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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS
National Immunization Day
- President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, launched the nation-wide Pulse Polio programme for 2019 at Rashtrapati Bhavan, to deliver supplemental doses of oral poliovirus vaccine.
- The programme was launched as a part of the National Immunization Day 2019 which was observed on March 10, 2019.
- Under the Pulse Polio programme 2019, more than 17 crore children of less than five years across the country will be given polio drops to sustain polio eradication from the country.
CISF Raising Day
- The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi attended the 50th Raising Day celebrations of Central Industrial Security Forces (CISF), at Indirapuram in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
- This day is observed every year on March 10
- The CISF was set up in 1969 under an act of the Parliament of India. It works under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and it’s headquarter is at New Delhi.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL
Japanese women honoured by Guinness as oldest person
- Kane Tanaka,a 116-year-old woman from Japan has been honored by the Guinness World Records as the oldest living person in the world.
- Kane Tanaka was born on January 2, 1903.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Japan Capital | Tokyo |
| Japan Currency | Yen |
| Japan President | Shinzo Abe |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE
Kerala’s jaggery gets GI tag
- The Marayoor Jaggery, a traditional and homemade product manufactured at Marayoor, a place in Idukki district of Kerala, has bagged Geographical Indication tag.
- Marayur jaggery is known especially for its organic and traditional production using the sugar cane cultivated in the region.
- Jaggery is a dark brown sugar balls made from sugarcane and no chemicals are added during the manufacturing process.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Kerala Capital | Thiruvananthapuram |
| Kerala Chief Minister | Pinarayi Vijayan |
| Kerala Governor | P Sathasivam |
Country’s first oil museum to come up in Guwahati
- Assam, the state where oil was discovered and produced for the first time in the country more than a century ago, will have the first Oil Museum in the country.
- All major oil and gas PSUs of the country – ONGC, IOCL, HPCL, BPCL and EIL are coming together for this project, which was launched by Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
- The oil museum will be named after KD Malaviya, called the father of India’s hydrocarbon industry
- The museum to come up at a cost of Rs 104 crore.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Assam Capital | Dispur |
| Assam Chief Minister | Sarbananda Sonowal |
| Assam Governor | Jagdish Mukhi |
National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation to be set up at Sehore in Madhya Pradesh
- Secretary of Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities at Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Shakuntala D Gamlin laid the foundation stone of the ‘National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation’ at Sherpur village along Bhopal-Sehore highway, Sehore district of Madhya Pradesh
- This Institute will be first of its kind in the country.
- The Centre has approved an outlay of Rs 180 crore for this project for an initial period of three years.
- The land for this institute measuring about 25 acre was allocated free of cost by the Madhya Pradesh government in October 2018
- It will promote mental health rehabilitation using an integrated multidisciplinary approach, to undertake capacity building and to involve in developing trained professionals in the area of mental health rehabilitation and help the Government in formulating policy and programs/models for rehabilitation of persons with mental illness.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Madhya Pradesh Capital | Bhopal |
| Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister | Kamal Nath |
| Madhya Pradesh Governor | Anandiben patel |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE
SBI links pricing of loans, deposits to the repo rate
- The State Bank of India (SBI) will use the repo rate of RBI as a benchmark to set the savings deposit interest rates and interest rates for short-term loans from May 01, 2019.
- With this the State Bank of India will become the first bank in the country to use an external benchmark like repo for interest rates of saving deposits and loans. This has been done for quick transmission of changes in the RBI’s policy rates.
- However, those saving deposit accounts with balance less than Rs. 1 lakh and borrowers with CC/OD limits up to Rs. 1 lakh will be exempted from this. These will continue to be linked to MCLR. This has been done to insulate them from the movement of external benchmarks like repo rate.
- In savings account with deposits balances above Rs. 1 lakh, the effective interest rate will be 2.75% below repo rate
- All cash credit accounts and overdrafts above Rs. 1 lakh would be priced at 2.25% over the repo rate.
| USEFUL INFO |
| SBI Headquarters | Mumbai |
| SBI Tagline | Pure Banking Nothing Else |
| SBI MD and CEO | Rajinish Kumar |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: COMMITTIEE
Dr Alok Srivastava to head committee on Comprehensive Insurance Scheme forAdvocates
- A 5-member committee to examine issues related to framing of a proper and structured scheme for providing of insurance cover to the advocates and to suggest modalities for the implementation of such a scheme has been set up by the Union Minister for Law & Justice, Ravi Shankar Prasad under the chairmanship of Secretary Legal Affairs, Dr Alok Srivastava
- Other members of the committee will include a senior representative from the Department of Financial Services and representative of the Department of legal affairs. The committee will also have one representative each from Bar Council of India and State Bar Councils.
- The committee shall also suggest the modalities of administration of the insurance scheme under a high powered body with adequate representatives of all stakeholders.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS
Acko General Insurance wins Golden Peacock Award
- Acko General Insurance Limitedbased in Mumbai has won the Golden Peacock Innovative Product/Services Award – 2019 under the Insurance Category for their contextual microinsurance product -“Ola Ride Insurance
- Apart from this Azizi Bank of Afghanistan has won the Golden Peacock Business Excellence Award (GPBEA)- 2019 in the Banking Sector.
- The Golden Peacock Innovative Product Award is designed to encourage systemic innovation in an organization to develop products and services that are aligned with the current market demands.
BBC journalist Priyanka gets Chameli Devi Jain award
- The Chameli Devi Jain Award for an Outstanding Woman Journalist for 2018 has been given to Priyanka Dubey, who works as a bilingual correspondent with the BBC
- The Chameli Devi Jain Award has been awarded to women journalists for the past 37 years
- She was chosen for her multi-faceted, investigative and interrogative report.
MWCD Maneka Sanjay Gandhi felicitated the winners of the ‘Web Wonder Women’ contest
- Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi felicitated the winners of the ‘Web Wonder Women’ contest, organised by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, in New Delhi
- Maneka Gandhi, along with a panel of 10 judges, finalized the names of 30 women who have impacted and influenced society through social media.
- The women were selected from over 240 nominations received under the categories media, awareness, legal, health, governmental, food, environment, development, business and art.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Minister of Women Welfare and Child Development | Maneka Gandhi |
| Constituency | Philibit, UP |
India bags 1st prize at the international ‘Golden City Gate Tourism Awards 2019’ in ‘TV cinema spot’ category
- The Ministry of Tourism has won the First Prize in the category of TV Cinema Spot at the prestigious international Golden City Gate Tourism Awards 2019,
- The awards were received by Tourism Secretary Yogendra Tripathi at ITB, Berlin
- The Golden City Gate Tourism Multi-media Awards are given annually in various categories related to the Tourism and Hospitality sectors.
- Following promotional films / television commercials produced by the Ministry as part of its Incredible India 2.0 Campaign received the awards:Yogi of the Racetrack, The Reincarnation of Mr. and Mrs. Jones, Sanctuary in Paris, Maharani of Manhattan and The Masala Master Chef
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
China launches new communications satellite ‘ChinaSat 6C’, marks 300th mission
- China sent a new communications satellite into orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.
- The “ChinaSat 6C” satellite was launched by a Long March-3B carrier rocket. It will provide high-quality radio and TV transmission services.
- The satellite was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology, and will be operated by the China Satellite Communications Co, Ltd.
- The launch marks the 300th mission of the Long March carrier rocket series developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
| USEFUL INFO |
| China Capital | Beijing |
| China Currency | Renminbi |
| China President | Xi Jinping |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION
Ashu Khullar appointed as Citi India CEO
- Ashu Khullar currently heads capital markets origination for Citi’s Asia-Pac region has been named CEO of Citi India, with effect from April 1
- He will replace Pramit Jhaveri, who has had a nine-year stint as Citi India CEO.
- Jhaveri will take charge as vice-chairman of banking, capital markets and advisory, Asia Pacific, from April 1
| USEFUL INFO |
| CITI Headquarters | New York, United States |
| CEO | Barbara J. Desoer |
| CITI India CEO | Ashu Khullar |
Mohammad Shtayyeh named as Palestinian Prime Minister
- Mohammad Shtayyeh has been named as Palestinian Prime Minister by President of Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas.
- The announcement comes six weeks after Rami al-Hamdallah tendered his resignation from the post and of his unity government to President Mahmoud Abbas, underscoring the failure of Hamas and Fatah to implement a power-sharing deal.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS
BOOK ‘Gauri- The Urge to Fly is set to release on Mother’s Day
- The book titled ‘Gauri- The Urge to Fly’ authored by Rhythm Wagholikar is set to release on May 12 on the occasion of the Mother’s Day.
- The book is based on Gauri Sawant, the first transgender mother of India. The cover page of the book was launched on Women’s Day.
Finance Minister releases ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ book on PM’s selected speeches
- Finance Minister Arun Jaitley released the book Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas – a collection of selected speeches of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the presence of Information and Broadcasting Minister Col Rajyavardhan Rathore.
- The book reflects the vision of the Prime Minister of seeing all citizens of the country as one and taking everyone along on the path of inclusive development.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU
India and Costa Rica signed two documents
- India and Costa Rica signed two documents during Vice President Venkaiah Naidu’s first visit to the Central American nation.
- The two documentsbased on waiving visa requirements for Diplomatic and Official passport holders and the signing of the Letter of Intent to collaborate in the field of Biotechnology.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Costa Rica Capital | San Jose |
| Costa Rica Currency | Colon |
| Costa Rica President | Carlos Alvarado Quesada |
HP signs MoU with AP government to set up additive manufacturing centre
- HP India has signed an MoU with Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society (APIS) and Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB) to build a Center of Excellence (CoE) for additive manufacturing powered by HP’s 3D printing technology.
- The CoE is part of the state government’s vision to accelerate adoption of 3D printing in various industry sectors such as automotive, aerospace, defence, consumer goods, healthcare, apparel and construction
- The CoE will give Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) and Start-ups in Andhra Pradesh the opportunity to learn more about the benefits of additive manufacturing, and how they can make use of 3D printing to digitally transform their own operations or to grow their business.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Andhra Pradesh Capital | Amaravathi |
| Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister | Chandhrababu Naidu |
| Andhra Pradesh Governor | ESL Narasimhan |
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board inks cooperation agreement with IFC
- The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has signed a Cooperation Agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group (WBG).
- The agreement was signed by K. R. Saji Kumar, Executive Director, IBBI and Jun Zhang, Country Manager, IFC India, in the presence of Injeti Srinivas, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and M. S. Sahoo, Chairperson, IBBI.
- The agreement will enable IFC to assist IBBI to further build the capacity of insolvency professionals, and insolvency professional agencies for the purposes of the Code
India and World Bank Signs $137 Million Loan Agreement for the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP)
- India, The World Bank and representatives of 5 state governments of India and implementing agencies signed the loan agreement for additional financingof $137 million for the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP)
- That will help rehabilitate and modernize over 220 selected large dams in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand.
- In 2010, the Bank’s Board approved $350 million to finance the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project to improve the safety and sustainable performance of over 220 selected dams in India.
| USEFUL INFO |
| World Bank Headquarters | Washington, D.C., United States |
| World Bank CEO | kristalina georgieva |
ISRO, French space agency seal agreement on maritime security
- The French space agency, National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), has signed an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to set up a maritime surveillance centre in India.
- Sivan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, and Jean-Yves Le Gall, President of CNES of France, signed the agreement in Bengaluru
- The two nations will explore putting up a constellation of low-Earth orbiting satellites that will identify and track movement of ships globally – and in particular those moving in the Indian Ocean region where France has its Reunion Islands
| USEFUL INFO |
| ISRO Headquarters | Bengaluru |
| ISRO Chairman | Kailasavadivoo Sivan |
CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING AND INDEX
Women in India earn 19% less than men: Monster Salary Index
- Women in India earn 19 per cent less than men according to a report prepared by monster.com.
- The disparity was found in the survey conducted for the year 2018 and it stood just 1 per cent lower than the 20 per cent pay gap in 2017.
- The survey titled ‘Women of India Inc’, mentioned that the median gross hourly salary for men was Rs. 242.49 earned Rs. 46.19 more in comparison to women who earned Rs.196.3 in 2018
- MSI is an initiative by Monster India in collaboration with Paycheck.in (managed by WageIndicator Foundation) and IIM-Ahmedabad as a research partner.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports recognises All India Carrom Federation as National Sports Federation
- Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has granted provisional recognition to All India Carrom Federation (AICF) as National Sport Federation with immediate effect till up to 31st March, 2019
- The recognition means granting a major role to AICF for development of the Carrom sport in India.
- The recognition can be reviewed by the government in case Memorandum of Association (MoA) of the All India Carrom Federation or its practices come into conflict with the government guidelines as amended from time to time.
- The Carrom sport is placed in the ‘Others’ category.
| USEFUL INFO |
| Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports | Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore |
| Constituency | Jaipur |
Kavinder fetches gold,4 silver medals for India at Finland boxing tourney
- Kavinder Singh Bisht (56kg) struck gold while Shiva Thapa (60kg) and three others claimed silver medals to end a fine Indian campaign at the 38th GeeBee Boxing Tournament in Helsinki, Finland.
- Signing off with silver medals were three-time Asian medallist Shiva Thapa (60kg), rookie Govind Sahani (49kg), Commonwealth Games bronze-medal list Mohammed Hussamuddin (56kg) and Dinesh Dagar (69kg).