DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: MARCH 3 & 4, 2019

Dear Aspirants,

Daily Current Affairs (March 3 & 4, 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

Gram Samridhi Yojana for Unorganized Food Processing Sector :

India’s food processing ministry is working on a new scheme — Gram Samridhi Yojana — to bolster the unorganised food processing sector concentrated in rural areas.The scheme will be run in Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab for a 5-year period in the initial phase and thereafter in other states of the country.
The Rs 3,000 crore scheme funded by the World Bank will help cottage industry, farmer producers’ organisation and individual food processors to increase capacity, upgrade technology besides skill improvement, entrepreneurship development and strengthening the farm-to market supply chain.
NITI Aayog has given its approval to the scheme. World Bank will be giving Rs 1,500 crore, Rs 1,000 crore will be borne by the Centre while state governments will put in Rs 500 crore.

Textiles Minister Launches Scheme for Development of Knitting and Knitwear Sector :

Union Minister of Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani, launched a comprehensive scheme for Development of Knitting and Knitwear Sector under PowerTex India in New Delhi.Apart from financial incentives, the two key elements are Yarn Bank and financial assistance for the solar energy scheme.
The yarn bank scheme for knitting and knitwear units will provide an interest-free corpus fund of a maximum of up to Rs 2 crore per yarn bank to a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).
Under the Solar energy scheme, the government will provide financial assistance/capital subsidy to the extent of 50%, 75% and 90% of the basic cost of the solar plant to the applicants of General Category, SC, and ST respectively.The Ministry has approved combined SFC of PowerTex India Scheme and Knitwear Scheme with an outlay of Rs. 487.07 crores.

BSF, BGB conclude ‘Mainamati Maitree Exercise 2019’ in Tripura :

Border guards of India and Bangladesh concluded a three-day joint exercise named ‘Mainamati Maitree Exercise 2019’ organised as part of the confidence building measures between the BSF and the BGB in Tripura.
During the exercise, personnel of the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) and the Border Security Force (BSF) took part in joint patrolling, anti-smuggling drills, simulated raids on suspected places in both the countries, and checking of goods and identity at international check posts.
The exercise was named ‘Mainamati Maitree Exercise 2019’ after the Mainamati hill range, dotted with ancient Buddhist settlements, near Comilla in Bangladesh.

AIIB to provide USD 455 million for Andhra Pradesh rural roads project :

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will provide a loan of USD 455 million to finance the Andhra Pradesh Rural Roads Project, which will connect about 3,300 habitations with a population of more than 250, and benefit around two million people.
The objective of the project is to improve road transport connectivity in previously unserved communities by providing all-weather rural roads in all 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh.

STATIC : AIIB

President: Jin Liqun,

Headquarters: Beijing, China.

Cabinet approves ‘Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN yojana’ for financial support :

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the “Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN (Jaiv Indhan- Vatavaran Anukool fasal awashesh Nivaran) Yojana” for providing financial support to Integrated Bioethanol Projects using lignocellulosic biomass and other renewable feedstock.
The JI-VAN Yojana will be supported with total financial outlay of Rs 1969.50 crore for the period from 2018-19 to 2023-24.
The scheme aims to incentivise the Second Generation (2G) Ethanol sector and support the industry by creating a suitable ecosystem for setting up commercial projects and increasing R&D in this area.

Environment Minister launched Anthem on ‘plastic-free India’ in seven languages :

Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Harsh Vardhan launched an anthem ”Plastic Waste-Free India’‘ which has been composed and produced by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Smriti Manch (PDUSM)– a non-profit organisation which works in the field of social and environmental issues.
The anthem has been launched in seven languages – Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telegu, Malyalam and Kannada.
It is an initiative which aims to turn India into a plastic-free nation by 2022 and aims at supporting and improving the plastic waste management and recycling ecosystem in the country.

INTERNATIONAL

India signs pact with Russia for manufacturing 7.5 lakh AK-203 rifles :

India has signed a deal with a Russian firm to manufacture 7.5 lakh AK-203 rifles, the latest derivative of the AK-47 rifles.
The AK-203 rifles will be produced at the Indian Ordnance Factory at Amethi’s Korwa.The new rifles will replace the indigenous INSAS rifles in the Army, Air Force and Navy.

STATIC: Russia

Capital: Moscow,

Currency: Russian ruble.

CISF Creates Guinness Record For Longest Single Line Cycle Parade :

CISF- The Central Industrial Security Force created the Guinness World Record for ‘longest single line bicycle parade (moving)’ in Noida, to mark the 50 years of the paramilitary force.
CISF personnel rode 1,327 bicycles non-stop in a single line, maintaining a uniform distance between the bicycles.
The previous record was held by Hubballi Bicycle Club of India, with 1,235 bicycles in a single chain.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Assam’s Hailakandi became the top aspirational district as per NITI Aayog report :

According to the Delta ranking report released by NITI Aayog, Assam’s Hailakandi has become the top aspirational district among the 112 aspirational districts of the country.
Hailakandi in Assam has made a giant leap from 52nd position to no. 1 position on the basis of its performance during November-December 2018 and January 2019.

STATIC:Assam

Capital- Dispur

Chief Minister- Sarbananda Sonowal

Governor- Jagdish Mukhi.

Sir Alastair Cook officially receives knighthood from Queen :

Alastair Cook– formerly a skipper of the England cricket team was officially awarded the knighthood for his services to cricket.
He was honoured by Elizabeth II, the Queen of England at the Buckingham Palace, London, England.
He is the 11th English cricketer to be awarded knighthood for services to cricket and also the first English cricketer to get the honour after Sir Ian Botham received it in 2007.

APPOINTMENTS

Former finance secretary A N Jha replaces RBI Gov Shaktikanta Das as 15th Finance Commission member :

Former Finance Secretary Ajay Narayan Jha has joined as a member of the 15th Finance Commission.
Jha has been posted in place of Shaktikanta Das who had resigned as a member of the Commission after being appointed the RBI Governor.
A 1982-batch IAS officer of Manipur cadre, Jha retired as a Finance Secretary to the central government on February 28.

Senegal’s president Sall gets re-elected for a second term :

Macky Sall has again won the election with 58.27% of votes casted to be the President of Senegal.
This majority votes has handed Macky Sall a second term to be the President without the need for a second round of voting.

STATIC: Senegal

Capital: Dakar

Senegal Currency- CFA Franc

Prime Minister- Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne

SPORTS

Roger Federer claims 100th ATP singles title against Stefanos Tsitsipas :

Swiss Tennis legend Roger Federer has claimed the 100th ATP title of his career with after beating 20-year-old Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships. The 20-time grand slam champion is the second man, after American Jimmy Connors to claim 100 titles.
Federer will have to win 10 more titles to beat Connors’ men’s record of 109, while Martina Navratilova holds the all-time record having won 167 women’s singles crowns during her career.

OBITUARY

Russian physicist and Nobel laureate Zhores Alferov dies at 88 :

A Russian physicist and Nobel Prize laureate, Zhores Alferov, has passed away. He was 88.
In 2000, Alferov received the Nobel Prize in Physics together with US scientists Jack Kilby and Herbert Kroemer, for developing semiconductor heterostructures used in high-speed-and optoelectronics.

IMPORTANT DAYS

3^rd March is being observed as World Hearing Day:

World Hearing Day is observed on 3^rd March every year by Office of Prevention of Blindness and Deafness of the WHO (World Health Organization).
Theme for this year’s World hearing day is “Check your Hearing”.

World Wildlife Day : March 3

3 rd March is observed as the World Wildlife Day on every year to spread awareness about wildlife.
On this day, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed.The theme for World Wildlife Day 2019 is ‘Life below water: for people and planet’