Current Affairs – 16th March 2018

India Current Affairs

Cabinet clears MoU between India and Iran

• The cabinet has given complete approval for the MoU between India and Iran regarding cooperation in the field of health and medicine.
• MoU also includes exchanges of experiences in the training of doctors and other health professionals.
• It includes pharmaceuticals, regulation of medical equipment and medical research, cooperation in the field of new technologies and knowledge-based initiatives.

Future Group signed as a partner sponsor

• Future Group has been signed as Associate Sponsor with Star India for the forthcoming Vivo-IPL 2018.
• Future Group will be an associate sponsor in association with brands such as Asian Paints, Dream 11, MakeMyTrip, which makes the total number of Sponsors 8.
• Vivo – IPL 2018 will show 700 million viewers in 5 regional languages ​​including English through many screens and languages.

India’s growth will be 7.3% in the next financial year

• Fitch has estimated through imagination that India’s economic growth will reach 7.3 percent in the next financial year and 7.5 percent in 2019-20.
• It said that the supply of money reached level before the monetization in mid-2017 and the barrier related to GST gradually reduced.
• In Global Economic Outlook report, Fitch has predicted an economic growth of 6.5% in this financial year for the Indian economy.

‘Digital Export-Import’ payment by Yes Bank

• Yes, Bank has started a Robotics-based ‘Digital Export-Import’ payment solution as part of the YES Transit Smart Trade Product Suite.
• Its aim is to make more than 1 lakh business transactions digital in major geographic areas, including China, US.
• This product uses robotics process automation and helps eliminate the need to present documents for import and export payments.

Edelweiss canceled the acquisition of Religare

• Edelweiss Group canceled the plan to acquire the securities of Religare Enterprises.
• This move was stopped due to the inability of the vendor to get the requisite clearance within the required time frame.
• Edelweiss had earlier announced its plan to purchase Religare Business of Religare, which includes securities and merchandise brokerage, and depository partner services.

All Women’s Branch of Karnataka Bank

• Karnataka Bank has started its first All India Women’s Branch on Bull Temple Road in Bangalore.
• It is 36V opened by the bank during the current financial year 2017-18 and it is a total of 800 V branch of the bank.
• Karnataka Bank is a premier banking institution of private sector based in Mangaluru, Karnataka.

TDP out of NDA

• The Telugu Desam Party has decided to exit the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
• On the issue of giving special status to Andhra Pradesh, the BJP and its Andhra ally TDP are facing tension.
• With the exit of TDP’s NDA, it has become the first party to leave the coalition since coming to power in the center in 2014.

Chief Justice of Nepal sack

• Chief Justice of Nepal, Gopal Parajuli has been dismissed for giving a fake date of birth to stay in office for a long time.
• A judicial council concluded that it was supposed to have retired on 7 months before 65 years of Parajuli, who is the retirement age for official posts in Nepal.
• The first woman judge to hold the post of defeat was named Chief Justice after 65 years of Sushila Karaki.

 Modi  inaugurated Science Congress in Manipur

• Prime Minister Nirav Narendra Modi will inaugurate 105th Indian Science Congress at Manipur University
• In this, 5000 representatives, including so called scientists, scholars and corporate officers from different parts of the country and other countries participated.
• This is the first time that Indian Science Congress got being organized in Manipur.

Bhaskaran’s winner won the Reykjavik Open

• Bhaskaran of India won the title of 33th Reykjavik Open with a spectacular win in five games out of nine games.
• After Abhijeet Gupta (in 2016), the honorable conqueror of the prestigious Reykjavik Open became the only other Indian.
• He was the World Under-16 Champion of 2008 and Indian Champion of 2009.

Pranab Mukherjee Foundation started

• Former President Pranab Mukherjee and industrialist Ratan Tata formally inaugurated the Pranab Mukherjee Foundation in New Delhi.
• This foundation has been established in partnership with various companies including Tata Trust.
• The goal of the Foundation is to work in the fields of research, education, and rural development.

ODI status to Nepal

• For the first time Nepal got one-day international (ODI) status with a six-wicket victory over Papua New Guinea.
• In 1988, Nepal was given affiliate status by the ICC, and it was promoted to Associate Rank in 1996.
• After Afghanistan, Nepal is fast moving forward in terms of development.

UN renews South Sudan mission

• United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted the resolution of renewing its peace mission in South Sudan for one year.
• It also threatened to impose arms restrictions in Sudan if needed.
• Its aim is to put pressure on the warring parties of South Sudan as they are joining a new round of peace talks in Ethiopia next month to end the four-year war.

SoftBank Capital Communications In Groffers

• Online grocery firm Groophers mobilized Rs. 400 crores during a new funding under the leadership of the Japanese Group Softbank Group.
• With a new round of financing, the growers said that it will continue to invest in building private label and supply chain reforms.
• Tiger Global and other investors including Apollo Asia are also involved in the financing round.

US Imposes Restrictions on Russia

• The US has implemented a series of restrictions on top Russian detective agencies and cyber actors for alleged interference in the 2016 elections and for conducting separate cyber attacks.
• This step by the Trump administration is the first answer to Russia’s intervention during election campaign.
• The personal chef Yevgeny Pragoghin of Russian President Vladimir Putin is one of the few Americans chosen.

Slovenian Prime Minister resigns

• Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Syarar handed over his resignation after a court canceled the results of the government’s referendum.
• This step was taken three months before the general election in June.
• The Constitutional Court found that the government did not work with fairness as it spent public funds to get a vote in favor of the plan.

Tommy Haas announces retirement

• Former world number two tennis player Tommy announced his official retirement from tennis.
  Sydney Olympics finished his career with 569 wins.
• His most recent solo titles came from victory in 2013 in Vienna and Munich.
• Haas reached his career second highest ranking in 2002 and stayed in the top 20 for eight seasons.