Current Affairs 16th-18th March 2014

Current Affairs 16th-18th March 2014

Updated : 18-Mar-2014

Current Affairs 16th-18th March 2014 - Important Points
Current Affairs 16th-18th March 2014 - Details
Novak Djokovic won Indian Wells title
On 16th March 2014, International sports current affairs get one more news as Novak Djokovic won BNP Paribas Open Final in Indian Wells ATP Tennis Masters in California by defeating Roger Federer. He won by 3-6, 6-3, 7-6.

Both were strong contenders as Djokovic lost to Federer in the semi finals of the Dubai tennis championship earlier.
Important to note :
- Italian Flavia Pennetta won Women's Single Title.
- Women's doubles title won by top seeded Hsieh Su-Wei and Peng Shuai by defeating fifth seeds Cara Black and Sania Mirza.
Paris Imposes Partial Driving Ban to fight pollution
France on 17 March 2014 introduced driving restrictions in Paris to tackle dangerous pollution levels. Under the scheme drivers are allowed to use their cars only on alternate days, according to the odd or even numbers on their licence plates.
Paris is more prone to smog than other European capitals because of France's diesel subsidies and its high number of private car drivers.
Well, we can say it is good move to combat the pollution and it adds one more current affair in internatioal current affairs as we may get asked in some exam that which country introduced driving restrictions, then we should be aware that answer is France :)
Putin signs decree recognizing Crimea as independent state
The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin signed a decree that recognises Crimea as a sovereign state.This decree was signed on 17th March 2014, which is very important international current affair.

The signed decree said that Russia has taken into account the referendum of 16 March 2014 of Crimea in which about 97 percent of the voters backed breaking away from Ukraine. Crimean residents voted in support of seceding, seeking to join Russia.
Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine on 17 March 2014 declared itself as an independent state. On the other hand, the deputy Prime Minister of Crimea has announced that the region has set up a new central bank, which is expecting to get 30 million US dollars in support from Russia.
Although it is also important to be aware that referendum of Crimea has been rejected by the European Union and the US. They said this referendum as violation of both Ukrainian sovereignty and international norms and imposed sanctions on 21 officials from Russia and Ukraine.
Important to note :
Meaning of Decree : an official order that has the force of law.
European Parliament passed a law to introduce a Universal Mobile Device Charger
Other important international current affair is that European Parliament passed a law to develop a common charger for all mobile phones sold in the continent of Europe. This law was passed on on 17th March 2014. European Parliament had amended its radio equipment laws to develop a common charger for all mobile phones.
It will be good for both the consumers and the environment. It will help reducing 51000 tonnes of electronic waste annually [Good thinking]. It was expected that the universal charging configuration would come into force by 2017.
Indian Oil to build 30000 crore rupees refinery in Gujarat
IOC (Indian Oil Corp) announced to set up 30000 crore rupees refinery at Mundra in Gujarat. This refinery is will be of 15 million tones capacity. This announcement was made by IOC on 17th March 2014. The plant is scheduled to come up by 2021-22. The Adani Groups offered land to IOC to set up refinery at Mundra.

A coastal refinery would enable IOC to ship in larger quantities of heavier grades of crude oil, which are cheaper because they are more difficult to process into fuels. All the refineries of IOC are landlocked.
Also, IOC is planning to expand few of its refineries to achieve the 100 million tones target.
Vijay Hazare Trophy 2013-14 bagged by Karnataka
Karnataka won the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2013-14. Karnataka defeated Railways by four wickets at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 16th March 2014 to bag this title. Railways scored 157 in 47.4 overs whereas Karnataka scored 158 in 43 over for six wickets. Abhimanyu Mithun was named as the man of the match for picking up 4 wickets for 19 runs.
Important to note :
- Karnataka for the first time won the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
- Karnataka won the Ranji and Irani Cup champion and this is the third consecutive tournament win. [Team is in full form :)]
- Vijay Hazare Trophy was started in 2002-03.