Current Affairs– March 14 2016

INDIAN AFFAIRS

Telengana Government to present 1.30 Lakh crore Budget

Telangana’s Finance Minister on Monday presented the state budget in the assembly, proposing an expenditure of Rs.1,30,415 crore for the financial year 2016-17.

• Plan expenditure – Rs.67,630 crore
• Non-plan expenditure –Rs. 62,785 crore
• Revenue surplus – Rs 3,381 crore
• Fiscal deficit- Rs.23,467 crore

Allahabad High Court celebrates 150th foundation year

Allahabad High Court established in 1866 celebrates its 150^th Foundation Day on 14^th March 2016.

• President Pranab Mukherjee was the Chief Guest of the celebrations. Chief Justice of India (CJI) TS Thakur and Union Law Minister DV Sadananda Gowda attended the function as well.

“Advancing Asia: Investing for the Future” Conference

A Conference jointly hosted by the Government of India and the IMF on “Advancing Asia: Investing for the Future” in New Delhi.

• The Conference was attended by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and Prime Minister Narendra Modi delegations from Indian side.
• Key issues for discussion include slowing potential growth, rising debt, infrastructure bottlenecks, regional integration, and the role of trade and other structural reforms in boosting output and macroeconomic resilience.
• International Monetary Fund endorsed monetary policies of central banks in Europe and Japan, even as policymakers from emerging markets warned that such policies were increasing risks for the global economy. The Conference held in New Delhi from March 11-13.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

13th Broadband commission meet conducted at Dubai

The 13^th meeting of Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development was held on 14 March 2016 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)

• The two day meet of 13^th Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development aims to promote the power of broadband networks and services for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

BANKING & FINANCE

Moody maintains SBI & IDBI ratings unchanged

Moody’s Investors Service on Friday have told that the local and foreign currency deposit ratings of State Bank of India and IDBI Bank at ‘Baa3/P-3’
Baa-3: Baa’ (Global Long-Term Rating Scale) are judged to have medium-grade intrinsic, or standalone, financial strength, and thus subject to moderate credit risk
P-3 : P-3 (Global Short-Term Rating Scale) issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 has an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations
India Post selects Deloitte as consultant for payments bank
India Post Picked Deloitte as Consultant for Payments Bankto advise it on setting up a payments bank and an agreement between the two would be signed.

• The PIB has already approved the Rs 800-crore proposal of India Post and in 15 days it will be kept before the cabinet for its final approval.
• The Trail run project for the payments bank is set to start from January and the full-fledged operations will start by March As many as 40 international financial firms including World Bank and Barclays have shown interest to partner the postal department for setting up the bank. India Post has 55 lakh branches across the country.

Payment Banks:

• Payment Banks will not be allowed to undertake lending activities and howeverthey will be allowed to issue ATM or debit cards as other prepaid payment instruments but not credit cards.
• In August 2015 RBI granted in principle’ approval forpayment banks to 11 companies.  

BUSINESS

Union government to fix the MSP of Bt cotton seed

The Union Government notified maximum sale price of Bt cotton seed for 2016-17. The government for the first time has taken a decision in the favour of Farmers. The notification was released as per the Cotton Seed Price (Control) Order, 2015 that was issued under the Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

• The price of BG-I version of Bt cotton hybrid (9450 grams of Bt Cotton plus 120 grams refugia) was fixed at 635 rupees
• The price ofBG-II version was fixed at 800 rupees

Flash points

• Previously the price fixation was done by MNC’s like Monsanto
• They ensured the availability of the seeds but the price was too heavy for the marginal farmers to afford

FSSAI to train 20K street vendors in Delhi
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda launched Project ‘Clean Street Food’ in New Delhi on the successful completion of the training Food vendors will receive Smart Skill cum Registration cards.

• In the maiden phase of the project of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) primarily aims at to raise the safety standards of foods sold on streets across the capital city of New Delhi
• The Scheme would provide training as many as 20,000 roadside vendors over the next four weeks at 40 training centres set up for the purpose across the Capital on aspects of health and hygiene.

FSSAI will partner with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to train street food vendors at more than 40 centres across Delhi under the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) category of the Government’s skills training scheme- Pradhan MantriKaushalVikasYojana(PMKVY).
French major Michelin ties up with Snapdeal to sell tyres online
French based tyre maker Michelin had joined hands with E-Commerce major Snapdeal to sell its products through Snapdeal.

• The Joint initiative will enable consumers to place an order online using Snapdeal to purchase Michelin tyres from an authorised dealer and request for fitment at a time and place of their choice.
• Customers can now choose the perfect Michelin tyre for their vehicle from the comfort of their home/office with the option of same day free fitment, as well as access to exclusive offers on services like alignment and balancing.
• Under this tie up all the Michelin’s passenger car tyres will be available on Snapdeal.

Snapdeal:

• Founded: 2010
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• CEO: KunalBahl

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Palestinian Hanan Al Hroub Won 2016 Global Teacher Prize

Teachers are one of the most important pillars among the building blocks of the society. And they truly deserve to be recognized and rewarded for their remarkable contribution to the world. Their service is commendable!

• The 2016 Global Teacher Prize worth $1 million has been announced by Pope Francis and the reverent awardee is a Palestinian Teacher, Hanan Al Hroub, who teaches Refugee Children and was a refugee herself

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

Indian scholar appointed VC of Canberra University

Shri H Deep Saini, a noted Indian Scholar and a plant Physiologist has been appointed the next Vice Chancellor of the prestigious University of Canberra.

• He will will succeed Vice Chancellor Stephen Parker in September who steps down from the post in July after over nine years in the service.

Altico Named Naina Lal Kidwai as Its New Non executive Director

Altico capital, a non banking finance company has named veteran banker Naina Lal Kidwai as its new independent non executive director on its board.

• Altico, focused on real estate, is looking to invest about Rs 2,500 crore every year for five years in the Indian real estate market

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

DBS to acquire RBS on shore branch for 1000 crores

The leading South Asian bank DBS is set to acquire the on shore operations of RBS in India for a deal of 1000 crores.

• IDFC was also in the race to acquire RBS but later withdrawed from the deal
• Since Ross Mc ewan took charge as Chief executive of RBS, the bank sold all its assets across the world
• National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) bought RBS’s offshore loan book in India for $816.8 million (about Rs 5,422 crore)

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

India successfully test fired Agni -I ballistic Missile

In a move to strengthen our defence, India today successfully test-fired its indigenously builtnuclear-capable intermediate range Agni-I ballistic missile.

• Target–700 km
• Launched from–Odisha coast

Free Wi-Fi Service launched At Srinagar International Airport

The 4G hotspot-based internet servicelaunched by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to offer free Wifi services at the Srinagar International Airport. Users will have access to 15 minutes of free-of-charge Wifi services.

• Passengers will have to register for an account to use the free Wifi service. After the registration, before they access the Wifi.
• The first 15 minutes will be free and after that if passengers want to continue, they will be redirected to payment gateway after selecting the preferred plan.

Jammu and Kashmir:

• Capital: Jammu and Sri Nagar
• Chief Minister: Mufti Mohammed
• Governor: NarinderNath Vohra

ENVIRONMENT

Uttar Pradesh government to launch a campaign to protect sparrows

The UP Government announced to conduct campaign at school levels to create awareness about the conservation of birds.The programme will be conducted at primary and secondary schools.

• The event has been named as ‘Gauraiya Diwas’
• It is planned to be celebrated on March 20 at Janeshwar Mishra park

More than 50 animal species critically endangered

Over 50 animal species have been judged as critically endangered and 310 asendangered out of 96, 000 animal species present in India according to the studies taken by Zoological Survey of India.

• Critically endangered is the highest risk category assigned by the Nature Conservation body.

Fossil of 250 million year old reptile species discovered

A team of scientists has discovered a new fossil reptile that lived 250 million years ago in Brazil. The discovery is important because the reptile lived just after the great Permo-Triassic mass extinction event that occurred 252 million years ago

• The species has been named as Teyujagua paradoxa, derived from the language of the Guarani ethnic group and means ‘fierce lizard’

SPORTS

Lin Dan wins 2016 All England Badminton title

Lin Dan of China Wins His Sixth All England Badminton Championships Title 2016, this victory came four years after his last. He awared with a trophy and cash prize of USD 550,000.

Services wins 70th Santosh Trophy football title 2016

In the 70th Santosh Trophy Football Championship Tournament Services beat Maharashtra2-1 to clinch title for fifth time. Riding on Arjun Tudu’s double strike helped the side to lift the trophy.

• Services retained the Santosh Trophy National Football Championships title after beating hosts Maharashtra 2-1 in the title clash inthe Final at the SEC Railway Stadium Nagpur .