Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams 27 March 2016

Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams

27 March 2016

:: NATIONAL ::

Kerala’s reservoir’s biodiversity in danger

Farmedillegally and revered as sacred, the invasive North African catfish is proliferating in water bodies across Kerala, edging out native aquatic species.
The presence of the fish in large numbers has led to the disappearance of many of the indigenous species, posing a threat to the aquatic biodiversity.
Generally known as African catfish (Clariasgariepinus), the species has been found to thrive well in the Kundala, Mattupetti, Anayirankal, Munnar head works, Shengulam , Ponmudi, Kallarkutty and Lower Periyar dams and in all the tributaries of the Periyar river.
Juveniles weighing 150 grams and adults weighing 2 kg to 7 kg were caught during the survey, indicating that thefish was breedingcontinuously in the open waters. Native to Africa and the Middle East, where it inhabits freshwater lakes, rivers, swamps and urban sewage systems, the African catfish was introduced all over the world in the early 1980s for aquaculture purposes.
The nocturnal predatory fish feeds primarily on living as well as dead animal matter, including fish, invertebrates, and small birds.
Its ability to survive in shallow mud for long periods of time and its high tolerance for poorly oxygenated water give it an edge over other native species.It is also capable of hybridising with other catfish, though there is no evidence of that in India.
Steps should be taken to prevent the culture of species like African catfish and Nile tilapia (Oreochromisniloticus) that are not formally introduced in the country.

Pak. investigation team to be briefed by NIA

The Pakistani team, which is expected to travel to Pathankot by a special BSF helicopter, will be shown “the scene of the crime”, and allowed to interrogate non-military witnesses, but would not be allowed to speak to NSG, BSF or military personnel who were present during the attack.
The Pakistani visitors will be given a “90-minute briefing” by the NIA officials on the evidence collected so far, including the route of infiltration over the India-Pakistan border, identities of the killed militants, and the information that links them to Jaish-e- Mohammad facilitators in Pakistan.
former Gurdaspur SP Salwinder Singh whose vehicle was snatched by the terrorists to reach the airbase on the intervening night of December 31-January 1 would be presented as a ‘wit- ness.’ It was on Mr. Singh’s complaint that an FIR was registered by the local police.

India’s rotavirus vaccine launched

Inching a stepcloser to universal immunisation, the Health Ministry launched the country’s first, indigenous rotavirus vaccine to combat diarrhoeal deaths.
The launch of Rotavac was “a new milestone towards expanding the coverage of full immunisation in the country aimed at reducing child mortality”.
Diarrhoea caused by Rotavirus is one of the leading causes of severe diarrhoea and death among children less than five years of age. In India, between 80,000 to one lakh children die due to Rotavirusdiarrhoea annually while nearly 9 lakh children are admitted to hospital with severe diarrhoea. Another 32.7 lakh children visit the hospital as out patients due to the disease.
The vaccine was being introduced initially in four States — Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha — and would beexpanded to the entire country in a phased manner
life-saving vaccine to our immunisation programme will not only improve the health of our children but also reduce hospitalisation and other conditions associated with diarrhoea due to Rotavirus such as malnutrition, delayedphysical and mental development among children. Reduced hospitalisation lower the economic burden on the family and the health cost burden on the country.
The Rotavirus vaccine was developed indigenously, under a public-private partnership between the Ministry of Science Technology and the Health Ministry.
The Rotavac is in addition to three new vaccines that have been introduced in India’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) including Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV), Measles, Rubella (MR) vaccine, and Adult Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccine.
India’s UIP will provide free vaccines against 12 life threatening diseases, to 27 million children annually, the largest birth cohort in the world. The IPV was introduced in six States from Nov. 30, 2015 for double protection against polio.

:: International ::

Czech Republic could be another country under OBOR

China is set to unveil another offshoot of its One Belt, One Road (OBOR) connectivity network by investing in a Grand Canal that would link landlocked countries of Central Europe with the sea.
If everything goes according to plans, Chinese President Xi Jinping will push for the construction of the Danube-Oder- Elbe Canal during his visit next week to the Czech Republic.
The strategic canal — a pet project of Czech President Milos Zeman — would connect three major European rivers and provide ships an outlet to the sea. The Y-shaped canal would link with the North Sea at Hamburg.
The Black Sea would be accessed at the Romanian port of Constanta, and Poland’s Szczecin port would provide an outreach to the Baltic Sea.
The construction of the Grand Canal would see the merger of the land and themaritime hubs of OBOR, which is rapidly advancing in Eurasia.
China has targeted infrastructure development in the CEE countries — its intent evident from its focus on constructing the flagship Belgrade-to-Budapest high-speed railway.
Once completed, the rail upgrade will dovetail with the Chinese plan to refurbish Greece’s main port of Piraeus. Linked with the CEE railway, Piraeus would become the hub of China’s trade with Europe, along a land-cum-sea corridor.

Aggressive tone of North Korea continues

North Korea released a new propaganda video showing a nuclear strike on Washington and then threatened South Korea with a “merciless military strike” for slandering leader Kim Jong-un.
Pyongyang has been ramp- ing up the bellicose rhetoric and propaganda for weeks, since the launch of annual South Korea-U.S. war games.
Seoul and Washington made the already large-scale joint drills bigger than ever this year in response to the North’s nuclear test in January.
The four- minute video romps through the history of U.S.-Korean relations and ends with a digitally manipulated sequence showing a missile surging through clouds, swerving back to Earth and slammingdown in front of Washington’s Lincoln Memorial.
The North has issued similar videos in the past, including one in 2013 showing the White House in a sniper’s crosshairs and the Capitol building exploding in a fire- ball.

:: BUSINESS and ECONOMY ::

Employment report and other economic data to come for US

The March U.S. employment report and other key economic numbers next week could help U.S. stocks resume their recent winning path as long as that data hits the sweet spot: Not strong enough to add to worries about further interest rate hikes, yet not weak enough to cause concern about a recession.
Reports on the housing market could also draw inves- tors' attention given recent sharp gains in homebuilder stocks.
Major indexes remain well above their 2016 lows, thanks to evidence of a reviving U.S. economy and a sharp rebound in oil prices, even as stocks broke a five-week streak of gains, their last trading day.
While the volatility that marked the start of the year has diminished and many strategists have adopted a cautiously optimistic outlook, the market seems to have paused.
The Friday U.S. data showed that even as gross domestic product increased at a 1.4 per cent annual rate instead of the previously reported 1.0 per cent pace, corporate profits from currentproduction fell $159.6 billion in the fourth quarter.
A catalyst for stocks could come from a rebound in corporate earnings.
U.S. earnings are expected to be down for a third consecutive reporting period, Thomson Reuters data show.
Analysts now expect a first- quarter earnings decline of6.9 percent - which would be the biggest drop since the third quarter of 2009 - sharply below the 2.3 percent gain they had been projecting as recently as Jan. 1.
Stabilizing oil prices could at least slow the rate at which future earnings estimates fall.

Starboard’s bid to remove Yahoo board

Activist hedge fund Starboard Value LP moved to overthrow the entire board of Yahoo Inc including Chief Executive Marissa Mayer, who has struggled to turn around the company in her nearly four years at the helm.
Starboard, which has been pushing for changes at Yahoo since 2014 and owns about 1.7 percent of the company, said it would nominate nine candidates for the board.
The proxy fight comes as Yahoo is pressing ahead with an auction of its core Internet business, which includes search, mail and news sites.
The faded Internet pioneer has been struggling to keep up with Alphabet Inc’s Google and Facebook Inc in the battle for online advertisers.
Yahoo co-founder David Filo — one of the board members Starboard wants to remove — is the company's largest shareholder with a 7.5-per- cent stake.
Yahoo and Starboard representatives met on March 10 to discuss ways the two sides could avoid a proxy fight, according to people familiar with the matter.
But those talks broke down, in part because Starboard was upset by Yahoo's announcement that same day that itappointed two new board directors, these people say.

:: SPORTS ::

P.R. Sreejesh and Deepika gets player of the year honours

P.R. Sreejesh and Deepika walked away with the Player of the Year honours at the second Hockey India Annual Awards ceremony for 2015.
Sreejesh had a memorable time under the bar last year, notably playing a starring role in India’s shoot-out victory over Holland in the bronze-medal match at the HWL Final.
The veteran Deepika was recognised for her work in defence as the Indian women’s team qualified for the Olympic Games after a gap of 36 years.
Both Sreejesh and she were given a cash prize of Rs. 25 lakh.