Current Affairs March 1, 2018

Transcription

1 Current Affairs March 1, 2018 World News Kathmandu: 7th meeting of EPG on Nepal-India relations concludes The seventh meeting of Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on Nepal-India relations has concluded in Kathmandu. Issues like the 1950 Peace and Friendship treaty, trade, environment, border and hydropower were discussed in the meeting. Three MoU s Signed between India and Jordan Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the visiting King of Jordan Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein held bilateral talks and signed 3 MOU s in the field of Cooperation in the Field of Manpower, Health Sector and Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters.

2 National News Cabinet doubles guarantee to banks for market intervention in purchase of pulses, oilseeds The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved extension of Government Guarantee provided to lender Banks for providing credit limit to the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) to Rs 19,000 crore from Rs 9,500 crore for undertaking procurement operation of pulses and oilseeds under Price Support Scheme (PSS). It has also cleared extension of Rs 45 crore credit limits to Small Farmers Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC) for meeting their existing liability and settlement of claims. The Government Guarantees will be provided for a period of five years. DAC approves Rs. 9,435-crore procurement proposals for three services The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has approved various procurement proposals for three services estimated at about Rs. 9,435 crore. The proposals include the purchase of 41,000 light machine guns (LMGs) and over 3.5 lakh close quarter battle (CQB). LMGs and CQB carbines: The carbines will be procured at cost of Rs. 4,607 crore and LMGs Rs. 3,000 crore. India s first defence Quad to be made The Defence Ministry has started the process to set up the country s 1st defence industrial corridor to promote industries manufacturing weapons and military equipment. Quad or quadrilateral corridor will connect Chennai, Hosur, Coimbatore, Salem & Tiruchirappalli. The idea behind setting up defence industrial corridors is to ensure connectivity among various defence industrial units. Union Cabinet approves Action Plan for Champion Sectors in Services The Union Cabinet approved the proposal of Ministry of Commerce and Industry to give focused attention to 12 identified Champion Services Sectors Sectors (CSS) for promoting their development and realizing their potential. 12 identified CSS are Information Technology & Information Technology.

3 The Information Technology & Information Technology Enabled Services (IT & ITeS), Medical Value Travel, Transport and Logistics Services, Tourism and Hospitals. The respective Ministries/Departments will finalize Action Plans and implementation timelines along with monitoring mechanism to monitor implementation of Scheme. It will enhance the competitiveness of country s service sectors through implementation of focused and monitored Action Plans. State News Delhi government to set up State Sanskrit Education Council Delhi government has decided to establish State Sanskrit Education Council to improve formal education of Sanskrit in Delhi. Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia has ordered the education department to go through representations received by Delhi government regarding Sanskrit education in schools and colleges. He said that, the education department will study the representations and take necessary steps to form a Delhi State Sanskrit Education Council. Haryana cabinet nod to death penalty for rape of victim aged 12 or less Haryana government gave its nod to a proposal to bring in a legislation that would have a provision awarding death penalty to those guilty of raping girls aged 12 years or less. Existing criminal laws related to sexual offences will be made more stringent. In case of rape of a girl upto 12 years of age, there will be a punishment of death or rigorous imprisonment of not less than 14 years. 1st Mega Food Park Inaugurated In Maharashtra The first Mega Food Park in the state of Maharashtra Satara Mega Food Park Pvt. Ltd. at Village Degaon, District Satara was inaugurated by Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister of Food Processing Industries. This is the 10th Mega Food Park being operationalized in the country and the 8th operationalized during the tenure of the present government. Satara Mega Food Park has been set up in 64 acres of land at a cost of Rs crore.

4 Banking & Economy April-Jan fiscal deficit hits 113.7% of full-year target India's fiscal deficit for April-January reached 113.7% of the budgeted target for the current fiscal year that ends in March The fiscal deficit stood at 6.77 trillion and net tax receipts in the first ten months were 9.7 trillion, government data showed. Earlier, the fiscal deficit target for the current year was raised to 3.5% of GDP from 3.2%. Catholic Syrian Bank Ltd and Celebrus Capital Ltd signs For Online Trading Services Catholic Syrian Bank Ltd and Celebrus Capital Ltd have announced a new partnership to offer CSB s customers online trading and Demat services. With this partnership, CSB s customers can open a Celebrus trading account free of cost and also enjoy preferred rates on brokerage charges/ AMC fees on the Demat account. The partnership will enable all CSB clients to open free Demat accounts through the Celebrus platform with in-depth research, allowing them to take wise investment decisions. IndusInd Bank and Ripple Tie-Up for Cross-Border Remittances IndusInd Bank announced its partnership with Ripple (the enterprise blockchain solution for Global Payments) to facilitate payments into and out of India. With this affiliation, RippleNet can now provide instant access in emerging markets such as India, Brazil, and China. In 2017, India saw a total of $65 billion moves into the country and IndusInd Bank which has significant interests in cross-border remittances plans to harness the power of Blockchain technology for facilitating global payments. SBI steeply hikes deposit rates for various tenors SBI steeply raised the retail and bulk deposits rates for various maturities by up to 0.75% with immediate effect. This is the third pricing revision in past four months by the bank. For retail deposits, below 1 crore, rates have been increased by up to 0.50%, while for deposits maturing in one year to less than two years, the pricing has been raised by 0.15% to 6.40% from 6.25% earlier.

5 Sports Para-Swimmer Prasanta Karmakar suspended for three years Para-swimmer Prasanta Karmakar was suspended for 3 years by the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) due to allegations of recording videos of female para-swimmers at the National Championships 2017 in Jaipur. Prasanta Karmakar was the first Indian para-swimmer to participate and win a medal at the 2003 World Swimming Championships in Argentina. He had won bronze medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. He was India s swimming coach for the 2016 Rio Paralympics. After receiving complaints from parents of female para-swimmers over video recording by Prasanta Karmakar, he was investigated and now has been suspended for 3 years by the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI). Russia s Olympic membership restored by International Olympic Committee Russia s Olympic membership has been restored by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Russia has got back its Olympic membership, following its suspension from 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. Russia was banned by IOC due to state-sponsored doping during the Winter Olympics 2014 in Sochi. Still, 168 Russians participated in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics as neutral participants. They participated as Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR). It was the third largest team and bagged 17 medals. Except two participants from Russia, all others proved clean in the dope test conducted during the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. IOC has restored Russia s Olympic membership. Tokyo Unveils Mascots for 2020 Olympics and Paralympics Tokyo unveiled its long-awaited mascot for the 2020 Olympic Games: a futuristic bluechecked, doe-eyed character with pointy ears and special powers that was picked by schoolchildren across mascot-mad Japan. One has an athletic figure and a strong sense of justice. The other is a cherry blossom-inspired superhero.

6 Appointments & Resignations Dhanlaxmi Bank appoints Sajeev Krishnan as Director The board of Thrissur-based Dhanlaxmi Bank has appointed Sajeev Krishnan as a director. In his 39 years of service, Krishnan has worked in various capacities including officiating Managing Director of State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Travancore, CGM of SBT and Chief Vigilance Officer with Corporation Bank. Pakistani mountaineer Samina Baig appointed UNDP goodwill ambassador Samina Baig, the first Pakistani woman to have climbed Mount Everest, was appointed as the national goodwill ambassador by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Baig will lead efforts to build national awareness and partnerships around Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those related to climate change, environmental protection and women empowerment. Vinay Kumar appointed as Ambassador of India to Afghanistan Vinay Kumar has been named the next Ambassador of India to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Vinay Kumar is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) Officer of the 1992 batch. He is at present Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. He has been appointed the next Ambassador of India to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. He will soon take charge as Ambassador of India to Afghanistan. Science & Technology India successfully test-fires ATGM Nag in desert conditions India successfully test-fired Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) Nag in desert conditions, at Pokhran s field firing range in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The ATGM Nag was developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It was tested against two tank targets at different ranges and timings. Director General (Missiles and Strategic Systems) G Satheesh Reddy said that, the technologies of ATGM responsible for engaging targets in different conditions have been verified with the successful tests.

7 The developmental trials of ATGM Nag are over and now it is ready for induction. ATGM NAG possesses advanced technologies like the Imaging infrared (IIR) Seeker with integrated avionics. Moon to get its first mobile phone network The moon will get its first 4G mobile network next year to allow lunar exploration vehicles to stream high-definition data back to a base station. Vodafone Germany, Nokia, and carmaker Audi said on Tuesday that they were working in collaboration with Berlin-based space exploration scientists. The project is a part of the first privately-funded mission to the Moon. Obituaries Noted Odia Bhajan Singer Arabinda Muduli passes away Arabinda Muduli, Odia Bhajan singer, died following a cardiac arrest in Bhubaneswar. Arabinda Muduli was 56 years old. He was a musician, singer and lyricist. He sang devotional songs. He was born on 1 September 1961 at Khanati in Khordha district. He has delivered more than 3,000 songs. His popular bhajans are Kala Saante Acha Kemante and Jaga Pain Niti Mali Phula.