Current Affairs Update – 29th March, 2016

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the important Current Affairs of 29 March, 2016. These are important for the upcoming NABARD Assistant Manager Exam.

• The European Union, through the
  European Investment Bank (EIB), will lend India €450 million (approximately Rs.
  3,300 crore) towards constructing a 23-km long Lucknow Metro rail line and a
  purchasing a fleet of new trains.
• The EIB is the EU’s official bank
  and the world’s largest international public bank, and its loan will cover half
  of the total project costs for the Lucknow Metro. The first tranche of €200
  million will be signed on Wednesday, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
  visit to Brussels, as part of the 13th India E.U. Summit.
• The remaining tranches will be
  disbursed over the course of the project. Lucknow’s Metro is expected to
  increase the public transport mode share from 10% to 27% in the city of 3
  million.
• The EIB is also expected to announce
  the opening of its South Asia office in New Delhi during Mr. Modi’s visit on
  Wednesday. The office is expected to be operational by the end of the year.

• The government today permitted
  100 per cent FDI in the market place format of e-commerce retailing with a view
  to attract more foreign investments.
• As per the guidelines issued by
  the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) on FDI in e-commerce,
  foreign direct investment (FDI) has not been allowed in inventory-based model
  of e-commerce.
• At present, global e-tailer
  giants like Amazon and Ebay are operating online marketplaces in India while
  homegrown players like Flipkart and Snapdeal have foreign investments even as
  there were no clear FDI guidelines on various online retail models.
• To bring clarity, the DIPP has
  also come out with the definition of ‘e-commerce’, ‘inventory-based model’ and
  ‘market place model’.
• Market place model of e-commerce
  means providing of an IT platform by an e-commerce entity on a digital and
  electronic network to act as a facilitator between buyer and seller.
• The inventory-based model of
  e-commerce means an e-commerce activity where inventory of goods and services
  is owned by e-commerce entity and is sold to consumers directly, according to
  the guidelines.

• Anil Ambani-led Reliance Defence
  has inked a pact with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence System to set up a JV in
  India for specialised areas including air-to-air missiles that will oversee
  projects worth USD 10 billion (over Rs. 65,000 crore) in ten years.
• The venture will have 51 per cent
  holding from Reliance Defence and 49 per cent by Rafael as per the current
  guidelines of the government, it said.
• It will provide big thrust to the
  field of indigenous production and development of high precision and state of the
  art weapon systems in India.
• The partnership with technology
  power house and one of the world leaders in defence technologies, Rafael
  Advanced Defence Systems of Israel will mark the entry of Reliance Defence in
  the complex field of air-to-air missiles and air defence systems manufacturing
  in India, it said.
• Rafael is a market leader in
  air-to-air missile segment and has world renowned product like Python and
  Derby.
• Similarly, for the Air Defence
  Systems, Rafael portfolio includes SPYDER short range and medium range and
  Barak missiles family of Surface to Air Missiles in the short and medium range.

• Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N
  Chandrababu Naidu on 28 March 2016 dedicated the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation
  Project to the people of the state.
• The project is situated at
  Pattiseema village of Polavaram mandal in West Godavari district. It started
  functioning on a full-scale as the installation of all 24 pump sets was
  completed on 24 March 2016.

• It seeks to link the two major
  rivers of the state – Godavari and Krishna – to benefit farmers of Krishna and
  Guntur districts.
• Its primary objective is to use
  Godavari’s flood waters for the stabilisation of Krishna delta region that
  faces acute shortage of water for irrigation from June to August.
• At present, an estimated 80 TMC
  of the 3000 TMC of the Godavari’s flood waters goes waste into the sea every
  year.

• The first direct container MV
  Harbour-1 Vessel between India and Bangladesh carrying cotton was flagged off
  from Krishnapatnam of Andhra Pradesh to Chittagong on 28 March 2016.
• The voyage was started as a part
  of a coastal shipping agreement to facilitate trade between India and
  Bangladesh.
• The trade agreements were earlier
  signed during the reign of the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1974
  and they were revived back after a period of four decades during Prime Minister
  Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka in June 2015.

• A standard operating procedure
  was signed between India and Bangladesh in November 2015 to move commercial
  cargo between the two countries. The provisions and procedures to be followed
  for such movement were also stated.
• Many conditions were waived by
  both countries to facilitate easy bilateral trade. The vessels of both the
  countries upon entry in to India and Bangladesh shall be treated as domestic
  vessels and not foreign going vessels.
• The provision will play a key
  role in addressing the traffic congestion at Petrapole (India) and Benapole
  (Bangladesh) the two border points which pose as one of the biggest impediments
  to the movement of EXIM cargo.

• The Telecom Commission approved
  the number 112 as the single emergency number for India on 28 March 2016.   This is similar to 911 of United States and
  999 of United Kingdom.
• With this, Indian citizens in
  distress can just dial the single-number 112 for all emergency services such as
  police, ambulance and the fire department. It will direct the call to concerned
  departments immediately for help.
• The service will also be
  accessible even through those SIMs and landlines whose outgoing call facility
  has been stopped or temporarily suspended.
• A user will be able to make
  communication even through SMS and the system will learn about the location of
  the caller that will be shared with the nearest help centre.

• Tata Motors on 28 March 2016
  announced that it signed a follow-on contract with the Indian Army to supply
  619 units of its 6X6 high-mobility vehicle (HMV) multi-axle truck.
• This is in conjunction, to an
  earlier order awarded to Tata Motors for 1239 units of its 6X6 MMV. This is the
  single largest order awarded to an Indian private firm in land systems by the
  Indian Army under the Union Ministry of Defence, Defence Procurement Procedure
  (DPP).
• Built with a material handling
  crane, the Tata 6X6 HMV is meant for loading-unloading and transportation of
  ammunition pallets, spares and other operational equipment.

• The United Nations Children’s
  Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on 29 March 2016 launched animate film series ‘Unfairy
  Tales’.
• The series seeks to help frame
  positive perceptions towards the tens of millions of children and young people
  on the move globally.
• As per an estimate, at least 65
  million children and young people globally are on the move to escape conflict,
  poverty and extreme weather and find a stable life and a place to call home.

• It is a collection of 3
  animations that explain the horror behind fleeing of three children in real
  life.
• One story – “Ivine and the
  Pillow” – animates the true story of 14-year-old Ivine and her pillow, Pillow.
  After a perilous escape from Syria, Ivine settles at a refugee camp in Germany
  only to face new challenges.
• “Malak and the Boat”, tells the
  tale of a young girl’s voyage in a leaky boat.

• The Supreme Court of Bangladesh
  on 28 March 2016 upheld the status of Islam as the State religion. The ruling
  was given by the High Court Division of the court while dismissing a petition
  filed by Samendra Nath Goswami.
• Goswami challenged the legality
  of the constitutional provision of Islam as the state religion (8th
  Constitutional Amendment, 1988) despite revival of secularism as a fundamental
  state policy under a 2011 amendment to the Constitution.
• Bangladesh was formed out of
  Pakistan as a Muslim majority country in 1971. As per the 2011 census, around
  87 percent are Muslims and 12 percent are Hindus.
• However, the secularism principle
  was removed from the constitution in 1977 by the 5th amendment by Ziaur
  Rahman-led Government.
• Subsequently, Islam was declared
  as the state religion by the 8th amendment to the constitution in 1988.

• Russian grandmaster Sergey
  Karjakin on 28 March 2016 won the FIDE World Chess Candidates Tournament held
  in Moscow.
• In the final Round 14, the
  Russian grandmaster defeated American grandmaster Fabiano Caruana.
• Karjakin will now play with the
  incumbent world champion, Norwegian Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen, in a match for
  the world chess crown in the United States in November 2016.

Regards

Team ExamPundit

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