ONE LINER OF THE DAY 31st March 2018.

1.Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu flagged off the International Yachting Festival in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The festival is being held from March 29 to April 1. This International Yachting Festival is the first step in developing sea tourism in Visakhapatnam. 

2.Fino Payments Bank has said it plans to deploy multi-utility Android-based mPoS (mobile point-of-sale) devices across 10,000 banking points in the country in a phased manner.The mPoS is a portable device with an in-built fingerprint scanner, card reader, camera, printer and a tablet, the payments bank said.The device will gradually replace the combination of devices currently used to facilitate fingerprint authentication and digital transactions.

3.Pakistan conducted successful test fire of indigenously developed Submarine Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM) BABUR having a range of 450 KMs. SLCM BABUR is capable of delivering various types of payloads and incorporates state of the art technologies.

4.The Supreme Court has appointed Justice Jawad Rahim, judicial member of National Green Tribunal (NGT), as the acting chairperson of the green panel.A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said that the new acting chairperson will discharge his duties until a regular appointment is made and will take part in selection process of other members of the NGT.

5.The Supreme Court has appointed Justice Jawad Rahim, judicial member of National Green Tribunal (NGT), as the acting chairperson of the green panel.A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said that the new acting chairperson will discharge his duties until a regular appointment is made and will take part in selection process of other members of the NGT.

6.Senior bureaucrat Chandra Bhushan Kumar has been appointed as Deputy Election Commissioner as part of a major bureaucratic reshuffle by the government.

7.Ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth has been appointed as a Deputy Collector by the Andhra Pradesh government.Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu handed over the appointment letter to him in Amravati in the presence of former All-England champion and celebrated badminton coach Pullela Gopichand.

8.Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been re-elected for a second term with 92 percent of the vote.Sisi, who ousted Egypt's first freely elected president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, won his first term in 2014 with 96.9 percent of the vote.

9.Lyricist and director Sreekumaran Thampi has been selected for the J.C. Daniel Award, the Kerala government’s highest honour for lifetime contribution to Malayalam cinema.Culture Minister A.K. Balan said that the award, comprising Rs 5 lakh and a citation, would be presented to Thampi at the Kerala State Film Award.

10.The Health Secretary Smt. Preeti Sudan, released the TB INDIA 2018 Report and National Drug Resistance Survey Report. She also launched the ‘NikshayAushadi Portal’ and shorter regimen for Drug Resistant TB. She further stated that the global target to end TB is 2030 but India will end it by 2025.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 30th March 2018.

1.The Cabinet approved Rs 6,600 crore for providing education loans to students belonging to economically weaker sections.The Cabinet approved the continuation of Credit Guarantee Fund for Education Loans Scheme (CGFEL) and continuation and modification of Central Sector Interest Subsidy Scheme (CSIS).

2.The Cabinet has approved an Integrated Scheme on School Education by combining Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan and Teacher Education from 1st April 2018 to 31st March 2020.The aim is to support the States in universalizing access to school education from pre-nursery to XII across India.The main emphasis of the scheme is to improve the quality of school education.

3.Union Food Processing Industries Minister Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal will inaugurate the first mega food park at Roopangarh Village in Ajmer, Rajasthan.The Food Park is being set up at a cost of Rs 113.57 crore and will benefit around 25,000 farmers in Ajmer as well as neighbouring districts.

4.The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the GSLV-F08 carrying the GSAT-6A communication satellite from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota. The GSLV rocket which lifted the communications satellite has been named as ‘Naughty Boy’ by ISRO scientists as it had a rough record, with five of its 11 flights ending in failure.

5.The apiary of Rashtrapati Bhavan has started giving the yields; on Tuesday, from the gardens of the Presidential House around 186 kilograms of honey was extracted.Rashtrapati Bhavan has abundant flora and fauna, including lush trees of mangoes, Indian blackberries (jamun), neem and drumsticks.

6.RBI has imposed a penalty of Rs 58.9 crore on ICICI Bank for failure to adhere to held-to-maturity (HTM) guidelines.This is the highest penalty imposed by RBI on a bank for a single incident.Under RBI guidelines banks have to split their holding of government securities into `held-to-maturity’ (HTM) and available for `available-for-sale’ category.

7.The US state of New Jersey has declared April as ‘Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month’ as part of its effort to promote awareness of the faith.New Jersey’s State Assembly made the declaration in a joint resolution this week, saying it was an effort to combat the “increasing and unacceptable levels of anti-Sikh bigotry”.

8.Veteran director Shekhar Kapur has been appointed chairman of the central panel of the 65th National Film Awards.The central panel comprises a chairperson and 10 other members, including five regional chairpersons who head the respective regional panels.

9.Jana Small Finance Bank has finally commenced operations after a year of receiving final license from Reserve Bank of India. The bank plans to foray into affordable housing loans and consumer durable loans while it will continue with focus on microfinance.The bank has its headquarters in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

10.The Sri Lankan government has decided to postpone International Workers’ Day events from May 1 to May 7 this year.This has been done to avoid an overlap with the Buddhist festival of Vesak.May 1 is significant internationally and commemorates the crucial gains made by working-class struggles.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 29th March 2018.

1.The CBDT has extended the deadline for the PAN-Aadhaar linking to June 30. The policy-making body of the tax department issued an order extending the deadline from the current last date of March 31.The order said the deadline for PAN-Aadhaar linking for filing I-T returns is being extended after "consideration of the matter".

2.Indu Bhushan was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Centres ambitious Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission (ABNHPM).He is the Director General of East Asia Department, Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila, Philippines.The ABNHPM has the benefit cover of Rs 5 lakh per family per year.

3.Krishnaswamy Vijay Raghavan was appointed the principal scientific adviser to the government of India. Vijay Raghavan will succeed physicist Rajagopala Chidambaram who has been in the position for more than 16 years.

4.Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has approved the construction of 3,21,567 more affordable houses for the benefit of urban poor under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) with an investment of Rs. 18,203  cr with central assistance of Rs. 4,752  cr. 

5.The government will come out with a Rs 350 commemorative coin to mark the 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh, which was celebrated in 2016.The reverse side will bear the picture of “Takht Shri Harimandir Ji Patna Sahib” in the centre.He was born on 2 December 1666 in Patna.

6.Myanmar’s Parliament has elected Win Myint as the country’s next President, a week after the resignation of his predecessor Htin Kyaw. Htin Kyaw resigned as President amid growing health concerns.

7.The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has informed that under the Scheme ‘National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP), 10% of the total allocation of funds is earmarked to be used for the supply of drinking water to Scheduled Tribe (ST) dominated habitations.Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of  55770  fully covered tribal habitations with the safe drinking water in the country followed by Odisha 52427 ,Jharkhand 53476 numbers of  habitations.

8.Ethiopia’s ruling coalition has elected Abiye Ahmed as new Prime Minister, following the resignation of Hailemariam Desalegn last month.

9.Belarus beauty Aleksandra Liashkova won Miss Supermodel Worldwide 2018 title at a grand finale in Gurugram. Ekaterina Evdokimova of Russia was declared 1st runner-up.India's Shweta Parmar was awarded Miss Congeniality.

10.Cabinet has approved Schemes of North Eastern Council (NEC) including continuation of existing Schemes. It will boost the development projects in North-East.4,500 crore rupees have been approved for the scheme for three years upto March, 2020.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 28th March 2018.

1.The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a USD 80 million loan to help modernise technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions and improve the skills ecosystem in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

2.Ministry of Communications has launched the Cool EMS Service which will come into force from 29.03.2018.Cool EMS service is one-way service from Japan to India which allows customers in India to import Japanese food items for personal use which is allowed under Indian regulations.Initially, Cool EMS Service will be available in Delhi only.

3.Ministry of Finance has approved Government guarantee of Rs. 5,000 crore in the current financial year for Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) bonds to be subscribed by Life Insurance Corporation, LIC.The guarantee fee for the aforesaid amount has also been waived by Ministry of Finance.The decision will ease the flow of borrowed funds for Ministry of Railways to undertake projects.

4.A new central sector scheme namely “Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IM-PDS)” has been approved for implementation during 2018-19 and 2019-20.The key objectives of the scheme are to integrate PDS system/portals of States/UTs with Central System/portals, introduction of National Portability, and de-duplication of ration cards/beneficiary, etc.      

5.An insect museum which is fully dedicated to insects and is claimed to be the first of its kind in the country was opened in Tamil Nadu.It would display insects preserved as specimens as also live ones depicting their different developmental stages, images, videos and models of their unique behaviour, habits and habitats.The theme of the museum is “BUGS ARE KINGS”.

6.The Export-Import Bank, Exim Bank has announced that it will provide a USD 500 million credit facility to Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to fund various development projects in western-south Africa.

7.The United Arab Emirates (UAE) celebrated the completion of the first-ever Nuclear Power Plant not only in the country but the whole Arab Gulf Region.The $20 billion Barakah Plant west of Abu Dhabi has been constructed by a consortium led by Korea Electric Power Corp in nine years.It’s one of the four nuclear reactors being constructed with South Korea’s cooperation.

8.Ministry of Power partnered with the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship to train the manpower in six states (Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh) for speedy implementation of its SAUBHAGYA scheme.SAUBHAGYA (Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojna) aims to achieve universal household electrification in all parts of the country in a time-bound manner. Around 4 crore households are expected to get electricity connections under the scheme.

9.The Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Jual Oram launched ‘e-Tribes: Tribes India’. It is an initiative for digital commerce at Tribes India Outlet in New Delhi. It included launch of e-commerce portal of TRIFED, www.tribesindia.com, and M-commerce, the android app ‘Tribes India’.

10.Government has setup National Academic Depository (NAD) which is a 24x7 online store house of academic awards digitally lodged by various academic institutions/school boards/eligibility assessment bodies.The University Grants Commission (UGC) has been designated as authorized body to operationalise NAD. 

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 27th March 2018.

1.Chhattisgarh bagged the National 'Water Digest Award' for Water Conservation-Diversion and for increasing the irrigation capacity in the State.This is the first time that Chhattisgarh Water Resources Department had been given national Award during the past 17 years.The Award is presented every year by globally renowned magazine 'Water Digest'-which focuses mainly on water resources.

2.The Ministry of Tribal Affairs launched The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India’s (TRIFED) websites-www.tribesindia.com, www.trifed.in and Retail Inventory Software and M-commerce app.TRIFED has developed its own website i.e., tribesindia.com for sale of all its products and to tap m-commerce.Tribes India’ Banners at Amazon, Snapdeal, Paytm & GeM will be launched.

3.Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden was opened for visitors in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. It is recognized as Asia's largest tulip garden.This year, 12.5 lakh tulip bulbs of 48 varieties were sown in the garden by the floriculture department. Apart from the tulips, 40,000 hyacinth bulbs have also been planted.

4.India is on track to doubling the size of its economy to USD 5 trillion by 2025, the finance ministry said while asserting that the inflation target set by the Reserve Bank will not be breached.The country is well poised to click a growth rate of 7–8 per cent and with focus on start-ups, MSMEs and infrastructure investment it can step on to higher growth pedestal, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said.India’s GDP in value terms currently stands at USD 2.5 trillion—making it the sixth largest economy in the world.

5.Gujarat's Surat district has become the first district in the country to have 100 percent solar powered Primary Health Centers (PHC).There are a total of 52 PHCs in the district and all of them are now powered by the solar system. This initiative will not only bring down the electricity bill by 40 percent but also help fight global warming.

6.India will host the 8th “3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Regional Forum in Asia and the Pacific” in its cleanest city, Indore from 9-12 April 2018.The forum has provided a platform for addressing the needs and priorities of 3R in Asian countries and sharing best practices in waste management.The “Regional 3R Forum in Asia and the Pacific” was launched in 2009 in Tokyo, Japan.

7.The World Theatre Day has been celebrated annually on the 27th March by ITI Centres and the international theatre community.World Theatre Day was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute ITI. 

8.A ‘National Conference on Down Syndrome’ was organised by the National Trust under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on 26th March.Down Syndrome is a chromosomal condition associated with intellectual and learning disabilities.On 19th December 2011, the United Nations General Assembly declared to observe 21st March as World Down Syndrome Day.

9.SWIFT announces the extension of its GPI Tracker to cover all payment instructions sent across the network, enabling GPI banks to track all their SWIFT payment instructions at all times, and giving them full visibility over all their payments activity.The Tracker, which has been available since May 2017, enables banks that have signed up to the service to track their GPI payments in real-time.

10.India, the largest consumer of mobile data in the world, ranks 109th when it comes to mobile Internet download speeds according to Ookla’s Speedtest index.Norway is positioned at the top with an average download speed of 62.07 Mbps.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 26th March 2018.

1.International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is a United Nations international observance designated in 2007 to be marked on 25 March every year.The theme of International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade in 2018 is “Remember Slavery: Triumphs and Struggles for Freedom and Equality”.

2.The world’s biggest cruise-liner, Symphony of the Seas, has left the shipyard of Saint-Nazaire in France to embark on its maiden voyage in the Mediterranean. French shipbuilder STX handed over to U.S. giant Royal Caribbean International.The ship, which weighs 228,000 tonnes, is 362 metres long just 20 metres shy of the length of the Empire State Building.

3.Professor J S Rajput, a former Director NCERT is selected as India’s representative to the Executive Board (EXB) of UNESCO. Notably, Professor J S Rajput is an eminent educationist with rich experience in various fields including UNESCO. The EXB has a four-year term of office and 58 seats. The executive board is one of the constitutional organs of UNESCO and is elected by the General Conference. The executive board examines the work for the organization and the corresponding budget estimates. In practice, the executive board is the main organ responsible for all policies and programmes of UNESCO.

4.Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker, along with veteran actor Vikram Gokhle, inaugurated the eighth edition of Theatre Olympics, a fortnight-long international theatre festival in Mumbai.The festival will present 28 performances from a diverse range of theatre forms from all over the world.The inaugural play was a Hindi production "Mohe Piya", by Waman Kendre, director of National School of Drama (NSD).

5.The International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), signed the Host Country Agreement.The Agreement will give ISA a juridical personality and gives it power to contract, to acquire and dispose off movable and immovable properties, to institute and defend legal proceedings.

6.Pankaj Advani defended his Asian Billiards Championships title by demolishing his practice partner B Bhaskar 6-1 in the summit clash in Yangon, Myanmar. With this win, Advani remains the reigning Indian, Asian and world champion in billiards for 2017-18.

7.The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is all set to make face authentication available alongside iris or fingerprint scan as means of verifying Aadhaar users from July 1, 2018.The UIDAI, which is in-charge of the 12-digit identifier Aadhaar, in January had announced that it will introduce face authentication feature to help those who run into problems in biometric authentication due to old age, hardwork or worn-out fingerprints.

8.Martin Vizcarra was sworn in as the country's new president of Peru. Before the appointment, he was Peru's first vice president and ambassador to Canada. He has replaced Pedro Pablo Kuczynski who has resigned from the post recently.

9.Hockey Punjab were crowned champions of the 8th Hockey India Senior Men National Championship after they came from a goal down to defeat Petroleum Sports Promotion Board 2-1 in a well-fought encounter.

10.Equitas Small Finance Bank has launched a new ‘Yellow Army Savings Account’ to increase its customer base through its association with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), a franchise of the Indian Premium League (IPL).

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 25th March 2018.

1.Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu chaired a roundtable of Invest India in New Delhi.Various regulatory issues faced by Startups in the sectors of e-pharmacy, NBFCs, unmanned aerial vehicle and retail delivery of petroleum from door to door were discussed with the concerned Ministries and departments of the Government of India in the presence of the Minister.Following issues like presence of pharmacist at e-pharmacy platforms, stream lining of the application process for NBFCs by RBI, reforms in current guidelines for UAV sector, which doesn’t allow for manufacturing of drones, and vehicle specifications for door to door retail delivery of petroleum, were discussed at length.

2.The Orang National Park  also known as (Rajiv Gandhi orang national park) located on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River in the Darrang and Sonitpur districts of Assam.

3.The Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir said that Narco-terrorism and its funding is a serious problem for the world, especially for India.Inaugurating the two-day first National Conference on Drug Law Enforcement in New Delhi, he said the challenge for law enforcement agencies and the society is to prevent drug abuse among youth.

4.Olympic silver-medalist PV Sindhu will be the flag-bearer of Indian contingent for the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.It would be the first time in last 3 editions of Commonwealth Games that a badminton player would don the flag-bearer’s hat.

5.ISRO has entered into a Technology Transfer Agreement (TTA) with Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), which is one of the country’s leading PSUs, to transfer the technology for the manufacture of space grade Li-Ion cells.The TTA was signed at ISRO Headquarters, Bengaluru in the presence of Dr. K. Sivan, Chairman, ISRO and Mr. Atul Sobti, Chairman & Managing Director, BHEL.

6.The total amount involved in bank fraud cases this year has reached nearly ₹19,194 crore, which is 63% more than the total loss on all frauds in 2017.The CBI has registered 12 major cases of suspected bank fraud this year.The amount involved in 31 bank fraud cases registered by the investigating agency in 2017 stood at ₹11,777 crore.

7.President Donald Trump has appointed Bush-era defence hawk and former United Nations ambassador, John Bolton as US National Security Adviser.

8.Nargu Wildlife Sanctuary lies across the Uhl River in Mandi District of Himachal Pradesh.

9.Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented the G.K. Reddy Memorial National Award for journalism to senior journalist and television presenter Karan Thapar.

10.Shooter Manu Bhaker secured India's second individual gold after prevailing over Thailand's Kanyakorn Hirunphoem in a thrilling final of the women's 10m air pistol event at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Sydney, Australia.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 24th March 2018.

1.Maenama Wildlife Sanctuary, is a wildlife reserve in the South Sikkim district of the Indian state of Sikkim covering an area of around 35 square kilometres.

2.The 7th India-Egypt Joint Commission Meeting led by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry was held in New Delhi. 

3.Recognized annually on March 23, World Meteorological Day commemorates the establishment of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on this date in 1950.The day showcases the essential contribution of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services to the safety and well-being of society.The theme of World Meteorlogical Day in 2018 is “Weather-ready, climate-smart”.

4.World Tuberculosis Day, observed on 24 March each year, is designed to build public awareness about the global epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) and efforts to eliminate the disease.The theme for the year `2018 is ‘Wanted: Leaders for a TB-free world’.

5.Andhra Pradesh Govt has launched, NAIPUNYA RATHAM or World on Wheels, a multi-utility vehicle that aims to bring technology to remote corners.It will facilitate & look to improve digital literacy, digital skills & create an awareness on various govt schemes that are underway in Andhra Pradesh.Govt has allotted Rs 300 crore for the project & will be setting up 1000 skill development centres.

6.Union Agriculture Minister, Radha Mohan Singh had addressed the 5th India Maize Summit in New Delhi.The aim of the summit was to harness the potential of maize, technological innovations, promoting producer aggregation and linkages that are required.

7.The Punjab government has observed March 23, the death anniversary of freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru, as Youth Empowerment Day.

8.Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan launched M-Kerala, a unified app for all government services at #FUTURE 2018. It is a first-of-its-kind digital tech summit in the state.Kerala also becomes the state with the largest public Wi-Fi deployment in the country. The internet penetration in the state is at 52%. #FUTURE is Kerala's first-ever Global Digital Summit and was inaugurated by P Vijayan in Kochi.

9.Martin Vizcarra was sworn in as Peru’s new president after his predecessor Pedro Pablo Kuczynski abruptly resigned over a corruption scandal.

10.The government has decided to declare 2018 as ‘National Year of Millets to boost the cultivation of millets like ragi and jowar on a mission mode to achieve nutritional security.This was stated by Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh while addressing MPs in a consultative committee meeting in New Delhi.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 23rd March 2018.

1.Google celebrated the 102nd birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna awardee and Shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan on 21st March.He was awarded with Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi.

2.The National Biogas and Manure Management Programme (NBMMP) aims at setting up of family type biogas plants for providing biogas as clean cooking fuel and a source of lighting.The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has fixed an annual physical target of setting up 65,180 biogas plants for the current year 2017-18 under the NBMMP.

3.India is expected to establish itself as the third largest travel and tourism economy by 2028, a 2018 economic impact report by World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).WTTC also called India the seventh largest travel and tourism economy in the world.The WTTC report, released globally also said India will add nearly 10 million jobs in the tourism sector by 2028.

4.Ministry of Corporate Affairs has allowed the merger of Allahabad Bank with its wholly own subsidiary- All Bank Finance Ltd (ABFL).The ABFL offers fee-based financial services such as trusteeship services, investment advisory and portfolio management services, distribution of Mutual Funds schemes.The bank’s board had approved the proposed merger in December 2016.

5.India will be self-reliant in the production of silk by 2020, said the Minister of Textiles Smriti Zubin Irani in a media interaction.The Union Cabinet’s decision approving the Integrated Scheme for Development of Silk Industry will help increase the production of Bivoltine silk (high quality) by 62 percent by 2020.The Minister further said the aim of the government is to increase the number of people engaged in the silk sector from 85 lakhs to one crore in the next three years.

6.The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March.The aim is to eliminate all the forms of racial discrimination.The theme for 2018 was “Promoting tolerance, inclusion, unity and respect for diversity in the context of combating racial discrimination”.

7.Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has received the ‘Most Informative Pavilion’ Award in Pride of India Expo organized as part of the 105th Indian Science Congress held from 16 to 20 March 2018 at Manipur University, Imphal.Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had inaugurated this annual mega event on 16 March 2018.

8.44 African countries have signed an agreement establishing the “African Continental Free Trade Area” at a summit of the African Union in Kigali, Rwanda.The summit was a step forward for the African Union’s 2063 project for closer African integration.If successful, it will be the biggest trade agreement since the formation of the World Trade Organization in 1995.

9.An instrument to measure traces of uranium in water has been developed by a unit of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).The instrument, “Fluorimeter”, has been developed by the Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), an Indore-based unit of the DAE.It will be helpful in areas like Punjab where uranium traces in water sources have been found to be at dangerous levels.

10.First Indian Sign Language Dictionary of 3000 words” was launched by Government of India on 23rd March.The dictionary has been developed by Indian Sign Language Research & Training Centre under Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.The basic aim of developing the Indian Sign Language Dictionary is to remove communications barriers between the deaf and hearing communities.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 22nd March 2018.

1.German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has arrived on a four-day visit to India. The Steinmeier’s visit to India is considered significant after German Chancellor Angela Merkel was re-elected to the German Parliament. for a record fourth term.

2.India Post paid tribute to theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking by issuing a special cover on him.The postal department is paying tribute to the legendary scientist by releasing the special cover in all its 22 Circles.

3.A campaign to create awareness of Sikhism and its followers in the US and fight prejudice has won a top award for excellence in public relations programming to promote public causes. The “We Are Sikhs” campaign received the top 2018 PRWeek US award in the category of Public Cause.

4.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’.

5.New Delhi has been ranked 22nd in the world and eighth in Asia in the top destination for 2018, Travellers’ Choice awards for Destinations by TripAdvisor.Paris in France topped the list of Travellers’ Choice awards for Destinations followed by London (UK), Rome (Italy), Bali (Indonesia), Crete (Greece).

6.A 24,583-metre-long cave that was discovered in 2016 in Meghalaya has been found to be the world’s longest sandstone cave by the Meghalaya Adventurers’ Association. Called Krem Puri, it is also the second largest cave in India. It is over 6,000 metres longer than the current world record-holder for the longest sandstone cave, the Cueva Del Saman in Zulia, Venezuela.

7.The Singapore Changi Airport has been named the world’s best airport for the sixth consecutive year by consultancy firm Skytrax. The Incheon International Airport in South Korea and Haneda Airport in Japan were placed second and third respectively. While the Mumbai airport (Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Mumbai) has been ranked 63rd, the airports in Bangalore (Kempegowda International Airport) and Delhi (Indira Gandhi International Airport) are at 64th and 66th place respectively.

8.The Kerala Government has declared jackfruit as the state government’s official fruit. The aim is to promote the ‘Kerala Jackfruit’ as a brand in markets across the country and abroad, showcasing its organic and nutritious qualities.This would also help in giving in the fruit’s production and sale, besides increasing its value-added products.Elephant is the state animal of Kerala, while ‘great hornbill’ the bird and ‘kanikkonna’ the official flower. The state had recently declared pearl spot, popularly known as ‘karimeen’, as its official fish.

9.Canadian mathematician Robert Langlands has won the prestigious Abel Prize for developing a programme connecting representation theory to number theory, Norway’s Academy of Sciences and Letters said.Langlands will be awarded the 6.0-million-kroner Abel Prize by Norway’s King Harald in Oslo on May 22.Named after the 19th century Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel, the prize was established by the Norwegian government in 2002.

10.The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the Integrated Scheme for Development of Silk Industry. The scheme aims at making India self-sufficient in silk production. It will help to increase productive employment from 85 lakh to one crore people by 2022.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 21th March 2018.

1.The International Day of Forests was established on the 21st day of March, by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on November 28, 2012.Each year, various events celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests, and trees outside forests, for the benefit of current and future generations.The theme of the International Day of Forests in 2018 is "Forests and Sustainable Cities".

2.World Poetry Day is celebrated on 21 March, and was declared by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1999. Its purpose is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world and, as the original UNESCO declaration says, to "give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements".

3.Inderkilla National Park is a national park in Himachal Pradesh, India established in 2010.

4.The first G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors began in Buenos Aires, with the presence of 57 delegations from different countries and institutions.This is the first of five such meetings to be held before Argentina hosts the G20 Summit on November 30 to December 1.

5.Khirganga National Park is a national park in Himachal Pradesh, India established in 2010.

6.Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ananthkumar announced that the Government of India has approved the setting up of a Plastic Park in Deoghar District, Jharkhand.The project would be set up at a cost of Rs. 120 crores in an area of 150 acres and a range of polymer products including woven sacks, moulded furniture, water tanks, bottles, pipes mosquito nets, etc would be manufactured.

7.Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari has inaugurated the Inland ferry services in the port city of Vasco in Goa.The Minister said that while addressing the needs of the poor, environment and ecosystem must be given its due priority.  To achieve this, all the stakeholders need to make a concerted decision and action.

8.General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Army Staff released a book on Paramveer Chakra Awardees - ‘Paramveer Parwane’.The book illustrates the bravery of Paramveer Chakra Awardees from 1947 to 1965. The book is written by Dr Prabhakiran Jain and is published by Medha Books.

9.General President-elect of Indian Science Congress Manoj Kumar Chakrabarti announced that the 106th edition of the Indian Science Congress will be held in January 2019 at Barkatullah University Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.The theme for 2019 ISC will be “Future India: Science & Technology”.

10.PM Modi inaugurated the 105th Indian Science Congress in Imphal, Manipur. The theme for ISC 2018 was 'Reaching the unreached through science and technology'.

ONE LINER OF THE DAY 20th March 2018.

1.World Sparrow Day is a day designated to raise awareness of the house sparrow and then other common birds to urban environments, and of threats to their populations, observed on 20 March.It is an international initiative by the Nature Forever Society of India in collaboration with the Eco-Sys Action Foundation (France) and numerous other national and international organisations across the world.The theme for World Sparrow Day is I Love Sparrows.

2.The first National workshop on POSHAN Abhiyan involving all the states and union territories was held at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra, New Delhi.The Ministry of Women and Child Development is organising the day-long workshop with participation from all the states/UTs.POSHAN Abhiyaan was launched on 8th March 2018 by the Prime Minister in Jhunjhunu.

3.Singapore has been dubbed the world's most expensive city to live in for the fifth year running.The city state marched in ahead of New York, London and Los Angeles, which didn't even feature in the top 10 priciest places in the Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Worldwide Cost of Living 2018 survey.The EIU's annual ranking compares the prices of over 150 items in 133 cities around the world, such as bread, wine, cigarettes and petrol.Damascus ranked cheapest in the world.Bangalore, Chennai and New Delhi also featured among the top 10 cheapest locations this year.

4.Pin Valley National Park is a National park of India located within the Lahaul and Spiti district, in the state of Himachal Pradesh, in far Northern India.

5.Simbalbara National Park is a national park in India, located in the Paonta Valley of Sirmour District, Himachal Pradesh, along its border with Haryana.

6.A British school teacher has won a $1-million Global Teacher Prize instituted by an Indian-origin entrepreneur’s foundation in the United Arab Emirates to honour an exceptional teacher who has made a significant contribution to the profession.Andria Zafirakou (39), who teaches art and textiles in a Brent secondary school, was selected at the Global Education and Skills Forum, organised by the Varkey Foundation which is run by Kerala-born education philanthropist Sunny Varkey (60).

7.Renowned Hindi poet and critic Kedarnath Singh passed away at the age of 83.A former professor and chairperson at the Department of Hindi Language at the Centre for Indian Languages at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Prof. Singh was a recipient of the Jnanapeeth award in 2013.

8.World Happiness Day, is celebrated every year on March 20 to recognize the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world.The theme for 2018 is “Share Happiness” – focusing on the importance of relationships, kindness and helping each other.

9.The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has developed an android based mobile application called Tribal Diaries for internal monitoring as also connecting with officers/officials concerned with implementation of schemes / programmes for tribal development.The application is for accredited users.This application provides an opportunity for visual feedback in terms of photographs, videos, uploading reports of official tours / inspections and sharing of best practices etc.  

10.The Indian Navy and the French Navy have conducted bilateral maritime exercises since May 1993.Since 2001, the exercises have been named VARUNA and there have been fifteen editions of the same till date.This year too VARUNA-18 would be conducted in three sea areas, namely, the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and South Western Indian Ocean.