Author Neil Gaiman Named U.N. Goodwill Ambassador

i

The author Neil Gaiman has been appointed as a global Goodwill Ambassador of the UN Refugee Agency,UNHCR by Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. ii. He has appointed to raise awareness about the plight of forcibly displaced people and to generate much needed funds.

Delhi: India’s first heliport inaugurated in Rohini

i.

Built by Pawan Hans Limited, a Public Sector Undertaking of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, India’s first heliport has been inaugurated in north Delhi’s Rohini. Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju inaugurated the heliport. ii. Pawan Hans Ltd Chairman and Managing Director B P Sharma stated that The heliport has come up at an investment of Rs 100 crore.The heliport has a terminal building having capacity of 150 passengers, four hangars with parking capacity of 16 helicopters and nine parking bays. 

SIDBI, CSFB pact to help MSMEs avail loans at cheaper rate

i.

SIDBI signed an agreement with the Capital Small Finance Bank (CSFB) to enable it to provide loans at a concessional rate to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through a multi-pronged strategy comprising of concessional funding at MCLR of CSFB (presently 9.60%) under refinance from SIDBI.

 ii. The MoU also envisages joint financing/co-financing of MSMEs for capital expenditure under ‘SIDBI Make in India Soft Loan Fund for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises’, popularly known as SMILE, at a concessional rate of 9.60% by SIDBI

OECD cuts India's growth forcast to 7%

i.

Paris based think tank Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has cut India's growth forecast for this fiscal year (2016-2017) to 7% from 7.4% earlier (2015-2016) because of demonetization.

ii. But stated that the pace will accelerate to 7.3% next fiscal (2017-2018) and higher in Financial Year 2019. According to OECD India is already in the process of implementing a gradual reduction in corporate income tax to 25% from 30%. 

IAS officer Sumit Mullick appointed as Chief Secretary of Maharashtra

Senior IAS officer Sumit Mullick appointed as the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra. Mullick will succeed Swadheen Kshatriya, who was due for retirement on 31st of January,2017 but was given a month's extension. ii. He had earlier served as the Divisional Commissioner of Amravati and worked as Secretary of School Education. He was also Secretary to the Governor.

International Day of Forests: 21 March

March 21 is the United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Forests, which promotes the importance of forests and trees in our lives. ii. The 2017 theme is 'Forests and energy'.

Bharatiya Mahila Bank to be merged with SBI

New-Delhi headquartered The Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) will be merged with the country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI).

ii. The move will ensure that banking services are provided to more women at a faster pace, given the advantage of the large network of SBI.

Branches of SBBJ, SBH, SBM, SBP and SBT to operate as branches of SBI from April 1, 2017

i. All branches of State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT) will function as branches of State Bank of India from April 1, 2017.

ii. The Customers, including depositors of all the five Banks will be treated as customers of State Bank of India with effect from April 1, 2017.

India home to 101 billionaires, Mukesh Ambani tops the list: Forbes

i. India is home to world’s fourth highest number of billionaires with Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani (33rd position globally) leading the club of more than 100 super rich Indians.

ii. The list has been topped by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates for the fourth year in a row. 

Uttarakhand HC accords human status to Ganga, Yamuna

i. The Uttarakhand High Court has given the status of "living human entities" to the Ganga and Yamuna. 

ii. The Director of Namami Gange project for cleaning and rejuvenating the river, the Chief Secretary and the Advocate General of Uttarakhand will act as the "legal parents" of the holy rivers and work as the human face to protect, conserve and preserve them and their tributaries.

India's first sign language dictionary to come up soon

i. The government is all set to come up with the country's first-of-its-kind dictionary which aims to bring uniformity in sign languages used by hearing and speech impaired people across the nation.

ii. The Indian Sign Language (ISL) dictionary is being developed by the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC). The dictionary is being developed in both print and video format.

Solar Energy Scheme for Small Powerloom Units

i. The Government has approved a new scheme to provide financial assistance or capital subsidy to small powerloom units, for installation of Solar Photo Voltaic (SPV)

plant, in order to alleviate the problem of power cut and shortages faced by decentralized powerloom units in India.

ii. Under the Solar Energy Scheme, the plants have two options:On-Grid Solar Power Plant where power cut/shortage is negligible and power tariff is high.Off-Grid Solar Power Plant in areas where there is power shortage & on-grid power is not continuously available.India becomes third largest aviation market in domestic traffic

 i. India has become the third largest aviation market in terms of domestic passenger traffic, beating Japan. ii. United States with 815 million passengers in 2016 enjoyed the top position, followed by China with 490 million.

Union Petroleum Ministry launches MoPNG e Seva

i. Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan launched MoP&NG e-Seva. 

ii. It is a dedicated grievances redressal platform on Social Media for all queries and grievances relating to Oil and Gas Sector. 

ESIC launched Mobile Clinic Services in AP and Telangana

i. The Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) launched Mobile Clinic Services for the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. 

ii. Union minister of state for labour and employment Bandaru Dattatreya, launched the ESIC Mobile Clinic Services by flagging off 'Jan Suraksha Ambulances'. iii. It is for the first time in the country that the ESIC Mobile Clinic Services are launched in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Odisha becomes first state to bring banking to remote rural areas through SHG

i. Odisha became the first state in the country to carry financial inclusion and extend banking services to unbanked areas through Self Help Groups (SHGs).

ii. The state government signed an agreement with State Bank of India in this regard. The system would be of great help to people in rural areas under social security schemes.

No Limit On Cash Withdrawals From Savings Bank Accounts

i. All limits on savings bank cash withdrawals post-demonetisation ended on 13 march 2017, as had been announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last month.

ii. In a two-stage process, the weekly withdrawal limit per account had been raised to Rs. 50,000, from Rs. 24,000, with effect from February 20,2017, and all limits on ATM withdrawals were slated to cease from March 13, 2017. iii. It kept its key interest rate unchanged at 6.25%, saying it awaited data on the full impact of the government's demonetisation drive.

Jaitley gets additional charge of Defence Ministry

i. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was given the additional charge of the Defence Ministry after Manohar Parrikar resigned to take on the new role of Goa Chief Minister.

ii. This is the second time that Jaitley is holding the additional portfolio of Defence Ministry during the present NDA government. iii. He was incharge of the ministry earlier from May 26 to November 9 in 2014.

Manohar Parrikar appointed Goa chief minister

i. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar appointed as the Goa chief minister after BJP concluded hectic negotiations with regional parties and independents to stitch up the numbers to form a government.

ii. He was made the Defence Minister at the Centre in 2014 and was succeeded by Laxmikant Parsekar as the Chief Minister.iii.  He will take oath as the chief minister on 14th March, 2017.

India Bangladesh border guards celebrate Holi together

i. Border guards of India and Bangladesh celebrated the festival of Holi together along the international border. ii. India’s Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) played Holi at Akhaura, an integrated checkpost, and other bordering areas of Tripura and exchanged sweets. iii. BSF and BGB are very close and have celebrated various annual carnivals each year.

Women Safety app ‘Ammavin Aran’ launched by AIADMK\

i. The AIADMK IT Wing has launched the first-of-its-kind women safety application in Tamil Nadu. The app is called 'Ammavin Aran' meaning 'mother's fortress'.ii. The app will give the user details about the nearest police station and hospital along with map details and phone number. iii. There is an in-built whistle, which can manipulate the phone speaker to create a loud noise when pressed by anyone in distress.Also the app carries an in-built call recorder and and 'Tips' icon to provide life saving information.

Arunachal Pradesh Launches Adarsh Gram Yojana for Rural Poor

i. The Arunachal Pradesh government has launched a new scheme Adarsh Gram Yojana that is in accordance with the basic philosophy of the Prime Minister 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas'. 

ii. The scheme aims to reach the poor people in rural areas of the state to serve them better. Under the scheme, 123 villages (comprising one village per circle) will be developed as 'Model Villages' during the fiscal year 2017-18.

Karnataka announces Rs10-crore fund for women entrepreneurs

i. Karnataka has announced an Idea2POC (Proof of Concept) fund of Rs10 crore for women entrepreneurs. ii. Under this (Idea2POC) scheme, the Karnataka Department of IT, BT and S&T will fund up to Rs50 lakh for any woman innovator looking for funds for Proof of Concept validation, certification, and cover costs in manufacturing of pilot devices. iii. The IT/BT Department, under the Multi-Sector Startup Policy of Karnataka, created the Idea2PoC Fund.

Rs605-crore ‘KCR Kit’ scheme for pregnant women, new born

i. Focussing on women welfare and new born, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has come out with an innovative scheme – KCR Kit. The scheme is designed to address complications during the time of pregnancy and aimed at reducing infant mortality rate and encourage institutional deliveries.ii. The KCR Kit consists of 16 essential things needed for a new-born and will be useful for up to three months.The government proposes to earmark Rs605 crore for the scheme.

President inaugurated 'Namami Brahmaputra' festival in Assam

i. The biggest river festival of India, Namami Brahmaputra, begins in 21 districts of Assam.

ii. President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the festival on the banks of the river Brahmaputra, which is considered country's only male river.iii. The main purpose of the 5-day festival (31st March to 4th April) is to give a boost to the investment and tourism prospect in the state.

India signs First Loan Agreement with New Development Bank

i. The Loan Agreement for New Development Bank (NDB) financing of US$ 350 Million for Development and Upgradation of Major District Roads Project in Madhya

Pradesh was signed between Government of India and the New Development Bank (NDB).

ii. This is the First Loan Agreement for NDB assisted project in India. The objective of the Project is upgradation of major district roads (Approx. 1,500 km) in Madhya Pradesh to improve connectivity of the interior areas of the state with the national and state highway networks. The project implementation is 5 years.

Mental Healthcare Bill passed in Parliament

i. Parliament passed the Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016, which provides healthcare and services to the people with mental illness and also decriminalizes suicide.

ii. The bill was passed by Rajya Sabha in August 2016. The Mental Healthcare Bill secured approval in Lok Sabha too, recently. On the clauses decriminalizing suicide, the bill states that a person who attempts suicide should be presumed to have severe stress, and shall not be punished.iii. Under the Mental Healthcare Bill, the punishment for flouting of provisions will attract up to six months in prison or Rs 10,000 fine or both.

RBI says payment systems to remain closed on April 1

i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said all payment systems will remain closed on April 1, in a change from its earlier directive asking banks to remain open on the first day of the next fiscal beginning April.

ii. Electronic fund transfers using payment channels like RTGS (Real-time gross settlement) and NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) would remain closed on Saturday. However, debit card and credit card transactions would remain unaffected. 

Interest rates on small savings schemes cut by 0.1%

i. The returns on small savings schemes, including Public Provident Fund (PPF), National Savings Certificate (NSC) and Kisan Vikas Patra, will be lowered by 0.1 percent for the April-June quarter.

ii. Interest rates on all nine small savings schemes will be lower by 0.1%. Interest rates are reviewed quarterly.iii. According to finance ministry notification, investments in the public provident fund (PPF) scheme will fetch lower annual rate of 7.9%, the same as a five-year National Savings Certificate.

Karnataka Bank, SBI Card launch co-branded credit card

i. Karnataka Bank and SBI Card have launched co-branded credit cards for the customers of Karnataka Bank.

ii. Through this alliance, Karnataka Bank and SBI Card will launch two variants of the co-branded credit card named ‘Karnataka Bank Platinum SBI Card’ and ‘Karnataka Bank SimplySAVE SBI Card’.

Sunaina Singh appointed as new Vice-Chancellor of Nalanda University

i. Sunaina Singh has been appointed as the new Vice-Chancellor of Nalanda University. She was Vice Chancellor of Hyderabad-based EFL University. She has replaced George Yeo.

ii. The University has received a total of 160 applications for the position and six people were called for interviews and three names were then sent to the Visitor. Singh’s name was on top.

El Salvador becomes first country in the world to ban metals mining

i. El Salvador, Central America’s smallest nation, has become the first country in the world to ban metals mining nationwide.

ii. The new law, supported by 70 lawmakers, bans all exploration, extraction, and processing of metals both in open pits and mines.

NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson breaks Sunita Williams’ spacewalking record

i. American astronaut Peggy Whitson made history when she floated outside the International Space Station (ISS).ii. She broke the record for the most spacewalks by a woman. Whitson at the age of 57, is making her eighth career spacewalk, surpassing the record of seven previously held by American Sunita Williams.

iii. Ms. Whitson earned a doctorate in biochemistry and served as the first female space station commander in 2008.

India's S V Sunil named player of the year for 2016 in Asian Hockey Awards

i. Indian forward player S V Sunil was named the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Player of the Year for 2016.

ii. Drag-flick specialist Harmanpreet Singh was chosen as the Promising Player of the Year in the continental body’s annual awards.

Sachin Tendulkar launches own mobile app

i. Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar launched his Android and iOS app called '100MB'. The app has been developed by Pune-based technology firm JetSynthesys.

ii. ii. The app allows users access to their personal social media account within the app and access to exclusive information and interaction with Tendulkar.

Monetary policy review: RBI leaves repo rate unchanged

The Reserve Bank of India has released the first Bi-monthly Monetary policy of the new financial year (2017-18). GDP growth has hiked to 7.4% from 6.7%. Rates in the newly released Monetary policy are as follows-

Repo Rate under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.25%.  The Reverse Repo Rate (RRR) under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) has

been hiked to 6% from 5.75%.  The Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate are at 6.50%

decline from 6.75%.  Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) remains unchanged at 4% and Statutory Liquidity

Ratio (SLR) also remains unchanged at 20.50%.

Cabinet approvals on 5th April 2017

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the following agreements on 5th April.The list of agreements is given as follows-Cabinet Approves-1. MoU between India and Australia on cooperation in the field of Health and Medicine 2. agreement on Audio Visual Co-Production between India and Bangladesh 3. MoU on Cooperation in the field of Mass Media between India and Bangladesh 

PM to lay foundation stone of a multi-modal terminal on River Ganga in Jharkhand

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of a multi-modal terminal on River Ganga at Sahebganj in Jharkhand. ii. The state of the art terminal, to be constructed at an estimated cost of 280 crore rupees, is an important component of the development of the National Waterway-1 from Varanasi to Haldia. 

International Day of Sport for Development and Peace: 06th April

6 April was declared as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) by the UN General Assembly. ii. On the occasion of the 2017 International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP), the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP) launches the digital campaign #WePlayTogether to encourage organizations and individuals.

Haryana government to provide Rs 21,000 to families for third girl child 

i. Haryana government has decided to provide a one-time grant of Rs 21,000 to all those families whose third girl child was born after August 24, 2015, under the 'Aapki Beti, Hamari Beti' scheme. ii. Under the scheme, the eligible families will receive the amount irrespective of their caste, creed, religion, income and number of sons.

Yogi Adityanath govt waives Rs 36,359-crore loan for UP farmers

i. The BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh decided to waive off crop loans of up to Rs 1 lakh of small and marginal farmers in the state. ii. About 92.5% of the state’s farmers fall in the small and marginal categories. Besides, the cabinet also decided to write off Rs 5,630 crore in non-performing assets (NPAs) of 700,000 farmers.

SASEC's Finance Ministers Meeting held in New Delhi

i. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley chaired the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Finance Ministers meeting in New Delhi.ii. It was attended by the seven Finance Ministers from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka and the Asian Development Bank as a supporting SASEC in this endeavor.iii. Myanmar has joined the SASEC program as its seventh member.

National conference on Communicating India to be organized

i. A day-long national conference on Communicating India will be organized in New Delhi which will be inaugurated by Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore.ii. Telling the India's story to the world, Communicating via Journalism and Dialogue with Diaspora are three main themes which are outlined for the conference.

Jhargram becomes 22nd Bengal district

i. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared Jhargram as the 22nd district of West Bengal.ii. Jhargram has been formed by bifurcating West Midnapore, which has a population of more than 11.37 lakh. Mamta Banerjee announced a budget of Rs 200 crore for the development of Jhargram.

Rs 40,000 crore expressway project in northeast announced

i. The first express highway project in the northeast region will be developed along the Brahmaputra river in Assam at an estimated investment of Rs 40,000 crore inaugurated by Union Road Minister Nitin Gadkari.ii. The agreement was signed by the Assam government, the National Highways Authority of India and the Inland Waterways of India.

BS-IV Grade Fuel launched by Central Government after BS-III ban

i. Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas officially launched the low emission Bharat stage (BS)-IV Grade fuel in Bhubaneswar.ii. The launch was made on the special occasion of Utkal Diwas which is the foundation day of Odisha.iii. The launch was made in 12 cities of India. They were Varanasi, Vijayawada, Durgapur, Gorakhpur, Imphal, Bhopal, Ranchi, Madurai, Nagpur, Patna, Guwahati and Shillong.

19th commonwealth forestry conference to begin in Uttarakhand today

i. 19th Commonwealth Forestry Conference (CFC) 2017 will begin today at Forest Research Institute (FRI) in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.ii. Uttarakhand Governor Dr. K.K. Paul will inaugurate the 19th Commonwealth Forestry Conference at the FRI in Dehradun.iii. The 5-day conference is being organized on the theme ‘Forests for Prosperity and Posterity’.

Union Textiles Minister launches PowerTex India Scheme

i. The Government has launched PowerTex India, a comprehensive scheme for power loom sector development, simultaneously at over 45 locations in the country.ii. The Union Textiles Minister, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani Launched the scheme in Bhiwandi, Thane district, Maharashtra. The scheme will especially benefit small powerloom weavers.iii. The Minister and CMs interacted with various states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and others through video conference, as PowerTex India scheme was launched nationwide.

Madhya Pradesh CM launches 'MP e-nagarpalika' app

i. The Madhya Pradesh government has launched an app named ‘MP e-nagarpalika’ to provide various municipal services online.ii. The mobile app was launched by state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. This app would offer 378 services like online payment of property tax, seeking building permission, birth/ marriage/death certificates etc. It will also register complaints related to garbage, water, streetlights etc.iii. Online payment gateway would be available on this app. This mobile app would encourage the cashless transaction.

Mizoram signs MoU to join in UDAY

i. Mizoram has become the 27th State to join the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY).ii. Mizoram signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under the scheme on March 31 for operational improvement of the State’s Power Distribution Department.iii. According to government estimates, the State will derive an overall net benefit of approximately Rs. 198 crore by opting to participate in UDAY, by way of cheaper funds, reduction in AT&C and transmission losses.

iv. Kerala, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh have also recently joined the Centre’s power distribution company debt relief scheme, Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojna (UDAY).

India-Malaysia signs seven agreements

i. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is on a 6-day visit to India. Two countries sign seven agreements including air services agreement and MoUs in education and sports.ii. The pacts were signed after delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammed Najib Razak at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. This is Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's third visit to India since 2009.

IISc ranked best educational institution by HRD Ministry

i. Bengaluru's Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Delhi's Miranda House have made it to the top of respective categories in the country's official higher education rankings announced by the government.ii. Releasing the list in New Delhi, Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar stated that the government will provide more grants and funds for institutions faring better in rankings.

TOP UNIVERSITIES1. IISc, Bangalore2. JNU, New Delhi3. BHU, Varanasi

TOP COLLEGES1. Miranda House, Delhi2. LoyolaCollege,Chennai 3. Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi