Notes:
The 14th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnerships will be held in New Delhi from March 17-19, 2019. It is being organized by Ministry of Commerce & Industry in association with Confederation of Indian Industry and EXIM Bank of India. The event will mark the deepening of India-Africa economic and business ties and pave the way for a whole range of cross-border project partnerships. The Conclave will mark the pre-eminence of India-Africa partnership in the area of ‘South-South Cooperation’, at a time when the global economy is faced with intractable challenges that stem from rising protectionism and trade conflicts. It is expected to see the participation of 400 plus delegates from Africa and around 300 delegates from India. The B2B meetings at this Conclave are expected tobe held on more than 500 project proposals from Africa.

Notes:
The 4th edition of the Internet of Things (IoT) India Congress 2019 will be held in Bengaluru on August 22-23, 2019. The event will see digital technology leaders converge to discuss and explore business opportunities in mainstreaming IoT. It will include tracks on segments such as healthcare, manufacturing, telecom, smart cities, energy, retail, cyber security, skills and development, IoT Standards, legal and regulatory, and agriculture. The two-day Congress will host live zones and hackathons where people can touch, feel and experience IoT and solve sector-specific challenges.

Notes:
Erode turmeric (of Tamil Nadu) has finally got a Geographical Indication (GI) tag on 6th March 2019, which will help the farmers and traders from the region to claim sole rights over the famed ‘Erode Manjal’. The Geographical Indication Registry of India granted the coveted status based on the application filed by ‘Erode Manjal Vanigarkal Matrum Kidangu Urimaiyalargal Sangam’. The GI tag is granted to products that are special for a particular geographical area and prevents misuse of the popularity of the products by others. ‘Erode Manjal’ is famous across the globe. The cultivar is called Erode local, i.e., Chinnanadan. Erode turmeric is a rhizome, both finger and bulb obtained from the Erode local cultivar. The crop is grown in hot moist conditions prevalent in the area with temperature ranging from 20 degrees to 37.9 degrees Celsius with an average of 600 to 800 mm rainfall in a year. The turmeric thrives best on the loamy or alluvial soils. Quality parameters of the turmeric included 2.5 to 4.5% of curcumin content, a golden yellow colour and resistance to pests after boiling.

Notes:
Young Mumbai sailor Upamanyu Dutta bagged the bronze in the Laser Standard race for men in the Asian Open Laser Sailing Championship in Singapore. It is the India’s first ever medal in the competitive single handed Laser Standard Category. Nethra Kumanan of Chennai achieved a creditable 4th position in the Laser Radial event for women.

Notes:
The State Bank of India (SBI) has launched doorstep banking service for senior citizens over 70 years of age, differently-abled customers and infirm customers, including visually-impaired customers. Eligible customers can avail this service at a nominal fee of Rs. 100 per transaction for financial transactions and Rs. 60 for non-financial transactions. The doorstep banking services are available to KYC- compliant account holders, with a valid mobile number registered with the bank and residing within 5km radius from their home branch. This service will not be available for accounts operated jointly, minor accounts, and accounts of non-personal nature. The list of specific services will include – Cash pickup & delivery, Cheque pickup, Cheque book requisition slip pickup, Delivery of drafts & Term deposit advice, Life certificate pick-up and Pickup of Form 15H for Income Tax purposes.

Notes:
Karnataka has won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for the first time. In the final, they defeated Maharashtra by 8 wickets at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. With the win, Karnataka set a record of most number of wins in a row by an Indian domestic team as they won 14 T20 matches to lift the coveted T20 trophy. Karnataka also equaled Indian Premier League outfit Kolkata Knight Riders’ record of 14 consecutive wins.

Notes:
National record holder Irfan Kolothum Thodi has become the first Indian from athletics to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics while finishing fourth in the 20 km event of the Asian Race Walking Championships at Nomi in Japan. Irfan clocked 1 hour 20 minutes and 57 seconds in the 20-kilometre walk to attain the standard qualifying mark for the Olympics. The fourth-place finishes also ensured a berth in the upcoming International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championship in Doha that begins in September 2019. Two other Indian race walkers, who qualified for the World Championship are Devinder and Ganapati. Having qualified for Tokyo 2020, this will be Irfan’s second Olympics having represented the country in 2012 London Games. The Olympics qualification period for race walk events and marathon race has begun from January 1 this year and will run till May 31, 2020.

Notes:
The IIT Kharagpur has signed a MoU with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) to set up India’s first state-of-the-art 1.3 PetaFlop high performance computing facility and data center funded under the National Supercomputing Mission. PetaFlop is the measurement of computing power based on the frequency of mathematical calculations that can be done per second. This computing facility will provide large-scale computational support to the researchers, who are engaged in research activities in diverse areas of national importance. It will be used for specific challenge domains like cryptography, molecular dynamics, chemistry, drug discovery, artificial intelligence (AI) and data sciences. The facility is expected to come up in the next 3-4 months with the work to be carried in three phases of – ‘assembling, assembling and manufacturing and design and manufacturing. C-DAC is a premier R&D organisation of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

Notes:
On March 15, the first-ever BRICS Sherpa meeting under the Presidency of Brazil concluded at Curitiba in Brazil. T S Tirumurti, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the MEA, led the Indian delegation at the 2-day meeting. During the meeting, India conveyed its support for the priority areas set out by Brazil, particularly to take forward BRICS cooperation on counter terrorism in a meaningful and concrete manner with BRICS member countries. New Delhi also underlined the need to take forward people-to-people cooperation and cooperation in science and technology and innovation and in health and traditional medicine.

Notes:
Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘INS Vijit’ has become the first-ever Coast Guard ship to visit Indonesian port of Sabang on March 17, 2019. The ship is commanded by Comdt T Ashish (0532-J), who is a long Navigation Direction officer. The 4-day visit of INS Vijit highlighted the close proximity between the two countries and the strengthening cooperation in maritime security and safety. During its maiden voyage officers and crew of Vijit will hold interaction with officials of Bakamla (Indonesian Coast Guard), Indonesian Armed Forces and the civil administration at Sabang. It is the another step forward in implementation of “Shared Vision of Maritime Cooperation in the Indo Pacific”. ‘Vijit’ meaning “Winner or Victorious” is the testimony of India’s shipbuilding capabilities and the resolve of Govt of India to safeguard country’s maritime interests. Earlier, in July 2018, Indian naval ship INS Sumitra visited Sabang and highlighted the maritime proximity between India and Indonesia.