March 26 – Current Affairs Quick Gyan

In Current Affairs 2017
March 26, 2016

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the Quick Gyan (QG) Section of D2G. QG is just a glimpse of what happened today all over the world.

Only For Serious Candidates : We strongly recommend you to read the Current Affairs in detail. For your convenience, we have provided quick links under the updates. Make use of it.

Always Keep Yourself Updated!!!

BANKING AND FINANCE

Federal Bank to open startup incubation centres

Kerala-based private sector lender Federal Bank is opening incubation centres for startups in Bangalore and Ernakulam. These specialised lounges in the bank’s branches will offer advice on capital, regulatory support and even disburse funds.

These lounges, named Launchpad – with fast internet connections, support staff from the financial world and advisory mechanisms – would be the perfect breeding ground for future entrepreneurs.
The lounges would be manned by bank executives capable of dealing with the financial requirements of startups as well as local specialists who would be able to advise on regulatory issues.
The bank is also mirroring HDFC Bank and SBI in integrating its platform with mobile payments application ‘Chillr‘.
The addition that Federal Bank brings to the ‘Chillr’ application is that they would allow even non-Federal Bank users to instantly open a Federal Bank account through a selfie and an ‘Aadhaar’ identification number and allow them to receive payments through ‘Chillr’.

Quick Link – Chillr

IOB starts distribution of Indian Gold Coins

State-owned Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has become the first lender to start distribution of recently launched Indian Gold Coins (IGC).

Available in denominations, 5, 10 and 20 grams, the coins are distributed through limited branches, IOB said in a statement.
It is the first bank to enter into agreement with MMTC for sale of IGC, the bank claimed.
IGC is the first national gold offering by the government. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November last year.
The Indian Gold Coin is of 24 carat purity, 999 fineness and has the national emblem of Ashok Chakra engraved on one side and the face of Mahatma Gandhi on the other.
As part of Make in India drive, the coin is minted by the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited and hallmarked by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
Indian Overseas Bank is a major public sector bank based in Chennai(Madras).
Indian Overseas Bank has an ISO certified in-house Information Technology department, which has developed the software that its branches use to provide online banking to customers.
The bank has achieved 100% networking status as well as 100% CBS status for its branches. IOB also has a network of about 3300 ATMs all over India.
IOB has branches in Singapore, Hong Kong, Colombo, Seoul, and Bangkok.

Quick Link – IOB to IGC

INDIAN AFFAIRS

Four Day National AROGYA Fair Begins in Goa

A National level AROGYA Fair organized by the Ministry of AYUSH in association with Goa State Government and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) began in Goa at Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium at Goa University Campus at Bambolim near Panaji. The four day fair aims to create awareness among the members of the public about the efficiency of the AYUSH systems, their cost-effectiveness and the availability of herbs and plants used for prevention and treatment of common ailments at their doorstep through various mass media channels to achieve the objective of Health for all.

Goa, the smallest state in India, is located in the Western corner of India in Konkan region. Goa is known for its beaches.
It is interesting to note that per capital GDP of Goa is highest in India and is considered the richest state in India. The people of Goa live a high quality of life.
There are two UNESCO World Heritage sites in Goa such as Basilica of Bom Jesus and Churches and remains of Old Goa.
For a small state, Goa has an astounding number of bars. In total, there are about 7000 bars and almost all of them are licensed to serve alcohol.
Goa’s Naval Aviation Museum is one of a kind and Asia’s first and only one. There are only about six other such museums in the world.

Quick Link – National AROGYA Fair

Mizoram signs MoU with JICA for promoting Sustainable Agriculture

Mizoram government and Japanese International Cooperative Agency (JICA) have signed an MoU on ‘Capacity Enhancement for Sustainable Agriculture and Irrigation Development’.

The MoU will pave way for experts of the Japanese company to undertake technical cooperation project on the company’s expense in four rural development blocks in Aizawl, Serchhip, Kolasib and Champhai districts.
Under it training programmes would be conducted in Japan both for farmers and officials from Mizoram for three times.
The project will be undertaken based on the development study conducted by JICA during 2013 and 2015.
Based on this study, it had formulated a master plan covering 20 years and the technical cooperation project would commence from October 2016 till September 2021.

The word “Mizoram” can be broken into three parts as follows,

“mi” means“People”,
“zo” means“Hill” and
“ram” means“Country”.

Thus, Mizoram stands for “Country of the people of Hilly regions”.

Its capital city is Aizawl. Aizawl is famous for scenic beauty and high quality fresh fruits. Aizawl is a major tourist destination.

Mizoram is famous for Jhum Cultivation. Their daily life revolved around agricultural activities.

The Mizos came under the influence of the British Missionaries in the 19th century. Now most of the Mizos are Christians.

Quick Link – Mizoram signs with JICA

BHEL commissioned 600 MW Jaipur Thermal Power Plant in Telangana

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), a Maharatna central public sector enterprise, has successfully commissioned a 600 Mw coal-based thermal power plantin Telangana. The company has built 600 Mw rating sets which comprise of a four cylinder turbine, designed in-house.

With the commissioning of the unit, Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) has successfully diversified into the power generation business.
The heavy engineering major had earlier commissioned a 600 Mw thermal power plant at Kakatiya in the state in last December.
The company commissioned 85 per cent of the coal-based power stations in Telangana amounting to 5,180 Mw.
The state government has recently placed orders with the company for executing around 6,000 Mw of thermal power projects in the state on engineering procurement construction basis.
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) owned by the Government of India, is a power plant equipment manufacturer and operates as an engineering and manufacturing company based in New Delhi, India.
Established in 1964, BHEL is India’s largest engineering and manufacturing company of its kind. The company has been earning profits continuously since 1971-72 and paying dividends uninterruptedly since 1976-77.
It has been granted the prestigious Maharatna status in 2013 by Govt of india for its outstanding performance.The elite list of maharatna contains another 6 behemoth PSU companies of India.

Quick Link – BHEL 600 MW Jaipur

Andhra Pradesh Government inaugurates country’s first lift irrigation project

Andhra Pradesh government is all set to inaugurate Pattiseema lift irrigation project. The project is described as the first river linking project in country. The project deals with connecting Godavari with Krishna.

The first pump of this Rs 1,300-crore project was installed and switched on in September, 2015, about six months after the project contract was awarded to Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) on condition to complete the entire project in one year.
The project was designed to lift 80 tmc (trillion metric cubic feet) of flood water in a span of 110 days during the flooding season between July and October from Godavari as was permitted by the Godavari Water Dispute Tribunal (GWDT) from the ongoing Polavaram Multi-purpose Irrigation Project.
The government had come up with the idea of building a lift irrigation scheme at Pattiseema village in Polavaram Mandal in West Godavari district in January 2015 to quickly get Godavari water to meet the irrigation needs of Krishna delta, which was started facing increased water shortage in recent times, as the main project was expected to take a longer time.
From this project, water is pumped up to a nearby point and discharged into Polavaram Right Main Canal, which carry water by gravity to a tributary of River Krishna about 170 km away in the neighboring Krishna district above the Prakasham barrage.

Quick Link – Pattiseema

GOI starts survey to find enemy properties

With the aim of finding new enemy properties, the government has launched a survey in five States, for identification of movable and immovable assets once held by people who migrated to Pakistan. The five states are Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Delhi.

In order to detect more enemy properties in the States by conducting the survey in an organised manner, the Home Ministry has appointed 65 personnel, including 50 surveyors and 15 accountancy and management personnel, for the task.
After the Indo-Pak war of 1965 and 1971, many people migrated to that country subsequent to which the Indian government, in accordance with the Defence of India Rules, framed under the Defence of India Act, took over the properties and companies of such persons who had taken Pakistani nationality.
These ‘enemy properties’ were vested by the Central government in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India.
Among the enemy properties under the jurisdiction of custodian of Enemy Property of India in Mumbai are ₹310 crore worth fixed deposits, treasury bills and government stock, ₹177.6 crore worth bank balance and ₹37.54 lakh gold and silver jewellery, as on December 31, 2015.
There are several thousand crores of rupees worth of ‘enemy properties’ spread across the country.
The survey was ordered before the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016, which sought to amend the Enemy Property Act, 1968, was referred to a Rajya Sabha House Committee for detailed scrutiny last fortnight.

Quick Link – Survey to find enemy properties

ENVIRONMENT

India and China led investments in renewable energy in 2015: UN

According to the report by UN, India and China led developing countries in investments made in renewable energy in 2015. For the first time commitments in solar, wind and other renewables capacity by emerging economies surpassed those by wealthy nations

The report ‘Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2016’ by the UN Environment Programme said the developing world including China, India and Brazil committed a total of USD 156 billion in new renewables capacity last year, up 19 per cent from 2014.
Investments by developed countries were down eight per cent in 2015 to USD 130 billion.
The year 2015 was the first time when investment in renewables in developing countries outweighed that in developed economies, the report said.
A large part of the record-breaking investment in developing countries took place in China, which lifted its investment by 17 per cent to USD 102.9 billion, more than a third of global commitments.
India was also among the top 10 investing countries in renewable energy, with its commitments rising 22 per cent to USD 10.2 billion.

Quick Link – Renewable Energy Investment 2016

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Union Cabinet approves India-UAE pact for $75 billion investment in NIIF

The Union Cabinet on 23 March 2016 gave its ex-post facto approval for a MoU between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to mobilise long term investment into the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).

The MoU is a part of India’s efforts to mobiles funds for infrastructure development from the UAE.

Earlier, in August 2015, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit both the countries agreed to set up the UAE-India Infrastructure Investment Fund with the aim of reaching a target of 75 billion US dollars.

The fund will support investment in India’s plans for rapid expansion of next generation infrastructure, especially in railways, ports, roads, airports and industrial corridors and parks.

Features of the MoU

It seeks to mobilize funds to develop commercially viable projects including greenfield, brownfield and stalled projects.
It will facilitate establishment of a transparent and high-level framework and collaboration platform for smooth flow of investments for this purpose.
It will augment investments from UAE’s investment institutions in appropriate infrastructure projects and institutions in India including NIIF.
A joint working group comprising of the concerned representatives of both parties will be set up to terms, principles and criteria jointly.

National Investment and Infrastructure Fund

The fund was approved by the Union Cabinet in July 2015 to fund new and rejuvenate stressed projects so that stalled investment cycle is revived in the country.
It was established as a Category II Alternate Investment Funds (AIF) as per the regulations of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
It has an initial corpus of 20000 crore rupees which can be leveraged by infrastructure companies including Indian Rail Finance Corporation (IRFC) and National Housing Bank (NHB).

Quick Link – NIIF

OBITUARY

Actor Peter Brown dies at 80

Peter Brown, who had starring roles in two television westerns in the 1950s and ’60s and later acted in soap operas, has died at the age of 80 due to Parkinson’s disease.

Mr. Brown played Deputy Johnny McKay on “Lawman,” which was seen on ABC from 1958 until 1962.
His character was the wide-eyed but tough sidekick of Marshal Dan Troop, played by John Russell, tasked with bringing order to Laramie, Wyo.
Mr. Brown later starred as Chad Cooper, a Texas Ranger, in the 1965-67 NBC series “Laredo.”
He also appeared in films, including “Darby’s Rangers,” “Merrill’s Marauders,” “Summer Magic,” “Ride the Wild Surf” and “Foxy Brown.”
As television westerns fell out of favor, Mr. Brown found success on soap operas.
He played Dr. Greg Peters on “Days of Our Lives” from 1972 to 1978 and was also seen on “Loving” in 1983, “The Young and the Restless” from 1989 to 1991, and “The Bold and the Beautiful” from 1991 to 1992.

Quick Link – Peter Brown Passes away

Former minister Anand Gajapathi Raju passes away

Former State Minister and MP Pusapati Anand Gajapathi Raju has passed away at the age of 65 and is survived by wife and a daughter. Union Civil Aviation Minster Ashok Gajapathi Raju is his younger brother.

Anand was elder son of Raja Saheb of Vizianagaram P.V.G. Raju.
He was Minister in N.T. Rama Rao’s cabinets twice and was elected from Bobbili Parliamentary constituency twice, one on Congress ticket and later on Telugu Desam ticket.
He had also contested from Visakhapatnam to the Lok Sabha.
Anand became chairman of MANSAS after his father’s demise.
MANSAS is a trust formed by the late PVG Raju to run several educational and other institutions. Anand was also a journalist and worked with THE HINDU for a few years.
He was hereditary trustee of 108 temples established or supported by the Vizianagaram royal family, including the Simhachalam Varahalakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple, Ramatheerthalu temple near Vizianagaram, and other temples.

The former Minister was ailing for some time and was having respirator problem.

Quick Link – Anand Gajapathi Raju passes away

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