Daily Current Affairs, 11th March 2019

1) Madhya Pradesh Government Increases Reservation Quota of OBCs to 27%

•The Madhya Pradesh government issued an ordinance increasing reservation quota for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) to 27% from the current 14%. The announcement was made by the state’s Law and Legal Affairs Minister PC Sharma. The ordinance was issued and notified after it received the assent from the state’s Governor Anandiben Patel.

2) 3-member Mediation Panel Created By Supreme Court To Settle Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid Case

•The Supreme Court ordered a court-monitored mediation in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case to arrive at a “permanent solution” to the politically and religiously sensitive issue.

•The five-judge constitution bench headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi appointed a panel of 3 mediators in the title suit with Retired Justice Kalifullah chairing the court-appointed and monitored mediation process. The other two members are spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu. 

•Here is the Short Information on the 3 Members of the Panel:

1. Retired Justice F M Ibrahim Kalifulla: Justice Kalifulla started his law practice in Chennai. He was appointed Madras High Court judge in 2000.

2. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Founder of Art of Living foundation, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was born in Papanasam, Tamil Nadu and has made a lot of controversial statements about the Ayodhya case in the past.

3. Sr. Advocate Sriram Panchu- Senior Advocate and an expert mediator, Sriram Panchu has been mediating cases since 1990s. He founded The Mediation Chambers, India’s first such centre in 2005 and is also on the board of the International Mediation Institute (IMI) as a director.

3) 14th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave On India-Africa Project Partnerships To Be Held In New Delhi

•Ministry of Commerce & Industry will be organizing the 14th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnerships, in association with Confederation of Indian Industry and EXIM Bank of India in New Delhi.

•The event will mark the deepening of India-Africa economic and business ties and pave the way for a whole range of cross-border project partnerships. The conclave brings senior Ministers, policymakers, officials, business leaders, bankers, technologists, start-up entrepreneurs and other professionals from India and Africa on a common platform in a spirit of partnership.

4) India Bags 1st Prize At International ‘Golden City Gate Tourism Awards 2019’ In Berlin

•The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has won the First Prize in the category of TV Cinema Spot at the prestigious international Golden City Gate Tourism Awards 2019. The awards were received by Yogendra Tripathi, Secretary, Tourism at ITB, Berlin.

•Following promotional films / television commercials produced by the Ministry as part of its Incredible India 2.0 Campaign received the awards:

1.Yogi of the Racetrack,
2.The Reincarnation of Mr. and Mrs. Jones,
3.Sanctuary in Paris,
4.Maharani of Manhattan and,
5.Masala Master Chef.

5) Acko Awarded Coveted Golden Peacock Award 2019 For Innovative Product

•ACKO General Insurance a new-age digital insurance company was awarded the coveted Golden Peacock Innovative Product Award – 2019, for their contextual micro insurance product –“Ola Ride Insurance”. The award was presented to Mr. Biresh Giri, Appointed Actuary & CRO, Acko. The award ceremony was held in Dubai.

•Established by the Institute of Directors, India in 1991, The Golden Peacock Awards for Corporate Leadership and Excellence are now regarded as a benchmark of business excellence, both locally and globally.

6) In a 1st, SBI Links Interest On Most Savings Account Deposits To RBI Repo Rate

•State Bank of India has become the first domestic bank to link the interest rate it offers on savings account deposits to an external benchmark — the Reserve Bank of India’s repo rate. By doing so, the bank will effectively link all loan rates to an external benchmark either directly or indirectly, thereby attempting to speed up the transmission of any changes in the benchmark monetary policy rate to depositors and borrowers.

•SBI announced the following changes:

1.Savings accounts with deposits above Rs 1 lakh would be priced at 2.75% below the prevailing repo rate of 6.25%. The effective rate works out to be 3.5%, which is unchanged from the prevailing rate on savings accounts.

2.Cash credit accounts and overdraft facilities over Rs 1 lakh would be priced at 2.25% over the repo rate. At the prevailing repo rate of 6.25%, this would mean a floor price of 8.5%.

3.For all other floating rate products, including retail and corporate loans, the impact of SBI’s decision to link savings account deposit rates to the repo rate will be felt indirectly. These loans will continue to be linked to the 1-year MCLR (marginal cost lending rate). 

4.For savings account holders with balances up to Rs 1 lakh and borrowers with cash credit and overdraft limits up to Rs 1 lakh, interest rates will remain fixed.