Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the important Daily Current Affairs 20 March 2019. These are important for the upcoming LIC AAO 2019, NHB Assistant Manager, CWC 2019 and SBI PO 2019 Exams.
Daily Current Affairs 20 March 2019
India and states
3rd Indo-Japan Workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction held in New Delhi
- The 3rd Indo-Japan Workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction was held in New Delhi.
- The workshop was attended by about 140 delegates from Japan and India including experts from both the governments, top premium research institutes, city administrators, specialised Disaster Management agencies and private sector.
- India and Japan had signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in September 2017.
- The 3rd Indo-Japan workshop is the follow-up of the deliberations held during the 1st & 2nd Indo-Japan Workshop on DRR held respectively in New Delhi and Tokyo.
Africa-India Field Training Exercise-2019 (AFINDEX-19) begins
- The Africa-India Field Training Exercise 2019 (AFINDEX-19) between India and African nations began on March 18, 2019 at Aundh Military Station, Pune. The exercise will conclude on March 27, 2019.
- 17 African Nations- Benin, Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe are participating in the exercise.
- A fly past by a set of Advanced Light Helicopters and Cheetah Helicopter of the Indian Army carrying the flags of United Nations, India and the AFINDEX was the highlight of the opening ceremony.
India Post releases special stamp cover on Ice Stupas
- The Indian Department of Post on March 18, 2019 released a ‘special stamp cover on Ice Stupa’. The stamp was released by Jammu and Kashmir’s Chief Postmaster General during a function organised at the Ice Stupa site at Gangles Village in Leh.
- A number of officers and dignitaries from Army and civil administration were present on the occasion.
- The special stamps aim to create awareness about depleting glaciers and affect the ecology around the Himalayas. Global warming and ecological imbalance have caused irreparable damage to the Himalayas in the past several years.
Appointments
BJP’s Pramod Sawant sworn-in as 11th Goa Chief Minister; Goa gets 2 Deputy CMs
- Goa Legislative Assembly Speaker and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Pramod Sawant was sworn-in as the 11th Chief Minister of Goa in a late-night ceremony, hours after his predecessor, Manohar Parrikar was cremated with state honours.
- He was given the oath of office and secrecy by Goa Governor Mridula Sinha.
- Along with the Chief Minister, Ramkrishna Dhavlikar of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and Vijai Sardesai of Goa Forward Party were sworn in as Deputy Chief Ministers.
- Both the Deputy CMs belong to small coalition parties backing the BJP in the coastal state.
Awards
President Kovind presents Gallantry Awards and Distinguished Service Decorations
- President Ram Nath Kovind on March 19, 2019 presented the Gallantry Awards and Distinguished Service Decorations at the Defence Investiture Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.
- He conferred the ‘Kirti Chakras’ on Sepoy Vijay Kumar of Indian Army and Constable Pradip Kumar Panda of CRPF, posthumously.
- Both the soldiers made supreme sacrifice for the nation during counter-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
Sports
India bags 188 medals at Special Olympics World Games
- India has so far won a total of 188 medals at the Special Olympics World Games, which is being held in UAE’s capital city Abu Dhabi. India’s medal tally comprises 50 gold, 63 silver and 75 bronze medals.
- Held in West Asia for the first time, 7,500 athletes from 190 countries across the world are taking part in the 15th edition of the Games, which boasts of 24 Olympic-style sporting events. Team India is the second largest contingent after the host UAE with 378 athletes.
- Indian paddlers have made history in table tennis by clinching four gold medals and one silver medal.
PCB pays Rs 11 cr as compensation to BCCI
- The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has paid approximately $1.6 million as compensation to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after losing a case in the ICC’s Dispute Resolution Committee. The information was shared by PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani on March 18, 2019.
- The PCB Chairman stated that the PCB had incurred costs of around $2.2 million on the compensation case which they had lost. Besides the amount paid to India to cover the costs of the case, the other expenses included legal fees and travel.
- The PCB had filed a compensation case against the BCCI in 2018 before the ICC’s Dispute Resolution Committee for an amount of around $70 million.
- The cricket board had sought the huge amount as compensation from the BCCI for not honouring a MoU signed between the two boards.
Lists
Priyanka Chopra joins Oprah Winfrey, Meryl Streep in USA Today’s list of most powerful women
- Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas joined international celebrities Oprah Winfrey and Meryl Streep in the list of “50 Most Powerful Women in Entertainment” of the USA Today.
- The list also included Beyonce, Ellen Degeneres, Jennifer Lawrence, Jennifer Lopez, Tina Fey, Nicole Kidman, and Reese Witherspoon among many others.
- Priyanka became a global icon through her lead role of Alex Parrish in the American TV drama thriller series “Quantico”.
- She made her Hollywood debut opposite Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Zac Efron in the action-comedy ‘Baywatch’ in 2017.
- The actress married American singer Nick Jonas in November 2018.
Days
World Sparrow Day observed globally
- 2019 World Sparrow Day was observed globally on 20 March, 2019.
- The theme of 2019 World Sparrow Day was I Love Sparrows.
Global Recycling Day 2019 observed globally
- The Global Recycling Day was observed across the world on March 18, 2019 to help recognise, and celebrate the importance recycling plays in preserving the precious primary resources.
- The theme of 2019 Global Recycling Day was ‘Recycling into the Future’.
International Day of Happiness observed
- International Day of Happiness was observed on 20 March, 2019.
- The 2019 International Day of Happiness theme was Happier Together.
World Storytelling Day observed
- World Storytelling Day 2019 was observed globally on 20 March, 2019.
- The theme of 2019 World Storytelling Day was Myths, Legends, and Epics.
UN French Day observed
- UN French Language Day is observed on 20 March.
- March 20 is also recognized by the International Organization of La Francophonie as the International Day of La Francophonie.
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