Current Affairs 21st March 2018

Current Affairs 21st March 2018 - Important Points

• Who has been appointed ambassador of International NGO  "Educate Girls"?- Katrina Kaif
• International Day of Happiness is celebrated on-  20th March 2018
• Over 18 locomotives  handed over to Myanmar by - India
• Cooperation agreement to share earth observation data from each other’s satellite inked between Europe and - India
• India, Hong Kong sign double taxation avoidance agreement on - 19th March 2018
• Plastic Park  to be set up in Jharkhand‘s Deoghar District by - Government
• BIRAC celebrated its 6th Foundation Day on - 20th March 2018

Current Affairs 21st March 2018 - Details

Who has been appointed ambassador of International NGO  "Educate Girls"?- Katrina Kaif 

Indian actress Katrina Kaif has been termed as the new ambassador of the Educate Girls, which is an
international award winner non-profit group. On this occasion, Founder of Educate Girls, Safeena Husain, informed that it is a time of immense honour for their organisation to have Katrina Kaif as their organisation’s brand Ambassador. With Katrina as a promoter, the Non-Government Organisation expects to unite voices and strengthen conversations on the topics of gender equity and girls's education.

Important Highlights

• It also expects to support to the national mission of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao.
• Through Katrina’s connotation with Educate Girls, Kaif efforts to bring transformed focus to gender equality and girl child education.
• Katrina Kaif informed that it’s more than a decade now that Educate Girls has been associating with the government in carrying out-of- school girls back to school.
• I am dedicated to support Educate Girls in the venture to develop an India where girls have equal chances to have permission to quality education.
• Katrina calls the Educate Girls's programme model a extremely sustainable one, as it is grounded on the ethics of community-ownership and coordination that comprises the families, leaders from village, local government and school management to cooperatively push for change.
• In corporation with the Indian government, the Non-Government Organisation has succeeded to bridge the gender gap in education around 12,000 villages, working with more than 21,000 schools in the states of Rajasthan and MP more than the past 10 years.

International Day of Happiness is celebrated on-  20th March 2018

The  UNs has observed the International Day of Happiness on 20th March as a way to distinguish the
reputation of happiness in the lives of people around the earth. The subject for International Day of Happiness 2018 is ‘Share Happiness’- concentrating on the importance of relations, kindness and serving each other. 

Key Highlights

• The World Happiness Report 2018 was also published freshly that ranks 156 nations by their happiness levels, and 117 nations by the happiness of their migrants.
• Finland was graded as the happiest nation in the list and Burundi in East-Africa is the most unhappiest location in the world. 
• India graded 133rd in the report after Pakistan at 75 th position, China at 86th position and Nepal at 101st position.

Over 18 locomotives  handed over to Myanmar by - India

Indian Railways has officially handed over 18 1350 HP Alternate Current and Direct Current diesel electric engines to Myanma Railways. It was the 1st project accomplished in present Indian Line of Credit.
Key Points

• India and Myanmar have been extendedly enjoying collaboration in Railway sector more than the past 2 decades.
• Moreover, Indian Railways is playing a crucial role in evolving pleasant relationships with the
  neighbouring nations.
• The eighteen engines were issued by RITES, a PSU of Ministry of Railways and factory-made by Diesel Locomotive Works, Varanasi, UP.
• They are loaded with micro-processor control-based programme.
• They are tremendously fuel efficient and are fitted with latest structures.
• They give maximum velocity of 100 kilometre/hour and have been designed for Myanma Railways.
• Most of these provisions were completed under Indian Line of Credit. As per accordance inked between both nations, all engines were to be given by September 2018. They have been issued 6 months in advance of the deadline.

More about RITES

• RITES export armrest of railways undertaking different projects universally.
• It is involved in supply of Railway rolling stock including engines, coaches, permanently maintenance vehicles, wagons, services of railway infrastructure, mechanical studies, coaching to railway representatives of other nations.

Cooperation agreement to share earth observation data from each other’s satellite inked between Europe and - India

India’s Department of Space and European Union have inked cooperation contract related to exchange of earth observation satellite information. The accordance focuses to fortify and inspire collaboration on earth observation and joint permissions to information from European Union’s Sentinel sequence of
satellites and from Indian earth observation satellites. The information sharing will deliver mutual
advantages, specifically in chasing UNs’ Sustainable Development Aims.
Key Points

• European Union will provide free, complete and open permission to information from Copernicus Sentinel satellites by using high-bandwidth networks from data-hub to India, under this accordance.
• Mutually, India will issue Copernicus programme and its contributing states with free, complete and free access to information from ISRO’s earth observation satellites together with historical statistics sets.
• The accordance also visualizes technical aid for formation of high-bandwidth networks with India Space Research Organisation sites, in specific via formation of mirror servers, information storing and archival services.
  More about Copernicus programme
• It is the World’s major single earth observation plan engaged by European Commission in corporation with the European Space Agency.
• It focuses at achieving worldwide, nonstop, independent, high quality, widespread Earth observation volume.

India, Hong Kong sign double taxation avoidance agreement on - 19th March 2018

India inked a double taxation avoidance agreement with Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on March 19th, 2018 to upgrade transparency in tax issues and aid curb tax elusion and avoidance.
The accordance was inked by Indian Ambassador to China Gautam Bambawale and Hong Kong Finance
Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po in Hong Kong.
Importance 

• The agreement on the evasion of double taxation and the inhibition of fiscal evasion with concern to taxes on income will initiate flow of investment, technology and workers from India to HKSAR and vice-versa.
• It will avoid double taxation and improvement interchange of data between the 2 contracting nations.
• It will also advance clarity in tax issues and will help control tax-elusion and tax-avoidance.
  Did you know?
• The accordance was inked during Indian Ambassador Gautam Bambawale’s 1st-ever visit to Hong Kong, following he accepted in-charge as the Ambassador to China in 2017.
• During the visit, Bambawale met Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and other senior delegates and discuss on India-China ties at a programme organised by the Hong Kong Centre of Asia Society.
• Hong Kong is one of the greatest substantial global financial centres and also is an important economic centre of Asia.
• The region grips the maximum Financial Development Index points and have constantly been graded as the greatest competitive and allowed economic area in the world.

Plastic Park  to be set up in Jharkhand‘s Deoghar District by - Government

The Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has sanctioned proposal of forming of Plastic Park in
Deoghar District, Jharkhand. The plan will be formed at an estimated price of Rupees 120 crores in an
area of 150 acres measurement. Moreover, it will also form Central Institute for Plastic Engineering and
Technology and Plastic Recycling plant at Deoghar.
Key Points

• The plastic park will produce variety of polymer goods consisting woven sacks, moulded-furniture, water reservoirs, plastic-bottles, pipes, mosquito-nets and many more products.
• It will have boundless potential for fascinating investment for forming environment for plastic industry and produce job options for the local population.
• The plan is probable to provide direct-jobs to around 6000 people and indirect jobs to around 30000 people.
• Jharkhand Government will provide land and building infrastructure for this project and also to
  form Central Institute for Plastic Engineering & Technology together with the park.
  Significance
• The plastic business is increasing at rapid amount and polymer utilisation in India will double-fold from present 10 million MT to 20 million MT by 2022.
• The Plastic Park, Plastic Recycling plant and CIPET at Deoghar will generate a environment that will inspire formation of Plastic Industry, thus transforming it into a future Plastic Hub.

BIRAC celebrated its 6th Foundation Day on - 20th March 2018

The Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council observed its 6th Foundation Day on 20th March 2018. The celebration of the day was subjected as ‘Sustaining Innovation – A Market Driven Pathway’. The programme was witnessed by huge number of delegates from scientific and industry segments both from within nation and abroad.
Key Points

• Since its beginning, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council has maintained ore than 650 projects, over 500 start-ups and businesspersons and 30 incubators around the nation.
• It has brought about the progress of more than 100 products and technologies and 150 Intellectual property privileges being produced.
• It has inaugurated more than 10 flagship plans that are supported by funds from Department of Biotechnology and accomplishes 7 collaboratively sponsored programmes with international associates.
• It attempts to galvanize social impression by directing research and extension services within sequence of thematic calls and other worldwide definite creativities to advance public health and beyond.
  Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council
• Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council is non-profit Public-Sector Enterprise formed by Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology to authorize developing biotech business to undertake planned research and invention. It is fundamentally industry academia boundary.
• It initiates its command through wide-range of impact creativities including providing admission to risk capital through focused subsidy, technology transference and hand-holding strategies that assist bring invention excellence to Indian biotech companies and enable them worldwide competitive.
• Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council has introduced various plans, networks and stages to bridge present gap among industry-academia research and simplify novel, high-quality and inexpensive technologies.
• It has introduced corporations with various national and international partners to cooperate and distribute its mandate.