Today Current Affairs 8 march 2018

1. International Women's Day being observed today

• International Women's Day (IWD) is being celebrated on 8th March every year to highlight the achievements of women while calling for greater equality.
• It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political.
• The UN Women’s theme for 2018 is “The Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives”.

Note:

• International Women's Day first emerged from the activities of labor movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe.
• Women's Day was first observed on 28th February 1909 in New York. 

Honors & Awards

2. Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi wins 2018 Pritzker Prize

• Indian architect Pune-born Balkrishna Doshi (90-years) has been awarded this year's Pritzker Prize for being able to interpret architecture and transform it into buildings that respect Eastern culture.
• The Pritzker Prize is regarded as architecture's equivalent to the Nobel Prize.
• He has created projects for public administrations and utilities, educational and cultural institutions, and residences for private clients, among others
• Balkrishna Doshi has always created an architecture that is serious, never flashy or a follower of trends.
• The laureate receives USD 100,000 and also a bronze medallion.

Note:

• The Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually to honor a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision, and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.
• The award is funded by the Pritzker family and sponsored by the Hyatt Foundation.

International Affairs

3. Iran signs deal with China to connect the key port to the rail network

• China will build a train line connecting the Iranian port of Bushehr to the rest of the country's railway network under a 700 million USW dollar deal signed.
• The agreement was inked in Tehran in the presence of Iranian Transport Minister Abbas Akhoundi and officials from China Machinery Industry Construction Group.
• It will see the group build a 400-kilometer railway line between the Gulf port and the southern city of Shiraz.
• This would complete the "North-South Railway Corridor" in line with Iran's goal of becoming a transport hub for goods between the Gulf, the Indian subcontinent, Russia and Central Asia.
• The Bushehr-Shiraz rail project is one of seven the government is working on totaling 2,300 kilometers in tracks.

4. India-China bilateral trade hits historic high of USD 84.44 billion in 2017

• The India-China bilateral trade in 2017 rose by 18.63%, reach USD 81.44 billion.
• A rare novelty of the bilateral trade otherwise dominated by the Chinese exports was about 40 percent increase of Indian exports to China in 2017 totaling to 16.34 billion Dollar, data of the Chinese General Administration of Customs accessed by PTI Beijing showed.

Banking & Finance

5. RBI slaps Rs. 40 lakh penalty on SBI for flouting fake note norms

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs. 40 lakhs on State Bank of India (SBI) for non-compliance of its directions on detection and impounding of counterfeit notes.
• RBI had carried out an inspection of currency chests at two branches of the country's largest lender and noticed certain violation.
• The penalty seemed warranted and substantiated considering the bank’s reply and oral submissions.

Note:

• Earlier, RBI had imposed monetary penalties on Axis Bank for violation of non-performing asset classification norms and Indian Overseas Bank for not complying with the KYC regulations.

National Affairs

6. Maharashtra govt to make the sale of gutka a non-bailable offense

• According to the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration Minister Girish Bapat, the state Govt. is planning to make the sale of gutka a non-bailable offense.
• The punishment for trying to sell the banned product will also be enhanced to three years in prison.

7. Deccan Queen train to have all-female staff on International Women's Day

• Today, the Central Railway has deployed all-women staff on the popular Deccan Queen Express that runs between Mumbai and Pune, On the occasion of the International Women's Day
• Asia’s first woman train driver Surekha Yadav will pilot the express and senior assistant loco pilot Trushna Joshi will assist her.
• From today, the train No. 11029 (DN Koyna Express) and train no. 11008 (UP Deccan Express) will permanently have women, ticket-checking staff.

8. PM Modi inaugurates pan-India expansion of 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' programme

• Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the pan-India expansion of flagship programme “Beti Bachao Beti Padhao” from Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan.
•  The programme has been expanded from the present 161 districts to 640 all over the country.
• The Prime Minister has also inaugurated the National Nutrition Missionto reduce under-nutrition and low birth weight, bring down anemia among young children, women and adolescent girls.

Note:

• Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) is a social campaign of the Government of India launched on 22nd January 2015, aims to generate awareness and improve the efficiency of welfare services intended for girls.
• In 26 August 2016, Olympics 2016 bronze medallist Sakshi Malik was made brand ambassador for BBBP.

9. Animal Welfare Board of India headquarters shifted to Ballabhgarh

• The Union Govt. has shifted headquarters of Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to Ballabhgarh (Haryana) from Chennai (Tamil Nadu) for better coordination between the Environment Ministry and AWBI.
• Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) is a statutory advisory body established in 1962 under Section 4 of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
• It frames a range of rules on how animals ought to be humanely treated everywhere.