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National News
Mehbooba Mufti set to become first woman CM of J & K
- PDP legislature party leader Mehabooba Mufti to become the first woman chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir
- PDP has 28 MLAs in the 87-member House while its alliance partner BJP has 25 MLAs.
Andhra Pradesh inaugurates India’s first lift irrigation project
- Known for its innovations and use of technologies in various sectors
- Pattiseema lift irrigation project is known as the first river linking project in India
- Connects river Godavari with Krishna and the first pump of the project is completed in 1 year
Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana approved
- Scheme intends to provide houses for all people in the rural area
- Incentive will be given by the government to build Pucca house
- Financial assistance of 1,20,000 in plain areas and 1,30,000 in hill areas will be given to all houseless and people those who live in dilapidated houses
Mizoram, JICA sign pact for promoting sustainable agriculture
- Master plan covering 20 years and the technical cooperation project would commence from October this year and continue till September 2021.
- Training programs would be conducted in Japan both for officials and farmers from Mizoram
BHEL commissions 600 MW unit of Singareni project in Adilabad
- Second unit of the same project is expected to be commissioned soon.
- BHEL has built 600-MW rating sets that comprise a four cylinder turbine.
- This has been designed in-house, amply demonstrating the engineering expertise of the company.
- BHEL has a major contribution in Telangana with 85% of the coal based power plants, together amounting to 5,180 MW of power have been commissioned by it.
New gen NBFCs to target smaller cities
- Tier-I cities are comfort zones. But due to compression in interest rates and increasing competition in tier-I cities, NBFCs are looking at tier-2 and 3 cities.
- Repayment capacity of professionals, such as doctors, in tier–II and -III cities is better, as there is less competition for their skill.
- Lending to them is more beneficial as they can recommend more borrowers/customers.
- NBFCs are also trying to expand their reach to smaller cities as they see business opportunities in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector and plan to tap the needs of the self-employed.
International
Arvind Kejriwal placed in Fortune 50 leaders
- Aam Aadmi founder is placed in the top 50 leaders of the world released by Fortune
- Only Indian leader to occupy the list placed at 42nd position
- List is headed by Amazon chief Jeff Bezos
US Congress passes bill to allow India to join APEC
- Intended to strengthen the ties between India and US.
- Bill will allow India to be a member of APEC.
RTI bill presented in Lanka parliament
- Sri Lankan Right to Information bill was presented to parliament on March 24, 2016
- Five-member Right to Information Commission will be appointed by the President on the advice of the Constitutional Council
- Will comprise nominees of the Bar Association and organizations of publishers, editors and civil society.
Radovan Karadzic imprisoned for 40 years
- convicted of genocide and war crimes in Bosnian war of 1992-95
- most senior political figure to face judgment over the violent collapse of Yugoslavia
- case is being seen as one of the most important war crimes trials since second World War
- Karadzic was also found guilty of crimes against humanity relating to the siege and shelling of the city of Sarajevo over several years which left nearly 12,000 people dead
Iran signs Oil contract with France
- Iran has signed a confidential oil agreement with France total company to develop the Azadegan oil field.
- The Azadegan oil field has 2 billion barrels oil reserve
- Iran had reached an agreement with the Japanese Inpex a decade ago to develop the oil field. The deal was dropped following sanctions by the USA.
Business and Economy
BMI projects India’s growth at 7.2%
- Indian economy is likely to face challenges in various sectors owing to the weak economy of the world
- Schemes under Modi’s governance have contributed to the incremental growth of economy
- Indian government aims to reduce subsidies through the JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) initiative that will avoid leakages will help reduce expenditures and aid long-term fiscal deficit consolidation plans
DIPP nods 49% FDI in Insurance and Pension Sector
- Earlier, only up to 26% FDI was permitted through the automatic approval route
- FDI into the country grew by 40% to $29.44 billion in 2015
India overtakes China in investment by US
- Report was revealed by US treasury showed that 8% of direct equity holdings of US is with India
- It is 6% equity holdings for China
- Direct investment has risen from $7 billion in September 2013 to $12 billion in December 2015.
Inox Wind acquires Sarayu Wind Power
- Noida based Inox Wind Limited has acquired Sarayu Wind Power with effect from March 25.
- The company was ranked at 167th position in Business Today’s list of 500 most valuable companies in India in 2015.
Science and Technology
Microsoft shuts Artificial Intelligence Robot – Tay
- Tay is designed to engage and entertain people where they connect with each other online through casual and playful conversation.
- As people chat with it online, Tay picks up new language and learns to interact with people in new ways.
ISRO establishes GIRI radar system in Tirupathi
- Located at: National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL) which is an autonomous research institute of the Department of Space
- Consists of 20 transmitter units, 6 digital receivers including data processing systems, a radar controller, and a host computer
South Korea tops the world with high Internet speed
- Fastest average connection speed in the world at 7 Mbps.
- Sweden occupies the second spot with an average speed of 1 Mbps
- Norway followed at 8 Mbps.
- India stands at 114th position with an average internet speed of 8 Mbps
US Navy ship discovered after 95 years
- USS Conestoga tug boat, which disappeared on March 25, 1921 after departing San Francisco on its way to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii has been found
- wreckage was initially detected in 2009 at a depth of 189 feet (58 meters) located three miles off Southeast Farallon Island in the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary
Indian Coast Guard to re-base ICGS Rajkamal, six interceptor boats
- Rebasing plan is mainly intended towards enhancing the coastal security of the newly ICG stations that have been set up to for the effective optimization of the assets
- These platforms are rebased to Andaman and Nicobar Region as part of the Coast Guard Headquarter rebasing plan
Environment & Ecology
Mint plant can help fight cancer
- Proven scientifically that L-Menthol can kill the colon cancer cell line without affecting the normal cell line.
- production of L-menthol is cost-effective, non-destructive and easily available in comparison to anti-cancer compound used at present
People in News
Football legend Johan Cruyff dies
- Was named as the world player of the year on three occasions
- He guided Holland to the World Cup final in 1974
- He spent eight years as manager in charge of Barcelona.
Comedian Garry Shandling dies
- His brand of comedy is credited with influencing other hit shows like Tina Fey’s 30 Rock and Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm.
- He was best known for his work: Garry Shandling’s Show and The Larry Sanders Show.
Sports
Quick enough wins Dr. Gnani Laksumanan Memorial Cup
- The horse is owned by MAM Ramaswamy Chettiar of Chettinad Chartiable Trust
- Trainer B Suresh saddled three winners, while jockeys C. Umesh and Md. Hesnain rode two winners each.