Current Affairs Update – 18th March, 2015

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the current affairs for 18 March, 2015.

• The Union Cabinet on 17 March 2015 approved the Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill, 2015 to deal with cases relating to black money stashed away in other countries.

• Concealment of income and assets and evasion of tax in relation to foreign assets will be prosecutable with punishment of rigorous imprisonment up to 10 years. 
• Penalty for such concealment of income and assets at the rate of 300% of tax shall be levied
• The government will give a short window to those stashing black money abroad to declare their wealth, pay taxes and penalty, and escape prosecution under the proposed law.
• Non filing of return or filing of return with inadequate disclosure of foreign assets will be liable for prosecution with punishment of rigorous imprisonment up to 7 years.
• Date of Opening of foreign account would be mandatorily required to be specified by the assessee in the return of income.
• The definition of proceeds of crime under PMLA is being amended to enable attachment and confiscation of equivalent asset in India where the asset located abroad cannot be forfeited.

• The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while presenting the Union Budget 2015-16 on 28 February 2015 had spelled out government’s intention to bring a law in the budget session of the Parliament to curb black money stashed abroad.

• Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank today said it has sold its profit making Russian subsidiary ICICI Bank Eurasia Limited Liability Company (IBEL) to Sovcombank -- marking its exit from Russia.
• With this sale, ICICI Bank has exited from Russia and will be left with operations in 18 countries including India.
• According to sources, the bank will cater to Russian clients through its subsidiaries in other countries.
• As on September 30, 2014, IBEL had total assets of 4.5 billion rouble and paid-up equity capital of 1.6 billion rouble.
• IBEL's profit after tax in the six months ended September 30, 2014 was 28 million rouble. The Russian subsidiary accounted for less than 0.1 per cent of ICICI Bank's consolidated total assets and profit.
• It had acquired entire paid-up capital of Investisionno- Kreditny Bank LLC (IKB LLC) which was renamed in 2005 in ICICI Bank Eurasia LLC -- one of the 150 largest Russian banks as per the Interfax data of 2008.

• The government on Wednesday launched a Rs 200 crore scheme to set up a network of technology and incubation centres to accelerate entrepreneurship and promote start-ups for innovation and entrepreneurship in agro-industry.
• The scheme envisages creation of a framework for start-up promotion through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) by using innovative means of finance like equity, quasi-equity, angel fund, venture capital fund, impact funds and challenge funds.
• In order to ensure that credit is available for start-ups, the MSME Ministry has created a fund of funds of Rs 60 crore to be channelised through SIDBI.
• The partner institutions would be provided Rs 3 lakh per innovative idea selected for nurturing.
• For successful commercialisation and mentoring, a grant of Rs 1 lakh per year for three years subject to a maximum of Rs 3 lakh would be given.
• The scheme also entails Rs 62.50 crore fund for setting up of incubation centres by National Small Industries Corporation or Khadi and Village Industries Commission or Coir Board or any other institution/agency of the state or central government.
• Besides, Rs 61.50 crore has been earmarked for setting up of technology incubation centres.
• A sum of Rs 2 crore has been allocated for creation, updation and maintenance of database of technology centres network while Rs 17.75 crore will be spent on capacity building, including awards, surveys, studies, exposure visits and engagement of consultants.

• India and Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding, seeking to strengthen the bilateral cooperation between the two nations in the textile sector.
• The MoU was signed by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Textiles Santosh Kumar Gangwar and Kyrgyzstan Minister of Energy and Industry Kubanychbek Turdubaev.
• According to a release by the Ministry of Textiles, the MoU seeks to enhance cooperation in development of trade, economic and investment relations; techno-commercial collaboration and joint trade missions; stimulation of investment cooperation; mutual assistance in research and development and technical collaboration in product development and manufacturing, testing and certification, among other areas.
• In the meeting between Gangwar and Turdubaev, the visiting dignitary expressed hope that the bilateral trade between the two countries increases from the existing USD 25 million to USD 2.5 billion.
• India and Kyrgyzstan have also agreed to setting up a joint working group (JWG) to explore areas of cooperation within the scope of the MoU and the steps required to facilitate bilateral trade and investment.

• All-rounder Jean-Paul Duminy today became the first South African bowler and ninth overall to notch up a World Cup hat-trick, wrecking the Sri Lankans with his enterprising off-breaks in the mega-event’s first quarterfinal here.
• Duminy joined Steven Finn in the hat-trick takers’ list of this edition, finishing with figures of three for 29 from his miserly nine overs — one of which was a maiden.
• Duminy thus became the ninth bowler to grab a World Cup hat-trick and interestingly, did it ahead of the team’s frontline bowlers. He is the first spinner after Pakistan’s Saqlain Mushtaq (1999) to achieve the feat.
• The World Cup hat-trick takers’ list features only one Indian in Chetan Sharma, who accomplished the feat way back in 1987 against New Zealand.
• In another statistical milestone, Sri Lankan veteran Kumar Sangakkara became the sixth player to score 500 runs in the World Cup. Sangakkara, who needed four runs to reach the mark ahead of today’s match, produced a slow-paced 45-run knock against the Proteas.

• Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara might not have got a fairytale ending to their final ODI match of their glorious careers but the veterans smiled through the disappointment as they fondly recounted their respective journeys.
• The duo had already called time on their respective ODI careers before the 50-over showpiece event and it all ended on a bitterly disappointing note as Sri Lanka bowed out with a nine-wicket loss to South Africa in the quarterfinal here today.
• Sangakkara, who came into this game with record four consecutive ODI hundreds, scored a valiant 45 but saw an abject surrender from all the other Lankan batsmen as the innings folded for 133 in 37.2 overs.

• Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain on 15 March 2015 won the 2015 Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia. Only 11 cars were able to take the chequered flag.
• This was the first Australian Grand Prix win for Lewis Hamilton since 2008 and overall it was his 34th Grand Prix.
• Hamilton, who led the race from start to finish, was followed by teammate Nico Rosberg (second place), Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari), Felipe Massa (Williams).

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party scored a resounding victory in the country’s election, final results showed on Wednesday, a stunning turnaround after a tight race that had put his lengthy rule in jeopardy.
• With nearly all the votes counted, Likud appeared to have earned 30 out of parliament’s 120 seats and was in a position to be able to build a coalition government with its right-wing and religious allies with relative ease.
• The election was widely seen as a referendum on Mr. Netanyahu, who has governed the country for the past six years. Recent opinion polls indicated he was in trouble, giving chief rival Isaac Herzog of the opposition Zionist Union a slight lead. Exit polls showed the two sides deadlocked but once the actual results came pouring in early Wednesday, Likud soared forward. Zionist Union wound up with just 24 seats.

• Japan government today signed agreements with four Indian non-profit organisations, under which the Asian nation will financially aid them to improve infrastructure and expand their humanitarian activities.
• The projects include expansion of vocational training centre for persons with disabilities in Delhi, construction of shelter homes in Amroha in Uttar Pradesh for destitute and helpless old-aged people picked up from the streets of Delhi.
• The other two projects are -- construction of community health clinic in Khamrang village, in Lolasib district in Mizoram and out-patient department for poor in Agra.
• Ambassador of Japan to India Takeshi Yagi and representatives from the four organisations signed the agreements at the Japanese Embassy here under Japan's 'Grant Assistance for Grassroots Project (GGP)'.

• India will host the seventh Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) in 2016. This was announced by Home Minister of India Rajnath Singh on 17 March 2015 at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai, Japan.
• Also, this will be the first AMCDRR to be hosted by India in the post-2015 framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, though India had hosted the Second AMCDRR in 2007.
• The conference in 2016 will be held in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).
• The ministerial conference is set to endorse a regional implementation plan of the new post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction. This will form a key element of the initial global effort to implement the new framework.

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