Current Affairs - April 3, 2019 Current Affairs

South Korea launches the world's first fully-fledged 5G mobile networks. The system will bring smartphones near-instantaneous connectivity 20 times faster than the existing 4G allowing users to download entire movies in less than a second. It is crucial for the future development of devices ranging from self-driving vehicles that send data traffic to one another in real time, industrial robots, drones and other elements of the Internet of Things.

Current account deficit (CAD) of India has widened to 2.5% of GDP in the 3rd quarter of the current fiscal year primarily on account of a higher trade deficit though the foreign exchange reserves which continued to soar. Current account deficit has been widened merely 0.4% from 2.1%, a year ago. The CAD had moderated to USD 19.1 billion or 2.9 per cent of GDP in the preceding quarter.

Manappuram Finance, a Non-banking finance company withdrew a release which had issued earlier regarding securing Rs 695 crore debt funding from NABARD.Previously this Rs 695 crore funding will agree to use for priority sector lending.

Island Protection Zone (IPZ) 2019 for Andaman and Nicobar has been notified by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The purpose of these changes in the IPZ is aligned with the Niti Aayog's proposal for holistic development in the Islands.The government is planning to open the blue economy and sustainable utilizing of ocean resources.In this new notification, eco-tourism projects are allowed at 20 meters from the high tide line (HTL) in smaller islands like Baratang, Havelock, and Car Nicobar and at 50 meters for larger islands from the HTL.It permits the eco-tourism activities like mangrove walks, tree huts and nature trails in island coastal regulation zone (ICRZ) IA.This new notification replaces IPZ notification of 2011.

The Asian Development Bank downgraded economic growth forecasts for India and Southeast Asia for 2019 as global risks from trade tensions to Brexit mount. According to the ADB's latest Asian Development Outlook report, gross domestic product in India will probably increase by 7.2 % in 2019, down from a December forecast of 7.6%.

Indra Nooyi wins ETPrime 'Global Indian Woman of the Year'. Whereas GIC India's Alice Vaidyan wins ETPrime 'Woman CEO of the Year'; Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw wins ETPrime 'Business Woman of the Year'. And Meera Sanyal won ET Prime 'Lifetime Achievement' award posthumously.

The 13th edition of Earth Hour 2019 was observed on March 30 with theme "Connect2Earth" to encourage people across the world to turn off non-essential electric lights for one hour from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. It calls for greater awareness and more sparing use of resources, especially fossil fuels that produce carbon gases and lead to global warming. On this day, the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature-India made an appeal to citizens to join the Earth Hour 2019 to inspire millions across the country to shift to more sustainable practices and minimize negative impacts on the planet.

The European Parliament has banned the single-use plastic cutlery, cotton buds, straws and stirrers that despoils beaches and pollutes oceans.This ban will be effective from 2021 in all EU member states.The law sets a target to gather 90 percent of plastic bottles for recycling by 2029 and plastic bottles should be produced with 25 percent recycled material by 2025 and 30 percent by 2030.

The European Union has launched two World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes against India over import duties on IT products and against Turkey over measures affecting pharmaceutical producers. In the case against India, the EU is challenging the introduction of import duties of between 7.5 and 20 percent for a wide range of IT products, such as mobile phones and components, as well as integrated circuits. In the case against Turkey, the EU is challenging measures that force foreign pharmaceutical producers to move their production to Turkey.

Using platinum nanocatalyst, a two-member team at the IIT Madras has successfully converted petroleum waste-product toluene into benzoic acid. Benzoic acid is used as a food preservative (E210) and medicine for fungal/bacterial infection. Toluene is converted into benzoic acid through selective and controlled oxidation in the presence of a catalyst - binaphthyl-stabilised platinum nanoparticles (Pt-BNP). Generally, organic reactions are carried out using organic solvents, which makes it expensive and also generates toxic waste. So, the team led by G. Sekar used water as solvent to make it environment-friendly. Also, a green oxidant (70% aqueous tert-butyl hydroperoxide or TBHP) is used for converting toluene into benzoic acid. When toluene is oxidised, it gives four products. But, the team used catalyst that they developed and then only benzoic acid is produced. No alcohol, aldehyde or ester is produced. The yield of benzoic acid varied from 68-96% depending on whether the toluene used is electron-deficient or electron-rich.

Earth Hour 2019 was celebrated in 188 countries worldwide. To mark this day, cities worldwide turned their lights off for one hour from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm local time. It was the 13th edition of Earth hour and the campaign of Earth Hour 2019 was 'Connect2Earth' It was aimed at building mass awareness on the importance of nature and create an unstoppable movement for nature.

For the second year in succession, Telangana ranks number 1 in the e-Learning training program of theDepartment of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Government India. During the financial year 2018-19, Dr. MCR HRD Institute enrolled over 20,000 field staff in different districts of the State to impart training on 12 soft skills modules and 3 domain-specific modules on RTI, Office Procedures, and Finance & amp; Accounts, apart from Sustainable Development Goals.

Election Commission of India has nominated Vivek Dube as the Central Police Observer for the States of West Bengal and Jharkhand during General Elections 2019.

The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres announced the appointment of Nicholas Koumjian of the United States as the head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar. International criminal justice lawyer Nicholas Koumjian will serve as the first head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism (IIM) for Myanmar, which was established by the Human Rights Council in September 2018 and welcomed by the UN General Assembly in December 2018.

The Indian Publishing company, Garuda Prakashan Private Limited, launched its book 'Saffron Swords- Centuries of Indic Resistance to Invaders's. Written by Manoshi Sinha Rawal, it is a book on 52 unsung warriors of India from the last 1300 years.

'Kandhamal Haldi', a variety of turmeric indigenous to southern Odisha, has earned the Geographical indication (GI) tag from Intellectual Property India, an organization functioning under the auspices of the Union ministry of commerce & industry. The recognition coincided with the state's Foundation Day (Utkal Divas). Kandhamal in Odisha's southern hinterland is famed for its turmeric. The agricultural product also stands out for its healing properties and arresting aroma.

Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak) stated that it will charge customers for UPI transactions starting 1st of May 2019. For each Kotak Bank account, the first 30 UPI fund transfers will be free after which a charge will be levied on all fund transfers from the bank account. This will be applicable across all platforms, including Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay or Truecaller Pay among others. The bank will charge Rs 2.50 per transaction for an amount value below or equal to Rs 1,000, and Rs 5 per transaction will be levied for a payment value above Rs 1,000.

Tata Power and Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) signed a memorandum of understanding to set up integrated customer services and optimize value for customers. The pact will also cover common safeguard activities of underground assets (pipes and cables) including the right of way for activities like maintenance and laying of pipes and cables, routine patrolling of under and above ground assets.

The Indian Army has successfully built the longest suspension bridge 'Matiri Bridge' over the Indus River in the Leh-Ladakh region. Built in a record time of 40 days 'Maitri Bridge' is longest Suspension Bridge over Indus River. The 260-feet long suspension bridge was built by the combat engineers belonging to the Sahas aur Yogyata regiment of Indian Army's Fire & Fury Corps.

Ram Nath Kovind addressed the Croatian-Indian Economic Forum in Zagreb, Croatia to delegate Indian and Croatian businesses to partner with each other for trade, technology and investment collaboration.The theme of the address was "India - Croatia relations- the way forward". Both the countries discussed to integrate the value and supply chains to derive maximum benefit economically.