Daily Current Affairs Updates– 1st April 2017

Daily Current Affairs Updates– 1st April 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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PM Modi to hold delegation-level talks with Malaysian PM in New Delhi :

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak was given ceremonial reception at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi this morning. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed Mr Razak at the ceremonial reception. The visiting dignitary arrived in New Delhi from Chennai last evening. Mr Modi and his Malaysian counterpart will hold delegation level talks today.

The two leaders will discuss entire gamut of bilateral relations including terrorism. A number of bilateral as well as commercial agreements are likely to be signed during the visit. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s high level delegation consists of several Cabinet Ministers and Senior Officials. He will also be accompanied by a large business delegation consisting of many of the top companies and businessmen in Malaysia.

Country : Malaysia

Capital : Kuala Lumpur

Currency : Malaysian ringgit

Prime minister : Najib Razak

Withdrawal of service charge on e-tickets of train extended till 30 june :

The withdrawal of service charge on online booking of train tickets has been extended till June 30. To promote use of digital modes of payment, the government had decided to give incentive to the passengers for booking tickets online by withdrawing service charge on them from November 23, 2016 to March 31, 2017.

Railway Ministry official said in New Delhi today that as per the government's decision, existing incentives will continue and there will be no change till June 30.

Defence Ministry permits Arunachal Pradesh to use ALGs for civilian purpose

Defence Ministry has given permission to Arunachal Pradesh government to use the functional Advance Landing Grounds (ALGs) in the state for civilian purpose. The ALGs across the state have been developed by the Defence Ministry and are under the direct control of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

AIR correspondent reports that Defence Secretary G Mohan Kumar yesterday in a letter to the Arunachal government has informed that civil operations from Ziro, Mechuka, Walong, Aalo, Pasighat and Tuting Advanced Landing Grounds are being permitted.

Ministry : Ministry of Defence

Head : Arun Jaitley

Constituency : Gujarat

Dharmendra Pradhan launches BS-IV grade fuels from 12 different locations across country

A day after the ban on the selling and purchasing of all BS-III vehicles, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today formally launched BS-IV grade fuels from 12 different locations across the country through video links from Bhubaneswar. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Pradhan said, a new era of clean transportation fuels has begun. He said, BS-IV grade fuels will benefit crores citizens of our country by substantially reducing pollution levels in our cities.

Stating that all state-run oil marketing companies will provide BS-IV-compliant fuel at their 53,500 retail fuel stations across the country, the Petroleum minister confirmed that his Ministry aimed to implement introduction of Bharat Stage-VI compliant fuel in the country by 2020.

Ministry : Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas

Head : Dharmendra Pradhan

Constituency : Bihar

Cabinet approves changes to Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2016

The Union Cabinet has cleared changes to the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2016. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting held in New Delhi last evening.

AIR correspondent reports that among other decisions, the Cabinet also approved the ratification of two fundamental conventions of International Labour Organisation (ILO) to eradicate child labour from the country. These are, Minimum Age Convention concerning minimum age for admission to employment, and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention concerning the prohibition and immediate action for elimination of the worst forms of Child Labour. India is a founder member of ILO, which came into existence in 1919.

2nd unit of Kudankulam Nuclear Power plant starts in Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu, the second unit of Kudankulam Nuclear Power plant started commercial generation of power yesterday. The second unit attained its full power generation capacity of 1000 Mega watt in January. AIR correspondent reports that the commercial generation of power in the second unit of Kudankulam nuclear plant is a historic moment in our nuclear power history.

The second unit attained criticality in July last year and was synchronized with southern grid in August. Tamil Nadu is getting 562 megawatt Telangana 50 MW, Karnataka 221 MW and Kerala 133 MW Puduchery 33 MW from the first unit. Tamil Nadu is expected to get 562 Mega watt from second unit also.

State: Tamil Nadu

Capital : Chennai

CM : K Palaniswami

Governor : C. Vidyasagar Rao (additional charge)

Smart India Hackathon 2017 started today in Mumbai :

SMART INDIA HACKATHON 2017 was declared open today in Mumbai by Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javdekar. This is for the first time that India is holding a Hackathon. Around 32000 engineering students from different institutes across the country are participating in this two day event which is being organised in different cities of the country.

Addressing the participants, Mr. Javdekar said, innovation is the only way to attain sustainable prosperity. He said, we are now into a digital age and the capacity to absorb technology by Indians is amazing, this is what he termed as New India.

81st Foundation day ‘Utkal Divas’ celebrated by Odisha :

Odisha is celebrating 81 years of its foundation today. The day also known as ‘Utkal Divas’ is being organised at various places across the State to commemorate the sacrifices of people for the formation of Odisha province in 1936. Odisha was the first State to be formed on linguistic basis in 1936. Earlier, it was part of Bihar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today greeted the people of Odisha on the occasion of Utkal Divas, the foundation day of the state. In a tweet, Mr Modi conveyed his greetings to the kind and industrious people of Odisha and hoped that state's development will attain new heights.

State: Odisha

Capital : Bhubaneswar

CM : Naveen Patnaik

Governor : S. C. Jamir

India declares its Association status with International Energy Agency

India on 30 March 2017 declared its 'Association' status with the International Energy Agency (IEA). In this regard, Union Minister of Power & Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal handed over the formal letter to Fatih Birol, Executive Director of IEA.

India as an Association member of IEA will serve as a bridge and platform for deeper cooperation and collaboration between IEA Member and Association countries. India and IEA have an MoU since 2011 under which both are working on capacity building to respond to an oil emergency situation.

INTERNATIONAL:

Bhutan keen to set up consulate in Guwahati

Bhutan is keen to set up a consulate in Guwahati. This was stated by Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay while speaking as guest of honour at the Inauguration ceremony of the five-day river festival 'Namami Brahmaputra' in Guwahati today. He said I have asked the Government of India to allow us to set up a consulate in Guwahati.

Mr. Tobgay said we have a lot of historical ties of cooperation and friendship. There is a 255 km border between Bhutan and Assam where people of the two countries interact friendly.

Country : Bhutan

Capital : Thimphu

King : Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck

Prime minister : Tshering Tobgay

Currencies : Indian rupee, Bhutanese ngultrum

Scotland makes formal request to UK for independence vote

The Scottish government today formally asked British Prime Minister Theresa May for a second referendum on independence, deepening a constitutional crisis sparked by the Brexit vote.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wrote a letter to May telling her that Scotland did not want to leave Europe's single market, two days after Britain launched the process of leaving the European Union. Sturgeon, leader of the ruling Scottish National Party, said in the letter that the people of Scotland must have the right to choose our own future.

Country : United Kingdom

Capital: London

Prime minister: Theresa May

Currency: Pound sterling

Mega conference of world parliamentarians kicks off in Dhaka

A mega conference of world parliamentarians kicks off in Dhaka today promising to focus on ways and means to end political and economic inequality and uphold democracy and human rights. Around 687 members of 131 national parliaments around the world are expected to join the 4-day event organised jointly by the Geneva-based IPU (Inter Parliamentary Union) and Bangladesh's Parliament the Jatiya Sangsad. Around 1348 delegates are expected to participate in the conference.

During the Conference the parliamentarians will concentrate on the impact of inequality on the poor, women, and vulnerable groups as the IPU believes the consequences of inequality are unsustainable leading to instability and undermining of human rights around the world. The Conference will also adopt a resolution to guarantee the financial inclusion of women as drivers of development.

BANKING NEWS:

RBI to set up separate Enforcement department

RBI will set up a separate enforcement department to oversee possible breaches of rules and take punitive actions against those who violate them. This was stated by Minister of State for Finance Santosh Gangwar in a written reply in the Lok Sabha yesterday. He said, the department will develop a broad policy for enforcement and initiate action against the regulated entities for violation consistent with such policy.

He said, the department, proposed to be opened on Monday, will serve as a centralised wing to deal with banks only for enforcement action.

Bank : Reserve Bank of India

Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra

Governor : Urjit Patel

Old Notes: RBI closes window for Indians abroad; NRIs can still exchange

The limited period window for exchange of junked 500 and 1,000 rupee notes by Indians who were abroad during demonetisation ended today. However, additional time period of three months is available to non-resident Indians, NRIs, with a rider of exchanging of 25,000 rupees per individual. The exchange window for NRIs will close on the 30th of June.

NRIs coming to India are required to come through Red Channel disclosing to the Customs authorities at the airport the amount of now-defunct notes and secure a certificate to be tendered at the RBI at the time of exchange.

Bank : Reserve Bank of India

Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra

Governor : Urjit Patel

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY NEWS :

April-Feb fiscal deficit at Rs 6.05 lakh crore :

The government's fiscal deficit stood at 6(point)05 lakh crore rupees at the end of February this year which is 113(point)4 per cent of the full year fiscal deficit target for the entire 2016-17 fiscal.

Fiscal deficit, which is a reflection of the government's borrowing to meet the revenue-expenditure gap, was 107.4 per cent in the corresponding period last year. According to data released by the Controller General of Accounts, the revenue deficit during the April 2016 to February 2017 period was 142.8 per cent of the budget estimate.

AGREEMENTS:

Japan commits 371 bn yen assistance for infra projs in India

Japan has committed an "official development assistance" (ODA) of 371(point)345 billion yen (about Rs 21,590 crore) under 2016-2017 for various infrastructure projects, including the dedicated freight corridor, in India. The notes in this regard were exchanged in New Delhi today between S Selvakumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs; and Kenji Hiramatsu, Ambassador of Japan to India.

A finance ministry statement issued in New Delhi today said the total commitment of Japan International Cooperation Agency ODA during two financial years 2015-16 and 2016-17 is 761.40 billion yen, which is 43.50 per cent of the total target for five years.

Country : Japan

Capital: Tokyo

Currency: Japanese yen

Prime minister: Shinzō Abe

APPOINTMENTS:

Radhamohan Singh to inaugurate International research centre for Foot, Mouth disease of cattle & buffalos

Union Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh will inaugurate today an International research centre for Foot and Mouth disease of cattle and buffalos at Argul, on outskirts of Odisha capital, Bhubaneswar. Union Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan will also attend the programme.

First in the country, the research centre has been constructed in joint collaboration of UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation and Union government’s Indian Council of Agricultural Research to conduct research on viral disease of cattle and buffaloes.

AWARDS AND HONOURS:

N Chandrababu Naidu selected for US India Business Council Award

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has been selected for the US India Business Council Award. The USIBC has selected Mr. Naidu for the award of ‘Transformative Chief Minister’ and he would be receiving the award at the second annual West Coast Summit to be held in Menlo Park, California on May 8. He has been requested to deliver his massage on the occasion and a message towards award function has been received by the CMO.

SPORTS NEWS:

Miami Open: Sania Mirza-Barbora Strýcová enter Final of women's doubles

The Indo-Czech pair of Sania Mirza and Barbora Strýcová has entered the finals of the women's doubles at Miami Opens Tennis tournament. The third seeded pair today defeated fifth seeded duo of Martina Hingis and Chan Yung-Jan 6-7 (6-8), 6-1, 10-4 in the semifinals.

Sania and Barbora will now face unseeded pair of Gabriela Dabrowski and Xu Yifan, who earlier beat fourth seeds Peng Shuai and Andrea Hlaváčková in their semifinal match 7-5, 5-7, 10-7.