Current Affairs March-III 2010

·        India already has 27 of its famous sites, including Taj Mahal and Qutub Minar, inscribed as World Heritage Sites. The Jantar Mantar complexes in Jaipur and Santiniketan in West Bengal have been recommended by India to be included in the World Heritage List.(Go for Part II & I).

·        The State Bank of India has received the permission from the Chinese government to lend in the local currency—Yuan. SBI is the first Indian bank to receive this permission from the Chinese authorities, who are traditionally conservative in allowing foreign banks to do business in the local currency.

·        Bhutan government will produce 10,000 MW of hydro-power for India by 2020 under a joint venture. India will provide Rs 35,000 crore for the venture.

·        India has the lowest percentage of female population in the Asia-Pacific region ranking lower than Pakistan, Maldives and Bangladesh despite having the highest sex ratio at birth compared to these countries, a new study shows. According to the report 'Power, Voice and Rights' by the UNDP, while India had 48.2 per cent female population at birth, Pakistan had 48.5, Bangladesh had 48.8 and Japan 51.1 per cent.

·        Three Indians--Congress President Sonia Gandhi, ICICI Bank Head Chanda Kochhar and PepsiCo Chief Executive Indra Nooyi--have been named among Asia's eight top power women by American broadcaster CNN. The list is topped by China-based Nine Dragons Paper Holdings' Zhang Yin, followed by Nooyi at the second spot. Gandhi is ranked third, while Kochhar is at the fifth slot.

·        Shoma Chaudhury of Tehelka and Monalisa Changkija of Nagaland Page have been selected for the prestigious Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman Mediapersons.

·        AICC general secretary Mohsina Kidwai was elected Chairperson of the Haj Committee of India. Kidwai would be the first woman Chairperson of the minority body.

·        Greece has been added to the US Visa Waiver Programme, allowing its citizens to travel to the United States for 90 days at a time without a visa.

·        Indian-American computer scientist Subhash Khot, well known for his 'Unique Games Conjecture' has been selected for a prestigious USD 500,000 national science award.

·        Jharkhand started a new Atal Jyoti Electrification Scheme in the 2010/11 budget to provide electricity for villages.

·        Actress Preity Zinta was appointed UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador and plans to combine Cricket and Bollywood to raise awareness about the deadly disease.

·        Mumbai has been named among the world's top ten billionaire cities as it is home to as many as 20 richest Indians, according to a list compiled by the Forbes magazine.

·        India opened its 23rd Cultural Relations centre in Dhaka naming it after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and acknowledging her contribution to Bangladesh's 1971 Liberation War.

·        In an indication of sustained economic growth, the per capita income in the national capital(Delhi)  has increased to Rs 78,690 in the financial year 2007-08 as against the national figure of Rs 33,283. Delhi per capita income, which indicates an average earning of a person, is the third highest in the country with Chandigarh having per capita income of Rs 1,10676 topping the list and closely followed by Goa at Rs 1,05,582.

·        Pravinchandra V Gandhi, former Chairman of Dena Bank and a leading figure in the print media industry, passed away.

·        Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar has been named as the most influential person in Indian sports in the annual Sports Illustrated Power list. The top 50 rates Tendulkar as the number one influencer in India, followed closely by IPL Chairman Lalit Modi at second spot and liquor baron Dr Vijay Mallya in third. Union Agriculture Minister and President elect, ICC Sharad Pawar, Indian cricket team skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and BCCI president Shashank Manohar are fourth, fifth and sixth on the list respectively.

·        The Bombay Stock Exchange has emerged as one of the top ten bourses globally in terms of valuation of shares traded, with its market valuation nearly doubling to Rs 60,79,892 crore ($1.31 trillion) last year. Among the top ten bourses with the largest domestic equity market capitalizations at the end of 2009, the BSE is placed at the tenth spot, according to the WFE. The league is topped by the NYSE Euronext of the US with a market capitalisation of $11.84 trillion and the Tokyo Stock Exchange Group ($ 3.31 trillion) at the second place.

·        Delhi gets India’s first remote controlled street lights that can be switched on and off using an internet-enabled main server located in the heart of the city.

·        Pakistan cricket was thrown into turmoil with the country's Board putting an end to the international careers of former captains Mohd Yousuf and Younis Khan besides imposing a one-year ban on Shoaib Malik in the wake of the team's disastrous tour of Australia. As recommended by the committee headed by Wasim Bari, former captain Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan were handed one-year bans. The Akmal brothers Kamran and Umar and Afridi have been put on probation for six months besides being fined between Rs 2-3 million for indiscipline on the tour.