Daily Current Affairs Updates: 4 March 2015

1) Varanasi-Kathmandu bus service flagged off:

--> A direct AC bus service between Varanasi and Kathmandu was flagged off by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in Varanasi on 4 March 2015.

--> Bus service is aimed at boosting Buddhist and religious tourism.

--> The Varanasi to Kathmandu service is called the “Bharat-Nepal Maitri Bus Seva” (India-Nepal Friendship Bus Service).

--> Ten buses of the rural bus service dubbed as Lohia Gramin Bus Seva were also flagged off by the Chief Minister.

2) Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill 2015 passed by Lok Sabha:

--> Lok Sabha on 4 March 2015 passed the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015.

--> The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, which provides for raising the foreign investment cap from 26 per cent to 49 per cent, was passed by the Lok Sabha after a short debate.

--> The bill will now have to pass the test of Rajya Sabha where BJP and its allies do not have majority and the government is critically dependent on the support of the Congress. 

3) RBI cuts repo rate by 25 bps to 7.5%; keeps CRR unchanged:

--> The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 4 March 2015 has cut down repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.5 percent from 7.75 percent, with immediate effect.

--> RBI has kept the cash reserve ratio (CRR) unchanged at 4 percent.

--> It is the second change in rates by 25 basis points since January 2015.

--> The cut in the policy rate by RBI will help in lowering interest rate for individual and corporate borrowers.

4) Renowned ornithologist K.S. Lavkumar Khachar died:

--> Eminent ornithologist and naturalist K.S. Lavkumar Khachar died in Rajkot on 2 March 2015.

--> Khachar, who belonged to the erstwhile princely family of Jasdan in Gujarat, worked closely with another stalwart of the field, the late Salim Ali, and had a long association with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) India.

5) Union Government and RBI signed an agreement on Monetary Policy Framework:

--> Union Government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) signed an agreement on Monetary Policy Framework.

--> The agreement was signed on 20 February 2015 but was made public on 2 March 2015.

--> The agreement empowers the RBI to go for inflation targeting that is common in developed countries and it also empowers RBI to monitor its monetary policy framework.

6) Govt. to set up National Marine Police Academy in Gujarat:

--> Government of India has decided to establish a National Marine Police Training Institute in the land offered by the Government of Gujarat located at Pindara village in Devbhoomi Dwarka district of the State, to impart training to the marine Police personnel of all the coastal States/Union Territories in the country.

7) Launch of PSLV-C27 with IRNSS-1D postponed:

--> The launch of India’s fourth Navigation Satellite IRNSS-1D onboard PSLV-C27 was originally scheduled for March 09, 2015 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

--> During the integrated electrical checks of Launch Vehicle along with Satellite after the closure of heat shield on March 03, 2015, an anomaly was observed in one of the telemetry transmitters of the Satellite.

-->  In order to resolve the technical anomaly through further test, simulation and analysis, the launch of PSLV-C27 with IRNSS-1D has been postponed.

8) Rani Mukerji awarded for highlighting women's safety:

--> Rani Mukerji was felicitated for the kind of work she has been doing to create awareness about child trafficking in New Delhi by Sreerupa Mitra Chaudhury, the chairperson for the National Institute of Gender Justice.

--> The past awardees include Anna Hazare, Pratibha Patil, Pandit Jasraj and Mahashweta Devi.

--> Rani is the first ever film personality to be felicitated with this prestigious award.

9) Bharti Airtel inked pact with China Mobile for 4G tech:

--> Bharti Airtel has entered into a partnership with China Mobile, the world's largest telco, for jointly sourcing devices and equipment as well as developing 4G technology and standards, a development which will help India's biggest telecom operator take on Reliance Jio Infocomm.