March Current Affairs II - 2010

·        Sikkim has emerged as topper in utilizing maximum funds in tourism infrastructure in the Eleventh Five Year Plan. Sikkim is followed by Jammu and Kashmir which has spent Rs 141.70 crores for the development of tourism in the state.(Go for Part -I)

·        China, the most populous country in the world, said it would continue with its over three-decade-old one-child policy to maintain low birth rate and pledged to intensity its "strategic research" on coping with an ageing population.

·        Veteran actor-filmmaker Chandrashekhar will be honoured with the Legend Award by the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy at it's annual function on April 30, the birth anniversary of the founder of Indian cinema.

·        United States has provided an assistance of USD 5 million to Nepal to supply 3,500 tons of staple food to country's poorest.

·        Japan has pledged to provide a financial aid of USD 11 million to Nepal to improve community access and strengthen infrastructure in the rural areas.

·        India pledged USD five million support to Chile for relief and rehabilitation work.

·        The Uranium Corporation of India (UCI) has proposed new uranium mines and processing plants at two sites in Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya.

·        Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, is among 19 members chosen by UN chief Ban Ki-moon for a high-level advisory group on Climate Change Financing tasked with mobilising funds pledged during the Copenhagen meet to tackle global warming.

·        UNDP chief Helen Clarke visited India to review important of areas of cooperation between the UN body and India, including programmes under the NREGA and capacity building of women panchayat representatives.

·        ADAG-promoted Reliance Capital was ranked the top-most retirement fund manager overall by the EPFO for providing good returns and investing money in quality assets, while the state-owned SBI finished at the bottom. HSBC AMC and ICICI Pru AMC, which are the two other retirement fund managers, have been ranked second and third.

·        A/c to a World Bank study, India is the largest user of groundwater in the world, with an estimated use of 230 cubic kilometers of groundwater every year.

·        A nano satellite "Jugnu" built by students and faculty of IIT Kanpur, handed over to the Indian Space Research Organisation.

·        China and Pakistan will conduct a joint anti-terrorism military exercise in China this summer, the third such operation between the two countries. Top military officials of the two countries have already started discussions for the anti-terror exercise code-named "Friendship-2010,"

·        India ranks first in the world in exporting generic medicines. Orissa was the fifth state in the country and first in eastern India to have launched 'Jan Ausadhi Abhiyan', the national campaign to ensure universal reach of generic medicines. To provide cheaper medicinal drugs to the poor, the government will soon open 626 Jan Aushadhi outlets in state-run hospitals in all district headquarters of the country.

·        India ranked 56^th in Global Innovation Index, report launched by INSEAD in partnership with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Iceland tops the list. Sweden, Hongkong, Switzerland, Denmark as the second, third, fourth and fifth respectively. India rank 36^th in Company Spending on R&D. India ranks 41^st in Public Spending on R&D.

·        India ranked 123^rd position in environmental performance as indicated in 2010 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), report by from Yale University and Columbia University.

·        China has become the second largest industrial manufacturer in the world, says a United Nations Industrial Development Organization report. According to the report 'International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics 2010', two more developing countries - India and Brazil - figure in the list of top 10 industrial manufacturers globally at the ninth and tenth positions. Germany ranks fourth, followed by France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Russia. With this development, China unseats Japan(3) and is trailing behind the United States(1).

·        Uttar Pradesh tops the list of States and Union Territories with the highest number of 900 child rape cases in 2008 followed by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

·        On 8^th March 2010, World celebrated 100^th International Women Day.