Daily Current Affairs 10th March, 2021

Daily Current Affairs 10 March 2021 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

All Helpline numbers of Railways merged into single number 139 for queries, complaints and assistance
Indian Railway has integrated all railway helplines into single number 139 which is Rail Madad Helpline for quick grievance redressal and enquiry during the journey. As the new helpline number 139 will take over all the existing helpline numbers, it will be easy for the passengers to remember this number and connect with Railways for all their needs during the travel.

• The Helpline 139 will be available in twelve languages and passengers can opt for Interactive Voice Response System- IVRS or directly connect to call-centre executives by pressing the asterisk button. There is no need for a smart phone to call on 139.

J-K Lt Governor launches super-75 scholarship scheme for meritorious girls
On International Women’s Day, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha announced the launch of Super-75 scholarship scheme to support the education of meritorious girls from poor families, so that they can excel in streams like medicine, engineering, ITI (Industrial training institutes) and humanity and contribute to nation-building.

• This is keeping in view of this year’s theme of International Women’s Day i.e “Choose to Challenge” and to celebrate Azaadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav- India@75.

ISRO Develops Radar for Joint Earth Observation Satellite Mission with NASA
ISRO has completed development of a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) capable of producing extremely high-resolution images for a joint earth observation satellite mission with the US space agency NASA. NASA-ISRO SAR (NISAR) is a joint collaboration for a dual-frequency L and S-band SAR for earth observation.

• NISAR will be the first satellite mission to use two different radar frequencies (L-band and S-band) to measure changes in our planet’s surface less than a centimeter across.
• The mission is targeted to launch in early 2022 from ISRO’s Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district, about 100 kms north of Chennai. NASA is providing the mission’s L-band SAR, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder and payload data subsystem.
• ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the S-band radar, the launch vehicle and associated launch services for the mission, whose goal is to make global measurements of the causes and consequences of land surface changes using advanced radar imaging.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Economic Freedom Index: Singapore ranks First, India 26th in Asia-Pacific
A US-based think tank published the latest Economic Freedom Index, ranking Singapore on top for the second consecutive year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Singapore scored the most points among the 184 countries that were covered for the study.

• New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, and Ireland have been ranked 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th respectively.
• India has been ranked 121st freest in the 2021 index, scoring 56.5 points. India has been ranked 26th among the 40 countries in Asia-Pacific and is ranked under the category of ‘mostly unfree’.

BANKING & FINANCE

Yes Bank launches ‘Yes Essence’ services for women
Yes Bank announced the launch of women-centric ‘Yes Essence’ services that will offer preferentially-priced loans and healthcare benefits, among other services. It has been launched on the occasion of the International Women’s Day.

• ‘Yes Essence’ is a holistic banking proposition for women across customer segments — homemakers, salaried professionals, entrepreneurs and senior citizens — which covers lifestyle, wellness, education, protection and investment, the lender said.

Banks sanction Rs 2.46 lakh cr to 92 lakh borrowers under credit guarantee scheme to MSMEs

Banks have sanctioned loans worth Rs 2.46 lakh crore to about 92 lakh accounts under the Rs 3-lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme for the MSME sector, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur announced.

• As informed by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC), the implementing agency of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, as on February 28, 2021, the amount of loan sanctioned under ECLGS is Rs 2.46 lakh crore, he said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Delhi’s economy estimated to contract by 3.92 per cent in FY’21: Survey
The economy of Delhi is estimated to contract by 3.92 per cent in the current financial year, according to Delhi Economic Survey 2020-21. In real terms, the contraction in Delhi’s gross state domestic product (GSDP) is expected at 5.68 per cent in 2020-21 compared to contraction of 8 per cent at national level, said the report.

Aquaconnect partners with Bank of Baroda to generate formal credit for over a million farmers
The aquaculture tech company Aquaconnect has partnered with Bank of Baroda to pave the way for access to formal credit for 1.6 million aquaculture farmers. Bank of Baroda in partnership with Aquaconnect will provide credit access under the Kisan Credit Card scheme at an annualised rate of as low as 10%.

• Under this partnership, Bank of Baroda has extended loan for up to 10 lacs under KCC scheme and fisheries loan.

West Bengal regains spot as the largest state in terms of microfinance loan outstanding
West Bengal has regained its spot as the largest state in terms of microfinance loan outstanding, replacing Tamil Nadu while Bihar remained in the third position.

• Microfinance loan outstanding in West Bengal was Rs 34,853 crore at the end of December 2020, followed by Tamil Nadu’s Rs 31,520 crore and Bihar’s Rs 25,247 crore, associating to data shared by Microfinance Institutions Network, a self-regulator for the sector.

OECD interim economic outlook pegs India’s GDP growth at 12.6% in FY22
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) interim economic outlook has pegged India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth to rebound to 12.6% in FY22, which will be the fastest in the world, followed by China at 7.8% growth.

• India’s GDP is expected to grow at 5.4% in the following financial year, owing to faster rebound of several large emerging-market economies, the global body said in its interim economic outlook.

Indian economy to grow at 11% in FY’22: Crisil
India’s GDP growth is expected to rebound to 11% in FY’22 as people learn to live with the new normal, flattening of the Covid-19 affliction curve, rollout of vaccinations, and investment-focused government spending converge, according to ratings firm Crisil.

• The pace of growth will differ in the first and second halves next fiscal.

SPORTS

NADA Imposes Sanctions on Weightlifter Madhavan R and Boxer Ruchika
The National Anti-Doping Agency’s (NADA) disciplinary panel imposed sanctions on weightlifter Madhavan R and boxer Ruchika for violation of its code. Weightlifter Madhavan R, who tested positive for prohibited substance Phentermine and Mephentermine, was handed a four-year ban by the Anti Doping Disciplinary Panel.

APPOINTMENTS

CAG India appointed chairman of UN Panel of External Auditors for 2021
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India Girish Chandra Murmu has been again appointed as the chairman of the Panel of External Auditors of the United Nations for 2021.

• The UN panel consists of 13 countries—India, Germany, Chile, China, United Kingdom, France, Philippines, Switzerland, Italy, Ghana, Indonesia, Canada and Russia.
• Currently, the CAG is also the external auditor of the World Health Organization, Geneva (2020 – 2023) and Food & Agriculture Organization, Rome (2020 – 2025) and Inter Parliamentary Union (2020-2022).

Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat resigns, Tirath Singh Rawat takes over
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat resigned as the state’s ruling BJP opted for course-correction a year before polls, amid growing resentment in the ranks. Mr Rawat, 60, handed in his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya just days short of completing four years in power, becoming the latest in Uttarakhand’s legacy of Chief Ministers exiting before term.

• Garhwal Member of Parliament Tirath Singh Rawat took oath as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand at the Raj Bhawan in Dehradun after he was elected by the BJP Legislature Party.

AWARDS

Sunil Gangopadhyay Memorial Award Conferred On Buddhadev Guha And Sanjib Chattopadhyay
The Sunil Gangopadhyay Memorial Award, initiated by The Bengal in 2013, was recently conferred on Buddhadev Guha and Sanjib Chattopadhyay for the years 2018 and 2019 respectively.

• The prestigious Award for `Excellence in literature’ is dedicated to the late President of The Bengal, Sunil Gangopadhyay, and consists of a citation and a cash prize of Rs 2 lacs sponsored by Shree Cement Ltd.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

“Essays on Srimanta Sankaradeva” book by Dr Sanjib Kumar Borkakoti
“Essays on Srimanta Sankaradeva”, the new book of Dr Sanjib Kumar Borkakoti highlights hitherto unexplored areas of Indian culture and philosophy. The author has written the essays on the lasting contributions of the medieval polymath Srimanta Sankaradeva.

‘The Lemonade: A collection of sweet, salty, and sour stories’ book by Kankane Rakhi Surendra
Author Kankane Rakhi Surendra’s short story collection ‘The Lemonade: A collection of sweet, salty, and sour stories’ has been released.

• ‘The lemonade’ is a collection of short stories that are a reminder to embrace life in whatever form it is and look on the bright side of it. All the stories of this book aim to inspire everyone who reads it to find something positive in whatever situations life throws at and make the best lemonade possible.

The Monk’s Secret: “99 Pages to Acquire the Art of Living a Happy Life” book by DR. Sheetal Nair
A serial entrepreneur and a promising storyteller, Dr. Sheetal Nair, has written his new book titled “The Monk’s Secret – 99 Pages to Acquire The Art of living a Happy Life” where he talks about the secret to leading a happy life.

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