03 April 2019 - Daily Current Affairs
1. India’s first professional Kho-Kho league “Ultimate Kho-Kho” launched
- The Kho-Kho Federation of India (KKFI) has launched a franchise-based league for the sport named 'Ultimate Kho-Kho'.
- It will conduct the 21-day league (IPL-style)), which will see eight franchise teams playing a total of 60 matches in a double round-robin format
- KKFI has partnered with Dabur India for this event.
- Tenzing Niyogi (former sports advisory leader at Ernst and Young) has been appointed as the CEO of the league.
- Former KKFI president Rajeev Mehta is the Chairman of the league.
Note:
- Kho-Kho is played in around 20 countries in the world, mostly in Asia.
- Kho kho is played by teams of 12 nominated players out of fifteen, of which nine enter the field who sit on their knees (chasing team), and 3 extra (defending team) who try to avoid being touched by members of the opposing team
Source: The Times of India
National Affairs
2. Registration for annual Amarnath Yatra begins
- Registration of pilgrims for Amarnath Yatra (two-month long) began through 442 branches of Punjab National Bank, Jammu & Kashmir Bank and YES Bank across the country.
- This year, the 46-day pilgrimage will commence simultaneously on both the routes(Baltal and Pahalgam) from 1st July.
- Any person below the age of 13 years or above 75 years, pregnant women and medically unfit people are barred for taking the pilgrimage in south Kashmir.
- For details visit the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board's website: “www.shriamarnathjishrine.com”.
Note:
- Amarnath cave is a Hindu shrine located in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The cave is situated at an altitude of 12,756 ft, about 141 km from Srinagar and reached through Pahalgam town.
- The shrine forms an important part of Hinduism and is considered to be one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism.
Source: AIR news
3. US approves sale of 24 MH 60 Romeo Seahawk helicopters to India
- The US government has approved the sale of 24 multi-role MH-60 Romeo Seahawk helicopters to India at an estimated cost of 2.4 billion US dollars.
- It is considered the world's most advanced maritime helicopter.
- The choppers will provide the Indian defence forces with the capability to perform anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare missions.
Note:
- The Sikorsky MH-60 Seahawk is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family.
Source: AIR News
4. Kandhamal haldi (turmeric) gets GI tag
- Kandhamal haldi (turmeric) produced by the tribal farmers in Odisha's Kandhamal district received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
- Kandhamal turmeric, originally grown by tribal people in Kandhamal, is famous for its medicinal properties.
- Kandhamal haldi is organic by default being cultivated by more than 60,000 families.
- The colour of Kandhamal haldi is golden yellow being well distinguished from other varieties.
- Kandhamal Apex Spices Association for Marketing had moved for registration ‘Kandhamal Haldi’ which was accepted under sub-section (1) of Section 13 of the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.
Note:
- The GI (Geographical Indication) tag ensures that none other than those registered as authorised users (or at least those residing inside the geographic territory) can use the popular product name.
Source: Business Standard
Appointment
5. Eicher Motors appoints Vinod Dasari as Royal Enfield CEO
- Eicher Motors Ltd. has appointed ‘Vinod K. Dasari’ as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Royal Enfield.
- Mr. Dasari will also join the board of Eicher Motors as an executive director with immediate effect.
- Mr Dasari takes over from Siddhartha Lal, who will continue as the MD of Eicher Motors Ltd.
- Earlier, Mr. Dasari was the CEO and managing director (MD) of Ashok Leyland, a position he held since 2011.
Note:
- Royal Enfield is an Indian motorcycle manufacturing brand with the tag of "the oldest global motorcycle brand in continuous production" manufactured in factories in Chennai in India.
- Now, it is a subsidiary of Eicher Motors Limited, an Indian automaker.
Source: Business Standard
6. Algeria's president Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigns amid mass protests
- Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika (82-year) has resigned from the post with immediate effect.
- Bouteflika (in power for 20 years) has come under mounting pressure to step down since his decision to seek a fifth term despite rarely being seen in public after suffering a stroke in 2013.
- The powerful Algerian army had called for to be declared incapable of carrying out his duties.
Note:
- Algeria is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa
International Affairs
7. Japan unveils the name of Its New Imperial Era ‘Reiwa’
- Japan’s government has unveiled an era name, “Reiwa,” for soon-to-be Emperor Naruhito, who will succeed the Chrysanthemum throne on 1st May.
- The name ‘Reiwa’ which consists two Chinese characters, the first meaning ‘good’ or ‘beautiful’ as well as ‘order’ or ‘command’ and the second meaning ‘peace’ or ‘harmony’.
- The country’s current era, Heisei, will end in April.
Note:
- The era name, or “gengo,” is a 1,400-year-old Japanese tradition tied to emperors’ reigns to showcase their power. The names change when a new emperor takes the throne.
- It becomes an emperor’s official posthumous name _ Akihito’s father, Hirohito, is now named after his era, “Showa.”
Source: Financial Express
Books & Authors
8. Garuda Prakashan launches 'Saffron Swords' and 'Modi Again'
- The Garuda Prakashan Private Limited (Indian Publishing company) has launched its book ‘Saffron Swords- Centuries of Indic Resistance to Invaders’.
- The book ‘Saffron Swords- Centuries of Indic Resistance to Invaders’ has been written by Manoshi Sinha Rawal.
- It fills in the gap in the current education system which treats invasions of India as one long saga of defeat for Indian people.
- It is a book on 52 unsung warriors of India from the last 1300 years.
- Aabhas' "#Modi Again: Why Modi is right for India, An Ex-Communist's Manifesto" is the story of someone who was raised on communist ideology but grew to question the dogmas he was taught in the education system.
Source: Business Standard
Banking & Finance
9. Paytm Money receives Sebi approval to start stock broking services
- The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has given approval to Paytm Money to start offering broking services.
- Paytm Money is the investment and wealth management platform of the mobile payments company.
- The broking services will allow investors to trade in the cash segment, derivatives, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), among other listed entities.
- Paytm Money has also received membership of NSE and BSE.
Source: Business Standard
10. Kotak Mahindra Bank becomes the first lender to Charge for UPI Use
- Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak) will charge customers for UPI transactions starting 1st of May 2019.
- For each Kotak Bank account, the first 30 UPI fund transfers will be free, after which a charge will be levied on all fund transfers from the bank account.
- This will be applicable across all platforms, including Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay or Truecaller Pay among others.
- The bank will charge Rs 2.50 per transaction for an amount value below or equal to Rs 1,000, and Rs 5 per transaction will be levied for a payment value above Rs 1,000.
Note:
- Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is an instant real-time payment system developed by National Payments Corporation of India facilitating inter-bank transactions.
- The interface is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and works by instantly transferring funds between two bank accounts on a mobile platform.
- As of February 2019, there are 139 banks live on UPI with a monthly volume of 674.19 Mn transactions and value of Rs 1,06,737.12 Cr.
