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INDIAN AFFAIRS
Third G-20 framework working group meet held at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
i. Third meeting of G20 Framework Working Group (FWG) is hosted by India from March 28 to March 29, 2017 at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh under the G-20 German Presidency. The meeting is co-hosted by Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India and Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
ii. The meeting was inaugurated by Union secretary of Economic Affairs Mr. Shaktikanta Das and he was the chief guest.
Parliament passes Mental Healthcare Bill 2016
i. ‘Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016’ has secured parliamentary approval as Lok Sabha on 27th March 2017, passed the Bill through a voice vote. Earlier in August 2016, Rajya Sabha had passed the Bill with 134 official amendments.
ii. Inputs from subject experts and political entities were sought at the time of formulating the Bill.
iii. The Bill supersedes section 309 of the Indian Penal Code and decriminalises suicide attempt by mentally ill people.
Rs 1437.84 Cr Deficit Budget For FY-18 Presented by Nagaland CM
i. Nagaland Chief Minister Shurhozelie Liezietsu presented deficit in budget of Rs 1437.84 Crore for the Fiscal Year 2017-18 (FY-18) on March 28, 2017.
ii. He added that the total income (gross receipt) for the State government will be Rs 16657.26 crore and expenditure at Rs 16365.17 crore.
iii. Out of this Rs. 16365.17crore expenditure, Rs. 12644 crore (80%) is for non-developmental expenditure (Non plan expenditure) whiles the rest Rs. 3720 crore (20%) is for development expenditure (Plan expenditure)
Govt. of Jharkhand Signs Tripartite MoU with AAI, DRDO for Development of Deoghar Airport in Jharkhand
The Government of Jharkhand along with Airports Authority of India (AAI) & Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has signed a tripartite MoU on March 28, 2017 in Ranchi for development of Deoghar Airport located at Deoghar district of Jharkhand.
Key Features of the MoU
i. Under the MoU, both the government organization would help the state to complete the international airport project in Deoghar worth Rs 300 crore within a time period of two years.
ii. AAI and Jharkhand govt would contribute Rs. 50 each while DRDO would provide Rs. 200 crore for the project.
iii. Government has also acquired 600.34 acres of land to be handed over to AAI in addition to the existing 53.41 acres land of non-functional Deoghar Airport.
iv. The project will also develop the Airport for operations of A-320 and C-130 Aircraft.
v. Post development, AAI will handle all earnings for 10 years or till it reaches break-even point, whichever is earlier. Besides, the profit or loss equity will be shared jointly by the state and AAI.
vi. The state government has also decided to provide free electricity for 5 years to AAI as well as not to charge any civic taxes. Landing charges for DRDO flights and parking bays will also be free.
List of Airports in Jharkhand
Chakulia Airport (Domestic), Deoghar Airport (International), Birsa Munda Airport (International), Dhanbad Airport (Domestic), Bokaro Airport (Private) and Sonari Airport (Domestic)
Kerala, Tripura & Arunachal Pradesh Takes States’ List Under UDAY to 26
i. The power ministry has informed that a total of 26 states have now become the part of the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) with the recent entry of Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura for the revival of debt stressed Discoms.
ii. While the state government of Kerala and Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd along with the government of India signed the UDAY scheme on March 2, 2017, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura joined the scheme on March 29, 2017.
iii. With the participation of the three states in the UDAY, they would have an overall net benefit of approximately Kerala-Rs 4,178 crore, Arunachal Pradesh-Rs 309 crore and Tripura-Rs 810 crore due to cheaper funds, reduction in AT&C and transmission losses, interventions in energy efficiency during the turnaround period.
Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY)
♦ UDAY scheme was announced by Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy, Piyush Goyal, in November 2015.
♦ It is the financial turnaround and revival package for electricity distribution companies of India (DISCOMs) initiated by the Government of India to find a permanent solution to the financial losses experienced by the power distribution companies.
♦ Under the scheme, the states that owns discoms are required to take over 75 percent of debt in discom and pay back lenders by selling bonds while for remaining 25 percent loans, discoms are required to raise funds through issuance of securities.
Uttarakhand High Court Orders State Government to Ban Mining for 4 Months
i. The state government of Uttarakhand has been strictly directed by the Uttarakhand High Court on March 28, 2017 to stop all the mining activities in the state with immediate effect for a period of four months.
ii. The court’s order by a bench of Justices Rajiv Sharma and Sudhanshu Dhulia was based on an incident where a forest guard was allegedly killed by illegal miners near Corbett National Park when he had tried to stop them and a tiger was crushed by an earthmovers used by miners in the region.
iii. The High Court has ordered the state government under Trivendra Singh Rawat to constitute a high-powered committee to look into the matters of mining activities and find out whether mining activity should be permitted in the state or not.
iv. The high-powered panel needs to submit an interim report within four months until which there shall be a complete ban on mining activities, including in forest areas, rivers, rivulets and streams.
v. The committee is also required to also prepare a 50-year blueprint regarding environment limits related to mining operations.
vi .Besides, the state government has been directed not to grant any fresh licence/mining lease/reconnaissance or prospecting licence, in any form till the final report is furnished by the high powered committee to this court.
vii. In addition to illegal mining, the directions are also based on claims that the mining were being carried out within the radius of 20-metre from the residential houses and schools causing threats in the region.
High Powered Committee
The High Powered Committee constituted comprises:
1.The Secretary, Environment, Forest and Climate Change or his nominee not below the rank of Additional Secretary as the Chairman.
2.Director General, Forest Research Institute, Dehradun (Member)
3.Director, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun (Member).
4.Director General, Geological Survey of India, Dehradun (Member).
Supreme Court Instruct High Courts to Install CCTV in Courtroom & Bans Sale/Registration of Non-BS-IV Compliant Vehicles
i. In a first of its kind move, the Supreme Court has directed the High Courts of all the states and union territories to install close circuit (CCTV) cameras without audio recording to increase transparency in court proceedings.
ii. A bench of Justices Adarsh K Goel and Uday U Lalit, on March 28, 2017, directed the lower courts to ensure that district and session courts in a minimum of two districts in every state and union territories have CCTV cameras installed inside courtrooms as well as in the court precincts within a period of three months.
iii. However, the apex court also cleared that the footage of the camera will not be made available to lawyers, litigants and the general public under the RTI (Right To Information Act) without permission of the concerned high court.
iv. In the initial phase, 24 high courts across the country has been mandated to follow the order.
v. The bench also ordered that after the installation, the Registrar Generals of the respective high courts will have to submit the report of installation to the Secretary General of the Supreme Court within one month.
SC Bans Non-Compliant BS-IV Emission Vehicles from April 1
i. The Supreme Court of India has also ruled out on March 29, 2017 that no vehicles which are Bharat Stage-IV emission non-compliant will be registered or sold in the country after April 1, 2017.
ii. The order passed by the bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta has prohibited all the vehicle-registering authorities from registering BS-IV non-compliant vehicles from April 1.
iii .However, the court has permitted the registration to such vehicles if it furnishes the proof of being purchased before April 1.
iv. The decision was taken keeping in mind the health of the people
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Montenegro Set to Become NATO’s 29th Member after US Senate Vote
i. Montenegro, a tiny Balkan country, is set to become the 29th member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) soon after US senate ratifies its pending membership.
ii. For Montenegro to become NATO’s member, all 28 NATO members must ratify Montenegro’s entry and only Washington is left among them to do so.
iii. However, on March 28, 2017, US Senators voted 97-2 favoring Montenegro’s entry into the alliance.
iv .For the approval of the treaty, a two-third vote is required in the Senate, after which the US president Donald Trump can sign it.
v. Spain and the Netherlands parliaments are still to approve its entry following which Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic led Montenegro will become the 29th member of the alliance.
vi. Rex Tillerson, US secretary of state sees Montenegro as a full member to be strongly in the interests of the United States and foster stability and democratic reform as well as send a strong message of transatlantic unity.
Montenegro
♦ Capital: Podgorica
♦ Continent: Europe
♦ Currencies: Euro, Euro sign
BANKING & FINANCE
Use of Bitcoin, other virtual currencies not authorised by RBI, says Govt.
i. In backdrop of demontisation, a question was raised in Rajya Sabha asking the Govt. to clear its stand on status of virtual currencies including Bitcoin in India. Written reply to this question was provided by Arjun Ram Meghwal – Minister of State for Finance.
ii. Reply mentioned that Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cautioned about potential legal, financial and security risk arising on account of holding, investing or trading in virtual currencies including Bitcoin.
iii. As on 30th March 2017, approximate value of 1 Bitcoin = INR 67300/-
Tata AIA Launches m-Insurance Jointly with Tata Telecom
i. Tata AIA Life Insurance have partnered with Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) to launch m-Insurance for the prepaid customers of the Telecom Company.
ii. Beginning with, the pilot launch has been made in Andhra Pradesh and Telengana and eventually would cover other states.
iii .The m-Insurance is a term life plan with two options for the sum assured- Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 1 Lakh.
iv. Additionally, the plan will apply only to selected mobile recharge coupon (Special Tariff Voucher-STV) of Tata DoCoMo.
v. The initiative is in line with the mission of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), which is not just regulation but development too.
vi. It will help to cover large section of the society under insurance without much cost of distribution and will also be able to include the economically weaker section of the society who otherwise are not able to avail the insurance benefits.
Process to Avail the Benefit
i. Any citizen of India can between the age of 18-80 years, simply needs to visit any Tata DoCoMo’s retail outlet and purchase the respective STV on which the plan applies.
ii. No additional document is needed for the plan at the time of purchasing the STV nor is any medical test required.
iii. After the recharge of selected STV, customer is informed of the policy and cover details by an SMS, which is immediately followed by another text message asking for nominee details.
Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL)
Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) is a broadband and telecommunications service provider in India that operates under the name Tata DoCoMo. It is a subsidiary of the Tata Group.
♦ Interim Chairman: Ratan Tata
♦ MD & CEO: Srinath Narasimhan
♦ Headquarter: Mumbai, Maharashtra
♦ Founded: 1996
‘Unnati’ credit card launched by SBI
India’s largest Public Sector Lender State Bank of India has launched a unique credit card ‘SBI Card Unnati’ on March 28, 2017. This new brand credit card targets at all SBI customers, including Jan Dhan account-holders across the country.
♦ The SBI Unnati card can be used in over 24 million outlets across the globe, including 
325000 outlets in India.
♦ The card can also be used to make payments at any outlet that accepts Visa and MasterCard.
Criteria and Regulations
i. SBI Card Unnati will be issued to the customers with a minimum balance of 25000.
ii. There is no need for any past history in credit card withdrawal or underwriting.
iii. This card is provided on issue of valid KYC (Know Your Customer) documents and the application form.
iv. The annual fee of Rs.499 is waived off for the first 4 years.(i.e., no charges are to be paid)
Benefits
♦ On every Rs. 100 spent through this credit card customers will get one reward point. Cash Advance, Balance Transfer, En-cash, Flexi pay and Fuel transactions are excluded from Reward Points Program.
♦ One will also get a 2.5 per cent fuel surcharge waiver for each transaction between Rs. 500 and Rs. 3,000. The maximum surcharge waiver is Rs. 100 per statement cycle per credit card account.
BUSINESS
India become net exporter of power for the first time
i. As per data revealed by Central Electricity Authority of India (CEAI), India has become a ‘Net Exporter’ of electricity for the first time in history.
ii. This remarkable feat was accomplished by exporting 5,798 Million Units to Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar against import of around 5,585 Million units from Bhutan for the period from April 2016-February 2017.
iii. Thus the exports outweighed the imports by 213 million units. Major contributing factor in this surplus was the export to Bangladesh and Nepal which have increased 2.8 times and 2.5 times respectively in last three years.
FSSAI and Coca Cola Signs Agreement to Train Street Food Vendors
i. Indian autonomous body established under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) signed an agreement with carbonated soft drink maker from USA, Coca-Cola to train 50,000 street food vendors under FSSAI’s project named ‘Clean Street Food’
ii. The Memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Pawan Agarwal, CEO, FSSAI and Venkatesh Kini, president, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia. This project is initiated as a contribution for Skill India campaign.
iii. The project is expected to be carried out for the next 3 years.
Responsibilities
♦ Coca-Cola India will be responsible for the program execution through its network of trainers and available infrastructure.FSSAI will ensure the relevance of the training content and will oversee the overall delivery.
Training program
♦ The training takes place by teaching the basic principles of food safety and hygiene such as how to prepare safe food, ensure hygiene and in waste management to the owners and employers at small food service outlets and street food vendors, mostly in the unorganized sector.
Roll-outs
♦ Program will be rolled out in phased manner with the first leg to be initiated by April, 2017 in Ludhiana, Punjab
♦ The combo plans to expand to 14 other locations including 9 states through bottling plant network of Coca-Cola India over the next three years.
♦ The states to be covered under this project are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi-NCR.
Centre Imposes 10% Import Duty on Wheat & Turdal
i. The Central Government has imposed 10 percent import duty on wheat and Turdal (Arhar) with immediate effect from March 28, 2017.
ii. The announcement was made by Minister of State for Finance, Arjun Ram Meghwal in the Lok Sabha.
iii. Earlier, on December 8, 2016, government had reduced customs duty on wheat to 0 from 10 percent to boost domestic availability and check retail prices. Similarly, there has been zero duty on turdal.
iv .Low prices and estimates of bumper harvest in the current year led the government to re-impose the duty.
Reason for Imposing Import Duty
♦ Recently, the wholesale rate of turdal declined due to higher output. In some places farmers are not getting even the minimum support prices (MSP).
♦ Therefore, government has imposed the duty that will help to curb fall in the wholesale prices of these two commodities and ensure support price to farmers who are expecting a good crop.
♦ It will protect the interest of the farmers and traders who are not able to realize proper value due to bumper harvest.
♦ Besides, it will also help to stop the import of cheaper wheat from countries like Australia & Ukraine.
Import Duty
♦ Import duty is the tax collected on imports by the customs authorities of a country to raise income for local government, give a market advantage to locally grown goods that are not subject to import duties and also to penalize a particular nation by charging high import duties on its products.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Dr. B. C. Roy National Awards and Hari Om Ashram Alembic Research Awards presented by the President of India
The President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented Dr. B. C. Roy National Awards and Hari Om Ashram Alembic Research Awards at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi on March 28, 2017.
Dr. B. C. Roy National Awardee
1.Geethalakshmi, Vice-Chancellor of The Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University
2.Palanivelu, chairman of Coimbatore-based GEM Hospital
3.Anand K. Khakhar, Program Director, Centre for Liver Diseases and Transplantation at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai
Hari Om Ashram Alembic Research Awardee
1.Rajasekaran, Chairman, Department of Orthopedics, Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore
2.Sundaresan, senior scientist and Head of the Genetics Department at the Aravind Medical Research Foundation
3.R Rakesh Kumar, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)
4.Neena Srivastava, Professor at Department of Physiology King George’s Medical University, Lucknow
UK Minister Priti Patel receives Pravasi Bharatiya Samman
i. On 28th March 2017, Indian-origin British Cabinet Minister, Priti Patel received Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) in London from Y K Sinha, the Indian High Commissioner to United Kingdom (UK).
ii. The PBSA was conferred on Priti Patel by Indian President Pranab Mukherjee in January 2017 during the 14th edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention held in Bengaluru.
iii. This award was given to Priti Patel for her outstanding contribution to national and international politics, her role in strengthening relation between United Kingdom (UK) and India, and for her support to Indian Diaspora in the UK.
Odia Installation Artist Sitaram Swain wins Glefiddich’s Emerging Artist 2017
i. Indian Installation Artist Sitaram Swain was presented the 2017 Glenfiddichs Emerging Artist of the Year award on March 25, 2017 at Bestcollegeart Gallery at Lado Sarai, New Delhi.
ii. He was honored for his innovative art style of portraying social issues through household 
objects and unique concepts.
iii. Odia based Swain is the sixth recipient of the prestigious award and has been awarded with a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh which includes an international allowance of Rs 1,20,000 per month and a work allowance of Rs 500,000 as well as a solo show at Art District XIII in 2018.
iv. Not only this, Swain will represent India at the Glenfiddich Artists in Residence (AiR) programme and spend three months at the Glenfiddich Distillery in Scotland with seven artists from around the world. He would be given stipend, materials allowance, travel, accommodation etc.
v. The winners were selected by a 13-member jury including leading artists, gallery owners, art critics and art collectors like Sunil V, Sunil Sethi, Peter Nagy, Jagannath Panda, Feroz Gujral, Thukral & Tagra among others.
About Emerging Artist of the Year Award
♦ The 16-year-old Artists in Residence programme in India was instituted by Delhi based Bestcollegeart.com for the first time in 2002 in collaboration with Scottish scotch-whisky maker Glenfiddich.
♦ The Emerging Artist of the Year Award is a part of the Glenfiddich’s Artists in Residence programme.
♦ The programme aims to bring winners from different countries together to spend three months at the Glenfiddich Distillery in Scotland, and take inspiration from their surroundings to showcase their talent, gain international recognition and produce new work.
♦ The first Indian artist from Best collegeart to win the residency in Scotland was Juhikadevi Bhanjdeo in 2012.
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS
STAIRS Founder appointed to the governing body of Sports Authority of India
Mr. Siddhartha Upadhyay founder and secretary general for Society for Transformation, Inclusion, and Recognition through Sports (STAIRS) have been appointed to the governing body of Sports Authority of India. This was announced by STAIRS on March 27, 2017.
♦ On the event of his appointment Shri Vijay Goel, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Youth Affairs and Sports met Siddhartha Upadhyay to discuss ideas on bringing more transparency in sports ahead of the first meeting of the new Governing body to be held on March 28, 2017.
About Siddhartha Upadhyay
i. Siddhartha Upadhyay founder and secretary general of STAIRS who is a sportsman, brand consultant, philanthropist and social entrepreneur.
ii. Upadhyay have received Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar, from the President of India. He also represents the organization in Steering Committee for FIFA U-17 World Cup and BRICS U-17 Tournament.
iii. He also took part in Mission XI Million Program and a program of Subroto Mukherjee Sports Education Society started by Shri Vijay Goel.
About Society for Transformation, Inclusion, and Recognition through Sports (STAIRS)
♦ Society for Transformation, Inclusion, and Recognition through Sports (STAIRS) is a not-for-profit, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) which aims to empower the underprivileged youth of India through sports.
♦ It was started in the year 2000 by Siddhartha Upadhyay.
♦ STAIRS is currently the largest sports organization which works for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through sports
♦ Over 300,000 children play without having to spend a penny ‘every day’ at 400 STAIRS Training Centers in over 4,000 villages across 7 states in India.
David Beasley Appointed New head of World Food Programme by UN
i. Former Governor of South Carolina, David Beasley has been appointed as the new Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) by Secretary General of United Nations, Antonio Guterres.
ii. Beasley’s appointment was conveyed to the WFP executive board by Guterres on March 28, 2017.
iii. He will replace Ertharin Cousin of America, who was serving the post since 2012
iv. Besides, he was selected from a list of 23 applications/nominations.
About David Beasley
i. Born on February 26, 1957, David Muldrow Beasley served as the 113th Governor of South Carolina from 1995-1999 as a member of the Republican Party.
ii. But he started his career as a member of the Democratic Party, but switched to the Republican Party in September 1991
World Food Programme (WFP)
WFP is a food assistance branch of the United Nations. It is also the world’s largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security.
♦ Founded: 1961
♦ Headquarters: Rome, Italy
♦ Head: Ertharin Cousin
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
De-Induction Of Indian Navy’s TU142M Aircraft and Induction of Boeing P8I Into INAS 312
i. After 29 illustrious years of service, TU142M aircraft has been de-inducted from the Indian Navy. A special farewell ceremony was organised on 29th March 2017, at INS Rajali, the premiere Naval Air Station located in Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu.
ii. TU142M is being replaced by a fleet of P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft.P-8I has been developed by Boeing Company and is popularly referred to as Boeing P-8 Poseidon by the United States Navy.
Researchers Discovers Earth-like Planetary Waves on Sun
According to a new study conducted by the scientist at the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), similar planetary waves that exist in the atmosphere high above the Earth surface may also exist on Sun.
What are Planetary Waves?
♦ Planetary waves are also known as Rossby waves. These large scale waves naturally exist in the atmosphere and oceans of planets due to the rotation of the planet.
♦ On Earth, Rossby waves occur as per the path of the jet stream and the formation of low and high pressure systems and this in turn influence local weather events.
About the Discovery
i. The scientists thus believes that since the Sun is also rotating is made largely of plasma that acts like a vast magnetized ocean, chances that existence of Rossby-like waves on Sun is possible.
ii. The discovery of magnetized Rossby waves on the Sun marks the possibility that the space weather could be predicted much in advance.
iii. The study was performed by Scott McIntosh, scientist at NCAR along with co-authors William Cramer of Yale University, Manuel Pichardo Marcano of Texas Tech University, and Robert Leamon of the University of Maryland, College Park.
iv. It was published in the journal Nature Astronomy on March 27, 2017. The research was funded by NASA and National Science Foundation (NSF), sponsor of NCAR.
New Weather Monitoring System to Indian Navy unveiled by Sunil Lanba
i. The Integrated Automatic Aviation Meteorological System (IAAMS), which is the new Weather Monitoring System to Indian Navy, is launched to use by Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba on March 29, 2017. The IAAMS was launched at Rajali Air Station in Tamil Nadu.
ii. The installation of the system at remaining 8 stations is expected to be completed by 
March 2019.
Reason for IAAMS
♦ The main reason behind the launch of IAAMS is that the project will give a major boost to aviation safety, through automation of weather monitoring process.
Features of IAAMS
i. IAAMS is equipped with the state of the art meteorological sensors which will help in automatic and continuous recording of relevant weather parameters that are vital for accurate weather forecasting.
ii. It is also equipped with a special alarm feature that alerts the duty staff during abnormal change of weather parameters that may affect safe flying operations.
iii. The system also provides an automatic dissemination of routine weather reports as per standards followed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to other air stations and Air Traffic Controller towers without human intervention.
ENVIRONMENT
Cyclone Debbie Hits Australian Coastal Resorts; Causes Huge Damage
i. The Coastal areas in northeast Australia were severely damaged by high winds and heavy rainfall on March 28, 2017, as Tropical Cyclone Debbie entered through the far north of Queensland damaging homes and leaving thousands houses without power supply.
ii. The category 4 cyclone, Debbie, moved with a wind speed of more than 220 km per hour (135 mph) damaging the tourist resorts in Whitsunday Islands along the world-famous Great Barrier Reef.
iii. As per the authorities, the cyclone was just one category below the most dangerous category of 5. However the cyclone later downgraded to category 2 and the forecasters said that it would further downgrade to category 1 by next day.
iv. The Australian Defence Force has deployed soldiers and aircraft to assist with the emergency relief and any recoveries to the injured.
v. The only known injury due to the cyclone was a man injured when a wall collapsed on him in Proserpine. Authorities have warned for further chances of severe flash flooding.
vi. Schools have been closed, transport services suspended and flights disrupted.
Tropical Cyclone Scales
1.Scale 1: Wind Speed of 74–95 mph (119–153 km/h)
2.Scale 2: Wind Speed of 96–110 mph (154–177 km/h)
3.Scale 3: Wind Speed of 111–129 mph (178–208 km/h)
4.Scale 4: Wind Speed of 130–156 mph (209–251 km/h)
5.Scale 5: Wind Speed of ≥157 mph (≥252 km/h)
SPORTS
Lionel Messi banned from next 4-competitive international matches for Insulting Referee
i. Argentinean footballer Lionel Messi received a 4-match ban after using insulting words at an assistant referee in the match against Chile held on March 24, 2017. The top scorer for his country, Messi was found guilty for violating the Act 57 of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee (FDC)
ii. Messi will miss the upcoming matches against Bolivia and Uruguay (away) as well as Venezuela and Peru (home). He will play only in the last qualifier match against Ecuador on October 10, 2017.
iii. Messi also plays for Barcelona club from the year 2004 as a Striker.
About team Argentina
♦ Argentinean football team is controlled by the Argentine Football Association (AFA) which appeared in its first international match in the year 1901 against Uruguay.
♦ Ranked No.1 in FIFA rankings it has won the world cup in the year 1978 and 1986.
♦ The Current coach for the team is Edgardo Bauza and it is capped by Lionel Messi.
Vietnam International Challenge Badminton tournament – Chirag and Satwik triumphs
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy the Indian men doubles team won the title at the Vietnam International Challenge Badminton tournament at Hanoi on March 27, 2017. This title is their 4th International Challenge title
♦ The world Ranked 59 Chirag and Satwik clinched the title against Trawut Potieng and Nanthakarn Yordphaisong from Thailand. The world ranked 89 Thailand duo lost to Indian duo 17-21, 21-9, 21-15 that took place for 50 minutes.
About Indian players
i. Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty is a right handed badminton player from Mumbai who was born on 4 July 1997.
ii. He has won 4 titles with his duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy who is a right handed badminton player from Hyderabad. The Vietnam International Challenge Badminton tournament is their first in 2017.
iii. Satwiksairaj was born on 13 August 2000.
OBITUARY
Indian-Origin South African Anti-Apartheid Activist Ahmed Kathrada Dies
Ahmed Kathrada, renowned Indian- origin South African anti-apartheid activist, who was sentenced to life imprisonment along with Nelson Mandela, died on March 28, 2017 at the Donald Gordon Hospital, Johannesburg following a brain surgery.
♦ He was 87. Kathrada was known to be a close colleague of Mandela.
About Ahmed Kathrada
i. Kathrada was born on August 21, 1929 in South Africa.
ii. He was involved in a number of anti-apartheid activities of the African National Congress (ANC) including the Rivonia Trial of 1964 for which he was sentenced to long-term imprisonment. However, he obtained four university degrees while being in prison.
iii. He was also among 2,000 people who were arrested for defying a law that discriminated against South African-Indians.
iv. After he was released in 1990, he became a member of parliament to represent the ANC.
v .He has also authored several books including No Bread for Mandela- Memoirs of Ahmed Kathrada, Prisoner No. 468/64.
vi. He was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in 2005.
