Current Affairs Daily Digest – March 6 2019
1. President of India presents Swachh Survekshan Awards
President Ram Nath Kovind presented Swachh Survekhshan-2019 Awards in New Delhi. Indore bagged award for cleanest city for third straight year in Swachh Survekshan.
New Delhi Municipal Council area gets cleanest small city award while Uttarakhand’s Gauchar was adjudged Best Ganga Town in the survey. Top ranked cities received a statue of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi as award for their work towards cleanliness. Swachh Survekshan 2019 covered all Urban Local Bodies in the country, making it the largest such cleanliness survey in the world.
2. 7th March 2019 to be celebrated as ‘Janaushadhi Diwas’ across India
“With the initiative of Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi in the direction of making quality healthcare affordable for all, the Government has taken important steps to make affordable and quality generic medicines popular among the people through Pradhan MantriBhartiyaJanaushadhiPariyojana (PMBJP).
The Minister informed thatfor providing further impetus & creating awareness about use of generic medicines, it has been decided to celebrate 7th March 2019 as ‘JanaushadhiDiwas’ across India.
Hon’ble Prime Minister will interact with owners of JanaushadhiKendras and beneficiaries of the scheme across the country through video conference at 1:00 pm on 7th March, 2019. Talking about the future course of development, Shri Mandaviya added that with this pace of progress, all blocks in the country would have atleast 1 PMBJP Kendra by 2020.
3. NABL launches Quality Assurance Scheme for Basic Composite Medical Laboratories
For sensitizing small laboratories to basic doable quality practices, NABL has launched another voluntary scheme called Quality Assurance Scheme (QAS) for Basic Composite (BC) Medical Laboratories (Entry Level) in February, 2019.
The laboratories performing only basic routine tests like blood glucose, blood counts, rapid tests for common infections, liver & kidney function tests and routine tests of urine will be eligible to apply under this scheme. To encourage small pathology laboratories, the base criterion of the scheme is based on the requirements enlisted in Gazette notification dated 18th May, 2018 by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) to amend Clinical Establishments (Central Government) Rules, 2012.
4. Shri Nitin Gadkari Lays Foundation Stone for Development and Maintenance of Inter-Modal Station in Nagpur
Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone for development and maintenance of Inter-Modal Station IMS at Ajni Railway Station in Nagpur .
IMS is a passenger terminal infrastructure which integrates various transportation modes like rail, road, mass rapid transit system (MRTS), bus rapid transit (BRT) and other para-modal transportation modes. Inter-modal stations allow passengers to change transportation modes during transit without leaving the station premises.
The station has been designed for horizon year 2050 with the capacity to handle 3.24 lakh passengers every day. The capital cost of this project is Rs. 1588.81 crore out of which cost of development of IMS Nagpur including relocation of Railway Quarters, Structures is Rs. 1288.81 crore, while the cost of improvement of road connectivity to IMS Nagpur is Rs. 300 crore.
5. PM Modi launches several development projects in Karnataka
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a day long visit to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to launch various development projects. In Karnataka, Mr. Modi dedicated the ESIC Hospital and Medical College, Bengaluru to the nation.
The Super Specialty Block of KIMS, Hubballi was also inaugurated by the Prime Minister. Prime Minister Modi also interacted with the beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat at Kalaburagi. Ladies hostel for north east regional students was also dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister digitally . He also laid the foundation stone for Bharat Petroleum Depot in Kalaburugi.
In Tamil Nadu, Prime Minister will attend an official event in Chennai in the late afternoon. He will interact with the beneficiaries of the health insurance scheme, ‘Ayushman Bharat’ and dedicate to the nation some of the key infrastructure projects, besides laying foundation stones for a few other schemes.
6. Two Nobel Prizes for literature will be awarded this year: Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy has said that two Nobel Prizes for literature will be awarded this year. The decision comes after a sex scandal causing the suspension of the award last year. The Academy in a statement at Stockholm yesterday said the Nobel Prize in Literature will awarded this autumn for both 2018 and 2019.
The much-awaited award had to be postponed last year for the first time since 1949 after the Academy, which annually chooses the winner.
7. RBI imposes Rs 11 crore fine on 4 banks for delayed implementation of Swift operations
The RBI has imposed a total monetary fine of Rs 11 crore on four banks – Karnataka Bank, United Bank of India, IOB and Karur Vysya Bank – for non-compliance of directions on Swift messaging software.
While the RBI imposed a Rs 4 crore penalty on Karnataka Bank, it slapped a fine of Rs 3 crore each on United Bank and Indian Overseas Bank. Besides, the regulator has also levied Rs one crore fine on Karur Vysya Bank.
The Reserve Bank of India has levied an aggregate penalty of Rs 40 million on the bank for delayed implementation of four of the Swift related operational controls, Karnataka Bank said in a regulatory filing.
8. SBI, Hitachi arm to roll out digital payments platform
State Bank of India (SBI) and Hitachi Payment Services Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd, launched their merchant-acquiring joint venture, SBI Payment Services Pvt Ltd (SBIPSPL), in Mumbai, for establishing a digital payments platform for India and other countries in the region.
The joint venture (SBI has a 74 per cent stake, and the balance is with Hitachi Payment Services) will facilitate expansion of the digital payments landscape in India via its digital payments platform. This will offer innovative products to suit the requirements of all segments of merchants by leveraging the brand value and vast distribution network of SBI, and bring Artificial Intelligence and other technological capabilities of Hitachi to SBI Payment Services, SBI said in a statement.
9. Kylie Jenner is world’s youngest ever self-made billionaire
Kylie Jenner was named the youngest self-made billionaire of all time by Forbes magazine.
Jenner, 21, the half-sister of reality television stars Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian, made it onto the annual Forbes list of billionaires after debuting her Kylie Cosmetics online in 2015 with $29 lip kits containing matching lipstick and lip liner.
10. China slashes GDP growth target to 6-6.5% amid slowdown, trade war with US
China has slashed its official GDP target to 6 to 6.5 per cent this year as the world’s second largest economy grapples with the ongoing trade war with the US and a continued economic slowdown.
The lowered growth rate was proposed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in his work report for this year at the opening session of the annual session of the “rubber-stamp” Parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC).
Besides the trade war with the US, China is also haunted by the spectre of a continued economic slowdown. Last year, the economy, which is largely dependent on exports, slowed down to 6.6 per cent, the lowest in about three decades.
11. Rima Das gets best director award at Dublin International Film Festival
Assam filmmaker Rima Das bagged the Dublin Film Critics Circle Jury Award for Best Director for her film “Bulbul Can Sing” at the 2019 Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival.
Bulbul Can Sing is a visceral coming-of-age drama about a teenage girl, Bulbul, living in a village in Assam, fighting her way through love and loss as she figures out who she really is.
The third Assamese feature of writer-director-producer Rima, the film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival 2018, followed by the South Asian premiere at the Busan International Film Festival and Indian premiere at the Jio MAMI 20th Mumbai Film Festival.
The Dublin International Film Festival was held in Dublin, the capital city of Ireland from February 20 to March 3.
12. ‘Simplicity & Wisdom’ authored by Dinesh Shahra launched
Famous Industrialist and Philanthropist Dinesh Shahra’s book, ‘Simplicity & Wisdom’ was launched in Indore . The book is dedicated to Late eminent Vedanti Swami Pragananandji.
The book was formally launched by Swami Omanand Saraswati, Head of Omanand Yogashram. Also, present on the occasion was Padma Shri – Sushil Doshi, Indian journalist, writer, and sports commentator along with other members of the Shahra family. This book is primarily aimed at offering saintly wisdom and guidance to lead a content and happy life.
13. ‘150 years of Mahatma Gandhi’ theme for India Pavilion at Venice Biennale
Extending Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary celebrations to foreign shores, the India pavilion at the upcoming Venice Biennale has been themed ‘150 years of Mahatma Gandhi’.The pavilion has been commissioned by the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) and will be curated by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA).
This will be the second pavilion from India at the Biennale, after 2011.
India’s participation in one of the world’s most important art events is facilitated by the Ministry of Culture and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
India’s exhibition titled ‘Our Time for Future Caring’ is both, a call for attentiveness and an invocation to shared futures.The exhibition elucidates the premise that Gandhi’s presence is far from being fixed in time and space. His ideals are difficult to ignore in an increasingly violent and intolerant world,” KNMA said.
14. ICC bans former Zimbabwe Cricket Director Enock Ikope for 10 years
Former Zimbabwe Cricket Director Enock Ikope has been banned from all cricket for 10 years after the ICC Anti-Corruption Tribunal found him guilty of non-cooperation and obstruction of investigations.
The Tribunal heard evidence that the ACU had established information during its investigation into the corrupt approach made by Rajan Nayer to Zimbabwe cricket Captain Graeme Cremer, which gave the ACU reasonable grounds to suspect that Ikope may have engaged in corrupt conduct under the Code.
15. Google launches ‘Bolo’ App to tutor children to read Hindi, English
Tech giant Google unveiled a new app ‘Bolo’ that aims to help children in primary school learn to read in Hindi and English. The free app, which is being launched in India first, uses Google’s speech recognition and text-to-speech technology.
The app features an animated character ‘Diya’, who encourages children to read stories aloud and helps if the child is unable to pronounce a word. It also lauds the reader when he/she completes the reading.
16. Air India crew asked to say Jai Hind after every in-flight announcement
National carrier Air India’s crew is going to say “Jai Hind” after every flight announcement “with much fervor” from now, its official advisory said .Amitabh Singh, Director Operations, Air India stated in the advisory issued by him that all crew of Air India are required to announce Jai Hind at the end of every announcement.
The official announcement has been marked to all crew members of Air India. A similar advisory has been issued by the cash-strapped carrier’s Chairman and Managing Director, Ashwani Lohani to pilots during his first stint at the airline in May 2016.
17. Sultan Azlan Shah Cup: Manpreet Singh named captain of Indian hockey team
Manpreet Singh was named captain of the 18-member Indian hockey team to play in the upcoming 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. The prestigious tournament will be held in Ipoh, Malaysia from the 23rd of this month.
Apart from India and hosts Malaysia, the other participating nations in the tournament are Canada, Korea, South Africa, Asian Games gold medallist Japan. India, will start its campaign against Japan on the opening day itself.
18. Yonex All England Championships 2019 to begin today
Badminton’s greatest show, the Yonex All England Championships 2019, returns to Arena Birmingham from today. A challenging draw stands in the way of India.
But top shuttlers PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal will fancy their chances of ending a nearly two-decade-old title jinx at the tournament. Only the top 32 in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings qualify for the tournament.
Out of them, only three Indians have been seeded — the third being Kidambi Srikanth (seeded seventh) in the men’s event. In women’s doubles, the pair of Ashwini Ponnapa & N Sikki Reddy and the duo of Meghana Jakkampudi and Poorvisha S Ram are in the fray. In men’s doubles, former National champion Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy will play in the first round.
19. NITTTRC Bhopal, Shri Vishwakarma Skill University sign MoU to strengthen skill development facilities
National Institute of Technical Teacher’s Training and Research(NITTTRC), Bhopal and Shri Vishwakarma Skill University Gurugram today signed an memorandum of understanding(MoU) to further strengthen the skill development facilities provided to the youth.
20. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports recognises Kudo International Federation India as National Sport Federation
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has granted provisional recognition to Kudo International Federation India(KIFI) as National Sport Federation with immediate effect. The grant of recognition is subject to compliance of the provisions of National Sports Development Code of India, 2011 as modified from time to time, by the federation including displaying information on their website as per the instructions issued by the Ministry.
21. Uttar Pradesh to get Highways Projects Worth Over Rs one Lakh Crore
Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for National Highways projects worth Rs 1,10,154 crore in Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh tomorrow. He will also inaugurate/lay foundation stone for several works under Namami Gange programme worth over Rs 1969.57 crore there tomorrow. The Minister will be accompanied by Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Shri Nitin Gadkari and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
22. Amendment in Hazardous Waste (Management& Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016
In order to strengthen the implementation of environmentally sound management of hazardous waste in the country, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has amended the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management & Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 .
The amendment has been done keeping into consideration the “Ease of Doing Business” and boosting “Make in India” initiative by simplifying the procedures under the Rules.
Some of the salient features of the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management& Transboundary Movement) Amendment Rules, 2019 are as follows:
- Solid plastic waste has been prohibited from import into the country including in Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and by Export Oriented Units (EOU).
- Exporters of silk waste have now been given exemption from requiring permission from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
- Electrical and electronic assemblies and components manufactured in and exported from India, if found defective can now be imported back into the country, within a year of export, without obtaining permission from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
- Industries which do not require consent under Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981, are now exempted from requiring authorization also under the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management & Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016.
