Current Affairs 30th March 2019

Dear Aspirants,

The General Awareness Section plays an important role in scoring well above cut off marks in any competitive exam. The Banking Awareness and Static Awareness questions asked in the General Awareness Section are based on Current Affairs mainly. So you need to prepare well this section to score good marks. Here is the Daily GK Update to get you acquainted with the top events that made the headlines today!!

Defence News

1. India, Australia To Hold Bilateral Exercise AUSINDEX In Vishakhapatnam

Current Affairs 30th March 2019 | Daily GK Update |_3.1

i. The third edition of the biennial, bilateral exercise AUSINDEX 19 between India and Australia will be held in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

ii. The upcoming exercise will focus on anti-submarine warfare and will see Australia’s largest defence force deployment in India.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For LIC AAO Mains Exam:

Exercise Malabar is a naval exercise b/w U.S.A, Japan & India.

International News

2. India & Bolivia Sign 8 MoUs In Various Fields Including Culture, Mining, Space

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i. President Ram Nath Kovind has been conferred with the highest State honor of Bolivia, “Condor de Los Andes en el Grado de Gran Collar” during his visit to Bolivia. President of Bolivia Evo Morales awarded him the Honour at a function held in Santa Cruz.

ii. On the second day of President’s three-day visit to Bolivia, India and Bolivia signed eight MoUs in the fields of culture, Visa waiver arrangement for diplomats, exchange between diplomatic academies, mining, space, traditional medicine, establishment of Centre of Excellence in IT and Bi-Oceanic Railway project.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For LIC AAO Mains Exam:

Bolivia Capital: Sucre, Currency: Bolivian boliviano.

Awards

3. Dr Rajendra Joshi Conferred With ‘Pravasi Bhartiya Samman’

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i. Swiss-based NRI scientist Dr Rajendra Joshi has been conferred with the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Award by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind.

ii. The Indian Ambassador to Switzerland Sibi George handed over the award citation signed by the President to Dr Joshi at his residence in Switzerland.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For LIC AAO Mains Exam:

The currency of Switzerland is Swiss franc.

Business/Economy News

4. PFC Becomes India’s 2nd Largest State-Owned Financial Firm

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i. State-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has completed the acquisition of majority stake in REC Ltd by transferring Rs 14,500 crore to the government.

ii. This acquisition and merger will make PFC second-largest government-owned financial player in the country based on the current market capital after State Bank of India (SBI) and also PFC will be the third-highest profit-making financial player in India.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For LIC AAO Mains Exam:

Rajeev Sharma is the Chairman & Managing Director of Power Finance Corporation.
PFC headquarters in New Delhi.
PFC was incorporated on July 16th, 1986 and is a leading Non-Banking Financial Corporation in the Country.

5. GAIL, BHEL Sign Pact For Development Of Solar Power Projects

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i. State-owned gas utility GAIL India Ltd has signed an agreement with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) for cooperation in the development of solar power projects.
ii. The MoU aims at building a closer strategic partnership between the two Maharatna PSUs for jointly pursuing commercial solar power projects through participation in tariff / Viability Gap Funding (VGF) based competitive bidding process.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For LIC AAO Mains Exam:

GAIL is India’s biggest natural gas company.
BHEL is one of the few companies in the world, and only company in India, having the capability to manufacture the entire range of power plant equipment.

6. Government Leaves Interest Rate On Small-Saving Schemes Unchanged

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i. The Finance Ministry has decided to keep the interest rate unchanged on small savings schemes for the three-month period beginning April 1. The announcement covers small-saving schemes.
ii. The unchanged interest rate means the NSC (5 years) and the PPF (15 years) will fetch 8% interest, while money deposited in KVP will double in little over nine years. At the same time, if one is parking money in a fixed deposit with a maturity of five years with the State Bank of India, he/she will get 6.85%. Senior citizens will get half a percent more: 7.35%.

Static/Current Takeaways Important For LIC AAO Mains Exam:

Based on the recommendations of the Shyamala Gopinath panel, interest rates on these schemes are reviewed before the end of every quarter, and accordingly, new rates are announced for the next quarter.

Obituaries

7. Veteran Journalist Prafulla Rajguru Passes Away At 82

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