Current Affairs 20-21st Mar, 2015

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1. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) expects banks to cut interest rates as the central bank had already lowered policy rates twice in quick succession. The latest cut was on March 4 when RBI reduced the repo rate from 7.75 per cent to 7.50 per cent.

2. Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2015, & the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015 were passed by the parliament. The coal Bill loosens the mining monopoly of state-owned Coal India and the mines Bill imparts greater transparency, financial autonomy to states with mineral-bearing mines.

3. A high-powered panel constituted by the Centre to reform Indian Railways may recommend entry of private players in running freight, passenger trains, producing rolling stock such as coaches & locomotives and developing rail land. The committee is chaired by Bibek Debroy, a full-time member of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog.

4. Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of New Tax) Bill, 2015 — black money Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha. The Bill seeks to impose a penalty for non-disclosure of income or of an asset located outside India, at three times the amount of tax payable thereon -- that is, 90 per cent of the value.

5. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) board might decide to seek clarifications from the government on some contentious amendments proposed in the Finance Bill. The amendments, if passed, could strip the central bank of powers pertaining to regulation of the government securities market.

Current Affairs 20th Mar, 2015

1. Biomatiques Identification Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (Biomatiques) launched India’s first indigenous Iris recognition technology through their range of Iris scanning products. The technology can used in all areas of identity assurance environments, from border control to access control and also allows connection of Iris scanners to the Aadhaar database.

2. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will inaugurate a three-day global conference 'India & the Indian Ocean: Renewing the Maritime Trade & Civilisational Linkages' on maritime trade tomorrow. Twenty nations from the region, popularly known as Indian Ocean Rim Countries, including Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Thailand and Mauritius will participate in the event.

3. Reserve Bank of India will indicate the Government of India’s surplus cash balance, which will be reckoned for auction, with effect from April 6 to help market participants, such as banks, assess systemic liquidity better.

4. International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in its 2014-2015 Global Food Policy Report (GFPR)says Five middle-income countries (MICs) that displayed strong economic growth in 2014 — India, Brazil, China, Mexico and Indonesia account for 363 million, or a half, of the world’s hungry.

5. Union Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) announced to appoint Olympic Bronze medallist boxer MC Mary Kom as the brand ambassador of the North-East region.

6. During his three nation tour to Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Modi joined the National Day celebrations in Mauritius as the guest of honour. He also unveiled the Plaque and Operationalisation of Radar for the CSRS India-Seychelles Cooperation Project in Seychelles.