Current Affairs Weekly One Liners : Mar 20 – Mar 26

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

• ‘Swachhta Pakhwada’ was inaugurated at the head office of ‘Shipping Corporation of India’ in Mumbai.
• India-made suburban train “Medha” of 105 km flagged off by railway minister SureshPrabhu.
• Krishi Unnati Mela is jointly organised by the Indian Council of Agricultural research and the Union ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s welfare.
• Abhay Command & Control Center Is India’s First One-Stop Crime Control Room In Rajasthan
• Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) in New Delhi celebrated its 5th foundation day
• The country’s first-of-its-kind dictionary introduced, which aims to bring together various sign languages for speech and hearing impairments.
• International Yoga Film Festival at Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) auditorium in the Capital.
• IIT-Kharagpur gets supercomputing facility under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).
• Tanstia–FNF service centre have signed an MoU with IIT-Madras for technology transfer of water treatment analysis in rural areas.
• NABARD has projected credit potential of Rs 1.72 lakh crore towards the priority sector lending by the banks in Rajasthan for the year 2017-18.
• Trip Advisor’s Top 25 Asia list, Bali in Indonesia ranked number one in the list.
• Government of India signed MoUwith Asian Development for $350 million loan for improving major district roads in Madhya Pradesh
• Union Environment Ministry and the Southern Bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered to shut the two oil firms of KTV
• APOLLO tyres and Department of Defence is joined to develop new tyres for defence services.
• Kandla Port Trust is planning to raise $150 million through ECBs (external commercial borrowings).
• The ‘Sustainable Water Security Mission’ which was launched by Former CM J.Jayalalithaa is set to restart in Chennai.
• The first battalion of 9th Gorkhas celebrated 200-years of its raising in Secunderabad, Telangana.
• Murugappa group firm’s Carborundum Universal, has become the most advanced and integrated electro-mineral complexes in the world.
• Reliance Infrastructure has emerged as the lowest bidder for the development of a Rs. 800crore national highway project in Tamil Nadu.
• National chopper operator Pawan Hans launched its “Delhi Darshan” rides with a 10 minute sortie costing Rs.2,499 per person.
• Osmania University will host the 105th Indian Science Congress. Theme for the session is “science and technology reaching the unreached”.
• Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC), CBEC is being renamed as the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), after getting legislative approval.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been named for Time magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
• State-run Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) will sanction Rs 13,000 crore for clean energy projects next fiscal
• India has become the third largest aviation market in terms of domestic passenger traffic, beating Japan.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS:

• Lok Sabha passed the Finance Bill making Aadhaar mandatory for tax returns and getting a permanent account number (PAN) for 2017-18,
• As per the revised UN report Norway is the world’s happiest country. In the study of 155 countries, India ranked at 122 in 2017 report
• Italy ranks first in the world’s healthiest country list. India ranks 143 in a list of 188 countries.
• World Economic Forum’s list of 100 Young Global Leaders under 40 years of age, 5 Indians have been name in the list
• India and Pakistan agreed on redesigning the Miyar Hydroelectric project, of Indus Water Commissioners in Islamabad.
• Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen launched the island’s first every home-built submarine project.
• India notified the Third Protocol amending the existing India-Singapore Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA).
• The global networking giant Cisco unveiled its first ‘Made in India’ router which can be used by small and medium businesses (SMBs)
• President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina started off the 46th ‘Independence Day’ Bangladesh.

BANKING & BUSINESS:

• Power Finance Corporation and Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company signs MOU to meet operational requirements under the UDAY scheme.
• Ed CIL Bags Rs. 70 Crore Orders From Mauritius to supply 26,800 educational tablets.
• Realty firm Super tech invests Rs.4000 Crore on ‘Affordable Homes
• Vodafone and Idea to become the world’s second largest merger
• Standard Chartered has sold almost 4% stakes in Redington ltd for Rs.176 crore. It was bought by Dahlia Commodities services private ltd.
• India Ranks 87th on energy architecture performance on World Economic Forum
• India’s GDP growth is expected to slow to 6.7 per cent in the Jan-Mar quarter of this fiscal year.
• Indian Overseas Bank will get Rs.1100 crore as ‘turnaround linked capital’ infusion from the government. to enhance their capital base
• Bank of Baroda has raised Rs.1000 crore by issuing Basel III compliant additional tier I bonds.
• HDFC plans to raise Rs.1498 crore by issuing debentures with a view to augment its long term resources of the capital of the Corporation.
• South Indian Bank has introduced Aadhaar-based payment app ‘SIB M-Pay’.
• Repco Home Finance Ltd made a tie up with National Housing Bank for implementation of credit linked subsidy scheme for the middle income group.
• World Bank signed a USD 100 million credit agreement with the Centre and Uttarakhand to improve quality of healthcare services in the state.
• Samsung launched its digital payment application called “Samsung Pay”
• Bharti Airtel acquires Tikona Digital Networks’ 4G business for Rs.1,600 crore, in the 2300 MHz band in Gujarat, U.P. (East), U.P. (West), Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh circles.
• Tata Capital launched a mobile app ‘myLoan’ to extend its personal loans offering to young.
• Amazon, Grofers and Big Basket has entered into proposal to invest $500 million in India’s e-retail of food products.
• Qbera in association with RBL Bank, has launched its operations focusing on loans for those earning less than Rs.6 lakh per annum
• Karnataka bank introduced a card product “Money plant TM Rupay” with withdrawal limit of Rs.75000 and purchase limit of Rs. 2 lakh per day.
• In order, India has signed a 100 million US dollar agreement with World Bank to develop Uttarakhand health systems.
• Axis Bank will open an international finance branch at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) in Gandhinagar,.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

• Japan launched a new satellite in Tanegashima to track land and maritime movements in North Korea.
• Scientist has developed a new bio-gel material which changes shape in response to its environment
• Broadband speed testing firm Ookla says Airtel as India’s fastest network.
• An Indian-origin surgeon in U.K., with the help of a 3D printer, has successfully reconstructed a 53-year-old cancer patient’s jaw.
• The fully indigenous cryogenic upper stage is ready to be flagged off from ISRO Propulsion Complex, on March 27th in Satish Dhawan Space Centre Sriharikota.
• NASA will send its next generation atomic clock into space later this year, for safely navigating future human exploration of the solar system.
• Australian night parrot came three years after the bird was declared extinct and 2000 km from where it was first rediscovered.

APPOINTMENTS

• Sowmya Swaminathan, appointed to expertise and coordinate the global fight against antimicrobial resistance in UN
• Ex-Air-Asia CFO Ankur Khanna appointed as the CFO of International Cricket Council.
• Upendra Tripathy is appointed as the Interim Director General of the International Solar Alliance on a full time basis
• Madhabi Puri Buch as new whole time member of SEBI for a period of 3 years.
• Beijing favourite Carrie Lam was selected as Hong Kong’s new leader and the first leadership vote since mass “Umbrella Movement” rallies

AWARDS

• NASA paid a tribute to the singer American singer song-writer Chuck Berry by sending his song to space in the deep space
• Anupam Kher of Bollywood will be awarded Kala Ratan Award.

IMPORTANT DAYS

• March 21st – World Forestry Day. Theme 2017: Forests and Energy
• March 21st – International Day For Elimination Of Racial Discrimination. Theme – “Racial profiling and incitement to hatred, including in the context of migration”
• March 22nd – “World Water Day”Theme for the year 2017 is “Wastewater”.
• World Meteorological Day – March 22nd.  Theme of  2017 – “Understanding Clouds”
• March 24 – World TB Day. The theme for the year 2017 is “Unite to End TB”.

SPORTS

• Pujara, in Ranchi, was unbeaten on 186 against Australia when he faced the 496th ball of his innings and bettered Dravid’s record.
• National record holder K.T. Irfan won the bronze in the 20km men’s event in the Asian race walk championships.
• Roger Federer claimed a record-equalling fifth ATP Indian Wells Masters title with Novak Djokovic
• Tamil Nadu became a five-time winner of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
• Vidhya Pillai Bags Silver In World Women’s Snooker Championship
• Neeraj Kumar won gold in men’s standard pistol in the 11th Sardar Sajjan Singh Sethi Masters shooting championship.
• Indian para athletes bagged eight medals, including three gold, at the ‘Ninth Fazza International IPC Athletics GP’, in Dubai.
• Ravindra Jadeja grabs top spot in bowling and Cheteshwar Pujara second in batting list
• Ankur Mittal clinched the double trap gold in the final of the shotgun World Cup.
• Gatrode is sports drink brand of Pepsico, has roped in PV Sindhu, badminton player as its brand ambassador.
• The Bhakshi stadium in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir is all set to be developed into a world-class facility as per the FIFA norms for Rs. 48 crore.
• Sebastian Vettel beats Lewis Hamilton to win the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

OBITUARY

• Former Rajya Sabha member Pyarimohan Mohapatra, the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Biju Patnaik passes away
• Former Tour de France champion Roger Pingeon has died of a heart attack at the age of 76.
• George E. Bria, the Associated Press reporter and chief U.N. correspondent died. He was 101.
• Gujarati Poet Chinu Modi passed away.
• David Rockefeller, the billionaire businessman and philanthropist, died.
• Martin McGuinness, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) fought for Northern Ireland’s peace, died
• Prominent Tamil writer and Sahitya Akademi award winner Ashokamitran died.