1. The tiny island of Niue has been declared as the World's First 'Dark Sky Nation'

• The small Pacific island republic Niue, with a population of just over 1,600, is the first country to receive the designation by the International Dark-Sky Association.
• It has become the world's first whole country recognised as a 'Dark Sky Place'.
• International Dark Sky Places are spaces recognised for responsible lighting policies that keep the night-time environment naturally dark.
• There are over 130 of these accredited dark sites across the world, including parks, reserves, and local communities, but never before has the honour been bestowed on an entire country like this.

2. Govt declares face masks and hand sanitizers as essential commodities  to boost supply

• The government has declared face masks and hand sanitizers as essential commodities for the next 100 days. The move is aimed at stepping up efforts to boost supply and prevent hoarding of these items in its fight to check the spread of coronavirus disease.
• The Centre has also invoked the Disaster Management Act to ensure price regulation and availability of surgical and protective masks, hand sanitizer and gloves. The decision will empower the government and States/Union Territories to regulate the production, quality and distribution of masks and hand sanitizers for smooth sale and availability of these items.
• It also empowers to carry out operations against speculators and those involved in overpricing and black marketing.

3. India's first culinary arts museum at WGSHA enters Limca Book of Records

• Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Management (WGSHA) of Manipal Academy of Higher Education entered the Limca Book of Records for establishing 'India's First Living Culinary Arts Museum' at WGSHA. Celebrity chef Vikas Khanna is the Founder and curator of India's first living culinary arts museum at WGSHA.
• It was his idea which led to the establishment of this culinary museum.
• He also donated thousands of kitchen tools and equipment worth millions of dollars to the culinary arts museum for preserving history of India's rich tradition of culinary arts and to educate the future generations.
• There are historical as well as regular household items such as plates made by the Portuguese in India, a 100-year-old ladle used to dole out food at temples and bowls dating to the Harappan era and an old seed sprinkler.

4. Traditional “Phool Dei” festival begins in Uttarakhand  

• Uttarakhand celebrates the traditional harvest festival “Phool Dei”. Phool Dei is celebrated on the first day of Chaitra or in mid-March (according to Gregorian calendar).
• On this traditional festival young girls pluck the first flowers of the season to decorate their houses with flowers and the term ‘Dei’ refers to ceremonial pudding which is the key food in the festival that is made from jaggery, Whiteflour & curd, are offered to everyone.

5. Lava launches non-internet based digital payment solution

• Lava International Ltd launched its digital payments app, Lava Pay. The Noida-based smartphone company claims that the app is the world’s first digital payment solution that does not require internet connectivity.
• The app will be pre-installed in the brand’s upcoming feature phones. In order to send or pay money from the app, users need to enter the phone number of the receiver, the amount and a transaction ‘Pass Code.

6. CRPF signs MoU with Aditya mehta foundation to train its specially-abled troops in areas of cyber security & AI

• The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), India’s largest Central Armed Police Force, has signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Aditya Mehta Foundation (AMF),a non-profit organization which aids people with disabilities to pursue sports, to train its 189 CRPF personnel who had lost their limbs in operations in areas of cyber security, artificial intelligence (AI) and paralympic sports.
• The agreement,signed in the presence of CRPF’s Director General (DG) AP Maheshwari, will help create newer opportunities for such personnel to continue as the integral part of the force. The initiative also comes as a big boost for the CRPF personnel who had lost their limbs or undergone amputation over the past 10 years.
• During the event,The CRPF Chief Maheshwari also handed over job appointment letters to a family member of 20 CRPF personnel who had lost their lives in the line of duty or operations. Companies including Wipro, Toyota, Dream Studio, Virtusa & Garcorp provided the offer letter to the beneficiaries.

7.  Justice Bansi Lal Bhat  appointed as officiating chairperson of NCLAT for 3 months

• Justice B L Bhat as officiating chairman of NCLAT On March 14, 2020, According to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India (GoI), Justice (Retd.) Bansi Lal Bhat has been appointed as the officiating Chairperson of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) for a period of 3 months with effect from March 15, 2020 or until a regular Chairperson is appointed, whichever is earlier.
• The first Chairperson of NCLAT, Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya has retired on March 13,2020.The government has also appointed Justice (Retd.) Anant Bijay Singh as a Judicial Member of  NCLAT & Ms. Shreesha Merla and Mr. Alok Srivastava as Technical Members.
• Prior to this appointment, Justice Bansi served as a Member (Judicial) of NCLAT for 2-years. He also worked as judicial member of the Armed Forces Tribunal and as a Judge of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court (HC).
• Bansi’s appointment has been made under the Rule 10(1) of the Tribunal, Appellate Tribunal and other Authorities (Qualifications, Experience, and other Conditions of Service of Members) Rules, 2020.

8. Shardul Thakur appointed as brand ambassador of Tata Power

• Indian cricketer Shardul Thakur appointed as the brand ambassador of Tata Power, the largest power generation company in India which aims to provide uninterrupted power supply from its various plants located across India.
• This is his 1st major commercial endorsement & the campaign featuring him does have a significant presence in digital, radio & outdoors.

9. Outcomes of  DefExpo-2020 reported at the Parliament on March 16, 2020

• On March 16, 2020, the Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Shripad Naik submitted the outcomes of DefExpo-2020 at Rajya Sabha as a written reply. This year DefExpo-2020 was organized in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh under the theme Theme: Digital Transformation of Defence
• The DefExpo-2020 is aligned with Make in India scheme. Therefore, 292 Indian MSMEs participated at subsidized rates. The event acted as a platform for the Defence start ups to show case their innovations.

10.  DFS secretary Debasish Panda nominated as director on RBI central board

• The Central Government has nominated Debasish Panda as a Director on the Central Board of Reserve Bank of India. He is a Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, New Delhi.
• The nomination of Debasish Panda is effective from March 11, 2020.

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Current Affairs 14-15 March 2020

Current Affairs 13 March 2020

Current Affairs 12 March 2020