LATEST CURRENT AFFAIRS – MARCH 07 2018
1. Oltmans appointed as new coach of Pakistan hockey team
Former India coach Roelant Oltmans has been appointed as the new chief coach of the Pakistan men’s hockey team for a tw0-and-a-half-year tenure, the Dutchman announced himself. Oltmans, who was in charge of Indian hockey for four years — first as High Performance Director and later as chief coach since 2015 before his unceremonious sacking last September — took to his official twitter handle to confirm the appointment.
2. Mukesh Ambai richest Indian; Jeff Bezos tops global rich list
Mukesh Ambani’s net worth has soared to $40.1 billion, making him the richest Indian for the 11th year in a row, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos toppled Bill Gates as the world’s wealthiest person, says Forbes. Bezos, referred to as the “Centi-billionaire”, topped the list with a net worth of $112 billion, becoming the only person to appear in the Forbes list with a 12-figure fortune. According to Forbes, India is home to 119 billionaires, 18 more than last year.
Azim Premji is the second richest Indian and was ranked 58th on the overall list with a net worth of $18.8 billion, followed by Lakshmi Mittal (62nd position, net worth of $18.5 billion), Shiv Nadar (98th, $14.6 billion) and Dilip Shanghvi (115th, $12.8 billion).
3. Cabinet rolls out relief for Telecom sector
The Cabinet has taken a call on providing relief to telecom operators, and look at raising the spectrum cap from the current 25 per cent to the industry demand of 35 per cent, among other things. Both telecom players and regulator TRAI have been asking for the current intra-band cap to be replaced by a limit of 50 per cent on the combined spectrum holding in the sub-1 GHz bands (700 MHz, 800MHz and 900 MHz bands). There is no ceiling for the individual or combined spectrum holding in the above-1 GHz band.
4. Delhi Cabinet clears home delivery of ration to beneficiaries
The Delhi Cabinet has approved a proposal to facilitate doorstep delivery of ration in sealed packets to Public Distribution System (PDS) beneficiaries, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said. The scheme would help to tackle problems such as theft of ration and poor quality of supplies, he added. According to officials, there are nearly 72 lakh PDS beneficiaries in the city.
5. RBI imposes ₹40 lakh penalty on SBI over counterfeit notes
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 1 March imposed a Rs 40 lakh penalty on State Bank of India (SBI) for not following the central bank’s rules on detection and impounding of counterfeit currency notes. The currency chest inspection of two branches of the bank revealed, inter alia, violation of the instructions issued by RBI on detection and impounding of counterfeit notes.
6. Dearness Allowance hiked to 7% for central govt employees
The Union Cabinet has increased the dearness allowance (DA) for its 11 million employees and pensioners to 7 per cent from 5 per cent, from January 1, 2018. According to the statement, the hike will benefit about 48.41 lakh central government employees and 61.17 lakh pensioners.
7. World’s 1st Monopoly hotel to open in Malaysia in 2019
The world’s first Monopoly-themed hotel will open in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur next year. The hotel will feature 225 rooms, and a board game-themed bar and restaurant.
8. India’s Biggest M&E Services Market, enTTech 2018 inaugurated in Mumbai
India’s biggest Media & Entertainment Services Market – enTTech 2018 was inaugurated in Mumbai. The market, spread over two days (March 7 – 8, 2018) will see fast matchmaking between 100 international delegates and their Indian counterparts. The aim of enTTech is to be the one-source stop for service industry in the M&E market.
9. Delhi, Mumbai airports rated world’s best in service quality
The Delhi and Mumbai airports have been rated the world’s best, in the highest category of handling over 40 million passengers per annum, by quality rating company Airports Service Quality. With 63.5 million passengers flying through the Delhi airport in 2017, it has become Asia’s seventh busiest airport. It has also been ranked among the world’s top 20 busiest airports.
10. European Bank for Reconstruction and Development approves India’s membership
India is all set to become the 69th member of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) after shareholders of the international financial institution gave their nod to the country’s candidature.
ABOUT EBRD:
- The London-headquartered EBRD is a multilateral development bank set up in 1991 after the fall of the Berlin wall to promote private and entrepreneurial initiative in emerging Europe.
- It invests in 38 emerging economies across three continents, according to a set of criteria that aim to make its countries more competitive, better governed, greener, more inclusive, more resilient and more integrated.
11. Sukhad Yatra App and Toll-free Emergency number for Highway users launched
Sukhad Yatra mobile application has been prepared by National Highways Authority of India, NHAI, to empower the Highway user.
- The key feature of the app includes provision for the user to enter road quality-related information or to report any accident or pothole on the highway.
- It also provides users with real-time data related to waiting time expected at Plazas and various facilities like points of interest, highway nest/nest mini, etc., available across the highway.
- The app can also be used by the users to purchase the FASTag tag and further facilitate the highway user experience.
12. India for the first time starts importing LNG from US
India’s relationship with the US as a major consumer of the oil and gas produced in the latter, advanced a step further with the first shipment of US-produced gas bound for India flagged off from Louisiana. The shipment is being sent under a twenty-year agreement between Indian gas utility major GAIL India and US-based Cheniere Energy’s Sabine Pass liquefaction facility in Louisiana
13. Government launches #YesIBleed menstrual hygiene campaign
on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2018, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey will launch the #YesIBleed menstrual hygiene campaign. The objective of the campaign called “#Yes I Bleed” is to create a holistic approach to the issue of menstruation, which is an experience that transcends culture, class, and caste.
14. HRD Ministry allocates Rs.1000 crore for research in S&T under IMPRINT-II
The Union Minister for Human Resources and Development, Prakash Javadekar said that in a major boost for research and innovation in the country, the Central Government has sanctioned a sum of Rs. 1000 crore for the phase two of the Impacting Research Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT) India programme.
ABOUT IMPRINT – I PROGRAMME
Under the IMPRINT-I Programme, 142 projects at a cost of Rs. 318.71 crore are already under implementation. These projects cover crucial domains like security and defence, information technology, energy, sustainable habitat, advance materials, health care, nano technology, climate change, etc. All these projects are expected to result in publications and also patents.
