has been appointed as Captain of Delhi Daredevils ahead of 2018 season.
• Cybersecurity agencies have detected a new malware called Saposhi, which can take over electronic devices and use them for Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.
• Delhi Metro's Pink line running on the Majlis Park-Durgabhai Deshmukh section was opened to public .
• Department of Posts under Ministry of Communications has launched Cool EMS Service between India and Japan. It is one-way service from Japan to India which allows customers in India to import Japanese food items for personal use which is allowed under Indian regulations.
• Diu has become the 1st and only Union Territory in the country to be fully run on solar energy.
• E-commerce major Amazon has launched its 1st-ever debit card called 'Amazon Rechargeable' in Mexico.
• Elon Musk-led SpaceX  successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket for the 50th time, carrying the 6,000 kg Hispasat satellite, the largest geostationary satellite the company has ever flown.
• Ferrari’s German driver Sebastian Vettel won the F1 season’s opening Grand Prix and overall his third Australian Grand Prix title in Melbourne.
• Football's world governing body FIFA announced that it was lifting the three-decade-long ban on Iraq to allow the country to host international matches. 
• Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has been named as the Commissioner of the T20 Mumbai League, which will take place at Wankhede Stadium from 11th to 21st March 2018.
• Former world number two tennis player Tommy Haas officially announced his retirement from tennis. He finished his career with 569 wins.
• Formidable Supersonic Cruise Missile BrahMos successfully flight tested from Pokhran test range in Rajasthan.
• France's President Emmanuel Macron has announced that the country is going to make school education compulsory from the age of three instead of six.
• French President Emmanuel Macron was on a 4-day India visit. Aim of this Visit : To boost bilateral cooperation in defence and clean energy sector.
• GE Aviation's GE9X, world's largest jet engine, has completed its first test flight in the US.
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel has rejected a plea demanding the country's national anthem 'Song of Germany' to be made gender-neutral. The plea proposed replacing "fatherland" and "brotherly" in the anthem with "homeland" and "courageously" respectively.
• German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is on a 3 day visit to India. Aim of this Visit : To strengthen bilateral ties. 
• Google has announced that users in the US will now be able to send or ask for money by using its voice Assistant  via Googles Payments App. 
• Gurugram-based hotel aggregator Oyo has launched its own cryptocurrency called 'Oyo Smart Coin'.
• Haryana has become the 3rd Indian state to pass a bill awarding death penalty to those convicted of raping girls aged up to 12 years. Madhya Pradesh is the 1st state and Rajasthan is the 2nd.
• Hong Kong is going to pay 2.8 million citizens a cash handout of up to HK$4,000 (over ₹33,000) amid reports of a ₹1-lakh crore surplus in its annual budget.
• Hong Kong's richest man Li Ka-shing announced his retirement as the Chairman of conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings and property giant CK Asset Holdings.
• ICICI Securities, the brokerage and merchant banking arm of private sector lender ICICI Bank, hit the IPO market on 22nd March 2018.
• In a completely online and paperless manner, the ICICI Bank has launched instant overdraft ‘InstaOD’ facility for MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) customers.
• In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court  gave legal sanction to Passive Euthanasia, permitting 'living will' by patients on withdrawing medical support if they slip into irreversible coma.
• In an effort aimed at rebuilding the economy, Greece established the country's first space agency titled the Hellenic Space Organisation.
• In the new contract system, which was recently announced, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has hiked the pay of Grade A+ cricketers from ₹2 crore to ₹7 crore.
• India and Hong Kong  signed a double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) that seeks to improve transparency in tax matters and help curb tax evasion and avoidance.
• India B won 45th edition of the Deodhar Trophy 2018 by defeating Karnataka in final match by 6 wickets at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.
• India defeated Bangladesh by four wickets in the final of the T20I tri-series in Colombo to register their fourth consecutive T20I series victory. 
• India defeated Pakistan in the inaugural IBSF Snooker Team World Cup in Doha.
• India for first time has started process of importing Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) from United States.
• India signed agreement with UN to build homes 50000 Houses for Nepal's April 2015 earthquake victims.
• India won Hero Nidhaas Cricket Tri Series tournament held in Sri Lanka by defeating Bangladesh.
• India, Bangladesh and Russia have signed tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in construction of Rooppur nuclear power plant near Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• India’s 1st Insect museum with state-of-the-art amenities was unveiled at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University campus in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
• India’s 1st National Coastal Policing Academy, National Academy of Coastal Policing (NACP) to train police forces in effectively safeguarding country’s shoreline will start functioning from April 2018.
• India’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) and India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC) have signed an agreement to offer mortgage guarantee scheme for prospective non-salaried and self-employed home loan customers.
• India’s longest elevated road Hindon Elevated Road, was inaugurated in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
• Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has been appointed as the Coach-cum-mentor of Jammu and Kashmir senior state side for the 2018-2019 domestic season. 
• Indian army released a book on Paramveer Chakra Awardees titled ‘Paramveer Parwane’. Written by Dr. Prabhakiran Jain , the book illustrates the bravery of Paramveer Chakra Awardees from 1947 to 1965.
• Indian billiards player Pankaj Advani beat his training partner B Bhaskar 6-1 in the Asian Billiards Championships' final to become the reigning Indian, Asian and world champion in billiards for 2017-18.
• Indian e-payments and e-commerce brand Paytm has emerged as the largest contributor to the overall volume of UPI transactions in February 2018.
• Indian government has inked $120 million loan agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) for completion of projects to improve Rail Infrastructure along high-density corridors and operational efficiency of Indian railways.
• Indian Navy’s indigenously built warship INS Ganga (F22) was decommissioned in Mumbai, Maharashtra after over three decades of service.
• Indian para-athlete Deepa Malik won a Gold medal in the F-53/54 category javelin event at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai.
• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has entered into Technology Transfer Agreement (TTA) with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) to transfer technology for manufacturing space grade Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) cells.
• Indian Super League football club owned by MS Dhoni and Abhishek Bachchan Chennaiyin FC won the Indian Super League for the second time after defeating Bengaluru FC in the finals.
• Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat won a silver medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
• Indian yogi and mystic Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev released a book titled ‘Fulfilling Bapu’s Dreams – Prime Minister Modi’s Tribute to Gandhiji’ at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Author of the Book : Dr Bindeshwar Pathak (Noted sanitation activist)
• India's 15-year-old shooter Anish Bhanwala won a Gold medal at the ISSF Junior World Cup in the 25m rapid fire pistol event.
• India's 16-year-old shooter Manu Bhaker won a Gold medal in the women's 10m Air Pistol event at the ISSF World Cup.
• India's 22-year-old shooter Akhil Sheoran won Gold medal the ISSF Shooting World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico.
• India's 3rd largest Private sector lender, Axis Bank has opened a representative office in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. This office is the third such Axis Bank office in the UAE after Dubai and Abu Dhabi and will engage primarily in promoting the Bank's retail products and services to non-resident Indians (NRIs).
• India's first helicopter taxi service was launched in Bengaluru.
• India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has increased Marginal Cost-based Lending Rates (MCLR) across most maturities, making home, education, and auto loans more expensive. The bank raised the key one-year MCLR rate to 8.15% from 7.95%, effective immediately.
• India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) slashed charges for non-maintenance of Average Monthly Balance (AMB) for customers in Metro and Urban centres from a maximum of ₹50 per month to ₹15 per month. Similarly, for Semi-Urban and Rural centres, the charges have been reduced from ₹40 to ₹12 and ₹10 respectively.
• India's Rio Olympics silver medalist shuttler PV Sindhu is set to be the Indian contingent's flag-bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.
• India's tallest National Flag was unfurled in Karnataka's Belgaum in the presence of several schoolchildren and political leaders. The 9,600-square-foot-wide flag on an over 110-metre-tall post is said to be a foot taller than the one installed along Attari border.
• Investment bank Goldman Sachs has downgraded its forecast for the Indian economy in the wake of the alleged $2-billion PNB fraud. It lowered its real GDP forecast on India for 2018-19 to 7.6% from 8% earlier.
• Iran has supported Pakistan over the Kashmir issue by reiterating its support "for the people of Kashmir for their right to self-determination".
• Iraq has overtaken Saudi Arabia to become India’s top crude oil supplier by supplying 38.9 million tonnes (MT) crude oil in the current financial year.
• Karnataka Bank has informed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) about a fraud amounting to ₹86.47 crore related to extension of fund-based working capital facilities to fraud-accused jeweller Mehul Choksi's Gitanjali Gems.
• Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) has launched ‘Vikas She Plus’, a loan scheme for women to take up new ventures or for expanding/modifying the existing enterprises. Chairman of KVGB : S Ravindran.
• Kerala government has launched an app titled 'mKeralam'. This app offers around 100 government services through a unified interface.
• Madhya Pradesh Finance Minister Jayant Kumar Malaiya presented the state budget worth over ₹2 lakh crore with focus on agriculture, health, education, and employment. The budget allocated ₹37,000 crore for the agriculture sector.
• Madhya Pradesh has been awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Kadaknath chicken, a black-coloured variety bred in the state's Jhabua district. 
• Marshall Islands in Pacific Ocean is set to become 1st country in world to recognize Cryptocurrency as its legal tender and adopt transparent crypto monetary system.
• Meeting for the first time under Chairman Jerome Powell, the US Federal Reserve officials raised the interest rate by 25 bps to a range of 1.5% to 1.75%.
• Navjot Kaur became the 1st Indian woman wrestler to win a gold in the Senior Asian Championships after winning in the 65 kg freestyle category event.
• NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has signed Statement of Intent (SOI) with German tech company SAP to promote culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across 100 Atal Tinkering Labs across India.
• North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was on a visit to China. This is  his first known visit abroad since assuming power in 2011.
• Odisha Government has launched ‘Ama Gaon, Ama Vikas’ (Our Village, our development) programme to reach out to people in rural areas and involve themselves in developmental activities.
• Oklahoma is going to become the 1st US state to use Nitrogen gas for executions.
• On the International Women's Day, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the 'Mukhyamantri Mahila Kosh' scheme aimed at providing pension to unmarried women aged over 50 years.
• On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2018, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched a Menstrual Hygiene Campaign titled #YesIBleed.
• On the occasion of International Women's Day, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the National Nutrition Mission (NNM), and expansion of the coverage of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao programme, at Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan.
• Overtaking Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank, private sector lender Bandhan Bank has become India's 8th most valued bank with a market capitalisation of over ₹56,000 crore. Note : HDFC Bank is India's most valued bank with a market value of ₹4.9 lakh crore.
• Pakistan has successfully test-fired its indigenously designed and built nuclear-capable, submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM) Babur III.
• Passport details will be made mandatory for availing loans worth more than ₹50 crore from state-owned banks, the government has announced .
• Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte formally informed the UN of the country's decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
• PM Narendra Modi is going to visit neighboring countries Bhutan and Bangladesh during the coming months aiming to show his government's support to both Thimpu and Dhaka as both prepare for general elections this year.
• President of the United States Donald Trump issued a declaration designating April 2018 as 'National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month'.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron co-chaired the 1st Founding Conference of International Solar Alliance (ISA) in New Delhi’s Rashtrapati Bhavan. Note : The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is the first treaty-based intergovernmental organisation to be based in India.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated 105th Indian Science Congress (ISC) at Manipur Central University in Imphal. Focal theme of ISC 2018 : “Reaching the Unreached Through Science & Technology”.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Delhi End-TB Summit at New Delhi.
• Private sector lender DCB Bank has launched a remittance service to facilitate customers send money online globally. Under DCB Remit, any resident Indian can register online and transfer funds across 20 countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, the UAE and Germany.
• Private sector lender HDFC Bank  barred the use of its credit, debit and prepaid cards to buy or trade in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Earlier, Citibank India also banned the use of its cards for buying cryptocurrencies.
• Private sector lender Yes Bank has launched a robotics based ‘Digital export Import’ payments solution as a part of its Yes Transact Smart Trade product suite.
• Punjabi pop singer Daler Mehndi was jailed for two years by a Patiala court in a 2003 human trafficking case.
• Rajasthan's Jaipur Wax Museum is going to introduce a Robot guide to welcome visitors and give them information like a 'well-trained guide'.
• Russia successfully launched high-precision aeroballistic Kinzhal hypersonic missile from a MiG-31 supersonic interceptor jet.
• Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab's researchers have discovered a malware titled 'Slingshot' which spies on users' PCs via routers.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that the country would be launching an unmanned mission to Mars in 2019. 
• Russia's Olympic membership has been restored by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) following its suspension from Pyeongchang 2018.
• Saudi Arabia has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SoftBank Group Corp. for a $200 billion solar power project in the kingdom. This will be the world's biggest solar power generation company.
• Scientists have discovered new organ in human body and have named it as ‘interstitium’.
• Singapore has been named as the world's most expensive city for the fifth time in a row in the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2018 Cost of Living Index. Damascus has been listed as the world's cheapest city in the list.
• Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) paid tribute to former BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya with a book titled, 'A Tribute to Jagu'.
• Surat (Gujarat) has become the 1st Indian district to have 100% solar-powered Primary Health Centres (PHCs). 
• Swiggy, India’s largest food ordering and delivery platform has partnered with ICICI Bank, the country's largest private sector bank by consolidated assets, to roll out two innovative digital solutions to facilitate a convenient and hassle-free way for its delivery partners to transfer funds to Swiggy. It includes a Unified Payment Interface (UPI) based solution for instant fund transfers on-the-go and an option for facilitating cash deposits at automated Cash Deposit Machines (CDM) available at ICICI Bank branches and ATM locations across the country.
• Telangana finance minister Etela Rajender presented the state budget 2018-19 of Rs 1,74,453 crore.
• The 11th meeting of the China-India joint-group on Economic Relations, Trade, Science & Technology was held in New Delhi.
• The 1st ever Indo-French Knowledge Summit successfully  concluded with a landmark agreement on mutual recognition of educational qualifications between the two countries and a record 15 other MoUs between universities and research institutions on joint initiatives and partnerships. The two-day summit was held in New Delhi and coincided with the state visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to India.
• The 1st Indian Sign Language (ISL) Dictionary comprising of 3000 words has been launched by Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawarchand Gehlot in New Delhi.
• The 1st National Conclave on Psychological Trauma, Child Protection, and Mental Illnesses was recently held in New Delhi. Aim of this Conclave : To provide comprehensive synthesis of research, service provision and clinical practice in addressing psychological trauma and subsequent mental illnesses in Indian children and adolescents
• The 1st Regional Conference on Mass Rapid Transport Systems for Urban Areas – Opportunities and Challenges was recently held at Kolkata.
• The 1st-ever International Print Biennale, an International Exhibition of Graphic Prints was held in New Delhi. This exhibition was organised by Lalit Kala Akademi.
• The 1st-ever National Conference on Drug Law Enforcement was held in New Delhi. The 2-day conference was jointly organized by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Ministry of Home Affairs.
• The 44 African countries from total 55 members of African Union (AU) have signed agreement to create African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), one of the world’s largest free trade blocs. The agreement was signed at a summit held in Kigali, Rwanda.
• The 50th anniversary of English rock band The Beatles' visit to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi ashram was celebrated in Uttarakhand's Rishikesh.
• The 9th India-Japan Strategic Dialogue took place at Tokyo. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj co-chaired the strategic dialogue with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono and reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral ties.
• The African nation of Sierra Leone has become the world's first country to use blockchain technology in elections.
• The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Assam government for sustainable development of human settlements at villages in Kamrup district.
• The Allahabad Bank received approval from Ministry of Corporate Affairs for amalgamation of its fully-owned subsidiary All Bank Finance Ltd. (ABFL) with itself. The All Bank Finance offers fee-based services like debenture trusteeship, distribution of mutual fund schemes, investment advisory and portfolio management and security valuation.
• The Andaman Nicobar naval command has organized a multi-national mega event titled “Milan 2018” at Port Blair. Theme of MILAN 2018 : ‘Friendship Across the Seas’.
• The Assam government has extended the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), 1958 by 6 more months in the state. AFSPA gives special rights to security forces to carry out operations in "disturbed areas."
• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has appointed ex-Director General of Police (Rajasthan), Ajit Singh, as the head of its Anti-Corruption Unit ahead of the Indian Premier League 2018.
• The Cabinet approved a hike in Dearness Allowance to central government employees and Dearness Relief to pensioners from 5% to 7%, with effect from January 1, 2018. This hike is expected to benefit 48.41 lakh central government employees and 61.17 lakh pensioners.
• The cabinet approved Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) inked between India and Sri Lanka for promoting cooperation in field of Information Technology and Electronics (IT&E).
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved an Integrated scheme on school education by including the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, and Teacher Education from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2020. “The scheme aims to support the states in universalising access to school education from pre-nursery to Class 12 across the country,” a government statement said.
• The CBI has booked a former General Manager of IDBI Bank, Battu Rama Rao, and 30 others for allegedly cheating the bank of ₹445 crore by availing Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) and fish farming loans on the basis of fake documents.
• The CBI has charged former CMD of United Bank of India Archana Bhargava for amassing assets worth over ₹3.6 crore, 133.23% more than her known sources of income. 
• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a chargesheet against former Canara Bank CMD RK Dubey and two former executive directors of cheating and forgery in the alleged loan default of over Rs 68 crore sanctioned in 2013.
• The Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB) has claimed that India’s first cloned Assamese buffalo male calf named Sach-Gaurav was born in Hisar, Haryana.
• The Centre approved projects worth over Rs 2,900 crore under the Nirbhaya fund for eight major cities of the country in a bid to make them safer for women.
• The Cheque Books of 6 Banks that merged with State Bank of India (SBI) became invalid after March 31.
• The Election Commission has announced that voting for Karnataka Assembly elections will take place on May 12 while the counting of the votes will be held on May 15.
• The Eurozone has approved a €6.7-billion loan to Greece under the third bailout deal, with €5.7 billion expected to be released this week.
• The Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) has inked line of credit (LoC) agreement with Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) to provide US $500 million credit facility to fund various development projects in 15-member countries of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region in western-south Africa.
• The Global Digital Health Partnership Summit was held at Canberra (Australia). India was represented by the Minister for Health and Family Welfare, J P Nadda.
• The government has extended the deadline for linking Aadhaar with Permanent Account Number (PAN) to June 30.
• The government has sanctioned ₹1,000 crore for the phase two of the IMPRINT India programme. IMPRINT -  Impacting Research Innovation and Technology
• The government of Telangana launched Women Entrepreneurship Hub (WE-Hub), India's first state-led incubator for women entrepreneurs.
• The government recently revealed that nearly 25% of the overseas branches of the state-owned banks suffered losses in 2016-17. India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) topped the list with 9 loss-making foreign branches, followed by Bank of India with 8 such branches.
• The Gujarat government has made it compulsory for all schools in the state to teach Gujarati to students of Classes 1-8 from the next academic session. 
• The Gulf Shield – 1 military exercise of 23 countries including Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states was recently held in Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia.
• The Indian government plans to borrow ₹2.88 lakh crore between April-September in the upcoming fiscal. This amounts to 47.5% of government's budgeted gross borrowing target for the financial year.
• The Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO) has postponed launch of India’s second lunar mission ‘Chandrayaan-2’ from April 2018 to October-November 2018 as experts have suggested more tests. It will be launched on board of Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III (GSLV-F10).
• The Indo-French joint naval exercise Varuna-18 was recently held in Arabian Sea off Goa coast. Aim of Varuna 18 : To explore measures to facilitate operational-level interactions between Indo-French armed forces and increase mutual cooperation, considering the common global threats.
• The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for increased cooperation in effective implementation of insolvency law.
• The issuer of Indian currency, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that it is going to issue Rs 350 coin to mark the 350th birth anniversary of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. 
• The Karnataka government approved a separate flag of the state and will now be sent to the central government for approval. The flag is a tricolour like our national flag, they are Yellow, White and Red.
• The Karnataka government has accepted the suggestion of an expert panel and sought separate religion status for the Lingayat community.
• The King of Jordan Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein was on a 3 day visit to India. Aim of this visit : Taking bilateral relations to a "new high".
• The Lok Sabha has passed Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017 to empower government to fix period of maternity leave and tax-free gratuity amount with an executive order. The Bill seeks to amend the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.
• The Maharashtra Government banned the use of Plastic in time-bound manner.
• The Maharashtra government  announced that the sale of Gutka, banned in the state, would be made a non-bailable offence.
• The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly has unanimously passed a resolution recommending the Centre to rename the Kolhapur airport as the 'Chhatrapati Rajaram Maharaj Airport'.
• The Member Countries of World Health Organization-Regional Office for South-East Asia (WHO-SEARO), participating in Delhi End Tuberculosis (TB) Summit have adopted ‘Delhi End TB Summit Statement of Action’.
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched a new program titled LaQshya. Aim of LaQshya : Improving quality of maternity care in labour room and maternity Operation Theatre (OT).
• The Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises launched Udyam Sakhi Portal (www.udyamsakhi.org) for women entrepreneurs on the occasion of International Women’s Day. 
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has partnered with private space launching company SpaceX to launch Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) to search for exoplanets using the transit method.
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is going to launch the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) on April 16. TESS is seen as a successor to the Kepler Space Telescope which has discovered over 2,500 exoplanets and is currently running out of fuel.
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is going to send its 1st-ever mission named as InSight dedicated to exploring the deep interior of Mars. InSight will be stationary lander that will be launched in May 2018.
• The National Conference on Down Syndrome was recently held in New Delhi.
• The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog has launched Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) on the occasion of International Women’s day (March 8, 2018). Aim of WEP : To build an ecosystem for women across India to realise their entrepreneurial aspirations, scale-up innovative initiatives and chalk-out sustainable, long-term strategies for their businesses.
• The Parliament has passed the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill which will increase the ceiling of tax-free gratuity amount to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 10 lakh.
• The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence has recommended making 5-year military training compulsory for aspirants of state and central government jobs. Head of this Committee : Maj Gen (retd) B C Khanduri (BJP MP)
• The President of Vietnam Tran Dai Quang was on a 3 day visit to India.
• The President, Prime Minister, and Vice President will get their own customised planes by early 2020.
• The Punjab government cleared a proposal mandating Chief Minister and other state ministers to pay the income tax on their salaries themselves.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of ₹2 crore on Indian Overseas Bank after a "fraud was detected" at one of its branches. The RBI has also imposed a penalty of ₹3 crore on Axis Bank for violation of bad loan classification norms.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a penalty of ₹5 crore on Airtel Payments Bank for breaching Know Your Customer (KYC) norms.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has levied a ₹40 lakh penalty on State Bank of India (SBI) for violating rules of detection and impounding of counterfeit notes.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has penalised India's third-largest lender ICICI Bank with ₹58.9 crore for failing to comply with held-to-maturity (HTM) guidelines.
• The Reserve Bank of Insia (RBI) has discontinued the issuance of Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) and Letters of Comfort (LoCs) for import trade credits. This comes after Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi's firms allegedly defrauded PNB of $2 billion by raising overseas credit using fraudulent LoUs.
• The scam-hit Punjab National Bank (PNB) raised its lending rate by 15 basis points to 8.30% with immediate effect.
• The shareholders of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have approved India’s candidature to international financial institution. With this, India will become the 69th member of EBRD.
• The South Korean National Assembly has passed a law reducing the maximum weekly working hours from 68 to 52.
• The Supreme Court indefinitely extended the March 31 deadline to link Aadhaar with bank accounts and mobile numbers.
• The Supreme Court ruled that government authorities cannot charge more than ₹50 as application fee for those seeking information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
• The Telangana government has decided to make Telugu a mandatory subject till Class 10 in all public and private schools. 
• The third-largest manufacturer of flash memory SanDisk has unveiled the world's fastest microSD card called Extreme UHS-I microSDXC with 400 GB of storage.
• The UK has reached a legal agreement with the European Union (EU) to end the Brexit transition by December 31, 2020.
• The Union Cabinet approved the Ayushman Bharat - National Health Protection Mission. Aim : To provide an annual health cover of ₹5 lakh to 10 crore poor families.
• The Union Cabinet has   approved   signing   of Memorandum   of Understanding (MoU) between India and United Kingdom and Northern Ireland regarding cooperation and Exchange of Information for the Purposes of Combating International Criminality and Tackling Serious Organised Crime.
• The Union Cabinet has approved Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income between India and Iran.
• The Union Cabinet has approved draft rules to set up National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), an independent regulator to oversee auditing and accounting standards. 
• The Union Cabinet has approved Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Canada to establish bilateral cooperation activities in field of Intellectual Property (IP).
• The Union Cabinet has cleared the proposal for hiking the salaries of Members of Parliament (MPs). Their constituency allowance will be increased from ₹45,000 to ₹70,000, office expense allowance from ₹45,000 to ₹60,000, and the one-time furniture allowance from ₹75,000 to ₹1 lakh.
• The Union Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers has approved proposal of setting up of Plastic Park in Deoghar District, Jharkhand.
• The Union Textile Ministry has approved a proposal for setting up a  Garment university in Bengaluru's Bommanahalli.
• The US and Israeli military officials have launched a month-long joint military exercise titled "Juniper Cobra 2018". The biennial drill is jointly held by the Israeli military and the US European Command (USEUCOM).
• 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 Uttar Pradesh government has decided to add 'Ramji' as Dr BR Ambedkar's middle name in all documents and records.
• The Uttar Pradesh Secretariat will go paperless from April as all 93 departments in the Secretariat will be connected with an e-office system. 
• The vehicles of India's top constitutional authorities, The President, the Vice President, Governors and Lieutenant Governors will soon have to display their registration numbers.
• The West Bengal government is going to launch a project worth ₹700 crore to bring 50 lakh rural women under the Self Help Group (SHG) model.
• The World Bank has said India's highest GST rate of 28% is the 2nd highest among a sample of 115 countries which have a similar indirect tax system. Only five countries, including India, use four non-zero GST slabs.
• The World Wildlife Fund for Nature has organized the 12th annual 'Earth Hour' on 24th March 2018 from 8:30 to 9:30 PM.
• The world’s largest solar park, Shakti Sthala, was inaugurated in Karnataka's Pavagada by Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and state Power Minister DK Shivakumar.
• To attract foreign students to pursue higher education in India, the Ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD) has approved ‘Study in India’ programme. 
• To bring technology to remote corners, the Andhra Pradesh Government launched multi-utility vehicle NAIPUNYA RATHAM (World on Wheels).
• To create public awareness in judicial matters, the central government is going to install 'Justice Clocks' at all 24 high courts soon.
• To enable Indian enterprises to efficiently manage their business travel expenditure, Happay, a business expense management solution provider, in collaboration with HDFC bank, introduced a new prepaid card-linked Travel and Entertainment (T&E) expense management solution.
• To encourage domestic assembling of panels, the government has slashed the customs duty on 'open cell', a key component used in the manufacturing of LED and LCD television panels, from 10% to 5%.
• To ensure safe future for young women, West Bengal government has launched a scheme titled “Rupashree”. Under Rupashree scheme, the government provides one-time financial support for marriage of poor girls.
• To ensure that all employees receive their due promotions, Madhya Pradesh has increased the retirement age for government employees from 60 to 62 years.
• To help boost overseas sales in a year of surplus production, the Indian government has scrapped the 20% sugar export tax. Note : India is world's second-largest producer of sugar after Brazil.
• To look into the development and regulation of the financial technology (fintech) sector in India, the Union Government has set up 8 Member steering committee. Head of this Committee : Subhash Garg (Economic Affairs Secretary).
• To promote employment in North Eastern Region states including Sikkim, the Union Cabinet has approved North East Industrial Development Scheme (NEIDS), 2017. This scheme will have financial outlay of Rs. 3000 crores upto March, 2020.
• To promote the production and sale of Jackfruit, the Kerala government has declared it as the state fruit.
• To protect domestic producers from below-cost shipments, the Indian government has imposed anti-dumping duty on import of ‘Ofloxacin’ from China.
• To tackle organised crime with strict punishment, the Uttar Pradesh Assembly has passed the Uttar Pradesh Control of Organised Crime Act (UPCOCA) 2017 bill. This bill covers kidnapping, illegal mining, extortion, among others.
• Union Minister Ananthkumar launched 100% Oxo-biodegradable Sanitary Napkin, ‘Suvidha’, under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP).
• Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu inaugurated 3-day India Chemicals and Plastics Exhibition at Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai.
• Union Minister for Food Processing Industry Harsimrat Kaur Badal has inaugurated Rajasthan’s first mega food park Greentech Mega Food Park Private Ltd at Roopangarh Village in Ajmer district.
• US President Donald Trump imposed $60 billion (Rs 3.9 lakh crore) of tariffs on Chinese imports to punish the country for its “unfair” seizure of American intellectual property, a move that could escalate the already tense trade relations between the world’s two biggest economies.
• US President Donald Trump unveiled 'Keep America Great' as his campaign slogan for the 2020 presidential election.
• US-based company Nimbus Data has unveiled world's largest solid state drive (SSD) ExaDrive DC100 with 100 TB of storage. This comes a month after Samsung unveiled an SSD offering around 30 TB of storage.
• Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced to re-denominate the country's bolívar currency by knocking three zeroes off, effective from June 4 this year.
• Vidarbha has won their maiden Irani Cup trophy by defeating Rest of India. This is Vidharbha's 2nd title in domestic cricket after Ranji Trophy.
• Viola Desmond, a woman who stood up for the rights of black people in Nova Scotia and went to jail for it, was honoured as a new $10 bill featuring her image was unveiled.
• Wadhwani AI, India’s first research institute dedicated to developing artificial intelligence solutions for social good was inaugurated in Mumbai.
• Washington has became the 1st US state to set up its own net-neutrality requirements after U.S. regulators repealed Obama-era rules that banned internet providers from blocking content or interfering with online traffic.
• WhatsApp has started testing payments through QR codes for selected users in its latest beta update. Users can scan the code, enter the amount payable and UPI PIN for verification to send money.
• With a market capitalisation of $768 billion, Jeff Bezos-led Amazon overtook Alphabet for the first time to become the world's second most valuable company.  
• With a net worth of $112 billion, Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos has topped the Forbes billionaires list for the first time, dethroning Bill Gates who topped the list 18 times in the past 24 years. Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani has been ranked India's richest person.
• World champions Australia won 27th edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah cup 2018 for record 10th time by defeating England .
• World rapid chess champion Viswanathan Anand lifted the Tal Memorial rapid chess title.

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