Current Affairs Questions & Answers: March 18, 2017

Notes:
The 15th edition of “All India Meet of State Legal Services Authorities” has started at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra (PBK) in New Delhi from March 18, 2017 to review the work of legal services authorities across the country. The two-day event is organized by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) in collaboration with Delhi State Legal Services (DSLS).

Notes:
The National University of Singapore (NUS) has topped the full list of the top 300 institutions in the Times Higher Education (THE)’s Asia University ranking 2017. From India, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore ranked at 27th while IIT Bombay secured 42nd rank. The most-represented nation in the rankings is Japan, with 69 institutions followed by China with 54 institutions. For the first time, India has become the 3rd most-represented nation with 33 universities in the ranking.

Notes:
Indrani Das, an Indian-American high school student, has won the prestigious 2017 Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS) competition of $250,000 for her research on treating brain injuries and diseases. It is the oldest US science competition for students and is now sponsored by the medical company “Regeneron” in association with the Society for Science and the Public (SSP).

Notes:
The first-ever Haryana Sahitya Sangam has started at Indradhanush Auditorium in Panchkula in which more than 2,000 scholars, writers and thinkers from across the country are participating. The aim of the festival is to highlight the contribution of the State in the field of literature and culture and to provide a platform for young and budding writers to get wide-ranging and genuine guidance.

Notes:
The World Bank (WB) has recently approved the $175 million loan for the national hydrology project to improve India’s ability to forecast floods and reduce vulnerability to recurring floods and droughts. The loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a 6-year grace period in which no interest payments will be due. The loan will mature in 23 years. The move will help in reducing the vulnerability of many regions to recurring floods and droughts as absence of real-time ground information for the entire country creates difficulties in issuing alerts on time.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has recently signed a Social Security Agreement (SSA) with Brazil to protect rights of detached workers. As per the agreement, detached workers of the two countries are exempted from making social security contributions in either countries if they are contributing in their respective countries. The SSA will also help to promote more investment flows between the two countries. Till date, India has signed and operationalised Social Security Agreements (SSAs) with 18 countries viz. Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and South Korea.

Notes:
The World Bank (WB) has recently sanctioned a $210 million loan for the West Bengal to strengthen the state’s Gram Panchayats (GPs), the lowest tier of rural local governments. The loan will be used to strengthen local communities’ participation in the planning, budgeting and financial eanagement of projects undertaken in rural areas, where most of the poor in the state reside. The loan has a grace period of eight years and a maturity of 15 years.

Notes:
The book “Indica: A Deep Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent” has been authored by Pranay Lal. This is a book about the Indian subcontinent, its origins and how the land masses around it were formed. It provides clues from author’s passionate and microscopic research over 20 years across the Indian subcontinent.

Notes:
The SRCC Global Millennium Summit 2017 has started in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from March 18 and will continue till March 19. It is a first-of-its-kind initiative, which is organized by the students of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), University of Delhi in association with the students of IIM Ahmedabad and IIT Kharagpur. The purpose of the summit is to provide the youth across the world with a platform to discuss, act and interact. The summit will bring together students from the world’s leading universities and notable leaders from the fields of governance, business, technology and academia. The theme of the summit is ‘Future of this Millennium’ and it will consist of panel discussions, workshops, competitions and keynote speaker sessions centered on the theme. From India, Vijay Goel (who is the Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports) is the chief guest in the summit.

Notes:
Trivendra Singh Rawat, the senior BJP leader, has been sworn-in as the 8th Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. In recent Uttarakhand Assembly elections 2017, BJP won 57 of the 70 seats. This was the biggest ever win by any party in the state so far.