Daily Current Affairs Update --- 8th & 9th March 2017

             

• Today (8th March) is International Women’s Day.
International Women’s Day 2017 Theme :  “Be bold for change”


• China is going to build a 1,000-kilometer pipeline connecting the drought-hit city of Lanzhou to Russia's Lake Baikal (the deepest freshwater lake on earth).


• The Commonwealth of Nations has launched “Peace in the home” programme to help member states tackle domestic violence which still remains a “stubborn stain” on communities, disproportionately impacting women.


• The 2-day International Yoga Festival organised by Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga in association with the Indian Yoga associations, was recently held at Talkatora stadium in New Delhi.


• State Bank of India (SBI) today launched a 'work from home' facility.


• European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched Sentinel-2B satellite, 5th of its Sentinel Earth observation satellites part of its multi-billion-euro Copernicus observation program.


• Ashwin and Jadeja become first spinners to be jointly ranked number one in ICC Test rankings for bowlers.


• Australian cricketer-turned-tennis player Ashleigh Barty won her first Women's Tennis Association singles title, the WTA Malaysian Open, in Kuala Lumpur .


• IDFC Bank has launched India’s first biometric-based payment system “Aadhaar Pay” in New Delhi.


• The fifth edition of the mega cultural festival ‘India by the Nile’ (IBN) began in Cairo, Egypt .


• RBI Will Soon Introduce New Rs 10 Notes with More Security Features .

i. The note will be in the Mahatma Gandhi series-2005 and carry inset letter ‘L’ on both number panels.
ii. It will have the signature of Governor Urjit Patel.
iii. The year of printing, 2017, will be on the reverse of the note.
iv. Numerals on both the panels will be in ascending size from left to right.
v. The first three alpha-numeric characters (prefix) will remain constant in size.


• National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) has commissioned of 45 MW solar capacity at Bhadla in Rajasthan .


• Noted Konkani author Mahabaleshwar Sail has been honored with the 2016 Saraswati Samman for his novel ‘Hawthan’.


• INS Tillanchang, a Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC) was commissioned into the Indian Navy by Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command, at Karwar, Karnataka .


• Intense Tropical Cyclone Enawo was the strongest tropical cyclone that hit in the northeast of the Madagascar.


• IBM researchers have created the world's smallest magnet using a single atom and managed to store data on it.


• The International Cricket Council (ICC) today appointed Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar as the UNICEF and Cricket For Good Ambassador for the ICC Women's World Cup 2017, which is going to start from June 24.


• Kohli, for the third time in his career, received the Polly Umrigar award for the best international cricketer, while Ravichandran Ashwin was given the Dilip Sardesai award.