Current Affairs Update – 10th March, 2016

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the Important Current Affairs of 10th March, 2016.

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic
  Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 10 March 2016
  approved Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.
• The scheme seeks to provide free
  LPG connections to women from below poverty line (BPL) households and builds on
  the objective of achieving universal coverage of cooking gas in the country.
• Incidentally, this is the first
  time the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas would implement a welfare scheme
  benefitting crores of women belonging to the poorest households.

• Under the scheme, a financial
  support of 1600 rupees will be provided for each LPG connection to the BPL
  households.
• The identification of eligible
  BPL families will be made in consultation with the State Governments and the
  Union Territories.
• This will benefit about 1 crore
  50 lakh households below the poverty line in 2016-17.
• It will be implemented at an
  estimated cost of 8000 crore rupees over three years between April 2016 and
  March 2019 to cover 5 crore BPL households.
• It is complimentary to Prime
  Minister’s Give It Up campaign under which 75 lakh middle class and lower
  middle class households have voluntarily given up their cooking gas subsidy.

• Country’s largest private sector
  lender ICICI Bank Thursday launched a credit-linked subsidy scheme for home
  loans under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
• Under this scheme, individuals
  including women borrowers from the economically weaker section and low income
  group will be able to acquire and construct the first brick-and-mortar house of
  the family by paying significantly lower equated monthly installments (EMIs), ICICI
  Bank said in a statement.
• The scheme is available to those
  without a brick-and- mortar (pucca) house, with families comprising husband,
  wife and unmarried children.
• ICICI Bank has signed an MoU with
  National Housing Bank (NHB) to facilitate the credit-linked subsidy to eligible
  borrowers.
• Under the scheme, an eligible
  customer will get a subsidy at 6.5% per annum on a maximum amount of Rs 6 lakh
  or the loan amount, whichever is lower, for a maximum tenure of 15 years.

• HDFC Bank has shortlisted five
  start-ups that it will work with to strengthen their web, mobile and payment
  offerings. The company shortlisted five out of the 30 applications it had
  received in its maiden Digital Innovation Summit, it said on Thursday.
• The five companies shortlisted
  were Senseforth Technologies, an AI customer response system, Tagnpin, a
  marketing and customer engagement company, Safe 2 Pay, a point of sale-free
  payment system, Bugclipper, in-app feedback tool and Taptis Technology, a biometric
  payment company.
• The bank had previously tied up
  with the likes of Chillr, which not too long ago raised $6 million from Sequoia
  Capital, where it developed an ecosystem, which helped customers pay without a
  wallet.
• Senseforth Technology, a Bengaluru-based
  start-up, has developed a machine-learning tool to help chat with customer to
  solve customer queries.

• In a first, the Centre has
  initiated steps to develop the Automobile Servicing Cluster in Odisha under the
  ‘Micro and Small Enterprises – Cluster Development Programme (CDP)’ scheme.
• There are 52 big servicing units
  in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. In order to develop a cluster, the Government of
  India has approved to develop it under the MSE-CDP scheme. It is taken on a
  pilot basis to develop an automobile servicing cluster in the country.
• The Union ministry of Micro Small
  and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has approved setting up of common facility
  centres at Bargarh, Ganjam and Brahmagiri (in Puri district).

• The state-owned power equipment
  maker BHEL on Thursday said it has commissioned a 500 Mw unit at Anpara-D
  thermal power plant in Uttar Pradesh.
• With this, BHEL has added 2,320
  Mw of generating capacity in Uttar Pradesh in the current financial year, it
  said.
• This is a first of its kind
  project where the power plant has been set up on an abandoned ash pond, saving
  scarce land.
• Setting up of power plant on an
  ash pond requires special technological innovations in civil engineering.
  Successful execution of this project has offered an alternative option for
  future projects facing land constraints.

• The Union Cabinet on 10 March
  2016 gave its approval for entering into the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
  between India and the IMF for setting up of South Asia Regional Training and
  Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) in India.
• The Cabinet also authorised the
  Finance Minister to approve related decisions in respect of India’s
  contribution for setting up of the centre, including Letter of Understanding
  for financial contribution by India, site of the SARTTAC, representative of
  India on the Steering Committee on SARTTAC, etc.

• It will be a collaborative
  venture between the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and 6 member countries
  belonging to South Asia.
• It will help in capacity building
  of Government officials including State level in macro, fiscal, monetary
  policies by the IMF and greater coordination between the six member countries
  of South Asia.
• The six member countries are
  India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Additional member
  countries could join SARTTAC at a later stage.

• India and Bangladesh on 9 March
  2016 signed a 2 billion US dollar Line of Credit (LOC) to implement
  socio-economic development projects in Bangladesh and strengthen bilateral
  relations. The LOC was extended by Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) on
  behalf of the Government of India.
• The 2 billion US dollar LOC is
  the biggest credit line India has so far extended to any country.
• The LOC agreement to this effect
  was signed in Dhaka, Bangladesh by Yaduvendra Mathur, Chairman & Managing
  Director, EXIM Bank, and Mohammad Mejbahuddin, Senior Secretary, Economic
  Relations Division, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Government of the People’s
  Republic of Bangladesh.

• An e-commerce portal to sell
  famous brands of Pashmina products has been launched to boost global sale of
  this hand-woven fabric.
• The main aim of the e-portal is
  to sell 200 elite brands of Pashmina products throughout the world.
• Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir,
  Asgar Hussain Samoon launched the e-commerce portal, www.Phamb.co.in, for Pashmina
  products

• The Union Cabinet on 10 March
  2016 approved creation of a post of Nominated Authority in the Ministry of
  Coal.
• The post will be of Joint
  Secretary level and was created as per the Section 6 of Coal Mines (Special
  Provisions) Act, 2015.

• Conduct the auction process and
  allotment with the assistance of experts
• Execution of the vesting order
  for transfer and vesting of Schedule I coal mines pursuant to the auction
• Executing the allotment order for
  any Government company or corporation in pursuance of Section 5 of Coal Mines
  (Special Provisions) Act, 2015

• Drug major Lupin on 9 March 2016
  announced completion of the acquisition of privately held US-based GAVIS
  Pharmaceuticals LLC and Novel Laboratories (GAVIS).
• The acquisition of GAVIS Pharma
  was announced by Lupin of 23 July 2015.
• The deal was cash-free and
  debt-free and it was funded by a bridge loan, with 10 crore rupees from
  existing cash reserves deployed for it.
• With this acquisition, Lupin
  received access to a host of specialty generic drugs and niche products, mainly
  in dermatology, gastro-intestinal and injectables. GAVIS’s New-Jersey based
  manufacturing facility will now become Lupin’s first manufacturing site in the
  US.

• Tata Power Renewable Energy
  Limited (TPREL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Power, on 9 March 2016
  signed a Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Indo Rama Renewables Limited
  (IRRL) to acquire its 100% subsidiary Indo Rama Renewables Jath Limited
  (IRRJL). IRRJL owns a 30 MW wind farm in Sangli District of Maharashtra.
• IRRJL’s wind farm is fully
  operational since July 2013 and has executed a long-term power purchase
  agreement with Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Limited. The wind
  farm is registered under the Generation Based Incentive scheme of Ministry of
  New & Renewable Energy.
• With this acquisition, Tata
  Power’s total generation capacity will increase to 9130 MW and its operational
  Wind power generation capacity to 570 MW with wind turbines located across five
  states, which are Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
  TPREL also has 250 MW of wind projects under construction across Gujarat, Madhya
  Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

• The DIPP on 9 March 2016
  announced that it gave approval for 12 industrial licenses to the Reliance
  Defence Ltd, which a subsidiary of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure Ltd.
• The licenses were sanctioned to
  the Strategic Business Units (SBUs) of the company in February 2016 by the
  Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under the Union Ministry
  of Commerce and Industry.
• Reliance Defence Technologies
  Pvt. Ltd, Reliance Helicopters Ltd, Reliance Propulsion Systems Ltd, Reliance
  Aerostructure Ltd and Reliance Naval Systems Ltd are some of the SBUs under the
  Reliance Defence Ltd that got licenses.

• The Indian Space Research
  Organization (ISRO) on 10 March 2016 launched the country’s sixth Indian
  Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS)-1F, on board the trusted launch
  vehicle PSLV C-32.
• The lift off took place from the
  second launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre(SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikotta,
  India’s spaceport at 4:01pm. Satellite IRNSS-1F was launched after the
  54-and-a-half hour countdown that started on 8 March 2016.
• XL version of PSLV was used in
  PSLV-C32 and it was the twelfth time that the ‘XL’ configuration was flown.

• India and the United Arab
  Emirates (UAE) have agreed to cooperate in combating cybercrime in the wake of
  the serious security threat posed by it to safety of people.
• A Memorandum of Understanding
  (MoU) between India and UAE on Technical Cooperation in Cyber Space and
  Combating Cybercrime was signed last month.
• A meeting of the Union Cabinet,
  chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Thursday gave its ex-post approval for
  the MoU, an official spokesperson said.
• The enhancement of technical
  cooperation between India and UAE in cyber space and combating cybercrime came
  in the wake of the serious threat of cybercrime on the security, interest and
  safety of the people.

• The Union Government on 7 March
  2016 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on conservation of birds of
  prey in Africa and Eurasia at the Convention on Migratory Species Office in Abu
  Dhabi.
• The MoU was signed by T.P
  Seetharam, the Ambassador of India to the UAE.
• With the signing of the Raptor
  MoU, India became the 56th signatory state to sign it.
• The MoU is also in conformity
  with the provisions of the existing Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, wherein
  the birds have been accorded protection.

• The Rajya Sabha on 9 March 2016
  passed National Waterways Bill, 2015. The Bill seeks to unleash the navigation
  potential of India’s larger river ways resources.
• As part of this Bill, under entry
  24 of the Union List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, the Union
  government can make laws on shipping and navigation on inland waterways that
  are classified as national waterways.
• The Bill identifies additional
  101 waterways as national waterways. It also specifies the extent of
  development to be undertaken on each waterway.

• The Allahabad High Court (HC) on
  9 March 2016 asked the Uttar Pradesh (UP) to immediately stop illegal mining in
  reserved forest areas of Sonbhadra district.
• High Court’s bench of Chief
  Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Yashwant Varma took a strict note of illegal
  mining in the Sonbhadra and ordered the state Principal Secretary of Mining,
  District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police of Sonbhadra to take
  immediate action.
• The High Court also instructed
  the State government to take action against those officials, who are
  responsible for illegal mining.

• The Minister of State for Defence
  Rao Inderjit Singh on 9 March 2016 flagged off the first-ever all girls
  National Cadet Corps (NCC) Mount Everest expedition.
• The aim of mountaineering
  expeditions in NCC is to strengthen the character and instill qualities of
  courage, comradeship, discipline and leadership in the cadets. NCC has always
  been in the forefront in adventure activities.
• The all girls team comprising of
  10 girl cadets and 15 service personnel will be led by Colonel Gaurav Karki.
• The plan of conducting the
  first-ever NCC Girls Expedition to Mt Everest was proposed by Director General
  NCC Lt. Gen. A. Chakravarty in 2014.

• Lok Sabha, the lower house of
  Parliament, on 9 March 2016 passed the Enemy Property (Amendment and
  Validation) Bill, 2016. The bill seeks to make amendments to the 48-year-old
  Enemy Property Act, 1968.
• The amendments are aimed at
  plugging the loopholes in the Enemy Property Act to ensure that the enemy
  properties that have been vested in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India
  remain so and they do not revert back to the enemy subject or enemy firm.

• The bill guards against claims of
  succession or transfer of properties left by people who migrated to Pakistan
  after the 1965 and 1971 wars.
• The bill also includes the
  properties of those persons who migrated to China after the Indo-China War of
  1962.

• The Union Cabinet, presided by
  Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 10 March 2016 gave its approval for signing
  and ratification of the Bay of Bengal Initiative on Multi Sectoral Technical
  and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in
  Criminal Matters.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs has
  been designated as the Central Authority under Article 15 of the Convention.

• Altico Capital, a non-banking
  finance company (NBFC), promoted by Clearwater Capital, Abu Dhabi Investment
  Council and Varde Partners, has roped in banking veteran Naina Lal Kidwai as an
  independent non-executive director on its board.
• Kidwai’s presence on Altico’s
  board is expected to help the company to grow its business and enhance its
  brand, said Sanjay Grewal, Chief Executive Officer of Altico Capital.
• Altico, which is focused on real
  estate, is looking to invest about Rs 2,500 crore every year for the next five
  years in the Indian real estate market.
• Kidwai stepped down as
  chairperson of British lender HSBC India last year after serving the bank for
  13 years.

• Jean Arnault was on 9 March 2016
  appointed as the head of United National Political Mission in Columbia. An
  announcement in this regard was made by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in
  New York, the USA.
• In his new capacity, Arnault, a
  French national, will also serve as the Secretary-General’s Special
  Representative in Colombia.
• Before the present elevation, he
  had been serving as the Delegate of the Secretary-General to the Sub-Commission
  on End of Conflict Issues within the Colombia peace process.
• Earlier, Arnault moderated the
  peace process in Guatemala before being appointed the head of the verification
  mission in the country (MINUGUA).

• Tapan Kumar Chand was elected as
  the President of the Aluminium Association of India (AAI). His election took
  place unanimously on 29 February 2016 at the National Governing Council Meeting
  of the AAI in Bhubaneshwar.
• He succeed SK Roongta who is the
  former Chairman of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Vedanta Group.
• At present, Tapan Chand is the
  Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco),
  which is a Navaratna Central Public Sector Undertaking.

• Guwahati, the capital of Assam,
  followed by Pune has seen the highest appreciation in home prices in
  January-March quarter of 2015 on a yearly basis.
• According to the Residex by
  National Housing Bank (NHB), which tracks housing prices in 26 cities, Guwahati,
  has seen an increase of 9% while Pune has seen an increase of 8% in Jan-March
  quarter of 2015. The NHB Residex comes with a lag.
• Mumbai and Delhi NCR, the
  country’s two largest markets, did not fare very well. While Mumbai showed a
  growth of 4%, Delhi NCR saw a decline of 4.5%, Residex showed.
• Chennai and Kolkata, the other
  two metros, saw a growth of 4% and 3% respectively. bengaluru, the country’s IT
  capital, saw a growth of 7%.

• Eight popular brands from Gujarat
  have emerged as category leaders in a recently released study by TRA (formerly
  Trust Research Advisory) The Brand Trust Report, India Study 2016.
• The report features eight
  category leaders from Gujarat. Amul (All India Rank 41) has been listed as
  India’s Most Trusted Dairy-Diversified (F&B) brand. It is also holds the
  only reigning brand in the Butter Sub-Category.
• Fogg (All India Rank 67) leads in
  the Deo/Perfume Category followed by Axe and Wildstone. Sintex (All India Rank
  214) leads as India’s Most Trusted Brand in the Manufacturing-Diversified
  Category.
• While Astral Pipes (All India
  Rank 870) is the Most Trusted Brand in Pipes Category.Ajanta (All India Rank
  282) is a forerunner in the Home Care Category and correspondingly is the leader
  in the Clocks Sub-Category.
• Yet another brand from the
  region, Symphony (All India Rank 579) has been ranked as the Most Trusted Brand
  in the Coolers Sub-Category of the Durable list.

• Kuwait has banned imports of
  poultry products from India in the wake of incidents of bird flu virus in some
  states.
• In October only the gulf nation’s
  Public Authority of Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAFR) had lifted
  the ban on import of live birds, hatching eggs, one-year-old chicks for the egg
  laying hens and flesh hens from India.
• According to experts, as India
  mainly exports poultry products to the Middle East, this decision may impact
  exports prospects in the coming days.
• In 2014-15, Kuwait imported 24.2
  tonnes of poultry products, valued at USD 120,000.
• India’s poultry products export
  during April-December period of the current financial year increased to Rs 584
  crore from Rs 484 crore in the same period last year.

• Tezpur University in Assam has
  won annual Visitor’s award for ‘best university’. President Pranab Mukherjee is
  the Visitor of central universities.
• Jawaharlal Nehru University
  (JNU), the prestigious institution has bagged the President’s award for excellence
  in research and innovation.
• Mukherjee will present the
  Visitor’s awards for 2016 at a function to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on
  March 14, as part of the ‘Festival of Innovations’.
• The President had announced
  institution of these awards at the Vice Chancellors’ Conference in 2014 with
  the aim of promoting healthy competition amongst central universities and
  motivating them to adopt best practises from across the world.
• The Visitor’s award for
  innovation will be given to Prof Rakesh Bhatnagar for development of a
  genetically engineered vaccine and a therapeutic antibody against anthrax, it
  said.

• Eight time Grammy Award-winning
  Brazilian percussionist, Nana Vasconcelos, died on 9 March 2016 in Recife,
  Brazil. He was 71.
• The musician from Brazil was
  known for his wide instrumental range and major role in free spirited jazz and
  world music of the 1970s and 1980.

Regards

Team ExamPundit

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