Test : March 2019 Weekly Current Affair - 4" - Current Affairs MCQ

The human resource consulting firm, Mercer’s annual Quality of Living Survey 2019 has placed Austria’s capital city Vienna at the number one spot, making it the 10th year in a row. The Mercer’s top 10 is dominated by European cities mainly in Switzerland and Germany and the only cities outside of Europe to make the top 10 list are Vancouver, Canada, and Auckland, New Zealand.Top 10 cities in the list: Vienna, Austria Zürich, Switzerland (tie) Vancouver, Canada , (tie) Munich, Germany, (tie) Auckland, New Zealand Düsseldorf, Germany Frankfurt, Germany Copenhagen, Denmark Geneva, Switzerland Basel, Switzerland.Mercer bases its annual rankings of 231 cities on medical and health considerations, the natural, political, and social environment, as well as access to education, transportation, recreation, and culture.The Economist Intelligence Unit had also given Vienna the top spot in its ranking of the world’s most liveable cities in 2018.Hyderabad and Pune, at a rank of 143, continue to be the most liveable cities in India for expatriates. The two cities are followed by Bengaluru (149), Mumbai (154) and New Delhi (162), whose rankings remained unchanged from last year.

On 14th March 2019, The Reserve Bank of India categorized IDBI Bank as a Private Sector Bank with effect from January 21, 2019 following Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is acquiring 51 per cent of the total paid-up equity share capital of the bank. Following the appointment of MR Kumar as the Chairman of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Hemant Bhargava ceases to be the Non-Executive chairman of IDBI Bank as he no longer heads the parent company LIC.IDBI Bank has been under the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework of RBI which bans it from corporate lending, branch expansions, salary hikes and other regular activities.IDBI has charted out a revival strategy to bring banking and insurance under one roof along with LIC. The bank also informed about appointment of LIC as a corporate agent under bancassurance channel.

Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), insurance regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority(IRDAI), and pension fund regulator Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), along with senior officials of the finance ministry, discussed the key issues facing the economy at the meeting of the sub-committee of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) chaired by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.The sub-committee reviewed the major developments on the global and domestic fronts that impinge on the financial stability of the country.The panel discussed ways to address challenges pertaining to the quality of credit ratings; and inter-linkages between housing finance companies and housing developers.It also deliberated on the interlinking of various regulatory databases and the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion.

A coordinated operation was conducted by the armies of India and Myanmar from 17th February to 2nd March 2019 against insurgents in Myanmarese territory to avert a possible threat to the Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project.The objective of the operation was to crack down on the members of the Arakan Army, an insurgent group in Myanmar, the members of which had also moved close to the international border along Mizoram. The Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project is being viewed as India’s gateway to the Southeast Asia. India entered into a framework agreement with Myanmar in April 2008 to facilitate implementation of the project. On completion, the project will help connect Mizoram with the Sittwe Port in Rakhine State of Myanmar.

On 16th March 2019, 34th Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisations (SCOs) Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) Council held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.A joint exercise ‘Sary – Arka – Antiterror 2019’ will be held as decided by the RATS in the session. India, Pakistan and other member nations will participate in the joint anti-terrorism exercise which will be held this year.The meeting was chaired by Russia. The meeting also decided to hold the first stage of joint border operation ‘Solidarity 2019 -2021.India and Pakistan entered the SCO in 2017 where China plays an influential role along with Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.RATS promote cooperation of member states against terrorism, separatism and extremism. It is a permanent organ of the SCO.

On 14th March 2019, Reserve Bank of India provided a no objection to Kolkata headquartered Bandhan Bank for the proposed acquisition of Gruh Finance. Gruh Finance Limited is a Ahmedabad headquartered Subsidiary of HDFC Limited, is a Housing Finance Company (HFC) recognized by the National Housing Bank (NHB) and it was taken over in January by Kolkata-based Bandhan Bank in a share-swap deal.Based on this approval, Bandhan Bank has to transfer 14.9 per cent stake to HDFC for merging with Gruh Finance.The ratio for this amalgamation will be 568 shares of Bandhan Bank for every 1000 shares of Gruh Finance.

On 14th March 2019, The Election Commission has launched a mobile application ‘Observer App’ through which the Electoral Observers can submit the relevant document and material to Election Commission directly. The app will provide notifications, urgent messages and alerts to the poll observers. It will also help to get their deployment status, download the ID card and update their profile.‘cVIGIL’ is a mobile application also launched by Election Commission of India and it allowed the citizens to report on violation of model code of conduct. A written observation can be made by the observer after the flying squads investigate the matter.

On 14th March 2019, Cyclone Idai hit the Mozambique city of Beira and caused heavy rain and landfall at the port city. The 50000 people living at the port city are now without electricity and communication have been severely damaged.More than 100 people have been killed by the storm and heavy rain in the Mozambique and Malawi. The Cyclone is now heading towards Zimbabwe.

29-year-old Indian athlete from Kerala, K.T. Irfan has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics as he finished fourth in the men’s 20 kilometer category at the Asian Race Walking Championships in Nomi, Japan. He holds the national record of 1:20:21 which he achieved during his 10th place finish at the 2012 Olympics in London.He also qualified for 2019’s World Championships as he bettered the qualifying mark of 1:22:30.

Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba, presided over the day long review session of largest War Game of the Indian Navy – the Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise (TROPEX 19) in Kochi, intended to examine the conduct of the exercise and to assess the operational preparedness of the Indian Navy.The exercise had commenced 7th January 2019 and was planned to be terminated by 10th March 2019 but due to the JEM (Jaish-e-Mohammed) sponsored terrorist attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Pulwama on 14th February 2019 led to the rapid redeployment of the Indian Navy for Operations in North Arabian sea.TROPEX 19 had commenced with Tri-services Amphibious Exercise in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands with participation of Army and Air Force and about 60 ships of the Indian Navy, 12 ships of the Indian Coast Guard and 60 aircraft were part of the exercise.This was followed by the largest Coastal Defence Exercise code-named SEA VIGIL on 22nd January and 23rd January 2019 with the participation of all 13 Coastal States and Union Territories along with all maritime stakeholders.

The 10 days long Africa-India Joint Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX-19) between the Indian Army and 16 African nations was commenced in Pune, Maharashtra on March 18, 2019 for training the participating contingents in Humanitarian Mine Assistance (HMA) and Peace Keeping Operations (PKO) under the United Nations Charter.It will be held in two locations in Pune viz. Foreign Training Node at Aundh Military Station and College of Military Engineering in Kirkee.The Indian army is represented by Maratha Light Infantry while African continent is comprised of 10 personnel, from each of the participating nations.The exercise is expected to facilitate sharing of Indian Armed Forces experiences in United Nations Peace keeping operations with countries in Africa and shall remarkably boost relations with the African continent.

Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘Vijit’ became the first-ever Coast Guard ship to visit Sabang, Indonesia, highlighting the close maritime proximity between India and Indonesia and strengthening cooperation in the area of maritime security and safety between New Delhi and Jakarta.During its maiden voyage from 17th March to 20th March 2019, officers and crew of Vijit will hold interaction with officials of Bakamla (Indonesian Coast Guard), Indonesian Armed Forces and the civil administration at Sabang.This visit of the coast guard ship follows from the first-ever-visit of Naval Ship INS Sumitra to Sabang in July 2018.The ship is commanded by Commandant T Ashish (0532-J), who is a long Navigation Direction officer.

India’s Asian marathon champion Gopi Thonakal has qualified for the World Athletics Championships to be held in Doha in September-October after finishing 11th in the Seoul International Marathon.The 30-year-old Gopi clocked his personal best time of 2 hours 13 minutes 39 seconds in the marathon race on Sunday, bettering the World Championships qualification mark of 2:16:00. His earlier best was 2:15:16 last year.

PD. Tshering,Chief Postmaster General, Jammu & Kashmir Circle, released a ‘Special Stamp Cover on Ice Stupa’ by the Department of Post, Government of India during a function organised at the Ice Stupasite at Gangles in Leh. Ice Stupa team of Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL) with support from Leh-Phodo society and Army, has built an Ice Stupa at Gangles with an aim to reduce shortage of water in Leh.The team plans to build more such artificial glaciers (Ice Stupas) in Leh, so that problem related to water supply, faced by Ladakhi farmers due to receding of glaciers, can be reduced.About 12 villages across Ladakh have built Ice Stupas on experimental basis and on 22nd March, ‘World Water Day’ will be celebrated at Ice Stupa at Shara, where teams from other villages, who have built Ice Stupas, will be felicitated.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held a 2-day joint ministerial meeting for 17th and 18th March 2019, with her Maldivian counterpart Abdullah Shahid, where the latter has assured to remain sensitive towards India’s security and strategic concerns.An Agreement was signed between Export Import Bank of India (EXIM) and Maldives Finance Ministry for line of credit (LOC) of $800 million to finance the infrastructure projects of the new government in Maldives. India will provide finance assistance of 1.4 billion US dollars, as per the announcement made during Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s visit in December 2018. The Line of Credit is a part of this finance assistance. Exim Bank will charge 1.75 percent interest rate and the loan will come with a 15-year repayment period after the 5 years of moratorium.

Indian journalist, author and chief of The Wire, ‘Raghu Karnad’ received the prestigious Windham-Autgor RaghuCampbell prize of USD 165,000 for his debut book, ‘Farthest Field: An Indian story of Second World War’, published in the year 2015 in non-fiction category.The award was given by Yale University in the United Kingdom to 8 recipients of English language writers from around the world.The book was also awarded the Sahitya Akedemi Yuva Puraskar for a writer in English in the year in 2016, the book was shortlisted for the Hessell-Tiltman Prize.

On 19th March 2019, BJP MLA and Former Speaker of Goa legislative assembly Pramod Sawant(45) took oath as 13th Chief Minister of Goa succeeding Manohar Parrikar, who died due to Cancer. Governor Mridula Sinha administered the oath of office of Pramod Sawant.

On 19th March 2019, the three day 14th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnerships concluded in New Delhi. The Conclave will enhance the partnership between India and Africa in economic as well as business terms.The event was organized by Ministry of Commerce and Industry in association with Exim Bank of India and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).It will help the Government in a range of cross-border project partnership where India-Africa partnership assumed to be critically important for the global economy.The key areas identified for discussion during the Conclave revolve around two key themes which are digital infrastructure and digital skills.n sept 2018, Ministry of External Affairs inked MoU with Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) to establish a pan- Africa e-Arogya Bharti Network Project to aid Africa’s journey towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

On 19 March 2019, the annual Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) survey listed Singapore, Paris and Hong Kong as the world’s most expensive cities. In the 30 year long history it is for the first time the three cities are sharing the top spot.Zurich and Geneva in Switzerland ranked fourth and fifth respectively in the Expensive Cities list while Osaka in Japan ranked 6th position.As per EIU, Bengaluru, Chennai and New Delhi ranked 5th, 7th and 8th position respectively among the top ten cheapest cities.Caracas in Venezuela topped the cheapest cities in the world list. Damascus in Syria 2nd followed by Tashkent in Uzbekistan and Almaty in Kazakhstan.The survey will help the companies to calculate cost of living allowances and build compensation packages for business travelers and expatriates.

On 20th March 2019,Kazakhstan has renamed its capital as Nursultan from its previous name Astana in order to recognize its outgoing leader Nursultan Nazarbayev(78), who has served nearly 30 years as president of Kazakhstan.The name was changed after Kassym-Jomart Tokayev sworn in as president of Kazakhstan.The new president will serve till April 2020.