Daily Current Affairs, 16th March 2018

1)  PM Inaugurates 105th Indian Science Congress In Imphal

•PM Modi inaugurated the 105th Indian Science Congress in Imphal, Manipur. The theme for ISC 2018 is 'reaching the unreached through science and technology'. This event is being held in Manipur for the first time and for the second time in the North-East. Earlier it was held at Shillong in 2009.

•The 5-day Congress will see the participation of over 5000 delegates comprising of scientists, scholars and corporate officials from different parts of the country and abroad. 

2)  Annual Krishi Unnati Mela Begins In New Delhi

•The three-day annual Krishi Unnati Mela has begun in New Delhi with a focus on doubling farmers’ income. The objective of the event is to create awareness among farmers about the latest agriculture-related technological developments.

•Lakhs of farmers and agriculture scientists will participate in the mela. The main theme pavilion will be based on Doubling of farmers income by 2022. The theme area will display different kinds of organic farming techniques like natural farming and eco farming.

3)  WHO Member-Countries Commit To End TB By 2030

•Member-countries of the World Health Organisation (WHO) South-East Asia Region, including India, committed to intensifying efforts to eradicate tuberculosis by 2030.

•The summit sets the stage for the September 2018 United Nations high-level meeting on TB, wherein the issue will be discussed at the Heads of State level. The UN meeting is likely to endorse a set of goals to put the world on course to ending TB.

4)  Andhra Pradesh Stands At 51st Position In Global Multidimensional Poverty Index

•Andhra Pradesh stands at equivalent to 51st rank globally in Multidimensional Poverty Index  (2017)according to a recent household survey conducted in the state. Andhra Pradesh becomes the first Indian state to conduct an exclusive household survey at state and district level to estimate the multidimensional poverty of the state.

•Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu launched the Andhra Pradesh Multidimensional Poverty (MPI) Index Report 2017. As per the report Andhra Pradesh has an index value of 0.0825 whereas India as at 66th position with an index value of 0.1911.

•The study was conducted by Vision Management Unit, Planning Department, GoAP in collaboration with Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), University of Oxford, UK.

5)  Oklahoma To Become 1st US State To Use Nitrogen Gas For Executions

•Oklahoma plans to start using nitrogen gas for executions, in what would be the first such method of capital punishment in the United States. The state is turning to nitrogen after it and other states became unable to acquire drugs required for lethal injections because of opposition from manufacturers to their products being used for capital punishment.

•Nitrogen is an odorless and tasteless gas that makes up about 78% of the air humans breathe but causes death when inhaled without any oxygen. Oklahoma has not carried out an execution since 2015.

6)  Deepa Malik Becomes Asian Rank 1 In Javelin F-53 Category

•Indian para-athlete Deepa Malik won a gold medal in the F-53/54 category javelin event at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai. 

•With this, she became the Asian rank one in the F-53 category. With the win, Deepa has also qualified for the 2018 Asian Para Games in Indonesia, scheduled to be held in October 2018.