THE HINDU REVIEW: MARCH 2017
1. India & Ukraine to strengthen bilateral cooperation through Cinema.
2. Iran and Russia agrees road map to Jointly Produce Nuclear Fuel.
3. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off the first Antyodaya Express a long distance, fully unreserved, superfast train service between Kochi's Ernakulam Junction and Howrah Junction through video conferencing from Rail Bhavan.
4. The Haryana government has set up an online system for Panipat to monitor the sex-ratio in the district as part of the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' programme.
5. Standalone health insurer Apollo Munich Health Insurance expanding its footprint across the country with bancassurance tie-up with state-owned Dena Bank.
6. Paytm E-Commerce launched Paytm Mall, a mobile app and online shopping portal.
7. Former Union Minister P. Shiv Shankar passed away after a prolonged illness.
8. 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.
9. Built by Pawan Hans Limited, India’s first heliport has been inaugurated in north Delhi’s Rohini.
10. 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) at 9.6%
11. Paris based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has cut India's growth forecast for this fiscal year (2016-2017) to 7% because of demonetization.
12. Lakshmi Vilas Bank has tied up with Centrum Group under which the bank will refer its High Net Worth Individuals (HNI) to Centrum for wealth management and family office services.
13. American Express launched an electronic payment platform linked to corporate card, Buyer Initiated Payments (BIP) to eliminate payment through cheques or drafts.
14. Canara, HSBC and Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance launched iSelect term plan to expand its online product suit with the meant for family protection.
15. Reliance Jio has announced a collaboration with the networking giant Cisco to expand Jio’s existing multi-terabit capacity with the first All-IP converged network in India.
16. India’s Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) shield got a further fillip with the successful test of an interceptor supersonic missile conducted by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
17. Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam launched a portal, 'ammakalviyagam.in' which will be a hub of learning, interaction, opportunity, and connection.
18. IAS officer Ajay Tyagi took charge as the chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) replacing Mr. U.K Sinha.
19. Reliance General Insurance (RGI), a part of Reliance Capital, has entered into a bancassurance tie-up with Catholic Syrian Bank.
20. Telecom Secretary J S Deepak was named India’s next Ambassador to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
21. Indian navy successfully test-fired an anti-ship missile for the first time from an indigenously built Kalvari class submarine.
22. Union Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation Mr. Narendra Singh Tomar has launched 'Swachh Shakti Saptah' in Gurugram, Haryana to raise awareness on sanitation and cleanliness.
23. Himachal Pradesh cabinet approved the proposal to make Dharamshala as the second capital of the state.
24. Gas Authority of India Ltd. (GAIL) has signed a time-swap deal with Swiss trader Gunvor to sell some of its US Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as the Indian firm tries to ease the burden of its costly foreign LNG supplies.
25. P K Purwar was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of state-run telecom major Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL)
26. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has proposed to increase the insurance premium to 50 percent for cars, motor cycles as well as commercial vehicles from April 1, 2017.
27. Reserve Bank of India has clarified that currency notes, which have messages scribbled on it are legal tender. Bank branches that refuse to exchange soiled notes from people will have to pay a penalty of Rs 10,000.
28. Telecom operator Bharti Airtel has signed an agreement with Millicom International Cellular to combine their operations in Ghana.
29. Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) under the Ministry of Environment and Forests coordinated 'Operation Thunder Bird' and 'Operation Save Kurma' nationwide.
30. Social networking site Facebook launched a new initiative 'SheLeadsTech', to support women-founded or co-founded startups.
31. INS Viraat, the world’s oldest aircraft carrier in active service decommissioned.
32. Centre has launched the first ever across-the-river survey in Ganga to determine the population of aquatic life, including that of the endangered Gangetic dolphin.
33. The tallest national flag in the country measuring 360 feet was hoisted at the Attari-Wagah joint check post in Punjab.
34. West Bengal government has given an official status to 'Kurukh' language in the state which has been listed as an endangered language by the UNESCO.
35. Andhra Pradesh Cabinet renamed the Vijayawada Airport as ‘Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR) Amaravati Airport’ & Tirupati Airport at Renigunta as ‘Sri Venkateswara Airport’.
36. Haryana government had prepared a Tirtha Darshan scheme under which senior citizens above 60 years of age and of Haryana domicile would be able to go on a pilgrimage within the country at government expense.
37. Union Cabinet gave ex-post facto approval to the MoU between India's National Productivity Council (NPC) and UAE's Al Etihad Energy Services for various services in the field of energy management and conservation.
38. Kerala has achieved the maximum number of registrations under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime with at least 60% of an estimated 2.5 lakh traders migrating to the new platform.
39. American Sam Querrey has won the ATP Mexico Open hard court tennis tournament.
40. India ended their campaign in the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup (Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun) with five medals, including one Gold, two Silver and two Bronze medals at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, New Delhi.
41. Andy Murray wins Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2017.
42. ‘Number Do Lie’ authored by former cricketer Aakash Chopra released.
43. Country's largest lender State Bank of India launched a new facility to enable its employees to 'work from home'.
44. The two-day International Yoga fest held in New Delhi.
45. A joint military exercise 'Surya Kiran-XI' between India and Nepal held in Pithoragarh area of Uttarakhand.
46. Rajiv Gandhi Hyderabad International Airport has secured first position in the world in the prestigious Airports Council International (ACI) Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey.
47. Jammu and Kashmir Minister for Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali inaugurated the first smart tribal model village 'Habbi' in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir.
48. China’s banking system has overtaken the eurozone to become the world’s biggest by assets.
49. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who played the character of Sarabjit Singh’s sister Dalbir Kaur, has won the Best Actress award for Sarabjit at the International Film Festival and Awards of Australia (IFFAA).
50. A two-day North-East Business Summit (NEBS) held in New Delhi.
51. CM of Karnataka Siddaramaiah launched a comprehensive web-based platform Pratibimba to showcase the government’s performance and achievements to the citizens.
52. According to the Global Corruption Barometer released by Transparency International (TI), in Berlin for 16 Asia Pacific countries India tops the list for being the most corrupt nation.
53. Vice President Hamid Ansari visited Indonesia to attend the 21-nation Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia.
54. India has organized the fifth edition of the mega cultural festival 'India by the Nile' in Egypt to showcase the diversity of the country's culture, arts and cuisine for building enduring partnership between the two ancient civilizations.
55. 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.
56. 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.
57. 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'.
58. 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'.
59. Karnataka has announced an Idea2POC (Proof of Concept) fund of Rs10 crore for women entrepreneurs.
60. Focusing on women welfare and new born, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has come out with an innovative scheme – KCR Kit.
61. As per RBI data, ICICI Bank topped the list of banks that witnessed most number of frauds during April to December period of 2016 with state-owned SBI taking the second spot.
62. HSBC Holdings Plc appointed insurance veteran and AIA Group boss Mark Tucker as chairman to replace Douglas Flint, who plans to step down in 2017.
63. Chinese smartphone company OnePlus has roped in Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan as its new brand ambassador for India.
64. Korea’s Hyundai Engineering Co has signed a deal worth 3 billion euros (USD 3.2 billion) with an Iranian investment fund to invest in a major Iranian oil project.
65. William B Thomas has been elected Chairman of KPMG International.
66. ICC appoint Sachin Tendulkar as official ambassador of women's World Cup 2017.
67. SSP Chawrasia has become only the second Indian golfer to successfully defend the Hero Indian Open title.
68. The Union government has launched Mission Fingerling to achieve Blue Revolution with the holistic development and management of fisheries in the country.
69. Biren Singh to be Sworn in Next CM of Manipur.
70. Gujarat government has entered into an agreement with a global cloud-based solutions provider cloudBuy.com to develop a B2B marketplace for small and large business units in the state.
71. Shashank Manohar resigns from ICC chairman’s post.
72. B P Kanungo appointed Deputy Governor in Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for three years.
73. The Lok Sabha on 10 March 2017 passed the Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill,2016.
74. Thai contestant Jiratchaya Sirimongkolnawin was crowned Miss International Queen 2016.
75. Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) cannot lend more than Rs 25,000 in cash against gold according to the new provisions of RBI.
76. Virbhadra Singh led Himachal Pradesh government has launched mobile app and website titled ‘MeraHunar HP’ or ‘My Talent’ to help skilled and semi-skilled workers find jobs.
77. Digital wallet player Paytm will now levy a 2% fee for adding money to Paytm wallet using credit cards.
78. New York-based Ford Foundation has appointed Pradeep Nair as regional director for India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.Nair will take charge at the end of March from David Hulse.
79. Technology giant Google has announced the acquisition of Kaggle, a start-up that hosts a number of data scientists.
80. Captain Amarinder Singh, who led the Congress to victory in Punjab after a decade, will be sworn-in as the Chief Minister for the second time.
81. The government has approved the National Health Policy which proposes to provide assured health services to all in the country.
82. Fifty new Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) will be established across the country to provide quality education to around 50,000 students with the Cabinet giving a go ahead to the project.
83. 20 projects worth Rs 1,900 Crore have been approved for swift implementation of Namami Gange Programme in Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Delhi.
84. Government has launched a new scheme Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) for developing export linked infrastructure in states with a view to promote outbound shipments.
85. Future Generali India Insurance Company (FGII) has entered into a corporate agency tie-up for its products with public lender UCO Bank.
86. HDFC Bank launched an instant digital Loan Against Securities (LAS) facility in collaboration with the National Securities Depository Ltd.(NSDL).
87. State Bank of India and Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly conduct various initiatives towards development of the realty sector.
88. Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Babul Supriyo has been named as Vice President of the 2017 U-17 FIFA World Cup
89. India with World Health Organization (WHO) signed a 'call for action' and pledged to scale up measures to end the Tuberculosis by 2030.
90. Bandhan Bank, has signed an agreement with Avenues India Pvt Ltd, a payment solution provider to provide merchants with seamless access to point-of-sales (POS) and payment gateway products.
91. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has tied up with Sentifi, a Swiss company and leader in algorithmic-based analysis, for social media updates of 40,000 globally listed stocks.
92. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) allowed celebrities to endorse Mutual Fund products at the industry level and issued new advertising code that will require fund houses to communicate in a simple manner with the public.
93. Sun Pharmaceuticals Managing Director Dilip Shanghvi has been appointed by the central government as a member of the western area local board of Reserve Bank of India.
94. India's most successful Badminton Doubles specialist Jwala Gutta has been appointed a member of the governing body of Sports Authority of India (SAI).
95. An Indian-American high school student, Indrani Das, 17, of New Jersey, has won the 2017 Regeneron Science Talent Search bagging the top award of 250,000 dollars.
96. Singapore's Changi Airport has been voted the World's Best Airport by air travellers at the 2017 World Airport Awards for the fifth consecutive year.
97. RBI has been authorized by Government of India (GOI) to conduct field trials of plastic notes of Rs 10 in five cities across the country viz Kochi, Mysore, Jaipur, Shimla and Bhubaneswar.
98. Trivendra Singh Rawat, a former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Pracharak elected as Uttarakhand's 9th Chief Minister after replacing of Harish Rawat.
99. Yogi Adityanath, the CM of Uttar Pradesh now have two deputies Keshav Prasad Maurya & Dinesh Sharma.
100. India and Russia have signed two long-term support agreements for the Sukhoi Su-30MKI combat aircraft fleet, of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
101. Essar group’s township at Hazira in Surat district of Gujarat has become India’s first private sector township to go cashless.
102. To support future research and technology development, related to critical infrastructure in India, a railway research center in Australia has entered into an agreement with the Indian Railways.
103. Medha, the made-in-India rake was flagged off for the maiden run of the 12-coach train from Dadar to Borivali, at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus.
104. Mumbai-based Ushalakshmi Breast Cancer Foundation has released an app to provide information under one roof.
105. Punjab cabinet has decided to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in all government jobs.
106. Former Australia captain Michael Clarke has launched his autobiography named ‘My Story’ in Kolkata.
107. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women launched the ‘Women in Politics 2017 Map’ in New York. India ranked 148 while the list is topped by Rwanda.
108. March 21 is observed as the United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Forests, which promotes the importance of forests and trees in our lives. The 2017 theme is 'Forests and energy'.
109. New-Delhi headquartered The Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) will be merged with the country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI).
110. 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.
111. 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.
112. The Uttarakhand High Court has given the status of "living human entities" to the Ganga and Yamuna.
113. ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank by consolidated assets has announced the launch of a mobile banking app 'Mera iMobile' for rural customers.
114. India ranked 122nd out of 155 countries in the recently released World Happiness Report, 2017.
115. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) would work together on crop improvement and agronomy programmes for grain legumes and dryland cereals.
116. In Cricket, Tamil Nadu has won the domestic 50-over competition, the Vijay Hazare Trophy, for the fifth time.
117. Cheteshwar Pujara has become the first Indian to face 500-plus balls in an innings, going past the mark against Australia.
118. Mumbai, 41-time Ranji Trophy champions, will no longer be considered a Full Member association in accordance with the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) new constitution.
119. The Rs 3-lakh limit proposed for cash payments in the Budget for 2017-18 will be brought down to Rs 2 lakh as part of an unprecedented 40 amendments to the Finance Bill.
120. The RBI proposed to fix the upper limit for Pre-paid Payment Instruments (PPIs) at Rs 1 lakh in view of growing usage of PPIs for a purchase of goods and services.
121. The second India-UAE conference on globalization held at Dubai with an aim to promote cooperation between the two countries, organized by All India Management Association (AIMA).
122. Russian bank VTB has decided to close its only office in New Delhi, India to cut costs but will continue to work in India.
123. The government has announced Madhabi Puri Buch as new whole time member of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for the period of three years.
124. Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy and Mines and Ms. Ségolène Royal, Minister for Environment, Energy and Marine Affairs Government of France jointly decided to appoint Mr. Upendra Tripathy, as the Interim Director General (IDG) of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) on a full-time basis.
125. Major Rohit Suri, from the Parachute Regiment who led the army team that carried out a surgical strike in PoK last year, was presented the second highest peacetime gallantry award Kirti Chakra by President Pranab Mukherjee.
126. The government approved construction of 117,814 more affordable houses for urban poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) in six states (Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha) with a total investment of Rs 5,773 crore and with central assistance of Rs 1,816 crore.
127. In the recently released Human Development Index by United Nations, India is ranked 131 out of 188 countries in the list. The list is topped by Norway followed by Australia and Switzerland on 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.
128. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation, the country’s longest road tunnel named Chenani-Nashri tunnel, built on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, which will cut short the distance between Jammu and Srinagar by nearly 30 km.
129. NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) will help Karnataka with low-cost technologies for water conservation and efficient use of water in the drought-affected districts.
130. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $350 million loan for improving about 1,500 kilometers of major district roads in Madhya Pradesh in line with the State’s Road Development Plan.
131. Android phone maker Samsung launched its digital payment application, called 'Samsung Pay', in the country as Indians look to shift to newer payment methods after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation exercise.
132. PepsiCo’s sports drink brand Gatorade has roped in Indian shuttler PV Sindhu as its brand ambassador.
133. The International Cricket Council (ICC) on announced the appointment of Ankur Khanna as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
134. Ravindra Jadeja replaces R Ashwin to become number 1 Test bowler.
135. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) created history by commissioning the world’s third largest hypersonic wind tunnel at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
136. The government notified the amended India-Singapore tax treaty under which capital gains tax will be levied at source of investments with effect from April 1,2017.
137. The state government of Assam has signed two MoUs with Mumbai-based State Bank of India(SBI) to provide housing loan and education loan for its employees.
138. To promote cashless digital transactions, South Indian Bank (SIB) has introduced Aadhar-based payment in its Unified Payment Interface (UPI) mobile application- 'SIB M-Pay'.
139. World Bank has signed a 100 million US dollar credit agreement with the Centre and Uttarakhand in New Delhi to improve the quality of health care services in all 13 districts of the state.
140. Bharti Airtel has acquired Tikona Digital's 4G airwaves for Rs 1,600 crore, ramping up its high-speed broadband spectrum capacity.
141. Photojournalist Raghu Rai was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Mr. Venkaiah Naidu for “his remarkable contribution to the field.
142. The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has awarded the Abel Prize for 2017 to mathematician Yves Meyer.
143. Reserve Bank of India has accorded its approval for the appointment of T S Anantharaman as part-time Chairman of the bank.
144. On March 26 Bangladesh celebrates its Independence day.
145. Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel won the Australian Grand Prix for Ferrari.
146. India has become the third largest aviation market in terms of domestic passenger traffic, beating Japan. United States with 815 million passengers in 2016 enjoyed the top position.
147. Pujara achieved the landmark for scoring the most runs in a Test season, surpassing the mark of 1269 by Gautam Gambhir which he achieved in the 2008/09 season.
148. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved closure/winding up of CREDA HPCL Biofuel Ltd (CHBL) and IndianOil - Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) Biofuels Limited (ICBL).
149. The list of state with highest seeded Aadhaar numbers was topped by Andhra Pradesh which had linked 87.73 per cent of its Jan-Dhan accounts with Aadhaar numbers followed by Tripura at 87.08 per cent and Telangana 83.56 percent.
150. General Insurance Corporation (GIC Re) is likely to be the first PSU insurer to tap the capital market as the Finance Ministry has started scouting for merchant bankers to manage its Initial Public Offering (IPO)
151. Karnataka Bank has launched the ‘MoneyPlant RuPay International Platinum Debit Card’ to provide more privileges to its premium and HNI (high net worth individual) customers.
152. Repco Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) has signed an agreement with National Housing Bank (NHB) for implementation of a credit-linked subsidy scheme for the middle-income group.
153. State-owned power equipment maker BHEL has commissioned a 250-MW eco-friendly unit using low-grade coal (lignite) as a primary fuel.
154. Veteran actor Anupam Kher was honored with the Kala Ratan Award by Vice President Hamid Ansari at Punjab University, Chandigarh.
155. FIFA confirmed that the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata will be the venue of the final of the FIFA Under 17 World Cup to be held later in 2017.
156. Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan launched MoP & NG e-Seva.
157. Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) launched Mobile Clinic Services for the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
158. Odisha became the first state in the country to carry financial inclusion and extend banking services to unbanked areas through Self Help Groups (SHGs).
159. Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) has been adjudged the ‘Best Small Bank for 2016’.
160. Vijaya Bank entered into an MoU with Piaggio Vehicles for providing financial support for the purchase of vehicles under Small Road Transport Operators (SRTO) scheme in Bengaluru.
161. Syndicate Bank digitally inaugurated 40 ‘Ananya’ transformed branches. Project Ananya is a two-year large-scale transformation project undertaken by the bank to provide customers with ‘best in class’ services while improving and modernizing the whole bank.
162. Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL), a defence public sector undertaking, signed an MoU with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for export of torpedoes.
163. ICICI Bank announced a partnership with mobile app firm Truecaller for a new UPI-based mobile payment service.The new feature called as Truecaller Pay
164. Leading communication app Truecaller has tied up with Google to integrate the tech giant's video calling app Duo within the Truecaller app.
165. Indian-origin British Director Gurinder Chadha has been honored with the Sikh Jewel Award for 2017 for her immense contribution to British cinema.
166. Kerala, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh have joined the Centre’s power distribution company debt relief scheme, Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojna (UDAY). With this, 26 states have joined the scheme.
167. Information & Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu launched the online film certification system, 'e-cinepramaan' with an aim to censor corruption and promote clean cinema.
168. India and Nepal have renewed the fuel supply agreement between Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) for another five years.
169. The 3rd G-20 Framework Working Group (FWG) Meeting under the G-20 German Presidency was held in Varanasi on 28th and 29th of March, 2017.
170. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are jointly working on the development of Dual Frequency (L and S band) Synthetic Aperture Radar Imaging Satellite named as NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR). The L-band SAR is being developed by JPL/NASA, while ISRO is developing S-band SAR.
171. The 9th World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC) will be held in Vancouver, Canada between September 9-15 2017. The theme will be 'Weaving new connections'.
172. Amazon, the USA based e-commerce giant made its entry in UAE by acquiring Souq.com, the Middle East’s largest online retailer.
173. ALTBalaji, the digital platform of Balalji Telefilms Ltd, has announced a partnership with mobile wallet major MobiKwik.
174. General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) in New Delhi, released the book ‘Home of the Brave’ on the history of Indian Army’s Counter Insurgency Force, the Rashtriya Rifles (RR). The book is authored by Mr Nitin A Gokhale, Defence & Security Analyst and Brig S K Chatterji (Retired).
175. The biggest river festival of India, Namami Brahmaputra, begins in 21 districts of Assam.
176. 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). This is the First Loan Agreement for NDB assisted project in India.
177. Parliament passed the Mental Healthcare Bill, 2016, which provides healthcare and services to the people with mental illness and also decriminalizes suicide. The bill states that a person who attempts suicide should be presumed to have severe stress, and shall not be punished. Under the Bill, the punishment for flouting of provisions will attract up to six months in prison or Rs 10,000 fine or both.
178. 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. Interest rates on all nine small savings schemes will be lower by 0.1%.
179. Karnataka Bank and SBI Card have launched co-branded credit cards for the customers of Karnataka Bank. Through this alliance, both will will launch two variants of the co-branded credit card named ‘Karnataka Bank Platinum SBI Card’ and ‘Karnataka Bank SimplySAVE SBI Card’.
180. 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.
181. El Salvador, Central America’s smallest nation, has become the first country in the world to ban metals mining nationwide.
182. American astronaut Peggy Whitson made history when she floated outside the International Space Station (ISS). Whitson at the age of 57, is making her eighth career spacewalk, surpassing the record of seven previously held by American Sunita Williams.
183. Indian forward player S V Sunil was named the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) Player of the Year for 2016. Drag-flick specialist Harmanpreet Singh was chosen as the Promising Player of the Year in the continental body’s annual awards.
184. Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar launched his Android and iOS app called '100MB'. The app has been developed by Pune-based technology firm JetSynthesys.
185. Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Government of Jharkhand signed an MoU for the development of the Deoghar Airport in Deoghar district of Jharkhand.
186. As per Central Electricity Authority, the Designated Authority of Government of India for Cross Border Trade of Electricity, 1st time India has turned around from a net importer of electricity to Net Exporter of electricity.
187. SBI Card launched a unique credit card ‘SBI Card Unnati’ targeted at all SBI customers, including Jan Dhan account-holders across the country.
188. The country’s fast-growing e-commerce industry Paytm is all set to become a member of the self-regulatory voluntary organization Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) from April, 2017.
189. The Insurance Regulatory and Development authority of India (IRDAI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 20 lakh on ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company on various charges.
190. Indian Navy inducts surveillance ship INLCU L51, the first of the eight ships of the Landing Craft Utility MK IV Class, was commissioned into the India Navy in Port Blair.
191. State-run power producer NTPC has commissioned 55 Mega Watt (MW) of Bhadla Solar Power Project in Rajasthan.
192. United Bank Limited (UBL) has appointed Sima Kamil as the new president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the bank.
193. United Nations Chief Antonio Guterres has appointed former South Carolina Governor David Beasley to head the Rome-based World Food Programme (WFP).
194. Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani has been inducted into the international advisory board of global think-tank the Atlantic Council.
195. The International Hockey Federation (FIH) confirmed Bhubaneswar as the venue for two of its major events the Men’s Hockey World League Final in December 2017 and the men’s World Cup in 2018.
196. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has appointed Minoru Kato as a new President and Chief Executive Office of the company effective from April 1, 2017.
197. Senior Advocate and eminent jurist Tehmtan R. Andhyarujina passed away. He was the Solicitor General of India from 1996 to 1998.
198. Promising Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty clinched the $20,000 Vietnam Open International challenger badminton doubles title after defeating Thai pair of Trawut Potieng and Nanthakam Yordphaisong in a final in Hanoi, Vietnam.
199. World Theatre Day is observed globally on 27th March every year. World Theatre Day was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI), France.
200. American financial magazine Barron's has listed the name of HDFC Bank Managing Director Aditya Puri’s name in its list of world’s 30 best CEOs. The top position has been secured by Mary Barra of General Motors.
201. Tanushree Pareek became the first woman combat officer to be commissioned in the 51-year history of the BSF, the country’s largest border guarding force.
202. Australia fast bowler Shaun Tait has announced his retirement from international cricket.
203. Gauri Singh, 14-year-old girl became the first girl to explore the route from Sea Link near Worli Koliwada to the Gateway of India.
204. World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) is observing the 10th anniversary of 'Earth Hour' i.e. 25 March,2017.
205. External Affairs Ministry and the department of posts announced the opening of a Post Office Passport Seva Kendra (POPSK) at Nellore in Andhra Pradesh. It would be the 86th POPSK in the country.
206. Defence Minister Arun Jaitley handed over three naval systems, developed by premier Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to the Indian Navy. The naval systems, given to Indian Navy, are USHUS-II submarine sonar, directing gear for hull-mounted sonar array and inertial navigation system for ship applications.
207. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) will be reorganized for the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime and will be renamed as the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) following Parliamentary approval.
208. State Bank of India (SBI) Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya has been ranked 26th among the world's 50 greatest leaders, according to Fortune Magazine. With this, Bhattacharya has become the only Indian corporate leader to be featured on the list. The list has been topped by Theo Epstein President, Baseball Operations in Chicago Cubs.
209. The 105th session of Indian Science Congress (ISC) will be hosted by Osmania University, Hyderabad during January 3-7, 2018. The theme of the 105th session of Indian Science Congress is 'Science and Technology - Reaching the Unreached’.
210. Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has broken the record for most wickets in a single Test season, taking his 79th this season during the Dharamsala Test against Australia.
211. World Tuberculosis Day celebrated on 24 March each year. The theme for World Tuberculosis Day 2017 is 'Unite to End TB: Leave no one behind'.
212. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) created history by commissioning the world’s third largest hypersonic wind tunnel at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
213. The state government of Assam has signed two MoUs with Mumbai-based State Bank of India(SBI) to provide housing loan and education loan for its employees.
214. To promote cashless digital transactions, South Indian Bank (SIB) has introduced Aadhar-based payment in its Unified Payment Interface (UPI) mobile application- 'SIB M-Pay'.
215. The World Bank has signed a 100 million US dollar credit agreement with the Centre and Uttarakhand in New Delhi to improve the quality of health care services in all 13 districts of the state.
216. India has marginally improved its position to 87th place on a global energy architecture performance index, but ranks among the worst for pollution, a survey showed. Switzerland topped the annual list released by Geneva- based World Economic Forum (WEF) and was followed by Norway, Sweden, Denmark and France in the top five.
217. Prominent Tamil writer and Sahitya Akademi winner Ashokamitran died at the age of 86.
218. Young Indian shooter Ankur Mittal, defeated rival James Willett, and bagged the first World Cup gold medal of his career in double trap at the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup.
219. The second India-UAE conference on globalization held at Dubai with an aim to promote cooperation between the two countries, organized by All India Management Association (AIMA). The conference themed as ‘Resetting Globalisation: Collaborating in a Fast Changing World'.
220. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal launched initiatives to develop Majuli, world biggest river island, as India’s first carbon neutral district and as a biodiversity heritage- yet not officially released.
221. India’s national record holder in men’s 20km race walk, K T Irfan has won bronze at the Asian Race Walking Championships in Nomi, Japan.
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