INTERNATIONAL

 

• World Water Day: 22 March

 

• World Water Day is an annual observance day on 22 March to highlight the importance of freshwater.

 

• It is also used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.

 

• The first World Water Day, designated by the United Nations, was commemorated in 1993.

 

• The theme for the year 2018 is ‘Nature for Water’.

 

• Vienna named the world’s most liveable city for the ninth year

 

• The Austrian capital Vienna has been named the world’s best city to live in for the ninth consecutive year.

 

• Mercer’s 20th annual Quality of Living survey compared 231 major metropolises, examining factors such as crime, healthcare, education, public services, recreation, housing and personal freedom.

 

• Also, Baghdad remained the worst city to live according to the same survey.

 

 

NATIONAL

 

• Cabinet approves Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission

 

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the launch of a new Centrally Sponsored Ayushman Bharat -National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) having central sector component under Ayushman Bharat Mission anchored in the MoHFW.

• The scheme has the benefit cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year.

 

• The target beneficiaries of the proposed scheme will be more than 10 crore families belonging to poor and vulnerable population based on SECC database.

 

• AB-NHPM will subsume the on-going centrally sponsored schemes –Rashtriya Swasthya BimaYojana (RSBY) and the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS).

 

• Cabinet approves closure of India Development Foundation of Overseas Indians

 

• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for closure of India Development Foundation of Overseas Indians (IDF-OI)to enhance synergies in channelizing Diaspora’s contributions to Government of India’s flagship programmes such as National Mission for clean Ganga and Swachh Bharat Mission.

 

• IDF-OI was set up by Government of India with the approval of Cabinet in 2008 as an autonomous not-for-profit Trust, to facilitate Overseas Indian philanthropy into social and development projects in India.

 

• As the Foundation received only Rs. 36.80 Lakhs between December 2008 and March 2015 as donation from overseas Indian community, a comprehensive review of IDF-OI was undertaken in 2015.

 

 

 

• India Post releases special cover on Stephen Hawking

 

• India Post has paid tribute to theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking by issuing a special cover on him.

 

• 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 jointly issued the special cover.

 

• Hawking died at the age of 76 on March 14 in his home in Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

 

·        IRCTC Introduces Billing Through Point Of Sale In Trains

 

• Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)introduced billing through Point of Sale (POS) hand-held machines in trains to check overcharging by vendors.
• This move will help not only making passengers aware of relevant information but also in improving the passenger satisfaction.
• The POS billing machines will be introduced in trains in a phased manner.
• IRCTC has already introduced POS machines in New Delhi -Karnataka Express on a pilot basis.

 

·        Hubdred and fifth Indian Science Congress- NHAI Receives Best Design Pavilion Award

 

• The NHAI(National Highways Authority of India) pavilion at 105th Indian Science Congress has been adjudged as Best Design Pavilion.
• The award was conferred by Dr. Najma Heptulla, Governor of Manipur.
• The NHAI had put up an exhibition stall to showcase its Projects and other initiatives like Electronic Toll Collection, Wayside Amenities, Incident Management, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Road Safety.

·        Government to set up 18 new missions in Africa by 2021

• The Union Cabinet  approved the opening of 18 new Indian missions in Africa with an aim to expand India’s footprints in the resource-rich continent where China has been trying to increase its presence.
• The new Indian missions will be set up over four years, from 2018 to 2021, the government said in a statement.
• It said the new Indian missions will be opened in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Swaziland and Togo.

 

• The decision was taken to enhance synergies in channelising the Indian diaspora’s contributions to India’s flagship programmes such as the National Mission for Clean Ganga and the Swachh Bharat Mission.

 

• IDF-OI was set up with the approval of the Cabinet in 2008 as an autonomous not-for-profit trust to facilitate overseas Indian philanthropy into social and development projects in India.