Daily Current Affairs, 26th March 2018

1)  India Becomes 3rd Largest Electricity Producer In The World

•India has become the 3rd largest electricity producer in the world as its electricity production grew 34%over seven years to 2017. The country now produces more energy than Japan and Russia, which had 27% and 8.77% more electricity generation capacity installed, respectively, than India seven years ago. 

•Electricity production stood at 1,003.525 Billion Unit between April 2017-January 2018, according to a February 2018 report by India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), a trust established by the commerce ministry. With a production of 1,423 BU in FY 2016, India was the third largest producer and the third largest consumer of electricity in the world, behind China (6,015 BU) and the United States (4,327 BU).

•The top 3 Producers of Electricity in the world are-
1. China
2. The USA
3. India.

2)  World’s Oldest City Varanasi Goes ‘Wireless’

•Eighty-six years after the city got electricity, overhead power cables in world's oldest city 'Varanasi ' is being dismantled after a project to lay underground lines over 16 sq-km has been finally completed.

•Laying cables for 50,000 consumers through the serpentine lanes and congested markets in one of the world’s oldest cities was quite a challenge for Powergrid, the company conducting the integrated power development scheme (IPDS) project.

3)  President Kovind Lays Foundation Stone Of 5 National Highway Projects In Varanasi

•President Ram Nath Kovind visited Varanasi on a one-day visit to Uttar Pradesh. During his temple city visit, Mr Kovind laid the foundation stone of five projects of the National Highway Authority of India. It includes second phase of outer ring of the city and four-lane roads between Varanasi and Rewa in Madhya Pradesh.

•Mr Kovind was welcomed by State Governor Ram Naik and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the Varanasi Airport (Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport).

4)  India Becomes 4th Largest Auto Market In The World

•India has overtaken Germany to become the fourth largest automobile market in the world, According to the latest global data. Automobile sales, including passenger and commercial vehicles, in Asia’s third-largest economy, grew 9.5%.

•It is the fastest among major global markets, last year to more than 4 million units, outpacing Germany’s 3.8-million vehicle sales, which rose by a modest 2.8% in the same period.

•The top 5 countries on the list are-
1. China
2. USA
3. Japan
4. India
5. Germany.

5)  West Bengal Tops List Of States With Most Number Of Beggars

•The government of India has come out with the total number of beggars in the country. As per the data, based on 2011 census released by Union ministry of Social Justice, there are around 4 lakh beggars in total. The highest number of beggars, 81,000, are in West Bengal.

•Lakshadweep, a union territory, has only two people (Least) begging for their livelihood. West Bengal is followed by Uttar Pradesh and Bihar at number two and three respectively.

6)  1st International Exhibition Of Graphic Prints ‘Print Biennale India 2018’ Inaugurated

•The country’s National Academy of Art, the Lalit Kala Akademi hosted the first-ever International Print Biennale in the country with a record number of 17 countries taking part in it. The first-ever International Exhibition of Graphic Prints ‘Print Biennale India 2018’ opened, at the Rabindra Bhavan Galleries of the Lalit Kala Akademi in New Delhi.

•The eminent Artist-Printmaker, Shakti Barman was the Chief Guest. The event comprising a total of 200 original prints are created by Indian and international artists of impeccable competence and is a window view into the giant strides in printmaking that is taking place in India and the world.