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| March 4th, 2015 |
The largest and tallest Indian flag in the world has been unfurled in Faridabad
- World’s largest and tallest Indian national flag was unfurled at Town Park in Faridabad, Haryana by BJP president Amit Shah, Haryana CM ML Khattar and Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor.
- It is hoisted at a height of 250 feet.
- Another such flag is located at the Central Park in Connaught Place, New Delhi. This flag is 60 feet in width and 90 feet in length and is hoisted at the height of 207 feet.
RBI reduced Repo Rate by 25 basis points
ii. The RBI had lowered interest rates by 25 bps on Jan 15.
iii. Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF (Liquidity Adjustment Facility) stands adjusted to 6.50 per cent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 8.50 per cent with immediate effect.
iv. The cut in the policy rate by RBI will help in lowering interest rate for individual and corporate borrowers and make home loan and corporate loans cheaper.
Note: On February 3, 2015, RBI, in its sixth bi-monthly monetary policy statement, keep interest rates (Repo Rate) unchanged but reduced Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) by 50 basis points to 21.5% from 22%.
Current Rates are as follows:
1. Repo Rate - 7.50% (Changed)
2. Reverse Repo Rate - 6.50% (Changed)
3. CRR (Cash Reserve ratio) - 4% (Unchanged)
4. Bank Rate - 8.50% (Changed)
5. MSF (Marginal Standing Facility) - 8.50% (Changed)
6. SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio) - 21.5% (Unchanged)
Richest Indian 'Mukesh Amabani' is the 29th wealthiest in the world: Forbes' world's billionaires list 2015
*As per a ‘real time’ update from business magazine Forbes,[MARCH,4,2015] known for its annual rich lists, Sun Pharma Group’s Shanghvi was ranked richest Indian, followed by Mukesh Ambani.
i. There are 1826 billionaires in the world as per the list; 90 of them are from India.
ii. Top 5 billionaires: Bill Gates ($79 billion), Carlos Slim Helu ($77.1 billion), Warren Buffett ($72.7 billion), Amancio Ortega ($64.5 billion) and Larry Ellison ($54.3 billion).
iii. Richest woman: Christy Walton (8th rank overall) {inherited a stake in retailer walmart.}
iv. Youngest billionaire: Evan Spiegel (1250th rank): founder of Snapchat
Five indian women have made it to the forbes billionaires listAmong the total of 197, 5 indian women listed in forbesbillionaire list are:
i. Savitri Jinadal -> Chairperson of Jindal steel & power ltd.
ii. Indu Jain-> Chairperson of Bennett, coleman & co. ltd.
iii. Anu Aga-> Chairperson of Thermax ltd.
iv. Kiran Mazumdar-> CMD of Biocon ltd.
v. Vinod Gupta-> wife of Qimat Rai Gupta(founder of Havells)
New Urban Rejuvenation Mission to replace JNNRUM
i. According to the Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu, government will replace Jawahalal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, JNNRUM with a new Urban Rejuvenation Mission to bring more areas for development under its ambit.
ii. JNNRUM had already completed its term, which was launched by previous UPA government. Under the proposed scheme, cities with population of One Lakh or above will also be covered.
Parliament passes bill merging PIO, OCI schemes
i. Parliament has passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015, which seeks merger of Person of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) schemes.
ii. The bill approved by Rajya Sabha today and Lok Sabha had already gave its approval on the bill.iii. The Bill provides that the central government may notify that Persons of Indian Origin cardholders shall be considered to be Overseas Citizen of India card holder. iv. Under the bill, people who apply for Indian citizenship will now be allowed a 30-day break if they have to leave India for sometime and their absence from the country will not affect their application for citizenship.
National Award conferred to Rani Mukherjee
i. To highlight the cause of safety, security and protection of the girl child and women in Mardaani film, Rani Mukherjee has been selected for the National Award by National Institute of Gender Justice (NIGJ).
ii. She became the first film personality to be conferred with the award.
iii. The film Mardaani has been directed by Pradeep Sarkar where Rani has played the role of Senior Inspector (crime branch) Shivani Shivaji Roy.
iv. The past awardees include Anna Hazare, Pratibha Patil, Pandit Jasraj and Mahashweta Devi.
Centre appoints Baldev Sharma as the new chairman of the National Book Trust. i. The former 'Panchajanya' editor succeeds A Sethumadhavan to this office.
ii. 'Panchajanya' is the mouthpiece of BJP's ideological mentor RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh).
Indian-American physician Rahul Jindal chosen for Fulbright Nehru Distinguished Chair i. Indian-American physician Rahul Jindal was on 3 March 2015 selected for the prestigious Fulbright-Nehru Distinguished Chair.
ii.Rahul Jindal is a Professor of Surgery and Global Health at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.
International Women of Courage Award selects three South Asian womeni. Three South Asian women, namely Niloofar Rahmani, Nadia Sharmeen and Tabassum Adnan on 3 March 2015 were selected for the prestigious International Women of Courage Award for the year 2015 given by the US Secretary of State.
ii. Niloofar Rahmani (Afghanistan): Captain from Afghan Air Force
Nadia Sharmeen (Bangladesh): Journalist and women’s rights activist
Tabassum Adnan (Pakistan): Founder of Khwendo Jirga
Sun Pharmaceutical announces to buy GlaxoSmithKline unit in Australiai. Dilip Shanghvi led Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd on 3 March 2015 announced to buy GlaxoSmithKline’s opiates business in Australia.
ii.GSK is the leader in the pharmaceutical market in Australia.Samsung was at top spot since 2011 but in quarter 4 of 2014, apple beats Samsung for the top spot.
i. Scientists who analysed countless chemicals in spider venom say they have identified seven compounds that block a key step in the body’s ability to pass pain signals to the brain.
ii.“Nav1.7 channels” present in the molecules of the venom can be utilised.
Source: PIB,ANI,LSTV,The Hindu