Daily Current Affairs, 02nd March 2018

1)  India-Jordan Sign 12 Agreements

•India and Jordan has renewed their support to the Palestinian cause as the two sides signed 12 agreements,including one on defence cooperation, following a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and King of Jordan Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein.

•These include agreement on Defence Co-operation, Visa waiver of Diplomatic & Official Passport holders, Cultural Exchange Programme, Manpower Co-operation agreement, Co-operation in field of Health and Medicine. Setting up of Next Generation Centre of Excellence. MoU for long term supply of Rock Phosphate and Fertilizer/NPK, Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement.

2)  Centre Approves Rs 2900 Crore To Make Cities Safer For Women

•Women and Child Development Ministry has approved projects worth over Rs 2,900 crore under the Nirbhaya fund for eight major cities to make them safer for women. 

•These cities are Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Lucknow. The decision was taken after a meeting of Empowered Committee, which is headed by Women and Child Development Secretary.

3)  Cabinet Clears Setting Up Of NFRA To Oversee Auditors

•Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA). NFRA will act as an independent regulator for the auditing profession which was one of the key changes brought in by the Companies Act 2013. 

•The Cabinet also gave nod to the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill - 2018 to deal with those escaping overseas to avoid getting caught. 

4)  SBI Hikes Lending Rate To 8.15%

•The State Bank raised its lending rates by 20 basis points to 8(point)15 per cent, with immediate effect, setting the tone for the industry to follow suit. This is likely to make home and car loans costlier. 

•This is the first lending revision by the bank since April 2016 and comes a day after it massively raised the retail and bulk deposit rates.