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.