Current Affairs Daily Digest – March 8 2019
1. Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh get new NCLT benches
The Government has approved establishment of two new benches of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), one at Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh and the other at Indore in Madhya Pradesh. This step has been taken keeping in view the increasing case load, especially under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code 2016.
The jurisdiction of the Bench at Amaravati will be the state of Andhra Pradesh and that of Indore will be the state of Madhya Pradesh. At present Andhra Pradesh comes under the Jurisdiction of NCLT Bench at Hyderabad and Madhya Pradesh comes under the jurisdiction of NCLT Bench, Ahmedabad. It is expected that creation of new benches will enable faster disposal of cases.
2. Ministries of WCD & Skill Development sign MoU to improve women livelihood
Women and Child Development Ministry and Skill Development Ministry signed an MoU for improving women livelihood and empowering them through skill development. Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said, the new initiative will help impart skills to the women which are relevant and will help them to find employment and generate income immediately.
3. SC appoints three-member mediation panel in Ayodhya land dispute case
The Supreme Court referred Ayodhya’s Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case to mediation for amicable settlement.Former apex court judge Justice (retd) F M Kallifulla will head a panel of mediators in the case. Other members of the panel of mediators include spiritual guru Shri Shri Ravi Shankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu.
The Court directs that the panel of mediators will file a progress report of the mediation proceedings within four weeks and the process should be completed within eight weeks.
A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had reserved the order after hearing various contesting parties.
4. President Kovind to give Nari Shakti awards on International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day is being observed today. Governments, NGOs and other organisations across the world observe the day on 8th of March every year to highlight the achievements of women.
The theme for this year’s women’s day is ‘Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change’. The purpose of the theme is to achieve gender equality by putting innovation by women and girls, for women and girls, at the heart of efforts.
This year, 44 awardees have been selected for these Puraskar.
5. Ausaf Sayeed appointed new Ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia
Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, presently High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Seychelles, has been appointed as the next ambassador of India to Saudi Arabia. the Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1989 batch, Sayeed will succeed Ahmad Javed, who had been serving as envoy to Saudi Arabia since December 2015.
Mr Sayeed has handled different areas including political, economic, consular and cultural work, besides Haj management and served as Ambassador to Yemen and Consul General of India in Chicago and Jeddah.
6. UNDP appoints Padma Lakshmi as Goodwill Ambassador
Indian-American television personality and food expert Padma Lakshmi has been appointed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as its newest Goodwill Ambassador, supporting the agency’s fight against inequality and discrimination around the world.
7. Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan resigns
Governor of Mizoram Kummanam Rajasekharan has resigned from his post. President Ram Nath Kovind has accepted the resignation of Rajasekharan.
Mr. Kovind has appointed Prof. Jagdish Mukhi as the Governor of Mizoram, in addition to his own duties of Assam Governor, until regular arrangement for the office of the Governor of Mizoram is made.
8. Modi Cabinet approves amendment to Article 3 of Indo-Bhutan power pact
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved amendment to the Article 3 of the Agreement between India and Bhutan regarding Mandechhu Hydro Electric Project (MHEP) in order to extend the loan repayment tenure by two years extended by India to Bhutan.
It aims for implementation of the said project in Bhutan from fifteen to seventeen years.
The Cabinet decision will certainly strengthening India-Bhutan economic relations and inter-linkages especially in the field of hydro-power co-operation and overall deepening of India-Bhutan relations.
The proposal also aims to secure the First Year Tariff for import of power from the 720 MW MHEP in Bhutan at Indian Rupees 4.12 per unit.
9. Hardeep S Puri launches e-Dharti App
Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Puri launched e-Dharti app where all the three modules- Conversion, Substitution and Mutation related to properties have been made online. The payment system in Land and Development Office, L&DO has also been completely digitized.
Work is also going on other three small modules namely Sale Permission, Mortgage Permission and Gift Permission will be completed soon. The public can now submit their applications online by visiting the L&DO website and are not required to visit this office for submission of them and for follow up of their applications.
Mr Puri also launched e-Dharti GeoPortal, through which the lessee of the property will be able to see the basic details of property along with map showing its location.
10. White label ATM operators allowed to source cash directly from RBI
The Reserve Bank relaxed norms for white label ATM (WLA) operators and allowed them to buy wholesale cash directly from the central bank.The RBI also permitted WLA operators to source cash from any bank, including cooperatives and regional rural banks.
WLAs are owned and operated by non-bank entities on behalf of the banks.
On a review of operations of WLAs and representations received from stakeholders, as also to enhance the viability of WLAs, it has been decided to allow them to buy wholesale cash, above a threshold of 1 lakh pieces (and in multiples thereof) of any denomination, directly from the Reserve Bank and currency chests against full payment, the RBI said in a notification.
11. Jaitley releases book on PM’s selected speeches
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley released a book “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas”, a compilation of selected speeches delivered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Releasing the book on the occasion of International Women’s Day, Jaitley said that the Prime Minister has an excellent knowledge of subjects and his speeches are a clear reflection of that knowledge.
12. Uttarakhand CM launches free milk scheme for anganwadi children
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat launched the Mukhyamantri Anchal Amrit Yojana. under which 2.5 lakh children at 20,000 Anganwadi kendras in the state will be given 100 ml milk twice a week for free. Flavoured, sweet, skimmed milk powder will be made available to the 20,000 Anganwadi kendras across the state under the Amrit Yojana, Rawat said.
13. West Bengal Government launches Yuvashree Arpan Scheme for the youth
West Bengal has launched Yuvashree Arpan Scheme 2019 to generate employment opportunities for youths. Under this new scheme, every youth interested in starting their own business will get financial assistance from the state govt. to setup an enterprise. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) department is going to provide funding for this Yuva Shree Arpan Scheme.
CM Mamata Banerjee has announced Yuvashree Arpan Scheme for unemployed youths on 6 March 2019. Around 50,000 youths in the West Bengal state would be benefited from this self employment scheme. The main motto of this scheme to promote entrepreneurship.
14. BBC journalist Priyanka Dubey gets Chameli Devi Jain Award
Priyanka Dubey, a bilingual correspondent with the BBC at its Delhi bureau, has been named for the Chameli Devi Jain Award for an Outstanding Woman Journalist for the year 2018. Dubey was chosen for her multi-faceted, investigative and interrogative reportage, according to a statement.
This year’s jury comprised Bharat Bhushan, former editor, Sheela Bhatt, National Editor (News) NewsX, and Vandita Mishra, National Opinion Editor, The Indian Express, the statement said.
The Chameli Devi Jain Award has been awarded to women journalists for the past 37 years for upholding standards of excellence through a sustained body of work. Named after Chameli Devi Jain, a freedom fighter, it is perhaps the country’s longest running media award for women.
15. Raghuram Rajan to get Yashwantrao Chavan award
Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has been chosen for the ‘Yashwantrao Chavan National Award 2018’ for his contribution to economic development.
Rajan will be presented the award at a function here on March 12 on the occasion of the 106th birth anniversary of Yashwantrao Chavan, who was the first chief minister of Maharashtra.
The award is given every year by the Yashwantrao Chavan Prathisthan to individuals and institutions in recognition of their outstanding contribution to national integration, and social and economic development.
16. Business Organisations Need To Pay Up To Rs. 20 For Using Aadhaar Services: UIDAI
Business organisations using Aadhaar services will now have to pay Rs. 20 for each customer verification and 50 paise for authentication of each transaction carried out by the entities, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said .
“Aadhaar authentication services shall be charged at the rate of Rs. 20 (including taxes) for each e-KYC transaction and Rs. 0.50 (including taxes) for each Yes and No authentication transaction from requesting entities,” a notification by the UIDAI said.
17. World Bank to give Rs 2,200 cr for Andhra healthcare project
The World Bank will provide Rs 2,200-crore loan to Andhra Pradesh for a project aimed at strengthening the state’s overall healthcare systems. The Central and state governments and the World Bank signed the loan agreement for a $328-million project to improve the quality and responsiveness of public health services and increasing access of population to an expanded package of primary health services.
The AP Health Systems Strengthening Project (APHSSP) will be implemented in the state with a focus on improved quality of care, improved responsiveness of public health services and increased access to an expanded package of primary health services, said the state government.
18. UP, Bihar fall behind in human development index as Rajasthan, UP improve
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar did poorly on the human development index (HDI), as smaller states Haryana and Himachal improved in the last 27 years . Industrial Gujarat and Maharashtra slipped in the HDI ranking between 1990 and 2017, while Haryana has improved the most, finds SBI Research in a report that is based on the data from Subnational HDI for the states.
Southern states continue to lead the pack on the crucial measure, where the country is ranked 130th globally, but are staring at a different trouble, the report noted.
19. IGIA declared as ‘Best Airport’ in 2018 ASQ Awards
The Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here has been adjudged as the best airport in the category of over 40 million passengers per annum (MPPA) in Asia Pacific by Airports Council International (ACI) in the Airport Service Quality Programme for 2018.
This award is a testimony of continued improvements in passenger-service that Delhi Airport has witnessed since DIAL took over its operations in 2006.
In 2011, the Airport had achieved the position of World No. 2, which it retained for three consecutive years till 2013. In 2014, it stepped up its position to World 1 rank in the 25-40 MPPA category and retained the rank in 2015.
20. India may become third-largest consumer economy by 2025: Venkaiah Naidu
India is expected to be the third-largest consumer economy as its consumption is likely to triple to $4 trillion by 2025 owing to shift in consumer behaviour and expenditure pattern, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu said .
Addressing the India-Paraguay Business Forum meeting , the Vice President said Paraguay is an important partner of India in the Latin American and Caribbean region and there is an enormous potential to further increase this engagement.
21. O.P. Jindal varsity launches online course in ‘Impact investment’
O.P. Jindal Global University has launched a 4-week long online course in ‘impact investment’, aiming to train people in how to invest in companies to generate measurable social and environmental gains and at the same time earn from it too.
The course was launched on FutureLearn (https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/impact-investing) — Europe’s leading online social learning platform — by the Jindal Centre for Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship (JSiE) of the university.
22. Lalit Kala Akademi’s annual exhibit to take place in Mumbai
The 60th National Exhibition of Art, an annual event by the Lalit Kala Akademi, is all set to host works by artists selected in Tier 1 of the 60th National Academy Awards, which are expected to be announced by March 13.
As per Lalit Kala Akademi data, the awards, which will be given to 15 winners, received over 6,100 entries by 2,836 artists this year. The figures indicate a significant — almost double — jump from last year’s 1,433 artists applying for the awards.
23. Maharashtra govt launches scheme for construction workers
the Maharashtra government launched a special scheme for construction workers in the state. The scheme, “Atal Aahar Yojna,” will provide good quality and hygienic food to construction workers at a highly subsidised rate.
The yojana will be implemented in some areas of the state on a pilot basis and later its scope will be expanded. in the first phase, the target is to cover 20,000 workers and provide them with good quality food at a nominal cost of Rs five.
24. Soumya Swaminathan named Chief Scientist at WHO
Soumya Swaminathan, a Deputy Director-General of the World Health Organisation has been named Chief Scientist of the WHO. As Deputy Director-General Programmes (DDP), she was one of the three DDGs assisting WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
25. Olympian Daniel Rudisha, David’s father, dies aged 73
Daniel Matasi Rudisha, the father of 800m record holder David, passed away on Wednesday evening at War Memorial Hospital in Nakuru aged 73. Daniel was a teacher and an athletics coach after he retired from the sport, where he made his name when he won silver in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. He was also part of Kenya’s 4X400m relay team in the same Games.
