30 March 2017 - Current Affairs

Amazon makes entry in UAE by acquiring Souq.com

  • The USA based e-commerce giant Amazon made its entry in UAE by acquiring the Middle East’s largest online retailer Souq.com.
  • The agreement brings Amazon into a fast-growing market as it expands into a wide range of services.
  • It is estimated deal’s specific value between 650 million USD to one billion USD.
  • Souq.com is the largest e-commerce platform offering more than 400,000 products in the Arab world, currently delivers to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar.
Note: The website (Souq.com) was founded by ‘Ronaldo Mouchawar’ in 2005 as an auction site linked to internet portal Maktoob.

SBI launches 'Unnati' credit card


  • The union minister Piyush Goyal has launched a unique credit card ‘SBI Card Unnati’ targeted at all SBI customers across the country.
  • ‘SBI Unnati card’ is a credit card offered those SBI customers who have a minimum account balance of Rs. 25,000 in their accounts.
  • The annual fee of Rs.499 is waived off for the first four years.

Note: 
  • A credit card is a card issued by a financial company giving the holder an option to borrow funds, usually at a point of sale.
  • Credit cards charge interest and are primarily used for short-term financing.

Govt. announces regional aviation routes & airlines under UDAN scheme


  • The union Civil Aviation Minister ‘Ashok Gajapathy Raju’ has announced regional aviation routes and airlines after the first round of bidding under UDAN.
  • The first phase of the UDAN scheme for regional aviation will include 45 airports and about 70-odd routes.
  • All flights in the first round will become active within 4-6 months.
  • UDAN network will cover the whole country, giving a major economic boost to hinterland areas.


India becomes net exporter of Electricity for the first time


  • According to CEA (Central Electricity Authority), India has exported around 5,798 million units to Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar during the current FY 2016-17.
  • India has exported around 5,798 Million Units to Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.
  • Export to Nepal has increased 2.5 times and export to Bangladesh has risen 2.8 times in the last three years.

Note: The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) is the designated authority of the government for cross-border trade of electricity.

Suresh Prabhu inaugurates high-speed rail wire Wi-Fi facility


  • Today, the Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has inaugurated high-speed rail wire Wi-Fi facility at National Rail museum in New Delhi.
  • The free Wi-Fi service built over the fiber network of Rail Tel is designed to offer High- Speed Broadband like experience to users.
  • Mr. Prabhu also launched a book " Indian Railways- The Weaving of a National Tapestry".
  • The book has been authored by Bibek Debroy, Sanjay, and Vidya Krishnamurthi.


Rajasthan celebrates 68th foundation day


  • The annual celebration of the formation of the state ‘Rajasthan Diwas’ is being held today to commemorate the 68th year of Rajasthan’s foundation.
  • The state was formed on 30th March 1949 when ‘Rajputana’ was merged into the Dominion of India.
  • Rajasthan is India's largest state by area (342,239 square kilometers) 10.4% of India's total area.


UN appoints David Beasley to head World Food Programme


  • The United Nations (UN) Chief ‘Antonio Guterres’ has appointed former South Carolina Governor David Beasley to head the Rome-based World Food Programme (WFP).
  • He will replace Etharin Cousin, who has been the WFP executive director since 2012.
  • Beasley will run the affairs of the world’s largest humanitarian organization, serving more than 90 million beneficiaries in 80 countries.
  • Washington was the top contributor to the WFP in 2016 with two billion dollars.


'Sima Kamil' becomes the first woman to lead a major Pakistani bank


  • One of the Pakistan largest banks United Bank Limited (UBL) has appointed ‘Sima Kamil’ as the new president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the bank.
  • Currently, Sima Kamil is the deputy CEO at the country’s third-largest lender United Bank Limited (UBL).
  • She will take charge on 1st June, 2017 by replacing outgoing CEO Wajahat Hussain.
  • She is the first woman to head a major commercial bank in Pakistan.


Book on Rashtriya Rifles ‘Home of the Brave’ released


  • The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General 'Bipin Rawat' has released a book titled ‘Home of the Brave’ at the South Block in New Delhi.
  • The book is authored by Nitin A Gokhale (defense and security analyst), and Brig S K Chatterji (Retired).
  • The book ‘Home of the Brave’ traces the early history of the Rashtriya Rifles, its organization, its raising and its subsequent deployment in Punjab, the North East and in Jammu and Kashmir.


Turkey's Abeylegesse stripped of 1 world silver, 2 Olympic silver medals


  • Turkish runner Elvan Abeylegesse (34-year) was stripped of two Olympic silver medals and one world silver after a re-analysis of an in-competition doping test dating back to 2007.
  • According to the track and field’s world governing body, the IAAF, she tested positive on August 25, 2007, after winning silver at the 2007 World Athletics Championships in Osaka.
  • She reportedly tested positive for a steroid (stanozolol) but tried unsuccessfully to sue the IAAF for making technical errors in the testing.
  • Abeylegesse is set to be stripped not only of that world silver but also the 5000 meter and 10,000 meter silver medals she won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.


Srinath Narayanan set to become India's 46th Grandmaster


  • Srinath Narayanan (23-year) is all set to become India's 46th Grandmaster after he defeated David Anton Guijarro (Spanish Grandmaster) at the ongoing Sharjah Masters 2017 chess tournament.
  • He had become India's youngest FIDE rated player in 2002 when he was just eight and also finished as joint winner in the Under-12 World Championship in 2005 in France.
  • Srinath became an International Master at the age of 14.

Note:
  • Srinath Narayanan is a former chess prodigy from Chennai, and become the youngest FIDE rated chess player in India in 2002.
  • In June 2012, Srinath won the Asian Junior Chess Championship in Tashkent.

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