Current Affairs 17th March 2016

Important Points : 

• Who has been nominated for Chief Justice of US Supreme Court by Obama - Merrick Garland
• Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2016 passed by - Rajya Sabha 
• 30 Most Influential People on the Internet list released by - TIME magazine 
• Who has won 2016 Abel Prize - British mathematician Sir Andrew Wiles
• Which country has became second biggest investor in London - India 
• Who has been appointed as Goodwill Ambassador by UNDP - Michelle Yeoh 
• Who has been appointed as Goodwill Ambassador by UN Population Fund - Ashley Judd
• UNSDN released 2016 World Happiness Report
• Who has been appointed Governor of Bangladesh Bank - Fazle Kabir 

Details : 

Who has been nominated for Chief Justice of US Supreme Court by Obama - Merrick Garland

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 16th March 2016, court judge Merrick Garland was nominated by President Barack Obama to be the next US Supreme Court Justice. Garland will be 113th Supreme Court justice of the US.

He will replace Justice Antonin Scalia who passed away this year.

Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2016 passed by - Rajya Sabha 

On 16th March 2016, the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2016 to exclude Sehajdharis from voting in Sikh body polls was passed by Rajya Sabha. The Bill forsee to change certain provisions of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925 retrospectively with effect from October 2003.        

On 10th March 2016, Union Cabinet gave its approval for amending the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925.

Characterstics of the Amendment Bill

The bill proposed to discard the exception given to Sehajdhari Sikhs in the year 1944 to vote in the elections for selecting members of the board and the committees constituted under the Act.

30 Most Influential People on the Internet list released by - TIME magazine 

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 16th March 2016, TIME magazine released its second annual 30 Most Influential People on the Internet list. by the Artist and entrepreneur Kanye West topped the list.

With more than 18 million Twitter followers and over 32 million Facebook likes, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is at 15th position in the list. 

The two criteria on which the editors from TIME compiled the list based are : global impact through social media and overall ability to drive news.

Time's 30 Most Influential People on the Internet list:

• Kanye West
• Joy Cho
• James Corden
• Laci Green
• Josh Holz and Daniel Lara
• DJ Khaled
• Johnetta Elzie and DeRay Mckesson
• J.K. Rowling
• Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg (a.k.a. PewDiePie)
• Donald Trump
• Lele Pons
• Cristiano Ronaldo
• Caitlyn Jenner
• Essena O’Neill
• Narendra Modi
• Elise Andrew
• Ken M
• Lilly Singh (a.k.a. Superwoman)
• Matt Drudge
• Angie Nwandu
• Andrew Bachelor (a.k.a. King Bach)
• Kayla Itsines
• Peter Bouckaert
• Kim Kardashian West
• Josh Ostrovsky (a.k.a. The Fat Jew)
• Drake
• Tess Holliday
• Helen Van Winkle (a.k.a. Baddiewinkle)

Who has won 2016 Abel Prize - British mathematician Sir Andrew Wiles

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 15th March 2016, the 2016 Abel Prize by the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters was won by British mathematician Sir Andrew Wiles in Oslo for solving a centuries-old hypothesis, Fermat's Last Theorem.

In May 2016, the award will be presented to him by Crown Prince Haakon for an achievement that the academy described as an epochal moment for mathematics.

About Sir Andrew Wiles

• He is a Royal Society Research Professor at the University of Oxford, specialising in number theory.
• He is most notable for proving Fermat's Last Theorem.

About Fermat's Last Theorem

• In the year 1637, Pierre de Fermat first conjectured this theorem.
• According to this theorem, no three positive integers a, b, and c satisfy the equation an + bn = cn for any integer value of n greater than two. The cases n = 1 and n = 2 are known to have infinitely many solutions since ancient times.

About Abel Prize

• Established in the year 2001, Government of Norway presents this award annually to one or more outstanding mathematicians.
• It is named after Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel.
• It is regarded as the mathematician's Nobel Prize.

Which country has became second biggest investor in London - India 

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 15th March 2016, the official promotional company for London, named London & Partners announced that India has emerged as the second biggest investor in London after the US.

The company also states that there has been a 117 % increase in Indian companies across all business sectors investing in London since 2005. Besides, there has been a 133 % increase in tech companies investing in the city, which accounts for 46 % of all projects.

Customer support company Kayako, Software testing service Cigniti Technologies and many others invested majorly in technology sector.

Who has been appointed as Goodwill Ambassador by UNDP - Michelle Yeoh 

Among the important appointments, On 15th March 2016, award-winning action heroine Michelle Yeoh was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

She joined the current roster of UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors that include Japanese actress Misako Konno, soccer legends Didier Drogba, Zinedine Zidane, US actress Connie Britton, Iker Casillas, Spanish actor Antonio Banderas, Marta Vieira da Silva and Ronaldo.

Her responsibility will be to mobilize support for the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 that was approved by the United Nations General Assembly.

UNGA adopted Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Who has been appointed as Goodwill Ambassador by UN Population Fund - Ashley Judd

Among the important appointments, On 15th March 2016, The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) appointed Ashley Judd as its Goodwill Ambassador. 

She will support the agency’s efforts to stop women dying giving life and to empower women to choose when and how often to become pregnant.

Apart from this, she will also create awareness about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Agenda.

UNSDN released 2016 World Happiness Report

Among the important International Current Affairs, On 17th March 2016, World Happiness Report (WHR) 2016  was released by the United Nations Social Development Network (UNSDN). 

Denmark topped the list as the happiest place in the world, whereas Burundi was ranked at the bottom as the least happy nation.

Rankings of world’s most populous nations

• India – 118
• Japan - 53
• The United States – 13
• Pakistan – 92
• Indonesia – 79
• Brazil – 17
• China - 83
• Nigeria – 103
• Bangladesh – 110
• Russia – 56
• Mexico – 21

How the Happiness Index is prepared?

It is based on individual responses to a global poll conducted by Gallup. The poll included a question, known as the Cantril Ladder. The question was “Please imagine a ladder, with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?”

The World Happiness Report is based on six variables and they are

• Social support (as measured by having someone to count on in times of trouble)
• Trust (as measured by perceived absence of corruption in government and business)
• Gross domestic product per capita (the rawest measure of a nation’s wealth)
• Healthy years of life expectancy
• Generosity (as measured by donations)
• Perceived freedom to make life choices

Who has been appointed Governor of Bangladesh Bank - Fazle Kabir 

Among the important appointments, On 15th March 2016, Fazle Kabir was appointed as the 11th Governor of the Bangladesh Bank, the central bank of Bangladesh.

He has replaced Atiur Rahman, who had resigned after taking moral responsibility over electronic theft of 101 million US dollars from the central bank's account with the New York Federal Reserve Bank.

About Fazle Kabir

• Prior to his appointment in the Bangladesh Bank, he had as the chairman of state-owned Sonali Bank.
• He has also served as a Director of state-owned Janata Bank.
• In the year 2012, he was appointed as a senior secretary to the Ministry of Finance.