19th March 2024 Daily Current Affairs Update
National News
Kashmir hosts first Formula-4 Car Racing Event along Dal Lake
- The event, the first of its kind in the Kashmir Valley, was organized by the Federation of Motorsports Clubs of India, which is affiliated with the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).
- The event enthralled locals and motorsport fans as they witnessed stunts performed by professional Formula 4 drivers.
- Srinagar hostedthe first-ever Formula 4 car racing demonstration event on the banks of the world-famous Dal Lake.
Exam Related Facts
- Sleek racing cars roared along a 1.7 km track from Lalit Ghat on the banks of Dal Lake to Nehru Park in the city.
Election Commission launches ‘Know Your Candidate’ app
- The Election Commission of India,headed by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, has launched a new mobile application called Know Your Candidate (KYC).
- This app allows voters to check if any candidate standing for elections in their constituency has a criminal record.
- The app is available for download on both Android and iOS platforms.
- Candidates are required to disclose their criminal records in newspapers and on television three times. The parties nominating such candidates must explain their selection over other deserving candidates.
Exam Related Facts
- The KYC app provides voters with the ability to access information about candidates with criminal antecedents.
About Election Commissioner of India (ECI)
- It is a constitutional body to conduct and regulate elections in the country.
- It consists of a chief election commissioner (CEC) and two election commissioners (usually retired IAS or IRS officers)
- HQ – New Delhi
- Founded – 25 January 1950
- 25 January – Voter’s Day
- 1st Chief – Sukumar Sen
- 1st Women Chief – V.S. Ramadevi
- 25th Chief – Rajiv Kumar
- Commissioner – Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar
- Tenure – 6/65yrs
India’s first integrated Oil Palm Processing Unit by 3F Oil Palm starts commercial operations
- India’s first integrated oil palmprocessing unit in Arunachal Pradesh started operation by one of India’s largest oil palm development companies, 3F Oil Palm.
- This factory marks the first Oil Palm factory in Arunachal Pradesh and India’s first Oil Palm Factory under NMEO-OP.
- 3F Oil Palm’s state-of-the-art Integrated Oil Palm Processing Unit has been designed to process fresh fruit bunches (FFBs) into high-quality palm oil with an impressive capacity of 10 metric tons per hour.
Exam Related Facts
- A new factory has been established in the Lower Dibang Valley district of India’s northeast state. This factory is part of Mission Palm Oil and is India’s first oil palm factory under NMEO-OP.
Tata Sons announces sale of 0.6% Stake in TCS for over ₹9,300 crore
- Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, will be selling 34 crore shares or 0.65 per cent equity of Tata Consultancy Servicesthrough a block deal for ₹9,362.3 crore ($1.13 billion).
- Holding companies and promoter entities usually sell stakes in group firms to generate cash to pay down debt and stabilise balance sheets.
Exam Related Facts
According to the December-end filing, Tata Sons holds a 72.38 per cent stake in TCS.
- Recently, British tobacco company BAT Plc sold a 3.5 per cent stake in its Indian associate ITC Ltd for ₹16,690 crore. This monetisation was done chiefly to buy back its shares and continue its deleveraging exercise.
Election Commission launches ‘Mission 414’ campaign in Himachal
- The Election Commissionhas launched a special campaign to boost voter turnout in 414 polling stations with less than 60% voting during the last Lok Sabha polls.
- Aim — “Mission 414” — is increasing the vote percentage in 414 identified polling stations which registered less than 60% voting in the last Lok Sabha polls.
- Awareness campaigns and cultural events would be held besides making these 414 stations model polling stations.
- Booth youth icons from first time voters would be roped in and special invitation cards made by children would be given to prospective voters.
- A similar initiative is under way for 22 Assembly segments and is aimed at increasing the voter turnout to 72% in polling stations where the turnout was less than 70% in the last Lok Sabha elections. The average voter turnout in Himachal Pradesh in 2019 was 72.42%.
Exam Related Facts About Himachal Pradesh
- Governor –Shiv Pratap Shukla
- Deputy Chief Minister –Mukesh Agnihotri
- Chief Minister– Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu
- Capital –Shimla (Summer), Dharamshala (Winter)
Guyana to acquire 2 HAL-Made Dornier 228 Aircraft from India
- These aircraft will be used for maritime patrols and troop movement. India has already given these aircraft to its neighbours like Maldives and Sri Lanka.
- The Indian defence industry with the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) planning to soon acquire two new aircraft from New Delhi with a $23.27 million loan from Export-Import Bank of India.
- Guyana, which has a substantial Indian diaspora, plans to purchase two HAL (Dornier) 228 planes from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
- An agreement in this regard was signed between Guyanese Finance Minister and Deputy GM of EXIM Bank.
Exam Related Facts About Guyana
- Capital – Georgetown
- Currency – Guyanese Dollar
- Prime Minister-Mark Phillips
- President-Mohamed Irfaan Ali
- Continent – South America
Banking and Financial
Axis Bank to support Tata Memorial-supported National Cancer Grid
- A national tumour biobank and cancer teleconsultation network are among the projects that will be supported by a ₹100 crore contribution towards the National Cancer Grid (NCG), from Axis Bank.
- As part of the five-year partnership, Axis Bank will support NCG, a network of 300-plus cancer centres across the country, coordinated by the Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH), under the Tata Memorial Centre.
Exam Related Facts
- The aim is to improve cancer care and research, in terms of access and digital adoption on formalising a Memorandum of Understanding with Tata Memorial.
About Axis Bank
- Founded – 1993
- Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Chairman– Rakesh Makhija
- MD & CEO– Amitabh Chaudhary
- Tagline– Badhti Ka naam Zindagi
Appointment
Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan resigns
- Tamilisai Soundararajanhas resigned from the posts of Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, and submitted to the Hon’ble President of India.
- Tamilisai Soundararajan served as the second governor of the state of Telangana. She assumed the office on September 8, 2019.
- Prior to becoming the governor, Soundararajan held the position of National Secretary and Tamil Nadu State Unit President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Exam Related Facts About Telangana
- Speaker of Telangana Assembly –Gaddam Prasad Kumar
- Legislative Assembly Seats– 119
- Established – 2 June 2014
- Deputy CM – Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka
- Chief Minister– Revanth Reddy (replace K. Chandrashekar Rao)
- Capital –Hyderabad
Vladimir Putin wins Russian presidential election with 87.97% of the vote
- Putin is set to embark on a new six-year term, which, if completed, would make him Russia’s longest-serving leader in over 200 years, surpassing Josef Stalin.
- For Putin, a former KGB lieutenant colonel who first rose to power in 1999, the result is intended to underscore to the West that its leaders will have to reckon with an emboldened Russia, whether in war or in peace, for many more years to come.
Exam Related Facts About Russia
- Capital –Moscow
- Currency –Rubel
- President –Vladimir Putin
Poonawalla Fincorp appoints Arvind Kapil as MD & CEO
- The current MD & CEO of the company, Abhay Bhutada, has been elevated to a group-level role and will be taking up a strategic position at the Cyrus Poonawalla Group, managing its strategy, investment, and finance.
- Currently, Kapil is serving as the group head of mortgage banking business at HDFC Bank and manages a book of over Rs 7 trillion. He also handled the merger of HDFC and HDFC Bank.
Exam Related FACTS
Appointment in Banking & Insurance Sector
- President of ‘One Kotak’– Jaideep Hansraj
- Part time Chairman of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd –Ravindran
- MD & CEO of SBM Bank India– Ashish Vijayakar (for 3 years)
- MD & CEO of Jana Small Finance Bank– Ajay Kanwal
- Chairperson & Independent Director of PayU– Renu Sud Karnad
Awards
Ratan Tata awarded PV Narasimha Rao Memorial Award
- Ratan Tata,former chairman of Tata Sons, was bestowed with the prestigious PV Narasimha Rao Memorial Award for his outstanding philanthropic contributions.
- Ratan Tata, 86, has also received two of the highest civilian awards of India — the Padma Vibhushan (2008) and Padma Bhushan (2000) – for his immeasurable contributions towards nation building.
Exam Related Facts
Recent Awards
- Measles and Rubella Champion Award– India
- IAA Golden Compass Award 2024– Srinivasan Swamy
- Erasmus Prize 2024– Amitav Ghosh (For highlighting the climate change crisis
- Diana Memorial Award – Uday Bhatia & Manasi Gupta
- Chameli Devi Jain Award 2024 – Greeshma Kuthar (independent journalist) & Ritika Chopra (Indian Express)
Carnatic vocalist TM Krishna to be conferred with the Sangita Kalanidhi award
- The session will be held from December 15, 2024 to January 1, 2025, when he will receive the award.
- The Sangita Kalanidhi award is considered one of the highest honours in Carnatic music.
- The musician will preside over the academic sessions of the 98th Annual Conference and Concerts of The Music Academy, the Deccan Herald reporting quoting Murali.
Exam Related Facts
- In 2016, Krishna was awarded the coveted Ramon Magsaysay Award.
Defence
India-US Joint Military Exercise “EX TIGER TRIUMPH 2024”
- A joint military exercise called Tiger Triumph-24between India and the United States started on March 18 and will continue until March 31.
- This exercise is taking place on the Eastern Seaboard (East Coast) of India.
- The exercise, Tiger Triump-24, is aimed at “developing interoperability” for conducting Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations and “refine Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to enable rapid and smooth coordination between forces of both countries.
Exam Related Facts
Recent Exercise
- Indian Air Force Conduct Exercise Vayu Shakti-2024– Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
- 5th edition of Military Exercise ‘Dharama Guardian’ between India and Japan – Mahajan Field Firing Ranges, Rajasthan
- 1st edition of Military Exercise – SADA TANSEEQbetween India & Saudi Arabia – Rajasthan
- 12th edition of MILAN Naval Exercise– Visakhapatnam
- 10th edition of Military Exercise LAMITIYE-2024 between India and Seychelles – Seychelles
Sports
Alcaraz beats Medvedev to win second straight Indian Wells title
- Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) defeated Daniil Medvedev (Russia) in straight sets, with a score of 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 in the final of the Indian Wells ATP tournament.
- With this win, the 20-year-old Alcaraz became the first player to win back-to-back Indian Wells titles since Novak Djokovic did it from 2014 to 2016.
- It was Alcaraz’s first title since Wimbledon last July.
Exam Related Facts
Men’s singles – Carlos Alcaraz
Women’s singles – Iga Swiatek
Men’s Doubles – Wesley Koolhof & Nikola Mektic
Women’s Doubles – Hsieh Su-wei & Elise Mertens““““““““““““““““`