12th March 2019 Current Affairs

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12th March 2019 Current Affairs

Maharashtra Govt. launches 'Atal Aahar Yojna' for construction workers

• The Maharastra government launched a special scheme 'Atal Aahar Yojna' for construction workers in the state which will provide good quality food at a highly subsidised rate.

• In the first phase, the target is to cover 20,000 workers and provide them with good quality food at a nominal cost of Rs five.

• Maharastra government also launched Shramev Jayate Yojana under which a pension of Rs.3000 is given to construction workers above the age of 60 years. If the worker died, the pension will be given to his window.

About Maharastra

Capital - Mumbai

Chief Minister - Devendra Fadnavis

Governor - C Vidhyasagar Rao

National Park

Sanjay Gandhi National Park
Chandoli National Park
Navegaon National Park
Tadoba National Park
Gugamal National Park

Ashu Khullar appointed as CEO of CITI Bank India

• Ashu Khullar has been appointed as CEO of CITI Bank India.

• He currently holds the position of head of Asia-Pacific capital markets.

• He will replace Pramit Jhaveri who has been appointed as the Vice Chairman of banking, capital markets and advisory for Asia Pacific from April 1.

About CITI Bank

Headquarters -Mumbai

Tagline - CITI Never Sleeps

SBI links Saving Account, short-term loan interest rates to RBI repo rate

• State Bank of India (SBI) became the first bank to link its interest rate on Saving Account with a balance above Rs.1 lakh and short-term loans to the repo rate of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

• This new system will come into effect from May 1, 2019.

• Saving Accounts with deposits above Rs 1 lakh would be priced at 2.75% below the prevailing repo rate of 6.25%. The effective rate works out to be 3.5%, which is unchanged from the prevailing rate on savings accounts.

• All cash credit accounts and overdraft facilities over Rs 1 lakh shall also be linked to the benchmark policy rate, plus a spread of 2.25%-amounting to 8.5%.

• The interest rate on home loans will continue to be determined by MCLR (marginal cost lending rate).

• For savings account holders with balances up to Rs 1 lakh and borrowers with cash credit and overdraft limits up to Rs 1 lakh, interest rates will remain fixed.

About State Bank of India (SBI)

Headquarters - Mumbai

Founded - 1 July 1955

Chairperson - Rajnish Kumar

RBI

Headquarters - Mumbai

Governor - Shaktikanta Das

IBBI signs a cooperation deal with IFC

• The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) signed an agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

• International Finance Corporation (IFC) is a member of the World Bank Group.

• The agreement was signed by K. R. Saji Kumar, Executive Director, IBBI and Jun Zhang, Country Manager, IFC India.

• 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.

About Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI)

Headquarters - New Delhi

Chairperson - M S Sahoo

Inaugural Space Dialogue of India and Japan held in New Delhi

• The first ever Space Dialogue of India and Japan was held in New Delhi for both the countries to explore ways to enhance cooperation between the space agencies of both the nations.

• The Indian delegation was led by Additional Secretary for Disarmament and International Security Affairs in Ministry of External Affairs, Indra Mani Pandey.

About Japan

Capital - Tokyo

Currency - Japanese Yen

Prime Minister - Shinzo Abe

India signs $3bn deal with Russia for nuclear power submarine

• India entered into a deal with Russia for the leasing of a nuclear- powered attack submarine for Indian Navy worth USD 3 billion for a period of 10 years.

• Under the pact, Russia will deliver Chaka III, the Akula class submarine to the Indian Navy by 2025. It will be the 3rd Russian submarine to be leased to Indian Navy.

About Indian Navy

Chief of Naval Staff - Admiral Sunil Lamba

About Russia

Capital - Moscow

Currency - Ruble

President - Vladimir Putin

NCSM collaborated with Google Arts & Culture for "Once Upon a Try", an online exhibition

• National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), an organization under the Ministry of Culture, has collaborated with Google Arts and Culture for "Once Upon a Try" - the largest interactive online exhibition on inventions and discoveries.

• NCSM contributes interactive stories that has some key insights into the long and glorious science and technology heritage of India.

• The six sections in the exhibition are historic beginnings, Ayurveda, Sushruta Samhita, Rasashata, ltr- ancient Indian knowledge of perfumery and musical instruments from the Indian subcontinent.

About National Council of Science Museums (NCSM)

Headquarters - Kolkata

Director General - A D Choudhury

RBI relaxes rules for White Lebel ATM providers

• The Reserve Bank of India has eased business guidelines for white label ATMs by allowing companies that manage these machines to source cash directly from the central bank.

• As per the statement, The RBI has allowed the operators to source cash from any scheduled bank including rural and cooperative banks.

• 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.

RBI

Headquarters - Mumbai

Governor - Shaktikanta Das

India appoints Kishan Dan Dewal as the new Ambassador to Armenia

• Kishan Dan Dewal has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Armenia.

• He will succeed Yogeshwar Sangwan.

• He is presently serving as Deputy High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Mauritius.

• He is an Indian Foreign Service Officer of 2003 batch.

About Armenia

Capital - Yerevan

Currency - Dram

President - Armen Sarkissian