www.bankiq.in march 2019

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TOPPER'S TALK

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11 TAXATION

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TOPPER’S TALK

PRACTICE CURRENT AFFAIRS MCQ’S

SOLUTIONS CURRENT AFFAIRS MCQ’s

1) Banking & Financial Awareness2) Taxation3) Agriculture4) Industry

9) Government Schemes

5) Government Schemes

5) International A�airs6) India and the World7) Polity & Governance8) Appointments & Resignations

10) Miscellaneous

1) Banking & Financial Awareness

13) Sports

2) Appointments & Resignations

4) Defence & Security3) Days Dates

6) Honours & Awards7) India & the World8) Industry9) Infrastructure

10) International A�airs11) Polity & Governance12) Reports & Indices

14) Taxation15) Miscellaneous

5) Government Schemes

1) Banking & Financial Awareness

13) Sports

2) Appointments & Resignations

4) Defence & Security3) Days Dates

6) Honours & Awards7) India & the World8) Industry9) Infrastructure

10) International A�airs11) Polity & Governance12) Reports & Indices

14) Taxation15) Miscellaneous

INDEX

March 2019bankiq.in

MARCH 2019bankiq.in

STUDY IQ

How to Clear RRB PO and Clerk Exam - Tips and Strategy.

TOPPER’S TALK

About me

Hi, I am Shruti. I have quali�ed RRB PO 2018. I have done my education from Institute for Excellence and Higher Education, Bhopal, MP

Why do I want to join the government sector?

The government sector provides us job security and respect in society and after I came to know my ability to crack banking exams, I decided to prepare for it from June 2018.

How I started my preparation?

Four to Six months are enough to qualify a banking exam if and only if you have prepared in a structured or whole-heartedly way. I like to study subjects like General Awareness, banking terms in the morning as it remains in your mind for the long term.After that, I solve as much as questions of maths as possible.It builds your concept and after that I solve puzzles for reasoning section.

Structure of the banking exam and some strategies followed by me

There are three stages of banking exam. Stage 1 is prelims and stage 2 is mains followed by an interview for the post of PO.For prelims, solve maximum number of quizzes as it will help you to increase your speed which is necessary to qualify prelims, as accuracy and speed play an important role in prelims exams.In Mains Exam there are sections of Maths, Reasoning, General Awareness, and English/ Regional language.For Maths, a continuouspractice is needed to crack quantitative section and it is not very di�cult if your practice is good enough. Always try to solve it in a traditional method and build your concept topic wise topic. For Maths, refer R S Agarwal book and go for quizzes.For Reasoning, puzzles play an important role in this section. Go for atleast one high level puzzle everyday and be careful while reading the puzzle, to avoid mistakes. I used to watch videos of Tarun Jha sir for quality questions of puzzles and reasoning questions.For English, start developing reading habit as English needs reading skills. For this, start practicing reading comprehension and go for Study IQ Editorial section, read The Economic Times, The Hindu. For Grammar refer any basic English book like Wren &Martin. This helps a lot to memorize grammar rules.For Mains, do not rely on short tricks and always go for traditional methods as mains exams consist of questions that need a clear concept to solve them.For logical Reasoning, solve puzzles as fast as you can and be accurate with logical questions.For General Awareness, I used to watch Gaurav Garg sir videos from Study IQ for the last 1 year and it covers almost 90% of questionsand all the topics important for this section. What you can do is go with everyday current a�airs newsand revise them again and again.For Interview, the Financial news section of current a�airs is very important. Special thanks to Prashant Dhawan sir and Joicy ma’am to build my concepts in Economics and also to clear my Banking Concepts.

Last words

At last, I would say, prepare very well for GA as it is the game changer in every exam.Lastly, I want to thank the Study IQ team for giving me a platform to express my views and thoughts. The exam I cleared is due to GA and Study IQ. Thank you, team Study IQ.

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Banking and Financial Awareness

Link your PAN with bank for refunds

The Income Tax department will “only” issues refunds via the e-mode into bank accounts of tax payers beginning next month and they should link PAN with their accounts to get refund directly, swiftly and securely.

Electoral bonds in 3 tranches from March

The government has authorised only STATE BANK OF INDIA to launch the sale of electoral bonds from March 1-15, April 1-20 and May 6-15 at 29 speci�ed SBI branches. The electoral bonds will be valid for 15 calendar days from the date of issue. No payment will be made to any payee political party deposited after the expiry of the validity period.Electoral bonds may be purchased by a person, who is a citizen of India or entities incorporated or established in India.

NCLAT pulls up SBI

National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on admonished State Bank of India (SBI), headed by chairperson SJ Mukhopadhyay saying that the SBI had given a false impression that the RCom-RJio deal would fetch about Rs 37,000 crore, gave a rosy picture before us. SBI worked with RCom and claimed that they would recover around Rs 37,000 crore from sale to Jio and cited losses of croresper day. You failed and now will seek to recover Rs 260 crore. The appellate tribunal pulled up SBI for not releasing the Rs 260- crore income tax returns lying with it, which could be used by RCom to pay Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson. The release would help RCom to clear a part of its Rs 550-crore dues to Ericsson. The Supreme Court had, on February 20, held RCOm chairman Anil Ambani and two others guilty of contempt for violating its

order by not paying dues of Rs 550 crore to Ericsson. The apex court had said that they would face a three-year jail term if the company failed to pay up within four weeks. The NCLAT had earlier halted insolvency proceedings against RCom after the case was admitted by the Mumbai bench of National Company law tribunal (NCLT) on May 15, 2018. The apex court had on October 23 asked RCom to clear the dues by December 15, 2018. RCom has already deposited Rs 118 crore with the Supreme Court. On February 4, the NCLAT had allowed Ericsson to �le its reply on RCom’s plea for withdrawal of the appeals.

Banks open to big haircuts

Bad-loan accounts for sale by banks in the March quarter has risen to over Rs 27,000 crore as lenders rush to make cash recoveries ahead of the close of the �nancial year 2018-19 banks are demanding 1005 cash payments through ARC (asset reconstruction companies) sales to try their provisioning burden does not go up. For instance, Central bank’s reserve price for Alok Industries suggests an 84% haircut and IDBI’s reserve price for RCom implies a 55.5% haircut. Banks are making it clear to buyers that we want the cash in 60 days, delays in resolution through the insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) route may have also forced their hand.

RBI faces trouble getting banks to cut rates

Indian lenders haven’t fully passed on the central bank’s latest interest rate cut to borrowers, pressuring the monetary authority to loosen policy even more to support economic growth, mean banks face a high cost of capital, limiting their ability to transmit monetary policy easing.

SBI snubs RCom

SBI said to NCLAT that “RCom should pay Ericsson on its own and refused to release the Rs 266 crore worth of income- tax returns, money did not belong to RCom. The Supreme Court said that the money will come from the Retention and Trust account”.

RBI on Kotak’s plea

RBI wants Uday Kotak to reduce his stake in the bank because RBI wants to separate Management from Ownership to improve

March 2019bankiq.in

order by not paying dues of Rs 550 crore to Ericsson. The apex court had said that they would face a three-year jail term if the

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SEBI lifts foreign investment cap in corporate bonds

On March 12 SEBI withdrew the 20% limit on investments by Foreign Portfolio Investors in corporate bonds of an entity. On June 2018 SEBI applied cap and on Feb’ 2019 RBI lifted the restriction.

SEBI cleaning house

SBI put six non-performing accounts (NPAs) worth Rs 2,338 on saleand are being o�ered on a 100% cash basis. The government then put the details of project out in the public and invites proposals from others interested in executing it and the original contractor gets an opportunity to match the best bid. This may entail two rounds of bidding for a distressed company or its assets. Assume that Company A wins the �rst round of bidding by a quoting a price of Rs 5,000 crore for a power plant. This will be made public and a second set of bids invited. If Company B quotes Rs 5,500 crore, Company A will be o�ered a second opportunity to match it. If it refuses, Company B would be declared the winning bidder. If Company A steps up, then it will bag the power plant at Rs 5,500 crore.

2nd interim dividend

Government has pressed cash-rich PSUs like Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) to pay a second interim

dividend for the current �scal, ONGC has declined to pay. The rules are that a company cannot declare a second dividend within a month of the previous pay out. IOC has called a board meeting on 19 March. Government is struggling to meet the revised �scal de�cit target of 3.4% in Good and Services Tax (GST) and the shortfall is likely to be around Rs. 30,000-40,000 crore and a similar shortfall is expected in direct tax collections as well.

corporate governance. After that Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd’s �led a legal petition against the Reserve Bank of India. RBI “The reliefs sought in the petition, if granted, shall result in making inroads into the RBI’s autonomy, and to permit the petitioners and others to become regulators of their own selves”.

$3 trillion digital economy

Ravi Shankar Prasad said, India could be a $3 trillion (digital) economy in the next four to �ve years in the 5th edition of the Times Network’s Digital India Summit. Digital India is designed to empower ordinary Indians and make India the biggest manufacturing hub in electronics with 1 crore employment in the electronics sector and 35-40 lakhs in the software sector.

India is now second only to China in mobile phone manufacturing,also become the second largest starup movement in the world with the valuation of Unicorn is higher than in the UK.

RBI in Supreme Court on defaulters

In March 2011 the gross NPAs ratio was 2.35% and in March 2018 it increased to 11.46%. RBI said “It is apparent that the petitioners

don’t have any resolution plans, the additional period of 180 days also came to an end on 28.02.2019 barring 2 or 3 cases have been resolved and some cases have been referred to the NCLT, the positions remains the same”February 12th circular by RBI- One-day default rule on term loans Banks need to �nalise a resolution plan for defaults of over Rs 2,000 crore within the next 180 days. Failure to do so will kick start insolvency process RBI want to end evergreening of stressed accounts. Under the scheme for sustainable structuring of stressed assets (S4A), only 22 cases the restructuring could be implemented from June 2016 to February 2018, though banks invoked strategic debt restructuring in more than 140 cases.

Government Pinning hopes on advance tax collection

The government had earlier estimated Rs. 11.5 lakh crore from direct tax collection but now increase of Rs 50,000 crore in the interim budget 2019-20 to meet the revised budget target of Rs 12 lakh crore from direct tax collection.

RBI concern over role of ‘rating advisers’

Shaktikanta Das shows his con�ict of interest in the functioning of credit rating agencies. He questioned the dual practice of rating agencies to rate a bond as well as decide its valuation which is used by mutual funds (MFs) to calculate the net asset value of a MF scheme. It is perceived that the motivation to downgrade a security would be lower for an agency which carries out both businesses. Das clearly spelt out that credit rating is a di�erent kind of business in which revenue should not be the primary objective. Central bank is concerned over the role of the little-known club of ‘rating advisers’ which are unregulated entities acting as brokers between companies and rating agencies.

Purchase ATMs that are Make in India

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had directed all departments to evolve an internal system of vetting the restrictive and discriminating terms against domestic manufacturers and also looking to amend the public procurement order so that penal action can be taken against erring o�cials of procurement agencies of any government department .The �nance ministry has asked banks to give preference to Indian manufacturers under the ‘Make in India’ initiative when purchasing ATMs.

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RBI Governor to hold pre- MPC meet

On March 26 Shaktikanta Das will hold discussions with representatives of trade bodies and credit rating agencies on interest rate and steps to boost economic activities, aim to broadening the consultation process. The �rst MPC (monetary policy committee) meet scheduled for April 4 and the bi- monthly policy �nalised by the six-member MPC before the commencement of theseven- phase general elections beginning April 11.

FII in�ows, Fed rate decision to guide stock movement this week

The equity market is expected to be guided by Fed interest rate decision, foreign fund in�ows and crude oil prices. FED interest rate decision is the key event in which the Central Bank of USA decide their interest rate.

New Liquidity Tool

Central bank has got new cash infusion tool to smoothen tight cash conditions in the banking system. Senior o�cials from the Reserve Bank of India met about two dozen bankers to discuss it. The RBI will conduct a forward dollar/rupee buy-sell swap auction worth $5 billion on March 26. RBI will buy dollars from banks for 3 years promising a speci�ed premium for selling back the same at maturity, but the bankers suggested to lowering the tenure of the swap to below 3 years as well as reducing the minimum bid size which is $25 million currently.

RBI guv meets Banks

Economists raised concerns over a sharp slowdown in Indian economy. Most economists expect the six-member MPC to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points for the second time in a row next month to 6.00 percent, a level last seen in August 2017. Indian’s economy expanded by 6.6 percent during October- December, its slowest pace in �ve quarters, on weak consumer demand and investments. Slowing growth has hit the federal government’s tax collections.

SEBI, IBBI sign MoU

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Board of India for e�ective implementation of the new bankruptcy law. Executive Directors Anand Baiwar of the SEBI and

RiteshKavdia of the IBBI signed the pact which provides for sharing information and resources, according to an o�cial statement. There will be periodic meetings to discuss matters of mutual interest, including regulatory requirements, enforcement cases, research, data analysis, information technology and data sharing.

Goldman Sachs Rating

Indian market has been witnessing a ’catch-up’ rally amid expectation of a potentially stable government. In September Golden Sachs had downgraded India to ‘MARKETWEIGHT’ now again upgraded India back to ‘OVERWEIGHT’. India remains among the most expensive markets in the world. The rally this year has been driven by purchases of overseas investors that have bought stocks worth nearly $.5.6 billion. This year’s in�ow is a big swing from last year’s out�ows of $4.2 billion. Expected earnings growth in India to pick up to 16% this year and 14% next year which should drive Nifty’s outperformance.

Banks promise RBI to look at lending rate cuts

RBI governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday exhorted bankers to ensure better transmission of rate cuts by the central bank and believed to have said that since monetary policy enunciations are based on speci�c calculations withrespect to macroeconomic trends, he would expect better and quicker transmission. Bankers, on their part, are understood to have assured the governor that they would look at cutting rates.

Public Credit Registry

The Monetary Policy Committee of RBI Reduced therepurchase rate from 6.5% to 6.25%, because of the low headline in�ation, threats to domestic growth from global trade, geopolitical tensions. The present level of growth owes itself primarily to public spending in infrastructure. Private consumption and investment in bleak. Even though bank credit and overall �nancial �ows remain robust, they are not broad- based.

RBI’s report on sectoral deployment of credit: Gross bankcredit to micro and small enterprises reduced by 0.9% year-on- year in December. MSME sector employs approximately 111 million people in 63 million units across the country, contributing 31.6% to gross value added and 49.86% to the country’s exports.

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The credit market is characterized by information asymmetry as a result, borrowers have disproportionately more information about their �nancial situation and ability to repay the loan than the lenders. There is also the problem of adverse selection, where safe borrowers are priced out if the credit market owing to their lack of credit history. For this we can set up public credit registry (PCR) which can act as a central repository of information on credit data of individuals and businesses. Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRICL) provides timely information on credit deterioration of large loan accounts those greater than Rs 5 crore and play a crucial role in the asset quality review process initiated by RBI in 2015, which helped identify signi�cant divergences in bad loans recognized by several commercial banks in their annual reports. A PCR will enable sharing of credit information mandated by law, fostering transparency and encouraging competition. The next logical step now is the establishment of a PCR. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, though far from perfect, has started the process of unlocking the dead capital of bankrupt �rms.

Sale of ‘enemy shares’

Sale of ‘enemy shares’ (the assets left behind by people who migrated to Pakistan or China and are no longer citizens of India) and buyback of stocks by CPSEs have together yielded the government over Rs 11,300 crore and collect Rs 700 crore through the �rst ever sale. This helped the exchequer mop up Rs 85,000 crore from disinvestment in the current �scal. Cabinet in November 2018 gave it’s go-ahead to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) to sell such shares held in companies.

IDBI in a PSB

IDBI Bank is acquired by LIC a fully government- owned entity. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had classi�ed IDBI Bank as a private lender in view of government stake falling below 51%, a lender ceases to be a public sector bank once the government stake in it falls below 51%.

SEBI seeks more power

With an aim to thwart �nancial frauds, regulator SEBI has sought powers to conduct inspection of books of accounts of listed companies for contravention of any securities law also take direct action against the fraudsters. SEBI has proposed a heavy penalty for altering, destroying, mutilating, concealing or falsifying record and documents or other tangible objects with an intent to obstruct, impede or in�uence a legal investigation. However, the regulators hasnow asked the government that its power to undertake inspection of books at

IDBI in a PSB

SEBI seeks more power

listed companies should be for contravention of any securities law without limiting it to violations relating to one or two regulations.

FPIs invest in March

Foreign investors have poured inn a net amount of Rs 38,211 crore in the domestic capital markets in March, it was Rs 11,182 crore in February. Analysts attributed the increase in infusion to a shift in stance on monetary policy outlook by various central banks globally.

Regulatory Sandbox

RBI is going to issue guidelines for Regulatory Sandbox, it provides a secure environment for �ntech �rms to experiment with products under supervision of a regulator. It will reduce time to launch innovative products at lower cost. Idea for Sandbox was given by Sudarshan Sen Committee. “An appropriate �ntech regulatory and supervisory framework was required to safeguard the interest of all the stakeholders” RBI Governor.

RBI’s swap mechanism

“Liquidity situation in the economy was “comfortable”, and it will improve further with the central bank’s move to infuse Rs 35,000 crore”. Finance Ministry. Economic a�airs secretary Subash Chandra Garg said the RBI’s swap arrangement is a” sound move”. This means the RBI will be buying dollars from banks and selling ‘forward dollars’ for a premium.

GST-like Councils

Finance minister Arun Jaitley said that we need more GST Council like bodies. Such bodies can work to align the State’s and Centre’s interest on various subjects. Former chief economic adviser also talked about it last January.GST Council is successful because- It parcels decision-making powers amongst the states and the Centre. Consensus is inevitable for any change to be made. In the process, various interests sometimes con�icting, are balanced and reform can happen. It helps iron out di�erences and reins in an overbearing Centre. GST Council-like structures can help the implementation of central schemes like Ayushman Bharat or PM KisanSamman

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Nidhi Yojana overcome adoption-hurdles in opposition-rules states.

Currency & Demonetisation

Currency in circulation as percentage of GDP declined by over 1 percentage (from11.55 percent to 10.48 per cent) points to 10.48 percent in the two years after demonetization. Post note ban, Rs 15.31 lakh crore worth demonetised notes were deposited in banks within a stipulated time. With regards to digital transactions, the o�cial said the volume increased to 210.32 crore in October 2108, from 71.19 crore in October 2016. The value of digital Transaction also increased to Rs 135.97 lakh crore in October 2018 from Rs 87.68 Lakh Crore in October 2016.

Raghuram Rajan: will return if there is an opportunity

Raghuram Rajan said he is willing to return to take an opportunity where he could be of use. He may be the �nance minister if an opposition alliance wins the ensuing general elections. He denied a second term as Reserve Bank Governor by the BJP-Led government and said he is very happy where he is, but is open to opportunities.

Kerala masala bonds

Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIBF), the infra-funding body of the Kerala government, has raised Rs 2,150 crore via its inaugural masala bond issues in the London and Singapore markets. It’s the �rst government agency to access the o�shore debt market and the largest dual currency issue by a sub-sovereign backed entity from Asia and other emerging market.

Jet Crisis

Jet Airways India missed a $109 million loan repayment due to HSBC Bank this week of total $140 million (about Rs 1,000 crore). Jet had also missed the payment on the other $31 million tranche (around Rs 200 crore) tranche that was due on March 11 and hasn’t repaid any of the loans.

RBI imposes Rs 2 crore �ne on PNB

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed penalty of Rs 2 crore on Punjab National Bank (PNB) for non-compliance of regulatory directions with regards to SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) operations. The �ne was imposed on PNB for violations of regulatory directions observed during assessment of implementation of SWIFT- related operational controls.

Previously, RBI had imposed penalties worth Rs 71 crore on 36 public, private and foreign banks for non-compliance with various directions on implementation and strengthening of SWIFT operations. Some of these banks were SBI, ICICI Bank, HSBC, Bank of Baroda, Citibank, Canara Bank and Yes Bank. Earlier also PNB was in news over issues of SWIFT system after Rs. 14,000-crore fraud carried out by jewellery designer Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi by misusing this global messaging software.

RBI appoints 5-member committee to deepen digital payments

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed a �ve-member committee under the chairmanship of Nandan Nilekhani to strengthen and encourage digital payments and enhance �nancial inclusion through digitization. It was announced byRBI Governor Shaktikanta Das at the �rst event of FinancialTechnology (Fintech) Conclave, which was organized by NITIAayog in New Delhi. Composition of Committee It will be headed by Nandan Nilekani, Former Chairman, Unique Identi�cation Authority of India (UIDAI). Other members are former Deputy Governor of RBI - H.R. Khan, former Secretary, Ministry of Information Technology and Steel - Aruna Sharma, former MD&CEO of Vijaya Bank - Kishore Sansi, Chief Innovation O�cer, Center for Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship (CIIE), IIM Ahmedabad - Sanjay Jain. Terms of Reference of Committee It will review existing status of digitization of payments in the country and identify current gaps in digital payment ecosystem and suggest ways to bridge them. It will assess the current levels of digital payments in �nancial inclusion. It will undertake global analyses with view to identify best practices that can be adopted in India to accelerate digitization of economy and �nancial inclusion through greater use of digital payments. It will suggest measures to strengthen safety and security of digital payments. It will provide road map for increasing customer con�dence and trust while accessing �nancial services through digital modes. It will suggest a medium-term strategy for deepening of digital payments.

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SBI raises Rs. 1,251.30 crore by issuing Basel III-compliant tier-I bonds

The country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has raised Rs. 1,251.30 crore by issuing Basel III-compliant additional tier-I bonds. The proceeds from these bonds will help SBI to boost its additional tier 1 capital ratio to meet systematically important bank (D-SIB) criteria to which SBI is mandated to meet.SBI-Basel III-compliant tier-I bonds These bonds allotted to investors are in nature of taxable, perpetual, subordinated, unsecured. They are Basel lll compliant for inclusion in additional tier 1 capital. These bonds have face value of Rs 10 lakh each and carry coupon of 9.45% payable annually with call option after �ve years. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has classi�ed SBI along with ICICI and HDFC as domestic domestic systematically important bank (D-SIBs), which are too big to fail. These three banks are needed to comply most stringent capital rules by April 1, 2019. They are required to keep aside additional common equity tier 1 (CET1) requirement in addition to capital conservation bu�er. Tier 1 capital is calculated as common equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital plus additional Tier 1 capital (AT1).

Components of India’s FOREX Reserves: Foreign currency assets (FCAs), Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), Gold Reserves and RBI’s Reserve position with International Monetary Fund (IMF). FCAs constitute largest component of India’s forex Reserves and is expressed in terms of US dollars.

YONO Cash: SBI launches India’s �rst cardless ATM withdrawal service

India’s largest bank State Bank of India (SBI) has launched of YONO Cash using which customers can withdraw money from ATMs without using card. With this, SBI became �rst bank in India to launch cardless ATM withdrawal service.YONO Cash: SBI customers can initiate cash withdrawal process on YONO app and set six-digit YONO pin for transaction. After initiating process, customers will also get six-digit reference number for transaction on their registered mobile numbers via SMS. ATMs enabled for this service will be termed YONO Cash Point. Cash withdrawal under it has to be completed within 30 minutes at ATM using both PIN and reference number. The transactions using YONO is secured with two-factor authentication. It also eliminates risk of skimming and cloning.Bene�ts: Through YONO, SBI seeks to create digital universe by integrating entire transactions ecosystem under one platform in coming years. It is designed to help SBI customers to withdraw cash without physical debit card. It seeks to maximize convenience and enhance banking experience for its customers. It will address concerns over using debit cards at ATMs for cash withdrawals by eliminating the possible associated risks

Usha Thorat Committee on o�shore rupee markets

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted eight-member task force headed by former RBI deputy governor Usha Thorat to examine issues related to o�shore rupee markets and recommend policy measures to ensure stability of the external value of the domestic currency. This comes in pursuance of RBI’s guided objective of developing deep and liquid on-shore �nancial markets that act as price setter of rupee globally. Other members of task force: Nominee from Department of Economic A�airs, nominee from Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Ajit Ranade, SajjidChinoy, Surendra Rosha, and Chief General Manager, Financial Markets Regulation Department, RBI.Terms of reference of the task force: It will assess causes behind development of o�shore rupee market and study e�ects of o�shore markets on rupee exchange rate and market liquidity in the domestic market.

Forex reserves rises to $405.6 billion in March 2019

According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India's foreign exchange (forex) reserves surged by $3.602 billion to $405.638 billion in week to March 15, 2019. The surge was driven by rise in foreign currency assets, a major component of the overall reserves.Reasons for increase The increase in forex reserves could partly be attributed to rising investments by foreign investors in Indian capital markets. The net foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in equity markets in till March 15, 2019 was $2.9 billion, highest since January 2018. Indian debt markets also have seen positive in�ow of $1.2 billion till March 15, 2019.Forex Reserves in March 2019 Foreign currency assets (FCA): Increased by $3.546 billion to $377.773 billion.

Gold reserves: It rose by $38.9 million to $23.408 billion. Special drawing rights (SDRs) with International Monetary Fund (IMF): It rose by $5.9 million to $1.461 billion. RBI’s reserve position with IMF: It increased by $12.1 million to

$2.995 billion.Forex Reserves They are reserve assets held by central bank of the country in foreign currencies. These reserve acts as bu�er to be used in challenging times. They are also used as back liabilities and also to in�uence monetary policy. Almost all countries in world, regardless of size of their economy, hold signi�cant forex reserves. Page 7

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It will also recommend measures to address concerns, if any, arising out of o�shore rupee trading besides proposing measures to generate incentives for non-residents to access the domestic market. It will also suggest measures to generate incentives for non-residents to access the domestic market and examine the role, if any, International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) can play in addressing these concerns.

Notes

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Taxation

Central board of Indirect Taxes

CBIC member John Joseph wrote several letters to zonal heads, pulled up its �eld formations for lagging behind their state- level counterparts in revenue collection and enforcement of anti-evasion measures. He has pointed out how they are lax on using the data analytics reports generated on ’risky taxpayers’. He also reminded the �eld formations that director general of analytics and risk management (DGARM) has prepared reports on 88,000 GST registrants based on their compliance behaviour and asked each range to verify the contents of the report for at least three taxpayers each week and upload feedback on the same so that reports can be improved soon. Three weeks later, Joseph shot another letter to zone-heads “I am much pained to observe that even after 3 weeks with almost 88,000 GSTN number only 1,500 feed backs have been received in the DDM portal so far”. Last year, the revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia too had pointed out that state tax o�cials were doing decisively better than their counterparts with the centre in revenue collection and recovery.

Angel tax

Central board of direct taxes (CBDT) has sent letters to principal chief commissioners of income tax, asking themtoidentify the start-up cases pertaining to them and to ensure that no coercive action is taken in these cases and also directed to request all zones to kindly ensure that appeals pending in these cases, if any, are disposed of on priority”

30% growth in IT returns

Income tax e-returns �led has increase nearly 30% in April- February as compared with 17% in FY18 (27% in FY 16 and 20% in FY 17) with 6.4 crore taxpayers in the �rst 11 months of the �scal year. The

government is expecting 7.6 crore returns to be �led by the end of FY19 against 6.7 crore in FY18. I-T department started sending notices to people who engaged in high- value transaction but failed to �le I-T returns after that in 15 days 33,000 persons �led returns for the �rst time and 3 lakh people visited the e-�ling website. The government gives demonetisation as one of the main reasons for e-returns.

Finance minister on corporate tax

FICCI President Sandip Somany said that India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley promised in (2015-16 budget), as the revenue collection from GST go up over a period of time he reduced the corporate tax rate from 30% to 25% and also have a discussion on taxation, job creation, and boosting industrial output. In the budget 2017, the government had reduced corporate tax rate to 25% for companies whose turnover was less than Rs 50 crore in �nancial year 2015-16, and in budget 2018-19 reduced tax rate of 25% to companies with turnover of up to Rs 250 crore and about 7,000 companies whose turnover is above Rs 250 crore remains in 30% slab.

Tax lens on 87,000

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has ordered ”best judgement assessment” of individuals who failed to comply with the income tax department’s even after the department had sent out SMSes, emails and also issued notices to around 300,000 individuals, who made substantial cash deposits after the November 2016 demonetisation to furnish income-tax returns for the assessment year 2017-18 , but around 87,000 taxpayers failed to comply with those notices. The apex body for direct taxes has now instructed assessing o�cers (AO) to conclude “best judgement assessmentproceedings” to deal with such noncompliance. The CBDT hassaid that the assessment should be completed by March 31and,in any case, by June 30.

High value cars, jewellery to become cheaper

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs said that the Tax Collection at Source (TCS) amount would be excluded from the value of goods while computing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) liability. TCS is also levied on other purchases at di�erent rates. Under the Income Tax Act, tax collection at source (TCS) is levied at 1% on purchase of – Motor vehicles above Rs 10 lakh• Jewellery exceeding Rs 5 lakh• Bullion over Rs 2 lakh

Earlier in December, the CBIC has said that the TCS amountwould be included but in view of the representations received

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from various stakeholders and after consultation with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the CBIC took the decision to exclude it (TCS).

Government Pinning hopes on advance tax collection

The government had earlier estimated Rs. 11.5 lakh crore from direct tax collection but now increase of Rs 50,000 crore in the interim budget 2019-20 to meet the revised budget target of Rs 12 lakh crore from direct tax collection.

Net direct tax collection

The net direct tax collection during April-January of this �scal stood at Rs. 7.89 lakh crore as against Rs 12 lakh crore targeted for the entire �scal of 2018-19. On March 16 the net direct tax collection �gure has crossed the Rs 10 lakh crore mark, the fourth and �nalinstallment of tax payment.

Direct tax collection falls short

Pressure is mounting on tax o�cials to meet revenue collection target. Raising concerns over the “alarming situation” of direct tax collection, direct tax receipts are just 85% of the full year estimate. Against the budget target of Rs 12 lakh crore, only Rs 10,21,251 crore has been collected as on March 23. The GST collection was originally budgeted at Rs 13.71 lakh crore which had been lower to Rs 11.47 lakh crore in the revised estimated for 2018-19. The Central Board Direct Taxes (CBDT) has asked its o�cials to pay immediate attention on measures to shore up revenues.

Big GST shortfalls

In the latest budget the tax collection projection is 13.5%. Government realized that the expected boom in FY19 collections- taxes were to rise by 17.2% was a one-time event. Boom was driven by more people paying income tax due to the fear of being caught out by the surveillance mechanism in-built into GST. The government already said it was looking at a Rs 100,000 crore shortfall in GST collections. 5.28 crore to 7.41 crore includes those who �le their return whether electronically or physically, also who pay TDS but don’t �le returns. More important, despite the 1.5 times hike in nominal GDP between FY13 and FY17, the average tax paid across individuals and companies rose by a mere 7%, from Rs 104,704 to Rs 112,604. In 2014 the tax-to-GDP ratio was 10.1% and now it become 11.9% in FY19, a hike of 20%. While the number of e-�lers rose 2.3 times.

The number of crorepatis is quiet small compared to the PRICE estimate of one million crorepati households in the country. PRICE’s data is for households, but that translates to around 6.6 lakh individuals with an annual income of more than Rs 1 crore a year. The tax data for FY17 shows 1.4 million taxpayers declared an annual income of more than Rs 20 lakh; 1.3 million in the case of individual taxpayers. PRICE’s estimate of 8 million households or 5.3 million individuals with an income of more than Rs 20 lakh per annum. All eyes will now be on Project Insight, a computerisation of all databases with extensive search and matching facilities; once this is done, and the Aadhaar-linking of PAN numbers takes place, the taxman will have a very good estimate of expenditure and will match this with income statements.

Fiscal de�cit

The country’s �scal de�cit touched 134.2% of the full-year revised budgeted estimate at the end of February 2019 due to the tepid growth in revenue collections. “Fiscal de�cit for April-February 2018-19 was Rs 8.51 lakh crore as against the revised estimate of Rs 6.34 lakh crore for the entire year”. as per the Controller General of Accounts. According to the CGA data revenue receipts of the central government was Rs 12.65 lakh crore or 73.2% of the revised budgetary estimate at February end. Economic A�airs Secretary S C Garg said that government is committed to restrict the �scal de�cit at 3.4 % of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as envisaged in the budget. The government’s tax revenue stood at Rs. 10.94 lakh crore and non-tax revenue was Rs 1.7 lakh crore and total expenditure incurred by the government during April-February 2018-19 was Rs 21.88 lakh crore. Out of the total revenue expenditure, Rs 5.01 lakh crore was on account of interest payments and Rs 2.63 lakh crore on major subsidies.

CAD widens

In October-December 2018 and 2017 the current account de�cit widened to $ 16.9 billion and $ 13.7billion. As a percentage of GDP, CAD in the reporting quarter rode to 2.5% against 2.1% in the year ago quarter. Reserve Bank of India’s statement on ‘Developments in India’s Balance of Payment’s: higher trade de�cit at $49.5 billion as compared with $44 billion a year ago. Net services receipts increased by 2.8 percent on a year on year basis to $21.3 billion, remittances by Indians employed overseas, amount to $18.7 billion, net foreign direct investment at $7.5 billion in 2018-19, Portfolio investment recorded net out�ow of $2.1 billion in quarter 3 of 2018-19, non-resident Indian deposits nudged up only $139 million against $3.32 billion, there is a depletion of $4.3 billion in foreign exchange reserves as against an accretion of $9.4 billion in the year ago period.

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US Wins WTO RulingonChinese Grains

The United States won a world trade organization ruling on china’s price support for grains, successfully challenging a calculation methodology that is also used by India. A WTO adjudication panel agreed on Thursday with the US complaint in September 2016, that china had paid farmers nearly $100 billion more for wheat, indica rice and japonica rice in 2012-2015. China’s excessive support limits opportunities for US farmers to export their world-class products to china. China said it regretted the lack of support from experts, noting that government support for agriculture was a common practice and allowed under WTO rules. China would continue to promote development of its agriculture sector in line with WTO rules and safeguard the stability of the multi-lateral trade system, said by the ministry of commerce. China’s WTO membership agreement permits trade-distorting subsidies of up to 8.5 percent of the total value of production. China argued that it was not breaching the limit because only the gains procured by government should be counted as subsidised. The UN successfully argued that state buying at a guaranteed price raised the whole market. The ruling, which may be appealed could have rami�cations for India, which has made similar arguments to china. At a meeting WTO’S agriculture committee on Wednesday, the united states and Canada rejected India’s claim that its market price support for pulses was 1.5 percent of the value of production, saying it was 31percent to 85 percent, far above allowed limits.

Notes

Agriculture

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Digitally-Enabledmasssevices is the future

In the last 250 years the world has seen 3 INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONS-

o Steam engine in the 19th century in England.o Mass manufacturing in the mid20th in USA.o Internet in the late 20th century in China.

Mass services will rule in future.Ford Motor Company launched Model-T in 1908, before Model-T cars

were items of luxury.Model-T was being sold for $260 less than half the average annual

wages in the US.In 1914 Ford’s 13,000 employees produced 3,00,000 cars as compare

to other 299 companies with 66,000 employees produced only2,80,000 vehicles. The industry volume tripled in just 6 years as price came down. The cost of manufactured goods fell between 3-10 times, increasing mass consumption of products, raising competition and drivingnew investments. This economic cycle was supported by a facilitative regulatory regime to make the markets more e�cient and as result it created hundred of millions of new jobs.Advantages of Digital Technologies- It drives productivity Breaking down the service into small consumption o�ers. Integration of physical and digital assets. Spur innovation.

To make this happen we have to solve three pieces of the Jigsaw puzzle-The huge unmet demand for services and a decent starting position in service sectors. We need world -class public digital infrastructure as the backbone of mass manufacturing industry

Facilitating regulatory regime that liberalises the services sector, encourages competition and allow more e�cient markets to develop. In addition, we need policy interventions in several key areas. First is setting standards for data �ows which are the backbone of any service o�ering in terms of both interoperability and privacy. Secondly, a regulator is required which has the technical skills and understanding to develop and regulate the revenue sharing arrangements between partners in the digital ecosystem to create an e�cient market. Lastly, a public policy case can be made for creating societal digital platforms like education and health which are o�ered for free for the development of business solutions by entrepreneurs.

India’s February manufacturing activity hits 14-month high

According to the monthly survey, the country’s manufacturing sector performance strengthened in February and touched a 14-month high driven by acceleration in sales, output andemployment. The Nikkei India manufacturing purchasing manager’s index rose to 54.3 in February from 53.9 in January. This is the 19th consecutive month that the manufacturing PMI remained above the 50 point mark, a print above 50 means expansion and below denotes contraction.

Potential of 5G

“By 2023 there will be a staggering 9.1 billion mobile subscription” World Economic Forum. “By 2020, connected mobile devices will produce 30.6 exabytes per month and annual global mobile data tra�c will reach 366.8 exabytes” CISCO. 5G is designed to meet this demand. It not only represents a generational leap in connectivity speeds, also introduce lower latency and the ability to connect more devices at once. Despite the many recognized advantages of 5G, mobile network operators are still looking for concrete evidence of return on investment (ROI). Infact, it will likely amount to a collective investment of billions of dollar in new network equipment, licences and deployment. With Industry 4.0, manufacturers are becoming more e�cient through the application of automation and data exchange to

Industry

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their existing factory processes to enable better integrated work�ows and smarter manufacturing. For instance, production robots now have sensors or software that send information to remote teams; some apps can send alerts on defects or damaged goods; and other apps can help track working schedules of factory workers. 5G plays a vital role in this transformative process, especially as the use of AR and VR applications continues to grow in manufacturing to support the realization of manufacturers’ industry 4.0 goals. The opportunity lies in more than just providing connectivity. Mobile network operators can create partnerships with broadcasters and sports organizations to deliver entertainment services directly to customers through their self-service applications. They are able to compete with wireline, satellite and cable companies, o�ering new revenue streams and faster rol.

Last arguably the most 5G-centric use case is autonomous driving(level four and above) 5G will o�er the connectivity and speed needed to deliver vast amounts of data to one another as well as other objects simultaneously. If various parties, including the government and network equipment companies,work together to identify commercially viable and desirable customer solutions,5G can ful�l the vast potential ascribed to it these past years.

Wistron to make Apple products in India

Wistron currently makes cheaper apple phones in India. The information technology ministry has approved contract manufacturer Wistron’s Rs 5,000-crore plan to make high-end Apple devices, it will give a big push to the government’s Make in India initiative. “Openness of India’s democratic polity, where creativity is recognised and respected, add its own incentive, we gave little incentive and you saw how many people came”, Ravi Shankar Prasad. Ravi Shankar Prasad said India o�ers three advantages- a burgeoning workforce, English Fluency, Skilled workers in plenty and the fastest growing smartphone market in the world. India is known for its software services- we want it to become a big hub for products.

Cabinet: Rs 15,500-cr loan for sugar mills

The Cabinet Committee on Economic A�airs (CCEA) on Thursday cleared an extra soft loan of Rs 15,500 crore to boost ethanol capacity in sugar mills. The government will bear an expenditure of Rs 3,355 crore as interest subvention, includes a soft loan of Rs2,600 crore which will be provided to molasses-based standalone distilleries to augment capacity and set up new units.

In June 2018, the government announced a soft loan of Rs 4,400 crore and provided an interest subvention of Rs 1,332 crore to mills over �ve years. So far, the food ministry has approved 144 applications for a loan amount of Rs 6,000 crore, applications received were for over Rs 13,400 crore worth of soft loans. “To augment ethanol capacity, the government has approved additional funds. The additional funds are part of the government’s measure to address the stress in the sugar sector. These additional funds will be in two categories- Rs 2,790 crore and Rs 565 crore,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters after the Cabinet meeting. He said, adding that “they (mills) have some stress and outstanding dues. The government is trying to augment the income of mills”. Sugarcane dues have crossed Rs 20,000 crore till February of this marketing year (October-September). The country is expected to cross 10 per cent blending with petrol. Ethanol doping in petrol would also help the country cut its oil imports.

Chinese factory-output growth slows to weakest

Chinese January-February industrial output slipped to a 17-year low and their investment picked up pace. Government boosted road and rail projects in a bid to avert a slowdown. Premier Li Keqiang last week announced hundreds of billions of dollars in additional tax cuts and infrastructure spending. China’s manufacturers are facing weaker sales at home and abroad, with exports hit by US tari�s on Chinese goods and cooling global demand. China is trying to engineer a construction boom to rekindle demand and kickstart the economy.

NCLAT on ArcelorMittal

Arcelor Mittal’s Rs.42,000 crore takeover bid for Essar Steel. According to Arcelor Mittal’s resolution proposal �nancial creditors should get Rs 41,987 and operational creditors Rs 214 crore. Essar Steel directors had challenged Ahmedabad- bench of National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) nod to global steel giant Arcelor Mittal and o�er Rs 54,389 crore as it clears 100 percent outstanding. NCLAT said all operational creditors below Rs 1 crore should get 100 percent of the dues also the employees of Essar Steel, and also said Committee of Creditors (COC) cannot reserve 92 percent of the bid amount for �nancial for �nancial lenders and leave just 4 percent for operational

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creditors. Only 90% of 42,000 crore should be allowed for �nancial creditors. If COC doesn’t act to clarify in favour of operational creditors, NCLAT will exercise powers available to it, the judges said.

Essar Steel CoC meet

The lenders of Essar Steel ltd informed National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that a meeting of the committee of creditors (CoC) of the debt-ridden �rm is going on over distribution of Rs 42,000 crore o�ered by global steel major ArcelorMittal SA. A decision by the CoC on whether Standard Chartered Plc, an operational creditor, should get higher payout for its dues to Essar Steel would come by Friday, following which it adjourned the matter to 9 April for the next hearing. “We have to see the outcome of the Committee of Creditors (CoC) meeting” said a two-member NCLAT bench headed by chairman justice S.J Mukhopadhaya. NCLAT Ahmedabad had suggested a 85:15 distribution between the �nancial and operational creditors against the 90:10 distribution between them as proposed in the resolution plan. On 20th March in the last hearing. The NCLAT also had directed IBBI to share data over distribution of Funds among the �nancial and operational creditors in the resolution plans. The NCLAT was hearing a plea by Standard Chartered Bank, an operational creditor of the company, challenging the distribution of fund.

Essar Steel

Lenders to Essar Steel have decided to move the Supreme Court because National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) pressures them to pay unsecured �nancial creditors more than they are inclined to.

Land Leasing framework

PM-KISAN, a support to the agriculture sector is always a welcome move, however the initiative does not cover landless agricultural labourers and the sharecroppers/ tenants. According to the agriculture census 2010-11 there are 138.35 million farm-holdings in India of which 92.8 million are marginal (<1 ha) and 24.8million are small (1-2 ha). Agricultural productivity and farm size are inversely related even though small and marginal farmers account for more than 85% of total farm holdings, their share in operational area is only 41.2% and about 1.5-2 million new marginal and small farmers are added every year due to law of inheritance.

Agricultural landless labourers, pastoralists, �sherman and sharecroppers / tenants / lessee cultivators equally contribute to agricultural growth and deserve special attention. The land reform legislations in post- independence India consisted of redistribution of surplus land from the rich to the poor, abolition of intermediaries, security of tenure to tenants and consolidation of landholdings. Policies must raise land productivity through appropriate technologies and studies says there is direct linkages between tenure security and income security. “Land lease should be viewed as an economic necessity, not more feudal agrarian structure NITI Aayog “. Land leading laws should be the highest priority of state governments. The committee on Doubling Farmers Income (DFI) of the Government of India has also recommended legislating the model Agricultural Land Leasing the model Agricultural Land Leasing Act (by NITI Aayog) to ensure private sector investments in agriculture. Another important aspect is ensuring e�ective modernisation and digitisation of land records also high resolution satellite imagery coupled with ground truthing has also been suggested for the survey operations.

Green transmission cables

The Power Ministry is likely to bring greener options of electricity transmission cables like aluminium to protect from ill-e�ects of lead- based equipment. A single kilometre of cable weighs about 20 tonne/km has lead content of almost 8 tonne/km with average life span of 25-30 years and once they are laid they are never dismantled. Aluminium-based cable sheaths are greener and cheaper alternative. “240 million people globally are overexposed to lead poisoning” WHO.

In India’s growth story E-commerce to play vital role

“E-commerce has revolutionised the retail sector in India and play a major role in the country’s growth and results in more job opportunities, nobody can stop e-commerce now” said by Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant. He noted that even if the consumer behaviour is changing the traditional retail and modern retail market will co-exist in India. “India’s e-commerce market will expand $84 billion in 2021 from $24 billion in 2017”Deloitt India and Retail Association of India.

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Govt takes stock of recoveries

Senior o�cials at the �nance ministry and public sector banks held a meeting target to take stock of recoveries from stressed assets, mainly through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). The focus of the meeting is in the progress made on recoveries so far, against the government’s FY19 target of Rs 1.8 lakh crore for public sector banks(PSBs), so far Rs 1.1 lakh crore is recovered. Once recovery from Essar Steel is made banks will be close to its target. The gross non-performing asset ratio in banking system is expected to ease for the �rst time in almost a decade to 10.3% by the end of 2018-19.

IOC & ONGC on interim dividend

Indian Oil Corp (IOC) declared a second interim dividend of Rs 1,412 crore for the current �nancial year to help the government meet its tax revenue target and the dividend will be credited to the account of the shareholders dispatched on or before April 10,2019. The government owns 53.88% stake in IOC and is grappling with a possible Rs 80,000 crore shortfall in tax revenues.

Sale of �bre assets built for BharatNet

With hardly any takers for the 2.5 Lakh kilometre �bre laid by the government under the BharatNet project because there could be duplication in areas where the �bre is laid, meaning telcos may be having their own �bre network in those areas. The department of telecommunications is now considering either selling the assets or leasing it out on long-term basis to private telcos.Telcos may be interested in only revenue generating areas to start with, which are urban centres. The Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) has been asked to work out all the leasing options and outright sale of �bre assets and come back to TC within 10 days. Meanwhile, the telecom commission on Thursday also deliberated on the revival of BSNL and MTNL but no decision was taken.

Success story of Khadi

Khadi Gram Udyog Bhawan is in Connaught Place, New Delhi. The business of khadi is Rs 1 crore or more a day at least three times between October and November. In 2017-18 the sales worth a record of Rs 103 crore. In 2013-14 it was Rs 1,081 crore and in 2018-19 it is Rs 3,200 crore all-time high. MSME ministry data shows sales stood at Rs 2,510 crore in 2017-18. As per First 4 years of Modi Govt. sales grew at an annual average of over 30%, against 6.7% in the previous 10 years. In future some 83,000 postmen across states will be clothed in khadi uniform.

Notes

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Donald Trump on China Trade

Trump’s push to force Beijing to change what are widely viewed as China’s market-distorting trade and subsidy practices. Trump’s trade war will force China to reform policies that businesses and foreign governments regard as unfair. Trump has drawn broad support from those who oppose him on almost everything else. Trump’s trade team say they are in the �nal stages of negotiating what would be the biggest economic policy agreement with China in decades. China’s President Xi Jinping is seen as reluctant to make economic reforms under pressure from the United States. Xi may �nd it easier to live with the tari�s Trump has imposed on trade than to change China’s model for economic development. Beijing has o�ered to make big-ticket purchases from the United States to help reduce a record trade gap. Trump’s team has said those purchases would be worth more than a trillion dollar over about six years. Chinese purchases might be tempting for Trump’s administration.

China infuses $2.2 b in Pakistan

China on Monday pumped-in $2.2 billion to cash-strapped Pakistan to shore up its close ally’s foreign currency reserves and help avert a possible default on external debt payments. Pakistan has so far received a total of $9.1 billion in �nancial assistance packages from friendly countries during the current �scal year.

China USA Trade War Talks

The US and China have make progress in all areas under discussion in trade talks. China had put proposals on the table that went further than in the past, creating hope for a deal that the US insists must include structural changes in the Chinese economy. Washington wants Beijing to end practices it says involve the theft of U.S. intellectual property and the forced transfer of American technology to Chinese companies. The world’s two largest economies have slapped tit-for-tat tari�s on hundreds of billions of dollars of goods. China wants the United States to lift its tari�s as part of a deal.

International Affairs

Notes

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India- Russia defence deal

India to lease Nuclear Attack Submarine from Russia of $ 3 billion named ‘Akula class’ �tted with indigenous communications system and sensors and will be the 3rd Russian nuclear submarine to be operated by India. The vessel will be ready by 2025.In India this submarine is named as ‘Chakra III’. Last year India signed the $5.5-billion contract with Russia for S-400 and this will be the biggest deal after that. The Chakra III will replace Chakra II (2012) and will be in service for atleast 10 years. In 2022 the lease of the Chakra II is to expire and could be extended to 2027 till the new vessel (Chakra III) get built and tested. Nuclear Attack Submarine or SSN is powered by a nuclear reactor but armed with conventional weapons and can remain underwater for months.

Changes in IBC for cross-border cases

Government of India (President) issue ordinance amending the insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and adding a chapter on cross-border insolvency based on the UNCITRAL model law.The model law deals with 4 major principles of cross-border insolvency-1) Direct approach to foreign insolvency professionals and foreigncreditors to participate in domestic insolvency proceedings againsta defaulting debtor. Like if you are a foreign company or a party thenaccording to UNCITRAL model law you have the right to commenceor participate in any case against insolvency.

2) Recognition of foreign proceedings and provision of remedies.3) Cooperation between domestic and foreign courts anddomestic and foreign insolvency practitioners as a bridge.4) Coordination between two or more concurrent insolvencyproceedings in di�erent countries. Cross-border insolvency law gives the power to foreign creditors to get money lent to Indian corporate entities and also Indian companies can claim their dues. Cross-border insolvency provisions are in sections 234 and 235of the IBC but not enforced yetbut can be enforced if India enters bilateral treaties with foreign countries. Finalising these treaties takes long and also creates inexactness for Indian courts and the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Government wants to create a separate provision for insolvency that would be globally accepted.

India ready for Tit for Tat with USA

From April 1, India is likely to impose higher duties on 29 goods ( walnuts, chickpeas, lentils, boric acid and diagnostic reagents, etc..) imported from the US imposing an additional burden of $290 million on them, which withdrew bene�ts under the Generalised System of Preferences(GSP), on the other hand US had announced heavy tari�s on imported steel and aluminium items on March 9 last year, but not imposed yet.Tari�s were deferred six times between two countries.

India to hike Saudi �ying rights by 40%

India decided to give Saudi Arabia 40% �ying hike from April 1, after that Saudi Arabia the only country within a 5000-km �ying distance becomes the biggest and only bene�ciary of India. Under the new aviation policy, no country within 5,000 km �ying distance from India will be allowed any extra seats unless Indian carriers exhaust 80% of the �ying rights quota. India rejected request of countries like Dubai, Qatar, China, Singapore and Malaysia. Saudi Arabia has allowed Indian carrier to add as many �ights as they want to Dammam. Ministry of external a�airs (MEA) said the aviation ministry that Saudi Arabia allows Air India to �y to Israel using its airspace, and that the national carrier is the only airline that is allowed this facility. Flights between two countries by air services agreements are called bilateral �ying rights.

India and the World

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India wants Iran oil

India’s current level purchase of oil from Iran is 300,000 barrels per day. India has reduced its purchase of Iranian oil but has been in talks on extending a sanctions waiver, known as signi�cant reduction exception. United States reimposed sanctions against Iran last November, although the United States granted Iran’s biggest oil customers waivers that have allowed them to continue limited imports, Washington is putting pressure on governments to reduce purchases of Iranian oil to zero. Delhi is negotiating with Washington for extending a waiver of US sanctions past early May. The �rst round of waivers expires around May 4.

India US nuclear energy partnership

9th round of India-U.S. Strategic Security Dialogue held in Washington on March 13. He decided to build 6 nuclear power plants in India to strengthen bilateral security and civil nuclear cooperation. Both the countries signed a historic agreement to cooperate in civil nuclear energy in October 2008. A major aspect of the deal was the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) that gave a special waiver to India enabling it to sign cooperation agreements with a dozen countries. India signed civil nuclear cooperation agreements with the U.S., France, Russia, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Sri Lanka, the U.K., Japan, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan and South Korea. The U.S. rea�rmed its strong support to India’s early membership in the 48-member NSG.

India USA to exchange CBC reports

India and the US can now exchange country-by-country (CBC) reports �led by the ultimate parent corporations based in either of the countries, this will reduce the compliance burden of their subsidiaries. The Income Tax Act requires Indian subsidiaries of multinational companies to provide details of key �nancial statements from other jurisdicationswhere they operate, this provide the IT Department with better operational view with regards to revenue and Income Tax paid. Indian entities would not be required to do local �ling of CBC reports in India.

FTA for India Africa

“India and Africa should examine if they can enter into a free trade agreement or preferential trade agreement” Suresh Prabhu. In the current �nancial year ending March 31, Indian’s exports of services and merchandise together would touch a record $540

billion. The Indian-Africa trade stands at $ 62 billion. He said FDI in�ows in the last �scal, and the country’s outbound investment �ows are also increasing. India exports pharmaceuticals, engineering and electronic products to Africa and imports natural sources ad diamonds.

India keen to host WTO mini ministerial

India has proposed to host an informal gathering of ministers of the members of World Trade Organisation (WTO) in May to discuss the interests of least developed countries and developing countries in global trade rules aimed the US accusing emerging economics of bene�tting from exemptions meant for poor nations. WTO allows special provisions for developing countries called Special and Di�erential Treatment (S&DT), a similar meeting hosted by India last year teamed up with China, South Africa and Venezuela to counter the US allegations.o Exemptions under S&DT- Longer time periods to implement agreements andcommitments Measures to increase trading opportunities Provisions to safeguard their trade interests Support to build capacity to handle disputes Implement technical standards The mini ministerial meet is being planned even as New Delhi is in the process of �nalising a proposal to reform the multilateral trade watchdog that is rendered unproductive with the US blocking the appointment of judges for more than two years.

Temporary entry of professionals

US, the EU, Australia, Canada and New Zealand expressed apprehension at India’s proposal for simpler and more transparent quali�cation and licensing norms for temporary entry of professionals in other countries. The proposal, that talks of giving considerationto relevant professional experience of applicants as a complement to educational quali�cations, has found support from developing countries and LDC members, including the African Group. Mode 4 or movement of natural persons is one of the four ways through which services can be supplied internationally. Developed countries said they were not convinced that India’s approach o�ered a way forward. In its revised proposal, India has recommended WTO members to accept applications in electronic format with the

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norm mandating physical presence in the territory of a member for the submission of an application for a license and quali�cation and has included clauses pertaining to requests for extensions of stay.

India USA Generalized System of Preferences

India will ask the US to delay by 2 months the implementation of the latter’s recent decision to withdraw duty bene�ts on annual Indian exports of $5.6 billion from May under the so-called Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). New Delhi could seek more time to �rm up a �nal o�er. Policymaker are busy campaigning for the general election. The US indicated that it could review its decision on the GSP bene�t withdrawal if India commits more to address American concerns. India had proposed to replace its extant price cap regime for coronary stents with a trade margin policy to ease concerns of American manufacturers. US demand to scrap/cut tari� on ICT products. New Delhi had conveyed to Washington that any such across-the -board cut would help only third parties (like China and Korea) and was willing to lower duties on those products where it would bene�t the US and also o�ered to simplify certain certi�cation procedures for dairy imports. US Lawmakers: President Donald Trump should delay his decision to terminate the preferential trade status granted to India. Trump informed the US Congress about his intent to terminate the designation of India as a bene�ciary developing country under GSP. Nearly 2,000 products including auto components and textile materials can enter the US duty-free if the bene�ciary developing countries meet the eligibility criteria established by the congress.

Country-by -Country (CbC)

India and the US signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement forexchange of Country-by-Country (CbC) reports along with the Bilateral Competent Authority Arrangement, will enable both the countries to automatically exchange CbC reports �led by the ultimate parent entities of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in the respective jurisdications, pertaining to the years commencing on or after January 1, 2016, a Finance Ministry statement said. India has already signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) for exchange of CbC reports, which has enabled exchange with 62 jurisdications.

Nine banks win case in US

A US judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to hold nine large European banks liable for allegedly providing banking services to Iran that enabled militants to conduct 55 attacks against U.S. armed forces in neighbouring Iraq. 9 banks were sued by military personnel who survived the attacks and relatives of those killed. The U.S. Department of State has designated Iran a state sponsor of terrorism since 1984.

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Polity and Governance

SECTION 126:

Election commission of India formed a10 membercommittee chaired by Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Umesh Sinha to give recommendations on section 126 of the representation of the people (RP) act,1951. Section 126 deals with ‘Silent Period’ which means that no one will propagate any election matter to the public during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour �xed for the conclusion of polls for any election in a polling area. This period of 48 hours in India is” sacrosanct” and voters are provided a period of silence to “independently consider their decision”. The panel had submitted its recommendations in January this year. Intermediaries (ex., Facebook, twitter, Instagram ...etc) should also be brought within the scope of section 126. The reason behind this that intermediaries are increasingly becoming avenues for manipulating and in�uencing voters by providing an easy and convenient medium for spreading disinformation, misinformation fake and hate news across the world.

Electoral bonds: better than nothing

Electoral bonds help to traced illegal wealth if it is being ploughed into political funding, with electoral bonds the identity of a large donor is captured by the issuing bank. Political money has been a route to white wash illegal money. The identity of a donor ’secret’ can also be traced by Electoral bonds. The earlier donation cap of 7.5% of average of three years net pro�t for corporate donors has removed by the Government, means a �rm can donated unlimited money to party without the public ever getting to know which doesn’t help the cause of transparency.

SNS: code of ethics for Lok Sabha elections

Social media platforms told the Election Commission of India that they will develop a ‘code of ethics’ for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. SNS players met chief election commissioner Sunil Arora and election commissioners Ashok Lavasa and Sushil Chandra. The focus of discussion is appointment of a dedicated grievance channel for expeditious action by the organisations, pre- certi�cation and transparency in expenditure of political advertisements. Chandra said that deterrents like some punitive action against users misusing the platforms should be considered pro-actively. Lavasa said that a clear clause on users voluntarily agreeing not to misuse social media platforms for election or political purposes should be considered by the management. Arora argued the platforms to come up with a similar model code of conduct for the ongoing election process in the immediate context and a lasting document in the long run. ShareChat has also started tagging of content creators so whenever a post leaves its platform with the original creator’s user ID, ShareChat can easily identify who has originally shared the content. It has also has mandatory registration requires a registered mobile number and help to identify individuals if they are proved to be involved in spreading any kind of fake news or hate speech.

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NotesAppointments & Resignations

UNDP appoints Padma Lakshmi as Goodwill Ambassador

Indian- American television personality and food expert Padma lakshmi has been appointed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the eve of International’s Women’s Day as its newest Goodwill Ambassador, supporting the agency’s �ght against inequality and discrimination around the world.

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Cabinet decision

On Thursday government approved number of development projects in areas like health, power, metro rail, bridges. It also cleared upto Rs. 25,000 crore FDI by Vodafone Idea by way of a rights issue and setting up of Air India Assets Holding ltd. (AIAHL) – a special purpose vechile (SPV) housing national carrier’s Rs. 29,464 crore working capital debt. AIAHL will contain four Air India (AI) subsidiaries – Air India Transport Services Ltd (AIATSL), Airline Allied Services Ltd (AASL), Air India Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL) and Hotel Corporation of India (HCIL) apart from non-core assets like land, buildings, paintings and artefacts. The working capital debt will be served by selling these assets as per the new turnaround plan for cash-strapped airline. Two policies have been cleared �rst is National Policy on Software Products ,2019 aimed at increasing the size of the country’s software products industry to $ 70 billion by 2025 and creation of new employment of 55 lakh. An initial outlay of Rs 1,500 crore will be involved to implement programmes for a period of 7 years. This amount will be divided into Software Product Development Fund and Research and Innovation Fund. Second policy is the National Mineral Policy 2019, aims at encouraging private participation in the non-coal and non-fuel mineral exploration space with a slew of incentives including the �rst right of refusal for exploration �rms in the mines they hadexplored. India’s mining exploration sector has been untapped with only 10% of the8lakh square km potentially resourcebearing areaexplored so far. Mining takes place on just 1%of the explored areas.

It approved “asset monetisation policy” as a new tool to boost disinvestment receipts from sale of PSU assets such as gas pipelines, power transmission lines, telecom powers of PSUs as well as enemy properties. Limited subsidised loans o�ered to sugar mills to help them clear arrears exceeded as much as Rs. 20,000 crore so far. The subsidy will allow mills to get loans at just around 7-8 %. Cabinet approved Kanpur metro rail project cost of Rs.11,076 crore which will be completed in �ve years. Metro rail project for Agra has been given the nod, cost Rs 8,380 crore. Another decision was to infuse a share capital of Rs. 1,450 crore into National Housing Bank.

Launch of Hackathon

Union HDR minister Prakash Javadekar announced the launch of the third edition of “Smart Hackathon” on 1st March,2019 a national competition for students to develop solutions for real life problems. From October the students will be able to register Last year over 1 lakh students took part, expecting participation of around 1.5 lakh students this year,” he added. Twentyninedepartments under various ministries presented 598 problem statements for which they did not have digital solution. It harnesses creativity and expertise of students, sparks institute level hackathon builds funnel for start-up India campaign, improving governance and quality of life and provides opportunity to citizens to provide innovative solutions to India’s daunting problems, a senior HDR o�cial said.

Skill vouchers for skilling Indian youth

Indian government is considering issuing skill vouchers or skill wallets to youth to undertake skilling programme of their own choice and pay for skill training at any of the approved skill provider. The government plan is to shift from subsidy-based system to incentive-based Skill India mission launched in 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Enough consolidation and upgradation has happened in the last four years under the Skill India mission, but now it is the time to experiment new model and making skilling aspirational for India’s youth.”The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).

Rising number of Ujjwala customers

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) started in May 2016, especially targets the woman below poverty line (BPL) for LPG connections with a support of Rs. 1,600 and those with family

Government Schemes

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income below Rs 10 lakh get subsidy of 12 cylinders. In PMUY 40.7 million new lique�ed petroleum gas (LPG) connections being added in 2018-19, 45% more than 2017-18. First nine month of the current �scal year marks 23% more than the last year. In April-December 2018 Rs. 25,700 crore subsidywere shelled out as compared to Rs. 20,880 crore during whole of FY18. However, the budget for 2019-20 provided only Rs.20,283 crore. The government expects the rise of 62 per cent to Rs 32,989 crore next year. There were around 148 million LPG consumers in India on March 31, 2015and increased by about 77 percent to 261.6 million now also 68.9 million bene�ciaries across 714 districts

FAME-II

The government has constituted an inter-ministerial panel for monitoring, sanctioning and implementation of projects under the Rs 10,000-crore FAME-II Programme chaired by the secretary in the department of Heavy Industries, with the aim of incentivising clean mobility.

Start-ups rush to register with DPIIT

Start-ups rushed to get themselves registered with the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) to take advantage of the incentives. As many as 85 start-ups got themselves registered on Wednesday, much higher than the daily average of less than 10 in recent months.

Subsidy Reforms

Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s promises to give Rs 6,000 per month to India’s 20% poorest family, if he will win the election. He said it will eliminate poverty completely. We are talking aboutreplacing all with cash transfers. Cash transfer will not distort market, because everything will be at market price. There is no logic in giving support to well o� classes. It costs Rs 3,60,000 crore which is greater than what the Central government spends on all manner of subsidies today, from food to electricity, fertilizers, water, scholarships, rations etc. Average household in the bottom most decile as per Price’s ICE all-India income survey D1: earns Rs 129,000/ year D2: earns Rs 178,000/ year D3: earns Rs 224,000/ year D4: earns Rs 253,000/ year D3 + D4 will resent a decline in their relative economic status.

NYAY Scheme

P Chidambaram took an doubters and naysayers. He said minimum income support scheme- which will give 20% families in poorest of the poor category Rs 72,000 each annually, bene�ting around 25 crore people - will be”rolled out in phases” and said that the scheme has to be tested in the �eld �rst. An expert committee will be set up for its implementationand it will design the scheme at every stage. he claimed thatenough economist and expert has been consulted includingRBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, and they all agreed that Indiahas the capacity to implement this scheme. Rajan said that the scheme can “revolutionise things” if implemented properly, he is sceptical of the funding. The additional potential outlay of Rs 3.6 lakh crore for NYAY will increase the subsidy burden to Rs 6.94 lakh.in that there is no space in the country to handle Rs 7 Lakh crore subsidy, but Chidambaram is con�dent that the NYAY scheme will cost 1.8% of the GDP and will not cross 2% of the GDP.

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e-Commerce policy

This policy deals with topic like data dominance, data sovereigntyand abuse of market power by big technology companies to protect its data to make it available for Indian start-ups while the opposing camp sees the policy as protectionist that will sti�e innovation, foreign capital �ow and hurt consumer choice. Last date for response is March 9. This policy is not only about ecommerce, there is social media, cloud and It’s like an internet blockade. It proposes that all ecommerce websites and apps selling to Indian consumer for downloading have a registered business entity here. It protects from sharing of sensitive data of Indian users with third party entities, even with consent. Data monopoly is a serious problem where a single company monopolises data and market intelligence. Facebook and Google get Indian data for little and make lots of money. Many technology lawyers and think tanks feels that instead of demonising US companies, the government should encourage the Indian start-up ecosystem to improve through tax incentives and friendly Indian equity investment rules.

Online sales back on track

Online business marketplaces become normal after New Delhi’s changes the overseas ownership rules disrupted sales early February. Foreign direct investment gives seller the opportunity to directly deal with the brands. Smartphones and electronics are the two largest categories online with 55-60% of the total business.

US China trade deal

The US and China are close to a trade deal that could lift most US tari�s as long as Beijing follows through on pledges ranging from better protecting intellectual property rights to buying a signi�cantamount of American products. China“Removing levies on $200 billion of Chinese goods quickly was necessary to �nalize any deal”, US answered “only lift the duties fully when Beijing implemented all parts of the agreement”. According to “The Wall Street Journal” Meeting could happen between President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping around 27march

India’s �ourishing Services Sector

Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index rose from 52.2 in January to 52.5 in February. A print above 50 means expansion and below denotes contraction. The services PMI was in the expansion territory for the ninth straight month and was domestically driven, new business received by services companies rose in February, good news for our economy. According to Pollyanna de lima, principal economist at IHS Markit”Faster increases in new York and business activity supporting one of the best upturns in jobs for eight years” and also the manufacturing and services industry rose from 53.6 in January to 53.8, indicating speeding up activity in the country.

Trade unions demand national minimum wage, pension

Other than the RSS-a�liated Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh,10 central trade unionsdemandsthe next government should aim to set a national minimum wages, same pay for both man and woman, an end to contract labour and a minimum indexed pension of Rs. 6,000 per month. The unions said those employed in di�erent government schemes, including anganwadi workers and helpers accredited social health activists (ASHA) and must get minimum wages and social security bene�ts including pension.

URLs blocked by government in 2018

Internet activists are concerned about websites being blocked by internet service providers (ISPs) and the government without any reason. Last year, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology(MeitY) blocked 2,799 URLs for allegedly hosting

Miscellaneous

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malicious content, marking a sharp increase from 2017, when 1,385 URLs were blocked. In 2016, 633 URLs were blocked. The government has withheld information on the list of blocked websites under the right to information (RTI) Act, said internet activists. Many blockades, when brought to the notice of courts, were revoked, but the URLsstill remain inaccessible. A MeitY o�cial said, no website is blocked arbitrarily. “No government machinery can order without valid reason and without following valid procedure. The only procedure available to us is Section 69A empowers the Centre to block websites in the interest of national security and Section 79 empowers the government to issue a notice to an intermediary to remove any content that it �nds illegal.

Shell-shocked

The Supreme Court has dealt a blow to companies with shell �rms to launder money and escape tax. Supreme Court said if the taxman can back up its claim with su�cient investigation and the company receiving funds as a share capital fails to prove the genuineness of the deal, the company will have to pay tax on the amount.

IT Parliamentary panel asks Facebook to �ght misinformation

Facebook executives, including its global policy chief Joel Kaplan and India head Ajit Mohan, met with the parliamentary committee on information technology (IT) and asked Facebook to do more to curb fake news on its platform ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections 2019 and to work more closely with India’s election commission to ensure free and fair elections A source on the panel said that while Facebook has acknowledge that it doesn’t “always get it right” when it comes to moderating content, the panel got the sense that the company was “unwilling to be properly scrutinised and transparent”.

India needs more exports to boost wages: Report

According to a report from the World Bank and the International Labour Organization, India needs to ramp up exports if workers are to enjoy higher wages. The link between exports and economic growth, the authors show how the trade can help draw people out of the informal, or unregulated, economy and boost pay, thereby reducing poverty. The value of India’s exports rises by $100 per worker would increase average annual wages by Rs 572 ($8) per person. Nearly one crore Indians enter the workforce every year in a country where almost 60% of the population live below a poverty line of $3.2 a day. India’s economy has grown at a robust pace of about 7% in the past few years, become less reliant on trade over the years. The World Bank estimates that trade as a percentage of gross domestic product dropped to 41% in 2017 from 55.8% in 2012. India’s share of world exports is 1.7%, 2.5% of global imports and about 800,000 jobs moved from the informal economy to the formal sector between 1999 and 2011 because of export growth, representing 0.8% of the labour force.

Women in the world of Oil

At more than 11,800 feet from sea level in Phey Village of Ladakh, Padma Angmo and 10 other women work, more than half the sta� of strength of 20, at the world’s highest LPG bottling plant run by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s largest fuel retailer, ensures cooking gas access to far-�ung areas of Ladakh and Kargil where temperature can fall to minus 30 degrees, besides serving the security forces. While women account for 28% of the total workforce in India, the share of women in oil and gas is just 8%.

Govt panel gets more powers to decide on privatisation of state-owned �rms

The group of ministers (GoM) will now also take decisions on the timing, price and quantum of shares of a company to be put on the block. The Cabinet Committee on Economic A�airs (CCEA) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided on Thursday to delegate these responsibilities to an Alternative Mechanism (AM). This will facilitate quick decision- making and obviate the need for multiple instances of approval by CCEA for the same CPSE. There are 30 state-owned companies, including Air India, Dredging corp, Pawn Hans, Central Electronics and Scooters India. For example, in the case of strategic sale of Pawan Hans, the AM will have Jaitley, Gadkari, along with Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhuand will decide on when to sell the company, at what price, and how many shares will be o�ered. “The CCEA has approved delegation of the following delegation of the following Alternative Mechanism in all the cases of strategic disinvestment of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) where the CCEA has given ‘in principle ‘approval for strategic disinvestment,” an o�cial statement said.

India’s exports

On Thursday Union Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said India’s goods export will touch 330 billion dollar in 2018-19, which will be the highest ever. He said country’s merchandise exports have seen high growth in the past six years.

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WTO Peace Clause

A recent ruling of the World Trade Organization (WTO) against China saying that it provided trade distorting support for its grain producers and questioning the methodology of calculating its subsidies is damaging for India as well. India can also invoke the peace clause that grants immunity to its food procurement programmes in case any country takes its farm subsidies to dispute. Brazil and Australia have requested WTO dispute with India regarding domestic support measures and alleged export subsidies provided by India to producers of sugarcane and sugar. The peace clause protects India’s food procurement programmes against action from WTO members as subsidy ceilings- 10% of value of food production in India’s case- are breached.

India’s nutrition and health insecurity caused by Climate Change

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (October 2018) shared that human activities have led to a 1˚C (0.8˚ C to 1.2˚C) rise in temperatures (global warming) above pre-industrial levels, in which atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide was 280 parts per million (ppm) and at present it is 410 ppm and if it continues to increase this will reach 1.5˚ C between 2030 and 2052. “250,000 deaths per year will take place between 2030 and 2050.” World Health Organisation. India already is one of the top rankers in malnutrition globally. Indian Agriculture and Food Production is highly harmed to climate change largely because the sector continues to be highly sensitive to monsoon variability. 65% of Indian’s cropped area is rain-fed. Increasing population and rapid rate of urbanisation are nutrition threats owing to climate change. Not only money but food scarcity to food excess, climate change, pollution exacerbation the challenge, one of the risk factors for non-communicable diseases like hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular problems, absence of adaption strategies, increasing ambient temperature in (sub)tropical areas, tropospheric ozone, water salinity etc. EAT-Lancet Commission’s food advisory recommends consumption of fruits and vegetables rather than meat for preserving own health and nature. India depends a lot on imports for ful�lling nutritional needs of the population, funding needs to be earmarked for designing, rolling out modern climate change-resistant infrastructure and technology to tackle climate change and nutrition insecurity.

Early warning systems, mitigation and adaption strategies are needed and we have to �nd more sustainable, resilient and e�cient ways of producing, trading, distributing and consuming diversi�ed agricultural food products. Academic and research capacity need to be augmented.

Enforcement Directorate on Vijay Mallya

Enforcement directorate will oppose any claims of �rst right of access to the assets of fugitive businessman Vijay Mallya by any private entity, only make an exception for state-run lenders. British spirits maker Diageo is seeking �rst right of access to Mallya’s assets. Similar claims made by other borrowers in their responses to the application �led by State Bank of India. The agency is likely to convey its stand in Mumbai on March 13. “It needs to be appreciated that it is the consortium ofpublic banks (led by State Bank of India) which is thecomplainant in the case registered against Mallya under thePrevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Kochhar’s may have diverted ‘kickbacks’ to tax haven

Enforcement Directorate investing the money laundering case against former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak, is focusing on the trail of kickbacks allegedly paid by two companies and now from the interrogation we have some workable leads which indicate that the monies received as kickbacks were diverted to a tax haven and is being investigated over allegations of a quid pro quo for loans to companies linked to Videocon and Essar group with which her husband had a business relationship. Now the probe is concentrating on the diversion and trail of the money �ow and how it was used by the couple to buy private assets.

Indian Education

Earlier India were facing the problem of access to school education for our children as we have not delivered quality learning outcomes, but the initiatives like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, mid-day meal and improving learning outcomes have solved this problem and now Gross enrolment crossing 100%.

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Assessments by the ministry of human resources development and the Union government, such as the National Achievement Survey (NAS), are designed to strengthen this focus. There is a major shift in the thinking of policymakers in tracking educational inputs. States are undertaking various measures to renovate the quality of school education, to support interventions like improving classroom pedagogy, teacher training and tech- enabled learning, but their impact has been limited when compared to the magnitude of the challenges confronted. There’s a new approach in states like Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan. These states have recognized that unless academic changes are not accompanied with administrative reforms that create an enabling environment for these new practices to take root, nothing will change. Haryana has signi�cant progress in its learning outcomes, with grade-level e�ciency seeing an increase from 40% in 2014 to approximately 80% currently. Rajasthan’s steady rise to the top of the education chart in NAS in 2017. These changes are also reinstating parents faith in the public education system, states like Himachal Pradesh witnessing a reverse migration of students from private to government schools, as learning levels of government and private schools level begin to meet. These states have also developed user friendly dashboards that assist education o�cials and the sate leadership in decision-making.

Adaption of great competence instead of just syllabus completion,e�ective delivery of remedial education for weaker students, enable and incentivize teachers to perform better through data-driven insights, training and recognition, a tech platform is also set up. This streamlines communication and saves teacher’s valuable time that they might have spent on administrative tasks, such as leave applications, allowance claims, transfers and service book updates after that teachers have more available time in the classrooms, results in improved quality of “in-classroom transactions”. Such state- wide campaigns re-energize parents and the community at large, and channel the attention of all stakeholders towards better learning outcomes. Although this is not enough, it is also important to track the performance of the schooling system on a regular basis and a robust accountability system is required wherein there is a clear articulation of the roles and responsibilities of all relevant stakeholders and the administration is empowered to act where necessary, involves frequent real-time, data-enabled review meetings at the block, district, and state levels.

FPIs not happy with SEBI rules

Large overseas fund managers such as Templeton, Fidelity and BlackRock have opposed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) proposal to create a central database containing the personal information of all bene�cial powers of o�shore funds. Such a database held by an external agency in India would violate the law in their home countries. SEBI has issued a circularon April 10 last year asking foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to identify the BO of a fund based on not just ownership but control as well. Under this, FPIs will have to submit KYC documents of bene�cial owners to custodian banks, which in turn will share them with registrars.

Finance Ministry eyes are set

The Finance Ministry is working out a mechanism under which Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) will have to part with a portion of the proceeds of non-core asset sales as dividend to the exchequer. Proceeds from the non-core asset sales of state-owned companies which are candidates for strategic disinvestment and fund raised through sale of immovable enemy property will be treated as ‘disinvestment proceeds’. Niti Aayog has been asked to draw up a list of non-core assets of CPSEs, whether pro�t making or loss incurring, for possible monetisation. This mechanism would provide incentive to the company to go ahead with asset sale with rewarding the government as promoter of these CPSEs. The government has budgeted Rs 1.36 lakh crore as ‘dividends and pro�ts’ in the next �scal, up from Rs 1.19 lakh crore in 2018-19, amount includes the money received as dividend from CPSEs and surplus transfers from the Reserve Bank. Finance Ministry is planning to set up a special cell in the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) to coordinate with the concerned company and the administrative ministry as well as appoint transaction advisors. For the next �scal, the government has set a disinvestment target of Rs 90,000 crore, up from Rs 80,000 crore in the ongoing �nancial year

Pradhan seeks Saudi help to cool fuel rates

With oil prices on the boil, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has asked world’s largest oil exporter Saudi Arabia to play an active role in keeping rates at a reasonable level, and also pointed to the need for uninterrupted supplies of crude oil and LPG to India, as international rates have risen on hopes of the Unites States and China ending a trade war that has slowed

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down the global economic growth and Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) ally Russia saying it would ramp up its crude supply cuts. This visitre�ects the intensifying engagement between the two countries in hydrocarbon sector.

Export index for states

Niti Aayog and Commerce Ministry are going to make an exports index with the Aim to promote a healthy competition among states, half dozen of parameters with 30-40 parameters under the 6 main sub-heads based on international trade parameters but tweaked to Indian scenario. Trade has been a top priority for the government. If India intends to increase its exports and share of globe trade, we will have to improve the export readiness of states. Export policies of various states are being studied to identify the best practices. Aayog will seek inputs from trade bodies like Export- Import Bank of India (EXIM BANK), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Director General of Foreign Trade etc. India’s exports stood at $303 billion in 2017-18 expected to grow 7.3% year on year to $325 billion in 2018-19.

Boeing 737 MAX 8

United States will mandate that Boeing implement design changes by April. After the recent crashes in Ethiopia and in Indonesia, the plane was airworthy and did not need to be grounded. Boeing con�rmed the Federal Aviation Administration’s announcement late on March 11 that it will deploy a software upgrade across the 737 MAX 8 �eet in the “coming weeks” as pressure mounted.

Start-ups are hiring fewer Women

LocalCircles a major social media platform conducted a survey for Maternity bene�ts, in which 30,000 small businesses were participated: 46% of start-ups and SMEs, said that mostly males are hired in the past 18 months and about 42% reveal they won’t hire female employees at all. On 7th march LocalCircles wrote a letter to labour minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar and commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu and demand to exempt those entities that employ less than 20 employees or have an annual turnover of less than Rs 10 crore, these small start-ups and SMEs are willing to o�er 12- week paid leaves only as per the earlier rule in which there are 26 weeks of maternity leave and in which government proposed to share cost of 7 weeks. These are applicable to those only who are getting up to Rs 15,000 a month. “There would be a net job loss of 11-18 lakh women in 2018-19 due to the new rules” TeamLease.

Shell companies

“The companies that are incorporated before December 2017 have to �le a new form to disclose their particulars, including a fully functional registered o�ce (Rule 25A) this will help to weed out shell companies” Ministry of Corporate A�airs. MCA can also conduct random checks to ascertain whether the o�ce exists and is operational, such steps strengthen theregulatory architecture and cleanses the system of unproductiveshell companies. Firms are required to �le in e-form ACTIVE on or before April 25, 2019. ACTIVE stands for “Active Company Tagging Identities and Veri�cation”. The concept of ACTIVE to tag the company’s identity and its registered o�ce is one feature under the new rule.EXEMPTED COMPANIES- Companies, which have been struck o� or are under the process of being stricken o� or are under liquidation or dissolved. Any company that has not �led its �nancial statements or annual returns with the Registrar of Companies.

National Voluntary Guidelines by MCA

Ministry of Corporate A�airs revised the National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business, 2100 (NVGs) and formulated the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC). MCA urged NGRBC to follow the principles in letter and spirit. The principles envisage businesses to conduct and govern themselves in a manner that is ethical, transparent and accountable and to provide goods and services in a sustainable and safe manner also respect and promote the well-being of all employees and respect interests of and be responsive to all their stakeholders. MCA has constituted a committee on business responsibility reporting (BRR) to develop BRR formats for listed and unlisted companies also in the process of developing a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights by 2020.

Norway wealth fund’s watchdog on India

The ethics watchdog for Norway’s $1-trillion wealth fund, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund will focus this year on shipbreaking on India’s beach. 80% shipbreaking takes place in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. Shipbreaking endangers workers and pollutes the sea and sand also looked out pollution caused by pharmaceutical com. Council of ethics checks that companies the fund invests in meet these ethical standards. The fund owns share in 9,158 companies,1.4 percent of the world’s listed equity. For the 1st time pollution, particularly from antibiotic production, caused by pharmaceutical companies will be under its scanner and will also focus that could endanger UNESCO World Heritages Sites.

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INTERVIEW of Nitin Gadkari

He said- Pace of highway construction almost trebled to 35 km/day in the last �ve years, 403 projects worth Rs 3.85 lakh crore were struck and 45projects were terminated that were found to be non-viable. There is atransparency and honesty in project selection, �nancing and execution. In 5 year he invest Rs 11 lakh for highways, Rs 5 lakh crore for ports and Rs 1 lakh for water resources. HAM is a PPP (Public Private Partnership) model in which the government gives the government gives 40% grant-in and developers bring in the remaining 60% almost evenly through equity and debt. He said, he wanted to make waterways on the Yamuna.

Shakti B (ii)

Coal India will hold a third round of auctions for giving out long term fuel supply contracts under Shakti B(ii), participants of the �rst round would be eligible to bid. Shakti B(ii) is for power producers who have power purchase agreements with discoms but do not have coal supply contracts with Coal India. Ten companies with a total capacity of 8,840 MW had taken part in the �rst round of auction.

Centre tells EC on PM KISAN

Centre writes to Election Commission to remove bar on use of data on “small and marginal farmers” received from the state governments after Parliament elections were announced on March 10. Data is pertaining to PM KISAN if not then, not more than 4.76 crore farmers can get the �rst tranche of Rs 2,000. So far Rs 5,500 crore to over 2.75 crore bene�ciary bank accounts are transferred. According to the EC’s manual of model code of conduct, the works on projects could continued by the government agencies without reference to it if “speci�c bene�ciaries have been identi�ed by name before coming of Model Code into force”.

India may stop gold imports

India may stop import of re�ned gold in three to �ve years. India’s annual gold consumption is about 800-900 tonnes of which 750 tonnes is imported. Experts said if gold imported for exporting was not considered, 50 percent of domestic demand was met by gold re�ned in India. In gold bullion summit most participant said India could produce 100-150 tonnes of gold and gold- monetisation scheme is alsoexpected to gain over the next three to �ve years. Only Londonbullion market-certi�ed gold was accepted in the internationalmarket and India had only one such re�nery.

G2G Trade for food products

India is worried about slowdown in exports and is looking to use its good relations with other countries and push government to government trading arrangements for food products like Non-Basmati rice to the Philippines and Indonesia, Sugar to Egypt. $900b looks bit unachievable due to muted growth of traditional exports.

Rupee payment for Venezuelan oil

The US has imposed a series of sanctions on Venezuela to squeeze its oil revenue and force the nation’s President Nicolas Maduro step down. Given the massive American in�uence on the international �nancial system the only viable alternative for re�ners in India is to pay in local currency.

Two-wheeler production cut

Two-wheeler companies decide to cut production by around 15% from the current month till day due to slow growth sales have been sluggish since September.

CCI says DP world trying to halt possible adverse probe �ndings

Indian’s antitrust regulator said in a court �lling that a challenge by Dubai’s DP World of a probe into its alleged anti-competitive practices at a Mumbai port. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) told a Mumbai court that DP World’s local unit had “prematurely” rushed to court to stall or delay the probe. The CCI last year ordered an investigation into suspected antitrust violations by DP World and Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk followed by a complaint by Singapore’s PSA international Pte Ltd. JNPT is critical to India’s international trade, handling 66 million tonnes of cargo in the �scal year through March 2018. The port typically handles more than half of India’s annual container tra�c. The CCI has since last year launched several antitrust investigations involving foreign companies.

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Disclosure to disquali�cation

On September 2018 Supreme Court rejected a bunch of petitions that asked for disquali�cation of criminal candidates in elections, the decision came almost after twenty years after the �rst successful petition �led by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) in the Delhi High Court. Prime Minister’s maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha mentioned this issue of cleansing politics and fast-track courts. “Apex court cannot add new disquali�cation since this is in the legislative domain”. Attorney general. The number of crorepatis in Parliament increased from 156 to 315 to 449 from 2004 till 2014 and the average wealth of the present outgoing Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha is 14 crore and 55 crore.

Power tari� may see hike

Tari�s of coal-based electricity may be raised by as much as Rs 0.45/unit to make thermal power stations to make thermal power stations more �exible to accommodate renewable energy and it will depend on the quantum of green energy being generated by solar and wind plants. The tari� rise is about 13% of the average all-India price at which states procured non-renewable power in FY18. ‘Flexible operation of thermal power plant for integration of renewable generation’ by Central Electricity Authority. This report says that revision of tari� is essential to make pro�table �exible operation of thermal units. The country expects to have an installed renewable capacity of 175 GW by FY22 when daily net load swings are expected to be up to 80,000 MW.

Job skills at Schools

India is young nation with an average age is estimated to be 29 years.o Europe: 46 yearso Japan: 47 yearso US: 40 years

As per Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, 54% ofthe population below 25 years of age. Over the next 20 years, labour force in the industrialised world will decline by 4% and India labour force will increase by 32%. India needs to equip its workforce with employable skills, particularly transversal skills and knowledge. There are millions of workers willing to �ll positions, they lack the skills to do so due to the old-fashioned education system that is focused on ‘book learning’. ‘Transversal skills’ are most important said by UNESCO International Bureau of Education. Skills that are not related to a particular job, task, academic discipline or area of knowledge, but as skills that can be used in a variety of situations and work settings. Critical and innovative thinking, Interpersonal skills includes presentation and communications skills, organisational skills, teamwork. Intrapersonal skills includesself-discipline, perseverance, motivation, adaptability. In primary school, children are exposed to diversity in terms of multiple cultures from which students come. By interacting with

teachers/classmates, they develop communication and interpersonal skills and learn about ethics and tolerance. Soft skills need to be taught in a more structured manner. Secondary education should focus on building advanced transversal skills. The MSDE was set up in November 2014 to give a fresh impetus to Skill India. Under it, skilling is being integrated into formal education by introducing vocational training linked to the local economy from class 9 onwards, in an atleast 25% of the schools.

Unequal access to tech

As per GSMA’s 2019 Mobile Gender Gap Report 80% of women in middle- and low- income countries are now mobile owners. Despite the growth in connectivity, the gender gap in mobile ownership is not closing and varies by region and country but is widest in south Asia where women are 28% less likely than men to own a mobile device and 59% less likely to use the mobile internet. Women highlighted a�ordability, literacy and digital skills a perceived lack of relevance and safety and security concerns as the top barriers needing to be addressed in order to further decrease the mobile gender gap.

Cruise tourism

Cruise tourism is an integral part of the tourism industry of major coastal countries globally with a coastline of more than 4,600 miles along with great heritage and culture, a diverse terrain and a variety of �ora and fauna. India has a great potential for the cruise-tourism sector still less explored and mostly untapped. Leading cruise liners are trying to target India as a prospective market The Indian government has been encouraging cruise liners to increase their operations in India also appointed global consultants to setup a roadmap for the development of cruise tourism in India.o Steps taken by Ministry of Shipping

development of cruise terminalsrelaxation of port chargesrelaxation of ship licensing requirementsNecessary tax reforms must be announced to ensure a level

playing �eld for cruise operators from India compared to foreign operators.

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Cruise company enjoy a taxholiday or their income is subject to a favourable tax regime these tax bene�ts o�ered, in turn, have played an important role in the growth of cruise sector in those countries. In India, foreign-based cruise liners, plying in India, are either not subject to tax in India. They got bene�t of Article 8 of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement or are subject to presumptive taxation under section 44B of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 with an e�ective tax rate around 3,3% on India-sourced income. Indian companies operating cruise vessels in India are not eligible for favourable tax treatment under Section 44B of the Act. If a favourable tax regime is not provided to Indian cruise operators, they will be liable to pay taxes at the normal corporate tax rate of 30% which would make them unviable. Another important aspect under the Indian tax regime is the applicability of Goods and Service Tax (GST) law to the cruise liners. Currently, leading global cruise liners are seeking exemptions from GST stating that cruise companies will face di�culty to operate in a country where they have to pay GST on the ticket price and on-board supplies and services which form a major part of the total income of the cruise company.

CBSE curriculum

The CBSE is set to introduce Arti�cial Intelligence (AI), Early Childhood Care Education (ECCE), and yoga as skill subjects in the school curriculum for the coming academic session. While AI is to be introduced as an optional sixth subject for class IX, ECCE and yoga are to be introduced as elective subjects at senior secondary level.

Hard copies of telephone bills

Telecom operators will have to continue providing hard copies of telephone bills to their subscribers without any cost, sector regulator TRAI said on Monday. The TRAI said telecom operators could send electronic copies of the bills to consumers only after their explicit consent also paper industry in India is forest-based but engages around 5 lakh farmers from whom more than 90% of the industry’s wood requirement is sourced.

Export licence for restricted items

Commerce Ministry has introduced an online system for exporters to obtain export license for restricted category goods to promote paperless work and EoDB. Applications by exporters will be �led online on E-com module for export authorisations. The consultation process with administrative departments will also be online, from April 1, 2019 it is mandatory to apply online, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).

Reinvent Niti Aayog: Y V Reddy

Former RBI Governor Y V Reddy said, The Niti Aayog su�ers from a “wide mandate” and “di�used focus” and there is a need to reinvent the organisation in the context of �scal federalism and to upgrade the Niti Aayog and empower it to perform functions of Centre and state coordination. A book titled ‘Indian Fiscal Federalism’ authored by the former governor and co-authored by G R Reddy.

India can sell its nuclear expertise

India can and must become an active seller, Civil nuclear commerce for India should not mean just buy. The US is to build six nuclear power plants in India, as per a joint statement issued this month in Washington DC. The fact is that Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) has now purposefully streamlined nuclear plant construction pan-India. It is currently erecting as many as nine nuclear power reactors, and the target is to build 21 new nuclear plants with an installed capacity of 15,700 MW by 2031. NPCIL has innovated plant speci�cations, design parameters and standardised equipment to adhere to scheduled timelines.

MeitY on Data Breach

The ministry of electronics and IT (MeitY) proposed a sti� penalty of Rs 5 crore on IT platforms, including social media sites like Facebook and Twitter for failing to comply with rules and regulations under the Information Technology Act,2000 and send a note to the Union Cabinet for amending Section 45 to provide for compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the person impacted by the breach.

Con�ict in the World we live

Con�ict has increased globally during the last decade and it is not just one-o� events, but cycle of repeated violence and it a�ected nearly 2 billion people and resulted in a loss of more than 10% of the global economic activity. Con�ict comes in multiple forms. International ideological movements can merge with local grievances and di�erent forms of violence can get linked to each other. No country can a�ord to ignore areas where repeated cycles of con�ict �ourish.

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o Con�ict could be external or internal to the country: Internal con�icts can be further classi�ed into two di�erent

categories:a. Against the stateb. People-to-people con�ict (ethnic and religious violence)

Internal con�icts are related to economic dynamics. Globalevidence supports a strong inverse relationship between con�ict and per capita income level. A di�erent approach to dealing with con�ict is to conduct negotiations and sign peace agreements with the insurgents. The government must conduct coordinated negotiations. Internal con�ict has replaced external con�ict. Internal con�ict against the state has increased.

Notes

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Banking and Financial Awareness

QUESTIONS CURRENT AFFAIRS MCQ’S

Q1) Hemant Bhargava was appointed as the non-executive chairman of which bank?

A. IDBI BankB. Punjab National BankC. Bank of BarodaD. Canara Bank

Q2) The Reserve Bank has set up a eight members Task Force on O�shore Rupee Markets which will be headed by whom?

A. R. GandhiB. Urjit PatelC. Usha ThoratD. Haroon R. Khan

Q3) AIIB and India have signed US$ 455 Million Loan agreement to improve Rural Connectivity in which of the following states?

A. Arunachal PradeshB. Andhra PradeshC. KarnatakaD. Bihar

Q4) Which public sector bank has topped the EASE Reforms Index released by government?

A. State Bank of IndiaB. Allahabad BankC. Bank of BarodaD. Punjab National Bank

Q5) Which Bank has signed a bancassurance agreement with Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) under which the lender will o�er LIC’s insurance products at its branches?

A. Punjab National BankB. Canara BankC. State Bank of IndiaD. IDBI Bank

Q6) India and ADB has signed a loan agreement of USD ______ Million for Mumbai Metro Rail Project?

A. USD 655 millionB. USD 472 millionC. USD 700 millionD. USD 926 million

Q7) Who has taken charge as MD & CEO of Yes Bank?

A. Sushil kumarB. Rana KapoorC. Ajay KumarD. Ravneet Gill Page 33

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Q8) Ex-Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia was appointed as the non-executive chairman of which bank?

A. Bank of IndiaB. Bank of BarodaC. Bank of MaharashtraD. Oriental Bank of Commerce

Q9) How much amount has been approved by the Union Cabinet for RBI’s share capital in National Housing Bank?

A. Rs 1550 croreB. Rs 1050 croreC. Rs 1250 croreD. Rs 1450 crore

Q10) RBI has introduced a scheme named ‘VRR’ to encourage Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) to undertake long-term investments in Indian debt markets. What does “V” in VRR stands for?

A. VentureB. VerticalC. VoluntarD. Value

Q11) Which bank has bagged the Best Bank Award from the Tamil Nadu government for meeting the needs of women's self-help groups (SHGs)?

A. Bank of IndiaB. Punjab National BankC. Allahabad BankD. Indian bank

Q12)Under the World Bank funded project – Agri-business and Rural Transformation (APART), Rice Knowledge Bank web portal of whish state was launched?

A. West BengalB. KeralaC. AssamD. Chhattisgarh

Q13) Who has joined as a member of the 15th Finance Commission?

A. Shaktikanta DasB. Ajay Narayan JhaC. Gurdeep kohliD. Gagan Sehgal

Q14) Under the World Bank funded project – Agri-business and Rural Transformation (APART), Rice Knowledge Bank web portal of whish state was launched?

A. West BengalB. KeralaC. AssamD. Chhattisgarh

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Q15) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has levied a penalty of Rs 4 crore on which Bank for delayed implementation of four “Swift” related operational controls?

A. Bank of IndiaB. Indian BankC. Karnataka BankD. Bank of Maharashtra

Q16) Which bank has received a government nod to handle import and export transactions with Iran?

A. IDBI BankB. State Bank of IndiaC. Bank of BarodaD. Punjab National Bank

Q17) Which was the �rst-ever Indian corporate to issue Masala Bond?

A. HDFC bankB. ICICI BankC. SBID. HSBC

Q18) The World Bank will provide a $__________ million loan to India for the National Rural Economic Transformation Project (NRETP)?

A. $250 mnB. $150 mnC. $350 mnD. $300 mn

Q19) The World Bank has signed USD 96 Million Loan Agreement with the Government of India to provide loan to which state’s Disaster Recovery Project?

A. Himachal PradeshB. KeralaC. Tamil NaduD. Uttarakhand

Q20) India has Signed USD 25.2 Million Loan Agreement with the World Bank for which state’s Public Financial Management and Accountability Program?

A. Madhya PradeshB. ManipurC. ChhattisgarhD. Assam

Q21) Which bank has acquired 9.9 per cent stake in non-banking �nance company Kisan Finance for cash consideration of Rs 18 crore?

A. Axis BankB. Punjab National BankC. ICICI BankD. Yes Bank

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Q22) World Bank has signed a loan agreement worth Rs 2,200 Crore with which state for healthcare project?

A. Tamil NaduB. KeralaC. Andhra PradeshD. Madhya Pradesh

Q23) The �nance ministry has launched new series of visually impaired friendly circulation coins in which of the following denominations?

A. Rs 20B. Rs 10C. Rs 5D. All of the above

Q24) The Export-Import Bank of which country has come forward to extend a loan of ₹4,100 crore for the Visakhapatnam metro rail project?

A. South KoreaB. JapanC. RussiaD. USA

Q25) Which bank has signed a bancassurance deal with private life insurer HDFC Life Insurance Company?

A. Oriental Bank of CommerceB. Indian bankC. United Bank of IndiaD. UCO Bank

Q26) State Bank of India (SBI) along with which Payment Service company has launched SBI Payment Services Pvt Ltd (SBIPSPL) for establishing a digital payments platform?

A. Hitachi LimitedB. BitsPayC. PayPointD. WireCard

Q27) As per the new guidelines by RBI, White LableATMsnow can buy cash, above a threshold of _____ lakh pieces (and in multiples thereof ) of any denomination, directly from the Reserve Bank or Currency Chests against full payment?

A. 2lakhB. 5 lakhC. 3 lakhD. 1 lakh

Q28) To provide short-term crop loans up to Rs 3 lakh to farmers at an interest rate of 7 per cent, the RBI has decided to o�er interest subvention of what per cent per annum to lending institutions?

A. 3 %B. 2.5 %C. 2 %D. 1.5% Page 36

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Appointments and Resignation

Q29) India and World Bank has signed $_____ Million Loan Agreement for the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP)?

A. USD 137 millionB. USD 124 millionC. USD 155 millionD. USD 169 million

Q1) Pranay Kumar Verma was appointed as the India’s Ambassador to which country?

A. ChinaB. JapanC. VietnamD. USA

Q2)Which Indian American personality has been appointed vice president and secretary of the University of Pennsylvania?

A. Bhargavi RaoB. MedhaNarvekarC. Deepa KumarD. Nisha Varghese

Q3) Name the NITI Aayog member and agricultural economist who has been nominated by India for the post of Director General of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)?

A. Rajiv KumarB. Ramesh ChandC. Manoj Kumar SaxenaD. Ajit Pal

Q4)Who has been designated as secretary of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH)?

A. Sanjeev RanjanB. Yudhvir Singh MalikC. Darshan RawatD. Sandeep Sharma

Q5) Who has been nominated as the Executive Chairman of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)?

A. A K SikriB. Pawan KumarC. S A BobdeD. Hemant Sharma

Q6) Who has been appointed as the Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)?

A. G Sateesh ReddyB. Anirudh KumarC. AK MohantyD. Vikram Singh

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DAYS AND DATES

Q7) KummanamRajasekharan who gave his resignation was the governor of which state?

A. MeghalayaB. TripuraC. MizoramD. Nagal

Q8) Who has been appointed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as its newest Goodwill Ambassador?

A. Priyanka ChopraB. Padma LaxmiC. Lily SinghD. Alia Bhatt

Q9)The Prime Minister of which country,JuhaSipila, along with his entire Cabinet, has resigned over its failure to make necessary reforms to health services in the country?

A. SwedenB. GermanyC. FinlandD. Poland

Q10) Who has been appointed as the new Finance Secretary?

A. Rajiv KumarB. Rajeev GaubaC. Subhash Chandra GargD. Ajay Narayan Jha

Q11) Who has been appointed as the chairman of the newly constituted National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC)

A. AnushDadlaniB. Prakash NambiarC. Gurdeep KhullarD. Bhagwan Lal Sahni

Q12) Who has been appointed as the chief of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)?

A. Rajendra KumarB. Avinash PatelC. Nagendra Nath SinhaD. Indra Kumar Singh

Q1) National Science Day was observed on?

A. February 27B. February 28C. February 26D. February 25

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Q2) World NGO Day 2019 observed on?

A. February 27B. February 28C. February 26D. February 25

Q3)Zero Discrimination Day was observed on?

A. March 1B. March 2C. February 28D. February 27

Q4) World Wildlife Day was observed on?

A. March 3B. March 4C. March 2D. March 1

Q5) 43rd Civil Accounts Day was observed on?

A. March 3B. February 28C. March 1D. February 27

Q6) World Hearing Day was observed on?

A. March 1B. March 2C. March 3D. March 4

Q7) 48th National Security Day was observed on?

A. March 3B. March 4C. March 5D. March 2

Q8) World Civil Defence Day was observed on?

A. March 7B. March 5C. March 1D. March 9

Q9) International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination was observed on ?

A. March 21B. March 22C. March 20D. March 19

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Defence and security

Q10) National Ordnance Factories Day was observed on?

A. March 19B. March 18C. March 17D. March 16

Q11)The �rst International Day of Happiness was o�cially held on?

A. March 21B. March 20C. March 18D. March19

Q12)International Women's Day was observed on 8th March. What was the campaign theme of 2019?

A. #Balance for betterB. #Gender equalityC. #Rise HighD. #Women Empowerment

Q1) Delhi Police has launched the automated tra�c management system like Red Light and Speed Violation Detection System in association with which country?

A. Hero HondaB. Maruti SuzukiC. HondaD. Tata Motors

Q2) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chaired a meeting of the National Security Council in which city following heightened tensions with Pakistan?

A. MumbaiB. DelhiC. PrayagrajD. Amravati

Q3) Exercise Al Nagah III, third in the series of bilateral joint exercise between India and which country is scheduled to be held from 12 to 25 March 2019?

A. QatarB. AfghanistanC. Saudi ArabD. Oman

Q4) Which two countries have decided to call o� their joint exercise “Foal Eagle” and “Key Resolve”?

A. USA, ChinaB. Russia, South KoreaC. South Korea, USAD. France, Sweden

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Q5) Which country will embark on its largest ever defence engagement with Sri Lanka as part of the Indo-Paci�c Endeavour 2019 (IPE-19)?

A. RussiaB. AustraliaC. EnglandD. France

Q6) Home Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated a training centre of the Central Reserve Police Force in which city?

A. JaipurB. PuneC. JodhpurD. Delhi

Q7) India has signed $3 billion deal with which country for leasing of 8,000-tonne Akula class nuclear-powered attack submarine for Indian Navy for period of 10 years?

A. CanadaB. ArgentinaC. RussiaD. France

Q8) The US military forces and the Indian National Security Guard (NSG) is conducting joint exercises in which city?

A. PuneB. ChennaiC. HyderabadD. Bhubaneswar

Q9) A joint counter-terrorism exercise Sary-Arka-Antiterror 2019 will be held in which country?

A. ChinaB. PakistanC. KazakhstanD. Uzbekistan

Q10) The Navy is set to induct the second Scorpene submarine by early May, name the submarine?

A. INS VelaB. INS KalavariC. INS KaranjD. INS Khanderi

Q11) MITRA SHAKTI 2019 is a joint military exercise between India and which country?

A. NepalB. Sri LankaC. IndonesiaD. Bangladesh

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Government Schemes

Q12) Recently, Ministry of Defence has cleared the proposal to procure _______ lakh hand grenades for the Indian Army under its Make in India programme?

A. 20B. 10C. 5D. 15

Q13) Who has took over as the Western Fleet Commander, the “Sword Arm” of the Indian Navy?

A. MA HampiholiB. Sanjay Jasjit SinghC. NK SinghD. GaganKhushwa

Q14) The Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated the project BOLD-QIT (Border Electronically Dominated QRT Interception Technique) on which border?

A. Indo ChinaB. Indo-BangladeshC. Indo PakistanD. Indo Bhutan

Q1) Which Ministry has recently launched the SHREYAS Scheme?

A. Ministry of Commerce and IndustryB. Ministry of communicationC. Ministry of DefenceD. Ministry of Human Resource Development

Q2) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Khelo India Mobile App in which of the following cities?

A. AmravatiB. KolkataC. New DelhiD. Mumbai

Q3)To mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, which country’s based company will globally release 12 bank notes of zero value, the �rst-ever limited edition commemorative series?

A. South AfricaB. United Arab EmiratesC. South KoreaD. England

Q4) Which state has launched the 'Banglar Shiksha' Portal?

A. OdishaB. KarnatakaC. West BengalD. Uttar Pradesh

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Q5) Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has launched which scheme, to fund science projects, in the occasion of National Science Day?

A. HUNARB. STARC. STRIKED. KAUSHAL

Q6) Which of the following states has launched the MukhyamantriParivarSamman Nidhi Yojana?

A. RajasthanB. HaryanaC. PunjabD. Gujarat

Q7) Which of the following states has launched the ‘Jalamrutha’ scheme?

A. OdishaB. KarnatakaC. Andhra PradeshD. Telangana

Q8) Union Minister Harsh Vardhan has launched an anthem as a part of a campaign to make India plastic-free by 2022, the anthem is available in how many languages?

A. FiveB. FourC. TenD. Seven

Q9)Which country’s space agency has launched the Crew Dragon test capsule which will assure astronauts’ safety in future �ights?

A. RussiaB. JapanC. IndiaD. USA

Q10) Which state’s Police have launched ‘Samvedna’ campaign to curb crimes against women and children?

A. Madhya PradeshB. ChhattisgarhC. GujaratD. Maharashtra

Q11) India’s food processing ministry has launched which scheme to bolster the unorganised food processing sector concentrated in rural areas?

A. Gram Sahyog YojanaB. Gram Samridhi YojanaC. PM Gram Sahayata YojanaD. Atal Bihari Gram Unnati Yojana

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Q12) PM Narendra Modi has launched Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) Yojana on 5th March 2018 from which state?

A. MaharashtraB. GujaratC. Uttar PradeshD. Jharkhand

Q13) Government has introduced a TMA scheme to provide �nancial assistance for exporting speci�ed agriculture products to international market. What does “M” in TMA stands for?

A. MarketingB. MoneyC. MediumD. Micro

Q14) Mukhya Mantri KarigarSahayata’ scheme was launched by which state?

A. Madhya PradeshB. OdishaC. KarnatakaD. Maharashtra

Q15) Which state has launched a chatbot named “Aaple Sarkar”?

A. RajasthanB. Tamil NaduC. Andhra PradeshD. Maharashtra

Q16) Yuvashree Arpan Scheme for the youth was launched by which state?

A. KarnatakaB. RajasthanC. West BengalD. Odisha

Q17) Which state has launched the “MukhyamantriAnchal Amrit Yojana” a free milk scheme?

A. HaryanaB. UttarakhandC. Himachal PradeshD. Punjab

Q18) Housing and Urban A�airs Ministry has launched which mobile app for properties/land related matters?

A. e-DhartiB. e-SampatiC. e-BhumiD. e-Rashi

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Honours and Awards

Q19) The �fth and the �nal volume of the “Dictionary of Martyrs” was launched by PM Narendra Modi, recently. The “Dictionary of Martyrs” project was commissioned in?

A. 2014B. 2009C. 2015D. 2011

Q20) Which state has launched the “Atal AaharYojna” for construction workers?

A. Andhra PradeshB. RajasthanC. Uttar PradeshD. Maharashtra

Q21) Which state government has launched the NutanDisha (new direction) initiative to provide training to teachers?

A. AssamB. NagalandC. TripuraD. Himachal Pradesh

Q1) Who has been ranked 8th in the Hurun Global Rich List 2019? He is the only Asian in top 10.

A. Azim PremjiB. Mukesh AmbaniC. Kumar Mangalam BirlaD. Pallonji Mistry

Q2) Who has won the silver medal at the National Equestrian Championship (NEC)?

A. Akshay KumarB. RandeepHoodaC. Rohit ShettyD. Vicky Kaushal

Q3)Khanij online which has won this year’s National e-Governance Award is an online portal of which state?

A. ChhattisgarhB. Madhya PradeshC. JharkhandD. Rajasthan

Q4) The Central Zone Power Distribution Company of which of the following cities of MP has won Saubhagya Award?

A. JabalpurB. IndoreC. GwaliorD. Bhopal

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Q5)The National Youth Parliament Festival 2019 awards were given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has won the First Prize?

A. Shweta UmreB. Anjanakshi M.SC. Mamta KumariD. Shreyas Deshpande

Q6) Name the Britain's World War II spy who was con�rmed as the �rst Indian-origin woman to be honoured with a Blue Plaque at her former London home?

A. Iram KhanB. Noor Inayat KhanC. Mata HariD. Madhuri Gupta

Q7) Which Indian state has recently created a 7th Guinness Book of World Record by implanting ‘Modern Arti�cial Limbs (Legs)’ in 260 Divyangjans within eight hours?

A. RajasthanB. Uttar PradeshC. GujaratD. Madhya Pradesh

Q8)Who has been honored with the 2019 Missile Systems Award?

A. K SivanB. Vikram JainC. Nirmala SitharamanD. G Sateesh Reddy

Q9) Who was conferred with the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Life Time Award?

A. ThangaDarlongB. Temsuyanger LongkumerC. Mahapatra JimmyChishiD. TapanBordoloi

Q10) Who has been conferred with the 2019 National STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Education Award?

A. Vrinda SachdevB. Priyanka NegiC. Kavya KopparapuD. Smriti Mahajan

Q11) Which State Disaster Management Authority has bagged the SKOCH Award, 2018 for its achievements in the �eld of disaster management?

A. KeralaB. Andhra PradeshC. Tamil NaduD. Odisha

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Q12) Which Indian company has received an award as one of the 2019 World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Institute, USA?

A. WiproB. Tata SteelC. InfosysD. TCS

Q13) Which Indian has won 10 km race of Nepal's COAS Open Marathon and Run for Fun in Kathmandu?

A. Shashank ShekharB. R. D. MurganC. Anup SinghD. Saji Kumar

Q14) Which Company has recently bagged the ‘Green Era Award for Sustainability’ at Lisbon in Portugal?

A. HondaB. Hero HondaC. TVS MotorD. Hyundai

Q15) Who will receive the �rst Ever ‘Bhagwan Mahavir Ahimsa Puraskar’?

A. Naseer AhmedB. Jaimal SinghC. Sukhjinder SinghD. AbhinandanVarthaman

Q16)Which journalist has been chosen for the Chameli Devi Jain Award for an Outstanding Woman Journalist for the year 2018?

A. Anchal VyasB. Neerja Shro�C. Priyanka DubeyD. Archana Gupta

Q17) Who has been chosen for the ‘Yashwantrao Chavan National Award 2018?

A. Urjit PatelB. Raghuram RajanC. Haroon R. KhanD. R. Gandhi

Q18) The Moortidevi Award is given for which �eld?

A. MusicB. LiteratureC. FilmD. Journalism

Q19) Who has been conferred with Pritzker Architecture Prize 2019?

A. Norman FosterB. Wang Shu

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India and the World

C. Tom KudingD. Arata Isozaki

Q20) Which of the following has won the Golden Peacock Innovative Product/Services Award – 2019 under the Insurance Category?

A. Bharti AXAB. Bajaj AllianzC. IFFCO TokioD. Acko General

Q21) Which company has won the “Assocham Non-Life Insurer of The Year Award”?

A. Apollo MunichB. Bharti AXAC. Bajaj AllianzD. HDFC Ergo

Q1)‘MainamatiMaitree Exercise 2019’ was conducted between India and which country?

A. NepalB. BhutanC. BangladeshD. Sri Lanka

Q2) Union Cabinet approved an MoU between India and which country to access tipline reports on Missing and Exploited Children?

A. RussiaB. CanadaC. EnglandD. USA

Q3) USA has vowed to defend which country against armed attack in the disputed South China Sea?

A. MalaysiaB. SingaporeC. IndonesiaD. Philippines

Q4) India has signed a deal with which country to manufacture 7.5 lakh AK-203 ri�es?

A. JapanB. IsraelC. USAD. Russia

Q5) To protect Asian rhinos India will collaborate with how many nations?

A. ThreeB. FiveC. TwoD. Four

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Q6) Indian IT apex body Nasscom will develop the third IT corridor in which of the following eastern China cities?

A. DalianB. GuiyangC. XuzhouD. Beijing

Q7) The inaugural Space Dialogue between India and which country was held in New Delhi?

A. RussiaB. ChinaC. FranceD. Japan

Q8) The new visa agreement has been signed between India and which country?

A. ThailandB. LaosC. MaliD. Maldives

Q9) Which two countries have lodged formal complaint against India in World Trade Organisation (WTO), alleging that India's continued sugar subsidies to farmers have led to "glut" and "depressed" global prices?

A. Spain, AustraliaB. Sweden, EnglandC. Brazil, AustraliaD. Argentina, Brazil

Q10) Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu will embark on a two-nation tour of which two countries?

A. Paraguay and Costa RicaB. Brazil and AustraliaC. Vietnam, South KoreaD. Paraguay, Thailand

Q11) Which country has reiterated its support for India as the permanent member of the powerful UN organ?

A. RussiaB. United KingdomC. FranceD. USA

Q12) National space agency ISRO has sealed an agreement with which country to set up a joint maritime surveillance system in the country?

A. SwedenB. ItalyC. IsraelD. France

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Industry

Q13) Which country will donate a sum of Rs 22 lakh ($31,800) to the Rabindra Bharati Museum in Kolkata?

A. RussiaB. JapanC. FranceD. Sweden

Q14) Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale began its threeday journey to which nation on 11 march 2019?

A. RussiaB. JapanC. GermanyD. USA

Q15) India and which country have agreed to build six nuclear power plants in India as part of measures to strengthen security and civil nuclear cooperation?

A. RussiaB. USAC. SwedenD. France

Q1) Which of the followings has announced its acquisition of a 51% stake in Digiphoto Entertainment Imaging (DEI)?

A. Google IndiaB. FacebookC. MicrosoftD. Thomas Cook India Group

Q2) Railways Minister Piyush Goyal has announced the “South Coast Railway (SCoR)” in which of the following states?

A. KeralaB. Andhra PradeshC. TelanganaD. Karnataka

Q3) Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan has handed over the 100th Letter of Intent (LOI) to the Compressed Bio-Gas(CBG) Entrepreneur (producer) under which scheme?

A. SATATB. SAMPARKC. UDYAMID. PUNJI

Q4) NITI Aayog has inked Statement of Intent (SoI) with which company to develop creative skills and spread digital literacy among school children in India as part of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)?

A. CognizantB. IntelC. AdobeD. Microsoft

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Q5) IRCTC has launched its own payment aggregator system named what in a bid to promote digital transactions?

A. IRCTC iPayB. IRCTC ePayC. IRCTC PayD. IRCTC Vpay

Q6) Which of the following companies has launched Project Zero to �ght product counterfeit?

A. FlipkartB. AlibabaC. AmazonD. IndiaMart

Q7) Which of the following companies has unveiled the India’s �rst semiconductor chips for 4G/5G connectivity?

A. SignalchipB. IntelC. QualcommD. Toshiba

Q8) 25th Prime Minister’s Trophy for the Best Overall Performance for year 2016-17 was conferred upon?

A. Tata Steel Limited, JamshedpurB. JSW Steel Limited, VijayanagarC. SAIL, RourkelaD. Jindal Steel and Power Limited, Raigarh

Q9) The government has approved a Rs 14,000-crore special economic zone (SEZ) project of Adani Power in which district?

A. BiharB. Uttar PradeshC. JharkhandD. Gujarat

Q10) CCEA has approved the investment approval for a 1320 mega wattKhurja Super Thermal Power Plant (STPP) in which state?

A. RajasthanB. Uttar PradeshC. Madhya PradeshD. Bihar

Q11) Which state under ‘Daksha’ project has set up a hi-tech ‘integrated command and control centre’?

A. Madhya PradeshB. JharkhandC. ChhattisgarhD. Bihar

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Infrastructure

Q12) The ₹5,150-crore Lique�ed Natural Gas (LNG) terminal of IOCL was inaugurated PM Narendra Modi at which place?

A. EnnoreB. KollamC. KochiD. Bengaluru

Q1) Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari has laid foundation stones for sixteen National Highways projects worth Rs 6943.04 crore in which state’s Chhapra and Madhepura?

A. JharkhandB. Uttar PradeshC. BiharD. Uttarakhand

Q2) Union Cabinet has approved establishment of new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in which of the following districts of Haryana?

A. RohtakB. RewariC. PanipatD. Panchkula

Q3) AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik has laid the foundation stone for National Institute of Unani Medicine in which of the following states?

A. Madhya PradeshB. RajasthanC. UttarakhandD. Uttar Pradesh

Q4) India’s �rst ever ‘National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation’ will be set up in which district of Madhya Pradesh?

A. BhopalB. VidishaC. SehoreD. Raisen

Q5)The Assam government in collaboration with which country has set up the North East Skill Centre (NESC) in Guwahati?

A. JapanB. Saudi ArabC. FranceD. Singapore

Q6)Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology in which city?

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A. RanchiB. BhopalC. Greater NoidaD. New Delhi

Q7) Which state under ‘Daksha’ project has set up a hi-tech ‘integrated command and control centre’?

A. Madhya PradeshB. JharkhandC. ChhattisgarhD. Bihar

Q8) India Urban Observatory & Video Wall was inaugurated in which city?

A. BengaluruB. ChennaiC. DelhiD. Hyderabad

Q9) The 17.47 km long Doimukh-Harmuti Road which was in news recently will connect Assam and which state?

A. MeghalayaB. Arunachal PradeshC. ManipurD. Nagaland

Q10) Which public sector company will acquire debt-laden Lanco's 500 MW Teesta hydro-electric power project for Rs 907 crore in Sikkim?

A. NTPCB. Tata powerC. power gridD. NHPC

Q11) The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) will set up an incubation centre in which state?

A. HaryanaB. PunjabC. OdishaD. Kerala

Q12) Name the India’s �rst monorail which has now become fully operational?

A. Delhi MonorailB. Mumbai MonorailC. Pune MonorailD. Bengaluru Monorail

Q13) India’s �rst oil museum will come up in which of the following states?

A. DelhiB. GuwahatiC. LucknowD. Shimla

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Q14) Which state will develop 100 trout farms for production of carp �sh this year?

A. GoaB. KeralaC. Himachal PradeshD. Karnataka

Q15) Which state government has decided to set up a centre of excellence for Himalayan �bre?

A. Himachal PradeshB. Arunachal PradeshC. SikkimD. Uttarakhand

Q16) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has laid the foundation stone for the Dehradun-Mussoorie ropeway project of worth how much amount?

A. 300 CroreB. 400 CroreC. 250 CroreD. 150 Crore

Q17)The Assam government in collaboration with which country has set up the North East Skill Centre (NESC) in Guwahati?

A. JapanB. Saudi ArabC. FranceD. Singapore

Q18) For improving drainage infrastructure in which city of Assam, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Government of India signed a loan agreement of USD 26-million in New Delhi?

A. GuwahatiB. JorhatC. SilcharD. Dibrugarh

Q19) The 17.47 km long Doimukh-Harmuti Road which was in news recently will connect Assam and which state?

A. MeghalayaB. Arunachal PradeshC. ManipurD. Nagaland

Q20)The Government of India has approved two Metro Rail corridors with combined length of 40.35 km for which Metro Rail Project?

A. AhmedabadB. SuratC. VadodaraD. Rajkot

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International Affairs

Q21) India has extended USD _______ mn to Nepal for reconstruction of infrastructures post earthquake?

A. $ 250 millionB. $ 350 millionC. $ 200 millionD. $ 150 million

Q1) Name the Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden’s son which has been blacklisted by the UN Security Council?

A. Hamza bin LadenB. Ali bin LadenC. Saad bin LadenD. Hussein bin Laden

Q2) Which country has topped the Global Consumer Con�dence Survey?

A. IndonesiaB. PhilippinesC. South KoreaD. India

Q3) Which country has o�cially suspended its participation in Intermediate-Range Nuclear treaty with US?

A. YemenB. Saudi ArabC. FranceD. Russia

Q4) US President Donald Trump is planning to scrap India and which country’s trade bene�ts under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)?

A. ChinaB. RussiaC. TurkeyD. Sweden

Q5) Which country is constructing HL-2M Tokamak device dubbed as "arti�cial sun”?

A. IsraelB. JapanC. USAD. China

Q6) US has revised its visa policy for which country by slashing the visa validity from 5 years to 1 year?

A. IndiaB. PakistanC. RussiaD. China

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Q7) Which country has asked German ambassador Daniel Kriener to leave the country within 48 hours?

A. GreeceB. SwedenC. NorwayD. Venezuela

Q8) Which country will launch digital currency known as the "SOV”?

A. FranceB. FijiC. TongaD. Marshall island

Q9) Which country has decided to freeze all assets of Pakistan based terror out�t Jaish-e-Mohammed, JeM chief Masood Azhar?

A. USAB. FranceC. Saudi ArabD. Sweden

Q10) In which country the Christchurch Mosque shooting incident took place in which 49 people lost their lives?

A. GermanyB. FranceC. ArgentinaD. New zealand

Q11) Which country has become the 124th member of International Criminal Court (ICC)?

A. CambodiaB. MaliC. LaosD. Malaysia

Q12) KajaKallas was appointed as the �rst female Prime Minister of which country?

A. ZimbabweB. IcelandC. EstoniaD. Poland

Q13) Which country’s Civil Aviation Authority has temporarily suspended all versions of the Boeing 737 Max from �ying into and out of the country?

A. MalaysiaB. SingaporeC. ThailandD. Philippines

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Polity and Governance

Q14) Abdelaziz Boute�ika who was in news recently is the President of which country?

A. BelgiumB. NigerC. AlgeriaD. Nigeria

Q15)Which country has unveiled a new commemorative 50 pence coin inspired by the late legendary British physicist Stephen Hawking’s seminal work on black holes?

A. ScotlandB. United KingdomC. USAD. Ireland

Q16)Who has become the �rst Thari Hindu woman to be elected to the Senate of Pakistan?

A. Krishna Kumari KohliB. Ambika JainC. Neha Kumari GuptaD. Vidya Sharma

Q1) A three-day Working Group Meeting, organised jointly by the Ministry of AYUSH and WHO, to review the WHO document “Benchmarks for Training in Yoga” took place in which of the following cities?

A. HyderabadB. New DelhiC. KollamD. Raipur

Q2) The Union Government has banned the Jamat-e-Islami in Jammu and Kashmir for how many years under anti-terror law on grounds?

A. LifetimeB. 10 yrsC. 5 yrsD. 15 yrs

Q3) 79th Indian History Congress was held in which of the following cities?

A. PuneB. RanchiC. BhopalD. Jaipur

Q4) Government has decided to extend the ban on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) for a period of how many years?

A. Ten YearsB. Three YearsC. Four YearsD. Five Years

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Reports and Indices

Q5) Which company has signed an MoU with the he National Health Authority (NHA) – an apex body responsible for implementation of Ayushman Bharat to provide free healthcare services to its drivers?

A. UP Road Transport CorporationB. Delhi Transport CorporationC. OlaD. Uber

Q6) Which ministry has introduced the One Nation, One Card’ Model which allow customers to use single card for payments across all segments including metro, bus, suburban railways, toll, shopping etc.?

A. Ministry of Housing and Urban A�airsB. Ministry of Home A�airsC. Ministry of Commerce and IndustryD. Ministry of Human Resource Development

Q7) The National Health Authority (NHA) and IRDAI have formed a working group to detect and deter fraud under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) under whose chairmanship?

A. Dinesh AroraB. Kabir QureshiC. Abhinav ShuklaD. Praveen Singh

Q8) The General Elections 2019 will be held in how many phases beginning from 11 April to 19 May?

A. FiveB. SevenC. TenD. Eleven

Q1)As per Central Statistics O�ce (CSO) India is estimated to grow at a slower pace of what per cent in 2018-19?

A. 6.9%B. 7.1%C. 7 %D. 7.2%

Q2) According to Credit Rating Agency Moody’s Indian economy is expected to grow at what per cent in calendar years 2019 and 2020?

A. 7.2 %B. 7.3%C. 7.5%D. 7.4%

Q3)According to Railway Ministry number of deaths in account of accidents has come down by what per cent in the last �ve years?

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A. 56 %B. 73 %C. 81 %D. 44%

Q4) According to the Delta ranking report released by NITI Aayog which district of Assam has become the top aspirational district among the 112 aspirational districtsof the country?

A. HailakandiB. UdalgiriC. NalbariD. Jorhat

Q5) The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, has once again cut its 2019 forecast for global economic growth to what percent?

A. 3.5%B. 3 %C. 3.2%D. 3.3%

Q6) As per the research by price comparison site cable.co.uk. which country has the cheapest mobile data in the world?

A. ChinaB. KazakhstanC. KyrgyzstanD. India

Q7) As per The Wealth Report 2019 by Knight Frank which India city is the 16th most expensive prime residential market in the world?

A. DelhiB. BengaluruC. MumbaiD. Pune

Q8) Who has topped the US magazine Forbes “World’s Billionaire list 2019”?

A. Je� BezosB. Bill GatesC. Warren Bu�ettD. Mukesh Ambani

Q9) Which airport has been adjudged as the best airport in the category of over 40 million passengers per annum (MPPA) in the Airport Service Quality Programme for 2018?

A. Rajiv Gandhi International AirportB. Chhatrapati Shivaji International AirportC. Chennai International AirportD. Indira Gandhi International Airport

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Q10) According to Monster Salary Index Report, women in India earn _______ % less than men, re�ecting the high gender pay gap in the country?

A. 18 %B. 19 %C. 15 %D. 10 %.

Q11) According to data released by IQAir AirVisual and Greenpeace for 2018 which is the World's Most Polluted City?

A. FaisalabadB. GurugramC. FaridabadD. Patna

Q12) The maximum retail price of 390 non-scheduled cancer medicines have been reduced by up to ______ per cent by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA)?

A. 78 %B. 56 %C. 87 %D. 40 %

Q13) According to the Assocham India’s data consumption is expected to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of about 72.6% by which year?

A. 2025B. 2022C. 2021D. 2024

Q14) The Geological Survey of India (GSI) launched how many permanent global positioning system (GPS) stations across India?

A. 20B. 15C. 13D. 22

Q15) Who was declared by Forbes magazine as the youngest ever self-made billionaire?

A. Kylie JennerB. Mark ZuckerbergC. Alexandra AndersenD. John Collinson

Q16) Which city has topped Mercer’s index of most liveable cities for the 10th year in a row?

A. ZurichB. ViennaC. AucklandD. Munich

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SPORTS

Q1) Mehtab Hossain who has announced his retirement is associated with which of the following sports?

A. CricketB. TennisC. FootballD. Wrestling

Q2) The International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned which country’s former Cricket director Enock Ikope for a period of 10 years?

A. South AfricaB. AustraliaC. NetherlandsD. Zimbabwe

Q3) Who has been elected as the President of Olympic Council of Asia?

A. Al BasharB. Sheikh AhmedC. Mohamed NazirD. Saad Al Ahmad

Q4) Veteran leg-spinner Imran Tahir would retire from one-day international cricket after the World Cup in England and Wales, He plays for which country?

A. AustraliaB. South AfricaC. EnglandD. New Zealand

Q5) Which player has won the men’s single title of the Mexico Open 2019?

A. Nick KyrgiosB. Alexander ZverevC. Rafael NadaD. Stan Wawrinka

Q6) Bill Playle who passed away recently was a former cricketer of which country?

A. AustraliaB. New ZealandC. South AfricaD. West Indies

Q7) Which country’s Tan Kim Her has stepped down from his post as India’s doubles badminton coach owing to personal reason?

A. ThailandB. ChinaC. JapanD. Malaysia

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Q8) Cabinet has approved setting up Centre for Disability Sports at which city in Madhya Pradesh?

A. IndoreB. BhopalC. GwaliorD. Jabalpur

Q9) Who has been appointed as the chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee?

A. Shashank ManoharB. David RichardsonC. Anil KumbleD. Sunil Gavaskar

Q10) Which of the following cities will host to the �rst-ever Federation International De Volleyball (FIVB), a Beach Volleyball World Tour?

A. VisakhapatnamB. PanajiC. KochiD. Cuttack

Q11) Which female player has claimed gold in the 59kg category in Dan Kolov - Nikola Petrov tournament held in Ruse, Bulgaria?

A. VineshPhogatB. Pooja DhandaC. Sakshi MalikD. Babitakumari

Q12) James DeGale who has announced his retirement is related to which sports?

A. WrestlingB. TennisC. BoxingD. Badminton

Q13) Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become ___________ Indian batsman to complete 13,000 runs in List A cricket?

A. FifthB. FourthC. ThirdD. Sixth

Q14) Kudo International Federation India has got recognition as National Sport Federation. Kudo is a sports of which country?

A. RussiaB. JapanC. South KoreaD. Sweden

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Taxation

Miscellaneous

Q15) Sprint Athlete Daniel Rudisha who passed away recently belongs to which nation?

A. West IndiesB. KenyaC. AustraliaD. Iran

Q16-)Who has won the gold medal in 56 kg category at 38th GeeBee Boxing Tournament ?

A. Shiv ThapaB. Govind SahniC. Mohammed HussamuddinD. Kavinder Singh Bisht

Q17)Which tennis player has won the Dubai Tennis Championships?

A. Stefanos TsitsipasB. Roger FedererC. Rafael NadalD. Novak Djokovic

Q1) Who is the head of the task force formed by CBDT to draft a new direct tax law and replace the existing Income Tax Act?

A. Akhilesh RanjanB. Sushil ChandraC. R. GandhiD. Harun kar

Q2) The income tax exemption limit on gratuity has been increased to Rs _____ lakh from the existing Rs 10 lakh, by union government?

A. 15 lakhB. 25 lakhC. 20 lakhD. 18 lakh

Q1) Aviation Conclave 2019 was held in which of the following cities?

A. KochiB. AmravatiC. New DelhiD. Lucknow

Q2) Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment ThaawarchandGehlot has launched the ‘2nd Edition of ISL Dictionary’. This edition comprises how many words?

A. 6,000B. 3,000C. 4,000D. 7,000

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Q3) Who has authored the book titled ‘Quality, Accreditation, and Ranking – A Silent Revolution in the O�ng in Indian Higher Education’?

A. Dr. Girish KumarB. Dr. H ChaturvediC. Dr. Sandeep JainD. Dr. Anurag Singh

Q4) Mayur Nritya or Peacock Dance is a famous folk dance of which state?

A. RajasthanB. BiharC. Uttar PradeshD. Gujarat

Q5) The Rajbari National Park located in which state of India?

A. MaharashtraB. Uttar PradeshC. TripuraD. Haryana

Q6) Technology Support and Outreach (TECH-SOP 2019) for MSMEs was held in which of the following cities?

A. MumbaiB. LucknowC. New DelhiD. Bengaluru

Q7) Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize is associated with which �eld?

A. LiteratureB. SportsC. ArtD. Science

Q8) Union Minister D V Sadananda has inaugurated a centre of the Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET) in which of the following states?

A. AssamB. TripuraC. NagalandD. Manipur

Q9) Who is the author of the novel "The Fate of Butter�ies”?

A. Nandini BajpaiB. Anita NairC. Devapriya RoyD. Nayantara Sahgal

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Q10)Which country will host the 2021 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Cross Country Championships for the �rst time in 25 years?

A. FranceB. EnglandC. SwedenD. Australia

Q11) Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has celebrated 50th anniversary of its “�rst composite solid propellant “named what?

A. MrinalB. TaalC. TrishulD. Vikram

Q12) Golden Fibre Revolution is related with the production of which item?

A. EggB. Oil SeedsC. JuteD. Potato

Q13) International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organisation with it’sheadquarter at_______________?

A. Rome, ItalyB. Paris, FranceC. London, United KingdomD. Gland, Switzerland

Q14)Which is the only private Indian University featured in QS World Rankings in the areas of Medicine and Pharmacy?

A. Manipal Academy of Higher EducationB. Gandhi Medical CollegeC. Jamia HamdardD. Banaras Hindu University

Q15) 7th RCEP Intersessional Ministerial Meeting was held in which of the following countries?

A. ThailandB. LaosC. MalaysiaD. Cambodia

Q16) Senior leader Qazi Mohammad Afzal who passed away recently was the former cabinet minister of which state?

A. Jammu and KashmirB. PunjabC. RajasthanD. Odisha

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Q17) Kyoto Protocol is associated with?

A. Species conservationB. Climate changeC. Wetland ConservationD. Medicinal plants

Q18) Justice Valmiki J Mehta who passed away recently was a sitting Judge of which High Court?

A. Bombay High CourtB. Delhi High CourtC. Madras High CourtD. Guwahati High Court

Q19) Students and researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi have created a laptop for visually-impaired called what?

A. BrailleBookB. DotBookC. TouchBookD. SenseBook

Q20) Name the founder of Warwick manufacturing Group (WMG) who passed away recently?

A. Lord Kumar BhattacharyaB. Vishal Kumar SolankiC. Indra VishwanathD. Luv Kumar Rajput

Q21) Which of the following games has been included in the Asian Games 2022?

A. BaseballB. CricketC. ChessD. Kabaddi

Q22) MackySall has won the presidential elections of which country?

A. GambiaB. MaliC. SenegalD. Mauritania

Q23) Name the Former Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal who passed away recently?

A. Bijay Kumar GachhadarB. Upendra YadavC. Bhima Bahadur RawalD. Bharat Mohan Adhikari

Q24)How many Guinness World Records have been made by PrayagrajKumbh Mela 2019?

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Q25)Red Flag 2019 which is an international military drill is being organized by which country?

A. SingaporeB. ThailandC. USAD. Netherlands

Q26) Who has written the book The Algebra of In�nite Justice?

A. Vikram SethB. Rohinton MistryC. Anurag MathurD. Arundhati Roy

Q27)ISRO has launched a Young Scientist Programme named what for school children?

A. YuvikaB. JoshC. TarunD. Antariksh

Q28) Which city has topped the Swachh survekshan 2019 in terms of cleanest city in India?

A. IndoreB. BhopalC. UjjainD. Ahmedabad

Q29) Which company has launched 'Bolo' app to tutor children to read in Hindi and English?

A. MicrosoftB. FacebookC. GoogleD. Reliance

Q30) Unique Identi�cation Authority of India (UIDAI) has announced that the Business organisations need to pay up to how much rupees for using Aadhaar services?

A. Rs 50B. Rs 40C. Rs 30D. Rs 20

Q31) India has collaborated with which company for Largest Online Exhibition named ‘Once Upon a Try: Epic journeys of invention and discovery’?

A. FacebookB. GoogleC. TwitterD. Yahoo

Q32) Chennai Central railway station will be renamed after which former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu?

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A. M KarunanidhiB. M G RamachandranC. J JayalalithaaD. Janaki Ramachandran

Q33) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attended the National Women Livelihood Meet 2019 which was held in?

A. JaipurB. VaranasiC. DelhiD. Mumbai

Q34) A 5-member committee has been constituted to examine issues related to framing of a proper and structured scheme for providing of insurance cover to the advocates. Who will be the head of this committee?

A. Ravi ShankarB. Anand PatelC. Alok ShrivastavD. Amarinder Khullar

Q35) Indian railways has decided to become the World’s �rst Green Railway by which year?

A. 2023B. 2025C. 2030D. 2040

Q36) PM Narendra Modi addressed the 50th Raising Day ceremony of CISF at Indirapuram in Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh. CISF was set up in?

A. 1969B. 1979C. 1959D. 1949

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Banking and Financial Awareness

march 2019bankiq.in

SOLUTIONS CURRENT AFFAIRS MCQ’S

Ans 1- (a) IDBI BANK

IDBI Bank has appointed Hemant Bhargava as non-executive, nonwhole time chairman. Bhargava is currently the Chairman (in-charge) and Managing Director of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). The bank said Bhargava has been appointed for three years or until he continues in his position at LIC. The life insurer is now the majority shareholder in IDBI Bank with a 51 percent stake. It became the promoter of the bank after the acquisition of stake from the government of India.

Ans 2-(b) Usha Thorat

RBI constitutes the Task Force on O�shore Rupee Markets; Chairperson- Smt. Usha Thorat. The Reserve Bank has set up a Task Force on O�shore Rupee Markets. It has 8 members and is headed by Smt. Usha Thorat, former Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India. The task force shall examine the issues relating to the o�shore Rupee markets in depth and recommend appropriate policy measures that also factor in the requirement of ensuring the stability of the external value of the Rupee.

Ans 3-(b) Andhra Pradesh

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Government of India signed a USD 455 million loan in New Delhi to �nance the Andhra Pradesh Rural Roads Project, which will connect some 3,300 habitations with a population of more than 250, and bene�t around two Million people. The objective of the Project is to improve road transport connectivity in previously unserved communities by providing all weather rural roads in all 13 Districts of the State of Andhra Pradesh. The Project plans to construct rural roads to provide �rst connectivity, construct cross drainage works and bridges to complete missing links and structures, provide approaches to educational institutions and health care centres, construct rural roads passing through tribal areas, and upgrade earthen/gravel roads to asphalt-based roads

Ans 4-(d) Punjab National Bank

PNB tops in the implementation of ‘reforms agenda’ in 2018: EASE Reforms ranking Shri Arun Jaitley released the �rst report on EASE Reforms Index on February 28, 2019. It measures progress on the Public Sector Banks (PSB) Reforms Agenda announced last January on 140 objective, benchmarked metrics. EASE stands for – Enhanced Access and Service Excellence. The Index measures performance of each PSB on 140 objective metrics across 6 themes As per the Report, Punjab National Bank has topped the list among public sector banks in the implementation of ‘reforms agenda’, followed by Bank of Baroda and State Bank of India.

Ans 5-(d) IDBI Bank

Bancassurance Agreement signed by IDBI Bank and LIC IDBI Bank and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) signed a bancassurance agreement under which the lender will o�er LIC’s insurance products at its branches. As part of the agreement, IDBI Bank will become the preferred bank for LIC premium payments and also function as premium point to boost sale of LIC products, thereby gaining from fees and �oat income. The State-owned life insurer, LIC, acquired a majority stake in IDBI Bank, and the bank has also appointed LIC Chairman Hemant Bhargava as its non-executive whole-time Chairman.

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Ans 6-(d) USD 926 million

Marking its single largest infrastructure loan ever, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Friday signed a $926 million loan agreement with India to operationalise two lines for the Mumbai metro rail system. It aims to ease the distress of millions of commuters each day and help provide a cleaner and less congested city, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will implement the project and once operational by the end of 2022, an estimated 2 million passengers a day will use the two new lines, the Ministry said. It will also reduce emissions from vehicles. Carbon dioxide emissions are expected to fall by about 1,66,000 tons a year

Ans 7-(d) Ravneet Gill

Ravneet Gill has taken charge as its MD and CEO of Yes Bank with e�ect from March 01,2019. His appointment as MD/CEO of Yes Bank was announced in January 2019. He has replaced Rana Kapoor who demitted the o�ce as the MD/CEO on January 31, 2019. In this meanwhile, Ajai Kumar was the interim MD and CEO of the bank.

Ans 8-(b) Bank of Baroda

Ex-Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia appointed non-executive chairman of BoB Former Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia was appointed as non-executive chairman of Bank of Baroda. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment as the part-time non-o�cial director as well as non-executive chairman on the board of Bank of Baroda for a period of three years. Adhia, a 1981-batch IAS o�cer of Gujarat cadre, superannuated on November 30 last year. He last served as the Finance Secretary.

Ans 9-(d) Rs 1450 crore

Cabinet approves Rs. 1450 crore for share capital of RBI in National Housing Bank The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved Rs1,450 crore for the share capital of Reserve Bank of India in the National Housing Bank. Subsequent to the payment of this amount to RBl, the subscribed capital of NHB shall stand transferred to and vested in the central government. The National Housing Bank (NHB) has been set up to operate as the principal agency to promote housing �nance institutions in India. "The Union Cabinet Thursday approved payment of the face value of the subscribed share capital of ₹1,450 crore in National Housing Bank (NHB) to Reserve Bank of India (RBl) consequent to amendments made to the NHB Act, 1987 in 2018," said an o�cial release

Ans 10-(c) Voluntary

RBI introduces the Voluntary Retention Route for Investments by FPIs The Reserve Bank of India has introduced a scheme named ‘Voluntary Retention Route’ (VRR) to encourage Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) to undertake long-term investments in Indian debt markets. It was announced by RBI in October 2018Here are the major points about the Scheme: Opening and Closing Date: Investment under the VRR scheme shall be open for allotment from March 11, 2019. The investment limits under the current tranche shall be kept open till the limits are exhausted or till April 30, 2019 whichever is earlier. Investment limits: The aggregate investment limit shall be ₹ 40,000 crores for VRR-Govt and ₹ 35,000 crores for VRR-Corp. Retention period: The minimum retention period shall be three years. Minimum amount in India: During the retention period FPIs shall maintain a minimum of 75% of the allocated amount in India. Who will allot investment limit: Investment limits shall be allotted by Clearing Corporation of India Ltd. (CCIL) on ‘�rst come �rst served’ basis

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Ans 11-(d) Indian Bank

Indian Bank receives Best Bank Award

Public sector Indian Bank has bagged the Best Bank Award from the Tamil Nadu government for meeting the needs of women's self-help

groups (SHGs).

Public sector Indian Bank has bagged the Best Bank Award from the Tamil Nadu government for meeting the needs of women's self-help

groups (SHGs).

Ans 12-(c) Assam

Rice Knowledge Bank launched under World-bank funded Assam Agribusiness & Rural Transformation (APART) project

i. Rice Knowledge Bank- Assam, is an agriculture web portal. It is dedicated to magnifying knowledge on rice production technologies and

techniques, best production practices and state agriculture facts. It was launched under the World Bank funded project – Agri-business and

Rural Transformation (APART).

ii. This portal is the repercussion of e�orts of Assam Rural Infrastructure and Agricultural Services Society (ARIAS), Assam Agricultural

University (AAU) with technical assistance from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

Ans13-(b) Ajay Narayan Jha

AN Jha Replaces ShaktikantaDas As 15th Finance Commission Member

Former Finance Secretary Ajay Narayan Jha has joined as a member of the 15th Finance Commission. Jha has been posted in place of

Shaktikanta Das who had resigned as a member of the Commission after being appointed the RBI Governor.

Jha is a 1982-batch IAS o�cer of Manipur cadre. He was retired as a Finance Secretary to the central government.

Ans-14-(c) Assam

Rice Knowledge Bank launched under World-bank funded Assam Agribusiness & Rural Transformation (APART) project

Rice Knowledge Bank- Assam, is an agriculture web portal. It is dedicated to magnifying knowledge on rice production technologies and

techniques, best production practices and state agriculture facts. It was launched under the World Bank funded project – Agri-business and

Rural Transformation (APART).

This portal is the repercussion of e�orts of Assam Rural Infrastructure and Agricultural Services Society (ARIAS), Assam Agricultural

University (AAU) with technical assistance from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

Ans 15-(c) Karnataka Bank

RBI levies Rs 4-crore �ne on Karnataka Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has levied a penalty of Rs 4 crore on Karnataka Bank for delayed implementation of four “Swift” related

operational controls.

The Reserve Bank of India, in exercise of powers conferred under Section 46 and 47A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 has levied an

aggregate penalty of Rs 40 million on the Bank for delayed implementation of four of the Swift-related operational controls.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) system is a messaging network used by banks and other

�nancial institutions globally to send and receive information, such as money transfer instructions.

Ans 16-(a) IDBI BANK

IDBI Bank gets govt nod to handle import, export transactions with Iran

The IDBI Bank has received government nod to handle import and export transactions with Iran, a move which would help in promoting

two-way trade amid US sanctions on the Persian Gulf nation. US President Donald Trump had in May last year withdrawn from the 2015

nuclear accord with Iran, re-imposing economic sanctions against the Persian Gulf nation.

IDBI Bank has been identi�ed to route the payments. UCO Bank had in the previous round of sanctions handled rupee payments

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Ans 17-(a) HDFC

HDFC is �rst ever Indian corporate to list Masala bond, chooses London Stock Exchange for landmark issuance

Ans 18-(a)$250

World Bank to provide India $250 mn for women led businesses in rural areas

The World Bank will provide a $250-million loan to India for the National Rural Economic Transformation Project (NRETP) to help women in

rural households develop viable enterprises for farm and non-farm products.

NRETP is an additional �nancing to the $500-million National Rural Livelihoods Project (NRLP) approved by the World Bank in July 2011.

The $250 million loan has a 5-year grace period, and a �nal maturity of 20 years.

ANS 19-(d) Uttarakhand

India – World Bank Signs USD 96 Million Loan Agreement for Uttarakhand Disaster Recovery Project

The World Bank has signed USD 96 Million Loan Agreement with the Government of India and Government of Uttarakhand (GoUK) on

March 5, 2019.

The agreement aims to provide additional funds to the state under the Uttarakhand Disaster Recovery Project.

The World Bank has been supporting the Uttarakhand Government since 2014 to restore housing and rural connectivity and build

resilience of communities, since the �oods of 2013 to strengthen its capacity for Disaster Risk Management.

Ans 20-(c) Chhattisgarh

India Signs USD 25.2 Million Loan Agreement with the World Bank for Chhattisgarh Public Financial Management and

Accountability Program

The World Bank and the Government of India has signed a USD 25.2 Million Loan Agreement on March 5, 2019 to support

Chhattisgarh Public Financial Management and Accountability Program.

The programs is the First Bank-Financed State-Level Project in Chhattisgarh to support the State’s Reforms in Expenditure

Management, covering issues like Expenditure Planning, Investment Management, Budget Execution, Public Procurement and Accountability.

Ans 21-(c) ICICI

ICICI Bank buys 9.9% in NBFC Kisan Finance for Rs 18cr

ICICI Bank said it has acquired 9.9 per cent stake in non-banking �nance company Kisan Finance for cash consideration of Rs 17.82 crore.

The acquisition is expected to be over by the end of March 2019.

Kisan Rural Finance Ltd (Kisan Finance), was incorporated in December 2017.

Ans 22-(c)ANDHRA PRADESH

World Bank to give Rs 2,200 cr to Andhra Pradesh for healthcare project

The World Bank has signed a loan agreement worth $328 million (Rs 2,200 Crore) with the Central Government and Government of Andhra

Pradesh for a project that aims to strengthen the Healthcare of Andhra Pradesh state.

The loan aims to strengthen the AP Health Systems Strengthening Project (APHSSP). The loan has been granted by the International Bank

for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) arm of World Bank.

Ans 23-(a) 20

New series of visually impaired friendly coins of Rs.1, Rs.2, Rs.5, Rs.10 and Rs.20 launched

The �nance ministry has launched new series of visually impaired friendly circulation coins in New Delhi. The denominations in which these

new series coins are launched are: Rs.1, Rs.2, Rs.5, Rs.10 and Rs.20

All coins except Rs 20 coin will be round in shape while the Rs 20 coin will be a polygon with 12 edges.

These coins are issued as per the Coinage of One Rupee, Two Rupees, Five Rupees, Ten Rupees and Twenty Rupees Rules, 2019Page 72

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Ans 24-(a)SOUTH KOREAN

Korean EXIM Bank o�ers to give ₹4,100 cr. loan for Vizag metro

The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) on Wednesday came forward to extend a loan of ₹4,100 crore for the Visakhapatnam metro

rail project.

A delegation led by KEXIM Director (Operations) Yang Dong Chloe discussed the issue with Chief Secretary Anil Chandra Punetha,

Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation Limited (AMRCL) Managing Director N.P. Ramakrishna Reddy and other o�cials at the Secretariat.

According to an o�cial release, the Centre forwarded the AMRCL’s request for a soft loan to the KEXIM.

Ans 25-(c)United bank of India

United Bank, HDFC Life sign bancassurance deal

United Bank of India has signed a bancassurance deal with private life insurer HDFC Life Insurance Company. Through this partnership,

United Bank’s customers will be able to take advantage of HDFC Life’s expertise in life insurance products, distribution and customer service.

United Bank has a strong presence in rural and semi-urban areas, with over 2,000 branches and o�ces, while HDFC Life is India’s largest

non-bank-promoted private life insurer.

Ans 26-(a)HITACHI PAYMENT SERVICES

SBI and Hitachi Payment Services launched SBIPSPL to establish digital payments platform in India.

State Bank of India (SBI) and Hitachi Payment Services Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd, launched their

merchant-acquiring joint venture, SBI Payment Services Pvt Ltd (SBIPSPL), for establishing a digital payments platform for India and other

countries in the region, in Mumbai.

SBI has a 74% stake in the joint venture and the balance 26% is with Hitachi Payment Services.

Ans 27-(d)1 lakh

WLA to buy atleast 1 lakh pieces of notes from Banks: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India has issued a guideline for White Label ATMs (WLAs) operators in India. The main highlights are:

WLA can buy cash, above a threshold of 1 lakh pieces (and in multiples thereof ) of any denomination, directly from the Reserve Bank or

Currency Chests against full payment.

WLA can o�er services like bill payment and Interoperable Cash Deposit services, subject to technical feasibility and certi�cation from

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

WLA can display advertisements pertaining to non-�nancial products / services anywhere within the WLA premises.

WLA can source cash from any scheduled bank, including Cooperative Banks and Regional Rural Banks.

ANS 28-(c)2%

RBI noti�es 2% interest subsidy scheme for short-term crop loans

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Thursday noti�ed the norms for banks with regards to two per cent interest subvention or subsidy for

short-term crop loans during 2018-19 and 2019-20.

The Centre has already approved the scheme.

To provide short-term crop loans up to Rs 3 lakh to farmers at an interest rate of 7 per cent, the RBI said it has been decided to o�er

interest subvention of 2 per cent per annum to lending institutions.

"This interest subvention of 2 per cent will be calculated on the crop loan amount from the date of its disbursement/drawal up to the

date of actual repayment of the crop loan by the farmer or up to the due date of the loan �xed by the banks whichever is earlier, subject to

a maximum

Under the scheme, an additional 2 per cent interest subvention is provided to farmers repaying loans promptly. For such farmers, the

e�ective rate of short-term crop loans works out to be 4 per cent per annum.

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STUDY IQ

Appointments and Resignation

ANS 29-(a) USD 137 million

India and World Bank Signs $137 Million Loan Agreement for the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP)

The World Bank has signed the loan agreement with the Government of India along with the representatives of 5 States of Government of

India and Implementing Agencies for Additional Financing of USD 137 Million under the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP).

The �ve representative states are – Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loan will have a 3-year grace period and a �nal maturity of 16 years.

Ans1-(c) Vietnam

Pranay Kumar Verma appointed India’s Ambassador to Vietnam

, Ministry of External A�airs has appointed Pranay Kumar Verma as the India’s Ambassador to Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Pranay Kumar Verma is an 1994 cadre Indian Foreign Services O�cer and presently working as the Joint secretary at Ministry of External

A�airs (MEA).

Ans 2-(b) MedhaNarverkar

Indian-American Woman Appointed University Of Pennsylvania Vice President

Indian American MedhaNarvekar has been appointed vice president and secretary of the University of Pennsylvania.

MsNarvekar, an MBA from Wharton School, will be taking over the new position on July 1, according to a UPenn release.

MsNarvekar has worked at the Penns Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) O�ce for 32 years. Soon after, she earned her MBA from

the same school. Prior to this appointment, she served as senior associate vice president of DAR, working closely with the president and

many trustees.

Ans 3-(b) Ramesh Chand

India has nominated NITI Aayog member and agricultural economics and policy expert Ramesh Chand to lead a specialised agency of the

United Nations focussed on achieving food security for all.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in a statement on March 4, said that �ve candidates have been presented by FAO member

countries for the post of Director-General to be elected in June 2019.

Election for the agency's top leadership post with a four-year term of o�ce starting on August 2019 will take place in Rome between June

22-29 at the 41st Session of FAO's Conference in Rome, the highest governing body of the Organisation said

The new Director-General will succeed José Graziano da Silva, who was �rst elected in 2011 and has served two consecutive terms.

Since the establishment of FAO in 1945, there have been eight Directors-General, including Binay Ranjan Sen of India from 1956-1967.

Ans 4-(a) Sanjeev Ranjan

Sanjeev Ranjan to be designated as Secretary at MoRTH

As a part of a top-level bureaucratic reshu�e e�ected by the central government according to a Personnel Ministry order, Senior IAS o�cer

Sanjeev Ranjan has been designated as secretary of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).He will succeed Yudhvir Singh Malik.

Ans 5-(c) S A Bobde

S A Bobde nominated as Chairman of NALSA

President Ram Nath Kovind has nominated Supreme Court Judge Justice SA Bobde of as Executive Chairman of National Legal Services

Authority (NALSA) with e�ect from March 7, 2019. He will succeed Justice AK Sikri who is retiring on March 6, 2019.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi is Patron in Chief of NALSA. Justice SA Bobde will be senior most judge of Supreme Court after

Justice Sikri retires

ANS 29-(a) USD 137 million

Ans 3-(b) Ramesh Chand

Ans 2-(b) MedhaNarverkar

Ans1-(c) Vietnam

Ans 4-(a) Sanjeev Ranjan

Ans 5-(c) S A Bobde

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Ans 6-(c) A.K. Mohanty

Scientist A.K. Mohanty appointed chief of BARC

Scientist Ajit Kumar Mohanty has been appointed as the Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).

The BARC is India’s premier nuclear research facility based in Mumbai

Ans 7-(C) Mizoram

KummanamRajasekharan resigns as Mizoram Governor

Mizoram Governor KummanamRajasekharan resigned from his post on March 8, 2019.

President Ram Nath Kovind accepted the resignation of Rajasekharan.

Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi has been given additional charge of the state.

Mukhi will discharge the functions of the Governor of Mizoram, in addition to his own duties, until regular arrangements are made.

Ans 8-(b) Padma Lakshmi

UNDP appoints Padma Lakshmi as Goodwill Ambassador

Indian-American television personality and food expert Padma Lakshmi has been appointed by the United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP) as its newest Goodwill Ambassador, supporting the agency’s �ght against inequality and discrimination around the world.

UNDP announced Lakshmi’s appointment on the eve of International Women’s Day.

Ans 9-(c) Finland

The Prime Minister of Finland, JuhaSipila, along with his entire Cabinet, has resigned over its failure to make necessary reforms to health

services and social care system of the country, its �agship programme.

The President of Finland, SauliNiinisto, has approved the resignation of PM Sipila. However, the president has asked his cabinet to stay on

as a caretaker government until a new one is appointed.

The collapse comes just few weeks before parliamentary elections are to be held. (April 14).

Ans10-(c) Subhash Chandra Garg

Subhash Chandra Garg Appointed as New Finance Secretary

The Economic A�airs Secretary, Subhash Chandra Garg, has been designated as the new Finance Secretary in the Ministry of Finance on

March 8, 2019.

He succeeds Ajay Narayan Jha who superannuated on February 28.

AN Jha Replaces ShaktikantaDas As 15th Finance Commission Member

Former Finance Secretary Ajay Narayan Jha has joined as a member of the 15th Finance Commission. Jha has been posted in place of

Shaktikanta Das who had resigned as a member of the Commission after being appointed the RBI Governor.

Jha is a 1982-batch IAS o�cer of Manipur cadre. He was retired as a Finance Secretary to the central government.

Ans 11-(d) Bhagwan Lal Sahni

BJP leader from Muza�arpur Bhagwan Lal Sahni to head NCBC

Bhagwan Lal Sahni, a BJP leader from Bihar's Muza�arpur, has assumed charge as the chairman of the newly constituted National

Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), according to sources in the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry.

BJP leader and former Varanasi mayor Kaushalendra Singh Patel, BJP national secretary and former MP Sudha Yadav from Haryana, and

Telangana BJP general secretary AcharyTalloju have been appointed as members of the commission.

The NCBC was given constitutional status by Parliament last year, after repealing the National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993

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DAYS AND DATES

Ans12-(c) Nagendra Nath Sinha

Sanjeev Ranjan, 1985-batch IAS o�cer of Tripura cadre, is currently the chairman of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Nagendra Nath Sinha appointed chief of NHAI

Nagendra Nath Sinha has been appointed the chief of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

He will replace Sanjeev Ranjan, who has been named secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in a reshu�e.

Ans12-(c) Nagendra Nath Sinha

march 2019bankiq.in

Ans1-(b) February 28

National Science Day: 28 February

National Science Day is celebrated across India on February 28. Famous Indian scientist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman or CV Raman

discovered the Raman E�ect on this day in 1928. For his discovery, Sir CV Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930.

In honour of this discovery and as a mark of tribute to the scientist, National Science Day was marked for the �rst time on February 28, 1987.

This year the theme for the National Science Day is 'Science for people and people for science'.

Ans2-(a) February 27

World NGO Day 2019 was observed on 27th Feb

On 27th February 2019, the human Right activists and all individuals celebrated world NGO Day 2019. It was o�cially recognized and

declared by the 12 member countries of the IX Baltic Sea NGO Forum of the Council of the Baltic Sea States and �rst time marked by the rest

of the world, UN, EU leaders and international organizations in 2014.

Ans3-(a) March 1

Zero Discrimination Day: March 01

The Zero Discrimination Day is celebrated annually on March 1 since 2014 by the UN and other international organisations.

The theme for Zero Discrimination Day 2019 is ‘Act to change laws that Discriminate’.

The day aims to ensure right to equality, inclusion and protection of all people without any discrimination in their law and policies to live a

full life with dignity regardless of any barriers.

Ans-4(a) March 3

World Wildlife Day: March 3

World Wildlife Day is observed on March 3 every year to celebrate and raise awareness about the world’s wild fauna and �ora

The day was proposed by Thailand and recognised in 2013 by United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

2019 Theme – Life below water: for people and planet

Ans5-(c) March 1

43rd Civil Accounts Day on March 1, 2019

The Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) is celebrating March 1 every year as the “Civil Accounts Day”.

Since its inception, the ICAS has steadily grown in stature and now plays an important role in the management of public �nances of the

Union Government. A function is being organized on March 1, 2019 at Mavalankar Auditorium, Constitution Club of India, Ra� Marg, New

Delhi to mark the 43rd Civil Accounts Day.

Ans6-(c) March 3

World Hearing Day: 3rd March

World Hearing Day is observed on 3rd March every year by O�ce of Prevention of Blindness and Deafness of the WHO (World Health

Organization). The Theme for this year’s World hearing day is “Check your Hearing”.

This year, WHO launched an app, HearWHO that will allow people to check their hearing.Page 76

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Ans7-(b) March 4

National Security Day: March 4

48th National Security Day (Rashtriya Suraksha Diwas) – March 4, 2019

Purpose – to praise the work of security forces who sacri�ce their lives for maintaining the stability of the country

National Safety Week is celebrated from 4 March to the 10 March by organizing week long safety campaigns.

The �rst National Safety Day (NSD) Campaign was launched in 1972.

Ans8-(c) March 1

World Civil Defence Day

World Civil Defence Day is celebrated every year on 1st March to bring attention of the world public about the importance of Civil

protection and to pay tributes to the e�orts, sacri�ces and accomplishments of all the services responsible to �ght against disasters.

International Civil Defence Organisation (ICDO) decided to celebrate this day in 1990. The theme of World Civil Defence Day 2019 is

“Children’s safety, our responsibility”

Ans9-(a) March 21

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March. On that day, in 1960, police opened �re

and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid pass laws.

The theme of this year is, “Mitigating and countering of rising nationalist populism and extreme supremacist ideologies”.

Ans10-(b) March 18

National Ordnance Factories Day: March 18

The National Ordnance Factories Day is observed across India on 18 March annually to commemorate the production of the �rst Ordnance

Factory of India.

The day was declared on the 200th anniversary of the oldest ordnance factory, Gun Carriage Agency, which is now known as the Gun and

Shell Factory. It was established in Cossipore, Kolkata in the year of 1801.

The Ordnance Factories Board is popularly called as the country’s “Fourth arm of Defense”. The remaining three arms are the Navy, the Air

Force and the Army.

Ans11-(b) March 20

The International Day of Happiness takes place every year on 20 March.

On 28 June 2012, the UN resolution for the creation of the day unanimously accepted by the member states at the UN General Assembly.

The �rst International Day of Happiness was o�cially held on 20 March 2013.

Ans12-(a) # Balance for better

International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8 every year. It is a focal point in the movement for women's rights.

International Women's Day 2019 campaign theme: #BalanceforBetter.

The theme for this year's women's day is 'Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change'.

President Kovind to give Nari Shakti awards on International Women's Day

President Ram Nath Kovind presented the highest civilian honor for women in India, Nari Shakti Puraskar 2018 in New Delhi. This year, 44

awardees have been selected for these Puraskar.

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Defence and Security

Ans1-(b) Maruti suzuki

In an attempt to curb the menace of road accidents and fatalities, delhi police with Maruti Suzuki India Limited’s has launched automated

red light and speed violation defection systems on Tuesday.

Ans2-(b) New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs National Security Council meet

Prime Minister Narendra Modichaired a meeting of the National Security Council on Sunday following heightened tensions with Pakistan.

The O�cial sources said the meeting was attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, External A�airs Minister

Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The NSA is tasked with advising the prime minister on matters of national security.

It was set up by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1998, with Brajesh Mishra as the �rst National Security Advisor (NSA).

Ans 3-(d)Oman

Exercise Al Nagah III, third in the series of bilateral joint exercise between India and Oman is scheduled to be held from 12 to 25 March 2019

at Jabel Al Akhdar Mountains in Oman. The exercise will see both the armies exchanging expertise and experience in tactics, weapon

handling and �ring, with an aim to enhance interoperability in counterterrorist operations in semi urban mountainous terrain.

Ans 4-(c) South Korea, USA

U.S. and South Korea end military exercises “Foal Eagle 2019” and “Key Resolve”

The United States and South Korea decided to call o� their joint exercise “Foal Eagle” and “Key Resolve” and instead bifurcate them into

smaller exercises.

This is being done to ease tensions with North Korea. They were earlier scheduled to take place in spring of 2019.

The scaled down military exercises will be held from March 4 to March 12 by the US and South Korea.

While “Key Resolve” will be replaced by “Dongmaeng” which is also known as alliance in English, Foal Eagle drills will be replaced by a

smaller battalion-sized exercise.

Ans 5-(b) Australia

Australia will embark on its largest ever defence engagement with Sri Lanka next week as part of the Indo-Paci�c Endeavour 2019 (IPE-19).

Australian high commissioner to Sri Lanka Jon Philp in a brie�ng in Colombo said that more than 1,000 defence personnel will be involved

in the exercise comprising of Australian naval, army and air force assets.

He said that after departing Sri Lanka, IPE19 ships and assets will visit India and other regional partners.

The high commissioner said Australia’s vision for the Indo-Paci�c is a region that is secure, open, prosperous and resilient.

Ans 6-(c) Jodhpur

Rajnath Singh inaugurates CRPF training centre in Jodhpur

Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a training centre of the Central Reserve Police Force at PaladiKhinchiyan village in Jodhpur. He

inaugurated it remotely from New Delhi. Spread over 175 acres, training can be provided to 1,600 security personnel at the centre every year.

The new centre has been handed over to the CRPF and soon the training facility will be shifted to PaladiKhinchiyan from Suratgarh.

Ans 7-(c) Russia

INS Chakra III: India, Russia ink deal for nuclear-powered submarine

India has signed $3 billion deal (inter-governmental agreement) with Russia for leasing of 8,000-tonne Akula class nuclear-powered attack

submarine for Indian Navy for period of 10 years.

Ans1-(b) Maruti suzuki

Ans2-(b) New Delhi

Ans 3-(d)Oman

Ans 4-(c) South Korea, USA

Ans 5-(b) Australia

Ans 6-(c) Jodhpur

Ans 7-(c) Russia

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Under this agreement, Russia will have to deliver this submarine, to be known as Chakra III, to Indian Navy by 2025.

The deal includes comprehensive package for refurbishment of nuclear submarine, its sustenance and spares support for 10 years as well

as training and technical infrastructure for its operations.

Overall, India needs at least 18 conventional submarines, six SSNs and four SSBNs for e�ective deterrence in backdrop of China's attempts

to expand its in�uence in and naval presence in Indian Ocean region.

Induction of INS Chakra III submarine will add some much-needed teeth to India’s depleting �eet of just 14 conventional diesel-electric

submarines (13 old, and new Scorpene INS Kalvari out of e six under construction at Mazagon Docks), SSN (INS Chakra) and a mini-SSBN or

“baby boomer” (INS Arihant).

It will also serve as training platform for 6,000-tonne INS Arihant, which is to be followed by three more SSBNs being built at ship-building

center at Vizag under secretive Rs 90,000 crore Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV

Ans 8-(c) Hyderabad

Joint exercises to be conducted by US army and NSG in Hyderabad

The US military forces and the Indian National Security Guard (NSG) is conducting joint exercises in Hyderabad.

This would be a part of the US-India security partnership.

The aim of these exercises is to enhance preparedness and tackle any crisis that a�ects the public health and safety.

The exercise is witnessing participation by the 1st Battalion and the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) stationed out of Okinawa, Japan.

The exercise will be overseen from the US Embassy, New Delhi and US Special Operations Paci�c Command at Camp HM Smith in Hawaii.

Ans 9-(c) Kazakhstan

SCO Member States to Hold ‘Sary-Arka-Antiterror 2019 in Kazakhstan

The members of the Shanghai Cooperation Orgnisation (SCO), including India, Pakistan and China, will take part in a joint counter-terrorism

exercise ‘Sary-Arka-Antiterror 2019’.

The exercise is likely to be held in grasslands of Kazakhstan in the SaryArka region. The date for the exercise has not been speci�ed yet.

The announcement regarding the exercise was made during the 34th meeting of the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) held in

Tashkent in Uzbekistan on March 15.

SCO Member States: China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.

Ans10-(d) INS Khanderi

Second Scorpene submarine Khanderi ready for induction

Navy is set to induct the second Scorpene submarine Khanderi by early May. The remaining submarines in the series are in advanced stages

of manufacturing and trials. Khanderi was launched into the water in January 2017 and has since been undergoing a series of trials.

Also, the fourth submarine Vela is ready to be launched into the water for trials around the same time depending on the ocean tide.

The Navy is set to induct the second Scorpene submarine Khanderi by early May. The remaining submarines in the series are in advanced

stages of manufacturing and trials. Khanderi was launched into the water in January 2017 and has since been undergoing a series of trials.

Also, the fourth submarine Vela is ready to be launched into the water for trials around the same time depending on the ocean tide.

After a series of delays in the project, the �rst submarine of the class Kalvari joined service in December 2017. The entire project is expected

to be completed by 2020

Ans11-(b) Sri Lanka

The armies of India and Sri Lanka will hold the MITRA SHAKTI 2019 joint military exercise

Ans12-(b) 10

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At a time with Pakistan are heightened, the defence ministry is likely to buy 10 lakh multi-mode hand grenades for the Indian Army under

the ‘Make in India’ in the military sector.

“A proposal for buying 10 lakh hand grenades from an Indian �rm would be considered by the Defence Ministry at a high-level meeting to

be chaired by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman this week”

Ans 13-(b) Sanjay Jasjit Singh

Rear Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh designated as the Western Fleet Commander

Rear Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh, NM took over as the Western Fleet Commander, the “Sword Arm” of the Indian Navy. He will succeed Rear

Admiral MA Hampiholi, AVSM, NM who has been appointed as Director General Naval Operations in the rank of Vice Admiral.

Initiated his career in 1986, the Navigation and Direction specialist, Sanjay Jasjit Singh is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy,

Khadakwasla.

Ans 14-(b) Indo-Bangladesh

Rajnath Singh Launches Smart Fencing Project ‘BOLD-QIT’ on Indo-Bangladesh border

The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the project BOLD-QIT (Border Electronically Dominated QRT Interception

Technique) on March 5, 2019 on 61 km Indo- Bangladesh border in Dhubri district of AssamBOLD-QIT is a project under Comprehensive

Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS).

The project makes use of technological solutions like sensors for border guarding as it was not feasible to construct border fencing

physically along riverine border.

The CIBMS project aims to help BSF in detecting and controlling the cross border crimes like illegal in�ltration, smuggling of contraband

goods, human tra�cking and cross border terrorism etc

Ans 1-(d) Ministry of Human Resource Development

ministry launches SHREYAS scheme to provide apprenticeship opportunities to fresh graduates

Union minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday launched a scheme for providing industry apprenticeship opportunities to fresh graduates.

The Scheme for Higher Education Youth in Apprenticeship and Skills (SHREYAS) is a programme basket comprising the initiatives of three

central ministries, including the HRD, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and the Ministry of Labour and Employment,

Javadekar said.

The education with skills is the need of the hour and the SHREYAS will be a major e�ort in this direction to make our degree students more

skilled, capable, employable and aligned to the needs of our economy so that they contribute to country's progress and also obtain gainful

employment," he said.

These courses will be available to them from academic year April-May,2019. More than 40 higher educational institutions have already been

tied up for taking up embedded apprenticeship courses.

Ans 2-(c) New delhi

PM Modi launches Khelo India Mobile App to promote �tness

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Khelo India Mobile App at the Youth Parliament Festival in New Delhi.

Developed by the Sports Authority of India, the App helps create awareness about sports and �tness, especially among youngsters.

Minister of Youth A�airs and Sports Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was also present at the launch of the App which has been developed

both in Hindi and English.

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Ans 3-(b) United Arab Emirates

To mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a UAE-based company will globally release 12 bank notes of zero value, the �rst-

ever limited edition commemorative series. The �rst two notes of the 12-part series, with just 5,000 pieces to be printed in each design, will

go on sale at select outlets globally and online platforms while the remaining will be released in phases till October 2.

The special notes have been designed by Dubai-based Indian artist Akbar Saheb who is also the main illustrator for Prime Minister Narendra

Modi’s book “Mann Ki Baat”.

Each note will feature memorable incidents from the personal and political life of Gandhi as a tribute to his legendary status, said Ramkumar

Sarangapani, Numisbing Group founder and President of the International Bank Note Society, Dubai.

Ans-4(c) West Bengal

West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee inaugurated a web portal, 'Banglar Shiksha', which is set to provide real-time data on

state-run and aided schools.

The portal, banglarshiksha.gov.in, will be up and running in two months' time, the minister stated. A statement issued by the school

education department stated that the portal will store real-time data of 1.5 crore students, 5 lakh teachers and 1 lakh schools.The portal

should be fully functional by May 1

Ans 5-(b) Star

STARS scheme worth Rs 250 crore to fund science projects launched by HRD Ministry on National Science Day

Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has launched Scheme for Translational and Advanced Research in Science (STARS)

to fund science projects.

It was launched on the occasion of National Science Day (NSD) observed ev ery year on 28 February.

Scheme for Translational and Advanced Research in Science (STARS)

Under it, HRD Ministry has approved funds worth Rs 250 crore. These funds will be utilised to sponsor about 500 science projects.

The selection of these projects will be done on basis of competitions. The project will be coordinated by Indian Institute of Science (IISc),

Bengaluru.

Interested candidates will have to submit applications in April 2019 to take part in this competition.

Ans 6-(b)Haryana

Haryana govt. announces MukhyamantriParivarSamman Nidhi Yojana 2019

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday announced the "MukhyamantriParivarSamman Nidhi" scheme for farmers

of the state cultivating up to �ve acres of land and families having income less than Rs. 15,000 per month.

Under the scheme, each bene�ciary family would be eligible for a �nancial assistance of Rs.6,000 every year and each family will

have to nominate a member to avail this bene�t

Under the scheme, there will two categories -- the bene�ciary under the age group of 18 to 40 years and the bene�ciary under the

age group of 40 to 60 years.

For the �rst category, there will be four options to avail the �nancial assistance, an o�cial statement said while giving details of the

scheme.

Under the �rst option, the families can receive Rs. 6,000 every year, which will be deposited in three equal installments of Rs. 2,000

in the bank account of head of the family.

Under the second option, a family has to nominate a member to avail the bene�t and he or she will get Rs. 36,000 after completion

of �ve years.

Under the third option, the nominated bene�ciary will get pension of Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 15,000 per month after attaining the age of

60 years, which would depend up on the age of the bene�ciary at start of the scheme.

Under the fourth option, the nominated bene�ciary will get Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 30,000 after �ve years, which would depend upon the

option selected by the nominated bene�ciary, the statement said.

Ans 3-(b) United Arab Emirates

Ans-4(c) West Bengal

Ans 5-(b) Star

Ans 6-(b)Haryana

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Ans 7-(b) Karnataka

Karnataka launches ambitious ‘Jalamrutha’ scheme

‘Jalamrutha’, an ambitious water conservation scheme was launched by Karnataka chief minister, H D Kumaraswamy at a programme

organized by rural development and panchayat raj department at Dr B R Ambedkar Bhavan in Bengaluru.

On the occasion the CM also announced the year 2019 as ‘Jalavarsha (year of water)’.

This initiative by the government has been taken in advance to obviate water-related problems which might grip the humanity in future.

The aim is to educate people of the value of water and the need to conserve it in all the possible ways.

Ans 8-(d) Seven

Environment minister launches anthem on ‘plastic-free India’ in 7 languages

Union Minister Harsh Vardhan launched an anthem as a part of a campaign to make India plastic-free by 2022and stressed on strengthening

plastic waste management and recycling ecosystem in the country.

The”Plastic Waste-Free India” has been anthem, prepared and produced by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Smriti Manch (PDUSM), a non-pro�t

organisation which claims to be working on various social and environmental issues.

The anthem has been launched in 7 languages- Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telegu, Malayalam and Kannada.

Ans 9-(d) USA

The United States may have just taken a big step toward human spacelight self-su�ciency with a �rst-of-its kind launch of SpaceX.

SpaceX launched 1st unmanned Crew Dragon test capsule to space station

With the aim of assuring NASA about astronauts’ safety in future �ights, Crew Dragon capsule was launched by SpaceX for the �rst time.

The name of the mission is ‘Demo-1’ and it was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, USA.

The capsule did not consist of any humans on board, only a dummy called ‘Ripley’. Ripley’s name belongs to the main character in the 1979

movie “Alien” and it consists of sensors help SpaceX visualise the journey to and from the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA’s Commercial Crew program consists of two test �ights- Demo-1and Demo-2. Demo-2 which is going to be the �rst crewed �ight will

be launched in July.

Ans 10-(b) Chhattisgarh

Samvedna’ campaign launched by Chhattisgarh Police

Chhattisgarh Police have launched ‘Samvedna’ campaign to curb crimes against women and children by keeping a strict watch on crimes

against them and taking prompt corrective action.

Nodal o�cers in each district of the state will be appointed along with the formation of a cell for dealing with cases related to women and

children. Each cell will have at least onewoman police o�cer.

Ans 11-(b) Gram Samridhi Yojana

Gram Samridhi Yojana: New scheme to help unorganised food processing sector

India’s food processing ministry is working on a new scheme Gram Samridhi Yojana to bolster the unorganised food processing sector

concentrated in rural areas. Gram Samridhi Yojana also aims to provide common facility centres and business incubators in rural areas.

The Rs 3,000 crore scheme funded by the World Bank and the Centre will help cottage industry, farmer producers’ organisation and

individual food processors to increase capacity.

The maximum cap of subsidy to be given to a unit will be Rs 10 lakh, apart from interest subsidy, if they avail of loans. There is a provision

for getting subsidy on bank interest by 3% to 5%.

Ans 12-(b) Gujarat

PM Narendra Modi launches Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) Yojana

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The Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) Yojana at Vastral in Gujarat on 05 March

2019. He also distributed the PM-SYM pension cards to select bene�ciaries. Over two crore workers at three lakh Common Service Centers

across the country witnessed the launch event through video conference

Terming it as a historic day, the Prime Minister dedicated PM-SYM Yojana to the forty two crore strong unorganized sector workers in the

country. He said that the scheme will assure a monthly pension of Rs 3000 for the enrolled unorganized sector workers during their old age.

It is for the �rst time since independence that such a scheme is envisaged for the crores of workers engaged in the informal sector, PM added.

The Prime Minister explained in detail about the bene�ts of PM-SYM. A contribution of equal amount as that of the bene�ciary will be made

by the Union Government, PM said. He appealed to the informal sector workers earning less than Rs.15000 per month to enroll as

bene�ciaries in the nearby Common Service Centre.

Assuring that there would not be any hassles with the enrollment process, Modi told the gathering that only a form needs to be �lled with

Aadhar number and bank details. The cost incurred by the Common Service Centre for enrolling a bene�ciary will be borne by the Union

Government.

This is the miracle of Digital India, PM said.

Ans 13-(a) Marketing

Government Introduces Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) Scheme for Speci�ed Agriculture Products

The Government of India has come up with a scheme called ‘Transport and Marketing Assistance’ (TMA) to provide �nancial assistance for

exporting speci�ed agriculture products to international market.

The assistance will be given for the international component of freight and marketing of agricultural produce which in turn will reduce the

cost of transportation as well as promote brand recognition for Indian agricultural products in the speci�ed overseas markets.

Currently the scheme will be e�ective from 1 March 2019 to 31 March 2020.

Ans 14-(b) Odisha

Odisha govt launches ‘Mukhya Mantri KarigarSahayata’ scheme for craftsmen

Odisha government has launched a scheme named ‘Mukhya Mantri KarigarSahayata’ on March 05, 019 for craftsmen/sculptors of

Odisha to provide them with monthly assistance. The scheme was inaugurated by CM of Odisha, Shri Naveen Patnaik.

Monthly amount/assistance for Craftsmen with more than 10 years of experience and annual income below Rs 1 lakh = Rs 800/month

Monthly amount/assistance for Craftmen with age more than 80 years = Rs 1000/month

Ans 15-(d) Maharastra

Maharashtra govt launches Aaple Sarkar chatbot

The government of Maharashtra has launched a chatbot named “Aaple Sarkar” to provides easy access to information regarding

1,400 public services managed by the state government of Maharashtra.

The government of Maharashtra has tied up with Mumbai-based AI startup, Haptik for the chatbot.

Ans 16-(c)West Bengal

West Bengal Government launches Yuvashree Arpan Scheme for the youth

Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee has announced a new scheme ‘Yuvashree Arpan’ for the youths of the state.

Under this scheme, 50,000 youth in the State will receive �nancial assistance of Rs 1 lakh for setting up an enterprise.

The ‘Yuvashree Arpan’ Scheme will be funded by MSME department.

Ans 17-(b) Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand Government launches “MukhyamantriAnchal Amrit Yojana” a free milk scheme

Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat has launched a scheme named “MukhyamantriAnchal Amrit Yojana” for providing

free milk to childrens of Anganwadi Centers.

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Under the “MukhyamantriAnchal Amrit Yojana” 2.5 lakh children at 20,000 Anganwadi kendras in the state will be given 100 ml milk twice

a week for free.

As many as 18,000 children su�er from malnutrition in the state of Uttarakhand, So this is a step to �ght against malnutrition

Ans 18-(a) e-Dharti

Housing and Urban A�airs Ministry launches e-Dharti App for properties/land related matters

Ministry of Housing and Urban A�airs has launched a mobile app named e-Dharti App that will provide access to the three main modules

of Land & Development O�ce (L&DO).

The three modules are:

Conversion, Substitution and Mutation

Conversion of property from leasehold to freehold

Substitution of names of legal heirs and;

Mutation in the name of purchaser etc.,

Ans 19-(b) 2009

PM Narendra Modi launches 5th volume of Dictionary of Martyrs

THE �fth volume of the “Dictionary of Martyrs” on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said history should be accepted as it is and

only those who fail to create history try to distort it.

The �fth volume is the �nal part of the project commissioned by Culture Ministry in 2009 under the UPA-II government to commemorate

150th anniversary of the �rst war of independence in 1857.

It has been executed by the Indian Council of Historical Research and focuses on 15,000 martyrs who sacri�ced their lives from the �rst war

of independence till 1947.

Each volume covers a di�erent geographical zone. The �rst three volumes were released between 2011 and 2014. Volume 4 and 5 released

under NDA government cover east India and south India.

Ans 20-(d) Maharashtra

The Maharashtra government has launched the “Atal AaharYojna” for construction workers in the state that will provide good quality and

hygienic food to construction workers at a highly subsidised rate is Rs 5.

Under the yojana, construction workers will be provided nutritious food at their work place for just Rs �ve.

In the �rst phase, the target is to cover 20,000 workers.

Ans 21-(c) Tripura

Tripura government launches Nutan Disha initiative to provide training to teachers

Tripura government has announced to distribute laptops to 800 school teachers under the Nutan Disha (new direction) initiative.

The Nutan Disha is a one-month project to provide training to teachers.

‘Nutan Disha’ is aimed at making the students e�cient and capable in all subjects from the 3rd to 8th standard

Ans 1-(b) Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Ambani ranked 8th on Hurun Global Rich List 2019; Top- Je� Bezos

Mukesh Ambani has been ranked 8th in the Hurun Global Rich List 2019. He is the only Asian in top 10. (networth of $54 billion).

He was on the joint 8th along with Sergey Brin of Google.

The Hurun Global Rich List 2019 is topped by Amazon chief Je� Bezos for the second year in a row, while the senior Ambani is placed 8th,

thanks to a rally in RIL

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Ans 2-(b) RandeepHooda

Actor RandeepHooda won the silver medal at the National Equestrian Championship (NEC) and called it a proud moment. On the work front, the “Sarbjit” actor was last seen on screen in “Baaghi 2”. He will next be seen in “Dhaka”.

Ans 3-(a) Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh won the National e-Governance Award in 2019.

Ans 4-(d) Bhopal

CZPDC Bhopal And WZPDC Indore Honoured with Saubhagya Award The Central Zone Power Distribution Company (CZPDC), Bhopal and West Zone Power Distribution Company (WZPDC), Indore were conferred with the “SaubhagyaAward”under Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana at the National Conference of Energy Ministers by the Union Minister of State for Energy, R.K. Singh. The Central Zone Power Distribution Company, Bhopal is the �rst power distribution company in the country which has illuminated more than 7 lakh 85 thousand houses while around Four lakh houses have been electri�ed by the West Zone Power Distribution Company, Indore under Pradhanmantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana-Saubhagya The award includes a cash prize of Rs 100 crore each. The PM Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana- Saubhagya was implemented by the Central Government in September 2017and intends to provide electricity to all Below Poverty Line (BPL) houses of rural and urban areas.

Ans5-(a) Shweta Umre

PM Narendra Modi Conferred the National Youth Parliament Festival 2019 Awards The National Youth Parliament Festival 2019 awards were given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

The winners from the national level competition are: 1st position- Shweta Umre from Maharashtra. 2nd position- Anjanakshi M.S from Karnataka. 3rd position- Mamta Kumari from Bihar.

Ans6-(b) Noor Inayat Khan

First Indian-origin WWII spy, Noor Inayat, to get Blue Plaque in UK Britain's World War II spy Noor Inayat Khan was on Monday con�rmed as the �rst Indian-origin woman to be honoured with a Blue Plaque at her former London home. The Blue Plaque scheme run by English Heritage honours notable people who lived or worked in particular buildings across London. Noor Inayat Khan's plaque is set to go up at 4 Taviton Street in Bloomsbury, where she lived as a secret agent during the war. Ms Khan, the daughter of Indian Su� saint Hazrat Inayat Khan, was an agent for Britain's Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II and was captured and killed by the Nazis in 1944 at just 30 years of age

Ans 7-(c) Gujarat

7th Guinness Book of World Record created by DEPwD in Gujarat The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has created the “7th Guinness Book of World Record” on February 28, 2019 atBharuch, Gujarat. The DEPwD implanted ‘Modern Arti�cial Limbs (Legs)’ on 260 Divyangjans within eight hours. Six World Records in other categories have already been created by DEPwD. The announcement was made during the National Conference on “Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS)” organised in New Delhi on March 01, 2019.

Ans 8-(d) G Satheesh Reddy

DRDO Chairman G Satheesh Reddy Gets Missile Systems Award 2019 by US-based AIAA The Chairman of Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), G Satheesh Reddy, has been conferred with the 2019 Missile Systems Award by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) for his contribution in the �eld of missile systems technology.

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The 55 years old scientist will be awarded the prestigious Missile Systems Award along with Rondell J Wilson, scientist at Raytheon Missile Systems based at Tucson, Arizona, United States. The award is presented biennially (in odd-numbered years) for excellence in developing or implementing missile systems technology.

Ans9-(a) ThangaDarlong

Tripura’s tribal musician Thanga awarded �rst AB Vajpayee Life Time Achievement Award Tripura’s ThangaDarlong, the last tribal musician to play Rosem a bamboo made a �ute-like musical instrument, was conferred the Atal Behari Vajpayee Life Time Award during the 37th Agartala Book Fair in Agartala. In January, the 99-year old tribal musician and music guru was conferred with the prestigious Padma Shri award for his contribution to the �eld of music.

Ans10-(c) Kavya Kopparapu

Indian-American teen awarded for invention to improve brain cancer treatment Kavya Kopparapu, an Indian-American teenager has been conferred with the 2019 National STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Education Award for her ground-breaking invention designed to improve treatments for glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer. The $10,000 award given by STEM Education US, recognises Kavya Kopparapu of Herndon, Virginia, as an “extraordinarily talented and accomplished” individual “who has meaningfully promoted STEM education”.

Ans 11-(d) Odisha

The Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) has bagged the SKOCH Award, 2018 for its achievements in the �eld of disaster management. The award, conferred by Skoch Group, covers the best e�orts in the areas of �nance, governance, banking, disaster management, technology, economics and inclusive growth. The OSDMA received an Order-of-merit in the Gold category for constructing 879 multipurpose cyclone and �ood shelters, that played a key role in saving human lives during Cyclone Phailin in 2013, a statement issued by the OSDMA said Friday. It also bagged an 'Order-of-merit' in the silver category for constructing disaster resilient houses for about 17,000 Phailin a�ected families by relocating them to safer places. The award is being given since 2003.

Ans 12-(b) Tata Steel

Tata Steel recognised as one of World’s Most Ethical Companies Tata Steel has received an award as one of the 2019 World’s Most Ethical Companies. The award has been given by Ethisphere Institute, USA. The company was also recognised 7 times previously (this being the eighth recognition) and is one of the only two awardees in the ‘Metals, Minerals and Mining’ industry. In 2019, 128 honourees across 21 countries and 50 industries have been

Ans13-(a) Shashank Shekhar

Shashank Shekhar wins 10 km race of Nepal's COAS Open Marathon and Run for Fun in Kathmandu India's Shashank Shekhar today won the 10kilometre race of Nepal's Chief of Army Sta� (COAS) Open Marathon and Run for Fun held in Kathmandu. Shekhar of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Contingent at Embassy of India in Kathmandu secured �rstposition. RD Murgan also from CISF got third place. A total nine CISF personnel participated in 10 KM race category. The remaining seven personnel also successfully completed run and received Certi�cate of Achievement. A large number of participants from other Diplomatic Missions, Nepal Army personnel and local people participated in event, comprising 5 km, 10 km, 21 km and 42 km runs. COAS Open Marathon and Run for Fun is an annual event organised by the Nepal Army.Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri has appreciated CISF personnel for the remarkable achievement and congratulated the winners.

Ans 14-(c) TVS Motor

TVS Motor wins international sustainability award TVS Motor Company recently bagged the ‘Green Era Award for Sustainability’ at Lisbon in Portugal. The two-wheeler and three-wheeler manufacturer also won the ‘Quality and Business Excellence Award’ for its endeavour to create new benchmarks in product quality. The event held at Lisbon was attended by 34 companies across 25 countries. TVS Motor is the �agship company of 8.5 billiondollar TVS Group.

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Ans 15-(d) AbhinandanVarthaman

AbhinandanVarthaman to Get First Ever ‘Bhagwan Mahavir Ahimsa Puraskar’ AbhinandanVarthaman, a wing-commander in the Indian Air Force, who was recently held captive by Pakistan, will be honored with the �rst ever ‘Bhagwan Mahavir Ahimsa Puraskar’.

The award has been instituted by the Akhil Bharatiya Digambar Jain Mahasamiti. It carries a cash prize of Rs. 2.51 lakh, a memento anda citation. The �ghter pilot AbhinandanVarthaman will receive the award on April 17 on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti

Ans16-(c) Priyanka Dubey

BBC journalist Priyanka Dubey chosen for Outstanding Woman Journalist for the year 2018 Priyanka Dubey, a journalist at BBC has been chosen for the Chameli Devi Jain Award for an Outstanding Woman Journalist for the year 2018. The Chameli Devi Jain Award is named after Chameli Devi Jain and is the longest running media award in India for women running for the past 37 years.

Ans17-(b) Raghuram Rajan

Raghuram Rajan former governor of RBI has been chosen for the ‘Yashwantrao Chavan National Award 2018’ by Yashwantrao Chavan Prathisthan for his contribution to economic development. Raghuram Rajan is credited with steering Indian economy during the post global �nancial crisis period.

Ans18-(b) literature

Ans19-(d) Arata Isozaki

Japanese architect Arata Isozaki wins Pritzker Prize, the highest honour Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, who integrated the East and West in his creative designs has been honoured with Pritzker Architecture Prize 2019. This prize was incorporated in 1979 and is said to be the highest international honour in the �eld of architecture. The prize was announced by the jury of the Hyatt Foundation.ii. He is the 8th Japanese to be honoured with this award.iii. The award ceremony will be held in May,2019 at the Chateau de Versailles in France.

Ans 20-(d) Acko General

General Insurance Company, Acko wins Golden Peacock Innovative Product Award – 2019 Acko General Insurance Limited based in Mumbai has won the Golden Peacock Innovative Product/Services Award – 2019 under the Insurance Category. Apart from this Azizi Bank of Afghanistan has won the Golden Peacock Business Excellence Award (GPBEA)- 2019 in the Banking Sector.

Ans 21-(b) Bharti AXA

Bharti AXA General wins ‘Assocham Non-Life Insurer of The Year Award. Bharti AXA General Insurance has been conferred with the ‘Non-Life Insurer of The Year Award 2019 by the Assocham, one of the apex trade associations of India. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) honored Bharti AXA General Insurance with this recognition for its excellence and contribution to the non-life insurance sector during the Insurance Leaders Meet 2019 (Regulation, Disruption and Product Dynamics) and Excellence Awards in Kolkata. ASSOCHAM Non-Life Insurer of The Year Award is a testimony to the trust reposed in the company by its customers, stakeholders and the industry as well.

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Ans 1-(c) Bangladesh

India, Bangladesh hold joint exercise to boost con�dence on Tripura border Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) on Thursday concluded a three-day ‘MainamatiMaitree Exercise 2019’ as a part of ‘Con�dence Building Measures’ between the two border guards. BSF Deputy Inspector General CL Belwa issued a press statement this afternoon saying BSF and BGB have achieved yet another milestone in ‘ever-increasing friendly relationship’ through the joint exercise held in general area of BSF’s Srimantapur border outpost, nearly 60 km from here. The exercise was named after a hill range situated 8 km west of Comilla township in Bangladesh, which is home to an ancient Buddhist archaeological site in the region.

Ans2-(d) USA

Cabinet approves MoU between India and USA to access tip line reports on Missing and Exploited Children The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the Memorandum of Understanding between India and the USA to access tipline reports on Missing and Exploited Children. The MoU has been signed between the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), India and the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), USA.Bene�ts: The MoU will provide access to more than one lakh tipline reports available with NCMEC, USA and enable law enforcement agencies in India. It will pave the way for setting up of an innovative mechanism for sharing information about child pornography and child sexual abuse material and taking legal action against o�enders. It will further enable the law enforcement agencies to remove child pornography and child sexual abuse material from cyber space, thereby enhance human dignity.

Ans 3-(d) Philippines

US vows Philippines aid against armed attack in South China Sea US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday vowed to defend the Philippines against armed attack in the disputed South China Sea. Speaking in Manila after meeting with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Pompeo said Beijing's building of arti�cial islands in waters which were also claimed by Manila and other neighbours are potential threats to the two allies. Pompeo's comments marked the �rst time any US o�cial had publicly stated Washington's intent to defend its ally in the �ashpoint sea. A 1951 US-Philippine mutual defence treaty committed Manila and its former colonial master to come to each other's aid in case of an armed attack in the Paci�c area on either party

Ans 4-(d) Russia

India Signs Deal with Russian Firm to Produce 7.5 Lakh AK-203 Ri�es India has signed a deal with a Russian �rm to manufacture 7.5 lakh AK-203 ri�es. These are the latest derivative of the AK-47 ri�es. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the AK-203 ri�es will be produced at the Indian Ordnance Factory at Amethi'sKorwa. The new ri�es will replace the indigenous INSAS ri�es in the Army, Air Force, and Navy.

Ans 5-(d) Four

India to collaborate with four nations to protect Asian rhinos

Ans 6-(c) Xuzhou

Nasscom to develop IT corridor in eastern China Indian IT apex body Nasscom on Friday said it has entered into a partnership with Xuzhou city in Jiangsu province to develop an IT corridor in eastern China.

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"The partnership with Xuzhou is to help develop the software market and build the third IT corridor in Xuzhou after Dalian and Guiyang in the eastern China region," the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) said in a statement here. The new corridor will facilitate partnerships between Indian and Chinese �rms as part of Nasscom's e�orts to evangelise IT development in newer geographies

Ans 7-(d) Japan

India, Japan hold inaugural space dialogue The inaugural India-Japan Space Dialogue was held in New Delhi yesterday. The dialogue brought together Ministries and agencies related to outer space in the two countries and provided an opportunity for information exchange on the respective space policies. Discussions were also held on bilateral cooperation between JAXA-ISRO, their space industries, global navigation satellite system, space situational awareness, space security and space-related norms.

Ans 8-(c) Maldives

New visa agreement between Maldives & India comes into force The new visa agreement between Maldives and India has come into force from today. The agreement will provide a liberal visa policy for Maldivians seeking medical treatment as well as education and business opportunities in India. The visa deal will allow Maldivian businessmen and tourists to stay in India for 90 days without a visa. Maldivians with tourist visas can also stay in India for treatment if they su�er a sudden medical issue.

Ans 9-(c) Brazil, Australia

Brazil, Australia lodge complaint in WTO over India's sugar subsidies Brazil and Australia have lodged formal complaint against India in World Trade Organisation (WTO), alleging that India's continued sugar subsidies to farmers have led to "glut" and "depressed" global prices. Australia was �rst to lodged this counter-noti�cation with WTO over to India's sugar subsidy practices in November 2018.Reasons for complaint According to Brazil and Australia, India's sugar subsidy regime was inconsistent with WTO rules and had helped create glut in global sugar market. It Is hurting sugarcane growers and sugar millers in Australia, Brazil or other countries. It is not consistent with WTO rules and does not provide level playing �eld.

Ans10-(a) Paraguay and Costa Rica

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu will embark on a two-nation tour of Paraguay and Costa Rica on Tuesday. This is the �rst high-level visit from India to both the countries The Vice President will be accompanied by a high-level delegation including Minister of State for Tourism, KJ Alphons, Members of Parliament and senior government o�cials.

Ans 11-(c) France

France, which assumed the March Presidency of the United Nations Security Council, has reiterated its support for India as the permanent member of the powerful UN organ, saying the UNSC's enlargement is the "�rst crucial part" towards its reform. India has been calling for the reform of the UN Security Council along with Brazil, Germany and Japan for long, emphasising that it rightly deserves a place at the UN high table as a permanent member. France, a veto-wielding permanent member of the 15-nation Security Council, last month moved a fresh proposal in the UNSC along with the US and the UK to designate Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.

Ans 12-(d) France

ISRO, French space agency seal agreement on maritime security National space agency ISRO and its French counterpart CNES on Wednesday sealed an agreement to set up a joint maritime surveillance system in the country in May. The two nations will explore putting up a constellation of low-Earth orbiting satellites that will identify and track movement of ships globally – and in particular those moving in the Indian Ocean region where France has its Reunion Islands. Page 89

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Before that, they will initially share data from their present space systems and develop new algorithms to analyse them, according to the Paris based National Centre for Space Studies.

Ans 13-(b) Japan

Japan announces Rs 22 lakh for Kolkata museum The Japanese government on Monday announced a donation of some Rs 22 lakh ($31,800) to the Rabindra Bharati Museum here in a bid to strengthen historical and cultural ties with India.

Ans 14-(d) USA

Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale To Meet Mike Pompeo, Top US O�cials Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale will call on US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and meet other senior o�cials of the Donald Trump administration in Washington today and exchange views on major foreign policy and security-related issues, o�cials said, amid tensions between India and Pakistan after the Pulwama terror attack. Mr Gokhale arrived in the US on Sunday for the bilateral Foreign O�ce Consultation and Strategic Security Dialogue with his American counterparts, Under Secretary of State for Political A�airs David Hale and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Andrea Thompson. While his three-day US trip was scheduled much before the February 14 Pulwama terrorist attack, Mr Gokhale's meetings with Mr Pompeo and his counterparts this week are being considered signi�cant. To refurbish the Japan Gallery of the museum, a MoU will be signed between the Consul General of Japan in Kolkata, Masayuki Taga, and the Vice Chancellor of Rabindra Bharati University, Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury, on Wednesday.

Ans15-(b) USA

India, US agree to build six nuclear power plants in India India and US have agreed to build six American nuclear power plants in India as part of measures to strengthen security and civil nuclear cooperation. No details of nuclear plant project were given. Thus, announcement came after conclusion of 9th round of India-US strategic security dialogue. The dialogue was co-chaired by foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale and Andrea Thompson, US under-secretary of state for arms control and international security.

Ans 1-(d) Thomas Cook India Group

Thomas Cook India Group announces acquisition of Digiphoto Entertainment Imaging (DEI) Thomas Cook India Group announced its acquisition of a 51% stake in Digiphoto Entertainment Imaging (DEI) at an enterprise value of $40.6 million (Rs 289 crore). Thomas Cook said the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions The company said the acquisition is both PAT and free cash accretive from day one. Established in 2004, Digiphoto Entertainment Imaging has o�ces in Singapore, Dubai, Mumbai, Orlando, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.DEI focuses on imaging solutions for the attractions industry and has a network of over 120 partners

Ans2-(b) Andhra Pradesh

Piyush Goyal announces “South Coast Railway (SCoR)” a new Zone of Indian Railways in Andhra Pradesh Railways Minister Piyush Goyal on February 27, 2019 announced the “South Coast Railway (SCoR)” as the new Zone of Indian Railways. The new zone SCoR will comprise of existing Guntakal, Guntur and Vijayawada divisions of Andhra Pradesh. Waltair division shall be split into two parts. One part of Waltair division will be incorporated in the new South Coast Railway zone and will be merged with the neighbouringVijaywadadivision. Remaining portion of Waltair division shall be converted into a new division with headquarter at Rayagada under East Coast Railway (ECoR). South Central Railway will comprise of Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Nanded divisions. As per item 8 of Schedule 13 (Infrastructure) of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014, Indian Railways was required to examine establishing a new railway zone in Andhra Pradesh

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Ans3-(a) Satat

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Skill development and Entrepreneurship Shri Dharmendra Pradhan today handed over the 100th Letter of Intent (LOI) to the Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) Entrepreneur (producer) under the SATAT scheme. SATAT is an initiative aimed at providing a Sustainable Alternative Towards A�ordable Transportation as a developmental e�ort that would bene�t both vehicle-users as well as farmers and entrepreneurs. The Minister said that CGD system will be available in 400 districts, providing ready market for the Compressed Bio-gas. Lauding the e�orts of PSUs involved in the project, he said that within 5 months of its launch, over 100 LOIs have been issued.

Ans4-(c) Adobe

NITI Aayog has inked Statement of Intent (SoI) with software major Adobe to develop creative skills and spread digital literacy among school children in India as part of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM). Under this partnership, Adobe will adopt 100 schools under AIM’s Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) initiative. It will also be implementing its Digital Disha Program in ATLs, under which it will o�er free licenses of Adobe Spark premium to ATLs.Digital Disha Programme It was launched by Adobe in 2018. It is aimed at driving synergies in creative thinking and technology-based learning among school children. It also seeks to empower them with new-age skills to thrive in current digital era and prepare them for long term success. It is expected to touch the lives of one million students by 2020.

Ans5-(a) IRCTC iPAY

IRCTC launched its own Payment aggregator iPay The Indian Rail Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) on February 28, 2019 launched its ownpayment aggregator system ‘IRCTC iPay’ in a bid to promote digital transactions. With the launch of IRCTC iPay, the passengers will not need any third-party platforms while booking tickets online. IRCTC iPay provides payment options like credit card, debit card, uni�ed payment interface, international card. IRCTC iPay will help reduce the gap between IRCTC and banks which will eventually lead to a substantial reduction in payment failures

Ans6-(c) Amazon

Amazon to launch Project Zero to �ght product counterfeit Amazon will launch an initiative named “Project Zero” to get rid of counterfeit products on its website. Under the project, Amazon will allow the brands to directly �ag and delete fake listings themselves. At present companies need to forward a request to Amazon if they spot fake versions of their products

Ans7-(a) Signalchip

Signalchip unveils India’s �rst semiconductor chips for 4G/5G connectivity Bengaluru-based fabless semiconductor company, Signalchip, unveiled India’s �rst semiconductor chips for 4G/LTE and 5G NR modems, which would enable high-speed wireless communication. These chips put India into an elite group of countries that own this widely used fundamental technology. The series of chips,codenamed ‘Agumbe’ (a small village located in Shimoga district in Karnataka) are the result of over eight years of research and development by Signalchip engineers.

Ans8-(a) Tata steel, Jamshedpur

Union Minister of Steel presented 25th Prime Minister’s trophy in New Delhi On 1st March 2019, Steel Minister of India has presented the 25th Prime Minister’s Trophy and Steel Minister’s trophy along with other awards for the best performing integrated steel plants for the year 2016-17.Key points Prime Minister’s Trophy for the Best Overall Performance along with a cash prize of 2 Crore rupees was conferred upon Tata Steel Limited, Jamshedpur Works. The Steel Minister’s Trophy along with a cash prize of 1 Crore rupees was conferred upon JSW Steel Limited – Vijayanagar Works.

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Ans9-(c) Jharkhand

Govt approves Adani Powers Rs 14,000 crore Jharkhand SEZ project The government has approved a Rs 14,000-crore special economic zone (SEZ) project of Adani Power in Jharkhand, which will export the entire power generated in the Unit to Bangladesh. It will be ready by the end of 2022. The company had sought approval for setting up the project over an area of 425 hectares. Two supercritical units of 800 MW each would be set up with an investment of Rs 14,000 crore, which would include setting up of a water pipeline and a power evacuation system.

Ans-10-(b) Uttar Pradesh

CCEA approves investment approval for 1320 megawatt Khurja Super Thermal Power Plant in Bulandshahar The Cabinet Committee on Economic A�airs, CCEA has approved the investment approval for a 1320 megawatt,Khurja Super Thermal Power Plant (STPP) in Bulandshahar of Uttar Pradesh. Eleven thousand eight nine crore rupees will be spent on the plant. Investment approval for 1320 Mega Watt Buxar thermal Power Project in District Buxar of Bihar was also approved The project will be completed at an estimated cost of ten thousand 439 crore rupees. The Buxar Thermal Power Project will improve the de�cit power scenario in Bihar and Eastern Region. It will start yielding bene�t from 2023-24. The CCEA also approved Amelia Coal Mine in Singraulli, Madhya Pradesh.

Ans11-(c) Chhattisgarh

Hi-tech tra�c management & surveillance centre set up in Raipur The Chhattisgarh government has set up a hi-tech ‘integrated command and control centre’ in Raipur for better tra�c management and surveillance in the city. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel launched the ‘Daksha‘Project under which the centre has been built. Set up at a cost of Rs 157.70 crore as part of the Raipur Smart City initiative, the project will take care of safety and security, tra�c management, public communication, and also to keep the city environment green

Ans12-(a) Ennore

Modi launches IOCL’s Ennore LNG terminal The ₹5,150-crore Lique�ed Natural Gas (LNG) terminal at the Kamarajar port, Ennore, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is expected to usher a ‘green wave’ in South-Eastern India by o�ering natural gas as a clean and economically viable fuel, which will also help in reducing the carbon footprint. Conceived six years ago, this is the �rst LNG terminal on the East Coast in South India. Tamil Nadu will be the biggest bene�ciary with the LNG to be supplied to customers in Manali region and to many units right up to Ramanathapuram down South. IndianOil, through its joint venture company IndianOil LNG Pvt. Ltd, has developed a 5-million tonnes per annum (mtpa) capacityLNG terminal. In future, natural gas from the terminal will also be catering to the gas requirements of entire Tamil Nadu and parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh

Ans1-(c)Bihar

Nitin Gadkari inaugurates highways projects worth Rs 6900 Crore and NamamiGange Projects in Bihar Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid foundation stones for sixteen National Highways projects worth Rs 6943.04 crore in Chhapra and Madhepura, Bihar on February 28, 2019. He also laid the foundation stone for several works under NamamiGange programme worth Rs 2826 crore at these two places. Gadkari also dedicated to the public 6 Ghats renovated and developed at a cost of Rs 19.75 crore. He also laid the foundation stone for 8 projects of rehabilitation and development work of Ghats at Chhapra at a cost of Rs 22 crore.

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Ans2-(b) Rewari

AIIMS Rewari: Cabinet approves setting up of 22nd AIIMS at Manethi, Haryana Union Cabinet has approved establishment of new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rewari (Rewari AIIMS) at Manethi, Haryana. It will be established under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). Its construction cost will be borne by Central Government under PMSSY. It was launched in March 2006 with aim to correct imbalances in availability of a�ordable tertiary healthcare facilities in di�erent parts of country and augment facilities for quality medical education in under-served states. It has two components - setting up of AIIMS in various states and upgradation of existing Government Medical Colleges (GMC).

Ans 3-(c) Uttar Pradesh

AYUSH Minister lays foundation stone for National Institute of Unani Medicine AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik on March 1, 2019 laid the foundation stone for National Institute of Unani Medicine at Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. The Minister informed that his Ministry is establishing the Institute in Ghaziabad as a part of its commitment towards provision and promotion of quality education, research and healthcare services through Unani Medicine and other AYUSH systems. He further said that this institute would be developed with an approximate cost of 300 crore rupees on 10 acres of land. It would be one of the largest institutes of Unani Medicine in Northern India. The institute is expected to cater to the needs of the masses and would have facilities for quality research and education at postgraduate and PhD levels with a 200 bedded hospital

Ans 4-(c) Sehore

First-of-its-Kind ‘National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation’ to be set up at Sehore in Madhya Pradesh The foundation stone for India’s �rst ever ‘National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation’ was laid at Sherpur Village in Sehore district of Madhya Pradesh on 03 March 2019. An outlay of Rs 180 crore has been approved by the Central Government for this project for an initial period of three years. The land for this institute measuring about 25 acre was allocated free of cost by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in October 2018 The Institute will promote mental health rehabilitation using an integrated multidisciplinary approach, toundertake capacity building and to involve in developing trained professionals in the area of mental health rehabilitation and help the Government in formulating policy and programs/models for rehabilitation of persons with mental illness.

Ans5-(d) Singapore

Assam sets up North East Skill Centre in Guwahati The Assam government in collaboration with the Singapore-based ITE Education Services (ITEES) set up the North East Skill Centre (NESC) in Guwahati. The NSESC will aim to provide better skill training to thousands of unemployed youth of the state. The state government set up the NESC, a �rst of its kind in the region, as part of a MoU signed between the government of Assam and the government of Singapore in October 2016.

Ans 6-(c) Greater Noida

PM Inaugurates Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology at Greater Noida Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology at Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh on 9 March 2019. He also unveiled a statue of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya at the campus.

Ans 7-(c) Chhattisgarh

Hi-tech tra�c management & surveillance centre set up in Raipur The Chhattisgarh government has set up a hi-tech ‘integrated command and control centre’ in Raipur for better tra�c management and surveillance in the city.

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Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel launched the ‘Daksha‘project under which the centre has been built. Set up at a cost of Rs 157.70 crore as part of the Raipur Smart City initiative, the project will take care of safety and security, tra�c management, public communication, and also to keep the city environment green

Ans 8-(c) Delhi

India Urban Observatory & Video Wall Inaugurated by MOHUA in New Delhi Hardeep S Puri, Minister of State (I/C) for Housing and Urban A�airs has launched a state-of-the-art India Urban Observatory at Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation in New Delhi. He also inaugurated the Video Wall in New Delhi. India Urban Observatory – It is a system to collect and analyze data from cities, both from real-time and archival sources. The Observatory will help in getting reliable, up-to-date information on a meaningful set of indicators over various domains such as transport, health, environment, water, �nance, etc and will assist in developing best practices, future strategies and policy interventions as and when required. The Video Wall will display the Insights Gained from India Urban Observatory and Various Missions/ O�ces Aiming To Proactively Engage with Citizens with an aim of Spreading Awareness

Ans 9-(b) Arunachal Pradesh

MoS Dr Jitendra Singh dedicates two Inter-State road projects in the North-EAST The 17.47 kms long Doimukh-Harmuti Road links Assam and Arunachal Pradeshwhile the 1.66 km Tura-Mankachar Road provides connectivity between Assam and Meghalaya. Two North-Eastern States, - Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, have been brought on the rail map. Besides, the Bogibeel Rail-cum-Road Bridge in Assam, the longest rail-cum-road bridge on Brahmaputra river, was inaugurated on December 25, 2018 and the new Green�eld Airport at Pakyong (Gangtok), �rst Airport in Sikkim inaugurated on September 24, 2018.

Ans10-(d) NHPC

Govt nod to NHPC acquiring Lanco's Teesta hydro project for Rs 907 cr The government Thursday approved a proposal for state-run hydropower giant NHPC to take over debt-laden Lanco's 500 MW Teesta hydro-electric power project for Rs 907 crore in Sikkim. The Cabinet Committee on Economic A�airs (CCEA) at its meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its approval for the investment sanction for acquisition of Lanco Teesta Hydro Power Ltd (LTHPL) and execution of balance work of the Teesta Stage-Vl Hydro Electric Project by the NHPC Ltd in Sikkim, an o�cial statement said. The project will be implemented at an estimated cost of Rs 5,748.04 crore (at July 2018 price level), which includes a bid amount of Rs 907 crore for acquisition of the LTHPL and estimated cost of balance work of Rs 3,863.95 crore, which includes Interest During Construction (IDC) and Foreign Component (FC) of Rs 977.09 crore, it said.

Ans11-(c) Odisha

TERI to set up incubation centre in Odisha for biotech solutions The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), one of country’s leading think-tanks, will set up an industrial incubation facility of TERI-Deakin Nanobiotechnology Research Centre, in Odisha. The facility will support development of biotechnology solutions to address issues a�ecting agriculture, environment and energy. The TERI-Deakin Nanobiotechnology Research Centre (TDNBC) o�ers to participate and to support the state government’s vision to promote and to assist further in implementing innovation and translational research.

Ans12-(b) Mumbai Monorail

Mumbai Monorail, India’s First Monorail Network now fully operational India’s �rst monorail has now become fully operational in Mumbai. Mumbai Monorail is India’s �rst monorail system. It is being implemented by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The entire 19.54 kilometre route has now become operational. What is Monorail? –It is a system in which trains run on single track instead of two track.

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Ans13-(b) Guwahati

India’s �rst oil museum to come up in Guwahati India’s �rst oil museum will come up in Guwahati, Assam. It will be named KB Malaviya National Oil Museum. KB Malaviya is called the father of India’s hydrocardon industry. Assam was the �rst state where oil was discovered and produced for the �rst time in the country. All major oil and gas companies ONGC, OIL, HPCL, BPCL, EIL will jointly work for the museum

Ans14-(c) Himachal Pradesh

Himachal to set up 100 trout farms Himachal Pradesh will develop 100 trout farms for production of carp �sh this year. It will provide employment to over 550 people. The government plans to set up two trout hatcheries under the public-private partnership (PPP) initiative to provide seeds. A smoked trout and �llet canning centre would also be set up in the Kullu district. Three retail outlets, one each in Kangra, Chamba and Shimla district, will be established to ensure appropriate marketing support to the trout production.

Ans15-(d) Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand to set up centre of excellence for Himalayan �bre The Uttarakhand government has decided to set up a centre of excellence for Himalayan �bre in Almora district of Kumaon. The centre of excellence will be set up with support from the Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA)- Ghaziabad. NITRA, which comes under the Union Ministry of Textile, will set up a training institute for developing �bre products at the Centre. The cabinet also cleared a proposal for allotment of 0.4 hectares of land needed for the centre at Bercimi village in Almora.

Ans16-(a) 300 Crore

Uttarakhand CM Rawat lays foundation stone for Doon-Mussoorie ropeway project Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has laid the foundation stone for the Dehradun-Mussoorie ropeway project which is considered to be a tourist novelty. The Rs 300-crore ropeway project is expected to be completed in three years. Poma, a French company which manufactures cable-driven projects, will provide the technical support to the ropeway which will be built on the PPP mode.

Ans17-(d) Singapore

Assam sets up North East Skill Centre in Guwahati The Assam government in collaboration with the Singapore-based ITE Education Services (ITEES) set up the North East Skill Centre (NESC) in Guwahati. The NSESC will aim to provide better skill training to thousands of unemployed youth of the state. The state government set up the NESC, a �rst of its kind in the region, as part of a MoU signed between the government of Assam and the government of Singapore in October 2016.

Ans18-(d) Dibrugarh

USD 26 million loan agreement for Assam signed by ADB and GoI For improving drainage infrastructure in Dibrugarh town of Assam, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Government of India signed a loan agreement of USD 26-million in New Delhi. The loan provided is additional �nancing under the ongoing loan of USD 51 million under Assam Urban Infrastructure Investment Program (AUIIP) which is helping to improve water supply infrastructure in major cities of Assam like Guwahati and Dibrugarh

Ans19-(b) Arunachal Pradesh

MoS Dr Jitendra Singh dedicates two Inter-State road projects in the North-EAST The 17.47 kms long Doimukh-Harmuti Road links Assam and Arunachal Pradesh while the 1.66 km Tura-Mankachar Road provides connectivity between Assam and Meghalaya.

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Two North-Eastern States, - Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, have been brought on the rail map. Besides, the Bogibeel Rail-cum-Road Bridge in Assam, the longest rail-cum-road bridge on Brahmaputra river, was inaugurated on December 25, 2018 and the new Green�eld Airport at Pakyong (Gangtok), �rst Airport in Sikkim inaugurated on September 24, 2018,

Ans20-(b) Surat

Government approves two corridors of Surat Metro project The Government of India has approved the Surat Metro Rail Project having two Metro Rail corridors with combined length of 40.35 km. The Centre has approved two corridors of the Surat Metro project, which will be executed at an estimated cost of around Rs 12,000 cr. The Union Housing and Urban A�airs Ministry said the project will be implemented by the Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation and completed in 5 years. The project will be �nanced mainly through equity from the Centre and state govt on 50-50 basis and loan from bilateral and multilateral agencies. This project will provide continuous availability of a�ordable, reliable, safe, secure and seamless transport system in the urban agglomeration of the city.

Ans21-(a) $ 250 million

India extends USD 250 million to Nepal for reconstruction of infrastructures post earthquake India has extended a grant assistance of up to USD 250 million to Nepal for the reconstruction of infrastructures in the areas of housing, education, health and cultural heritage that was destroyed during the devastating April 2015 earthquake which saw the death of over 9,000 people.

Ans1-(a) Hamza Bin Laden

Most Probable Successor" Of Al-Qaeda: UN Blacklists Bin Laden's Son The UN Security Council has designated Hamza bin Laden, the son of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, under its sanctions list, subjecting him to a travel ban, assets freeze and an arms embargo as it described him as being seen as the "most probable successor" of the group's current leader Aiman al-Zawahiri. The UN Security Council's 1267 ISIS and Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee listed 29-year old Hamza bin Laden on Thursday, the day the US announced a reward of up to one million dollars for information about him. Saudi Arabia also announced on Friday it had revoked the citizenship of Hamza bin Laden via a royal decree in November. A Security Council press release said al-Zawahiri has announced that the Saudi Arabia-born Hamza bin Laden is an o�cial member of Al Qaeda.

Ans2-(d) India

India tops Global Consumer Con�dence Survey The global consumer con�dence in India is at peak. This was revealed in the latest Conference Board Global Consumer Con�dence Survey, which is conducted in collaboration with Nielsen. India had a Consumer Con�dence Index (CCI) score of 133 in the fourth quarter of 2018 edging past the Philippines (131) and Indonesia (127). South Korea has the most pessimistic consumers in the world. Meanwhile, the Global Consumer Con�dence Index increased one point to 107 in fourth quarter of 2018, the highest in 14 years.

Ans 3-(d) Russia

Russia suspends participation in Intermediate-Range Nuclear treaty with US Russian President Vladimir Putin has o�cially suspended the country's participation in a key Cold War-era nuclear arms-control treaty with the United States. In a statement, Kremlin said that Mr. Putin signed a decree regarding the suspension of Russia's participation in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, INF treaty between the USSR and the US in 1987. It said that the move was taken following a violation of the United States of its obligations under the treaty. Moscow and Washington have accused one another of breaching the INF treaty. Meanwhile, NATO has said that US allies fully support its withdrawal from the pact, insisting that Russia's ground-launched cruise missile systems violate the treaty.

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Ans 4-(c) Turkey

Trump Plans to Scrap Preferential Trade Status for India, Turkey US President Donald Trump has said he intends to end the preferential trade status granted to India and Turkey, asserting that New Delhi has failed to assure America of "equitable and reasonable" access to its markets, an announcement that could be seen as a major setback to bilateral trade ties. President Trump noti�ed Congress in letters of his "intent to terminate" trade bene�ts for both countries under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) eligibility criteria. Under the United States GSP programme, nearly 2,000 products including auto components and textile materials can enter the US duty-free if the bene�ciary developing countries meet the eligibility criteria established by Congress. India was the largest bene�ciary of the program in 2017 with USD 5.7 billion in imports to the US given duty-free status and Turkey the �fth largest with USD 1.7 billion in covered imports, according to a Congressional Research Service report issued in January.

Ans5-(d) China

HL-2M Tokamak: China to launch arti�cial sun device to produce unlimited clean energy China is planning to complete construction of HL-2M Tokamak device dubbed as "arti�cial sun" this year to achieve ion temperature of 100 million degrees Cesius. It aims at harnessing nuclear fusion process which occurs naturally in sun and starts to produce unlimited clean energy. HL-2M Tokamak device It is designed to replicate nuclear fusion process that occurs naturally in sun and stars to generate energy Its purpose is to provide almost in�nite clean energy through controlled nuclear fusion. So it is often dubbed as "arti�cial sun". It stands at 11 metres tall, has diameter of 8 metres and weighs about 360 tonnes.

Ans 6-(b) Pakistan

US revises visa rules for Pak; slashes validity for citizens from 5 years to 1 year The US has revised its visa policy for the Pakistani citizens by slashing the visa validity from �ve years to 1 year, according to a media report. In an o�cial noti�cation issued by the American embassy here on Tuesday, the US said that an additional fee will also be charged for H (Temporary Work Visa), I (Journalist and Media Visa), L (Intercompany Transfer Visa), and R (Religious Worker Visa) visas, the Express Tribune reported. The US has reduced visa validity for Pakistan The US has reduced visa validity for Pakistani citizens from �ve years to 1 year whereas journalists and media persons will not be allowed to stay in the country for over three months without renewing the travel permit," the paper said quoting the noti�cation. According to the noti�cation, an additional fee of USD 32 for I Visas and USD 38 for all other visa categories must be paid at the Embassy, Islamabad or Consulate General Karachi prior to visa issuance with e�ect from January 21.

Ans 7-(d) Venezuela

Venezuela orders German ambassador to leave Nicolás Maduro’s embattled government has declared the German ambassador persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours as Venezuela’s political crisis intensi�ed on Wednesday. The decision to expel Daniel Kriener – who has been based in Caracas since last year – was announced on Twitter by Venezuela’s foreign minister, Jorge Arreaza. Arreaza said the decision was based on Daniel Kriener’s “repeated acts of interference in the country’s internal a�airs”

Ans 8-(d) Marshall Island

Marshall Islands to launch digital currency this year The Marshall Islands' is gearing to release a digital currency this year, although o�cials acknowledged Friday there is much work still to be done to alleviate concerns of UnitedStates �nancial regulators. However, the launch date of the currency, known as the "SOV", has yet to be decided. "We plan to launch SOV this year," said Barak Ben Ezr, chief executive o�cer of Neema, the Israel-based company that is partnering with the Marshall Islands government to develop the digital currency.

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Ans9-(b) France

India welcomes France's decision to sanction Masood Azhar India has welcomed the decision taken by France to sanction Jaish-e-Mohammed Chief Masood Azhar. In a tweet, External A�airs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, Azhar who is a Pakistan-based and his out�t is UN proscribed terrorist organisation who is responsible for the Pulwama terrorist attack. Earlier, France has decided to freeze all assets of Pakistan based terror out�t Jaish-e-Mohammed, JeM chief Masood Azhar, in the application of the country's Monetary and Financial Code. The French government's Ministry of Europe and Foreign A�airs, said, France has always been and always will be by India's side in the �ght against terrorism. It said France has decided to sanction Masood Azhar at the national level by freezing his assets in the application of the Monetary and Financial Code. The decision came after China blocked the UNSC bid to designate Azhar as global terrorist.

Ans 10-(d) New Zealand

Attacks on two Christchurch mosques left at least 49 dead Friday, with one gunman -- identi�ed as an Australian extremist -- apparently livestreaming the assault that triggered the lockdown of the New Zealand city. In what appeared to be the worst attack against Muslims in a western country, witnesses spoke of victims being shot at close range, with women and children believed to be among those killed.

Ans11-(d) Malaysia

Malaysia joins International Criminal Court Malaysia became 124th member of International Criminal Court (ICC) after it rati�ed Rome Statute. It is third country of the 10 member states of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to ratify Rome Statute after Cambodia and Philippines. However, Philippines has announced its withdrawal from the ICC and it is set to take e�ect from 19 March 2019.

Ans12-(c) Estonia

KajaKallas appointed as the �rst female prime minister of Estonia KajaKallas was appointed as �rst female Prime Minister of Estonia. She is leader of country’s Reform Party. Her appointment comes after her liberal Reform Party was declared victoriois in the elections against centre-left Prime Minister JuriRatas’s party. In recently concluded elections her party secured 28.8% votes against Centre party votes of 23%. Her party has form coalition government with support of far-right EKRE.

Ans13-(b) Singapore

Singapore temporarily suspends all versions of Boeing 737 Max Singapore's Civil Aviation Authority has temporarily suspended all versions of the Boeing 737 Max from �ying into and out of the country. The decision comes after an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed on March 10, killing all 157 people on board. China and Ethiopia had decided on March 11 to ground their entire Boeing 737 Max 8 �eet citing the recent crash and another deadly accident of that same model in Indonesia last October. Meanwhile, the US Federal Aviation Administration has ordered Boeing to make urgent improvements to its 737 Max 8 �eet, includingan anti-stalling software and manoeuvering system. The US regulator, however, has ruled out grounding the �eet.

Ans14-(c) Algeria

Algerian President Abdelaziz Boute�ika will not seek �fth term, delays elections Algerian President Abdelaziz Boute�ika has announced that he will not seek a �fth term and delayed the next month's Presidential polls following weeks of protests against his candidacy. The 82-year-old leader said, the elections would follow a national conference on political and constitutional reform to be carried out by the end of this year. He did not give a date or timeline for the delayed election.

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The ailing leader, who has been con�ned to a wheelchair since su�ering a stroke in 2013, said a government reshu�e would also take place. Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia resigned on March 11 and was replaced by Interior Minister Noureddine Bedoui. RamtaneLamamra was named deputy prime minister, a position that did not exist before.

Ans15-(b)

UK issues new ‘black hole’ coin in honour of Stephen Hawking The UK’s Royal Mint Tuesday unveiled a new commemorative 50 pence coin inspired by the late legendary British physicist Stephen Hawking’s seminal work on black holes. Hawking, one of the world’s best-known theoretical physicists who died aged 76 last year, joins the ranks of other eminent scientists such Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin to have a commemorative coin in honour of one of his greatest discoveries that black holes should not be all black The coin, on sale in silver and gold forms for a price range between 55 and 795 pounds on the Royal Mint’s website, is a nod to Hawking’s research into black holes and his ability to make science accessible for all.

Ans16-(a) Krishna Kumari Kohli

Krishna Kumari Kohli becomes the �rst Thari Hindu woman to be elected to the Senate of Pakistan Krishna Kumari Kohli appointed as the �rst female senator of Pakistan from the Hindu Dalit community. She is also the �rst Thai Hindu woman to be elected to the Pakistan Senate. On 8th March 2019, which was celebrated as the International Women’s Day, she chaired the session of the Upper House of Parliament.

Ans1-(b) New Delhi

AYUSH-WHO Working Group Meeting on Benchmarks for Training in Yoga begins A three-day Working Group Meeting, organised jointly by the Ministry of AYUSH and WHO, to review the WHO document“Benchmarks for Training in Yoga” began in New Delhi. 16 yoga experts will review the draft document of whom, 11 are from the US, UK, Canada, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Japan, Australia and Malaysia. The meeting will discuss the challenges in training of Yoga, review and discuss the scope and structure of the working draft document, identify the type, scope and criteria of information/data that are further required, and look at the working procedure and time frame for further development of the document.

Ans 2-(c) 5 years

Government bans Jamat-e-Islami in Jammu and Kashmir for 5 years The Union Government has banned the Jamat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir for �ve years under anti-terror law on grounds that it is in close touch with terror out�ts and is expected to escalate secessionist movement in the state. A noti�cation, banning the group under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, was issued by the Ministry of Home A�airs on February 28, 2019 after a high-level meeting on security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The noti�cation said the Centre is of the opinion that the Jamaat is in close touch with terror out�ts and is supporting extremism and terrorism in Jammu and Kahsmir and elsewhere. The noti�cation comes barely a few days after the Jammu and Kashmir Police arrested around 100 cadres of the group in the state. Jamaat has reportedly been indulging in activities intended to disrupt the territorial integrity of India

Ans3-(c) Bhopal

79th Indian History Congress held in Bhopal The 79th Indian History Congress (IHC) was held at Barkatullah University in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh from 26 to 28 February 2019 and saw a presence of over 1,000 delegates including prominent historians who participated in it. After 2011, this was the second time Madhya Pradesh hosted the event. IHC was initially set to be held at the Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, Maharashtra but was cancelled due to �nancial reasons.

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Ans 4-(d) Five years

Ban on SIMI extended by the Government Government decided to extend the ban on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) which involved in various terror acts in the country for a period of 5 yearsKey Points The Government arrived in the decision as the organization continues to indulge in trouble making activities. The noti�cation stating the ban termed the SIMI as an unlawful association. Union Home Ministry has issued the noti�cation for the extension of ban under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. SIMI was banned for the �rst time in 2001 immediately, following the September II attacks. It was again banned on 2003 and 2005 for its Unlawful Activities.

Ans5-(d) Uber

Ayushman Bharat and Uber ink partnership for providing free healthcare for drivers The National Health Authority (NHA), which is the apex body responsible for implementation of Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Uber– a ride-hailing app to provide free healthcare services to Uber drivers. Drivers and delivery partners can avail this bene�t by paying merely Rs 30 for procuring an Ayushman Bharat card, without any charges for pre-hospitalisation, hospitalisation and post-hospitalisation expenses

Ans 6-(d) Ministry of Human Resource Development

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched ‘One Nation, One Card’ Model from for seamless travel through di�erent metros and other transport systems. Under this model, India’s �rst indigenously developed payment eco-system for transport mobility consists of: National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) SwachalitKiraya: Automatic Fare Collection System (SWEEKAR) Swachalit Gate (SWAGAT) based on NCMC Standards. These three indigenously developed components of payment eco-system for transport mobility together will enable use of national mobility card across country without con�ict with existing point-of-sale (PoS) machines. One Nation, One Card Model NCMC: It is indigenous automatic fare collection system based on One Nation One Card Model in introduced by Union Ministry of Housing and Urban A�airs. It is the �rst of its kind indigenously developed inter-operable transport card/ payment platform in India. It can be issued by all public and private banks the same way credit, debit, and prepaid cards are issued It will allow customers to use single card for payments across all segments including metro, bus, suburban railways, toll, parking, smart city across country besides retail shopping and purchases. Bene�ts: Its super-quick, contactless transaction feature will help to improve seamless travel experience. This card supports various service area features such as monthly passes, season tickets, etc. It also o�ers value proposition for customers as they need not to carry multiple cards for di�erent usage Moreover, stored value in it supports o�ine transaction across all travel needs with minimal �nancial risk to involved stakeholders. It automates the fare collection system and eliminates need to carry change and cash while travelling in metro, bus or train, or for toll and parking.

Ans 7-(a) Dinesh Arora

IRDAI, NHA forms a working group to curb fraud in Ayushman Bharat scheme; Head- Dinesh Arora The National Health Authority (NHA) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) have formed a working group to detect and deter fraud under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). Dinesh Arora, Deputy CEO of NHA will be the chairman of the working group. The group will have 10 members. The group will submit a report on how to detect and deter fraud through a common repository and capacity-building in 6 months

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Reports and Indices

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Ans 8-(b) Seven

Lok Sabha polls to be held in 7 phases The General Elections 2019 will be held in seven phases beginning from 11 April to 19 May. The �rst phase of elections will be held on the 11th of next month, the second phase on 18th of April, and third on the 23rd of April. The fourth phase of Lok Sabha elections will be held on the 29th of April, �fth on the 6th of May, sixth phase on the 12th of May. 19th May is the date for the last phase of Lok Sabha polls. The counting will be held on 23rd of May. Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora announced the poll schedule in New Delhi on Sunday evening. Karnataka, Manipur, Rajasthan, Tripura will go to polls in two phases. States undergoing three phases are Assam and Chhattisgarh, and four phases are Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha. Jammu and Kashmir will have �ve phases and West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh will have seven phases

Ans1-(c) 7%

India's GDP growth projection lowered to 7% in 2018-19 India is estimated to grow at a slower pace of 7 per cent in 2018-19, down from the 7.2 per cent attained during the previous �nancial year, according to o�cial data. "Real gross domestic product (GDP) at constant (2011-12) prices in the year 2018-19 is likely to attain a level of Rs 141 lakh crore, as against the 'First Revised Estimates of GDP' for the year 2017-18 of Rs 131.80 lakh crore, released on January 31 2019," said the Second Advance Estimates of National Income released on Thursday. "The growth in GDP during 2018-19 is estimated at 7 per cent as compared to the growth rate of 7.2 per cent in 2017-18," said the o�cial data released by the Central Statistics O�ce (CSO)

Ans 2-(b) 7.3%

Indian economy expected to grow at 7.3% in 2019-20: Moody's Indian economy is expected to grow at 7.3 per cent in calendar years 2019 and 2020, the US-based rating agency Moody's stated on March 1, 2019. In its quarterly Global Macro Outlook for 2019 and 2020 released today, the agency said the country is less exposed to a slowdown in global manufacturing trade growth than other major Asian economies and emerging markets and is poised to grow at a relatively stable pace in the two years. Moody's said the announcement in Interim Budget 2019-20 on direct cash transfer programme for farmers and the middle-class tax relief measures will contribute a �scal stimulus of about 0.45 per cent of GDP. Moody's growth estimates are based on the calendar year. India, however, measures its economic growth on the basis of the �scal year from April to March

Ans 3-(c) 81%

Number of deaths on account of accidents come down by 81%: Railway Ministry Railway Ministry today said that the number of deaths on account of accidents has come down by 81 per cent in the last �ve years. The Ministry said the major priority for the Railways has been safety and security of its passenger. Railway said it is committed to bringing the number of accidental deaths to zero. Releasing a book on the 5-year achievements of Railway in New Delhi, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said, all unmanned crossings on broad Guage network has been eliminated. He said, 100 per cent electri�cation of Broad Guage Routes is currently underway. Mr Goyal said, promises regarding the up-gradation and strengthening the railway network made in the BJP manifesto has been full-�lled. He said northeast and Jammu and Kashmir has been connected with Railway network which was the part of the manifesto.

Ans 4-(a) Hailakandi

Assam’s Hailakandi became the top aspirational district as per NITI Aayog report

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According to the Delta ranking report released by NITI Aayog, Assam’s Hailakandi has become the top aspirational district among the 112 aspirational districtsof the country.Key points Hailakandi in Assam has made a giant leap from 52nd position to no. 1 position on the basis of its performance during November-December 2018 and January 2019. For securing �rst rank to be the top aspirational district, Hailakandi will be given an allocation of Rs. 10 crore.

Ans5-(d) 3.3%

OECD Lowers Global Growth Forecast to 3.3 Percent for 2019 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, has once again cut its 2019 forecast for global economic growth by 0.2 percentage points at 3.3 percent due to ongoing trade tensions and Brexit uncertainty. The organisation had earlier predicted 3.5 percent growth in November 2018, which was itself a downgrade from a previous 3.7 percent. The interim version of Economic Outlook of OECD was released on March 6, 2019. For 2020, OECD has also cut global growth forecast by 0.1 percentage point at 3.4 percent

Ans 6-(d) India

India o�ers world’s cheapest mobile data: UK report On 6th March 2019, India has the cheapest mobile data in the world as per the research by price comparison site cable.co.uk. The global average was USD 8.53 for 1GB.Key Points Compared to global average of about Rs. 600, 1GB is costing just Rs. 18.5(USD 0.26) in India. In the same case countries like UK has USD 12.37 for the same amount of data. India is the second largest smartphone market in the world after China with over 4.30 million smartphone users. The study was based on 6313 mobile data plans in 230 countries. India is followed by Kyrgyzstan with $0.27, Kazakhstan with $0.49, Ukraine with $0.51 and Rwanda with $0.56. For Indian market, researchers studied 57 plans which are available in the country from as low as Rs.1.41 to a maximum of Rs.98.83. Zimbabwe is the most expensive country in which to buy mobile data – with an average cost of 1GB coming around $75.20

Ans 7-(c) Mumbai

Mumbai become world’s 16th most costly prime residential market: Knight Frank Report According to a Knight Frank Report, Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra and the �nancial capital of India, has become the 16th most expensive prime residential market in the world and is the only Indian city to feature in the global top 20 list of expensive prime residential markets recorded in The Wealth Report 2019. In terms of the growth in prices of prime residential properties globally, Mumbai ranked 67th with 0.3% rise in prices in 2018. Delhi (55th) and Bengaluru (56th) did better than Mumbai with a 1.4% and 1.1% price appreciation, respectively. The Philippines’ capital Manila topped the global list with the highest price appreciation of 11.1% last year, followed by Edinburgh (Scotland) in second position with 10.6% rise. The German cities of Berlin and Munich took the third and fourth positions, respectively, followed by the Argentine capital Buenos Aires in �fth rank. Singapore was the only Asian city after Manila to feature in the top-ten list, with a price appreciation of 9.1%.

Ans8-(a) Je� Bezos

Amazon founder Je� Bezos continued to remain the world’s richest man with a net worth of $131 billion, followed by Bill Gates at $96.5 billion and Warren Bu�ett at $82.5 billion. Jio propels Mukesh Ambani to 13th spot in Forbes’ billionaire list The phenomenal growth of Reliance Jio, backed by its ultra-cheap data plans that has transformed the telecom scenario in India, has helped Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani move six places up to rank 13th in US magazine Forbes’ “World’s Billionaire list 2019”. Others in the top-100 billionaires’ list include Wipro Chairman Azim Premji at rank 36th, followed by HCL co-founder Shiv Nadar at 82nd spot and ArcelorMittal chairman Lakshmi Mittal at 91st position.

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Ans 9-(d) Indra Gandhi International Airport

IGIA declared as ‘Best Airport’ in 2018 ASQ Awards The Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in New Delhi has been adjudged as the best airport in the category of over 40 million passengers per annum (MPPA) in Asia Paci�c by Airports Council International (ACI) in the Airport Service Quality Programme for 2018. The airport stood World No. 2 in the highest category of more than 40 million passengers per annum in 2016. In 2017, the Delhi Airport was adjudged as the best Airport in the highest category of over 40 MPPA

Ans 10-(b) 19%

Women in India earn 19% less than men, re�ecting the high gender pay gap in the country, according to the latest Monster Salary Index survey released on Thursday. The gap has narrowed merely by 1% in 2018 from 20% in 2017 The latest data from the online career and recruitment solutions provider indicates that the current gender pay gap in India stands at 19%, where men (Rs 242.49) earned Rs 46.19 more in comparison to women (Rs 196.3). The data shows gender pay di�erence widening with higher skill level - while there is no gender pay gap in semi-skilled work, the gap touches 20% for skilled women and 30% for highly skilled occupations. The gap increases with experience and is highest at 15% in favour of men for talent with 10 and more years of experience, showed the MSI index.

Ans 11-(b) Gurugram

Gurugram World's Most Polluted City, 6 Others In India In Top 10 Seven of the top 10 most polluted cities in the world are in India, according to a new study showing South Asia's battle with deteriorating air quality and the economic toll it's expected to take worldwide. Gurugram, located southwest of India's capital New Delhi, led all cities in pollution levels in 2018, even as its score improved from the previous year, according to data released by IQAir AirVisual and Greenpeace. Three other Indian cities joined Faisalabad, Pakistan, in the top �ve.

Ans12-(c) 87%

Prices of 390 non-scheduled cancer medicines slashed by up to 87 per cent The maximum retail price of 390 non-scheduled cancer medicines have been reduced by up to 87 per cent, which would result in annual savings of around Rs 800 crore for the patients, the government said Friday.

Ans13-(b) 2022

India’s Data Usage to Grow at 73% CAGR by 2022:Assocham – PwC Study On 10th March 2019, according to the Assocham – PwC StudyIndia’s data consumption is expected to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of about 72.6% by 2022.Key Pointsi. Internet consumption is clearly on the rise in India. It is expected that Video on Demand (VoD) mark will show a signi�cant developmentas per the study.ii. In 2013 the average monthly spend on voice services was Rs.214 compared to Rs.173 spend on data which became Rs.124 on voice andRs.225 on data in 2016.

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Ans14-(d)22

GSI sets up 22 GPS stations across country The Geological Survey of India (GSI) launched 22 permanent global positioning system (GPS) stations across India to identify seismically hazardous zones and encourage mapping activities. The GSI has taken a stride to establish and maintain a network of continuously operating 35 permanent GPS stations in a phased manner. So far, 22 GPS permanent stations have been set up and another 13 will be operational by March 2020. These stations are meant to delineate high strain zones for earthquake probability, determine a seismic motion on faults that may lead to a rupture and produce thematic maps with high positional accuracy.

Ans 15-(a)Kylie Jenner

Kylie Jenner becomes world’s youngest self-made billionaire Kylie Jenner was declared by Forbes magazine as the youngest ever self-made billionaire. The credit of this success goes to her company Kylie Cosmetics which introduced the popular Kylie Lip kit. She is 21 and holds the 2,057th position in whether her wealth was self-made or inherited

Ans 16-(b) Vienna

Austrian capital Vienna named ‘most liveable’ for 10th year The Austrian capital Vienna has topped Mercer’s index of most liveable cities for the 10th year in a row, while Sydney has fallen out of the top ten. Being medium-sized, safe and relatively green are some of the features it shares with second-placed Zurich. Auckland, Munich and Vancouver came joint third. Those top �ve cities in consulting �rm Mercer’s 2019 Quality of Living Ranking published recently were unchanged from last year’s edition, though Vancouver rose to joint third from �fth. The 10 cities at the bottom of the 231-city table were unchanged, with Baghdad ranked last, followed by Bangui in the Central African Republic and Yemen’s capital Sanaa.

Ans 1-(c) Football

Mehtab announces retirement from club football Not winning the I-League and playing insu�cient matches for India are the two regrets veteran mid�elder Mehtab Hossain has as he announced that he will retire from club football after this season. Mehtab, who plays for Mohun Bagan after plying his trade for arch-rivals East Bengal for almost a decade, announced his decision on the eve of their match against Indian Arrows. Mehtab represented Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League (ISL) for the �rst three seasons before playing for Jamshedpur FC during the last season

Ans 2-(d) Zimbabwe

ICC bans former Zimbabwe Cricket Director Enock Ikope for 10 years The International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned former Zimbabwe Cricket director Enock Ikope for a period of 10 years for the o�ence of breaching 3 ICC’s anti-corruption codes. In 2018, he had been suspended after being charged under ICC’s Article 2.4.6 and Article 2.4.7. These articles constitute o�ences like refusal in cooperation and delaying the investigation being conducted by the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU). He is the second person from the Harare Metropolitan Cricket Association to be punished by the ICC, the �rst being RajanNayer who was banned from cricket for 20 years for his involvementin match �xing

Ans 3-(b) sheikh Ahmed

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Ans14-(d)22

GSI sets up 22 GPS stations across countryThe Geological Survey of India (GSI) launched 22 permanent global positioning system (GPS) stations across India to identify seismically

hazardous zones and encourage mapping activities.The GSI has taken a stride to establish and maintain a network of continuously operating 35 permanent GPS stations in a phased manner.

So far, 22 GPS permanent stations have been set up and another 13 will be operational by March 2020.These stations are meant to delineate high strain zones for earthquake probability, determine a seismic motion on faults that may lead to a

rupture and produce thematic maps with high positional accuracy.

Ans 15-(a)Kylie Jenner

Kylie Jenner becomes world’s youngest self-made billionaire Kylie Jenner was declared by Forbes magazine as the youngest ever self-made billionaire.

The credit of this success goes to her company Kylie Cosmetics which introduced the popular Kylie Lip kit. She is 21 and holds the 2,057th position in whether her wealth was self-made or inherited

Ans 16-(b) Vienna

Austrian capital Vienna named ‘most liveable’ for 10th yearThe Austrian capital Vienna has topped Mercer’s index of most liveable cities for the 10th year in a row, while Sydney has fallen out of the

top ten. Being medium-sized, safe and relatively green are some of the features it shares with second-placed Zurich. Auckland, Munich and Vancouver came joint third.

Those top �ve cities in consulting �rm Mercer’s 2019 Quality of Living Ranking published recently were unchanged from last year’s edition, though Vancouver rose to joint third from �fth.

The 10 cities at the bottom of the 231-city table were unchanged, with Baghdad ranked last, followed by Bangui in the Central African Republic and Yemen’s capital Sanaa.

Ans 1-(c) Football

Mehtab announces retirement from club football Not winning the I-League and playing insu�cient matches for India are the two regrets veteran mid�elder Mehtab Hossain has as he announced that he will retire from club football after this season. Mehtab, who plays for Mohun Bagan after plying his trade for arch-rivals East Bengal for almost a decade, announced his decision on the eve of their match against Indian Arrows. Mehtab represented Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League (ISL) for the �rst three seasons before playing for Jamshedpur FC during the last season

Ans 2-(d) Zimbabwe

ICC bans former Zimbabwe Cricket Director Enock Ikope for 10 yearsThe International Cricket Council (ICC) has banned former Zimbabwe Cricket director Enock Ikope for a period of 10 years for the o�ence

of breaching 3 ICC’s anti-corruption codes. In 2018, he had been suspended after being charged under ICC’s Article 2.4.6 and Article 2.4.7. These articles constitute o�ences like refusal in cooperation and delaying the investigation being conducted by the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU). He is the second person from the Harare Metropolitan Cricket Association to be punished by the ICC, the �rst being RajanNayer who was banned from cricket for 20 years for his involvementin match �xing

Ans 3-(b) sheikh Ahmed

Sheikh Ahmad re-elected as President of Olympic Council of Asia Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah has been re-elected president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) for an eighth term despite being embroiled in a forgery case brought by Swiss investigators. The long-serving Kuwaiti, a powerful ally of International Olympic Committee (IOC) head Thomas Bach, was re-elected unanimously at the OCA general assembly in Bangkok.

Ans 4-(b) South Africa

Tahir to quit one-day international cricket Veteran leg-spinner Imran Tahir would retire from one-day international cricket after the World Cup in England and Wales, which ends on July 14. He would like to continue playing for South Africa in Twenty20 internationals. Tahir, who has taken 156 wickets in 95 one-day internationals, played in the 2011 and 2015 World Cups. He also played in the 2014 and 2016 World

Ans 5-(a) Nick Kyrgios

Nick Kyrgios won the Mexico Open on Saturday night for his �fth ATP Tour title, beating second-seeded Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-4 in the hardcourt event at The Princess Mundo Imperial. The 23-year-old Kyrgios, ranked 72nd in the world, beat second-ranked Rafael Nadal in the second round, then knocked o� Stan Wawrinka and John Isner to reach the �nal. Kyrgios won for the �rst time since the Brisbane event early last year, with all �ve of the Australian's titles coming on hardcourts.

Ans 6-(b) New Zealand

Former New Zealand Cricketer Bill Playle Passes Away Former New Zealand batsman Bill Playle passed away in New South Wales, Australia at the age of 80. Born 1 December 1938 in Manawatu, New Zealand, Playle represented his country in 8 Tests between 1958 and 1963. In addition, he also played 85 First-Class games.

Ans 7-(d) Malaysia

India’s doubles badminton coach Tan Kim Her resigns Malaysia’s Tan Kim Her has stepped down from his post as India’s doubles badminton coach. The 47-year-old put down his papers one-and-a-half years before his contract with the Badminton Association of India (BAI) was to end after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics T20 tournaments.

Ans8-(c) Gwalior

Cabinet approves Setting up Centre for Disability Sports at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for setting up of a Centre for Disability Sports at Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, to be registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It will function under the name of Centre for Disability Sports, Gwalior. Setting up of the Centre shall entail an estimated cost of Rs 170.99 crore, spread over a period of 5 years.Impact: Improved sports infrastructure created by this Centre will ensure e�ective participation of persons with disabilities in sports activities and also enable them to compete at national and international levels. Setting up of the Centre will develop a sense of belonging in Divyangjan to facilitate their integration in society.Ans9-(c) Anil Kumble Former India captain Anil Kumble has been re-appointed as the chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee for 3 years.

ANS10-(a) Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam to host Beach Volleyball World Tour Visakhapatnam will soon be playing host to the �rst-ever Federation International De Volleyball (FIVB), a Beach Volleyball World Tour that will be held at RK Beach from February 28 to March 3.

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The event will be witnessing participation of 56 leading teams; 28 each from the men’s and women’s categories across the world, informed President of Andhra Pradesh Volleyball Association and Visakhapatnam West MLA Ganababu. This was the �rst time the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) has allotted the game to India.

Ans11-(b) Pooja Dhanda

Pooja Dhanda wins gold in Bulgaria Indian wrestler Pooja Dhanda claimed gold in the 59kg category in Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov tournament held in Ruse, Bulgaria. India’s star wrestler Bajrang Punia has won a gold medal in 65 kilogram freestyle in Bulgaria. The tournament, Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov was held in Ruse, Bulgaria.

Ans12-(c) Boxing

British boxer James DeGale announces retirement British former world champion boxer James DeGale has announced his retirement following his unanimous points defeat by Chris Eubank Jr. The 33-year-old is a two-time world champion and 2008 Olympic champion and is the �rst British boxer to win both an Olympic gold medal and a professional world title.

Ans13-(b) Fourth

Dhoni joins Sachin, Sourav, Dravid in elite group Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become only the fourth Indian batsman to complete 13,000 runs in List A cricket. Dhoni has amassed 13,054 runs in 412 List A matches at an average of 50.79. The veteran wicketkeeper-batsman has joined an elite club, comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

Ans14-(b) Japan

Kudo International Federation India Gets Recognition as National Sport Federation The Ministry of Youth A�airs and Sports has granted provisional recognition to Kudo International Federation India (KIFI) as National Sport Federation with immediate e�ect. The grant of recognition is subject to compliance of the provisions of National Sports Development Code of India, 2011 as modi�ed from time to time. The KIFI Association will now be responsible for promotion and Development of Kudo sport in India. Kudo is an o�cial Japanese Cultural martial arts form under the same category as Judo, Aikido and Kendo.

Ans15-(c) Kenya

Daniel Matasi Rudisha, a Kenyan sprint athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres passed away on March 6 after su�ering heart attack. He was 73.

Ans16-(d) Kavinder Singh Bisht

Bisht won gold at the 38th GeeBee Boxing Tournament, Finland Kavinder Singh Bisht in the 56kg-category struck gold at the 38th GeeBee Boxing Tournament in Helsinki, Finland. Bisht defeated Commonwealth Games bronze-medallistHussamuddin in the 56kg summit clash. Three-time Asian medallist Shiva Thapa, Govind Sahani, Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist Mohammed Hussamuddin and Dinesh Dagar won silver medals at the Finland Boxing tournament.

Ans17-(b) Roger Federer

Roger Federer wins his 100th career title in Dubai Roger Federer claimed the 100th ATP title of his career by beating 20-year-old Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 in the �nal of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday. The 20-time Grand Slam champion became the second man in the Open Era to win 100 titles, after American Jimmy Connors who won 109.

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Taxation

Miscellaneous

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Ans 1-(a) Akhilesh Ranjan

A task force set up under the CBDT to draft a new direct tax law and replace the existing Income Tax Act for which the deadline was February 28, 2019 has been given a three-month extension till 31 May,2019. The head of the task force is Akhilesh Ranjan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the annual conference of tax o�cers in September 2017, had observed that the Income Tax Act, 1961, was more than 50 years ago and it needs to be redrafted.

Ans 2-(c) 20 Lakh

Income tax exemption limit on gratuity doubled to Rs 20 lakh: Labour Min The labour ministry said Thursday that the income tax exemption limit on gratuity has been doubled to Rs 20 lakh from the existing Rs 10 lakh, a move that will bene�t employees who are not covered by the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. "Ministry of Finance has enhanced the income tax exemption for gratuity under Section 10 (10) (iii) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 to Rs 20 lakhs," a labour ministry statement said. Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar has said in the statement that this would bene�t those employees of public sector undertakings (PSUs) and other employees not covered by the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, and has thanked Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for enhancing the exemption limit.

Ans1-(c) New Delhi

Aviation Conclave 2019 held in New Delhi with Theme- “Flying for All” Shri Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the Aviation Conclave 2019 on February 27, 2019 in New Delhi. The theme of the event was “Flying for All”. The Conclave outlined roadmap for aircraft manufacturing, aircraft leasing and �nancing for long term asset creation, cargo policy and �nancial services, optimization of resource utilisation with technology input as some of the areas of high importance for the aviation sector.

The event was organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in association with Airports Authority of India, AAICLAS and Confederation ofIndian Industry

Ans2-(a) 6,000

Shri ThaawarchandGehlot Launches ‘2nd Edition of ISL Dictionary’ for Hearing Impaired Persons Shri ThaawarchandGehlot,Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment launched the “2nd Edition of Indian Sign Language (ISL) Dictionary” brought out by ‘Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC)’ under Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), M/o Social Justice & Empowerment at a function here today. The �rst edition of the dictionary with 3000 words was launched on 23rd March 2018. With the second edition, dictionary includes total 6000 words under the categories of academic, legal, medical, technical and everyday terms. According to Census 2011, there are 50.71 lakh hearing impaired persons in India. Most of the hearing impaired persons use Indian Sign Language to communicate

Ans3-(b) Dr. H Chaturvedi

Venkaiah Naidu Launched the book ‘Quality, Accreditation & Ranking’ by Dr. H Chaturvedi Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu launched the book titled ‘Quality, Accreditation, and Ranking – A Silent Revolution in the O�ng in Indian Higher Education’ edited by Education Promotion Society for India’s (EPSI) Alternate President Dr. H Chaturvedi in New Delhi. The book launch function was organized by EPSI, BIMTECH and Bloomsbury Pvt Ltd.

Ans4-(c) Uttar Pradesh

Mayur dance is created from an episode of love between Radha and Krishna. This dance belongs to the Braj region of Uttar Pradesh.

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Ans5-(c) Tripura

Rajbari National Park is a national park in the Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary, Tripura, India. It covers an area of about 31.63 square kilometres.

Ans6-(c) New Delhi

TECH-SOP 2019 for MSMEs held in New Delhi The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) organized a programme on Technology Support and Outreach (TECH-SOP 2019) in New Delhi. The objective of the programme was to enhance awareness among MSMEs about latest technological innovations available, and sensitize them on the role of technology in creating competitiveness and opportunities

Ans7-(d) Science

PM Modi confers Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prizes for Science & Tech Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday stressed the need to connect people with innovation, science and technology. He was speaking after giving away the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prizes for Science and Technology for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018 in New Delhi. Eleven scientists were given the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for 2016. The awardees include Dr Rishikesh Narayan of Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru and Dr Amalendu Krishna of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. Among the ten scientists who got the prize for 2017 are Dr Deepak Gaur of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi and Dr S Suresh Babu of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. There were thirteen prize winners for 2018. They include Dr Amit Kumar of IIT, Delhi and Dr Nitin Saxena, IIT, Kanpur. The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize is the most coveted national recognition bestowed upon young scientists and engineers to honour their research and developmental work in India. It was �rst instituted in 1957 to honour the eminent scientist Dr Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar who was also the founder Director and the chief architect of Council of Scienti�c and Industrial Research, CSIR.

Ans8-(b) Tripura

Union Minister Gowda inaugurates CIPET centre in Tripura Union Minister D V Sadananda has inaugurated a centre of the Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET) in Tripura. The CIPET in Tripura would produce 1500 skilled workers per annum. The Union Statistics and Programme Implementation Minister was present at the inauguration function of CIPET Centre for Skilling and Technical Support (CSTS) at Bodhjungnagar.

Ans9-(d) Nayantara Sahgal

Veteran author Nayantara Sahgal unveils new novel, slams Modi Veteran author Nayantara Sahgal unveiled her new novel "The Fate of Butter�ies" at a function attended by bibliophiles and several known faces from the literary and political world, here on Wednesday. In the novel, Sahgal said, confronts the toxic dangers of "war, religious polarisation and authoritarian charisma -- a dystopian future that is already upon the world". Sahgal was introduced by author Namita Gokhale during the launch at Oxford Bookstore. "The Fate of Butter�ies" is published by Speaking Tiger and is priced Rs 450

Ans10-(d) Australia

Aus to host 2021 IAAF World Cross Country C'ship Australia will host the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Athletics Series event for the �rst time in 25 years, following the decision to award the 2021 World Cross Country Championships to Bathurst in New South Wales. The event will be held at one of Australia's most famous sporting venues, Mount Panorama, which is better known as the home of Australia's premier endurance motor race. It will now welcome the world's best endurance runners on March 20.

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Ans11-(a) Mrinal

Mrinal: ISRO celebrates 50th anniversary of �rst solid rocket propellant Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is celebrated 50th anniversary of its �rst composite solid propellant ‘Mrinal’. On February 21, 1969 this propellant was used to �y Rohini series RH-75 sounding rocket, which was designated Dynamic Test Vehicle (DTV), from Thumba. It was �rst totally indigenous composite propellant manufactured using locally available raw materials. It basically contained raw materials such as polyester resin, ammonium perchlorate and aluminium powder along with nitro-glycerine (worked in static �ring and improved its energy and processability). Dr VR Gowarikar was brain behind this composite solid propellant. It was named after Mrinalini Sarabhai, noted dance and wife of Vikram Sarabhai, father of India's space programme.

Ans12-(c) Jute

Jute is called the “Golden Fibre of India” because India earns valuable foreign exchange by exporting Jute.

Ans13-(d) Gland, Switzerland

The International Union for Conservation of Nature is an international organization working in the �eld of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. It is involved in data gathering and analysis, research, �eld projects, advocacy, and education.

Ans14-(a) Manipal Academy of Higher Education

MAHE – only private Indian University featured in QS World Rankings Manipal Academy of Higher Education achieved another milestone, as it became the only private University in India to be featured in the QS World rankings in the areas of Medicine and Pharmacy. This is the third consecutive year that MAHE is the highest ranked private University in the country. Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) became the only private University to be featured along with four Institutions in Medicine and Pharmacy viz. AIIMS (Delhi), Jamia Hamdard (New Delhi) & Banaras Hindu University (Uttar Pradesh).

Ans15-(c) Cambodia

7th RCEP Intersessional Ministerial Meeting held in Cambodia The 7th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Intersessional Ministerial Meeting recently concluded in Siem Reap, Cambodia. This meeting was chaired by ChutimaBunyapraphasara, Acting Minister of Commerce of Thailand. It saw participation of ministers from 16 RCEP Participating Countries (RPCs). India was represented by Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu.

Ans16-(a) Jammu and Kashmir

Senior PDP leader Qazi Mohammad Afzal passes away Former Jammu and Kashmir minister and senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Qazi Mohammad Afzal died due to prolonged illness on Friday. He was 76. Afzal shot to fame after he defeated then National Conference president Omar Abdullah from Ganderbal assembly segment in the 2002 assembly elections

Ans17-(b) Climate change

The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty which extends the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,

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Ans18-(b) Delhi High Court

Sitting Judge of Delhi HC Justice Valmiki J Mehta passed away Mehta, who was 59 years old, had assumed o�ce as an Additional Judge of Delhi high court on April 15, 2009. Mehta got enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1982 and began his career in law by practising in the Delhi High Court, district courts and various tribunals in civil matters. He was appointed a Senior Advocate at the age of 42, on September 22, 2001.

Ans19-(b) DotBook

DotBook: India’s �rst Braille laptop created by IIT-Delhi Scientists Pulkit Sapra, 26, from Delhi and Suman Muralikrishnan, 27, from Chennai, former students and researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi have created a laptop for visually-impaired called “DotBook”. Claimed to be the �rst in India, the laptop has an interface in form of dots or Braille instead of a visual one.

ii. Instead of a screen, the laptop displays embossed text in Braille through a touchpad and the users get to feel everything a website hasby touching the pad. It is built in Linux and comes with 4 GB internal storage which is expandable up to 64 GB and it can be connected with mobile phones and other laptops to provide a visual display for sighted persons. They have launched two versions of the laptop, one with 20 cell version (Rs 40,000) and another 40-cell version (Rs 60,000) — each referring to the number of characters displayed in one line.

Ans20-(a) Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya

British-Indian, Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya died in London at the age of 78 On 1st March 2019, Academic and Manufacturing expert and founder of Warwick manufacturing Group (WMG), Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya passed away following a brief illness in London, UK at the age of 78. He was born in Bangalore, Karnataka and studied at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur. He was awarded with Padma Bhushan in 2002.

Ans21-(b)Cricket

Cricket included in Asian Games 2022 The game of cricket has again been included in the Asian Games for the 2022 edition. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) took the decision. Asian Games 2022 will be held in Hangzhou, China. Cricket was the part of the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games. However, India considered the superpower of cricket was not part of this event due to its busy schedule. So Cricket was dropped from Asian Games in 2018. T20 was played in 2010 and 2014

Ans22-(c) Senegal

Senegal president MackySall wins re-election with 58%: o�cial Senegal’s president MackySall has won his re-election bid garnering 58% of the votes cast, according to provisional results from the National Vote Counting Commission on Thursday. The majority win hands Sall a second term without a run-o� vote.Opposition candidate IdrissaSeck came second with 21 percent of votes, while Ousmane Sonko placed third with 16 percent.

Ans23-(d) Bharat Mohan Adhikari

Former Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal and Senior leader of ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), Bharat Mohan Adhikari passed away last night. He was 83. Adhikari was admitted to a hospital in Kathmandu following lung and chest complications. Mr Adhikari was very popular among the common people for introducing "AafnoGaunAafaiBanau", a development programme aimed at developing villages across the country by giving them the authority to select local projects on their own. The scheme was launched in 1995 when he was Finance Minister in the Manmohan Adhikari government.

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Ans24-(d) Three

PrayagrajKumbh Mela 2019 makes 03 Guinness World Records PrayagrajKumbh Mela 2019 has been placed in the Guinness World Records in three sectors. It includes: largest tra�c and crowd management plan, the biggest painting exercise of public sites under paint my city scheme and biggest sanitation and waste disposal mechanism.

Ans25-(c) USA

Saudi Arabia air force to take part in Red Flag 2019, an international military drill The Saudi Arabia air force along with air forces from United States, the United Arab Emirates, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Singapore, will take part in Red Flag 2019, an international military drill, from tomorrow to 16th March 2019 in the United States. The Red Flag exercise, launched in 1975, is a two-week advanced aerial combat training exercise held several times a year by the US Air Force. The purpose of the exercise is to give pilots from the United States, NATO and other allied countries an opportunity to practice and re�ne skills for real combat situations.

Ans26-(d) Arundhati Roy

The Algebra of In�nite Justice (2001) is a collection of essays written by Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy

Ans27-(a) Yuvika

Young Scientist Programme Launched at ISRO Indian Space Research Organisation has launched a special programme for School Children called “Young Scientist Programme” “YUvaVIgyaniKAryakram” from this year. The Program is primarily aimed at imparting basic knowledge on Space Technology, Space Science and Space Applications to the younger ones with the intent of arousing their interest in the emerging areas of Space activities. ISRO has chalked out this programme to “Catch them young”. The residential training programme will be of around two weeks duration during summer holidays and it is proposed to select 3 students each from each State/ Union Territory to participate in this programme every year covering CBSE, ICSE and State syllabus. Those who have �nished 8th standard and currently studying in 9th standard will be eligible for the programme.

Ans28-(a) Indore

INDORE HAS TOPPED THE SWACH SURVEKSHAN 2019.

Ans29-(c) Google

Google launches 'Bolo' app to tutor children to read in Hindi, English Technology giant Google has unveiled a new app called 'Bolo' that aims to help children in primary school learn to read in Hindi and English. The free app, which is being launched in India �rst, uses Google's speech recognition and text-to-speech technology. The app features an animated character 'Diya', who encourages children to read stories aloud and helps if the child is unable to pronounce a word. It also lauds the reader when she completes the reading. The Bolo app will be available on Google Play Store in India for all smartphones running Android 4.4 (Kit Kat) and higher and can also work o�ine.

Ans30-(d) 20

Businesses need to pay up to Rs 20 for using Aadhaar services: UIDAI Unique Identi�cation Authority of India (UIDAI) has announced that the Business organisations using Aadhaar services will now have to pay fees:

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For each customer veri�cation/Aadhaar authentication services: Rs 20 (including taxes) For authentication of each transaction carried out by the entities (e-KYC transaction/for each Yes and No authentication transaction): Rs 0.50 (including taxes) UIDAI, however, exempts government entities and the Department of Posts from authentication transaction charges.

Ans31-(b) Google

India Collaborates with Google Arts & Culture for Largest Online Exhibition ‘Once Upon aTry’ The Kolkata based National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, and Google Arts & Culture have collaborated for the massive online exhibition named ‘Once Upon a Try’: Epic journeys of invention and discovery. The online exhibition, launched on March 6, has over 400 interactive exhibitions on display. It is the largest interactive online exhibition about inventions and discoveries ever curated It contains collections, stories and knowledge from over 110 renowned institutions from across 23 countries to explore and pay tribute to humanity’s greatest inventions and discoveries in science and technology. National Council of Science Museums has also contributed six interactive stories that share some key insights into the long and glorious Science and Technology Heritage of Ind

Ans32-(b) MG Ramachandran

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (March 6) announced that the Chennai Central railway station will be renamed after former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MG Ramachandran The move is seen in many quarters as a bid to appease the Tamil voters ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. "MG Ramachandran worked extensively for the downtrodden. His social welfare schemes gave strength to the �ght against poverty. We have decided to rename the Chennai Central station after the great MGR," PM Modi said.

Ans33-(b) Varanasi

Prime Minister attends the National Women Livelihood Meet -2019 at Varanasi The Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the National Women Livelihood Meet 2019, held at DeendayalHastkalaSankul in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2019. The Prime Minister visited the exhibition on products manufactured by Self Help Groups aided by Uttar Pradesh Rural Livelihood Mission. He distributed Electric Chaak, Solar Charkha and Honey Warp to women bene�ciaries and appreciation letters to �ve women Self Help Groups. Various women Self Help Groups supported by Deendayal Anthodia Yojana handed over a cheque of Rs 21 lakh to the Prime Minister as their contribution towards ‘Bharat Ke Veer’ Fund. The Prime Minister asked women to fully utilize the recently launched Pradhan Mantri ShramMaan-dhan Yojana as it provides �nancial security during old age.

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