Current Affairs 18 March 2024

Ruby Thakur
March 18, 2024
228

In Current Affairs for 18 March 2024, we will see the latest national and international current affairs news. These important current affairs will be beneficial for your upcoming NDA, CDS, CDS OTA, AFCAT, TA, Agniveer Army, Agniveer Navy, Agniveer Air Force, Women Military Police, INET, MNS, ACC exams, SCO, PCSL, CAPF, and SSB interviews, and direct entries for Army, Navy, and Air Force like SSC Tech, TGC, JAG, NCC, TES, 10+2 Cadet. Download a PDF file about current events at the end of this article. Let us now see the Current Affairs.

Current Affairs 18 March 2024

PV Narasimha Rao Memorial Award

Ratan Tata, former chairman of Tata Sons, has been bestowed with the prestigious PV Narasimha Rao Memorial Award.
He received the award for his outstanding philanthropic contributions. Ratan Tata has been recognized for his remarkable and relentless efforts in the field of philanthropy.

His contributions have positively impacted numerous communities across the country.
The PV Narasimha Rao Memorial Award is named after the former Prime Minister of India.
It is an award of recognition for individuals who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to social welfare and humanitarian causes.
Ratan Tata has donated more than half of his income to charity, both at an individual level and through Tata Trusts.
His philanthropic initiatives have spanned a wide range of areas, including healthcare, education, rural development, and environmental sustainability. Tata’s philanthropic endeavors have earned him widespread admiration and respect both nationally and internationally.

Human Development Index

India’s position in the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI) for 2022 improved slightly, ranking 134 out of 193 countries with an HDI value of 0.644.
This signifies progress in various dimensions of human development, albeit with a continued need to focus on women-led development, as highlighted by the UNDP.

Between 1990 and 2022, India experienced a significant increase in its HDI value by 48.4%, from 0.434 to 0.644, placing it in the medium human development category.
The country’s HDI improvement reflects advancements in life expectancy, education, and Gross National Income (GNI) per capita. India has shown progress in reducing gender inequality, ranking 108 out of 166 countries in the Gender Inequality Index (GII) 2022.
Despite improvements, there remains a significant gender gap in the labor force participation rate, with a difference of 47.8 percentage points between women and men. Comparatively, India’s neighbors vary in their human development achievements.
Sri Lanka and China are ranked higher, categorized under the High Human Development category. Nepal and Pakistan have been ranked even lower in the HDI index.

Illegal Trade in Shark Body Parts

Tamil Nadu dominates the illegal trade in shark body parts, comprising nearly 65% of seizures between January 2010 and December 2022, as per a recent analysis by TRAFFIC and WWF-India.
This alarming trend poses a significant threat to marine biodiversity, with Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, and Maharashtra also contributing to this illicit trade.
TRAFFIC and WWF-India conducted a comprehensive study titled ‘Netted in illegal wildlife trade: Sharks of India’.

The confiscated shark products were intended for destinations such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, and mainland China.
The global demand for shark fins, primarily for shark-fin soup, remains a major driver of illegal shark fisheries.
Sharks play a crucial role in marine ecosystems as apex predators, regulating various marine species’ populations.

Overfishing, combined with sharks’ low biological productivity, elevates their risk of extinction. Despite 160 reported shark species in India, only 26 are granted the highest protection status under wildlife protection laws.
The illegal shark trade poses a grave conservation threat, exacerbated by misdeclaration of species on permits. Inadequate monitoring mechanisms hinder the differentiation between legal and illegal shark trade.
Identifying shark fins accurately remains a challenge due to the multitude of potential shark species in trade.

TRAFFIC has developed 3D-printed replica fins to aid law enforcement agencies in identifying dried and unprocessed fins.
A new 3D Shark Fin Identification Guidebook has been published, focusing on 11 commercially traded shark and ray species.
WWF-India and TRAFFIC collaborate closely to distribute resources and knowledge to enforcement agencies across India’s coastal regions, airports, and seaports.

Government To Conduct FLNAT

The Government will conduct the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Test (FLNAT) as part of Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram across 23 States.
The Union Education Ministry said, approximately 37 lakh learners will appear for this important nationwide assessment.

The FLNAT will be held in all districts of each participating State and UT. The assessment comprises three subjects – Reading, Writing, and Numeracy – each carrying 50 marks, totalling 150 marks.
The Ministry said, the test will be conducted in the regional language of the learners, in line with National Education Policy 2020’s focus on promoting multilingualism.

This time Chandigarh, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, and Goa are aiming to declare 100 percent literacy through FLNAT.
The test is crucial in assessing the impact of teaching-learning sessions conducted as part of the ULLAS – Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram.
Qualifying learners will receive a certificate issued by the National Institute of Open Schooling, recognising their achievement in acquiring foundational literacy and numeracy skills.

NASA To Carry ‘Message In Bottle’

NASA will carry ‘message in a bottle’ to Europa, one of Jupiter’s moon in October this year. The mission dubbed as Europa Clipper mission will explore signs of life as Scientists chose predicts a salty lake under its icy crust.
The Europa Clipper spacecraft will carry a triangular metal plate with an engraving of US Poet Laureate Ada Limón’s handwritten “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa,” along with a silicon microchip stenciled with more than 2.6 million names submitted by the public.

But that is not all, it has an Indian connection as well. The other, outward-facing side of metal plate will sport etchings of 103 waveforms, a visual representation of the sound wave produced by saying the word “water” in 103 different languages – including Hindi.
Last year, the US space agency had conducted a “Message in a Bottle” campaign, which invited the public to send their names with the spacecraft.

National PwD Icon

Election Commission has announced Para Archer and Arjuna Awardee, Sheetal Devi as its National PwD Icon.
Her name was announced at an Exhibition Cricket Match between the Indian Deaf Cricket Association Team and the Delhi and District Cricket Association team held on Saturday in Delhi.

The match was organised by the Election Commission in association with the Board of Control for Cricket in India to foster voter education and inclusivity.
The event was graced by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu.
On the occasion, the Commission launched a dedicated Voter’s Guide for PwDs and Senior Citizen Electors.
The comprehensive booklet outlines essential provisions available to PwDs and senior citizens, including infrastructural, informative, and procedural details at polling stations.

Gulveer Singh

Indian Athlete Gulveer Singh shattered a 16-year-old national record by over 20 seconds by clocking 27.41.81 in The Ten event at San Juan Capistrano in California.
The 25-year-old finished second in the men’s 10000m race on Saturday. However, the Asian Games Bronze medallist failed to qualify for Paris Olympic Games as he missed the qualification time of 27:00.00 by over 41 seconds.

Ahmednagar as ‘Ahilyanagar’

The Maharashtra Cabinet has announced its decision to rename Ahmednagar district as ‘Ahilya Nagar’. The renaming is in honor of the 18th-century Maratha queen Ahilyabai Holkar.
The proposal to rename Ahmednagar was first announced by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in May 2023, on the 298th birth anniversary of Ahilyabai Holkar.

This followed the renaming of Maharashtra’s Aurangabad and Osmanabad as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv, respectively.
The Cabinet has decided to rename Mumbai Central Station as Nana Jagannath Shankarsheth Station.
A proposal for the same has been sent to the railways ministry.
The Cabinet has approved the purchase of 2.5 acres of land in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, to construct a Maharashtra Bhavan there.

This proposal was already made in the state budget during the previous session of the Maharashtra Assembly.
The Maharashtra Cabinet has also approved the construction of a sea link between Uttan (Bhayander) and Virar (Palghar).

Current Affairs 18 March Question

PV Narasimha Rao Memorial Award Is Given To
A. Mukesh Ambani
B. Ratan Tata
C. Gautam Adani
D. Piyush Bansal
ANSWER: B
Who Is Named As National PwD Icon
A. Varun Bhati
B. Deepa Malik
C. Sheetal Devi
D. Girish Sharma
ANSWER: C
Ahmednagar Is Named As
A. Ahilyanagar
B. Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar
C. Dharashiv Nagar
D. Nana Jagannath Nagar
ANSWER: A
Theme Of ‘International Day Of Action For Rivers 2024
A. The Importance of Rivers for Biodiversity
B. Rights to Rivers
C. Water for All
D. Accelerating Change
ANSWER: C
Where 12th Edition Of India Italy Military Cooperation Group Meeting Held
A. New Delhi
B. Chennai
C. Chandigarh
D. Bengaluru
ANSWER: A
PB-SHABD Is Recently Launched By Which Ministry
A. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
B. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
C. Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
D. Ministry of Communications
ANSWER: A
PM Of India Inaugurated The First Oil Palm Processing Mill Under Mission Palm
Oil In Which State
A. Arunachal Pradesh
B. Assam
C. Karnataka
D. Maharashtra
ANSWER: A
Where Was The India’s First Indoor Athletics And Aquatic Centre Inaugurated
A. Bhubaneswar
B. Chennai
C. New Delhi
D. Jaipur
ANSWER: A
India’s Numaligarh Refinery Limited Inaugurated Its First International Office
In Which Country
A. Bangladesh
B. Myanmar
C. Bhutan
D. Nepal
ANSWER: A
Rank Of India In The Global Human Development Index
A. 133
B. 134
C. 145
D. 140
ANSWER: B
Which Ministry Signed An Mou With ISRO On Urban Framed Survey Using
Bhuvan
A. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
B. Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
C. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
D. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
ANSWER: C
Which State Government Recently Issued A Notification Declaring ‘Orans
(Sacred Groves)’ As Deemed Forests
A. Bihar
B. Gujarat
C. Rajasthan
D. Uttar Pradesh
ANSWER:C
Who Became The 14th President Of Pakistan
A. Amir Muqam
B. Musadik Malik
C. Mahmood Khan Achakzai
D. Asif Ali Zardari
ANSWER: D
What is Devin AI, Recently Seen In The News
A. India’s first government owned OTT platform
B. Species of Fish known for its high omega 3 content
C. World’s first fully autonomous AI software engineer
D. Anti drone system
ANSWER: C
Who Has Been Appointed As The Chairman Of The Central Board Of
Secondary Education
A. Rahul Singh
B. Anurag Tripathi
C. Navin Maini
D. Vijay Singh
ANSWER: A
Which State Government Has Decided To Distribute Free Seeds Of Millets And
Coarse Grains To Farmers
A. Rajasthan
B. Punjab
C. Haryana
D. Gujarat
ANSWER: A
Recently, Which Team Won The 42nd Ranji Trophy Title
A. Mumbai
B. Vidarbha
C. Tamil Nadu
D. Madhya Pradesh
ANSWER: A
Which Indian Institute Partnered With Israel Aerospace Industries For Applied
Research
A. IIT Bombay
B. IIT Delhi
C. IIT Madras
D. IIT Kanpur
ANSWER: B
Which Indian State Plans To Establish A Tourist Facility In Jammu And Kashmir
A. Maharashtra
B. Gujarat
C. Karnataka
D. Punjab
ANSWER: A
Surdas Was A Disciple Of Which Among The Following
A. Ramanujacharya
B. Ramananda
C. Vallabhacharya
D. Gyaneshwar
ANSWER: C