Current Affairs - May 15, 2019 Current Affairs

ICICI Bank announced the launch of a co-branded multi-currency card with online travel booking portal Goibibo. The card also includes benefits of up to Rs20,000, including gift vouchers of Rs15,000 from Goibibo. Additionally, customers get 40 paise discount on the currency conversion rate on loading of a minimum of $1,000.

Indian racer Jehan Daruvala, won the inaugural round of the FIA Formula 3 Championship, one of the support events to Formula One in Barcelona on 12 May 2019. The FIA F3 Championship was created by merging the erstwhile GP3 Championship and FIA F3 European Championship. Jehan is the only Indian to win a Grand Prix when he won the New Zealand Grand Prix.

Merchant service and UPI payments app BharatPe has roped in Bollywood actor Salman Khan as its brand ambassador. The new brand campaign with Khan will be focused towards educating merchants and users about UPI payments along with driving adoption of BharatPe app for all their business needs.

India is unanimously chosen as co-chair of the Consultative Group (CG) of Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) for the fiscal year 2020. The decision was taken during the CG meeting of GFDRR held in Geneva, Switzerland, on the margins of the 6th Session of the GPDRR 2019. The CG Meeting was co-chaired by Africa Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, the European Union (EU) and World Bank. Additionally, GFDRR in cooperation with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the European Union had also organized the 4th edition of the World Reconstruction Conference (WRC). This is the first time that the country has been afforded the opportunity of co-chairing the CG meeting of GFDRR.

Kerala's Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has made Aadhaar-based attendance mandatory for all government offices in the state. All government offices are to install Aadhaar-based biometric attendance systems within six months, according to the 6 May order. 560,000 officials, from those in the secretariat to government school staff, will need an Aadhaar number to draw their salaries.

Digital payments company Paytm, in association with Citibank, launched its first credit card called Paytm First Card. Paytm First Card comes with unlimited cash back and will be accepted in India as well globally. The card is issued by Citibank and doesn't involve any hidden fees or charges. An annual fee of Rs 500 will be fully waived off on expenses above Rs 50,000 per year.

Venice Biennale was organized by the Venice Biennale foundation, chaired by Paolo Baratta and focuses on contemporary art, contemporary dance, architecture, cinema, and theatre. India's debut at the biennale happened in 2011 with 'Everyone Agrees: It's About To Explode', curated by Ranjit Hoskote. This was nearly 116 years after the event first started. The theme for Indian Pavillion is "150 years of Mahatma Gandhi" while India's exhibition title is "Our Time for Future Caring" curated by Roobina Karode. It has been laid down by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.

In Geneva International Conference Centre (CICG) Geneva, Switzerland, the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention (BC COP-1D) held. The theme of the meeting was "Clean Planet, Healthy People: Sound Management of Chemicals and Waste".

Bharti Airtel and HDFC Life Insurance have tied up to offer life cover for customers who get a prepaid recharge done. Airtel's new Rs249-prepaid bundle (which will include 2 GB data, unlimited calls across networks, and 100 SMSes per day) will also offer a cover worth Rs4 lakh from HDFC Life.

The billionaire Hinduja brothers have been named as the wealthiest people in the UK for a third time, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. Sri and Gopi Hinduja saw their fortune increase by 1.356 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) in the last year to 22 billion pounds. The Hinduja Group was founded in Mumbai in 1914.

The Indian Navy's first full-fledged Services Selection Board (SSB) was inaugurated by Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba at Diamond Harbour near Kolkata, West Bengal. Spread over 27 acres on the banks of Hooghly, the SSB (Kolkata) has the capacity to screen 5,000 officer-candidates annually. The SSB (Kolkata) is located at a place that was previously occupied by a Naval Coastal Battery. This is the fifth SSB of the Indian Navy and will cater for a selection of both permanent and short service commission (SSC) officers. The other boards are located in Bhopal, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam and Coimbatore.

Japan's Yosuke Asaji won the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup 2019 at the Sobu Country Club. India's Rahil Gangjee finished tied 39th while Viraj Madappa ended tied 53rd at the Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup held in Japan.

One of the most prestigious international events from the world of cinema, the Cannes Film Festival has begun in France. Information and Broadcasting Secretary Amit Khare is leading the Indian delegation at Cannes and will inaugurate India Pavilion. The Pavilion will showcase Indian cinema across linguistic, cultural and regional diversity, with the aim of forging international partnerships in distribution, production, filming in India. Indian Delegation will also release a special poster to mark the golden jubilee of International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2019).

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a monetary penalty of Rs1 crore on Nainital Bank for its failure to fully automate the non-performing asset (NPA) identification process, despite specific directions issued in this regard.

The Reserve Bank of India has appointed its former Deputy Governor, R Gandhi, on the board of private sector lender YES Bank as an additional director. The appointment has been done in exercise of powers conferred under sub-section (1) of Section 36AB of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. The RBI has the power to appoint additional directors on the board of a bank if it feels it is in the interest of the banking company or its depositors.

India's GS Lakshmi has become the first ever woman to be appointed to the ICC International Panel of Match Referees and will be eligible to referee international games with immediate effect. The 50-year-old first officiated as a match referee in domestic women's cricket in 2008/09. Lakshmi has overseen three women's ODI matches and three women's T20I matches.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Relays 2019 was held in Nissan Stadium, Yokohama, Japan from May 11 to 12, 2019. Total 43 nations participated in the two-day event. The event was organised by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF). It is a biennial event, last time it was held in 2017 in Nassau, Bahamas. The top 10 finishers in the IAAF World Relays 2019 in men's and women's 4x400 m relays event and top 12 finishers in mixed 4x400 m relays event have qualified for the IAAF World Athletics Championship which will be held in Doha, Qatar from September 28 to October 6, 2019.

The 2020s are set to be the Asian decade, with the continent dominating an exclusive list of economies expected to sustain growth rates of around 7%. Ethiopia and cote d'ivoire are also likely to reach the 7% growth pace. India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Myanmar and the Philippines should all meet that benchmark, according to a research note.

Doordarshan has launched an online souvenir store for its viewers on Amazon India so that one can easily access it. A. Surya Prakash Chairman, Prasar Bharati launched DD souvenir store on Amazon India. Doordarshan is India's first broadcaster which has started Souvenir store. Online souvenir store will not only strengthen the relation with viewers but also help in establishing Doordarshan brand value.

The RBI proposes to come out with a mobile application to aid visually impaired persons in identifying Indian currency notes. At present, banknotes in the denominations of Rs 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 2,000 are in circulation, besides Re 1 notes issued by the Government of India. The mobile application shall provide multi-lingual support as well as audio notifications.