Current Affairs – 12th March 2017

Hello Readers, We bring you another issue of current affairs that covers the important news in Current Affairs Today Section.
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Indian Affairs

Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill, 2016 passed in Lok Sabha

The Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill, 2016 was passed by the Lok Sabha on 10 March 2017.
Aim: i) To establish a legal framework to consolidate the existing laws relating to admiralty jurisdiction of courts, admiralty proceedings on maritime claims, arrest of vessels and related issues.
ii) To replace archaic laws which are hindering efficient governance.
The Bill confers admiralty jurisdiction on High Courts located in coastal states of India and this jurisdiction extends upto territorial waters.
Highlights: 

• The Minister of State ( RT&H, S, C&F), Shri Mansukh Mandaviya, presented an overview of the Bill in the House, highlighting the need for repealing five obsolete British statutes on admiralty jurisdiction in civil matters, which are 126 to 177 years old.
• The Bill provides for prioritization of maritime claims and maritime liens while providing protection to owners, charterers, operators, crew members and seafarers at the same time.

SSB signed MoU with NSDC and NSDF for skill development for its personnel’s   

SBI incorporates wholly owned subsidiary for premises and estate matters of SBI

• The State Bank of India on March 11, 2017 has legally incorporated SBI Infra Management Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (SBIIMS Pvt. Ltd.) as a wholly owned subsidiary of SBI. SBIIMS Pvt. Ltd. will now manage the premises and estate related matters of SBI.
• The new subsidiary will save the time of bank employees who earlier performed these non-core functions. Now these employees can handle the core functions of the bank and increase the efficiency.
• SBIIMS Pvt. Ltd. will handle the advisory services, transaction management, facility management and implementation of policies and initiatives.
• In the initial phase this new subsidiary will have 400 registered offices and will look after work related to premises and estate of State bank Group.

YES Bank signs 3 projects of smart city for payments-related solutions

 

• Mid-sized private sector lender Yes Bank is looking at smart cities initiative as a lucrative business opportunity and has signed up three projects to offer payments-related solutions.
• Yes Bank has currently ties up with Udaipur, Nashik and Puducherry for the introduction of digital payment systems under the smart city initiative.
• There is a revenue share arrangement in the contracts which it will be signing with the service providers, which helps the bank get some commission on usage, he explained.
• Most of the solutions being worked out at present revolve around making payments for transport services, civic services and utilities, wherein the smart cities are trying to inculcate cashless payments.

Awards and Recognition

Thai Model Crowned Transgender Beauty Queen Title

• Thai contestant Jiratchaya Sirimongkolnawin was crowned Miss International Queen 2016 on Friday at a contest billed as the world’s largest and most popular transgender pageant.
• The 25-year-old beat 24 other contestants for the crown, with the second and third place going to contestants from Brazil and Venezuela, respectively.
• The pageant, which brings together transgender people from around the world, was launched over a decade ago to help transgender women feel more accepted by society.

Narendra Kumar Appointed New Chairman of Central Water Commission

Shri Narendra Kumar, an officer of Central Water Engineering Service (1979 batch) has assumed the charge of Chairman, Central Water Commission (CWC).
About Shri Narendra Kumar
Birth: October 11,1957
Education: BE degree in Civil Engineering from IIT Roorkee and M Tech from IIT Delhi in Structural Engineering
Work Experience: He has served in various capacities in CWC as Assistant Director in Design Organisation, Deputy Director in Project Appraisal Directorate and Director in Dam Safety Organisation and Project Monitoring Directorate.
He has also served as Senior Joint Commissioner in Command Area Development wing of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation from 2002 to 2005.

• From 2009 to 2011, he served as Chief Engineer, Brahmaputra and Barak Basin, Shillong.
• He has also worked as Commissioner of B&B wing of Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation during 2011 to 2014.
• Shri Kumar has attended various international training programme and has served in various committees at UNESCO-IHE Delft Netherland, London, Beijing, Bhutan etc. He was also member of Experts Committee for Scientific Assessment of flood prone area in India and Standing Committee for Morphological studies of Indian rivers. He took over as Member (River Management) of Central Water Commission in October 2014.

Reliance Capital’s CEO Sam Ghosh Announces to Quit

• Sam Ghosh, who steered Reliance Capital for about nine years as its CEO, is leaving the company to pursue other options.
• Ghosh had joined Reliance Capital in early 2008 and in mid-2015 was elevated to the board of the company as an executive director.
• Before joining Anil Ambani-run Reliance Capital, Ghosh, an engineer and a chartered accountant, had spent 10 years with the German financial services major Allianz group, including a stint at its India joint venture Bajaj Allianz as its CEO.
• Ghosh was involved in several large deals, joint ventures and divestitures by Reliance Capital. Those deals include getting Nippon Life, one of the largest insurance companies in the world, to buy 49% stake in each of its life insurance and mutual fund businesses.

Appointments & Resigns

President Appoints New Chief Justices in MP, Patna, Kerala, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand HCs

• President of India has appointed new Chief Justices in Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Patna and Jharkhand High Courts.
• Justice Thottathil Bhaskaran Nair Radhakrishnan, Judge of the Kerala High Court, appointed as Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office.
• Justice Navaniti Prasad Singh, Judge of the Patna High Court, appointed as Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office.
• Justice Hemant Gupta, Judge of the Patna High Court, to be the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office.
• Justice Rajendra Menon, Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, to be the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office.
• Justice Pradip Kumar Mohanty, Judge of Jharkhand High Court, to be the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office.

Sports

India ranked 132 in the latest edition of FIFA ranking

• The Indian national team has slipped down two places to 132nd in the recently released Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) rankings.
• The Blue Tigers have a total of 233 points, which is 11 lower than their previous month’s total, when the board reflected 244 points.
• It must be noted here that Guyana and Niger have moved up five and three places up the table respectively, which has seen India drop two places.
• Amongst the teams from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), India have risen a place to 19th amongst 46 teams, with Iran, ranked 33rd internationally, leading the way.
• Among the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) members, India are comfortably placed the highest. Maldives are now placed 140th while Bangladesh (193), Nepal (170), Bhutan (177), Sri Lanka (197) and Pakistan (198) are ranked much lower.

Obituary

John Surtees, British F1 Legend Dies At 83

• John Surtees, the only racer to have won world championships on motorbikes and in Formula One passed away at 83 on 10th March 20017.
• Surtees was admitted to a London hospital in February with an existing respiratory condition and after a short period in intensive care died peacefully.
• Surtees won the 500cc motorcycle world championship in 1956, 1958, 1959 and 1960 with the MV Agusta factory team, for whom he scored 22 wins at the top level before switching to cars, making his debut for Lotus and winning the Formula One title for Ferrari in 1964, which included a remarkable win at the Nürburgring and one at Monza.
•  Former DSA President Sood Passes Away
• Former footballer and ex-president of Delhi Football Association, Umesh Sood passed away after a massive heart attack at his south Delhi residence. He was 73.
• Sood, a graduate from Delhi University’s Hindu College, played for Delhi’s reputed clubs like New Delhi Heroes and City Club in the Delhi Senior Division League.
• He was elected as president of DSA in 1993 and served till 1998.
• During his tenure, the local league flourished and was held annually at the Ambedkar stadium. He procured sponsorship for each edition of the local league.
• In 1998, he was re-elected as president of the DSA with late Syed Nasir Ali as secretary.