March 2019 Current Affairs

Latest Current Affairs 2019 for competitive exams UPSC, AFCAT, TNPSC, IAS, RRB and Latest Affairs 2019 for banking exams IBPS PO Clerk, SBI, RBI and more. Read daily affairs, this beneficial Affairs 2018 resource yields the facts about the events of International affairs, National, Sports, Business, Banking Current Affairs of 2019 and more which are betterment for the Government & Private Job aspirants.

March 2019 Current Affairs - The Hindu review

National Current Affairs:

· IFFCO Tokio General Insurance has launched ‘bank locker protector policy’, the first stand-alone bank locker cover offered by any insurance company with a plan to protect the contents of a bank locker such as jewelry, title documents, and other valuables. The policy offers a cover against various risks including fire, earthquake, burglary, holdup or any act of terrorism.

· Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal announced a new railway zone for Andhra Pradesh,that is the Southern Coast Railway and it will be headquartered in Visakhapatnam. It will be the 18th zone in the country.

· Rice Knowledge Bank-Assam, is an agriculture web portal. It is dedicated to magnifying knowledge on rice production technologies and techniques, best production practices and state agriculture facts. It was launched under the World Bank funded project – Agri-business and Rural Transformation (APART).

· In Madhya Pradesh, ancient tribal language Gondi will be taught in tribal districts.Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has decided to include Gondi in the primary education curriculum of the state’s tribal-dominated districts.

· Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has laid the foundation stone for the Dehradun-Mussoorie ropeway project which is considered to be a tourist novelty. The Rs 300-crore ropeway project is expected to be completed in three years.

· The Madhya Pradesh government issued an ordinance increasing reservation quota for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) to 27% from the current 14%. The announcement was made by the state’s Law and Legal Affairs Minister PC Sharma.

· State Bank of India (SBI) and Hitachi Payment Services Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd has launched their merchant-acquiring joint venture, SBI Payment Services Pvt Ltd (SBIPSPL) in Mumbai for establishing a digital payments platform for India and other countries in the region.

· United Bank of India has signed a bancassurance deal with private life insurer HDFC Life Insurance Company. Through this partnership, United Bank’s customers will be able to take advantage of HDFC Life’s expertise in life insurance products, distribution and customer service.

· The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and the National Health Authority (NHA) have formed a working group on the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). The joint working group, to be chaired by Dinesh Arora, Deputy CEO of NHA, will have 10 members from both the organisations.

· Korea Exim Bank has come forward to extend a Rs 4,100 crore loan for Visakhapatnam (VIZAG) Metro Rail project. The state government had earlier sent a proposal in this regard to the Central government, which in turn forwarded it to Korea Exim Bank.

· The Ahmedabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the Rs 42,000-crore resolution plan submitted by ArcelorMittal for the debt-ridden Essar Steel Ltd.

· HDFC Bank Ltd crossed the Rs6 trillion market capitalization mark for the first time, making it only the third Indian firm—after Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL)—to achieve the milestone. RIL is the most valued company in India with a market cap of Rs8.50 trillion, followed by TCS at Rs7.48 trillion.

· ICICI Lombard and Mobikwik announced a strategic partnership to provide cyber-insurance cover. The relationship aims to provide protection against unauthorized and fraudulent transactions online, across bank accounts, debit and credit cards. and mobile wallets.

· Hyundai Motor Group (the Group) and Ola announced a strategic partnership under which Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation will invest a total of $ 300 million in Ola, making it their biggest combined investment to date.

· Asian Development Bank (ADB) has inked an agreement to invest USD 50 million in solar energy project developer Avaada Energy Pvt Ltd to help the company scale up rapidly. The investment will come equally from ADB’s Ordinary Capital Resources and Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP).

· Apple Inc & Goldman Sachs Group Inc jointly launched the Apple Card credit card for iPhones. The card is tied to Apple Pay, a service that allows people to load banking information and pay in store or use it for purchases online.

· Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has completed the acquisition of majority stake in REC Ltd by transferring Rs 14,500 crore to the government. The merger of both the entities will be completed in the next fiscal year in consultation with the government. This acquisition and merger will make PFC second-largest government-owned financial player in the country based on the current market capital after State Bank of India (SBI).

· State-owned gas utility GAIL India Ltd has signed an agreement with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) for cooperation in the development of solar power projects. The MoU aims at building a closer strategic partnership between the two Maharatna PSUs for jointly pursuing commercial solar power projects through participation in tariff / Viability Gap Funding (VGF) based competitive bidding process.

· Ola has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Telangana to support the latter’s efforts in strengthening traffic infrastructure in the city. The partnership would see Ola ‘share intelligent insights’ that enable the Government to implement smart solutions to enhance ‘mobility experience’ in the city.

· Infosys, a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, and Roland-Garros Grand Slam tennis tournament, also called the French Open, announced a three-year strategic technology partnership. The partnership aims to re-imagine the tennis experience for the fans and the players globally.

· Wipro Limited (Bengaluru Based), a leading global information technology, consulting and business process services company and Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur), signed an MoU to collaborate on high-impact, industry-focused applied research in the areas of 5G and AI.

· The OECD cut forecasts again for the global economy in 2019 and 2020, following on from previous downgrades in November, as it warned that trade disputes and uncertainty over Brexit would hit world commerce and businesses. The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation & Development forecast in its interim outlook report that the world economy would grow 3.3 percent in 2019 and 3.4 percent in 2020. Those forecasts represented cuts of 0.2 percentage points for 2019 and 0.1 percentage points for 2020, compared to the OECD’s last set of forecasts in November.

· Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) withdrew the 20%limit on investments by Foreign Portfolio Investors in corporate bonds of an entity. The regulator stated that the restriction is being withdrawn in accordance with a circular issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

· The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to use a new tool for the first time to enhance liquidity in the system using which it will buy $5 billion from the banks in a swap deal that is capable of injecting around Rs. 35,000 crores into the system. Minimum bid size for the auction has been fixed at $25 millionand multiple bids submission by banks will be allowed.

· GST council approved a transition plan for new goods and services tax rates on residential properties under which developers of under-construction buildings may either opt to shift to the revised lower rates without input tax credit or stick to the previous rates.

· Fitch Ratings cut India’s economic growth forecast for the next financial year starting April 1, to 6.8% from its previous estimate of 7%, on weaker than expected momentum in the economy. The rating agency has also cut growth forecasts for FY20 and FY21 to 7% from 7.3% and 7.1% from 7.3%, respectively.

· The Finance Ministry has decided to keep the interest rate unchanged on small savings schemes for the three-month period beginning April 1. The unchanged interest rate means the NSC (5 years) and the PPF (15 years) will fetch 8% interest, while money deposited in KVP will double in little over nine years. At the same time, if one is parking money in a fixed deposit with a maturity of five years with the State Bank of India, he/she will get 6.85%. Senior citizens will get half a percent more: 7.35%.

· State Bank of India has become the first domestic bank to link the interest rate it offers on savings account deposits to an external benchmark — the Reserve Bank of India’s repo rate. By doing so, the bank will effectively link all loan rates to an external benchmark either directly or indirectly.

Following are the changes:

1. Savings accounts with deposits above Rs 1 lakh would be priced at 2.75% below the prevailing repo rate of 6.25%.

2. Cash credit accounts and overdraft facilities over Rs 1 lakh would be priced at 2.25% over the repo rate. At the prevailing repo rate of 6.25%, this would mean a floor price of 8.5%.

3. For all other floating rate products, including retail and corporate loans, the impact of SBI’s decision to link savings account deposit rates to the repo rate will be felt indirectly.

4. For savings account holders with balances up to Rs 1 lakh and borrowers with cash credit and overdraft limits up to Rs 1 lakh, interest rates will remain fixed.

· State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) has sanctioned loans worth Rs 689 crore to over 1,600 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through the psbloansin59minutes.com portal as part of its effort to promote such industries.

· State Bank of India (SBI) has launched doorstep banking service for senior citizens over 70 years of age and differently-abled customers. Eligible customers can avail this service at a nominal fee of 100 rupees per transaction for financial transactions and 60 rupees for non-financial transactions. Doorstep banking services are available to KYC- compliant account holders, with a valid mobile number registered with the bank and residing within 5 kilometers radius from their home branch.

· As per RBI notification, IDBI Bank has been categorized as a private sector lender following the acquisition of majority stake by Life Insurance Corporation. IDBI Bank has been under the prompt corrective action framework of RBI that bans it from corporate lending and branch expansions, salary hikes and other regular activities.

· The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) named State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs), which in other words mean banks that are too big to fail. As per the norms, these banks will have to set aside more capital for their continued operation.

· The State Bank of India has launched a new service called ‘YONO Cash’ for its customers using which customers can withdraw money from ATMs without using debit cards. This facility is available over 16,500 of its ATMs through the You Only Need One (YONO), mobile app platform for the first time in the country.

· Reserve Bank of India provided no objection to Bandhan Bank for the proposed acquisition of Gruh Finance.

· The country’s largest lender State Bank of India has signed a pact with the Bank of China to boost business opportunities. SBI has signed an MoU to enhance business synergies between both the banks. Through this pact, both SBI and BoC will gain direct access to their respective markets of operation.

· The Reserve Bank of India has slapped a penalty of Rs 2 crore on Punjab National Bank for non-compliance of regulatory directions with regard to SWIFT operations. SWIFT is a global messaging software used for sharing information on inter-bank transactions by financial entities.

· Bank of Baroda has signed an MoU with agriculture services companies to develop an agriculture digital platform, Baroda Kisan, which will provide solutions for agricultural requirements. BoB has signed the agreement with Skymet Weather Services, Weather Risk Management Services, BigHaat, Agrostar India, EM3 Agri Services, and Poorti Agri Services.

· The Finance Ministry has decided to infuse Rs 5,042 crore into state-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) ahead of the merger of two other public sector lenders Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank with BoB.

· State-owned lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) had sold stake in its housing finance arm, PNB Housing Finance (PNBHF) to General Atlantic Group and VardePartners for Rs 1,851 crore at Rs 850 per share. Both VardePartners and General Atlantic Group will buy 1.089 crore shares each at Rs 850 per share in the housing finance company from Punjab National Bank.

International Current Affairs:

· The United States has officially shuttered its consulate in Jerusalem, downgrading the status of its main diplomatic mission to the Palestinians by folding it into the U.S. Embassy to Israel.

· Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has expressed concern that the country will face a graver and more complicated environment to development, amid an ongoing trade war with the US and continued economic slowdown. The world’s second-largest economy has slashed its GDP target to 6.00 to 6.50 percent this year.

· Kylie Jenner was named the youngest self-made billionaire of all time by Forbesmagazine. Jenner, 21, the half-sister of reality television stars Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian, made it onto the annual Forbes list of billionaires after debuting her Kylie Cosmetics online in 2015 with $29 lip kits containing matching lipstick and lip liner.

· The Venezuelan government has announced to expel German ambassador Daniel Kriener from the country. President Nicolas Maduro’s embattled government has declared the German ambassador persona non grata and ordered him to leave the country within 48 hours.

· Malaysia has become a member of the International Criminal Court. The ICC is the world’s only permanent war crimes court and aims to prosecute the worst abuses when national courts are unable or unwilling. Malaysia becomes the 124th member of the court since its establishment in 2002.

· India and Costa Rica signed two documents during Vice President Venkaiah Naidu’s first visit to the Central American nation. The documents were signed and exchanged following talks between Naidu and Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada.

· External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj left to the Maldives on a two-day visit. She is accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and other officials.

· Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi have been hit by a vicious cyclone ‘IDAI’ that has killed nearly 150 people, left hundreds more missing and stranded tens of thousands who are cut off from roads and telephones in mainly poor, rural areas.

· Kazakhstan has renamed its capital Astana to Nursultan to honor outgoing leader Nursultan Nazarbayev. Mr. Nazarbayev, 78, served nearly 30 years as president of the nation.

· New Zealand has imposed an immediate ban on assault weapons following the Christchurch massacre that claimed the lives of 50 mosque-goers.

· Oman has signed an agreement with the United States of America that allow American ships and warplanes to take advantage of his ports and airports. The framework agreement is aimed at bolstering Omani-American military relations.

· President Ram Nath Kovind embarked on a state visit to Croatia, Bolivia and Chile to hold talks with the leaders of these countries and strengthen ties in trade, investment and renewable energy.

· US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation recognising Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights and told the visiting Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that Israel has an absolute right to self-defence.

· Oslo, the capital city of Norway will become the world’s first city to install wireless, induction-based charging stations for its fleet of electric taxis with an aim to have a zero-emission cab system by the year 2023 according to a report by Reuters.

· The world’s largest e-waste recycling plant has been opened in Dubai Industrial Park, Dubai by ‘Enviroserve’ company with a total cost of $5 million. It will recycle Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), IT asset disposition (ITAD), refrigerant gas and specialized waste.

· The UN Security Council has unanimously passed the first-ever resolution ordering members to enforce laws against terror financin

Defence Current Affairs:

· The United States and South Korea decided to call off their joint exercise “Foal Eagle” and “Key Resolve” and instead bifurcate them into smaller exercises. This is being done to ease tensions with North Korea. “Key Resolve” will be replaced by “Dongmaeng” which is also known as alliance in English, Foal Eagle drills will be replaced by a smaller battalion-sized exercise.

· Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) took part in the 3-day ‘Mainamati Maitree Exercise 2019’ as a part of ‘Confidence Building Measures’ between India and Bangladesh held in Agartala, Tripura.

· The third edition of the bilateral joint exercise between India and Oman, Al Nagah 2019will begin from 12th of this month (March) at Jabel Al Akhdar Mountains in Oman.

· Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) successfully test fired the PINAKA guided WEAPON rocket system from Pokhran range in Rajasthan. The weapon system is equipped with state-of-the-art guidance kit comprising of an advanced navigation and control system.

· Indo Oman Joint Exercise Al Nagah III 2019, a joint military exercise between Indian and Royal Army of Oman (RAO), commenced this morning at HQ Jabel Regiment, Nizwa, Oman.

· The United States Special Forces Group stationed in Japan is involved in a joint exercise with India’s National Security Guard in Hyderabad, aimed at enhancing the capabilities of the armed forces of the two countries.

· Exercise Sampriti-VIII, a joint Indo-Bangladesh military exercise which witnessed participation of a company group of 9th Battalion the Rajputana Rifles from the Indian Army and the Company of 36 East Bengal Battalion, Bangladesh Army concluded at Tangail, Bangladesh.

· Highlighting the close maritime proximity between India and Indonesia, Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘Vijit’ became the first-ever Coast Guard ship to visit Sabang, Indonesia.

· The inaugural Africa-India Field Training Exercise-2019 for India and African nations called AFINDEX-19 started with a grand opening ceremony at Aundh Military Station, Pune.

· Exercise MITRA SHAKTI is conducted annually as part of military diplomacy and interaction between armies of India & Sri Lanka. The joint exercise for the year 2018-19 will be conducted in Sri Lanka.

· The joint training exercise MITRASHAKTI – VI between Indian and Sri Lanka Armykick-started at Diyatalawa in Sri Lanka. MITRASHAKTI is one of the largest bilateral armies to army exercises conducted in the region.

· The Indian Air Force formally inducted the CH 47 F(I)- Chinook heavy-lift helicoptersinto its inventory at Air Force Station Chandigarh. IAF had signed a contract with M/s Boeing Ltd in September 2015 for 15 Chinook helicopters.

· The Indian Navy’s state of the art Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Training Facility (NBCTF) was inaugurated by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba at INS Shivaji, Lonavala. The training facility has been named ABHEDYA, which means impenetrable in Sanskrit.

· Indian Navy’s frontline ASW corvette, INS Kadmatt arrived at Langkawi, Malaysia on a 7 days official visit. The ship is scheduled to participate in the 15th edition of Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition, LIMA-19 during the visit. INS Kadmatt was commissioned into the Indian Navy in January 2016.

· First Indian Army Mountaineering Expedition to Mt Makalu (8485m) comprising five Officers, two JCOs and eleven OR was flagged off by Director General Military Training. In furtherance of the objective of summiting all challenging peaks above 8000M, Indian Army is launching its maiden expedition to Mt Makalu in Mar-May 2019.

· The third edition of the biennial, bilateral exercise AUSINDEX 19 between India and Australia will be held in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The upcoming exercise will focus on anti-submarine warfare and will see Australia’s largest defence force deployment in India.

· India has signed a deal with a Russian firm to manufacture 7.5 lakh AK-203 rifles. These are the latest derivative of the AK-47 rifles.

Science & Technology Current Affairs:

· Bengaluru-based Signalchip has unveiled semiconductor chips for 4G, LTE and 5G modems. These are first such chips developed in India. All devices and infrastructure in India whether imported or domestically manufactured, currently use imported silicon chips.

· Indian Space Research Organisation has launched ‘Yuva VIgyani Karyakram’, a ‘Young Scientist Programme’ for the School Children to be studying in the 9th standard.

· Just in time for International Women’s Day, NASA announced that it will be conducting the first-ever, all-female spacewalk. Astronauts Christina Koch and Anne McClain will exit the International Space Station on March 29, 35 years after the first woman performed a spacewalk.

· National space agency ISRO and its French counterpart CNES sealed an agreement to set up a joint maritime surveillance system in the country in May. K.Sivan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, and Jean-Yves Le Gall, President of CNES of France, signed the agreement in Bengaluru.

· Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched a special programme for schoolchildren called Young Scientist Programme or Yuva Vigyani Karyakram (YUVIKA), in tune with the government’s vision “Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan”.

Miscellaneous Current Affairs:

·         The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India has recently awarded Geographical Indication (GI) to five varieties of Indian coffee.They are:
1.     Coorg Arabica coffee,
2.     Wayanaad Robusta coffee,
3.     Chikmagalur Arabica coffee,
4.     Araku Valley Arabica coffee,
5.     Bababudangiris Arabica coffee.
·         Tashigang, a Himachal Pradesh village at an altitude of 15,256 feet has now become the highest polling station in the world. Situated about 29 km from the India-China border, the polling station covers two villages, Tashigang and Gate.
·         The 3rd edition of Namaste Thailand festival, organised by the Royal Thai Embassy with an aim to strengthen bilateral ties and increase cultural exchange between India and Thailand, began at Select Citywalk in New Delhi.
·         The Registrar of Geographical Indications, Government of India, accorded a GI tag, ‘Sirsi Supari’, to arecanut grown in Sirsi, Siddpaur and Yellapur taluks of Uttara Kannadadistrict in Karnataka.
·         After an eight-year-long process, Erode turmeric (of Tamil Nadu) finally got a Geographical Indication (GI) tag from the Geographical Indication Registry.
·         Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar was selected as Barbie role model & was presented with a one-of-a-kind doll by Barbie as the company celebrates its 60th anniversary. She was part of the ‘Shero’ program launched in 2015 by the company.
·         A 116-year-old Japanese woman who loves playing the board game Othello is being honored as the world’s oldest living person by Guinness World Records.
·         Idukki’s The Marayoor Jaggery, the traditional and handmade product from Idukki district of Kerala received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag from the Central Government.
·         The National Green Tribunal has slapped a fine of Rs 500 crore on German auto major Volkswagen for damaging the environment through the use of “cheat device” in its diesel cars in India. A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the carmaker to deposit the amount within two months.
·         The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) created the Guinness World Record for ‘longest single line bicycle parade (moving)’ at the Yamuna Expressway, Noida. CISF personnel rode 1,327 bicycles non-stop in a single line, maintaining a uniform distance between the bicycles.
·         The Reserve Bank of India has constituted an eight-member task force on offshore rupeemarkets, headed by Usha Thorat former Deputy Governor, to look into issues related to the markets and recommend appropriate policy measures to ensure the stability of the external value of the rupee.
·         A National Conference on “Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS)” was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot. Mr. Gehlot stated that the “7th Guinness Book of World Record” has been created by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), at Bharuch, Gujarat.

March 2019 Current Affairs - The Hindu review