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Headlines CCI imposes Rs. 54 crore fine on 3 airlines for unfair business practices India-China trade hits record $84.4 billion in 2017 CCEA approves Rs 1,151 crore Scheme for in-situ management of crop residue to fight air pollution Balkrishna Doshi wins Pritzker Prize Cabinet approves Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement between India and France

Headlines NITI Aayog launches Women Entrepreneurship Platform Justice Gita Mittal to be conferred Nari Shakti award on women s day Street Lighting National Programme: 49 lakh LED street lights installed Animal Welfare Board of India headquarters shifted from Chennai to Ballabhgarh Iraq has overtaken Saudi Arabia to become India s top crude oil supplier

CCI imposes Rs. 54 crore fine on 3 airlines for unfair business practices The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed fine of more than Rs. 54 crore on Jet Airways, Inter Globe Aviation and Spice Jet for unfair business practices with respect to fixing fuel surcharge on cargo transport.

The CCI order comes on complaint filed by Express Industry Council of India (EICI) against airlines alleging cartelisation. It has directed three airlines to cease and desist from anticompetitive practices. It is second order on same complaint in nearly three years.

Key Fact The penalties were imposed on airlines for concerted action in fixing and revising fuel surcharge (FSC), a component of freight charges. These airlines had acted in concerted manner in fixing and revising FSC rates in violation of competition norms that prohibit anticompetitive agreements, including cartels. The penalties were imposed at the rate of 3% of three airlines average relevant turnover of last 3 financial years and taking into consideration financial position of airlines at relevant time and noting that FSC constitutes about 20-30% of cargo revenue.

About Competition Commission of India (CCI) CCI is quasi-judicial statutory body established under the Competition Act, 2002. It was established in October 2003 and became fully functional in May 2009. It consists of Chairperson (Devender Kumar Sikri) and 6 Members appointed by Central Government.

India-China trade hits record $84.4 billion in 2017 According to data of Chinese General Administration of Customs, India-China bilateral trade has reached $84.44 billion last year, a historic high with 18.63% yearon-year growth rate.

This is regarded as historic landmark in bilateral relations of both countries, as volume of bilateral trade for first time has touched $80 billion, well above the $71.18 billion registered in 2016.

Key Facts India has emerged as the seventh largest export destination for Chinese products, and 24th largest exporter to China. India s imports and exports: It has increased by 39.11% year-on-year to $16.34 billion in 2017. India s imports from China have increased by 14.59% to $68.10 billion.

Significantly, diamonds along with copper, iron ore, organic chemicals and cotton yarn contributed to increase Indian exports to China. China s exports on other hand were dominated by electrical machinery and equipment, India s trade deficit: It continues to remain high at $51.75 billion, registering a growth of 8.55% year-on-year in 2017. To arrest it, India is pressing China to open its IT and Pharmaceutical sectors for Indian firms, fertilizers, organic chemicals and pharmaceutical antibiotics

CCEA approves Rs 1,151 crore Scheme for insitu management of crop residue to fight air pollution The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved Rs. 1,151 crore Central Sector Scheme for in-situ management of crop residue in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi

It will promote agricultural mechanization for next two years (2018-20) to provide cost-effective and eco-friendly solution to farmers to deal with problem of stubble burning that result in raising air pollution levels in Delhi and neighbouring states every winter.

Background Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Budget 2018-19 had announced special scheme with 100% Central share to support efforts of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi to address air pollution and to subsidize machinery required for in-situ management of crop residue.

Balkrishna Doshi wins Pritzker Prize Legendary Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi (90), a pioneer of low-cost housing design has won the prestigious Pritzker Prize, considered architecture field s Nobel. He is 45th Pritzker laureate and first from India to receive it.

He is one of the last living architects to have apprenticed with Franco-Swiss trailblazer Le Corbusier distinguished his work by committing to sustainable architecture and inexpensive housing.

Pritzker prize The international Pritzker prize was established by Chicago s Pritzker family in 1979. It is considered to be one of the world s premier architecture prizes, and is often referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture. It is awarded annually and bestows laureates with $100,000 along with bronze medallion. Previous winners include world-renowned architects like Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry, IM Pei, and Shigeru Ban

Cabinet approves Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement between India and France The Union Cabinet has approved signing of Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement between India and France. Decision in this regard was taken at the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The agreement will be signed during forthcoming state visit of French President to India

Key Facts The agreement represents major milestone in enhancing people-to-people (P2P) contacts between both countries. It will foster mobility of students, academics, skilled professionals and researchers and strengthen cooperation on issues related to irregular migration and human trafficking between countries.

The agreement is also testimony to India s rapidly expanding multi-faceted relationship with France and symbolizes increasing trust and confidence between two sides. It will be initially valid for period of 7 years and incorporates provision for automatic renewal and monitoring mechanism through Joint Working Group (JWG)

NITI Aayog launches Women Entrepreneurship Platform NITI Aayog launched the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) on March 8, 2018, on the occasion of International Women s day.

The platform was launched by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant at the NITI Aayog premises in Delhi in the presence of UN Resident Coordinator in India Yuri Afanasiev, Kailash Kher, industry leaders and supporting partners The launch also saw the release of WEP s theme song Naari Shakti, which has been composed and sung by renowned singer Kailash Kher.

Justice Gita Mittal to be conferred Nari Shakti award on women s day The Acing Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, Justice Gita Mittal will be conferred the Nari Shakti Puraskar 2017 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

The award, known as India s highest civilian honour for women, will be bestowed upon 30 women and organizations on March 8, on the occasion of the International Women s day. Mittal is the first woman from the field of law and justice to be conferred the prestigious award. She is known to have introduced many welcome changes in the functioning of the Delhi High Court, ever since she took over as the Acting Chief Justice of the court after the retirement of Justice G Rohini in April 2017.

Street Lighting National Programme: 49 lakh LED street lights installed Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) has installed 49 lakh LED street lights in 28 states/uts under the Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP). This information was given by Minister of State (IC) Power R K Singh in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.

Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) The Programme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2015. It aims to replace 1.34 crore conventional street lights with energy efficient LED lights by March, 2019. It is being implemented by EESL. It is world s Largest Street Light Replacement Programme. Rajasthan was the first state to adopt this scheme

Objectives Reduce energy consumption in lighting which helps DISCOMs to manage peak demand Mitigate climate change by implementing energy efficient. LED based street lighting Provide sustainable service model that obviates need for upfront capital investment as well as additional revenue expenditure to pay for procurement of LED lights. Enhance municipal services at no upfront capital cost of municipalities

Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) EESL was set up under Union Ministry of Power to facilitate implementation of energy efficiency projects. It is a joint venture of NTPC Limited, Power Finance Corporation (PFC), Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and POWERGRID It leads market-related actions of National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE). It also acts as the resource centre for capacity building of State DISCOMs

Animal Welfare Board of India headquarters shifted from Chennai to Ballabhgarh Government has shifted headquarters of Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to Ballabhgarh in Faridabad District of Haryana from Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

It was shifted after consultation with AWBI for better coordination between the Environment Ministry and AWBI for carrying out the animal welfare activities. The Rule 3 of the Animal Welfare Board (Administrative) Rules, 1962 mentions that the headquarter of AWBI shall be at New Delhi or at such other place as central government, may, after consultation with the Board direct.

Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) AWBI is a statutory advisory body established in 1962 under Section 4 of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960. It frames a range of rules on how animals ought to be humanely treated everywhere. It has also frequently litigated to have stricter laws to ensure animals were not unduly harassed or tortured. Initially it was within jurisdiction of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Later in 1990, the subject of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was transferred to Environment Ministry.

Iraq has overtaken Saudi Arabia to become India s top crude oil supplier Iraq has overtaken Saudi Arabia to become India s top crude oil supplier by supplying 38.9 million tonnes (MT) crude oil in the current financial year.

It was fifth of the India s oil needs. India is 80% dependent on imports to meet its oil needs. India had imported 184.4 MT of crude oil during April-January period of 2017-18 period as compared to 213.9 MT in the entire 2016-17 fiscal, and 202.8 MT in 2015-16

Key Facts Saudi Arabia traditionally has been India s top oil source but Iraq dethroned it. Saudi Arabia supplied 30.9 MT of crude oil in first 10 months of current fiscal. Iran continued to be third largest supplier, selling 18.4 MT during April-January. This is the second year in a row that Iran has occupied the third position. Venezuela is India s fourth largest supplier with 15.5 MT during April-January, followed by Nigeria with 14.9 MT.

India s dependence on West Asia for its crude oil needed has increased from 58% in 2014-15 to 63.7% in April-January period of this fiscal. India had imported 109.9 MT out of 189.4 MT of total crude imports in 2014-15 from region. In the current fiscal so far, West Asia has accounted for 117.5 MT of crude oil supplies to India.

Quiz 1. Who has become the first-ever Indian architect to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize? a. Chitra Vishwanath b. Raj Rewal c. Balkrishna Doshi d. Hafeez Contractor

2. Who has become the first Indian woman from the field of law and justice to be conferred the Nari Shakti Puraskar? a. Fathima Beev b. Sujata Manohar c. Gyan Sudha Misra d. Gita Mittal

3. When is International Women's Day celebrated every year? a. 7 March b. 8 March c. 9 March d. 10 March

4. Who is the chairperson of Competition Commission of India CCI? a. Smita Jhingran b. Devender Kumar Sikri c. Dhanendra Kumar d. Sudhir Mital

5. What is the full form of CCEA? a. Cabinet Commission on Economic Affairs b. Cabinet Commission on Environmental Affairs c. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs d. None of these

6. Cabinet approves Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement between India and? a. France b. China c. Japan d. Iran

7. Which platform has been launched by the Union Government on the occasion of 2018 International Women s Day? a. Women Entrepreneurship Platform b. Women Combat Platform c. Women Power Platform d. Women Literacy Platform

8. Who is the Minister of State (IC) Power? a. R K Singh b. Manohar Parrikar c. Nirmala Sitharaman d. Rajnath Singh