Current Affairs Daily Updates: 16th March 2017
APPOINTMENTS
Babul Supriyo Named
Vice-President Of FIFA U-17 World Cup LOC
- Union
Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Babul
Supriyo has been named as Vice President of the 2017 U-17 FIFA World Cup
organising committee said by Praful Patel, president of All India Football
Federation (AIFF) on March 15, 2017
- For
the first time, India to host FIFA U-17 World from October 6 to 28, 2017.
- A
FIFA team will visit India this month end for the final inspection of the
facilities in the six cities which will host matches of the U-17 World
Cup.
Justice Sharma sworn in as Upalokayukta of Assam
- Former
Judge of the Gauhati High Court Chittaranjan Sharma has sworn in as
Assam’s Upalokayukta by Governor Banwarilal Purohit on March 14, 2017
- Lokayukta
is an anti corruption ombudsmen appointed in states.
- For
the very first time the Maharashtra state has been initiated Lokayukta in
year 1971 and at present the Lokayukta system is functioning in 17 states.
Captain Amarinder Singh sworn in as Chief Minister of Punjab
- Congress
leader Captain Amarinder Singh was on 16 March 2017 sworn in as the 26th
Chief Minister (CM) of Punjab. Alongside, Navjot Singh Sidhu was sworn in
as a Cabinet Minister of Punjab.
- Amarinder
Singh was administered oath of office and secrecy by Punjab Governor VP
Singh Badnore at an impressive ceremony at the Punjab Raj Bhawan.
- Nine
ministers including two women were also inducted in the state cabinet. The
ministers inducted included Brahm Mohindra, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Manpreet
Badal, Charanjit Singh Channi, Rana Gurjeet Singh, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot
and Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa. The two women inducted are Aruna Chaudhary
and Razia Sultana.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
2016 Pandit Deen Dayal
Upadhyay Rashtriya Krishi Vigyan Protsahan Puraskar presented
- Ramakrishna
Ashram, which is located in the South 24 Parganas of West Bengal, was
conferred with the national-level Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Rashtriya
Krishi Vigyan Protsahan Puraskar for 2016.
- The
award was presented by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers'
Welfare Radha Mohan Singh on 15 March 2017 during the inaugural function
of the Krishi Unnati Mela 2017 in New Delhi.
- On
this occasion, the minister also distributed 11 regional level Pandit Deen
Dayal Upadhyay Rashtriya Krishi Vigyan Protsahan Puraskars.
- The
3-day long Krishi Unnati Mela 2017 is jointly organised by the Indian
Council of Agriculutral Research (ICAR) and the Union Ministry of
Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
BANKING AFFAIRS
HDFC Bank to offer online loans against securities
- HDFC
Bank launched an instant digital Loan Against Securities (LAS) facility in
collaboration with the National Securities Depository Ltd.(NSDL).
- The
bank stated that customers can avail themselves of overdraft facility
against shares in three steps:
- Select the shares to be pledged on net banking
- Accept agreement through one-time password (OTP)
- Pledge the shares with NSDL online through OTP.
- Demat
customers can calculate their eligibility for overdraft limit against
shares, and open a current account instantly.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Andhra Pradesh State
Budget 2017-18 presented
- The
Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Yanamala Rama Krishnudu on 15 March 2017
presented the annual budget for the State for the period between April
2017 and March 2018.
- The
total size of the budget is pegged at Rs 1,56,999.40 crore, out of which
revenue expenditure will be Rs 1,25,911.62 crore.
- Read
the complete highlights here.
Digital push: Gujarat to provide e-marketplace for businesses
- The
Gujarat government has entered into an agreement with a global cloud-based
solutions provider cloudBuy.com to develop a B2B marketplace for small and
large business units in the state.
- The
e-marketplace will be used to promote businesses in the state on one
single platform, where members can trade with each other and across India
and globally.
- The
project has been developed as part of the Centre’s ‘Digital India’ and
‘Make in India’ initiatives.
IndusInd Bank to acquire IL&FS Securities Services
- IndusInd
Bank has entered into an agreement with Infrastructure Leasing and
Financial Services Ltd (IL& FS) to acquire 100% stake in IL& FS
Securities Services Ltd (ISSL).
- The
private sector bank, however, did not disclose the cost of acquisition or
the price at which ISSL shares were acquired. ISSL, which was incorporated
in 2007 as a subsidiary of IL& FS, is a capital market intermediary
for professional clearing, depository and custodial Services.
State Bank of India signs MoU with CREDAI
- State
Bank of India and real estate developers’ body Confederation of Real
Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) have signed a memorandum
of understanding (MoU) to jointly conduct various initiatives towards
development of the realty sector.
- The
MoU will be in force for a period of 3 years.
- CREDAI
is the largest real estate association in the country with over 11,500
members.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
EU court allows employers
to ban workers from wearing religious symbols
- The
European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg, the highest court in the
European Union recently passed a ruling, allowing companies to ban staff
from wearing visible religious symbols including Islamic headscarves at
work.
- The
court, however, added that if a company does not have a policy barring
their staff from sporting the religious symbols then customers cannot
demand workers to remove their headscarves.
- This
ruling was issued as a joint judgment in the cases of two women from
France and Belgium, who were dismissed from their workplace for refusing
to remove their headscarves.
- The
court ruled that an internal rule of an undertaking that prohibits the
visible wearing of any political, philosophical or religious sign does not
constitute to direct discrimination.
Saudi Arabia Inaugurates Girls’ Council But Without Any Girls
- In
a bid to encourage women participation in workforce, Saudi Arabia has for
the first time decided to launch a Girl’s Council.
- However,
the encouraging initiative became more talk of the town, when none of the
female member of the council was present on the stage at its first Qassim
Girls Council meeting on March 14, 2017.
- The
meeting in the al-Qassim province was attended by 13 male members while
the women were present too but they were in another room, linked via video
due to strict Saudi laws on gender segregation between unrelated men and
women.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Footwear Design and
Development Institute Bill, 2017 introduced in Lok Sabha
- The
Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Footwear
Design and Development Institute (FDDI) Bill, 2017 in the Lok Sabha.
- The
Bill is aimed at declaring the FDDI as an Institution of National
Importance (INI).
- It
aims to facilitate and promote teaching, training and research in all
disciplines relating to design and development of Footwear and leather
products.
- It
will enable FDDI to emerge as Centre of Excellence meeting international
standards.
- The
institute shall consist of a Governing Council having a Chairperson who
shall be an eminent academician, scientist or industrialist from the
leather sector.
CCEA approves Policy for Early Monetization of Coal Bed
Methane Gas
- The
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has approved Policy for Early Monetization of Coal Bed
Methane (CBM) Gas Marketing and Pricing Freedom for CBM Gas.
- The
policy provides marketing and pricing freedom to the CBM Contractors to
sell the CBM at Arm’s Length Price in the domestic market.
- The
policy is expected to incentivize the CBM operation in the country to
boost gas production and will generate economic activities.
- It
will in turn be beneficial for creating more employment opportunities in
CBM operations and related activities.
15 IIITs declared as Institutes of National Importance
- The
Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved
Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Public- Private Partnership)
Bill, 2017.
- Decision
in this regard was taken by Union Cabinet meeting chaired by the Prime
Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
- The
Bill will declare the existing IIITs in PPPS as ‘Institutions of National
Importance with powers to award degrees.
- This
coveted status will entitle them to use the nomenclature of Bachelor of
Technology (B.Tech) or Master of Technology (M.Tech) or Ph.D degree as
issued by Institution or University of National Importance.
- The 15 IIITs
are: Assam (Guwahati), Andhra Pradesh
(Chittoor), Haryana (Sonipat), Gujarat (Vadodara),Himachal Pradesh (Una),
Kerala (Kottayam), Jharkhand (Ranchi), Karnataka (Dharwad), Maharashtra
(Nagpur & Pune), Rajasthan (Kota), Manipur (Senapati), Tamilnadu
(Tiruchirappalli), Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow), Kalyani (West Bengal).
Chennai Port Trust signs MoU with the Government of Puducherry
for handling EXIM cargo
- Chennai
Port Trust and the Government of Puducherry has signed Memorandum of
Understanding(MoU) for handling EXIM cargo originating from Puducherry
Port hinterland on March 15, 2017 in New Delhi
- To
promote industrial growth in the region, generate substantial employment
and attract investment by major industries.
- The
cargo originating from Puducherry Port hinterland will be transported
through sea mode to Chennai Port for shipping to overseas destinations
through mainline and feeder vessels and vice-versa.
- Around
5 Lakh to 10 Lakh tonnes of cargo is expected to be handled between this
two ports.
FTII and Canon sign MoU to promote short courses in Film &
Television
- Canon
partnered FTII for its Skilling India in Film and Television (SKIFT), an
initiative designed to spread the art of cinematography and film making
across the country.
- Under
FTII's unique initiative SKIFT (Skilling India in Film and Television),
several short courses, mostly of skill-oriented nature have been proposed
to be held in collaboration with several State Governments, Universities and
Educational institutions.
- Initially
SKIFT will conduct courses such as Digital Cinematography, Documentary
Film Making, Screenplay Writing, Acting, Film Criticism & Journalism
and Film Appreciation.
- As
a technology partner for this initiative, Canon India will add value to
the program which is endeavoured to scale skill development in film and
television to greater heights.
Commerce Minister launched a new scheme to address needs of
exporters
- Commerce
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the Trade Infrastructure for Export
Scheme (TIES) on 15 March 2017.
- Speaking
on the occasion, Sitharaman said that the scheme aims to address the needs
of the exporters and added that the focus is not just on creating
infrastructure but to make sure it is professionally run and sustained.
- The
committee will also take the required steps to ensure that the objectives
of the scheme are achieved. The committee chaired by Commerce Secretary
Rita Teaotia would also look over the proposals of the implementing
agencies for funding.
Twenty projects approved for implementation of Namami Gange
Programme in Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand and Delhi
- The
Executive Committee (EC) of National Mission for Clean Ganga on 15 March
2017 approved 20 projects worth nearly Rs 1900 crore.
- Out
of 20 projects, 13 are in Uttarakhand that includes creating new sewage
treatment plants, upgrading existing STPs and laying of sewage networks in
Haridwar at an estimated cost of around Rs 415 crore.
- The
approved plan for Haridwar is aimed at treating sewage water generated by
not only city’s 1.5 lakh local dwellers, but also by people who visit the
place for various purposes.
- All
the projects will be completely funded by the Union Government, including
the expenditure on operation and maintenance of these projects.
