Hello and welcome to exampundit. Here are the important Current Affairs Today 15th and 16th March 2020. These are important for the upcoming Exams. Candidates who were preparing for the examination can use these current affairs and also you can download the same as PDF.
Current Affairs Today – 15th and 16th March 2020
NEWS AT A GLANCE
- World Consumer Rights Day is observed on 15 March.
- India observes National Vaccination Day every year on 16th March.
- HIL (India) Limited, in association with Union Bank of India, launched “Customer Payment Portal” in New Delhi.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revised the single borrower and group exposure limit for Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs).
- Government hiked the Excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs.3 per litre on 14 March. The move is due to the fall in international oil prices.
- Government of India pledged $10 million toward a Covid-19 emergency fund.
- The Chief Justice of India (CJI) ruled out the complete shutdown of the Supreme court (SC) and other courts. SC is to launch virtual courts.
- The Minister of State (I/C) for Power and New and Renewable Energy Shri R K Singh launched the new website of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy on 14 March.
- Centre is to introduce an Industrial Policy for the rapid economic development of Jammu and Kashmir.
- Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has announced the biggest ever scheme for the welfare of sportspersons and artists of the State.
- Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat celebrated the traditional harvest festival “Phool Dei”.
- Niue has become the world’s first whole country recognised as a ‘Dark Sky Place’ by the International Dark-Sky Association’s (IDA), which has approved the island’s application for the protection of its sky, land and sea.
- Ministry of Civil Aviation is to expand various factors, including Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs), modern airports, FDI in domestic airlines, advanced IT in order to increase the regional connectivity across the country.
- The 39th GST Council meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman on 14 March in New Delhi.
- India has been ranked 12th in the world as per study titled ‘Women On Board 2020’.
- India’s second-largest national oil explorer Oil India Ltd (OIL), signed an agreement with Numaligarh Refinery for purchase and sale of crude oil for a term of five years.
- WION (World Is One News), the India’s first International News Channel,has organized its 3rd edition of Global summit 2020 based on the theme “Navigating and negotiating global imperatives” at The Oberoi, in Dubai, UAE ( United Arab Emirates).
- Prashant Kumar has been appointed as Chief Executive and Managing Director of the Yes Bank.
- The Central Government has nominated Debasish Panda as a Director on the Central Board of Reserve Bank of India.
- Indian cricketer Shardul Thakur appointed as the brand ambassador of Tata Power, the largest power generation company in India which aims to provide uninterrupted power supply from its various plants located across India.
- Ace Indian paddler of Table Tennis, Achanta Sharath Kamal wins the ITTF Challenger Plus Oman Open men’s singles title.
- Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei have won the men’s and women’s singles title respectively at All England Championship.
- Microsoft has launched a web portal to track the spread of COVID-19 worldwide. The web portal has been launched by Microsoft’s Bing team. The website is accessible at “bing.com/covid” and provides up-to-date infection statistics for each country
- Dana Zatopkova (97), a former Czechoslovak javelin-thrower, passed away on 13th March 2020.
NEWS IN DETAILS
IMPORTANT DAYS AND THEMES
World Consumer Rights day is observed on 15 March
- World Consumer Rights Day is observed on 15 March.
- The consumer movement marks 15 March with World Consumer Rights Day every year.
- The day aims to raise global awareness about consumer rights and needs.
- Aim: The day aims to demand that the rights of all consumers are respected and protected, and to protest against market abuses and social injustices which undermine those rights.
- Theme of World Consumer Rights Day 2020: “The Sustainable Consumer”.
National Vaccination Day: 16th March
- India observes National Vaccination Day every year on 16th March.
- The day is also known as National Immunization Day.
- The Government of India celebrates National Vaccination Day every year to convey the importance of vaccination to the people of the country.
- In the year 1995, the first dose of an oral vaccine against polio was given in India.
- India has been observing the Pulse Polio Programme since 1995.
- The prime purpose behind the celebration of National Vaccination Day is to make all people aware of arming against polio and eradicating it completely from the world.
BANKING AND FINANCE CURRENT AFFAIRS
HIL India Limited launched Customer Payment Portal
- HIL (India) Limited, in association with Union Bank of India, launched “Customer Payment Portal” in New Delhi.
- It was launched by Dr. S.P. Mohanty, Chairman, and Managing Director, Shri. Anjan Banerjee, Director Finance) of HIL (India) Limited; and Shri R. K. Jaglan, Head, Government Business Department, Shri G. K. Sudhakar Rao, Regional Head Delhi South of Union Bank of India.
Customer Payment Portal:
- The portal collects the payment from its customers of HIL through various online modes for faster and smoother collection of dues.
- It will help the customers to pay their dues in a quick and convenient manner by any Debit Card, Credit Card, Net Banking, UPI, or online wallets from their homes or offices.
- The new initiative will provide a one-step platform facilitating online payment, data maintenance, customized MIS report, and seamless reconciliation of financial records.
RBI lowers single & group borrower exposure limit for UCBs
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revised the single borrower and group exposure limit for Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs).
- The exposure limit for Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) has been lowered to reduce the concentration risks originating from large loans.
- It has been revised in the following manner.
Highlights:
- RBI has lowered the single borrower exposure limit for urban cooperative banks (UCBs) to 15% of tier I capital. This limit was earlier 15% of tier I and tier II capital.
- RBI has lowered the group of borrowers exposure limit for urban cooperative banks (UCBs) to 25% of tier I capital. This limit was earlier 40% of tier I and tier II capital.
- According to the RBI, the existing exposures limits for single and group borrowers should be revised by the banks as per the new exposure limits by 31 March 2023.
- The new limits will also apply to all fresh loans.
- RBI also stated that the UCBs should have at least 50% of their aggregate loans and advances of not more than Rs 25 lakh or 0.2% of their tier I capital, whichever is higher, up to a maximum of Rs 1 crore, per borrower.
- While those UCBs which do not aligns with above conditions at present should comply with these norms by 31 March 2024.
- RBI has decided to increase the Priority Sector Lending (PSL) target for UCBs from 40% to 75% of the Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC), or Credit Equivalent Amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure (CEOBSE).
- These norms will also have to be fulfilled by 31 March 2024.
Extra Shots:
RBI: The Reserve Bank of India is India’s central banking institution, which controls the issuance and supply of the Indian rupee.
- Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Governor: Shaktikanta Das
- Deputy Governors: B P Kanungo, M K Jain
NATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS
GoI hiked Excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs.3 per litre
- Government hiked the Excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs.3 per litre on 14 March. The move is due to the fall in international oil prices.
Hike on Petrol & Diesel:
- Special excise duty on petrol was hiked by Rs.2 to Rs.8 per litre incase of petrol and to Rs.4 per litre incase of diesel.
- Government has also raised the road cess on petrol by Rs.1 per litre each on petrol and diesel to Rs.10 per litre.
- The increase in excise duty would result in a hike in petrol and diesel prices, but most of it is expected to be adjusted against the fall in rates that would have necessitated because of a slump in international oil prices.
India pledged $10 million toward a Covid-19 emergency fund
- Government of India pledged $10 million toward a Covid-19 emergency fund.
- India also planned to put together a rapid response team of doctors and specialists for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) nations.
- India suggested Integrated Disease Surveillance Portal (IDSP) that is currently being used to detect infected patients and contact tracing.
- The leaders proposed that health secretaries and experts from all SAARC member nations should coordinate to monitor and curb the spread of Covid-19.
Extra Shots:
SAARC: The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
- Founded: 8 December 1985, Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Headquarters: Kathmandu, Nepal
CJI ruled out complete shutdown of SC and other courts
- The Chief Justice of India (CJI) ruled out the complete shutdown of the Supreme court (SC) and other courts. SC is to launch virtual courts.
- These virtual courts will hold trials in the top court, and it will be limited.
- SC commenced on 16 March 2020.
Highlights:
- Also, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association (SCAORA) were directed to ensure proper communications with the members of the bar with regard to the awareness of self-discipline and also motivate the members to disclose and self-restrain from attending courts.
- Sick persons with symptoms of cough and cold were asked not to attend court.
- Members of the bar should be prepared to accept and promote the e-filing and video conference of court halls.
- No adverse orders are to pass, and adjournments will be granted leniently.
R K Singh launched the new website of Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
- The Minister of State (I/C) for Power and New and Renewable Energy Shri R K Singh launched the new website of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy on 14 March.
- He directed that the sectoral updation of the site should be personally ensured at the senior level so that it maintains pace with time.
New Website:
- The website is hosted by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) server.
- The new website was developed with an aim to look into the present need for quick and accurate information dissemination needs of the Ministry with the latest techniques to make it more informative, interactive, and user-friendly, including persons with visual disabilities.
- The responsive design of the website will enable ease of access from various devices, including mobile phones.
- The website will optimized user interface, three-click interfaces, Rubik’s cube structure, and improvised search options.
- The website has been designed with a Structured back end content management system (CMS) to manage the website with minimum sources and less time-consuming.
- The website has additional portals such as Akshay Urja Portal and India Renewable Idea Exchange (IRIX).
- It provides well identifiable links for all the activities of the Ministry to provide the information at ease.
- Two language interfaces are provided on the website to make the contents reachable to a wider public. Ministry’s social media such as Facebook, youtube, and twitter are linked on the homepage of the web site.
Centre to introduce Industrial Policy to boost economic development of JK
- Centre is to introduce an Industrial Policy for the rapid economic development of Jammu and Kashmir, soo,
- The information was announced by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Highlights:
- J&K attracts Rs.13,000 crore for the last 70 years. With the new policy, GoI aims to triple the investment by 2024 in the region.
- Government has assured to take all steps for the overall development of the region.
- Central Government works with all sections of the society to realize the hopes of statehood for J&K at an early opportunity.
- A reasonable Economic Development Policy will be drafted soon after widespread consultation.
- A Commission will be set up soon for the implementation of the policy in the UT. The policy will reach Gujjars, nomads, and other communities.
STATE CURRENT AFFAIRS
Manipur CM announces scheme’s to encourage athletes & artists
- Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh has announced the biggest ever scheme for the welfare of sportspersons and artists of the State.
- ‘Chief Minister’s Akhannaba Sanaroising gi Tengbang (CMAST)’ and Chief Minister Artist Sing gi Tengbang (CMAT)’ scheme would provide benefits to thousands of sportspersons and artistes of the State who have brought laurels to the State and Country.
‘Chief Minister’s Akhannaba Sanaroising gi Tengbang (CMAST)’
- Under the CMAST Scheme, suitable employment in government services is going to be provided to sportspersons, who have won medals in notified disciplines in selected International Sports events.
- The scheme would also support the sportspersons on purchasing of costly sports items.
- Also, cash awards for Olympic participants are enhanced to 1 crore, 75 lakh, 50 lakh and 10 lakh rupees for various categories.
- Sportsperson who have represented in National and International tournaments and are unemployed would tend lifetime pension.
Extra Shots:
Manipur
- Capital– Imphal
- Chief Minister: N. Biren Singh
- Governor– Najma Heptulla
Traditional “Phool Dei” festival begins in Uttarakhand
- Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat celebrated the traditional harvest festival “Phool Dei”.
- The festival also showcases the inner bonding between the communities who all are residing in the hills.
- Phool Dei is celebrated on the first day of Chaitra or in mid-March (according to Gregorian calendar).
- On this day young girls carry out most of the rituals and they are the most eager participants.
- On this traditional festival young girls pluck the first flowers of the season to decorate their houses with flowers and the term ‘Dei’ refers to ceremonial pudding which is the key food in the festival that is made from jaggery, Whiteflour & curd, are offered to everyone.
Extra Shots:
Uttarkhand
- Capital- Dehradun
- Governor- Baby Rani maurya
- CM-Trivendra Singh Rawat
- National Park -Jim Corbett NP, Gangotri NP, Nanda Devi NP, Rajaji NP
INTERNATIONAL CURRENT AFFAIRS
Niue declared world’s first ‘Dark Sky nation’
- Niue has become the world’s first whole country recognised as a ‘Dark Sky Place’ by the International Dark-Sky Association’s (IDA), which has approved the island’s application for the protection of its sky, land and sea.
- Niue is a small island nation in the South Pacific Ocean.
- Niue to be the first country to become a dark sky nation was a massive accomplishment for a small Pacific nation with a population of just over 1600 people.
- Niue now has dark-sky status from the southern edge of Mutalau Village to the northern edge of Hakupu Village.
SUMMITS AND CONFERENCES
Wings India 2020 concluded in Hyderabad
- Ministry of Civil Aviation is to expand various factors, including Low-Cost Carriers (LCCs), modern airports, FDI in domestic airlines, advanced IT in order to increase the regional connectivity across the country.
- The information was passed by Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, the Union Minister (I/C) of Civil Aviation at the “Wings India 2020” in Hyderabad.
- GoI also plans to bring aviation turbine fuel under Goods and Services Tax (GST), and by and large, there is an acknowledgment from across states to make it happen.
Wings India 2020:
- The International conference and exhibition on the Civil Aviation sector Wings India 2020 was held from 12-15 March at Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad, India.
- It was organized by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airports Authority of India (AAI) along with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Extra Shots:
Telangana:
- Capital: Hyderabad
- Chief Minister: K. Chandrashekar Rao
- Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan
The 39th GST Council meeting was held
- The 39th GST Council meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman on 14 March in New Delhi.
- Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur, along with Finance Ministers of States/UTs and seniors officers of the Ministry of Finance, participated in the meeting.
Highlights:
- The officials discussed the issues faced by the taxpayers in the GST system. A summary of the recently observed IT issues, and the way forward to resolve them was submitted.
- The meeting focused on smoothening the rollout of the new return system and ensured the transition to the new return system is made in an incremental manner.
- The meeting addressed the compliance-related issues so that the problem of tax evasion and gaming of the system due to non-linking of FORM GSTR-1 and FORM GSTR-3B is addressed immediately.
- The officials stated that in order to tackle and prevent the gaming of the system, implementation of Aadhaar authentication and spike rules would be initiated.
Extra Shots:
GST Council:
- GST Council governs the tax rates, rules, and regulations in the country. It is chaired by the Finance Minister of India. The council consists of the finance ministers of the central government and all the states.
RANKS AND INDICES
India ranked 12th globally in ‘Women On Board 2020’ study
- India has been ranked 12th in the world as per study titled ‘Women On Board 2020’.
- The list was topped by Norway with 40.72% women on board.
- A study on ‘Women On Board 2020’ has been done jointly by global recruitment tendering platforms MyHiringClub and Sarkari-Naukri.
- The 7824 listed companies across 36 countries were considered for the study. From India, 628 listed companies participated in an online study.
- The study was based on the presence of women in companies’ board globally.
AGREEMENTS AND MOU SIGNED
OIL signed agreement with Numaligarh Refinery for crude oil sale
- India’s second-largest national oil explorer Oil India Ltd (OIL), signed an agreement with Numaligarh Refinery for purchase and sale of crude oil for a term of five years.
- The agreement was signed by the finance directors of the two companies.
Agreement:
- The Crude Oil Sales Agreement (COSA) will come in effect from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2025.
- The agreement will streamline the sale and purchase transactions of crude oil produced from fields in North East India.
Extra Shots:
OIL: Oil India Limited is the second largest hydrocarbon exploration and production Indian public sector company with its operational headquarters in Duliajan, Assam, India.
- Headquarters: Noida
- Owner: Government of India
- Founded: 18 February 1959
- CEO: Sushil Chandra Mishra
3rd edition of WION Global Summit 2020 held in Dubai,UAE
- WION (World Is One News), the India’s first International News Channel, has organized its 3rd edition of Global summit 2020 based on the theme “Navigating and negotiating global imperatives” at The Oberoi, in Dubai, UAE ( United Arab Emirates).
Hightlights:
- It saw the participation of global leaders to engage in dialogue on a common global agenda to underscore the critical challenges of climate change, global governance, economic slowdown, and global crisis that threatens to become the new normal.
- The Summit focused on 4 key sessions namely- India and the Emerging World focusing on the dynamics, Balancing and Recalibrating Pakistan’s Diplomatic Strategy, Climate change & Global Leaders forum.
- During the event, Former Pakistan Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri recalled the plan for Sir Creek pact.
Extra Shots:
UAE (Capital/Currency): Abu Dhabi/Dirham
- President: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
APPOINTMENT
Prashant Kumar becomes new MD & CEO of YES Bank
- Prashant Kumar has been appointed as Chief Executive and Managing Director of the Yes Bank.
- Kumar was earlier appointed as the YES Bank administrator. Sunil Mehta, former non-executive chairman of Punjab National Bank, has been appointed as non-executive chairman of YES Bank.
- Mahesh Krishnamurthy will serve as a non-executive director of the bank, while Atul Bheda as a non-executive director.
- The investor bank, State Bank of India, will nominate two officers as directors.
Extra Shots:
Yes Bank: Yes Bank Limited is an Indian private sector bank, founded by Rana Kapoor and Ashok Kapur in 2004. It primarily operated as a corporate bank, with retail banking and also asset management as subsidiary function.
- CEO: Prashant Kumar
- Headquarters: Mumbai
- Tagline: Experience our Expertise
GoI nominated Debasish Panda as director on RBI central board
- The Central Government has nominated Debasish Panda as a Director on the Central Board of Reserve Bank of India.
- He is a Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, New Delhi.
- The nomination of Debasish Panda is effective from March 11, 2020, and until further orders.
- There are two government nominated Directors on the board of RBI. The other one is Atanu Chakraborty.
Shardul Thakur appointed as brand ambassador of Tata Power
- Indian cricketer Shardul Thakur appointed as the brand ambassador of Tata Power, the largest power generation company in India which aims to provide uninterrupted power supply from its various plants located across India.
- This is his 1st major commercial endorsement & the campaign featuring him does have a significant presence in digital, radio & outdoors.
Extra Shots:
Tata Power:
- Headquarters: Mumbai. India
- MD & CEO:Praveer Sinha
SPORTS CURRENT AFFAIRS
Achanta Sharath Kamal wins men’s singles title in Oman Open
- Ace Indian paddler of Table Tennis, Achanta Sharath Kamal wins the ITTF Challenger Plus Oman Open men’s singles title.
- He beat top-seeded Marcos Freitas of Portugal 4-2 in the final played in Muscat.
- It was in 2010, Sharath bagged a title last time when he won the Egypt Open.
- Since then he made two semi-final appearances (Morocco Open in 2011 and India Open in 2017) but couldn’t manage to get through it.
Viktor Axelsen & Tai Tzu Ying wins All England Championship
- Viktor Axelsen of Denmark and Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei have won the men’s and women’s singles title respectively at All England Championship.
- All England Championship was held in Birmingham, England.
- This was the last badminton event before the Badminton World Federation’s suspension of all tournaments due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Viktor Axelsen of Denmark defeated Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien-chen by 21-13, 21-14 to win the men’s singles title of All England Championship.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Microsoft launches website to track COVID-19
- Microsoft has launched a web portal to track the spread of COVID-19 worldwide. The web portal has been launched by Microsoft’s Bing team.
- The portal aims to track the spread of novel coronavirus in the world.
- The website is accessible at “bing.com/covid” and provides up-to-date infection statistics for each country.
- A user can click on the country on an interactive map to see the specific number of cases of novel coronavirus infections in the country.
- The web portal displays the information by aggregating data from sources like the World Health Organization (WHO), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Extra Shots:
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology company with headquarters in Redmond, Washington. It develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services.
- CEO: Satya Nadella
- Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, United States
- Founders: Bill Gates, Paul Allen
OBITUARIES
Former Czech Olympic javelin champion Dana Zatopkova dies at 97
- Dana Zatopkova (97), a former Czechoslovak javelin-thrower, passed away on 13th March 2020.
- She is an Olympic javelin champion, won gold in the Helsinki Olympics in 1952 and won the Olympic silver in Rome in 1960.
- Dana Zatopkova was born on September 19, 1922 in Frystát, Czechoslovakia.
- She also won a European championship in 1954 and 1958 and in 1958, she set the world record of 55.73 meters.
- Helsinki Organizing Committee declared her “the happiest gold medalist”.
- She served as a coach in 1960 and retired from the role in 1980.
