Dear Readers, Here we have given the list of Important Weekly Current Affairs 2ndweek of March 2019. Candidates those who are preparing for Upcoming Bank Exams and other competitive exams can make use of it.
Current Affairs: Important Days
| Date | Important days | Theme |
| March 8 | International Women’s Day | “Think equal, build smart, innovate for change” |
| March 10 | National Immunization Day | – |
| March 10 | CISF Raising Day | – |
| March 12 | Corporation Bank’s 114th Foundation Day | – |
| March 13 (2nd Wednesday of March) | No Smoking Day | – |
| March 14 | World Kidney Day | ‘Kidney health for everyone, everywhere’ |
| March 14 | International Pi Day | – |
| March 14 | The 22nd annual International Day of Action for Rivers | ‘Celebration of the role of women in protecting and managing our rivers’ |
| March 12 to 16 | India Smart Utility Week | – |
Current Affairs: National
- The Finance Ministry has announced the rollout of a new Rs. 20 coin shaped like a “dodecagon”
| USEFUL INFO |
| Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs | Arun Jaitley |
| Constituency | Gujarat, Rajya Sabha |
- Housing and Urban Affairs Minister HardeepPuri launched e-Dharti app
| USEFUL INFO |
| Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs | Hardeep Singh Puri |
| Constituency | Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha |
3. WHO unveils sweeping reforms in drive towards triple billion targets
| USEFUL INFO |
| World Health Organization Headquarters | Geneva, Switzerland |
| World Health Organization Director General | TedrosAdhanom |
4. Hardeep S Puri, Minister of State (I/C) for Housing and Urban Affairs has launched India Urban Observatory and Video Wall in New Delhi.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Minister of Housing and Urban | Hardeep Singh Puri |
| Constituency | Uttar Pradesh (Rajya Sabha) |
5. India’s first LGBTQ clinic and HIV treatment centre inaugurated in Mumbai
- The new visa agreement between Maldives and India has come into force.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Maldives Capital | Malé |
| Maldives Currency | Rufiyaa |
| Maldives President | Ibrahim Mohamed Solih |
- Arecanut gets its first Geographical Indication (GI) tag for ‘SirsiSupari’
8. United States to set up six nuclear power plants in India
Current Affairs: International
- Kane Tanaka, a 116-year-old woman from Japan has been honored by the Guinness World Records as the oldest living person in the world.
- The Marshall Islands is to launch a digital currency called ‘SOV’
| USEFUL INFO |
| Marshall Islands Capital | Majuro |
| Marshall Islands Currency | US Dollar |
| Marshall Islands President | Hilda Heine |
Current Affairs: State
- Country’s first oil museum to come up in Guwahati, Assam
- Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated BOLD-QIT project in Assam
| USEFUL INFO |
| Minister of Home Affairs | Rajnath Singh |
| Constituency | Lucknow, UP |
| Assam Capital | Dispur |
| Assam Chief Minister | SarbanandhaSonowal |
| Assam Governor | Jagdish Mukhi |
- Odisha government launched the scheme ‘MukhyamantriKarigarSahayata’ scheme for financial assistance to craftsmen
| USEFUL INFO |
| Odisha Capital | Bhubaneshwar |
| Odisha Chief Minister | Naveen Patnaik |
| Odisha Governor | Ganeshi Lal |
4. United Bank of India has signed a bancassurance deal with private life insurer HDFC Life Insurance Company
| USEFUL INFO |
| United Bank of India Headquarters | Kolkata |
| United Bank of India Tagline | The Bank that begins with “U” |
| United Bank of India CEO | Ashok Kumar Pradhan |
5. West Bengal launched a new scheme called Yuvashree Plan II or YuvashreeArpan scheme
| USEFUL INFO |
| West Bengal Capital | Kolkata |
| West Bengal Chief Minister | Mamata Banerjee |
| West Bengal Governor | Keshari Nath Tripathi |
6. Uttarakhand Government launched “MukhyamantriAnchalAmritYojana” a free milk scheme
| USEFUL INFO |
| Uttarakhand Capital | Dehradun |
| Uttarakhand Chief Minister | Trivendra Singh Rawat |
| Uttarakhand Governor | Baby Rani Maurya |
7. Maharashtra government launched ‘AtalAaharYojana’ to provide cheap hygienic food for construction workers
| USEFUL INFO |
| Maharashtra Capital | Mumbai |
| Maharashtra Chief Minister | Devendra Fadnavis |
| Maharashtra Governor | C. Vidyasagar Rao |
8. The MarayoorJaggery, a traditional and homemade product manufactured at Marayoor, Idukki district of Kerala, has bagged Geographical Indication tag.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Kerala Capital | Thiruvananthapuram |
| Kerala Chief Minister | Pinarayi Vijayan |
| Kerala Governor | P Sathasivam |
- National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation to be set up at Sehore in Madhya Pradesh
- Madhya Pradesh state government has issued an ordinance raising reservation for OBC to 27 per cent from the present 14 per cent.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Madhya Pradesh Capital | Bhopal |
| Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister | Kamal Nath |
| Madhya Pradesh Governor | Anandibenpatel |
11. Jammu and Kashmir government to give monthly stipend of Rs. 6000 and jobs for those who Shun militancy
| USEFUL INFO |
| Jammu & Kashmir Capital | Jammu & Srinagar |
| Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister | Vacant |
| Jammu & Kashmir Governor | Satya Pal Malik |
- Tamil Nadu’s Erode Turmeric Gets GI Tag
| USEFUL INFO |
| Tamil Nadu Capital | Chennai |
| Tamil Nadu Chief Minister | E. Palanisamy |
| Tamil Nadu Governor | Banwarilal Purohit |
Current Affairs: Banking and Finance
- NHA, IRDAI to set up working group for Ayushman Bharat implementation
| USEFUL INFO |
| Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India Headquarters | Hyderabad |
| Chairperson | Subhash Chandra Khuntia |
- United Bank of India has signed a bancassurance deal with private life insurer HDFC Life Insurance Company
| USEFUL INFO |
| United Bank of India Headquarters | Kolkata |
| United Bank of India Tagline | The Bank that begins with “U” |
| United Bank of India CEO | Ashok Kumar Pradhan |
- Reserve Bank relaxed norms for white label ATM (WLA) operators and allowed them to buy wholesale cash directly
4. Reserve Bank of India to infuse Rs. 12,500 crore via open market operations (OMOs)
| USEFUL INFO |
| RBI Headquarters | Mumbai |
| RBI Governor | Shaktikanta Das |
| RBI Deputy Governor | BP Kanungo, N S Vishwanathan, Viral Acharya and Mahesh Kumar Jain |
- State Bank of India to join SWIFT’s global payment interface
- SBI will use the repo rate as a benchmark to set the savings deposit interest rates and interest rates for short-term loans from May 01, 2019.
- State Bank of India launched ‘Doorstep Banking’ for senior citizen customers over 70 years of age
| USEFUL INFO |
| State Bank of India Headquarters | Mumbai |
| State Bank of India Tagline | The Banker to every Indian |
| State Bank of India Chairperson | Rajnish Kumar |
- Punjab National Bank sanctions loans worth Rs. 689 crore to 1,600 MSMEs via 59-minute loan portal
| USEFUL INFO |
| Punjab National Bank Headquarters | New Delhi |
| Punjab National Bank CEO | Sunil Mehta |
| Punjab National Bank Tagline | The name you can bank upon |
- SEBI withdrew the 20 percent limit on investments by Foreign Portfolio Investors in corporate bonds of an entity.
| USEFUL INFO |
| SEBIHeadquarters | Mumbai |
| SEBIChairman | Ajay Tyagi |
10. Bank of Baroda launchedcreche/daycare facility for children of employees
| USEFUL INFO |
| Bank of BarodaHeadquarters | Vadodara, Gujarath |
| Bank of Baroda Tagline | India’s International Bank |
| Bank of Baroda CEO | P S Jayakumar |
- HDFC Bank Ltd crossed the 6 trillion market capitalisation to became country’s third firm to achieve the milestone
| USEFUL INFO |
| HDFC Headquarters | Mumbai |
| HDFC CEO | Aditya Puri |
| HDFC Tagline | We Understand Your World |
Current Affairs: Cabinet Approval
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the investment sanction for construction of 624 Mega wattsKiru Hydro Electric Project in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Approved the investment for 1320 Mega Watt Khurja Super Thermal Power Plant at Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh.
- Investment for 1320 Mega Watt Buxar thermal Power Project in Bihar was also approved.
- Approved proposal for promulgation of Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Ordinance, 2019
- The construction of a 3rd railway line between Narayangarh in West Bengal and Bhadrak in Odisha of 155 kilometres length. The total estimated cost of this project is 1866 crore rupees and will be completed by 2023-24.
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has also approved additional funds to Sugar Mills amounting to 2790 crore rupees.
Current Affairs: Appointments
| Dr. AusafSayeed | Next ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia |
| Padma Lakshmi | UNDP’s newest Goodwill Ambassador |
| Jagdish Mukhi (Assam Governor) | Interim Governor of Mizoram |
| SoumyaSwaminathan | Chief Scientist of the World Health Organisation (WHO) |
| Subhash Chandra Garg | Finance Secretary |
| Mohammad Shtayyeh | Palestinian Prime Minister |
| AshuKhullar | CEO of CITI India ( from April 1) |
| Anup Kumar Dubey and Sushil Kumar | Special directors in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) |
| ZinedineZidane | Re-appointed as the coach football club Real Madrid |
| C. Lalsawta | Chairman of Lokayukta in Mizoram |
| RakeshMakhija | Non-executive chairman of Axis Bank |
| Aditya Kumar Misra | Chairman – Agricultural Scientific Recruitment Board (ASRB) |
| M Ravi Kanth | CMD- Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) Ltd, (6 Month extension) |
Current Affairs: Resignation
| Kummanam Rajasekharan | Governor of Mizoram |
Current Affairs: Awards and Honours
| ArataIsozaki (Japanese architect) | Pritzker Architecture Prize 2019 |
| Acko General Insurance (Mimbai) | Golden Peacock Innovative Product Award 2019 – under the Insurance Category |
| PriyankaDubey (BBC) | Chameli Devi Jain Award ( Outstanding Woman Journalist for 2018) |
| Ministry of Tourism | International Golden City Gate Tourism Awards 2019 (TV cinema spot’ category) |
| Vice President Venkaiah Naidu | Doctor Honoris Causa from University of Peace |
| SonaYukti | Social Enterprise Network (SEN) sustainability award for education |
| VedRahi (Film director and novelist) | Kusumagrajnational award for literature |
- India awards 200 Golden Jubilee Scholarships to Nepali students
- President Shri Ram Nath Kovind conferred three Kirti Chakras and fifteen Shaurya Chakras to Armed Forces Personnel
Current Affairs: Summit and Conference
- The 34th edition of AAHAR – the International Food and Hospitality fair – begins at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi
- 14th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnerships to be held in New Delhi
- The 4th Internet of Things India Congress 2019 to be held in Bengaluru
| USEFUL INFO |
| Minister of Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation | Suresh Prabhu |
| Constituency | Andhra Pradesh, RS |
Current Affairs: Mobile Application
- Google has stopped all the services of its messaging app ‘Allo’ from March 12, 2019 and shut down the app.
Current Affairs: Ranking
- According to a report Price comparison site Cable.co.uk, India is home to the cheapest mobile data plans in the world
- The Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar has won the 2018 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) award as the leading airport in size and region
- Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru clinch the Airports Council International’s Airport Service Quality Awards for both Arrivals and Departures
- Former RBI Governor RaghuramRajan to get YashwantraoChavan national award
- According to Knight Frank report – Mumbai is the 16th most expensive prime residential market in the world. Globally Monaco has topped the list
- Women in India earn 19 per cent less than men according to a report prepared by monster.com.
- According to SIPRI’s annual report ‘Trends in International Arms Transfers-2018’ India is the second largest importer of weapons in the world
- As per the latest report by the World Gold Council (WGC)India ranks 11th in gold holding
Current Affairs: MOU
- India signed a loan agreement with the World Bank for 96 Million US dollars for Uttarakhand Disaster Recovery Project.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Uttarakhand Capital | Dehradun |
| Uttarakhand Chief Minister | Trivendra Singh Rawat |
| Uttarakhand Governor | Baby Rani Maurya |
2. India and ADB sign 26 million dollar loan pact for improving drainage infrastructure in Dibrugarh, Assam.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Asian Development Bank Headquarters | Mandaluyong, Philippines |
| Asian Development Bank President | TakehikoNakao |
- The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) has come forward to extend a loan of Rs. 4,100 crore for the Visakhapatnam metro rail project.
- Women and Child Development Ministry and Skill Development Ministry signed an MoU for improving women livelihood
| USEFUL INFO |
| Minister of Women Welfare and Child Development | Maneka Gandhi |
| Constituency | Philibit, UP |
| Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship | DharmendhraPradhan |
| Constituency | Deogarh, Odisha |
- India has signed a USD 3 billion deal with Russian Government for the lease of a nuclear-powered attack submarine for the Indian Navy for a period of 10 years
| USEFUL INFO |
| Russia Capital | Moscow |
| Russia Currency | Russian Rouble |
| Russia President | Vladimir Putin |
6. HP India signs MoU with Andhra Pradesh government to set up additive manufacturing centre
- The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has signed a Cooperation Agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC)
8. India and World Bank Signs $137 Million Loan Agreement for the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP)
| USEFUL INFO |
| World Bank Headquarters | Washington, D.C., United States |
| World Bank CEO | KristalinaGeorgieva |
- The French space agency, National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), has signed an agreement with ISRO to set up a maritime surveillance centre in India
| USEFUL INFO |
| ISRO Headquarters | Bengaluru |
| ISRO Chairman | Kailasavadivoo Sivan |
- The Japanese government announced a donation of some Rs. 22 lakh ($31,800) to the RabindraBharati Museum
- Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs haspartneredwith Microsoft India to use the platform Project Sangam of Microsoft on its Swachh Bharat e-Learning Portal.
- India extends USD 250 mn to Nepal for reconstruction of infrastructures post earthquake
| USEFUL INFO |
| Nepal Capital | Kathmandu |
| Nepal Currency | Nepali Rupee |
| Nepal Prime Minister | K P Sharma Oli |
Current Affairs: Science and Technology
- NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Kochare scheduled to carry out the first ever all female spacewalk in history on March 29
- China launched new communication satellite ‘ChinaSat 6C’, and marks 300th mission of Long March-3B carrier rocket
| USEFUL INFO |
| China Capital | Beijing |
| China Currency | Renminbi |
| China President | Xi Jinping |
3. The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) will develop a device called ‘NERO’ to generatepotable water from atmospheric air.
- IIT Kharagpur students created an mobile app to detect fake currency notes
Current Affairs: Defence
- A 12-day long advanced aerial combat training exercise Red Flag 2019 begins in US
- Defence Research and Development organisation, (DRDO) successfully test fired the PINAKA guided weapon rocket system from Pokhran range in Rajasthan
| USEFUL INFO |
| DRDOHeadquarters | New Delhi |
| DRDO Chairman | G. Satheesh Reddy |
3. U.S. Special Forces hold exercise with National Security Guard (NSG) in Hyderabad
Current Affairs: Sports
- Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports recognises Kudo International Federation India as National Sport Federation
2. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports recognises All India Carrom Federation as National Sports Federation
| USEFUL INFO |
| Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports | Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore |
| Constituency | Jaipur Lok Sabha |
- Iniyan, the 16-year-old boy from the Erode district of Tamil Nadu has become the 61st Grandmaster of India
- Kavinder Singh Bisht (56kg) won gold while Shiva Thapa (60kg) claimed silver medals to end a fine Indian campaign at the 38th GeeBee Boxing Tournament in Helsinki, Finland
- Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakarwas selected as Barbie role model
- Rio Olympics race walk champion Liu Hong broke the 50km world record and became the first woman to dip under the four-hour mark at an event in Haungshan.
- WWE Hall of Fame inductee Kurt Angle announced his retirement from wrestling
- Special Olympics World Games 2019, begin at Abu Dhabi in UAE
| USEFUL INFO |
| UAE Capital | Abu Dhabi |
| UAE Currency | Dirham |
| UAE President | Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan |
All England Badminton Championships
| Events | Winners | Runners |
| Men’s Singles | KentoMomota | Viktor Axelsen |
| Women’s Singles | Chen Yufei | Tai Tzu Ying |
| Men’s Doubles | Mohammad Ahsan and HendraSetiawan | Aaron Chia and Soh Woo Yik |
| Women’s Doubles | Chen Qing Chen and JiaYifan | Mayu Matsumoto and WakanaNagahara |
Current Affairs: Committee
1. Dr AlokSrivastava to head committee on Comprehensive Insurance Scheme for Advocates
2. Delhi Government established high-level committee chaired by DDC vice-chairperson Jasmine Shah to reform higher education
Current Affairs: Books
| Books | Author |
| Gauri- The Urge to Fly | Rhythm Wagholikar |
| SabkaSaathSabkaVikas | Collection of selected speeches of Prime Minister |
Current Affairs: Obituaries
| Person | Field |
| VirendraKataria | Former lieutenant governor of Puducherry |
| Daniel Rudisha (Kenya) | Olympian and Athletics coach |
| Kelly Catlin | American cyclist |
| VinodKashyap | Veteran Hindi Newsreader |
| Sir John Richardson | Eminent British art historian and critic |