week 10 current affairs 2016 pdf

8/18/2019 Week 10 Current Affairs 2016 PDF

1/16

Current Affairs – 10th Week -

6th

March – 12th

March 2016

Best of Current Affairs Desk21st March 2016

IN THIS WEEK

WHAT'S NEW NIRDESHAK.COM

Awards

ECONOMY

BANKING

SPORTS

POLICY

RAILWAYS

PERSON

Dear Readers,

Nirdeshak.com has initiated all new Current

Affairs (BNCA) with weekly pdf update. In today’s

competitive scenario, it has become most crucialto read more analytical and absorbable content,

in order to get best result. The content is

developed scientifically developed so that it

becomes short, easy to remember and only

relevant part is recalled for exam preparation.

This is helpful for current affairs preparation,

developing acumen for interviews, GD and

overall remembering more get best scores in

competitive exams, for Banks, IBPS PO, SBI, IAS,

SSC and other exams.

In the week, many place, events and policy

remained important as India and world saw

many developments. Further know more about

key personalities of the week, banking news,

government policies and foreign relations with

neighbours.

Happy learning,

Warm regards

Editorial Team

Nirdeshak.com

http://currentaffairs.nirdeshak.com/6-7-december-2015-current-affairs/http://currentaffairs.nirdeshak.com/6-7-december-2015-current-affairs/http://currentaffairs.nirdeshak.com/6-7-december-2015-current-affairs/


2/16

Following are the important current terms important for exams, discussions

and interview.

Terms to Know

What is Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)

Rating of Banking

What is SPV?

What is CLAB?

What is EPF tax?

Know about world’s longest all-women flight

Who formed National People’s Party

What do you mean by?

How many satellites are there inIRNSS

RERA

What is Setu Bharatam?

What is Bankers’ Retreat and

Gyan Sangam?

CCEA

Email association with Ray

Tomlinson

Important Terms for Discussion and interviews

Android N

What is Union B United Forum of Regional Rural Bank Unions (UFEEBU)

What is RRB, how many banks are there in RRB?

Name the Authority which regulates Real Estate? (RERA)

Why Drug – Meldomium is used?

What will be the impact of opening 100% owned branches in Myanmar on

SBI?

How Aadhaar can be beneficiary by making it mandatory for subsidies.


3/16

Technology

Android N

Google released the preview version of its latest Android operating system which is

meant for developers only and not intended for daily use or consumers.

To Know: Google released the developer preview of

Android N on 9 March 2016 in a hush-up affair. Unlike

its earlier versions, which were released amid much

fanfare at the Google I/O in May every year, the release

of ‘Android N’ was just for a select tribe of developers.

– The earlier preview allows Google to hand off the final N release to device makerslater this year, so they can get their hands on the latest version of Android earlier

than ever.

– Some of the new features available in ‘Android N’ are – a multi-window support,

redesigned notification features, more efficient doze system, number-blocking facility

in the platform and much enhanced local language support.

– However Android N will not be the official name of this version and the final

market-release version could be known by any name from ‘Nuts’ to ‘Nutella’.

Tech Mahindra

Startup Garage

First corporate entity to create a ‘startup garage’ for its in-house entrepreneurs.

To Know: Tech Mahindra, the IT entity of the Mahindra Group, will become the first

corporate entity in India to have startup incubator (‘startup garage’) for its in-house

entrepreneurs. Majority of the entrepreneurs will be company’s own employees.

– Currently, as many as 15 businesses have emerged from among the over 1.05

lakh Tech Mahindra employees and they work as part of the ‘growth factories’ set-

up.

– All the businesses that are getting incubated will be physically housed together in

the garage and doing so will give them independence to operate. Mentoring the

businesses will also be easier if they are housed together. Tech Mahindra’s ‘startup

garage’ will be established at Pune.

http://currentaffairs.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/03/Android-N-2016.jpg


4/16

Banking

Which Rating agency downgraded 8 Public Sector Banks?

Crisil downgraded the ratings of which 8 public sector banks – Bank of India,

Central Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Dena Bank, IDBI Bank, Indian

Overseas Bank, Syndicate Bank and Uco Bank

To Know: The ratings of these 8 PSU banks were downgraded by Crisil on 10

March 2016. On the other hand the agency also changed the outlook, to negative

from stable, on certain securities of five other banks- Andhra Bank, Bank of Baroda,

Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank and Punjab and Sindh Bank.

– The ratings were downgraded primarily due to increase in banks’ non-performingassets (NPAs).

Banking – RRB

What is RRB, how many banks are there in RRB?

Officers and employees of regional rural banks (RRBs) went on a 2-day strike from

10 March 2016 to press for nationalisation of RRBs. Which entity associated with

rural bank employees gave call for this strike? – United Forum of Regional RuralBank Unions (UFEEBU)

To Know: UFRRBU is an umbrella body of seven unions. They

are opposing the RRBs Amendment Act 2015, which paved the

way for infusion of private capital in the banks and thus diluting the

social objectives of the institutions. There are 56 RRBs with a

network of over 20,500 branches across 635 districts in the

country.

– The strike resulted in a four-day closure of the RRBs at a stretch with thesubsequent two days (12 and 13 March) being public holidays.

Banking

State Bank of India - To Open 100% owned branches in Myanmar

To Know: In the latest move by the Southeast Asian nation Myanmar to woo

investment to the country long ruled by the military and hit by Western sanctions, its

http://currentaffairs.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/03/Rural-Bank-2016.jpg


5/16

Govt. on 7 March allowed four foreign banks to operate in the country. These include

India’s largest PSU bank SBI.

– The other three new banks that have been given initial approval by the Central

Bank of Myanmar are Vietnam’s Bank for Investment and Development, Taiwan’s

E.SUN Commercial Bank and South Korea’s Shinhan Bank.

– It is worth mentioning that in April 2016 Japan’s Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ became the

first foreign bank in decades to open a branch in Myanmar.

What is CLAB?

Small Area Finance Bank (SFB)

To Know: Jalandhar-based Capital Local Area Bank (CLAB) is set to become India’sfirst small area finance bank (SFB) as it starts its operations from 13 April 2016.

– It will launch operations under a new name – Capital Small Finance Bank Limited

and its launch will coincide with the auspicious festival of Baisakhi (the beginning of

rabi harvest that gives a major boost to rural spending) in Punjab.

– CLAB is the first among the 10 applicants to get final licence from the Reserve

Bank of India (RBI). It is currently active as local area bank.

Place for Gyan Sangam - – Gurgaon

To Know: ‘Gyan Sangam’ (Bankers’ Retreat) is

the name given to the annual conclave of the top

officials from banks, Finance Ministry and the

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to take stock of the developments in the banking sector

and brainstorm on the issues that bog down stakeholders at various fronts.

– While the first edition of ‘Gyan Sangam’ was held in 2015 in Pune, the second

edition is being held on 4 and 5 March 2016 at Gurgaon. Seven months after the

2015 conclave, the government announced the seven-point reforms roadmap,

Indradhanush, detailing the measures it would take to revamp public sector banks.

– ‘Gyan Sangam’ 2016 is being held at a time when 12 public sector banks reported

losses, the stock of bad loans across listed banks jumped by Rs.1 trillion in a single

quarter and capital positions of these public sector lenders eroded.

http://currentaffairs.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/03/Gyan-Sangam-2016.jpg


6/16

Petroleum

Petroleum - Ratna and R Series Oil-Fields

On 10 March 2016 the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) decided to

revert the award of Ratna and R-series oil-fields to the public sector Oil & Natural

Gas Corporation (ONGC) after approving the cancellation of the letter of award in

favour of the consortium of Essar Oil Limited and Oil Pacific UK Ltd. This award was

done in which year? – 1996

To Know: The Ratna and R-series oil-fields (lying 130 km off Mumbai coast) were

planned to be awarded under the Discovered Field Policy (DFP) of the then

Narasimha Rao Government as announced during 1992-93 in the wake of economic

liberalization. The letter of award in favour of Essar and Oil Pacific was issued on 3

December 1996.

– It was envisaged that the development of these fields through private sector/joint

sector development by signing the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) would

facilitate in creating additional value for the country from such projects.

– However, the PSC in respect of these fields could not be signed during the last two

decades owing to a number of reasons. Apart from this the intended contribution of

the Ratna and R-series fields in achievement of overall policy objective could not be

attained.

– In view of this, the CCEA has now decided that the fields may be reverted back to

the original licensee, ONGC, who had initially developed these fields partially and

operated and obtained production from these fields till 1994.

Appointment

Appointment

Chairman of the 21st Law Commission – Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan

To Know: Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan, a former judge of the Supreme Court was

appointed Chairman of the 21st Law Commission on 10 March. This post was lying

vacant since September 2015.

– 66-year old Justice Chauhan is currently heading the Cauvery River Water

Disputes Tribunal. One of the key issues pending before the Law Commission is a


7/16

call on amending the Indian Penal Code (IPC) amid allegations of abuse and

arbitrary use of the law.

– The term of the 20th Law Commission ended on 30 August 2015 and the Union

Cabinet approved creation of the 21st Law Commission on 9 September 2015. The

Law Ministry brought out a notification to create the 21st law panel on 14 September

2015.

– The Law Commission is reconstituted every three years and is usually headed by a

retired Supreme Court judge or former Chief Justice of a high court.

Space

IRNSS – 1F

Sixth navigational satellite launched under the ambitious IRNSS series the through

the PSLV-32 rocket.

To Know: IRNSS-1F (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-1F) is the sixth

satellite of the seven satellite-Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)

series. It is part of India’s plan to put in place an indigenous navigation system

similar to US-based global positioning system (GPS) and the Russian GLONASS.

– The launch was done from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota (Andhra

Pradesh).

– The final satellite, IRNSS-1G, which will complete the series of satellites, will be

launched in April 2016, after which the navigation system will become operational.

– Once fully operational, the constellation of satellites will reduce India’s dependence

on foreign navigational systems. The other five satellites, IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C,ID and

1E , were successfully launched by PSLV on 2 July 2013, 4 April 2014, 16 October

2014, 28 March 2015 and 20 January 2016, respectively. All the five satellites are

functioning satisfactorily.

Real Estate

The real Estate Bill

Name the Authority which regulate Real Estate? (RERA)


8/16


9/16

Policy

Aadhaar Bill – To make the use of Aadhaar mandatory for availing of

government Subsidies (for Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies,Benefits and Services)

To Know: The Aadhaar Bill will provide statutory

backing to Aadhaar. It seeks to make the use of

Aadhaar mandatory for availing of government

subsidies but at the same time also tries to

address concerns regarding privacy and

protection of personal information.

– The bill provides that the information under

Aadhaar will be an electronic record and will be

classified as “sensitive personal data or

information” as per the provisions of the Information Technology Act.

– The bill prohibits the sharing of the core biometric information in any form.

However, information about the identity of an individual, other than core biometric

information, can be shared subject to certain conditions.

– Violation of privacy and protection of biometric data has been one of the main

criticisms of Aadhaar, which has enrolled almost a billion citizens in the unique

identity scheme.

National Pension Plan (NPS)

To Know: After rolling back of the controversial EPF tax proposal, the National

Pension Scheme, or NPS, will continue with its earlier structure, in which only 40%

would be tax free at withdrawal.

– In his Budget proposals on 29 February 2016 the Finance Minister had said only

40% of the total accumulated EPF balance would be tax-free. This essentially meant

that on withdrawal of EPF, 60% of the corpus, accumulated after 1 April 2016, would

attract tax and the remaining 40% would be tax-free.

– The proposal was proposed to apply only to those who earned more than Rs.

15,000 a month.

– However, the proposal was met with vociferous opposition from the salaried class,

as well as from Opposition parties. Hence, the controversial EPF tax proposal waswithdrawn on 8 March.

http://currentaffairs.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/03/Aadhaar-2016.jpg


10/16

Project

Project - Setu Bharatam - To make all national highways free from railway level

crossings by 2019

To Know: With the aim of ensuring road security, the Union Government on 4 March

launched the ‘Setu Bharatam’. Under the project, 208 rail over bridges and rail under

bridges will be built at the cost of Rs. 20,800 crore.

– The project primarily aims to make all national highways free from railway level

crossing by 2019. Total outlay of the project is Rs. 50,000 crore. Rs. 30,000 crore

will be spent on reconstruction and revamping over 1,500 old bridges.

Award

Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2015 – Manoj Kumar

To Know: Veteran Hindi film actor Manoj Kumar will be conferred

with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2015.

– The actor of yesteryears, best known for his patriotic

films ‘Purab Aur Paschim’, ‘Upkar’ and ‘Kranti’, will become

47th recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the most prestigious

film award in India.

– Manoj Kumar was born as Harikrishna Giri Goswami in Abbottabad (present

Pakistan). He initially started as a romantic hero following his debut in 1960

with Kaanch Ki Gudia but later shifted focus to acting and directing films with patriotic

themes so much so that fans started calling him ‘Bharat Kumar’.

– He won the National award of ‘Upkaar’ and was conferred with the Padma Shri in

1992.

Railway

Railway - Project - National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL)

http://currentaffairs.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/03/Manoj-Kumar-2016.jpg


11/16

What is the name of the new Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that was formed on 8

March 2016 to implement the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Bullet Train project?

To Know: National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) is the name of

the new Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) that will undertake the complete

implementation of the ambitious High Speed Bullet Train project between

Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

– The bullet train is expected to cover the 508 km between Mumbai and Ahmedabad

in about two hours, running at a maximum speed of 350 kmph and operating speed

of 320 kmph. Currently, Duronto takes about seven hours to cover the distance

between the two financial centres of the country.

Sports

Sports – Asia Cup

This was 6th Asia Cup title for India. Sabbir Rahman was declared ‘Player of the

Series’.

To Know : Sabbir Rahman, who was the highest

run-scorer of the tournament with 176 runs, was

declared ‘Player of the Series’. Shikhar Dhawan

was declared ‘Man of the Match’ of the final.

– India displayed another meticulous and precise

performance to romp home by 8 wickets while

replying to Bangladesh’s score of 120 for 5 in 15 overs in a rain-curtailed final.

– ‘Man of the Match’ Shikhar Dhawan played the lead with a chanceless 60 (44b,

9×4, 1×6) while Virat Kohli (41 not out) supported him ably in a 94-run stand for the

second wicket. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni produced late fireworks, scoring 20off just six balls (two sixes and a four), to ensure India’s sixth Asia Cup title.

– This was the 6th Asia Cup title for India and is now the most successful team in this

tournament by overtaking Sri Lanka’s 5 title wins.

– The 2016 Asia Cup was a Twenty20 International (T20I) cricket tournament and

was held in Bangladesh from 24 February to 6 March 2016. It was the 13th edition of

the Asia Cup, the fifth to be held in Bangladesh, and the first to be played using the

T20I format.

http://currentaffairs.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/03/Asia-Cup-2016.jpg


12/16

Patna Pirates

To Know: Patna Pirates won their maiden Pro Kabaddi League

title on 5 March 2016 when it defeated defending champions U

Mumba (Mumbai) by 31-28 in the high octane final played at Indira

Gandhi Indoor Stadium (New Delhi).

– Patna Pirates started the game in an incredible fashion by taking

a huge lead in the first half. U Mumba made a stunning comeback in the game but

could not overtake Pirates in the closing minutes. For Pirates Sandeep Narwal gave

a sterling performance to give his team the first PKL title.

– Rohit Kumar of Patna Pirates was awarded Best Raider and Mohit Chillar of U

Mumba the Best Defender of the Match.

– PKL is a professional Kabaddi league in India, based on the format of the Indian

Premier League T20 cricket tournament. The inaugural season of PKL was held in

2014 and was won by Jaipur Pink Panthers. Second season (2015) was claimed by

U Mumba.

Person - Tennis Star - Maria Sharapova

Failed a drug test at the Australian Open due to a substance she has been taking for

10 years for health issues and was provisionally suspended from 12 March.

To Know: 28-year old Russian tennis star, who is also the highest-

paid woman in sports, on 7 March created a huge flutter in tennis

circuit when she admitted using meldonium for health issues. She

accepted taking the drug for last 10 years and said this was a big

mistake.

– She thus became the seventh athlete in a month to test positive for

meldonium, which is used to treat diabetes and low magnesium, and was only

banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency as of 1 January 2016.

– Sharapova said her family doctor had been giving her mildronate, which is also

called meldonium, for 10 years after she frequently became sick, had irregular EKG

results, a magnesium deficiency and a family history of diabetes.

– Sharapova is the biggest name in sport to test positive since New York Yankees

baseball slugger Alex Rodriguez was banned for a year in 2013 after using

performance-enhancing drugs and American cyclist Lance Armstrong was banned

for life from racing in 2012 after a U.S. Anti-Doping investigation.

– According to Forbes, she earned $29.5 million in 2015, mostly from endorsements.

http://currentaffairs.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/03/Maria-Sharapova-2016.jpghttp://currentaffairs.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/03/Pro-Kabaddi-League-2015.jpg


13/16

Event

World Culture Festival

The controversial 3-day mega cultural event organized by Art of Living (AOL)

founder Sri Sri Ravishankar that started on the banks of Yamuna River in Delhi from

11 March 2016.

To Know: World Culture Festival is the name given to a mega event organized as a

celebration of The Art of Living’s 35 years of service. The Art of Living founder and

spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravishankar is the main organizer of this event.

– The event held from 11 to 13 March 2016 features cultural events from all parts of

the world featuring thousands of artists. Nearly 36,000 artistes from around the worldwill perform on what is claimed to be the world’s largest stage.

– However the event ran into rough weather as environmentalist Manoj Misra

petitioned the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that the World Cultural Festival not be

allowed to use the floodplains near Mayur Vihar as it was an ecologically-sensitive

venue.

– The NGT on 9 March 2016 gave its go ahead to the event but also clamped Rs. 5

crore fines on The Art of Living claiming that the floodplains had been damaged in

the preparations for the event. After coming out against this fine, Sri Sri Ravishankarlater asked for more time to pay the fine.

– In the wake of controversies surrounding the event, several world leaders expected

to attend the festival and the AOL Global Leaders Forum at the same time on 12 -13

March, cancelled their participation. They include the ‘guest of honour’ Zimbabwe

President Robert Mugabe, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, Nepal

President Bidhiya Devi Bhandari, and former Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Indian

President Pranab Mukherjee, who was due to give valedictory address at the event,

didn’t attended the event as he had to attend another function.

– However, the inaugural function was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

World’s longest all-women flight

Between New Delhi and San Francisco

To Know: The flight between New Delhi (India) and

San Francisco (United States), which travelled a

distance of around 14,500 kilometers in close to 17

http://currentaffairs.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/03/Air-India-Longest-women-flight-2016.jpg


14/16

hours, was operated as part of International Women’s Day celebrations.

– The flight was under the command of Kshamta Bajpayee and Shubhangi Singh,

along with First Officers Ramya Kirti Gupta and Amrit Namdhari.

– Apart from this, entire flight operations from cockpit crew to cabin crew, check-instaff, doctor, customer care staff, ATC (air traffic control) and the entire ground

handling were handled by women for this historic flight.

Person

Dead - Former Lok Sabha Speaker P.A. Sangma

To Know: Purno Agitok Sangma (P.A. Sangma) was the Speaker of

the 11th Lok Sabha from 1996 to 1998. He was a 9-time member of

the Lok Sabha and was member of the present Lok Sabha from Tura

Assembly seat of Meghalaya.

– He had also held important portfolios in the Union government.

– Born on 1 September 1947 in village Chapahati in the picturesque West Garo Hills

District of Meghalaya, Sangma struggled hard to rise in life.

– He was a former Congressman and was one of the founding members of the

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). He was expelled from Congress in 1999 for

raising the banner of revolt against Sonia Gandhi over her foreign origin issue.

– He was expelled from NCP in July 2012 when he refused to accept his party’s

decision to quit the race for India’s President. In January 2013, he formed the

National People’s Party.

– He was 68 and died of a cardiac arrest.

Person

Death - Kalabhavan Mani

To Know: Kalabhavan Mani had acted in more than 200 films,

majority being Malayalam. He also featured in numerous Tamil and

Telugu films.

– With his superb portrayal of a blind singer in Malayalam film

‘Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum’ (remade in Tamilas Kasi), he won both National Award and Kerala State Film Award

http://currentaffairs.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/03/PA-Sangma-2016.jpghttp://currentaffairs.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/03/Kalabhavan-Mani-2016.jpg


15/16

in 1999.

– Of late he was more seen in Tamil films. He was also an accomplished singer and

was known for rendering haunting folk songs. He was 45 and his real name was

Mani Raman (Kalabhavan Mani being his stage name).

Person – Ray Tomlinson

Inventor of Email associated with information technology.

To Know: Ray Tomlinson was the American

programmer who was widely credited with

inventing email. He had also chosen @ symbol for

using in email addresses. – He had invented direct electronic messages

between users on different machines in 1971. He

had implemented the first email program on the

ARPANET system, the precursor to the Internet. It was the first program able to send

mail between users on different hosts connected to ARPANET.

– Previously, mail could be sent only to others who used the same computer. To

achieve this, he used the @ sign to separate the user name from the name of their

machine, a scheme which has been used in email addresses ever since.

– Tomlinson’s work changed the way the world communicates and yet, for all his

accomplishments he remained humble.

(Photo Courtesy: YouTube.com)

…………………………………………………….

Dinesh Thakur

Filed public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court accusing Indian drug

regulators of failing to enforce rules on drug safety.

To Know: Dinesh Thakur is one of the best-known whistleblowers for the Indian

drug industry. In 2013 he exposed how India’s then largest drug-maker and his

former employer, Ranbaxy Laboratories, failed to conduct proper safety and quality

tests on drugs and lied to regulators about its procedures.

– Thakur’s fresh case, a public interest litigation (PIL) suit, is listed in the Supreme

Court website for hearing on 11 March 2016.

http://currentaffairs.nirdeshak.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2016/03/Ray-Tomlinson-2016.jpg


16/16

– The said PIL alleges that responses provided to him by government show how lax

regulation can lead to potentially harmful medicines being sold in India without

proper approvals.

– The Health Ministry, the Drugs Consultative Committee and the Central Drugs

Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) have been made respondents in the case.

– Dinesh Thakur has alleged that an overwhelming number of non-standard-quality

drugs are not prosecuted in criminal cases, since state drug controllers only impose

minor administrative penalties on the offenders.

week 10 current affairs 2016 pdf

Documents