Current Affairs March 9, 2018

Transcription

1 Current Affairs March 9, 2018 S.No Topic Page Number 1 World News 2 2 National News State News 5 4 Banking & Economy 6 5 Sports 7 6 Awards & Honours Obituaries 10 1

2 World News India ranks 52 in Mastercard Women Entrepreneurs index India ranked 52 among 57 countries studied for the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE), according to the findings of its second edition. Ghana (46.4 percent) ranks first in the world with the highest number of women business owners, followed by Russia (34.6 percent), Uganda (33.8 percent), New Zealand (33 percent) and Australia (32.1 percent). India to give UN $15.82m for Nepal quake reconstruction India has pledged million dollars in assistance to quake-ravaged Nepal for its massive reconstruction programme. India signed an agreement in this regard with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) to build homes for the quake victims. As per the agreement, the Indian Government will give 8.41 million US dollars to the UNOPS and 7.41 Million US dollar to the UNDP. UK College to teach Hinglish to students for jobs in India UK s Portsmouth College has offered to teach its students Hinglish, a mix of Hindi and English languages, becoming the country s first educational institution to do so. The course is being introduced partly due to India s growing economic importance and to prepare British students who may take up jobs in India or in Indian companies based in the UK. 2

3 National News Centre launches biodegradable sanitary napkins costing Rs 2.5 Union Minister Ananth Kumar launched 100% biodegradable sanitary napkins Suvidha, costing Rs.2.50 per pad, on the occasion of International Women s Day. The napkins will be available at Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana stores from May 28. Kumar said that the sanitary napkins will help women improve their personal hygiene without harming the nature. Girls marriage age should be 21 in case of without parents concern BJP MP Gopal Shetty has proposed a private member bill in the Lok Sabha demanding that the age bar for girls marriage be extended to 21 from 18, if the marriage doesn t have parents consent. Adding that by 21, girls attain maturity, Shetty said the age bar for girls could be 18 if the marriage has the consent of parents. Government announces launch of SUVIDHA Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ananth kumar announced the launch of Suvidha, the 100% Oxo-biodegradable Sanitary Napkin, under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP). The affordable sanitary napkin will be available for Rs per pad at over 3200 Janaushadhi Kendras across India and would ensure Swachhta, Swasthya and Suvidha for the underprivileged Women of India. This step taken by the Department of Pharmaceuticals will ensure the achievement of Prime Minster Shri Narendra Modi s vision of Affordable and Quality Healthcare for All. Government launches Udyam Sakhi Portal for Women Entrepreneurs The Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises launched Udyam Sakhi Portal ( for women entrepreneurs on the occasion of International Women s Day. It was unveiled by Minister of State (Independent Charge) of MSME, Giriraj Singh, in a program held at Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi. 3

4 Indian women earn 20 per cent lesser than men: Report According to a report released, women in India earn 20 per cent lesser than men, although the gender gap narrowed down by around five percentage points in The report by monster.com called Monster Salary Index (MSI) revealed that the current gender pay gap in India stands at 20 per cent, where men earned a median gross hourly salary of Rs 231, while women earned Rs

5 State News Delhi Metro withdraws from Kerala project due to govt delay The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has said it was forced to withdraw from Kerala s Metro project in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode after the state government failed to sign the project agreement that was submitted 15 months ago. Stating that it had started preparatory work in 2016, the DMRC said it could not start working since the agreement was not signed. Gurugram s first cyber crime police station inaugurated Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority on Wednesday inaugurated the district s first cyber crime police station where cyber crime victims can lodge complaints. The station will have 35 trained personnel and equipment for forensics and call detail analysis to investigate the crimes, police said. It will act as a centralised monitoring system for all types of online and tech-related crimes. TNERC suggests 30% lower tariff for wind, solar power A consultative paper of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) has suggested a benchmark tariff of Rs per unit for wind energy and Rs per unit for solar energy, an over 30% fall from previously fixed tariffs. The suggested tariffs are also cheaper than thermal power, whose average cost is Rs. 4 per unit. TNERC, the State regulator, fixes the benchmark tariffs for procurement of wind and solar energy by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd (Tangedco), the State distribution company. 5

6 Banking & Economy Banks gross NPAs at Rs 8.41 lakh crore in Dec The government announced that the gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of all the banks in the country amounted to Rs 8,40,958 crore in December, led by industry loans followed by services and agriculture sectors. The gross NPAs or bad loans of scheduled commercial banks as on December 31, 2017 due to loans to industry were at Rs 6,09,222 crore, accounting for per cent of the gross advances. The highest amount of gross NPAs was for country s largest lender SBI at Rs 2,01,560 crore. RBI imposes Rs 10 lakh penalty on Equitas Small Finance Bank The RBI has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Equitas Small Finance Bank for failing to comply with a licensing condition of obtaining prior approval from the central bank for certain actions. The company was selling mutual fund, pension and insurance products without taking approval from the regulator. TCS ranked as the fastest growing IT services brand in 2018 Leading global IT services organisation, Tata Consultancy Services was named as the fastest growing IT services brand in the world in an assessment done by leading brand valuation firm, Brand Finance. According to Brand Finance IT Services 15 annual report for 2018, TCS now has a total brand value of USD billion; a growth of 14.4 percent from last year. 6

7 Sports Bowlers, Dhawan star in India s convincing win India s young bowling unit got its bearings back with a disciplined effort to restrict Bangladesh to a modest 139 for eight in the second round-robin league match of the Nidahas Trophy tri-series tournament. After the nightmarish effort against host Sri Lanka in the opener, the inexperienced lineup gave a much better account of itself, using the conditions well, much to the delight of skipper Rohit Sharma. The testimony to the better performance was as many as 55 dot balls (9.1 overs). ISL final in Bengaluru on March 17 The final of the fourth edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) will be held at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on March 17. The summit clash was slated to be held in Kolkata, but ATK failing to make it the playoffs as well as spectator apathy seemed to have swung the decision in favour of Bengaluru. ISSF World Cup Anjum Moudgil Wins Silver Indian shooter Anjum Moudgil clinched a silver medal in the women s 50m Rifle 3 Positions event at the ongoing ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico. It was Anjum s first World Cup medal. Former junior world champion China s Ruijiao Pei won the Gold Medal in that event. This was India s eighth medal in the competition and the first silver. India thus remained on top of the medals tally with eight medals, while China is in second with two gold, two silver, one bronze. 7

8 Awards & Honours Myanmar s Aung San Suu Kyi stripped of human rights award Myanmar s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi was on March 7, 2018 stripped off her human rights award conferred by US Holocaust Memorial Museum. The Museum announced that it was withdrawing Suu Kyi s Elie Wiesel Award, which they had presented to her in The decision was taken following the ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority community in the Rakhine state of Myanmar. Winners of Central Banking Awards 2018 Central Banking s fifth annual awards recognise outstanding achievement within a community that has had to balance monetary accommodation and financial stability in an environment of rapid innovation, political change and global uncertainty. The Bank of Canada, this year s Central Bank of the Year, emerged as a beacon of best practice for much of the community. S.No Category Bank 1 Transparency Central Bank of Ireland 2 Reserve manager of the year Bank of Korea 3 Banknote and currency manager of the Norges Bank year 4 Initiative of the year Bank of England s FinTech Accelerator. 5 Website of the year Bank of Lithuania 6 Economics in central banking Alberto Cavallo and Roberto Rigobon Billion Prices Project/PriceStats 7 Asset manager of the year BlackRock 8 Innovation in reserve management HSBC 9 Global custodian of the year BNY Mellon 8

9 10 Securities lending services provider of the Northern Trust year 11 Banknote and currency services provider Landqart of the year 12 Technology consultant of the year Vizor Software 13 Risk management services provider of the year 14 Consultancy and advisory provider of the year (data and regulatory management) 15 Payments and market infrastructure provider of the year Openlink BearingPoint Perago 9

10 Obituaries Badminton: South Korea's 2012 bronze medalist Chung dies aged 35 South Korean badminton player Chung Jae-sung, who won bronze in the men s doubles at the London Olympics, has died at the age of 35. Yonhap News quoted local police as saying Chung had been diagnosed with arrhythmia three years ago and that he had complained of chest pains at times. Chung partnered Lee Yong-dae to third place at London in 2012 with their victory over Malaysian pair Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong. His death was keenly felt across the global badminton community. 10