Explanation The Madhya Pradesh Animal Husbandry Department has inked a MoU with Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd (BFIL) to launch ‘Pashu Dhan Sanjeevani – 1962’, an animal healthcare programme. The MoU was signed in the presence of Madhya Pradesh Animal Husbandry Minister Antar Singh Arya and BFIL CEO and MD Geoff Woolley. The ‘Pashu Dhan Sanjeevani – 1962’ is claimed to be the first of its kind initiative by any state government in India. This programme offers animal owners a range of veterinary services. They just have to dial the toll-free helpline number 1962. Veterinary services like emergency treatment, on-demand artificial insemination, vaccination and deworming will be offered at the doorstep of farmers. This will be of great use to farmers who find it difficult to bring their cattle to the health centres. The IT ecosystem for this programme has been developed by BFIL. The service delivery process will be monitored through the ‘Bharat Sanjeevani’ software and a mobile app exclusively developed for doctors, veterinary field officers and artificial insemination technicians.

Explanation:
The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has reconstituted two journalist-related bodies. On 20th March 2018 an order was issued by Information and Broadcasting Ministry that announced the members of the Central Press Accreditation Committee. The Central Press Accreditation Committee considers the names of correspondents and camerapersons who get Press Information Bureau (PIB) accreditation. The committee is headed by the Prinicpal Director General of PIB as the ex-officio chairperson. It has 8 members. It has a tenure of 2 years. Other members are: a representative of the Press Council of India and a representative of the News Broadcasters Association. Five other members are: Prashant Mishra of Dainik Jagran; Navika Kumar of Times Now; Kanchan Gupta, commissioning editor with ABP News; J Gopikrishnan of The Pioneer; and Smita Prakash, Editor News of Asian News International. I&B Ministry has also constituted a committee to administer the Journalists Welfare Scheme. The administering committee will consist of: I&B Secretary, Principal DG PIB, and a joint secretary from the I&B ministry.

Explanation:
The world’s longest sandstone cave named ‘Krem Puri’ has been discovered in Meghalaya. Krem Puri was discovered in 2016. However its actual length was found between 5th February and 1st March 2018. It was measured by the Meghalaya Adventurers’ Association (MAA). It is 24,583 metres long. This cave is over 6,000 metres longer than the world record-holder Cueva Del Saman, a sandstone cave in Edo Zulia, Venezuela. It has also become India’s second longest cave in the general category. The longest India cave is the Krem Liat Prah-Umim-Labit system in the Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya.

Explanation :
On 21st March 2018, International Yoga Fest was inaugurated by Union minister Jitendra Singh at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi, as a curtain raiser for the International Yoga Day (IYD) to be held on 21st June 2018. The International Yoga Fest is held for 3 days. Over 5,000 delegates from 16 countries and nearly 40 yoga institutions and universities are taking part in the fest. Four cities namely Jaipur, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Mysore have been shortlisted for conducting the main function of International Yoga Day 2018. The international yoga fest will be followed by 10 state-level fests that will be held in different parts of India.

Explanation:
On 21st March 2018, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) launched Free Wi-Fi Facility at Udwada Village, in Valsad District, Gujarat. The facility was launched by Manoj Sinha, Minister of State for Communications and Minister of State for Railways. I&B (Information and Broadcasting) minister Smriti Irani selected Udwada village under Saansad Adarsh Gram scheme. Smriti Irani said that, under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana Rs.16.48 Lakh has been allotted for implementing Wi-Fi by BSNL in Udwada Village. Anupam Shrivastava, CMD of BSNL, said that two Hotspots with 17 Access points have been installed at Udwada village.

Explanation:
On 20th March 2018, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) celebrated its 6th Foundation Day in New Delhi. The event was inaugurated by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences and Environment, Forests and Climate Change, who was the Chief Guest of the event. Theme: The theme for 6th Foundation Day of BIRAC was ‘Sustaining Innovation – A Market Driven Pathway’. Several dignitaries from the scientific and industry sectors within India and also from foreign countries attended the event. Preliminary winners of the SoCH (Solutions for Community Health) awards were announced at the event. This is an innovation challenge award which was initiated at the MyGov portal in September 2017.

Explanation:
Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) has announced that it will commence futures trading in brass on March 26, 2018. The launch will be an important milestone as it will be for the first time that a Brass Futures contract will be traded on an organised exchange anywhere in the world. Availability of Brass Futures contracts will not only help in price discovery but will also help brass merchants to hedge the risk arising out of price fluctuation. The lot size of the contract will be 1 MT (metric tonne) with expiries in April, May and June 2018.

Explanation:
On 21st March 2018, BHEL said that, it has signed a Technology Collaboration Agreement (TCA) with HLB Power, Republic of Korea. BHEL said that, this collaboration is for in-house design and manufacture of large size gates and dampers used in coal fired power plants that would be commissioned or retrofitted with high capacity emission control equipment. The TCA was signed by Subrata Biswas, Director (E, R&D) BHEL and Dr. Jong Weon Kim, CEO and Director, HLB Power at BHEL’s corporate office. BHEL said that, this TCA will help in developing in-house design, manufacture and testing facilities of very large size gates and dampers.

Explanation :
On March 21, 2018, Allahabad Bank stated that it has received approval from Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs for amalgamation of its fully-owned subsidiary All Bank Finance Ltd. (ABFL) with itself. Bank’s board had approved the proposed amalgamation in December 2016. All Bank Finance offers fee-based services like debenture trusteeship, distribution of mutual fund schemes, investment advisory and portfolio management and security valuation. For financial year 2016-17, ABFL’s total income stood at Rs 13.30 crore, while the net profit was Rs 6.76 crore.

Explanation:
On 22nd March 2018, the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test fired from Pokhran test range in Rajasthan. The BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile. It was developed in a joint-venture between India and Russia. This missile has been named after the rivers Brahmaputra of India and Moskva of Russia. It is a two-stage self-propelled guided missile. It can fly at almost three times the speed of sound at Mach 2.8. It has a range of 290 km. Work to integrate the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile on 40 Sukhoi combat aircraft is under progress. BrahMos has a strike accuracy rate of 99.99 %. It follows various trajectories like high, high-low, low, surface-skim etc.

Explanation:
IRCTC has introduced billing through Point of Sale (POS) hand held machines in trains. IRCTC is introducing POS billing machines in trains in phases. POS machines have already been introduced in train no. 12627-28, SBC-NDLS Karnataka Express on pilot basis. In the next phase, 100 POS machines are launched in 26 trains. There are 50 rakes (composition of coaches forming a train) on those 26 trains. 2 POS machines will be provided for each rake of the train. Later, the number of POS machines will be increased according to the usage by passengers. IRCTC also deploys its officials on these trains to monitor the catering services. These Officials will be provided with Tablets (Tab) to obtain passenger feedback. The service providers managing the onboard services are trained at IRCTC’s Central Kitchen at Noida for usage of the POS machine.

Explanation:
On 22nd March 2018, Indian shooter Elavenil Valarivan won gold medal in the junior women’s 10m air rifle event at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun in Sydney, Australia. Also, Elavenil Valarivan along with Shreya Agrawal and Zeena Khitta won the team gold medal. Elavenil Valarivan shot 249.8 in the finals. Her 631.4 in the qualification set a new world record. Arjun Babuta won bronze medal in men’s 10m air rifle event. India’s Shreya Agrawal and Zeena Khitta finished in sixth and seventh positions respectively. India’s Surya Pratap Singh and Shahu Tushar Mane finished in sixth and eighth positions respectively.

Explanation:
On 22nd March 2018, World Water Day was celebrated all over the world. When and Why: Every year 22nd March is celebrated as International World Water Day to focus on the importance of freshwater and supporting for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. The first World Water Day was celebrated in 1993. World Water Day is coordinated by UN-Water. UN-Water is the agency that coordinates the United Nation’s work on water and sanitation. It prepares the theme for World Water Day. Theme for World Water Day 2018: Nature for Water. This year World Water Day will focus on how to use nature to deal with the water challenges of current age.

Explanation:
On 20th March 2018, General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Army Staff, released a book on Paramveer Chakra Awardees named ‘Paramveer Parwane’. Paramveer Parwane is a book on the bravery of Paramveer Chakra Awardees from 1947 to 1965. It has been authored by Dr Prabhakiran Jain. It is published by Medha Books. It consists of 11 short stories, poems, and songs. It talks about brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives in battles. It is available in paperback and coffee table book format. The second part of this book will be released soon.

Explanation:
On March 20, 2018, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun and Technology Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council (TIFAC), New Delhi signed an MoU for providing livelihood opportunities and augment income of the forest based communities. ICFRE is an Autonomous Council under the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change while TIFAC is an Autonomous Council under Department of Science and Technology. The MoU was signed in presence of Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan in New Delhi. As per the terms of the MoU, TIFAC shall help ICFRE to refine and up-scale the technologies that have been developed and make it accessible to the end users including farmers and other stakeholders

Explanation:
On March 20, 2018, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the Inland ferry services in Vasco, Goa. Several dignitaries including Union Minister of State for AYUSH (Independent Charge) Shripad Naik were present at the inauguration. While delivering the keynote address at the occasion, Mr. Gadkari highlighted that use of waterways is not only economical but is also environmental friendly. Commuting through Inland ferry services inaugurated in Vasco, Goa would save time and money and avoid pollution and ease the road congestion.

Explanation:
Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers, Ananthkumar has announced that Central Government has approved the setting up of a Plastic Park in Deoghar District of Jharkhand. The Plastic Park would be set up at a cost of Rs. 120 crores over an area of 150 acres. Range of polymer products including woven sacks, water tanks, moulded furniture, bottles, pipes mosquito nets, etc would be manufactured at this Plastic Park. Setting up of Plastic Park is likely to generate 6000 direct employment opportunities and 30000 indirect employment opportunities. Mr. Ananthkumar also requested the Jharkhand State Government to facilitate land/ building infrastructure to set up a Central Institute for Plastic Engineering & Technology (CIPET) alongside the Plastic Park, for training necessary human resource (plastic engineers and technicians). Plastic Park, CIPET and the Plastic Recycling unit would together form an ecosystem that would encourage setting up of Plastic Industry at Deoghar and would make it a ‘Plastic Hub’ in future.

Explanation:
India Post paid a tribute to theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author Stephen Hawking by issuing a special cover on him. Stephen Hawking passed away at the age of 76 on March 14, 2018 in his home in Cambridge in the United Kingdom. The special cover on Stephen Hawking was jointly issued by Chief Post Master General (CPMG) of Maharashtra and Goa Circle, H C Agrawal and Director of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) Dr Sandip Trivedi at an event held in the General Post Office (GPO), Mumbai. Special cover on Stephen Hawking will be released at all 22 Circles of India Post. ’A Brief History of Time’, ‘The Universe in a Nutshell’, ‘On the Shoulders of Giants” are some of the popular books written by Stephen Hawking.

Explanation:
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) cabinet gave its in-principle approval for adopting the Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) for horticulture crops such as apple and saffron in the state. Decision in this regard was taken at State Cabinet meeting chaired by J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. Under RWBCIS, farmers will be provided insurance coverage and financial support in the event of failure of any of the notified crops due to adverse weather incidences. It is to be noted that RWBCIS will be in addition to Central Government’s Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

Explanation: 
NITI Aayog and Piramal Foundation have signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to work closely with the District Collectors and Key Government officials of ‘Aspirational Districts’ to support their transformation in terms of education, healthcare and nutrition. In context of this news, aspirational districts refer to selected 115 backward districts that are lagging on specific development parameters. Central Government has undertaken a major policy initiative for rapid transformation of these districts and senior government officials have been assigned responsibility to coordinate the efforts of the Centre and states in facilitating development in such districts. As per the terms of the SoI with Niti Aayog, Piramal Foundation will work in close conjunction with the State Government, district administration, and concerned Central ministries in improving the identified indicators in the health and nutrition and education sectors. The collaboration between Niti Aayog and Piramal Foundation is for a duration of four years.

Explanation:
Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to conduct skill development training programmes for agriculture and allied sector. As per the terms of the MoU, skill development training programmes will be conducted on a regular basis at Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs). The MoU will be instrumental in achieving government’s goal of developing agriculture as a private enterprise so that it attracts more youth. Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Radha Mohan Singh has expressed hope that this MoU will contribute in realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of Kaushal Bharat-Kushal Bharat.

Explanation: Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao mandated teaching Telugu as a compulsory subject in all the public and private schools of the Telangana for the academic year 2018-2019. K. Chandrashekhar Rao held discussions with officials on this regard. He said that, Telugu has been made a compulsory subject in order to respect their mother tongue. He said that, the Telugu University and the Sahitya Academy will decide the Telugu syllabus for various standards.

Explanation:
Punjab government decided to impose a permanent ban on hookah bars in Punjab. Punjab cabinet approved an amendment to the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA), 2003 for the prevention and control of diseases caused by the use of tobacco products. This was approved at a meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. This ban aims to reduce usage of hookah, hookah bars, and use of tobacco among young people.

Explanation:
As per 20th annual Quality of Living survey by Mercer, Austrian capital Vienna has been named the world’s best city to live in for the ninth consecutive year. Mercer’s annual Quality of Living survey assesses living conditions in 231 cities of the world on 39 factors, grouped under 10 broad categories.
The 10 categories are: Political and social environment, Economic environment, Socio-cultural environment, Medical and health considerations, Schools and education, Public services and transportation, Recreation, availability of Consumer goods, Housing and Natural Environment. Findings of this survey enable multinational companies and other organisations to compensate employees appropriately when placing them on international assignments. In this year’s edition, a separate ranking on City Sanitation has also been provided. This ranking is based on assessment of cities’ waste removal and sewage infrastructure, levels of infectious disease, air pollution, water availability and quality. Founded in 1945, Mercer is world’s largest human resources consulting firm. Its headquarters is located in New York, US.

Explanation:
New Delhi has secured 22nd rank in the world and 8th in Asia in the TripAdvisor’s top 25 travellers choice of destinations list for 2018. New Delhi stands 22nd in TripAdvisor’s top 25 travellers choice of destinations list for 2018. Paris secured 1st rank in the global list of Travellers Choice awards for Destinations. It is followed by London (UK), Rome (Italy), Bali (Indonesia), Crete (Greece). This awards by TripAdvisor recognises 402 outstanding destinations in 42 lists throughout the world.
In the Asia list, the following Indian cities have secured a place:
New Delhi – 8thposition, Goa – 9thposition and Jaipur – 16th position The Asia list is topped by Bali in Indonesia. It is followed by Phuket in Thailand, Hanoi (Vietnam), Siem Reap (Siem Reap Province), Tokyo (Japan), Kathmandu (Nepal) and Hong Kong.

Explanation :
Online food ordering and delivery platform, Swiggy and India’s largest private bank, ICICI Bank have partnered to roll out two innovative digital solutions to facilitate a convenient and hassle-free way for delivery partners to transfer funds to Swiggy. The first one is a Unified Payment Interface (UPI) based solution which enables instant fund transfers on-the-go while the other is a facility for depositing cash at automated Cash Deposit Machines (CDM) available at ICICI Bank branches and ATMs across India. Swiggy has integrated the UPI solution with ICICI Bank, which offers a secure and scalable mode to enable collection of funds from its delivery partners. Under this arrangement, Swiggy’s delivery partners will have their own UPI handle, to which they can link their savings bank account and start transacting by using any UPI-enabled app like ICICI Bank ‘Pockets’, ‘Google Tez’, ‘BHIM’,etc. On receiving fund transfer from delivery partners, ICICI Bank will immediately credit Swiggy’s account and send the delivery partner’s details to Swiggy. On receving details, Swiggy will update the collection against the delivery partner instantly.

Explanation:
India handed over the 18th diesel-electric locomotive to Myanmar and thereby completed the first project under the current Indian line of credit (LoC) to Myanmar. All 18, AC-DC 1350 HP diesel-electric locomotives are fitted with the microprocessor control based system and can attain a maximum speed of 100 KM PH. These locomotives have been customised for the Myanmar Railways and have been built by Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi. The handing over ceremony was attended by Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain

Explanation:
On March 21, 2018, government-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) started doorstep delivery of diesel on a pilot basis in Pune and has thus became first company in India to provide such service after receiving clearance from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO). IOC has started this service in Pune through a diesel dispenser mounted on a midsized truck along with a storage tank. Based on the response it gets during the three-month trial period in Pune, IOC may roll out the doorstep delivery of fuel to other cities of India. Potential customer for this service are ‘static customers’ like transport companies with large diesel consumption and shopping malls/commercial establishments that use diesel in gensets for producing electricity Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) are the other two refiner that have got PESO approval for a trial run of doorstep diesel delivery. PESO approval is mandatory for doorstep delivery of fuel as petrol and diesel are highly inflammable fuels and require adequate safety precautions.

Explanation:
Donald Trump Administration in US has decided to impose anti-dumping duty on the stainless steel flanges imported from China and India. The anti-dumping duty has been imposed based on a probe by US Department of Commerce, through which, it was found that exporters from India and China received subsidies on these products and were thereby able to sell it in US market much below the fair value. The probe was initiated in response to petition by the Coalition of American Flange Producers, including Core Pipe Products Inc. (Carol Stream, IL) and Maass Flange Corporation (Houston). US Commerce Department will now instruct the US Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) to collect difference between sales value and fair value from importers of the stainless steel flanges from China and India. In 2016, India imported stainless steel flanges to US worth USD32.1 million.

Explanation:
The Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters said that, Canadian mathematician Robert Langlands has been named the winner of the Abel Prize for 2018. Robert Langlands will receive 6 million Norwegian kroner ($776,000) from Norway’s King Harald V at an award function to be held in Oslo on 22nd May 2018. Robert Langlands is awarded for his programme linking representation theory to number theory. He is 81 years old. He has worked in Princeton University and Yale University. At present he is a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, the United States.

Explanation:
Htin Kyaw, Myanmar’s first democratically elected President, announced his retirement due to ill health. Htin Kyaw was the first democratically elected President of Myanmar. He won the Presidential elections in 2016. He is 71 years old. Myanmar President Office has announced that, the President post which has become vacant will be filled within 7 working days. He was the first Myanmar president to visit India in 2016.

Explanation:
China has announced that, it is constructing the world’s fastest wind tunnel. It is said that, it would be the world’s fastest hypersonic wind tunnel. It would be used to help in the development of spacecraft. A Chinese researcher has said that, the 265 meter-long tunnel would be used to test hypersonic aircraft that can travel up to a speed of 30,625 kph. This speed is 25 times the speed of sound.

Explanation:
Hellenic Space Agency, Greece’s first space agency was officially launched on March 19, 2018. Although Greece will not start its own space exploration programme through this agency in near future, the agency is expected to benefit the country in various sectors viz. telecommunications, defense, medical applications, environmental monitoring, agriculture, fire prevention and control. Dr. Tom Krimigis, who is regarded as ‘Space Exploration Pioneer’ has been appointed Chairperson of the Board of Hellenic Space Agency. In the context of this news, it is to be noted that Greece has been a member of European Space Agency (ESA) since 2005 and has invested millions of Euros in its research programmes. Including the Greek and Cypriot telecommunications satellite Hellas Sat 3 which was launched from French Guiana in 2017, Greece currently has six transponders and three ground-based satellite hubs

Explanation 
n 20th March 2018, Sudan, the last surviving northern white male rhinoceros of the world, died after suffering age related ailments at the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia national park, Kenya. Sudan was 45 years old. It was the only surviving male northern white rhino. Now, only two female rhinoceros of that sub-species are living. Genetic material from Sudan was collected when he was healthy. The Ol Pejeta Conservancy has said that, through advanced cellular technologies, the sub-species might be prevented from extinction.

Explanation :
On 19th March 2018, journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Les Payne passed away at his residence in Harlem, United States. Les Payne was 76 years old. In 1969, he joined Newsday newspaper as a journalist. He was on the team of reporters who won Pulitzer Prize for public service in 1974. He worked as a teacher at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He was also a founding member and former president of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Explanation:
On 20th March 2018, World Sparrow Day was celebrated all over the world. The World Sparrow Day was initiated by the Nature Forever Society of India. It was started in collaboration with the Eco-Sys Action Foundation (France) and several other national and international organisations. The World Sparrow Day aims to create awareness on conservation of sparrows and to fight against extinction of birds.

Explanation:
On 21st March 2018, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was observed all over the world. When: The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed every year on 21st March. Why: It commemorates the Sharpeville massacre in which 69 people where inhumanly killed for peacefully demonstrating against apartheid in South Africa on 21st March 1960. Theme for International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 2018: Promoting tolerance, inclusion, unity and respect for diversity in the context of combating racial discrimination.

Explanation:
On 21st March 2018, World Poetry Day was celebrated all over the world. When and Why: World Poetry Day is held every year on 21st March. It celebrates poetry, which is considered one of humanity’s most precious forms of cultural expression and identity. UNESCO adopted 21 March as World Poetry Day in 1999. It was adopted with an aim to support linguistic diversity and protect endangered languages. This day is an opportunity to honour poets, conduct poetry recitals, promote reading, writing and teaching of poetry, encourage theatre, dance, music, painting, etc.

Explanation:
On 21st March 2018, International Day of Forests was observed all over the world. When: 21 March was declared as the International Day of Forests by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012.
Why: This day acts as a platform to create awareness on the importance of all types of woodlands and trees.
Activities such as tree-planting, art, photo and film exhibitions are held on this day themed around forests. Theme for International Day of Forests 2018: Forests and Sustainable Cities.

Explanation
On 21st March 2018, World Down syndrome Day (WDSD) was observed all over the world.
Down syndrome: It is a naturally occurring chromosomal arrangement that generally results in various effects on learning styles, physical characteristics or health.
When and Why: The UN General Assembly declared 21 March as World Down Syndrome Day in 2011. This day aims to create awareness on Down syndrome among the public.
World Down syndrome Day 2018 marks the 13th anniversary of World Down Syndrome Day. The focus for World Down syndrome Day 2018 is: #WhatIBringToMyCommunity – how people with Down syndrome can contribute in schools, workplaces, community, public and political life, culture, media, recreation, leisure and sport.

Explanation:
Wealth management application Fisdom has tied up with Lakshmi Vilas Bank to help customers register and manage National Pension Scheme (NPS) investments in a completely digital and paperless manner. Fisdom, a Bangalore based start-up founded in 2015 by Subramanya S.V. claims to have facilitated mutual fund investments worth more than Rs. 100 crore last year. For NPS service offered on Fisdom, Lakshmi Vilas Bank will be the managing bank. Registered users on Fisdom app, who are interested in NPS, can choose the risk profile and fund they want to invest in it. After investing, they can even track the value of their NPS portfolio on the app.

Explanation :
The 3rd edition of National Conclave on Mines and Minerals was held in New Delhi. The conclave saw participation from: representatives of state governments, mining industry, industry associations, financial and academic institutions. It acts as a platform to display the recent policy initiatives by the Indian government. Discussion on the issues, challenges and opportunities in the mining sector were conducted. Mines Minister Narendra Singh Tomar presented awards to 20 best performing mines with ‘5-Star’ rating.

Explanation :
India’s National Cultural Audiovisual Archives (NCAA) has been certified as the world’s first Trusted Digital Repository as per ISO 16363:2012 standard, granted by Primary Trustworthy Digital Repository Authorisation Body Ltd. (PTAB), United Kingdom. NCAA is a project of the Union Ministry of Culture, implemented by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). Objective of NCAA is to identify and preserve India’s cultural heritage available in audiovisual form through a process of digitization and making it accessible to the people. By end of March 2018, a corpus of 30000 hours of unpublished, non-commercial audio & video recordings will be made online at NCAA repository. NCAA digital repository is powered by DIGITĀLAYA which is developed by C-DAC Pune. At present, 11 governmental and 10 non-governmental cultural organisations are the partnering institutions of NCAA.

Explanation :
Karnataka State Government under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah (belonging to Congress Party) approved the separate religion status for the Lingayat community. Lingayat community owes allegiance to the 12th century social reform movement initiated by Basaveshwara. The community constitutes about 17 percent of Karnataka’s population mainly residing in northern parts of the state. Lingayats have been demanding a separate religion status since long time. Besides, a seven-member committee, formed by Karnataka State Minorities Commission which submitted its report on March 2, 2018 recommended that Lingayats in Karnataka may be considered as a religious minority. In the past, the Lingayats have mainly supported Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).Thus, this decision will have a tremendous political impact in the upcoming Karnataka State Legislative Assembly polls to be held in May 2018.

Explanation :
Informal meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministers was held in New Delhi on March 20, 2018. This meeting was called by India to explore options to reinvigorate the World Trade Organisation (WTO), by engaging in free and frank discussions. This meeting was attended by Ministers and Vice Ministers from 27 countries and WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo. In wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to slap import tariffs on steel and aluminium, discussions at the meeting revolved around concerns over increasing protectionism in global trade.

Explanation :
On 19th and 20th March 2018, the First India-Japan Workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction was held in New Delhi. The workshop was inaugurated by Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog. Organised by: It is organised by the Ministry of Home Affairs, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Government of Japan. Participants: The workshop saw participation from 50 Japanese delegates and 70 Indian delegates. Representatives from government, technical institutions, private sector etc. participated. The workshop was aimed to take the dialogue on India-Japan Cooperation on Disaster Risk Reduction to the next level with main focus on earthquake safety. Possible areas of cooperation between India and Japan in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction were identified. This Workshop is the first outcome of the Memorandum of Cooperation regarding Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) signed by India and Japan in September 2017.

Explanation :
India’s Department of Space and the European Commission signed an agreement that will enable them to share earth observation data from each other’s satellite. The agreement was signed by Philippe Brunet, director for Space Policy, Copernicus and Defence, on behalf of European Commission and by PG Diwakar, Scientific Secretary in the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on behalf of the Department of Space. The agreement was signed in Bengaluru. The agreement aims to strengthen cooperation on Earth observation and mutual access to data from sentinel series of satellites of EU (European Union) and from the earth observation satellites of India. As per this arrangement, the European Commission would offer free, full and open access to data from the Copernicus Sentinel family of satellites to India. India’s Department of Space will offer free, full and open access to the data from ISRO’s earth observation satellites to the Copernicus programme and its participating states.

Explanation :
Gulf Shield 1 Joint drills, organised by Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry, started in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia from March 18, 2018. Military forces of Saudi Arabia and 23 other countries are participating in this month-long drill. This is the largest military drill in the region in terms of diversity of expertise and quality of weapons that will be used. Objective of this drill is to enhance coordination and cooperation, modernise joint mechanisms and raise military readiness of participating countries.

Explanation :
First G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors under Presidency of Argentina was held on 19th and 20th March 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The meeting was attended by 22 finance ministers, 17 Central Bank Governors and 10 heads of international organizations, including International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director, Christine Lagarde and Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, Achim Steiner. Discussions at the this two-day meeting revolved around infrastructure development and the future of work in the digital arena. Interestingly, concerns over U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to slap import tariffs on steel and aluminium, which may trigger a global trade war were not discussed at this meeting. This was the first of five such meetings to be held before Argentina hosts the G20 Summit on 30th November and 1st December 2018.

Explanation :
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order making it illegal for US citizens to purchase any cryptocurrency issued by Venezuela. The order prohibits U.S. citizens from engaging in transactions using Venezuela’s oil-backed currency, called the Petro. In a bid to ease country’s economic crisis, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had launched ‘Petro’, a cryptocurrency backed by Venezuela’s oil, gas, gold and diamond wealth. Venezuela’s economy has been reeling under pressure since last year owing to falling oil prices and sanctions imposed by US. Mr. Maduro’s plan was to pay Venezuela’s foreign debtor with ‘Petro’ and thereby attempt to restructure country’s debt. Trump administration in US wants Maduro regime to reverse the crisis that it has caused by adopting prudent economic measures rather than trying to circumvent US sanctions by issuing ‘Petro’.