9th trilateral meeting between India, Japan and US
- The 9th India-Japan-US trilateral meeting held in New Delhi where Connectivity, counter-terrorism and freedom of navigation were among the various issues discussed during
- The Indian team was led by Munu Mahawar, JS Americas and Pranay Verma, JS East Asia, in the Ministry of External Affairs, while the US team was jointly led by Alice Wells, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs and Susan Thornton, acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. The Japanese team was headed by Satoshi Suzuki, director general foreign policy bureau of the ministry of foreign affairs.
- According to a joint press release, the officials “explored practical steps to enhance cooperation in the areas of connectivity and infrastructure development, counter-proliferation, counter-terrorism, maritime security, maritime domain awareness and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA-DR).”
India became World’s Second Largest Producer Of Crude Steel,
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- India has overtaken Japan to become the world’s second largest producer of crude steel in February, according to the Steel Users Federation of India (Sufi).
- At present, China is the largest producer of crude steel in the world, accounting for more than 50 per cent of the production.
- India’s crude steel production was up 4.4 per cent and stood at 93.11 million tonnes (mt) for the period April 2017 to February 2018, compared with April 2016 to February 2017, which has helped India to overtake Japan and becomes the second largest producer of crude steel in the world, the federation said in a statement here.
- India overtook the US in 2015 to become the third largest producer of crude steel.
Trial run of first India-Bangladesh container train flagged off from Kolkata
- The trial run of the first container train between India and Bangladesh was flagged off from Kolkata city.
- It will pass through Sealdah, Naihati, Ranaghat and Gede in India and Darsana and Ishurdi in Bangladesh before reaching Bangabandhu West station, 117 kilometres off capital city of Dhaka.
Cabinet approves the Protection of Human Rights (Amendments) Bill, 2018
- The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to the Protection of Human Rights (Amendments) Bill, 2018 for better protection and promotion of human rights in the country.
Salient Features:
- It proposes to include “National Commission for Protection of Child Rights” as deemed Member of the Commission;
- It proposes to add a woman Member in the composition of the Commission;
- It proposes to enlarge the scope of eligibility and scope of selection of Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission as well as the State Human Rights Commission; and
- It proposes to incorporate a mechanism to look after the cases of human rights violation in the Union Territories.
- It proposes to amend the term of office of Chairperson and Members of National Human Rights Commission and State Human Rights Commission to make it in consonance with the terms of Chairperson and Members of other Commissions.
Cabinet signed MoU between India and United Arab Emirates on Technical Cooperation in Rail Sector
- The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been apprised of theMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Federal Transport Authority – Land & Maritime of the United Arab Emirates on Technical Cooperation in Rail Sector. The MoU was signed on 10thFebruary, 2018.
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The MoUwill enable technical cooperation in the following areas:-
- Regulation, safety and technical investigation of accidents;
- Station redevelopment;
- Locomotives, coaches and wagons; and
- Any other area jointly identified by the Participants.
Govt. set up High Powered Committee to examine the system of conducting Class X and Class XII exam
- The Ministry of Human Resource Development has constituted a High Powered Committee to examine the entire system of conducting Class X and Class XII examination conducted by the CBSE with a view to prevent leakages.
- Shri Vinay Sheel Oberoi, Retd. Secretary (Higher Education), MHRD will be the Chairperson of the 7 member High Power Committee.
- The other members of the committee include Shri Pavnesh Kumar, Prof. J.S. Rajput, Prof. Vasudha Kamat, Prof. Krishna Mohan Tripathy, Senior representative of DG, NIC and Joint Secretary (SE-II)
- The High-Powered Committee will submit its report by on or before 31.05.2018.
International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action: 4 April
- International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action is observed all over the world on 4 April. The day is observed to create awareness about the threat of mines, unexploded grenades and other explosive hazards.
- This year’s theme for International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action 2018 is ‘Advancing Protection, Peace and Development.’
Trial run of first India-Bangladesh container train flagged off from Kolkata
- The trial run of the first container train between India and Bangladesh was flagged off from Kolkata city.
- It will pass through Sealdah, Naihati, Ranaghat and Gede in India and Darsana and Ishurdi in Bangladesh before reaching Bangabandhu West station, 117 kilometres off capital city of Dhaka.
Doha Bank sets up its first branch in Chennai
- Qatar-based Doha Bank has set up the first branch in the Chennai taking the total number of branches in the country to three, a top official said.
- Doha Bank currently has a branch in Mumbai, Kochi and Chennai, respectively.
India Ratings upgraded India’s FY19 GDP growth to 7.4%
- India Ratings and Research has revised its FY19 GDP growth forecast to 7.4% from 7.1% earlier.
- As per the report, FY19 growth will continue to be driven by consumption and associated sectors such as automobiles, cargo handled at major ports.
IndusInd country’s first bank to use WhatsApp for basic services
- IndusInd Bank has become the first lender to start using WhatsApp enterprise solution to provide basic banking services to customers.
- Using the widely-used messaging service, customers can check their balance, obtain a mini statement, check reward points as well as update Aadhaar.
New MD & CEO for SBI Life
- SBI Life Insurance has appointed Sanjeev Nautiyal as its new Managing Director and CEO.
- He replaces Arijit Basu, who takes over a key role in the State Bank of India Group.
- Nautiyal started his career with State Bank of India in 1985 as a probationary officer in the bank’s Lucknow Circle.
Himanta Biswa Sarma Elected President of BAI
- Assam Health and Education Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was unanimously elected the Badminton Association of India (BAI) President during its annual general body meeting in Goa.
- Ajay Kumar Singhania was elected the Secretary General while former Tamil Nadu Badminton Association president and former Union minister Anbumani Ramadoss was elected treasurer.
- Sarma had taken over as the interim BAI President last year after the demise of Akhilesh Das Gupta. He will serve for four years.
