Dear Readers, We cover some important news in Current Affairs Today Section, which are not covered in Daily Detailed News, More Current Affairs coverage will help you to Score Good Marks in Competitive Exam.
- Try our Current Affairs Quiz 2016
- Try Our Current Affairs March 2016 Quiz
- Read our Current Affairs Today
- Read Our Current Affairs 2016
Click here to Try Current Affairs March 8 Quiz 2016
INDIAN AFFAIRS
Germany to develop Bhubaneswar, Kochi, Coimbatore as Smart Cities
Germany will partner with India’s flagship program Smart City Mission to develop Bhubaneswar, Kochi, and Coimbatore as smart Cities.
- The three Cities are among the twenty cities which have been announced by the Urban Development Ministry.
Telangana, Maharashtra ink MoU for five irrigation projects
The Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Telangana and Maharashtra government on river Godavari Water Projects in Mumbai.
- The MoU will pave the way for construction of five Barrages on Godavari River and its tributaries Penganga and Pranahita projects which has kept aside due inter-state disputes.
MOEFCC Has Classified Industries Based On Colour Based Index
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has released a new Four-colour Classification Scheme for industries based on their pollution level.
- Based on the Range of Pollution Index‘, industrial sectors have been categorised into four colours category- Red, White, Green and Orange
PM selects Nagepur village in Varanasi for development under SAGY
Prime Minister Narendra Modi Selects his own Varanasi constituency village Nagepur for development under Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.
- This Village Nagepur selected after Jayapur village of the same constituency is going to be adopted by the Prime Minister’s in order to develop India.
March 8th is celebrated as Women’s day across the globe every year since 1975.News from various fields with special emphasis on Women’s day have been combined to give special importance for this day.
- ICICI’S Women’s day gift
- Air India Runs the first Longest all Women Flight
- TATA Housing- SBI Launch Special Home Loan for Women
- SBI Life Insurance Launched Smart Women Advantage
- Women Representation in Indian Parliament Slips
- Mahila e-Haat portal launched by Union Government
Haryana Global Investors Summit 2016
The first “Happening Haryana Global Investors Summit-2016” will began in Gurgaon, which will see participation from 12 countries.
- The two day summit is organized by the state government of Haryana along with CII
- China, Czech Republic, Japan, Malawi, Mauritius, New Zealand, South Korea, Peru, Poland, Spain, Britain and Tunisia will participate as partner countries.
- The summit is inaugurated by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
- It is expected to attract a 25 lakh crore investment
NTPC signs MoU for research with IIT Delhi
Power giant NTPC has signed pact with Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, have signed a MoU for Research and Development.
- The R&D emphasized in areas of mutual interest such as Simulation and modelling, heat transfer and thermal process, artificial intelligence Solar and Renewable integration.
- Under this agreement Joint research projects will be taken up for development of new technologies and performance improvement.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
South Korea and US Begin Military Exercise
A day after the North Korea’s threat to US, the rivals of North Korea has began a joint military exercise. The military exercise has started by US and South Korea.
- The joint U.S. and South Korean military command said the training involves about17,000 American troops and more than 300,000 South Koreans
BANKING & FINANCE
Global rating agency Fitch has maintained the Forecast of India’s growth at 7.5
Global rating agency Fitch has maintained its growth forecast for India at 7.5 per cent this fiscal and sees higher growth over the next two financial years.
- Fitch also claims for a 8% growth in short term is not possible
- Fitch has maintained its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for India for the fiscal year ending March 2016 at 5 per cen
SoftBank splits into two subsidiaries
Japan based Telecommunication major Soft Bank group Corp plans to split its domestic and overseas business given them Separate Chief executives for their entity.
- This move is to bolster Shareholder value after a staggering $ 4.4 billion US share buyback plan a month ago.
- Softbank’s stakes in U.S. wireless carrier Sprint and Chinese E-commerceCompany Alibaba Group Holding to a new global operations management subsidiary. The Company president Nikesh Arora will now head the overseas Management Company.
- The Company’s Japanese assets, including Yahoo Japan Corporation, will funnel into a distinct domestic operations management company.
- SoftBank has been investing in the Indian Start-ups like Snapdeal, Oyo Rooms, Housing.com and OLA over the couple of years.
CBDT sets up dedicated structure for monitoring taxpayer services
To address various issues of taxpayers the Department of Revenue has sets up dedicated structure for monitoring taxpayer Services.Revenue and Tax Payer Services member will watch over the delivery and monitoring of taxpayer services in CBDT.
- Under this initiative two separate Directorates, called Directorate of Tax Payer Services-I&II have been set up. These Directorates will be responsible for delivery and monitoring of taxpayers services in the field offices and e-services deliverable through various electronic platforms of the Department.
- The responsibility for delivery of tax payer services has also been specifically assigned at every level in the field offices. This will ensure accountability of officials in redressing grievances in a time bound manner.
- The Tax Administration Reforms Commission’s (TARC) Report has also accorded considerable importance to redressal of grievances and a customer focussed approach in the Revenue Department through creation of a tax payer services vertical.
Central Board of Direct Taxes:
- CBDT runs under Finance Ministry it provides important inputs for policy making of Direct Taxes in India.
- The Chairperson of CBDT is the senior most IRS official in India, The appointment is subjected to Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
- Chair Person: Atulesh Jindal.
BUSINESS
Ford gets nod for tech, business centre in Tamil Nadu SEZ
Ford Motors gets approval from Central government to set up Global Technology and business Centre in an IT/ ITES Special Economic Zone in Tamilnadu.
- The Proposed Centre is for Research and Development unit and a product testing centre. The Centre will come up at Tamilnadu Government owned Electronics Corporation of Tamilnadu in Chennai.
- The Centre will be Co-developer of the Automotive Company for Developing IT/ITES services related to Automotive, Finance and Allied sectors.
- The new centre will make the company eligible for all tax concessions available for investment in the zones.
Ford Motor Company:
- The American based Automotive Company founded by Henry Ford in 1903.The Company has invested over $2 billion in India to set two plants in India, One in Tamilnadu and a recent one in Sanand Gujarat.
- CEO: Mark Fields
Reliance-Jio to Offer Free Wi-Fi Services in 6 Stadiums
Mukesh Ambani led Reliance-Jio group has announced to offer free Wi-Fi services across 6 stadiums in the country ahead of the T-20 World cup.
- Spectators of cricket matches in Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali and HPCA stadium in Dharamshala will enjoy free Wi-Fi during T-20 world cup
- The network is supported by 100 Gbps backhaul to ensure 15 Mbps speed for about 40,000 spectators during the matches
- It is to be noted that Jio free internet is already provided in certain airports and tourist spots
- JioNet was made operational at Wankhede stadium during the India-South Africa one-day series in April 2015
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Saudi Arabian Prince conferred with France’s highest Civil Award
Saudi Arabian prince was conferred with the prestigious The Legion of Honour award which has fuelled controversies in France.
- The announcement was made during the visit of Saudi Arabian prince to Paris
NTPC bags Poll Based Investor Communication Award
State run NTPC Ltd has been conferred the Research Investor Communication Award among the “Large Corporates” category .Director Finance of the Company Shri K. Biswal, received the award at a ceremony held at BSE in Mumbai
- This award is bestowed for following transparent and fair communication practices by Research Bytes in an independent poll having participation of over 3000 Fund Managers/Analysts/Non Institutional Investors.
- The award NTPC’s effort on building a strong ecosystem based on consistent and regular communication with investors across the globe in a fair and transparent manner.
NTPC:
- Founded: 1975
- Headquarters: New Delhi
- CEO: A K Jha
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS
M S Dhoni signed as Revital H brand ambassador
Mumbai based Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited has appointed Indian Cricketer and Captain MS Dhoni as the Brand ambassador for its top selling health supplement Revital H.
- This move is in the company’s Pipeline to reposition the brand after 25 years since its launch on the planks of active lifestyle.
- MS Dhoni selected as a popular choice basis a consumer research conducted by the company, He is well known for pushing limits and achieving more and perfect combination of physical fitness, strategic thinking and decision making and fits well in the active lifestyle value proposition of Revital H brand.
- The Company is also planning to establish a new ad campaign featuring MS Dhoni done by Lowe Lintas which will go live throughout the ICC T20 World Cup.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
China plans to land probe on Mars in 2021
China plans to land a probe on Mars in 2021 that coincide with the 100 th anniversary of founding of the ruling communist Party of china and a decade after its first failed mission in 2011.
- China is likely to initiate a Mars probe in 2020, after many months flying the probe to land in the Mars
Communist Party of China:
- The party founded in 1921 and headquartered in Beijing, the sole governing party of china.
- The Party has membership of 87.79 million people. The Party’s GeneralSecretary is Xi Jinping.
SPORTS
Maria Sharapova provisionally suspended after failing drug test at Australian Open
Russian Tennis great Maria Sharapova officially suspended from March 12 after failing drug test at Australian Open, the highest paid female athlete had failed a drug test at the Australian Open due to substance she has been consuming for a decade.
- Meldonium was the medicine the Russian great took for 10 years but it became prohibited substance on January 1, she was taking the medicine for health issues including a family history of diabetes.
- Company Nike and German luxury car maker Porsche also announced that they were suspending their relationships with five time grand slam winner.
- She was world’s highest-paid female athlete last year for the 11th consecutive year, and Forbes put her off-court career earnings at more than $200 million.
IMPORTANT DAYS
International Women’s Day – March 8
The International women’s day is celebrated on 8th March globally which was earlier known as Working Women’s Day.
- The earliest Women’s Day observance was held on February 28, 1909, in New York it was organized by the Socialist Party of America in remembrance of the 1908 strike of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union.
- 2016 Theme : Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality
