Reserve Bank of India has appointed R Gandhi and Ananth Narayan Gopalakrishnan as additional directors to the board of private sector lender YES Bank for a period of two years. Prashant Kumar was earlier appointed as CEO & MD of Yes Bank
SBI is biggest investor in YES Bank via reconstruction scheme
15th FC has constituted a committee to review the fiscal consolidation roadmap of the general government. The committee, to be headed by chairman of the FC, NK Singh, will recommend a debt & fiscal consolidation roadmap for FY 2021-25 for the government
Debt is the accumulation of years of deficit.
India, within days of Modi’s announcement of creation of $10 million SAARC Emergency Fund to fight Covid-19, has supplied various medical supplies, testing equipment and other items to Maldives, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
MEA has a team of 75 officials working in HQ for Covid cell
SBI to provide emergency loans to existing borrowers whose operations are impacted by COVID 19. Loans to be granted at 7.25% p.a. fixed rate. The ad-hoc loan facility named - COVID 19 Emergency Credit Line is aimed at meeting temporary liquidity mismatch
Maximum loan that could be availed under it is Rs 200 crores
Textiles minister Smriti Irani said that a pilot shopping festival at Bengaluru is to be organized in 2020-21, which will subsequently be organized in other cities focusing on various sectors including gems & jewellery, textiles and Ayurvedic products.
GoI allotted Rs 1,480 Cr to National Technical Textiles Mission
ISRO lined up 36 missions including 10 earth observation satellites in 2020-21. Besides 10 earth observation satellites, the space agency lined up 3 communication satellites, 3 space science satellite, 2 navigation satellite and 1 technology demonstration.
Gaganyaan (unmanned) is also part of ISRO’s mission for 2020-21.
In a move to fight against whiteflies National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow has developed a pest-resistant variety of cotton and is going to start field trials from 2020 April- October in Faridkot Center of Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana.
Bt cotton is resistant to two pests only.
An investment of Rs 6.16 lakh Cr has been approved so far under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) & the committed central assistance is Rs 1.65 lakh Cr, Hardeep Singh Puri said. PMAY(U) provides houses to economically weaker sections in urban areas.
He is the Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs & Civil Aviation.
The number of women match officials across different ICC panels has gone up to 12 as Janani Narayanan and Vrinda Rathi of India were named in the International Panel of ICC Development Umpires. Announcement comes soon after the launch of 100% Cricket.
It is a 12-month campaign ahead of Women’s T20 World Cup 2020.
CRISIL said Arundhati Bhattacharya, the past chairman of State Bank of India, has submitted her resignation as an independent director of the company effective April 15. She was the first woman to lead the more than 2 centuries-old State Bank of India.
She became the CEO of Salesforce recently.
Commercial vehicle major Ashok Leyland (ALL) said that the board of directors of the company has given approval to acquire up to 19% additional equity shares in Hinduja Leyland Finance, a subsidiary company, from the existing shareholders, in tranches.
It is for a consideration not exceeding Rs 1,200 Cr.
In a major relief to the people of J&K, Administrative Council which met under the chairmanship of LG Girish Chander Murmu sanctioned to roll out the J&K Health Scheme to provide free of cost Health Coverage to all residents under Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY.
1.25 crore residents of J&K will be provided the same benefits.
Uttarakhand government abolished reservation in promotion in the state government jobs. Chief Minister Trivendra Rawat lead government took the major decision on completion of 3 years of their tenure. The state government also issued orders regarding DPC.
DPC- Departmental Promotion Committee.
According to the Union Minister of State (I/C) for tourism & culture, Prahlad Singh Patel, the central government has included grand Konark Sun Temple, the UNESCO world heritage site in Odisha & Statue of Unity in Gujarat in the Iconic Tourist Sites list.
Union MoS (I/C) Tourism: Prahlad SIngh Patel
The World Cities Summit (WCS) is an exclusive platform held biennially in Singapore and brings together government leaders and industry experts from around the world. Theme of WCS- 2020 is ‘Livable and Sustainable Cities: Adapting to a Disrupted World’.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath has been invited for the WCS.
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Forests (IDF) in 2012. The Day celebrates and raises awareness of the importance of all types of forests. The theme for 2020 is Forests and Biodiversity.
Today, forests cover more than 30% of the world's land.
The word Nowruz (Novruz, Navruz, Nooruz, Nevruz, Nauryz), means new day; its spelling & pronunciation may vary by country.Nowruz marks the first day of spring & is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox, which usually occurs on 21 March.
International Nowruz Day was proclaimed in the year 2010.
This year, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is focused on the midterm review of the International Decade for People of African Descent undertaken by the Human Rights Council in Geneva as part of its 43rd session.
2011 International Year for People of African Descent.
In celebrating World Poetry Day, March 21, UNESCO recognizes the unique ability of poetry to capture the creative spirit of the human mind. A decision to proclaim 21 March as World Poetry Day was adopted during UNESCO’s 30th session held in Paris in 1999.
Geoffrey Chaucer is called the Father of English poetry.
Down syndrome occurs when an individual has an extra partial (or whole) copy of chromosome 21. In December 2011, the General Assembly declared 21 March as World Down Syndrome Day.
2020 Down Syndrome International focuses on the theme"We Decide"
Uttar Pradesh Government has sought a Central Grant of Rs 100 crore for Lucknow University and Kashi Vidyapeeth. The Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister of UP Dinesh Sharma o met Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and made the request.
Both the institutions completed 100 years of their formation.
Indore has opted to deploy drones to sprinkle chemicals in a bid to sanitise it against the coronavirus outbreak. The Indore Municipal Corporation has hired two drones, making it the first city in India to attempt to fight off the virus scare this way.
Streets will be sprayed with sodium hypochlorite and bioclean.