ONE LINER OF THE DAY 4th March 2018.

1.The Karnataka government inaugurated the first phase of a 2,000 megawatts (MW) solar park in the drought-prone district, Tumkur. The first phase of the Rs16,500 crore park called “Shakti Sthala” will generate 600MW, while the balance 1,400MW is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2018. The solar project is the largest in the world, is spread over 13,000 acres and five villages. It is part of the “Karnataka Solar Policy 2014-2021” which aims to decrease dependence on traditional power sources and move to environmentally friendly ones to meet the growing power needs of the state. The park ties in with the center’s scheme to generate 100 gigawatts (GW) of solar power by 2020.

2.Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA).NFRA will act as an independent regulator for the auditing profession which was one of the key changes brought in by the Companies Act 2013.The Cabinet also gave nod to the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill – 2018 to deal with those escaping overseas to avoid getting caught.

3.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will host the 7^th OPEC International Seminar at the Imperial Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria, on 20−21 June 2018 under the theme, ‘Petroleum – cooperation for a sustainable future’.

4.Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is an intergovernmental organization of 14 nations as of February 2018, founded in 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), and headquartered since 1965 in Vienna, Austria. As of 2016, the 14 countries accounted for an estimated 44 percent of global oil production and 73 percent of the world's "proven" oil reserves, giving OPEC a major influence on global oil prices that were previously determined by American-dominated multinational oil companies.

5.The 27th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Hockey tournament begins in the Malaysian city of Ipoh. Six nations – India, hosts Malaysia, defending champions England, Australia, Argentina and Ireland – are taking part in the tournament. India, currently the world number six side, will take on world number two Argentina in their opening round-robin match.

6.Senior diplomat Vinay Kumar has been appointed as India’s ambassador to Afghanistan, succeeding incumbent Manpreet Vohra.Mr. Kumar, a 1992 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, is currently serving as Joint Secretary in the headquarters of the External Affairs Ministry here.He has served in various positions and has worked in India’s permanent mission to the UN in New York.

7.Armenian lawmakers elected Armen Sarkisian as the new president of Armenia. He will succeed Serzh Sarkisian. Armen Sarkisian was the ambassador to the United Kingdom. He will assume presidential duties after his predecessor steps down in April 2018. The political shift comes after President Sarkisian in 2015 initiated controversial constitutional amendments to turn the impoverished Moscow-allied country into a parliamentary republic with a powerful Prime Minister.

8.RBI has decided to do away with the per borrower loan limits to Micro/ Small and Medium Enterprises for classification under priority sector lending.In view of the increasing importance of the services sector and to encourage banks to lend more to this sector, theSo far, loans to Micro/ Small and Medium Enterprises up to ₹5 crore and ₹10 crore, respectively, were classified as PSL.

9.NASA launched another of the world’s most advanced weather satellites, this time to safeguard the western U.S.The GOES-S satellite thundered toward orbit aboard an Atlas V rocket.GOES-S is the second satellite in an approx. $11 bn effort that’s already revolutionising forecasting with astonishingly fast, crisp images of hurricanes, wildfires, floods, mudslides and other natural calamities.

10.Olympics bronze medallist Sakshi Malik had to settle for a bronze medal in Asian championship.She lost by 6-6 to eventual silver medallist Xiaojuan Luo of China in a 62kg first round bout.In the repechage rounds, Sakshi defeated Jiae Choi of Korea 11-0 and Ayaulym Kassymova of Kazakhstan 10-7 to bag the bronze.

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Ravi Kumar Singh