Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 17 March 2015


Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 17 March 2015


:: National ::

Taj most popular among ‘virtual travellers’

  • The Taj Mahal has emerged as the most popular destination in Asia for global “virtual travellers”, Google says.
  • “The fascination with this grand, symmetrical white marble mausoleum also holds within Asia, with the Taj Mahal ranking as one of the most globally viewed destinations by people in Singapore, Australia, Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia and of course, India,” a Google statement said.
  • “Last year, global virtual tourists had favoured Japan for its trails up Mount Fuji, its colourful canal at Dotonbori and its secluded ruins on Hashima Island as the most popular Google Street View destinations in Asia.”
  • Google Street View is a technology featured on Google Maps and Google Earth that provides panoramic views from positions along many streets in the world.
  • Though Japan still attracts many virtual tourists, cultural monuments and temples across the region also taking centre stage, it said.

Modi govt. turns its gaze on community radio

  • After utilising public outreach game-changers like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, the Narendra Modi government is all set to harness the power of community radio to reach out to citizens.
  • A step towards this was taken when the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Arun Jaitley inaugurated a three-day National Community Radio Sammelan in the presence of Minister of State Rajyavardhan Rathore.
  • This is the first time the government intends to use community radio in a big way to give a push to flagship schemes.
  • Mr. Jaitley’s address focussed on making people feel that the medium belonged to them.

:: International :

China now third-biggest arms exporter

  • China has eased ahead of Germany and France to become the world’s number three arms exporter after the United States and Russia, a Stockholm-based think-tank said.
  • The volume of the multi-billion dollar world arms trade rose 16 per cent during the period 2010 to 2014 over the previous five years, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute added in its annual report.
  • The figures show that “the United States has taken a firm lead” with 31 per cent of global exports of conventional weapons, SIPRI said, with Russia in second place at 27 per cent.
  • The next three arms exporters are far behind with about five per cent each, and China is only slightly ahead of fourth-ranked Germany and fifth-ranked France.

Dubai first in cars per person

  • The number of vehicles in Dubai has doubled over the past eight years giving it more cars per person than New York or London, official figures showed.
  • The city-state now has 1.4 million vehicles for a 2.4 million population, or 540 for every 1,000 people.

U.S. teacher wins $1 million global prize (Register and Login to read Full News..)

Australia may seek membership of the China-led infrastructure Bank (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: Business and Economy :

Crisil announces Ashu Suyash as MD & CEO

  • Crisil, said that Ashu Suyash would be the next Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the rating agency.
  • “Ms. Suyash will join Crisil on June 1, 2015,” said a press release issued by Crisil. Ms. Suyash succeeds Roopa Kudva, who has been the Managing Director and CEO of CRISIL since 2007.
  • Ms. Suyash has over 26 years of experience in the Indian financial services industry. She moved to her current role as CEO of L&T Investment Management Ltd., following the acquisition of Fidelity Worldwide Investment’s India Asset Management business by L&T Investment Management Ltd.
  • “Under her leadership, the L&T Investment Management business has doubled in the past two years with assets under management growing to over Rs.22,000 crore.

Wipro appoints Abid Neemuchwala as COO

  • Wipro Ltd. announced the appointment of former Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) top executive Abid Ali Neemuchwala as the Group President and Chief Operating Officer of the company.
  • According to a company press release, the appointment will be effective from April 1, 2015.
  • In his previous role with TCS, Mr. Neemuchwala was heading the Business Process Services globally. Apart from this, he was also involved in several leadership roles during his 23-year-long career with TCS.
  • In his role in Wipro, Mr. Neemuchwala will head the service lines of Global Infrastructure Services, Business Application Services, Business Process Services, and Advanced Technology Solutions.
  • He will also head Business Operations; the geographies comprising Continental Europe, Africa, and Latin America; Strategic Engagements, Advisor Relationships as well as the Marketing function, the company added.

India on the right track: IMF chief

  • India’s economy is the bright spot in the global economy, with recent policy reforms set to boost growth, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde said.
  • Delivering a lecture at a college here, Ms. Lagarde, who is in India on a two-day visit, said the Union Budget was ‘a step in the right direction.’
  • The IMF, in its latest forecast last week, said India’s economy was likely to grow 7.5 per cent in 2015-16, below the Modi Government’s projection of 8.5 per cent.
  • Ms. Lagarde said the IMF had confidence in the new GDP estimates that India recently released, though it had sought additional information on the data.

Snapdeal to acquire GoJavas for Rs.200 crore (Register and Login to read Full News..)

GoJavas did not respond to the email query. (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: Sports::

Van Ass takes charge as chief coach (Register and Login to read Full News..)

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB

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