3rd April 2016 - Important Current Affairs updates

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International Affairs

• Greece passed an Asylum amendment bill that is needed for the implementation of the European Union-Turkey migrant deal that will take effect soon.
• • Under the deal, asylum seekers who arrive in Greece will be returned to Turkey. 
  • Note : The deal has been criticised by UN agencies and rights groups who claim it violates the rights of asylum seekers.

National Affairs

• India is going to host Asia-Pacific Remote Sensing Symposium from April 4 to 7 to discuss applications of remote sensing technologies for disaster mitigation and bettering global climate change monitoring.
• • The symposium will be organised by the Indian Society of Remote Sensing (ISRS), a professional society of more than 4000 scientists and researchers.
  • It is expected to see participation of 100 foreign and 300 national scientists and researchers.
  • Note : The 2016 edition of APRS will focus on the applications of remote sensing technologies for disaster mitigation and to better monitor global climate change. 
    
• World's first White Tiger Safari was inaugurated in Madhya Pradesh's Satna district by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. 
• • Spread over an area of 25-hectare, the safari is located in the state's Vindhya region where the tiger was first identified 100 years ago. 
  • Note : It houses three white tigers, including one male and two females.
• The Home Ministry has proposed that ATMs should not be refilled with cash after 8 pm in cities amid incidents of attacks on cash carrying vans. 
• • Further, the deadline in rural areas and Naxal-affected districts was proposed at 5 pm and 3 pm respectively. 
  • Also, the vans must not carry over ₹5 crore per trip, it added.

New Appointments

• Nandini Singla, presently Joint Secretary in the Ministry has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Portugal.
• Shubhdarshini Tripathi, presently Deputy Chief of Mission in Berlin, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of lndia to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. 
• Masakui, presently Director in Ministry of External Affairs, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Zimbabwe.
• Satender Kumar, Ambassador of India to the Republic of Suriname, has been concurrently accredited as the next High Commissioner of India to Barbados with residence in Paramaribo.

Science & Technology

• Spaceflight company Blue Origin has successfully launched and landed its reusable Shepard rocket for the third time, after it was successfully launched and landed once in November and then in January. 
• • Noe : This was the company's first test flight which was publicly announced prior to launch. Co-founder Jeff Bezos said that the launch footage will soon be released.

Awards & Honors

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with the highest civilian honour of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the King Abdulaziz Order of Merit. 
• • Modi received the award from King Salman bin Abdulaziz at the Royal court where they held extensive talks. 
  • Note : Other international leaders honoured with the award include US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Business & Economy

• India was ranked Sixth among the World's largest manufacturing countries, up from its previously held 9th rank, according to a report by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. 
• • China tops the list followed by the US, Japan and Germany. 
• The limit on the investment by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) in government securities, including those of the states, has been increased by ₹14,000 crore to ₹2 lakh crore, with effect from April 4. 
• • This follows decisions by RBI and SEBI to increase foreign fund inflows into government securities.
  • Note : The limit was earlier hiked in 2015 and in January 2016.
• The Income Tax department has launched a computer-based tax calculator on its official website that will allow users to obtain their annual tax liability. 
• • The facility can be used by any individual, corporate or any other entity for computing tax liability.
• Indian conglomerate Adani Group was granted approval from Australia's Queensland state government for three mining leases, with a proposed investment of $7.7 billion, under the company's Carmichael project. 
• • Note : The project, which was supported by the Australian government, was earlier challenged in local courts for potential environmental damage, leading to its delay.
• Saudi Arabia has laid out a plan to create the world's largest sovereign wealth fund of $2 trillion to help reduce the kingdom's dependence on oil. 
• • As part of the strategy, the country will sell a stake in Aramco, Saudi's national oil company, and transform it into an industrial conglomerate.
• In a first, private lender DCB Bank has started an Aadhaar-based ATM facility wherein a customer can transact using the biometric details instead of the PIN. 
• • Customers need to link their Aadhaar number with the bank account to avail the facility.

• Former AC Milan defender and Italian international, Cesare Maldini (84). 
• • The sweeper played 412 matches for the Milanese club between 1954 and 1966 winning four Series A titles and the European Cup in 1963. 
  • • Note : Cesare is the father of the legendary AC Milan defender, Paolo Maldini.

• West Indies won their second World T20 title after defeating England by four wickets. 
• • Important Points to Note :
  • • With this, West Indies have won three ICC World titles in 2016. 
    • The West Indies' women defeated Australia to lift the Women's World T20
    • The Under-19 men’s team defeated India in February to win the U-19 World Cup.
• Australian medium-pacer Clint McKay has announced his retirement from international and Australis’a first-class cricket.
• Mercedes' Nico Rosberg took the win at the Bahrain Grand Prix, ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and polesitter Lewis Hamilton, who finished second and third respectively.  
• Evgenia Medvedeva, a 16-year-old figure skater from Russia, won the World Figure Skating Championship in Boston, US.
• • Note : She also became the first woman to win the world junior and senior women's titles in successive years.
• Pakistan player Shahid Afridi stepped down as the team’s T20I captain, after facing criticism for his captaincy and individual performance in the World T20 tournament.
• • Note : Afridi, who led Pakistan in 43 T20Is, managed to win 19 games.

Note : Current Affairs of 4th and 5th April 2016 will be available soon.

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