Upload
dinhnguyet
View
216
Download
2
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Current Affairs: March 17, 2017
www.talentsprint.com 1
March 17, 2017
Cabinet Approvals on March 15, 2017
i. The Union Cabinet under the chairmanship of Prime
Minister Shri Narendra Modi gave its approval for signing
of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Lal
Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration
(LBSNAA), Mussoorie and Namibia Institute of Public
Administration and Management (NIPAM), Namibia on
March 15, 2017.
ii. The government was apprised of the Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) signed between
India with Indonesia for cooperation in youth and sports matters and Kyrgyz Republic for
cooperation in the field of youth development
iii. Cabinet also gave its approval to the revised Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and
Mode of Operation (MoO) between India and Bangladesh on March 15, 2017 for establishing
Border Haats on India-Bangladesh Border.
iv. Narendra Modi approved signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the
Directorate General of Lighthouses & Lightships (DGLL), Ministry of Shipping (GOI) and the
Department of Shipping, Government of Bangladesh on Aids to Navigation (AtoNs).
v. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its approval to provide marketing and
pricing freedom to the Coal Bed Methane (CBM) Contractors to sell the CBM Gas at Arm’s
Length Price in the domestic market.
vi. The Centre has approved to increase the Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government
employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners to 4 percent from the existing rate of 2
percent with effect from January 1, 2017.
Current Affairs: March 17, 2017
www.talentsprint.com 2
vii. Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved. Introduction of
the Indian Institutes of Information Technology Public Private Partnership (IIIT PPP) Bill, 2017.
Goa CM Manohar Parrikar wins floor test in Goa Assembly
Goa Chief minister Manohar Parrikar won the floor
test in the Goa state assembly with 22 legislators
support out of legislators out of 40-member House
while the opposition Congress has only 16 votes The
state assembly conducted the floor test on March 16,
2017 following an order by the Supreme Court.
Manohar proved his majority with 12 legislators from the BJP, three from the Goa Forward
Party (GFP), three from the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), three Independents and
one from the NCP voting in favour of the trust motion. The test was passed through a clear
division which was ordered by Pro-tem Speaker Siddharth Kuncolienkar(BJP).
Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Jayakumar Presents tax-free budget for 2017-18
The Tamil Nadu Finance Minister D Jayakumar
presented a tax free and revenue deficit budget for the
fiscal 2017-18 on March 16, 2017 in the state Legislative
Assembly. It is the first Budget presented by the state
Finance Minister as well as the first budget of the
AIADMK government headed by E. Palaniswami.
Salient Feature of the State Budget
i. Total Revenue Receipts (TRR): Rs 1,59,363 crore
ii. Total Expenditure: Rs 1,75,293 crore
Current Affairs: March 17, 2017
www.talentsprint.com 3
iii. Revenue Deficit: Rs 15,930 crore
iv. Fiscal Deficit: Rs 41,977 core (2.79 percent of GDP).
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.
Cabinet approves revised MoU with Bangladesh to set up Border Haats
The Union Cabinet has approved Revised Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) and Mode of Operation (MoO)
between India and Bangladesh for establishing Border
Haats on India-Bangladesh Border. The revised MoU
and MoO will provide a legal framework for
establishment and operationalization of additional
Border Haats along India-Bangladesh border.
Current Affairs: March 17, 2017
www.talentsprint.com 4
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 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).
Parliament passes Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016
The Parliament has passed Enemy Property
(Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016 by voice vote
to make amendments to the Enemy Property Act, 1968.
The Bill replaces the Enemy Property (Amendment
and Validation) Ordinance, 2016 promulgated by
President Pranab Mukherjee for five times.
Background The Bill passed by Lok Sabha incorporates the amendments made by the Rajya
Sabha earlier. The Bill replacing the ordinance was passed by the Lok Sabha earlier but certain
amendments were introduced to it in the Rajya Sabha, on the recommendations of a Select
Committee.
Current Affairs: March 17, 2017
www.talentsprint.com 5
India Among Other South East Asian Country Signs WHO’s Call To End TB By
2030
India along with other South East Asian Region countries
signed a ‘Call for Action’ on March 16, 2017 to end
tuberculosis (TB) and pledged to take efforts to end the
disease by 2030. The ‘call for action’ was signed by the
Health ministers of the WHO’s South-East Asia Region
countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) on
the concluding day of the two day ministerial meeting towards ending TB in the region that
began on March 15, 2017.
China, Saudi Arabia ink deals worth about $65 billion
China and Saudi Arabia officials on March 17, 2017 have
signed Memorandums of Understanding(MoU) and
Letters of Intent(LoI) potentially worth about $65 billion
during Saudi King Salman’s visit to China. This was
announced by Zhang Ming, Deputy Chinese Foreign
Minister
Aim: To promote investment opportunities in the kingdom
The agreements seeks co-operations in the field of investment, energy, space and other areas.
Current Affairs: March 17, 2017
www.talentsprint.com 6
HDFC Bank Launches India’s First Digital Loans Against Securities
HDFC Bank in collaboration with National Securities Depository
Limited (NSDL) has launched an instant Digital Loan against
Securities (LAS) product on March 15, 2017. LAS will reduced the
time to disburse the overdraft facility in just 3 minutes rather than
several days previously. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative in India
and probably the first in the world as well.
Key Features of the LAS
i. Under the facility, customers can pledge shares directly through their demat accounts and
give necessary approvals while applying for the loan.
ii. Shares dematerialised by NSDL and executed through HDFC Bank demat account could be
used for pledging.
iii .The bank will instantly approves the loan and the money will be credited to their bank
accounts. Once shares are pledged, a customer cannot sell them unless the loan against them
has been cleared.
iv. The loan amount ranges from Rs 1 to 20 lakh for a period and every year the loan amount
will be reevaluated.
v. The overdraft will be offered at an interest rate of 10.5 percent, same as the non-digital loans.
vi. Initially the facility is restricted to only HDFC Bank demat account holders so customers
need to open accounts with the bank to avail the digital service.
vii. Besides, the facility will be available for Demat shares in the beginning which will soon be
extended to other securities such as mutual funds, bonds and insurance policies.
Current Affairs: March 17, 2017
www.talentsprint.com 7
UCO Bank, Future Generali tie up
Private insurer Future Generali India Insurance
Company (FGII) has announced tie-up with Kolkata
based UCO Bank for its products on March 15, 2017.
Target : To achieve a growth of 80 per cent by FY18.
According to the agreement, UCO bank will provide a
window at its bank branches for marketing FGII’s offerings. It offers a wide spectrum of general
insurance products like Motor Insurance, Health Insurance, Travel Insurance, Personal Accident
& Home Insurance.
SEBI Issues Guidelines for Celebrities to Endorse Mutual Fund Products At
Industry Level
i. The market regulator Securities and Exchange
Board of India (SEBI) reviewed advertisement
guidelines for mutual funds on March 15, 2017, with
regard to disclosing performance-related
information about such products.
ii. SEBI also issued new advertising code that will
require fund houses to communicate simply and effectively with the public.
iii. As per the new guidelines, SEBI has permitted celebrities to endorse mutual fund products
at the industry level for the purpose of increasing awareness of mutual funds as a financial
product category.iv .However, the capital market watchdog has restricted the endorsement to
following conditions:
1.Such endorsements should not promote a scheme of a particular mutual fund or be used as a
branding exercise of an asset management company (AMC).
Current Affairs: March 17, 2017
www.talentsprint.com 8
2.Expenses towards such celebrity endorsements for increasing awareness of Mutual Funds
shall be limited to the amounts that are aggregated by Mutual Funds at industry level for the
purpose of conducting investor education and awareness initiatives
3.Prior approval of SEBI shall be required for issuance of any endorsement of Mutual Funds as
a financial product, which features a celebrity for the purpose of increasing awareness of
Mutual Funds.
State Bank of India and CREDAI sign MoU related to real estate sector
i. India’s public sector banking and financial services
company State Bank of India(SBI) and real estate
developers’ body CREDAI have signed a memorandum
of understanding (MoU) which is valid for a period of 3
years.
ii. Aim of MoU:
1.To jointly conduct various initiatives towards development of the realty sector.
2.To promote housing for all
iii. SBI will be a national partner for all CREDAI activities and both will jointly work together
for various marketing activities like conclaves, seminars, exhibitions, campaigns and CSR
activities as well.
Current Affairs: March 17, 2017
www.talentsprint.com 9
Government Proposes Revised Building Code; Makes Builders Responsible
The Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan
unveiled the new National Building Code on March 16,
2017 in New Delhi.
The revised code has been prepared by the Bureau of
Indian Standards (BIS) under the aegis of the Consumer
Affairs Ministry.
The code contains provisions on use of new/innovative materials and technologies and on
prefabricated construction techniques that can give boost to speedier construction to meet the
objectives of Housing for All by 2022.
Salient Features of the Revised Code
i. As per the revised code, in addition to planners, structure designers and supervisors, the
builders will also be made responsible for the safety of the structure. Earlier, geo-technical
engineers and builders were not responsible.
ii .Builders will have to give a certificate saying that the building has been constructed as per
the planned design submitted to the local bodies.
iii. The code also has provision for universal accessibility for senior citizens and differently
abled citizens besides encouraging use new building material and alternative smart
technologies.
iv. Besides, it includes norms for solar energy utilisation, inclusion of modern lighting technique
including LED, updated provision on piped gas supply in houses and hospitals, solid waste
management and rain water harvesting, besides high speed lifts for tall buildings.
Current Affairs: March 17, 2017
www.talentsprint.com 10
ONGC Set to Invest Rs 21,500 Crore in India’s Deepest Gas Find
i. Dehradun based Indian multinational oil and gas
company, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited
(ONGC) has planned to invest Rs 21528 crore to
develop India’s deepest gas discovery in UD-1 find
by 2022-23.
ii. The company has submitted a declaration of
commerciality (DoC) to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons for the UD-1 find. It will
submit a final investment plan called the field development plan by end-2017 and hope to bring
the discovery to production by 2022-23.
iii. Under the project to explore oil and gas, ONGC plans to drill nine wells on the discovery
that lies in water depths of 2,400-3,200 metres and aims to produce a peak output of 19 million
standard cubic metres per day.
TDSAT refuses to stay Reliance Jio’s free offer
i. The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate
Tribunal (TDSAT) was asked the Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India (TRAI) to re-examine the approval
for Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd’s free offers Welcome
Offer and Happy New Year Offer which will continue
till the end of March 2018.
ii. TDSAT has taken step after hearing appeals filed by Bharti Airtel Ltd and Idea Cellular Ltd
questioning Reliance Jio’s free services.
Jio Offers :
Current Affairs: March 17, 2017
www.talentsprint.com 11
Jio offers initially introduced from 5 September to 5 December,2016 and then extended till 31
December, and further extended until 31 March, 2017
Last month, Reliance Jio announced that who all are join by 31st March 2017 will be eligible for
its Happy New Year Offer until 31st March, 2018 by paying a one-time fee of Rs.99 and
thereafter, by paying Rs.303 a month.
Singapore’s Changi Airport Named World’s Best Airport for 5th Consecutive Year
i. Singapore based Changi Airport was named as the
World’s Best Airport for the fifth consecutive year at the
2017 Skytrax World Airport Awards on March 14, 2017
held at the Passenger Terminal EXPO in Amsterdam,
The Netherlands.
ii. The award was received by Mr Lee Seow Hiang, CEO
of Changi Airport Group from Mr Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax.
iii. Besides, this is the eighth time that Changi Airport has been awarded the top international
title at the World Airport Awards since it was introduced in 2000.
iv. Changi Airport was also named the Best Airport in Asia and the Best Airport for Leisure
Amenities which it has held since the award category was introduced in 2009.
World’s Top 5 Airports
1. Changi Airport Singapore
2. Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport)
3. Incheon International Airport
4. Munich Airport
5. Hong Kong International Airport.
Current Affairs: March 17, 2017
www.talentsprint.com 12
Central Bank won Official language policy award
i. Mumbai based Central Bank of India won the
first prize in the implementation of Official
Language Policy in the western region for the
year 2015-2016 at the Official Language
Conference of Central and Western Regions in
Udaipur.
ii. Rajasthan governor , Kalyan Singh has presented the trophy and certificate to Sudhir Pathak,
Chief Manager, Central Bank of India.
Amarinder Singh Takes Oath as Chief Minister of Punjab
i. Captain Amarinder Singh took oath as the 26th chief
minister of Punjab on March 16, 2017 at the Raj Bhawan
in Chandigarh thus paving way for the return of the
Congress to power in the state after a gap of ten years.
ii. The oath of office was administered by Punjab
governor VP Singh Badnore.
iii. This is the second time that Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Amarinder
Singh takes oath as chief minister. Earlier he served in that capacity in 2002-2007.
iv. Some of the other ministers who took oath include Manpreet Singh Badal, Razia Sultana,
MLA from Malerkotla, Aruna Chaudhary, Rana Gurjit Singh and Brahm Mohindra.
v .In 117- Assembly seats of the Vidhan Sabha, the Congress was victorious in 77 seats to form
the new government.
Current Affairs: March 17, 2017
www.talentsprint.com 13
vi. Ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) won 18, AAP won 20, while
two seats went to Lok Insaaf Party.
Pakistan successfully test-fires land based anti-ship missile
i. Pakistan Navy has successfully test-fired ground-to-
sea missile from the coastal region on March 16, 2017.
ii. The trial was witnessed by Vice Chief of Naval Staff
Admiral Khan Hisham Bin Siddique.
iii. The missile is equipped with modern technology avionics, secured a hit on a target placed
at sea with a high degree of accuracy.
iv. would strengthen Pakistan’s defence and operational capabilities. Hence officials didn’t give
any detail about the missile include it’s name.
SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launches EchoStar 23 Satellite
i. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket conducted its third flight of
theyear on March 16, 2017 to launch a commercial
communications satellite in the geosynchronous transfer
orbit.
ii. The launch took off from NASA’s Launch Complex 39A
at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and carried the EchoStar 23 communications satellite into
orbit.
iii. Having a mass of around 5,500 kilograms (12,000 lb), EchoStar XXIII was the heaviest
geosynchronous payload yet launched by the Falcon 9 and will operate at 45 degrees west in
geostationary orbit.
Current Affairs: March 17, 2017
www.talentsprint.com 14
iv. The launch was SpaceX’s second launch from historic pad 39A at KSC, from which
astronauts first launched to the surface of the moon on Apollo 11 in 1969.
v. The satellite has been built by Space Systems Loral for EchoStar Corporation to operate for at
least 15 years.