NATIONAL NEWS
Indian Navy to take part in French Naval Exercise in Bay of Bengal along with other QUAD member CountriesIndia is to participate in France-led naval drill La Perouse for the first time in the Bay of Bengal next month.
- Australia, Japan and the US will also participate in La Perouse, but India’s first-ever participation is seen as a significant step.
- The exercise is scheduled between April 5 and 7. After La Perouse, another important naval exercise, the India-French Varuna exercise, will also take place. This time, it will also include the United Arab Emirates.
Bihar is set to become the country’s first state to have two green energy efficient towns in Rajgir and Bodh Gaya. The towns will start getting solar energy through the first of its kind renewable energy project from 2023.
- After Rajgir and Bodh Gaya, Patna’s many important government offices including the governor house, the Patna High Court, the Bihar Museum and the Vidhyut Bhawan would also get round the clock green energy supply being developed with the help of the Solar Energy Corporation of India.
- To implement this poject, the state government has decided to use the land available in Lakhisarai and Bhagalpur district to construct solar energy plants.
Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government is organising a 'Banana Festival' in Kushinagar, which has witnessed the participation of at least 35 farmers and entrepreneurs.
- People arriving at the festival will also see banana wafers, chips and pickles. Clothes, slippers, carpets and all the decorative items made of banana fibres will also be displayed in the event.
- According to the release, several stalls displaying banana plants prepared from tissue culture have been set up to motivate farmers for greater productivity.
Korean Minister of National Defence Suh Wook inaugurated the Indo-Korean Bilateral Friendship Park in Delhi Cantonment to commemorate the contribution of Indian peacekeepers during the Korean War in 1950-53.
- The inauguration of the friendship park is a testament to the strong relations between the two countries.
- During his visit, Wook met his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh and discuss further strengthening of the bilateral defence cooperation between the two counties.
In a significant move, India and South Korea have agreed to go for joint production and export of military hardware, enhance intelligence sharing and boost cooperation in cyber and space domains as part overall expansion of defence and security ties.
- In the field of defence industrial cooperation, the two sides decided to focus on joint research, joint production and joint export.
- The two sides also agreed to increase focus on cyber and space cooperation besides resolving to continue to focus on streamlining the intelligence exchange mechanism.
Special forces of India and the US carried out a joint military exercise at Bakloh in Himachal Pradesh this month to further enhance interoperability between the two sides.
- It was the 11th edition of the exercise 'Vajra Prahar' which is aimed at sharing best practices and experiences in areas such as joint mission planning and operational tactics.
BANKING & FINANCE
Automatic recurring payment to comply with RBI direction from April 1Come April there will be no automatic recurring payment for various services including recharge and utility bill as RBI has made Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) mandatory after March 31.
- However, banks and payment gateways are seeking additional time to comply with the RBI directive on automatic recurring payment.
- Under the new norms, banks will be required to inform customers in advance about recurring payment due and transaction would be carried following nod from the customer. So the transaction would not be automatic but would be done after authentication from the customer.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that India is going to set up a new Development Financial Institution with initial paid-up capital of around 3 billion Dollars with a lending target of 69 billion Dollars in next three years.
- She was attending the 6th annual meeting of Board of Governors of NDB through video-conference.
- During her address, Finance Minister underscored India’s quick response to limit the impact of the pandemic and to undertake massive vaccination drives which are resulting in a ’V shape recovery’.
Union Bank of India – one of the largest Indian government-owned banks of India and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited – a Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprise, have announced the launch of co-branded contactless RuPay credit card.
- The users of this card will get 16X reward points, which would be equivalent to 4% cashback, on fuel spends worth Rs. 500 and above at over 18000 HPCL outlets across the country.
- Customers will also receive additional 1.5% reward points from HPCL if they pay for fuel via HP Pay wallet.
FICCI-IFSCA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a framework for collaboration and co-operation for the development of Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) IFSC as a world-class FinTech hub.
- This MoU will pave the way for future collaborations and cooperation between IFSCA and FICCI for the development of a world-class FinTech Hub in GIFT IFSC.
- FICCI will also assist IFSCA in the development of FinTech Accelerator programmes in GIFT IFSC amongst other cooperation areas.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Centre releases Rs 30,000 crore as GST compensation for FY21Central Government has released GST Compensation of Rs. 30,000 crore to States as part compensation admissible for FY 2020-21 on 27th March, 2021.
- The total amount of compensation released so far for the year 2020-21 is Rs. 70,000 crore. As per the decision of GST Council, back to back loan of Rs. 1,10,208 crore has also been released in lieu of shortfall in release of GST Compensation for FY 2020-21.
- In addition to above, Centre has also released Rs. 28,000 crore (Rs. 14,000 crore to States and Rs. 14,000 crore to Centre) by way of adhoc settlement of IGST on 30th March' 2021.
The World Financial institution (WB) raised its expectations for India’s FY22 progress to 10.1%, considerably larger than the 5.4% it had forecast earlier this 12 months in January, in accordance with the March replace of its South Asia Financial Focus report.
- The enhancements got here on the again of the nation’s vaccination drive, which was more likely to spur exercise in contact-intensive sectors and the infrastructure push within the Union Funds, which is predicted to help progress momentum and revive home demand.
- The WB additionally tempered its estimate of India’s gross home product (GDP) contraction in FY21 to 8.5% from -9.6% projected earlier because the restoration accelerated within the July-December interval with non-public consumption and funding exhibiting a pointy rebound.
India’s economic output in 2021 is expected to remain below the 2019 level despite roll-out of the vaccine to deal with the menace of the coronavirus pandemic, said a report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP).
- India, according to the ‘Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2021: Towards post-COVID-19 resilient economies’, is estimated to record an economic growth of 7% in 2021-22, over a contraction of 7.7% witnessed in the previous fiscal on account of the pandemic’s impact on normal business activity.
India’s healthcare industry is expected to reach 372 billion dollar in 2022. The country’s healthcare sector has grown rapidly over the last five years, at a compound annual growth rate of around 22 per cent.
- NITI Aayog released a report outlining the range of investment opportunities in various segments of the healthcare sector. This include hospitals, medical devices and equipment, health insurance, telemedicine, home healthcare and medical value travel. Healthcare has become one of the largest sectors of the Indian economy, in terms of both revenue and employment.
- As per estimates by the National Skill Development Corporation, healthcare can generate 27 lakh additional jobs in India between 2017-22.
SPORTS
Lewis Hamilton wins Bahrain Grand PrixMercedes ace Lewis Hamilton won the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
- Red Bull's Max Verstappen actually took the lead from Hamilton with four laps to go but handed the position back because he had overtaken by running off the track.
- Verstappen finished second ahead of Valtteri Bottas as Mercedes took two podium finishes
Indian Premier League side Royal Challengers Bangalore signed a strategic long-term partnership with global sports brand Puma.
- Under the terms of the deal, Puma will be the official kit partner of RCB from the upcoming season of the league.
- Puma already has an on-going association with RCB skipper Virat Kohli.
AWARDS
NTPC conferred ‘Role Model’ award at 11th CII National HR Excellence Award 2020-21NTPC Ltd , a Public Sector Undertaking under Ministry of Power has been conferred the prestigious ‘Role Model’ Award at the 11th CII National HR Excellence Award 2020-21.
- The award was presented in the virtual conference “Learn from the Achievers”.
- This award is the highest level of recognition in the field of Human Resources by Confederation of Indian Industry. Since the institutionalization of CII National HR Excellence Award, this is only the second time when the award of Role Model has been conferred to any organization.
Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet, an imagined take on the death of Shakespeare’s son from the bubonic plague, has won the National Book Critics Circle prize for fiction.
- Tom Zoellner’s Island on Fire: The Revolt That Ended Slavery in the British Empire won for nonfiction, and Amy Stanley’s Stranger in the Shogun’s City: A Japanese Woman and Her World was the winner in biography.
- The autobiography award went to Cathy Park Hong for Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning
- Other winners are included francine j harris’ Here Is the Sweet Hand for poetry and Nicole Fleetwood’s Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration for criticism. Raven Leilani received the John Leonard Prize for best first book for her novel Luster.
- Career achievement awards were presented to New Republic writer Jo Livingstone for “excellence in reviewing” and to the Feminist Press for its long history of championing women’s equality, publishing authors ranging from Grace Paley to Anita Hill to Pussy Riot.
OBITUARIES
1971 Battle of Basantar hero, Lt Gen Pinto (retd) passes awayLieutenant General, Walter Anthony Gustavo ‘WAG’ Pinto (Retd), a military hero who led an infantry division to a legendary victory in the 1971 India-Pakistan War has passed away. He was 97.
- He led the 54 Infantry Division in the Battle of Basantar in the war that gave birth to Bangladesh, leading his troops from the front with the motto he coined “bash on regardless”.
IMPORTANT DAYS
World Piano DayEvery year on March 28th, World Piano Day unites piano lovers across the globe as they celebrate the “king of musical instruments.”
- The day also encourages piano players of all ages and abilities to play in public spaces.
