DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 20 MARCH 2016
(Daily News India)
1.
INTEREST RATES ON PROVIDENT FUND, KISAN VIKAS PATRA AND ON SMALL SAVING SCHEMES
SLASHED
i. The government slashed
interest rates on small-savings schemes, Public Provident Fund and Kisan Vikas
Patra.
ii. The decision is taken
to administer interest rates closer to the market rates.
iii. The new rates will
come into effect on 1st April and will be valid till June 30.
iii. The interest rate on
Public Provident Fund scheme will be cut to 8.1 per cent for the period from
April 1 to June 30 from 8.7 per cent.
iv.The interest rate on the
KVP will be cut to 7.8 per cent from 8.7 per cent
v. Interest rate on National
Savings Certificates will earn interest at the rate of 8.1 per cent as against
8.5 per cent now.
2.PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI TO INAUGURATED KRISHI UNNATI MELA
IN NEW DELHI
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three-day 'Krishi
Unnati Mela'.
ii.The mela is organized to provide information on new farm
schemes and technologies that will help farmers double their incomes within the
next few years.
ii. The National fair is organized from March 19 to 21march.
iii.It will put emphasis on
key schemes started by central government like Pradhan Mantri Fasal Beema Yojana,
e-agriculture marketing, integrated farming system and Pradhan Mantri Krishi
Sichai Yojan.
3. INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK 1ST BANK TO SELL INDIAN GOLD COINS
i.Indian Overseas Bank has become the first bank to start the sale
of Indian Gold Coin in the domestic
market.
ii. It has tied up with Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of
India for the sale of 24 carat purity gold.
iii. The Gold Coin has the national emblem "the Ashok
Chakra" engraved on one side and the face of Mahatma Gandhi on the other
side.
iv. The Indian Gold Coin is the first ever national gold offering
by the Center government launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November
5, 2015.
4. TIKKA SHATRUJIT SINGH HONOURED WITH TOP FRENCH AWARD
i. Tikka Shatrujit Singh the royal scion of Kapurthala’s Ahluwalia
dynasty has been honoured with the prestigious Knight of the Legion of Honour.
ii.He was honoured with this award for his “extraordinary work in the
exchanging the French lifestyle and Indian culture with each other.”
iii. He is known for his endeavours to preserve the tangible and
intangible heritage of Kapurthala in Indo-French architectural styles.
5. MARCH 20 CELEBRATED
AS WORLD SPARROW DAY
i. The world sparrow day is observed every year on March 20.
ii.The day is observed to raise awareness of the house sparrow and
other common birds to urban environments and threats to their populations.
6. ICC SUSPENDS BANGLADESH BOWLERS TASKIN AHMED AND ARAFAT SUNNY
FOR ILLEGAL BOWLING ACTIO
i. The International Cricket Council has suspended Bangladesh
bowlers Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny for bowling with an illegal action.
ii. They were suspended after their bowling actions founded as
illegal.
iii.Earlier some other Bangladeshi bowlers were also suspended
such as Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak, Spinner Sohag Gazi .
7. PM NARENDRA MODI PRESENTS 2014-15 KRISHI KARMAN AWARDS
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had conferred 2014-15 Krishi
Karman Awards to various states in a ceremony held at New Delhi.
ii. The awards were presented in two different categories one is
Total foodgrain production and 2nd is Individual Crops.
iii.List of Winner of Krishi Karman Awards 2014-
a.
Madhya
Pradesh For production greater than 10 million tonnes in Category I States.
b.
Himachal
Pradesh and Odisha For production between 1 and 10 million tonnes in Category
II States.
c.
In Individual
Crops states are Haryana, Assam for Rice.
d.
Rajasthan
for Wheat.
e.
Chhattisgarh
for Pulses.
f.
West Bengal
for Oil Seeds.
g. Krishi Karman awards are given to Best
performer States for raising country’s food grain production.
