Current Affairs Daily Updates: 27th March 2017

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Current Affairs Daily Updates: 27th March 2017
AWARDS AND HONOURS
Ravish Kumar awarded first Kuldip Nayar journalism award:
  • Eminent TV journalist Ravish Kumar (Senior executive editor of NDTV India) has been awarded inaugural ‘Kuldip Nayar journalism award’ for his contribution to the field of journalism at the India International Centre, New Delhi.
  • He conferred with an award plaque along with a cash amount of Rs. 1 lakh.
  • The award was set up to honor those working in vernacular media.
HDFC Bank MD Aditya Puri features in World's best CEOs list by Barron's:
  • Managing Director (MD) of HDFC Bank Aditya Puri (66-year) got featured in the World's Best CEOs list of American financial magazine Barron’s.
  • He ranked at 23rd position. Puri transformed HDFC into one of the world's higest-quality banks.
  • Barron's is America's premier financial magazine, provides in-depth analysis and commentary on the markets, updated every business day online.
  • The list is topped by Mary Barra (General Motors, 1st), Gary Dickerson (Applied Materials, 2nd). & Stephen Hemsley (United Health Group, 3rd).
BANKING AFFAIRS
Karnataka Bank’s launched platinum card:
  • Karnataka Bank has launched the ‘MoneyPlant RuPay International Platinum Debit Card’ to provide more privileges to its premium and HNI (high net worth individual) customers.
  • The card can be used for domestic and international cash withdrawals and purchases. The card has a withdrawal limit of Rs5,000 and purchases limit ofRs2 lakh a day at point-of-sales terminals and e-commerce sites.
Repco ties up with NHB:
  • Repco Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) has signed an agreement with National Housing Bank (NHB) for implementation of a credit-linked subsidy scheme for the middle-income group.
  • The scheme will be implemented for one year with effect from January 1, 2017, in all statutory towns. The scheme divides middle-income group into two categories with annual household income up to Rs12 lakh and Rs 18 lakh. 
  • The subsidy will be available for the two brackets for a loan amount of Rs 9 lakh and Rs 12 lakh at the rate of 4 per cent and 3 per cent per annum, respectively, for a tenure of 20 years. The maximum subsidy amount for an individual beneficiary is Rs 2.35 lakh.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Ofcom fined BT £42m for serious breach of rules
  • Telecom giant BT (British Telecoms) has been fined a record £42 million by watchdog Ofcom over a 'serious breach' of rules.
  • An investigation found BT did not pay out adequate compensation to rival telecom companies after failing to deliver Ethernet high-speed services in time.
  • The fine is believed to be the largest ever penalty imposed by the regulator.
  • Ofcom rules state that BT has to set-up Ethernet services to its wholesale customers - providers such as Vodafone and TalkTalk - and make compensation payments for late delivery.
  • Compensation will now have to be paid to affected providers within 12 months, Ofcom said.
IMPORTANT DAYS OBSERVED
27th March - World Theatre Day
  • World Theatre Day was created in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI).
  • An international non-governmental organization, ITI was founded in 1948 by UNESCO and the international theatre community.
  • World Theatre Day is celebrated annually on the 27th of March.
  • The first World Theatre Day International Message was written by Jean Cocteau (France) in 1962.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Corruption across Russia - protests held by opposition leader
  • Russia’s main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was arrested at an anti-corruption protest.
  • Thousands of people took to the streets to demonstrate against corruption and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
  • Navalny, a lawyer and anti-corruption blogger who heads Russia’s Progress Party, called for the nationwide protests after he published reports claiming that Medvedev controlled mansions, yachts and vineyards — a fortune that far outstripped his official salary.
Laptop ban on planes - by US, UK
  • The US-UK ban on selected electronic devices from the passenger cabins of flights from some countries in north Africa and the Middle East was partly prompted by a previously undisclosed plot involving explosives hidden in a fake iPad, according to a security source.
  • The UK banned tablets, laptops, games consoles and other devices larger than a mobile phone in flights.
  • It applies to inbound flights from six countries – Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey.
  • Six UK airlines – British Airways, EasyJet, Jet2, Monarch, Thomas Cook and Thomson – and eight foreign carriers are affected.
  • It follows a similar move in the US, which applies to flights from 10 airports in eight countries – Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
By 2020, India will become The World's Youngest Country
  • India will become the world's youngest country by 2020 with an average age of 29, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Taranjith Singh Sandhu said.
  • Every third person in an Indian city today is a youth. In about seven years, the median individual in India will be 29 years, very likely a city-dweller, making it the youngest country in the world.
  • These are some of the findings of the ‘State of the Urban Youth, India 2012: Employment, Livelihoods, Skills,’ a report published by IRIS Knowledge Foundation in collaboration with UN-HABITAT.
  • By 2020, India is set to become the world’s youngest country with 64 per cent of its population in the working age group.
  • The largest share of youth with formal skills was found in Kerala, followed by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. Among those undergoing training, Maharashtra had the highest share, Bihar the lowest.
  • The report finds that a person in an urban area has a 93 per cent greater chance of acquiring training than someone in a rural area.
President of Yemen sentenced to death for treason
  • Yemen's President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
  • A court in Yemen’s rebel-held capital has sentenced President Hadi and six of his aides to death for “high treason”, a ruling that crushes hopes of peace talks to end the two-year civil war.
  • Saudi Arabia and its Sunni neighbours launched an air campaign to reinstate their ally, resulting in a war that has killed more than 10,000 people.
  • In Sanaa a court loyal to the Houthis sentenced the president to death in absentia for “instigating attacks by Saudi Arabia” and “undermining the independence and integrity of the Republic of Yemen”.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Soon, 10 Digit geo-referenced unique property number act as your address
  • By this year-end, your property (in Bangalore) will have a 10-digit unique number.
  • Existing System:- The PID system includes the ward number, street number and door number of the property, all of which can often change.
  • Proposed system:- 10-digit unique number, which will be geo-referenced with the latitude and longitude information of the property, can effectively act as your address too.
  • This number will replace your existing Property Identification (PID) number, which is not geo-referenced.
  • The 10-digit system will give scope for assigning numbers to 100 lakh properties, a far cry from today’s estimated 25 lakh properties in the 'Bangalore' city.
  • The 10-digit system will be error-proof and the system would not accept a wrong PID which may lead to tax payment to another account.
  • Assigning new numbers was recommended by the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) Restructuring Committee.
  • Chairman of standing committee on taxation and finance, BBMP - M.K. Gunashekhar
  • Currently, in Singapore, the geo-referenced unique property number acts as the citizen's address.
Uttarakhand Assembly introduces Lokayaukta Act:
  • The crucial 2011 Lokayukta Bill has been introduced in Uttarakhand Assembly.
  • Governor of State, KK Paul, said he has kept the issue of Lokayukhta on top priority.
  • The new government will also revive the Transfer Act brought in 2011 by the erstwhile Khanduri government to curb corruption.
70 day-long road trip from Coimbatore to London - by 3 women
  • Coimbatore-based Meenakshi Arvind (45), Mookambika Rathinam (38), and Priya Rajpal (55) of Mumbai commenced their 70-day-long road trip named 'XPD 2470’ from Coimbatore to London on March 26, 2017.
  • The trip is undertaken to promote literacy and to commemorate 70 years of Indian Independence.
  • This trip will cover 24 countries and a distance of 24,000 km.
  • The trip will kick-start from Coimbatore and the ensemble will traverse Myanmar, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Austria, Czech Republic, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Netherlands and UK.
In Rajasthan, 20 YO Woman burnt alive For protesting against cutting of trees
  • In Rajasthan - Jodhpur's Pipda city, a 20-year-old girl Lalita was burnt alive when she protested cutting of trees in her farm.
  • The trees were reportedly being cut for construction of a road.
First Indian girl to explore the route from Sea Link near Worli Koliwada to the Gateway of India
  • Gauri Singh, 14-year-old girl became the first girl to explore the route from Sea Link near Worli Koliwada to the Gateway of India.
  • She completed the 36 km long distance route in 6 hours and 30 minutes.
  • Singh is a resident of Udaipur and a class 8th student. From her childhood, she started swimming and wanted to swim in the international channel, and therefore eyed the Arabian Sea.
100% literacy, liquor prohibition - Telangana claims
  • Gangadevipalli, a small village in Warangal district of Telangana, which has 360 households with a total population of around 1,400, has many achievements to boast about, as indicated by a board at the village gram panchayat office --
    • 100 % liquor prohibition,
    • 100% house tax collection,
    • 100% literacy,
    • 100% school-going children,
    • 100 % construction of toilets,
    • 100% in small savings etc.
  • All streetlights are solar-powered with photo-voltaic systems. There are closed circuit cameras at strategic locations, which are monitored from the gram panchayat office round-the-clock.
  • Gangadevipalli also has Any Time Water (ATM) machine, which dispenses 20 litres of drinking water for just Re 1.
Govt launches Online Film Certification System:
  • The Union government today launched 'e-CinePramaan', the Online Film Certification System of the Central Board of Film Certification. 
  • This will make the process for films to obtain a certificate fully digital and will include QR Codes to check fraudulent certificates. 
  • "A highlight of online film certification is elimination of middlemen and of corruption," said I&B Minister M Venkaiah Naidu.
SPORTS AFFAIRS
7-point instruction issued for BCCI office bearers by COA
  • The Committee of Administrators (COA) has issued a seven-point instruction for the three existing BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) office bearers – vice president CK Khanna, joint secretary Amitabh Chaudhary and treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhry.
  • The instructions will also apply on CEO Rahul Johri and CFO Santosh Rengnekar.
  • It also states that if COA wants to communicate anything to office bearers, they would do so through the CEO. All legal documents would be cleared by the COA.
  • All payments will be jointly cleared by joint secretary and CEO. If they have disagreement over a particular payment, then COA’s decision will be final.
  • The COA will have the final say in rules that are applicable.
Santosh Trophy - 32nd title won by Bengal
  • West Bengal lifted the Santosh Trophy for the 32nd time after Manvir Singh struck in the 119th minute for a 1-0 win over Goa.
  • Venue of Final Match: GMC Stadium, Bambolim, Goa.