Current Affair of March 2019

National

1. Hyderabad-based pharma Laurus Labs Limited has announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with Global Fund for a period of 3.5 years. The agreement gives Laurus Labs volume commitments for drugs from the Global Fund for the treatment of HIV/AIDS.

2. The Union Cabinet has approved the creation of six additional posts in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). The proposal involves the creation of three additional posts each for judicial members and technical members in the NCLAT. The creation of additional posts will help meet the mandate provided to NCLAT by the Finance Act 2017, the Companies Act 2013 and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016.

3. The Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare has notified the Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019 with an aim to promote clinical research in the country.

4. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has announced the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Early Childhood Care Education (ECCE), and Yoga as skill subjects in the school curriculum for academic session 2019-20.

5. Bihar Diwas was celebrated on March 22nd across the state to commemorate the day when Bihar was carved out of the Bengal Presidency in the year 1912. March 22nd 2019 was the 107th foundation day of the state.

6. The Central Government has banned the Yasin Malik-led Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) as an unlawful association under the provisions of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

7. Social media platforms and the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) presented a ‘Voluntary Code of Ethics for the General Election 2019 to the Election Commission of India.

8. The Supreme Court has censured the Uttarakhand High Court for framing a scheme to regularise hundreds of casual workers engaged by the Border Roads Organization (BRO) under the Ministry of Defence in the construction of roads for Char Dham Yatra pilgrimage.

9. WhatsApp and National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) have decided to work together to impart digital literacy for curbing the menace of fake news before the general elections.

10. India’s Sai Praneeth fell short of creating history after losing in the finals of Men’s singles in the Swiss Open Badminton Tournament. Sai Praneeth who had upset World No.5 and Olympic champion Chen Long in the semi-final, lost to Shi Yuqi of China.

11. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to prepare a noise pollution map and remedial action plan to solve the issue across the country.

12. The Students from IIT- Kharagpur has devised a code for a Smartphone application to address the problem of detecting fake Indian currency.

13. The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the setting up of National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage and Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant will be the head the steering committee.

14. The government has warned twitter activists of 7-year jail term and financial penalties if failed to act to remove content and accounts that are ‘objectionable and inflammatory.

15. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has formulated the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC) by revising the National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business, 2011 (NVGs).

16. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has stated before the Supreme Court that exclusion of names of persons from draft National Registry of Citizens (NRC) in Assam will not affect their voting rights in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls provided their names feature in the electoral rolls.

17. The Ireland-based Johnson Controls Building Technologies and Solutions has released its report for the second annual smart city indicator survey. The survey tracks key drivers, organisational barriers, technology trends, and the status of smart city solution implementations around the world. The survey queried over 330 city leaders.

18. With the Election Commission of India announcing the polling dates for the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force.

19. The government has launched the Pulse Polio Programme 2019. Under the programme, polio drops would be administered to children less than five years of age.

20. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that Prasar Bharati has brought 11 more State DD Channels on the Satellite footprint of India through DD Free Dish. The 11 channels include five from Northeastern states.

21. India has launched its third IT corridor in China. The corridor will facilitate partnerships between Indian and Chinese companies. National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) entered into a partnership with China’s Xuzhou city from Jiangsu Province in China to help develop the IT corridor.

22. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has reduced the MRP of 390 non-scheduled cancer medicines have been reduced by up to 87%. NPA has asked the manufacturers and hospitals to revise the prices based on the trade margin formula.

23. The Supreme Court has proposed a court-monitored mediation in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case to arrive at a permanent solution to the politically and religiously sensitive issue.

24. The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Puri launched the e-Dharti app and e-Dharti GeoPortal to help the public in getting the necessary information on fingertips and the government to effectively manage its properties.

25. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has eased business guidelines for white label ATMs. These new guidelines increase the avenues of revenue earning for the white label ATMs.

26. The latest report released by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has referred to India as a Key Hub for Illicit Drug Trade.

27. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) created a new Guinness World Record for the longest single moving line bicycle parade at the Yamuna Expressway.

28. The Central Government has banned the Jamaat-e-Islami (Jammu and Kashmir) for a period of 5 years due to the outfit’s ‘close touch’ with the militants. The decision of banning the outfit was taken to avoid escalation of the secessionist movement in J&K.

29. The National Policy on Software Products – 2019 has been approved by the Union Cabinet. The policy is aimed at developing India as a Software Product Nation. An outlay of Rs 1500 crore divided into Software Product Development Fund and Research & Innovation fund is envisaged to implement the programmes/ schemes envisaged under this policy over a period of 7 years.

30. The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has set a new world record. The department had undertaken the Modern Artificial Limbs (Legs) implantation in Gujarat’s Bharuch. The implantation was carried out for 260 people in record eight hours. This was the seventh world record set by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.

31. Bhagwan Lal Sahni who hails from Bihar has been appointed as the Chairman of the National Commission for Backward Classes. Further Kaushalendra Singh Patel and Acharya Talloju have been appointed as the members of the commission.

International

1. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which publishes the Human Development Report (HDR), will release the HDR 2019 with its focus on inequality. The report would be released around the last quarter of the year.

2. Facebook has banned praise, support and representation of white nationalism and white separatism on its platforms. This move had a qualified approval from the recent Christchurch mosque shooting. Further, Facebook has stated that it will direct users who post or search content connected to these ideologies to an organization that helps people leave hate groups.

3. Skytrax World Airport Awards which lists the Best 100 Airports of the World was released by the UK-based Skytrax, a consultancy firm which runs an airline and airport review and ranking site. The accolade was awarded at the Passenger Terminal Expo 2019 in London.

4. Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition 2019 (LIMA 2019) is the fifteenth edition of the Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition. LIMA 2019 was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir bin Mohammed.

5. India and the African Union have signed an MoU to initiate and strengthen the cooperation in the health sector in a structured and organised manner by establishing the India-Africa health sciences collaborative platform.

6. The Pentagon has notified the US Congress that it has authorised the transfer of USD 1 billion to begin building a new wall along the US-Mexico border. This transfer of funds is first under the national emergency declared by President Trump to bypass Congress and build the border wall President Trump had pledged during his 2016 election campaign.

7. The European Parliament (EU) has passed the controversial EU copyrights law. The law is expected to give a fillip to the traditional media which was losing the game against the online platforms like Google, Twitter and Facebook. This copyright law is expected to aid the traditional media to gain some additional revenue.

8. Pakistan government has approved a proposal to establish a corridor which would allow Hindu pilgrims from India to visit Sharda Peeth in the region of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). Sharda Peeth Corridor will be the second corridor to be established after the Kartarpur Corridor which provides access to Gurudwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan.

9. The government of UAE has launched the Lose to Win Programme to assist the overweight employees in shedding extra kilos and adopt a healthy lifestyle.

10. Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Rome, endorsing the global infrastructure-building scheme of China. Despite the warnings and pressure from the US and the Europen Union, Italy has joined the china’s mega connectivity scheme and has become the first G7 country to do so. Italy is the thirteenth European Union country and also the first from Western Europe to join China’s Belt Road Initiative.

11. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) backed by the US has defeated the Daesh [ISIS] by capturing the final shred of the territory of Baghouz in Syria. The forces have declared the end of the self-declared “caliphate” that once spanned a third of Iraq and Syria.

12. World Meteorological Day 2019 was observed on March 23 with the theme “The Sun, the Earth and the weather”. The theme recognises the critical role the Earth’s nearest star plays in what transpires on the planet. The energy from the Sun is taken up by all life forms to perform their biological functions. The Solar energy also regulates global climate, which, in turn, influences local weather conditions and the same energy is also absorbed by the oceans which carry it around the planet, creating further conditions for diverse marine life to exist.

13. India has boycotted the events of the Pakistan National Day in protest against the invitation to Hurriyat leaders for the National Day reception being held at New Delhi. India has strongly objected to the direct engagement of Pakistan with Hurriyat representatives who are spearheading a separatists movement in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

14. Japan has donated $69 million to the United Nations World Food Programme to provide vital aid to 28 countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, with the biggest shares of the money being earmarked for Yemen and Iraq.

15. India has extended a financial grant of 35.5 million Nepalese rupees for the construction of an educational campus in Nepal under the Development Partnership Programme.

16. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced a ban on all military-style semi-automatic weapons, assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. New Zealand has decided to overhaul gun laws in the country in the backdrop of the Christchurch mosque shootings.

17. US President Trump has announced that the US will recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights. This is a departure from the earlier stand of US where it treated Golan Heights as occupied Syrian territory, in line with United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

18. Kazakhstan has renamed its capital Astana to Nursultan to honour outgoing leader Nursultan Nazarbayev. The announcement regarding this was made by the new president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and was approved by the parliament of Kazakhstan. Nursultan Nazarbayev served nearly 30 years as leader of the oil-rich nation.

19. The United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network has released the World Happiness Report 2019. The report ranks countries on six key variables that support well-being: income, freedom, trust, healthy life expectancy, social support and generosity.

20. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has expressed concerns over the increasing menace of Crop-damaging armyworms in Asia.

21. International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure was organised at Delhi by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), and in partnership with the Global Commission on Adaptation, United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank.

22. The Quality of Living Index 2019 was released by the Consulting Agency Mercer. The index was based on the data analysed between September and November 2018. The index ranks 231 cities.

23. The British Army has announced that it would create a new Specialised Infantry Battalion by recruiting more than 800 Nepalese Gurkha servicepersons. Gurkhas have completed 200 years of service in the British Army and currently, they comprise up to 3% of the British Army.

24. The decision to hold Sary-Arka-Antiterror 2019, the first joint military exercise of Shanghai Cooperation Organization was announced at the during the 34th meeting of the RATS council held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The meeting also announced the holding of the first joint border operation Solidarity 2019-2021.

25. The first shipment under the United Nations ‘Transports Internationaux Routiers’ (TIR) convention arrived in India from Afghanistan through Chabahar Port of Iran.

26. The Forum of Young Global Leaders, the World Economic Forum’s foundation for remarkable leaders under 40 has released the list of Individuals with grit, foresight and potential to improve the state of the world for the year 2019.

27. The Indian Embassy in Nepal has announced 200 scholarships to meritorious Nepali students for continuing various undergraduate courses at colleges and universities. The scholarships were granted under the Golden Jubilee Scholarship scheme.

28. China has again blocked the bid to designate Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed Chief Azhar Masood as a global terrorist in the United Nations Security Council 1267 list.

29. The United Kingdom has commemorated professor Stephen Hawking in a new 50p coin. The coin has references to the late physicist’s pioneering work on black holes.

30. The European Union has expanded its tax haven blacklist by including 10 countries. The list now has 15 countries. The list was first drawn up by EU in 2017 in the wake of several scandals, including the Panama Papers and LuxLeaks, that pushed the EU into doing more to fight tax evasion by multinationals and the rich.

31. Hundreds of Tibetan activists staged a protest and submitted a memorandum to the Office of United Nations India to mark the 60th anniversary of their National Uprising Day.

32. Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his Bangladeshi Counterpart Sheikh Hasina jointly unveiled e-plaques for development projects in Bangladesh, through video conferencing.

33. Al Nagah III is the third in the series of the bilateral joint exercise between India and Oman. It will be held between March 12 to March 25 at Oman.

34. Malaysia has ratified the Rome Statute making it the 124th State party to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Even though Malaysia had helped to negotiate the Rome Statute, it has been long been reluctant to ratify it. Ratification after 20 years is seen as a welcome move.

35. China has increased its defence budget by 7.5 per to $177.61 billion up from last year’s $165 billion. The 2019 Defence Budget of China stood at 1.19 trillion yuan (about $177.61 billion) which is three times the Indian Defence Budget.

36. Red Flag 19 military drill is being held in the US from March 3 to 16. The exercise gives aircraft crews an opportunity to experience advanced, relevant, and realistic combat-like situations in a controlled environment to increase their survivability in actual combat operations.

37. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has designated Hamza bin Laden, the son of slain al Qaida chief Osama bin Laden, under its sanctions list by describing him as being seen as the “most probable successor” of the group’s current leader Aiman al-Zawahiri.

38. Zero Discrimination Day is annually celebrated by the UN and other international organisations on March 1st. Zero Discrimination Day is celebrated to promote and celebrate everyone’s right, regardless of age, gender, sexuality, nationality, ethnicity, skin colour, etc.

39. President of Senegal Macky Sall has won the re-election with 58.27% of votes cast. More than 50% votes to a candidate imply that there would be no second round voting under the election system of Senegal.

40. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Bank of Japan have signed a bilateral swap agreement. The agreement was negotiated during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Tokyo last year.

Business, Economy & Banking

1. India’s fiscal deficit stood at 134.2% of the full-year revised budgeted estimate at the end of February 2019. This humungous level of fiscal deficit is attributed to the tepid growth in revenue collections.

2. The Ministry of Commerce and Industries has launched blockchain-based e-marketplace for coffee.

3. State-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has completed the acquisition of majority stake in REC Ltd by transferring Rs 14,500 crore to the government. The merger of both the entities is expected to be completed in the next fiscal year in consultation with the government. This acquisition and merger will make PFC second-largest government-owned financial player in the country based on the current market capital after State Bank of India (SBI) and also PFC will be the third-highest profit-making financial player in India.

4. NITI Aayog had organised a day-long FinTech Conclave 2019 in New Delhi. The objective of the conclave was to shape India’s continued ascendancy in FinTech, build the narrative for future strategy and policy efforts, and to deliberate steps for comprehensive financial inclusion.

5. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will be issuing guidelines within two months for the fintech companies to test their new products on a small group of users before scaling up. This regulatory sandbox will help fintech companies to launch innovative products at a lower cost and in less time and enable fintech companies to conduct live or virtual testing of their new products and services.

6. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has fined Punjab National Bank (PNB) Rs 2 crore for violation of compliance with regulatory directions regarding SWIFT operations.

7. The consortium of State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Bharat PetroResources Ltd (BPRL), Urja Bharat Pte Ltd has acquired an oil block in Abu Dhabi, where the two will invest USD 170 million.

8. The Global Energy Transition index 2019 report has been released by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The index compares the energy sectors of 115 countries and analyses their readiness for energy transition. The index benchmarks the countries energy systems based on an “energy triangle”, comprised of energy security and access, economic development and growth, environmental sustainability and how well they are set-up to succeed in the future.

9. In it’s Global Economic Outlook report, Fitch Ratings has cut India’s economic growth forecast for the next financial year 2019-20 starting from April 1 to 6.8 per cent from its previous estimate of 7 per cent, on the account of weaker than expected momentum in the economy.

10. The proceeds from the disinvestments have exceeded the disinvestment target for the fiscal 2018-19 by Rs 5,000 crore taking the total proceeds to Rs 85,000 crore against the targeted Rs 80000 Cr.

11. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has deferred the implementation of new accounting rules, Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) for banks till further notice. This is the second extension provided by the RBI. Earlier in April 2018, RBI had postponed the implementation of Ind AS by the banks by one year.

12. Indian low-cost airlines SpiceJet has joined the International Air Transport Association (IATA). SpiceJet is the first Indian budget carrier to join the IATA, which has over 290 airlines as members.

13. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das called for permanent status to Finance Commission RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das is also the member of the fifteenth finance commission.

14. Union Ministry of Commerce and Industries had organised a Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnerships in association with Confederation of Indian Industry and EXIM Bank of India.

15. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to assist and co-operate with each other for the effective implementation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

16. Both India and the US will sign an agreement to facilitate the exchange of country-by-country (CbC) reports filed by the ultimate parent corporations based in either of the countries.

17. India’s largest Bank State Bank of India (SBI) has announced the launch of YONO Cash through which customers can withdraw money from ATMs without using a card.

18. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that SBI, ICICI and HDFC Banks would continue as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) for 2018.

19. The Geographical Indications Registry has approved the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for coffee varieties viz. Coorg Arabica Coffee, Wayanad Robusta Coffee, Chikmagalur Arabica Coffee, Araku Valley Arabica Coffee and Bababudangiri Arabica Coffee.

20. Niti Ayog in association with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) organized the first workshop on the development of the India Energy Modelling Forum (IEMF). The workshop was organized under the Sustainable Growth Pillar of the India-U.S. Strategic Energy Partnership.

21. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency has released the draft consultation paper for accelerating energy efficiency in India. The strategy document titled Unlocking National Energy Efficiency potential (UNNATEE) is first of its kind which clearly delineates the energy efficiency targets for the respective demand sectors up to the state levels.

22. The Wholesale Price Index is released by the Office of Economic Advisor (OEA), Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

23. The Sirsi Supari of Karnataka has got the GI tag by the Registrar of Geographical Indications. Sirsi Supari is the first product from the Arecanut sector to get a GI tag.

24. Erode Turmeric has finally received GI tag from the Geographical Indication Registry after a long and cumbersome process which lasted for about 8 years. Erode is the city in the state of Tamil Nadu.

25. The Cabinet has approved the proposal to harmonise the classification systems for examination of trademark and design applications, in line with the systems, followed globally. As a step forward in this direction the cabinet gas approved India’s accession for the following agreements:
    • Nice Agreement on the International classification of goods and services for the purposes of registration of marks.
    • Vienna Agreement for setting up an International classification of the figurative elements of marks.
    • Locarno Agreement for establishing an International classification for industrial designs.

26. Social media platform Facebook has launched Facebook Hubs to foster innovation and offer support for budding entrepreneurs.

27. The minutes of meeting which had approved the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes has been revealed through RTI. The government had contested that demonetisation would help curb black money and a steep rise in Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes; check the circulation of fake currency and promote e-payments and financial inclusion.

28. The government has overhauled the rules for the oil and gas exploration permits. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has released the new rules for oil and gas exploration permits:
    • New rules make a departure from the from the two-and-a-half decade-old practice of having a uniform contractual regime for all sedimentary basins in the country.
    • The new policy provides for different rules for areas that already have producing fields and ones where commercial production of oil and gas is yet to be established.
    • New rules provide complete marketing and pricing freedom for oil and gas in future bid rounds irrespective of the basins.
    • Future bids for Oil and gas acreage or blocks will be awarded primarily on the basis of exploration work commitment.
    • Companies will be charged only prevalent royalty rates on oil and natural gas in the less explored Category-II and III basins.

29. The persistent efforts of the Intellectual Property Rights cell of the Kerala Agriculture University have finally yielded results. The Marayur Jaggery largely produced in the regions of Marayur and Kanthallur grama panchayats of Kerala has got the GI tag.

30. Union Minister for Commerce and Industries Suresh Prabhu has launched the tutorial video on Intellectual Property Rights and the GI website.

31. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the acquisition of debt-laden Lanco’s 500 MW Teesta hydro-electric power project in Sikkim by state-owned NHPC.

32. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has signed a cooperation agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to assist IBBI in further building the capacity of insolvency professionals and insolvency professional agencies for the purpose of the bankruptcy code.

33. The government has increased the tax-free gratuity income limit to Rs 20 lakh. This move will benefit the public as well as private sector employees.

34. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled the new series of visually impaired friendly coins of various denominations.
    • The coins are of denomination Rs. 1, Rs. 2, Rs. 5, Rs. 10 and Rs.20.
    • Rs 20 coin, the first-ever coin offering in Rs 20 denomination, has been created in the shape of a 12-edged polygon with a design of grains to denote farm dominance of the nation.
    • Other than Rs 20 coins others are in round shape.
    • The new series of coins are characterized by the increasing size and weight from lower to higher denominations.

35. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOCs) LNG terminal at Ennore.

36. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has reduced the world economic growth forecasts for the year 2019.

37. President Trump notified the Congress his intent to terminate trade benefits for both India and Turkey under the Generalized System of Preference (GSP) eligibility criteria.

38. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a fine of 8 crores on 3 banks viz. Karnataka Bank, United Bank of India and Karur Vysya Bank for non-compliance of directions on Swift messaging software. A fine of 4 crores was imposed on Karnataka Bank, 3 crores on United Bank of India and one crore on Karur Vysya Bank.

39. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), which can be used to make payments across public transport anywhere in the country, including Metro, bus and suburban railways, for toll and parking, and for retail like any credit or debit card.

40. PSBloansin59minutes.com which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 has emerged as the country’s largest online lending platform, with loan sanctions exceeding over Rs 35,000 crore.

41. On the occasion of Civil Accounts Day celebrated on March 1st, Shri Anthony Lianzuala, Controller General of Accounts (CGA) launched the following two functionalities of Public Finance Management System aimed at strengthening, monitoring and user interface:

42. The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given ex-post facto approval for the creation of the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) and associated activities for the disinvestment of Air India and its subsidiaries/JV.

43. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has launched its own payment aggregator system, IRCTC iPay. This a step towards promoting the government’s Digital India initiative.

44. The BCG-IBA report EASE Reforms for Public Sector Banks measures the performance of each PSB on 140 objective metrics across 6 themes.

45. The second advance estimates for the production of most of the crops for the agricultural year 2018-19 been released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare.

46. The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Rs1,450 crore for the share capital of Reserve Bank of India in the National Housing Bank (NHB). The authorized capital of NHB stood at Rs 2000 crore of which Rs 1450 crore was subscribed by RBl.

47. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a panel under the former deputy governor Usha Thorat to examine issues related to offshore rupee markets and recommend policy measures to ensure the stability of the external value of the domestic currency.

48. The growth rate eight core sectors which include coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity witnessed a decline as per the data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industries.

Government Schemes

1. Union Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Dr Jitendra Singh dedicated two Inter-State road projects in the North-Eastern Region.

2. The Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan handed over the Seven Croreth LPG connection under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). The PMUY was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1st May 2016 with an initial target of five crore LPG connections, which was later revised upward to eight crores connections.

3. The World Bank, Government of India and representatives from the states of Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand signed Loan Agreement for additional financing of $137 Million for the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) that will help rehabilitate and modernize over 220 selected large dams.

4. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has notified the norms for banks with regards to two per cent interest subvention or subsidy for short-term crop loans during 2018-19 and 2019-20 under the interest subvention scheme approved by the central government.

5. The World Bank will provide a $250-million loan for the National Rural Economic Transformation Project (NRETP). National Rural Economic Transformation Project is a new sub-component under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) of the Ministry of Rural Development.

6. The National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey 2018-19 was conducted by an Independent Verification Agency under the World Bank support project to the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen).

7. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the “Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN (Jaiv Indhan- Vatavaran Anukool fasal awashesh Nivaran) Yojana” under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to provide financial support to Integrated Bioethanol Projects using lignocellulosic biomass and other renewable feedstock.

8. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved Rs 10,000 crore package over three years till 2022 for the second phase of Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of Electric (and hybrid) vehicles (FAME) scheme.

9. The Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani launched, Scheme for development of knitting and knitwear sector under PowerTex India.

10. The Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram launched the revised MSP for MFP for the welfare of Tribals at the National Workshop organized by TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

Awards & Honours

1. The Turing Award 2018 has been awarded for Geoffrey Hinton, Yann LeCun, and Yoshua Bengio who have kickstarted an AI revolution by studying the learning abilities of large artificial neural networks. The deep neural network uses layers of artificial neurons which mimics the structure of animal brains. Such AI is increasingly used in products that people use every day – from smart speakers to Facebook. This forms the backbone of Deep Learning.

2. President Ram Nath Kovind has been honoured with Croatia’s highest civilian award the Grand Order of the King of Tomislav. The Indian President was honoured during his visit to Croatia to strengthen the bilateral ties.

3. Brazilian physicist and astronomer Marcelo Gleiser has been awarded the 2019 Templeton Prize for his work blending science and spirituality. Marcelo Gleiser contends that science and religion are not only compatible, but that science is spiritual. The two realms of science and spirituality are intertwined for him.

4. A science teacher from rural Kenya, Peter Tabichi has won the prestigious Global Teacher Prize 2019 which honours the world’s best teacher. He was honoured for his achievements in a deprived school with crowded classes and a few textbooks.

5. Asian Rich List 2019 was released by India’s High Commissioner to the UK Ruchi Ghanashyam. The list is the compilation of the 101 wealthiest Asians in Britain and highlights exceptional entrepreneurial achievement over the last 12 months. The list was released at the Asian Business Awards.

6. Lalit Kala Akademi has announced the winners of the 15 winners of the 60th Annual Academy Awards. The winners were selected by a two-tier jury. The awardees will be honoured with a plaque, a shawl and prize money of Rs 1 lakh during the 60th National Exhibition of Art.

7. US Mathematician Karen Uhlenbeck has been chosen for the Abel Prize 2019 for her fundamental work in geometric analysis and gauge theory, which has dramatically changed the mathematical landscape.

8. Indian Writer Raghu Karnad has won the Windham-Campbell Prize $165,000 Windham-Campbell Prize in the non-fiction category for his debut book, The Farthest Field: An Indian Story Of The Second World War. Karnad is one of the eight winners chosen across four categories—fiction, non-fiction, drama and poetry. The other awardee in the non-fiction category was American writer Rebecca Solnit for the diverse body of work she has produced over her career.

9. The winners of the Businessline Changemaker Award for 2019 are listed below:
    • Changemaker Of The Year: Petitioners against Section 377.
    • Changemaker Of The Year: GST Council.
    • Iconic Changemaker: Bezwada Wilson (Safai Karmachari Andoloan).
    • Social Transformation: The Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences.
    • Digital Transformation: eNAM (Electronic National Agriculture Market).
    • Young Changemaker: Anju Verma (promoting the education of underprivileged children).
    • Young Changemaker: Kush and Arjun Pandey (developers of ScoutMe app for tapping football talent).

10. President Ramnath Kovind conferred the Gallantry Awards and the Distinguished Service Decorations as part of the Defence Investiture Ceremony- 2019 to Armed Forces Personnel for displaying conspicuous gallantry, indomitable courage and extreme devotion to duty at a solemn ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

11. The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has won the First Prize in the category of TV Cinema Spot at the prestigious international Golden City Gate Tourism Awards 2019.

12. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu was conferred Honorary Doctorate from the UN established University of Peace. The university has stated that the degree of “Doctor Honoris Causa”( Doctor of Philosophy) was conferred on the Indian Vice President recognising his contribution to the Rule of Law, democracy and sustainable development in India.

13. President Ram Nath Kovind presented the Nari Shakti awards, 2018 on the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8th March. Nari Shakti awards are the highest civilian honour for women in India.

14. Prime Minister Narendra Modi conferred Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prizes for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018 in New Delhi. Addressing the gathering the Prime Minister asked the scientific community to take advantage of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and develop technologies that will make India a global hub for manufacturing, knowledge and technology-based industries.

15. The bilingual correspondent with the BBC Priyanka Dubey has been named for the Chameli Devi Jain Award for an Outstanding Woman Journalist for the year 2018.

16. Raghuram Rajan, former governor of RBI has been chosen for the ‘Yashwantrao Chavan National Award 2018’ by Yashwantrao Chavan Prathisthan for his contribution to economic development. Raghuram Rajan will be presented with the award at the 106th birth anniversary of Yashwantrao Chavan on March 12.

17. Japanese Architect Arata Isozaki has received the Pritzker Prize 2019. He is the 46th laureate and eighth architect from Japan to win the Pritzker Prize. Arata Isozaki will be awarded the prize of $100,000 (£76,000) and a bronze medallion in May at a ceremony at the Château de Versailles in France.

18. Swachh Survekshan Awards are given by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs based on the survey which covered all urban local bodies in the country. The Survey was the largest such cleanliness survey in the world.

19. TVS Motor Company has bagged the international sustainability award Green Era Award for Sustainability in Lisbon, Portugal. Tata Motors also won the Quality and Business Excellence Award in acknowledgement of its endeavour to create new benchmarks in product quality.

20. Indian Air Force Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman has been chosen for the first Bhagwan Mahavir Ahimsa Puraskar constituted by the Akhil Bharatiya Digambar Jain Mahasamiti.

21. The Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) has bagged the SKOCH Award, 2018 for its remarkable achievements in the field of disaster management. The award was presented at the 56th SKOTCH Summit held at New Delhi.

22. Aerospace scientist and Chief of the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), G Satheesh Reddy has been conferred the Missile Systems Award 2019 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

23. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu presented Kalam Innovation in Governance Award 2019 at the third edition of Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Summit on Innovation and Governance, in New Delhi.

Sports

1. The mega celebration of Cricket, Indian Premier League (IPL) witnessed its first ever Mankading in its history in the match of Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals. Rajasthan Royals opener Jos Buttler became the first victim of ‘Mankading’ in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

2. Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M), Gyan Data (an IIT-M incubated company) together with experts from ESPNcricinfo have launched Superstats, a new metrics to analyse the game of cricket.

3. The Special Olympics World Games 2019 was inaugurated at Abu Dhabi. The Special Olympics World Games 2019 is being hosted by the cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

4. The Winners in the various categories of the All England Open Badminton Championships 2019 are:
    • Men’s Singles: Japan’s Kento Momota.
    • Women’s Singles: China’s Chen Yufei.
    • Men’s Doubles: Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan & Hendra Setiawan.
    • Women’s Doubles: China’s Chen Qingchen & Jia Yifan.
    • Mixed Doubles: China’s Zheng Siwei & Huang Yaqiong.

5. The 38th GeeBee Boxing Tournament was held at Helsinki, Finland. The Indian medal winners from the tournament are listed below:
    • The lone gold medal for India was won by Kavinder Singh Bisht. He won against Indian counterpart Mohammed Hussamuddin in summit clash in the 56kg category.
    • Mohammed Hussamuddin settled for silver.
    • Other Silver medals for India were won by Govind Kumar Sahani (49kg), Shiva Thapa (60kg) and Dinesh Dagar (69kg).
    • Bronze Medallists were Sachin Siwach (52kg), Sumit Sangwan (91kg) and Naveen Kumar (+91kg) after their respective semi-final loss.

6. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has decided to reintroduce Cricket in the 2022 Asian Games to be held at Hangzhou, China.

7. The medal winners for India at the Dan Kovlov 2019 wrestling event is listed below:
    • Bajrang Punia won gold in the Men’s freestyle wrestling 65kg category.
    • Pooja Dhanda claimed gold in the Women’s 59kg category.
    • Sakshi Malik claimed silver medal in the Women’s 65kg category.
    • Sandeep Tomar claimed silver medal in the Men’s 61kg category.
    • Vinesh Phogat claimed silver medal in the Women’s 53kg

8. The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for setting up of a Centre for Disability Sports at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh. The Centre for Disability Sports, Gwalior will be set up at an estimated cost f Rs 170.99 crore, spread over a period of 5 years.

9. At the Makran Cup Boxing in Iran, India has won One gold, five silver medals.

References:
gktoday.in

Share with your Friends

Join The Discussion

Comments ( 0 )

  1. Be the first one to review.