Daily Current Affairs, 19th March 2019

1) Pramod Sawant Sworn In As Goa Chief Minister

•Pramod Sawant (45), former Speaker of Goa legislative Assembly and MLA from Sankhelim in North Goa was sworn-in as 11th Chief Minister of Goa, succeeding Manohar Parrikar, who died after a prolonged battle with advanced pancreatic cancer.

•He was given the oath of office and secrecy at Raj Bhavan by Goa Governor Mridula Sinha. The entire Cabinet of Manohar Parikkar has been retained.

2) Justice P.C. Ghose Named India’s First Lokpal

•Former Supreme Court judge Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose was recommended to be the first Lokpal or anti-corruption ombudsman of India. Justice Ghose, 67, is a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) since June 2017.

•His name was finalised and recommended by the Selection Committee comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and eminent jurist Mukul Rohatgi. 

3) ‘i-help’ Initiative Launched In Assam

•The ‘i-help’ initiative to promote digital electoral literacy in Assam has been launched in view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. It is a joint initiative of the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer(CEO) and Common Service Centres (CSC) in Assam. CEO Mukesh Chandra Sahu launched the ‘i-help’ initiative.

4) India & Afghanistan Signed an MOU On Digital Education Initiatives

•The Ministry of Human Resource Development has signed a memorandum of understanding(MoU) with the Afghanistan government to work on digital education initiatives, which include many prominent programs developed by Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). The MoU was signed at IIT-Madras. This collaboration hopes to contribute to bilateral relations and beget mutual benefits for the two countries.

5) Africa-India Field Training Exercise AFINDEX-19 Begins

•The inaugural Africa-India Field Training Exercise-2019 for India and African nations called AFINDEX-19 started with a grand opening ceremony at Aundh Military Station, Pune.

•Contingents of the 17 African Nations came together for the opening ceremony along with a contingent of Maratha Light Infantry representing India. The aim of the exercise is to practice the participating nations in planning and conduct of Humanitarian Mine Assistance and Peace Keeping Operations.

6) Ola Signs MoU With Telangana To Implement Smart Traffic Solutions

•Ola has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Telangana to support the latter’s efforts in strengthening traffic infrastructure in the city. The partnership would see Ola ‘share intelligent insights’ that enable the Government to implement smart solutions to enhance ‘mobility experience’ in the city, an Ola release stated.

•The first pilot project proposed to be implemented under the MoU is the dynamic mapping of riding quality of various major roads in Hyderabad through the network of vehicles operating on the Ola platform.