VINTAGE

IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 10^th, 2019

              IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 10^th, 2019

1.     Al Nagah III, a 14 day joint defence exercise between India and Oman is scheduled to be held from 12 to 25 March 2019 at Jabel Al Akhdar Mountains in Oman. 

a.      3rd in the series of bilateral joint exercises between the two countries, the exercise will see both the armies exchanging expertise and experience in tactics, weapon handling and firing, with an aim to enhance interoperability in counterterrorist operations in semi urban mountainous terrain.

b.      The bilateral security ties between India and Oman have continued to develop since the beginning of India-Oman Joint Military Cooperation meetings in 2006. 

c.      Note : This exercise follows the first two joint exercises that were held in Oman in January 2015 and India in March 2017, respectively.

2.     The General Elections 2019 will be held in 7 phases beginning from 11th April to 19th May 2019. 

a.      The model code of conduct has come into force in the entire country with the announcement of the poll schedule.  

b.      There will be approximately 10 lakh polling stations in this Lok Sabha Elections as compared to 9 lakh polling stations in 2014. 

c.      The total electorate in this Lok Sabha elections will be 900 million, of which 15 million voters are in the 18-19 age group.

d.      Chief Election Commissioner : Sunil Arora 

3.     Madhya Pradesh government issued an ordinance to raise the reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from 14% to 27%. 

a.      Governor Anandiben Patel signed the ordinance to amend the Madhya Pradesh Lok Seva (Anusuchit Jatiyon, Anusuchit Jan Jatiyon aur Anya Pichhade Vargon ke Liye Arakshan) Adhiniyam, 1994.

4.     Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr Harsh Vardhan released the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) in New Delhi.

a.      The ICAP provides an integrated vision towards cooling across sectors encompassing inter alia reduction of cooling demand, refrigerant transition, enhancing energy efficiency and better technology options with a 20-year time horizon.

b.      The thrust of the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) is to look for synergies in actions for securing both environmental and socio-economic benefits.

5.     The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has eased business guidelines for white label ATMs allowing companies that manage these machines to source cash directly from the central bank, offer non bank services like bill payments and advertise even non financial products in their premises, increasing the revenue earning scope for these companies.

a.      White label ATM Operators (WLAO), can now source cash directly from RBI offices and currency chests, and will no longer be dependent on sponsor banks for procurement of cash ..

6.     The government has approved a proposal for state-run hydro power giant NHPC to take over debt-laden Lanco's 500 MW Teesta hydro-electric power project in Sikkim.

a.      The NHPC has also been allowed to spend Rs 574.04 crore to complete the balance work at the project.

b.      The project would be implemented with an estimated cost of Rs 5,748.04 crore (at July 2018 price level). 

c.      It would generate 2,400 million units of power in 90 per cent dependable year with installed capacity of 500 MW (125 MWX4).

7.     The Centre has approved 2 corridors of the Surat Metro project to be executed at an estimated cost of around 12,000 crore rupees.

a.      The project will be implemented by the Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation and it will be completed in five years.

b.      The length of the first corridor - Sarthana to Dream City line - will be 21.61 kilometers and the second - Bhesan to Saroli - will be 18.74 kilometres.

8.     The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has signed a Cooperation Agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group (WBG).

a.      The agreement will enable IFC to assist IBBI to further build the capacity of insolvency professionals, and insolvency professional agencies for the purposes of the Code.

9.     India sealed a USD 3 billion deal with Russia for leasing of a nuclear-powered attack submarine for the Indian Navy for a period of 10 years.

a.      Under the pact, Russia will have to deliver the Akula class submarine, to be known as Chakra III, to the Indian Navy by 2025.

b.      Note : It will be the third Russian submarine to be leased to the Indian Navy.

10.Former governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Raghuram Rajan, has been chosen for the ‘Yashwantrao Chavan National Award 2018’ by Yashwantrao Chavan Prathisthan for his contribution to economic development. 

a.      Rajan will be presented with the prestigious award at the 106th birth anniversary of Yashwantrao Chavan on March 12.

11.Priyanka Dubey, a bilingual correspondent with the BBC at its Delhi bureau, has been named for the Chameli Devi Jain Award for an Outstanding Woman Journalist for the year 2018.

a.      Dubey was chosen for her multi-faceted, investigative and interrogative reportage, according to a statement.

b.      About the Award :

i)      The Chameli Devi Jain Award has been awarded to women journalists for the past 37 years for upholding standards of excellence through a sustained body of work. 

ii)    Named after Chameli Devi Jain, a freedom fighter, it is India's longest running media award for women.