DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: March 12, 2020

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Important Days

World Kidney Day- March 12

World Kidney Day is observed annually on the 2nd Thursday in March. It is a global health awareness campaign focusing on the importance of the kidneys and reducing the frequency and impact of kidney disease and its associated health problems worldwide.
This year’s theme is “Kidney health for everyone everywhere – from prevention to detection and equitable access to care”.

National News

Governor of Tamilnadu to Witness Event “Divya Kala Shakti-Witnessing the Abilities in Disabilities” in Chennai:

Governor of Tamil Nadu Shri Banwarilal Purohit will witness the first ever regional event Divya Kala Shakti: Witnessing the abilities in disabilities a unique cultural event at Kalaivanar Arangam, Chennai.
He will be accompanied by the Minister of Social Welfare & Nutritious Noon Meal Program, Government of Tamil Nadu Dr.V.Saroja and senior officers.

Mangalore International Airport named ‘best airport by size and region’:

Mangalore International Airport, which is managed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), has been adjudged the ‘best airport by size and region’ in the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey for 2019, in the ‘2-5 million passengers per year in Asia-Pacific region category’.
Apart from Mangalore, two other airports managed by the AAI — Chandigarh and Thiruvananthapuram — have also won the award under the same category.

Maharashtra approves implementation of “happy hour” for autorickshaws:

Maharashtra government has approved the implementation of “happy hour” for autorickshaws.
A government resolution states that fares will be slashed by 15% between 12 noon and 4 pm. The decision will not be applicable to local taxis & app-based taxis.
Khatua panel recommended the “happy hour”.

Indian mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya scales Australia’s highest mountain peak:

Indian Mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya hails from Madhya Pradesh (MP) has successfully scaled Mount Kosciuszko [2, 228 meters], the highest mountain peak in Australia on the occasion of Holi.
Dehariya had scaled Mount Kilimanjaro [5, 895 meters] on the occasion of Diwali in the year 2019 and also felt fortunate that she had celebrated 2 biggest festivals of India at the mountain peaks.

Mission Zero Accident: SC directs to fix Medical Boxes at all Railway stations & passenger carrying trains:

Supreme Court instructed to provide a Medical Box containing lifesaving medicines, equipment’s, oxygen cylinder etc. at all Railway stations & passenger carrying trains.
Mission Zero Accident was one of the Missions announced in the Railway Budget 2016-17.
Unmanned Level Crossings (UMLC) and Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) are the two sub-missions of Mission Zero Accident.

PM Narendra Modi all set to lead the sixth International Yoga Day celebrations at Leh on June 21:

The main national event for the sixth International Day of Yoga (IDY) will be held on June 21 this year at Leh in Ladakh and the event will be led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
This year, the Yoga demonstration is to be different as it is being held at higher altitudes. More than 15,000 to 20,000 people are expected to participate in the event.

Poshan Pakhwada being celebrated in Nagaland from March 8-22:

To celebrate the second anniversary of POSHAN Abhiyaan, 2020 Poshan Pakhwada is being celebrated in Nagaland. The focus area of Poshan Pakhwada 2020 is “Men for Nutrition – Increasing Male Engagement in POSHAN Abhiyaan to Improve Nutritional Indicators”.
POSHAN Abhiyaan was launched on 8 March 2018.

Maharashtra Assembly gives nod to bill on caste validity certificate:

Gram panchayats in Maharashtra will now allow its members to submit their caste validity certificates within a year of winning elections.
At present, a candidate will have to submit his/her caste validity certificate at the time of filing of nominations.
A bill in this regard is passed by the state assembly.

International News

WHO declares Corona Virus as GLOBAL PANDEMIC:

World Health Organization declared Corona Virus as Global Pandemic as it is rapidly spreading across the world.
There are more than 126,369 people infected with COVID-19 virus. The virus has so far killed 4,634 people.

CCI approves acquisition of additional equity shares in Hero FinCorp Ltd by Otter Limited & Link Investment Trust:

CCI approves acquisition of additional equity shares in Hero FinCorp Ltd by Otter Limited & Link Investment Trust.
Otter is an investment company registered in Mauritius. Link is a private trust registered in India and is engaged in making investments.
Hero FinCorp– Consumer Finance and commercial lending company.

World Bank and GoI sign Agreement on Climate Resilient Rain-Fed Agriculture:

World Bank signed an $80 million loan agreement with the Government of India, Government of Himachal Pradesh.
The aim is to improve water management practices and increase agricultural productivity in selected Gram Panchayats in Himachal Pradesh.
The loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a final maturity of 14.5 years, including a grace period of 5 years.
The Integrated Project for Source Sustainability and Climate Resilient Rain-Fed Agriculture will be implemented in 428 Gram Panchayats in 10 districts in Himachal Pradesh.

CCI approves acquisition of Teesta Urja Limited by Greenko Mauritius:

The CCI approves the acquisition by Greenko Mauritius in Teesta Urja Limited, under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002. Approval relates to the acquisition by Greenko of approximately 35% equity stake in the paid-up equity share capital of TUL.
Greenko Mauritius is an investment holding company.

Banking and Technology

No minimum balance needed for SBI savings bank accounts:

State Bank of India (SBI) announced that it has waived off the requirement of holding average monthly balance for savings accounts. “State Bank of India has decided to waive maintenance of Average Monthly Balance (AMB) for all Savings Bank Accounts,” the bank’s press release stated.
From now on all SBI customers will enjoy the zero-balance facility in their savings bank accounts. This, according to the press release, will benefit 44.51 crore savings bank account.

Appointments

ITBP chief SS Deswal given additional charge of BSF DGShri Surjeet Singh Deswal:

Director General Indo Tibetian Border Police (ITBP), Shri Surjeet Singh Deswal was given an additional charge by the Ministry of Home Affairs to serve as a Director General of Border Security Force (BSF).

He will succeed Vivek johri repatriated by Government of India who has now taken over a charge as a Director General of Police at Madhya Pradesh.

PV Sindhu becomes the brand ambassador for anti-graft helpline:

Badminton world champion PV Sindhu is appointed as the brand ambassador for Andhra Pradesh government’s anti-graft helpline or anti-corruption helpline– 14400
She has featured along with Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in a video titled ‘stop corruption’ which states people keep their eyes & ears open against corruption.

HSBC appoints Mark Wang as Chief Executive in China

HSBC has appointed a new chief executive for China, a major focus for the bank, the latest in a series of senior management changes. Mark Wang, head of HSBC’s China investment banking business, will become China CEO.
HSBC interim group CEO is Noel Quinn.

IDFC FIRST Bank names Amitabh Bachchan as Brand Ambassador:

IDFC FIRST Bank has announced the signing of India’s most iconic personality, Amitabh Bachchan, as its 1st ever brand ambassador.
His personality resonates IDFC FIRST’s brand persona & values pillars,that of Sincerity, Humility & Contemporariness.
Mr. V Vaidyanathan, MD & CEO, IDFC FIRST Bank

Lt Gen KJS Dhillon to take charge as DG DIA, DCIDS:

Lt Gen KJS Dhillon will take over the post of Director General Defence Intelligence Agency and Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Intelligence).
It is a department that comes under the Chief of Defence Staff in the newly created Department of Military Affairs.

Awards and Recognition

Dr Jaimanti Bakshi, PGI Professor won Best Citizens of India Gold medal Award National award:

Dr Jaimanti Bakshi, Professor & Unit Head II, Department of Otolaryngology and Head Neck surgery at PGIMER (Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research), Chandigarh was awarded with “Best Citizens of India”.
The award was given by “GEPRA” (Global Economic Progress and Research Association) during the National Unity conference held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu (TN).

Smart Incubator of the Year Award for Maker Village Kochi:

Maker Village Kochi won the ISGF (India Smart Grid Forum) Award for the best incubator in recognition of its efforts to boost the country’s startup ecosystem and encourage innovation.
Prasad Balakrishnan Nair, CEO of Maker Village, received the ISGF ‘Smart Incubator of the Year’ award from Indian Angel Network co-founder Padmaja Ruparel.
The award was presented at the just-concluded India Smart Utility Week (ISUW) in New Delhi.

Obituaries

Swedish actor and Game of thrones fame Max von Sydow passes away:

Max von Sydow, the Swedish actor who was nominated for two Oscars during his career passed away. The actor featured in various films and TV series. Max Von Sydow was nominated for Oscars as best actor in 1988 for Pelle the Conqueror.

Sports News

World bronze-medallist Manish Kaushik in 63kg category becomes 9th Indian boxer to qualify for Tokyo Olympics:

World bronze-medallist Manish Kaushik in 63kg category became the ninth Indian boxer to qualify for 2020 Tokyo Olympics after a win at the Asian Qualifiers in Amman, Jordan.
Kaushik beat Commonwealth Games champion, Harrison Garside of Australia for 4-1.
Vikas Krishan signed off with a silver medal in 69 kg category.