Daily Current Affairs 20th March 2016

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS: 20 MARCH 2016
(Daily News India)
Shared By: WWW.DailyGk.IN

 1. INTEREST RATES ON PROVIDENT FUND, KISAN VIKAS PATRA AND ON SMALL SAVING SCHEMES SLASHED
 i. The government slashed interest rates on small-savings schemes, Public Provident Fund and Kisan Vikas Patra.
 ii. The decision is taken to administer interest rates closer to the market rates.
 iii. The new rates will come into effect on 1st April and will be valid till June 30.
 iii. The interest rate on Public Provident Fund scheme will be cut to 8.1 per cent for the period from April 1 to June 30 from 8.7 per cent.
 iv.The interest rate on the KVP will be cut to 7.8 per cent from 8.7 per cent
 v. Interest rate on National Savings Certificates will earn interest at the rate of 8.1 per cent as against 8.5 per cent now.

2.PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI TO INAUGURATED KRISHI UNNATI MELA IN NEW DELHI
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three-day 'Krishi Unnati Mela'.
ii.The mela is organized to provide information on new farm schemes and technologies that will help farmers double their incomes within the next few years.
ii. The National fair is organized from March 19 to 21march.
iii.It will put emphasis  on key schemes started by central government  like Pradhan Mantri Fasal Beema Yojana, e-agriculture marketing, integrated farming system and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojan.

3. INDIAN OVERSEAS BANK 1ST BANK TO SELL INDIAN GOLD COINS
i.Indian Overseas Bank has become the first bank to start the sale of Indian Gold Coin  in the domestic market.
ii. It has tied up with Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India for the sale of 24 carat purity gold.
iii. The Gold Coin has the national emblem "the Ashok Chakra" engraved on one side and the face of Mahatma Gandhi on the other side.
iv. The Indian Gold Coin is the first ever national gold offering by the Center government launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 5, 2015.

4. TIKKA SHATRUJIT SINGH HONOURED WITH TOP FRENCH AWARD
i. Tikka Shatrujit Singh the royal scion of Kapurthala’s Ahluwalia dynasty has been honoured with the prestigious Knight of the Legion of Honour.
ii.He was honoured with this award   for his “extraordinary work in the exchanging the French lifestyle and Indian culture with each other.”
iii. He is known for his endeavours to preserve the tangible and intangible heritage of Kapurthala in Indo-French architectural styles.

5. MARCH 20   CELEBRATED AS WORLD SPARROW DAY
i. The world sparrow day is observed every year on March 20.
ii.The day is observed to raise awareness of the house sparrow and other common birds to urban environments and threats to their populations.

6. ICC SUSPENDS BANGLADESH BOWLERS TASKIN AHMED AND ARAFAT SUNNY FOR ILLEGAL BOWLING ACTIO
i. The International Cricket Council has suspended Bangladesh bowlers Taskin Ahmed and Arafat Sunny for bowling with an illegal action.
ii. They were suspended after their bowling actions founded as illegal.
iii.Earlier some other Bangladeshi bowlers were also suspended such as Left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak, Spinner Sohag Gazi .

7. PM NARENDRA MODI PRESENTS 2014-15 KRISHI KARMAN AWARDS
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had conferred 2014-15 Krishi Karman Awards to various states in a ceremony held at New Delhi.
ii. The awards were presented in two different categories one is Total foodgrain production and 2nd is Individual Crops.
iii.List of Winner of Krishi Karman Awards 2014-
a.          Madhya Pradesh For production greater than 10 million tonnes in Category I States.
b.         Himachal Pradesh and Odisha For production between 1 and 10 million tonnes in Category II States.
c.          In Individual Crops states are Haryana, Assam for Rice.
d.         Rajasthan for Wheat.
e.          Chhattisgarh for Pulses.
f.           West Bengal for Oil Seeds.

g.     Krishi Karman awards are given to Best performer States for raising country’s food grain production.