GENERAL AWARENESS–CURRENT AFFAIRS MONTH OF MARCH-2019 List of Important Days March 1 - Zero Discrimination Day (Theme – “Act to change laws that Discriminate”) March 4 - National Safety Day (Themes – “Cultivate and Sustain A Safety Culture for Building Nation”) Mar 4-10 - National Safety Week March 7 - Janaushadhi Diwas March 8 - International Women’s Day (Theme – “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change”). March 12 - World Day against Cyber Censorship March 12 - 30th anniversary of the World Wide Web (WWW) March 14 - (2nd Thursday of March) World Kidney Day (Theme - “Kidney Health for Everyone Everywhere”) March 14 - Pi Day (Pi's value (3.14)) March 15 - World Consumer Rights Day (In India this day is celebrated as Viswa Upabhokta Adhikar Diwas). (Theme – “Trusted Smart Products”) March 20 - International Day of Happiness. (Theme – “Happier Together”) March 20 - World Day of Theatre for Children and Young People March 20 - World Sparrow Day. (Theme – “I LOVE Sparrows”) March 21 - International Day of Forests. (Theme “Forests and Education”) March 21 - World Poetry Day March 21 - World Down Syndrome Day March 21 - International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Theme – “Mitigating and countering rising nationalist populism and extreme supremacist ideologies”) March 21 - World Puppetry Day March 22 - World Water Day (Theme – “Leaving no one behind”) March 23 - World Meteorological Day (Theme – “The Sun, the Earth and the Weather”) March 23 - 88th Shaheed Diwas (Martyr’s Day) March 24 - World Tuberculosis (TB) Day (Theme – “It’s time”) March 25 - International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade. (Theme – “Remember Slavery: The Power of the Arts for Justice”) March 26 - Independence Day of Bangladesh March 27 - World Theatre Day (WTD) March 30 - Rajasthan Diwas Reserve Bank of India • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has fined Yes Bank ₹1 crore for not complying with its directions about SWIFT, a financial messaging software. • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has fined at least 19 banks including SBI and ICICI Bank over the past few days for not complying with its guidelines on the use of global payments network SWIFT. CSB, Ch-17, Ph: 044-24333346 GA/March’19/Page-1 • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has eased business guidelines for white label ATMs allowing companies that manage these machines to source cash directly from the central bank, offer non bank services like bill payments and advertise even non financial products in their premises, increasing the revenue earning scope for these companies. • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has re-categorized IDBI Bank as a Private Sector Lender. − This comes after the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India acquired a 51% stake in the bank, becoming its majority shareholder. • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come out with guidelines to prevent misuse of price-sensitive information by participants in markets for financial instruments. − The RBI said market participants, either acting independently or in collusion, shall not undertake any action with the intention to manipulate the calculation of a benchmark rate or a reference rate. • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has prohibited India's largest mortgage lender HDFC from owning more than the regulatory limit in Bandhan Bank. − HDFC, which will merge its low-cost arm Gruh Finance with Bandhan Bank, can hold 9.9% in the bank, the maximum a non-banking finance company can own in a private bank. HDFC had sought approval to hold 14.96%. • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has turned down IDBI Bank's proposal to change its name following the transfer of 51% stake to LIC. − The lender had sought approval to change its name to either LIC IDBI Bank or LIC Bank. • Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das called for a permanent status to Finance Commission and a robust expenditure planning without compromising on fiscal consolidation as fiscal federalism gathers momentum in the era of uniform Goods and Services Tax (GST). • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has postponed the implementation of Indian Accounting Standards by the banks for the second straight year. • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has slapped a penalty of Rs 2 crore on Punjab National Bank (PNB) for non-compliance of regulatory directions with regard to SWIFT operations. State Bank of India • India's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) announced that it would link its interest rate on savings bank deposits with balance above ₹1 lakh and short-term loans to Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s repo rate. − The new system will come into effect from May 1. − With this, SBI became the 1st Indian bank to do so. − With this move, 40-45% SBI's deposits will be affected by the move. Other Banks • Fraud-hit Punjab National Bank has been ranked 1st among public sector banks in the implementation of ‘reforms agenda’, followed by Bank of Baroda and State Bank of India (SBI). • Private lender ICICI Bank is going to acquire 9.9% stake in Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) Kisan Finance for nearly ₹18 crore. − Under the transaction, the lender will buy 1.49 crore shares from the NBFC. • The officials of Punjab National Bank (PNB) had issued Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) on behalf of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi's firms over SWIFT without recording them in the bank's internal system. • The Jammu and Kashmir Bank announced that it will sell its 5% stake in PNB MetLife India to Oman India Joint Investment Fund II for ₹185 crore. − The transaction is subject to approval from the IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority). CSB, Ch-17, Ph: 044-24333346 GA/March’19/Page-2 • SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank continue to be in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s list of Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) for 2018. − D-SIBs are required to maintain higher capital as compared to other banks. • The government has decided to infuse ₹ 5,042 crore into state-owned Bank of Baroda (BoB) ahead of its merger with two other public sector lenders, Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank. − The merger of the three lenders would be effective from April 1. • Punjab National Bank (PNB) is going to sell a 13% stake in mortgage lender PNB Housing Finance to private equity firms General Atlantic and Varde Partners for ₹1,851 crore. − PNB will continue to hold a strategic stake of about 19.78% in PNB Housing Finance and will stay on as a promoter. Insurance • The Supreme Court announced that "A disease caused by insect bite in natural course of events wouldn't be considered an accident". − The ruling was given in a matter of insurance cover for a bank employee who died due to malaria from mosquito bite in Mozambique. Supreme Court • The Supreme Court's Constitution Bench has referred the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute case for court-appointed and monitored mediation for a "permanent solution". − Former apex court judge Justice (retd) F M Kallifulla will head the panel of mediators in the case. − Other members of the panel of mediators include spiritual guru Shri Shri Ravi Shankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu. • The Supreme Court has warned the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) of contempt proceedings for failing to disclose information regarding annual inspection report of various banks under the RTI Act. High Courts and Sessions Courts • Punjab and Haryana High Court has barred the mentioning of caste in the FIRs. − The court directed its judicial officers and the governments of Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, not mention the caste of the accused, victims or witnesses in any of the proceedings before it. Election Commission • The Election Commission (EC) announced that the Photo voter slip will no longer be used as a 'stand-alone identification document' during elections. • The General Elections 2019 will be held in 7 phases beginning from 11th April to 19th May 2019. • The Election Commission has announced that during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, all EVMs will carry photographs of candidates to avoid confusion over similar names. • According to a recent report released by the Election Commission, West Bengal has the maximum number of 1st-time voters, around 20.1 lakh, in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. − With around 16.7 lakh young voters, Uttar Pradesh stood at 2nd spot followed by Madhya Pradesh with 13.6 lakh first-time voters. • The Election Commission issued a notification for the 1st phase of Lok Sabha polls. − Last date for filing of nominations: 25th March 2019 − The counting of votes will be taken up on 23rd of May after the completion of all phases of polling. CSB, Ch-17, Ph: 044-24333346 GA/March’19/Page-3 Central Government • Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced that the government has approved the proposal of National Investigation Agency (NIA) to open a research cell on terror group Islamic State (ISIS). • The Union Cabinet has approved the National Policy on Software Products 2019. − The policy is aimed at developing India as a Software Product Nation. • The government has approved Adani Power's ₹ 14,000-crore Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project in Jharkhand to export power generated to Bangladesh. • The Centre has approved 2 corridors of the Surat Metro project to be executed at an estimated cost of around 12,000 crore rupees. The length of the first corridor - Sarthana to Dream City line - will be 21.61 kilometers and the second - Bhesan to Saroli - will be 18.74 kilometres. • The Centre has allowed state governments to put to "public use" some enemy properties that were left behind by people who migrated to Pakistan since the Partition and to China after the 1962 Sino- Indian war.