16th March 2016

A.ICICI Bank launches NFC-based contactless mobile payment solution Touch & Pay

1.India’s largest private sector lender ICICI Bank has launched new contactless mobile payment solution Touch & Pay based on Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. 

2.The payment solution will enable the bank’s credit and debit customers to make in-store contactless payments by waving their smartphones near an NFC-enabled merchant terminal. 

3.With this, ICICI Bank becomes first financial institution in the country to leverage the Host Card Emulation technique which creates virtual cards for physical debit or credit cards of the bank. 

4.On every payment done using this service at a merchant store, one-use unique token will be generated by the Bank’s server which will be sent via encryption to the merchant in order to ensure security of the card details. 

5.Touch & Pay facility will be available at the end of March 2016 at more than 60000 merchants across the country. It will be also incorporated into the existing Pockets application of the bank. 

About Near Field Communication (NFC) technology 

NFC is a short-range high frequency wireless communication technology. It basically is a set of protocols that enable two electronic devices to establish radio data communication with each other by bringing them closer typically, 10 cm (4 inches) from each other.

B.UN suspends Maria Sharapova as Goodwill Ambassador after doping allegations

1.The United Nations (UN) has suspended Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova as Goodwill Ambassador of the organisation after she was tested positive on doping allegations. 

2.She was suspended by New York based UN Development Programme (UNDP) until the outcome of the investigation into her case is known. 

3.However, UNDP has mentioned that they are grateful to Maria Sharapova for her support to their work, especially around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster recovery. 

4.Earlier in March 2016, the five times Grand Slam champion and the highest-paid female athlete Maria Sharapova had announced that she tested positive for a drug called meldonium, at the Australian Open earlier in January 2016. 

What is Meldonium? 

1.Meldonium also known as Mildronate is a medical drug given to patients suffering from heart and circulatory conditions for enhancing their physical capacity and mental function. 

2.Its use mainly leads to production more red blood cells (RBCs) in the body in order to increase oxygen supply to muscles for enhancing endurance. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had added the drug to the Prohibited List of 2016.

C.Union Government imposes anti-dumping duty on Plastic-Processing imports

1.Union Government has imposed anti-dumping duty of up to 44.7 per cent on import of plastic-processing machines from Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam for five years.


2.The anti-dumping duty will be levied on imports of all kinds of plastic-processing or injection-moulding machines, also known as injection presses. 

3.The move is aimed at protecting the domestic industry from cheap in-bound shipments from these 4 countries. 

Background 
The Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) during its investigation had found that the cheap in-bound shipments of ‘Plastic Processing Machines or Injection Moulding Machines’ from these countries at dumped prices are hampering performance of the domestic industries. 

What are Anti-dumping measures? 
1.These are taken to ensure fair trade and provide a level-playing field to the domestic industry. 

2.They are not a measure to restrict imports or cause an unjustified increase in cost of products. 

D.Haryana New Secretariat Building gets first Earthquake Warning System in country

1.Haryana’s New Secretariat Building in Chandigarh has become first building in the country to have an early Earthquake Warning and Security system (onsite). 

2.The system was installed by New Delhi based Terra Techcom Private Limited and Secretary Electronics GmbH, Germany. 

Key facts 
1.The system can provide crucial seconds for evacuation in event of an earthquake and is already being used in 26 countries around the world. 

2.It works on the principle of detection of primary and secondary seismic waves of an earthquake. 

3.The primary waves are fastest kind of seismic wave and are the initial vertical movements beneath the earth that do not cause any damage. 

4.They are soon followed by secondary waves that travel beneath the earth horizontally and have the potential to cause damage. They are generally known to us as an earthquake.