One liners

BY ANUJ JINDAL
1. The Indian Ocean Research Vessel (ORV), Sagar Nidhi, will set out from Chennai as part
of an Indo-US expedition seeking to find answers to the vagaries of the Bay of Bengal-
fed south-west monsoon, which accounts for 70% of India’s annual rainfall.
2. There’s been a 186% spurt in Indians looking for employment in robotics, with
Maharashtra offering most of the jobs in the sector, according to a new study by the job
site, Indeed.
3. Gujarat Gas Ltd (GGL), India’s largest city gas distribution (CGD) company, is looking to
pick up the entire 50% stake of GAIL Gas in Vadodara Gas Ltd (VGL).
4. The legal global market in cannabis is currently worth $7.7 billion, and is expected to hit
$31.4 billion by 2021, the Brightfield Group, a US-based cannabis market research firm
estimates.
5. India is likely to face greater scrutiny at the World Trade Organization (WTO) after the
centre hiked the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy by 13%.
6. Union Minister of Coal, Railways, Finance & Corporate Affairs, Shri Piyush
Goyal launched the Coal Mine Surveillance & Management System (CMSMS) and
Mobile Application ‘Khan Prahari’.
7. IRCTC said that, the National Security Guard (NSG) will be the first central paramilitary
force to opt for e-ticketing instead of the railway warrant as per a MoU signed with the
IRCTC.
8. The UP Government announced a new Defence Manufacturing policy named ‘UP
Defence Aerospace Unit and Employment Generating Policy, 2018’.
9. Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy presented the Congress-JD(S) coalition
government’s first budget, announcing farm loan waiver worth Rs 34,000 crore.
10. China, UAE, Cyprus and Mauritius, along with 21 other countries have been named as
“high-risk jurisdictions” by global banks acting as custodians for foreign funds.
11. The Law Commission of India submitted a report to the government, saying that since it
is impossible to stop illegal gambling, the only viable option left is to “regulate”
gambling in sports.
12. Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) - The Bharatiya Janata Party government in
Rajasthan is lobbying hard for the Centre’s approval for the ambitious ERCP.
13. Cities like Gwalior, Bhopal and Jabalpur will also issue Municipal Bonds just like Indore.
14. Railways have now said that they will accept soft copies of Aadhar and driving licence
provided they are in your DigiLocker, a digital storage service operated by the
government that enables Indian citizens to store certain official documents on the cloud.
15. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has told WhatsApp to take
remedial measures to prevent proliferation of these fake and at times
motivated/sensational messages.
16. All 97 people who contracted rabies in 2017 died, making it the deadliest
communicable disease last year in India.
17. The ongoing negotiations between India and the U.S. on multiple trade tussles is likely
to involve bringing down the duty on high-end Harley-Davidson motorcycles to zero.
18. Archaeologists in Peru have uncovered an extensive Incan burial site inside an adobe
pyramid in a Coastal Desert Valley far from the Andean heart of the empire.
19. US President Donald Trump is preparing to slap tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese goods,
the first shot in a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
20. With a view to fast track NPA (Non-Performing Asset) resolution, bankers finalized the
Inter-Creditor Agreement (ICA) framework.
21. SBI Card, the country’s second largest credit card issuer, announced the launch of ELA’
(Electronic Live Assistant), a virtual assistant for customer support and services.
22. ICICI Bank announced that its mortgage loan portfolio crossed the Rs 1.5-
trillion milestone, making it the largest private player in the segment.
23. Bandhan Bank, the newest private sector lender has received Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) approval for the re-appointment of current Managing Director (MD) and Chief
Executive Officer (CEO), Chandra Shekhar Ghosh, for three years.
24. United India Insurance Company announced the appointment of K B Vijay Srinivas as its
Director and General Manager.
25. Journalist Rajat Sharma was elected the President of Delhi & District Cricket
Association (DDCA).
26. Major General VD Dogra became the first serving Indian Army officer and the only
General in the world to have completed ‘Ironman’ competition held in Austria.
27. Scientific studies have shown an epidemiological shift in dengue viruses, which means
changes in the virus’s geographical incidence and distribution, and have indicated that
climate change might be a reason for increase in dengue cases.
28. The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has approved to include 4 species: Northern
River Terrapin (riverine turtle), Red Panda, Clouded Leopard and Arabian Sea
Humpback Whale in the recovery programme for critically endangered species.