Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation appointed Noel Quinn as Chief Executive Officer, handing the insider & interim boss the reins of Europe's biggest bank & ending months of conjecture an external candidate could get the role. He joined HSBC in 1987.
HSBC Headquarters: London, United Kingdom.
Goldman Sachs cut its estimate for China's Q1 Gross Domestic Product to a year-on-year contraction of 9% from a previous forecast of 2.5% growth, citing ‘strikingly weak’ economic data in January & February. It lowered its full-year GDP forecast to 3%.
Previous full-year GDP estimate was 5.5%.
S&P Global Ratings lowered India's economic growth forecast to 5.2 percent for 2020, saying the global economy is entering a recession amid the coronavirus pandemic. The agency had earlier projected a growth rate of 5.7 percent during the 2020 calendar.
Forecasts for China and Japan for 2020 are 2.9% and -1.2%.
The Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India & the Government of Brunei Darussalam for the exchange of information & assistance in collection with respect of taxes was signed in New Delhi. It will help to curb tax evasion & tax avoidance.
Brunei Capital- Bandar Seri Begawan, Currency- Brunei dollar.
The annual African Lion military exercise became the latest casualty of the global coronavirus pandemic with this year's event being cancelled, US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said. Command called off the entire event and began planning for African Lion 21.
Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal were the host cities.
Salesforce names former SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya as India CEO. She was the 1st woman to lead the more than 200-year-old SBI. Move comes as the Salesforce becomes aggressive in India, a market that is gradually adopting digital technologies.
Arundhati Bhattacharya retired from SBI in 2017.
Department of Space (DoS) has reported that ISRO has designed NavIC messaging system and developed a ‘NavIC receiver’. Indian National Centre for Ocean Information System (INCOIS) is using this messaging system to broadcast emergency warning messages.
It also broadcasts information of Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ).
GMR Hyderabad International Airport has declared itself as a Single-Use Plastic free airport from 1 March 2020 and use of such material has been imposed across the airport. This initiative is in line with the government’s campaign to phase out SUP by 2022.
They are also encouraging eco-friendly products like jute bags.
Aries International Maritime Research Institute (AIMRI) located in Sharjah, UAE has received accreditation from Emirates International Accreditation Centre as a Certification Body for Quality Management System (ISO 9001:2015) Audits and certification.
EIAC- Emirates International Accreditation Centre.
1st LCA in FOC standard (SP-21) took to the skies for maiden flight, piloted by Air Commodore K A Muthana (Retired), Chief Test Flying (Fixed Wing). It took-off from HAL Airport & was airborne for 40 mnts. FOC aircraft is equipped with advanced features.
Beyond Visual Range missile system is present in the aircraft.
The total power generation from conventional fuel sources registered a compound annual growth rate of 5.45% from 1.17 billion units in 2015-16 to 1.38 BU in 2018-19. Power generation from hydro sources has registered a compound annual growth rate of 3.3%.
HPO will be a separate entity in new projects.
As part of the Paris Accord on Climate Change, India has installed at least 40% of its total electricity generation capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030. As on 29.2.2020, a cumulative renewable energy capacity of 132.15 GW had been installed.
Minister of State for Power & New & Renewable Energy- RK Singh.
Rs 20,466.94 Crores of loans have been sanctioned under ‘Stand Up India Scheme’ to over 91,000 accounts up to 10.03.2020. The scheme facilitates bank loans between Rs. 10 lakh-Rs. 1 Crores to at least one SC/ ST borrower & at least one-woman borrower.
Stand Up India Scheme was launched on 5th April 2016.
Although cricket has dominated sports advertising, the sports sponsorship industry crossed the ₹9,000 Cr mark in 2019, with growth pegged at 17%. Both IPL & the ICC World Cup gave a push to sponsorship & media spends, according to ESP Properties report.
On-ground sponsorship grew by 25%, for the first time.
Council of Scientific & Industrial Research has announced Innovation Awards for School Children (CIASC) to support their scientific temperament and to encourage innovative spirit among them. Proposals can be submitted by a student or a group of students.
Eligibility- Students of up to Class 12 & below 18 years of age.
Bihar declared Coronavirus as an epidemic, giving special powers to deal with the situation. If a suspected case of COVID-19 refuses isolation, the officers authorized will have powers to forcefully admit or isolate such person for a period of 14 days.
311 suspected cases have been reported so far in the state.
Scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology, an autonomous institute under the Department of S&T, have developed a starch-based ‘hemostat material’ that helps the natural clotting factors in blood by physically absorbing excess fluid.
The product has increased absorption capacity.
Bangladesh celebrated the birth centenary of its founder President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on 17 March. The day marks the beginning of the yearlong celebration of the birth centenary named ‘Mujib Barsho’ . Sheikh Hasina is the current Bangladesh PM.
He led the movement against the oppressive Pakistani rulers
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has placed the Draft National Policy for Rare Diseases on its official website. A component of rare diseases has been included in the draft. Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi was established under Societies Registration Act, 1860.
It was made effective from 1 January 2019.
Ministry of Culture has established Central Institute of Himalayan Culture Studies (CIHCS) at Dahung, Arunachal Pradesh. The main objective of CIHCS is to preserve ancient Buddhist manuscripts and to promote research in different aspects of Buddhism.
Digitizing ancient Buddhist text is another aim.
Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers- DV Sadananda Gowda informed that fixation of prices has resulted in a total saving of Rs 12447 Cr/ annum after implementation of the DPCO, 2013. NPPA fixes the ceiling price of scheduled formulations adopted from NLEM.
NLEM- National List of Essential Medicines.
Under Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), all villages were mapped by banks into 1.59 lakh Sub-Service Areas with one SSA catering to 1,000 to 1,500 households. This was stated by Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs.
0.33 lakh SSAs have been covered with bank branches.
Justice DY Chandrachud directed to grant permanent commission to serving women officers in Navy within 3 months with increments. A permanent commission entitles an officer to serve in the Navy till he retires unlike SSC, which is currently for 10 years.
Short Service Commission can be extended by four more years.
Microsoft India and NASSCOM Foundation launched the Innovate for Accessible India campaign aimed at empowering people with disabilities with the technology and tools required for better integration into society and admittance to equal opportunities.
The winning innovations stand to win a grant of Rs 10 lakh.
RBI will regulate activities of payment aggregators (PAs) as they play a key role in facilitating payments in the online space. It also lowered the min. capital requirements for payment aggregators to Rs 15 crore at the time of application for the licence.
Billdesk, CCAvenue, Firstdata ,Razorpay examples of PAs.
Securities and Exchange Board of India proposed to relax the mandatory requirement of a 6-month-gap between two successive issuances of shares to qualified institutional investors by listed companies requiring urgent funds if they meet certain conditions.
SEBI chairman Ajay Tyagi ,recently got six-month extension.
The Andhra Pradesh government appointed former CMD of Air India Ashwani Lohani as the Chairman of the AP Tourism Development Corporation, assigning him the rank of a Cabinet minister.The appointment is for a period of one year.
Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy,Andhra Pradesh CM.
ICICI Bank announced the launch of 'ICICIStack', a set of the country’s most comprehensive digital banking services and APIs (Application Programme Interface) to ensure uninterrupted banking experience to customers--retail and business.
Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI).
Global Recycling Day observed on March 18, was created in 2018 to help recognize, and celebrate, the importance recycling plays in preserving our precious primary resources and securing the future of our planet. It is a Day for the world to come together.
Theme for third Global Recycling Day- ‘Recycling Heroes’.
Scientists of CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur (HP) have developed a new hand-sanitizer .Natural flavors,active tea constituents & alcohol content in the hand-sanitizer have been used according to WHO guidelines.
World Health Organization(WHO) Headquarters-Geneva, Switzerland.
