Daily GK Updates - 14th March, 2019

NATIONAL UPDATES:

1.India gets first TIR shipment via Chabahar Port from Afghanistan : The first shipment under the United Nations ‘Transports Internationaux Routiers’ (TIR) convention arrived in India from Afghanistan through Iran’s Chabahar Port. The consignments arrived at port of Nhava Sheva, Mumbai and Mundra on 13th March 2019, officials said.

2. M R Kumar appointed LIC Chairman : The Union government appointed M R Kumar as the Chairman of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC). He will succeed MD Hemant Bhargava who had been named interim chairman after VK Sharma's retirement on 31st December 2018. T C Suseel Kumar and Vipin Anand have been appointed as Managing Directors (MD) of the LIC for five years. Currently, MR Kumar is the Zonal Manager, Delhi at LIC while TC Suseel Kumar is Zonal Manager, Hyderabad. Vipin Anand is Zonal Manager of the Western zone.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:

1.Indian and Pak delegations hold talks on Kartarpur :  the delegations from India and Pakistan are holding talks at Attari border town in Punjab to finalize the modalities for the Kartarpur Corridor. According to MEA spokesman "Talks begin between India and Pakistan to discuss and finalize the modalities for the Kartarpur Corridor, at Attari, Amritsar, that will facilitate Indian pilgrims to visit the holy shrine of Gurudwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur". The issues like alignments of structures essentially from the engineering point of view would also be discussed.

2. World Kidney Day being observed :  World Kidney Day is observed annually on the second Thursday in March. The theme for this year is ‘Kidney Health for Everyone Everywhere’. The day is observed to create awareness on the importance of the kidneys and reducing the frequency and impact of kidney disease. According to the WHO report, 850 million people worldwide are now estimated to have kidney diseases from various causes. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) causes at least 2.4 million deaths per year and is now the 6th fastest growing cause of death.

3. India ranks 11th in gold holding: World Gold Council : India (world’s largest consumer of gold) has the 11th largest gold reserve, with the current holding pegged at 607 tonnes, as per the latest report by the World Gold Council (WGC). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is included and is third on the list with total gold reserves of 2,814 tonnes. The list is topped by the U.S., which claims of gold reserves of 8,133.5 tonnes, followed by Germany with 3,369.7 tonnes. Italy and France complete the top five list with reserves of a little over 2,400 tonnes each.

4. India, U.S. agree to build six nuclear power plants in India :  India and the U.S. have agreed to build six American nuclear power plants in India, in a boost to  bilateral civil nuclear energy cooperation. The two countries said this in a joint statement issued at the conclusion of the 9th round of India-U.S. Strategic Security Dialogue, co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale and Andrea Thompson, the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, on March 13.

OTHER UPDATES:

BANKING/FINANCE:

1.RBI to inject liquidity via forex swaps : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to inject rupee liquidityinto the system through long-term foreign exchange buy/sell swap — a first-of-its-kind instrument used for liquidity management. The RBI would conduct dollar-rupee buy/sell swap auction of $5 billion for a three-year tenor on March 26. This is the first time the central bank is using a foreign exchange auction to augment banking liquidity after generally using bond purchases for the same all these years. RBI has infused more than Rs 2.36 lakh crore through such purchases so far this fiscal. The US dollar amount mobilized through this auction would also reflect in RBI’s foreign exchange reserves for the tenor of the swap while also reflecting in RBI’s forward liabilities,” RBI said.

2. HDFC Bank becomes the 3rd company to cross Rs 6 lakh crore m-cap :  HDFC Bank has become the third listed entity to achieve a market cap of Rs 6 lakh crore after Reliance Industries and TCS. On 13th March 2019, shares of the country’s largest private bank gained 2.6% to hit an all-time high of Rs 2,226. This resulted in the market capitalisation of the bank reaching nearly Rs 6.1 lakh crore for the first time, which makes it more valuable than all the listed public sector banks put together.

3. Bank of Baroda launches child daycare facility at HQ :  Bank of Baroda has launched Crèche – Child Daycare facility within its Mumbai Corporate Office premises. The public sector bank said it will bear 60% of costs for each child, the rest to be borne by parent.

SPORTS:

1. Special Olympics World Games 2019 to begin today at Abu Dhabi in UAE :  Special Olympics World Games 2019 begin at Abu Dhabi in UAE this evening. The event has already made history by welcoming a record-breaking 200 nations at the Games. Of the 200 nations, 195 will compete in the Games and five will observe. More than 2,500 women will fly the flag for their nation, with almost half of them performing in athletics competitions. Saudi Arabia will send female athletes for the first time, with 14 women participating.

OBITUARIES:

1. Formula One director Charlie Whiting has died in Australia :  Formula One race director Charlie Whiting (66-years) has died from a pulmonary embolism three days before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the Federation for international auto racing, issued a statement saying Whiting died on March 14 morning in Melbourne. A pulmonary embolism is a blockage in the lung, usually caused by a blood clot.