Daily Current Affairs Updates– 29th March 2017

Daily Current Affairs Updates– 29th March 2017:

Daily Current affairs News Updates about the National and International events were listed here. Candidates those who are preparing for IBPS/SBI/PO/Clerk exam and all other competitive exams can use this.

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BS-III compliant vehicles sale banned by SC from April 1 :

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a ban on the registration and sale of vehicles compliant with the older Bharat Stage-III (BS-III) emission norms from April 1. The Supreme Court asserted that the health of millions was more important than commercial interests. Notably, more stringent BS-IV norms were introduced in 2010, and a nationwide rollout is expected on April 1.

Rs.800 crore budget got approved by Pune Metro authority :

The Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority approved a budget of nearly Rs. 800 crore for its various projects. The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. A statement said that the allocation will benefit the Shivajinagar-Hinjawadi metro and Pune-Daund suburban railway projects, among others.

INLCU L51 commissioned into India Navy :

INLCU L51, the first of the eight ships of the Landing Craft Utility MK IV Class, was commissioned into the India Navy by Vice Admiral Bimal Varma AVSM, Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman & Nicobar Command, at a ceremony in Port Blair yesterday.

AIR correspondent reports that conceived and designed indigenously, the commissioning of the ship adds a feather to the glorious chapter in the nation’s ‘Make in India’ initiatives and indigenisation efforts in the field of warship design and construction. The ship has been built to assist in amphibious operations by carrying out beaching operations.

Defence : India Navy

Headquarters : New Delhi

Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) : Admiral Sunil Lanba

Resolution passed by Nagaland on making Centre to request Myanmar to permanently drop border fencing project :

Nagaland Assembly passed a resolution seeking Centre to request Myanmar government to permanently drop the Indo-Myanmar border fencing project. The resolution was passed by voice vote without any amendment.

The resolution introduced in the House by Health and Family Welfare Minister, P. Longon on 24th March says that this House requests the Government of India to impress upon the Government of Myanmar to permanently drop the project of construction of fencing on the Indo-Myanmar border in the State of Nagaland with a view to continuing the cordial and fraternal relations amongst the Nagas living on both sides of the border.

State : Nagaland

Capital : Kohima

CM : T. R. Zeliang

Governor : Padmanabha Acharya

Country : Myanmar

Capital : Naypyidaw

Currency : Burmese kyat

President : Htin Kyaw

Integrated Automatic Aviation Meteorological Systems inducted at INS Rajali :

The Chief of the Indian Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lamba inaugurated the first ever Integrated Automatic Aviation Meteorological System (IAAMS).It was inaugurated on 28 March 2017 at INS Rajali, which is informally known as Arakkonam Naval Air Station, in Tamil Nadu.

It is equipped with the state of the art Meteorological Sensors - Radar Vertical Wind Profiler, Transmissometer, Ceilometer and Automatic Weather Observation System, IAAMS undertakes automatic and continuous recording of relevant weather parameters that are vital for accurate weather forecasting.

Defence : India Navy

Headquarters : New Delhi

Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) : Admiral Sunil Lanba

10L tonnes of fuel to be supplied by IOC to Nepal for next 5 years :

State-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) signed an agreement to supply over 10 lakh tonnes of petroleum products annually to Nepal for the next five years, Chairman B Ashok said. "The supply agreement... will meet the full requirements, demand and quantities of all the major oil products, including petrol, diesel, kerosene, aviation turbine fuel and LPG," he added.

Country : Nepal

Capital: Kathmandu

Currency: Nepalese rupee

Prime minister: Pushpa Kamal Dahal

President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari

Company : Indian Oil Corporation

Headquarters: New Delhi

Chairman : B. Ashok

INTERNATIONAL:

US President Donald Trump to host Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington later this year :

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet US President Donald Trump when he travels to Washington later this year. A statement issued by the White House said, President Trump is looking forward to hosting Prime Minister Modi in Washington later this year.

The Statement also said, President Trump also expressed support for the Prime Minister's economic reform agenda and emphasized his great respect for the people of India. The White House said, the US President in a telephonic conversation congratulated PM Modi on the outcome of recent state elections. This was the third telephonic conversation between the two leaders after Trump's electoral victory in November last year.

Country : United States of America

Capital : Washington, D.C.

President : Donald Trump

Currency : United States Dollar

Montenegro becomes NATO's 29th member as US Senate vote on approval :

US Senate has voted overwhelmingly to approve Montenegro as NATO's 29th member. After a procedural vote earlier in the week, the Accession Treaty for the small Balkan nation to join the transatlantic alliance yesterday sailed through on a 97-2 vote.

The measure will now go the White House for formal ratification by President Donald Trump. Till now, 25 other NATO members have ratified Montenegro's accession, a country of 620,000 people seen as a geostrategic ally. The Netherlands and Spain have yet to do so.

Country : Montenegro

Capital: Podgorica

Continent: Europe

Currencies: Euro, Euro sign

Prime Minister : Duško Marković

President : Filip Vujanović

Organisation : The North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium

Secretary General : Jens Stoltenberg

Arab leaders to meet in Jordan today for annual summit :

Arab leaders are set to meet in Jordan today for their annual summit with no expected breakthrough on resolving conflicts or terrorism in the region. Saudi Arabia's King Salman is among 22 leaders attending the Arab League for the meeting in Sweimeh on the Dead Sea coast. UN chief Antonio Guterres and his special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, are also expected to be present.

According to Jordan's Information Minister, the leaders are expected to discuss the wars in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, the fight against terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

BANKING NEWS:

Banks got exemption from opening on April 1 : RBI

Reversing its earlier order, the Reserve Bank of India today said that the bank branches dealing in government businesses need not remain open on April 1 in view of the annual closing business.

In its earlier directive on March 24, the RBI had asked all authorised banks to be open on all days from March 25 to April 1, including Saturday, Sunday and all holidays, to facilitate the government's receipts and payments. The departments concerned of RBI were also to remain open on these days.

Bank : Reserve Bank of India

Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra

Governor : Urjit Patel

Unnati Credit Card launched by SBI to spread credit inclusion :

SBI Card on 28 March 2017 launched the Unnati Credit Card to spread credit inclusion among masses. The card was launched by the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines Piyush Goyal at a programe in New Delhi. The card was launched in the presence of SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya and SBI Card CEO Vijay Jasuja.

Bank : State Bank of India

Headquarters: Mumbai

CEO : Arundhati Bhattacharya

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY NEWS :

Rs 3.72 lakh crore to be borrowed by Govt in 1st half of next fiscal :

The government will borrow from markets about 3(point)72 lakh crore rupees in the first half of next fiscal beginning April which is 64% of the borrowing target for full financial year.

The borrowing in the April-September period will be a little higher compared to other years as the finance ministry and the RBI foresee other ministries to start spending from the beginning of the fiscal as well as redemption pressure. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi yesterday, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said, normally every year Government borrows 60-62 per cent in the first half of the year, this year it is marginally higher 64 per cent.

India becomes Net Exporter of Electricity for 1st time :

India has become Net Exporter of Electricity from a Net Importer of Electricity for the first time, Central Electricity Authority has stated. During the current year 2016-17 (April 2016 to February 2017), India has exported around 579.8 crore units to Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar, which is 21.3 crore units more than the import of around 558.5 crore units from Bhutan.

Amazon acquires UAE based Souq.com :

Amazon, the USA based e commerce giant made its entry in UAE by acquiring Souq.com, the Middle East’s largest online retailer. A joint statement said that the agreement brings Amazon into a fast-growing market as it expands into a wide range of services. The deal’s specific value was not announced, but according to analysts it is estimated anywhere between 650 million USD to one billion USD.

Souq.com Chief Executive and Co-founder Ronaldo Mouchawar called the agreement “a critical next step in growing e-commerce presence on behalf of customers across the region.”

Company : Amazon

CEO : Jeff Bezos

Headquarters : Washington, United States

APPOINTMENTS:

David Beasley appointed as UN head of World Food Programme :

United Nations Chief Antonio Guterres has appointed former South Carolina Governor David Beasley to head the Rome-based World Food Programme. Beasley will run the affairs of the world’s largest humanitarian organization, serving more than 90 million beneficiaries in 80 countries. He will replace another American, Etharin Cousin, who has been the WFP executive director since 2012.

Washington was the top contributor to the WFP in 2016 with two billion dollars, a third of the agency's budget. However, President Donald Trump has proposed an unspecified cut in funding for the United Nations and its agencies.

Organisation : United Nations

Headquarters: New York, United States

Secretary‑General : António Guterres

AWARDS AND HONOURS:

Indian Army Chief Bipin Rawat to receive honorary General title of Nepal Army :

Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat will be conferred the honorary rank of General of the Nepal Army by country's President Bidhya Devi Bhandari on Wednesday. Rawat has arrived in Kathmandu for a four-day official visit. The two countries have a tradition of conferring such titles on the chiefs of their armies since 1950 to signify the close military-to-military ties.

Country : Nepal

Capital: Kathmandu

Currency: Nepalese rupee

Prime minister: Pushpa Kamal Dahal

President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari

Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy presented to Ashwin by Kapil Dev :

Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin received the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy from former Indian cricketer Kapil Dev for being named the ICC Cricketer of the Year as well as the ICC Test Cricketer of the Year. Ashwin, who became the first Test cricketer to claim over 80 wickets in a single season of Test cricket, is the second-ranked bowler in Tests.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS :

Book on Rashtriya Rifles ‘Home of the Brave’ released :

The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Bipin Rawaton on 27 March 2017 released a book titled Home of the Brave at the South Block in New Delhi. The book is authored by Nitin A Gokhale, defence and security analyst, and Brig S K Chatterji (Retired).

The event of the release of the book was attended by the Director General of the Rashtriya Rifles, other senior officers from the Directorate General of the Rashtriya Rifles and the authors of the book.

SPORTS NEWS:

India Super series Badminton tournament starts in New Delhi :

In India Super series Badminton tournament, the main draws event will be held from today in New Delhi. The qualifying rounds were played yesterday.

In Women's Singles four Indians Rasika Raje, Anura Prabhu Desai, Sai Utejita Rao and Shrenshi Pardesi have qualified for the draw. Beisides them PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and several other ace shuttlers will also take part in the Women's Singles.

Lionel Messi banned from next 4 competitive internationals :

Argentina forward Lionel Messi has been banned from their next four competitive internationals starting with the World Cup's qualifier in Bolivia for swearing at a match official. FIFA said, the decision means the five-times world player of the year will play in only one of Argentina's remaining five World Cup qualifiers. FIFA said Messi had directed insulting words at an assistant referee during the 1-0 win over Chile on Friday.

Ahmed Kathrada South African anti-apartheid activist passes away at age 87 :

Indian-origin anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada passed away on 28 March 2017 after complications following a brain surgery in Johannesburg. Settled in South Africa, Kathrada was one of Nelson Mandela's closest aides in his struggle to end the white minority rule. During his struggle, he spent 26 years and 3 months in prison, including 18 years on the infamous Robben Island.