Daily Current Affairs for 16th March 2017( English)

Prepared by D.Sarala, Viluppuram

1.  The Union Cabinet has approved 2% additional Dearness allowance for Central government employees and Dearness relief for pensioners. It will be effective from 1 January, 2017. 

2.  Sanjauli Police Station in Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) has become the first police post in the country to be linked with Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS). The linking of the police post will facilitate the people for lodging online/offline complaints, Tenants, police verification of job, Character verification and migrant labourer registration through police post. 

3.  US Government has announced its support India’s full membership in the four multilateral export control regimes including Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). It indicated no change in US’s policy on the issue under the Trump administration.

4.  Two Indian-American authors Siddhartha Mukherjee and Paul Kalanithi have been shortlisted for the £30,000 Wellcome Book Prize. Siddhartha Mukherjee was shortlisted for his study of genetics and mental health in his book ‘The Gene’. Besides Paul Kalanithi is the first posthumous author shortlisted for his life-affirming reflection on facing mortality ‘When Breath Becomes Air’. The winner will be announced at a ceremony at Wellcome Collection in April 2017. The Wellcome Book Prize celebrates fiction and non-fiction works engaged with the topics of health and medicine.

5.     The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has allowed celebrities to endorse mutual fund products at the industry level purpose of increasing awareness of mutual funds as a financial product category. SEBI also issued new advertising code that will require fund houses to communicate in a simple manner with the public.

6.     The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has allowed Indian Oil Corporation Limited (Indian Oil) to sell its 24% equity in one of its Joint Venture Companies, Lubrizol India Private Limited (LIPL) to its other Joint Venture Partner Lubrizol Corporation, USA (LC).

7.     The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has refused to stay Reliance Jio’s free promotional offer. 

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8.     Justice Rajendra Menon was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court. He was administered oath to office by Bihar Governor Ramnath Kovind at a function in Raj Bhawan. 

9.     Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has won the vote of confidence during specially convened Goa Assembly by 22-16 votes. It was announced by pro tem speaker Siddharth Kunkolienkar after the vote of confidence on the floor.

10.  Senior Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh was sworn in as 26th Chief Minister of Punjab. He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor VP Singh Badnore at Raj Bhawan in Chandigarh.  Besides him, 7 ministers including Navjot Singh Sidhu also sworn in as cabinet ministers. Two women MLAs Aruna Chaudhary and Razia Sultana were sworn in as Ministers of State (Independent Charge). In recent state election, Congress under the leadership of Amarinder Singh had won 77 seats in the 117 member Assembly elections.

11.  China and Saudi Arabia have signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and letters of intent (LoIs) potentially worth about $65 billion. These agreements signed during Saudi King Salman’s visit to China involve deals in investment, energy, space and other areas. 

12.  The Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry ( Nirmala Seetharaman) has launched Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme( TIES) for developing export linked infrastructure in states with a view to promoting outbound shipments. TIES seeks to bridge the critical infrastructure gap and provide forward and backward linkages to units engaged in trade activities.

13.  The Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution unveiled the revised Building Code, making builders liable for the structure’s safety. The code has been prepared by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). It is voluntary in nature, but the states can incorporate them in their building bylaws. 

14.  The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Policy for Early Monetization of Coal Bed Methane (CBM) Gas Marketing and Pricing Freedom for CBM Gas. The policy provides marketing and pricing freedom to the CBM Contractors to sell the CBM at Arm’s Length Price in the domestic market. 

15.  The Union Cabinet has approved Revised Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Mode of Operation (MoO) between India and Bangladesh for establishing Border Haats on India-Bangladesh Border. The revised MoU and MoO will provide a legal framework for establishment and operationalization of additional Border Haats along India-Bangladesh border.

16.  The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Public- Private Partnership) Bill, 2017. The Bill will declare the existing IIITs in PPPS as ‘Institutions of National Importance’ with powers to award degrees. The 15 IIITs are: Assam (Guwahati), Andhra Pradesh (Chittoor), Haryana (Sonipat), Gujarat (Vadodara),Himachal Pradesh (Una), Kerala (Kottayam), Jharkhand (Ranchi), Karnataka (Dharwad), Maharashtra (Nagpur & Pune), Rajasthan (Kota), Manipur (Senapati), Tamilnadu (Tiruchirappalli), Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow), Kalyani (West Bengal).

17.  The US senate in a recent vote confirmed the appointment of Dan Coats ( Former Republican Senator) as Trump’s new Director of National Intelligence

18.  Hawaii’s federal judge has issued a nationwide order banning President Donald Trump’s latest executive order on immigration ban from six Muslim majority nations.

19.  India stands at 148^th position as per the Women in Politics map 2017 launched by the UN

20.  Snap deal partnered with Japan External trade Organisation to sell Japanese Products.

21.  The Executive Committee of National Mission for Clean Ganga recently approved 20 projects worth nearly Rs.1900 crores.

22.  The Union Government appraised of the MOU signed between Indonesia and Kyrgyzstan for co-operation in youth and sports matter .

23.  Karnataka Government proposed to set up  a Cashew Development Board for developing 10,000 hectares of good quality cashew orchards over next 5 years.

24.  US Federal Reserve raised the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percent