Current Affairs Update – 4th and 5th March, 2016

Hello and welcome to ExamPundit. Here are the important Current Affairs of 4th and 5th March, 2016.
Current Affairs at a Glance – 4th and 5th
March, 2016
  1. Jalandhar based Capital Local Area Bank limited (CLABL),
    is set to become country’s first Small
    Finance Bank (SFB)
    by flagging-off its operations on April 13, 2016.
  2. The Reserve Bank of India on 3
    March 2016 released Non-Banking
    Financial Company – Account Aggregator Directions, 2016
    . The NBFC-AA
    Directions will put in place the regulatory framework to allow a new kind of
    Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), which could act as an account aggregator.
    Only companies registered with the Reserve Bank as NBFC – AA will be able to
    undertake the business of an account aggregator.
  3. International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank
    Group, on 1 March 2016 launched its first
    Uridashi Masala Bond in Japan
    . The bonds are worth 300 million rupees and
    will be utilised to promote private sector development in India.
  4. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 4 March 2016 launched the Setu Bharatam project. The project aims to make all national highways free of
    Railway crossings by 2019.
    Under the project, 208 places have been
    identified for construction of rail over-bridges (ROB) or underpasses. Nearly
    10200 crore rupees will be spent on it.
  5. Flipkart on 3 March 2016 launched its own digital wallet Flipkart Money that can be used for Flipkart only transactions.
  6. The Maharashtra government
    has formed a high-powered committee
    under Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya
    that will ensure proper
    implementation of MoUs signed during the
    ‘Make in India’ week
    .
  7. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) CEO and managing director Natarajan
    Chandrasekaran
    and two others were on Friday appointed as non-official directors to the board of Reserve Bank of
    India (RBI).
    Former Chief Secretary of Gujarat Sudhir Mankad and Bharat Narotam Doshi,
    non-executive chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra, is the third part-time
    non-official director on the central board of the bank, the department said.
  8. Vineet Taneja on 1 March
    2016 resigned as the Chief Executive
    Officer (CEO) of Micromax Informatics Ltd.
    Taneja’s departure was the
    second high-profile exit from the company with a span of one year.
  9. Veteran Film Actor and Director Manoj Kumar will be conferred the
    47th Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2015.
  10. World’s most expensive train station, the World Trade Centre
    Transportation Hub, opened on 3 March 2016 in
    New York, the United States of America
    .
  11. National Safety Day was observed across India on 4 March 2016.
  12. Fixed! Cash and Corruption in Cricket authored by journalist Shantanu Guha Ray was in news in the first week of March 2016.
  13. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno Agitok Sangma died on 4
    March 2016.
  14. Indian men’s and women’s team scripted history by clinching the gold medals at the World Table Tennis
    Team Championship
    with superb victories over Luxemburg and Brazil
    respectively here on Saturday.
Finance/Industry/Banking –
Country’s first small finance bank Capital Local Area Bank to start ops
on April 13

  • Jalandhar based Capital Local
    Area Bank limited (CLABL), is set to become country’s first Small Finance Bank
    (SFB) by flagging-off its operations on April 13, 2016.
  • The Punjab-based entity is the
    first among ten players to get final licence from the Reserve Bank of India.
    CLABL is currently active as local area bank.
  • The CLABL will launch operations
    under a new name ‘Capital Small Finance Bank Limited’ on April 13, coinciding
    with the auspicious festival of Baisakhi (the beginning of rabi harvest that
    gives a major boost to rural spending) in Punjab.
  • Banking regulator had given in
    principle licence to set up small finance banks under the ‘Guidelines for
    Licensing of Small Finance Banks in Private Sector’ (Guidelines) issued on
    November 27, 2014. Other entities who have received nod for SFB include Au
    Financiers, and eight Micro Finance Institutions like Janalakshmi Fin.

RBI released Draft Directions for Non-Banking Financial Company –
Account Aggregator

  • The Reserve Bank of India on 3
    March 2016 released Non-Banking Financial Company – Account Aggregator
    Directions, 2016.
  • The NBFC-AA Directions will put
    in place the regulatory framework to allow a new kind of Non-Banking Financial
    Company (NBFC), which could act as an account aggregator.
  • The announcement of draft
    directions is in tune with July 2015 announcement of the RBI regarding creation
    of a separate category of NBFC called Non-Banking Financial Company – Account
    Aggregator (NBFC-AA) to provide account aggregation services.

Highlights of NBFC-AA Directions, 2016
  • Only companies registered with
    the Reserve Bank as NBFC – AA will be able to undertake the business of an
    account aggregator.
  • Entities being regulated by other
    financial sector regulators and aggregating only those accounts relating to the
    financial assets of that particular sector will not need to register with the
    Reserve Bank.
  • The Net Owned Fund of such
    companies should not be less than 2 crore rupees.
  • An account aggregator will not be
    able to undertake any other business other than the business of account
    aggregator.
  • Business of an account aggregator
    will entirely be Information Technology (IT) driven.
  • Initially, only financial assets
    whose records are stored electronically and are under the regulation of the
    financial sector regulators, namely, RBI, SEBI, IRDA, and PFRDA shall be
    considered for aggregation.

IFC launched 300 million rupee Uridashi Masala Bonds in Japan

  • International Finance
    Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, on 1 March 2016 launched its
    first Uridashi Masala Bond. The bonds are worth 300 million rupees and will be
    utilised to promote private sector development in India.
  • The three-year Uridashi Masala
    Bond is Japan-specific and builds on IFC’s Masala bond Program.
  • While Masala bonds are
    rupee-denominated instruments sold only to offshore investors, Uridashi bonds
    are sold to Japanese household investors.
  • Earlier, in November 2014, the
    IFC issued first-ever Masala Bonds in London. The bonds were worth 10 billion
    rupee and listed in the London Stock Exchange.

Prime Minister launched Setu Bharatam project to make National Highways
free of Railway crossings

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 4
    March 2016 launched the Setu Bharatam project. The project aims to make all
    national highways free of Railway crossings by 2019.
  • Under the project, 208 places
    have been identified for construction of rail over-bridges (ROB) or underpasses.
    Nearly 10200 crore rupees will be spent on it.

The details of 208 ROBs are as follows in descending order
  1. Andhra Pradesh – 33
  2. West Bengal – 22
  3. Bihar – 20
  4. Karnataka – 17
  5. Maharashtra & Assam – 12 each
  6. Jharkhand – 11
  7. Punjab & Haryana – 10 each
  8. Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu & Uttar
    Pradesh – 9 each
  9. Gujarat – 8
  10. Madhya Pradesh -6
  11. Chattisgarh & Himachal
    Pradesh – 5 each
  12. Kerala & Odisha – 4 each
  13. Utarakhand – 2

  • Detailed Project Reports have
    already been received for 73 ROBs and of these 64 ROBs are likely to be
    sanctioned with an estimated cost of 5600 crore rupees by the end of financial
    year 2015-16.
  • As per Road and transport
    Ministry, there are around 1500 bridges that are over 50 to 60 years old. The
    Ministry has prepared a plan to demolish such bridges and rebuild new ones with
    more capacity. The cost of rebuilding the old bridges is expected to be about
    30000 crore rupees.

Flipkart launched its own digital wallet Flipkart Money

  • Flipkart on 3 March 2016 launched
    its own digital wallet Flipkart Money that can be used for Flipkart only
    transactions.
  • It aims to have a more organized
    method of payment and cutting significant costs related to handling cash on
    product returns.
  • Flipkart Money was launched on
    the company’s Android app, where users can hold a balance of 10000 rupees at a
    time.
  • Cash can be withdrawn from the
    wallet to the cards or the bank account.

Maha forms panel to track MoUs signed at Make in India week

  • The Maharashtra government has
    formed a high-powered committee under Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya that
    will ensure proper implementation of MoUs signed during the ‘Make in India’
    week here.
  • The state government had hosted
    the Make in India week from February 13-18 in the megapolis jointly organised
    by Maharashtra government, Development of Industry Policy and Promotion (DIPP)
    and Government of India.
  • As part of the event, the
    Maharashtra government inked 2,594 MoUs entailing investments of Rs 7.94 lakh
    crore which could possibly generate employment for over 30 lakh people in the
    state.
  • A total of 2,097 MoUs were signed
    with Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and large industries, and 20 in
    Skill Development sector.

Union Government signed Agreement to provide a loan of 1000 crore
rupees to FACT
  • Union Government on 3 March 2016
    signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) to provide a loan of 1000 crore rupees
    to the Fertilizers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) Limited, a Central Public
    Sector Undertaking (CPSU).
  • As per this MoA, FACT will be
    getting a loan of 1000 crore rupees, to be repaid with interest within a period
    of five years, with a moratorium of one year.
  • The loan will be provided with an
    aim to revive the organisation which has been facing financial crunch for more
    than a decade.  This loan will ease its
    liquidity crisis. The new resources will be helpful in clearing long pending
    dues of the Company, and facilitate much needed working capital, as well as for
    augmenting production.

India –
CCS cleared proposal to acquire two more AWACS
  • Cabinet Committee on Security
    (CCS) on 1 March 2016 cleared the proposal to acquire two more Phalcon Airborne
    Early Warning and Control Systems (AWACS). These surveillance aircraft will be
    bought at an expense of 7500 crore rupees under a tripartite agreement with
    Israel and Russia.
  • The decision to this effect was
    taken ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel later in 2016.
    His visit to Israel will be the first by an Indian Prime Minister.

Appointments/Resignations –
TCS chief N Chandrasekaran appointed to board of Reserve Bank

  • Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
    CEO and managing director Natarajan Chandrasekaran and two others were on
    Friday appointed as non-official directors to the board of Reserve Bank of
    India (RBI).
  • The Appointments Committee of the
    Cabinet (ACC), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved appointment
    of former Chief Secretary of Gujarat Sudhir Mankad as part-time non-official
    director on the central board of the RBI for a period of four years, an order
    issued by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.
  • Mr Mankad was Chief Secretary of
    Gujarat from April 2005 to August 2007 when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister
    of the state.
  • Besides Mr Mankad, Mr
    Chandrasekaran of TCS has also been appointed as part-time non-official
    director on the RBI board, it said.
  • Bharat Narotam Doshi,
    non-executive chairman of Mahindra & Mahindra, is the third part-time
    non-official director on the central board of the bank, the department said.

Vineet Taneja resigned as CEO of Micromax Informatics Limited
  • Vineet Taneja on 1 March 2016
    resigned as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Micromax Informatics Ltd.
    Taneja’s departure was the second high-profile exit from the company with a
    span of one year.
  • Earlier, in October 2015, Bharti
    Airtel CEO Sanjay Kapoor resigned as the chairman of the company.
  • Taneja joined Micromax from
    Samsung Electronics’ Indian business arm in 2014. His appointment came in the
    backdrop of company’s plans to expand its operations abroad.

Awards & Honors –
Manoj Kumar to be conferred Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2015

  • Veteran Film Actor and Director
    Manoj Kumar will be conferred the 47th Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year
    2015.
  • A five member jury consisted of
    Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Salim Khan, Nitin Mukesh and Anup Jalota
    unanimously recommended Kumar for the prestigious Award.
  • Manoj Kumar is remembered for his
    films Hariyali Aur Raasta, Woh Kaun Thi, Himalaya Ki God Mein, Do Badan,
    Upkaar, Patthar Ke Sanam, Neel Kamal, Purab Aur Paschim, Roti Kapda Aur Makaan,
    and Kranti. He is known for acting in and directing films with patriotic
    themes.

World –
World’s costliest train station opened in New York at 9/11 site

  • World’s most expensive train
    station, the World Trade Centre Transportation Hub, opened on 3 March 2016 in
    New York, the United States of America.
  • Santiago Calatrava, the
    Spanish-Swiss architect who unveiled his ambitious design 12 years ago, removed
    a barrier at the entrance of the Oculus, a giant oval hall with walls of steel
    ribs and glass.
  • Built next to the site of the
    destroyed Twin Towers, the World Trade Centre Transportation Hub is expected to
    eventually serve more than 200000 daily commuters.
  • Initially budgeted at 2 billion
    US dollars, the station ended up costing 3.85 billion US dollars that earned it
    the title of the most expensive station in the world.

UNHCR, UNICEF launched Blue Dot hubs to protect children & families
on move across Europe
  • UNHCR, UNICEF on 26 February 2016
    launched a Twenty Child and Family Support Hubs, known as Blue Dots. These
    support centers will acts as a special support centers for children and
    families along the most frequently used migration routes in Europe.
  • They will also help in protecting
    the growing numbers of children and others with specific needs arriving in
    Europe.

Days –
National Safety Day and National Safety Week observed

  • National Safety Day was observed
    across India on 4 March 2016. The day is annually organised by the National
    Safety Council (NSC) to commemorate its establishment and enhance the safety
    awareness among people.
  • It is a national movement carried
    out on annual basis to prevent and lessen the loss of life including various
    human being problems and their financial loss through availing them with
    safety, health and environment related support services.
  • National Safety Council of India
    is a self-governing body (non profit and nongovernmental organization for
    public service) which was established on 4 March 1966 under the Societies Act
    in Mumbai, having over 8000 members.

Sports –
India wins two golds in World TT Team Championship

  • Indian men’s and women’s team
    scripted history by clinching the gold medals at the World Table Tennis Team
    Championship with superb victories over Luxemburg and Brazil respectively here
    on Saturday.
  • Indian eves beat Luxemburg 3-1 in
    the event final of the Second Division, while their male counterparts overcame
    a stiff Brazil 3-2 here.
  • India had sealed their entry in
    the Champions Division last night after reaching the finals.
  • In the women’s team final, Mouma
    Das gave a winning start to her team when she defeated Danielle Konsbruck 3-0
    in a quick bust. Manika Batra then put behind yesterday’s loss and began with a
    bang, leading 2-0 against Tessy Gonderinger, who managed to grab the third
    game. However, Manika clinched the fourth game to win 3-1 and provide India
    with a 2-0 lead.

Mumbai U-23 team clinched CK Nayudu Trophy 2015-16
  • The Mumbai under-23 team on 3
    March 2016 clinched the Col CK Nayudu Trophy by defeating Madhya Pradesh at the
    Holkar Stadium, Indore.
  • Mumbai bowled out Madhya Pradesh
    for 442 and took a first innings lead of 135 runs to be declared the winner.
  • This was Mumbai’s second big
    title of the season, having pocketed the Ranji Trophy for the 41st time
    earlier.

FIH promoted Napoleon Singh as international Umpire
  • The International Hockey
    Federation (FIH) on 3 March 2016 promoted Hockey India national-level umpire Napoleon
    Singh as the International Outdoor Umpire.
  • The FIH took the decision after
    seeing his performance in the recently-concluded 12th South Asian Games 2016,
    held at Guwahati from 5 to 16 February 2016.
  • Napoleon started his career as an
    umpire from Manipur in the third Hockey India Junior Women National
    Championship 2013 held at Ranchi, Jharkhand.

Books & Authors –
Fixed! Cash and Corruption in Cricket authored by Journalist Shantanu
Guha Ray

  • Fixed! Cash and Corruption in
    Cricket authored by journalist Shantanu Guha Ray was in news in the first week
    of March 2016.  It examines the
    allegations of corruption against players, cricket administrators and bookies
    alike.
  • The book rifled through the
    underbelly of cricket, analysed the spot-fixing and nexus of bookies and
    punters with those in the corridors of power, mysterious deaths and issues that
    threatened the gentleman’s game.

Obituaries –
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno Agitok Sangma died

  • Former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno
    Agitok Sangma died on 4 March 2016. He was 68 years old. He is  survived by daughter Agatha Sangma, former
    Minister of State in the UPA-led Government and Conrad Sangma, the Leader of
    the Opposition in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly.
  • In independent India’s history,
    he was the first tribal person to hold the post of cabinet minister in 1995. He
    was also the first tribal person to become the Lok Sabha Speaker in 1996.

Film Archivist PK Nair died
  • Indian film archivist and film
    scholar Paramesh Krishnan Nair died on 4 March 2016. He was 82.
  • He was the founder and former director
    of the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) in 1964.
  • In 2012, Celluloid Man, an
    award-winning documentary was made on his life and works, by Shivendra Singh
    Dungarpur. Later it won two National Awards at the 60th National Film Awards,
    including Best Biographical Film and Best Editing.

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This post was last modified on July 20, 2019 10:16 am