3rd March 2016

A.Union Government gives nod for issuance of UDAY bonds to four states

1.The Union Finance Ministry has approved the proposal of four states for the issuance of Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) bonds. 

2.These four states are Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh. 

3.These states account for around about 35 per cent or around 1.5 lakh crore rupees of the outstanding loans of State electricity distribution utilities in the country. 

4.These bonds will be issued by these states as per the UDAY Scheme which allows state governments to take over 75 per cent of power distribution companies (DISCOMs) debt and pay back lenders by issuing bonds. 

5.The scheme also provides that remaining 25 per cent of the debt to be paid back through discom-issued bonds. 

6.Total discom debt in the country amounts to Rs.4.3 lakh crore. So far total 16 states have agreed to join UDAY Scheme and last one to join were Manipur and Tripura.

7.Six states have signed the UDAY contract with the Union Government.

B.South African spinner Aaron Phangiso suspended over illegal bowling action

1.International Cricket Council (ICC) has suspended South Africa left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso from bowling in Domestic cricket for suspect bowling action. 

2.He was suspended after ICC’s Panel of Human Movement Specialists found that his bowling deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under ICC regulations. 

3.The tests were conducted after he was reported for suspect action in February 2015 by an ICC accredited laboratory at the University of Pretoria’s High-Performance Centre. 

4.So far, Phangiso has played 16 one-day internationals (ODIs) and 9 T20s for South Africa.

C.India ranks 90th in terms of energy security, access: WEF Report

1.India has been ranked at the 90th place in a list of 126 countries on the basis of their ability to deliver secure, affordable and sustainable energy. 

2.It was revealed by Global Energy Architecture Performance Index (GEAPI) Report compiled by World Economic Forum (WEF). 

Key facts 

Top 10 countries in GEAPI Report: 

Switzerland (1st), Norway (2nd), Sweden (3rd), France (4th), Denmark (5th), Austria (6th), Spain (7th), Colombia (8th), New Zealand (9th) and Uruguay (10th). 

Among the BRIC nations: Brazil (25th), Russia (52nd), India (90th) and China (94th). The report has noted that major global economies have performed less well on the index with the exception of France which was placed at the 4th place. 

1.It also mentioned that large emerging economies are pressed both by the build resilient and sustainable energy architecture and need to support economic growth. 

2.Over the last decade, world energy production and imports rose by 3,200 million tonnes of oil equivalent and was driven by boom in the Asian economies and led by China and India. 

Fuel trade patterns: 

1.They have dramatically changed during the last decade. Asia accounted for 35% of the world fuel trades in 2014, increased by 15% as compared to 20% of the world fuel trades in 2004. 

Regarding India: The report has noted that India is facing a vast array of challenges in the power sector in order to meet its growth targets. However electrification appears to have progressed in India. 

 
D.Mrugank Paranjape appointed as MD & CEO of MCX

1.Mrugank Paranjape has been appointed as managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), country’s largest commodity exchange. 

2.This appointment is subjected to approval of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and will be valid for three years. 

3.Prior to this appointment he was working with Deutsche Bank as Asia Pacific Head of Trust & Securities Services/Cash Management for Financial Institutions. 

About Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) 

1.The MCX is country’s first listed commodity futures exchange that facilitates online trading, and clearing and settlement of commodity futures transactions. 

2.It began functioning in November 2003 and operates within the regulatory framework of the Forward Contracts Regulation Act (FCRA), 1952. 

3.MCX offers futures trading in bullion, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, energy, and a number of agricultural commodities (mentha oil, cardamom, potatoes, palm oil etc). 

4.Globally, MCX ranks no. 1 in silver, no. 2 in natural gas, no. 3 in crude oil and gold in futures trading and is India’s largest commodity exchange.

E.Forbes’s 2016 billionaires list: Bill Gates retains title as World’s Richest Person

1.Microsoft Co-founder, Bill Gates has retained the title of the world’s richest person in the Forbes’ 30th annual ranking of the world’s billionaires list (2016 edition).

Among Indian’s: India’s richest person Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries was placed at 38th position with net fortune of $20.6 billion.

He was followed by Dilip Shanghvi (44th) and Azim Premji (55th). 

5 Indian women billionaires in the list: Savitri Jindal (453rd rank), Indu Jain (549th), Smita Crishna Godrej (810th), Leena Tiwari (1067th) and Vinod Gupta (1577th). 

About Forbes’s list of billionaires 

1.The Forbes list of billionaires is an annual ranking of the world’s wealthiest people, compiled and published by the American business magazine Forbes. The list only represents each person’s valuation on a single day, due to daily fluctuations among exchange rates and stock valuations

2.With this, Mr. Gates has topped the list for 17 of the last 23 years, with a net worth of $75 billion. He was followed by Amancio Ortega (Italy), founder of clothing retail giant Zara was at second place with net worth of $67 billion. 

3.As per the Forbes’ 30th annual ranking of the world’s billionaires list Total number of billionaires in the world: 1,810 billionaires (of them 190 are women) with their aggregate net worth of $6.48 trillion. 

4.The US leads the list of billionaires in the world with 540 billionaires, followed by China (251), Germany (120) and India (84). 

Top 5 billionaires: 

Bill Gates ($75 billion), 

Mr. Amancio Ortega ($67 billion), 

Mr. Warren Buffett ($60.8 billion), 

Mr. Carlos Slim Helu ($50 billion) and 

Jeff Bezos ($45.2 billion). 

5.From Internet field: Amazon.com Inc’s founder Jeff Bezos (5th rank), Facebook Inc’s Mark Zuckerberg (6th), and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin ranked 12th and 13th. 

World’s youngest billionaire: 19 year old Norwegain Alexandra Andresen was ranked 1,476th with fortune of $1.2 billion. 

F.3rd March: World Wildlife Day

1.Every year 3rd March is being observed as World Wildlife Day (WWD) to celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild fauna and flora. 

2.Significance of Day: It calls for taking up urgent steps to fight wildlife crime which has wide-ranging environmental, economic and social impacts. 

3.2016 theme: “The future of wildlife is in our hands”. While the main focus of this year’s global campaigns are African and Asian elephants. 

4.This theme showcases inextricable relationship between people, wildlife and sustainable development. 

5.It seeks to spread awareness for taking national action to ensure the survival of both lesser known and charismatic species in the wild.

6.Background On 20 December 2013, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at its 68th session had designated 3rd March as World Wildlife Day. 

7.On this day in 1973, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was adopted. Since then CITES plays an important role in ensuring that international trade does not threaten the species’ survival.

G.Parliament passes Carriage by Air amendment Bill, 2015

1.Parliament has passed the Carriage by Air (Amendment) Bill, 2015 to empower Union government to revise the limits of liability for airlines and compensation as per the Montreal Convention which India accepted in 2009. 

2.The bill was first passed by the Lok Sabha in December 2015 and later it was passed by the Rajya in March 2016. 

3.Now it will go for the Presidential assent as per Article 111 of Constitution. Key facts The Bill seeks to amend the Carriage by Air Act, 1972 to revise the limits of liability for airlines and compensation in order adhere with the global counterparts. 

4.Empowers Union government to revise the limits of liability for airlines and compensation as per the Montreal Convention. 

5.Empowers Union Government to make rules to carry out provisions of the Act. 

6.The Bill intends to raise the liability limit for damage in case of delay, injury or death to each person. 

7.It also intends to revise the liability limits in case of damage, loss, or delay of baggage and cargo as per global counterparts. 

8.The Carriage by Air Act, 1972: Regulates carriage by air by giving effect to the Warsaw Convention, 1929 and as amended by Hague Protocol, 1955 and the Montreal Convention, 1999.