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  • Current Affairs 19th March 2019

    Updated : 19-Mar-2019

    Current Affairs 19th March 2019 - Important Points

    • India pilots resolutions on single-use plastics, sustainable nitrogen management at - 4th session of UN Environment Assembly
    • India, Maldives ink 3 MoU on - Visa facilitation
    • IIT, IISc collaborate on - Climate Change Initiative
    • India to host FIFA U-17 Women' World Cup 2020 declared on - 15th March 2019
    • 2nd Scorpene Class Submarine INS Khanderi to be inducted by - May 2019
    • Which Russian spaccecraft Successfully reached ISS ? - Soyuz Spacecraft
    • SBI, ICICI, HDFC Bank to remain - D-SIBs

    Current Affairs 19th March 2019 - Details

    India pilots resolutions on single-use plastics, sustainable nitrogen management at - 4th session of UN Environment Assembly

    India directed resolutions on 2 important international environmental issues, single-use plastics and sustainable nitrogen management, at the 4th session of UN Environment Assembly, which was organised in Nairobi from March 11th-15th, 2019. 
    The United Nations Environment Assembly accepted both the resolutions with harmony. The theme of the organisation present year is “innovative solutions for environmental challenges and sustainable production and  consumption”. Only a small quantity of the plastics formed internationally are recycled with most of it detriments the environment and aquatic bio-diversity.
    The international nitrogen usage efficiency is low, consequential in pollution by reactive nitrogen which
    portends human health, ecosystem services and contributes to climate change and ozone layer depletion. 
    Other Details

    • In the high-level segment of United Nations Environmental Assembly, India hosted a session on ‘International Partnerships: Key to Unlocking Resource Efficiency and Inclusive Green Economies’. 
    • This programme witnessed the participation from representatives of member states, civil society groups, private sector firms including leading financial institutions. 
    • It comprised a panel discussion that had high-level diplomatic participation from Germany, Brazil, South Africa and senior administration of international financial institutions.
    • The Indian delegation also participated in the panel conversation on the ‘need for extra commitments of public finance and the ways to increase mobilization of climate finance’.

    India, Maldives ink 3 MoU on - Visa facilitation

    India and Maldives inked 3 MoU on visa facilitation for diplomatic and official passport holders, development co-operation and renewable energy following widespread talks between Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Foreign Minister of Maldives, Abdulla Shahid during the earlier visit to the tropical island nation from March 17th-18th, 2019. 
    The following are the 3 MoU:
    1. MoU on exemption from visa condition for holders of diplomatic and official passports.
    2. MoU concerning Indian grant assistance for execution of high impact community development
    projects via local bodies.
    3. MoU on association in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy.

    IIT, IISc collaborate on - Climate Change Initiative

    The Indian Institutes of Technology in Guwahati and Mandi have work in partnership with the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru to progress a “Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment for the Indian Himalayan Region Using a Mutual Framework.”
    The valuation exercise is being undertaken to contain all the 12 Indian Himalayan region states using a
    mutual framework.
    The numerous research projects undertaken by Indian Institutes of Technology Mandi goal to address the vulnerable, hazard and extreme proceedings in the Indian Himalayan Region.
    Importance
    The equivalent vulnerability assessments will be beneficial for government delegates, implementers,
    decision makers, funding groups and development experts.
    The 12 states to be enclosed under the framework are Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland,
    Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, the hilly districts of West Bengal, HP, Uttarakhand, Jand K.

    India to host FIFA U-17 Women' World Cup 2020 declared on - 15th March 2019

    Gianni Infantino, the President of International Football Federation- FIFA, on March 15th, 2019 declared that India will host the Under-17 Women’s World Cup in 2020.
    The 2020 World Cup will be the 7th edition of the Under-17 Women's tournament.  The declaration was made during the Fédération Internationale de Football Association Council meeting in Miami, United States Bidding process
    The bidding procedure for the Under-17 Women’s World Cup tournament started in 2018. India had bid for the tournament and France also voiced interest to host the tournament.
    Besides the Under-17 Women’s World Cup, India had also voiced interest in hosting the Under-20 Women’s World Cup.
    More about FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup

    • The Fédération Internationale de Football Association Under-17 Women's World Cup is an international association football tournament for women players under the age of 17.
    • It is organized by Fédération Internationale de Football Association. The tournament is organised in even-numbered years.
    • The 1st Under-17 women’s FIFA tournament was organised in 2008 and was hosted by New Zealand.

    2nd Scorpene Class Submarine INS Khanderi to be inducted by - May 2019

    INS Khanderi, the 2nd of the Six Scorpene Class Submarines, will soon be initiated into the Indian Navy by May 2019.  INS Khanderi was released at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai on January 12th, 2017 and  since then it has been undergoing trials.
    INS Khanderi

    • The INS Khanderi is a part of Project 75 of Indian Navy which includes superior stealth, which may provide imperviousness to it.
    • It is proficient of launching a crippling attack on the enemy by means of precision guided weapons.
    • It can undertake varied types of missions counting anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, mine laying, intelligence gathering and area surveillance.
    • It also conveys the ability to release attacks with torpedoes and tube-launched anti-ship missiles, while being on the surface/underwater.
      Scorpene Class Submarines
    • The Scorpene Class Submarines are fabricated by French naval defence company and are being produced by Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai. India purchased 6 submarines for USD 3 billion under Project 75 in 2005.
    • The project was started due to the declining number of submarines in the Indian Navy. The Navy mandates replacement for older Sindhughosh and Shishumar class submarines.
    • The Scorpene class submarines have the competence to fire Exocet anti-ship missiles. INS Kalvari was the 1st of the Scorpene-class submarines inducted by PM Narendra Modi on December 14th, 2017. 
    • The 3rd Scorpene-class submarine, INS Karanj was released by the Indian Navy on January 31st, 2018 and is in the advanced stage of tests.

    Which Russian spaccecraft Successfully reached ISS ? - Soyuz Spacecraft

    Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying NASA Astronaut Nick Hague and  Christina Koch, and Russian Crew
    members cosmonaut, Alexey Ovchinin efficaciously docked International Space Station.
    Soyuz Spacecraft

    • Soyuz is a Russian Spacecraft transports people and supplies to and from the space station.
    • Soyuz Spacecraft also work as lifeboats and one Soyuz spacecraft is constantly docked to the space station, so that in case of emergency the cosmonaut can return back to earth via the spacecraft.
    • Subsequently, the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011, the Soyuz spacecraft is the sole means of
      carriage for cosmonaut members going to/fro from the orbiting laboratory.
      International Space Station
    • The ISS is a habitable artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The International Space Station preserves an orbit with an altitude of between 330-435 kilometres by means of re-boost manoeuvres and circles the Earth in approximately 92 minutes and completes 15.5 orbits/day.
    • The International Space Station program is a joint project between 5 participating space agencies
      including NASA- United States, Roscosmos- Russia, JAXA- Japan, ESA- Europe, and CSA- Canada.
    • The International Space Station works as a microgravity and  space environment research laboratory in which staff members conduct experiments in biology, human biology, Physics, Astronomy, meteorology, and  other fields.

    SBI, ICICI, HDFC Bank to remain - D-SIBs

    The Reserve Bank of India has declared that State Bank of India, ICICI and HDFC Banks would remain as Domestic Systemically Important Banks for 2018.
    D-SIBs

    • The recognition as Domestic Systemically Important Banks suggests that banks are too big to fail.
    • This forms an expectation of government support for them in times of financial crises.
    • Consequently, banks enjoy various profits in funding markets. Inclusion in the list gives extra comfort to investors that these banks won’t be permitted to fail and therefore, loan costs of these banks from the markets are cheaper than their peers.
    • Inclusion in Domestic Systemically Important Banks also suggests that the failure of any of these banks would have a dropping effect on the Indian financial system.
    • These Domestic Systemically Important Banks are needed to maintain an extra common equity need based on the bucket in which a Domestic Systemically Important Bank is placed.
      State Bank of India in the 3rd bucket was setting aside 0.45% of its assets as an extra capital need and have to set aside 0.60% of its risk-weighted assets.
    • ICICI Bank and  HDFC which are in the 5th bucket which needed to set aside 0.20% Bank’s capital need  from 0.15% now.