Current Affairs Daily Updates: 28th March 2017

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Current Affairs Daily Updates: 28th March 2017
APPOINTMENTS
Indian-American Vanita Gupta appointed president of ‘Leadership Conference’
  • Indian-American Vanita Gupta has been appointed as president and CEO of ‘The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’, becoming the first woman to head the prestigious organization.
  • She will replace Wade Henderson who is stepping down after more than two decades. She will begin her new role on June 1, 2017.
Minoru Kato appointed as new HMSI CEO
  • Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has appointed Minoru Kato as a new President and Chief Executive Office of the company effective from April 1, 2017.
  • He will be replacing Keita Muramatsu, the current President & CEO who spear-headed Honda’s Indian two-wheeler operations for the last six years.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
Anupam Kher receive Kala Ratan Award 2017
  • Veteran actor Anupam Kher honoured with the Kala Ratan Award by Vice President Hamid Ansari.
  • Anupam Kher has completed almost four decades in Bollywood and worked in more 400 films including several Hindi Blockbusters, superhits,  and Internation films. This highly acclaimed actor appeared as a villain and supporting roles in numbers of Hindi films.
  • National Award winner actor Anupam Kher honored by Padma Shri in 2004, then received Padma Bhushan in 2016 by Government of India for his incomparable contribution to arts and Indian cinema.
  • He is also a social activist, the actor is always been in limelight for raising his voice for the nation, now gets Kala Ratna Award.
HDFC's Aditya Puri features in World's 30 best CEOs list by Barron's
  • HDFC Bank Managing Director Aditya Puri's name has featured in the list of world's 30 best chief executive officers (CEO), published by American financial magazine Barron's.
  • It also features Microsoft's Satya Nadella and Shantanu Narayen of Adobe Systems.
  • The HDFC Bank managing director, Mr Puri, turned the start-up into one of the world's highest-quality banks, the magazine said, adding that he swiftly transformed India's second-largest private-sector bank into the digital spot for anything money-related.
Filmmaker Gurinder Chadha gets Sikh Jewel Award
  • Indian-origin British Director Gurinder Chadha has been honored with the Sikh Jewel Award for 2017 for her immense contribution to British cinema.
  • Chadha, whose films include Bhaji on the Beach, Bend It Like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice, received the award from UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon. The event was organized by the British Sikh Association.
BANKING AFFAIRS
Vijaya Bank inks MoU with Piaggio Vehicles
  • Vijaya Bank entered into an MoU with Piaggio Vehicles for providing financial support for the purchase of vehicles under Small Road Transport Operators (SRTO) scheme in Bengaluru.
  • Vijaya Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Kishore Sansi flagged off the first batch of vehicles under the MoU in the presence of Piaggio Vehicles Vice-President Praveen Nagpal.
Syndicate Bank opens 40 ‘Ananya’ branches
  • Syndicate Bank digitally inaugurated 40 ‘Ananya’ transformed branches. Project Ananya is a two-year large-scale transformation project undertaken by the bank to provide customers with ‘best in class’ services while improving and modernizing the whole bank.
  • The aim is to enhance customer experience, improve sales focus, and improve digital transactions through a dedicated digit zone. The bank also launched its first MSME hub in Bengaluru.
ICICI Bank partners with Truecaller
  • ICICI Bank announced a partnership with mobile app firm Truecaller for a new UPI-based mobile payment service.
  • The new feature called as Truecaller Pay, and it will allow users of the app to instantly create a UPI ID, send money to any UPI ID or a mobile number registered with the BHIM app.
  • It will also enable users to recharge their mobile number from within the Truecaller app itself.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Walmart to open 50 new stores in India and create 40,000 Job Opportunities
  • US-based multinational retailing Corporation Walmart has decided to open 50 new stores across India, half of which will be located in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in next three - four years.
  • Currently, Walmart has 20 stores in India and planning to open 10 stores each in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They are also eyeing two more stores in Lucknow, in addition to Ghaziabad, Noida, Kanpur, Allahabad, Haridwar, Dehradun and Haldwani.
  • With the new stores opening, Walmart will create job opportunities for over 40,000 people in the country, as the giant retailing corporation will hire 2000-2500 people per store.
CCI imposes reduced penalty of Rs591 crore on Coal India for fuel supply pacts
  • The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a reduced penalty of Rs 591 crore on Coal India Ltd for fuel supply pacts.
  • CCI asked Coal India to modify the Fuel Supply Agreements (FSAs) and also ensure that uniformity between old and new power producers as well as between private and state power producers.
DEATHS
Eminent Jurist TR Andhyarujina Passes Away
  • Senior Advocate and eminent jurist Tehmtan R. Andhyarujina passed away.
  • He was the Solicitor General of India from 1996 to 1998.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
Montenegro as the newest member of NATO
  • The U.S. Senate has voted overwhelmingly to advance the approval of Montenegro's bid to join NATO, paving the way for the Balkan nation to join the military alliance.
  • Senators voted 97-2 in favour of ending debate and allowing a vote on the ratification of its NATO membership, far more than the two-thirds majority needed.
  • The only two "no" votes came from Republican Senators Rand Paul and Mike Lee.
Israeli P.M vows to work with U.S. President on Palestine peace efforts
  • Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was committed to work with United States President Donald Trump to advance peace efforts with the Palestinians.
  • Netanyahu also expressed confidence in a US-Israeli partnership for preventing Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon, following its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, and for "confronting Iran’s aggression in the region."
  • Many Israelis had expected Trump, because of his pro-Israel campaign rhetoric, to give a green light for settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. But Trump unexpectedly urged Netanyahu last month to "hold back on settlements for a little bit."
Carrie Lam - first woman head of Hong Kong
  • Carrie Lam, who won an election to become Hong Kong's first female chief executive, is a former student activist who climbed the rungs of the civil service over 36 years, and a tough, capable and possibly divisive Beijing-backed leader.
  • China's leaders had lobbied behind the scenes for the 59-year-old Lam, so her victory came as no surprise. After the votes were counted, she bowed to the crowd and shook hands with the second-place finisher, former Finance Secretary John Tsang.
  • Lam received 777 of the 1,163 votes. Tsang got 365 votes, or 31 percent, while the third candidate, retired judge Woo Kwok-hing, had 21 votes.
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Two big events will be hosted by Bhubaneswar
  • The International Hockey Federation (FIH) and the Odisha government officially confirmed that the World League final 2017 (men) and 2018 World Cup (men) will be held in Bhubaneswar.
  • It was also announced that the State of Odisha will be the title sponsor for both events.
  • Event titles: 'Odisha Men's Hockey World League Final Bhubaneswar 2017' and the 'Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018'.
  • The World League Final will be held from December 1 to 10.
Union Petroleum Ministry launches MoPNG e Seva
  • Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan launched MoP&NG e-Seva.
  • It is a dedicated grievances redressal platform on Social Media for all queries and grievances relating to Oil and Gas Sector.
ESIC launched Mobile Clinic Services in AP and Telangana
  • The Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) launched Mobile Clinic Services for the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
  • Union minister of state for labour and employment Bandaru Dattatreya, launched the ESIC Mobile Clinic Services by flagging off 'Jan Suraksha Ambulances'.
  • It is for the first time in the country that the ESIC Mobile Clinic Services are launched in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Odisha becomes first state to bring banking to remote rural areas through SHG
  • Odisha became the first state in the country to carry financial inclusion and extend banking services to unbanked areas through Self Help Groups (SHGs).
  • The state government signed an agreement with State Bank of India in this regard. The system would be of great help to people in rural areas under social security schemes.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY / DEFENCE AFFAIRS
Neuralink, a venture to merge the human brain with AI
  • Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has launched a startup called Neuralink which will work to merge computer with human brain via "neural lace" technology.
  • The sole purpose of the firm will be to build devices that could be implanted in human brain to keep pace with the growing use of artificial intelligence in the electronic systems.
  • The "devices" termed here are being referred to neural lace, that's already been tested on mice. A neural lace is a mesh that can merge into brain to create a wireless brain-computer interface, and which is also capable of growing around the brain cells.
To explore the Solar System, NASA picks 10 smalls at missions
  • NASA has selected ten studies under the Planetary Science Deep Space SmallSat Studies (PSDS3) program, to develop mission concepts using small satellites to investigate Venus, Earth’s moon, asteroids, Mars and the outer planets.
  • For these studies, small satellites are defined as less than 180 kilograms in mass (about 400 pounds).
  • CubeSats are built to standard specifications of 1 unit (U), which is equal to 10x10x10 centimeters (about 4x4x4 inches). They often are launched into orbit as auxiliary payloads, significantly reducing costs.
SPORTS AFFAIRS
India trounced Australia and reclaimed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
  • India reclaimed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a comfortable eight-wicket win over Australia in the 4th and final Test in Dharamsala.
  • India sealed a memorable 2-1 series victory against Australia.
  • Opener KL Rahul remained 51 not out while stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane hammered a rapid unbeaten 38 as hosts ended at 106 for two.
Satwik-Chirag pair wins Vietnam Challenger
  • Promising Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty clinched the $20,000 Vietnam Open International challenger badminton doubles title after defeating Thai pair of Trawut Potieng and Nanthakam Yordphaisong in a final in Hanoi, Vietnam.