LIC AAO General Awareness | 14th March 2019

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has announced that India has allowed an Iranian bank, Pasargad Bank, to open a branch in Mumbai. The move is aimed at circumventing US trade and investment sanctions as India builds a strategic port in the West Asian country. Alongside, India’s UCO Bank will open a branch in Iran.

Market regulator Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has constituted a “Research Advisory” committee which will assist in formulating policy to undertake research relevant for development and regulation of capital markets. According to SEBI, the committee would comprise prominent financial economists and market practitioners. It will be headed by Sankar De.

UGC has constituted a Committee under the Chairmanship of Prof. P. Balram, to review its quality mandate relating to promotion of Research and to review the existing M.Phil/ Ph.D Regulations.

World Hindi Day is celebrated on January 10 every year, marking the anniversary of first World Hindi Conference which was held in 1975. National Hindi Diwas is celebrated every year on September 14.

The Maharashtra Cabinet has approved the conversion of decommissioned carrier INS Viraat into a floating museum. As per primary estimates, the project worth 852 crore rupees will be implemented through public-private-partnership (PPP).

Atul Kumar Goel assumed charge as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (UCO) of UCO Bank. Prior to this assignment, he was executive director of Union Bank of India. Goel takes over from R K Takkar who completed his three-year tenure on November 1, 2018.

In a first for India, HSBC Holdings Plc has executed a trade finance transaction using blockchain for an export by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to US-based Tricon Energy. The blockchain-enabled letter of credit (LC) transaction substantially reduced the time taken for such deals.

The Polavaram project of Andhra Pradesh entered the Guinness Book of World by pouring 32,100 cubic meters of concrete in a matter of 24 hours. While the staff of Navayuga Engineering company performed the task, project, and state government officials remained at the site until the goal was completed.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has been named as the 2018 Confederation of African Football Player of the Year. For the second consecutive year he has won the award.

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the Railways’ subsidiary, will offer insurance of up to INR50 lakh for free for air passengers who book their tickets through its portal. IRCTC has tied up with Bharti-Axa for the offer.

A report by World Economic Forum stated that India is set to become the world’s third largest consumer market behind only USA and China by 2030. The report was titled as ‘Future of Consumption in Fast-Growth Consumer Market – India’.

Agra is located on the banks of river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., doing business as SpaceX, is a private American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company headquartered in California, USA.

Liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) is a monetary policy tool which allows banks to borrow money through repurchase agreements or repos.

Sri Lanka’s Central Bank announced that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has agreed to provide USD 400 million under a swap arrangement to boost the island nation’s reserves.