DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: MARCH 31 & APRIL 1, 2019 -

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: MARCH 31 & APRIL 1, 2019

Dear Aspirants,

Daily Current Affairs (April 1, 2019) like many other sections is inevitable and this also helps to score in the Banking awareness, Static GK and Financial Awareness sections. Remember, Banking Awareness and Static Awareness Questions are asked from the General Awareness section. This will also help you to ride your preparations for the forthcoming exams.

NATIONAL

GRSE becomes 1st Indian Shipyard to deliver 100 Warships :

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) became the first shipyard in the country to deliver 100 warships.
Its 100th warship landing craft utility (LCU) L-56 was recently handed over to Indian Navy. 100 warships built by GRSE so far range from anti-submarine warfare corvettes to advanced frigates to fleet tankers, fast attack crafts, etc for Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard.

Assam to launch Sankalp mobile app for first time voters :

In Assam, the Bongaigaon district administration has developed a mobile app Sankalp to particularly reach out to the first-time voters.This initiative is taken to encourage the first-time voters.
Bongaigaon Deputy Commissioner Adil Khan said that a special initiative has been taken to encourage the first-time voters.The messages will be sent to the first-time voters on their mobile phones, requesting them to download the ‘Sankalp’ app.

INTERNATIONAL

US signed agreement with Oman to use its Southern Ports :

The United States Navy has signed an agreement with Oman to use the southern Omani ports which will allow American ships and warplanes to take advantage of omani ports and airports.
This deal is aimed at bolstering Omani-American military relations.This will also benefit the facilities offered at some of the Sultanate’s ports and airports during visits of the US military vessels and aircraft, particularly in the port of Duqm.

STATIC : Oman

Capital- Muscat

Currency- Omani Rial

16th meeting of the Canada-India Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism hosted by Ottawa :

The 16th meeting of the Canada-India Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism and its Expert Sub-group was held in Ottawa to provide detailed briefings on their respective nation’s counter-terrorism priorities, strategies and legislative frameworks.
India and Canada have signed an agreement on a Joint Action Plan outlining to strengthen collaboration in counter-terrorism.

STATIC: Canada

Capital : Ottawa

Currency : Canadian Dollar

BANKING & BUSINESS

Bank of Baroda Becomes 3rd Largest Lender as Dena, Vijaya Bank Merger Takes Effect :

The amalgamation of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank into the Bank of Baroda (BoB) has come into effect and all branches of the former two will function as branches of BoB. The merged entity would also receive Rs 5,042 crore fund infusion from the government.
According to the RBI, the Customers, including depositors of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank, will be treated as customers of Bank of Baroda with effect from April 1, 2019. Post the merger, Bank of Baroda has become the third largest bank in the country.
The merger comes as part of the government’s efforts to tackle lakhs of crores of bad loans plaguing the sector and revive credit growth.

Commerce Ministry unveils Blockchain-based app for Coffee farmers :

The commerce ministry has unveiled a blockchain-based coffee e-marketplace which will facilitate farmers to integrate with markets to get aware of fair prices for the commodity.
This will reduce the number of layers between coffee growers and buyers and help farmers double their income.
This pilot project will help integrate the farmers with markets in a transparent manner and lead to realisation of fair price for the coffee producer.

APPOINTMENTS

Zuzana Caputova becomes Slovakia’s first female president :

Anti-corruption activist Zuzana Caputova becomes the fifth President of Slovakia, making her the country’s first female head of the State.
The 45-year old political novice won about 58.3% of the voted ahead of the more politically savvy European commissioner Maros Sefcovic who took 41.7%.

STATIC: Slovakia

Capital: Bratislava,

Currency: Euro.

Vijay Chandok To Head As MD And CEO Of ICICI Securities :

Vijay Chandok has been appointed as MD and CEO of ICICI Securities, a subsidiary of ICICI bank by succeeding Shilpa Naval Kumar.
He joined the ICICI Group in 1993. At present, he is on the boards of ICICI Bank UK PLC and ICICI Bank Canada and is the Chairman of ICICI Investment Management Company.

Air Marshal NS Dhillon to be designated as new Strategic Forces Command Chief :

Fighter pilot Air Marshal Navkaranjit Singh Dhillon has been appointed as the new Strategic Forces Command Chief by succeeding Jasbir Walia.
He has experience as a Commanding officer in MiG-21 Sqn and as a Chief Operational Officer of a premier flying base.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Dr Rajendra Joshi Conferred With Pravasi Bharatiya Samman :

NRI scientist Dr Rajendra Joshi conferred with the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Award by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind.
The Indian Ambassador to Switzerland Sibi George handed over the award citation signed by the President to Dr Joshi at his residence in Switzerland.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) is the highest honour conferred on Non-resident Indians by the President of India for their significant contributions towards bringing honour and glory to India.

RANKINGS

Jharkhand’s Dhanbad Tops 4G Availability Chart In India :

OpenSignal, one of the well-known portals that test the network availability and speeds of telecom operators released a new report of 4G availability in India’s 50 largest cities.
The report, which is named as ‘OpenSignal’s Hottest city for 4G Availability’ reveals that Dhanbad, which is also known as the coal capital of India has the highest 4G availability of 95.3%, followed by Ranchi which has 95% of 4G Availability.
Interestingly, Srinagar, which is one of the remote areas in the country stood third on the list with 4G Availability score of 94.9%.

Shanghai becomes world’s first district with 5G coverage :

Shanghai claimed that it has become first district in the world using both 5G coverage and broadband gigabit network.
It is latest wireless communication technology based on third-generation partnership project. 5G base stations had been deployed over the last three months to ensure full coverage in Hongkou.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

India successfully launches EMISAT satellite :

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C45) successfully launched EMISAT and 28 international customer satellites from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR in Sriharikota. This flight marked the first mission of PSLV-QL, a new variant of PSLV with four strap-on motors.
The spacecraft meant to provide electronic intelligence to the Armed Forces is the first of its kind for the country.
The EMISAT was launched in its 47th Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) mission, along with 28 other customer satellites, onboard the advanced PSLV-C45 Rocket.

Tesla builds its ‘largest energy storage system in Asia’:

In a bid to reduce energy demand and provide emergency backup power to trains in Japan, Tesla has claimed to develop its largest power storage system in Asia.It was Launched in partnership with Kintetsu, a railway operator in Japan’s Osaka.
Tesla stated that 7 megawatt-hours (MWh) system is its largest energy storage project in Asia and the fourth largest in the greater Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

STATIC : Japan

Capital: Tokyo,

Currency: Japanese yen,

Prime Minister : Shinzo Abe.

SPORTS

South Korea won Azlan Shah Cup by defeating India:

India has lost to South Korea in the final of Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey tournament at Ipoh in Malaysia.South Korea lifted the title, defeating India in a shoot out 4-2.
Hosts Malaysia defeated Canada 4-2 and secured the 3rd place.Asian games Gold medalist Japan stood at 5th place, defeating Poland 6-1.

Roger Federer lifts 101st title by winning Miami Open :

Roger Federer lifted the 101st title of his remarkable career by defeating ATP Miami Open defending champion John Isner by 6-1, 6-4.Federer is now behind only America’s Jimmy Connors with 109 career singles titles.
Roger Federer has lifted his fourth title at the Miami Open. It is Swiss player’s 28th Masters’ title and the 101st overall for a player who has won 20 Grand Slam singles titles.
The Complete list of winners are as follows : Miami Open 2019

Event	Winner	Runner Up
Men’s Singles	Roger Federer – Switzerland	John Isner – United States
Women’s Singles	Ashleigh Barty – Australia	Karolina Pliskova – Czech Republic
Men’s Doubles	Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan – USA	Wesley Koolhof – Netherlands and Stefanos Tsitsipas – Greece
Women’s Doubles	Elise Mertens – Belgium and Aryna Sabalenka – Belarus	Samantha Stosur – Australia and Zhang Shuai – China