EU Adds 10 Countries to Tax Blacklist... Current Affairs of 15th March 2019

1.EU Adds 10 Countries to Tax Blacklist

On 12th March 2019, the EU elevated the blacklist via 10 Countries including the United Arab Emirates, Barbados and the Marshall Island. The listing had formerly blanketed 5 countries and now it have become 15 nations.

i. Due to their inability in the direction of reform commitments, countries which include Aruba, Belize, Bermuda, Fiji, Oman, Vanuatu, and Dominica are moved from gray listing to black list.

ii. Naming and Shaming tactics through Tax blacklist or Tax havens done by European Union as a tool for securing a level playing field and as an external strategy for effective taxation by assessing, screening and listing third-country tax jurisdictions which are non-cooperative in tax matters.

2.Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Gandhinagar

*On 15th March 2019, The President of India Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Tenth Biennial country wide Grassroots Innovation awards were also allotted by way of the President on the event
i. The occasion will provide platform to the innovators for constructing the linkages with capacity stakeholders whose guide can enhance the potentialities in coming years for the betterment of the society.
ii. FINE is a completely unique initiative of the workplace of the President of India to apprehend, respect and praise grassroots improvements and foster a supportive ecosystem.
iii. President Kovind awards National Grassroots Innovators. For innovations in new varieties of agriculture crops, Prakash Singh Raghuvanshi from Uttar Pradesh has been awarded lifetime achievement award.
iv. First prize in Veterinary, Herbal medication for coccidiosis was presented to Periyasami Ramasami of Salem, Tamil Nadu. The festival is organised by the National Innovation Foundation in association with the Department of Science and Technology.
About Gujarat

•  Capital – Gandhinagar
• CM- Vijay Rupani
•  Governor – Om Prakash Kohli

3.New Delhi, Islamabad agree to work together to operationalize Kartarpur corridor

*India and Pakistan have agreed to work together to operationalise the Kartarpur corridor which makes it easier for the Indian pilgrims to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur in Pakistan.
i. The choice became made in the first meeting among Indian and Pakistani representatives held at Attari, Punjab in which the Indian delegation become led by using S C L Das, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of domestic Affairs and the Pakistani delegation became led via Dr. Mohammad Faisal, Director trendy for South Asia and South Asian affiliation for regional Cooperation (SAARC).
ii.The subsequent meeting might be held in Wagah inside the following month.

4.Vienna placed at top position in the Mercer’s Quality of Living Survey 2019

*The human resource consulting firm, Mercer’s annual exceptional of residing Survey 2019 has positioned Austria’s capital town Vienna at the primary spot, making it the tenth year in a row.
i. 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.
ii. Top 10 cities in the list:

1. Vienna, Austria
2. Zürich, Switzerland
3. (tie) Vancouver, Canada , (tie) Munich, Germany, (tie) Auckland, New Zealand
4. Düsseldorf, Germany
5. Frankfurt, Germany
6. Copenhagen, Denmark
7. Geneva, Switzerland
8. Basel, Switzerland

iii.Mercer bases its annual ratings of 231 towns on scientific and health considerations, the herbal, political, and social environment, as well as get admission to to education, transportation, pastime, and tradition.
iv. The Economist Intelligence Unit had also given Vienna the pinnacle spot in its rating of the arena’s most habitable towns in 2018.
v. 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.

5.IEMF’s First Workshop organized by NITI Aayog and USAID in New Delhi

*The NITI Aayog and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) organized the first workshop on development of the India Energy Modelling Forum (IEMF), envisaged as a pan-stakeholder platform for debating ideas, scenario-planning & discussing the India’s energy future in New Delhi.

i. The two-day workshop, being held with the support of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), was organized under the Sustainable Growth Pillar of the India-U.S. Strategic Energy Partnership.
ii. The IEMF seeks to provide a platform for leading experts and policymakers to study important energy and environmental issues and ensure induction of modelling and analysis in informed decision making process.
iii. The Forum aims to improve cooperation and coordination between modeling teams, the Government of India, knowledge partners and think-tanks, build capacity of Indian institutions, and identify issues for joint modelling activities and future areas of research.
iv. The workshop featured eight professional periods which saw discussions across the various aspects of putting in place an India-centric power modelling platform

6.IDBI Bank categorized as Private Sector Lender by RBI

On 14th March 2019, The Reserve Bank of India categorized IDBI Bank as a Private Sector Bank as Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is acquiring fifty one in line with cent of the total paid-up equity percentage capital of the bank

i. IDBI Bank has been categorized as a ‘private sector bank’ for regulatory purposes by Reserve Bank of India with effect from January 21, 2019.
ii. 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.
iii. 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.
iv. 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.
About IDBI Bank

•  Headquarters – Mumbai
•  MD and CEO – Rakesh Sharma

7.India sets ‘aspirational’ target for engineering exports by 2025

On 15th March 2019, consistent with an EEPC India-Deloitte method paper, India can attain a 3-fold “aspirational” boom in its engineering export to reach USD 200 billion through 2025, if concerted efforts are made by way of the authorities and industry to broaden a conducive atmosphere, and ensuring inputs at aggressive fees
i. The aspirational target of Indian engineering exports is set as USD 200 billion by 2025, which is almost a threefold increase from 2017-18 exports. It is decided on the basis of discussions with Ministry of Commerce and leadership of EEPC India.
ii. In the current financial year ending March 31, India’s engineering exports, which contribute 25 per cent to the overall merchandise shipments are projected to touch about USD 80-82 billion.
iii. Strategy paper has identified areas where authorities and industry interventions are required which includes various aspects such as product-market optimization, eco-device development, advertising and branding, and aggressive procurement of inputs.
About Ministry of Commerce and Industry

•  Minister – Suresh Prabhu

8.First TIR shipment from Afghanistan arrived in India via Chabahar Port

The first shipment under the United Nations ‘Transports Internationaux Routiers’ (TIR) convention arrived in India from Afghanistan through Iran’s Chabahar Port.
i. The consignments arrived at port of Nhava Sheva, Mumbai and Mundra.The arrival of the maiden shipment was welcomed by Pranab Kumar Das, Chairman, Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

9.Kent RO awarded as the Best Domestic Water Purifier 2019

Kent RO Systems Pvt. Ltd. has received the Best Domestic Water Purifier Award 2018-19 for its RO+UV+UF technology at the Water Digest Water Awards function that was held at The Lalit, New Delhi.
i. The Water Digest Water Awards are given jointly by the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and UNESCO.
ii. Kent had also earlier received awards like Organization of the Year Awards 2017, Best Domestic Water Purifier Award 2016-17, Asia’s Most Promising Brand 2016 etc.

10.Sanjiv Mehta elevated to the post of President of Unilever, South Asia

Sanjiv Mehta, presently the Chairman and Director of Unilever has been promoted as the President of Unilever, South Asia, effective from 1stMay, 2019. He may also be a part of the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE).

11.Arvind Laddha appointed as CEO of Mercer India

On 14th March 2019, Arvind Laddha was appointed as the CEO of Mercer for its India operations. He currently occupies the post of Deputy CEO in JLT Independent, an insurance broking firm.
i. His work will mainly involve enhancing Mercer’s growth in India, looking out for emerging market opportunities and expanding relationships with the present clients.
ii. Mercer stated that the appointment will become effective after closing of the transaction between Mercer’s parent company, Marsh & McLennan Companies and JLT, due to anti-trust and financial regulatory approvals.

12.Karnataka defeated Maharashtra to win Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Karnataka cricket team defeated Maharashtra to win their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore.
i. Chasing a target of 156 runs, Mayank Agarwal (eighty five*) took of Karnataka’s innings after the opener Belur Sharath and anchored a suit triumphing partnership of ninety two runs off fifty nine balls with Rohan Kadam (60) for the second wicket.
About Karnataka

•  Capital – Bengaluru
• Chief Minister – H. D. Kumaraswamy
•  Governor – Vajubhai Vala

About Maharashtra

•  Capital – Mumbai
• Chief Minister – Devendra Fadnavis
•  Governor – C. Vidyasagar Rao

13.World Consumer Rights Day 2019 observed on 15th March

The World Consumer Rights Day 2019 was celebrated on 15th March 2019. The theme for this year is Trusted Smart Products which has been selected owing to the popular nature of smart gadgets like smart phones, wearable fitness trackers, voice-activated assistants and smart TVs etc.

14.World Sleep Day 2019 observed on 15th March

The World Sleep Day was observed on 15th March 2019 and the theme for this year was ‘Healthy Sleep, Healthy Aging’.
i. It has been organised since 2008 by the World Sleep Day Committee of the World Sleep Society, formerly known as the World Association of Sleep Medicine (WASM World Sleep Society).
ii. It aims to spread awareness about sleep issues and their effect on our daily lives, prevention and treatment of these issues.