DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS: 11.03.2020 TO 13.03.2020

.12.2018 NATIONAL Andhra Pradesh ranked 1st.2018 in the country for overall implementation of POSHAN Abhiyaan  Andhra Pradesh (AP) ranked 1st in the country for overall implementation of POSHAN ( Prime Minister‟s Overarching.11.2018 Scheme for Holistic Nourishment) Abhiyaan as per September 2019 progress report of NITI Aayog, “Transforming Nutrition in : POSHAN Abhiyaan”.  It is classified under 3 categories & the following is named according to the position.  Large State (19)-AP, Chhattisgarh, ,Small State (8)- Mizoram, Sikkim, Nagaland and Union Territory(7)- Dadra & Nagar Haveli,Chandigarh.  It was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of the International Women‟s Day on 8 March, 2018 Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan.  It is India‟s flagship programme to direct the attention of the country towards the problem of malnutrition & address it in a mission-mode. Gujarat topped in domestic solar rooftop installations in 2020  Gujarat ranks first in the list for domestic solar rooftop installations, throughout the country with 64 percent of domestic solar installations.  Nearly 50,915 domestic solar rooftops have been fixed in the state of Gujarat with a capacity of 177.67 MW.  Maharashtra is the second state to top in the domestic solar rooftop installations list with installation of 5,513 systems. Traditional ‘Fagli’ festival celebrated in  The traditional “Fagli” festival celebrated at kinnaur district in Yangpa village, Himachal Pradesh.  This festival is celebrated to denote the end of the winter and the start of the Spring. Jewar Airport, UP received international recognition for strategic infrastructure  The first phase of Jewar Airport, Uttar Pradesh (UP) has been included in the world‟s 100 strategic global infrastructure projects for the year 2020.  It has been recognized in the CG LA Infrastructure List. UP (India) and Yugoslavia (Europe) have been chosen in the field of aviation category all over the world. Andhra Pradesh govt. launched NIGHA app to control electoral malpractices  Andhra Pradesh (AP) Chief Minister (CM) Yeduguri Sandinti Jaganmohan Reddy launched the NIGHA application at Tadepalli, Andhra Pradesh.  The app is aimed at curbing the use of money and alcohol in the upcoming local body elections & launched in addition to the measures taken by State Election Commission & Police department in order to control the electoral malpractices. India post launched India’s 1st digital parcel locker service in Kolkata, West Bengal  For the 1st time in India, the Department of Posts(DoP), Kolkata (West Bengal circle), has launched free digital parcel locker service in 2 post offices (the Nabadiganta IT post office in Sector 5 of Salt Lake City & at the post office in New Town‟s Action Area I).  Under this service, customers will be able to collect their parcel from the post office according to their convenience. This facility is quite popular in European countries but is starting for the first time in India. Karnataka Govt launched ‘Namaste over Handshake’ campaign to prevent from COVID-19  The Karnataka Government (govt) launched „Namaste over Handshake‟ campaign in order to avoid the spread of COVID-19 (CoronaVirusDisease-19) and advises people to keep a safe distance from one another.  Namaste over Handshake poster: The state and health family welfare department has uploaded a poster on the social media with a message “Use Namasthe to greet others, fight against corona”.  COVID-19: It was first detected in Wuhan, Central China, in December 2019 and has spread to 107 countries & infected more than 10,000 people worldwide.

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DAILY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS: 11.03.2020 TO 13.03.2020

Main Event of International.12.2018 Day of Yoga (IDY) 2020 to be held in Leh, Ladakh  Leh, the capital of .2018the Union Territory of Ladakh has been chosen as the venue for the main event of the International Yoga Day (IDY) 2020.  The sixth edition of.11.2018 the annual event, which takes place on June 21 each year will be lead by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  In 2019, the event was held, inRanchi. The first International Day of Yoga was observed all over the world on June 21, 2015 at Rajpath in New . Civil Aviation Business Exhibition ‘Wings India 2020’ Began in Hyderabad  Civil aviation business exhibition and air show titled „Wings India 2020‟ kick-started at Begumpet airport, Hyderabad.  The programme will be formally inaugurated by the Minister for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri.  The theme of the biennial event is „flying for all‟. Govt set up development council for pulp, paper and allied industries; Head- A S Mehta  Central Government has formed a 25-member development council for pulp, paper and allied industries with an objective to increase the growth of this sector.  A S Mehta is the chairman of the council. He is the President of J K Paper Ltd. INTERNATIONAL UN adopted political declaration on women’s rights during CSW64 meet in New York, US  The United Nations (UN),an intergovernmental organization that aims to maintain international peace and security, has adopted a stripped-down political declaration, in which they pledged to step up action to fully implement the landmark Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action on gender equality, agreed 25 years ago.  The declaration was adopted during the 64th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) held in New York, US (United States). EIU’s Inclusive Internet Index 2020  Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released the 4th iteration of the Inclusive Internet Index 2020 for 100 countries where India is overallranked in 46th place & Sweden in 1st place.  The index aims to measure the extent to which the Internet is not only accessible & affordable, but also relevant to all, allowing usage that enables positive social & economic outcomes at the individual & group level. 1st UNDP Gender Social Norms Index 2020: Almost 90 % of People are biased against women; Pakistan ranks 1st  According to the 1st edition of „Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI) 2020‟, released by the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), about 90 % or 9 in 10 of the world‟s population has some bias against women. WEF launched 1st global COVID Action Platform for private-sector businesses to fight against coronavirus  The World Economic Forum (WEF) has initiated the creation of the COVID Action Platform with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO), and Wellcome Trust.  This first of its kind platform, operating globally, is open to all businesses and industry groups, as well as other stakeholders, for integrated and collective business action to mitigate the risk and impact of COVID-19 (Coronavirus). India 2nd largest arms importer in 2015-19, Saudi Arabia tops; US largest exporter of arms while India at 23rd: SIPRI Report  In accordance with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute‟s (SIPRI) annual report titled “Trends in international arms transfers, 2019”, India is the world‟s second largest arms importer during 2015-19 with its global share of 9.2% after Saudi Arabia, who has topped the ranking with global share of 12%.

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 On the other hand, .12.2018India ranked 23rd in terms of world‟s largest arms exporters with global share of 0.2% and its main.2018 clients being Myanmar (46%), Sri Lanka (25%), and Mauritius (14%). United States (US) topped the list in this section with a share of 36%. India is positioned 2nd, US.11.2018 topped as most promising source of disruptive technologies: KPMG 2020  Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG)‟s global Technology (Tech) industry innovation survey ranked India in 2nd position which is shared with China as the most promising country for developing globally impactful disruptive technologies. The United States (US) topped the survey.  Bengaluru ranked 9th, Singapore tops in Cities which leads the tech innovation hubs. BANKING AND ECONOMY PhonePe partnered with ICICI Bank for UPI Transactions  UPI App PhonePe which earlier partnered with YES Bank, for UPI, has now partnered with ICICI Bank for UPI transactions.  This comes after YES Bank has been placed under moratorium by Reserve Bank of India due to which UPI transactions at PhonePe got disrupted. Facebook launched ‘Pragati’ to boost women entrepreneurship in India  Facebook India has launched its CSR initiative, Facebook Pragati to promote women entrepreneurship in India.  The initiative will incubate and accelerate early-stage women-led non-profits that are working to drive women entrepreneurship and to spread awareness and adoption of technology among women in India. World Bank to Provide USD 80 Million Loan to improve water management in Himachal Pradesh  The World Bank has signed an agreement with the Government of India and Government of Himachal Pradesh to provide USD 80 million (about Rs 600 crore) loan for implementing Integrated Project for Source Sustainability and Climate Resilient Rain-Fed Agriculture in Himachal Pradesh  The project aims to improve water management practices and increase agricultural productivity in 428 gram panchayats in 10 districts in Himachal Pradesh. GOKADDAL, World’s first Digital Solutions Exchange Cloud launched in India  GOKADDAL, the World‟s first Digital Solutions Exchange in Cloud, was launched in India www.gokaddal.com, a cloud-based solution exchange platform mainly focuses on 4A‟s – Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Analytics and Augmentative Technologies.  GOKADDAL – It is a Business to Business (B2B), Business to Government (B2G), Business to Consumer (B2C) solution platform which connects solution providers to solution seekers and an innovative platform for Startups and SME companies. PERSON IN NEWS  Lt Gen Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon (57) will be appointed as a Director General, Defence Intelligence Agency, Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff, under the Chief of Defence staff (CDS) in the Department of Military Affairs, replacing Lt Gen AS Bedi.  Indian film actress Kareena Kapoor Khan signed a contract with German sportswear brand Puma to be its brand ambassador for a period of 2 years.  Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan was appointed as the first-ever ambassador of the IDFC FIRST Bank.  Smartphone brand realme appointed Bollywood actor Salman Khan as its brand ambassador.  PepsiCo India has allegedly appointed actor Akshay Kumar as the new brand ambassador for its snacks brand Kurkure.  Cavinkare appointed Akshay Kumar, Ileana D‟Cruz as brand ambassadors for Indica hair colour .  Director General Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Shri Surjeet Singh Deswal was given an additional charge by the Ministry of Home Affairs to serve as a Director General of Border Security Force (BSF).

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 Badminton world champion.12.2018 PV Sindhu is appointed as the brand ambassador for Andhra Pradesh government‟s anti-graft.2018 helpline or anti-corruption helpline– 14400  She has featured along with Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in a video titled „stop corruption‟ which states.11.2018 people keep their eyes & ears open against corruption. SPORTS&GAMES  Hockey India joined the 38 National associations throughout the world as a member of World Master Hockey (WMH) with an aim to develop and grow Master Hockey across the world. The International Hockey Federation (FIH) recognizes WMH a sole Master entity responsible for organizing international master‟s hockey globally.  Maltese Footballer Andre Schembri, 33 years old, is currently playing for Chennaiyin FC‟s (Football Club) announced that he will retire from professional football after the Hero Indian Super League (ISL) final against ATK FC in Goa.  Indian badminton champion and Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu has won the inaugural BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year award 2019. AWARDS & HONOURS  Indian mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya successfully scaled Mount Kosciuszko, the highest mountain peak in .  Pusarla Venkata Sindhu, 24 years old, won BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) Indian Sportswoman of the year award 2019 and former sprinter Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha was awarded with Lifetime Achievement award. The BBC award ceremony was held in New Delhi.  Dr Jaimanti Bakshi, Professor & Unit Head II, Department of Otolaryngology and Head Neck surgery at PGIMER (Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research), Chandigarh was awarded with “Best Citizens of India”.  V Praveen Rao, Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Professor JayaShankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU), won the 7th edition of Dr MS Swaminathan Award. Singer Taylor Swift Named as Google’s most-searched for woman in music of 2020  The search engine Google honoured the women folk on the occasion of International Women‟s Day by sharing data for the most-searched women on the Internet in 2020 in the following 4 discipline: Music, Sports, Comedy, Novelists  Music – Singer Taylor Swift  Sports – Tennis player Serena Williams  Comedy – American actress Awkwafina  Novelists – American Novelist Toni Morrison DAY & DATES 51st CISF Raising Day: 10 March  The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) celebrates its raising day ever year on 10 March.  2020 marks 51st Raising Day celebrations of the CISF.  CIFF is a Central Armed Police Force in India and works directly under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. World Kidney Day: March 12  Theme of the year 2020: Kidney Health for Everyone Everywhere- from Prevention to Detection and Equitable access to care.  The day aims to raise global health awareness on the importance about conditions of the kidney and the impact of kidney disease and its associated health problems worldwide. ONELINERS  The Bangladesh High Court has declared that „Joy Bangla‟ will be the national motto or slogan of Bangladesh.  Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh named as „Greatest Leader of All Time‟ in BBC poll.  Four AAI airports among best aerodromes in world, 2019 Airport Service Quality awards.

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