17 March 2019 Current Affairs
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Santosh Jha Appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Uzbekistan
Santosh Jha presently Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Washington, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Uzbekistan. A press release from the Ministry of External Affairs stated that Jha, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1993 batch, was expected to take up the assignment shortly.
First BRICS Sherpa Meeting Under Presidency of Brazil held in Curitiba
The first BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) Sherpa meeting held in Curitiba, Brazil under the Presidency of Brazil. The Indian delegation was led by Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs T S Tirumurti. India conveyed its support for the priority areas started by Brazil which particularly take forward counterterrorism as a rising issue.
Nara Lokesh, Poonam Mahajan among Indians in Young Global Leaders list
Andhra Pradesh IT minister Nara Lokesh, BJP MP Poonam Mahajan and Xiaomi India head Manu Kumar Jain are among the Indians featuring in the list of Young Global Leaders, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF). Telangana government’s Chief Innovation Officer Phanindra Sama, SaveLife Foundation’s Piyush Tewari and Kaleidofin’s co-Founder Sucharita Mukherjee are also in the list.
Soyuz Spacecraft Successfully reach ISS
Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying NASA Astronaut Nick Hague and Christina Koch, and Cosmonaut (Russian Crew members are called as a cosmonaut) Alexey Ovchinin successfully docked International Space Station.
Climate Vulnerability Index Highest for Assam & Mizoram
Indian scientists have developed a common framework for the assessment of climate change vulnerability in all the states in the Himalayan region. The assessment shows that the vulnerability index is the highest for Assam (0.72) and Mizoram (0.71).
SBI Launches Cardless ATM Withdrawal with YONO Cash
The State Bank of India has launched a new service called ‘YONO Cash’ for its customers using which customers can withdraw money from ATMs without using debit cards. This facility is available over 16,500 of its ATMs through the You Only Need One (YONO), mobile app platform for the first time in the country. The ATMs enabled for this service will be called as YONO Cash Point.
JP Duminy to Retire From ODIs after World Cup 2019
South African all-rounder JP Duminy announced that he would retire from ODIs after the ICC World Cup in England. Duminy will, however, continue to be available for South Africa in T20 Internationals. Duminy, who announced his retirement from Test and first-class cricket in 2017, stated that ‘the time is right’ to close this chapter of his international career.
Goa CM Manohar Parrikar Passes Away
Manohar Parrikar, Goa Chief Minister and former defence minister, has passed away at the age of 63 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Parrikar was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer in February 2018. He was an IIT Mumbai graduate in metallurgical engineering and among the first members of BJP in Goa.