23.03.19 Kerala (KPSC) Current Affairs

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KERALA

  • KIIFB raised Rs.2,150 crore via masala bonds

 

  • Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), a State government agency, said it has raised2,150 crorethrough its masala bond issue. This is not just the first-ever offshore capital market issuance from a State-level entity from India but also thelargest dual currency issue by a sub-sovereign backed entity from emerging markets and Asia. The issue saw strong participation from investors. 

     

    INTERNATIONAL

    • Kazakhstan’s 1st and only President resigns after 29 yrs in power

     

    • Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan’s first and only President, announced his resignation on March 19 after 29 yearsin power.
    • He has been Kazakhstan’s President since 1990and was formally elected in 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Union. He received 98 percent of the votes.
    • Nazarbayev would continue to chair the Security Council and remain the leader of theNur Otan party.
    • Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, speaker of the upper house of parliament, will take over as the country’sacting president for the remainder of his term in line with the constitution.

     

    • Kazakhstan to rename country’s capital Astana as Nursultan

     

    • Kazakhstan’s parliament voted to rename the country’s capital Astana as Nursultan.

     

    • It will be renamed in honour of longtime ruler Nursultan Nazarbayev after he resigned as president.

     

    • Kazakhstan’s new interim president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed renaming the capital.

     

    • Astana replaced Kazakhstan’s largest city Almaty as the capital in 1997.

     

    • Evidence of water found on asteroid Bennu

     

    • Scientists have discovered evidence of abundant water-bearing minerals on the surface of the near-Earth asteroid Bennu.

     

    • Using early spectral data from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft orbiting the asteroid, the team identified infrared properties similar to those in a type of meteorite called carbonaceous chondrites.

     

    • Bennu has a more rugged surface than expected. This posed a challenge for the mission team and forced it to alter its flight and sample collection plans.

     

    • Few of the particles ejected out of Bennu orbited it as satellites before returning to the asteroid’s surface.

     

    NATIONAL

    • Indian Air Force to participate in LIMA 2019

     

    • Indian Air Force will participate in Langkawi International Maritime Aero Expo, LIMA 2019.

     

    • The expo will take place in Langkawi, Malaysia from 26th to 30th March.

     

    • Indian Air Force is participating in the Expo for the first time and it will showcase its indigenously developed LCA fighter aircraft.

     

    • The participation of Indian Air Force in LIMA – 2019 will provide an opportunity to air-warriors to interact with their Royal Malaysian Air Force

     

    • ADB to invest USD 50 million in Avaada Energy for expansion of solar projects in India

     

    • The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will invest $50 millionin Indian renewable energy independent power producer Avaada Energy Private Limited, to expand its solar energy generation capacity in India.
    • Avaada is a developer of utility-scale, rooftop, and off-grid solar projects.
    • According to the ADB, this investment will contribute to the Indian government’s goal to increase the share of renewable energy generationcapacity from about 20% in 2018 to 40% by 2030.
    • It will also help to reduce India’s emission intensity of its gross domestic product by 33-35 per cent by 2030.
    • The company has secured power purchase agreements of about 1,700 megawatts.

     

     

    • SpiceJet becomes first Indian low-cost airline to join IATA

     

    • SpiceJet has joined global airlines’ grouping International Air Transport Association (IATA) as a member, becoming the first Indian low-cost carrier to get the membership.

     

    • The IATA represents more than 290 airlines, including Air India, Jet Airways and Vistara.

     

    • The IATA membership is significant on account of SpiceJet’s plans for rapidly expanding its international footprint.

     

    • SpiceJet is the first Indian low-cost carrier to be an IATA member and fifth member of IATA in India.

     

    • CBSE launches app Shiksha Vani

     

    • Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)launched its podcast app, ‘Shiksha Vani’.
    • It will be used to send out major announcements made by the board and is expected to be the quickest way to information.
    • The first official circular on the app confirmed the beginning of the evaluation process of the 2019 Board Examinations.

     

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