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Important Current Affairs 23rd March 2017 with Free PDF

Important Current Affairs 23rd March 2017 with Free PDF

Important Current Affairs 23rd March 2017 with Free PDF

Dear Aspirants,

We bring you Important Current Affairs 23rd March 2017 with Free PDF in English and Hindi, which will update you with latest headlines, news from various domains i.e: National News, Sports, Business, Awards & recognition. It will help you in preparation of competitive exams like: SSC, SBI, IBPS PO, Clerk, Railways & Various other Entrance examinations.


 


Current Affairs 23rd March 2017: NATIONAL NEWS

Finance Bill Removes Limits on Political Donations by Firms


Just weeks after the government announced measures to clean up political funding in India, the government is removing limits on how much companies can contribute towards political donations as part of several amendments the government has proposed to the Finance Bill.
●    On Tuesday, the government put forth over 40 amendments to the finance bill including many new measures that are significantly different from those announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his budget speech on Feb 1. 
●    Several observers have called these amendments "unprecedented." The proposals were debated in the Parliament on Wednesday.
●    The current laws allow companies to contribute only up to 7.5 per cent of their average net profits in the last three financial years to political parties, and require they disclose the name of the political parties that have received those donations. 
●    In another backflip from the budget, the government has cut the cap on cash transactions from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 2 lakh.
●    It has also announced that Aadhaar card will now be mandatory for filing tax returns, as well as obtaining a PAN card.

NCST Approves Proposal for Five Additional Seats for Tribals in Sikkim Assembly

 
National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has approved the proposal for five additional seat for tribals in Sikkim assembly. 
●    In its full meeting held in New Delhi today the Commission gave its approval to the proposal of increasing reserve seats for STs from 12 to 17 in Sikkim assembly. 
●    At present there are 32 members in Sikkim assembly and it would be increased to 40. 
●    Out of the proposed additional eight seats, five seats would be reserved for Limbu and Tamang tribes. 
●    The Commission has also decided to send a three member high level investigation committee for on the spot investigation of atrocities on Scheduled Tribes. 
●    The Commission also decided send a letter to States seeking latest update on tribal welfare programmes. 
●    States will also be asked to provide full details about the activities of Tribal Advisory Committees. 
●    The states will also be requested to provide link of NCST website on their official website so that people may know the activities of the commission. 
●    Chairing the first meeting of the Commission after taking over as its Chairman Shri Nand Kumar Sai said that Commission is very serious about the illegal transfer of land holdings of Scheduled Tribes. 
●    He said a detailed study will be carried out of all such incidents. 
●    Later, a national level workshop will be organised in New Delhi sometimes in May this year on this issue where representatives of State governments will also be invited. 

Govt. Proposes Ban on Cash Transactions Above Rs. 2 Lakh


The government on Tuesday proposed to ban all cash transactions above Rs 2 lakh, instead of Rs 3 lakh announced in the budget, and said Aadhaar would be mandatory for filing tax returns and getting a permanent account number (PAN) as it sought fresh checks on black money.
●    The proposals were part of the 44 amendments to the Finance Bill moved by finance minister Arun Jaitley in Lok Sabha. 
●    The large number of changes sought by the government attracted criticism from the opposition benches with some calling it unprecedented.
●    Jaitley has proposed amendments to the Companies Act, mandating disclosure of election-related donations in company books besides making such donations compulsorily by cheque, bank draft or through electronic means. 
●    The step was part of reforms announced in the budget to make election funding more transparent.
●    The move to reduce the ceiling for cash transactions to Rs 2 lakh was announced as the government was of the view that the earlier cap was too high. 
●    With Aadhaar made mandatory, the government is hoping to track returns better and act against those misusing the provisions. 
●    The use of Aadhaar has been mandated from July 1.


3rd International Conference on Alternate Fuels and Raw Materials in Cement Industry 

The “3rd International Conference on Alternate Fuels and Raw Materials in Cement Industry -Towards Realising Swachh Bharat Dream”, was inaugurated today. 
●    Ms. Ravneet Kaur, Joint Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion lauded the efforts and initiatives of the Cement Industry in enhancing the AFR usage to increase the  Thermal Substitution Rate (TSR) which is very low at 1% as against the average 60% world-over. 
●    She mentioned that with Indian Cement Industry currently producing 7% of the Global Cement requirement has a long way to go to improve the country’s per capita consumption at a dismal low as yet. 
●    She also expressed her appreciation for the recently published BIS Standards on Composite Cement. 
●    Ms Kaur assured the Cement Industry that Govt. will support this cause to frame conducive policies to facilitate such AFR usage in the Cement Industry.

Current Affairs 23rd March 2017: PERSONS


Five Indians in WEF's 100 Young Global Leaders List


Five Indians, including Paytm Founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Shruti Shibulal of The Tamara Hospitality, have made it to the World Economic Forum's 100 Young Global Leaders list.
●    The other individuals who represented India in the list include Ambarish Mitra Founder and CEO Blippar, a mobile phone app business valued at USD 1.5 billion; Hindol Sengupta Editor-at large Fortune India and Rwitwika Bhattacharya - Agarwal Founder and CEO Swaniti Initiative.
●    There were nine global leaders from South Asia, out of which five are from India. Besides, there are some persons of Indian origin in the US and Europe were also named in the list.
●    Each year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) selects 100 young leaders, under the age of 40, who are tackling the world's most complex challenges with innovative approaches.
●    In this year's class of 100 Young Global Leaders, half the intake come from emerging economies, reflecting a trend towards greater diversity in global leadership.
●    From the public sector, the list features Aja Brown the youngest mayor to be elected in Compton, California.

Bill Gates Named World's Richest Man for 18th Time : Forbes

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has once again topped Forbes' list of world's richest people of 2017. 
●    It is the fourth consecutive year that the 61-year-old has held the spot. 
●    He is closely followed by Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, Amancio Ortega and Mark Zuckerberg.
●    There are 2,043 billionaires in the world, led by the United States with 565, followed by China with 319 billionaires, and Germany with 114.
●    Ten Indians have also made it to the list of Forbes' 500 richest people in the world. 
●    Mukesh Ambani leads the list among the Indians at 33rd spot with a fortune of $23.2 billion, followed by Lakshmi Mittal ($16.4 billion) at No. 56, Azim Premji ($14.9 billion) at 72, and Dilip Shanghvi ($13.7 billion) at 84. 
●    Shiv Nadar (102), Kumar Birla (133), Cyrus Poonawalla (159), Uday Kotak (166), Sunil Mittal (182), and Gautam Adani (250) also made it to the list.
 


Current Affairs 23rd March 2017: REPORTS AND RANKINGS

India Slips to Rank 131 in HDI


India has slipped to rank 131in the 2016 Human Development Report (HDR) that was released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on 21 March 2017.
●    Among the 188 countries ranked in terms of human development, India stood at 131, a rank below its previous 130. 
●    India’s human development index (HDI) value of 0.624 puts it in the “medium human development” category alongside Pakistan and other countries such as Congo and Namibia.
●    Only two SAARC nations rank above India in the list, Sri Lanka (73) and Maldives (105), both of which figure in the high human development category. 
●    The top three countries in the list include Norway at rank 1 with an HDI of 0.949, followed by Australia (0.939) and Switzerland (0.939). 
●    Norway, which was recently adjudged to be the happiest nation in the world going by the World happiness report, clinched the top spot in this report as well. 
●    The HDI value is a measure for assessing the progress in the three basic dimensions of human development, a long and healthy life, access to knowledge and the access to a decent standard of living. 
●    According to the HDR, 1.5 million people across the world still live in multidimensional poverty and almost 54% among them are concentrated in South Asia. 

Current Affairs 23rd March 2017: DAYS AND DATES


First Nine Gorkhas Celebrates 200 Years


The Ninth Gorkhas celebrated 200-years of its raising in Secunderabad, Telangana on 16 March 2017. The first battalion of the Ninth Gorkhas was raised by the British government in 1817 as the ‘Fatehgarh Levy’.
●    Ninth Gorkha Rifles has a unique honour that all its battalions have been awarded the Chief of Army Staff’s Citation for exceptional performance in the line of duty.
●    Some of the Regiments battle honours are Mesopotamia, France and Flanders, Afghanistan, North Africa, Burma, Chindits, Kumarkhalli, Phillora, Dera Baba Nanak and Jammu & Kashmir.
●    Events held as prelude to the Bicentenary Celebrations includes
●    Scaling of Mount Stok Kangri (6153 meters): A team of the regiment on 30 September 2016 scaled Mount Stok Kangri, which is the highest peak of the Stok Ranges in the Ladakh Region.
●    Motorcycle Rally: A motorcycle rally was flagged off by the Chief of Army Staff, General Rawat. 
●    The rally was conducted on the traditional recruiting areas in Western Nepal. The rally reached Pokhara, Nepal on 4 February 2017.


 

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