Daily GK Update 15th March, 2017
Govt introduces bill on inter-state river water row in Lok Sabha
i. The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2017 has been introduced in the Lok Sabha which proposes to streamline the adjudication of river water disputes and make the present legal and institutional architecture robust.
ii. Minister of Water Resources and River Development Uma Bharti introduced the Bill in the house.
iii. The tribunal will consist of one Chairperson, one Vice-Chairperson and not more than six other members. The total time period for adjudication of dispute has been fixed at maximum of four and half years.
Footwear Design And Development Institute Bill, 2017 Introduced In The Lok Sabha
i. The Commerce & Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) Bill, 2017 in the Lok Sabha in order to declare the FDDI as an Institution of National Importance (INI).
ii. To enable FDDI emerge as Centre of Excellence to meet with the international standards and address the shortage of trained human resource in the sector.
iii. The FDDI was established by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India in the year 1986. It has pan-India presence with campuses at Noida, Kolkata, Chennai, Fursatganj (UP), Rohtak (Haryana), Chhindwara (M.P) and Jodhpur (Rajasthan).
World Consumer Rights Day being observed: 15 March
i. World Consumer Rights Day is being observed today (15 March 2017) which is an awareness day and theme for this year is 'Building a Digital World Consumers can Trust’. Several functions are being organized across the country to mark the occasion. Union Government launches Rs.52000 lakh Mission Fingerling
i. The Union government has launched Mission Fingerling to achieve Blue Revolution with the holistic development and management of fisheries in the country.
ii. The Blue Revolution programme focuses on creating an environment that envisages integrated and holistic development and management of fisheries for the socio-economic development of the fishers and fish farmers.
iii. The main motive behind this programme is to enhance the fisheries production from 10.79 mmt (2014-15) to 15 mmt by 2020-21.
Biren Singh to be Sworn in Next CM of Manipur
i. The incumbent Chief Minister of Manipur Okram Ibobi Singh resigned from the post giving way for formation of a new ministry under the BJP.
ii. This is the first time the BJP has come to power in the north-eastern state. The Congress leader Okram Ibobi announced to resign after BJP named Nongthombam Biren Singh as the party’s leader to form the government with the majority win.
iii. The BJP’s N. Biren Singh will take oath as Manipur’s next chief minister on 15th March 2017 along with his council of ministers in the presence of BJP president Amit Shah and Union Minister Jitendra Singh.
Digital push: Gujarat to provide e-marketplace for businesses
i. The Gujarat government has entered into an agreement with a global cloud-based solutions provider cloudBuy.com to develop a B2B marketplace for small and large business units in the state.
ii. The e-marketplace will be used to promote businesses in the state on one single platform, where members can trade with each other and across India and globally. The project has been developed as part of the Centre’s ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’ initiatives.
SBI announces Rs 6,000-cr tractor loan settlement scheme
i. State Bank of India has announced a one-time farm loan settlement scheme worth 6,000 crore rupees primarily for tractors. SBI in a tweet stated that One Time Settlement is announced for Agriculture Loans and the Scheme is valid until 31st March 2017.
ii. Managing Director of the bank Rajnish Kumar stated that loans disbursed before 2011 and falling under doubtful or loss category accounts as of September 2016, will be considered under the scheme.
iii. The MD also said other agri-loans like kisan credit cards and other term-loans for tractors and farm loans may also be covered under the scheme. SBI's total farm loan portfolio is 1.25 Lakh Crore rupees and tractor loan book is about 6,000 crore rupees.
Wholesale Inflation rises to 6.55% in February 2017
i. Wholesale inflation shot up to a 39-month high of 6.55% in February 2017, on account of costlier food and fuel items. Wholesale price based inflation had stood at 5.25% in January 2017, and 3.68% in December 2016.
ii. According to official data, food inflation jumped to 2.69% in February 2017, from minus 0.56% in January 2017. Inflation in the fuel basket spurted to 21.02% in February 2017, from 18.14% in January 2017.
Retail inflation rises to 4-month high of 3.65%
i. Retail inflation rose to a 4-month high of 3.65% in February 2017, mainly due to an increase in the prices of food items.Inflation measured in terms of the Consumer Price Index had stood at 3.17% in January 2017.
ii. Retail inflation was 5.26% in February 2016. According to data released by the Central Statistics Office, retail inflation in food items rose to 2.01% in February 2017, from 0.61% in January 2017. But prices of vegetables declined by 8.29% and of pulses by 9.02%.
World Bank loan for MP solar plant
i. The World Bank has agreed to provide a loan to develop internal transmission arrangements of the upcoming Rewa Ultra Mega Solar project in Madhya Pradesh.
ii. It will provide 25% of the loan amount under its Clean Technology Fund, where the money will be provided at an interest rate of only 0.25%. This would be the first solar power project in the country to receive a loan under Clean Technology Fund (CTF).
BoB approves bond issue
i. The Capital Raising Committee of Bank of Baroda’s board approved raising of funds through the issuance of Basel III compliant Additional Tier-I bonds (perpetual debt instrument) amounting to Rs 500 crore with green shoe option of Rs 500 crore.
ii. In a stock exchange notification, the bank stated the issuance will be on private placement basis depending on market conditions.
Official language policy award
i. Central Bank of India has been awarded first prize in the implementation of Official Language Policy in the western region for the year 2015-2016.
ii. Sudhir Pathak, Chief Manager of Central Bank of India received the trophy and certificate from Kalyan Singh, Governor of Rajasthan at the Official Language Conference of Central and Western Regions in Udaipur recently.
IndusInd Bank to acquire IL & FS Securities Services
i. IndusInd Bank has entered into an agreement with Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL& FS) to acquire 100% stake in IL& FS Securities Services Ltd (ISSL).
ii. The private sector bank, however, did not disclose the cost of acquisition or the price at which ISSL shares were acquired.
iii. ISSL, which was incorporated in 2007 as a subsidiary of IL& FS, is a capital market intermediary for professional clearing, depository and custodial Services.
Reliance Comunications gets SEBI approval for merger with Aircel
i. Reliance Communications has received approvals from markets regulator SEBI and the stock exchanges for proposed demerger of its wireless business into Aircel Ltd.
ii. Reliance Communications has received approval of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), BSE and NSE for the proposed scheme of arrangement for demerger of the wireless division of the company into Aircel Ltd and Dishnet Wireless Ltd.
Government Establishes Banana Research Centre in Bihar
i. The Union Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare Minister Shri Radha Mohan Singh laid the foundation stone of the Banana Research Centre at Vaishali, Bihar Centre to fulfill the aspirations of the local banana growers.
ii. The new center will work to find reasons behind less production in banana, enhancement in acreage for cultivation, suitable utilization of the various parts of the plants, different products, marketing and value addition.
Pawan Goenka gets 2nd term as IIT-Madras Board Chairman
i. Pawan Goenka Managing Director of Mahindra and Mahindra has been granted second-term as Chairman of the Board of Governors (BoG) of IIT-Madras.
ii. The President of India, in his capacity as visitor of IIT-Madras, approved the nomination of Goenka, for three years with effect from June 9, 2017.
iii. He had been serving as Chairman, BoG of IIT-Madras, since 9th June 2014 when he was first nominated to the position for a three-year period.
Vienna World’s Best City in Quality of Life, Hyderabad Best Indian City: Mercer
i. According to the Mercer’s 19th annual Quality of Living survey released Vienna, the capital of Austria has topped the list of cities offering the highest quality of life for the eighth year in a row.
ii. In India, Hyderabad emerged as the best city in terms of living standards among Indian cities for the third year in a row.
iii. Baghdad was ranked the worst place at 230 to live due to continuous violence in the city.
iii. Baghdad was ranked the worst place at 230 to live due to continuous violence in the city.
Now, book an Uber when flying Jet Airways
i. Full-service airline Jet Airways has announced a partnership with ride-hailing app Uber to book airport cabs through the Jet Airways app itself.
ii. The airline will partner Uber and facilitate travel from the airport once a passenger has booked a ticket on the Jet Airways app.
iii. Guests booking their flights on the app and using Uber for the first time will also benefit from a discount of Rs. 150 across their first three rides by using the promo code JETUBER.
Commonwealth Day
i. Commonwealth Day has celebrated annually across the Commonwealth of Nations on 13th March 2017.
ii. The objective is to come together and celebrate its values and diversity. Theme is 'A peace-building Commonwealth'. It is marked by a multi-faith service in Westminster Abbey, normally attended by Queen Elizabeth II as Head of the Commonwealth along with the Commonwealth Secretary-General and Commonwealth High Commissioners in London.
Shashank Manohar resigns from ICC chairman’s post
i. In a surprise development, Shashank Manohar has resigned as International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman after merely eight months in office, citing personal reasons.
ii. He became the first independent chairman of ICC but had several run-ins with the BCCI on revenue sharing pattern.
Filmmaker and Children’s Author Amy Krouse Rosenthal Dies
Popular American author, filmmaker and public speaker, Amy Krouse Rosenthal died due to ovarian cancer. She was 51.
