ANDHRA PRADESH
- Vijayawada Railway Station awarded the Gold Rating for being Clean & Eco-Friendly
- Vijayawada railway station, one of the busiest railway junctions in India, has received Gold Ratingby the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) for Green Measures.
- The IGBC-CII, with the support of the Environment Directorate of Indian Railways, developed the Green Railway Stations Rating System to facilitate adoption of green concepts, thereby reduce the adverse environmental impact due to station operation and maintenance and also enhance the overall commuter experience.
- The Vijayawada station has installed 100 per cent LED lighting, the fans are five-star rated, and solar power is already being used for water heating systems.
INTERNATIONAL
- Kazakhstan’s 1st and only President resigns after 29 yrs in power
- Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan’s first and only President, announced his resignation on March 19 after 29 yearsin power.
- He has been Kazakhstan’s President since 1990and was formally elected in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union. He received 98 percent of the votes.
- Nazarbayev would continue to chair the Security Council and remain the leader of theNur Otan party.
- Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, speaker of the upper house of parliament, will take over as the country’sacting president for the remainder of his term in line with the constitution.
- Kazakhstan to rename country’s capital Astana as Nursultan
- Kazakhstan’s parliament voted to rename the country’s capital Astana as Nursultan.
- It will be renamed in honour of longtime ruler Nursultan Nazarbayev after he resigned as president.
- Kazakhstan’s new interim president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed renaming the capital.
- Astana replaced Kazakhstan’s largest city Almaty as the capital in 1997.
- Evidence of water found on asteroid Bennu
- Scientists have discovered evidence of abundant water-bearing minerals on the surface of the near-Earth asteroid Bennu.
- Using early spectral data from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft orbiting the asteroid, the team identified infrared properties similar to those in a type of meteorite called carbonaceous chondrites.
- Bennu has a more rugged surface than expected. This posed a challenge for the mission team and forced it to alter its flight and sample collection plans.
- Few of the particles ejected out of Bennu orbited it as satellites before returning to the asteroid’s surface.
NATIONAL
- Indian Air Force to participate in LIMA 2019
- Indian Air Force will participate in Langkawi International Maritime Aero Expo, LIMA 2019.
- The expo will take place in Langkawi, Malaysia from 26th to 30th March.
- Indian Air Force is participating in the Expo for the first time and it will showcase its indigenously developed LCA fighter aircraft.
- The participation of Indian Air Force in LIMA – 2019 will provide an opportunity to air-warriors to interact with their Royal Malaysian Air Force
- ADB to invest USD 50 million in Avaada Energy for expansion of solar projects in India
- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will invest $50 millionin Indian renewable energy independent power producer Avaada Energy Private Limited, to expand its solar energy generation capacity in India.
- Avaada is a developer of utility-scale, rooftop, and off-grid solar projects.
- According to the ADB, this investment will contribute to the Indian government’s goal to increase the share of renewable energy generationcapacity from about 20% in 2018 to 40% by 2030.
- It will also help to reduce India’s emission intensity of its gross domestic product by 33-35 per cent by 2030.
- The company has secured power purchase agreements of about 1,700 megawatts.
- SpiceJet becomes first Indian low-cost airline to join IATA
- SpiceJet has joined global airlines’ grouping International Air Transport Association (IATA) as a member, becoming the first Indian low-cost carrier to get the membership.
- The IATA represents more than 290 airlines, including Air India, Jet Airways and Vistara.
- The IATA membership is significant on account of SpiceJet’s plans for rapidly expanding its international footprint.
- SpiceJet is the first Indian low-cost carrier to be an IATA member and fifth member of IATA in India.
- CBSE launches app Shiksha Vani
- Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)launched its podcast app, ‘Shiksha Vani’.
- It will be used to send out major announcements made by the board and is expected to be the quickest way to information.
- The first official circular on the app confirmed the beginning of the evaluation process of the 2019 Board Examinations.
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