Current Affairs 8th & 9th Week 21 Feb 5th March 2016

Best of Current Affairs Desk

12th March 2016

IN THIS WEEK

WHAT'S NEW NIRDESHAK.COM

Place
ECONOMY
BANKING
SPORTS
POLICY
CORPORATE

Dear Readers,
Nirdeshak.com has initiated all new Current
Affairs (BNCA) with weekly pdf update. In todays
competitive scenario, it has become most crucial
to read more analytical and absorbable content,
in order to get best result. The content is
developed scientifically developed so that it
becomes short, easy to remember and only
relevant part is recalled for exam preparation.
This is helpful for current affairs preparation,
developing acumen for interviews, GD and
overall remembering more get best scores in
competitive exams, for Banks, IBPS PO, SBI, IAS,
SSC and other exams.
In the week, many place, events and policy
remained important as India and world saw
many developments. Further know more about
key personalities of the week, banking news,
government policies and foreign relations with
neighbours.
Happy learning,
Warm regards

Editorial Team
Nirdeshak.com

Following are the important current terms important for exams, discussions
and interview.

Terms to Know

Economic Survey

Who is Gianni Infantino?

Union Budget

Who is Leonardo DiCaprio?

GDP growth rate

What is The Revenant?

Krishi Kalyan Cess

APL and BPL

What is OPEC

Kinddle

National Human Rights

Commission (NHRC)

What do you mean by?

Service Tax Rate from 12.36%

to 14%

Banks Board Bureau (BBB)

Advanced Technology Vessel

Swachh Bharat Cess of 0.5%

What is Swachh Parayatan?

Crude measurement barrels per

day (bpd)

What is VVPAT?

What is Euroclear?

What is Raisina Dialogue?

Which terms of important for discussion

Haven of Stability and Outpost of Opportunity

Operating Ratio

Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs)

Asset Management Companies (AMCs)

What is the role of Banks Board Bureau (BBB)?

In what sense the term Rurban is used?

What do you mean by Gender equality?

What is troy ounce?

In which context term Paper Trail is used?

Why UK is planning a referendum?

Economy
Economy Economic Survey
Who prepares the Economic Survey - Chief Economic Adviser
To Know: The Economic Survey for 201516, prepared by Chief Economic Adviser
Arvind Subramanian termed India as a
haven of stability and an outpost of
opportunity amidst gloomy international
economic landscape.
Main conclusions of Economic Survey 2015-16:
The Survey expects Indias GDP to growth at 7-7.75% during 2016-17
The Govt. is expected to achieve fiscal deficit target of 3.9% of GDP during 201516
The Survey argued for adhering to 3.5% fiscal deficit target during 2016-17
Consumer price or retail inflation is seen around 4.5 to 5% in 2016-17 as against
4.9% between April to January 2016
Indias current account deficit is seen around 1-1.5% of GDP during 2016-17

Union Budget
Main feature of this budget was its focus on agriculture and infrastructure sector.
However, no change in income tax slab was announced. The Service Tax increased
to 15% after imposition of which Cess of 0.5% as announced in the Budget? Krishi
Kalyan Cess
To Know: Budget 2016-17 proposed to
impose a Cess, called the Krishi Kalyan Cess,

of 0.5% on all taxable services. The new effective Service Tax hence increased to
15% from 14.5%.
The proceeds of Krishi Kalyan Cess would be exclusively used for financing
initiatives relating to improvement of agriculture and welfare of farmers. The Cess
will come into force with effect from 1st June 2016.
While presenting the Budget 2015-16, the Finance Minister had increased the
Service Tax Rate from 12.36% to 14%. This new rate of Service Tax of 14% was
applicable from 1 June 2015. Moreover from 15 Nov 2015, Swachh Bharat Cess of
0.5% also got applicable. Therefore the effective rate of Service Tax is currently at
14.5% with effect from 15 Nov 2015. This is now poised to reach 15% with the
imposition of the Krishi Kalyan Cess.
Service tax is a tax levied by the government on service providers on certain
service transactions, but is actually borne by the customers. It is categorized under
Indirect Tax and came into existence under the Finance Act, 1994.
------------------------------------------India hits the highest oil imports during January 2016
What important and interesting trend in Indias petroleum imports was witnessed
recently as reported in the data released by Thomson Reuters Oil Research &
Forecasts during February 2016?
To Know: During January 2016 country import of oil from
Saudi Arabia and Iraq hit the highest in more than a decade
as OPECs top producers gained at the expense of Latin
American crude exporting countries.
Saudi Arabia was the top supplier to India in January, with volumes jumping 29%
from the same month a year ago to nearly 940,000 barrels per day (bpd).
Just behind was Iraq at 930,000 bpd, up 52% from January levels last year. The
daily rates from both were at their highest since at least 2001.

 In contrast, total imports from Latin America fell by a quarter in January from a year
ago to 706,000 bpd.
India is the worlds third-largest crude oil importer. Competitive prices and shorter
shipping distances are giving the Middle East members of the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) the upper hand in India.
__________________________________
Economy- Railway Budget
Union Rail Minister Suresh Prabhu presented the Rail Budget for 2016-17 on 25
February 2016. The main feature of the budget was that there was no increase in
passenger as well as freight charges. The Rail Minister conceded that the impact of
the 7th Pay Commission award will affect the Railways severely. What the proposed
Operating Ratio is for 2016-17 as announced in the Budget? 92%
To Know: Operating ratio is a measure of efficiency that
denotes the amount spent for earning every Rs.100 of
revenue. The lower the ratio, the better it is. It is a key figure
to understand the operational efficiency of an organisation.
The operating Ratio for 2015-16 was 90%. Thus it has deteriorated from 90% to
92%. It means that the Railways will spend Rs. 92 to earn Rs. 100 in financial year
2016-17.

Railway
Dedicated Freight Corridors
Two new Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) were announced in the Rail Budget
2016-17. These new DFCs North-South, East-West and East Coast, will connect
which places respectively?

Explanation:
a) North-South will join Delhi to Chennai
b) East-West will join Kharagpur to Mumbai
c) East Coast will join Kharagpur to Vijayawada
The Rail Budget proposed to put these three projects on high priority to ensure
structuring, award and implementation in a time-bound manner.

Cargo service on its Airport Express line

To Know: DMRC, in a first, started ferrying cargo on its
premium Airport Express Line linking Indira Gandhi
International Airport to New Delhi railway station from 1
March 2016. The experimental service will see a long-term
arrangement if it becomes successful.
The agency is utilizing the Airport Express line for transporting cargo between the
New Delhi railway station and IGI Airport Metro stations on a trial basis for three
months. For the same DMRC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with a specialised cargo agency.
This is the first ever occasion, when a Metro system in India is being used for the
transportation of cargo. These trials would help in accessing the cargo volumes that
could be potentially be generated on this route on both directions, especially ecommerce cargo.

Railways
An unreserved train ticket for travelling up to 199 km distance will no longer be
valid after three hours of purchase of the ticket
To Know: Under the newly implemented rule, unreserved tickets for distances up to
199 km, the journey has to be started from the originating station within three hours
of the issue of tickets or up to the departure of first train for the destination whichever
is later.
Apart from this, the return journey facility for distance up to 199 km for unreserved
tickets has been withdrawn.

Policy
Policy
The SEBI on 25 February 2016 relaxed mutual fund norms to allow asset
management companies (AMCs) to invest unclaimed redemption and dividend
amounts in separate liquid and money market schemes. What was the pertaining
norm till now? It was allowed to be parked only in call money market or money
market instruments
To Know: At present, the money from unclaimed redemptions and dividends is
allowed to be parked only in call money market or money market instruments. The
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on relaxed this rule and allowed the
AMCs to invest unclaimed redemption and dividend amounts in separate liquid and
money market schemes.
For the same AMCs would have to start such schemes specifically for deploying
amounts unclaimed by investors. AMCs will, however, not be permitted to charge
any exit load in such MF plans that are specifically launched to allow deployment of
unclaimed amounts.

 In order to ensure AMCs play a pro-active role in tracing owners of the unclaimed
amounts, the fund managers will be required to provide on their AMC websites a list
of names and addresses of investors in whose folios there are unclaimed amounts.

Abolish Surcharge on payment made through Debit & Credit Cards

To Know: The move to abolish surcharge on payments made through debit and
credit cards, or over internet, for public services aims at reducing cash transactions.
This will help in increasing cashless transactions for public services.
Decision to promote debit/credit cards and digital payments will help check the
menace of black money. Cashless transactions have been on the rise in India, but
remain modest in comparison to cash payments.
Levy of surcharges on card payments is seen as one important reason for slow
growth for card payments.
_____________________________________
Policy - Raisina Dialogue
Indian Government on 1 March 2016 started a 3-day international event to
consolidate its growing geo-political imprint. What is the name of this ambitious event
which is featuring over 450 participants from 40 countries?
To Know: Raisina Dialogue is fashioned on
the lines of the famous annual Shangrila
Dialogue held in Singapore where world
leaders descend to discuss strategic issues
concerning the world. The event was
inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on 1 March in New Delhi
and will conclude on 3 March 2016.

 The ambitious event is being organised by the Ministry of External Affairs in

association with Indian think tank, ORF focusing on the theme of India: Regional
and Global Connectivity.
Raisina Dialogue is expected to engage with geopolitics and geo-economics and
designed to explore and examine the prospects and opportunities for Asian
integration as well as Asias integration with the larger world.

International
Referendum in UK
To decide whether the country remains in the European Union (EU)
To Know: The UK will hold the important
referendum on 23 June 2016 to decide on
the issue of countrys choice whether it
will remain part of the European Union
(EU) or exit from it. British Prime Minister David Cameron made this announcement
on 20 February 2016 in Downing Street after briefing the Cabinet.
PM Cameron said he would be campaigning to remain in a reformed EU and
described the vote as one of the biggest decisions in UKs lifetime.
The referendum date announcement came after renegotiations on the UKs
relationship with Europe were finalised on 19 February 2016 after intense wrangling
at a two-day summit in Brussels.
A British exit from the EU would rock the Union. The organisation has already been
shaken by differences over migration and the future of the euro zone, by ripping
away its second-largest economy, one of its top two military powers and by far its
richest financial centre.
UK has been the part of the EU since 1973.

Sports
Sports Cricket
Fastest ever century in Test cricket Brendon McCullum (New Zealand)
To Know: Brendon McCullum struck the fastest ever test century on 20 February
2016 against Australia as he reached the three-digit mark in just 54 balls on the first
day of the second and final Test Match against Australia at Hagley Oval
Christchurch.
This knock beat the mark of 56 balls set by West Indies great Sir Viv Richards
against England in 1986, and equalled by Pakistans Misbah-ul-Haq in 2014.
What was important about this knock was this was the farewell Test for McCullum.
This was the 101st Test for him and the century was the 12th of his career.
Hockey (HIL)
Jaypee Punjab Warriors - won the Hockey India League (HIL) title for 2016
To Know: Chandigarh-based Jaypee Punjab Warriors (JPW) defeated Kalinga
Lancers by 6-1 in the finals played at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium (Ranchi) on
21 February to win the 2016 Hockey India League (HIL) title.
Armaan Qureshi, Matt Gohdes and Satbir Singh scored a field goal each for the
Warriors while skipper Moritz Fuerste scored the Lancers lone goal of the match.
The unique feature of the tournament was that each field goal counted for two.
It is worth mentioning that JPW had lost the final in the last two seasons. Kalinga
Lancers had qualified for the knockouts for the first time in the HIL.
Hockey India League (HIL) is the top-most professional hockey league in India
featuring top hockey players all over the world. It was first staged in 2013. This was
the fourth edition of Hockey India League (HIL).

Tourism
What is Swachh Paraytan Mobile App
To Know: Swachh Parayatan is the name of the mobile app that was launched on
22 February 2016 under the Clean India Clean Monuments initiative of the
Tourism Ministry. Visitors can use the app to post photos of unclean tourist areas
near 25 monuments.
25 Adarsh Smarak monuments protected by the Archaeological Survey of India
(ASI) have been identified for inclusion in the app. The application would be scaled
up to include more monuments as the campaign expands.
This mobile app enables a citizen to take photograph of garbage at the monument
and upload the same along with his/her remarks. The application then sends an
SMS to the ASI Nodal Officer concerned with the monument upon receipt of which
the Nodal Officer gets the garbage cleared/removed.

Defence
Defence
INS Arihant - Indias first (indigenously-built) nuclear armed submarine, ready to be
inducted in the Indian Navy.
To Know: Indias first nuclear armed submarine
INS Arihants induction into the Indian Navy is
now just a political call away as the submarine
has successfully passed all sea-worthiness tests
necessary for its formal induction.
The 6,000 tonne INS Arihant was built under the Advanced Technology Vessel
(ATV) project at the Ship Building Centre (SBC) in Visakhapatnam (AP). The sea-

tests for the submarine were also conducted at Visakhapatnam. It is the first of five
nuclear missile submarines or SSBNs planned for induction.
The submarine will be powered by an 83 megawatts (111,305 hp) pressurised
light-water reactor with enriched uranium fuel.
At present, work is already in progress on two more Arihant class submarines at
the SBC, Vishakhapatnam which will be larger and more advanced than the first
boat.
Policy - Disinvestment
NTPC Government Started 5% disinvestment of its stake.
To Know: 5% stake sale of Union Government in NTPC
through the offer-for-sale (OFS) route was started from 23
February 2016. The sale is expected to garner Rs. 5,029 crore
at a floor price of Rs.122 per share.
The institutional bidders purchased shares on 23 February while retail investors
will get opportunity to buy NTPC stocks on 24 February. The retail investors have
20% of the shares reserved for them. The quota for institutional bidders was
subscribed fully on the first day.
The government has been struggling to meet the disinvestment target of Rs.
69,500 crore for the financial year 2015-16. With about 40 days left in the financial
year, the government has managed to realise only Rs.13,330 crore through
divestment which is less than 20% of the budgeted target.
Prior to this, the government divested its holdings in five other PSUs Rural
Electrification Corporation (Rs.1,608 crore), Power Finance Corporation (Rs.1,671
crore), Dredging Corporation of India Ltd (Rs.53.33 crore), Indian Oil Corporation
(Rs.9,369 crore) and Engineers India (Rs.640 crore).

Automobile
Renaming by Tata Motors
Leading Indian automobile company Tata Motors renamed its new hatchback Zica
following its resemblance to the Zika virus, as announced by the company on 22
February 2016. What is this new name? Tiago
To Know: The new name for Zica was selected following
a crowdsourcing hunt for a new name. The company had
decided to rename the car, which was showcased at the
Auto Expo 2016 in New Delhi in February, following its
similarity to the Zika virus
Tiago became the chosen name from the final three entries Tiago, Civet and
Adore that were opened up for audience voting as part of the campaign to rename
Zica. Libi Thomas was announced the winner of this campaign.
Tata Motors has decided to rename Zica on 2 February and had launched the
contest (campaign) on 5 February 2016. The decision to re-brand the car was taken
due to its resemblance with the Zika virus that spread across many countries. The
virus was put in the same category of concern as Ebola by the World Health
Organisation (WHO).

Banking
Banking
RBI & Euroclear agree to settle Indian government debt papers in overseas
market.
Worlds largest securities settlement system Belgium-based Euroclear has agreed to
a model suggested by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to settle Indian government

debt papers in overseas market. What will be the main benefit of employing this
model of settling Indian debt overseas? It will ensure that clearing of the debt
happens in India using Indian brokers and custodians
To Know: Finance minister Arun Jaitley in the Union Budget 2014-15 had proposed
allowing international settlement of Indian debt securities. Euroclear is in final
negotiations with the finance ministry and the RBI to make Indian government debt
securities Euroclearable in 2016-17.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) using Euroclear platform to trade in Indian debt
securities will not have to register in India for clearing and settlement of their
investments.
International trading and settlement will enable foreign investors to transact in
Indian securities but settle in dollars or other international currencies, thereby
increasing access and flexibility in order to widen the investor base.

Electoral Reform
Paper trail base EVMs
Which initiative pertaining to electoral reforms would be implemented in the 2019
General Elections, as announced by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Nasim
Zaidi on 23 February 2016?
To Know: Polling for 2019 General Elections will
be conducted through paper trail-based electronic
voting machines to enhance transparency. This
announcement was made by CEC Nasim Zaidi
on 23 February 2016.
The paper audit trail machine or Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) was first
introduced by the Commission in 2013 in order to enhance transparency in the polls

process and increase electorates confidence that their vote goes without error to
their desired candidate.
Once the vote is polled, the VVPAT linked EVM immediately takes a printout and it
is preserved for later use to tally in case there is a dispute in the final result.

Information & Technology

Internet search giant Google launched the much awaited customized search engine
for children on 24 February 2016. What is the name of this search engine that will
include features like safe search, kid-oriented results, big thumbnails, large fonts,
and modified privacy settings? Kiddle
To Know: Entering the search site, one finds Kiddle
written in the characteristic colourful Google style. There
is also a red droid alien waiting to answer all queries.
Safe sites and pages written specifically for kids, which will be handpicked and
checked by Kiddle editors, would usually be featured in the first three results.
The next rung would include safe, trusted sites that are not written specifically for
kids, but have content written in a simple way, easy for kids to understand.
If the child the types something unsuitable for kids, one of Kiddles aliend droids
would come hob-nobbing with the message Oops, looks like your query contained
some bad words. Please try again!

Place
Place New York
The Chinese capital Beijing has become the home to the most billionaires in the
world as disclosed in a report released on 24 February 2016 by Hurun, a Shanghai

firm that releases yearly rankings. According to this report Beijing overtook which city
to achieve this status for the first time? New York
To Know: According to Huruns latest report on number of billionaires worldwide,
with as many as 100 Beijing billionaires, Beijing now has overtaken New York as the
World Billionaire Capital. During the same period New York had 93 billionaires.
Beijing took the title from New York after minting 32 new billionaires last year, while
New York gained four. Moscow came in third place, with 66 billionaires, while Hong
Kong and Shanghai came in fourth and fifth with 64 and 50, respectively.
Mumbai had the highest number of billionaires in India while Mukesh Ambani,
Chairman of Reliance Industries (RIL), once again emerged as the richest Indian
with a personal wealth of $26 billion.
The study, which comes months after reports suggested China now has more
billionaires than the United States, highlights how Chinas elite are continuing to
accrue vast wealth despite a wobbling stock market and tepid economy.
..
Place - Bangladesh
State-run power goods manufacturer Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) on 28
February 2016 sealed a $ 1.6 billion contract to build a huge power plant in a
neighboring country, beating out a Chinese competitor.
To Know: After years of negotiations, BHEL finalized
the contract to build the 1,320-megawatt (MW)
thermal power station in Khulna in southern
Bangladesh on 28 February 2016. This contract is
worth $1.6 billion.
It would be the biggest foreign project by an Indian power firm, eclipsing a plant
already built in Rwanda and a planned one in Sri Lanka.

 Chinas Harbin Electric International Company Ltd, which has power projects in
Iran, Turkey and Indonesia among others, lost the bid on technical grounds.
The Indian governments external lending arm, the EXIM Bank, has backed up
BHELs offer with nearly 70% funding of the projects costs at a soft interest rate of
around 1% above Libor, the leading global benchmark for pricing transactions.
India and China have stepped up bids for infrastructure projects in the region in
recent years, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushing for a greater engagement
with smaller neighbours after years of neglect.
.
Place
Digital State Kerala
To Know: Kerala became Indias first fully digital state after it was formally declared
a digital state by the President Pranab Mukherjee on 27 February.
Kerala has a mobile tele-density of 95% and Internet covered over 60% of the
population. With broadband connectivity in every Gram Panchayat, Kerala has
emerged as a truly digital State. The state now had over 600 e-governance
applications covering almost all departments, and delivering e-services.
The state has successfully linked all villages in the state with broadband
connectivity under the National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) project. It is first state
in country to do so.
.
Place
Baghmara (Chhattisgarh) - Indias first gold mine to be auctioned after it was
auctioned to Vedanta Resources Inc.
To Know: The Baghmara mine is spread across an
area of 608 hectares in a densely forested pocket of the

Balodabazar-Bhatapara district, about 130 km northeast of Raipur. Based on the

exploration and available reports, the mine has an estimate reserve of 2,700 kg of
gold metal.
The mine, also known as Sonakhan, was put up for auction by the Chhattisgarh
state government. London-listed Vedanta Resources Inc. bagged the rights for the
mine after it quoted the highest price to get it.
The company quoted the highest bid of 12.55% of the IBM price at Rs 74,712 per
troy ounce (1 troy ounce = 31.10 gram) to win the gold mine. The auction would fetch
Rs 80 crore to the state exchequer in addition to existing royalty.
.
Place Uttar Pradesh
Food Security Act
Implemented the Food Security Act across the state under which poor families will
get wheat at Rs. 2 and rice at Rs. 3 per kg.
To Know: Until now, only families under the Antyodaya scheme were being
benefited in Uttar Pradesh and the families above and below the poverty line (APL
and BPL) had to pay more.
The Food Security Act has been already implemented in UPs 28 districts from 1
January 2016 but from 1 March 2016 it is being spread across all the 75 districts of
the state. The complete implementation of the act will only happen by April as some
real time data at some districts are yet to be compiled.
.
Place - Kozhikode (Kerala)
Indias first gender equality convergence centre (called Gender Park) was
inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee in Kozhikode.

To Know: Spread over 24-acres, complex has been christened as the Thantedam
Gender Park. The foundation stone of the park was laid on 8 March 2013.
Gender Park, an initiative of Keralas Social Justice Department, was inaugurated
on 27 February. It seeks to bring together the state, academia and civil society on a
common platform to address gender issues.
A dedicated gender Institute at the park would focus on research and capacity
development in ensuring an inclusive society. The institute would cover issues
pertaining to all three genders as per the 2015 gender and transgender policies of
the state government.
.
Kurubhat Chhattisgarh - Mission - National Rurban Mission
To Know: The National Rurban Mission
was launched by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi at Kurubhat, a town in
Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh.
The term Rurban used in the name of
the mission is the culmination of rural and urban. The mission is expected to reduce
pressure on the cities and provide a new avenue to the village people. It aims at
curbing migration of youth from villages to cities.
Under the National Rurban Mission 300 rural centers, catering to at least four
adjoining villages each, will be developed as urban clusters with modern facilities.
100 such centres are targeted to be developed this year itself. The mission was
approved by the govt. during September 2015.
(Photo Courtesy: MapsofIndia)
.

Place - Kumbakonam
Which event, is popularly known as the Kumbh Mela of South India?
To Know: Mahamaham is a Hindu festival celebrated every 12
years in the Mahamaham tank located in Kumbakonam, Tamil
Nadu. Hindus consider taking a holy dip at the Mahamaham tank
on the day of Mahamaham as sacred.
To take part in this auspicious festival lakhs of devotees from all over the country
had camped in Kumbakonam.
Last Mahamaham was held on 6 March 2004 while next event will be held in 2028.

Banking
Banks Board Bureau (BBB)
Union Government on 28 February constituted a new entity that will search for and
appoint heads of state-run banks, and aid banks in capital-raising and developing
business strategies.
To Know: Banks Board Bureau (BBB) was established on 28 February 2016. The
main function of this entity will be to advise the government on top-level
appointments at public sector lenders and ways to address the bad loans problem
among other issues.
It will officially start functioning from 1 April 2016.
The BBB has been established by the government as a body of eminent
professionals and officials, which will replace the Appointments Board for
appointment of Whole-time Directors as well as non-Executive Chairman of PSBs.

 The BBB been set up at a time when public sector banks are grappling with a huge
problem of bad loans with their collective gross NPAs (Non-Performing Assets)
approaching Rs. 4 lakh crore level.

Banking
Appointment of First Chairman of the Banks Board Bureau Vinod Rai
To Know: Vinod Rai, the former Comptroller and Auditor
General (CAG) of India, became the first-ever Chairman of the
Banks Board Bureau (BBB) on 28 February. It will give
recommendations on appointment of directors in public sector
banks and advise on ways to raise funds and mergers and acquisitions to the
lenders.
The other members of the board include Anil K. Khandelwal, a former chairman of
Bank of Baroda; H.N. Sinor, a former joint managing director of ICICI Bank Ltd; and
Roopa Kudva, a former managing director of rating company Crisil Ltd. All the
members and chairman will be part-time.
The tenure of Rai and other members of the board will be of two years. Besides
these members, there will two representatives from the government: secretary,
department of financial services of the finance ministry; and secretary, department of
public enterprises. The deputy governor of the RBI will represent the central bank on
the board.

Corporate
UltraTech Cement Ltd. - to buy Jaiprakash Associates Ltd.s cement plants for Rs.
16,500 crore.

To Know: UltraTech Cement Ltd., part of the Aditya Birla group of companies, beat
competition from domestic and international bidders for the cement assets of
Jaiprakash Associates. The deal includes 12 plants whose capacity totals 22.4
million tonnes a year.
UltraTech Cement is already the largest cement maker in the country and the deal
will increase its installed annual capacity by one-third to 90.7 million tonnes. On the
other hand the sell-off will provide JP with much-needed relief to pare its debts.
Jaiprakash, which has interests in roads, property and is best-known as the builder
of Indias Formula One racing track, has been trying to sell its cement business to
reduce debt and placate its banks.

Entertainment
88th Academy Awards
The Revenant - Leonardo DiCaprio won his first Oscar as he won the coveted Best
Actor Award at the 88th Academy Awards on 28 February 2016.
To Know: The Revenant is an American biographical movie set in
1823 Montana and South Dakota.
Leonardo DiCaprio won his Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of the
character of Hugh Glass in this film. The film also won the Best
Director award for Director Alejandro Gonzlez Irritu. This was the
second consecutive Best Director award for Irritu. Best Actress award was son by
Brie Larson for her role in Room.
Entertainment - Mad Max: Fury Road - Emerged as the most successful film
To Know: Mad Max: Fury Road emerged as the most successful film in the award
Oscar award ceremony 2016. It won six out of ten nominations.

 The awards won by the film however didnt included major awards and it won Best
Film Editing, Best Makeup and Hair Styling, Best Production Design, Best Costume
Design, Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing.

Spotlight - Best Picture award at the 88th annual Academy Awards (Oscar Awards)
To Know: Spotlight, an American investigative journalism drama directed by Tom
McCarthy, created quite a flutter in the 88th Academy Awards as it took the most
prestigious Best Picture award by pipping The Revenant, which was considered the
pre-award favourite.
The movie is based on The Boston Globes Spotlight teams investigations into
cases of widespread and systemic child sex abuse in the Boston area by numerous
Roman Catholic priests.

Person
Appointment - Rajendra Singh
He becomes the first non-navy officer to head the Indian Coast Guard
TO Know: Rajendra Singh, the present additional DG of the force,
will take over as the new DG of Indian Coast Guard on 29
February 2016. He will thus become the first officer who is not
from the Indian Navy to have been elevated to the position.
Till now it has been the tradition that the commissioned officers of the Indian Navy
held the top post of Indian Coast Guards. Rajendra Singh will succeed Vice Admiral
HCS Bisht who has been promoted as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the
Eastern Naval Command.

 Indian Coast Guard was established in 1978 with the objective of protecting Indias
maritime interests and enforces maritime law, with jurisdiction over the territorial
waters of India.

Person
New President of FIFA Gianni Infantino (Switzerland)
To Know: Gianni Infantino, the President of UEFA, succeeded
fellow Swiss Sepp Blatter as President of world footballs governing
body FIFA after he won the election held for the post on 26 February
2016.
Infantino polled 115 votes, 27 more than closest rival Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim
al-Khalifa. Prince Ali bin al-Hussein (four votes) and Jerome Champagne (0) were
third and fourth respectively. Second round of election was held as the first round of
voting failed to determine an outright winner.
Infantino had entered the presidential race when it became clear that Michel
Platini, boss of European footballs governing body UEFA, could not stand.

Appointment - HL Dattu
The former Chief Justice of India, who was chosen as the next chairperson of the
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on 23 February 2016 by a committee
headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
To Know: A panel headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
on 23 February 2016 selected former Chief Justice of India
(CJI) H.L. Dattu for the post of the Chairperson of the
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The meeting was also attended by Lok
Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, leader of

Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and Deputy Chairman of Rajya
Sabha P J Kurien.
Dattu had retired as the CJI on 2 December 2015.
The post of NHRC chairperson had been lying vacant since May 2015 after Justice
K G Balakrishnan completed his nearly five-year-long tenure.
Under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the President appoints the
chairperson and members of the NHRC on the recommendation of a committee
comprising the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, Union Home Minister, leaders of
Opposition in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha.