Current Affairs 12th March 2020
1. Govt sets up a committee on
Kisan Rail
- It
comprises of representatives of Agriculture and Railway ministries.
- Kisan
Rail was created through the PPP mode to build a cold supply chain to transport
perishable goods.
- IR has
plans to install solar panel on un-utilized railway land.
2. FDI inflows recorded highest
ever for fiscal year 2018-19 at USD 62 billion
- The total
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow was over 318 billion US dollars between
2014 and September 2019
- representing
nearly 50 percent of the cumulative FDI in India since April 2000.
- FDI can
be one measure to track the growth of Make in India.
- The Make
in India initiative was launched in 2014.
3. Coronavirus outbreak could
cost global economy up to $2 trillion: UNCTAD
- warning
that shock from the epidemic will cause a recession in some countries and
depress global annual growth to below 2.5%.
- UNCTAD = United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
- UNCTAD
Secretary General : Mukhisa Kituyi.
4. India 2019 thermal coal
imports rise 12.6% to nearly 200 million tonnes
- Coal is
among the top 5 imported items in India.
- Thermal
coal is mainly used for power generation.
5. Exercise “SAREX” concluded at Goa
- The
national level Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX-2020), concluded at Caranzalem
beach in Goa.
- It is a
mock drill conducted by the Coast Guard.
- The SAREX
exercise was inaugurated by Dr. Ajay Kumar, IAS, Secretary (Defence) in the
Ministry of Defence.
- Exercise
witnessed the participation of 24 overseas observers.
6. 32 lakh saplings planted so
far under ‘Green J&K’ program
- The
target of 1 Cr saplings, has so far planted 32 lakh saplings of various
varieties across the UT.
- Drive was
part of national initiative for enhancing the green cover across the country.
- Total of
50 lakhs will be planted by the end of March.
7. SBI cuts MCLR rate, home loans
to get cheaper
- MCLR by
up to 15 basis points across various tenors, effective from March 10.
- The bank
has reduced its one-year MCLR by 10 basis points to 7.75% from 7.85% earlier.
- SBI has
also cut its FD rates.
- This is
10th consecutive cut in MCLR by SBI this fiscal.
8. Assam govt sops to tea sector
to boost exports: ITA
- The
Indian Tea Association said the Assam government’s decision to provide orthodox
tea subsidy of Rs 7 per kg will boost exports of the beverage.
- Assam has
also allowed interest subvention of 3 per cent on all term loans and working
capital advances.
- Assam
made these announcements in the state budget for 2020-21.
9. CSIR: Discovery of ink to curb
fake printing of Passports & counterfeiting of Currency Notes
- CSIR = Council of Scientific and Industrial
Research
- CSIR-National
Physical Laboratory has developed a bi-luminescent security ink
- which
glows in red and green colours when illuminated by two different excitation
sources at 254 nano meters & 365 nm, respectively.
- The ink
was given to Bank Note Press, Dewas.
- SPMCIL
has currency note presses at Nashik and Dewas.
- SPMCIL = Security Printing & Minting Corporation of India Ltd.
10. Centre approved for the
construction of Delhi-Baghpat highway
- NHAI got
approval to construct the 1st phase of a new highway that will connect east
Delhi’s Akshardham to Uttarakhand’s Dehradun, a distance of almost 170 Km.
- The first
phase will connect Akshardham with west Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat, a distance of
32 Km.
- NHAI = National
Highway Authority of India
- The
existing Delhi-Dehradun route is 250km long.
11. Mukesh Ambani loses Asia
wealth crown to Jack Ma in $5.8 billion rout
- Bloomberg
Billionaires Index reported that Jack Ma became Asia’s richest man.
- Ambani,
who stood as richest man, has moved to the 2nd position after oil prices
collapsed along with global stocks.
- Coronavirus
erased $5.8 billion from Ambani’s net worth.
- Jack Ma
is the founder of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
12. Mahim Verma set to resign as
BCCI vice president
- After he
won the election for the post of secretary at the Cricket Association of
Uttarakhand.
- As per
the Lodha Committee’s recommendations a person cannot hold multiple posts.
- BCCI
President cannot hold his post for more than two years.
13. Amit Panghal, Lovlina
Borgohain won bronze medal in the Asian Boxing Olympic qualifiers
- Boxers
Amit Panghal & Lovlina Borgohain won the bronze medal in the Asian Boxing
Olympic qualifiers held in Amman.
- They had
already claimed their place in 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
- Borgohain
secured 0-5 & lost to China’s Hong Gu in the 69 Kg weight category.
- Pangal
was defeated by Jianguan Hu in the 52 Kg category.
14. Indo-Thai workshop on stellar
variability & star formation held at ARIES, Uttarakhand
- Indo-Thai
workshop on stellar variability & star formation was held at ARIES,
Nainital, Uttarakhand.
- The
one-day workshop was organized by Aryabhatta Research Institute of
Observational Sciences that functions under the Science & Technology
Ministry.
- 2 joint
bilateral programmes for joint research were sanctioned.
15. NDFB disbands itself after
34-year fight to carve Bodoland out of Assam
- 34 years
after it was formed with the aim of carving out a separate Bodoland state from
Assam,
- All the 4
factions of National Democratic Front of Bodoland disbanded themselves.
- NDFB was
formed on October 3, 1986 under the name of Bodo Security Force.
- Bodo is
the largest tribe in the state.
16. Lt Gen KJS Dhillon to assume
charge as Director General of DIA
- After serving
at strategic XV Corps of Army,
- Lt Gen
KJS Dhillon will take over the post of Director General Defence Intelligence
Agency and Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Intelligence).
- This
department comes under the Chief of Defence Staff.
- CDS is
the newly created Department of Military Affairs.
17. NAI celebrates its 130th
Foundation Day on 11 March
- NAI =
National Archives of India
- Union
Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (Independent Charge), Prahlad Singh
Patel will inaugurate an exhibition on ‘Jallianwala Bagh’ on 11 March in New
Delhi.
- NAI was
founded on 1891.
- NAI was
formed in Kolkata as the Imperial Record Department.
18. Delimitation commission for
J&K, Assam, Manipur, Arunachal & Nagaland formed
- Government
constituted the Delimitation Commission for delimitation of Assembly and
Parliamentary constituencies in J&K, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and
Nagaland.
- Delimitation
in J&K will be based on the Census of 2011.