Current Affairs Online Test March 2017

Centrum Group will offer wealth management services to rich clients of Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) as part of a tie-up. The bank will refer its high-net worth individual (HNI) clients to Centrum Wealth Management, which will manage their investment portfolios. Centrum Wealth manages assets of around Rs10,000 crore. Lakshmi Vilas Bank’s customers are mostly in south India.

Uttarakhand Governor K K Paul has inaugurated the 29th edition of the InternationaI Yoga Festival at Rishikesh, and said the event was growing in stature and helping the state become a sought-after destination for spiritual tourism.The week-long event, jointly organised by the AYUSH ministry, Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, Parmarth Niketan and Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, was inaugurated at Parmarth Niketan along the banks of the Ganges river.

Pistol shooters Jitu Rai and Amanpreet Singh winning gold and silver, respectively in men’s 50m free pistol at the ISSF Shooting World Cup. It was India’s first gold in the competition. In women’s 25m sports pistol, Thai shooter Yangpaiboon Naphaswan won gold.

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has won the annual Visitor’s Award for the ‘Best University’, 2017. Deepak Pant from the Central University of Himachal Pradesh won the Visitor’s Award for ‘Innovation’ while the Visitor’s Award for ‘Research’ has been jointly won by Shyam Sunder from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and Professor Niranjan Karak from Tezpur University.

Ajay Tyagi assumed charge as the ninth chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The former additional secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, made a confident entry in the Sebi’s and is likely to hit the ground running. Sources said the Finance Ministry has set some action plan for Tyagi particularly in the area of commodity markets.

BEML Ltd, a defence public sector company, has set itself a goal of utilising 100 percent renewable energy for its consumption. In this endeavour, the company has inaugurated a 200 KW grid connected rooftop solar project at its Mysore complex. The project was inaugurated by Deepak Kumar Hota, Chairman & Managing Director, BEML, in the presence of B R Viswanatha, Director-Mining & Construction, BEML.

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank have started charging a minimum of ₹150 per transaction for cash deposits and withdrawals beyond four free transactions in a month. The banks will charge ₹5 per thousand rupees or ₹150, whichever is higher, after the free transactions. The banks reportedly said there has been no directive from the government in this regard.

The Navy has successfully test-fired an anti-ship missile for the first time from an indigenously built Kalvari class submarine. The Navy described the launch as a significant milestone in enhancing its “sub-surface” warfare prowess.

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir named his first Vice President and long-time ally Hassan Saleh to the newly-created post of Prime Minister. The ruling party’s Deputy Leader Ibrahim Mahmoud said yesterday in a meeting chaired by President Bashir approved the nomination of Hassan Saleh as prime minister and his retention of the post of first Vice President. Saleh will be sworn in today and immediately start negotiations on forming a new cabinet.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has appointed Portugal’s Luis Norton de Matos as the head coach of the India U-17 team for the FIFA U-17 World Cup scheduled to be held in October this year. A former manager with the Benfica Reserve side, De Matos replaces Nicolai Adam, who was forced to resign under controversial circumstances after a revolt from the players.

Pakistan’s seasoned diplomat Amjad Hussain B Sial as assumed office as the new Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Sial has assumed charge of the office of Secretary General of SAARC from March 1, 2017. He has succeeded Nepal’s Arjun Bahadur Thapa, who was appointed the Secretary-General in 2014.

P K Purwar was appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of state-run telecom major Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment to the post for five years. Purwar is currently working as Director (Finance) in MTNL, which has been without a full-time CMD since May 31, 2014, following superannuation of A K Garg.

World Wildlife Day will be celebrated on 03 March 2017 under the theme “Listen to the Young Voices.” Given that almost one quarter of the world’s population is aged between 10 and 24, vigorous efforts need to be made to encourage young people, as the future leaders and decision makers of the world, to act at both local and global levels to protect endangered wildlife.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh has announced Dharamsala as the second capital of the tiny hill state with a population of about 70 lakh. Dharamsala already figured prominently in national and international map due to its significance owing to many reasons including religious, natural and adventurous tourism and also being abode of Tibetan Spiritual head Dalai Lama.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar presented the Raksha Mantri’s Trophy and citation for the Best and Second Best Service Hospital in the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS). The trophy for the best service hospital went to Command Hospital, Eastern Command, Kolkata, which was received by its Commandant Major General T S Ahluwalia.

Students will now be required to have an Aadhaar number for getting their midday meals across the country. The HRD ministry issued a notification in this regard. This rule will be applicable across the country, except Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya and Assam. According to the ministry, the move is aimed at ensuring greater transparency and to increase overall efficiency.

Women internet users threatened with physical violence or trolled on social media websites will be able to seek help from an ‘I am Trolled’ app to be launched soon by the government, Union minister Maneka Gandhi said. The app will be launched soon to counter physical violence threats and trolls on social media. It is unfortunate to see that women are equally abusive on social media as men.

The Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) gathered on the occasion of the thirteenth ECO Summit Meeting, in Islamabad, Pakistan under the theme “Connectivity for Regional Prosperity”, at the invitation of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, on 1st March 2017. It aimed to review the objective conditions and progress in the implementation of ECO programs and projects.

Sri Lanka won the “Most Popular Tourism Destination Award” at the Guangzhou International Travel Fair (GITF) in China. The island nation won the prestigious award for the second consecutive year which is a testament to its growing popularity among Chinese travel enthusiasts. China has been Sri Lanka’s second largest source market for tourism since 2014.

Vice-President Mohammed Hamid Ansari is embarking on a two-day visit to Indonesian capital Jakarta to attend the Summit of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). Connectivity, open maritime trade and rights of navigation are expected to be priority areas to be discussed during his visit. Vice-President Ansari is also expected to stress on the member countries about evolving common strategies to meet the conventional and non-conventional threats to the security of the member countries.

A 360-foot-high (110 metres) flag post, the country’s tallest, was inaugurated at the Indo-Pak Attari Border, just a stone’s throw from Pakistan. Punjab Minister Anil Joshi inaugurated the country’s largest tricolour on the tallest flag post – measuring 110 metres in length, 24 metres in width and 55 tons in weight.

North Eastern state Tripura has agreed to supply an additional 60 MW to Bangladesh over the 100 MW of power the north-eastern state is supplying to the neighbouring country. This development comes after Bangladesh sought 100 MW electricity from India to solve its power crisis in the eastern part of the nation.

Kurukh, an endangered tribal language of the Dravidian family, is set to get a new lease of life in West Bengal. It is spoken by the Oraon tribal community. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata has given official status for the language. Most of the tribal languages in the State have their origins in the Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Barman families, Kurukh is an exception.

INS Viraat, which holds a Guinness world record for being the oldest surviving aircraft carrier in the world, retired from service. INS Viraat was first commissioned in the Indian Navy on May 12, 1987, after the Indian government bought it for ₹433 crore. Before 1987, the aircraft carrier had served the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy for 27 years.

South Indian singer Vaikkom Vijayalakshmi has set a world record by playing 67 songs on Gayathri Veena non-stop for five hours at a concert in Kochi. The visually-impaired musician bettered the previous record of 51 songs in a single sitting. The organisers of the concert said they would inform the Guinness Book of World Records about the achievement.

Andy Murray bagged the final of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships over Fernando Verdasco. Murray extended his ruthless run in ATP World Tour 500 events with a 6-3, 6-2 victory in just one hour and 13 minutes. The World No. 1, who claimed his first title of the season, has now lifted trophies in four straight 500-level events entered, posting a 19-0 record.

India ended their campaign in the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup (Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun) with five medals, including one Gold, two Silver and two Bronze medals at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, New Delhi.

Eminent Malayalam author and journalist M P Veerendra Kumar was presented the 30th Moortidevi award by Bharatiya Jnanpith organisation. Kumar was chosen for the prestigious award for his Malayalam travelogue ‘Hymavathabhoovil’, which dwells upon ancient trails of Indian culture, myth, literature and people strewn in the plains, valleys and mountains of India”.

GMR’s Hyderabad International Airport has secured first position in the world in the prestigious Airports Council International (ACI)-Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey in the 5-15 million passengers per annum (MPPA) category for the year 2016. The survey shows that Hyderabad Airport has steadily improved its score from 4.4 in 2009 to 4.9 in 2016 (measured on scale of 1 to 5), according to a GHIAL statement

A 14-day joint defence exercise Al-Nagah-II between the armies of India and Oman began in Himachal Pradesh from March 6. Indo-Oman Joint Army Exercise AL NAGAH-II 2017 will be conducted between the Indian and Oman Army from 6 to 19 March in the Dhauladhar Ranges at Bakloh in Himachal Pradesh.

The Indian cabinet has given post facto approval to the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on renewable energy between India and Portugal. The MoU was signed on January 6, 2017. The MoU aims to promote bilateral technical cooperation on new and renewable issues.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced that mobile manufacturing company Oppo Mobiles India Private Limited will be the new team sponsor of the Indian cricket team from April 1, 2017 for a period of five years. The team sponsorship rights include the the title of official team sponsor and the right to display a commercial logo in the kits of the India men’s, women’s, A and Under-19 teams.

The government has prodded all banks to move to the Aadhaar Pay platform at the launch of IDFC Aadhaar Pay—the first Aadhaar linked cashless merchant solution. Aadhaar Pay is a service for merchants which will enable them to receive payments from customers without any physical payment instrument.

The State Bank of India (SBI), country’s largest lender has launched a new facility to enable its employees to work from home. The board of SBI has recently approved the ‘work from home’ policy to enable its employees to work while at home using mobile devices to address any urgent requirement they may have, that prevents their travelling to work.

The Reserve Bank of India has decided to issue a new note of Rs. 10 denomination with enhanced security features for circulation. The RBI said the banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi series-2005 are to carry inset letter ‘L’ on both number panels, bearing the signature of Governor Urjit Patel.

India will organise the fifth edition of the mega cultural festival ‘India by the Nile’ in Egypt to showcase the diversity of the country’s culture, arts and cuisine for building enduring partnership between the two ancient civilisations. For the first time, the Indian flag will be projected onto the Giza Pyramids as part of the celebration.

International Women’s Day is observed globally on 8th March every year. It is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. The theme of International Women’s Day (IWD) 2017 campaign is ‘Be Bold For Change’.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) appointed Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar as the UNICEF and Cricket for Good Ambassador for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017, scheduled to start from June 24. “Women for sport and sport for women go hand in hand… I’m here to extend all my support and above all, enjoy that competitiveness,” said Sachin.

The Zero Discrimination Day held on March, 01 2017. This United Nations Day aims to combat all forms of discrimination. In particular, this involves the organization of UNAIDS and their fight for a fair and equal treatment of patients suffering from HIV and AIDS. Worldwide almost 40 million people live with the so-called human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome).

Eminent Konkani writer Mahabaleshwar Sail has been honoured with the Saraswati Samman 2016 for his novel Hawthan. The 74-year-old’s novel was shortlisted out of 22 books written in as many languages. The award carries a cash prize of ₹15 lakh and a citation. Mr. Sail is a bilingual writer who has four Marathi dramas and seven Konkani novels to his credit. He has also written five short stories and a novel in Marathi.

Women employees in the organized sector will now get six months of paid maternity leave, more than double the entitlement so far, after the Lok Sabha amended the law on maternity benefits. Terming the move a “gift on International Women’s Day”, labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya said the legislation will have far reaching consequences both in terms of child care and female work force participation in India.

Odisha Chief Mnister Naveen Patnaik has inaugurated a 24X7 toll free helpline number 181 for distressed women on the occasion on International Women’s Day. The helpline will facilitate quick response of various services including lodging police complaint to provide medical, legal and counselling to women victims

INS Tillanchang, a Water Jet Fast Attack Craft (WJFAC) was commissioned into the Indian Navy by Vice Admiral Girish Luthra, the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command, at Karwa. INS Tillanchang is the third ship of four follow-on WJFAC built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Kolkata. The first two ships of the class, IN ships Tarmugli and Tihayu were commissioned in 2016 and are based at Visakhapatnam.

The Indian women’s ice hockey team registered its first victory ever in an international match by beating Philippines at the Challenge Cup of Asia fixture held in Bangkok. The score after fulltime read 4-3 in favour of India and there was very little to choose between the teams.

Chief justices were appointed to the high courts of Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand. Justice Navniti Prasad, a judge in the Patna High Court has been appointed Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court. Justice T B Radhakrishnan, acting Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court has been sent as Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court. Acting Chief Justice of the Patna High Court Hemant Gupta has been made Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Acting Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court P K Mohanty has been made ‘regular’ chief justice.

The Reserve Bank of India has sharply brought down the threshold above which non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) can disburse loans against gold only by cheque. The central bank said with immediate effect such loans amounting to Rs. 20,000 and above can be disbursed only by cheque as against the earlier threshold of Rs. 1 lakh and above. This move is in line with the rules issued under the Income Tax Act.

India’s first air-conditioned rail ambulance was unveiled in Mumbai. The Central Railway ambulance aims to provide victims of train accidents emergency treatment within the first hour, when chances of survival are highest. An official said the rail ambulance is capable of providing medical facilities to 50 patients at a time and transporting organs between states for transplants.

ICICI Bank topped the list of banks that witnessed most number of frauds, with State Bank of India taking the second spot, during April-December 2016 period, RBI data revealed. As many as 455 fraud cases involving ₹1 lakh and above were detected in ICICI Bank, followed by SBI at 429. Further, 450 employees were involved in fraud in various banks.

The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016, which amends the Enemy Property Act, 1968, was passed by voice vote in the Lok Sabha, incorporating the amendments made by the Rajya Sabha. The Lok Sabha had passed the bill earlier but certain amendments were introduced to it in the Rajya Sabha, on the recommendations of a Select Committee. Those amendments had to be approved by the Lower House, which was done.

The International Pi Day is celebrated each year on March 14 as it coincides with the mathematical constant Pi’s value (3.14159…). The symbol ‘π’ (Greek letter pi) was introduced by William Jones in 1706 to denote the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. However, it was popularised by Swiss Mathematician Leonhard Euler, who adopted it in 1737.

Indian-origin female officer Usha Evans and the first Muslim policewoman to be awarded an honour by the Queen Elizabeth II, Nighat Hubbard, have reportedly sued Scotland Yard, the metropolitan police over claims of racism and sexism. The women have alleged that they were discriminated and held back while white colleagues were allowed to work on more complex investigations.

Two Indian-American authors have been shortlisted for the 30,000 pound Wellcome Book Prize, which celebrates fiction and non-fiction works engaged with the topics of health and medicine Siddhartha Mukherjee is on the list of the annual prize for his study of genetics and mental health in his book ‘The Gene’. He is joined by fellow Indian-American author Paul Kalanithi, who could become the first posthumous winner of the prize for his life-affirming reflection on facing mortality ‘When Breath Becomes Air’.

Biren Singh was sworn in as Chief Minister of Manipur in Imphal. The oath of office was administered by Governor Najma Heptulla. Eight others were also sworn in, taking the number of Ministers in the BJP-led government to nine. Yumnan Joykumar Singh of the National People’s Party (NPP) was appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister. The lawmaker from the Uripok Assembly constituency is a former Director General of Police from the State.

World Consumer Rights Day is celebrated on 15th match of every year and the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) will be celebrating under the 2017 theme ‘Empowering Consumers in The Digital Age. World Consumer Rights Day was established on March 15, 1983 to promote the basic rights of consumers worldwide.

The Union Cabinet approved a 2% hike in Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief, which was due from January 2017. Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief are provided to central government employees and pensioners to neutralise the impact of inflation on their earnings. This will have an impact of around ₹6,833 crore on the exchequer in the financial year 2017-18.

With a view to facilitating visually impaired train passengers, tactile maps of the railway station and train schedules in Braille were unveiled at the Mysuru Railway station. Mysuru MP Pratap Simha inaugurated the facility; Divisional Railway Manager Rajkumar Lal said Mysuru railway station has become the country’s first visually challenged friendly station in India.

Captain Amarinder Singh of Congress was sworn in as the 26th Chief Minister of Punjab. This is the second time that Singh took over as Punjab CM, dethroning former CM Parkash Singh Badal. Navjot Singh Sidhu took oath as minister in Punjab cabinet. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attended the swearing-in ceremony.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narenra Modi was apprised of Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) that were signed with Indonesia and Kyrgyzstan. The MoUs envisage organizing youth exchange programmes with Indonesia and Kyrgyzstan and cooperation in other youth and sports related matters. The selection of youth for participation in youth exchange and other programmes will be done in an objective and transparent manner.

India’s most successful Badminton Doubles specialist Jwala Gutta has been appointed a member of the governing body of Sports Authority of India (SAI). Conveying the information about her appointment, SAI Secretary SS Chhabra said in his letter that he was sure Jwala would be able to spare her valuable time to attend Governing Body meetings as and when scheduled by the chairman.

Former state BJP chief Trivendra Singh Rawat will be sworn in as the new chief minister of Uttarakhand. He met Uttarakhand Governor KK Paul, claims support of 57 MLAs to form government. The BJP won 57 of the hill state’s 70-member state assembly to wrest power from the Congress, which managed to win only 11.

Bandhan Bank Ltd in March 2017 announced the signing of an agreement with Avenues India Pvt Ltd, the leading payment solution provider in India. The agreement signed at the Bandhan Bank headquarters in Kolkata. The pact was signed to provide the merchants with seamless access to the Point of Sale (POS) and the payment gateway products.

Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju has performed the ground-breaking for Asia’s first green field training facility being set up by the European aviation major Airbus. The Airbus India Training Centre (AITC) will support India’s growing need for Airbus aircraft pilots and maintenance engineers. India’s rapidly growing passenger aircraft fleet must be matched by adequate availability of skilled pilots and maintenance engineers.

The three days “International Buddhist Conference” organized by Ministry of Culture and Nava Nalanda Mahaviahra, Deemed University was inaugurated by His Holiness. The Dalai Lama and Dr.Mahesh Sharma, Minister of Culture and Tourism at Rajgir International Buddhist Conference, Bihar.

The World Bank Board approved the USD 175 million National Hydrology Project to strengthen capacity of institutions to assess water situation in their regions. This loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) of World Bank will have a 6-year grace period and a maturity of 23 years. The project is aimed at assisting the institutions in reducing the vulnerability to recurring flood and droughts.

Yogi Adityanath has been sworn-in as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister in Lucknow. The loan waiver scheme for farmers as promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah during the poll campaigns for the seven-phased Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh, is likely to dominate the first Cabinet meeting of Yogi Adityanath.

BJP leaders Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma have been chosen as the Deputy Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh by the party legislators. Maurya is the President of the BJP UP state unit while Sharma is the mayor of state capital Lucknow. Gorakhpur MP Yogi Adityanath has been named the CM-designate of the state by the BJP.

A Class 11 student from Arunachal Pradesh, Anang Tadar, has invented a gadget called ‘Goggle For Blind’ (G4B). The gadget will help blind people in detecting objects through sound waves and echoes, a technique used by bats. Global bodies like UNICEF have reportedly shown interest in launching G4B in the market and Anang has been asked to create prototypes.

Medha, the made-in-India rake was flagged off for the maiden run of the 12-coach train from Dadar to Borivali, at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. Medha has been manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, which has installed LED lighting to reduce energy consumption.The rake has a capacity of 6,050 passengers and the number of seats is 1,168.

The government has said the RBI has been authorised to conduct field trials of plastic notes of Rs10 that have a longer life span. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, minister of state for finance Arjun Ram Meghwal said “it has been decided” to conduct a field trial with plastic banknotes at five locations of the country. Approval for procurement of plastic substrate and printing of bank notes of Rs 10 denomination on plastic banknote substrates has been conveyed to the RBI.

Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has been appointed the ambassador of Blind Cricket World Cup’s fifth edition. The tournament will be hosted by the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council in the UAE and Pakistan in January 2018. “Afridi is not only an icon in the arena of cricket…but also a philanthropist and a role model in social works,” said PBCC Chairman.

The World Sparrow Day was observed across the world on 20 March 2017. The day was created with an aim to raise awareness about the house sparrow and then other common birds to urban environments. The World Sparrow Day also speaks of threats to their populations. The day also provides an opportunity to appreciate the beauty of the common biodiversity which is taken so much for granted.

The government has announced Madhabi Puri Buch as new whole time member of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). This appointment also marks a departure from the regular practise of hiring SEBI board members, who typically were men coming from the public sector. This is the first time that a women and a person from private sector has been chosen for a key post with the market regulator

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched initiatives to develop Majuli, world biggest river island, as India’s first carbon neutral district and as a biodiversity heritage. Launching “Forests are Lives” campaign to celebrate the importance of Assam’s rich forest and biodiversity, the Chief Minister urged people of the state to take a pledge to conserve its biodiversity to make a pollution free state.

Amendments to National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act, 1981 as proposed in the draft Bill with such changes of drafting and of consequential nature, as may be considered necessary by Legislative Department. The Amendments include provisions that enable Central Government to increase the authorized capital of NABARD from Rs. 5,000 crore to Rs. 30,000 crore and to increase it beyond Rs. 30,000 crore in consultation with RBI, as deemed necessary from time to time.

India ranked 122nd, behind terror-riven Pakistan and poorest-of-poor Nepal in the global list of the happiest countries, according to a global report. India ranked at 122 out of 155 countries in the World Happiness Report 2017, four notches below its previous rank of 118.Norway moved from No. 4 to the top spot in the report’s rankings.

India has been ranked 131 among the 188 countries surveyed for human development, according to the UN’s Human Development Report for 2015. India has made no improvement over its ranking in the 2014 report, which was also 131. India’s rank puts it in the “medium human development” bracket, which also includes Pakistan, Kenya, and Nepal.

March 21 is the United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Forests, which promotes the importance of forests and trees in our lives. The 2017 theme is ‘Forests and energy’. This global celebration of forests provides a platform to raise awareness of the importance of all types of woodlands and trees, and celebrate the ways in which they sustain and protect us. This year we highlight the importance of wood energy in improving people’s lives, powering sustainable development and mitigating climate change.

World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. In 2017, the theme for World Water Day is ‘Why Waste water?’.

The World Meteorological Day was observed globally on 23rd March 2017. The theme of WMD 2017 is ‘Understanding Cloud’ to highlight the enormous importance of clouds for weather climate and water. The day is organized every year by World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Haryana has become the only State in the country to introduce the system of e-vetting of replies to be filed in the court, as well as to generate and deliver custody certificates online. The state has launched online software “E-Vetting” and “E-Custody” which would not only help in cutting down on unnecessary delays in the vetting of replies and delivery of custody certificates to departments concerned, but also result in saving time, travel and money.

The Special Olympics World Winter Games in Graz, Schladming and Ramsau, Austria. The Games began with Host Town events on 14 March and continue through 25 March. The Special Olympics boasts 2,700 athletes with intellectual disabilities from 106 countries competing in nine disciplines.

The Reserve Bank of India has accorded its approval for the appointment of T S Anantharaman as part-time Chairman of the Catholic Syrian Bank. Anantharaman has been holding the position of Non-Executive Director of the bank since August 28, 2009. Anantharaman is a senior chartered accountant with wide and varied experience in practice, industry, teaching, consulting and service. He served with United Nations for seven years.

March 24, is observed as World TB Day. This year the theme of World Tuberculosis Day 2017 is ‘Unite to End TB’. This year WHO has placed a special focus on the uniting efforts to ‘Leave no one behind’ India has the highest number of tuberculosis (TB) patients globally, about 25 per cent of all cases. While an urban tuberculosis case infects more individuals per year, a similar case in rural area remains infectious for longer period, according to the findings of a new research.

India has become the third largest aviation market in terms of domestic passenger traffic, beating Japan. India’s domestic air passenger traffic stood at 100 million in 2016 and was behind only the US (719 million) and China (436 million), Sydney-based aviation think-tank Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) said in its latest report. India acquired the third spot globally by unseating Japan, which flew 97 million domestic passengers in 2016.

In a boost to India’s maritime prowess, the Navy has successfully conducted the maiden trial firing of newly installed surface-to-air Barak missile system from its aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. During the firing carried out in the Arabian Sea, the missile was fired against a live low flying high speed target. The target was successfully engaged and destroyed.

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel won the Australian Grand Prix for Ferrari to dash Mercedes’ hopes of extending their dominance into a fourth successive season of Formula One. The German cruised to his 43rd race victory with a 9.9 second gap to Mercedes’ runner-up Lewis Hamilton, with the Briton’s new team mate, Valtteri Bottas, finishing third.

India won 73 medals, including 37 gold, at the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games, held in Austria from March 14-25. The Indian contingent, known as the Special Olympics Bharat, also won 10 silver and 26 bronze medals in disciplines including alpine skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, among others. The event featured over 2,600 intellectually disabled athletes from 105 countries.

A conference under the theme “IR-One ICT (One Information and Communication Technology) Building Digital Railway for Digital India” was organized on 27.03.2017 at National Rail Museum Auditorium, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi. The conference was inaugurated by Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu.

General Insurance Corporation (GIC Re) is likely to be the first PSU insurer to tap the capital market as the finance ministry has started scouting for merchant bankers to manage its IPO. Two months after the Union cabinet gave a go ahead to the listing of five general insurance companies, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has set the ball rolling for listing of GIC Re.

Indian-American Vanita Gupta, who headed civil rights division in the Department of Justice in the Obama Administration, 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. Known for her fearless advocacy of all human beings, 41-year-old Gupta will replace Wade Henderson who is stepping down after more than two decades.

All below poverty line (BPL) households in the urban and rural areas of Uttar Pradesh will get free power connection while homes above poverty line (APL) will be given 100 per cent financing option with easy EMIs.

Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of the Naval Staff, inaugurated the first ever ‘Integrated Automatic Aviation Meteorological System (IAAMS)’ at INS Rajali on 28 March 2017. The IAAMS is an ambitious project of the Indian Navy to modernise the meteorological infrastructure of the nine Naval Air Stations (NAS). INS Rajali at Arakkonam was identified for setting up this sophisticated system on a ‘Test Bed’ site, where the complete integrated system has been tested for its reliability, performance and functioning. The IAAMS project will give a major fillip to aviation safety, through automation of weather monitoring process.

Syndicate Bank has 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 modernising the whole bank,” said Arun Shrivastava, Managing Director and CEO, Syndicate Bank.

State-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) signed an agreement to supply over 10 lakh tonnes of petroleum products annually to Nepal for the next five years, Chairman B Ashok said. “The supply agreement… will meet the full requirements, demand and quantities of all the major oil products, including petrol, diesel, kerosene, aviation turbine fuel and LPG,” he added

Indian Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat arrived in Kathmandu for a four-day official visit during which he will be conferred the honorary rank of general of the Nepal Army. The title will be conferred by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari during a special function at the President’s Office. Nepal and India have a long tradition of conferring such titles on the chiefs of their armies since 1950 to signify the close military-to-military ties.

SBI Card has launched a unique credit card ‘SBI Card Unnati’ targeted at all SBI customers, including Jan Dhan account-holders across the country. Tailored for new users of credit cards — those who do not have a credit history — ‘Unnati’ would have no annual fees for the initial four years and will be offered through the 20,000-plus SBI branches. The card was launched by Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines.

The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Bipin Rawaton released a book titled Home of the Brave at the South Block in New Delhi. The book is authored by Nitin A Gokhale, defence and security analyst, and Brig S K Chatterji (Retired). The event of the release of the book was attended by the Director General of the Rashtriya Rifles, other senior officers from the Directorate General of the Rashtriya Rifles and the authors of the book.

INLCU L51 was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 28 Mar 2017 by Vice Admiral Bimal Verma, AVSM, Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command at Port Blair. The commissioning ceremony was attended by Vice Admiral Dilip Deshpande, Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition, Rear Admiral VK Saxena (Retd), CMD, GRSE and other senior officers from Indian Navy.

Srinath Narayanan from Chennai has become India’s 46th chess Grandmaster after defeating Spanish Grandmaster David Anton Guijarro at the Sharjah Masters. The 23-year-old crossed the 2500-mark on the FIDE rankings and has already secured five GM norms. Notably, Narayanan had become India’s youngest FIDE rated chess player in 2002 when he was just eight years old.

The three Day annual meeting of the New Development Bank, NDB, began in national capital today with a focus on building a sustainable future. Tomorrow, BRICS Business Council will meet followed by the Opening Ceremony of the meeting of the NDB Board of Governors’. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who is also the NDB Governor for India will deliver the address. Other speakers include NDB President K V Kamath, Minister of Finance of China among others.