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Daily Current Affairs PDF of 13th March 2020

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

Crime Multi Agency Centre for sharing info on heinous crime launched

Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai has launched the Crime Multi Agency Centre (Cri-MAC) for sharing of information on heinous crime and other issues related to inter-state coordination. Mr Rai launched the Centre at a function organised on the occasion of 35th Inception Day of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) .
He also launched the National Cyber crime Training Centre (NCTC) for professional quality e-Learning services on cyber crime investigation to police officers, judges, prosecutors and other stakeholders.
Mr Rai emphasized the importance of capacity building in cyber-crime investigation and mentioned the Government’s resolve in tackling the menace of increasing cyber-crime. He also lauded the role of NCRB networking around 16 thousand Police Stations and over 8 thousand higher Police offices across the country under Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) project.

About National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB):

The National Crime Records Bureau, abbreviated to NCRB, is an Indian government agency responsible for collecting and analysing crime data as defined by the Indian Penal Code and Special and Local Laws. NCRB is headquartered in New Delhi and is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
Founded: 11 March 1986
Agency executive: Ramphal Pawar, IPS, Director;
Motto: Empowering Indian Police with Information Technology

Parliament passes Mineral Law (Amendment) Bill

Parliament gave its approval to the Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020 with the Rajya Sabha adopting the same. The bill envisages curtailing time lag in operationalization of the coal blocks even after their allocation. The bill was passed in a division of votes with 83 members favouring and 12 opposing it. It was passed by the Lok Sabha .
Reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s thought of Minimum Government, Maximum Governance, Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi, stated the amendment would facilitate in making the country self-reliant. He justified that the amendment was needed to ensure uninterrupted coal supplies and other raw material to thermal plants and other industries.

About ministry of mines:

The Ministry of Mines, a branch of the Government of India, is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to mines in India.
Agency executive: Pralhad Joshi, Minister of Mines
Headquarters: New Delhi
Constituency‎: ‎Dharwad, Karnataka

Nitin Gadkari requests Lok Sabha members to spread information about “Udyam Sakhi” portal

Minister of micro, small and medium enterprises, Nitin Gadkari requested the Lok Sabha members to spread the information about “Udyam Sakhi” Portal for awareness about government schemes and to facilitate the networking of women start ups, entrepreneurs, investors, incubators, mentors, students and enterprise facilitators.
Minister also stated an autonomous body under Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises that Institute for Design of Electrical Measuring Instruments (IDEMI), has put in this web portal.
Minister also stated only 2012 women have benefitted from this portal.

About Nitin gadkari:

Nitin Jairam Gadkari is an Indian politician and businessman from Maharashtra who is the current Minister for Road Transport & Highways of India and Shipping Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the Government of India
Constituency‎: ‎Nagpur, Maharashtra

Home Ministry constitutes two special committees to fasten CAPF works

The Union Home Ministry has constituted two special committees to specifically deal with issues and approvals related to the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) that render a variety of internal security duties in the country, including border guarding.
They stated while the first committee will be headed by the Home Secretary and will deal with issues that are to be decided between the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and these forces, the second will be headed by the Secretary (Border Management) and will only deal with procurement matters.
The CAPFs are also known as paramilitary forces and comprise the Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police and Sashastra Seema Bal.
Though the Assam Rifles is not a CAPF, issues related to the force will also be dealt with by these two committees, which were constituted last week.
According to the MHA’s directions, these committees are special and hence “routine matters” will not be taken up in their meetings.
Only the directors general of these forces along with joint secretaries of subjects such as police, Jammu-Kashmir and Ladakh, Naxal operations, northeast affairs and border management in the Home Ministry will be part of the meetings.
They will ensure effective coordination and monitoring of CAPF issues such as anti-Naxal operations, border security, procurement of modern assault weapons, surveillance technology and other gadgetry, anti-terrror preparedness, VIP security, among other issues that are dealt with by the Home Ministry as part of the security establishment, a senior officer stated.
He stated the committee heads will be empowered to obtain sanctions from Union Home Minister Amit Shah to implement important recommendations for these forces that are about 10 lakh-personnel strong.

About Ministry of Home Affairs

The Ministry of Home Affairs or Home Ministry is a ministry of the Government of India. As the interior ministry of India, it is mainly responsible for the maintenance of internal security and domestic policy. The Home Ministry is headed by Union Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah.
Ministry executive: Ajay Kumar Bhalla, IAS, Home Secretary
Headquarters: New Delhi

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

State Bank of India to buy shares worth 7,250 crore rupees of cash-strapped Yes Bank

The State Bank of India stated that it will buy shares worth 7,250 crore rupees of the cash-strapped Yes Bank in accordance with the draft reconstruction scheme envisaged by the Reserve Bank of India.
SBI stated, its board has permitted the purchase of the private lender’s shares at a price of 10 rupees per share subject to all regulatory approvals. SBI’s shareholding in Yes Bank will remain within 49 percent of the paid-up capital.
According to RBI’s reconstruction scheme, the strategic investor was not only supposed to pick up 49 percent stake but assure that the holding will not fall below 26 percent for a minimum period of three years from the date of capital infusion.
The scheme was announced a day after RBI imposed a moratorium on the Yes Bank, restricting withdrawals to 50,000 rupees till the 3rd of April, while also superseding the bank’s board.

About SBI:

Sanjeev Nautiyal – Appointed – MD and CEO – under section 19(b) of SBI act 1955
SBI– Tag line – The Banker to Every Indian
Established – 1 July 1955.
Chairman – Rajnish Kumar – Appointed under section 19(a) of SBI act 1955

RBI announces US dollar sell/buy swap to provide liquidity to foreign exchange market

Observing mismatch in US dollar liquidity across the world, the Reserve Bank has announced a six month US dollar sell/buy swap to provide liquidity to the foreign exchange market. RBI stated, the first swap worth two billion US dollars will be conducted .
RBI has stated that financial markets are facing intense selling pressures due to coronavirus infection. It stated that volatility in global markets has been spiked by a slump in international crude prices and a decline in bond yields in advanced economies.
Stating that it is closely and continuously monitoring the rapidly evolving global situation and spillovers, RBI assured that it ready to take all necessary measures to ensure that the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the Indian economy are mitigated. RBI added that the level of forex reserves, which stood at 487.24 billion dollars as of 6th March, remains comfortable to meet any exigency.
All sectoral indices recorded a fall of over five percent with shares of realty, metal, oil and gas, banking and finance sectors suffering maximum selling.

SBI scraps minimum monthly balance requirement

State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to do away with the maintenance of Average Monthly Balance (AMB) for all savings bank (SB) accounts and cut the interest rate on these accounts to 3 per cent from 3.25 per cent. Further, it has waived SMS charges levied on a quarterly basis.
India’s largest bank seems to have done a fine balancing act in waiving AMB and SMS charges and at the same time cutting the SB interest rate. This move by SBI will prompt other banks to follow suit.
The paring of the SB interest rate comes at a time when the banking system is awash in funds, with the Reserve Bank of India providing banks with liquidity of longer duration (one-year and three years) aggregating ₹1-lakh crore via the long-term repo operation (LTRO) at the repo rate of 5.15 per cent in the last one month.
With the cut in SB interest rates, account holders with balances up to ₹1 lakh (interest rate so far: 3.25 per cent) and above ₹1 lakh will earn a flat 3 per cent.
Currently, SB customers need to maintain an AMB of ₹3000, ₹2000 and ₹1000 in metro, semi-urban and rural areas, respectively. The bank used to levy a penalty of ₹5 to ₹15 plus taxes on non-maintenance of the AMB

BSNL, SBI partner to launch UPI-based payment platform Bharat InstaPay

State-owned BSNL in partnership with State Bank of India launched a UPI-based payment platform, Bharat InstaPay.
According to BSNL officials, the new payment facility developed by the company will enable its partners, especially prepaid sellers, to buy service immediately for sale.
This digital payment platform is an initiative of BSNL powered by SBI, which shall enable all types of channel partners of BSNL for doing all their payment transactions digitally on a 24-by-7 basis.
Before this service, BSNL vendors had to wait for payment settlement to buy various telecom services that they sold in market. This used to get further delayed on non-working days.
BSNL stated Bharat InstaPay will help its partners do digital transactions on a real-time basis.
This will not only improve BSNL’s credibility towards partners, it will also help in growth of partners’ business at a faster pace. A one-time online verification process has been introduced, which is to be done by the partners themselves by visiting newly designed Bharat InstaPay portal. All transactions, then, can be carried out without any human intervention on a 24-by-7 basis.

About BSNL:

CEO: Pravin Kumar Purwar
Headquarters: New Delhi

Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance launches iSelect+ Term Plan

Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company Limited announced the launch of iSelect+ Term Plan to provide enhanced protection cover at an affordable premium. The plan is available online.
With the help of iSelect+ Term Plan, subscribers can design their own financial safety net to protect their family’s future and ensure that they lead their lives comfortably without any financial worries.
This plan is designed to provide death benefit and terminal illness, and has additional options of accidental death benefit, accidental total and permanent disability benefit and child support benefit, the company stated, while adding that the customers can choose from the various options provided and customize it as per their requirement.

About Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance:

Head quarters : Gurgaon, Haryana
Anuj Mathur (MD & CEO)
A. Sankara Narayanan (Chairman)

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Amul to help J&K dairies scale up their operations

Amul has extended support to dairy cooperatives in Jammu and Kashmir to help the region achieve self-sufficiency in dairy products.
Jammu and Kashmir is estimated to have high consumption of dairy products worth ₹700-800 crore, sourced from different parts of the country.
Tie-up with local dairies, RS Sodhi, managing director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (GCMMF) – Amul marketer – stated the local dairy cooperatives in J&K will be provided handholding on the technical, administrative and procurement side to reduce their dependence on dairy products sourced from outside.
J&K Lieutenant Governor GC Murmu, who was in Ahmedabad recently, has signed 35 MoUs worth ₹2,641 crore with Gujarat-based companies and organisations.

About Amul:

Amul is an Indian cooperative dairy company, based at Anand in the state of Gujarat. Formed in 1946, it is a cooperative brand managed by a cooperative body, the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd., which is jointly owned by 3.6 million milk producers in Gujarat.
CEO: S. Sodhi
Headquarters: Anand, Gujarat

Asian Development Bank to give USD 200 million to companies manufacturing products to combat coronavirus

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) stated it will provide USD 200 million (about Rs 1,480 crore) to companies manufacturing and distributing medicines, and other items needed to combat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
The funds will be made available through ADB’s Supply Chain Finance Program and provided to selected companies within weeks, the Manila-headquartered multilateral funding agency stated in a release.
Companies manufacturing and distributing products, including medicines and personal protective equipment, are increasingly strained as production and distribution ramp up to address COVID-19, it stated.
The support from ADB, working in partnership with commercial banks, will provide such companies in Asia and the Pacific with additional working capital to meet expansion and other requirements.

About ADB:

Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Philippines
President: Masatsugu Asakawa
Membership: 68 countries
Founded: 19 December 1966

India’s current account deficit narrows to $1.4 bn in December quarter

The country’s current account deficit (CAD) narrowed sharply to $1.4 billion, or 2 per cent of GDP, for the December 2019 quarter, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) stated . The deficit had stood at 2.7 per cent in the corresponding quarter a year ago and 0.9 per cent in the previous quarter.
The sharp contraction in the deficit was mainly due to a lower trade deficit of $34.6 billion, and a rise in net services receipts, the central bank stated.
The CAD, a critical indicator of the macroeconomic health, represents the gap between the overall foreign exchange expended and received in the economy. The release of the data, coming at a time when markets are spooked due to the coronavirus concerns, will help provide hope to investors.
The foreign exchange market tracks the gap closely, and the release of the data comes on a day when the rupee depreciated to a 17-month low of 74.24 against the dollar. During the ‘taper tantrum’ episode of 2013, the CAD at record highs was one of the reasons for the rupee to be hammered. For the first nine months of the financial year, the CAD has narrowed to 1 per cent, the RBI stated.

World Bank to provide USD 80 mn to improve water management in HP

The World Bank will provide USD 80 million (about Rs 600 crore) loan to improve water management practices and increase agricultural productivity in selected gram panchayats or village councils in Himachal Pradesh.
An agreement in this regard was signed between the Government of India, Government of Himachal Pradesh and the World Bank.
The Integrated Project for Source Sustainability and Climate Resilient Rain-Fed Agriculture in Himachal Pradesh will be implemented in 428 gram panchayats in 10 districts benefiting over 4 lakh smallholder farmers, women and pastoral communities, stated the finance ministry statement.
In Himachal Pradesh, many of the lowland areas lack access to irrigation water and depend on decreasing amounts of rainfall during the critical monsoon season. Agricultural production and snowlines have already shifted to higher altitudes, impacting the production of fruits, including HP’s iconic apples.Climate change is also expected to increase average temperatures and decrease rainfall in the lowlands, while both temperatures and rainfall are expected to increase in the highlands, which could lead to more extreme flooding events.
The project will improve upstream water sources in forests, pastures and grasslands and ensure sufficient water is available for sustainable agriculture both in Himachal Pradesh and in downstream states, the ministry stated.
The USD 80-million loan has a final maturity of 14.5 years including a grace period of five years.

About World Bank:

Head quarters: Washington, D.C., U.S
President :David Malpass
MD and CFO : Anshula Kant
Chief Economist : Penny Goldberg

GOKADDAL – World’s first Digital Solutions Exchange Cloud launched in India

GOKADDAL, world’s first Digital Solutions Exchange in the cloud has been launched in India.
gokaddal.com is a one of its kind solutions aggregator, marketplace and cloud delivery platform with focus on four A’s: Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Analytics and Augmentative Technologies.
GOKADDAL is going to revolutionize the way digital solutions are sourced, delivered and managed. A cloud-based, solutions exchange platform which is waiting to disrupt the market. GOKADDAL is created to help solution seekers (customers) realize their digital transformation vision, by bringing to them right solutions with right tools and right providers.
GOKADDAL Technologies is a Dubai based emerging technology company, part of Merkado group which operates Merkado RHA Technology and Merkado RHA Services based at Bangalore. GOKADDAL is led by well-known Digital Disrupter and Industry expert, Ravinder Pal Singh, Ex Cisco and Dell Executive.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

Karnataka government launches ‘Namaste over Handshake’ campaign to tackle spread of COVID-19

The Karnataka government started a campaign called ‘Namaste over Handshake’ that encourages people to greet in the traditional Indian style, to tackle the spread of coronavirus.
The campaign also includes health advice on how people can protect themselves from the infection by adopting hygiene practices such as regularly washing hands to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
As part of the campaign, the state health and family welfare department has uploaded a poster on the social media, featuring a ‘Bharatnatyam’ dancer draped in a red saree saying ‘Namaste’.
The poster has health helpline numbers (104 and 011-23978046) for public queries on the viral disease, which has claimed 4,251 lives worldwide.
People should adopt ‘Namasthe’ or ‘Namaskara’ to greet people instead of handshakes or hugs.

About Karnataka

Capital- Bengaluru
Chief Minister- B S Yediyurappa
Governor- Vajubhai Vala

Jewar airport gets international recognition for strategic infrastructure

In a major achievement for Uttar Pradesh’s Yogi Adityanath government, the first phase of Jewar airport has been included in the world’s 100 strategic global infrastructure projects for the year 2020.
Uttar Pradesh (India) and Yugoslavia have been chosen in the field of aviation all over the world. It has been recognised in the CG LA Infrastructure list.
The success story of Jewar Airport will be presented by the Uttar Pradesh government at the 13th Global Infrastructure Leadership Forum, to be held in New York City, US on March 25-27.
The airport, being built by Zurich Airport International AG, will be Asia’s second largest international airport after China’s Shanghai International Airport.
This airport will be the 5th largest airport in the world. The work on the airport in Jewar, Greater Noida, on about 5000 hectares of land, is going on at a rapid pace. According to the proposal, flights will start operating in 2022-23.
The Jewar Greenfield International Airport will boost industrial development in the state. The government is expected to earn more than Rs 1.10 lakh crore from this project, being built with an investment of Rs 30,000 crore.

International Airports in UP

Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport- Varanasi
Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport- Lucknow

About UP

Capital- Lucknow
CM- Yogi Adityanath
Governor- Anandiben Patel

Mumbai Central station is about to get a new name Nana Shankarseth Terminus Station

Two Mumbai icons are getting new names. Dadar’s Shivaji Park ground has been renamed the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park in deference to the Maratha warrior king, while the Mumbai Central train station will be likely called Nana Shankarseth Terminus Station.
Mumbai Central was earlier known as Bombay Central before which it was known as Bellasis Road Station.
Nana, or Jagannath Shankarseth, was an industrialist, philanthropist and educationist in the early 19th Century. He was on the board of directors of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway, the first train company in India. He was one of the influentials who advocated the abolition of Sati.

Maharashtra govt approves implementation of “happy hour” for autorickshaws

Maharashtra government has approved the implementation of “happy hour” for autorickshaws as recommended by Khatua panel.
The fares will be slashed by 15 percent between 12 noon and 4 pm. The decision will however not be applicable to local taxis and app based taxis.
The new concept will turn lean hours to happy hours, especially for housewives and senior citizens who normally don’t have a fixed schedule for their outings. While citizens are pleased with the move, autorickshaw unions have indicated that they will oppose the move.

About Maharashtra

Capital- Mumbai.
Chief Minister -Uddhav Bal Thackeray.
Governor- Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

UP govt launches schemes for skill development & employment generation for youths

Uttar Pradesh government has launched three ambitious schemes for skill development and employment generation for youths in the state and also announced to depute ”Arogya Mitras” at all primary health centres to inform people about govt health schemes.
Launching three schemes Kaushal Satrang, Yuva Hub and apprenticeship scheme in
Kaushal Satrang will have seven components which will provide opportunities to the youth.
Last month, the ‘Yuva Hub’ scheme was allocated Rs 1,200 crore in the state budget and it aims at providing employment to thousands of skilled youth by assisting in project concept and financial help for one year of operation. CM Yuva HUb will also facilitate setting up of 30,000 startups in state while CM apprenticeship scheme will provide stipend of Rs 2500 to the youth of state

Assam govt to construct 33 stadiums in state under Uttran scheme

The Assam government to construct 33 stadiums in the state under Uttaran scheme.
300 crore rupees will be spent to build the stadiums across the state.
500 playgrounds are being developed at the state to encourage rural talents.
Also 50 thousand rupees to be given to one thousand players and 2500 clubs to get a grant of 75 thousand

About Assam:

Capital: Dispur
Chief minister: Sarbananda Sonowal
Governor :Jagdish Mukhi

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU

IIT Bombay, DST, Intel India announce third edition of startup accelerator programme Plugin

TheDepartment of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, Intel India, and Society for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (SINE)-IIT Bombay have announced the third edition of Plugin, a one-year collaborative accelerator programme for hardware and systems software startups.
11 startups have been selected from over 200 entries from across Indiain areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), security, and platform. These will receive mentoring and coaching, access to labs for tools and platforms, technical and financial support, local and international ecosystem connect and visibility.
Plugin aims to address challenges faced by hardware and systems software startups with respect toproduct design, development, commercialisation, andscaling their business. The collaborative programme facilitates infrastructure and technical support, prototyping, product development, and manufacturing connect from Intel India Maker Lab and SINE-IIT Bombay.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION

IDFC ropes in Amitabh Bachchan as the face of the brand

IDFC FIRST Bank appointed bollywood celebrity, Amitabh Bachchan as its first ever brand ambassador.
IDFC First Bank raised up to Rs 2,000 crore in February 2020 debt capital through bonds to strengthen capital base, boost reserves and support business growth.
The bank also has substantial headroom to boost Tier-1 and Tier-2 bonds in order to increase capital adequacy beyond 18%, the bank said in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) filing.

About IDFC FIRST Bank

Founded in 2015
IDFC FIRST Bank is an Indian banking company with headquarters in Mumbai that forms part of IDFC, an integrated infrastructure finance company.
The Bank was founded as a new entity post the merger of IDFC Bank and Capital First on December 18, 2018.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

Nita Ambani features in 10 most influential women in sports

Nita Ambani, the owner of Mumbai Indians cricket team franchise, has been named in the list of 10 most influential women in sports for 2020 alongside likes of tennis superstar Serena Williams and gymnast Simone Biles.
Sports business network, iSportconnect releasing its ‘Influential Women in Sport’ list for 2020 stated: “After beginning with an original shortlist of 25, it has now been whittled down to a top 10 following receiving opinions from our panel of experts.
Ambani has led her Mumbai Indians franchise to becoming the most successful in IPL history and has been involved in many sports projects across different sports in the country, it stated.
Others on the list included gymnast Simone Biles who was described as “one of the greatest athletes in the world and an ever-growing voice for women in sport”, and footballer Megan Rapinoe “who is never afraid to speak her mind and talk about social issues”.
Tennis stars Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka also figure on the list that included Ellie Norman, Director of Marketing and Communications, Formula 1, Cathy Engelbert, Commissioner, WNBA, Fatma Samoura, Secretary-General, FIFA, Mary Davis, CEO, Special Olympics, and Clare Connor, Managing Director , Women’s Cricket, ECB.
Nita is the wife of the richest Indian Mukesh Ambani and has been on the board of Reliance Industries since June 2014. Her Mumbai Indians (MI) team has won the Indian Premier League (IPL) four times.
iSportconnect stated the original shortlist included Indian tennis player Sania Mirza and Mithali Raj, captain of Indian women’s cricket team.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING

EIU’s Inclusive Internet Index 2020

Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) released the 4^th iteration of the Inclusive Internet Index 2020 for 100 countries where India is overall ranked in 46th place & Sweden in 1^st.
The index aims to measure the extent to which the Internet is not only accessible & affordable, but also relevant to all, allowing usage that enables positive social & economic outcomes at the individual & group level.
Burundi was the worst ranked countryplaced at 100th position

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

IIT Bombay makes glass substrates for 5G devices, consumer electronics

Researchers in IIT Bombay have achieved a breakthrough in making glass substrates that have significant advantages over the conventional silicon substrates in applications such as 5G devices.
Substrates are the base on which a thin film of a material (like Silicon oxide) is coated on which circuits are etched. Typically, substrates have been made of Silicon, for many advantages — it doesn’t expand much on heating, making it easy to coat stuff on it. However, the micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) industry has been toying with other material for substrates — and glass has been high up on the list.
Glass substrates (technically, fused silica, which is a pure form of glass without any metallic impurities) are much cheaper — one estimate has it that it is 80 per cent cheaper than Silicon substrates.
But nothing in the world comes without a flipside. Glass is brittle and for technical reasons, not so easy to fabricate.
MEMS is a manufacturing technology of great promise, and it refers to making electro mechanical products that are of extremely small sizes. For instance, one illustration of a company in this business shows a miniaturised SUV sitting on one side of a matchstick. Products made with MEMS have applications in several areas in electronics, such as sensors. As such, any attempt to make them cheaper would be of immense value to the society

CSIR-National Physical Laboratory develops Ink to Curb Fake Printing of Passports and Counterfeiting of Currency Notes

CSIR-National Physical Laboratory has developed a bi-luminescent security ink which glows in red and green colours when illuminated by two different excitation sources at 254 nano meters (nm) and 365 nm, respectively.
The ink was prepared in a batch of 1kg and given to Bank Note Press (BNP), Dewas, a unit of Security Printing Minting Corporation of India Ltd. (SPMCIL), New Delhi. The ink is found comparable to the standards that are in use.
The formulation can be used to check the authenticity of passports, Government documents, tamper-evident labels, identity cards, etc.

About CSIR

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India, established in 1942, is an autonomous Society with the Prime Minister of India as its President.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY

Veteran Bengali Actor Santu Mukhopadhyay passes away

Veteran Bengali actor Santu Mukhopadhyay who was known for his works in films such asSansar Simante and Bhalobasa Bhalobasa passed away.
Santu Mukhopadhyay became a popular name when he was in early 20s with films likeSansar Simante and Raja by Tarun Majumder and Tapan Sinha, respectively

DAILY CA 12^TH MAR

World Kidney Day 2020-12^th March
LPG Scheme Closed, But Only 3 States Have Gone Kerosene-Free
Main national event for International Day of Yoga to be held at Leh
World Health Organization declares Covid-19 as a pandemic
Bank of England cuts rates to 25 per cent
India Post to launch free digital locker service
Facebook launches ‘Pragati’ to boost women entrepreneurship in India
Zomato enters fintech space, launches co-branded credit card with RBL, Master Card
Devotees celebrate ‘ Hola Mohalla’ at Golden Temple, Amritsar
Indian Scientists develop Fuel Cell Technology for Disaster Management
Ranchi University to launch its own Community Radio Station
Indian Mountaineer Bhawna Dehariya Scales Australia’s Highest Mountain Peak

National award for PGI Professor Jaimanti Baksh for services to people suffering from ENT diseases
Women scientists receive international exposure through Indo-U.S. Fellowship for WISTEMM
India shares second position with China as most promising source of disruptive technologies
Delhi’s IGI airport ranked world’s best in over 40 MPPA category
Byju Raveendran, Zomato’s Gaurav Gupta on WEF’s Young Global Leaders list
Tiger Woods to be inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame in 2021 class

DAILY CA 13^TH MAR

Crime Multi Agency Centre for sharing info on heinous crime launched
Parliament passes Mineral Law (Amendment) Bill
Nitin Gadkari requests Lok Sabha members to spread information about “Udyam Sakhi” portal
Home Ministry constitutes two special committees to fasten CAPF works
State Bank of India to buy shares worth 7,250 crore rupees of cash-strapped Yes Bank
RBI announces US dollar sell/buy swap to provide liquidity to foreign exchange market
SBI scraps minimum monthly balance requirement
BSNL, SBI partner to launch UPI-based payment platform Bharat InstaPay
Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance launches iSelect+ Term Plan
Amul to help J&K dairies scale up their operations
Asian Development Bank to give USD 200 million to companies manufacturing products to combat coronavirus
India’s current account deficit narrows to $1.4 bn in December quarter
World Bank to provide USD 80 mn to improve water management in HP
GOKADDAL – World’s first Digital Solutions Exchange Cloud launched in India
Karnataka government launches ‘Namaste over Handshake’ campaign to tackle spread of COVID-19
Jewar airport gets international recognition for strategic infrastructure
Mumbai Central station is about to get a new name Nana Shankarseth Terminus Station
Maharashtra govt approves implementation of “happy hour” for autorickshaws
UP govt launches schemes for skill development & employment generation for youths
Assam govt to construct 33 stadiums in state under Uttran scheme
CSIR-National Physical Laboratory develops Ink to Curb Fake Printing of Passports and Counterfeiting of Currency Notes
IIT Bombay, DST, Intel India announce third edition of startup accelerator programme Plugin
IDFC ropes in Amitabh Bachchan as the face of the brand
Nita Ambani features in 10 most influential women in sports
EIU’s Inclusive Internet Index 2020
IIT Bombay makes glass substrates for 5G devices, consumer electronics
Veteran Bengali Actor Santu Mukhopadhyay passes away

Current Affairs Today 13th March 2020| Current Affairs News