Current Affairs Daily Digest – April 9 2019
1. President Ram Nath Kovind pays homage to CRPF martyrs on 54th Valour Day
President Ram Nath Kovind today paid homage to the martyrs at National Police Memorial in New Delhi on the occasion of 54th Valour Day of Central Reserve Police Force, CRPF. He also presented gallantry medals to six Jawans posthumously.
The President said, on this day, 9th of April in 1965 a small contingent of 2nd Battalion of CRPF, successfully fought and repulsed an attack by a Pakistani Brigade at Sardar Post in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. They eliminated 34 Pakistani soldiers and captured four soldiers alive.
As a tribute to the brave personnel of the Force, 9th April is celebrated as Valour Day in the Force. The President also launched Veer Parivar App for assistance to the next of kin of the CRPF martyrs.
2. World Homoeopathy Day: 10 April
World Homoeopathy Day is observed on 10 April every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of the founder of Homoeopathy, Dr. Christian Fredrich Samuel Hahnemann. The theme for 2019 is “Linking research with education and clinical practice”.
3. ITBP organises first National Sky Running Championship
Border guarding force Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) along with Sky Running Association of India organised the National Sky Running Championship at Mountaineering and Skiing Institute of ITBP at Auli in Uttarakhand.
This is the first time such championship was organised at a high altitude of up to 4000 metres. The high altitude marathon was organised for both junior and senior categories from April 4 to April 5, 2019.
Various athletes from ITBP, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand participated in the championship.
4. Tamil Nadu renames Chennai rail station after MGR
The Tamil Nadu government has renamed the iconic Chennai Central Railway Station as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr MGR Central Railway Station. According to a government notification , the station was renamed after the receipt of ‘no objection’ from the Union Home Ministry.
5. RBI issues norms for banks to set up currency chests
The Reserve Bank of India came out with guidelines for banks to set up new currency chests, which include minimum area of 1,500 square feet for strong room.
“Area of the strong room/ vault of at least 1,500 sq ft. For those situated in hilly/ inaccessible places, the strong room/ vault area of at least 600 sq ft,” the RBI said while specifying minimum standards for setting up new currency chests.
Besides, the new chests should have a processing capacity of 6.6 lakh pieces of banknotes per day.
For those situated in the hilly/ inaccessible places, capacity of 2.1 lakh pieces of banknotes per day.
6. IIT Madras topples IISc Bangalore as best educational institute in India
The Indian Institute of Technology Madras, (IIT Madras) has emerged as the best educational institute in India, ahead of Indian Institute of Science Bangalore (IISc Bangalore), the union government said in a fresh university rankings report.
IIT Delhi, IIT Powai in Mumbai and IIT Khargpur, respectively, rounded up the top five, according to the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) released by President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday.
The rankings were declared in nine categories—including engineering, management and medine—and overall all institutions.
In the management education category, IIM Bangalore toppled IIM Ahmedabad to be the best B-school of India. IIM Calcutta came in third.
Among universities, IISc Bangalore was judged best, followed by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi, Banaras Hindu University (BHU, University of Hyderabad and Calcutta University.
7. Airtel gets Sebi nod for Rs25,000 crore rights issue
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel has received market regulator Sebi’s approval to raise up to Rs25,000 crore through rights issue, according to sources. The board of the company had approved the rights issue proposal in February.
The board has earlier approved the rights issue to raise up to ₹25,000 crore through issuance of fully paid up shares at a price of ₹220 per share, and an additional ₹7,000 crore via foreign currency perpetual bond issue.
The company had said the capital infusion will help it continue investments in future rollouts to build large network capacity and create content and technology partnerships to ensure the strong customer experience.
8. Global Fan Awards for iconic Tendulkar worshiper
In a first, a historic award function has been launched in order to recognise and honour die-hard fans of cricket at the 2019 ICC World Cup. An initiative of Indian Sports Fan (ISF), the glittering ceremony will take place at the Eccles Town Hall in Manchester with Sachin Tendulkar’s iconic fan Sudhir Kumar Gautam being the first recipient of the award along with four other fans.
9. SBI puts NPAs worth Rs 424 crore on sale via auction
State-run State Bank of India (SBI) has put non-performing assets (NPAs or bad loans) worth Rs 423.67 crore on auction to recover unpaid dues.
The accounts Kamachi Industries owes Rs 364.80 crore and SNS Starch has Rs 58.87 crore due – to SBI, the bank said. The bidding for these properties will start on April 25.
The bank is looking to sell all of these stressed assets on a 100 per cent cash-basis, but the actual realisation will depend on the reserve price and bids received from the buyers.
10. London becomes first city to use pollution charge zone
London is the first city in the world to implement a 24-hour, seven day a week Ultra Low Emission Zone, inside which vehicles will have to meet tough emissions standards or face a charge.
Monday’s introduction of the zone, known as the ULEZ, aims to reduce toxic air pollution and protect public health, according to a press release from the office of Sadiq Khan, mayor of London.
The zone will cover the same area as the existing Congestion Charge — collected from drivers in the city center — until 2021, when it will be expanded to cover the area between the major orbital roads known as the North and South Circular.
