15 March 2018 GK and Current Affairs for Competitive Exams – Daily GK Digest

Read Latest Current Affairs 2018  for All Competitive Exams like UPSC, State Civil Services like – RAS, PMPSC, TNPSC, IAS, RRB etc. Our Daily Current Affairs Digest will also help for aspirants preparing for banking exams IBPS PO Clerk, SBI, RBI in current affairs sections.You can keep track of all your old posts month wise – All Current Affairs Post Month Wise .   Our current Affairs Bulletin includes articles from National Events, New Government Schemes and initiatives, New Appointments along with important international affairs, Sports, Business, Banking Current Affairs, Science and Tech which are useful for all government job aspirants and private Job aspirants.

Current Affairs National

Govt gives nod for extension of urea subsidy till 2020

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal of Department of Fertilizers to continue Urea Subsidy Scheme from 2017 upto 2019-20 at a total estimated cost of Rs. 1,64,935 crores and for disbursement of fertilizer subsidy.
• The continuation of Urea Subsidy Scheme will ensure the timely payment of subsidy to the urea manufacturers resulting in timely availability of urea to farmers.
• This decision also implies that there will be no increase in price of urea, till 2020.

Vedanta appoints former SEBI chairman UK Sinha as independent director

• Metals and mining giant Vedanta said on Tuesday it has appointed former SEBI chairman UK Sinha as an independent director on the company’s board.
• Sinha, who served as chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) from February 2011 to March 1, 2017, has been instrumental in bringing about key capital market reforms.

Chennai tops average broadband speeds in India: Ookla report

• Ookla in February conducted a speed test in India calculating average broadband internet speeds across every state and Union Territory in India.
• Chennai topped the chart with over 32.67 Mbps while Mizoram came last with the lowest speed of 3.62 Mbps.

Current Affairs Business and Economy

Axis Bank to integrate WhatsApp’s UPI-based payment feature soon

• Axis Bank will soon start processing payments over the popular instant messaging application WhatsApp.
• The bank is also looking to partner with other tech companies such as Google, Uber, Ola and Samsung for digital payments.
• Describing Unified Payment Interface as “huge opportunity”, Axis Bank Executive Director -Retail Banking, Rajiv Anand said, “UPI we are the market leaders in terms of innovation, and we do believe that UPI is a huge opportunity. We are working in terms of creating a differentiated environment for our customers.”

HDFC Bank blocks all its cards from being used to buy or trade cryptocurrencies

• Following the regulatory discomfort on cryptocurrencies, second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank blocked on Tuesday its cards from being used to purchase/trade in such instruments.
• “We have decided to not permit use of HDFC Bank credit, debit and prepaid cards towards purchase or trading of bitcoins, cryptocurrencies and virtual currencies, on merchants suspected to be dealing in crypto-currency or online foreign exchange trading or both,” the bank said.

Amazon launches first debit card in Mexico e-commerce push

• Internet retailers and brick-and-mortar chains in Mexico are investing heavily in e-commerce as the sector gains in popularity, although it is still a small fraction of total retail sales.
• Amazon.com Inc launched its first-ever debit card on Tuesday in Mexico, part of a push to encourage shoppers without bank accounts to buy online.

Current Affairs Sports

Chennaiyin FC beat FC Goa, reach Indian Super League final

• Chennaiyin FC reached their second Indian Super League (ISL) final in three years as they outsmarted FC Goa 3-0 (4-1 aggregate) at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai, on Tuesday. 
• They will now clash with Bengaluru FC at Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bangalore on Saturday.

Roger Federer wins at Indian Wells

• Roger Federer defeated Jeremy Chardy of France 7-5, 6-4 in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday, and at 15-0 the world’s top-ranked men’s player is off to his best start since 2006.

PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth win in All England Open

• PV Sindhu defeated Pornpawee Chochuwong 20-22, 21-17, 21-9 to reach the second round of the All England Open badminton in Birmingham on Wednesday.
• Kidambi Srikanth, on the other hand, made it to the second round of the tournament after a hard-fought 7-21, 21-14, 22-20 win over Brice Leverdez of France.
• In a late night match, HS Prannoy defeated Chinese Taipei’s eighth seed Tien Chen Chou 9-21, 21-18, 21-18 to enter the second round.

India enters final of Nidahas Trophy 2018

• Rohit Sharma’s brilliant 89 and young spinner Washington Sundar’s spell of 3/22 helped India hold off a late charge by Mushfiqur Rahim (72*) to clinch a 17-run win over Bangladesh and enter the final of the Nidahas Trophy tri-series at the R Premadasa stadium on Wednesday. 
• Bangladesh will next take on Sri Lanka for a place in the final against India.

Current Affairs World

Cabinet approves MoU between India, Iran in traditional systems of medicine

• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between India and Iran in the field of traditional systems of medicine.
• The MoU will enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the areas of traditional systems of medicine.

Gina Haspel – Trump’s pick as CIA director

• President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will nominate Gina Haspel to head the CIA, a move that would make her the spy agency’s first woman chief.
• But first, Haspel must be confirmed by the Senate.

Current Affairs Miscellaneous

Syama Prasad Mukherjee’s statue vandalised in Assam

• A statue of Bhartiya Jan Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mukherjee was found vandalised in Kokrajhar town of Assam on Wednesday, police said.
• Chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal strongly condemned the incident and said the government would not tolerate such acts.

Also Read Complete Month GK Post :

Month March, 2018

1. 14 March 2018 GK and Current Affairs
2. 13 March 2018 GK and Current Affairs
3. 12 March 2018 GK and Current Affairs
4. 11 March 2018 GK and Current Affairs
5. 6-10 March 2018 GK and Current Affairs
6. 5 March 2018 GK and Current Affairs
7. 4 March 2018 GK and Current Affairs
8. 3 March 2018 GK and Current Affairs
9. 2 March 2018 GK and Current Affairs
10. 1 March 2018 GK and Current Affairs