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Current Affairs: March 17, 2017

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March 17, 2017

Cabinet Approvals on March 15, 2017

i. The Union Cabinet under the chairmanship of Prime

Minister Shri Narendra Modi gave its approval for signing

of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Lal

Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration

(LBSNAA), Mussoorie and Namibia Institute of Public

Administration and Management (NIPAM), Namibia on

March 15, 2017.

ii. The government was apprised of the Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) signed between

India with Indonesia for cooperation in youth and sports matters and Kyrgyz Republic for

cooperation in the field of youth development

iii. Cabinet also gave its approval to the revised Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and

Mode of Operation (MoO) between India and Bangladesh on March 15, 2017 for establishing

Border Haats on India-Bangladesh Border.

iv. Narendra Modi approved signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the

Directorate General of Lighthouses & Lightships (DGLL), Ministry of Shipping (GOI) and the

Department of Shipping, Government of Bangladesh on Aids to Navigation (AtoNs).

v. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its approval to provide marketing and

pricing freedom to the Coal Bed Methane (CBM) Contractors to sell the CBM Gas at Arm’s

Length Price in the domestic market.

vi. The Centre has approved to increase the Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government

employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners to 4 percent from the existing rate of 2

percent with effect from January 1, 2017.



vii. Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved. Introduction of

the Indian Institutes of Information Technology Public Private Partnership (IIIT PPP) Bill, 2017.

Goa CM Manohar Parrikar wins floor test in Goa Assembly

Goa Chief minister Manohar Parrikar won the floor

test in the Goa state assembly with 22 legislators

support out of legislators out of 40-member House

while the opposition Congress has only 16 votes The

state assembly conducted the floor test on March 16,

2017 following an order by the Supreme Court.

Manohar proved his majority with 12 legislators from the BJP, three from the Goa Forward

Party (GFP), three from the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP), three Independents and

one from the NCP voting in favour of the trust motion. The test was passed through a clear

division which was ordered by Pro-tem Speaker Siddharth Kuncolienkar(BJP).

Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Jayakumar Presents tax-free budget for 2017-18

The Tamil Nadu Finance Minister D Jayakumar

presented a tax free and revenue deficit budget for the

fiscal 2017-18 on March 16, 2017 in the state Legislative

Assembly. It is the first Budget presented by the state

Finance Minister as well as the first budget of the

AIADMK government headed by E. Palaniswami.

Salient Feature of the State Budget

i. Total Revenue Receipts (TRR): Rs 1,59,363 crore

ii. Total Expenditure: Rs 1,75,293 crore



iii. Revenue Deficit: Rs 15,930 crore

iv. Fiscal Deficit: Rs 41,977 core (2.79 percent of GDP).

CCEA approves Policy for Early Monetization of Coal Bed Methane Gas

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)

chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved

Policy for Early Monetization of Coal Bed Methane

(CBM) Gas Marketing and Pricing Freedom for CBM

Gas. The policy provides marketing and pricing freedom

to the CBM Contractors to sell the CBM at Arm’s Length

Price in the domestic market.

Cabinet approves revised MoU with Bangladesh to set up Border Haats

The Union Cabinet has approved Revised Memorandum

of Understanding (MoU) and Mode of Operation (MoO)

between India and Bangladesh for establishing Border

Haats on India-Bangladesh Border. The revised MoU

and MoO will provide a legal framework for

establishment and operationalization of additional

Border Haats along India-Bangladesh border.



15 IIITs declared as Institutes of National Importance

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime

Minister Narendra Modi has approved Indian

Institutes of Information Technology (Public-

Private Partnership) Bill, 2017. Decision in this

regard was taken by Union Cabinet meeting

chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi

in New Delhi. The 15 IIITs are: Assam (Guwahati), Andhra Pradesh (Chittoor), Haryana

(Sonipat), Gujarat (Vadodara),Himachal Pradesh (Una), Kerala (Kottayam), Jharkhand (Ranchi),

Karnataka (Dharwad), Maharashtra (Nagpur & Pune), Rajasthan (Kota), Manipur (Senapati),

Tamilnadu (Tiruchirappalli), Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow), Kalyani (West Bengal).

Parliament passes Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016

The Parliament has passed Enemy Property

(Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016 by voice vote

to make amendments to the Enemy Property Act, 1968.

The Bill replaces the Enemy Property (Amendment

and Validation) Ordinance, 2016 promulgated by

President Pranab Mukherjee for five times.

Background The Bill passed by Lok Sabha incorporates the amendments made by the Rajya

Sabha earlier. The Bill replacing the ordinance was passed by the Lok Sabha earlier but certain

amendments were introduced to it in the Rajya Sabha, on the recommendations of a Select

Committee.



India Among Other South East Asian Country Signs WHO’s Call To End TB By

2030

India along with other South East Asian Region countries

signed a ‘Call for Action’ on March 16, 2017 to end

tuberculosis (TB) and pledged to take efforts to end the

disease by 2030. The ‘call for action’ was signed by the

Health ministers of the WHO’s South-East Asia Region

countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) on

the concluding day of the two day ministerial meeting towards ending TB in the region that

began on March 15, 2017.

China, Saudi Arabia ink deals worth about $65 billion

China and Saudi Arabia officials on March 17, 2017 have

signed Memorandums of Understanding(MoU) and

Letters of Intent(LoI) potentially worth about $65 billion

during Saudi King Salman’s visit to China. This was

announced by Zhang Ming, Deputy Chinese Foreign

Minister

Aim: To promote investment opportunities in the kingdom

The agreements seeks co-operations in the field of investment, energy, space and other areas.



HDFC Bank Launches India’s First Digital Loans Against Securities

HDFC Bank in collaboration with National Securities Depository

Limited (NSDL) has launched an instant Digital Loan against

Securities (LAS) product on March 15, 2017. LAS will reduced the

time to disburse the overdraft facility in just 3 minutes rather than

several days previously. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative in India

and probably the first in the world as well.

Key Features of the LAS

i. Under the facility, customers can pledge shares directly through their demat accounts and

give necessary approvals while applying for the loan.

ii. Shares dematerialised by NSDL and executed through HDFC Bank demat account could be

used for pledging.

iii .The bank will instantly approves the loan and the money will be credited to their bank

accounts. Once shares are pledged, a customer cannot sell them unless the loan against them

has been cleared.

iv. The loan amount ranges from Rs 1 to 20 lakh for a period and every year the loan amount

will be reevaluated.

v. The overdraft will be offered at an interest rate of 10.5 percent, same as the non-digital loans.

vi. Initially the facility is restricted to only HDFC Bank demat account holders so customers

need to open accounts with the bank to avail the digital service.

vii. Besides, the facility will be available for Demat shares in the beginning which will soon be

extended to other securities such as mutual funds, bonds and insurance policies.



UCO Bank, Future Generali tie up

Private insurer Future Generali India Insurance

Company (FGII) has announced tie-up with Kolkata

based UCO Bank for its products on March 15, 2017.

Target : To achieve a growth of 80 per cent by FY18.

According to the agreement, UCO bank will provide a

window at its bank branches for marketing FGII’s offerings. It offers a wide spectrum of general

insurance products like Motor Insurance, Health Insurance, Travel Insurance, Personal Accident

& Home Insurance.

SEBI Issues Guidelines for Celebrities to Endorse Mutual Fund Products At

Industry Level

i. The market regulator Securities and Exchange

Board of India (SEBI) reviewed advertisement

guidelines for mutual funds on March 15, 2017, with

regard to disclosing performance-related

information about such products.

ii. SEBI also issued new advertising code that will

require fund houses to communicate simply and effectively with the public.

iii. As per the new guidelines, SEBI has permitted celebrities to endorse mutual fund products

at the industry level for the purpose of increasing awareness of mutual funds as a financial

product category.iv .However, the capital market watchdog has restricted the endorsement to

following conditions:

1.Such endorsements should not promote a scheme of a particular mutual fund or be used as a

branding exercise of an asset management company (AMC).



2.Expenses towards such celebrity endorsements for increasing awareness of Mutual Funds

shall be limited to the amounts that are aggregated by Mutual Funds at industry level for the

purpose of conducting investor education and awareness initiatives

3.Prior approval of SEBI shall be required for issuance of any endorsement of Mutual Funds as

a financial product, which features a celebrity for the purpose of increasing awareness of

Mutual Funds.

State Bank of India and CREDAI sign MoU related to real estate sector

i. India’s public sector banking and financial services

company State Bank of India(SBI) and real estate

developers’ body CREDAI have signed a memorandum

of understanding (MoU) which is valid for a period of 3

years.

ii. Aim of MoU:

1.To jointly conduct various initiatives towards development of the realty sector.

2.To promote housing for all

iii. SBI will be a national partner for all CREDAI activities and both will jointly work together

for various marketing activities like conclaves, seminars, exhibitions, campaigns and CSR

activities as well.



Government Proposes Revised Building Code; Makes Builders Responsible

The Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan

unveiled the new National Building Code on March 16,

2017 in New Delhi.

The revised code has been prepared by the Bureau of

Indian Standards (BIS) under the aegis of the Consumer

Affairs Ministry.

The code contains provisions on use of new/innovative materials and technologies and on

prefabricated construction techniques that can give boost to speedier construction to meet the

objectives of Housing for All by 2022.

Salient Features of the Revised Code

i. As per the revised code, in addition to planners, structure designers and supervisors, the

builders will also be made responsible for the safety of the structure. Earlier, geo-technical

engineers and builders were not responsible.

ii .Builders will have to give a certificate saying that the building has been constructed as per

the planned design submitted to the local bodies.

iii. The code also has provision for universal accessibility for senior citizens and differently

abled citizens besides encouraging use new building material and alternative smart

technologies.

iv. Besides, it includes norms for solar energy utilisation, inclusion of modern lighting technique

including LED, updated provision on piped gas supply in houses and hospitals, solid waste

management and rain water harvesting, besides high speed lifts for tall buildings.



ONGC Set to Invest Rs 21,500 Crore in India’s Deepest Gas Find

i. Dehradun based Indian multinational oil and gas

company, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited

(ONGC) has planned to invest Rs 21528 crore to

develop India’s deepest gas discovery in UD-1 find

by 2022-23.

ii. The company has submitted a declaration of

commerciality (DoC) to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons for the UD-1 find. It will

submit a final investment plan called the field development plan by end-2017 and hope to bring

the discovery to production by 2022-23.

iii. Under the project to explore oil and gas, ONGC plans to drill nine wells on the discovery

that lies in water depths of 2,400-3,200 metres and aims to produce a peak output of 19 million

standard cubic metres per day.

TDSAT refuses to stay Reliance Jio’s free offer

i. The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate

Tribunal (TDSAT) was asked the Telecom Regulatory

Authority of India (TRAI) to re-examine the approval

for Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd’s free offers Welcome

Offer and Happy New Year Offer which will continue

till the end of March 2018.

ii. TDSAT has taken step after hearing appeals filed by Bharti Airtel Ltd and Idea Cellular Ltd

questioning Reliance Jio’s free services.

Jio Offers :



Jio offers initially introduced from 5 September to 5 December,2016 and then extended till 31

December, and further extended until 31 March, 2017

Last month, Reliance Jio announced that who all are join by 31st March 2017 will be eligible for

its Happy New Year Offer until 31st March, 2018 by paying a one-time fee of Rs.99 and

thereafter, by paying Rs.303 a month.

Singapore’s Changi Airport Named World’s Best Airport for 5th Consecutive Year

i. Singapore based Changi Airport was named as the

World’s Best Airport for the fifth consecutive year at the

2017 Skytrax World Airport Awards on March 14, 2017

held at the Passenger Terminal EXPO in Amsterdam,

The Netherlands.

ii. The award was received by Mr Lee Seow Hiang, CEO

of Changi Airport Group from Mr Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax.

iii. Besides, this is the eighth time that Changi Airport has been awarded the top international

title at the World Airport Awards since it was introduced in 2000.

iv. Changi Airport was also named the Best Airport in Asia and the Best Airport for Leisure

Amenities which it has held since the award category was introduced in 2009.

World’s Top 5 Airports

1. Changi Airport Singapore

2. Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport)

3. Incheon International Airport

4. Munich Airport

5. Hong Kong International Airport.



Central Bank won Official language policy award

i. Mumbai based Central Bank of India won the

first prize in the implementation of Official

Language Policy in the western region for the

year 2015-2016 at the Official Language

Conference of Central and Western Regions in

Udaipur.

ii. Rajasthan governor , Kalyan Singh has presented the trophy and certificate to Sudhir Pathak,

Chief Manager, Central Bank of India.

Amarinder Singh Takes Oath as Chief Minister of Punjab

i. Captain Amarinder Singh took oath as the 26th chief

minister of Punjab on March 16, 2017 at the Raj Bhawan

in Chandigarh thus paving way for the return of the

Congress to power in the state after a gap of ten years.

ii. The oath of office was administered by Punjab

governor VP Singh Badnore.

iii. This is the second time that Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Amarinder

Singh takes oath as chief minister. Earlier he served in that capacity in 2002-2007.

iv. Some of the other ministers who took oath include Manpreet Singh Badal, Razia Sultana,

MLA from Malerkotla, Aruna Chaudhary, Rana Gurjit Singh and Brahm Mohindra.

v .In 117- Assembly seats of the Vidhan Sabha, the Congress was victorious in 77 seats to form

the new government.



vi. Ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) won 18, AAP won 20, while

two seats went to Lok Insaaf Party.

Pakistan successfully test-fires land based anti-ship missile

i. Pakistan Navy has successfully test-fired ground-to-

sea missile from the coastal region on March 16, 2017.

ii. The trial was witnessed by Vice Chief of Naval Staff

Admiral Khan Hisham Bin Siddique.

iii. The missile is equipped with modern technology avionics, secured a hit on a target placed

at sea with a high degree of accuracy.

iv. would strengthen Pakistan’s defence and operational capabilities. Hence officials didn’t give

any detail about the missile include it’s name.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launches EchoStar 23 Satellite

i. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket conducted its third flight of

theyear on March 16, 2017 to launch a commercial

communications satellite in the geosynchronous transfer

orbit.

ii. The launch took off from NASA’s Launch Complex 39A

at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and carried the EchoStar 23 communications satellite into

orbit.

iii. Having a mass of around 5,500 kilograms (12,000 lb), EchoStar XXIII was the heaviest

geosynchronous payload yet launched by the Falcon 9 and will operate at 45 degrees west in

geostationary orbit.



iv. The launch was SpaceX’s second launch from historic pad 39A at KSC, from which

astronauts first launched to the surface of the moon on Apollo 11 in 1969.

v. The satellite has been built by Space Systems Loral for EchoStar Corporation to operate for at

least 15 years.

march 17, 2017 - talentsprint · pdf filechina and saudi arabia officials on march 17, 2017...

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