Current Affairs - March 18, 2018 Current Affairs

Capital markets regulator SEBI raised the exposure limit under exchange-traded currency derivatives trading for residents and FPIs to USD 100 million across all currency pairs involving the Indian rupee. The move will help entities engaged in forex transactions to maintain their currency risks in a better manner.

Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has granted environmental clearance for setting up India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project at Bodi West hills in Theni district of Tamil Nadu. In November 2017, Tamil Nadu State Expert Appraisal Committee had observed that proposed site forms part of the catchment area of various streams that contribute to the Vaigai watershed. Among these, most important condition is to obtain Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) consent to establish and operate the project. The INO project, jointly supported by Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Department of Science and Technology (DST) envisages building a world class underground laboratory to study properties of neutrinos (subatomic particles produced by the decay of radioactive elements).

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has recently released the Andhra Pradesh Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report 2017. According to the report, the State secured an Index value of 0.0825 (value ranges from 0 to 1; 0 being the best and 1 being the worst). It is equivalent to 51st rank globally. India, with an Index value of 0.1911 is at the 66th position. Within the state, East Godavari is the top district with a value of 0.0468 and Vizianagaram is at the bottom of the table with a value of 0.1271. The study was conducted by the Vision Management Unit (VMU) of the Planning Department in collaboration with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) of the University of Oxford, UK. By conducting MPI study, the Andhra Pradesh has become the first Indian state to conduct a household survey exclusively to estimate the MPI at the State and district levels.

Indian para-athlete Deepa Malik won a gold medal in the F-53/54 category javelin event at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai. With this, she became the Asian rank one in the F-53 category. With the win, Deepa has also qualified for the 2018 Asian Para Games in Indonesia scheduled to be held in October 2018.

Karnataka Bank opened its first all-woman branch at Bull Temple Road in Bengaluru. This is the 36th branch opened by the Bank during the current financial year 2017-18 and the 800th branch of the bank. Karnataka Bank is a major Private Sector Banking institution headquarted at Mangaluru in Karnataka.

Yes Bank has launched a robotics-based 'Digital export Import' payments solution as a part of its Yes Transact Smart Trade product suite. It aims to bring over 1 lakh trade transactions going entirely digital, across major geographies including China, US. The product uses robotics process automation & helps in eliminating the requirement of documents submission for import & export payments.

Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the first edition of Delhi Energy Dialogue (DED) 2018 in New Delhi. The dialogue was organised by Ashden India Collective (AIC) in alliance with the Climate Parliament and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). The dialogue served as a platform for stakeholders in the field of energy and power to deliberate on key developments and challenges for 'energy for all' in India. While inaugurating the dialogue, Mr. Pradhan stated that India is a happening place for energy as every day 40 million people are going to hydrocarbon retail points to meet their demand and 190 million people are getting the benefit of subsidies. He also added that by 2040, India's energy consumption will grow by compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4 per cent and India currently offers 1 lakh crore of bio-fuel and bio-energy business to the world.

Member-countries of the World Health Organisation (WHO) South-East Asia Region, including India, committed to intensifying efforts to eradicate tuberculosis by 2030. The summit sets the stage for the September 2018 United Nations high-level meeting on TB, wherein the issue will be discussed at the Heads of State level. The UN meeting is likely to endorse a set of goals to put the world on course to ending TB.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 105th Indian Science Congress at Manipur University. It will be attended by some 5000 delegates comprising of scientists, scholars and corporate officials from different parts of the country and other countries.

Xi Jinping was re-elected as President for a second five-year tenure by China's rubber-stamp parliament. The Parliament has recently allowed Xi to have a life-long tenure. Xi was also elected as the head of the powerful Central Military Commission, the overall high command of the Chinese military. He became president in 2013. Wang Qishan has been elected as the new Vice President of China.

The United Nations Committee for Development Policy (CDP) has recently announced that the four countries will be recommended for graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category. These are Bhutan, Kiribati, Sao Tome and Principe and Solomon Islands. These countries are set to move up from the ranks of poorest nations due to their increasing national earning power as well as access to better health care and education. LDCs are assessed using three criteria: health and education targets; economic vulnerability and gross national income per capita. The Committee will send its recommendations to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for endorsement, which will then refer its decision to the UN General Assembly (UNGA). Apart from this, Chair of the Committee for Development Policy Professor Jose Antonio Ocampo stated that two more countries, Vanuatu and Angola, are scheduled for graduation in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched LaQshya program aimed at improving quality of maternity care in labor room and maternity Operation. It is being implemented to 'fast-track' interventions for achieving tangible results. Key Facts The program aims to improve quality of care for pregnant. It is implemented at all Medical College Hospitals, District Hospitals and First Referral Unit (FRU) and Community Health Center (CHCs).

The Odisha government will collaborate with Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES) for strengthening its early warning services. The partnership will be forged between Odisha State Disaster Mitigation Authority (OSDMA) and RIMES in field of drought monitoring and early warning. Both entities will ink Memorandum of understanding (MoU) for collaboration and evolve institutional mechanism between them for better coordination. The RIMES is an intergovernmental body registered under United Nations. It is owned and managed by 45 collaborating countries in the Asia Pacific and Africa.

NITI Aayog released comprehensive roadmaps and detailed timelines for its initiative 'Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital in Education (SATH-E)' project. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog released the forward-looking blueprints. These roadmaps, which operate between 2018 to 2020, lay out detailed interventions which will be taken by the three participating States- Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha - aiming to become 'Role Model States' in school education.

Muthoot Finance, the flagship company of Muthoot Group tied up with Global IME Bank to expand its money remittance services between Indo Nepal Corridor. Muthoot Finance is the only NBFC to extend the money transfer services from India to Nepal. In FY16, Muthoot Finance had collaborated with Nepal based Prabhu Bank for money transfer business wherein the company completed 2.2 lakh transactions worth Rs 4.69 billion. With Global IME Bank, this is the company's second tie-up in the region.