27th Feb Daily Updates

1. Economic Survey 2015: Highlights

i. The Economic Survey, prepared by the finance ministry's chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian, was tabled in the Lok Sabha.

ii. India’s economic survey pegged growth at more than 8 per cent for the next fiscal and said inflation was now declining, while also setting the agenda for reforms needed to further drive the expansion, prune wasteful expenditure and promote productive investment.

Following are the highlights of the survey:

• Double digit economic growth trajectory now a possibility
• Government will adhere to fiscal deficit target of 4.1% of GDP in 2014-15
• Economic Survey says estimates current account deficit to fall to 1 pct of GDP in coming fiscal year​
• Average WPI inflation declines to 3.4% in 2014-15 (April-December) against 6% previous year
• Need to improve productivity in the agricultural sector to ensure food security
• Post Office can be linked with AADHAR based benefits transfer architecture to allow linkage to AADHAR accounts

2. Kshatrapati Shivaji to be new CMD of SIDBI

i. Kshatrapati Shivaji, a 1986 batch IAS officer, has taken over as the Chairman and Managing Director of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). 

ii. Shivaji has been appointed on deputation basis for a period of three years from the date of his taking over the charge, a Finance Ministry release said. 

iii. Shivaji is currently Principal Secretary (Expenditure), Finance Department in Maharashtra government.

3. Clemson University honoured Ratan Tata with Doctorate of Automotive Engineering

i. Ratan Tata was honoured an honorary Doctorate of Automotive Engineering by the Clemson University at the South Carolina Automotive Summit.

ii. He was awarded for his contributions to the global automotive industry.  

iii. Ratan Tata is the ex-chairman of the Tata Group. He was named Chairman of Tata Industries In 1981, where he was responsible for transforming it into a group strategy think tank and a promoter of new ventures in high technology businesses.

iv. Ratan Tata serves on the board of directors of Alcoa and Mondelez.

4. Zoological Society of London enters in Asiatic lion Conservation

i. Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Gujarat Forest Department have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for conversation of Asiatic lion and its habitat.

ii. The forest officials said that the ZSL which has expertise in managing the zoo will provide its technical assistance to the state not only to manage its rescue and treatment centres but also to manage the Sakarbaugh Zoo.

iii. Apart from the zoo expertise, the ZSL will provide expertise in managing the landscape and the habitat of the area and also training the staff in handling rescue. 

5. Gopinath Pillai appointed as Special Envoy to Andhra Pradesh by Singapore government

i. Singapore government appointed Gopinath Pillai as its special envoy to Andhra Pradesh. Pillai, a senior policy strategist, was appointed to speed up construction of new capital in the state.

ii. Pillai’s appointment as special envoy to Andhra Pradesh was announced by Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at the secretariat in capital Hyderabad.

iii. At the time of appointment, Pillai was working as a Chairman of a Singapore based think-tank, Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS), and an ambassador for city-state's government.

6. AB De Villiers hits fastest ODI 150 in South Africa World Cup win

i. AB de Villiers hit the fastest ever 150 in one-day internationals as South Africa condemned West Indies to a crushing 257-run defeat in Sydney.

ii. De Villiers took 64 deliveries to reach 150, beating the previous best, set by Australia's Shane Watson, by 19 balls.

iii. He finished 162 not out from 66 balls as South Africa made 408-5, the second-highest total in World Cups.

7. Centre instructs NHAI to set up call centres for help to road accident victims on the National Highways.

i. To ensure better emergency care of the accident victims, three pilot projects has been launched one each on Gurgaon-Jaipur section of NH-8, Vadodara-Mumbai stretch of NH-8, and Ranchi-Mahulia of NH-33 for providing cashless treatment to road accident victims for 48 hours at expenditure up to a limit of Rs. 30000.

ii. GPS enabled ambulances connected with a central control room through a toll-free number 1033, are stationed at intervals of 20 km to transport the injured to the hospitals for treatment within an hour.
iii. As per Rule 10 of Rules Regulations, 1989 under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, every driver shall, on the approach of a fire service vehicle or of an ambulance allow it free passage by drawing to the side of the road.
iv. Implementations of provisions of Motor Vehicles Act and Central Motor Vehicles Rules come under State Government.

8. Centre decides to set up two new major ports, one each at Sagar in West Bengal and the other at Dugarajapatnam in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh.