Current Affairs: Daily GK Update 20th March, 2017

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Finance Minister finalized capital infusion for 10 PSU banks

i. Coming in support of weak and non-performing Public Sector Banks (PSBs), the Finance Ministry has chalked out a turnaround-linked Rs 8,586-crore capital infusion plan for 10 PSBs.

ii. The Top five capital gaining banks are IDBI Bank (Rs 1,900 crore), Bank of India (Rs 1,500 crore), UCO Bank ( Rs 1,150 crore), Andhra Bank and Indian Overseas Bank with Rs (1,100 crore) each.

3 Day International Buddhist Conference in Bihar

i. The three days 'International Buddhist Conference' organized by Ministry of Culture and Nava Nalanda Mahavira Deemed University in Rajgir, Bihar.

ii. The two highlights of the inaugural session- first, the release of the reprint of the Pali Tripitaka in Devanagari script by the Dalai lama and second highlight was the announcement of the opening of the department of the Buddhist science for the first time in Asia.

Harsh Vardhan to inaugurate 5th foundation day function of BIRAC

i. Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan will inaugurate the 5th foundation day function of the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) in New Delhi.

ii. The discussion will focus on the impact the Biotech Ecosystem is making on the Indian economy and the opportunities which exist for the Indian Biotech Sector as a global player.

Amazon India brings out ‘A-Z GST Guide’ program

i. E-commerce major Amazon India has come out with a new program for sellers to get insights and help related to the goods and services tax (GST), called the ‘A-Z GST Guide’.

ii. The programme in its pilot phase has already trained over 5,000 sellers on the Amazon platform. The portal provides resources in the form of tutorials, blogs, and free online training sessions.

Idea Cellular board approves merger with Vodafone India

i. The boards of Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group have approved a merger between Idea Cellular and Vodafone India Ltd.

ii. Vodafone India will own 45.1 percent stake in the merged entity. Promoters of Idea will hold 26 percent stake in the company and the remaining will be held by the public.

World Bank announces 57 billion US dollar for sub-Saharan Africa

i. World Bank has announced 57 billion US dollar financing for sub-Saharan Africa over the next three fiscal years (2017-2019).

ii. Of that total, 45 billion dollars will come from the International Development Association (IDA), 8 billion dollars from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and USD 4 billion dollars will come from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).

Government swaps chief executives of IDBI Bank, Indian Bank

i. The Centre has swapped the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of state-owned Indian Bank and IDBI Bank.

ii. Mahesh Kumar Jain, who was Managing Director & CEO at Indian Bank, has been appointed as Managing Director & CEO of IDBI Bank.

iii. Kishore Piraji Kharat, who was appointed as IDBI Bank CEO, has now been appointed as Managing Director and CEO of Indian Bank.

ONGC signs pact to buy out GSPC’s KG block stake

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has signed definitive agreements to buy out debt-ridden Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation’s (GSPC) entire 80% stake in KG-basin natural gas block for $1.2 billion.

Snapdeal appoints Jason Kothari as CEO of FreeCharge

i. E-commerce firm Snapdeal announced the appointment of Jason Kothari as the Chief Executive Officer of its digital payment platform FreeCharge.

ii. In addition to taking on the role of CEO, Jason will continue his key leadership role as Chief Strategy and Investment Officer at Snapdeal.

Kumar Mangalam Birla named Chairman of Vodafone-Idea merged entity

i. British telecom major Vodafone and Aditya Birla group-run Idea Cellular announced the merger of their operations and Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla has been appointed as the Chairman of Vodafone-Idea merged entity.

Indian-American Computer Scientist Anshumali Wins NSF’s CAREER Award

i. An Indian-American computer scientist, Anshumali Shrivastava, was honored with the National Science Foundation’s prestigious CAREER Award for his research on redesigning current machine-learning processes.

Former Odisha MP Pyarimohan Mohapatra passes away

i. Former Rajya Sabha member Pyarimohan Mohapatra passed away in Mumbai after a prolonged illness. He was 77.

ii. Mohapatra was the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister when Biju Patnaik occupied the top post.

Meteorologist Dev Raj Sikka passes away

i. Dev Raj Sikka, former director of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune died of a cardiac arrest. He was 85 years old.

ii. He was the first to propose a link between the El Nino phenomenon and the Indian monsoon.

Shahid Afridi appointed as ambassador of Blind Cricket World Cup

i. Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has been appointed as the ambassador for the fifth edition of the Blind Cricket World Cup 2018.

ii. The announcement was made by the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC). Blind Cricket World Cup will be hosted by PBCC in the United Arab Emirates(UAE) and Pakistan in January 2018.

Roger Federer claims fifth Indian Wells Masters title

i. World famous tennis player Roger Federer (Switzerland) claimed his fifth BNP PARIBAS OPEN, ATP Indian Wells Masters title after defeating Stan Wawrinka in California, USA.

ii. Federer joined Novak Djokovic as the only men to win five Indian Wells titles, adding to those he won in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2012.

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