NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Govt
to launch “Atmanirbhar Niveshak Mitra Portal”: The commerce and
industry ministry has stated that the central government is working to develop
a portal called “Atmanirbhar Niveshak Mitra Portal” for information
dissemination, hand-holding, and facilitation of domestic investors. The portal
Atmanirbhar Niveshak Mitra is currently is in the testing phase. It will be
launched by May 1, 2021. The ministry is also working on a webpage which will
be available in regional languages and mobile app. About the portal:
(1) This portal is being developed in order
to strengthen efforts to promote domestic investments. It is being developed by
the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
(2) The portal will help in providing daily
updates on several things including the policies and new initiatives by the
central and state governments, information regarding the approvals, licenses,
clearances several schemes & incentives. It will also be providing
information regarding the manufacturing clusters and land availability.
(3) The portal will provide its support to
the investors throughout their business journey and will help them in getting
all the information ranging from finding the investment opportunity, exploring
incentives & taxes which are applicable to their businesses, raw material availability,
sources of funding, training, tender information and management requirement.
Note: Minister of Commerce and Industry:
Piyush Goyal.
2. PM
Narendra Modi Launches Kindle Version of Bhagavad Gita: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has launched the Kindle version of Swami Chidbhavananda’s
‘Bhagavad Gita’ via video conferencing. The event has been organised to
commemorate the sale of over 5 lakh copies of the Swami Chidbhavanandaji’s
Bhagavad Gita. Swami Chidbhavanandaji is the founder of Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam
Ashram at Thirupparaithurai, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu. Chidbhavananda Ji was
devoted to India’s regeneration. He noted that Swami Vivekananda’s Madras
lectures inspired Swami Chidbhavananda Ji to put the nation above everything
else and serve the people.
3.
Himachal CM inaugurates Swarnim International Shivratri Fair: The famous Swarnim
International Shivratri Fair has begun with Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur
formally launching it at the historic Paddal ground, Himachal Pradesh.
Thousands of people dressed in their traditional attire participated in the
procession carrying their local deities dancing all the way up to Paddal
ground. Over 150 deities participated in the ‘Jaleb’, the traditional Shobha
Yatra from almost all parts of the district. Earlier, the Chief Minister
participated in the Pagri Ceremony and performed Puja at Shri Raj Madhav Rai
Temple. Chief Minister felicitated the people of the State on the auspicious
occasion of International Shivratri festival, which was being celebrated this year
as Swarnim International Shivratri Fair to mark glorious fifty years of
Statehood.
Note: Chief Minister of HP: Jairam Thakur;
Governor of HP: Bandaru Dattatraya.
4. Govt
launches Mera Ration Mobile App: In order to facilitate the ‘One Nation-One
Ration Card’ system in the country, the government has launched ‘Mera Ration’
mobile app to benefit citizens in identifying the nearest fair price shop. This
app will benefit especially those ration card holders who move to new areas for
livelihoods. The app is developed by the government in association with NIC “to
facilitate various “One Nation-One Ration Card” related services among the
National Food Security Act (NFSA) beneficiaries, particularly migrant
beneficiaries, fair price shop dealers and other relevant stakeholders.
About Mera Ration Mobile App: With the help of the
app, the beneficiaries can easily check details of food grain entitlement,
recent transactions and the Status of their Aadhaar seeding. The migrant
beneficiaries can also register their migration details with the help of the
application. Beneficiaries can also enter their suggestions or feedback.
Implementation of the One Nation-One Ration Card system ensures availability of
ration to beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and other
welfare schemes, especially the migrant workers and their families, at any fair
price shop (FPS) across the country.
5. All
Helpline numbers of Railways merged into single number 139 for queries,
complaints and assistance: Indian Railway has integrated all railway helplines into
single number 139 which is Rail Madad Helpline for quick grievance redressal
and enquiry during the journey. As the new helpline number 139 will take over
all the existing helpline numbers, it will be easy for the passengers to
remember this number and connect with Railways for all their needs during the
travel. The Helpline 139 will be available in twelve languages and passengers
can opt for Interactive Voice Response System- IVRS or directly connect to
call-centre executives by pressing the asterisk button.
6.
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik inaugurates India’s first World Skill Centre at
Bhubaneswar:
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik inaugurated India’s first World Skill Centre at
Mancheswar Industrial Area on the birth anniversary of legendary Biju Patnaik.
The World Skill Centre, an 18 storey building is aimed to make Odisha the
global capital of trained manpower and is dedicated to different skills and
trades. With an aim to make Odisha the global capital of trained manpower, each
floor of the 18 storey #WSC building will be dedicated to different skills and
trades.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
India Chaired the First Meeting of BRICS CGETI: Under the chairship
of India, the First Meeting of the BRICS Contact Group on Economic and Trade
Issues (CGETI) was held from 9th March 2021 to 11th March 2021. The 2021 theme
of the BRICS is “BRICS@15: Intra BRICS Cooperation for Continuity,
Consolidation, and Consensus”. India presented the calendar of events for BRICS
CGETI 2021, this includes the priority areas for deliverables, schedule and
scope of the MSME roundtable conference workshop on Services Statistics, and
the BRICS Trade Fair. A series of presentations on the proposed deliverables
during India’s chairship under the BRICS CGETI track was made in a separate
session by the concerned departments of the government of India.
The proposed deliverables were:
(1) Action plan based on the document
“Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership 2025” adopted during the Russian
Presidency in 2020
(2) BRICS Cooperation on Multilateral Trading
system including cooperation for the TRIPS Waiver proposal at WTO;
(3) Framework for Consumer Protection in
E-Commerce;
(4) Non-Tariff Measures (NTM) Resolution
Mechanism;
(5) Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) Working
Mechanism;
(6) Co-operation framework for the protection
of Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge
(7) BRICS Framework on Co-operation in
Professional Services.
Note: BRICS Establishment: 2009; BRICS
Members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
2.
International Day of Mathematics: 14th March: International Day of Mathematics
(IDM) is annually observed across the globe on 14th March to celebrate the
beauty and importance of mathematics and its essential role in everyone's life.
The day also marks the birth anniversary of renowned mathematician and
physicist Albert Einstein and death anniversary of theoretical physicist
Stephen Hawking. The theme of the International Day of Mathematics 2021 is
"Mathematics for a Better World". March 14 is chosen because Pi Day
was observed on 14th March since the date written in MM/DD Format - 3/14
represents the value of Pi - 3.14.
Note: At the 205th session of its Executive
Council, UNESCO proclaimed the 14th March (Pi Day) as the International Day of
Mathematics. The proclamation was adopted at the 40th session of the General
Assembly of UNESCO held on 25th November 2019. The first International Day of
Mathematics was observed on 14th March 2020.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
India moves to No. 2 in T20I rankings, Rahul third among batsmen: India climbed to the
second spot in the latest ICC men’s T20 International team rankings ahead of a
five-match series against top-placed England beginning on March 12. In the T20
batting chart, India batsman KL Rahul lost a place to be at the third spot, but
skipper Virat Kohli retained his sixth position. Australia’s Ashton Agar and
New Zealand’s Ish Sodhi made big gains, with the former moving to fourth and
the latter to eighth after climbing four and three places, respectively.
Left-arm Sri Lankan spinner Lakshan Sandakan, who took six wickets in the
series against West Indies, broke into the top 10 at the 10th spot after
gaining nine spots.
2. NADA
Imposes Sanctions on Weightlifter Madhavan R and Boxer Ruchika: The National
Anti-Doping Agency’s (NADA) disciplinary panel imposed sanctions on
weightlifter Madhavan R and boxer Ruchika for violation of its code.
Weightlifter Madhavan R, who tested positive for prohibited substance
Phentermine and Mephentermine, was handed a four-year ban by the Anti Doping Disciplinary
Panel.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. PNB
Housing Finance, Yes Bank enter into co‐lending partnership for retail loans: PNB Housing Finance
and Yes Bank said they have entered into a strategic co-lending agreement to
offer customised retail loans for homebuyers at competitive interest rates.
Both organisations will jointly do due diligence and co-originate the loan at
an agreed ratio. PNB Housing will service customers through the entire loan
lifecycle including sourcing, documentation and collection with an
information-sharing arrangement with Yes Bank.
2. 9
banks, 2 non-banks to infuse 7,000 crores in bad banks: Nine banks including
the State Bank of India (SBI) and two non-bank lenders are likely to put in Rs
7,000 crore jointly as initial capital in the proposed bad bank that aims to
help extract funds stuck in non-performing loans. The entities include PSBs
like State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank,
Union Bank of India, Bank of India. Other than these, private sector lenders
ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, IDBI bank are also a part of the combine. Meanwhile, the
non-bank entities include state-owned financiers of power projects- Power
Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC). It
should be noted that each of the 11 entities will initially hold just above
nine per cent of the share in the proposed bad bank, even as more shareholders
could join in the combine at a later stage which could result in dilution of
the stakes for the aforementioned investors.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1. Exim
Bank inks $10.40 million soft loan pact with Eswatini: Exim Bank, on behalf
of the Indian government, has extended a Line of Credit (LoC) of USD 10.40
million (Rs 75.99 crore) to the government of the Kingdom of Eswatini
(Swaziland) for the construction of disaster recovery site. With the signing of
this agreement, Exim Bank, till date has extended three LoCs to Eswatini,
taking the total value to USD 68.30 million. Exim Bank said the Indian
government’s soft loan to Eswatini covers projects in sectors including
information technology, disaster management and agriculture.
2.
Pallav Mohapatra appointed MD & CEO of ARCIL: Asset Reconstruction
Company (India) Ltd (Arcil) has announced the appointment of Pallav Mohapatra
as its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. Prior to the appointment,
Mohapatra was the MD and CEO of the Central Bank of India. Before being
elevated as MD and CEO of CBoI, he was Deputy Managing Director, Stressed
Assets Management Group, State Bank of India. Vinayak Bahuguna headed Arcil as
MD and CEO for five years till June 2020. Arcil, which was set up in 2002,
currently has assets under management (in non-performing loans) of ₹12,000
crore.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
Ambassador of India to Thailand receives King Bhumibol World Soil Day – 2020
Award for ICAR: Ambassador
of India to Thailand Suchitra Durai received the prestigious King Bhumibol
World Soil Day – 2020 Award of Food and Agriculture Organization on the behalf
of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Minister of Agriculture and
Cooperatives of Thailand Dr. Chalermchai Srion conferred the award in a
Ceremony held at Bangkok. The international recognition was announced by the
Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome on the eve of World Soil Day – 2020 in
view of the ICAR’s excellent contributions in Soil Health Awareness on the
theme Stop soil erosion, save our future during the last year.
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