Daily Current Affairs

Capsule 17th March 2019

1. Guinea PM arrives in Delhi on a ten-day visit to India

Prime Minister of Guinea Ibrahima Kassory Fofana has arrived in New Delhi on a ten-day official visit to India.

During the visit, Mr Fofona will call on President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Mr Fofona will address the inaugural session of 14th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa

Partnership Project in New Delhi.

The Guinean Prime Minister will also attend a programme in Vishakhapatnam.

Points to Remember

Guinea is a west-coastal country in West Africa.

Capital: Conakry

Currency: Guinean franc

2. Sushma Swaraj begins a two-day visit to the Maldives

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is on a two-day visit to the Maldives.

She is accompanied by a high-level official delegation including foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale.

During this visit, the minister will call on President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Parliament

Speaker Qasim Ibrahim and meet with the Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Shahid.

She is also scheduled to hold a joint Ministerial Meeting to discuss cooperation on a wide variety of

issues.

Points to Remember

The Maldives is a tropical nation in the Indian Ocean to the southwest of Sri Lanka and India.

Capital: Malé

Currency: Maldivian rufiyaa

3. First BRICS Sherpa meeting under the Presidency of Brazil concludes successfully

The first BRICS Sherpa meeting under the Presidency of Brazil concluded at Curitiba in Brazil.

Secretary, Economic Relations in the Ministry of External Affairs, T S Tirumurti led the Indian

delegation at the two-day meeting.

During the meeting, India conveyed its support for the priority areas set out by Brazil, particularly to

take forward BRICS cooperation on counter-terrorism in a meaningful and manner with BRICS member

countries.

Points to Remember

Founded: June 2006

Members: India, China, Russia, Brazil, South Africa

Headquarters: Shanghai, China

4. 14th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnerships to begin on Mar 17

The three-day 14th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnerships will start on March 17 in

New Delhi.

More than 31 ministers from 21 African countries and business delegates from 37 countries will

participate in the event.

The event is organised by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in association with Confederation of

Indian Industry (CII) and EXIM Bank of India.

It will pave the way for a whole range of cross-border project partnerships.

The discussion will revolve around two key themes: digital infrastructure and digital skills

5. Namaste Thailand festival inaugurated in New Delhi

Aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and increasing cultural exchange between India and Thailand, the 3rd

edition of Namaste Thailand festival started in New Delhi.

The festival includes Thai cuisine and a lineup of cultural events.

Introducing the people of Delhi to the unique and diverse culture of Thailand, the three-day festival was

organised by the Royal Thai Embassy at the Select Citywalk in South Delhi.

Points to remember

Prime minister: Prayut Chan-o-cha

Capital: Bangkok

Currency: Thai Baht

मुद्रा: थाई बात

6. SBI launches cardless cash withdrawal at ATMs

State Bank of India has launched cardless withdrawal of cash at over 16,500 of its ATMs through the Yono

mobile app platform for the first time in the country.

The ATMs enabled for this service will also be termed as Yono Cash Point.

Customers can initiate the cash withdrawal process on the Yono app and set a six-digit Yono Cash pin

for the transaction.

They will also get a six-digit reference number for the transaction on their registered mobile number via

SMS.

The cash withdrawal has to be completed within the next 30 minutes at the nearest Yono Cashpoint.

7. RBI approves Bandhan Bank’s acquisition of Gruh Finance

Bandhan Bank said that it had received no objection from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the proposed

acquisition of Gruh Finance.

Gruh Finance, the affordable housing finance arm of HDFC Ltd, was taken over in January by Kolkata-

based Bandhan Bank in a share-swap deal.

As part of the deal, Bandhan Bank has to transfer 14.9 per cent stake to HDFC for merging Gruh with

itself.

The swap ratio for the amalgamation will be 568 shares of Bandhan Bank for every 1,000 shares of

Gruh Finance.

Points to remember

Headquarters: Kolkata

CEO: Chandra Shekhar Ghosh